tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-236591042024-03-08T12:14:17.715+00:00Vacation Rental Owner Forum BlogBlog for the Vacation Rentals by Owner industry. Vacation Rental by Owner Surveys, Marketing, Bookings, Articles and ReviewsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-61961179979964843872016-03-15T16:40:00.001+00:002016-03-15T16:40:45.390+00:00Homeaway Discount Coupon<br />
<a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-2876110-12526318-1457554859000">Save $35 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code HAAFF35. Expires Dec 31st, 2016.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-2876110-12526318-1457554859000" height="1" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Homeaway have introduced a new discount coupon, with $35 off for new listings. Click the link above for more information.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-48306073461614695082016-03-07T16:55:00.001+00:002016-03-07T16:56:57.580+00:00Free Listing on Tripadvisor / Flipkey / Holiday Lettings<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-6201466-12452233-1450293149000" target="_top">
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-6201466-12452233-1450293149000" height="252" width="302" /></a>
<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-6201466-11964174-1446056276000" target="_top">
</a><br />
<br />
<br />
Many Vacation Rental Owners have complained about the booking fee recently introduced by Homeaway: if you are paying for an annual listing, it does seem a little unfair that Homeaway also gets a slice of the income from renters!<br />
<br />
One alternative worth considering is a free listing on TripAdvisor / Flipkey / Holiday Lettings. These used to all be completely separate sites, but a while ago TripAdvisor ( who owns Flipkey and Holiday Lettings) allows owners to manage them as one listing. Your property still appears on each site individually, but you have one login, calendar and dashboard.<br />
<br />
I started listing with TripAdvisor a couple of years ago and my experience have been overall very positive. I have a property in Nice, France plus one in Marbella, Spain and the TripAdvisor sites provide me with about 70% of my bookings.<br />
<br />
As mentioned above, there properties are actually listed on several sites i.e. TripAdvisor, Flipkey, Holiday Lettings and Niumba, with no annual listing charges. Instead, TripAdvisor gets a booking fee from the renter, plus I pay them 3% commission on my bookings. I know that some owners have reservations about "commission-only" listings, but my experience is that it works well, because TripAdvisor has a strong incentive to get me bookings.<br />
<br />
I particularly like the fact that I can see the performance of my property on each of these sites individually. (My properties do best on TripAdvisor's main site and Holidaylettings.)<br />
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I also like the fact that TripAdvisor handles all the details of payments, including collecting and refunding the security deposit, which used to be a real hassle when I did it myself. <br />
<br />
Plus, there really is no down side: if I don't get bookings, I don't pay anything.<br />
<br />
You can check them out by clicking the banner above or the link below:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-6201466-11964215-1446056276000" target="_top">List your rental for free.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-6201466-11964215-1446056276000" height="1" width="1" />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-52326555389143596022015-11-23T17:10:00.000+00:002015-11-30T15:03:58.287+00:00Homeaway Listing: Annual Listing Fee or Commission Based?<br />
<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-2876110-12420446" target="_top">40% off annual subscriptions. List your home for rent and start earning for just $209.40 (reg $349). Coupon Code: GETTHISDEAL. Expires Dec 1st, 2015 at 11:59pm CST.</a>
<a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-2876110-12424623" target="_top">
<img alt="HomeAway.com" border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-2876110-12424623" height="90" width="728" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-6201466-10665960-1438817078000" target="_top">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2015.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-6201466-10665960-1438817078000" height="1" width="1" />
<br />
<br />
With the impending acquisition of Homeaway by Expedia, the move from annual listing fees to commission based listings is likely to accelerate. So, which is better: annual listing fee or commission based listing?<br />
<br />
Well, there are certainly some advantages to the commission based listing.<br />
<br />
Firstly, you save the price of the annual listing fee! This means that, assuming you continue to get (at least) the same amount of bookings, your profits from renting your property will increase.<br />
<br />
Secondly, it is likely that Homeaway will give preference (e.g. in listing searches) to commission based listings. After all, any bookings generated give Homeaway incremental revenues, so they will have a strong incentive to promote these listings. (This may include promoting your property on other Homeaway owned sites that your standard annual listing does not cover.) This means that your bookings through Homeaway are likely to go up!<br />
<br />
Of course, there are also some disadvantages to commission based listings as well.<br />
<br />
For example, although you may save on the annual listing fee, that extra revenue that Homeaway generates must come from somewhere: and if your guests are only prepared to pay the same amount, then surely it must come out of your pocket i.e. you will get less revenue per booking than you currently get ? <br />
<br />
Perhaps not ...<br />
<br />
A couple of years ago, when Holidaylettings launched their <a href="http://vacation-rental-forum.blogspot.ie/2013/04/holiday-lettings-commission-only-listing.html" target="_blank">Commission Based listings</a> option, I signed up for it and kept my prices at the same level as I had on other annual listing fee sites. I reckoned that any bookings I got through the HL site would be a bonus. Because I was getting the same net price, it would cost me nothing.<br />
<br />
Even at these "higher prices", I now get a substantial portion of my bookings through HL: the renters are paying more than they would on other sites, but they seem to be prepared to do so! I suspect the same will happen on Homeaway, so my advice is to seriously consider a commission based listing.<br />
<br />
(By the way, commission based listings on Homeaway are not yet available in every country.)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-23319994534265126382015-11-23T16:48:00.000+00:002015-11-23T16:48:20.316+00:00How much is your vacation rental worth to Homeaway?<a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-6201466-10665960-1438817078000" target="_top">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2015.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-6201466-10665960-1438817078000" height="1" width="1" />
<br />
<br />
I am sure most people have seen the news that Expedia is buying Homeaway for just under $4 billion. Expedia, one of the largest online travel businesses owning brands such as Hotels.com, sees <br />
Homeaway helping it compete with AirBnB. <br />
<br />
Homeaway currently has about 1 million properties listed on its various vacation rental sites. That means that Expedia are paying about $4,000 per property! Since a standard listing costs about $400, that means they are paying for 10 years worth of listings, right? <br />
<br />
Well, probably not. With the acquisition, expect to see a shift towards more "transaction" revenues rather than annual listing fees.<br />
<br />
At the moment, Homeaway generate revenues of about 3.5% of the value of all bookings made through their sites. However, they expect that to double as they move more of the listing base to the "commission-based" model rather than annual listing fees.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, they expect the value of bookings to significantly increase as a result of Expedia's marketing.<br />
<br />
So what does this mean for you, as a Vacation Rental owner? Well, increased bookings is good news! However, if you are still on an annual listing fee plan, it's possible that your property won't get the same marketing exposure on Homeaway sites as those on a commission basis. So, maybe you should consider switching?<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-59197843389953076352014-10-30T15:24:00.001+00:002014-10-30T15:24:28.991+00:00Holiday Lettings Starts "Buy Now" Pilot <br />
<a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a>
has started a pilot that allows selected owners to take bookings without the need for confirming. This allows renters to receive an instant confirmation of their booking, rather than needing to wait for the owner to respond to the booking request.<br />
<br />
Holiday Lettings assumes the availability of the owner's property is up to date and if so, provides a booking option to the prospective renter for available dates. The owner gets notified of the booking via email and has the option to cancel the booking. However, owners who exercise this option more than once are likely to be excluded from the pilot.<br />
<br />
Clearly, this is another step is making the experience of booking a holiday rental as easy as booking a hotel online. There are obvious benefits for the renter, plus is means that owners are less likely to lose out on bookings just because they are away from the email for a couple of days ( or even hours in some cases!). Also, bookings received this way are, by definition, at the list price, so there is no pesky negotiation of rates. <br />
<br />
Of course, there are downsides. For example, if you manage your property on multiple listing sites, then there is a possibility of double booking.<br />
<br />
This is currently being run as a pilot and I have signed my property up to be included. However, so far I have not received any bookings, so it's too early to say how it's working. <br />
<br />
Providing additional services like this obviously benefits Holiday Lettings both in maximising their commissions on bookings, as well as encouraging owners to make Holiday Lettings their primary ( or only) source of online bookings. However, piloting makes a lot of sense to see how it works in practice before taking it too far.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-42292955959078902592014-10-30T15:08:00.001+00:002014-10-30T15:08:25.179+00:00Homeaway adds Listing Quality Rating <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/7q105kjspjr6D978BDD687DDCGD7" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.homeaway.com';return true;" target="_blank">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/lt68kpthnl6D978BDD687DDCGD7" height="1" width="1" /><br />
<br />
Homeaway has recently added a Listing Quality Rating to vacation rentals listed on its website. Listings with a higher score will receive preferential ratings in search results.<br />
<br />
Elements that are included in the calculation include: <br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Reviews of your vacation rental</li>
<li>Average response time and your response rate to enquiries</li>
<li>The number of photos in your listing </li>
<li>Calendar updates</li>
<li>Whether you have verified your property's location</li>
<li>Whether you have quotable rates for all time periods</li>
<li>Use of Homeaway's Online Booking and Homeaway payments</li>
</ol>
<br />
Most of these make sense: Homeaway wants to give preference to owners that are actively using the Homeaway listing site for managing their bookings. In particular, Homeaway wants to avoid prospective renters sending queries to listings that are dormant or non-responsive. <br />
<br />
However, including the use of Homeaway's Online Booking and Payments system is perhaps a little controversial. Certain owners may not want to be tied to paying additional charges to Homeaway for these services and it seems a little harsh to penalise them in the search listings for opting out of these services.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, the quality scorecard does give owners some clear ways to increase visibility on Homeaway, so my advice is to take advantage by ensuring your rating is as high as possible, particularly by responding quickly to enquiries, keeping your calendar up to date and making sure you have complete pricing and photos.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-80592448304559111032014-09-05T14:11:00.001+01:002014-09-05T14:11:15.830+01:00What Have I Learned from This Vacation Rental Season?<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/rt67ar-xrzELHFGJLLEGFMGIJJN" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;">Sign up to list your vacation rental property on VRBO.com, and get 1 month FREE. Use coupon code: 1MONTHFREE. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;"><img border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/9t82h48x20MTPNORTTMONUOQRRV" height="1" width="1" /></span></strong> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now that summer if officially over, it’s a
good time to reflect on the season as a Vacation Rental Owner. There is no
doubt that the industry is changing (is maturing the right word?) and that has
implications for Vacation Rental Owners everywhere</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/is75uoxuowBIECDGIIBDCKFDHGL" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;">No Booking, No Fee Guarantee: Earn 10X your membership fee on VRBO in the first year or we'll EXTEND your membership for 6 months for FREE.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;"><img border="0" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/gc66g04tzxIPLJKNPPIKJRMKONS" height="1" width="1" /></span></strong> </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, what have I observed this season?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Consolidation in the Vacation
Rental industry continues. With <a href="http://vacation-rental-forum.blogspot.ie/2014/08/homeaway-and-1-million-listings.html" target="_blank">Homeaway surpassing 1 million listings</a> and
other key players such as Holidaylettings in Europe also growing, it’s clear
that the big guys continue to get bigger. That’s not to say that there are not
good niche options (there are many listed on <a href="http://www.compareownerholidayrentals.com/" target="_blank">COHR</a>) out there, but it’s clear that more of the
market is moving to the big players. This is to be expected, as the industry
“matures” and , although there are downsides to listing with the big guys,
unless you are prepared to invest considerable effort in marketing your
property yourself, it’s probably the easiest way to generate bookings</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Commission only listings work
for me! My experience (particularly with Holidaylettings) is that the commission
only option generates bookings at the same revenue to me as my listings on
annual fee sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a lot less
hassle in chasing payments and tracking security deposits and even receive some
enquiries where all I have to do is click an “accept booking” button!</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Commission only listings also
work for the Listing Site! Booking fees, commission, added value services to
the renter: these are the ways for the Vacation Rental Listing site to make
money. It’s far easier for them to do this than to increase their annual
listing price to me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reviews matter. Although guests
are becoming more used to booking Vacation Rentals, there primary worry remains
to be that, because each property is individually managed, when they get there,
it just won’t be what was sold to them. Reviews give them some assurance that
they won’t be drastically disappointed and vacation rentals with good reviews
will consistently be chosen over those with none. On the flip side, a single
bad review can do untold damage to your business (particularly if not balanced
by some positive reviews).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://vacation-rental-forum.blogspot.ie/2014/09/collecting-positive-reviews-for-your.html" target="_blank">Build up a selection of positive reviews</a></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-46088702308846746822014-09-05T14:10:00.000+01:002014-09-05T14:10:00.039+01:00Collecting Positive Reviews for your Vacation Rental<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/is75uoxuowBIECDGIIBDCKFDHGL" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;">No Booking, No Fee Guarantee: Earn 10X your membership fee on VRBO in the first year or we'll EXTEND your membership for 6 months for FREE.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;"><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/gc66g04tzxIPLJKNPPIKJRMKONS" width="1" /></span></strong> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many vacation rental owners are scared of
receiving reviews of their vacation rental. It’s bad enough if there person is
being fair and unbiased, but there are lots of stories out there out owners
receiving bad reviews that are totally unjustified. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, building up a portfolio of positive reviews is actually fairly simple.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many owners avoid asking their
guests to post reviews on Tripadvisor or another vacation rental site. However,
this is a very risky strategy. Firstly, without positive reviews, you are
missing out on many potential bookings from guests who use reviews as their
primary way of reassuring themselves of the quality of your vacation rental. More importantly,
it is becoming increasing difficult to avoid someone posting a review of your
property. If one bad review slips through before you have had a chance to build up
a portfolio of positive ones, this could be a disaster for your vacation rental
business.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, how do you build up such a portfolio? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/ij98uoxuowBIECDGIIBDCIIHLIC" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;"><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/me115drvjpn8FB9ADFF8A9FFEIF9" width="1" /></span></strong> </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s what I suggest. After your guest has
returned home, send them an email, thanking them for their business and asking
them to confirm that everything was to their satisfaction. I also usually offer
a nominal (5%) discount if they want to book again with me. (I ask them to book
directly with me, rather than through the website, as this means I can avoid
commissions/ bookings fees associated with Commission-only listing sites,
enabling me to pass on this saving to the guest without impacting my revenue.) </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If they come back to me to confirm that
everything was okay, I then ask them if they would be prepared to complete a
review and send them the requisite links.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If they come back to let me know about
problems they had, I thank them for their feedback and try to prevent these problems from happening again. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If they don’t come back to me, I don’t take
it any further. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My experience is that most guests a) are
happy with my vacation rental and b) will come back to confirm this and do a (positive) review. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this way, over the course of even a
single season, you can build up a nice portfolio of positive reviews! </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-18904681247142464162014-08-02T15:19:00.002+01:002014-08-02T15:19:18.308+01:00Flipkey Plannng to Accept More Currencies<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/rt67ar-xrzELHFGJLLEGFMGIJJN" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.vrbo.com';return true;" target="_blank">Sign up to list your vacation rental property on VRBO.com, and get 1 month FREE. Use coupon code: 1MONTHFREE. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/9t82h48x20MTPNORTTMONUOQRRV" height="1" width="1" />
</div>
<br />
<br />
Flipkey have announced that they will begin allowing owners to price in their local currency. <br />
<br />
One of the disadvantages of Flipkey is that, up until now, all vacation rental prices were listed in US dollars. Not only was this sometimes confusing for European owners and renters, it also created a risk of losing money if the exchange rate changed between the time of booking and payment. (In addition, you inevitably lose a little in converting to your own currency.<br />
<br />
This brings Flipkey into line with almost every other Vacation Rental site (and it's not clear why it took them so long). Flipkey seems to have lost a lot of momentum this year, with numerous changes in personnel on the marketing side. Perhaps this is a signal that Flipkey may be getting back on track.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-54182422370877337792014-08-01T14:45:00.000+01:002014-08-02T15:09:08.565+01:00Homeaway and 1 Million listings<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/ij98uoxuowBIECDGIIBDCIIHLIC" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.homeaway.com';return true;" target="_blank">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/me115drvjpn8FB9ADFF8A9FFEIF9" height="1" width="1" />
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<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/is75uoxuowBIECDGIIBDCKFDHGL" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.vrbo.com';return true;" target="_blank">No Booking, No Fee Guarantee: Earn 10X your membership fee on VRBO in the first year or we'll EXTEND your membership for 6 months for FREE.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/gc66g04tzxIPLJKNPPIKJRMKONS" height="1" width="1" />
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Homeaway recently announced that it now has more than 1 million vacation rental listings! Furthermore, 320 thousand of these are e-commerce enabled, up 50% from a year ago. This is clearly good news for Homeaway, but is it good news for those who list their property on Homeaway sites?<br />
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First of all, it's important to note that Homeaway owns many sites and not just the flagship Homeaway branded site. Many people will be aware that it owns sites such as VRBO, Cyberrentals and Vacationrentals. However, over the last few years, Homeaway ( i.e. the WVR Group) has been acquiring more and more vacation rental sites. You can find a <a href="http://www.compareownerholidayrentals.com/WVR-Group.htm" target="_blank">list of sites owned by Homeaway</a> on COHR.<br />
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Because Homeaway owns so many sites, there may be some double-counting (e.g. if an owner lists separately on say, Homeaway.co.uk and VRBO), but even allowing for this, it's clear that Homeaway has a huge number of properties listed.<br />
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Some of the benefits of this are obvious. For example, Homeaway can invest in marketing to attract prospective renters, can invest in adding new features/capability and spread the cost over a much larger base. (Incidentally, Homeaway have just hired a new Chief Marketing Officer and plan to ramp up marketing plans, particularly in Europe.)<br />
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On the flip side, the primary concern of an owner would be that their particular property will get lost among all the other properties listed. This can be particularly true if your property is in a very popular area, where is may even make sense to pay for a premium listing in order to get noticed.<br />
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There are other things that can be done (e.g. the techniques on <a href="http://vacation-rental-forum.blogspot.ie/search?updated-max=2014-07-02T11:48:00%2B01:00&max-results=1" target="_blank">Improve Your Ranking on VRBO</a> will work on many Homeaway sites) but at the end of the day, you may want to also list on some specialist non-Homeaway sites to balance things out.<br />
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However, (approximately) 1 million owners can't be wrong, so despite the concerns, for most of us, it makes sense to have a listing as part of the Homeaway network.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/ij98uoxuowBIECDGIIBDCIIHLIC" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.homeaway.com';return true;" target="_blank">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/me115drvjpn8FB9ADFF8A9FFEIF9" height="1" width="1" /> </div>
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<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/is75uoxuowBIECDGIIBDCKFDHGL" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.vrbo.com';return true;" target="_blank">No Booking, No Fee Guarantee: Earn 10X your membership fee on VRBO in the first year or we'll EXTEND your membership for 6 months for FREE.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/gc66g04tzxIPLJKNPPIKJRMKONS" height="1" width="1" /> </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-18234122951844957092014-07-02T11:48:00.003+01:002014-07-02T11:48:58.279+01:00Manage by Owner vs Using Property Managers<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-6201466-10665960" target="_top">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-6201466-10665960" height="1" width="1" />
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Although the existence of online vacation rental listing sites such as Homeaway, VRBO and others has really enabled vacation rental owners to "rent by owner", many owners continue to use Property Management companies. <br />
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There are several reasons for this, including the fact that it is frankly less hassle. However, full service property managers can be expensive, plus they may not be as selective as you would be in reviewing renters for your property.<br />
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Increasingly, however, there are hybrid options to explore, particularly if you do not live close to your vacation rental property. For example:<br />
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<strong>1. The owner buys and manages online listings, but the property manager’s contact info is listed.</strong> With this method you won’t get inquiry or emergency calls from renters at inconvenient times, such as during dinner or in the middle of the night.<br />
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<strong>2. “À la carte” property managers, where the owner only pays for the services they want.</strong> Obviously, cost and services will vary depending on exactly what your needs are. For example, the owner handles their own marketing and bookings, and the property manager handles cleaning, maintenance, and keys and charges a flat fee for each. If you’ve had difficulty finding a housekeeper you like in the past, this could potentially be a good solution.<br />
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<strong>3. Full service property managers who charge a discounted commission for bookings generated by owner.</strong> This might work well for you if you do not have as much time to devote to renting your property as you would like, but still want to play an active role in the bookings.<br />
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Even if you want to maintain control of renting your vacation rental, it's worth at least considering these options: they may help reduce the stress and hassle of renting ( and put the "vacation" back into "vacation rental").<br />
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Homeaway includes a <a href="https://ownerreferral.homeaway.com/directory" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">directory service of Property Managers in the US</a>: you can enter your zip code and find a list of property managers that are within 25 miles. <br />
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<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-6201466-10665960" target="_top">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-6201466-10665960" height="1" width="1" /> <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-7144471658968526372014-07-02T10:51:00.001+01:002014-07-02T10:54:55.153+01:00Improving Your Ranking on VRBO <div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dpbolvw.net/7r79y1A719PWSQRUWWPRQXRTUUY" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.vrbo.com';return true;" target="_blank">Sign up to list your vacation rental property on VRBO.com, and get 1 month FREE. Use coupon code: 1MONTHFREE. </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.compareownerholidayrentals.com/review_vrbo.htm" target="_blank">VRBO</a> was one of the pioneers of the Vacation Rentals industry and still remains one of the premier sites, particularly in the US. <br />
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VRBO was always feisty and independent ( and sometimes difficult to deal with: they were the least co-operative site that I dealt with in the early days.) <br />
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Since the acquisition by <a href="http://www.compareownerholidayrentals.com/review_homeaway.htm" target="_blank">Homeaway</a>, my impression is that VRBO has smoothed out some of the rough edges. Although there are some synergies with Homeaway ( including special offers on listing package bundles), many vacation rental owners still rely on VRBO for the lion's share of their bookings.<br />
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However, as with all the large sites, as VRBO has grown more popular, getting your listing noticed has become increasingly more difficult. Hence, moving your property up the listings has become more of a priority.<br />
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The obvious way to improve your ranking is to purchase upgrade features that facilitate premium placement. However, even without spending additional money, there are some things you can do.<br />
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1. Update your calendar at least weekly ( and preferably daily). Listings with updated calendars are given priority over those that have not been updated recently. (This is true on many listing sites, including Homeaway itself). It is very much worth the couple of minutes it takes.<br />
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2. Ensure you have all 24 photos loaded. On VRBO, listings with all 24 photos are given priority over those that don't use the full complement of photos available. Most people are not aware of this, but it can substantially improve your rankings.<br />
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3. Ensure that you specify any features your vacation rental has, either by "ticking the box" to confirm that feature is available and/or by mentioning it in the text description of your listing. Many people overlook this, but people sometimes search for specific features and this will help ensure you show up in those searches. Also, keep in mind that this can apply to facilities that are nearby. So, for example, if there is a golf course nearby, mention it in your listing and renters looking for golf in your area are more likely to be shown your listing.<br />
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With a small amount of effort, you can improve your ranking which should pay off with increased bookings for your vacation rental! <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-48636901248127282662014-06-19T15:09:00.003+01:002014-06-19T15:09:56.464+01:00Special Offer on Homeaway.co.uk : 40% off New ListingsFor a limited time only, Homeaway.co.uk are offering 40% off new listings. <br />
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Kevin<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-86839549824325086972014-06-18T13:51:00.001+01:002014-06-18T16:47:23.229+01:00The Re-birth of Vacation Rental Management Companies <br />
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<a href="http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?s=223651&v=2847&q=111957&r=109898"><img border="0" src="http://www.awin1.com/cshow.php?s=223651&v=2847&q=111957&r=109898" /></a>
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There seems to be quite a lot of venture capital investment money going into companies that help Owners manage their on-line rental bookings. Is this likely to become a major trend and should you consider using these services?<br />
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<a href="http://turnkeyvr.com/" target="_blank">Turnkey Vacation Rentals</a> just raised a "further" $3m to help develop their Vacation Rental Management business. As the blurb says .....<br />
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"As vacation home rentals and apartment rentals go more mainstream, you can expect more vacation rental management companies, broadly similar to Turnkey Vacation Rentals, to emerge as owners seek to make the hosting process more efficient and less of a hassle."<br />
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Turnkey is an Austin-based vacation rental management company and is led by former executives from Hotwire and HomeAway and had already raised $1.5m. They secured an additional $3 million in seed funding to "expand into ski, beach, and other markets."<br />
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Turnkey are not the only company targeting to provide online services to Vacation Rental Owners. <a href="http://www.guesty.com/" target="_blank">Guesty</a>, which currently focuses on providing support to Owners who advertise on Airbnb, is reportedly planning to expand into providing vacation rental management services on other platforms. <br />
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So, what's going on? In the early days of the online Vacation Rental business, most owners were happy to manage everything themselves, including enquiries, bookings, payments, deposit refunds etc etc. At the time, this was bad news for the "old school" Vacation Rental Management companies, who, in the days before online vacation rentals sites, managed everything for the owners ..... and took a very large share of the revenue! <br />
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Nowadays, the online portals and tools have become so sophisticated, that there seems to be an emerging market for someone who will take care of all the online tasks for the owners .... and hopefully, do so in a cost effective way. <br />
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I'm not sure I am ready to try these new offerings just yet, but I think it is worth watching this space .....<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-22082885364158140882014-06-13T12:13:00.000+01:002014-06-13T12:13:21.919+01:00Holidaylettings Now Handles Return of Damage Deposits<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?s=223651&v=2847&q=111957&r=109898"><img border="0" src="http://www.awin1.com/cshow.php?s=223651&v=2847&q=111957&r=109898" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> have just introduced a great new feature: they will take care of collecting and returning damage deposits! <br />
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I have always found damage deposits to be a great deal of hassle. As I did not have anyone locally who could handle cash, deposits needed to be paid electronically in advance and then I needed to refund them after the guest had left. Besides the fact that costs were sometimes involved, it was just an extra hassle to have to arrange repayment of the damage deposit.<br />
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Hence, for the most part, I have given up on asking for damage deposits. Except in cases where I have a "gut feel"that the guest might be a problem ( and if that's the case, why rent to them anyway?) I don't bother asking for a refundable deposit. <br />
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Only once has this caused a problem, where a renter deliberately damaged something because my former agent was rude to them ( apparently). <br />
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Nevertheless, it sometimes is a cause of worry and so I am delighted that <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> is now including the option of collecting and returning damage deposits. <br />
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You will get an email when the guest checks out and will have seven days from this date to report any damage. If you don't report any damage, then the deposit will be returned to the renter. On the other hand, if you do report and damage, you can instruct <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> on how you want to handle releasing the damage deposit. <br />
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I plan to try this service out ( as far as I can tell, it's free of charge) and will let people know what my experience has been: on the face of it, though, this looks like a great service for <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> to offer (and I am sure others will follow suit).<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-49173707629229352502014-06-05T14:14:00.000+01:002014-06-05T14:14:34.168+01:00Growth Markets for Vacation Rentals in the US<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-6201466-10713448" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.vrbo.com';return true;" target="_blank">Sign up to list your vacation rental property on VRBO.com, and get 1 month FREE. Use coupon code: 1MONTHFREE. Expires Dec 31st, 2014.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-6201466-10713448" height="1" width="1" />
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<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-6201466-10494779" target="_blank">Homeaway</a> published data on where they are seeing the most growth in both vacation rental listings and in renter enquiries.<br />
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Although the market for new vacaiton rental properties is still recovering, some areas are showing growth. Areas with the largest increase in new vacation rental listings on the Homeaway/ <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.dpbolvw.net/sh97tenkem184236881328B9862%22%20target=%22_blank%22%20onmouseover=%22window.status='http://www.vrbo.com';return%20true;%22%20onmouseout=%22window.status='%20';return%20true;%22%3EVRBO%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.tqlkg.com/g0106drvjpn8FB9ADFF8A9FIGFD9%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22/%3E" target="_blank">VRBO</a> sites is spread among several states, with Utah and North Carolina doing particularly well. <br />
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<img alt="VRR - Destinations with largest increase NEW LISTINGS.png" src="http://www.homeaway.com/info/files/shared/MediaCenter/Press%20releases/VRR%20-%20Destinations%20with%20largest%20increase%20NEW%20LISTINGS.png" height="376" style="float: left;" width="302" /><br />
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On the other hand, growth in traveller demand is greatest in Florida and California. Presumably, the market still has some excess capacity, particularly in Florida, but the pick up is good news for owners in these areas.<br />
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<img alt="VRR - Destinations with largest increase TRAVELER DEMAND.png" src="http://www.homeaway.com/info/files/shared/MediaCenter/Press%20releases/VRR%20-%20Destinations%20with%20largest%20increase%20TRAVELER%20DEMAND.png" height="376" style="float: left;" width="302" /><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-38948729685834120672014-06-05T13:58:00.003+01:002014-06-05T13:59:49.924+01:00Homeaway Statistics on Vacation Rentals<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-6201466-10784592" target="_top">Learn How to Rent your Second Home as a Vacation Rental Property.</a><img border="0" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-6201466-10784592" height="1" width="1" />
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<a href="http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-6201466-10494779" target="_blank">Homeaway</a> recently produced some research on the vacation rentals business which includes some interesting statistics. How does your experience compare?<br />
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<li>The average age in which owners<strong> purchased their vacation home</strong> was 47 years old. Fourteen percent of survey respondents said they purchased their vacation rental as a future retirement home</li>
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<li> More than half (54 percent) of vacation rental owners cover at least <strong>three quarters of their mortgage</strong> by renting their home to travellers</li>
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<ul>
<li>On average a HomeAway owner spends <strong>3.5% of their rental revenue</strong> marketing their property. On Homeaway, this translates into a spend of $961 per year in order to generate rental revenue of $27,360</li>
</ul>
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<li><strong> </strong>Vacation rental owners spend an average of <strong>nine hours per week marketing</strong> <strong>and managing</strong> their vacation rental properties</li>
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<li>Sixty-five percent of owners spent <strong>more than two weeks</strong> in their vacation home over the last year</li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-25652381465466329802014-03-13T08:49:00.000+00:002014-03-13T09:07:38.451+00:00Do You Respond To Rental Enquiries in 24 Hours? Your Rental Listing Site Cares!<a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/2174mu2-u1HOKIJMOOHJIMRMPPO" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.homeaway.com';return true;" target="_blank">Get the best value for the money with no commission or booking fees - keep your rental income!</a><img border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/ls72p59y31NUQOPSUUNPOSXSVVU" height="1" width="1" /> <br />
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It has been well documented that those who respond most quickly to vacation rental enquiries are most likely to earn the booking. This is true particularly when it is possible for a potential renter to send the same request to many owners, as it the case on many of the vacation rental listing sites. <br />
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Interestingly, both Flipkey and <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> are now planning to use the speed of response of owners on their systems to manage booking requests. <br />
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Both Flipkey and <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> recently introduced the ability for renters to request a booking for an available property: all the owner has to do is respond to either confirm or reject the booking. <br />
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This is actually a really nice feature. From the renter's point of view, it means that, once they find a vacation rental property that they like, they can make a booking request quickly and easily. From the Owner's point of view, it also reduces the back-and-forth responding to requests and means that the owner can simply accept the booking with a single click (at the "list price").<br />
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(It also works well for <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> and Flipkey, since they get a commission on all of these bookings!)<br />
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When originally launched a few months ago, Owners had 48 hours to respond to these booking requests. However, both Holiday Lettings and Flipkey have announced that they are reducing this time to 24 hours. They argue that most requests are answered in this time and I assume don't want to lose the booking because of a slow response from the owner. It's also not clear whether they will proactively suggest alternate vacation rental properties once a booking request has expired, although that would be a logical thing to do.<br />
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In a similar vein, Flipkey have indicated that they routinely remove "commission only" listings from their systems once the enquiry response rates fall below a certain value. The rationale is that they want to "reward" owners who respond quickly by channelling the enquiry traffic to them and away from those owners who are not active on the system.<br />
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The clear message from all of this is that, particularly with the move to "commission" based listings, those who respond quickly will get favoured treatment by the vacation rental listings sites.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-47619922952666214122014-02-11T11:43:00.000+00:002014-03-13T09:06:24.973+00:00Top Reasons Travelers Don't Book Your Rental <br />
<a href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/2174mu2-u1HOKIJMOOHJIMRMPPO" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.homeaway.com';return true;" target="_blank">Get the best value for the money with no commission or booking fees - keep your rental income!</a><img border="0" src="http://www.lduhtrp.net/ls72p59y31NUQOPSUUNPOSXSVVU" height="1" width="1" />
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I received the following tips listed below from Flipkey that I think are worth sharing. They apply on all listing sites, although perhaps particularly those that include online payment options. <br />
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Some additional comments:<br />
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1. Update Your Availability Calendar: On many sites (including Flipkey, <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> and Homeaway), properties that keep their availability calendar updated get preferential treatment in search listings. ( Some sites even allow the renter to search by how recently updated the calendars are.) Hence, this is a great (and free) way to increase the profile of your vacation rental<br />
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2. Respond quickly: I recently downloaded the <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> mobile app, which allows me to respond instantly, even when I am "out and about". All the research says that renters will give preference to owners that respond quickly, and with more and more owners using mobile apps, you need to make sure you don't miss your opportunity.<br />
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3. Enter complete and up to date pricing: With some sites now allowing renters to request a firm booking based upon the pricing you have set up, this is a great way to get the renters to commit quickly. Just this week I took bookings from both Flipkey and Holiday Lettings, where all I had to do was confirm that I wanted the booking! No haggling over prices, no back-and-forth with questions. (On Holiday Lettings, I was even able to do this with a single click from my smart phone!)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="yiv1364175322w560" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5760" style="width: 580px;"><tbody id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5759">
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5769"><td align="middle" class="yiv1364175322headline" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5768" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 36px; line-height: 120%;" width="100%"><br />
<br />
The Top 5 Reasons Travelers<br />
Don't Book Your Rental</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="yiv1364175322w560" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5775" style="width: 560px;"><tbody id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5774">
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5773"><td height="8" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5772" width="100%"></td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5777"><td align="left" class="yiv1364175322sub" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5776" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 130%;" width="100%"></td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5779"><td height="15" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5778"></td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5785"><td id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5784"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="yiv1364175322w560" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5783" style="width: 560px;"><tbody id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5782">
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5781"><td align="left" class="yiv1364175322small" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5780" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 140%; vertical-align: top;" valign="top"><span class="yiv1364175322quotes" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5786" style="color: #d0772c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; line-height: 140%;">"The property isn't actually available for my dates."</span><br />
Sync your calendar and automatically show your listing's latest availability.</td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5789"><td height="12" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5788"> </td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5791"><td align="left" class="yiv1364175322small" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5790" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 140%; vertical-align: top;"><span class="yiv1364175322quotes" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5792" style="color: #d0772c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; line-height: 140%;">"I didn't hear from the owner for over a day."</span><br />
Respond to all inquiries and booking requests immediately. </td></tr>
<tr><td height="12"> </td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5825"><td align="left" class="yiv1364175322small" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5824" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 140%; vertical-align: top;"><span class="yiv1364175322quotes" style="color: #d0772c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; line-height: 140%;">"It's not clear how much the rental costs per night."</span><br />
Make sure you've set the nightly rate and minimum stay for each rate period. </td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5823"><td height="12" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5822"> </td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5820"><td align="left" class="yiv1364175322small" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5819" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 140%; vertical-align: top;"><span class="yiv1364175322quotes" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5821" style="color: #d0772c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; line-height: 140%;">"My final price was different from what I saw on the listing."</span><br />
Keep your rates and fees up to date and accurate. </td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5818"><td height="12" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5817"> </td></tr>
<tr id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5815"><td align="left" class="yiv1364175322small" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5814" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 140%; vertical-align: top;"><span class="yiv1364175322quotes" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1391790117865_5816" style="color: #d0772c; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; line-height: 140%;">"I can't tell if the rental is right for me." </span><br />
Take advantage of our unlimited photos and add pictures from all rooms in the home. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-6905171721936968242014-02-07T16:00:00.000+00:002014-03-13T09:08:24.908+00:00Get Your Guest's Real Email Address<br />
<a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-6201466-10494777" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;">One low annual fee to advertise your home on HomeAway with No Commission or Booking Fees!</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: #4386ce;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-6201466-10494777" height="1" width="1" /></span></strong> <br />
<br />
With the advent of Commission based listings from the likes of Holidaylettings, Homeaway and Flipkey, you will not automatically get the real email address of your guests. <br />
<br />
A case in point arose recently. Someone who had stayed at my <a href="http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/nice/371598" target="_blank">apartment in Nice, France</a> last year contacted me again: she had been so happy with the apartment, she wanted to book again this year. After some exchange, I generously included a discount on what she had paid last year and thought we had agreed the booking. <br />
<br />
However, it turns out the email address she was using to contact me was actually a <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> email address. ( This wasn't apparent to me, because she showed up as "Jane Doe" in my inbox.) Hence, there was a slight dilemma: she wanted to book through <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> , but I had not included the booking fee of 5% ( let alone allowed for the 3% commission) in the rates I had quoted to her. <br />
<br />
Of course, what I should have done last year was to make sure that I exchanged real email details with ALL my renters who booked through <a href="http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2847&id=109898" target="_blank">Holidaylettings.co.uk</a> .<br />
<br />
In fact, it's probably good practice to send a follow up email to all guests who rent your apartment to confirm they enjoyed their stay, to exchange email contact details and tell them that, if they contact you directly next time, you will be able to offer them a special price. <br />
<br />
That's what I intend to do this year.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-8839299334221335192014-02-07T14:22:00.001+00:002014-02-07T14:22:59.817+00:00For Those Who Prefer To Use a Personal Vacation Rental Site<br />
<a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-6201466-10494777" target="_blank">One low annual fee to advertise your home on HomeAway with No Commission or Booking Fees!</a><img border="0" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-6201466-10494777" height="1" width="1" />
<br />
<br />
Although most owners seem to prefer to use listings on the various <a href="http://compareownerholidayrentals.com/" target="_blank">Vacation Rental Sites</a>, some owners prefer to develop personal sites and use these as a (large) part of their vacation rental marketing strategy.<br />
<br />
This has a number of advantages. Among the more important are:<br />
<br />
1. You don't have to pay listing fees or commission for bookings you receive on your own site<br />
<br />
2. You can provide a lot more information about your vacation rental property on your own site: you are not limited by the number of photos /pages etc that are imposed by the vacation rental listing sites. In addition, you don't have to compete with other properties listed on your site!<br />
<br />
3. You get to control all aspects of your interaction with renters. This is becoming increasingly important with the advent of "commission only" listings, where you don't even receive the email address of the renter who sends you enquiries.<br />
<br />
Of course, running your own site ( and the associated marketing) takes some work and has costs of it's own. For example:<br />
<br />
1. You need to design your web site ( or get someone to do it for you). Since this will be used to "sell" renters on your vacation property, it's important that you do a good job, so you need to be sure your site looks clean and professional. You also need to make sure that the hosting service you are working with is reliable and provides good service, as if your site goes down, your property is effectively off the market!<br />
<br />
2. You need to invest time and money in attracting prospective renters to come to your site. This is a lot harder than it looks! The public vacation rental listing sites have the advantage that they have the marketing budgets to attract lots of traffic to their sites. Getting decent traffic requires that you spend time and money in a smart and effective way.<br />
<br />
Hence, if you are considering using a personal vacation rental site, my advice would be that you seek help from those you have experience in this area. This can be other vacation rental owners, for example in forums such as <a href="http://www.laymyhat.com/forum/" target="_blank">Lay My Hat</a>. In addition, there are professionals who may be able to help.<br />
<br />
A couple of examples that are both listed on COHR:<br />
<br />
1. <a href="http://www.webchalet.com/vacation-rental-website-lp2?utm_source=COHR&utm_medium=website&utm_content=homepagebanner" target="_blank">Web Chalet</a> will help you to build and then host your website. This has the advantage of ensuring you have a professional looking site with lots of support once it's up and running. <br />
<br />
2. <a href="http://www.villamarketers.com/" target="_blank">Villamarketers</a> provide extensive support and services in building your personal site, including ensuring the it is designed with built in "Search Engine Optimization", to help ensure you show up in searches on Google and other search engines.<br />
<br />
Whether you decide to use a personal website, listings on the public vacation rentals sites or some combination, getting the right help and advice ultimately pays off in the end. In this regard, I would also recommend you take a look at <a href="https://vrleap.com/" target="_blank">VRLeap</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-2038604576830659692014-01-17T12:36:00.000+00:002014-01-17T12:38:22.685+00:00Which Vacation Rentals Sites To Use in 2014?The new year has kicked off with a bang and I am seeing very strong demand for my <a href="http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/nice/371598" target="_blank">vacation rental in Nice, France</a>. Clearly, a lot of people are already making plans for their 2014 vacations. <br />
<br />
Looking back at 2013, it was my best year ever in terms of rental performance. I was fully booked for almost the whole 12 months, helped by some long term winter renters both in the early and later part of the year. Overall , I had more renters opting for short stays ( Nice is a very popular short break destination), which pushed up the changeover costs a little, but all-in-all, I ended up with better net revenues than in any other year.<br />
<br />
Undoubtedly, however, the introduction of commission only listings by both <a href="https://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/advertise-holiday-home.aspx?awaid=109898&awgid=111833&awbid=223266&awpid=0&awcr=&utm_source=Affiliate%2BWindows&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=Affiliates&awc=2847_1389961908_c78abea9375bcd6324f00db2e113e9f0" target="_blank">Holiday Lettings</a> and Flipkey really helped me to fill gaps in my availability. I have always struggled with the right number of "paid" listings sites to use, but adding the commission only listings gave me a "no risk" option to secure extra bookings.<br />
<br />
And I would have to say that both Holiday Lettings and Flipkey delivered for me. I know that some people have reported issues with using them, plus many owners don't like the fact that they lose some of the personal relationship with the renters, but for me, they added a lot to my portfolio in 2013.<br />
<br />
But what about 2014? Well, one change that effects me is that<a href="https://www.homeaway.com/order/benefits?CID=a_cj_2876110&utm_source=cj&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=2876110&utm_campaign=10689249" target="_blank"> Homeaway</a> forced the switchover of Homelidays to <a href="https://www.homeaway.co.uk/order/benefits?CID=a_cj_2876110&utm_source=cj&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=2876110&utm_campaign=11375736">Homeaway.uk</a>. Homelidays was always a good performer for me, as it is a French site and attracted a lot of French renters. (It also attracted a lot of Scandanavians, too.) I suspect that Homeaway.uk, if it works as all, is likely to attract mainly UK renters. For the moment, Homeaway.uk have agreed to give me a couple of extra months to see what response I get, so stay posted !<br />
<br />
Other than that , there does seem to be a shift in the market to commission only listings: Homeaway offers one on its main site, but it is expensive at 10%.<br />
<br />
Also, many of the sites are pushing that you use their systems for payment: increasingly, particularly on large sites, I expect that these listings will be given prominence. <br />
<br />
The big sites ( many of whom are owned by Homeaway or Tripadvisor) are under increasing pressure to increase revenues. Since the growth in new listings has slowed down, this means they will focus on getting more revenue out of their existing listings by offering various add-ons.<br />
<br />
Having said that, the big sites get the most traffic and so, I plan to continue using them as a large part of my marketing. However, 2014 is probably also the year to start looking at<a href="http://vacation-rental-forum.blogspot.ie/2014/01/alternative-vaction-rental-sites.html" target="_blank"> other vacation rental site options</a> to balance the mix. <br />
<br />
It's going to be an interesting year: here's hoping it is even better than 2013!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-8463859492870253042014-01-15T14:33:00.001+00:002014-01-15T14:33:44.667+00:00How To Fake Your Death by Kevin ISMWait .... this is not actually about giving you advice on how to fake your death!<br />
<br />
Some of you may have noticed a gap in my vacation rental blog publishing over the last few months. Part of the reason was that, under the guise of my alter ego Kevin ISM, I have been recording a rock album entitled "How To Fake Your Death". The album includes the song "The Courage To Choose" which one best rock song on Ourstage.com in November.<br />
<br />
I am delighted to say that HTFYD is now finally published and is live on<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ie/album/how-to-fake-your-death/id738542640" target="_blank"> iTunes</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Fake-Your-Death-Kevin/dp/B00GGMON4A/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&sr=1-1&keywords=kevin+ism" target="_blank">Amazon</a> . You can also check out more of my work on <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/kevinism?profile_view_source=header_icon_nav" target="_blank">Reverbnation</a>.<br />
<br />
As always, I would be interested in comments! <br />
<br />
<br />
Kevin<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-15291059731628315162014-01-15T14:10:00.001+00:002014-01-15T14:10:35.394+00:00Alternative Vaction Rental Sites: Looking Beyond Homeaway, VRBO and The Big GuysOkay, most of your vacation rental bookings are likely to come from the larger sites like Homeaway, VRBO, Flipkey or possibly Holiday Lettings : that's why they charge the big bucks! <br />
<br />
But now that the new year has kicked off, it is at least worth exploring some other options.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.compareownerholidayrentals.com/" target="_blank">COHR vacation rental forum</a> website lists almost 60 different vacation rental sites. Although the bug guys are included, there are lots of other sites, including some niche sites that might suit your property. Furthermore, many of the sites are free or offer free trial periods, plus several list special offers for <a href="http://www.compareownerholidayrentals.com/contact_form.htm" target="_blank">COHR visitors/ subscribers</a>.<br />
<br />
Some examples include:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vacationsfrbo.com/" target="_blank">VacationsFRBO</a> : Offers the <b>VFRBO Booking Guarantee</b>. If your initial one-year listing does not result in at least one booking that more than covers your listing fee, they will extend your listing for no charge until you have received a booking. This means that your listing is guaranteed to cost you nothing and put money in your pocket. ( This offer is not available for three-month or six-month listings. ) There is a 15% discount on the COHR site. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.funfamilyrentals.com/" target="_blank">Funfamilyrentals</a> : This site is a free site that is focused properties suitable for families<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.discoveryholidayhomes.com/" target="_blank">Discovery Holiday Homes</a>: Based in Torquay, Devon, provide a fully comprehensive package including online bookings, payments in multi-currencies, phone support to holiday visitors in English, Italian, German, Spanish and Dutch. To offer a comprehensive service, partners with local management companies to cover cleaning, maintenance and support services<br />
<br />
<a href="http://gogovr.com/">Gogovr.com</a> : Another free listing site that specialises in last minute deals<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.habitat360.net/" target="_blank">Habitat 360</a> : This a free listing site ( although there are paid options) and includes not just a rentals section, but also a section on selling you vacation rental.<br />
<br />
There are many other options listed on COHR so take some time to browse the listings and find the right ones for you.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23659104.post-79587473889719741972013-07-17T16:57:00.001+01:002013-07-17T16:57:34.801+01:00How Does Homeaway Do Acquisitions ?<a href="http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-6201466-10665960" target="_top">Save $25 on new 12-month listings at HomeAway.com with code G307. Expires Dec 31st, 2013.</a><img border="0" height="1" src="http://www.tqlkg.com/image-6201466-10665960" width="1" /><br />
<br />
Vacation Rental Owners might find the following extract from a recent article on Homeaway interesting, as it gives some insight into the strategy and tactics that Homeaway uses to identify potential acquisition targets and then to close these acquisitions. it has clearly been a successful approach, as they continue to be the market leader .....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Co-founder and CEO Brian Sharples, a former Bain & Co. consultant, knew that one way to outdo rivals was to swallow up smaller competitors to gain market share. In fact, HomeAway has acquired nine leading vacation rental websites including Vacationrentals.com, Owners Direct and VRBO.com, an acronym for Vacation Rentals by Owner.<br />
<br />
<br />
HomeAway doesn't just evaluate a rival's books. Analysts say it seeks to form a relationship with top executives to ensure that they're a good fit with the company.<br />
<br />
<br />
The upshot of all this merger activity has been positive for HomeAway. In the first quarter ended March 31, 2013, revenue surged 24% to $79.5 million from $64.1 million in the first quarter of 2012.<br />
<br />
HomeAway generated 84% of that revenue from 742,000 listings in which subscribers pay $349 to $999 annually to publicize their home availability on its website. Sixty-two percent of its global revenue comes from the U.S., 36% from Europe, and 2% from South America and Australia.<br />
<br />
When Sharples and co-founder Carl Shepherd, currently chief strategy officer, first launched HomeAway in 2005, Shepherd taught him to "get to know the other company before acquiring them," he said. They'd spend six months to two years investigating the rival's culture and getting to know the CEO to ensure that it was a good match. "We took a partnership approach," he said.<br />
<br />
<br />
In addition to cultural fit, Sharples targets ascending companies. He's looking for 30% growth. "We don't like to buy companies that haven't demonstrated they can make money," he said.<br />
<br />
<br />
When he researched what it would take to grow, Sharples realized that "we would need to buy a number of companies in different geographies to be successful."<br />
<br />
<br />
Expanding its footprint into global locations creates a "network effect," Sharples said. "The more travelers you have, you have more choice," he said. As HomeAway attracts more travelers, it spurred more homeowners to list on the site.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16682346502975263774noreply@blogger.com1