Interview with Maria Chen, Growth Lead at Coastal Stays: Measuring Brand Awareness for Long-Term Wins in Vacation Rentals

Q1: Maria, many growth professionals struggle to connect brand awareness efforts with long-term strategy. How should a mid-level growth pro in vacation rentals start thinking about measuring brand awareness over multiple years?

That’s a great place to start. Brand awareness isn’t just a quick metric you check after a campaign. Think of it like planting and nurturing a tree rather than plucking a fruit from it. You want to see steady growth in recognition, recall, and preference that compounds over time.

For vacation rentals, the challenge is that you’re often competing against big hotel chains and platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo. Early on, focus on tracking a few core signals that show you’re becoming a familiar name in your target markets. For example:

• Unaided brand recall: Ask users, “Name any vacation rental brands you can think of,” without prompting. This shows raw awareness.
• Brand search volume: Track how many people Google your brand name each month or quarter.
• Social media engagement: Beyond vanity metrics like followers, measure how many people mention your brand organically.

Start by establishing your baseline in these areas, then revisit quarterly or biannually. This creates a data-driven narrative about whether your marketing efforts are actually building brand equity over time.

One team I worked with began with just 2% unaided recall in their key Florida markets. After two years of consistent targeted campaigns and community engagement, that number rose to 11%. Small progress, but a solid upward trend for a mid-sized vacation-rentals brand.

FERPA Compliance: Why It Matters for Measuring Brand Awareness in Vacation Rentals

Q2: FERPA is something growth pros at hotels companies might not usually think about. Since vacation rentals sometimes intersect with educational programs, how does FERPA compliance influence brand measurement here?

Right, FERPA — the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act — governs how educational records and data are handled. It’s usually associated with schools, but for vacation rental companies that partner with universities (think: student housing rentals or educational travel programs), FERPA impacts what customer data you can collect and use.

For brand awareness measurement, this means:

• You have to be very cautious about collecting or using any data linked to students’ identities, enrollment status, or educational records unless you have explicit permissions.
• Surveys or feedback tools must avoid questions that could indirectly reveal protected educational information.
• When using third-party tools like Zigpoll or Qualtrics, ensure the vendors comply with FERPA standards too.

If you’re running campaigns targeting university students or their families, keep your audience data anonymized and aggregated. Your brand awareness measurement should focus more on public signals — like general web traffic, social mentions, or search volumes — rather than individual-level data.

The downside: this reduces some granularity in tracking. But with smart design, you can still get meaningful long-term insights without risking compliance issues.

Q3: What are some concrete tactics a mid-level growth pro can use to build a multi-year brand awareness measurement roadmap in vacation rentals?

Here’s a simple framework to think about:

Example: One vacation rental brand set a goal to improve unaided brand recall from 5% to 15% in their Northeast region over three years. Their roadmap included:

• Launching quarterly brand sentiment surveys with Zigpoll.
• Tracking brand mention volume monthly via social listening tools.
• Running annual competitor benchmarking reports.
• Monitoring brand-related search volume trends.

This structured approach kept their team focused and aligned with the multi-year vision rather than chasing short-term vanity metrics.

Q4: What are some pitfalls or limitations mid-level growth pros should watch out for when measuring brand awareness over time?

It’s tempting to focus solely on big numbers like social followers or impressions because they’re easy to grab from dashboards. But these can be misleading. For example, you might have 10,000 Instagram followers, but if they’re not your target travelers or don’t remember your brand when booking season arrives, the metric isn’t very useful.

Another trap is ignoring qualitative feedback. Brand awareness isn’t just about how many know your name but what they think about you. Regular surveys or interviews can reveal if your messaging is resonating or confusing.

Also, measurement can get expensive and complex fast. Some tools require contracts or integration work—especially when you want to combine online data with offline units sold or bookings.

Lastly, seasonal effects in vacation rentals are huge. Brand awareness spikes during summer or winter holidays might not tell you much about long-term standing. So smooth out your data over quarters or years and don’t overreact to short bumps.

Q5: How can a mid-level growth lead incorporate FERPA compliance smoothly into these measurement efforts without losing much insight?

Start by designing your data collection processes with privacy at the forefront. For instance:

• Use anonymous surveys with tools like Zigpoll that let you customize consent language upfront.
• Aggregate feedback at group levels (e.g., by region or university partnership) rather than by individual.
• Train your marketing and analytics teams on FERPA basics relevant to your campaigns.
• Work closely with legal or compliance teams when drafting questionnaires or data collection policies.

One vacation rental company partnered with a university to offer discounted stays for visiting parents, but they carefully excluded any student-identifying info from their post-stay surveys. Instead, they asked general questions about awareness and satisfaction. This approach ensured that they respected FERPA and still gathered actionable brand insights.

Q6: Any actionable advice for mid-level growth pros planning brand awareness measurement as part of their long-term strategy in vacation rentals?

Absolutely. Think of brand awareness as a marathon, not a sprint. Here’s what you can do today to set yourself up for success over the next 3-5 years:

• Set clear, incremental goals. For example, increase unaided recall by 3-5 percentage points per year in your top markets.
• Mix qualitative and quantitative signals. Use surveys, social listening, search data, and direct feedback together to tell the full story.
• Invest in consistent tracking. Even if it’s a simple quarterly report, make it a habit to check your metrics and adjust plans.
• Factor in compliance early. Especially FERPA if your rentals touch educational communities. It’s easier to bake it in than retrofit later.
• Collaborate across teams. Work with brand, product, and legal to align messaging and data practices.
• Be patient but vigilant. Brand awareness compounds slowly, but if you see a long-term stall or drop, don’t wait to pivot.

One effective tactic a peer shared was creating a “brand awareness dashboard" that combined Google Trends data, Zigpoll survey results, and social mention volumes. They reviewed this every quarter with senior leadership to keep the vision alive and the roadmap flexible.

Measuring brand awareness in vacation rentals over several years isn’t flashy, but it’s necessary for sustainable growth. With a clear plan, regular check-ins, and attention to compliance like FERPA, you’ll be building a foundation that pays dividends long after the campaign buzz fades.