Friday, December 11, 2015

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Link to Vacation Rental Owners Blog |

Even more great features from MyVR (that you requested!)

Posted: 10 Dec 2015 10:17 AM PST

myvr map view 01

We have had a busy fall and have launched several new features that you’ve asked for – we hope you love them!

Here's a brief summary:

Automated check-in & check-out emails – you can now send automated emails triggered by a set number of days before or after check-in date, check-out date, or the midpoint of a renter's stay.

Inbox improvements- we made a few improvements to our messaging interface, including:

  • attachments – send and receive attachments in your MyVR inbox
  • cc/bcc support – send or receive emails with cc's and bcc's
  • subject controls – we give you more control over the subject line of each message you send, including the ability to change the subject during a conversation
  • message delivery & open notifications – we now show you data around whether your message to a renter is known to have been delivered and opened

Multi-property maps – for clients with a multi-property website, you now have the option to add a 'map view' to your website to show the locations of your various properties.

Email design controls – we've exposed some simple design tools so you can better match the look and feel of emails we send on your behalf, so that they can include your own logo and colors.

Transactional emails controls – we send a number of transactional emails on your behalf (e.g. reservation confirmation emails, payment reminders, etc).  We now expose these templates to you so you can see what's being sent, we give you the ability to customize these messages, and we warn you when we're sending them.

Booking & calendar widgets – if you have a 3rd party website managed outside of MyVR, you can now embed your centralized MyVR calendar onto that website, and you can add online bookings to your website with MyVR's mobile-responsive booking flow widget!

New custom fields – add custom fields to your property data for fields you use often (driving directions, a PDF home manual, etc) and then automatically populate these on your website, automated email communications, and more!  You no longer need to customize certain web pages or automated emails by property!

New channel management offerings – we are excited to announce a significantly revamped channel management offering, providing centralized management of listings on HomeAway, VRBO, VacationRentals.com, TripAdvisor, and Flipkey:

  • HomeAway for Property Managers - we have re-launched our channel management offering with HomeAway (with 5+ properties), and have added support for online booking and pay-per-booking, in addition to our standard inquiry-based subscription listings
  • HomeAway for Owners - we have also added a lighter weight version of channel management with HomeAway for owners (with under 5 properties) so you can also benefit from the automation that channel management can provide!
  • TripAdvisor / FlipKey for Property Managers - we have re-launched our channel management offering with TripAdvisor (with 5+ properties) and can support subscription, pay-per-lead, and pay-per-booking.
  • TripAdvisor / FlipKey for Owners - we have also added a lighter weight version of channel management with TripAdvisor for owners (with under 5 properties) so you can also benefit from the automation that channel management can provide! Our TripAdvisor for Owners offering supports inquiry-based subscription listings (without a booking commission) and you always receive the renter's contact information.

 

Please let us know what you think, and also what other features you want us to work on by clicking on the "Suggestions" tab at the bottom of the MyVR dashboard when you're logged in!
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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Link to Vacation Rental Owners Blog |

Reservations just got a lot more powerful (our best release ever!)

Posted: 26 Oct 2015 09:12 AM PDT

Hey everyone!  We sent out an email to customers last week on some amazing new features, so I thought I’d post on the blog to share with our other followers.

Here’s the email:Renter Booking Page

 

Hey all,

Just a quick note to let you know about some REALLY powerful stuff we released last week.  Possibly the best improvements to our product that we’ve released to date.

MyVR is quickly becoming the most powerful reservation software in the vacation rental industry, allowing you to automate your operations and make fewer errors (like expensive double bookings or lost payments).

As you may recall, we had already invested significantly in our reservations software, with pretty major improvements launching earlier this year in July andSeptember.  Last week’s is even more powerful.  Watch Markus’ short video on our latest improvement, Booking Policies, and you’ll see why that’s the case!

With last week’s release, we created a way for you to set up a default Booking Policy, which represents the way you typically like to configure bookings.  A Booking Policy can be applied to instant bookings from your website or integrated channels, and can also be used as the ‘starting point’ for any manual quotes you send, so that you don’t need to configure each one individually (you can still modify any quote from your default settings before sending).

A Booking Policy will define things such as:

  • the refund/cancellation policy you typically use (now with the ability to custom build your own!)
  • the payment schedule you typically use (now with the ability to custom build your own!)
  • whether or not to allow the renter to agree to terms online, and if so, which contract to use
  • whether or not to accept online payments, and if so, which merchant account to use
  • whether or not you want to automatically process future payments on their due date, or have the renter send them manually
  • the quote expiration period applied to each quote, if any
  • whether to automatically accept instant bookings, or hold them for manual review and approval
  • whether or not to block off the dates when you get an instant booking request
  • whether or not to collect the renter’s mailing address during the booking process
  • when to move a booking to a final ‘reserved state’ (e.g. contract signed, first payment made, payment made in full)
  • and much more!!

Everything you set up in a Booking Policy becomes your default. You can set up a Booking Policy to apply across many properties, and you can set up several Booking Policies and assign them to properties or property groups as you see fit.

Want to learn more?  Please check out the following:

Stay tuned for upgrades to our automated communications and a relaunching of our channel management in the coming weeks.

Thanks!
Jonathan

p.s. Send me your feedback after you’ve reviewed our latest release.  What are we missing in our reservations product?  Please use the “Suggestions” tab at the bottom of your screen when you are logged into your MyVR dashboard.
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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Link to Vacation Rental Owners Blog |

5 Reasons to Build A Great Vacation Rental Website (and SEO Isn’t One of Them)

Posted: 14 Oct 2015 05:30 AM PDT

work space

People are often surprised when I say they need to stop stressing out about search engine optimization (SEO) because it may not even be right for their vacation rental marketing strategy. "Jonathan, don't you guys offer websites? Why would you tell people not to do SEO?"

It's true that MyVR offers powerful vacation rental property management software, and it's true that websites are one of the key features. However, we'd much rather customers have a clear sense of what their strategy is before starting a website; the entire approach to your website could radically change depending on your purpose.

There are plenty of very good reasons to have a website even if SEO isn't a core part of your strategy. Here are five of them.

1. Improve your conversion rate on inquiries from listing sites

Listing sites are a teaser for you rental property; you can bet that a good number of people will check out your website before they decide to book—even if you have a knock-out listing. Why?

  • They want to know your vacation rental is legitimate. There are plenty of scams out there, and a professional web presence makes it easy for people to find more proof that your rental is ready and waiting.
  • They want to learn more about your property. Listing sites help you get noticed, but locked into their uniform formatting it's hard for your property to really stand out. Many potential guests will click through to your website looking for more information. Using it to highlight what's unique and special about your property is your chance to clinch the booking.
  • You've drawn them in with a great auto-responder. Potential guests won't send an inquiry then sit around to wait for your response; they keep looking. With an auto-responder, you can reply to their inquiry instantly, and use that message to point them to information on your website—away from browsing the competition.

You can also improve your conversion rate by looking more professional yourself. Even when people want the independence of a vacation rental, it's reassuring to know there's someone available if something goes wrong. An effective website doesn't just showcase your property—a stand-out web presence inspires confidence that you take the rest of your vacation rental business just as seriously.

2. Get repeat business more easily…

To build a steady stream of income, you need to be more than "the white house we stayed at last year, which we found through one of those listing sites."

Establishing a memorable brand gives people something to remember with a simple way to find you in the future. Will people even find your listing among the options on a listing site when they're booking their trip next year? Your rental could buried several pages in, you may have changed your marketing priorities and cancelled your listing. If they do find your listing, will they get distracted by the selection of nearby alternatives that any listing site will serve up?

Without a professional and well-branded website, you leave too much to chance. Even if someone has had a great experience, they'll only go so far to try to track your rental down a second time.

3. …and make word of mouth simple

Like giving people something to remember, it's much easier to tell a friend to look up "”Sonoma Square Cottage" (my property) than "VRBO #3537208," and it's infinitely preferable to "I don't know, I just found it on HomeAway."

4. Give yourself more marketing options

Whether you want to pursue paid ads, Facebook ads, or email marketing, a great vacation rental website gives you options.

Free listings from sites like Yelp, Yahoo Local, and the Yellow Pages may be lower volume, but they've still sent some bookings my way. The cost of paid campaigns like Google PPC, remarketing, and Facebook targeting may not make sense for small owners, but they can be used effectively. Email marketing is another option that's easier and cheaper than these paid options.

However, any of these marketing tactics need a page that's designed to convert new leads. As I said above, trusting a listing to convert leaves a lot to chance—especially if you're paying for the exposure.

5. Automate your workflow

Vacation rental owners are busy, and listing sites just don't offer the same flexibility you get by building your business around your own website.

Learn what people want to know about your property, then build your website to meet those needs. Create a local guide, share your contract, better explain your rates, provide quotes, offer package deals, set up an FAQ section. You can even feature local recommendations, deals, and events, like I've done for SonomaSquareCottage.com.

These are all valid and powerful uses for a website that have nothing to do with SEO ranking. Your website can have many different goals, but having a primary goal will help prioritize your efforts.

Some goals require a certain time or cost investment; sometimes goals can even conflict. Prioritizing paid advertising campaigns could mean an entirely different site design than if your primary goal is better converting your existing flow of inquiries.

…And if you just can't knock SEO off your to-do list? You can do much of the fairly quick on-page SEO configuration on your own without knocking other goals off track.

image by Andrew Eason (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Link to Vacation Rental Owners Blog |

Stressed About SEO? Why It May Not Make Sense For Your Vacation Rental

Posted: 07 Oct 2015 07:00 AM PDT

SEO search

I often find myself in conversations with vacation rental owners of just one property—or perhaps a few—about whether SEO should be a part of their marketing strategy.

For many larger, professional property managers, it's not just a good idea, but a necessary piece of their long-term strategy to diversify and take control of their business. For that reason, MyVR's mobile responsive website templates allow for full on-page SEO configuration.

However, the SEO decision for most smaller “mom-and-pop” owners is not so clear.

Reason #1: SEO is complicated and changes over time

Very few vacation rental owners also happen to be SEO experts, so the knowledge gap is large and the ramp-up time considerable.

SEO is also a relatively complex set of algorithms: No one knows for sure exactly what Google's algorithms are, although some tenants do hold true over time, like high-quality backlinks (links from other websites) and having useful and relevant content. The SEO game, and what it takes to rank high, also changes over time as search engines refine and improve their algorithms. Staying ahead of the curve can be time consuming and it takes a large investment of time to read Google’s guidelines and updates.

What's clear is that there is no short cut; to climb your way to the top, you need fresh, relevant content on a website that is both credible and reputable.

Reason #2: No time for SEO

Most vacation rental owners who manage their property on their own are already stretched thin: They work full-time jobs, have a family, or have other responsibilities, hobbies, or interests. Who has time to learn a new profession on the side—knowledge it takes experts years to accumulate and refine?

More than the commitment to learning a new skill, however, SEO it takes a lot of effort to create an effective presence. You need to have a base of solid content that's fully optimized with keywords and other on-page elements. You also need to invest time to build off-page SEO, like building a network of backlinks (i.e. links from reputable websites to your site) and social shares.

Doing all of this is a major commitment that most owners just don't have time for.

Reason #3: Outsourcing SEO is expensive (and risky)

If you acknowledge that you don't have the time to do it yourself, a busy vacation rental owner does have the option to hire SEO help. However, it's an industry that is unfortunately littered with unscrupulous service providers who prey on uneducated customers. The really good ones—which do exist—are not cheap.

I've seen clients so confused that they believed they were instantly boosted to #1 in organic search results, when what they really had was a $350 /month pay-per-click (PPC) ad! If you don't know the difference, or don't understand what "organic search" or "PPC ads" are, don't risk your money hiring SEO help until you learn more.

Conrad O’Connell, of InterCoastal Net Designs, works with large vacation rental companies all over the U.S. on their SEO efforts. According to Conrad, it isn't uncommon for his clients to have spent months—even years—working with SEO companies who lacked solid strategy, monthly reporting, and a reasonable client contract. He says the best results come from an agency that’s highly knowledgeable about the vacation rental industry and that interacts with you on a regular basis.

Reason #4: SEO requires an ongoing commitment

Not only does SEO take a big investment of time and/or money up front to see a noticeable difference, the investment doesn't end once you've finally achieved some success (assuming you achieve success).

SEO is not a one-time thing that you set up and watch it grow; maintaining a reputable website with relevant content for your desired search terms is ongoing, both to keep your site fresh and to keep up with the changing SEO environment.

Reason #5: SEO can be very competitive

If all this didn't seem enough of a challenge already, the competition for good positions in search results can also be fierce.

You're not only up against the major listing sites (HomeAway, VRBO, FlipKey, Airbnb, etc.)—big brands that are all vying for page one on Google—but you're also up against professional property managers, too.

And don't forget the dozens—even hundreds or thousands—of other individual owners in your area. For example, VRBO currently lists more than 7,500 properties on the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach; just 10 organic results make it onto page one of the search results, a few more if you include the ones who've grabbed their location on Google Maps. (The collection of paid ads are a whole different ballgame!)

For the typical vacation rental owner, getting ahead of the listing sites and property managers— as well as any other owners in the area who decide to pursue SEO—isn't impossible, but it's practically guaranteed to be a steep climb.

So, is SEO right for you?

This may all seem daunting, but it isn't meant to scare anyone away from doing SEO; it may make sense for some owners to pursue it.

However, it is something that requires a thorough assessment of the return you'll get on your investment before you commit. There are plenty of great reasons to have a website, and SEO doesn't need to be one of them. If it isn't for you, make that decision up front, then stop worrying about it.
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Sunday, September 6, 2015

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Link to Vacation Rental Owners Blog |

Reducing Your Vacation Rental Management Labor

Posted: 05 Sep 2015 04:07 PM PDT

Happy Labor Day!  We’re not resting this Labor Day – we’re actually working hard to deliver some amazing upgrades to our vacation rental management software.  This coming Tuesday, we're releasing a number of improvements, which we wanted you to know about ahead of time.  Read below to hear about some of the most requested enhancements in this upcoming release:

Sending Renter Quotes

  • You can now generate and send multiple quotes to the renter at once. Send renters a few quotes with varying properties, dates, packages, etc!

  • We've added more settings on each quote you send, including a quote expiration date and the ability to turn on/off online bookings and/or payments for each quote you send.

  • You now have the option to "hold" or "block" dates for a quote you send the renter, and you can set an expiration on when the hold expires.

  • We have greatly improved our quote UI – with an improved quote builder, a new "quote detail page" and a list view of all quotes for a prospective renter in one place (when they were sent, by which reservations agent, and more)

  • You can now create and save a quote – without sending it to the renter.

  • We've added a helpful "Quote ID's" for internal or external reference (or to look them up more easily)

  • You can now copy a quote, and you can send another quote without starting over from scratch

  • We've included a quicklink to the renter's booking page for each quote you send, so you can easily re-send to the prospective renter, or click it yourself to see what the renter sees

  • You can now cancel one or all outstanding quotes sent to a renter, and you can revive previously canceled quotes so they're valid and bookable again.

  • It's now as easy as a click to resend a quote to a renter.

Have more improvements that you'd like to see to Quotes?  Share any feedback you have here.

The MyVR Inbox

  • We are adding feedback to let you know whether or not the renter has received or opened each message you send!

  • We are adding the ability to save a message as a draft so that you can come back to finish it later.

  • You can now add cc's on your MyVR messages and modify the subject line of your message.

  • Now you can attach any previous quotes to your message, along with the most current (as we've always allowed).

While these Inbox changes are small, we have a ton more coming over the next two months.  Send any feedback you have now here.

 

Reservations

  • We have vastly improved the Reservations UI – it's easier to review a reservation and take action on it

  • Do you have optional add-ons that the renter can select but are not required?  You can know have select certain booking fees as optional to that the renter can select or deselect them at the time of booking.

  • You can now take an online booking even if you take offline payments

  • You can now turn on or off automatic credit card charges on future scheduled payments

  • We've added a helpful "Reservation ID's" for internal or external reference (or to look them up more easily)

  • We now better display the proof of the online legal agreement you have with the renter

  • We now send the renter a confirmation email for the online booking, including the contract agreed to, as further evidence of the renter's consent to terms.

  • We now have "Reservation Notes" with the ability to "pin" a note, which will pop important messages about the renter or the reservation for anyone who views the reservation

  • We have improved our booking "confirmation page" so that the renter can bookmark it and view it at any time in the future for a receipt of their transaction.

We have more Reservations improvements coming next month, including new refund / cancellation options and more flexible payments schedule creation.  We'll also be adding the much-requested ability to create default settings for online bookings, so that you can better customize the terms and payment schedules for inbound bookings on your website or marketing channels.  Have more you'd like to see in our Reservations module? Share any feedback you have here.

The MyVR Calendar

  • We have created new calendar "views" to simplify your life – you can now view all events, or just the events impacting availability.

  • You can now initiate a reservations by clicking and dragging on the calendar dates.

  • We have added new calendar event popovers – quickly and easily see the details of a calendar event when you hover over it.

  • Improved overlapping calendar event detection – we have added helpful warnings about overlapping blocking and non-blocking events on the inquiry and reservation detail views

We have a ton more changes coming to the Calendar, too.  Send any feedback you have here.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.  As mentioned, we’ve got a lot more coming.  Please let us know what you like and what you don’t!
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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Link to Vacation Rental Owners Blog |

Read About MyVR’s Many New Product Improvements

Posted: 07 Jul 2015 02:41 PM PDT

cahirs

Happy summer from MyVR!

We can't believe 2015 is already at its midpoint. It's been a great year for MyVR thus far. We've made a ton of improvements to many areas of our platform, but we don't always do the best job of sharing those updates. As the summer kicks into high gear, we thought it was a good time to pause and reflect on many of the enhancements we've made thus far in 2015.

Reservations

We've added numerous new capabilities in 2015 to our already-robust Reservations module. These include:

  • Low credit card rates – MyVR'S merchant processing rate for Visa and Mastercard is only 1.85% + $0.30 per transaction! And, yes, any processing fees on refunded deposits are also refunded.
  • Control over which cards you accept – MyVR gives merchant account holders the option to accept additional cards, like American Express and International cards. Accept payments from customers anywhere in the world!
  • Online transactions with offline payments – Want to book renters with your online contract but take and manage payments offline? MyVR has you covered.
  • Offline transactions – Manually enter transactions taken offline or otherwise outside the MyVR system and manage them all (with your online transactions) at MyVR.
  • Phone transactions – Enter and process reservations and payment info taken over the phone.
  • Accept payments for one-off fees – Charge a renter's credit card for one-off items added during the rental (movie rentals, pool heat, etc) directly from your MyVR account.
  • Redesigned renter booking flow – MyVR's booking flow has been streamlined for easier renter checkout and higher conversions.
  • Ability to set up multiple merchant accounts within MyVR account – For property managers needing to process payments differently for different properties, you can now set up multiple merchant accounts within MyVR!
  • Automatically charge future payments – MyVR makes scheduling future payments easier by allowing renters who are booking to authorize that these payments be processed automatically on their due date without any further renter action needed.

In the coming weeks, MyVR will also be adding optional add-ons to your renter transactions, and we're adding more flexibility in setting up your default reservation settings (including refund & cancellation policies for instant bookings). Please be sure to send us feedback on what would make our reservations product even better for you.

Websites

MyVR's been a leader in vacation rental websites since our launch in 2011. We've made our websites even better in 2015 with several major new features:

  • New website templates – We launched several new single-property and multi-property website templates entering this year – with mobile-friendly responsiveness design, better calls-to-action, more color themes, and drag-and-drop customization capabilities. Check them out!
  • SEO settings and tools – MyVR provides robust options for you to fully perform your on-page search engine optimization, set up redirects, and more.
  • Integrating blogs – Integrate a full-featured third-party blog (WordPress, Blogger, etc) with your MyVR website, or add a blog quickly and easily with MyVR's own internal 'blog lite' tool.
  • Additional blog features – You can add user commenting to your MyVR blog via our Disqus integration. You can also schedule future posts and import blog posts from a third party blog with MyVR's blog importation tool.
  • Local guides – Build your own custom map and tag all your recommended spots for renters. You can also integrate third-party recommendation tools like Thinglink.com or Google Custom Maps.
  • Drop down menus – Use MyVR's new drop-down menus if that top navigation bar on your website is getting a little crowded, or if you merely want to streamline site navigation.
  • Property location settings – Take control over the information you share on your websites. Choose to show exact property locations and addresses, or maintain privacy by showing renters only the general area where a property exists.
  • Custom amenities – Does your property have a unique amenity? Add your own custom amenities to your MyVR account so that you can include them on your website.
  • Property groups – Use MyVR's Property Group logic to organize your properties (by regions, lodging types, amenities, or more) so that you can better market them on your website!

We continue to iterate on our website builder and make it easier to build stunning, professional-looking websites to represent your brand. In the coming weeks, we'll be launching Owner Portals – a new website type that allows property managers to let their owners login, view their calendar, block dates, and more. Please be sure to send us feedback on how we can improve our website builder even further.

Read more »
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Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Link to Vacation Rental Owners Blog |

Putting Autoresponders to Work for You

Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:50 AM PST

This topic recently came up in Matt Landau's Inner Circle forum, and these two posts are based on information I shared there. If you aren't already participating, check out the Inner Circle forum or connect with Matt Landau's Vacation Rental Marketing blog.

In my last post, I called autoresponders "the secret weapon most vacation rental owners ignore," explaining that adding them can save time, improve professionalism, and increase conversion rates.

As an owner, I like to know that every inquiry gets a response — even those that aren't likely to convert because they fall outside my renter criteria. You can spend a lot of time responding individually to people who aren't a good fit for your property, or you can use autoresponders to free up that energy so you can focus on your actual guests.

Autoresponders work exactly as the name implies — they're automatically sent out, and the message is determined by triggers within the inquiry email, like whether guests indicate that they're travelling with pets or the number of adults in their party.

To get the most from autoresponders, however, you need to use them effectively: Use rules to send tailored messages for different types of inquiries, and adjust your message until you get the results you're looking for.

It's taken years of testing and tweaking the way I use them in my own vacation rental business, Sonoma Square Cottage, to get them right. What works for me may not work for you — but you need to start somewhere.

Here are the templates I've developed for six common situations, as well as the most important things I've learned about autoresponders from my experience. The rules consider specific information from the booking form I use on my website, and send whichever template is more appropriate.

Rules 1: The stay is too short

At one point, I applied a seven-day minimum to rentals. However, I'm currently looking for longer stays of 30 days or more.

Subject: Thanks for your inquiry to SonomaSquareCottage.com
Hi (first name) -

Thanks for inquiring about the SonomaSquareCottage.com. We’d love to host you, but unfortunately can not do short stays. Good luck with your search, and please keep us in mind in the future!

Thanks,
Jonathan
www.SonomaSquareCottage.com

p.s. check out our website anyway for tips, coupons, and a free local guide to Sonoma!

Follow us on Facebook for future deals and updates: https://www.facebook.com/SonomaSquareCottage

Ideally, my autoresponder would also explain what my minimum stay is. However, there is some regulatory stuff going on, and I prefer to keep my correspondence vague.

Rule 2: The group is too big

I limit reservations to groups of eight people or less, but still get requests to host larger parties.

Subject: Thanks for your inquiry to SonomaSquareCottage.com
Hi (first name) -

Thanks for inquiring about the SonomaSquareCottage.com. I’d love to be able to host your party, but unfortunately our small home and sleeping arrangements just can’t fit that many people! Good luck with your search, and please keep us in mind in the future!

Thanks,
Jonathan
www.SonomaSquareCottage.com

p.s. check out our website for tips, coupons, and a free local guide to Sonoma!

Follow us on Facebook for future deals and updates: https://www.facebook.com/SonomaSquareCottage

Rule 3: The group is too big (adults)

Sometimes I receive inquiries from groups of adults who look at the stats for my property — three bedrooms, three bathrooms — and decide to try their luck any way. As you can see from the message below, however, one room is set up just for kids.

Subject: Thanks for your inquiry to SonomaSquareCottage.com
Hi (first name) -

Thanks for inquiring about the SonomaSquareCottage.com. I’d love to be able to host your party, but unfortunately we just can’t fit that many people! Our third bedroom contains a children’s bunk which isn’t suitable for adults. Good luck with your search, and please keep us in mind in the future!

Thanks,
Jonathan
www.SonomaSquareCottage.com

p.s. check out our website anyway for tips, coupons, and a free local guide to Sonoma!

Follow us on Facebook for future deals and updates: https://www.facebook.com/SonomaSquareCottage

Rule 4: Their group includes a smoker

The booking form on my website asks whether anyone in the party smokes, which helps me screen for my non-smoking rental.

Subject: Thanks for your inquiry to Sonoma Square Cottage
Hi (first name) -

Thanks for inquiring at the Sonoma Square Cottage. Unfortunately, our home is a non-smoking property. We’re sorry we can’t accommodate smoking. Best of luck in your search, and enjoy your upcoming trip to Sonoma!

Regards,
Jonathan
www.SonomaSquareCottage.com

p.s. check out our website anyway for tips, coupons, and a free local guide to Sonoma!

Rule 5: The dates are already booked

Getting inquiries for dates that are already booked can be frustrating, especially when your calendar is up-to-date, but I believe each inquiry is still worth a follow up.

Subject: Thanks for your inquiry to SonomaSquareCottage.com
Dear (first name) -

Thanks for inquiring at the Sonoma Square Cottage. Unfortunately, our home is booked during the period you requested. Are your dates flexible by any chance? I keep an up-to-date calendar on my website if you want to consider other dates: www.SonomaSquareCottage.com/rates-and-calendar. If you’re flexible, please let me know – or feel free to resubmit your request on my website.

Regards,
Jonathan
www.SonomaSquareCottage.com

p.s. while you’re on our website, also check out our travel tips, local coupons, and our free local insider’s guide to Sonoma!

Follow us on Facebook for future deals and updates: https://www.facebook.com/SonomaSquareCottage

Rule 6: General response for all other inquiries

If none of the above templates is triggered, the following email is sent.

Subject: Thanks for your inquiry to SonomaSquareCottage.com
Dear (first name) -

Thanks for inquiring about my rental, Sonoma Square Cottage. This is quick (automated) reply to let you know that I’m excited to talk and I’ll be in touch ASAP! In the meantime, check out my property website atwww.SonomaSquareCottage.com for a lot of really helpful info for your upcoming trip.

On the website, you can:

  • learn about all our family-friendly amenities (like our 3-D plasma screen TV, mini air hockey, Nintendo Wii, and classic arcade table)
  • view large photos of the home (to really get a sense of what it’s like)
  • insert your dates and generate a quote in real-time
  • review local tips, events, and coupons

Talk to you soon!

Jonathan
www.SonomaSquareCottage.com

p.s. don’t miss our FREE downloadable “Insider’s Guide to Sonoma” on our website!

Follow us on Facebook for future deals and updates: https://www.facebook.com/SonomaSquareCottage

Tracking my results

I'm a big fan of A/B tests, and I've tested all of these templates — especially the final "default" template — learning a few things along the way.

1) Keep it short and simple. Don't cram your email with information and advice — put it on your website, then take one sentence to tell them that it's there. The shorter I keep my autoresponder messages, the more quality responses I receive.

2) Help, don’t sell. This is something Matt says all the time — because it's true. This is obviously a sales transaction, but if the only thing a potential guest hears from you is BOOK NOW it won't seem very inviting. Put yourself in their shoes: what sort of customer service would stand out to you? How can you help them book a trip that includes your rental as home base? Point them to the free and helpful information you've (hopefully) added to your website, like a page of local recommendations or a thoughtful insider's guide.

3) Personalize your message as much as you can. The nature of templates is that they're standardized — mine certainly are. But many people still reply and thank me for responding so quickly, even when I'm turning them down! The #1 complaint about autoresponders is that they're impersonal, but it doesn't take much to make your message a bit warmer, like having slightly different messages for different types of inquiries and including the renter's first name in the response.

A lot of owners and property managers — A LOT of them! — don't respond to inquiries at all, and renters usually appreciate any response, whether you're confirming their reservation or not.

Autoresponders are an easy way to elevate your vacation rental business and step up in a way that your competition may be missing.

What do you think about autoresponders — love them? Hate them? Tell me about it in the comments below.

photo by Jo Naylor (CC BY 2.0)
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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Vacation Rental Owners Blog

Link to Vacation Rental Owners Blog |

The Secret Weapon Most Vacation Rental Owners Ignore

Posted: 27 Jan 2015 06:19 AM PST

I posted about this recently in Matt Landau's Inner Circle forum. It's been a while since I blogged about autoresponders, a tool many owners still aren't taking advantage of, so I wanted to share the information with you here. If you aren't already participating, check out the Inner Circle forum or connect with Matt Landau's Vacation Rental Marketing blog.

"welcome" written with magnets, photo by Christian Schnettelker (CC BY 2.0)Done well, with some fine-tuning, using autoresponders in my vacation rental business have helped me capture more bookings, cut demands on my time, and build better relationships with my guests.

Inquiry autoresponders are messages that send automatically and immediately when someone sends a new rental inquiry. Some owners choose not to use autoresponders, but many don't realize they're even an option.

Here are seven reasons why I think every owner should include autoresponders in their booking process.

1. Boost conversion rates by getting there first

Response time matters in this business: someone who receives a response within an hour is up to 7x more likely to convert. Being glued to your email isn't a solution — we're all busy people. I personally find it hard to consistently respond immediately to every renter, but I know an autoresponder will land in their inbox within that one-hour sweetspot. That buys me a bit more time to respond to them myself.

2. Build trust with your professionalism

In an industry where many owners and property managers don't even respond, getting a message into the renter's inbox first doesn't just get conversions — it helps you stand out. It shows you take their business seriously, a sign you'll give them the attention they need before, during, and after their visit. An effective autoresponder will also point potential guests to your website and introduce your brand, which will help solidify that good first impression.

3. Establish your brand

Nobody's going to remember "VRBO #3537208," so I call my property "Sonoma Square Cottage." An autoresponder gets my property's name into their head. This increases the chance they'll recognize and remember it later, which is good for repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals, and it will help if I remarket to them later with a promotion or newsletter.

4. Push the renter to your own website

I created a website for Sonoma Square Cottage, where I draw people in with lots of photos, local information. Your autoresponder will get to their inbox as soon as they send an inquiry to you — before they've looked at a dozen other properties, while you're still top-of-mind. What a great opportunity to distract their browsing and pull them onto your own website.

5. Be a resource for your guests

I've added a lot of helpful information to my website about the local area, not just my vacation rental, and I use the autoresponder to point renters to it. Other owners use their website to collect responses to frequently asked questions, or to highlight other details. A local guide positions you to help with your guest's travel planning, which boosts both your credibility and customer service.

6. Respond to all inquiries

Sometimes, inquiries don't work out — the dates are taken, the group is too big, they're travelling with pets, etc. I feel better when I know every inquiry is getting a response; it's mark of professionalism and makes a good impression. It's easy to ignore the ones you know aren't going to work out, but that will kill any chance they'll think of you next time.

7. Have more time for guests that are a perfect fit

When you free up time by using autoresponders to point people to your website for FAQs or to respond to inquiries that won't lead to bookings, you can shift your attention to other things — like the inquiries that are a perfect fit. Customer service is a big differentiator in this industry; "high touch" service can help you clinch a new booking.

In my next post, I'll share a few autoresponder variations that I use as part of my system to help inspire your own efforts. How have autoresponders helped your business?

Photo by Christian Schnettelker (CC BY 2.0)
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