Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Is Saving On Credit Card Fees Costing You Money?

Posted: 29 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

Whether it’s ease of use, a sense of security, or the attraction of points and other incentives, travelers think “card is king” when it comes to booking their accommodations online.

A recent survey by PhoCusWright found that among lodging suppliers – a group that includes vacation rentals – 68 percent of website bookings are made and pre-paid by credit card. With a predicted 98.3 million people in the U.S. booking travel plans online this year, that preference for plastic isn’t anything to sniff at.

And yet, a lot of vacation rental owners do – although not without reason. The same PhoCusWright survey found that vacation rental owners aren’t alone in their concerns about

Credit card fraud (accounted for 1.1 percent of bookings via company websites),
High processing fees (averaging 2.5 percent for credit card transactions), and
The actual process involved.

Image by PhoCusWright. Used with permission.

As a result, a lot of owners turn away credit cards in favor of checks or money orders – neither method less likely to expose them to fraud, but perhaps easier to manage with low or non-existent fees.

But what does that choice cost their business?

“Companies may view payments as just a sleepy back-office process,” PhoCusWright noted in Payment Unsettled: Cost, Opportunity and Disruption in Travel’s Complex Payment Landscape. “But the moment the customer’s wallet is out, an effective payment system (and efficient customer experience) makes the difference between winning and losing a sale.”

Change is coming, if slowly

Earlier this year, I anticipated that online bookings will be a major trend in our industry this year. In a recent look at those predictions, Vacation Rental Marketing Blog's Matt Landau wrote that he feels our industry has instead become polarized:

"You have a) this very antiquated market (getting smaller by the minute) of owners and managers who do bookings manually…But on the other end of the spectrum, you have b) the convenience market of online booking software, which has pretty much taken over the industry."

Further driving that shift, the travel industry is increasingly looking to alternate payment solutions like PayPal, Alipay and Bill Me Later, as well as other digital wallet options. While the details vary, these solutions offer travelers easy ways to pay that don’t require them to share banking information and generally take little more than a few clicks.

Businesses have been reluctant to implement these alternatives for a few reasons, including

lack of demand
limited availability
technical difficulties

Today, just one in ten lodging suppliers accept these alternate payment methods – but PhoCusWright found that more than 30 percent intend to implement them soon.

“E-payments help increase cash flow, improve security, and lower costs,” Sean O'Neill reported on tnooz. ”But they come with their own pitfalls, such as high fees, risk of fraud, and conflict with local preferences for cash payment in emerging markets."

There is no perfect solution when it comes to processing payments for your vacation rental. But there are a growing number of options that make it easier to balance your concerns against the preferences of your potential guests.

Have you changed your payment policies recently? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Kicking Your Vacation Rental Service Up A Notch

Posted: 26 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

Review Part 1, Part 2 || Guest post by Tyler Gillespie

Before you can truly focus on service, you need to make sure the business side of things is streamlined and running smoothly.

Once you've nailed your basic business processes, however, it's time to step up your service game. This is where hotels really take the lead, and by following these steps, you can, too.

Concierge Services and Experience:

Your guests' experience really starts before they even email or call to learn more about your property. In fact, it starts with your brand and how your listings are written.

What vibes is your property giving off?

When a guest calls, be proactive, professional and receptive, and paint them a picture of what their experience will be like if they stay at your property. Whether you're having your initial conversation, discussing terms and conditions, signing paperwork, or gathering check-in information, make sure everything is organized and professional. All of your contracts, check-in information and e-mails should be clean, well-written and branded to represent your property.

Pay attention and ask your guests the following questions: “Is there any special reason you’re coming out?” and “Are you here celebrating a birthday, marriage, reunion or anniversary?” Take note and prepare your property accordingly.

Amenities:

What do you currently offer as amenities—special or unique features—if anything? Your amenities will help you stand out above your competitors, whether they are other vacation rental properties or hotels.

Need ideas? Your amenities could include:

grocery shopping services,
housekeeping,
family photographs,
local tour/adventure packages,
local attraction discounts,
complimentary bikes,
ski gear,
a chef,
movie passes,
board games,
and more.

Think outside the box not only in terms of features around your home, but also things you could add to your home or guest visits to increase value. Again, see what your local hotel and other competitors offer their guests.

What do you think of this series?

The Vacation Rental Experience Needs Hotel Flare
Why Streamlining Your Vacation Rental Business Can Give You An Edge

All of this information may be a lot to take in—and for most individually-run vacation rental businesses, it may not be easy to transition to a hotel-like business model.

Don't worry! Remember—nothing great ever happened overnight. So, take your time, create a list of everything your vacation rental operation might be lacking or needs improvement on, and start working on one thing at a time.

As you move forward, be sure to focus on your goals, evaluate your customer experience, and treat your property like a business. If you can do these three things, you’ll already be way ahead of the curve.

Tyler Gillespie is the founder and CEO of Breakaway Vacation Rentals in Aspen, Colorado and the man behind VacationRentalBusiness.net, a blog where he shares his advice and observations from 10+ years in the vacation rental and travel industries.

photo by Weldon Kennedy

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Why Streamlining Your Vacation Rental Business Can Give You An Edge

Posted: 22 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

Guest post by Tyler Gillespie

Families have started to make the switch from hotels to vacation rentals, and why not? Vacation rentals have a lot going for them!

Unfortunately, we also have one big self-defeating problem: Inconsistency. That's why I believe that a key part of your focus – this year and in future – should be on streamlining operations to become more professional. Much like a hotel.

Whether you manage your rental business on a part or full-time basis, here is my advice to kickstart the "hotelization" of your vacation rental property by zeroing in on the things that will keep your business running smoothly.

The “hotelization” of your vacation rental

I like to start by asking one question: From a business perspective, how do hotels brand, market and run their businesses? Here are the top themes I see when I compared “them” and “us”.

It’s Business Time:

Make sure you have everything set up to properly run your vacation property as a business. That would include a proper business entity, licenses, approvals, lease agreements, paperwork and separate bank accounts. Keep everything organized. A simple accounting solution is outright.com.

Brand Yourself:

Name your property and give yourself an identity—both online and offline. Hotels do this very well! By doing so, you will definitely make a name for yourself.

Personal Website:

Today more than ever, creating a website—outside your listing sites—is essential to the success of your business. MyVR.com is a great option that makes creating a simple website easy and painless.

Online Booking:

Consumers expect to be able to pay online for your property in real time. According to a recent interview with Homeaway spokesman Victor Wang, only 14 percent of owners on Homeaway/VRBO have the "book it now" feature activated. If you act now, your property will stand out even more.

Competitive Pricing:

Perform a competitive analysis! Find three-to-five properties that are very similar to your own and located in your same area. See how they price their properties throughout the year, including all specials and holidays. Furthermore, make sure you know the pricing at local hotels so you can convince potential guests to book their stay. It’s always good to remind guests the value proposition of a vacation rental property vs. a hotel.

Operations (100% Digital):

I could write a whole book on this topic, but to get straight to the point: make sure your operations are in the digital age. Here are some simple ways to get started:

Set up Google Apps for your unique domain (ex. john@luxurymountainescape.com).
Use Google Forms for surveys (FREE) and e-mail guests to get feedback on your property.
Use a cloud service to store all of your rental agreements, business paperwork and more. My personal favorite is Dropbox.

Market to your current and past guests whenever you can!

Make sure to save your valuable e-mail list and use my favorite free service, Mailchimp, to manage these addresses. In addition, this site also has many great (FREE) templates that you can use to get moving on your vacation rental business.

What services do you use to streamline your business? Share your recommendations in the comments section below.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Just Spotted

The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not at Discovery Science Center

Posted: 05 Oct 2013 08:00 PM PDT

The only thing more fascinating than Robert Ripley's legendary collection of oddities, anomalies, and fantastic feats is the science behind them! The Science of Ripley's Believe It or Not is open to the public at Discovery Science Center now through January 5th, 2014.

This family-friendly exhibit will intrigue guests of all ages as they learn the science that makes the impossible, possible.

The Science of Ripley's Believe It or Not will showcase various objects and wonders of Ripley's famous collection. Visitors can crawl through a giant life-size model snake, Titanoboa, experiment with optical and auditory illusions, or marvel at sculptures so small they can fit on the head of a needle!

This hands-on exhibit offers experiments, challenges, computer interactive and multimedia experiences that allow visitors of all ages to experience the extraordinary findings of Ripley while discovering their own passion for exploration. Visitors of varying interests are sure to find something curious to see as they explore through the pieces that comprise the many findings of Robert Ripley.

Measure up against Robert Wadlow, the world’s tallest man, who grew to 8 feet 11 inches tall! See a calf with two faces, a megalodon shark jaw, a Rolls Royce made of matchsticks, and a portrait of Einstein made of toast. Experience some of the world’s most perplexing optical illusions, investigate incredible examples of body modification and celebrate the life and legacy of Robert Ripley, the explorer and adventurer!

Don’t miss your chance to explore The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and get the facts on the truly unbelievable!

Adult admissions to the Discovery Science Center for adults & children (ages 3-17) tickets can be purchased at the science center or online. Prices are as follows: adult ($15.95), senior ($12.95), and children 3-14 ($12.95). The Discovery Science Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Before you plan your trip, you should know that the first Tuesday of every month is Santa Ana Free Day. & You should realize that these days are especially busy days to visit!

xoxo, K

image via The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not at Discovery Science Center

Spooky Science at Discovery Science Center

Posted: 27 Sep 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Spooky Science?! This Halloween, “spooky” doesn’t just to apply to goblins, witches & ghouls. The Discovery Science Center, in Santa Ana, thinks that science can can be pretty spooky too, & I think I agree.

Starting Saturday, October 5th, 2013 – Thursday, October 31st, 2013 a slew of creepy crawlers, pumpkins, and friendly spooks are taking over the Discovery Science Center.

While visiting this seasonal exhibit you & your kids can explore pumpkins of all sizes, shapes and colors and investigate the seeds inside them. Learn about the phases of the moon, explore a spooky 3-D maze, check out spiders of all sizes and colors, and much more!

Even the youngest of goblins will enjoy spooky fun while learning about shapes as they create their own jack-o-lanterns out of felt.

& You definitely don't miss these festive activities on the weekends:

Make your own slime to take home
Join our costume parade extravaganza
See a SPOOKtacular light show
Enjoy our new Spooky Science stage shows
Trick or treat and take home a goodie bag

Before you plan your trip, you should know that the first Tuesday of every month is Santa Ana Free Day. & You should realize that these days are especially busy days to visit!

xoxo, K

image via Spooky Science

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Your Vacation Rental Experience Needs Hotel Flare

Posted: 19 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

Guest post by Tyler Gillespie

I have worked directly with many hotels over the years and, as a result, I have a unique perspective on the different items and services that are offered to clients in the exclusive, high-end marketplace that is Aspen, Colorado.

In my opinion, in order to have a truly successful vacation rental business now and in the future, vacation rental owners should focus primarily on two things:

The Customer Experience and
Treating Your Property Like a Business

Pay close attention! These are two areas hotels excel in, and you always want to make sure your property stays competitive.

Be more like a hotel…?

All over the Internet, experts in the vacation rental niche say: “Your vacation home needs to be more like a hotel.” But what does this mean, exactly? More importantly, how do you do that?

In The Hotelization of Vacation Rentals, a recent post on my blog, I provided a general outline of this concept. Now, I want to dive even deeper and explain why you (the homeowner) need to make sure the process and services related to your rental property are, well, "hotelesque."

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

4 Ways To Avoid Bad Guests

Posted: 15 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

Not every vacation rental owner has a tale to share about The Nightmare Guest – but plenty do. While most guests come and go with few if any issues, owners occasionally find themselves facing some level of destruction or disruption.

Bad situations don't need to be monumental, either. Finding out someone was puffing away in your non-smoking house, or that Fluffy made a mess on the carpet that nobody mentioned, can just as easily raise your expenses and blood pressure.

Even if you’ve never had a problem, building more hands-on customer service into your management process can help stave off problems in future and create a more positive experience for great guests who are excited to visit.

Screen your renters

Taking time to screen potential renters – discussing their inquiry on the phone before confirming, watching for red flags, even doing a search for their name – can tell you a lot about a potential guest and either raise your suspicions or build a stronger positive rapport.

This can be particularly important if you ever have had a bad rental experience: you'll have a better sense of what to watch out for, and connecting to a real person can help put both of you and your guest at ease.

Set expectations up front

When you do connect with a potential guest, review the policies and procedures for your rental and ask about any special accommodations they might need. Are they travelling with pets? Are they travelling with a larger group? Are there any additional fees that they might be responsible for?

Take time to review your policies from time to time, too. For example, it's not unusual for properties to have pet, smoking, age or size (of party) restrictions; if you consistently have problems with guests, you may want to revise your guidelines.

Also, keep in mind that your potential guest may not have rented a vacation property before. Reviewing things like security deposits, payment deadlines and amenities that you may or may not provide can help prevent confusion and confrontation.

Get in touch on arrival

Whether by phone, email or in person, find a way to connect with your guests shortly after their arrival.

This is the ideal time to ask:

Does everything meet their expectations?
Are they missing anything?
Do they have any questions?

If everything is fine, this will be a quick conversation. But it's also an opportunity to catch any potential issues before they become a problem.

It's also a good time to remind your guests who they should call in case of a problem, and the best way to get in touch. As noted below, the best scenario is to have someone nearby who can meet your guests in person and be available during their stay.

Have someone on-call who lives nearby

In some regions, you are required to have someone nearby; in Maui, for example, an owner or designate must be available to be at the vacation rental within an hour, if needed.

If not required by law, however, it's still a good idea to have someone on-hand if you're not in the area. "Renter out thousands after online vacation rental goes wrong," about a Canadian couple who locked themselves out of a rental in Paris, is one headline you don't want your rental to be connected to. Even if you would argue that it was the renter's fault, it's still a stressful situation with clearly unhappy guests – and if there'd been a local contact, it could have been little more than a quickly-resolved inconvenience.

There is no guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong; accidents happen to the best guests, and there are negligent travelers out there. However, good communication and relationship building can go a long way towards providing smooth sailing for everyone involved.

What do you do to avoid bad guests? Have you ever had a negative situation come up? If so, tell us about it – and what you learned – in the comments below.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Booked Up! Vacation Rentals Outpaced Hotels During Busy Summer

Posted: 12 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

If you enjoyed a brisk business this summer, you’re not alone; a recent report from HomeAway shows a vast majority of owners (86 percent) enjoyed vacation rental bookings that were the same or better than last summer.

Highlighted in HomeAway Vacation Rental Report: Owner Edition, these numbers reflect the niche that vacation rental properties are carving in the travel industry.

Among owners who see summer as peak season, occupancy rates averaged 77 percent – higher than the 70 percent average occupancy rate reported by U.S. hotels (a slight increase over last year).

Can you do it yourself? Survey says…

When you manage your own rental, high occupancy rates are the direct result of your own marketing and management efforts. The HomeAway report highlights that, for the average owner, the time spent isn’t much of a burden. In fact, every hour invested has a pretty high rate of return.

"Prior to renting, vacation rental owners (35 percent) also worry if they can balance managing the home as a rental with a full-time job or family obligations," HomeAway noted in the report summary. In actuality, however, the average owner spends 8.4 hours each week working on their rental.

With an average weekly rate of $1,778, the report notes that each hour of work is worth approximately $71. "If the owner optimizes the time and effort put into managing their vacation rental, the return on investment is substantial," observed Brian Sharples, co-founder and chief executive officer of HomeAway.

Reinvesting rental income

HomeAway also found that owners are pretty comfortable with their rates; 95 percent kept their rates the same as last year, and nearly one in four increased their rates.
And they’re putting that income to good use.

While many owners use it to help cover mortgage payments, most owners reinvest their income into upgrades and maintenance.

How did your rental business do this summer?
Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Images by Tiago Fernandes, HomeAway

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Why Getting More Links To Your Website Is A Good Idea

Posted: 08 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

If you’ve researched how to market your vacation rental online, you'll be familiar with search-engine optimization (SEO) — the process of influencing the many factors that can impact where your website will show up in search results.

Some of this must happen on your actual website, something called on-page SEO. But SEO also considers how other websites connect to your page, called off-page SEO. One important part of off-page SEO is called link building.

What is link building?

Link building is the progression of having more websites to link back to your page.

"The web was built on links. Links drive traffic and they boost rankings. They are how we tell a story," Julie Joyce explained on Search Engine Watch. "They are how we point people to things we want them to see and how we navigate through the endlessness of the Internet."

Getting more websites to point back to your site matters; each link helps signal what your page is about and whether or not it's credible.

Search engines use complex algorithms to decide which web pages are relevant to which topics. The more credible websites that point back to your property's website, the higher the potential for your website to rank higher in relevant search results and the more likely that potential guests will visit your site over a competitors.

The three ways to link to your site

As explained by Moz in Link Building Basics, there are three broad ways to have more websites link back to your site:

"Natural" editorial links: from sites who choose to link to either your content or business, like the local newspaper or a travel blog by a previous guest.
Manual "outreach" links: from sites who have linked to you because you asked and because your site or information is relevant to them. This might include submitting your site for inclusion in a local tourism directory, or joining the Better Business Bureau.
Self-created, non-editorial links: the "low-hanging fruit" of links, like free profiles you can add your web address to, or your signature in forum posts.

Getting a lot of natural links is ideal, but it can be tricky because the only way to attract this type of link is to create good content that people will want to link to. There are no shortcuts!

As you may be able to guess, the third type of link isn’t particularly important to search engines. There is no quality control because you can add those links wherever you like, so they're not given much weight for credibility or relevance.

Outreach links, however, are a happy medium; you don't need to rely on someone else to think of and link to you, but you do need to be relevant or you won't earn the link.

Three ways to get more outreach links

There's no quick way to get more outreach links; either you need to do research, contribute something of value, or — quite likely — both. But the payoff can be great, not just when it comes to ranking well with search engines, but also when it comes to gaining credibility with real people.

Curated directories

Getting added to a directory is generally an easy process, but finding the best directories to target can be more complicated — that's why I’ve called them curated directories. There are worthwhile free directories available, but some have a better reputation than others. The Better Business Bureau and your local chamber of commerce are worth considering; relevant niche directories for vacation rentals or local travel info are also likely seen as dependable.

Out-of-date information and broken links

"Why is the search for broken links so important?" Kristi Hines asked on Search Engine Journal. "It's because it works. No webmaster that takes pride in their website wants to lead visitors to a 404 page or a business that is no longer operational."

While Hines outlines a detailed process to track down broken links, it's easy enough to keep your eyes open for broken links while doing your own research into local travel information and resources. If you come across one, reach out to the website owner to flag the error. Then suggest a few relevant resources that they could link to instead (including one of your own).

Write for other blogs

"Guest blogging is probably the most effective way to generate quality inbound links to your website," Pamela Vaughan wrote in a HubSpot article on link-building tactics. "Yes, it requires more content creation on your part, but the results are lasting and powerful." HubSpot put together a guide that explains how you can succeed with guest blogging.

Is link building a tactic you’ve tried with your vacation rental? How did it go? Share your experience in the comments below.

photo credit: Keith Ramsey, Simon Cockell

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Tools That Help Make DIY Video Clips Easy

Posted: 05 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

If you caught MyVR's presentation at the HomeAway Summit earlier this year, you’ll know I’m a fan of video; we included it on our list of minimal-effort activities that can have a medium-to-high impact on your marketing efforts.

I believe video can be quick, engaging and memorable. While professional video can be well worth the investment, even brief “home videos” can inspire wistful desire in would-be guests.

More than half of Americans own smartphones and chances are good that you have a video camera nearby — if not on your phone, then a digital camera with video capability.

Devices and tablets make working with digital video much more accessible than it has been in the past, from complex tools to basic apps that all but walk you through the process from start to finish. Here are a few of the more popular options.

Instagram, Vine and Viddy

Instagram (free; available on Android and iOS) and Vine (free; available on Android and iOS) are similar apps that are best used for creating short 'teasers' that highlight your space. As this comparison by TechCrunch highlights, Vine provides basic options while Instagram offers easy enhancements.

Both apps require you to use your smartphone to take the video. While Instagram allows 15-second videos with filters and image stabilization, Vine videos are limited to six seconds with no features for fancy editing. However, Vine videos replay automatically and can easily be embedded into your website.

Viddy (free; available on Android and iOS) is another smartphone app that's comparable to Instagram, with 15-second videos and filters. But it also offers a few more features–like the ability to add a soundtrack, or import videos from your photo album (which means you don't need to use the app itself to capture video).

These clips aren't long, but can still be used to give people a taste of what to expect. You could

Tour people around a room (Vine)
Share the great outdoors (Vine)
Show what it's like to just "hang out" (Instagram)
Explore attractions, like your local market (Viddy)

iMovie and Magisto

For videos that stretch longer than just a few seconds, apps like iMovie ($4.99; available for iOS) and Magisto (free with paid options available; available on Android and iOS) give you a broader range of editing options: soundtracks and special effects, titles and transitions. If you're creating a longer video, you may find it helpful to review these video tips and best practices.

Prezi

When it comes to creating video, animated slideshows generally aren’t your best option; it’s easy for them to be too long, static and unengaging. However, Prezi (free with paid options available; cloud based) is a popular option that lets you add life to still photos and graphics through an interactive interface that's part diagram and part slideshow.

You can also add video to your Prezi, like this example from Telluride Vacation Rentals, or music, as in this presentation highlighting travel options in Maine.

These are just a selection of the many different options and applications available. Do you have a favorite? Have a presentation you'd like to share? Tell us about it in the comments below.

What Are Your Guests Celebrating?

Posted: 28 Sep 2013 09:00 AM PDT

People travel because they want to experience life, and a significant number of people travel to celebrate it: more than 7 in 10 leisure travelers have gone on vacation to celebrate a milestone like an anniversary, birthday or wedding.

What are your vacation rental guests celebrating during their stay, and what are you doing to make their visit memorable? The MMGY Global /Harrison Group 2012 Portrait of American Travelers found that more than nine in 10 travelers agree, “The memories I get from my vacations make the trip worth it."

Welcome baskets are thoughtful gifts that take a bit of effort to coordinate but make a great first impression. Plus, they can be customized to suit the occasion.

Helping your guests celebrate these milestones doesn’t have to be so hands on, however. In fact, you may be able to do some activities once and practically forget about them while others will take just a few minutes when it's appropriate.

Create a local event guide

Organizing an event of any kind involves a lot of details, and when you're coordinating things at a distance, every detail ends in a question mark: Who is a good photographer? Where can you buy a customized cake? What's the best flower shop? Who would be an effective DJ?

A one or two page directory of local service providers can be invaluable, saving your guests hours of stress and research — something they'll undoubtedly thank you for.

For ideas, have a look at these lists:

Real Simple's Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist
Idea Gallery's Anniversary Planning Checklist
Martha Stewart's All-Occasion Party Planner

Adding this directory to your website can also be an effective draw for traffic, especially if you live in an area where nobody else has thought to compile such a handy reference.

Make a note of it in your calendar

If you hosted a newly married couple this summer, imagine their delight when — a year from their special day — they receive a card from you wishing them a happy anniversary?

It’s a simple act that has very little cost and take just moments to schedule in your calendar, but it carries tremendous personal attention that's all but guaranteed to make an impression.

Don't forget the little people

Milestone events are often multi-generational, which may include kids and teenagers; group travel is a quickly growing travel niche.

Whether your vacation rental is kid-friendly or not, the people renting your property may be vacationing with others who have children. Why not help them out with a few ideas to keep the kids entertained?

Is there a local business that provides professional daycare or babysitting services?
Is there a youth group or youth center that's open for drop-ins?
Are there things you can add to make travelling with kids a bit easier? Some cities even have a toy rental service available!

Travelers value good customer service; providing a smooth vacation will make people happy, but ensuring a memorable vacation can create a fan for life.

Have you had a lot of guests who book your home for celebrations? What do you do to help them out? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

photo by Derek Lee

Search Vacation Rentals

Where would you like to go?:

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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Change is coming, if slowly

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Concierge Services and Experience:

Amenities:

What do you think of this series?

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The “hotelization” of your vacation rental

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Be more like a hotel…?

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Screen your renters

Set expectations up front

Get in touch on arrival

Have someone on-call who lives nearby

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Can you do it yourself? Survey says…

Reinvesting rental income

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

What is link building?

The three ways to link to your site

Three ways to get more outreach links

Curated directories

Out-of-date information and broken links

Write for other blogs

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Instagram, Vine and Viddy

iMovie and Magisto

Prezi

Create a local event guide

Make a note of it in your calendar

Don't forget the little people

Blog Archive