Revamping your Yelp Page: 5 features Boheme Retreats optimized for success
Boheme Retreats is not your average camping experience, nor is it a typical vacation retreat: It’s a lush campsite with six vintage campers from the 1960s and 1970s, nestled in the Catskills Mountains of upstate New York. Imagine summer camp nostalgia mixed with the luxuries of modern plumbing, bright, airy interiors, and a mission to bring more diversity to the outdoors.
Uniqueness is the business’s great appeal, but it also presents a marketing challenge for founder Keva Niver: How do you encourage customers—especially first-time campers—to take the plunge?
A strong online presence is one way Boheme Retreats puts its best foot forward as a new business. Social media and PR have played a large role in spreading the word about the campsite, but Keva has also utilized platforms like Yelp to make a bigger impact in her second full season.
“For many people, it’s their first experience in an RV,” Keva said. “We try to do a lot of posting so people can imagine themselves here and also see themselves represented before they ever step on the ground.”
Keva’s story
Before Boheme Retreats found its home in the Catskills, the business was parked in Keva’s Brooklyn backyard. A lifelong fan of car shows and everything retro, Keva started renovating a 1960s camper from Craigslist while at home during the pandemic. She gutted everything from the lights to the plumbing, using skills honed at her day job in a Manhattan design studio. Then she and husband took the camper, which they named Rosa, for a road trip across the East Coast, stopping to surf their favorite beaches in between nights at the RV park.
The trip not only sparked Keva’s passion for camping, but also fueled interest from friends following along on Instagram. As Keva shared her journey online, she received a surge of requests to borrow the camper, and the idea for a glamping retreat was born.
When designing the site, Keva took extra steps to ensure people of color feel welcome and comfortable—something she said was missing from her own experience on the road. “[My husband and I] really wanted to try to focus our attention on creating more welcoming spaces for the BIPOC community because we felt like 99% of the time that we were at RV parks, we were the only people of color,” she said. “That really helped shape our whole brand story because that was our focus, that was our why.”
The campers are all named after famous Black women in history, the art on the walls feature Black women, and the motto “Diversity around the campfire” features prominently in Boheme Retreats’ marketing. “We really try to create spaces where people feel seen so they feel like they’re welcomed in this space,” Keva said.
5 features Keva optimized on her Yelp Page
Keva claimed her business’s Yelp Page during the soft launch in 2022, but she said she didn’t realize its full potential until becoming a Luminary x Yelp for Business fellow in 2024. With guidance from Yelp’s Small Business Expert Emily Washcovick, Keva revamped her business page to capture more customers’ attention and trust, which will also help her create the best environment for future reviews.
“One thing that I’ve learned in the optimization of my Yelp Page is [the importance of] having it complete and utilizing all the different aspects that Yelp has set up for business pages,” she said. “My page is a lot better now, and there’s a lot more that people can find out about the business if they go to the page.”
Follow along on Keva’s journey to optimize her Yelp Page and watch as her content goes from good to great.
1. Business categories
2. Business hours
3. Amenities and attributes
4. From this business
5. Photos and photo captions
1. Business categories
Business categories may seem like a small detail, but they’re actually crucial to success on Yelp. Choosing the right category from the 1,500 options available on Yelp helps you connect with customers searching for businesses like yours.
For example, Keva originally selected “RV Parks,” but that doesn’t really describe her business, since she doesn’t allow people to bring their own campers to the campsite. “That got me thinking: ‘Okay, what other terms work well for this type of business? Where are my main customers coming from?’” she said. “[I was] able to go through them all and really understand what was necessary to really drive people to the page.”
Keva landed on “Vacation Rentals” and “Campgrounds,” which better align with her business model. This way, she can capture potential customers searching for an all-inclusive experience in nature where lodging is provided.
Tip: Make it easy for users to find you by choosing the most specific categories for your business. For example, if you’re a Muay Thai gym, select the “Muay Thai” and “Martial Arts” subcategories rather than the general “Fitness & Instruction” category.
2. Business hours
Customers want to be able to plan ahead, whether it’s a trip to the Catskills or a visit to the auto shop. In fact, this information is so crucial that 57% of people say they visit online review sites just to confirm operating hours.*
Keva listed her business as open 24 hours a day, since Boheme Retreats’ self-check-in system allows guests to come and go at any time. She also makes herself available at any time over the phone so first-time campers feel comfortable making a foray into the wilderness.
Tip: Make sure to update your business hours even if you don’t have standard operating hours. Many people search on Yelp using the “open now” filter, and if you don’t have your hours listed accurately, your business may not appear as an option in Yelp search results.
3. Amenities and attributes
Amenities and attributes provide more details about your business and offerings. Some attributes, like women-owned and Black-owned, are searchable by Yelp users and can help people find and support businesses that align with their values or communities.
Keva opted to identify as Black- and women-owned on Yelp as a way to show potential guests that she sees and welcomes them. “As a traveler, I never saw any owners or anybody that looked like myself, so I think it really helps a lot of people to feel comfortable knowing that they’re going to a space that is also owned by a BIPOC person,” Keva said. “It starts with representation and people seeing themselves in this space.”
Tip: If you’re not sure which attributes to choose, think about your most frequently asked questions. If you’re a restaurant, it might be whether you accept Apple Pay or credit cards. For Boheme Retreats, it’s Wi-Fi. “People always want to know if they’re going to have WI-Fi in the woods,” Keva said.
4. From this business
Would you put your vacation in the hands of a stranger? Doing business requires a lot of trust, especially when it comes to the travel and hospitality industry. Customers want to know who you are and why they should trust you before making a decision, which is why the “From this business” section is one the top five ways customers connect with businesses on Yelp.
While optimizing her page, Keva said she paid special attention to the “From this business” section because it gives potential guests more confidence and peace of mind when choosing to book with her.
“I wanted to [fill it out so they] know where we’re at, what the experience is like, and what we’re striving to provide our guests,” she said. “A little bit about us—that we’re outdoor lovers—but also about the type of space that we’re trying to create. I talk about our mission of creating more inclusive camping spaces, so from the get-go, people understand what we’re about.”
How Keva filled this section out:
Specialties
Boheme Retreats is located within the Covered Bridge Campsite in the Western Catskill region. We are passionate about creating inclusive outdoor camping experiences. All Boheme Retreats trailers are grouped to create a vintage style escape. Come experience a retro camping adventure. Enjoy fishing onsite, waterfalls and hiking just steps away. A perfect place to disconnect, unwind and relax in nature. Unique outdoor lodging option with hotel-like amenities.
Meet the Business Owner
Being avid campers and outdoor lovers, we took our passion for camping and renovating vintage campers and turned that into what is now Boheme Retreats. We believe that the outdoors is meant to be enjoyed by all people. We are reimagining the traditional rv park and striving to create more inclusive outdoor spaces for our community. We are excited to be leasing land at the Covered Bridge Campsite. This beautiful Livingston Manor backdrop is perfect for our Vintage Camper Retreat. Boheme Retreats is a brand rooted in passion and purpose.
Tip: “From this business” consists of three parts: Specialties (what you do best), History (your business story), and Meet the owner/manager (what you love most about running your business.) Find helpful prompts to help you write this section.
5. Photos and photo captions
For many people, seeing is believing. Photos attract customers and let them know what to expect, whether it’s the ambiance at a new restaurant or a landscaper’s before and after. Keva knows this better than anyone.
“We’re a very visual company when it comes to selling our experience,” she said. “Our campers are very unique. They all have their own personality, and it’s really important for people to see [them] because I think a lot of people don’t even understand. If I just say it’s a vintage camper retreat, it’s hard for people to really visualize what it is. The pictures allow people to really understand the setting, what they’re getting, and how different each camper is.”
Keva chose a variety of subjects to showcase the different selling points of her business, including the campers’ newly renovated interiors, cozy campfires at night, and a stunning waterfall that’s just a short hike away.
Don’t forget the photo captions: Captions make your products or services more memorable and approachable, and as an added bonus, they help you get more organic visibility through search results on Yelp. When customers search for a specific word or phrase that matches Keva’s captions—like “vintage camper retreat”—Boheme Retreats is more likely to return as a result.
Tip: Since Yelp search results reference photo captions to surface relevant results, you can optimize your page even further by doing keyword research and naturally weaving the top keywords into your captions. “[I started by] brainstorming keywords for my business, which was really helpful so that it’s easier for me as I’m adding pictures to throw in descriptions that really represent what our business is about,” Keva said.
Keva’s favorite Page Upgrade: Portfolio
Notice some extra gems on Keva’s page? Business Highlights, Logo, and more are all Page Upgrades that make up the Upgrade Package—paid products designed to help you make a lasting impression on your Yelp Page. Keva’s favorite is Portfolio, which she uses to create a portfolio of images for each of her most popular campers.
“When I add all my pictures, it’s hard for people to really decipher which camper is which. It’s a lot of information to take in,” Keva said. “Portfolio is great because I can say, ‘This is Zora, this is the year she’s from,’ and you can see all of her pictures, which is great for someone who’s trying to pick a camper that they like. It allows you to streamline [your page] a little bit better.”
The business mentioned above was awarded six months of free Yelp Ads and Page Upgrades as part of being selected as a winner of the Yelp for Business x Luminary Fellowship. Keva was not compensated for her opinions on Yelp products or features.
*Material Survey 2022.