Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica and Matt Doyle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jessica and Matt, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
Vacation rentals definitely had their moment in the last few years as families decided to stay closer to home during COVID times. As travel opened again, people are torn between staying close to home and taking larger, farther trips they have been unable to go on. We went from seeing multiple requests for every weekend throughout the year without doing any marketing, to needing to market a bit to fill every weekend. We are so lucky to have guests from all over the US and many are repeat guests!
Jessica and Matt, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
After looking for many months, Matt and Jessica purchased Big Crooked Lakehouse in December of 2022 – only a month after their son was born! They were excited to build a place that feels like home away from home, share that with friends and family, and then share that with others. Big Crooked Lakehouse is less than a 2 hour drive from Chicago and has two newly rennovated bedrooms and a bathroom, along with two large living rooms. The real highlight is the outdoor area – a massive deck, pier, and unlimited access to the beautiful Lake! We try to make every guest feel at home and make the trip as easy on them as possible – we find the little details, like making sure toiletries are stocked and you have a bottle of water waiting upon arrival go a long way. We are so proud that we are now officially in year 2 of rentals and its clear that guests have a good experience when they are already booking weekends to come back!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
We started a social media account on Instagram – bigcrookedlakehouse – when we purchased the house. We encourage all of our guests to tag us in their memories so we can share and we also find it is a great way for us to follow other local businesses and promote them to our guests. One of our favorites is Sister Lakes Brewing Company where you can stop by year round to play board games, eat a variety of food, and drink their custom brewed beer.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
In addition to our Instagram, we maintain an email list for all guests who have reached out or stayed with us in the past. Every year, we try to engage them with details about the upcoming season and first “dibs” on rentals for the summer. This group also receives exclusive discounts during off-season.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bigcrookedlakehouse.carrd.co/
- Instagram: bigcrookedlakehouse