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VRM Careerists: Kelly Keys Wilson

By
Paula Caballero
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0

 

Four seasoned VR pros share how they have survived and thrived in the industry. 

In this series of VRM Careerists, VRM Intel is diving into the lives of the careerists among us, those managers who have made it over the river and through the woods of vacation rental life, and yet have still chosen to persevere in a business that is as rigorous as it is unglamorous, as challenging as it is heartwarming. 

The next story we have to share with you is that of Kelly Keys Wilson.

 

Friendship Inspires Kelly Keys Wilson 

Kelly Keys Wilson started her career in vacation rentals in 1992 with Outer Beaches Realty in North Carolina right out of college as a bookkeeper. With a degree in finance, she was a good fit for what was then a small brokerage on Hatteras Island. 

“It was pretty neat because back then we were using computers, but we were still taking reservations on cards,” she said. “We posted payments in the computer, but we hand-wrote them on little ledger cards. It was so old school. We would use a highlighter and mark things off in a book. It was just the start of things becoming computerized.” 

Kelly Keys Wilson enjoys the views from Heavenly Mountain in Lake Tahoe.

Now president of the company, Wilson never left family-owned Outer Beaches Realty, which now manages approximately 400 properties. Over the past 29 years, she had the rare opportunity to “grow up” within the company and witnessed firsthand the evolution of the vacation rental industry. 

“I take pride in the hard work that has gotten me here,” she said. “I started in the proverbial mailroom and worked my way up to the position I have now.” 

Wilson has worked all sides of the vacation rental business but has stayed substantially focused on the financial side with special attention to property owners. She has to get her hands dirty, too, but does so most often in issues of real estate commission compliance, trust accounting, and, of course, expenses. 

“There are definitely two sides to it,” Wilson said of the vacation rental business. “Guests are important, but we work for the homeowner, too. They need to understand their statements. The financial side, the numbers side, is extremely valuable and important in evaluating your marketing and performance.” 

She notes that the Outer Banks area is highly competitive, and there is little room for error as managers are all trying to secure the best properties—and the best guests. But there was a break in that mentality when her company suffered a devastating fire in November 2014 at their main location, where their computer servers and phone systems were based. 

“The fire occurred in the wee hours of the night, but by the morning, we had (our competitors) offering us computers, asking ‘How can we help you?’ and ‘Can we bring you lunch?’” Wilson said. “A lot of places out there are so cutthroat. You would hate to think they would delight in your misfortune.” 

Wilson said her office was lucky in that they had a disaster recovery plan and, in the end, lost very little information. They were very fortunate, but what stays with her is the response from industry colleagues. 

“On a normal day, we want the most reservations and the nicest properties, but on a day like that, you put that aside and do what’s right,” she continued. “It’s very nice to know you have friends at these other companies.” 

 

Read More about Other VRM Careerists Below

       

 

 

VRM Careerists: Ryan Christopher

By
Paula Caballero
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0

 

Four seasoned VR pros share how they have survived and thrived in the industry. 

In this series of VRM Careerists, VRM Intel is continuing to dive into the lives of the careerists among us, those managers who have made it over the river and through the woods of vacation rental life, and yet have still chosen to persevere in a business that is as rigorous as it is unglamorous, as challenging as it is heartwarming. 

Next on our list is the story of Ryan Christopher.

 

Ryan Christopher Is Happy to Be Lazy, Finally 

Ryan Christopher was in college in 1995 doing a summer internship as a manager-in-training with Abbott Resorts in Florida when he learned firsthand that working in hospitality was not for everyone. 

“Eighty percent of the interns decided they didn’t want to do it and changed their degree by the end of the summer,” he said. “They never had worked, never had practical experience. You know, cleaning toilets, throw-up, all that stuff that happens. But you have to do it hands-on to be successful.” 

By the time he was 25, he was a general manager in the Fort Walton Beach area with the same resort company he interned for, hired right out of college by one of his mentors, Joann Saucier. He credits Saucier with demonstrating to him how to treat and appreciate employees, particularly the ones servicing the homes. 

Ryan Christopher making the most of living in Pensacola, Florida.

“She was good about helping me understand what the real business was,” Christopher said. “It’s hard to get people to want to do some of that stuff. But she had empathy for employees. I learned how to manage people by watching her. I imitated what I saw her doing.” 

Even while managing hundreds of properties, in the early years Christopher stayed close to the guest experience. One guest called after checking in, saying there had been a homicide in his unit. But after further inspection—and a period of panic—it turned out the “blood” was only tomato sauce. 

“Another guest covered an entire unit with Saran Wrap,” he said. “It was just crazy. He was a germaphobe.” 

Christopher had the unique experience of working exclusively for large, publicly-traded vacation rental companies over the years, which offered advantages and disadvantages. While it was a luxury to have the funding to implement new technologies and have entire departments for marketing and human resources, there were restrictions and frustrations in effecting change. 

“The best analogy is you operate like an aircraft carrier when you try to change direction, rather than a speedboat,” he said. 

In 2020, he took his 22 years of vacation rental industry experience and pivoted to a new venture as the owner of Lazy Days Beach Services. Christopher is now a service provider for the vacation rental industry. He said that over his years of working in Florida, he saw a sizable gap in the vacation rental guest experience. 

“If we were able to do everything perfectly (at the vacation rental), but guests went to the beach and had a horrible experience, they felt like that was an extension of what we were,” he said. “I saw an opportunity to use what I learned in vacation rentals and leverage it.” 

Lazy Days Beach Services provides beach concierge services to large companies like Marriott and condo associations, but also to nearly 1,000 individual vacation rental homeowners who see the value in ensuring that their guests have the ultimate beach vacation experience from start to finish, so they’ll return year after year. 

And now, with Lazy Days, he also has time to serve as manager of his own three vacation rentals. He finally has the power to effect the change he wants, whenever he wants. 

“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to immediately affect that guest experience as an owner,” he said. “I love it.” 

 

Read More about Other VRM Careerists Below

       

 

 

VRM Careerists: Kathleen Holmes

By
Paula Caballero
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0

 

Four seasoned VR pros share how they have survived and thrived in the industry. 

If there is one universal truth about vacation rental managers, it’s that they did not tell their parents they wanted to be one when they grew up. Unlike that of an astronaut or veterinarian, the road into the vacation rental industry is not paved or even clearly marked. 

Some might say it’s muddy, and you better be wearing boots. 

In this series of VRM Careerists, VRM Intel is diving into the lives of the careerists among us, those managers who have made it over the river and through the woods of vacation rental life, and yet have still chosen to persevere in a business that is as rigorous as it is unglamorous, as challenging as it is heartwarming. 

They remember when marketing meant mailing out print catalogs. They rattle off long lists of reservation software, tried and long abandoned. They have stories straight out of reality television. 

And they know way too much about toilet paper. 

These are their stories, just as personal as the vacation memories they create for guests. The first story we have for you is Kathleen Homes.

 

Kathleen Homes Gets Down and Dirty 

Kathleen Holmes was looking for health insurance when she stumbled upon a front desk position with Great Beach Vacations in Charleston, South Carolina, in the mid-1990s. With a master’s degree in urban anthropology, it might not have seemed like an obvious fit. 

“It was like answering phones at the DMV,” she remembers. “It was just insane with requests. ‘I just checked in and there’s no toilet paper!’ And you would have thought it was the end of the world. You’d have to talk guests off the ledge, use your active listening skills, and validate concerns.” 

Kathleen Holmes makes music at her Charleston, South Carolina home.

Within six months of deftly juggling phone calls from guests, vendors, and homeowners, Holmes was promoted to a property manager position and was one of five owner relations managers handling more than 400 vacation rental properties between them. 

Now with 20 years of industry experience, and currently working as director of marketing and acquisitions for Seabrook Exclusives, Holmes knows she found her calling. She and her team pride themselves on staying focused on personal connections in this age of automated everything. 

“We really still want to get on the phone with people and stay in front of them throughout their journey,” Holmes said. “Our best attribute is our relationship with our guests.” 

The proof? Seabrook Exclusives has a 67 percent returning guest rate. 

“We sell service, experiences, and we help our guests craft memories,” she said. “The human factor is always going to be the most important thing we can offer.” 

Holmes enjoys getting her hands dirty in all aspects of the business and is known by her team to wield a pretty mean vacuum cleaner. By her admission, she’s also a little heavy handed with the Tilex spray. 

“You only become a good vacation rental manager by being in the trenches,” she said. “Taking reservations, cleaning, fixing things-being a MacGyver. 

“My husband is blown away. I’ve gone outside and fixed our A/C, looked at our water heater, and said, ‘Yeah, we’ve got an upper element out.’ And he’s like, ‘Whaaaat?’” 

Holmes has a special touch when it comes to air conditioning, demonstrated by one of her favorite stories. Guests at an oceanfront property called in one day saying the living room wasn’t cooling properly, and despite a technician telling Holmes the system was cooling within range, she remained skeptical. 

She decided to call two other contractors and bring them with her into the dark crawl space under the house to check the ductwork. As she guessed, the duct under the living area had a large hole in it, and cool air was pouring into the crawl space—likely the work of rodents. 

But then one of the technicians pointed his flashlight into the sand near their feet. Large paw prints. 

“Hmmm. Bobcat,” he whispered to Holmes. 

“We all lean down and start to see this outline of a mummified bobcat in the sand and the contractors are on either side of me,” Holmes recalled. “And I can’t scream because there are guests in the house right above me, so I dug my nails into them. They both started laughing. They thought it was cool!” 

Vacation rental management requires being ready for everything. 

“I will never say I’ve seen it all,” she said. “Because in this business, there’s always something new.” 

 

Read More about Other VRM Careerists Below

       

 

 

Takeaways from Airbnb’s First Earnings Call as a Publicly Traded Company

By
Amy Hinote
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0

Yesterday, Airbnb held its first earnings call as a publicly traded company following the release of its Q4-2020 financials. For vacation rental managers listing on Airbnb, it’s worth the time to listen to the call recording or read the full transcript, but below are our takeaways for professional property management companies.

 

Airbnb Reaffirms Commitment to Individual Hosts

Founder and CEO Brian Chesky repeatedly articulated the company’s commitment to the individual host. In his opening, he let shareholders know, “Hosting is still at the center of Airbnb.”

“Airbnb is a community of 4 million hosts; 90% are individuals, and they are who we prioritize,” Chesky reiterated.

“These are everyday people—typically school teachers, healthcare workers, students—55% of them are women.” –Brian Chesky

 

2020 Revenue Down 30%

“We delivered $3.4 billion, a full-year revenue in 2020, down only 30% compared to the year earlier,” Chesky said. “In Q4, our revenue of $859 million was down only 22% year-over-year, despite the second wave of COVID cases and widespread lockdowns. . . . Our adjusted EBITDA in 2020 was slightly better than 2019, and this was despite revenue being down $1.4 billion.”

 

Addressing the competition and “professional hosts”

Chesky was asked about Airbnb’s competition. “With regards to more competition in our space, I mean, we’ve really been seeing this competition for like the last five years actually; I don’t think it’s really that different,” Chesky said. “What I have found though is this: I think that fundamentally, Airbnb, we’re in a bit of a different space than our competitors because Airbnb, we are focused primarily on individual host. They comprise 90% of our 4 million hosts. And OTAs are primarily focused on professional hosts. We have professional hosts, as well, and we think professional hosts will probably list on any site that provides a great experience and gives them high-quality guests. And we, of course, will do that; but we think individual hosts are less likely to want to listen to multiple platforms. We’re the only platform that has a custom-built platform designed specifically for individual hosts.”

“And so I don’t think competition is anything different, but I also think we’re a bit of a category of one, in the sense that we are really focused on the individual host as our primary opportunity area.”

 

Fees and Take Rate

During the call, the team was asked about Airbnb’s fees and whether we will see higher take rates or a shifting of fees from the guests to the hosts.

“In some cases, we have a mix of a low host fee and a higher guest fee. And then for some of our professional hosts, we’ll have a host-only fee, and all of it is on the host side,” Airbnb CFO Dave Stephenson replied. “And so we’ll see a mix. The mix could change over time. We continue to test and evolve to see what works best for our guests, our hosts, and we’ll just continue to evolve and iterate to make sure that we provide the best value to the overall community.”

Stephenson added, “Overall, kind of the philosophy is, as we give more back to the community in terms of services and capability, then we would—could—see opportunities for further increases in take rate. But we would always want to give more back to the community before we would increase that take rate.”

 

Airbnb’s 2021 Business Strategy

Chesky laid out the company’s overall strategy for 2021:

In 2021, our single priority is to prepare for the coming travel rebound. To do this, what we’re going to do is perfect the entire end-to-end experience of our core service. First, we’re going to educate the world about what makes Airbnb different—hosting. Through our marketing and communications, we will educate guests that being hosted is a better way to travel. In addition, we will inspire more people to become hosts.

Next, we will recruit more hosts and set them up for success. Once you’ve educated people about hosting, we’ll simplify the onboarding process so it’s easier to for hosts to get started; and we are improving our tools and support to help them succeed. Third, to make it easier for guests to find the perfect stay, we are simplifying every part of the guest experience as well as improving our search functionality to support more flexible travel patterns.

And finally, whenever our hosts or guests need us, we need to deliver world-class service. So, we’re actively fixing product issues that drive community contacts, we’re scaling our operations to meet the demand and continually enhancing our services. So that is our plan for 2021, educate the world about hosting, recruit more hosts and set them up for success, simplify the guest experience, and deliver world-class service.

 

Airbnb’s New Ad Campaign

“We launched our first large scale marketing campaign in five years, Made Possible By Hosts,” Chesky said. “Even though the brand of Airbnb is mainstream, the idea of hosting is not yet. Our goal with this campaign is to make a long-term investment in educating the world about our hosts. This campaign will help our guests to understand the benefits of being hosted and how this is unique to Airbnb. And it will create more awareness around the idea of becoming a host by making it more mainstream and aspirational.”

 

New “Flexible Dates” Search Feature

On Tuesday, Airbnb launched a new search option it is calling “Flexible Dates.”

“Today, more people are working from home and that needs more flexibility about when and where they travel. Because of this, we’re seeing a shift in how people search on Airbnb,” Chesky explained. “In 2021, to date, almost 40% of people searching on Airbnb have been flexible in terms of their date or their location of their stay. This is a huge change in the search paradigm and travel.”

“’Flexible Dates’ allows guests to search for homes in a whole new way,” he continued. “Instead of having to select the exact dates for a trip, guests are able to do broader searches. Now, you can search for a weekend getaway, a weeklong vacation, or even a month-long stay sometime in the next few months. This allows our guests to browse more options while being flexible on the exact dates of their trip, and we think this will be a very popular feature coming this travel season.”

 

Plan for acquiring more inventory

Chesky told investors that its acquisition plan for new hosts is largely organic. “The vast majority of [hosts] come direct to Airbnb,” Chesky said. “So most of our hosts, we don’t have to acquire per se. They come organically, often because they’ve heard of Airbnb. Their friends have recommended it to them, who are also hosts for – because as I mentioned before, 23% of our hosts in 2019 were prior guests.”

Airbnb also sees opportunity in pushing hosts to increase the availability in their homes. “Our existing hosts rent their homes only occasionally. So, we see huge opportunities for productivity,” Chesky said. “The average host on Airbnb makes like under $10,000 a year and they do that by renting out just occasionally. So, we think there’s a huge opportunity to increase productivity of the hosts that we already have.”

Chesky added, “In addition, we’re doing a companion campaign called Made Possible by Hosting. And that’s going to talk about all the benefits of hosting, and we’re going to really target people that are going through a life transition. As I said, people that just renovated their home, bought a new house, lost their job. Maybe, they’re retired, maybe their kids moved out of the house. So, we think this is a really great way to be able to target and recruit more hosts.”

“We’re going to allow you to become a host in less than 10 minutes. And if you need help, you can call customer service, or we’re going to match you to existing hosts to be able to support you along this journey. If we do these things, I think we’ll be able to add a significant amount of more hosts.”

 

Significant Decrease in Performance Marketing Spend

When asked about performance marketing, Chesky explained, “In 2019, we had elevated spending of performance marketing, and then 2020 occurred. Our business dropped by 80% in eight weeks, and we pulled back all marketing, including performance marketing. But something remarkable happened even before we started resuming our marketing spend, our traffic levels came back to 95% of the traffic levels of 2019 without any marketing spend. And what this revealed is that our brand is inherently strong. It’s a noun and verb in pop culture. And so we don’t intend to ever again spend the amount of money as a percentage of revenue on marketing in the future as we did in 2019. In Q4, more than 90% of our traffic was direct or unpaid. And we think that will continue in the future.”

Chesky continued, “Our marketing plan—therefore our strategy—is the following: A full-funnel marketing approach. The top of the funnel was actually PR. We got more than a half million articles in last year, in 2020. And we had as much share of voice as most of the other major travel companies combined. And that’s how we really built the brand of Airbnb more than anything—with with PR.”

Editorial note: much of that PR was written about Airbnb’s COVID-related policies and its IPO.

“We don’t treat performance marketing like other travel companies. We think of it as like a laser,” Chesky added. “It’s not a way to arbitrage users. It’s a way to laser in on where we want to acquire guests or hosts and key markets where we have a supplier demand mismatch. But—make no mistake—our efficiencies, we’re going to hold to a lot higher level than 2019 or years prior.”

 

Airbnb’s Margin expectations

Airbnb CFO Dave Stephenson said, “What we would like to—expect to—achieve over time is 30% EBITDA margins or greater.

 

Shorter Booking Windows

When asked about how summer bookings are trending, Stephenson replied, “I don’t have a lot of color that I can give you on summer travel bookings. I mean, one thing, which I can say is that people are booking in shorter windows. So, the greatest growth we’re seeing in the business right now are booking windows in less than 30 days; and, typically, kind of pre-COVID, you’re right. We’d be seeing much more of the bookings now for the summer travel season, and that is delayed relative to kind of historic patterns. . . . We just know that we want to be ready for the travel rebound when it occurs. We just don’t know exactly when it will occur.”

 

US Traveler Behavior

According to Chesky, “We did a survey recently of American travelers and we found a couple of things. The first thing we found is that people missed traveling, that’s not surprising, but we also found that people missed traveling more than any other out-of-home activity. People missed traveling more in America than going to a restaurant, going to sports, live music or other activities, but they don’t miss all kinds of traveling. Generally, people don’t miss traveling for business as much, and they generally don’t miss mass tourism. They’re generally not missing standing in a line with selfie sticks in front of a landmark, for example, or going to a crowded lobby. The kind of travel that people miss is spending meaningful time with the people they care about, their friends and their families. And so we found that the majority of people we surveyed said, they do plan to travel this year. They will do it as soon as they feel safe to do so.”

Chesky later added about the demand for experiences, “I don’t think they’re all going to desire to go back to getting on double-decker buses and waiting in line and crowded lobbies, or landmarks. They’re going to want to do really interesting activities and I think that’s what our hosts have to offer. And then for people in their own city, I think, you can only sit at home and watch so many shows on Netflix. People will want to get out of their home. And if they want to alternate to a restaurant, I think experiences are a great thing to do in their own city. So, the short answer is that we’re very focused on [experiences]. We had to take a bit of a pause last year. But they’re coming back, and we’re going to be focused on it because it’s just another way of hosting. And this is one of many ways that we’re going to continue to allow hosts, to be able to share the world with others.”

 

Cost reductions in Customer Service

“We are focused on improving efficiency by reducing contact rates,” Chesky said. “We are very, very focused on reducing the need for people to call us or message us because they have a problem. If they do have to call us or message us, we are going to focus on making our agents significantly more efficient. So that’s a really big focus area on the [costs] reductions.”

Read: Full Airbnb Q4 Earnings Call Transcript

Streamline Increases Software Prices for Some, Leading to Larger Questions Around Tech Strategies for VRMCs

By
Amy Hinote
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3

Over the last two weeks, VRM Intel has received several reports that Streamline Vacation Rental Software is notifying some of its vacation rental management customers about an imminent—and significant—price increase for use of its enterprise-level property management system (PMS).

According to Inhabit IQ, Streamline’s parent company, the pricing increase applies to customers who originally began using Streamline when prices were lower and is “an effort to standardize pricing in fairness to all Streamline clients.”

The pricing changes reflect the company’s current tier-based fee structure. For some property managers, the increase more than doubles what they were previously paying to use Streamline’s PMS (more below).

Inhabit IQ’s Chief Strategy Officer, Eric Broughton, provided VRM Intel with the following statement:

Over the years Streamline has invested heavily to build a solution that, in our view, is the best in the industry. A testament to that success and investment can be found in the number of clients that continue to sign on and go live with Streamline each month. Numerous clients have used the system for many years to grow their property management business to new heights.

The significant investment has rapidly expanded both the breadth and depth of the product, and clients have continued to join the platform at an increasing pace throughout that growth. That rapid growth also resulted in disparate pricing structures over time, in that new customers signed on at a higher rate, while legacy customers were still paying 8- and 10-year old rates.

This measure is an effort to standardize pricing in fairness to all Streamline clients. It also helps Streamline and their clients to make better sense of the various tools and services they are using. The new structure includes tiers that standardize clients’ access to tools such as the new CRM, StreamPhone, RevMax revenue management tools, OTA Connection enhancements, StreamSign, and more.

While Streamline realized they hadn’t increased pricing for some customers over the entire history of the company, they also deeply respect the loyalty of those clients, and the new pricing is still far below Streamline’s current market rate, as well as lower than many enterprise solutions. Many of the clients they’ve contacted so far acknowledge the value they’ve received over the years and recognize that the new pricing structure still provides the best value in the industry. 

To your point about the larger local PMs, Streamline’s ongoing and increased investment directly supports large, independent managers with better technology that helps them be more aggressive and compete with the multi-destination property management companies.

Streamline’s customers can choose between flat-rate monthly pricing (per unit per month) plus 1% of gross revenue received from OTA/third-party channel bookings or bundled flat-rate monthly pricing for its all-in-one solution.

Last year, Inhabit IQ also implemented a new pricing structure for LiveRez, another PMS under its umbrella, which increased software costs for its users. In addition to Streamline and LiveRez, Inhabit IQ’s proptech portfolio also includes the PMS platforms, Virtual Resort Manager (VRM) and UK-based SuperControl.

 

What should a vacation rental management company be spending on technology?

The recent announcement of pricing increases leads to a broader question: How much should a vacation rental management company (VRMC) be spending on its PMS? And to go even further, how much should a VRMC be paying for technology?

Currently PMS fees vary widely across VRM companies, ranging from $8 – $35 per property per month or .5% – 2.5% of gross booking revenue (or some combination of monthly fees and performance-based pricing).

“There are no exact metrics on an appropriate software cost in a VR company,” said Jim Olin, founder at C2G Advisors, “However, anytime you get a substantial increase, its analogous to increasing your fees to your homeowners. People start looking for alternatives.”

As one VRMC owner said after being notified of Streamline’s price increase, “I am back to the drawing board on software it seems.”

 

All-in-One vs Best-of-Breed 

In developing a tech strategy, businesses in any industry must weigh out using an all-in-one system (aka single-vendor solution) or a best-in-breed approach. When VRMCs take a best-of-breed approach, instead of purchasing an all-in-one PMS from a single vendor that tries to cover multiple bases, it means adopting specialized solutions from many vendors, and integrating them. 

For example, in addition to the PMS, VRMCs commonly pay for additional third-party technology platforms and apps:

  • Smart home systems
  • Property care (housekeeping, maintenance) management
  • Accounting and tax remittance software
  • Channel management
  • Customer relationship management (CRM)
  • Call center management/tracking and lead management
  • Benchmark and comparative data tools
  • Revenue management and dynamic pricing systems
  • SMS messaging and survey tools
  • Customer verification systems
  • Contract signature tools
  • Marketing automation and email technology
  • Guestbook/area guide apps
  • Noise monitoring systems
  • Homeowner management and communication systems

There are best-of-breed solutions for each of these categories. A VRMC can optimize tech dollars by maximizing the built-in functionality in the PMS where possible before strategically and deliberately integrating best-in-breed solutions. 

 

Beware of Shiny New Things

With the rising popularity of short-term rentals, dozens upon dozens of new entrants have recently built technology platforms and apps designed for home-rental operators. Each new tech provider sells to the VRMC saying, “If it helps you generate $X in bookings, then it pays for itself.” Or, “If it saves you X# in manhours, it pays for itself.”

However, each new tech addition requires integration, implementation, training, support, and evaluation. 

In a recent article in VRM Intel Magazine, Simon Lehmann, founder and CEO, AJL Atelier, addressed the rapidly expanding tech environment. “[Technology] use has increased substantially, but at the same time, it has been identified as one of the biggest pain points for the operators,” Lehmann said. “Vacation rental has been the only travel vertical in the start-up scene that has received more investment, and technology start-ups popped up on a monthly basis even during 2020.”

“On average, a property manager is working with eight different software products to run his business. This is not sustainable,” Lehmann added. “While the OTAs are taking 50 percent of the gross margin, technology has not become cheaper, and the net margin for property managers has become smaller. Most of the tech companies are venture-funded and are not profitable either, which does not help the situation. Today, we can source software for any process that the PMS does not offer. It is obvious now that each technology provider is trying to expand its value proposition and increase its take rate. . . . So, watch out when making decisions to source new technology. Get external advice to help you with the specifications that you need and with the selection process.”

Related: Read Simon Lehmann’s Full Comments in “Tech Leaders Predict the Future in Vacation Rental Technology”

Disaster and Business Continuity Planning in 2021

By
Wendy Glover
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0

 

“Hurricane Dorian formed on August 24, 2019, from a tropical wave in the Central Atlantic and gradually strengthened into a hurricane on August 28. By September 1, Dorian reached Category 5 intensity. On the morning of September 3, Dorian shifted toward the north-northwest. Dorian subsequently moved over warmer waters, regaining Category 3 intensity by midnight on September 5. 

In the early hours of September 6, Dorian weakened to Category 1 intensity as it turned northeast. Dorian picked up speed and moved northeast along the North Carolina coast on September 6, clipping Cape Lookout and eventually making landfall at Cape Hatteras. “

 

As Dorian walked its path up the eastern coast, we began implementing our disaster recovery plans, starting in our Orlando market. With an onsite phone system, point-of-sale system, and office staff, our plans included securing and turning down systems for protection from electrical surges or wind damage. Dorian turned more northward, targeting South Carolina. Services were restored in Orlando as teams began focusing on operations in South Carolina. File servers and phone systems were addressed, teams were evacuated, and reservation calls were redirected. Evacuees worked from hotels with laptops and cell phones while waiting to return home. Dorian changed again and looked to be targeting northern South Carolina. 

With multiple high-rise condominiums and a large central operations office there with an on-premises property management system (PMS), there was heightened attention to securing services and ensuring staff were able to operate even under evacuation. Multiple file servers, application servers, web servers, phone systems, call accounting systems, and point-of-sale systems had to secured, moved to higher floors, powered down, or supported by generator-backed uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Generator fuel was checked and teams waited for Dorian’s next move. 

Dorian moved on and targeted the Outer Banks, where it would finally land. Weary tech teams began backing out changes in Myrtle Beach even as they moved on to the Outer Banks. The local Outer Banks teams were experienced storm riders and would not evacuate. Again, servers were powered down, phone lines rerouted, and backup satellite internet services tested. On September 7, our teams were still recovering services across the eastern coast and were ready for a rest. These activities spanned more than a full week and implemented unique disaster recovery plans across different destinations with varying services and needs. All were successfully achieved by a strong team following detailed plans that had been developed and tested over many years in cooperation with the local management teams. This was an extreme case, the likes of which most businesses will hopefully never have to experience. 

Are you ready for disasters 2021 may bring? Will this year bring hurricanes, fires, or more lockdowns to your vacation rental destination? Whatever disaster you may face, you should always have a plan to recover and maintain business operations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports that “roughly 40 percent to 60 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors following a disaster.” 

Having disaster recovery and business continuity plans will help you quickly recover from any interruption you may experience. 

Disaster Recovery (DR) focuses on planning activities that minimize data loss and IT system downtime in the event of a disaster. Disaster Recovery plans, therefore, involve backup facilities, platforms, and data sets to minimize the loss of availability of critical IT systems. 

Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) focus on planning activities that minimize disruption to business operations when a disaster occurs and key IT systems are unavailable. BCPs, therefore, involve developing procedures and training staff on what steps to take when systems are unavailable. They also involve the procedures to invoke when IT systems are restored. 

The growing reliance on technology in vacation rentals puts business operations at high risk of an outage event due to technology failures. Access to power and internet services are paramount to operational capabilities and growing reliance on cloud-hosted systems doubles their importance. Air conditioning and humidity control are equally important to digital equipment. 

The core components of a good DR & BCP plan will include plans to minimize interruptions to normal operations, limit the extent of disruption or damage, minimize the economic impact of interruptions, establish alternative means of operations in advance, train personnel in emergency procedures, and provide for a smooth and rapid restoration of service. 

 

Minimize Interruptions to Operations 

To minimize the impacts on operations, identify key systems in your ecosystem and have plans for redundancy or recovery of those systems. How would you take reservation calls if your phone system failed? If your website is down, do you have the capacity to take increased inbound calls with trained staff? Could you manage your housekeeping schedule without access to the internet or your PMS? In an evacuation scenario, can you forward your main local phone number to another location? 

 

Limit the Extent of Disruption or Damage 

Limiting disruption or damage focuses on taking protective measures for your systems and assets. Have your staff move electronic equipment up off the floor and cover it with plastic in the event of a possible flood. Secure your important documents in a fireproof safe or offsite storage facility. Be sure you have current backups for any on-premises systems (a file server, for example) and take your media offsite on a regular basis. 

 

Minimize the Economic Impact of Interruptions 

If you plan in advance, you can limit the potential revenue loss from systems outages. It is important to review your vendor agreements for any cloud-based systems you use. Do the agreements commit the vendor to appropriate uptime commitments of 99.9 percent or higher and is there a financial penalty to the vendor for outages that exceed their service level agreements? For your own operations, does your business insurance include business interruption coverage? Ensuring your reservation team is up-to-date on current travel insurance coverage policies with talking points on hand for guest questions can help with guest relations and agent stress levels. Have documented processes to collect all relevant information and call back potential guests if your PMS is not available to query availability and process bookings. 

 

Establish Alternative Means of Operations in Advance 

All DR/BCP plans need to encompass how employees will communicate, where they will go, and how they will keep doing their jobs. Your people are your most important asset in your company. Maintain personnel contact lists with thorough contact information—including personal email and phone numbers—and individuals’ plans, including where they will evacuate to. This information should be updated at least annually and particularly in advance of an impending disaster. Have good documentation on what your plans are and store them where they are available to everyone— have printed copies available in case the internet is down, email the file to personal and work addresses, and store the information in a file share or other cloud storage. Ensure that you can post banner messages on your website about disaster impacts on your operations and provide updates and current contact information for your company. Arrange to have a virtual phone number in case your local lines are impacted. Do you have a platform to rapidly communicate with your owners about disaster impacts to reduce the number of direct calls you need to service from them? Leverage the automation in your guest concierge application to inform in-house guests of issues. This can alleviate communication bottlenecks and provide good guest service. 

If you need your team to be in one facility to work together, make pre-arranged plans with an out-of-region hotel or conference center for appropriately sized committed workspace with internet and phone service. 

 

Train Personnel on Emergency Procedures 

Define roles and responsibilities during a disaster and cross-train your teams to fill those roles. Each core functional area should have a leader who will report back to leadership with statuses and issues needing attention. Stage an annual disaster recovery drill to reality-check your plans. Allocate a full day with your leaders in a working session to walk through your drills. Have someone play the devil’s advocate to question all your plans and add all the what-if scenarios. There is always something you haven’t thought of yet that could be added. 

 

Provide for a Smooth and Rapid Restoration of Service 

Plans should include the path to returning services to normal operations. Send your advance team back to assess impacts and coordinate work efforts needed. Contact vendors and suppliers early to ensure your priority with them. Coordinate with team members who are still remote to perform their normal work functions where possible. Communicate often and early with everyone involved, ensuring guests and owners are aware of your efforts on their behalf. 

In summary, the adage “Prior planning prevents poor performance” holds true when dealing with disasters impacting your business. Taking time to implement a solid plan is worth the benefit and security it provides if the plan has to be enacted. Core plan components to consider including are: 

1) Purpose 

2) Operations Profile 

3) Applications Profile 

4) Inventory Profile 

5) Notification and Activation Procedures 

6) Recovery Procedures 

7) Testing & Maintenance Procedures 

8) Alternate Site Requirements 

9) Return to Normal Operations 

10) Communication Plan 

If it seems overwhelming or too time-consuming to address these plans on your own, consider leveraging a third-party consultant to help you create your own specific plans. 

 

 

Vacation Rental Managers Maneuver Adjacent Growth: Carolina Retreats, Southern Vacation Rentals & Meredith Lodging

By
Zandra Wolfgram
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Everyone wants a thriving business. How do you get to increased profits and increased market share? The most intuitive way is to expand your presence from the center—the place where you cast that first stone.

Ben Edwards, president of Weatherby Consulting, LLC, a Florida-based firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), defines adjacent growth as “a business growing by increasing inventory, whether by organic, strategic, or through M&A or by an intentional acquisition, within or near the current market area.” 

The tide is coming in for those looking to grow. Despite the pandemic, vacation rental companies in most US states have experienced an increase in bookings. With many pockets full, by all accounts, growth in the vacation rental market is trending up. 

“We’re seeing a lot of conversation from bigger partners, equity groups, and larger companies reaching out wanting to buy more businesses and wanting to be in the VR business,” says Edwards. “We anticipate tremendous M&A activity in 2021.” 

Yet the vacation rental industry has been likened to the Wild West. How do you know when to pull the trigger on a deal? What preparation is required? How can you tell a good from a bad deal? There’s no vacation rental growth guidebook to steer one forward toward certain success, but we can learn from one another. Let’s look at three vacation rental businesses across the country and how they maneuvered through adjacent growth. 

 

CAROLINA RETREATS, NORTH CAROLINA 

Carolina Retreats, an umbrella brand for several local-based vacation rental sub-brand companies, was launched through an acquisition in 2015. Its CEO and president, Mike Harrington, purchased Topsail Realty, a 40-year locally owned business managing 100 properties. Harrington invested to modernize and improve it to make it profitable, and, in less than 5 years, this 15-year veteran of the vacation rental business has more than tripled his business portfolio to 300 units and three motels. 

With the success of Topsail under his belt, he had the confidence to do more. “The investment thesis was if you can buy one company, you probably could buy multiple companies,” Harrington says. “We would be one consistent overall brand in multiple locations.” 

In 2017, he acquired Loggerhead Inn. In 2018, he purchased three companies on Carolina Beach, just south of Topsail, and in 2020 Harrington acquired the 22-unit Oak Island Resort and Inn as well as Tranquil House Inn, a 25-room boutique property on the Outer Banks. 

Although he admits the business has grown quickly, not everything happened quickly. “We looked at Oak Island for the better part of a year,” he says. After going back and forth with the broker, they settled on a number. 

For Harrington, it was a strategic deal. 

“I knew if we could get our hands on this property, it would provide an anchor on Oak Island that we own. We could work out of there and grow from there,” he explains. 

Instead of purchasing a property management company, Harrington focused on investing in real estate that he could “grow property management around.” He says most deals are strategic, but then there are surprises—like the Tranquil House Inn located in historic downtown Manteo on the Outer Banks. “This was completely opportunistic. I knew the family that owned it. They had a tough year because of COVID. They really needed a sale, and I was in the right place at the right time to do it,” he says. 

What Harrington categorizes as “hybrid vacation rental motels” may not be an obvious choice for some. “These older mom-and-pop-run properties were left for dead from an investment perspective for years,” he says. “The owners don’t have the capital to improve them. No one wants to buy them at some of the prices people ask.” 

Although the Tranquil House, built in 1988, is admittedly a “departure” from his business, it’s a clear opportunity to grow Carolina Retreats in a new way. “This is our first full-service boutique hotel,” Harrington says. “This is an exciting part of our business and a completely different part of our growth that we didn’t expect. We’re excited about getting our feet wet and looking at some other opportunities in that sector down the road.” 

Harrington says that successful growth means taking it slow and avoiding a “shotgun approach.” He advises patience and restraint— which can require passing on a deal if it doesn’t feel right. “Don’t get too starry-eyed. Eventually you’ll have to walk away from a deal,” he cautions. 

The biggest lesson learned? Less is not always more. “Not all the homeowners will like you when you buy the company,” he says. “You could be Mr. Rogers, and they won’t care. Plan to build in some attrition. It’s somewhat counterintuitive. The smaller companies, 20 to 30 units, are harder in that every home you lose [from your rental program] is a bigger hit. The bigger companies are easier. You have more stability.” 

How do you know when to say “when” to growth? 

That’s simple. 

“The guests and owners will tell you when you reach that line,” Harrington chuckles. 

 

SOUTHERN VACATION RENTALS, FLORIDA 

The Southern Vacation Rentals story began 25 years ago when two brothers, Mike and Brad Shoults, launched Pointe South, a real estate and vacation rental enterprise on the Northwest Florida Gulf Coast, with properties from Destin to the beaches of Perdido Key. Around that time, Kevin and Kerry Veach, another set of brothers with similar aspirations, formed the rental and real estate company Southern. 

In 2001, after years of friendly competition, the brothers joined forces, providing more inventory and more opportunity for prospective owners, guests, and clients alike. With the merger, Southern Vacation Rentals was born. 

CEO Scott Seay came aboard in 2013 after 30-plus years operating major brands (Home Depot, Comp USA, Kinkos, and Build-A-Bear Workshop). He says the initial strategy for Southern Vacation Rentals was motivated by its geographic location. 

“Kevin and Mike had the foresight to look at diversity,” Seay explains. “If anything happens to you, if a natural disaster hits you, that’s it. There is no backup plan. How do you recover from something like that?” 

The solution: adjacent market growth to the east and west. They looked to the east first. 

Seay continues, “The idea was to expand down the same beach along the Gulf Coast. When it comes to a hurricane, being 20 miles away could mean you don’t get touched at all or you don’t lose your whole business to one natural disaster.” So they expanded into Port St. Joe in Panama City. 

Then, they went west. 

The first opportunity for westward expansion came from familiar territory. After the 2001 merger that created Southern Vacation Rentals, the team spun off the Pointe South operations in Perdido Key, Florida, and Orange Beach, Alabama to Susan Carleton, a real estate broker who grew the business. Ten years later, recognizing the opportunity for expansion, Southern reacquired Pointe South, and together they became Southern Rentals and Real Estate in 2011. 

Since Mike Shoults had originally founded Pointe South, when he folded the company into Southern, there was little risk. “It was a known entity already,” Seay says. “They understood it. Mike lived there. He already had contacts there. He knew the lay of the land, so it was an easier transition.” 

Fast-forward another decade, and Southern Vacation Rentals represents nearly 1,200 short-term rental properties spanning 200 miles of coastline from Panama City Beach, Florida, to Fort Morgan, Alabama. 

Southern’s expansion crossed state lines from Florida into Alabama. If you plan on “jumping states,” Seay says to do your homework. “Rules are different in Alabama, so you have to understand those laws. For example, there, every contract must be signed by a registered real estate agent,” he explains. 

For Southern, having a large multistate footprint provides a clear advantage. In 2010, when the perception was that the BP oil spill affected the beach, guests were able to stay inland. When COVID-19 hit last spring, Florida shut down, but Alabama was still open. “Things will happen. You will shut down. When your business is geographically strained, you won’t have many options. So allow yourself opportunities,” Seay encourages. 

Still, be careful what you wish for. At one time, Southern had ballooned to 1,400 units, and, according to Seay, it wasn’t all “good growth.” Over the past few years, Southern has intentionally “slimmed down” to 1,150 units and is much “healthier” as a result. 

“We have certain standards that are important to our guests and owners,” Seay says. “It’s okay to shed properties that don’t meet those.” Seay says that some properties can be an albatross on a company’s reputation by “costing money, time, or bad reviews.” 

What’s on the horizon for Southern? 

“We don’t want to just grow for the sake of growth; we want to have good growth, highly profitable growth, which is good for our owners and our guests, because the more we can be successful, the more we can offer in terms of our services. . . . At this point, what we really look at is volume because what you want is to have more stays for some of the units and grow another couple of reservations for them and leveraging that because it doesn’t cost you more. So, right now, we are focusing on how we grow our sales.” 

 

MEREDITH LODGING, OREGON 

After years in real estate and development, entrepreneur Jon Oksenholt and his wife, Meredith, established Meredith Lodging in 2012. Jon is CEO, and Meredith is both president and chief branding officer. The Oregon company has regional headquarter offices in both Bend and Lincoln City. 

Today, Meredith Lodging—touted as one of Oregon’s fastest growing companies—is a full-service vacation rental business that manages 700 vacation rental properties in central Oregon and along the coast. Oksenholt says that about one-third of Meredith Lodging is the result of adjacent acquisitions. Seven deals—companies ranging from 10 to 60 units—have been completed in the past three years. 

“My strategy is, when there is a complementary market that is adjacent to ours or that we’ve already been in, where we believe that we can provide better service, better revenue, I’m very eager to do things . . . and I do them very quickly.” 

Eight years in, Oksenholt attributes Meredith’s growth success to its track record. “One of the reasons we had a series of acquisitions was that people talk—it’s a small industry, so they know who’s buying, and they know who the players are,” he says. “If you have a simpler, faster way to do it . . . that’s what people want.” 

For Oksenholt, success is knowing the art of the deal. “The financial analysis we’re able to do, we do in a different manner than most. We look at what these are going to add to our program, rather than we bought some companies that have been losing money. One of my specialties is deals and understanding what the seller wants and doing it quickly. I’ve been able to template that process to where we’ll close in 30 days.” 

If you ask Oksenholt, the 29th fastest growing company in Oregon, is in no rush to cross a finish line. “Maybe call us the tortoise in The Tortoise and the Hare,” he says. “To everyone else they say we’re so big, but I think it’s the tip of the iceberg versus our potential. We will be in other states, that will happen. But it will only happen very methodically and very intentionally, at the right time and in the right place, and when we have our human talent in place ahead of that growth, instead of trying to digest it and add on.” 

 

Looking to Grow? Keep These Considerations in Mind

For vacation rental management companies looking to expand into adjacent markets, Ben Edwards shared the following seven tips. 

1. Right Fit?

Anyone who wants to grow wants to increase profitability and revenue; although doing so is extremely important, you must have meaningful profit to stay in business. That said, there’s both good and bad growth, and good growth is acquiring certain businesses in certain markets that are going to fit culturally.

2. Think Sustainable

It’s important to find the right deal. Too many large-scale operators are just trolling to buy. It can be flattering to be approached, but they may intend to just scrape what they can out of your company and then add it to a pile of dead companies. Be sure that you are creating growth that is also sustainable.

3. Suit Up

Everyone is an entrepreneur, but you don’t know what you don’t know. The slightest tweak or twinge can have catastrophic results. It’s like going into battle without armor.

4. Be Strategic

You want to find businesses and areas that are right for your business. Expand your footprint locally, and then branch out. Take a methodical, strategic approach that sets you up for the most profit and that doesn’t stress, test, or strain the business.

5. Be Prepared

It’s imperative that you have a fundamental foundation from which to grow. You’re not going to build a 20-foot skyscraper on top of a mobile home. Prepare your business to ramp up to grow so that, when you slam two businesses together, you don’t kill both.

6. Buyer Beware

Consider the reason someone is selling. Plenty of people have fantastic businesses but are tired and ready to exit; however, there are others out there who have a defined issue and may not be forthright about it. Be measured about the process.

7. Enlist Expert Help

Hire a professional expert who knows the ropes of mergers and acquisitions. Look for someone to help you who fits both culturally and financially into your business model.

 

Photo Staging to Wow Renters

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Cabin fever is an inevitable result of the COVID-19 lockdowns—a good thing, of course, for owners of vacation rentals—but an attention-grabbing online presence is still necessary to get a leg up on the competition. That’s where arranging rooms for eye-catching photos comes in. Designers and marketing pros call it “staging.” This process has long been a top sales tool for selling homes, but staging for a vacation rental is different, warns designer Anastasia Laudermilch of Annville, Pennsylvania. 

“Once a house is sold, everything can be disassembled,” explains Laudermilch. “But rental property stagers have to keep in mind that everything shown in photos and videos has to stay. When the vacationers arrive, they’ll expect to see those pillows on the sofa, the orchid on the vanity, and the fireplace basket full of birch logs. That makes vacation rental staging a special challenge.” 

Washington, DC, designer Mary Douglas Drysdale feels the best bet is giving a rental the feeling of home. “Comfort and function are obviously the top requirements,” she says. “But include a number of small luxuries as well, and make sure they are part of your online presentation. These small luxuries will make the guests feel the property was designed for their enjoyment rather than to provide income to the owners.” 

A vital part of staging is simply decluttering and cleaning up. There should be no trash cans, dish towels, magnets on the fridge, or dog dishes, advises Joal Derse, a home-staging consultant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “Put away small appliances as well, leaving only one out—and if it’s stainless steel, make sure it’s highly polished,” urges Derse. 

Drysdale agrees. She believes nothing devalues a space more than clutter. “Don’t crowd the rooms with too much stuff, put away collections, and keep furniture in small spaces to scale,” she advises. 

 

 

Upgrading Ideas 

Renters won’t give outdated spaces a second look, so if a property seems sad and worn, it’s definitely time to upgrade, say the pros. The good news is that upgrading needn’t eat up all the rental profits. 

“There are many ways to make small upgrades to elevate rooms,” notes Kristie Barnett, stager, color expert, and author at The Decorologist in Nashville, Tennessee. “Paint, for one thing. Painting a wall is a big wow factor. Paint is also a way to upgrade dowdy, wood-toned kitchen cabinets or vintage furniture. 

“Traditional thinking favors neutral colors and is the correct way to stage a home when selling it because buyers want an easy palette to move into. But renters are different. They want a unique experience—something different than their own home setting. Often, that means something more colorful, exciting, and eclectic. So I say: Don’t be afraid to introduce pops of color into your spaces.” 

Lighting is outdated in many rentals, and Laudermilch thinks pendant lighting delivers a dramatic kitchen upgrade. She suggests going to a big box store for adapter kits that will allow pendants to hang from recessed lights. “Hang the pendants over an island, sink, or table,” she says. 

Should you invest in new appliances? High-end appliances aren’t necessary for short-term rentals, say the pros. Just make sure they are clean and easy to use. A microwave is a necessity, and a coffee/ tea station is always appreciated. 

In the bathroom, a nice new shower head will take a rental up a notch, and fresh, new sink features and cabinet hardware are relatively inexpensive. “Above all, cleanliness matters,” says Barnett. “If the finishes are too worn to appear clean, it’s time to upgrade.” 

 

The Furnishings 

Should you invest in high-end furniture? Barnett says no. “You may not be able to recoup the investment of an expensive sofa, for example,” she explains. “A stylish, mid-range sofa in a performance fabric will do. Inexpensive sofas may look cute at first but won’t be inviting to sit on and will wear out quickly. And because renters like quirky touches, don’t hesitate to mix new and vintage pieces. 

“I do think investing in comfy mattresses and bed pillows is worth it. They may not show up in photos, but guests will give you rave reviews if they get a good night’s sleep. Conversely, they will give you a low rating if they toss and turn on a cheap mattress.” 

Other recommendations from designers include adding versatile pieces, such as a cocktail ottoman that can move around easily and double as a chair. Also, consider sleeper chairs that can be used as extra beds for children or teens and a small desk for conducting business during the stay that could double as a bedside table. 

 

The Extras 

All designers and stagers warn not to skimp on art and accessories. 

“They make all the difference in photos and influence the way guests will feel about the place when they arrive,” tells Drysdale. “I often use pottery or serving pieces as decorative elements on coffee and end tables. Dining tables that have an attractive centerpiece are more inviting than bare ones. Framed art prints can create a sense of luxury and taste. Throw pillows can also do a lot for a room, but only if they are attractive, clean, and coordinate with the overall scheme.” 

Barnett likes art that reflects the local culture or flavor of the area. “This also provides great Instagram backdrops for guests, which in turn results in social media exposure,” she explains. “And provide a few games, books, and magazines featuring local hot spots and attractions. These are small, thoughtful touches that make an impression and set your rental apart from the typical cookie-cutter hotel room.” 

 

The Outdoors 

Finally, remember the outdoors. Stagers say outdoor spaces are this year’s number-one upgrade. Adding cozy outdoor rooms for entertaining and spreading out pays off in a big way. Stamped concrete or inexpensive pavers can create an outdoor dining room, whereas a fire pit and Adirondack chairs will create a year-round atmosphere.

“And don’t forget curb appeal,” urges Laudermilch. “Maintenance should be pristine. No shaggy lawn, no weedy beds. Lighting and front door entrances are also important. If the front door is worn and dingy, paint it a nice, welcoming color. Hang a wreath appropriate for the season on that door and dress up the entrance with a container or two, brimming with colorful annuals, ornamental grasses, or small evergreen plants. 

“Remember, if the front of a home is visually appealing, guests will feel drawn in and look forward to their visit. A closeup of that front entrance could be the needed online hook to reel in all the guests you’d ever want.” 

 

 

 

One Size Doesn’t Fit All in Owner Acquisition

By
Heather Bayer
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Great homeowners are the foundation of every vacation rental management business, and each year, attracting them becomes more of a challenge. As OTAs increasingly offer many benefits of a property manager, the task of owner acquisition grows harder every year. 

The common question “What can you do that I can’t do myself on Airbnb, HomeAway, or VRBO?” is becoming tougher to answer because there are so many options for homeowners to manage their own rentals—even from a distance. 

So, unless an owner is firmly committed to this path, managers need to become creative in convincing owners that choosing a property manager is the best decision for their rental business. 

The first step is to appreciate that this is not a one-size-fits-all process. Owners have different goals, needs, motivations, and levels of interest/involvement. A simple web page with a list of features, an information sheet, and a single follow-up call might have been enough to capture a new owner in the past, but now we need a comprehensive strategy that considers a multitude of personas and how to reach them. 

Owners come to a rental agency via a couple of paths. Some are completely new to rentals and need guidance and education on the process. They aren’t confident enough to carve their own way as an RBO, although that may be a goal for them. 

Others may have been managing their own rentals for a while and are ready for a third party to cut the stress and time-eating aspects of the business. They have experience with the operational side of the business and want to hand it over to someone else to manage. 

A third group includes the investors/owners who have thoroughly researched the market to look for the best location to purchase. They know what they want to achieve in terms of income and are looking to a property manager to bring that in. 

Identifying different types of owners and uncovering their pain points and creating persona-based strategies for acquiring them will help property managers define the types of information they need to develop and how to approach each one individually. 

These examples are some of the types of owner personas a management company might deal with, the relationships that work with them, and some ideas of the free information that would appeal to them. Different locations and regions tend to attract more of one type than another, so for those entering the business, it’s worthwhile to spend a good amount of time on research. 

 

Absent Investor/Owner 

Jeff is a millennial investor who has been attracted to short-term property rentals through seminars he’s attended. He knows there is significant growth potential in the market through what he has heard about Airbnb, and he has researched locations thoroughly. He wants to be completely hands-off with the operational side of property management, but he’s interested in traffic to the listing, conversion rates, channels that are in use, and cash-flow forecasting. His goals are to buy additional properties and to build up a portfolio of units that rent consistently well, so he is interested in regular performance reports. 

The relationship with Jeff is businesslike. He understands terms such as cash flow and dynamic pricing, and he wants frequent reports that show how his place is doing, where it is being advertised, and how seasonal rate changes impact his cash flow. 

 

What Jeff Wants from a PM Company 

Jeff wants efficiency, regular communication with an account executive, and updates on the performance of his properties. Although he’s hands-off with the operational side of the business and doesn’t deal directly with his guests, he pays close attention to reviews and feedback. 

 

The most effective lead magnets in attracting this persona would be 

Financial Forecasting Tools 

A Guide to Preparing a Home for the Millennial Market. 

 

Owner/User Family Home 

Bill and Sheila inherited their vacation home and want it to remain in the family for future generations to enjoy. They see rental as a way to keep the home while allowing them to use it for family vacations once or twice a year. Because they’ve known the home for decades and their kids were brought up vacationing there, they value some of the traditional aspects that may not be desirable to their guest demographic. They know little about the rental market beyond what they’ve heard from neighbors, and although they know some updating is necessary, they are reluctant to make too many changes. Their primary concern is that guests will look after the property and not use it for parties and teen get-togethers. 

The relationship with Bill and Sheila is nurturing. They want to feel confident that their home is being cared for and that guests respect it. It’s also important that they appreciate the changing nature of the guest demographic to help them understand the hospitality perspective of today’s rental industry. 

 

What Bill and Sheila Want from a PM Company 

Bill and Sheila need help building confidence that this is a good step for them, and they need to learn about their role as owners in the travel industry. They value a personal connection with an owner liaison/account manager who can explain in detail what they will need to do. 

 

The most effective lead magnets in attracting this persona would be 

A Guide to the Top 10 Features Families Look for in a Vacation Home 

What to Expect When Renting Your Home (video series) 

 

Involved, On-Target Owners 

Joe and Mike have experienced many vacation homes around the world, and they want to buy their own. They may want to retire there eventually, but they see the home as an income generator in the meantime. They are busy with their own business, so they want an agent to manage marketing and reservations. But they want to be involved in the management of the property, including changeovers and maintenance. If the property is vacant at any time, they might want to use it, but their primary goal is for the property to pay for itself. They want to learn everything about the business and are open to all ideas for maximizing income. 

 

What Joe and Mike Want from a PM Company 

The relationship with Joe and Mike is more of a partnership given their desire to be involved in the operation of the rental. They want to share their ideas and get feedback on any improvements they make. 

 

The most effective lead magnets in attracting this persona would be 

How to Create a WOW Response and Get 5-Star Reviews 

Checklist for Creating a Gourmet Kitchen for Your Guests. 

While creating these positive personas can help in a quest for great owners, it’s also a sound idea to look for the negative aspects that act as red flags. 

The potential of a successful property can be held back by an owner who is not fully invested in hospitality, has little concept of the cost of doing business, focuses on minor damage, or has listed with different agencies in the past. Here’s an example. 

 

The RAM Owner 

Gary has registered with several local agencies in the past and can list all the reasons he was unhappy with each one. He’s had some incidents of overcrowding, so he installed a security camera on the front door so he can check on arrivals and is very detailed in how often and how diligently he examines the footage. He’s looking for a property manager who takes a significant security deposit because, in his recent experience, his claims have not been fully met. He employs his own cleaning team, who report to him every week with their opinions on each rental group and whether they were suitable for the property. 

 

The best recommendation for this type of owner is to run a mile. 

Joking aside, this business is not for everyone, and some homeowners are looking for income without bearing the responsibility that comes with it. Understanding the different personas allows us to select the ones who are motivated to succeed and will work with their property manager in a relationship-based way. 

The Challenge of Insufficient Inventory Supply in the Vacation Rental Industry

By
Andrew Bate
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When COVID-19-related restrictions were lifted, and travel resumed on May 20, 2020, (which was also the day my daughter was born, so I remember it well), we saw a massive shift in travelers demanding the space and privacy of vacation rentals over hotels and all other accommodations. Even amid a global pandemic, one of the vacation rental industry’s main challenges is insufficient inventory to meet the growing demand for quality properties. There appears to be an across-the-board demand for rentals in terms of location, country, and traveler personas. 

As we know, our industry’s problem is not in creating demand from guests. Ryanair and Southwest Airlines have shown us that companies can always stimulate demand and attract more customers. Instead, our real challenge as an industry is more deeply rooted in the need to create confidence and trust in rental property owners. If we are able to address these issues, owners will list the kinds of quality properties guests want to book. 

 

The Industry Challenge 

There are an estimated 30 million second homes across the US and Europe that are occupied only four to six weeks per year. If the short-term rental industry were able to access even a third of this stock, it would make a massive difference in the market. 

In my view, we are often short-sighted by overfocusing on guests and under focusing on creating an environment that will increase the volume and quality of supply, which is sorely needed for the industry to continue to thrive and compete against hotels and other travel accommodations. The root issue of homeowner ambivalence to short-term rentals is threefold. By overcoming these objections, we could increase the odds of converting an owner into a short-term rental advocate, thereby adding much-needed inventory to the market. 

 

1) Barriers to Entry 

The lack of time and knowledge that is required to run a rental investment property is a huge barrier to entry for owners. Many owners doubt they can find the time to manage a rental and handle a rotating flow of guests. They simply do not understand how short-term rentals really work or how to successfully manage a vacation rental property. This is where professional managers can intervene to instill confidence by handling the day-to-day trials and tribulations on behalf of owners.

 

2) Overcoming Ambivalence 

A major pain point that managers can help overcome is the anxiety and ambivalence that many owners feel about allowing what they see as “internet strangers” into their homes. It is one thing to allow strangers into a generic investment property, but allowing strangers into a second home that an owner personally invests in and uses is another story. Owners have questions regarding who might be sleeping in their beds, what happens when they want to use the property themselves, and what their neighbors will think and feel about living next door to a rental. 

 

3) Accepting “Internet Strangers” 

Owners worry about catastrophes and worst-case scenarios, including the following questions: What happens if something goes wrong in the rental process? What if there is an accident, theft, or fire? How does the owner ensure they do not lose money or face scarily high charges if things don’t go smoothly? Unsurprisingly, these questions are major sources of concern for owners of second-home properties and can have a serious impact on their consideration of entering the vacation rental market. 

Property managers can ease these concerns by effectively screening guests and stopping the “bad guests” before they get through the door. How? Through a tailored and effective insurance product that covers accidental damage and provides peace of mind when things go wrong—because sometimes they do. We have found that rental problems are not as prevalent as most people think; only three percent of reservations actually involve a claim. 

One-third of these claims are pure accidents, while another third are from silly mistakes from what we refer to as “vacation brain.” Only one percent of reservations involve intentional damage to a property. 

 

A Positive Future 

The recent Airbnb IPO highlighted the potential of the addressable market of private accommodation and vacation rentals. The ability of property managers to solve these three owners’ objections will positively influence the supply of quality inventory joining the market—which is, in part, what valuations are based on. 

Looking forward, as owners become more comfortable with the vetting process, instant bookings will grow, adding to the attractiveness of private accommodations as a choice for travelers. 

Additionally, I predict that as the short-term rental technology ecosystem continues to expand, and tools and services are available to owners and managers to better manage rentals, we will see rental entrepreneurs who may have regarded student leases or long-term rentals as a sure bet move over to the more lucrative short-term rental market. 

I believe Airbnb is counting on this to happen. Its recent valuation, although no doubt hyped, shows Wall Street’s confidence in the vacation rental industry’s potentially addressable market. 

 

 

VRMA Update: The Value of Vacation Rental Voices

By
Megan Cohen
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The year 2020 sure was an interesting time to become the executive director of the Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA). In many ways, it was the most tumultuous year ever for the professional vacation rental management industry. 

The focal lesson of 2020 is the importance of our collective voices and the incredible power of communities coming together—in times of need, in times of struggle, in all times. In the most recent issue of VRMA’s Arrival, I wrote about my childhood memory of Hurricane Agnes tearing through my little town of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, in 1972. Widespread flooding from the storm made Agnes, at the time, the most destructive hurricane in US history, claiming 117 lives and causing damage estimated at $3.1 billion in 12 states. 

What I recalled through the eyes of a seven-year-old child was the feeling of community. I remember how folks in my town took care of one another; I recall kids and adults filling sandbags and stacking them against the wall that protected us from the raging Susquehanna River; I remember garages on my street, stacked from top to bottom with flooded families’ furniture, and the school cafeteria open to anyone who needed a hot meal. 

It was my first experience witnessing the concept of strength in numbers. The reactions to the flood were automatic: reach out and take care of your neighbor and protect the community. All of what I experienced during Hurricane Agnes—every bit of it—is applicable to the professional vacation rental management industry today. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected communities worldwide, but our business community in particular. The spring rental shutdowns threatened many VRMA members’ livelihoods. Never before had there been a threat so all-encompassing that it could cause the vacation rental industry to come to a screeching halt. And now the winter COVID-19 surge is here with a vengeance, leaving our professional community vulnerable and at-risk yet again. 

VRMA is taking more steps than ever to make sure we always have your back. In 2020, we doubled our government relations budget, as part of our commitment to being an even more vocal advocate for the profession our organization represents. We are gearing up for even more battles in 2021 (somewhat different battles than those of 2020, but battles nonetheless). We need like-minded organizations in our corner as we fight them. We need to speak with one collective voice. 

VRMA’s government relations funding allows us to track local, state, and national issues around the country, often focusing through our state coalitions in Colorado, South Carolina, Georgia, Central Florida, Maui, Southern California, and Oregon, to assist members with numerous regulatory fights. In 2020, at the request of our members, we created a vacation rental-focused political action committee in Florida to protect our community there and advocate for their rights (see vrmaadvocacy.org). We are speaking loudly and clearly, sending your public policy agenda to governors and state legislators across the US. 

In mid-March, when the pandemic began to gain a foothold in the US, VRMA staff began immediately gathering resources to assist members, and VRMA Advocacy staff curated internationally sourced resources aimed at recovering from unprecedented travel restrictions and closing of our economies. 

We also began organizing with stakeholders and other travel associations to pressure Congressional leadership to provide the vacation rental industry direct stimulus to assist in weathering the storm. Additionally, we asked for other provisions to generally help small businesses and the greater tourism industry. 

Thus far, VRMA’s advocacy efforts have produced over 110,000 communications directly to US public officials at all levels of government. We are working closer with stakeholders than ever before to help push a common narrative that vacation rentals are clean and safe lodging options. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic surged on, VRMA and our subsidiary, Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals (VRHP), quickly mobilized to develop recommendations for the reopening of vacation rental properties. The guidelines are part of the VRMA & VRHP SafeCommunity campaign, which, in conjunction with the SafeHome™ program, allows professionals to adopt and execute comprehensive travel standards to ensure the safety of their employees, guests, and community as they reopen their properties. Many county governments have made our guidelines an official part of their reopening requirements. 

If we unite as a community, we protect the industry. Joining VRMA is one of the most important ways you can contribute to protecting our business community. Your membership dues fuel the machine that advocates for you and your colleagues. Membership in VRMA connects you to so many outstanding people in our industry, along with all the valuable resources we provide—certification and education programs, publications, online courses, and (soon again) live conferences. You can join VRMA online at vrma.org. 

VRMA has what you need to grow your business and navigate the uncertainties COVID-19 has posed. VRMA is your voice and has your back in fighting legislation that negatively affects the industry, both nationally and at the state and local levels. This alone, now more than ever, should be the main reason you join and support VRMA. These efforts have been at the forefront of many fights this year around the country. 

Let’s unite, just like my community of Selinsgrove did 48 years ago. Let’s reach out and take care of our neighbors, and let’s fight for what is fair and right when it comes to widespread shutdowns. Together we can speak with one powerful voice on behalf of a united vacation rental industry.

 

 

21 Jump Seat: Passenger or Pilot?

By
Andrew McConnell
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2021 Will Be the Year That Managers Stop Being Passengers and Start Piloting Their Own Marketing Futures

The story of the past decade in vacation rentals has largely been dominated by two companies, Airbnb and Expedia, both of which, intentionally or not, have begun distancing themselves from the term “vacation rental.” In 2020, both companies went into hyperdrive. 

Airbnb’s IPO dominated headlines in 2020, and with good reason. As a comeback story, it is hard to beat going from its valuation being cut in half one month to just a few months later seeing it exceed $100 billion in its first day of trading. Yes, the company which many had left for dead earlier in the year had become, at least for a time, worth more than rivals Booking.com; Expedia; and even Marriott, Hilton, and IHG, combined! 

When it came to distancing themselves from vacation rentals, Airbnb and Expedia each made a move that stood out. The first move was the complete absence of the term from Airbnb’s S-1 prior to going public. For a category that accounts for the majority of revenue in the short-term rental market, this seemed to be an odd oversight, though clearly it did not deter many investors. 

The other move was Expedia’s retiring of the HomeAway brand and going all-in with the Vrbo brand, rather than what the acronym had originally stood for: vacation rental by owner. This could be seen as a nod to the more professional nature of the business or, like with Airbnb, distancing itself from being pigeonholed into vacation rentals as a category. 

What does this mean for vacation rentals as an industry and for professional vacation rental managers specifically? As we welcome a new year, it is clear that—as with so many other sectors, such as office work, live events, and education—the year 2020 and the COVID pandemic that defined it will change vacation rentals in the coming decade in some dramatic ways. 

Prior to 2020 and COVID, many managers had struck a Faustian bargain with sites like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com, in effect saying, “We will rely heavily on you to drive guests to our homes.” 

And for a decade this largely worked. Demand for short-term and vacation rentals grew daily; and, combined with the billions of dollars (literally) these companies spent each year to attract guests, the deal was win-win in many ways. Sure, there were grumblings about the take-rate of the sites, the opacity of and changes to their algorithms, and indifferent customer support, but these were more pet peeves than existential concerns. 

 

Then, COVID hit, and with it came three main obstacles: 

Lower Search Volume 

The first obstacle was the disappearance of search demand. With health concerns and at times outright bans on travel, people simply weren’t searching for new and exciting places to visit. While a rising tide lifts all boats holds true and had held true as search demand climbed for vacation rentals, the opposite is just as true, that a receding tide leaves all boats high and dry in shallow water. 

 

Decreased Marketing Spend 

The second obstacle compounded issues with the first. As virtually every business looked to cut costs during the pandemic, the easiest and most obvious place for booking sites to save money was in marketing. Since search volume was already decreasing, this decrease in spending meant that booking sites were attracting a smaller piece of a smaller pie. The sites simply sent fewer and fewer prospective guests—those few who were still searching—to their properties. 

 

Unilateral Cancellations 

The third obstacle may have done the most long-term damage to the relationship between professional managers and listing sites. Some of these sites, without consultation with their suppliers (managers and hosts), chose to prioritize guests when it came to refunds, unilaterally changing cancellation policies after the fact. This move alone put many livelihoods at risk and caused damage yet to be repaired. 

As with any crisis, however, this one comes with opportunities. 

The flip side to less spending for marketing from the big listing sites is that it has given many professional vacation rental managers the ability, and perhaps even made it necessary, to drive their own search traffic to their properties, outside of the listing sites. In normal times, there is always an open question of what the most efficient way is to attract new guests. 

The year 2020 was far from normal, and, as 2021 ushers in a new normal of sorts, this remains a viable option for many property owners and managers. 

Another big opportunity—and a differentiator for any professional vacation rental manager going forward—is the ability to creatively stimulate and generate new demand for what they offer. 

I have written in the past about the opportunity and need to not just be reactive to demand but also proactive in generating it. For example, managers in Blue Ridge, Georgia, created the Blue Ridge Blues and BBQ Festival which turned the destination’s slowest weekend into one of the busiest for vacation rentals and the local economy as a whole. 

However, creating an event isn’t the only way to increase demand. In 2021, you can and should look for creative ways to generate your own guest demand. But where to start? 

A great place to start is with your prior guests as the people who stayed with you in the past are more likely to stay with you again. 

How good have you been about collecting information about them? Do you just have the email of the people making the bookings, or have you found ways to get more information on more of the guests staying at your properties? 

This information is a gold mine. If you are collecting information correctly, you know when they booked, what type of property they chose, when they came, how long they stayed, how many people came with them, and who they are. Ideally, you know how they found you in the first place and what they liked (and did not like) about their stay. Communicating with these prior guests via relevant email and direct mail is an efficient and cost-effective way to start generating new demand. 

Marketing campaigns targeted to these guests are just the tip of the iceberg—like “You liked us in the summer, but you will love us in the winter” or “Cabins are not just for vacations—a short drive and you and your family can work and study remotely in the beautiful setting of . . . ” or “Did you know that you could get two weeks for the same price you paid for one last summer if you come visit us in the fall?” 

Prior guests may have a lot on their minds and may not be proactively looking to book with you. However, with a well-designed and well-timed nudge, they might just jump at the opportunity to stay with you once more. Seize the opportunity! 

As you test these strategies, you will learn what works for your guests and thus for you and your business. Double down on what works, cut what doesn’t, and launch new experiments as you go. You can also begin to group guests into “personas” and start thinking about where similarly minded prospective guests might be found that you can market to. The opportunities are virtually endless. 

All of this is to say that in 2021, more than ever, you will need to “own” each guest and each relationship. As with anything worthwhile, it will take a lot of work but will be well worth it. 

When you are taking off into smooth skies, it is fine to be relegated to being a passenger in the jump seat of the plane. As you hit turbulence or even find yourself coming in for a crash landing, you may realize that you need to upgrade to the pilot’s seat and learn to fly for yourself—and fast. 

The year 2021 will be the one in which more professional managers earn their wings. Will you be among them? 

 

 

Resort Collection Outsources Call Center to Jamaica

By
Zandra Wolfgram
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Jamalo’s welcoming voice on the other end of the telephone brightened the cold January day. I was doing research about Resort Collection in Panama City Beach along Florida’s Gulf Coast. It didn’t seem to matter that he was 989 miles away in the heart of Montego Bay, Jamaica. 

Perhaps, because from his seat in the company’s overseas call center, he could see the town and the Caribbean Sea beyond. Maybe it was his seven years of hotel experience talking—or simply that he was happy. “It’s fun here,” he said. “The staff is really helpful, and I feel comfortable.” 

I felt comfortable, too. Frankly, more than a little disappointed that I wasn’t actually calling to book a vacation at one of Resort Collection’s 900 accommodations located in the 13 different properties it manages along the Florida Panhandle. 

Jamalo is one of the 20 friendly solutions to one of Resort Collection’s biggest challenges: labor. 

“People go all over the world to get their labor,” says Paul Wohlford, 56, who joined Resort Collection in 2007 and is now its vice president of business development and a partial owner. “We’ve had a lot of success in Jamaica, where there are very friendly, good, hardworking people, and it’s relatively close.” 

Like many vacation rental businesses in Florida, Resort Collection has a successful track record working with the Jamaican government to bring in workers with H2B visas, largely for housekeeping positions that are difficult for seasonal resorts to keep filled. 

Just as Resort Collection struggled with housekeepers, it also struggled a few years ago to find and keep reservationists, even at an accelerated pay rate. Then in October 2018, another whammy came—Hurricane Michael. With most affordable housing wiped out and the hourly labor force scattered, a bad problem became worse. 

And that spelled serious trouble for the call center. 

“Not having enough labor can lead to high abandonment rates, lower conversion percentages, and all those things we need to be successful,” Wohlford says. 

Robert Laltoo, a hospitality consultant based in Miami with 16 years’ experience in supplying international labor to the U.S., had the answer for his client: Jamaica. 

As it turns out, Resort Collection would not be first by a long shot. 

Since the early 1990s, the Caribbean has become a burgeoning global hub for call centers. As the third-largest English-speaking country in the Western Hemisphere, Jamaica boasts a well-developed infrastructure, large workforce, and competitive operating costs. As a result, it has attracted industries such as automotive, banking, health care, retail, and yes, hospitality. 

According to the Business Processing Industry Association of Jamaica, there are 65 business process outsourcing (BPO) companies providing 36,100 jobs that generate $500 million in Jamaica alone. 

Most of these BPO companies are call centers. 

BPO companies receive their supply of trained talent from the Human Employment and Resource Training/National Service Training Agency Trust—known to most Jamaicans simply as “HEART”—which serves as the country’s leading human capital development agency. 

Wohlford began testing the idea by hiring six H2B visa workers from Jamaica to work in the Panama City Beach call center. 

“We found out really quickly that they’re fabulous call center agents,” he says. “They go to school for this. They’re very personable on the phone and scream ‘vacation’ when you hear their accent.” 

In January 2019, with Laltoo’s help, Resort Collection found office space to rent, met with the government, and migrated one supervisor and 10 reservation agents to Montego Bay, Jamaica. 

Wohlford was pleased with the results. 

“All of a sudden, we see our conversion rates growing dramatically from 20 to 45 percent and our abandoned calls shrinking dramatically, which is exactly what you want to have happen,” he says. 

He began regular trips to train, monitor, and hire the new employees. 

“When I interview down there, I can get upwards of 40 applications for one job,” he says. “They line up; they’re professional, they interview well. They’re nice people, good people. It’s a profession for them that they take very seriously, so they take a lot of pride in it. I expect they’ll be with us for years.” 

Plus, the price is right. 

“I have to pay $15 an hour just to get somebody to sniff the job here. There, I pay $6 an hour including incentives, and they’re extremely well paid,” he says. 

By every measure, Wohlford counts it a success, saying, “I’m saving money. I’m converting more calls. I’m losing fewer calls from people hanging up. It’s a win on the savings side. It’s a win on the revenue side. It’s a win on the labor side. It’s a home run, to say the least.” 

In December 2019, he partnered with Brittain Vacation Rentals, which allowed him to upgrade to a larger space that holds 100 agents. 

Currently, Wohlford is working on expanding his Jamaican call center business. Now, call volume is up in another way, meaning he’s already receiving calls from industry colleagues eager to join his win–win model. 

“We know how to run call centers. We’ve gone through all the pain of opening a company offshore. Now that we’ve built a call center, our plan is to expand it. We have made it very easy for a company to come in and simply rent seats. We provide the labor, monitors, cubicles, supervision, suits—soup to nuts—everything they need. They just need to come in and do the training. It’s a viable business,” he says. 

Laltoo, who helps staff about 65 hotel and resort properties throughout the US, says the vacation rental industry can learn a lot from Resort Collection’s experience and the call center craze in the Caribbean. 

“It’s not about the wage. It’s just that people nowadays don’t want to do that work. I think the mindset needs to change. The mindset in Jamaica is right. Three of the five largest call centers in the world are in Jamaica. They wouldn’t be there if they weren’t successful,” Laltoo says. 

Jamaica’s “good thing” is poised to get even better (for them). 

Since the pandemic began, the call center industry in Jamaica has grown. Laltoo contends that with more industries allowing people to work remotely, American call centers could be further “diluted because now there are so many more industries where you can pick and choose what you want to do from home.” 

That demand for trained labor makes the Jamaican call center workforce even more attractive. “Technically, we now have a financial bidding war for these folks,” Laltoo says. 

Yet, despite Jamaica’s increasing popularity as a global BPO destination, the figures still pencil, or as Wohlford says, “The proof is in the numbers and the savings.” 

And in the guest experience. 

Especially so with pleasant reservation agents like Jamalo, who ended our call with, “It was a pleasure speaking with you. Please enjoy the rest of your day.” 

 

 

Bounce into 2021 with Tools to Help Heal and Focus

By
Ali Cammelletti
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Here we are starting a new year with the hopes that the COVID-19 vaccine will help us return to the life we once had, yet I am sure we all know that life will never reset to 2019. For some, the idea of no return is sad, and for others this was a time for recalibrating and focusing on the benefits of slowing down a frenetic way of life. Is remote working here to stay? Do four-day work weeks make sense? 

At the start of this pandemic, I remember what I thought was going to happen. I had plans for an organized email in-box with fewer than 20 emails at a time, house projects finished, and my business systems in place and tidy. There were moments during the first few months when I wondered to myself, “ Am I trying to control my life more because it feels out of control?”

Little did I know, the more I worked on being “present,” the more past traumas rose to the surface. I ended up on the path of trauma work. As I leaned into emotions that had been stuffed deep inside me, I learned about trauma. I was listening to podcast after podcast, reading articles and books, and doing workbooks while at the same time balancing my studies with a ton of self-care to clear out the toxins and create a new life and mindset. I feel confident that my level of resilience has allowed me to bounce back quicker, but I also know that “the work” is never really finished, that it is a lifelong journey of healing. 

One day I was connected through a friend to Susanne Frilot, cofounder of Haelan House. Haelan is the Old English word for healing. Its mission is healing the root causes and effects of trauma to create health, resilience, and wholeness. I knew that I was processing my own personal traumas and came to learn that during 2020 much of our world was experiencing trauma from the effects of the pandemic. 

According to Haelan House, traumatic events can be caused by physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; domestic and community violence; war; accidents; life-threatening illness; death; birth trauma; natural disasters; and ongoing fear and conflict. Trauma can overwhelm the nervous system and affect one’s ability to cope. Any of this feel familiar? I feel confident that everyone reading this, at one point during 2020, experienced ongoing fear and struggled with the ability to cope. 

 

Tools to Help Heal 

As Susanne and I had our walks and talks, she shared the tools Haelen House offers through community partnerships and their annual trauma conference. The conference is a wonderful resource for learning more about healing techniques and hearing from people with life experiences who share their stories of hope and resilience using alternative or holistic modalities and therapies. 

Some of the therapies I have tried in the past; some I currently practice; others, I am excited to experience in the future. She shared that the tools could help improve physical, mental, emotional, nutritional, social, or spiritual well-being. Example tools include the following: 

Animal, equine, or pet therapies 

Bodywork 

Creative and intuitive arts or writing workshops 

EFT—emotional freedom technique, known as “tapping” 

EMDR—eye movement desensitization and reprocessing 

Energy work—reiki, shamanism, polarity therapy 

Forest therapy—connection with nature 

Light therapy and sound therapy 

Mindfulness and meditation 

Neurofeedback and biofeedback 

TRE—trauma release exercise 

Thai Chi, qi gong, yoga 

 

I personally will be focusing this next year on mindfulness and meditation while introducing TRE into my mix. With so much remote work, TRE is an easy series of exercises that is a great resource. A few easy exercises are a fun way to start off a group Zoom call; someone might also offer a guided group meditation or laughing yoga. 

Haelen House has a picture of a mandala on its website and shares how coloring has stress-reducing benefits. Why not send your team members some colored pencils with a coloring book for under $10? Everyone can share their drawings on a Zoom call and create connection as a team. There are so many ways to offer team members support to combat the trauma they have experienced this year and reduce stress; it us up to us to lead the way. 

Be patient—2021 will still see many COVID-19 cases, and it will take time before most of us have access to the vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration talks about using ultraviolet-C (UVC) lamps to disinfect surfaces. I have heard that people who are vitamin D deficient are more susceptible to the virus. I will say, after having some blood tests done this year, the one area my naturopath recommended was increasing my vitamin D. I am outside every day for at least an hour, and we get a ton of sun in central Oregon, yet the average person does not get enough vitamin D. It also helps significantly with energy levels. 

An interesting article I recently read in The Atlantic talked about blocking the virus through melatonin because of its role in the regulation of our circadian rhythms, which calibrates the immune system. This helps keep our self-protective responses from going crazy, which can turn mild COVID-19 cases into life-threatening situations. This virus is nuanced, and nothing is a cure-all for ensuring we are healthy and not putting others at risk. I have not switched out my lighting, yet I am glad I am diligent with my vitamin D daily, and I love my sleep. 

 

FOCUS ON BEING RESILIENT 

In 2017, I wrote an article on “Coaching Employees to Be Resilient Givers with Boundaries.” If you recall that article and have been practicing the techniques, I give kudos to you. I would be interested to hear how your team has managed this year. 

It is time to revisit the concept. Resilience is defined as the ability to recover quickly from difficulties. The American Psychological Association states there are 10 ways to build resilience including the following: 

Make connections 

Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems 

Accept that change is a part of living 

Move toward your goals 

Take decisive actions 

Look for opportunities for self-discovery 

Nurture a positive view of yourself 

Keep things in perspective 

Maintain a hopeful outlook 

Take care of yourself 

 

If you see a lack of resilience in your team members, I encourage you to coach them in the above areas. We are in an industry of making connections. A positive way to teach team members how to make connections is by creating connections within their team environments. 

Working from home can be isolating, even for the introverts who do not get their energy from others. As someone who is an introvert and has worked from home off and on for 15 years, I make the effort to make connections through walks with friends throughout my week as well as lunch dates. I have found these additions to my week are rejuvenating. 

Let’s all bounce into 2021 by recognizing the trauma that has taken place, by using our tools to heal from trauma, and by focusing on being resilient. 

 

 

12 Steps To Reclaiming Your Spirit of Hospitality From The Grasp Of Cynicism

By
Doug Kennedy
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As I sit in my office on New Year’s Eve, writing this article for the first VRM Intel Magazine issue of 2021, I am looking back at what has been the most challenging year in the history of the vacation rental (VR) business. 

I have just had yet another conversation with a VR management company owner who, like so many others lately, spoke about how beat down her staff has been feeling after dealing with what feels like more disgruntled, unreasonable, or unkind guests than ever before. 

These conversations seem to all include a few components. First is how hard things have been for staff, having first endured cancellations and furloughs and then a tidal wave of demand, which fueled an expectedly strong summer season that extended well into the fall. Second, they admit that lately they find themselves becoming more cynical toward guests. And finally, I heard a specific story about one particularly unreasonable guest who had gotten into their psyche. 

I am also hearing the same from our clients at traditional resorts. The traveling public seems to be more unreasonable than ever, and it is increasingly difficult not to become cynical. 

When I let my clients talk uninterrupted, they seem to self-diagnose their “disease” of cynicism. They end by saying something like, “Doug, I know I need to lead by example, but it is hard; I feel like I need your hospitality training right now!” Besides warming my heart, comments like these let me know that the client company has already begun the healing process. 

As they say in virtually all 12-step programs, admitting you have a problem is the first step toward overcoming it. If you are still reading this article, perhaps you have reached the same conclusion, so here are your 12 steps to reclaiming your spirit of hospitality. 

 

Step 1 

It’s Okay to Vent 

As an owner or top-level leader, it is important that you have a shoulder to cry on, ideally someone outside of your company. Speaking as a married person, I suggest this also be someone other than your life partner—perhaps a trusted friend or another VR business owner. At work, let your staff fully vent and express their anger and frustration when they encounter unreasonable guests. I know some forward-thinking companies have created a “quiet room” in which staff can enter for a short break of silence and solitude; perhaps on top of that we should create “primal scream therapy closets.” 

 

Step 2 

It’s Okay to Laugh at Situations, Not at People 

Allow your staff to laugh at guests’ situations, but encourage them to do so in a way that does not disrespect the actual guests. This is a thin line to cross, but if you lead by example and speak up, most employees will be able to identify the difference. Speak generally of guest issues, without identifying specific guests, and absolutely ban name-calling. 

For example, in my trainings I often mimic a guest who calls to say, “I have tried everything, but this remote control won’t turn on my TV,” and then I mimic the staff member, asking, “Which remote are you using?” The guest replies, “The white one with a large blue button in the center. It says Cabana Bay on it.” 

 

Step 3 

It’s Not Okay to Start Venting Sessions by Throwing All Guests under the Bus 

A major red flag goes up when I hear venting statements from staff, such as, “Guests these days are all _____” or “They are only complaining in order to get a refund.” 

 

Step 4 

Accept That the Ratio of Guest Complaints Is a “Numbers Game” 

How many properties does your company manage? How long do guests stay? How many guests per accommodation? Let’s say you have 100 properties in your rental pool, with four guests per home, for a total of 400 guests. Let’s say the average stay is four nights; that’s 1,600 guests-per-day complaint opportunities. Unlike resorts, which might rent a 300-square-foot room for 1.75 guests for 2.5 nights, VR lodgings tend to be larger and are rented to more people at a time (thus, with much more that can go wrong) for a much longer time. Of course you are going to get a lot of complaints. 

 

Step 5 

Recognize That Pandemics Bring out Both the Best and the Worst in People 

As I’ve been saying since March 2020, the “meanies have gotten meaner, while the nice people have gotten nicer.” For every guest that turns the presence of a single hair hidden behind the top of the shower curtain into an all-caps text message that reads, “THIS WHOLE PLACE IS DISGUSTINGLY FILTHY!,” there is another guest who calls at 9:01 a.m. on a Monday, while staying in a mountaintop cabin in the middle of winter, to say, “We are SO sorry to bother you, but last night the heating went out. We didn’t want to disturb anyone then, but when you have time, is there any way you could please get someone to check it for us?” 

 

Step 6 

Admit That the Vast Majority of People Could Go Either Way 

I estimate that a certain percentage of the world’s population, let’s say 5 percent, were born as “negative sorters,” who will constantly find fault. These are the ones who complain every day of their stay, present a long list of issues at checkout, and then rebook for the next year! There are another 5 percent that are super kind and understanding no matter what happens to them. In the middle are the rest of us: emotional creatures in a physical world. 

 

Step 7 

Make It Your Job to Bring out the Best in Guests 

This step is actually self-serving because when we bring out the best in our guests, we bring out the best in ourselves. In other words, by bringing out the best in our guests we meet a lot kinder, more wonderful people and have a lot more fun at work. 

 

Step 8 

Bring the Spirit of Hospitality as a Leader 

As a young college student, I had the privilege of working for Marriott Hotels when it was run directly by the Marriott family. Their mantra was, “We will take great care of our employees, so that our employees will take great care of our guests.” The moment you enter your property and greet your first staff member, you set the tone for the day. 

 

Step 9 

Empathize Before You Apologize 

The key to placating an upset guest, staff member, or vendor-partner is to empathize before you apologize. In doing so, you provide them with a sense of validation. Start by saying, “I understand how you feel” and then put it in the context of their situation, for example by saying, “I imagine I might feel the same way too if it had rained every day of my vacation.” 

 

Step 10 

Apologize 

An apology is not an admission of guilt. It simply shows that your intentions were good. When you pair this with empathy, guests often respond, “Well I know it’s not your fault, and you are being so nice, but it has been a frustrating day.” 

 

Step 11 

Use Your Power of Release over Negativity 

Of the 5 percent of the world’s population who are “negative sorters,” about 1 percent are downright bullies. As a company owner, you may in fact choose to actually release (as in fire) a guest or homeowner now and then for the greater good, but what I’m talking about here is learning to detach from personal insults. When you go home for the day, remember that out of the 400 guests currently staying at your 100 properties, 380 people at 95 of the properties were happy and never reported any problems. Of the five complaints from those five properties, three of the complaints were legit and were resolved by your excellent customer service team. Do not take the one or two rude, nasty “guest bullies” home with you. Visit that “primal scream therapy room” before you go home or call a trusted friend on the way home. It is often said that you should leave your problems at home before you come to work, but remember to also leave your problems at work before you head home. 

 

Step 12 

Start Your Day with Gratitude 

Of all the valuable lessons I’ve learned from this pandemic, the biggest one is to start every day by pausing to be grateful. Upon waking up, before you grab your phone from the nightstand and scroll through Facebook or emails, pause to be grateful for all that you have: for your health, family, job, coworkers, and guests—even those who present as difficult ones—because the universe has placed them in exactly their intended spot on this day as it has placed you. 

 

 

Getaway Society Founders Are a Dynamic Duo

By
Zandra Wolfgram
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0

As with constructing their first six-bedroom, three-bath custom home in the Pennsylvania Poconos, entrepreneurs Carrington Carter and Calvin Butts, Jr. leveraged every tool in their belt to build Getaway Society from the ground up. 

Carter, 37, grew up in Dayton, Ohio. His mother was an educator who earned her master’s degree; his father was a manufacturing manager in the automotive industry. Both attended Hampton University (HU), a historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), in Virginia. Carter followed suit and subsequently earned an MBA at the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He aptly applied his chemistry and marketing know-how as a brand manager for big pharma and then moved on to real estate. 

A proud son of the South, Butts, 37, was born in Savannah, Georgia. His physician father inspired him to excel. Like Carter, Butts received his undergraduate degree from HU. Shortly after, he earned his executive MBA in marketing from the Fox School of Business at Temple University and forged a successful career as a health care media strategist. 

These entrepreneurial-minded men first met in 2013 at an HU alumni event and soon realized their shared passions for travel, real estate, and building wealth-harnessed business potential. Carter, measured and analytical, is the finance whiz, whereas Butts, gregarious and loquacious, is the relationship bridge builder. A year later, on the Saturday of a homecoming weekend, Carter presented Butts with a solid business plan, Butts cut an investor check, and Getaway Society was born. 

Today, their $11 million boutique luxury vacation rental home collection boasts 10 custom homes in Martha’s Vineyard, Hilton Head, the Poconos, Gatlinburg, and Orlando. The dynamic duo is eyeing locations in Virginia Beach, the Hamptons, the Outer Banks, Cinnamon Shores in Port Aransas, Texas, and along the 30A scenic corridor on the Florida Gulf Coast. 

Their partnership includes McKinley Carter Enterprises, LLC, a real estate investment and property management company, and East Chop Capital, a largely African American-funded private equity firm focused on growing businesses and building wealth. The first fund of the latter was established to accelerate and scale the growth of Getaway Society. 

How did two black millennial entrepreneurs parlay their passions into a multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio? We caught up with Carter in Columbus, Ohio, and Butts in Allentown, New Jersey, via Zoom before the holidays to hear their story. 

 

Zandra Wolfgram (ZW): WHEN DID THE SPARK HAPPEN? 

Carrington Carter (CC): I told Calvin about getting in the vacation rental home space after planning an annual ski trip in the Poconos over President’s Day weekend. I found the house. I worked with the owner. I collected everyone’s money. When I ran the numbers, I started understanding the business aspect of the vacation rental space and decided, Hey, I think I want to make a run at this and expand my real estate experience into another area. And that’s how we got into the vacation rental home space. 

 

ZW: YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT BUILDING WEALTH. HOW DID YOU GET THERE? 

CC: Between reading, firsthand experience building wealth, and this general wealth conversation being top of mind in our community—that’s the trifecta that has us on this track of not only building wealth for ourselves but bringing investors and others into the journey to building wealth and to learn as well. 

Paradise Point, a 5-br. home in Orlando, features a Harry Potter-themed game room.

 

ZW: CALVIN, YOU HAVE SAID YOU LOVE BEING A “DOER.” PLEASE EXPLAIN. 

Calvin Butts, Jr. (CB): Being a doer is finding a way to push forward, move forward, march forward, and get it done. When something comes up, my immediate mindset is: I’m going to figure it out. I’m not going to cancel it. I’m not going to push it. I’m not going to work around it. I’m going to get it done. It is trying to create as much value for yourself and all your actions that you have going on during the day by keeping things moving and knowing that the momentum track is there. 

 

ZW: HOW DO YOU DEFINE LUXURY? 

CC: First and foremost, I would say new or significantly renovated such that it creates a feeling of newness. When people get the chance to go on vacation and get away from home and their natural environment, we want them to feel special; we want them to feel good, and we feel that having a luxurious environment contributes to that. Whether it’s new or renovated, it’s flat-screen TVs hanging on the walls, hot tubs, fire pits, private pools, heated pools, smart home technology, Nest thermostat, Brilliant light switches, top-of-the-line Weber grills, and wood pellet smokers. We even have Peloton bikes in two of our homes. It’s the things that they have always wanted at home or that they’ve thought about trying. 

Located in Reunion, Paradise Point features both a private pool and a water view.

 

ZW: HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE GETAWAY SOCIETY? 

CB: I think we were one of the first to use technology in an immediate way. We jumped into smart locks; we jumped into DocuSign for leasing agreements as fast as we could. . . . We are eager to be engaged in those technologies and platforms to make our lives easier and create a better experience for our customers. 


ZW: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL BLACK BUSINESSPERSON? 

CC: Access to capital and other resources. I don’t have any rich friends and uncles who are bank executives that I can call to get financing. I don’t have those close relationships to get doors opened for me. With our fund (East Chop Capital), our goal was to raise $4 million. We have experience in the space; we have education and strong execution. The industry is on fire right now. If we were two white males trying to raise money, I think we would have raised money in three or six months, but because we’re two black males, it’s taken us two and a half years to raise $4 million. 

CB: We went with the door-to-door approach. We’ll grow into having conversations with wealthier individuals who can move faster and who can support us in larger ways, and we’ll certainly be excited and open to that. Still, we chose our path, and we’re committed to it, and we’ll get it done. Talking about perseverance, moving forward, being a doer, and keeping things moving, we succeeded despite banking barriers. But we want to make it easier for those who come behind us so the next Calvin and Carrington can call us, and instead of getting $25K or $50K, they can get a million from us. 

Getaway Society’s first home was Deer View Lodge, a six-bedroom home on Lake Harmony in the Poconos Mountains.

 

ZW: BLACK LIVES MATTER HAS IGNITED THE RACE CONVERSATION. THE VICE PRESIDENT IS A WOMAN OF COLOR, AND A PERSON OF COLOR IS TAPPED FOR THE HEAD OF THE EPA. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHERE WE ARE NOW? 

CC: That is a big question. I always remain optimistic. To your point, there are a lot of tailwinds right now. For minorities, for people of color, and for the first time in my 37 years, black people specifically are being called out in the conversation because of recent events that have happened. I think, globally, it’s been brought to light that the gap is wide and in a lot of different ways, whether it’s representation in corporate America, whether it’s access opportunities, whether it’s the wealth gap, or whether it’s funding for entrepreneurs. We have a way to go, but I’m optimistic. 

 

ZW: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE STATE OF RACE EQUALITY IN THE VACATION RENTAL INDUSTRY? 

CC: From an owner/operator and management perspective, it’s rare. Where race comes up more often is with guest relations. It’s discrimination. It’s the ugly stories you hear like, “You didn’t rent to me because I was black” or “I sent them a message and I didn’t hear anything and then my white friend contacted the owner and they got the booking.”

Some of the big operators—Vrbo, Airbnb, or OTAs—have put in anti-discrimination policies, which are good. It would be wise if other large operators added an anti-discrimination policy or a statement on their websites. A company should have a position on anti-discrimination among guests in their space. It would be great to see more representation among suppliers, management companies, and certainly among their staff. 

 

ZW: WHAT CAN WE DO TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD? ARE YOU LEADING THE WAY? 

CC: As we grow and scale, we’re excited to take more of an active role and make sure we’re involved in this space. We’ve been talking about doing a black hospitality conference or a black travelers’ conference for owners and operators in the vacation rental home space, especially for the large owner/operators. . . . There is an HBCU with Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, so there might be opportunities for career fairs, sessions, or workshops to expose more African Americans to careers in the hospitality space and specifically in the vacation rental space. In 2021, we’re going to take a step back and figure out not just how to scale our business but how we can make the voices among minorities in the industry a bit louder. 

CB: My goal is inspiring a new generation who are at Hampton right now. . . . We need to continue to promote more diversity and inclusion across the industry. Stories like ours aren’t widely known. But this story could, in 10 to 15 years, become the new normal. And folks could go to college thinking, “I want to be an Airbnb host or own a vacation rental portfolio” the same way they talk about being an engineer, doctor, or lawyer. I think inspiring and motivating folks and giving them the blueprint and guidance is our opportunity. There’s success here in this space, and I hope many follow. 

Paradise Point’s open floor plan allows for large family gatherings.

 

ZW: WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR THOSE WANTING TO BECOME A VACATION RENTAL OPERATOR? 

CC: It comes back to being a doer and taking calculated risks. For the owner who wants to buy their first house, don’t let fear and analysis paralysis prevent you from doing something. Often people want to wait until they have 100 percent of the information before they act, and usually by then it’s too late. Basic blocking and tackling. 

If you decide to borrow or get a mortgage to purchase a property, make sure that your credit and your debt-to-income ratio and all that is in line. If you want to be more passive and you don’t want to do any of the work, there are tons of property management companies out there that can manage the property for you, but that will come with a cost. 

For owner management, because of technology, it’s not that difficult to manage, even remotely, as long as you have a good on-the-ground team. An added benefit of these properties is being able to enjoy them as well. But owners also need to know that if you use it, especially in the peak season, that will cut into your revenue and profitability, so you need to understand that expectation. One of the things we like about the ownership, plus the management aspect, is that it appreciates over time because you own the asset. So, it’s a double way to win. You’re winning the rental income, your debt is being paid down, your mortgage is getting paid down, and an asset appreciates over time. Critical is your core on-the-ground team—your caretaker, HVAC, plumber, handyman, housekeeping—don’t take shortcuts on housekeeping! 

An animated game room is a luxury amenity for all ages.

 

ZW: WHAT ARE YOUR ENDGAME GOALS? 

CC: We’ll likely have 15 properties by next summer, and in one to three years, I say we’ll have a boutique portfolio of 25 to 50 domestic and international properties. We’ll continue to educate and inform others about this space and get more minorities and African Americans involved. Some of our investors have asked us when we are expanding out west or internationally. So, we foresee a larger vacation rental home fund, maybe $10-$50 million. 

CB: We would like to be known as a nice ecosystem of luxury travelers in the United States. We want to be a brand known for select boutique homes that are well managed, well cared for, and offer an outstanding five-star experience. For Getaway Society, the next step is to extend the brand to yacht charters in locations where we already have homes. This would be huge. 

Pirate’s Oak in Palmetto Dunes Resort on Hilton Head Island is a 5,268 square-foot
home with a private pool that sleeps 18.

 

ZW: WHAT TRENDS DO YOU predict FOR THE INDUSTRY? 

CC: They say the only constant is change. There’s so much change in this industry, in the world, and even more changes this year with COVID-19. Because people have the flexibility to work in many different places, people are using houses in different ways. . . . I did a podcast called “The 12-month Lease Is Dead.” I think there will be many fewer people who are renting apartments for 12 months out of the year. I think they’re going to choose to travel a month here, three months there, and they’re going to use this new flexibility to rediscover different parts of America or even internationally. I think the vacation rental industry is going to see a new resurgence. You’ve got to stay on your toes, and there’s been so much change in the industry. I think that’s going to continue. 

 

 

Marketers: Too Soon to Plan for 2022?

By
Amy Hinote
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0

In the vacation rental industry, 2020 was a story of haves and have-nots. For leisure vacation destinations with strong drive-to markets, short periods of travel restrictions, and few weather-related setbacks, 2020 ended up being one of the highest performing years on record. In contrast, for urban rental destinations, markets that had lengthy travel restrictions, and locations that experienced natural disasters, the story was starkly different. 

As we look toward the future, let’s look at the good news and the bad news, starting with the good. 

 

The Good News for Vacation Rental Travel in 2021 

In 2020 and looking to 2021, consumer demand for home rentals as a lodging option is at an all-time high. The circumstances that negatively affected booking activity were largely external, including COVID-19-related travel restrictions, flight-related uncertainty, and weather-related events. Despite external factors, demand skyrocketed as travelers opted for vacation rentals over hotels in record numbers. 

Although the reasons for this increased demand for home rentals are obvious, they are worth articulating.

  1. Vacation rentals provided a much-needed escape—a home away from home with more space to spread out and a controlled environment in which travelers can avoid crowds.
  2. Vacation home rentals have full kitchens which allowed families to avoid dine-in restaurants (helping them both stay safe and save money).
  3. Keyless locks and smart-home technology gave guests the ability to bypass busy lobbies and check-in processes and go straight to the home in a safe and secure way.
  4. Private homes with outdoor spaces and amenities—such as private pools, hot tubs, game rooms, and theater rooms—were exceptionally sought after because they provided socially distanced vacation retreats.
  5. Travelers opted for drive-to vacation rental destinations to circumvent the crowds, costs, and uncertainties of flying.
  6. With remote working and virtual learning, travelers found themselves able to work and study from anywhere, resulting in longer stays and more bookings during off-peak periods. 

Travel experts predict that the same dynamics that increased home rental travel demand in 2020 will continue through 2021. Although vaccines are being distributed, and the broader travel industry is hopeful that travel will return to normal quickly, families will be slow to roam too far outside of their comfort zones. Throughout 2021, travelers are expected to frequent familiar destinations, opt for driving over flying, travel during off-season periods, and choose home rentals over hotels. 

 

The Bad News for 2022 

For vacation rental marketers looking ahead to 2022, the bad news is that the rest of the travel industry wants their guests back. 

After almost two years of being sidelined, hotels, cruises, all-inclusive resorts, theme parks, cities, and international destinations will be aggressive about incentivizing travelers. The competitive environment in 2022 is likely to be ruthless, and the vacation rental industry’s marketers are preparing.

Let’s look at what needs to be done to get ready for the big game. 

 

1) Protect 2021 by “owning” drive-to feeder markets 

Building a brand that is known nationwide is near impossible for a local operator. However, developing a recognizable brand within core drive-to feeder markets is doable. Identify top-performing zip codes, and make sure the people who live in these areas know your company. Here are some ideas. 

Content targeted to feeder markets 

Geo-targeted Google Adwords (Don’t forget to write geo-targeted ad copy.) 

Feeder market promotions, strategically-placed donations/contests/giveaways, and articles in local news outlets (capitalize on top-performing zip codes) 

Strategic social engagement in feeder markets with specials, events, featured homes, and last-minute property availability 

 

2) Get aggressive about rebooking for 2022 

The best way to get ready for 2022 is to get as many reservations on the books as possible before the year even starts.

In 2021, rebooking is vital. Strategize incentives and messaging—like locking in rates or creating reward programs—and create a foolproof plan to ensure guests who booked on third-party sites book directly with you in the future. Set a goal to increase rebooking by X percent, and track progress weekly. 

 

3) Take a deep-data dive into individual homes in your inventory 

One of the advantages that you, as a local company, have over a national company is that you know your homes. Take the time to look at the marketability and competitive advantage of each home. Who is staying in each home? Rank the homes in your inventory by the number of nights booked, and look at who is staying in each home by guest zip code, party size, booking window, and length of stay. Are there patterns? Note: Key Data Dashboard makes this really easy. 

Create guest personas for each home by season, and as you look at one home, identify “like” homes that are similar and group them. Using these groupings, work with your website developer and reservations team to suggest similar homes to shoppers. Further, use groupings to create persona-targeted blog posts, social posts, and email campaigns (e.g., Top 10 Homes for Family Reunions, 10 Beachfront Homes for Multigenerational Family Vacations, Best Cabins for Fall Leaf Peeping, Best Condo Pools for Kids, or Homes Located Minutes from 15 Nature Trails).

 

4) Don’t look back: Start collecting guest data today 

It can be daunting to look back at old data, so put the past in the rearview mirror, and start thinking about 2022. What data would you like to collect about shoppers and guests in 2021 that would help you in 2022? Software systems have come a long way with CRM functionality, and third-party CRM tools have become more affordable. 

Related: The Power of Lead Management and CRM for Vacation Rental Managers by Carlos Corzo

In addition, start collecting guest data on all the guests at a stay and not just from the person who made the reservation. Use Wi- Fi landing pages in properties to get names, emails, and zip codes from all guests (Silicon Travel and StayFi can help); collect names and emails for pool or gym passes; or find a creative reason to email or text all guests at the home. 

Related: Customer Relationship Management and the Vacation Rental Industry

 

5) Put each home’s best face forward 

As marketing get excessively competitive in 2022, time and resources will be limited. Use 2021 to optimize each home’s web presence: 

Incentivize owners to upgrade home décor 

Take new staged photos 

Spotlight outdoor spaces 

Add floor plans 

Write new descriptions 

Make sure amenities are labeled properly and uniformly 

Spotlight high-speed internet where you have it 

Map properties correctly 

 

6) Get your house in order 

Use 2021 to perfect your sales channels, including your website and call center, and put people in the right seats on your team bus. 

Website: Gather focus groups to test your website. Streamline the booking process, make mobile functionality seamless, ensure amenities are labeled correctly and filterable, and get rid of any dead links or errors on the site. Designate the best property photo as the lead photo and the one that is displayed in search results. In addition, make sure that “no results found” is never the message shoppers see when searching. 

Call center: Look at sales and marketing as a team. Equip reservation agents with as much information about homes and the destination as possible, and give them CRM tools to collect the data you need to help with marketing. Let the marketing department weigh in on call scripts, and discuss ways that the reservations team can help marketing—and ways that marketers can help the reservations team. 

Team: We learned a lot about one another and about our strengths and weaknesses in 2020, so this is a great time to list marketing tasks and reevaluate who on your team is best suited to each one, including data and analytics, writing, graphic design, social engagement, SEO/SEM, and distribution management. Schedule regular meetings between revenue managers and marketing because marketing coordination is fundamental to revenue management success. 

 

7) Optimize distribution channels 

If you are reliant on third-party sites (e.g., Vrbo, Airbnb, and Booking.com), this is the year to take a deep dive into how to optimize these channels. Make sure you understand the algorithms that dictate sort order. Review how your homes are displayed on each channel, and double-check that the best photo is displayed first and that your amenities are properly assigned and filterable. Use “bread crumbs” to lead shoppers to find and book with you directly. If you have special offers, learn how to change titles and promote specials in your listings. 

Google Vacation Rentals: If you are using third-party channels, you will likely grow your presence in Google Vacation Rentals. Longevity matters, so getting on top of this sooner than later will be advantageous. There are currently many challenges with this channel, so look for VRM Intel’s Marketing Lab as we are working on an online seminar to bring you the latest information from Google. 

 

8) Measure and track marketing performance 

Everything you do—every campaign, channel, web page, promotion, and social post—should have a defined goal, performance tracking plan, and evaluation. This will allow you to quickly identify which efforts are working and which ones need improvement or reworking. Top measurement tools include Google Analytics Goals and Attribution, Key Data, AirDNA, call center tracking, and your software system (see example table below). 

Assign tracking to the team member who best understands the “why” behind the data, and schedule weekly meetings to evaluate performance, brainstorm about improvements and new campaigns, and celebrate successes.

 

9) Think outside the box 

Marketers have been drinking through a firehose for several years. However, in 2021, it’s time to move from being reactive to being proactive. Once you know each home’s competitive advantage, are collecting the data needed, have cleaned up your site, and have an evaluation system in place—you can go back to doing what you do best: thinking outside the box and implementing creative marketing strategies.

Look to other industries and other sectors of travel for inspiration. When geo-targeting, think about campaigns that appeal to that specific audience. And have fun with it! You sell vacations. You sell periods of time that have true meaning and purpose and that people remember for the rest of their lives. 

In 2020, families sought to escape, and they found respite in vacation homes. But they also found rejuvenation from the beaches, lakes, mountains, and countryside that you gave them. They found new adventures, natural beauty, and memories they will treasure. For marketers, I’m not sure there are many things more meaningful to promote.

Yes, 2022 will be fantastically competitive, but if we prepare today, we’ll be ready. 

 

Fact or Fiction? Mythbusting Hot Vacation Rental Trends

By
Jason Sprenkle
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0

Last year was disruptive to our sense of normalcy in so many ways, and the typical trends and patterns we’ve come to count on for vacation rentals were thrown out of whack. Market performance shifts from one destination to another and are regularly affected by fires, hurricanes, and national events. If any industry is accustomed to handling surprise disasters, it is the vacation rental profession. But no markets were immune to the impact of COVID-19; standard metrics were turned on their head. 

As we sort through it, while the virus continues to affect us, it’s been more difficult than ever to forecast for the future. Can we count on the “trends” we’re seeing online and hearing from our friends in other markets, or are they unique to their market? 

Let’s turn to the data to try to set the record straight on what’s been happening and, more importantly, what we should expect for the coming seasons. 

 

About the Data 

Through Key Data, our industry has joined in what is effectively a collective co-op of data sharing. For 2020, the data set represents more than $2.5 billion in US bookings from more than 200,000 properties. Our markets are undoubtedly unique in many ways, but our collective data can now shine some light on our industry and clarify the real patterns as they are happening, many of which may not be what you expect. 

Here’s a look at the ones we found most interesting and helpful: 

 

Fact or Fiction? The Average Length of Stay (ALOS) Has Increased. 

Mostly fiction, but it depends on the market. 

There is much talk about how ALOS is increasing significantly. But is it for our professionally managed vacation rentals? It would seem to make sense with COVID-19. People working from anywhere can stay longer. Many kids are doing school online. Here’s what the data shows. 

For the entire US, ALOS on the books for the first six months of 2021 is pacing almost exactly in line with 2019, showing an average of 7.8 days versus 7.7 days in 2019. For 2020, four weeks in late March and April saw spikes raising the average for the period to 8.0 days, but this came when most markets were shut down, and there were only a handful of guests essentially holding in place. Absent this anomaly, the US professional market is not seeing an overall increase in ALOS. 

So where is the chatter about ALOS increases coming from? Two places we believe. 

First, scraped data providers cannot distinguish between guest stays and owner stays or holds. Also, they have do not have visibility into cancellation data. They rely instead on algorithms or estimates to adjust for what they can see on the OTA websites. COVID-19 dramatically changed the expected percentages of holds and owner stays, making the data appear as if guests might be staying much longer when, in fact, much of what they were seeing were holds and owner stays. 

Second, several of the ski markets are seeing a bump in ALOS pacing for arrivals between January and March 2021 compared to last year. Although it doesn’t apply to all the markets, or even all the ski markets, it is enough to get folks talking. 

 

Fact or Fiction? The Average Booking Window Has Shortened. 

Answer: Mostly fact, but it varies by arrival time period. 

Are guests still booking closer to their arrival date? The answer here is yes and no, depending on the month. Let’s take a more in-depth look. 

For January through July arrivals, the 2020 booking windows were skewed heavily by COVID-19, reflecting a greater than 13 percent drop on average, down from 153 days to 137. 

So let’s throw out 2020 and look at how 2021 is pacing versus 2019 and 2018. For the period as a whole, 2018 and 2019 were identical, both with an average of 158 days. This year is pacing 3 percent down at 153 days. 

But the story here is in the details. 

January and February bookings were made much closer to the day of arrival—67 average days in advance in 2021 versus 97/96 in 2019/2018, respectively. 

Conversely, March–July bookings are being made much earlier this year—212 average days in advance in 2021 versus 190/188 in 2019/2018, respectively. 

This makes sense. The struggle for the vaccine to catch up with rising cases is holding back early bookings, whereas pent-up demand for what hopefully will be a great summer is causing people who haven’t been able to travel to get their trips for summer on the books earlier. 

 

Fact or Fiction? Houses Are Performing Better Than Condos. 

Answer: Fact 

Condos, and small condos in particular, are not yet faring well in 2021. When looking at adjusted paid occupancy pacing for 2021 compared to 2019, houses are booking much better, whereas condos are booking much worse. It’s a sizable gap that shows a clear and strong trend across the US. In a COVID-19 period when private space matters and vacation rentals are vastly outperforming hotels, condos fall in between the two, as you might expect. Within our sector alone, they are profoundly underperforming and should be high on your list when considering marketing and rate adjustments. 

 

Fact or Fiction? Large Houses Are Booking Better Than Smaller Houses. 

Answer: Fiction 

Are large houses booking better this year, as some suggest? The data says no. We looked at pacing for adjusted paid occupancy, comparing 2021 to 2019. Although 2021 occupancy pacing is higher, the pattern is the same each month. 

Smaller houses booked better in January and as you look further out into the season.

 

 

Fact or Fiction? More Bookings Are Happening on Airbnb than Vrbo or Direct. 

Answer: Fiction 

There is much speculation on how the OTAs are affecting each other and how professionals are keeping up with their push for direct bookings. Below we look for the first time at this data from the perspective of professional property managers on Key Data, which reflects significantly more of the leisure markets than the urban. 

A few observations are clear for professional US managers in leisure markets: 

Direct bookings continue to account for more than 50 percent of bookings. 

Direct bookings vastly outperform any OTA.

Airbnb is slowly gaining some ground despite its lack of effort to work better with professionals, and the gain is coming off direct bookings. 

VRBO is holding steady. 

Note that Booking.com was less than 1 percent for this data set for all three years. 

When we look at the data by month over this same three-year period, we see some additional seasonal trends: 

VRBO is steady throughout the year. 

Airbnb performs poorly in the summer months and stronger in the winter months. 

Direct bookings capture the largest share in peak summer months. 

The absence of bookings in April of 2020 skews the data that month. Otherwise, the trends are consistent. 

As professionals know, each market is different, and understanding how these trends are playing out in your specific market(s) is more important than ever after a year that reset much of what we’ve all come to expect. 

 

 

Fast Growth at Homes & Villas by Marriott International

By
Amy Hinote
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0

Senior Director Travis Riner Shares Insight into Objectives, Growth, and Future Plans

Marriott International jumped headfirst into the vacation rental industry in May 2019 with its launch of Homes & Villas by Marriott International, a vacation home booking platform that curates luxury home rentals. After a successful pilot program that included London-based Hostmaker and Austin-based TurnKey Vacation Rentals, Homes & Villas by Marriott International went to market with 2,000 homes in 100 destinations. By the end of 2019, the platform had expanded its listings to over 12,000 professionally managed whole-home vacation rentals, and that proved to be only the beginning. 

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, Homes & Villas by Marriott International grew its inventory 160 percent in 2020, and it currently lists more than 20,000 homes in 240 destinations throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Of those destinations, 40 percent are new to Marriott, meaning the company did not have bookable accommodation options in those markets before. 

Homes & Villas by Marriott International operates as its own business unit within the company, with a “small but mighty” dedicated team that isn’t slowing down. They have a road map to enter new regions, including Asia, and to add more premium and luxury inventory in popular destinations throughout Florida, California, Italy, Mexico, and beyond.

The key is “premium and luxury.” During a November webinar provided by Morgan Stanley, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said, “It was clear to us the homesharing space included a business that was attractive to us and a business that was not attractive to us.” 

“Sorenson saw upside in launching a Marriott-branded product, as it would be a way to cater to larger groups needing multiple bedrooms and who would be difficult to accommodate in a traditional hotel,” Skift’s Cameron Sperance wrote. “But if Marriott was going to get into the space, it would be with a product that could live up to company standards.”

To meet these standards, Homes & Villas by Marriott International lists only professionally managed vacation rentals, and property managers must meet a stringent list of criteria for a home before it can be listed on the site. In addition, property managers must agree to deliver on a well-articulated service level, including 24/7 on-call staff. 

For vacation rental managers, the primary benefit of listing homes on Homes & Villas by Marriott International includes the ability to reach Marriott’s 145 million members of its Marriott Bonvoy travel partners. Plus, Bonvoy members can use loyalty points to book. Joining the platform has also proved to be appealing to homeowners, and property managers report a higher quality of guests booking through the site than through the other third-party channels they use. 

We sat down with Senior Director Travis Riner to learn more about Homes & Villas by Marriott International.

 

Amy Hinote (AH): When Marriott decided to add Homes & Villas by Marriott International, what were its goals for this new offering? 

Travis Riner (Riner): Our goal as a company was to innovate with the customer in mind. Before we launched Homes & Villas by Marriott International, we conducted a survey of our guests and found 27 percent of our loyalty members used home rentals in the previous 12 months. For those times when they needed a home, these guests were leaving our portfolio to book on other sites. This created an opportunity. 

At the same time, we also saw that the short-term residential rental industry faced two challenges: (1) too much inventory without quality filters or brand assurances, and (2) inconsistency across guest experiences, leading to consumer frustration and disappointment. By exclusively working with top-notch property management companies and curating the best-of-the-best inventory for our guests, Homes & Villas by Marriott International solves those pain points. 

Additionally, Homes & Villas by Marriott International participates in our travel program Marriott Bonvoy. That means that our nearly 150 million members around the world now have alternative, extended-stay accommodation options beyond our traditional hotels. Additionally, because we are focusing our inventory on popular vacation destinations that may not be able to sustain a full-time hotel, our members have many more locations to choose from when staying with us. 

 

AH: Is Homes & Villas by Marriott International meeting your initial objectives for the platform? 

Riner: We are encouraged by the growth of both our available inventory and overall bookings. Some of the property management companies we work with are reporting that we are a top-three distribution channel for their homes less than two years after the launch. However, it’s important to keep in mind that Homes & Villas by Marriott International is still a relatively small—but growing—part of the company’s overall business. From May through December 2020, bookings were up more than 500 percent versus the same time period in 2019. This tells me we must continue growing in markets that matter most to members of Marriott Bonvoy, which account for more than 90 percent of our bookings. 

 

AH: How does your team ensure that a rental home meets Marriott’s standards for quality and service? 

Riner: Quality and service are two of the most important attributes our guests come to Marriott for. Much of the credit for maintaining the high design, cleanliness, and safety standards our guests value us for results from our collaboration with the property management companies with which we work. They are just as dedicated as we are in ensuring the homes are in tip-top shape; we have updated the imagery for our site, and each home listed is professionally cleaned to the exacting standards we created in collaboration with Ecolab. 

 

AH: Travelers have a set of expectations when staying in a hotel (i.e., a front desk, coffee and breakfast access, and 24/7 access to a live person). In addition, Marriott’s guests expect a certain level of quality in mattresses and linens. How are you managing the guests’ expectations for stays in homes? 

Riner: Just as when any new hotel brand launches, customers need to experience it firsthand to determine whether it meets their needs. Renting a vacation home is the same.

Together with the property managers for each listing, we are very clear with our guests that Homes & Villas by Marriott International is considered an extended stay accommodation, meaning many high-touch services and amenities that they might get in full-service hotels are limited unless specifically mentioned or requested. Additionally, because we work with professional property managers exclusively, our guests receive many critical amenities they wouldn’t get through vacation rental competitors, including 24/7 service should something need fixing and access to procurement of hotel-quality linens and amenities with preferred pricing. 

 

AH: In looking at the feedback and reviews you have received, how are Marriott Bonvoy members responding? 

Riner: Our guests, especially members of our travel program Marriott Bonvoy, are thrilled to have home rental options that are assured by Marriott. We hear a lot of positive feedback about homes with space and amenities that enable the whole family to be together comfortably. This is largely the result of the close relationships we have with the property managers with which we work. 

We choose to work only with those who have the shared value of putting the customer first. We read every comment and react to each customer’s feedback in an appropriate manner. Through this, we have learned quite a bit about our customer’s needs and wants over the past two years and have adapted, including by enhancing the customer’s digital experience by adding a “Near Me” search functionality, by highlighting our stringent cleanliness standards to help customers feel comfortable during this global pandemic, and by enabling our guests to cancel closer to the stay. 

 

AH: Since you’re carefully reading each review, do you have any advice for property managers about how to better meet (and exceed) expectations from frequent hotel travelers who have not previously stayed in a vacation rental? 

Riner: Providing clean and well-maintained homes is table-stakes for our guests. Our customers are hyper-focused on these elements, something that has been heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even the biggest and most elegantly designed and furnished homes have the potential to disappoint if they are not thoroughly cleaned before check-in, or if basic items including cabinetry, appliances, and technology are broken or don’t work. 

We encourage property managers to continue staying on top of cleaning and maintaining their homes. Scuff marks on walls should be touched up. Wires should be hidden. Bathrooms should not have a hint of mildew. Furniture should be dusted and vacuumed, then moved so the area under and around it can be cleaned, and all appliances should be checked to ensure they are functioning properly. 

 

AH: What have you learned about vacation home rentals in the last year that you did not expect? Were there any surprises? 

Riner: It’s no surprise that vacation home rentals are popular and have become even more popular as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve seen especially strong demand for premium homes— homes that range from $100–$500 a night, in drive-to and ocean or mountain destinations. That’s one of the reasons we launched the “Near Me” search functionality on our site that curates homes within up to 600 miles of the person searching. 

We also saw the booking window shrink throughout 2020 as the global pandemic persisted. While most people still book 55 days out, we saw the number of people booking 6–30 days out increase to 40 percent of bookings. That is why we introduced a 10-day flexible cancellation for most homes, giving our guests the confidence to book without fear of losing money if they need to cancel. This is so popular we have extended the promotion through June 2021. 

Members of Marriott Bonvoy have shown support for this offering since launch. Members are redeeming millions of points for stays and earning millions of points for bookings. In fact, one member redeemed nearly 11 million points for a three-week stay at an amazing property in Lake Tahoe. 

Finally, we have discovered the need for more inventory in highly sought-after markets. It’s critical that we continue to curate the best homes, so our customers are not weeding through substandard listings, but we need to offer enough choice so that they can both find exactly what they need and know it’s available when they want to travel. This is one of the main reasons we continue to work with existing property managers and are looking for more who can help us add inventory to the hottest vacation rental markets throughout the world. 

 

AH: Is Homes & Villas by Marriott International looking to provide services such as revenue management, marketing, and distribution to vacation rental operators? 

Riner: The professional property management companies we work with are the backbone of our vacation rental offerings. Our marketing power and engaged audience are the two main reasons property management companies should work with us. We constantly market our listings to the 145 million members of our travel program Marriott Bonvoy. We are also constantly looking to make it easier and faster for property management companies to list homes on HomesandVillasbyMarriott.com—and will be rolling out several initiatives to this effect over the next few months. 

 

AH: Can we expect to see a “flag” styled offering for vacation rental operators? 

Riner: While we offer some branded hotel residences—whole home vacation rentals including the Ritz-Carlton, Westin Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis, and others—we don’t have any plans in the short run to introduce additional flags from brands that are outside our hotel offerings. 

 

Expedia CEO Talks Vrbo: We ‘Removed Vrbo from Google’s Vacation Rental Meta Product’

By
Amy Hinote
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1

During today’s Expedia Group earnings call, CEO Peter Kern and CFO Eric Hart told its investors that Vrbo provided a bright spot for the company during COVID-19 as the whole-home vacation rental market has been attractive, family travel has been attractive, and North American travel has been stronger than in other geographies.

In contrast to past earnings calls, the bulk of today’s conversation focused on Vrbo and the alternative accommodations sector. Here are some takeaways for vacation rental professionals. 

 

Vrbo’s Marketing Strategy

With the strength of the alternative accommodations sector over the last year, Kern shared that Expedia had bumped up performance marketing spend for Vrbo in Q4, but that it had pulled Vrbo’s inventory from Google’s Vacation Rental meta platform.

“In the fourth quarter, we were investing more heavily in marketing,” Kern said. “This was intended to get ahead of what we thought would be the coming demand from the vaccine rollouts, but it was largely focused on the upper-funnel brand marketing side of Vrbo where we knew there was a lot of momentum.”

Kern continued, “We are using this moment to try to drive as much brand recognition and long-term value into the brand over time. So we pushed into Vrbo on the performance marketing side, which we view as more of a quick-torch muscle. We continue to be relatively conservative.”

Vrbo No longer listing on Google’s Vacation Rental meta Platform

However, Kern noted that performance marketing has a downside during volatile periods.

“Again, we saw lots of closures happen across the globe. Those closures drive massive cancellation spikes, and they can make performance marketing very unattractive very quickly when it goes the wrong way. So we’ve been relatively conservative,” Kern explained. “In that vein, we’ve actually removed Vrbo from Google’s Vacation Rental meta product.”

“Again our focus is, as much as possible, on driving direct traffic, driving incremental profitability from all our performance marketing, and as we see opportunity to remove unprofitable activities, we do that. And as we right back into a more normal market we think we’ll be able to drive more into the upper funnel, more direct traffic, and be much more calculated in performance marketing.”

About performance marketing, Kern provided more insight into its strategy: “We’re very sharp minded about it in the sense that we’re happy to invest in anything that drives incremental profitability, good revenue, and good profit; and we’re not keen to continue on a path of just continuing where investment is not productive. So we didn’t find investment in the Google VR (vacation rental) product to be particularly incremental, we didn’t think the customer experience was particularly valuable, and we are in a period where we are seeing great direct traffic for Vrbo so we found more profitable ways to drive traffic.”

Airbnb pulled its listings from Google Vacation Rentals in August. Booking.com is back after delisting for a period of time. It makes sense for the top home-rental providers to shun Google to keep consumers from finding large supply listed on its meta platform. The consumer experience still has a long way to go with rate display, location pins, and nonsensical filtering options related to features and amenities. 

When asked to provide a little more insight into the decision to remove listings from, Kern said, “Google VR was not particularly significant, and we concluded that it was not additive, which is why we made the move that we made.”

 

Vrbo Starting to See Longer Booking Windows for Summer Stays

Expedia attributes January’s uptick in performance to domestic North American travel and to longer booking windows at Vrbo. 

“The summer is a strong opportunity for the Vrbo use case, and we’re seeing people lean into that as the year opens up,” Kern said. “I don’t think we’ll breakout exactly how good it was, but Vrbo has been strong.”

CFO Eric Hart expounded on the trend they are seeing with longer booking windows.

“Historically, during COVID, we saw a shortening of booking windows, and we continue to see that on the conventional lodging or on the hotel side of the business,” Hart said. “But what we’ve seen is Vrbo [booking window] elongate again and look much more like we would have expected to see in any other year—which goes back to the summer bookings that Peter is mentioning.

Hart added, “We know there is pent-up demand, and people wanting to travel, and people have confidence that they are going to be able to travel—at least domestically, using the US as an example—so they are starting to book for the summer months now.”

 

Expedia Group will not break out Vrbo Separately

With Airbnb’s recent IPO, analysts were hoping Expedia would decide to break out Vrbo’s financial performance to provide more insight into how the businesses compare. It’s not going to happen.

“No we don’t intent to break it out . . . because we believe it’s one business. We view this as just another product that the traveler will want,” Kern said. “Obviously, it’s having a great moment, and we’re glad that we own it, and we believe we can ride some of the success of travelers being exposed to the product type. But we view it collectively. We view it as one business that we’re driving, whatever the best outcome for the consumer is, and driving that outcome across all lines of business. We think the separation has been artificial, and we’re not planning to report on it that way in the future.”

 

Getting Alternative Accommodations Inventory on Brand Expedia

Since Expedia acquired Vrbo/HomeAway, we’ve heard several CEOs talk about integrating whole-home rentals onto the OTA sites, and it’s a little surprising that it still hasn’t happened.

“We’ve been saying that for a long time, but we are now highly focused on doing it,” Kern said. “It’s not ready to roll yet. We do do it, but the consumer experience is not yet where we want it, but we are highly focused on driving that in the future and that will be the way we attack markets where we don’t have an exisiting Vrbo or other alternative accommodations brand.”

Kern also discussed how to present whole-home inventory alongside hotel inventory in an attractive way and so that the consumer understands the difference. 

“We still have work to do to make sure it’s a good experience.”

It sounds like 2021 will be the year during which intent becomes actual strategy. 

 

We continue to expect a bumpy ride

“We continue to hope and expect the vaccine rollout to drive consumer confidence and drive things forward, but we certainly are not trying to predict what consumer sentiment will be as the virus changes over the ensuing months,” Peter Kern added.

“We continue to expect a bumpy ride.”

Identifying, Hiring, and Inspiring Your Team in a Post-Pandemic World

By
Steve Trover
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0
Team Teamwork Togetherness Collaboration Concept

If you’ve been in this game for any time at all, you’ve likely been asked the question, “So how did you end up in the vacation rental industry?” 

Because I can’t help but use a little sarcasm in my humor, my standing start to the answer is always, “Well, right after I graduated with my degree in vacation rental management . . .” 

The reality is that there is no obtainable degree. It’s an industry and a career path that most have fallen into by chance. While there are many ways to get here, there’s a common thread among those who stay. This vacation rental thing gets in your blood. 

That’s why this year has been one of the biggest challenges for so many in our space. The ups and downs of 2020, and the apparent extension of said challenges into 2021, have made keeping one’s passion for this industry challenging for many. 

On a macro level, the global shutdown and economic problems that the COVID-19 pandemic caused have led to vast unemployment across the US. By early April, more than 310 million Americans were on lockdown at home, over 30 million had filed initial unemployment claims, and the unemployment rate had risen to a record high of 14.7 percent. Businesses worldwide faced a sudden onset of significant challenges and changes that required a strategic plan for survival during and after the pandemic. 

Nearly nine months into the pandemic, we see many glimpses of hope on the horizon. Air travel in the US reached its post-March peak the day before Christmas, with over 1.1 million Americans passing through checkpoints. Millions of people took long-anticipated road trips to nearby destinations to celebrate the festive season with friends and family. Americans are traveling, and the shift in their market and travel behavior is placing them in your vacation rental homes rather than public hotels. While this shift is ideal for our industry, there is more pressure to perform than ever before. 

 

A Talent Paradigm Shift 

COVID-19 changed the way we work overnight, and we need to change our thinking and keep up with the ever-evolving market. The vacation rental industry has not only shifted because of the pandemic but also matured and reached a new level. Property managers have used this time to adapt, reassess their work models, create a strategic survival plan, and find innovative ways to keep their heads above water. 

Work trends changed considerably and have been reset for the foreseeable future. In many cases, companies are replacing full-time employees with contingent workers and freelancers for flexibility. 

Remote workers, telecommuting, digital nomads, online roles, and automation are on the rise, and Zoom meetings are the preferred form of office communication. The pandemic has also brought a shift in employee expectations with a focus on flexibility and a healthy work–life balance. 

As a general rule, vacation rental managers have been historically hesitant to allow for remote workers. Now that many are forced to work in this manner, managers are starting to see the benefits. Offering remote roles significantly increases the level of talent available for a specific function. 

While many hands-on positions such as housekeeping and maintenance are impossible to do remotely, positions in reservations, marketing, accounting, and even business development can all be done via the internet and the now ubiquitous Zoom meetings. 

As with remote workers, many managers had been hesitant to hire individuals who worked at other vacation rental firms because they were concerned the workers had “bad” experiences or were not trained professionally. 

There has been a significant shift in this thinking as the industry evolves and ages. There are tens of thousands of experienced professionals who bring years of experience along with their passion for the industry. 

No, there is no obtainable degree for our industry, and finding the right talent is challenging. Still, there is a silver lining to the COVID-19 layoffs and cutbacks: a labor pool of talented, experienced, and resilient professionals with a new set of skills and a fresh approach. 

 

The Best Teams Win 

Finding and building the right team can be time-consuming, challenging, and often overwhelming. The competition for talent is fierce, and connecting the right candidates with specific roles within your company is no easy task. 

Whether you tap into the existing vacation rental talent pool or reach out to the extended hospitality industry, there has never been a greater time to build a team. It is essential to have a well-designed talent strategy that aligns with the business’s objectives and goals. 

Throughout all the challenges and changes of recent times, one truth still holds—the very best vacation rental companies have the very best teams. Whether your company is already the market leader or is striving to be one, the best investment of time and resources you can make in 2021 is to identify, hire, and inspire the very best. 

 

 

Technology in 2021 and Beyond: Vacation Rental Tech Leaders Predict the Future

By
Amy Hinote
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4

The vacation rental industry has witnessed a significant evolution in technology over the last five years. With every property management system that goes to the graveyard, five more arise in its place, all promising to be the all-in-one answer to all the industry’s problems. To further complicate things, we’ve seen specialized plugin software platforms emerge providing functionality to meet the needs of every imaginable business need from hiring and housekeeping to distribution and revenue management. We use terms like integration and APIs as often as we use check-in and checkout. Even entry-level staff members are now expected to be adept in multiple systems. 

The current state is overwhelming, even for tech-savvy millennials and Gen Zers; and often professionals who excel in hospitality are driven out of the vacation rental industry because of the demands related to the revolving training required with an ever-changing tech stack. Vacation rental management company founders didn’t sign up to be SaaS project managers. 

Where is the industry heading in 2021 and beyond? Is there any light appearing at the end of the tech tunnel? We reached out to the industry’s technology leaders to find out what they are predicting and what vacation rental managers can expect as the industry continues to evolve. 

 

Eric Broughton, Chief Strategy Officer, InhabitIQ 

While the pandemic touched every aspect of the vacation industry, we were impressed by the resiliency and tenacity of our brands, clients, and partners. Beyond delivering technology solutions, we are encouraged by the way our industry is coming together to educate local, state, and national leaders on how travel can be done safely and by the positive impact of professional managers on the economy. 

For the first half of 2021 and likely beyond, length of stay (LOS) is a major trend as travelers are choosing to stay at their destination longer because of online school and/or work. The ability to optimize yield for our property managers through enhanced LOS solutions that seamlessly integrate within their websites and the major OTAs will deliver value. In collaboration with LOS, revenue management solutions that optimize pricing will deliver significant returns. We continue to be impressed by the consistent uplift in yield experienced by property managers utilizing either a managed or algorithm-based solution. We’ve seen groups that have previously managed their pricing find a 14 percent increase in year-over-year revenue with our service while those that hadn’t managed pricing in the past experienced an average revenue increase of 58 percent year-over-year. 

Because of tighter budgets, we see a focus on stretching website and agency dollars further through improved marketing spend and more organic traffic. We are investing in these segments of our business to support new and returning travelers organically. 

Toward the end of 2021, we predict the return of urban core markets, which had been taking off prior to the pandemic. Pent-up demand for travel combined with purpose-built, short-term rental properties that began with shovels in the ground during the heyday will come online at the perfect time. 

We’re inspired by property managers’ resourcefulness and resolve, and we’re enthused by the positive trends that are pointing to a better year in 2021. 

 

Ben Edwards, Founder and President, Weatherby Consulting 

From what I’m seeing in the marketplace, technology is definitely a challenge—specifically, the lack of financial visibility in the business. Most companies do not have accurate or timely financial statements that allow them the opportunity to make good business decisions.

Financial visibility and fundamental management is sorely lacking. We’ve been offering a free business assessment to anyone concerned about their business. Having reviewed hundreds of businesses over the years, we’ve helped highlight systemic business issues and provide changes to generate a more meaningful profit. Financial visibility is paramount to having a perpetually sustainable business. 

 

 

 

Jeremy Gall, Founder and CEO, Breezeway 

Over the past year, vacation rentals have proven their resiliency and appeal as a travel category, attracting new travelers and carving out more market share. We often beat the drum about increasing expectations of owners and guests and the push for quality in the industry. Professional managers have continued to elevate their businesses to meet these demands. Now, it’s important that operators don’t take their foot off the gas. We can expect increased competition from hotels edging into the vacation rental market with products that are designed to provide the authenticity of a vacation rental with full hospitality services. Technology that helps professional vacation rental operators deliver “hotel-like” guest experiences and services will continue to be a critical piece of successful management. 

Technology solutions for vacation rentals will become smarter and smarter over the next few years. Today’s technology creates value for clients, whether through marketing, operations, accounting, or revenue management software. But there is so much more value that can be delivered in the space. The market is demanding deeper customization with various levers to further unlock automation across business functions. This trend for more customization and automation is really exciting and will enable a leap forward in property management service. With more efficiency and the ability to take on more work, this opens up new revenue opportunities for vacation rental managers to monetize the guest and owner experience. 

 

Andrew Kitchell, Founder and CEO, Wheelhouse 

2021 is going to be the year that professional-grade software comes to the STR space. 

Why? Because the scale of the opportunity to transform travel and housing is massive. And, the evidence that the broader market recognizes this has already been demonstrated by (a) the stunning success of the Airbnb IPO, (b) the broader shift in travel spend from hotels to STRs, and (c) the increasing scale and sophistication of investors in and around PropTech and STRs in general. 

This scale is going to encourage strong technology teams to enter the category and to create elegant solutions to empower both small- and large-scale operations. 

As an operator, 2021 needs to be the year you lean into software— should you not already be there. As a technology company, 2021 needs to be the year we lean into customers—to make sure they are empowered as never before. 

At Wheelhouse, we’re making sure that 2021 is the year that transparency truly comes to the dynamic pricing space, and we look forward to sharing our deep investments in revenue generation with customers everywhere. 

 

Amber Knight, GM, LiveRez 

The biggest changes we’ll see are shifts in consumer behavior. Like everyone else, vacation rental managers have radically adjusted priorities and reevaluated what’s important. This applies to software they’ve opted into in the past, how much they’re willing to pay, and the lightning-fast (for the industry) adoption of new products that deliver results. 

Software that enables managers to take advantage of booking direct, retaining repeat guests, and optimizing revenue without building a bloated organization will see the biggest increase in market share. The most adaptable software companies will be able to objectively aid managers in wading through the process of choosing the right software stack and deciding how to clearly measure success. Managers are going to stop expecting one-size-fits-all on a global scale from their software, and software companies that succeed will have to both find their niche and help professional managers grow. Companies that simply provide another flavor milkshake won’t make it. 

 

Simon Lehmann, Founder and CEO, AJL Atelier 

Nothing will be the same! 

For a couple of years now we have focused heavily on technology adaption in our industry. Many surveys have been made to find out how property managers are increasingly using software and technology to run daily business. Their use has increased substantially, but at the same time, it has been identified as one of the biggest pain points for the operators. No big surprise. Vacation rental has been the only travel vertical in the start-up scene that has received more investment, and technology start-ups popped up on a monthly basis even during 2020. So what has happened? And what is the consequence? 

We have started to micro-verticalize our value chain with technology providers between guests and hosts. On average, a property manager is working with eight different software products to run his business. But this is not sustainable. While the OTAs are taking 50 percent of the gross margin, technology has not become cheaper, and the net margin for property managers has become smaller. Most of the tech companies are venture-funded and are not profitable either, which does not help the situation. Today, we can source software for any process that the PMS does not offer. It is obvious now that each technology provider is trying to expand its value proposition and increase its take rate—no matter if it is an operations and cleaning software, revenue management system, channel manager, or a traditional PMS. Channels are being integrated, and add-on features are being developed to offer a one-stop shop to the property manager. 

Keeping sane looking at the jungle of technology providers has become a challenge not only for property managers but also for us as thought leaders and any other industry intermediary. Therefore, the consequence of the current market environment is going to be consolidation. We will see many tech companies shutting doors and not surviving. Others will try to merge with one another or expand their customer base and value proposition, and yet others will raise more funds and buy up technology companies. So watch out when making decisions to source new technology. Get external advice to help you with the specifications that you need and with the selection process! The landscape is changing very rapidly; and we will see fewer, but much larger, technology companies in the future. Remember the last VRMA in New Orleans, when you went to the exhibition hall? I never saw so many exhibitors before. If there is going to be a VRMA this year in San Antonio, then my prediction is that there will be less than half the exhibitors there. 

 

Matt Loney, President and CEO, Xplorie 

The pandemic has shifted our industry in ways that are hard to comprehend just yet. But it’s important to take a moment and appreciate how technology helped propel the vacation rental industry to be one of the few travel success stories of 2020. Without virtual/keyless check-in and cleaning protocols systematized by new operating applications, managing the pandemic in a way that reinforced vacation rentals as a safe alternative to traditional lodging would have been far more difficult. 

Our industry’s “technology stack” was there when we needed it most. And unlike any time in our industry’s history, operators are now embracing technology across the entire guest journey and collecting guest data across multiple touchpoints. Moving forward, managing this growing technology ecosystem is not only the most significant tech challenge for the vacation rental industry but also the greatest opportunity. 

Over the next few years, consolidation of guest data will allow property managers to personalize the guest experience along the entire guest journey. The logical source for the consolidation and organization of data is our property management systems, which owe a duty to our industry to begin to normalize our data and API connections in a way that allows ancillary technology companies to consume it and leverage it for the benefit of all stakeholders. Additionally, guest personalization at scale will require an effective means of delivery and control by the guest. 

Our industry has explored mobile apps, mobile web pages, tablets, televisions, and voice assistants—all with varying degrees of success. Ultimately, how best to interact with the guest needs to be based on what technology drives the most significant guest interaction. By reducing the barriers to adoption, we will promote the exchange of preference data between our technology systems and the guests. 

As for Xplorie, we are focused on consolidating guest preferences for in-market experiences to better understand guest motivations. Right now, we’re working to provide a more personalized guest service via our Xplorie Enabled Voice Assistant (XEVA) powered by Amazon’s Alexa. Answering common guest questions—such as “What’s the Wi-Fi password?” “Where can we get the best burger?” or even “What should we do today?”—is a perfect example of using big tech in a small way to customize a guest’s stay. And we’ll be seeing much more of this type of guest-centered tech in the near future. 

Vacation rentals continue to benefit from the hard lessons learned by the hotel industry. Whether it’s channel distribution, yield management, or operations, hotels paved way for vacation rentals. And personalization of the guest experience is no different. By the time hotels discovered the importance of guest personalization, their technology ecosystem had become so bloated that getting their systems to talk, let alone work together, was nearly impossible. Even today, most hotels don’t even consolidate data from the minifridge to identify loyalty members’ favorite drinks or snacks. 

Failure to aggregate and leverage acquired guest data is clearly a missed opportunity in the hotel industry. But for the vacation rental industry, it’s still early enough in our technology growth curve to learn from their mistakes—and make the appropriate corrections as we move forward. 

 

Lino Maldonado, President, BeHome247 

This is a resilient industry, no doubt in my mind. But as I think about how this pandemic differs from hurricanes, oil spills, low snow years, and economic pressures, it may be that for the first time, perhaps ever, technology is ready to play a significant role in the recovery if we let it. 

We’ve learned (or been told) over the past year what is absolutely essential, how to stretch everything from our time to toilet paper, and which facets of our businesses can function remotely and which cannot, but have we invested any time in evaluating processes in our business to determine where some automation in the workflow could generate greater efficiency, improve guest and/or owner experience, and add margin to our bottom lines? 

I’ve been through a number of software migrations over the years, the most painful thing your business may ever self-inflict. So why is it that when we decide to make a switch, the first thing we do is try and make our new tools map to an old process? It’s human nature to fall back into what we are most comfortable with or to find a new work-around to overcome a perceived shortfall in the new system, and my teams and I were really good at it, but that rarely led us to innovation. What we typically ended up with was a new system, or another bolt on, that every office would try and make act like what they had prior. 

There are more great tech products on the market today than ever before, and we will certainly see new point solutions introduced over the next few years. Whether these new tools are focused on a single issue or a full PMS, they will only be as impactful to your business as your teams are comfortable in using them, so pick a partner who is as good at support as they are in sales. 

 

Sean Miller, President, PointCentral 

As we adopt to how the world looks post the arrival of COVID in early 2020, I think we will see the following technology shifts become part of our lives in 2021: 

Guest data privacy: As VRMs look to create and maintain relationships with guests in current stays and to plan future stays, they are looking to know more about their guests and how to get ahold of them. I think how data are collected, used, and managed will become a growing concern to guests and a risk mitigation vector for vacation rental managers. The key will be how all of those activities respect consumers’ growing awareness of data privacy as well as developing regulations around it, such as CCPA. I have seen several tools, including smart lock providers, deploy tools to collect guest information, but I expect the growing consumer expectations and regulations to drive this to be more of a core function of PMS and/ or CRM tools. 

Reassuring guests: Tools like property care software have helped to augment our process to meet changing guest demands, but I expect more advances around how we market safety and cleaning protocols to help. (Investments in things like better Wi-Fi will also support changing guest needs—like in workcations.) 

Shift from property management to asset management: Interest and attention in the vacation rental space will continue to grow in 2021 because I think private accommodations will continue to better meet travelers needs, especially as we work to get to the other side of a COVID vaccine. With this interest will come more business but also outside investment, disruption, and consolidation. VRMs who want to come out of this evolutionary stage stronger and larger will have to think about not only how they fill vacant homes but also how they help owners take better care of their homes and grow the overall value of that asset. Technology that enables proactive protection and maintenance, such as monitoring security and intelligently preventing water damage or HVAC damage, will help VRMs simultaneously remain competitive in their core focus but also grow their business with value-added services that homeowners appreciate. 

 

Matt Renner VP, TravelNet Solutions (TRACK) 

Much like the vacation rental industry itself, VR tech has been a fragmented space with niche providers. In many other vertical industries, there are clear enterprise leaders with $1B+ valuations (e.g., Procore and Veeva). Although there has been some consolidation over the last few years, it is more of a roll-up private equity strategy, where companies operate independently, still fragmented, and with the primary objective to generate short-term shareholder returns. Although there is nothing wrong with this strategy, I believe that over the next three years we will see a company separate from the rest. There will be niche product consolidation under a cohesive long-term vision, and an enterprise software company will be on the path to being a clear, global market leader. This will contribute to the maturation of our industry and will be a positive development.

 

Jason Sprenkle, CEO, Key Data Dashboard 

For starters, I think the stream of companies converting to another PMS will continue, with a handful of brands seeing the vast majority of the growth. This shuffling will add a lot of work for vendors, but it should result in an updated and increasingly robust platform from which to improve the technology in our space in the next few years. In the short run, tons of money continues to pour into pricing, revenue, and data tools, which should see significant growth this year. VR companies continue to be split into those focused on channel distribution and those focused on their brand. The prior saw consolidation over the last few years. I believe the roll-up of the larger regional brands will begin in earnest this year and continue through next year, with the creation of increasingly large companies in the US. The ones that get it right will focus on the people, the culture, and the service. The ones that focus on growth for growth’s sake will relearn the lessons our industry has previously taught. In the end, I think the next few years will see the full-scale arrival of the private equity firms, the flags, and the money. I believe that this will provide huge opportunities for those ready to grow, improve, and run fast—both in the VR company and on the vendor side. Up or out, as they say. Last, I’d look for the hotels to hit back once they’re on their feet. Any way you look at it, it should be an interesting ride for sure. 

 

Ed Ulmer, President and CEO, Barefoot Technologies 

COVID has changed a lot of things. With change comes opportunity, and this feeds into what Barefoot has been promoting the last few years. Portals’ branding to guests continues to be strong, but their focus on owners the past few years has been even stronger. Like all platforms (Uber, Zillow, Amazon), their goal is to remove the middleman. Vacation rental companies are the middleman. Barefoot’s goal is to build your value proposition for guests and owners. 

Barefoot continues to drive functionality and knowledge that allow vacation rental companies to compete against portals with a significantly stronger owner value proposition. This is with the understanding that you cannot compete with portals on rental commission. Where you compete is based on services and the understanding that owners buy their properties as an investment, and renting the property is just one piece of the pie. During the height of COVID, portals’ marketing disappeared. During the height of hurricanes, portals cannot assist. When an owner buys a home, portals cannot add value to that investment; provide the best property management services; sell the home; or make the owner feel special and that someone is in their corner and acting as a trusted partner, overseeing one of their biggest assets. If you brand to your lodging niche and promote a remarkable local expert, vacation guests like your owners will find you. This creates a life cycle because owners were once guests. 

In 2021, our technology and consultative approach continues with added accounting functionality, concierge, social media, asset management, and communication tools. It is why we have a 96 percent retention rate and deal with resorts, real estate companies that focus on creating clients for life, and agencies looking to dominate their market. Finally, we continue to grow our portal program because they are a guest and owner feeder for our clients. Collectively, there is a lot to be learned from competition. There is even more to learn if you take that knowledge and apply it to yourself and your niche. 

 

Kasa and Minut partner to protect properties all over the U.S.

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

February 8, 2021 – Flexible accommodations operator Kasa has partnered with Minut, the preferred STR monitoring solution among hosts and property managers worldwide. Minut will provide award-winning protection to Kasa’s rapidly expanding portfolio of properties. Reliability at scale is key, as Kasa is planning to install Minut sensors in all of its 30+ U.S. markets, not only to protect their properties but also to protect the safety and privacy of their guests, neighbors, and community.

Minut provides a 100% privacy-safe solution that monitors sound levels in the property and notifies hosts and property managers whenever the noise rises above a customizable threshold for a prolonged period of time. This way, they can act quickly when there is a concerning amount of noise, but won’t get alerted every time a door slams. Minut strongly believes that peace of mind shouldn’t come at the cost of privacy. That’s why the Minut home sensor never listens in nor records any sound – it simply tracks the decibel level inside the property.

Noise, unauthorized parties, and property damage are some of the biggest challenges that the STR industry needs to overcome to become more sustainable. Minut was created to help property managers tackle them effectively.

“Through this partnership, we aim to establish a new industry standard for safe and responsible hosting. We’re extremely excited for this opportunity to create a more sustainable STR landscape together with Kasa,” said Nils Mattisson, CEO of Minut

In order to be able to address any potential issues quickly, Kasa needs to have constant insight into what is happening at their properties. Full insight goes beyond just noise monitoring, and Minut is the only solution on the market that can provide it.

In addition to noise, Minut sensors also track temperature and humidity, alerting hosts to sudden changes. It has a motion detection feature, which can be used to see when guests arrive and leave, and a home alarm to protect homes between stays. Minut’s sound recognition capability can notify hosts when other alarms (such as smoke or carbon monoxide) are going off.

“Minut noise sensors are essential for us providing a safe short-term rental experience for property partners, neighbors, and guests,” said Yvette Romero, Director of Strategic Product Initiatives at Kasa. “They give us reliable ‘eyes on the ground’ in every one of our units. Additionally, by integrating Kasa into Minut’s cloud platform, we have access to event data that we can use to improve operations.”

With customers in over 120 countries, Minut is the only truly global solution for the short-term rental industry. Self-installed in minutes, with 6-month battery life, Minut can be installed in any room, in any property, anywhere in the world.

Learn more about the partnership at minut.com

 
About Minut

Protect your home, your neighbors’ peace and quiet, and your guests’ privacy with Minut. Get real-time analytics and notifications on noise, motion, temperature, and humidity in your property, from anywhere in the world. Prevent parties, look after your home and build trust with neighbors. All without compromising on privacy.

 

About Kasa

Kasa is a national accommodation brand with roots in real estate and technology. The company partners with property owners to transform multifamily and boutique hospitality properties into professionally managed units that offer trustworthy and comfortable accommodations to business and leisure travelers alike. Kasa was founded in 2016 in San Francisco by a team that includes technology, hospitality, and real estate professionals. For more information, visit http://www.kasa.com.

The Pace Report Is Dead

By
Amber Carpenter
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1

I think it was 2010 when I read a blog post titled, “SEO Is Dead,” written by a then-active vacation rental marketing leader. The post gave everyone a massive headache, and ever since, I’ve been looking for my own “XYZ Is Dead” topic. It took a decade, but I am finally declaring the death of something; and therefore, this article is destined to go viral, give people headaches, and force me to wear ugly-colored tennis shoes for my next speaking engagement (an inside joke for VRMs who were around in 2010). 

All kidding aside, COVID-19 has changed the travel industry. For vacation rental marketers, this means that the way people have been traveling for the past several years (or decades) is not the way they are going to be traveling in the future. This shift affects many things, but it also brings up an important topic: What is travel demand? And why have we been pretending for the last 20 years that past booking performance is an accurate measuring stick for future demand? 

Demand, by definition, is customer willingness to purchase a product or service at a given price. In other words, if I am a customer, it means I want something, I have a budget in mind, and I’ve heard that you might be selling it. 

For the last 20 years we have read articles and listened to videos, podcasts, and industry experts on panels talk about demand being up or demand being down for various reasons—but do you know what they were really talking about? Their booking trends, not their demand. 

When you convert a consumer’s willingness and intention to book into an actual reservation, you have converted demand into revenue. 

We have been pretending our booking data is “demand” data because these are the only numbers we could get our hands on to make decisions. And for a long time, that was okay because consumers were creatures of habit. 

But nothing about 2020—or the coming months—will resemble the past, so we have to rethink everything about our business. 

 

1) SEASONS 

We need to break our seasons down differently for the rest of 2021—no matter how much of a pain it is to set them up in our PMS. With virtual schooling, events being canceled, and people stuck in their home for a year, let’s consider how we can maximize revenue on a week-by-week basis instead of season-by-season. 

 

2) BOOKING RULES 

It does not matter if we have always required a Saturday arrival or a seven-night minimum stay. Consumers’ willingness has likely changed, and we will need to change with it if we want to make every dollar we can right now. 

 

3) RATES 

The anxiety of being stuck in the house and behind a mask is motivating people to travel for long weekends. Optimize rates, not only by increasing Saturday or Sunday night rates, but analyze data to see what a “long weekend” looks like in the destination. It probably resembles Thursday through Sunday or Monday. 

 

4) FEES 

This is controversial and differs by destination. However, now more than ever, consumers are willing to pay a premium for five-star cleaning services that meet COVID-19 safety standards. Pay attention to invoices from vendors. If we’re seeing increases in expenditures, we should feel confident in increasing cleaning fees for consumers. Make sure marketing teams are doing a good job explaining what consumers get for their cleaning fee, and it will be fine. 

 

5) AUTOMATION 

As an industry, we’ve been learning a lot about rate automation. If you are using set-it-and-forget-it automation for rates or email marketing, make sure your settings are still relevant. Automated pricing algorithms rely heavily on historical booking data (along with real-time booking data) to make recommendations. Designate someone to review the recommendations and the impact on conversion. 

This is not the time for “George Foreman” revenue management or for marketing messaging; it is probably time for a complete refresh. Shoppers are browsing our websites or opening our emails because they want something positive on their minds, not more stress. Even if operations are limited or shut down due to COVID-19-related restrictions in the area, we can help people dream about their next vacation with a photo contest, virtual scavenger hunt, webinars, or the like. 

As vacation rental marketers, we can more accurately measure real-time demand by looking at this activity on our own websites. 

We can see when consumers are shopping and searching availability on our sites—and we know when they pick up the phone to book with one of our reservation agents. Even consumers who book on third-party OTA websites have often done a search on brand.com before making their final choice (a dynamic that justifies its own article in the future). 

Today’s web analytics provide us with metrics like number of visits, time on site, pageviews, event data, and e-commerce transactions/ conversions. This data is invaluable, but it is often hard to translate into actionable marketing insights beyond making design improvements to the website. 

For years, I’ve been thinking about how to get more demand data by quantifying how consumers navigate vacation rental websites. Specifically, I wanted to find a way to measure the following critical information. 

 

Arrival Dates and Length of Stay Shoppers Are Searching For 

Capture every query entered on the website—whether it happens on the home page, in the search results, or directly on a property page. Queries and quotes reflect our true demand data! They show how many consumers are willing to find our product. 

 

Amenity Filters 

We’ve spent years gaining inherent knowledge of what kind of amenities guests like to book. But what kind of amenities were they searching for during a given period of time for a future arrival date? 

 

Number of Search Results Displayed 

We haven’t had visibility into how many properties guests are seeing for any given search query on our websites. Whether you have 10 properties or thousands of properties, once someone puts in the arrival date, length of stay, and a few filters, would you be surprised to find out that your site is only showing them a fraction of the results that are actually available? 

Wouldn’t you want to know when your site is showing “0 results” when you have plenty of availability? 

Plus, how powerful would it be to talk to a stubborn homeowner about how many times their property was quoted at a certain rate and it never booked? 

As an industry, we need to evolve from talking about demand based on what we’ve booked. There is a world of opportunity and higher revenue that emerges when we see the full picture of what consumers were looking for, what results they saw, and what they ultimately chose. 

After years of thinking about how to help bridge the gap and solve this problem, I had the opportunity to spend the last 12 months— along with countless sleepless nights—completing my master’s degree in technology leadership from Brown University. Combining what I learned at Brown with decades of vacation rental experience, working through COVID-19 as Acme Vacation Rentals’ CMO, and aided by a brilliant team (it takes a village), I cracked the demand-analytics code. 

The result is the DemandIQ plug-in, my capstone project. Using this plug-in, we can now quantify demand with customized analytics that track what guests are searching for along with what they are being shown. 

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