There’s no denying these are very uncertain times and there’s a strong sense of gloom around. But for property owners in Spain, what’s important is how endless headlines and reams of complex economic data will actually affect rental bookings in 2012.

While we’re definitely not on the verge of going back to boom times, we retain a positive outlook for the holiday rentals market in Spain. Here’s why:

The Opportunities

People have less money to spend – that isn’t good news in most businesses but it could be great news for holiday rentals! Your property offers exceptional value for money and complete independence that hotels simply can’t compete with. So while people may spend less on holidays next year, we expect this to be offset by higher spending on independent holidays as people search for value.

Package holidays look wobbly – a string of failures in the past three years culminating in the latest wobble for Thomas Cook have left consumers nervous about packages. The big travel PR machines are working overtime to reassure customers but the reality is that people no longer feel as “safe” booking a package holiday as they once did. This leaves people more open to the idea of independent holidays – good news for us.

The Euro may finally weaken – despite the debt crisis, the Euro has remained strong against Sterling. However it is starting to show signs of weakening; this would give UK consumers more spending power for Spanish holidays.

Long haul will take a battering – as people cut back, we expect holidays to far flung destinations will drop in popularity. That will make European destinations more popular. Again, good for us.

Holidaymakers will play safe – there’s already some data showing that holidays to so-called “new” destinations such as Morocco and Turkey are losing popularity with UK travellers who are switching back to old favourites, in particular France and Spain. Welcome news!

The Threats

People have less money to spend – while this should be a good opportunity for accommodation offering great value, there is a danger that consumer spending drops so far that even the low cost end of the market suffers. If economic growth flatlines or only enters a technical recession (two mild quarters of negative growth), we should be fine. Any worse would be a problem.

Europe, Europe, Europe – the debt crisis in Europe remains a lynchpin of confidence and is seriously threatening to pull us (and perhaps the entire world economy) into another bad recession. What we know for sure is that Europe needs to resolve its debt problem in 2012. The proposed European treaty of 9th December, vetoed or not, would have done nothing to address the real issue at hand. Europe’s leaders need to step up and resolve these immediate problems so we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

Verdict: 2012 is about value

It’s safe to say 2012 won’t be easy but (assuming the Euro doesn’t implode) there’s plenty to feel good about if you’re offering genuine value for holidaymakers.

There may be some change in booking patterns: January/February are traditionally peak traffic times for us but 2011 showed people left it later to book their holidays. We expect 2012 to be the same: a solid Jan/Feb then a much busier “lates” market in July/August than in preceding years.

There may also be increased interest in off-peak periods as people seek cheaper deals.

Here’s our top tips for generating lots of bookings next year:

1. Price it right NOW – check your competitors and keep your pricing keen. Ensure prices on ALL your advertising are updated by 1st January, when our servers start humming.
2. Use offers intelligently – running early bird offers in January will encourage customers to book early for the summer months. Then be prepared to run last minute deals later in the year and price accordingly.
3. Look gorgeous! – ensure all your advertising looks fab. Beautiful photos, well written copy and clear pricing. First impressions are everything.
4. Be fun to deal with – people aren’t persuaded by price alone. If you’re a joy to buy from, you’ll get more bookings. Make yourself easy to contact and easy to pay to see more enquiries turn into bookings.