Promoting a guest house on Instagram

Promoting a guest house on Instagram is one of the most natural ways to reach travellers. A guest house is a place, but also hosts, a table, an atmosphere. Everything Instagram is very good at showing. You still need to know what to post, how often, and how to turn followers into guests. Here is the method.

Why Instagram

Instagram is a network of images and videos, built for inspiration. Travellers discover destinations there, save addresses and plan their next stays. For a guest house, it is the ideal showcase:

• Aesthetics matter: a beautiful house, a beautiful table, a beautiful garden.
• Relationships build: followers follow your daily life and grow attached to you.
• Contact is direct: a private message is enough to ask a question or book.

What to post

A guest house offers a wealth of material. Vary the subjects:

1. The place: facade, bedrooms, garden, view, architectural details.
2. The table: breakfasts, local produce, dinners.
3. The region: villages, landscapes, walks, vineyards.
4. The seasons: the house in autumn, under snow, in spring.
5. Behind the scenes: preparing the rooms, the morning market.

In Alsace, a house of character like Le Clos d'Azel, on the Wine Route, lends itself perfectly to this kind of content: a half-timbered house, vineyards, villages and local food.

Tell the story of the hosts

What sets a guest house apart from a hotel is its hosts. Show yourself. Tell why you opened your home, what you love about your region, your favourite places.

• Introduce yourself in a short video, to camera.
• Share your tips: a hike, a restaurant, a market.
• Highlight your exchanges with guests, with their permission.

Travellers also book for the people. A guest house with real faces inspires trust and makes people want to come.

Reels

Reels, those short vertical videos, are now the format Instagram promotes most. They can reach far beyond your followers. For a guest house, they show an atmosphere in a few seconds: the morning light in a bedroom, a breakfast being laid, a view at sunset.

Our guide to Instagram Reels for real estate covers the format, the length, the text and the music. A professional film, cut into several Reels, gives your whole online presence a consistent, polished image.

From followers to bookings

Followers are good. Guests are better. To convert:

• Put a clear booking link in your bio.
• Show your availability in your posts and stories.
• Reply quickly to messages, even short ones.
• Offer deals reserved for your followers, sparingly.
• Thank your guests and share their feedback, with their permission.

Every booking that comes through Instagram is often a direct booking, with no platform commission. Read our article on direct bookings.

A simple content calendar

To stay consistent without spending your days on it, prepare a monthly calendar. For example, each week:

• A reel of the place: a bedroom, the garden, a view, a moment of the day.
• A post about the table: breakfast, a local product, a recipe.
• A post about the region: a walk, a village, a producer.
• Daily stories: the weather, the flowers in the garden, guests arriving, with their permission.

Filming several pieces of content on the same day, when the light is beautiful, lets you prepare a whole week in one morning.

Look after your bio and highlights

Your Instagram bio is your business card. In one sentence, it should say who you are, where you are and how to book:

1. The name of the house and the region.
2. What makes you unique: a house of character, a view, a table.
3. A booking or contact link.

Highlights complete it: the bedrooms, breakfast, the region, reviews, practical information. A traveller discovering your account should find every answer in a few seconds.

Reviews and word of mouth

Happy guests are your best ambassadors. Invite them to tag the house in their own posts, with their permission, and share their photos in your stories. Reply to reviews on the platforms and on Google, and thank people warmly. A guest house lives on relationships: on Instagram as at the table, that is what brings people back. Read our article on real estate storytelling to tell the story of your house.

Measuring your Instagram results

To know whether your efforts are paying off, track a few simple indicators each month:

• The number of messages received through Instagram and what they are: questions, availability requests, bookings.
• The number of clicks on the link in your bio.
• Direct bookings that came from Instagram, simply by asking guests how they found you.
• The posts that generate the most interaction, so you can produce more of that kind of content.

Read with common sense, these figures show you what people like and what converts. They help you adjust your content calendar without spreading yourself too thin.

The film as your centrepiece

Among your daily posts, a professional film of your guest house plays the role of centrepiece. It can be pinned to the top of your profile, placed on your website's home page, cut into several short Reels and reposted each season. It gives the first impression to travellers discovering your account, and convinces them to stay, then to book. Read our article on getting more bookings.

Frequently asked questions

How often should you post?

Consistency matters more than quantity. Two to three posts a week, including Reels, is a good base for a guest house.

Do you need a professional photographer?

For everyday posts, a phone is enough. For the images that present your house, a professional shoot gives a more polished image that you can reuse for a long time.

Should you pay for advertising?

It is not essential. Quality content and distribution through accounts people already follow can be enough. Advertising can complement it from time to time.

What should you post in the low season?

The house in winter, the region off-season, cosy breaks. Read our article on filling your rental in the low season.

Do you need a professional Instagram account?

Yes, it is recommended. It gives access to statistics, contact buttons and other useful options for a guest house.

Can you post guests' photos?

Only with their permission. Simply ask, and thank them by tagging them if they wish.

And your guest house?

Discover how we support owners on our Rent your property page, and let's talk about your house in a 20-minute call.