The primary function of a business card is to provide contact information in a succinct, memorable way. Whether that’s in a networking situation, or a more spontaneous meeting, your business card gives you an opportunity to make a lasting impression with a new prospect, potential guest or business partner.
Some people may argue that due to the shift in vacation rentals to become an almost exclusively online industry, business cards are no longer a necessity. However, they are still a powerful way of promoting your brand and getting your business name out in the world.
You don’t need to spend thousands on a bespoke business card design, though. There are plenty of free and affordable tools available which provide a great foundation to do it yourself – we’ll come to that later.
But, first, what information should you include on your vacation rental business card? To prevent prospects from throwing yours in the trash, we’ve put together this list of the most important elements every business card should contain.
1. Logo and tagline
Just like your vacation rental website, you should brand your business card with your company logo and tagline (if you have one). Where in-person meetings are concerned, your business card may well be the first interaction a new guest has with your brand.
That’s why they should be able to identify a clear brand from the outset and remember it in the future. For example, when making a booking on your website, when receiving newsletters or across your rental itself.
2. Name and job title
On your business card, you have the opportunity to introduce yourself with both the name you like to be called and the position you hold. Not only does this make for a more personal introduction, but it also gives guests or potential partners something to refer back to later on.
Of course, if you have another “day job” besides renting your home, it’s no use putting this title on your vacation rental business card. Here, it’s a lot more advantageous to have “owner” or “property manager” over “accountant” or “web developer”.
3. Contact details
It seems obvious, but your contact information really is essential if you want people to get in touch with you. The most convenient contact details are direct ones – such as your professional email address and your direct line work number. If your property name doesn’t already give away your location, it could be an idea to include your city as another refresher for whoever is looking at your card. Your full property address is not a requirement, however.
4. Your website, or a custom page of it
In this #BookDirect age, more and more owners are guiding prospective renters to their own websites in an attempt to yield more of the profit. Therefore, including your website address on your business card is a no-brainer. For more impact, you could even create a custom landing page for those who enter via your business card URL. Ideas for this landing page include adding a video (of you or your rental), a special offer or money-off coupon or an area guide for your rental location.
Be sure to keep the custom URL short and sweet, as this will work better to attract visits from your business card to your website. After all, no one wants to spend 20 minutes typing a web address!
5. Social media sites
Some social media sites are proven to work better for vacation rental owners – such as Facebook and Instagram. Including your handle (i.e. what comes after the @ symbol in a username) or a link to your profile will help guests to locate you online and can also boost follower numbers.
It’s important not to overload your business card with text or all your social media profiles. It’s better to have two or three quality, up-to-date profiles than try and squash all your sites onto one card.
6. Negative space
A business card is wallet-size for a reason – it invites the receiver to place it directly in their wallet to review later. It should be concise and to the point, as well as legible and informative. Clutter is not welcome on your business card!
Negative or white space helps provide balanced designs. It also deters you from overwhelming your prospect with an outpour of information.
Bonus: Business card templates for your vacation rental
Not only are there DIY logo maker tools and drag-and-drop website builders, there are also plenty of resources available which allow even the least creative person to design their own business card.
Check out our shortlist of some of the best business card templates out there.
Canva
The free online graphic design tool, Canva, provides over 50,000 templates for all types of design. You can easily browse their templates by profession and customize them to your taste, or design your own from scratch. In addition to this, you can now order your prints directly from Canva in some regions. Check out their support pages for further assistance.
Moo
With a range of different finishes and templates available, Moo offers high-quality designs – or the possibility to upload a completely custom one. Their offerings vary from the traditional rectangle business card to a square style and even those made from recycled cotton t-shirt off-cuts!
instantprint
In a similar manner to Moo, instantprint allows users to design a business card from scratch, or select from one of their vibrant, double-sided designs. Instantprint even broke the Guinness World Record for the biggest business card! Though we’re not suggesting you use that size template for your vacation rental…
PsPrint
With more than 750,000 customers, PsPrint offers competitive prices for their business card packages and hundreds of predefined designs. Customers even have the option to print their business cards in a custom shape.
