Short-Term Rental Instagram: 10 Things to Optimize Before You Post Again

If you handed me the keys to your short-term rental Instagram account tomorrow, what would I change first?

Before I created a single Reel, carousel, or photo post, I would take a step back and audit the account as a whole.

Great content can only do so much if your Instagram profile isn’t set up to turn the right people into potential guests.

Your short-term rental Instagram shouldn’t just look pretty. Instead, it should quickly communicate what your property is, where it is, who it’s for, and what someone should do next.

Think of this as your short-term rental Instagram audit.

If you’re willing to spend a few minutes going through your profile as you read, you may find a few easy changes you can make today that will help your Instagram work a whole lot harder for your business.

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Start With the Stranger Test

Before we get into the individual pieces of your profile, I want you to look at your Instagram like you’ve never seen it before.

Pretend you’re a potential guest who just discovered your account.

Give yourself about 10 seconds. Could you answer these questions?

• Where is this property?
• What type of property is it?
• Who is it for?
• What makes it different?
• What would staying here actually feel like?
• What should I do next?

If you can’t answer those questions quickly, that’s where I’d start.

Your potential guest shouldn’t have to dig through 20 posts, click three different links, or become a part-time investigator to figure out where you are located.

Instead, your Instagram profile should do that work for them.

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1. Optimize Your Short-Term Rental Instagram Name Field

Let’s start with one of the easiest things to overlook: your Instagram name field.

Your Instagram handle and your Instagram name are two different things.

Your handle is your @username.

Meanwhile, your name field is the bold text that appears directly underneath your profile picture.

That little space is valuable real estate.

You can use it to incorporate keywords that your ideal guest might actually search for.

Take off your owner hat for a minute and put on your potential guest hat.

What would someone type into Instagram if they were looking for a property like yours?

Maybe they’re searching for:

• Bourbon Trail Kentucky
• Smoky Mountain cabin
• Lakefront vacation rental
• Asheville mountain retreat
• Nashville luxury stay
• Family-friendly beach rental

The goal isn’t to cram every possible keyword into the name field.

Please don’t turn it into:

“Luxury Bourbon Trail Kentucky Hot Tub 90 Acres Couples Retreat Vacation Rental.”

That’s not helping anyone.

Instead, look for one or two natural keywords that communicate what your property is and where it’s located.

For example, our Kentucky property is called Commonwealth. Because it’s located on the Bourbon Trail, that location is an important part of the reason someone might want to stay there.

So instead of only using the property’s name, we can use the name field to communicate that context.

Your brand name can still be front and center. We’re simply giving Instagram—and your potential guests—a little more information.

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2. Rewrite Your Short-Term Rental Instagram Bio

Next, look at your bio.

Your bio should quickly answer four important questions:

What is this?

Where is it?

Who is it for?

What should I do next?

If those answers aren’t immediately obvious, it’s time for a refresh.

This is another place where you want to think about your ideal guest rather than how you describe the property to yourself.

And please, for the love of all things hospitality, let’s retire some of the generic phrases.

“Create unforgettable memories.”

“Your home away from home.”

“Escape the everyday.”

“Luxury retreat.”

“Your perfect getaway.”

These phrases aren’t necessarily bad. They’re just incredibly common.

When everyone is using the same words, they stop telling your potential guest anything meaningful.

Instead, get specific.

What is actually different about your property?

Maybe it’s five king suites where every couple has their own bathroom. For another property, it could be a 90-acre estate on the Bourbon Trail.

Perhaps it’s a secluded cabin with direct access to hiking trails. Or maybe it’s a dome house with incredible views and a completely unique architectural experience.

Specific sells.

Generic gets scrolled past.

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3. Make Sure Your Profile Photo Is Recognizable

Next up: your profile photo.

There isn’t one universal answer here.

Should it be your logo? A photo of the property? Your logo over a photo?

It depends on the brand.

The most important thing is that the image is recognizable when it’s tiny and that it feels consistent with your existing brand identity.

For our Elysian property in Virginia, we chose the logo as the profile photo.

That decision was intentional because we wanted Elysian to function as a micro-resort brand. Luna, the dome house, is one unit within that larger concept. If we used a photo of Luna as the profile picture, we risked anchoring the entire Elysian brand around that one architectural style.

The Commonwealth is different.

That property is currently a single, very distinctive home. It has a bright red roof and an exterior with a lot of visual personality, so using an image of the actual property made sense.

As a general rule, if your property has a truly remarkable exterior, a photo may work beautifully.

On the other hand, if it’s a fairly standard home, I’d lean toward the logo.

When in doubt, ask yourself:

Would I recognize this when it’s the size of a thumbnail?

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4. Give Your Guest an Easy Next Yes

This is one of the biggest things I look for when auditing an Instagram account.

What happens after someone likes what they see?

They need an easy next yes.

That next step could be simple: book your stay, join your email list, get a discount, check availability, or learn more about the property.

Whatever you choose, make it obvious.

Your bio should have a call to action, and the link directly underneath it should make taking that action incredibly easy.

If you have a direct booking site, that’s where I’d send people.

An email opt-in that leads into a well-built funnel is another great option.

If you don’t have a direct booking site yet, make that a priority.

Your OTA can absolutely be part of your booking strategy. However, if your Instagram is sending people directly to an OTA when you already have a direct booking site, you’re giving away an opportunity to own more of that guest relationship and avoid unnecessary fees.

Don’t Give Them 10 Links

One of the most common mistakes I see is a link section with six, eight, or ten different options.

At that point, the potential guest has to stop and figure out which link they should click.

That’s not an easy next yes.

Instead, make the next step obvious.

Otherwise, your Instagram becomes a dead end.

Someone discovers you, likes your property, follows you, and then… nothing.

Social media is the top of your marketing funnel. Think of it as the outside of the spiderweb. You want to make it sticky enough that people have somewhere to go next.

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5. Build Strategic Instagram Highlights for Your Rental

Instagram Highlights are another piece of your profile that should work harder for you.

If you’re starting from scratch, I would build your Highlights around the questions and information your ideal guest actually needs.

Start Here

Think of this as your property’s elevator pitch.

Include:

• Where you’re located
• What the property is
• Key amenities
• Property photos
• What guests can do nearby
• What makes the experience different

Keep it relatively short. Around 10 slides is plenty.

Then end with a call to action.

Things To Do

This is where you can expand on the local experience.

Put yourself in your ideal guest’s shoes.

What are they coming to your area to do?

For example, a Bourbon Trail property could highlight nearby distilleries and experiences. A mountain property, on the other hand, might focus on hiking, waterfalls, restaurants, scenic overlooks, and seasonal activities.

You’re helping your potential guest visualize the trip—not just the house.

Reviews

Don’t hide your best reviews.

They’re social proof.

If guests consistently mention something specific they loved, turn those comments into marketing material.

For example, guests at our Kentucky property frequently mention how much they love the bedroom-to-bathroom ratio.

There are five king beds, and each bedroom has its own bathroom. Four of those bathrooms are attached directly to bedrooms.

That’s an important selling point for groups of couples.

Our guests are already telling us that.

So why wouldn’t we use it?

FAQs

Finally, create a place where you answer the questions you hear over and over.

Do you allow pets?

How far are you from the local attractions?

How does check-in work?

Is the property private?

How many people can sleep there?

Do you have an air mattress or pack-and-play?

You don’t need to wait for someone to ask the question.

Instead, answer it before they have to.

Don’t forget the visual side of your Highlights, either. Use on-brand colors, fonts, and consistent covers so the entire section feels intentional when someone first lands on your profile.

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6. Use Your Three Pinned Posts Strategically

Instagram’s pinned posts are one of the easiest ways to control the first impression someone gets when they visit your profile.

You get three, so use them intentionally.

Pinned Post #1: Start Here

Introduce the property.

Tell people where it is, what it is, who it’s for, and what makes it special.

This can essentially be the feed version of your Start Here Highlight.

Once again, end with a clear next step.

Pinned Post #2: The Experience

Don’t just show the house.

Show people what it feels like to stay there.

Ideally, this would be a video or walkthrough that helps someone imagine themselves experiencing the property.

Even better, use people who resemble your ideal guests.

If your property is designed for groups of couples, let people see groups of couples enjoying it.

For a family-focused property, show a family using the space.

The goal is to help people see themselves there.

Pinned Post #3: The Destination

Show them what they’re coming for.

For a Bourbon Trail property, that could mean showcasing the local distilleries and attractions.

For a property where the home itself is the main attraction, focus on the unique amenities and experiences.

That could mean stargazing, exploring a creek, soaking in the hot tub, or simply sitting outside and taking in the view.

You’re not just selling a place to sleep.

You’re selling the reason they want to take the trip in the first place.

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7. Audit Your Short-Term Rental Instagram Content

Now we can finally get to the part everyone usually wants to start with: the content.

But notice that we didn’t start here.

Content doesn’t work in a vacuum.

Once your profile is optimized, look at your feed as a whole.

If I removed your bio, profile photo, and pinned posts, would I still understand the essence of your property?

Could I tell:

• Who the property is for?
• What the experience is like?
• Where the property is located?
• What makes it different?
• What I can do there?
• Why I should want to stay?

If the answer is yes, great. Build on what’s already working.

If the answer is no, it’s time to start creating content that speaks more directly to your ideal guest.

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8. Then Look at Your Captions

Now open a handful of individual posts.

Read the captions.

Are they full of generic phrases about “unforgettable memories” and “the escape you didn’t know you needed”?

Or are they actually talking to a specific person?

Your captions should sound like your brand and speak to the person you’re trying to attract.

Then look at the last line.

Is there a next step?

Not every post needs to say “BOOK NOW.”

Actually, please don’t make every post say “BOOK NOW.”

Instead, roughly 80% of your content should give people some kind of next yes.

That could be:

“Send this to the friend you’re planning this trip with.”

“Comment COMMONWEALTH and we’ll send you the link.”

“Save this for your next Bourbon Trail trip.”

“Join our email list for early access.”

The CTA doesn’t always have to be a booking request.

It simply needs to give people somewhere to go.

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9. Check Your Brand Consistency

Now zoom out.

Forget the individual posts for a second and look at your Instagram as one big picture.

Do your colors feel consistent?

Are you using the same fonts?

Does the photography feel cohesive?

Does your messaging sound like it all came from the same brand?

Brand consistency matters because social media is a familiarity game.

You want someone to see your property over and over again and eventually recognize it before they even read the account name.

That happens through repetition.

In other words, the same colors, visual language, tone, and types of experiences should show up again and again.

Every time someone encounters your brand, you’re giving their brain another little reminder:

Oh, I know this place.

Over time, that familiarity builds trust.

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10. Find Your Content Gaps

Finally, look at what you actually have to work with.

What photos and videos do you already have?

Which amenities have you captured?

Are there experiences you’re missing?

This is your content gap.

For example, we added a hot tub to our Kentucky property, but I realized I didn’t have any staged footage of people actually enjoying it.

That’s a content gap.

Fortunately, it’s an easy one to fix.

One of the biggest content gaps I see with short-term rentals is B-roll.

B-roll is essentially your filler footage—the little moments that may seem too ordinary to record but become incredibly useful when you’re creating Reels and Stories.

For example, you could capture:

• Pouring coffee into a branded mug
• Opening the front door
• Rolling a suitcase inside
• Sitting around the fire
• Roasting marshmallows
• Playing a board game
• Pouring a drink
• Walking through the property
• Using the hot tub
• Sitting on the porch
• Looking out at the view

It doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, some of the most useful B-roll is incredibly simple.

And if you’re sitting there thinking, “Okay, but what exactly am I supposed to film?” I’ve got you.

I’ve put together a free list of 30 B-roll shots every short-term rental owner needs so you can spend a day at your property and build a library of content you’ll be able to use again and again. Get the guide here.

The goal is to capture the experiences you want your future guests to imagine themselves having.

Also, don’t feel like every piece of footage has to be captured at the property.

If you’re creating lifestyle B-roll that represents the experience, you can get creative with where and how you capture it.

Create a dedicated folder on your phone or in Google Drive and start building your library.

If you eventually hire a social media manager, that library is going to be gold.

They’ll be able to pull from it for Reels, Stories, carousels, your website, email marketing, and so much more.

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Your Short-Term Rental Instagram Audit Checklist

If you want to do this audit yourself, start here:

1. Optimize your Instagram name field with relevant keywords.
2. Rewrite your bio so it clearly communicates what, where, who, why, and what’s next.
3. Make sure your profile photo is recognizable and on-brand.
4. Create one clear next step and make your bio link lead there.
5. Organize your Highlights around the questions your ideal guest actually has.
6. Create three strategic pinned posts.
7. Audit your feed and captions for ideal-guest messaging.
8. Add calls to action to the majority of your content.
9. Check your overall brand consistency.
10. Identify your content gaps and start collecting B-roll.

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Your Instagram Doesn’t Need More Content. It Needs More Intention.

I know it’s tempting to look at your Instagram account and think the answer is simply:

“I need to post more.”

Maybe you do.

However, before you spend another afternoon trying to come up with a Reel idea, make sure the profile you’re sending people to is actually ready for them.

Your Instagram should work like a little tour guide for your brand.

It should tell the right person:

You’re in the right place.

This property is for you.

Here’s what your stay could look like.

And here’s what you can do next.

That’s what turns Instagram from a collection of pretty pictures into an actual marketing tool for your short-term rental.

If you want to DIY this process, start with the audit above.

On the other hand, if you’re reading through all of this thinking, “This is exactly what I know I need to do, but I absolutely do not want to do it myself,” that’s okay too.

That’s the work we do at Brand & Market. If you’re ready to stop trying to figure out your short-term rental social media on your own, book a consult call with us here. We’ll talk through what your property needs, where your current strategy may be falling short, and how we can take social media off your plate while making sure it actually supports your bigger marketing goals.

Ultimately, sometimes the best marketing strategy isn’t doing more. It’s making sure the things you’re already doing actually have somewhere to go.