I don’t recommend that you provide wireless access to your Business Systems… unless there is a definite business requirement and no other alternatives.
But if you REALLY NEED to provide wireless access to your Business Network, in this month’s newsletter I discuss potential pitfalls and Best Practices you should consider when you deploy wireless access to your Business Network.
I am, however, a big fan of setting up public wireless Hot Spots within your facilities to provide open Internet access to guests and to staff with personal smart phones and tablets. I have discussed this in detail in my newsletter, “Securely Implement a Public WIFI Hot Spot”.
The Pitfalls
Wireless is inherently unsecure.
Sure, you can (and should) use encryption and use a secure password within the Private Wireless Network. But anyone who has the wireless Key (password) can knock on the door of your business resources anytime, from inside the building, in the parking lot, or across the street. As a business owner, this definitely concerns me.
There is an App for that.
The wireless threat is no longer just laptops. You can get apps for tablets and smart phones that will allow you to work within a network environment. If my tablet can see the wireless business network, I’m one password away from being in a position to use my apps to access your company jewels. If I’m hanging out in the parking lot, or next door, my tools have all the time in the world to try to break in. Tablets and smartphones are inconspicuous, they are everywhere, and there are millions of them.
No Firewall.
When you provide wireless access to your business systems, access is direct… Just like from your wired PCs. All access occurs inside the firewall, so the firewall can’t offer any protection.
Best Practices
If you really need to provide wireless access to your Business Network, Read More…
About Tom K
Tom K, has been a senior level Business and IT Consultant providing exceptional solutions to business leaders for more than 26 years. His last eight years have been focused on the Vacation Rental and Real Estate industry. He has built strong relationships with all the major systems and services providers in our industry, regularly working with their principals and most senior personnel.
There’s much debate over just what “native advertising” means. Talk to enough publishers, however, you’ll find agreement on one thing: it isn’t banner ads.
The banner ad is now 18 years old. It has become a symbol of all that’s wrong with online advertising. It is more often than not devoid of creativity; it stands out as an intruder on webpages; and it is mostly ignored by readers.
And yet it continues to be a bulwark of the online advertising system. Many publishers would like to change that. (See Buzzfeed cobbling together a network of like-minded sites to run its sponsored content posts.) Here are 10 facts about banners that might make you wonder if there’s got to be a better way.
1. Over 5.3 trillion display ads were served to U.S. users last year. (ComScore)
2. That’s 1 trillion more than 2009. (ComScore)
3. The typical Internet user is served 1,707 banner ads per month. (Comscore)
4. Click-through rates are .1 percent. (DoubleClick)
5. The 468 x 60 banner has a .04 percent click rate. (DoubleClick)
6. An estimated 31 percent of ad impressions can’t be viewed by users. (Comscore)
7. The display advertising Lumascape has 318 logos. (Luma Partners)
8. 8 percent of Internet users account for 85 percent of clicks. (ComScore)
9. Up to 50 percent of clicks on mobile banner ads are accidental. (GoldSpot Media)
10. Mobile CPMs are 75 cents. (Kleiner Perkins)
11. You’re more likely to survive a plane crash than click a banner ad. (Solve Media)
12. 15 percent of people trust banner ads completely or somewhat, compared to 29 percent for TV ads. (eMarketer)
13. 34 percent don’t trust banner ads at all or much, compared to 26 percent for magazine ads. (eMarketer)
14. 25-34-year olds see 2,094 banner ads per month. (ComScore)
15. 445 different advertisers delivered more than a billion banner ads in 2012. (ComScore)
By Chris Swain–ACE is an Automated, Customized Email marketing solution developed specifically for vacation rental companies by Blue Tent Marketing. It’s fully integrated with industry-leading property management systems such as HomeAway’s Instant Software and Escapia. The ACE program delivers essential guest information throughout the entire customer life cycle. It’s all about improving your business and increasing guest satisfaction by delivering useful, insightful and actionable content to the right person at the right time.
By developing a custom API solution that communicates directly with your property management software, ACE does all of the heavy lifting and promises a first-class guest communication platform.
Don’t let negative reviews affect your vacation property rental bookings. Use them as a powerful marketing tool instead.
By March 15, 2013 –You cannot please all the people all the time; even the best of the best receive negative reviews on their properties from time to time. Although it is hard not to get affected by negative reviews, there are many ways to effectively deal with them and turn those negative reviews into positive marketing opportunities.
Generally, those who write reviews are customers who are very happy or very unhappy. Unhappy customers aim at ensuring you are liable for the bad experience they had. They are able to hide behind the anonymity of the Internet, meaning they generally use harsher words than they would if they were face-to-face with you telling their problem. To make matters worse, the impact of a negative review far exceeds the impact of a positive review, making it imperative that you deal with these negative reviews before it affects your vacation rental bookings.
Respond to All Negative Comments
Silence is your worse enemy. If a customer writes a negative review and there is no response from you or your agency, it can be interpreted as either you don’t have responsive customer service, or that you have no response to the ‘truthfulness’ of their negative review. Many businesses shy away from responding to negative comments, unfortunately that is a luxury that established brands with large marketing budgets, like Apple, can afford. Small-to-medium vacation rental agencies and individual property owners who are establishing their brands often cannot afford to let these negative reviews shape their brand image. You may only have one chance to expose yourself to a potential-client: don’t let that one chance come from an unsatisfied customer.
Respond In A Timely Manner
Timing is everything. If you leave too much time between the negative review and your response, you will most likely lose the opportunity to turn the negative review positive for many potential clients who saw the negative review without your response. Read More…
With Futurestay you can now create a website for your property in under 10 minutes with online booking for free. Link your existing profiles on vacation rental listing sites (like vrbo & homeaway) back to your Futurestay website (at your own domain) to accept online bookings, simplify management and enhance your professional brand and image.
Here are just a few of the tools and features you get with Futurestay:
online booking (no merchant account or paypal needed)
guest management software
auto publish your property to 100+ listing sites (yahoo travel, lodging.com)
fully customizable layout and design
100+ marketing, management, and booking features
Photos
You can add as many photos as you like and they also display as a slideshow on your home page.
Futurestay is totally free to setup and use.
You’ll never be charged anything for the website or hosting. When guests book your property through your site they pay the price you want to receive plus Futurestay’s 10% commission.
7 minute challenge
Take the 7 minute website challenge!
They bet you can set up your vacation rental website in 7 minutes or you get your money back. Actually, its free either way!
Disclosure
I should add that I am a partner of Futurestay’s and I will get fantastically rich should you sign up with them.
2. MyVR
Here’s some of their blurb;
MyVR is online software that helps vacation rental owners increase bookings with less time and less hassle. We accomplish that by doing three things:
We better showcase your home
We help you launch your own online and mobile presence for your rental with your own website, Facebook Page, and more.
We expand your marketing
We offer numerous options for you to expand your vacation rental marketing (including social, local, mobile, and more) so that you can get more bookings, but without a ton more work because we know you have limited time.
We simplify the management of it all
We give you a single, centralized dashboard at MYVR where you launch and manage all your vacation rental marketing. Get all your inquiries in one place, and keep your calendar, rates, photos and information up to date and in sync across all your marketing!
Photos
Photos are shown full screen and here at rentmoreweeks we are big fans of full screen photos.
At present there are two pricing plans the first costing $12 per month, the second costing $25 per month.
Both come with a free 14 day trial so you can dip your toe in the water.
For more info on what you get for your buck visit this page.
3. Promote My Place
Here’s what they say;
PromoteMyPlace.com is specially designed for holiday rental owners like you. It offers everything you need to get a high-performing website for your holiday let, simply and quickly, at minimal cost to you.
Simple & easy to use – no technical knowledge required
Great choice of professional designs and colour schemes
Full ongoing support included – never get stuck again!
Quick and fuss-free – get online in as little as 1 hour
Cost-effective – no need to spend a fortune on website designers, developers and hosting companies
Annual hosting included – no hidden extras
Unlimited free updates – change your site yourself, at any time
Allows owners to display their website in 7 different languages – English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese. Very handy for the European market.
Blog
They also have a very good blog with all sorts of marketing tips
Pricing
Your website will cost you £69.00 (that’s around $103) which works out at about £5.75 a month.
They offer a 14 day free trial too.
You can get a £10.00 discount by entering the Promotion code shown below.
When you’re ready, simply register for your no-obligation 14 day free trial and enter the promotion code below. If you decide to continue after your free trial expires, your discount will be applied automatically.
Promotion Code: NMR10
4. Web Chalet
Here’s some of what they have to say;
If you currently advertise on HomeAway, Flipkey, or VRBO you can now also create a personal website for your vacation home in minutes—WebChalet websites sync with HomeAway and VRBO calendars.
Use your personal website to communicate with your guests and keep them there instead of sending return customers back to a directory with all of your competition! Isn’t a great domain name much easier to remember than a listing number?
Every website comes with a full suite of marketing tools, from formatted Craigslist ads to Facebook integration.
They offer a number of pricing packages from $149 a year for a single property to $1999 a year for an unlimited number of properties. There are also a couple of packages in between.
They too have a free 15 day trial if you want to try it out.
Webchalet are already providing over 2700 websites for owners which is pretty impressive.
5. Webmyhouse
Here’s some of what they have to say;
Easy-to-use solution to create your own website and publish your property on the web, both for renting and selling purposes. Lots of great, menu-driven functionality, such as multi language, choice of layout and colors, photos, connection to Googlemaps, what is nearby, property availability overview, property pricing, listing of events, email functionality and visit reporting. Great functionality and ongoing development for a minimum yearly fee, at a fraction of the cost of developing and maintaining a website!
Adjust your website any time of the day
Without needing programming knowledge
No estate agent, consultant or programmer involved
With the website address-extension you choose
Great functionality: availability overview, connection to
Googlemaps etc
Easy set up in 4 languages
In the format and colours you prefer
Portal functionality for owners of multiple properties
Easy to add any additional properties
Develop and maintain your own marketing community
No unsolicited reactions for renting
Ongoing development for more functionality and eye catching presentations
Publish your basic website for free
Full functionality for a minimum yearly fee, at a fraction of the cost of developing and maintaining a website!
Photos
Free version = 5 pictures on slider homepage, 2 pictures per room and 6 general photos
Paid version = unlimited images (within reason)
Languages
Produces your website in 4 languages – English, French, Dutch and German. This could be very useful to those villa rental owners in Europe.
Pricing
There are two types of website that you can create, the first type is 100% free but has some limitations whereas the second, premium website is priced at £64 per year for one property.
For full details visit the pricing page here.
March 8, 2013 –Today is the last day to get early registration rates for the Destination Summit at the Magnolia Hotel in Denver, CO. Ryan Solutions and Inntopia are hosting the Destination Summit 2013, May 21-23, and the event is billed as, “the premier educational event for destination marketers. ”
The agenda focuses on industry specific content for destination marketers as well as best practices in web marketing, social media, mobile sales, direct marketing, sales agent training, and intelligent data analytics. Attendees are expected from premier vacation destinations in the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and Europe.
The Inntopia system is the leading advanced reservation platform in the destination industry, powering ski resorts, destination management organizations, tour operators, and travel suppliers. The Inntopia platform enables access to all of the travel related supply in a destination, and then offers a suite of sales and back office tools to efficiently manage a business.
About Ryan Solutions
Ryan Solutions is a Colorado-based marketing agency focused on the integration of resort transactional systems, marketing strategies, and direct and social media marketing. Their systems help you build, automate, and apply guest intelligence by creating one complete guest profile and communicating more effectively with each guest.
April 1, 2013 –Don’t miss out on the chance to improve your property management company, meet and learn from other property managers, and provide valuable training for your team. Whether it is customer service, maintenance, housekeeping, laundry, marketing, sales, accounting, human resources and more, the Vacation Rental Managers Association Regional Conferences can help you increase rentals, improve operations and acquire more homeowners into your program.
Not a VRMA member? We are happy to offer a $100 discount to our non-member readers! Simply enter our coupon code(INTEL) when you register online to save $100 off the non-member rates.
And this year, each Regional Seminar will offer more hours of programming than ever before, including “train-the-trainer” sessions to give supervisors, mid-level managers and department leaders the tools they need to ensure excellence in their areas.
A special executive-level track provides owners and general managers with the specific information and resources they need to be more effective in this ever-changing industry.
The education, best practices and networking opportunities are sure to help your company and employees improve operations, increase sales and boost your bottom line.
VRMA Intel is a proud member of the VRMA, and we hope you’ll join us at one of the upcoming Regional Seminars:
VRMA Eastern Seminar
April 22-23, Savannah Riverfront Marriott
Savannah, Georgia
Not a VRMA member? We are happy to offer a $100 discount to our non-member clients! Simply enter our coupon code(INTEL) when you register online to save $100 off the non-member rates. (VRMA members still receive the best rates.)
March 05, 2013 —RealTimeRental Vacation Rental Software, the leading cloud-based software provider to professional vacation rental managers, announced today a new technology partnership with VacationRentPayment, the leading payment processing provider for the vacation home rental industry.
This strategic partnership provides RealTimeRental customers with a turnkey solution to accept credit cards and eChecks for online vacation rental payments by utilizing VacationRentPayment’s robust payment processing technology. Payments can be processed directly by a reservationist in the RealTimeRental software or online by travelers on a self-service basis.
“We are excited to partner with RealTimeRental,” said Matt Golis, CEO of VacationRentPayment. “By using VacationRentPayment, clients will be able to seamlessly integrate online payments with RealTimeRental’s vacation rental workflow for booking reservations, as well as its industry-leading trust accounting system for tracking payments and other transactions.”RealTimeRental is currently the vacation rental software solution for over 200 of the industry’s premier vacation rental management companies, providing services to over 135,000 vacation rental properties across North America and processing over $600 million dollars per year.
The addition of VacationRentPayment to the RealTimeRental (RTR) service provides multiple benefits:
Cost Savings: VacationRentPayment will offer RTR customers industry low flat-rate pricing and eCheck acceptance. No more tiers based on the types of credit cards used by travelers, or other hidden costs. The pricing is truly “what you see is what you get”—enabling property managers to budget their expenses with greater confidence and predictability.
Save Time: The VacationRentPayment/RTR partnership automates the online payment process so clients can focus on more important activities instead of the time-consuming, inefficient process of collecting checks and processing cards through a terminal for rental payments.
Maximize Bookings: VacationRentPayment’s online payment options make the vacation rental process easier and vastly more competitive with the hotel booking experience travelers are accustomed to, allowing vacation rental managers the ability to quickly and easily process credit cards, debit cards and eChecks online through their RealTimeRental software to book a reservation.
Payment Security: Secure credit card data with tokenization technology to mitigate your PCI compliancy risk.
“RealTimeRental is continuously striving to provide our customers with the most complete rental management software in the industry to streamline their administrative processes and maximize bookings,” said Sherry Tomasso, Co-Founder of RealTimeRental. “In that vein, we selected VacationRentPayment as our partner for online payments because of its strong reputation for providing the most advanced and secure payment processing technology in the market. We look forward to a great partnership with VacationRentPayment for many years to come.”
About RealTimeRental
RealTimeRental (RTR) is the leading web-based Vacation Rental Property Management System, designed for the professional manager, serving more than 135,000 vacation rental homes and properties in North America. For more information please visit http://www.RealTimeRental.com.
About VacationRentPayment
VacationRentPayment (powered by YapStone Inc), offers the most innovative and integrated online payment solution to the property management industry. Dedicated to providing the best combination of cost savings, simplified accounting, and superior technology, YapStone is the leader in online payment processing solutions for specialized vertical markets. YapStone’s payment service processes billions of dollars annually, with an on-demand platform that offers Web-based and mobile payment processing and seamless integration to its clients’ accounting systems and websites. YapStone has been recognized in Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies for the past 4 years and was most recently named to Forbes’ List of America’s 100 Most Promising Companies.
Kitty Hawk, NC – February 2013 — Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates, one of the original and most widely respected real estate sales and vacation rental companies on the Outer Banks of North Carolina is celebrating their 45th anniversary in 2013. Family owned and operated since 1968, Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates offers more than 550 vacation rentals as well as a full-service real estate agency in the Outer Banks through their office in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Joe Lamb Jr., Founder of Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates, had this to say about the company he founded reaching this milestone, “My wife, Ann, and I started renting cottages in 1968 at the 11.5 milepost on the “Beach Road”. During the last forty five years I have seen our company, the vacation rental business, and this beach change tremendously. The beach was one of the only attractions for visitors. The rental season was limited to the summer months of June, July and August. Today, with more travelers finding the off-season appealing, our rental season starts full swing by Memorial Day and now runs well into October. Our community too, has embraced the off-season traffic. Stores and restaurants are open and there are so many exciting events being held which support our community education foundations and support service groups. One of the things that being in the vacation business for years has taught me is that folks from all over the world think of our community as their own. They love to come here to participate in local events and show their support. They share an important part of their lives with us by coming back year after year and make us a small part of their family, we are extremely proud that they allow us to share in these special times.”
Today, Joe Lamb Jr. and Associates professionally manages over 550 vacation homes, townhomes and condominiums in such popular areas of the Outer Banks such as Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, South Nags Head and north to Southern Shores and Duck. These rental properties range from oceanfront to soundfront on what is known as the Northern beaches of North Carolina. Their extensive selection allows for a satisfying and memorable vacation for any family.
Dan Hardy, President and General Manager of Joe Lamb Jr. and Associates, credits their success to the personal relationships they have formed over 45 years with homeowners and vacationers, “We have been a leader in the real estate industry for over 45 years, and have built a solid reputation by establishing great relationships with our clients and they appreciate the personal attention our staff offers.”
While specializing in property management and vacation rentals, Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates also features a full service real estate agency dedicated to making the purchase or sale of Outer Banks property an efficient and professional experience. Their realtors, who are known for their personal touch, have experience and knowledge in residential, commercial and investment properties throughout the Outer Banks. Tim Moore, Broker-In-Charge is celebrating his 10th year with Joe Lamb Realty. He commented about his experience, “I began my career 30 years ago in a busy office with over 50 agents, in Fredericksburg, VA. Here at Joe Lamb I found an easy, relaxing, family–style business environment that I love. We are always accessible to address the needs of our clients and assist them in any way we can to make their real estate transactions pleasant, seamless and enjoyable.”
After 45 years Joe Lamb Jr. and Associates is a cornerstone in the community and is proud of their home. It is very important that they give back to their community through sponsorship and volunteerism for local charity and fundraising efforts. This year, they are an accommodations sponsor for a variety of sporting events, community sports competitions and fishing tournaments, as well as supporting many community foundation programs and events.
Since 1968, Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates has built a solid reputation and has established many long and mutually beneficial relationships by providing their clients a friendly staff, hands-on service and management committed to excellence. Open seven days a week, Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates offer clients the ease of contacting the team at their convenience. They can be contacted toll-free at 800-552-6257 or locally at 252-261-4444. You can also visit their user-friendly website, which features real-time online bookings at www.JoeLambJr.com. |
| About Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates Celebrating their 45th year, Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates is a family-owned and operated real estate and vacation rental management company founded in 1968 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They feature over 550 vacation homes throughout the Outer Banks of North Carolina as well as a full service real estate agency. Joe Lamb Jr. and Associates is located at 4607N. Croatan Highway in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They can be reached via telephone: toll-free at 800-552-6257/locally at 252-261-4444; via email at info@JoeLambJr.com or via the web at www.JoeLambJr.com or www.JoeLambRealty.com. This press release was submitted by Visual Data Systems on behalf of Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates. | For More Information: Dan Hardy, President Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates 252-261-4444
Indianapolis, Ind., February 27, 2013 – Forthcoming research reveals the primary reasons second homeowners seek the services of a vacation rental professional versus handling on their own, according to PhoCusWright’s first look into the growing industry since 2008: A Market Reinvented: The U.S. Vacation Rental Landscape, 2013. According to the survey, which will be available in the second quarter of 2013, industry professionals receive nearly half of the market’s total demand despite a supply of just 42 percent.
Reports from the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA), the industry’s professional trade group and a sponsor of the study, indicate that members have been experiencing a steady uptick in bookings year over year. For example, January 2013 analytics data by the VRMA together with Navis Research, LLC points to a more than 15 percent growth in bookings last month versus the same time last year, and a nearly nine percent rise for the next six months.
Following is a first-look at key survey insights courtesy of the industry authorities at the VRMA (www.vrma.com):
THE RISE OF THE PROFESSIONAL
More than half of the vacation rental market’s total rental revenue now goes to industry professionals, up from 43% in 2007. For vacation rental professionals this translated to a more than $11.6 billion marketplace in 2012. The total U.S. vacation rental industry is expected to reach $25.8 billion by 2014.
TOP REASONS HOMEOWNERS ‘GO WITH A PRO
Rather than personally handling reservations, marketing, maintenance and more, many homeowners choose to partner with an area property management company to handle the legwork, even when the home is not rented. This translates into a more convenient experience, and more rental bookings for a higher potential investment return, among other top five reasons:
1. Convenience – they handle everything
2. They bring in bookings
3. The property is too far away from where I live to manage)
4. I don’t have the time to market on my own
5. They provide a good value
SATISFACTION WITH SERVICES:
When asked to rate the services of the vacation rental professional that manages their property, homeowners were most likely to be satisfied with:
1. The type or quality of guests it brings into your rental property
2. The volume of bookings it delivers
3. The price at which it offers your rental property
4. The customer service provided to you, the homeowner
5. Tie: Maintenance and upkeep of your rental property; and the amount of time you spend managing your property and the management company
MORE
For more information, visit www.vrma.com or www.phocuswright.com. Members of the VRMA receive proprietary pricing of 25 percent off the new survey.
# # #
About the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA)
Founded in 1985, the VRMA is the international, professional trade association of the vacation rental property management and hospitality industries. Membership includes hundreds of vacation rental professionals and associate suppliers across the world, representing tens of thousands of vacation rental homes, condos and villas available to travelers through its Discover Vacation Homes initiative. For more information, visit www.vrma.com.
About A Market Reinvented: The U.S. Vacation Rental Landscape, 2013
PhoCusWright’s A Market Reinvented: The U.S. Vacation Rental Landscape, 2013 is a national survey of 1,072 qualified vacation rental guests, 826 vacation rental homeowners and 192 vacation rental management companies. The report presents a comprehensive view of the current vacation rental landscape in America and identifies key trends that will continue to shape this category.
Feb. 26, 2013 –As the fight to legalize vacation rentals heats up in many prominent cities, rental proponents welcome the presence of the newly formed Short Term Rental Advocacy Center (STRAC). HomeAway, TripAdvisor, Flipkey and Airbnb teamed up to launch this organization in response to requests from users and local policymakers across the country.
“As short-term rentals grow in popularity, some communities are asking questions about how to regulate the industry,” said STRAC spokesman Tim Doyle. “As leaders in the short-term rental marketplace, we want to make sure all stakeholders, but most importantly our customers, have a reliable source of information to contribute to this important discussion.”
The need for this type of combined effort is evidenced by short-term rental bans in Anna Maria, Seal Beach, Austin, parts of New York City, Chicago and many other areas throughout the country. While many members of the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) have been working individually to fight short-term rental restrictions in their communities and with their peers, a concerted nation-wide effort has been, until now, elusive. The STRAC has potential to be a highly effective clearinghouse for resources to help residents legalize and legitimize vacation rentals in their communities.
“The VRMA is indeed aware of this new group, and fully supports its vital goal of helping communities to fairly define, facilitate and regulate vacation rental hospitality,” said Steve Trover, president of the VRMA. ” This is an ever-important issue that will boost local tourism economies and better promote industry collaboration and integrity. We are currently evaluating how we will be officially involved with the group, but as an industry, we continue to strongly advocate for developing standards that not only benefit vacation rental professionals, but the traveling public and tourism community at large.”
Recently, Airbnb came under fire in New York for allowing illegal vacation rentals to be posted on their site. Local authorities often use these listing sites to identify illegal or non-tax-paying vacation rental owners. This collaboration by Airbnb, Flipkey, HomeAway and TripAdvisor demonstrates their commitment to the long-term sustainability of the short-term rental industry.
HOLLYWOOD, FL, February, 2013 – Bookt LLC, a pioneer in online marketing and cloud-based technology solutions for vacation rental managers around the globe, today announced an expanded partnership with YapStone and the European inauguration of InstaManager’s Integrated Online Payment Solution with YapStone’s HolidayRentPayment – the most experienced and innovative online payment solution available in the holiday rental industry.
“The international opportunity for ePayments in travel is huge,” said Rob Käll, CEO of Bookt. “Our clients throughout the EU have been clamoring for this service and this partnership lets us offer our InstaManagers the best rates, free setup, and solid integration.” Käll added, “We have been working successfully with YapStone in the USA and now we can implement this innovative solution for InstaManagers in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom.”
“HolidayRentPayment helps InstaManagers maximize bookings, increase occupancy and improve cash flow as the rental funds are immediately and securely deposited directly into their bank account,” says Matt Hoffman, Bookt’s VP of Vacation Rentals. “And, by giving guests the payment option they desire – using a reward-type credit card – the guests feel better about the money they spend when bookings are tied to rewards, and our users report better guest conversion rates.”
“Bookt offers a superior technology for holiday rental managers,” said Matt Golis, CEO of YapStone. “Our deep integration with Bookt solves a number of problems for our shared clients, like making it easy and seamless for them to perform bulk charges on due invoices, issue refunds, and immediately collect rent from an online booking.” Golis added, “We look forward to continuing to work with Bookt to help holiday rental managers around the globe increase their bookings and streamline their back-office operations through integrated ePayments.”
YapStone is Bookt’s Preferred Provider for online payments in the United States, Caribbean and now Europe. HolidayRentPayment provides industry low rates and payment processing for Visa Worldwide, MasterCard and Carte Blue in US Dollar, GBP and Euro currencies. InstaManager’s Integrated Online Payment Solution with HolidayRentPayment is a free upgrade for all current EU InstaManagers and comes standard for all new European InstaManagers in the $1 Switch.
About Bookt
Bookt is a leader in cloud based services for the lodging industry. Our vacation rental manager clients, called InstaManagers, compete on 6 Continents and in 85+ Countries with Millions of Vacation Rental Nights Booked via the Bookt system. Bookt’s cloud based platform directly drives revenue, manages resources, and provides business control for savvy lodging companies worldwide. More info is available at www.instamanager.com or contact info@bookt.com. Here are some global InstaManager User Reviews.
About HolidayRentPayment
A division of YapStone International Ltd., HolidayRentPayment is the most experienced and innovative online payment solution available in the holiday rental industry. Whereas traditional payment providers take a generic, one-size-fits-all approach to all industries, HolidayRentPayment’s solution was purpose-built for the holiday rental market, with a sophisticated yet flexible platform, designed to adhere to the unique business requirements of this dynamic and rapidly growing industry. HolidayRentPayment is focused on providing holiday rental property owners the best combination of total cost savings, robust security, and superior technology.
Software Answers, the leading technology provider for the corporate housing market, announces a partnership with Glad to Have You, the leading provider of guest management and mobile solutions for the hospitality industry.
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, February 21, 2013 — Software Answers, the leading provider of technology solutions for the corporate housing industry, today announced a partnership with Glad to Have You, the leading provider of mobile guest management solutions for the hospitality industry, to bring the latest in mobile technology and guest management services to the extended-stay hospitality market.
This partnership will provide Software Answers’ world-wide list of corporate housing providers with the hospitality industry’s first fully integrated, fully mobile-enabled guest management system. “We are thrilled to be offering the latest mobile technologies to our growing list of clients. Glad to Have You’s integrated platform enables us to bring a new level of guest service and overall guest experience to the corporate housing market. We are proud to be leading the way in raising the bar for our industry,” says Christopher Couture, Vice President of Software Answers.
Guests staying at properties using Software Answers’ OSCAR solution in combination with the Glad to Have You platform will now have all the information they need right at their fingertips … from check-in codes, to directions, to the best in local recommendations. “In addition to empowering the efficiency of our clients’ operations, this new integrated platform will connect the guest with our clients like never before. Corporate travelers are busy, and the bottom line is this technology makes life a little easier for them, which in turn makes our clients happy,” said Couture.
“We are also very excited about joining with Software Answers to bring these products to the corporate housing, serviced apartment, and apart-hotel industries worldwide. Software Answers is the industry leader in this market, and the seamless integration of our two products creates an incredible opportunity for us to improve the overall experience for corporate travelers,” says Jason Sprenkle, co-CEO of Glad to Have You. “Corporate housing companies will operate more smoothly, and guests will have better, easier access to the information and services they need.”
About Glad to Have You
Glad to Have You’s platform provides hospitality management companies with a best in class content management system in the cloud paired with an easy to use mobile solution for guests. The solution aims to allow companies to more efficiently manage their guest and property information, while providing guests with an easier, more informed and overall more enjoyable travel experience. Each guest receives the pre-arrival, property, and area information they need automatically, along with all of the details they need for their specific stay – when to arrive, where to park, auto generated check-in info and lock codes. Even specific details unique to each guest like wireless codes, television instructions, etc. The platform also provides instant two-way communications with guests, detailed analytics, and a robust and fully integrated marketing platform to increase guest loyalty. It’s a concept based on giving guests what they need, when they need it, and how they want it. For more information visit Glad to Have You.
About Software Answers
Hundreds of corporate housing companies in over ten countries use Software Answers’ OSCAR property management system for their properties and day to day operations. For over eighteen years, the OSCAR platform has continued to provide the most comprehensive solution for corporate housing, serviced apartment, and apart-hotel management businesses. OSCAR is the only completely integrated, easy to operate, reasonably priced reservation and accounting system designed specifically for industries with unique property management requirements. For more information visit Software Answers.
On March 11-12, 2013, industry expert Steve Craig of Pro Resort Housekeeping is hosting an educational opportunity for vacation rental managers and vacation ownership resorts. The event will be at the Holiday Inn -Charlotte Airport and will include topics such as:
Everything you ever wanted to know about linens: terry and sheet construction, terminology, current manufacturing, durability,
pound weights, and more
How to research linens, bid linen purchases, order, and properly receive the shipment
Factors which contribute to linen loss and effective ways to reduce losses
Fundamental vacation rental linen systems
How to compute and maintain pars throughout the year.
Fundamental linen measures every company needs: rag logs, inventory methods and productivity measures
How to get the most from contract linen suppliers and chemical vendors
Tips for managing an in-house laundry operation
How to make money and control homeowner linens
Best practices for distributing linens to housekeepers and getting them back from the properties.
How to maintain QA and who should maintain QA
In addition, Tuesday afternoon the conference moves (transportation provided) to the Electrolux North America Headquarters where Electrolux Professional Laundry and Professional Kitchen will host an exceptional lunch prepared in the Electrolux Demonstration kitchens where international chefs train North American chefs how to fully utilize the advanced features of Electrolux Professional cookware. After lunch, you are treated to demonstrations of the Electrolux Professional laundry equipment to include a labor-saving flatwork ironer operated by a single person.
An afternoon training on allocating laundry dollar expenses will be conducted by Kim Shady, Vice President of Sales for Laundrylux, the North America sales and support team for Electrolux Professional Laundry Equipment, followed by details of how those expenses can be affected by each of the following areas: selecting the right equipment, laundry design, staffing recommendations and maintenance tips. This session will help those who already have a laundry and provide a guide for those who wish to consider one.
Laundry & Linen Seminar Details
When: March 11 and 12, 2013
Time: 9am to 4:15pm both days
Location: Holiday Inn Charlotte Airport. 704-394-4301. They have guaranteed an $89 rate. Free shuttle from the airport.
Cost: $225 first person ($200 each additional person), includes continental breakfasts and lunches.
Agenda: This seminar is for managers of all departments, especially those involved in any way with linens or housekeeping.
Register: Save slots via email to proresort@aol.com and then send check to:
Pro Resort Housekeeping
5611 Gulf of Mexico Dr #201
Longboat Key, FL
Or pay online at www.proresort.net
Space is limited to 40 attendees. Must be registered and paid by March 4.
Topics to be covered and the order of sessions is as follows:
Monday March 11, 2013
9am: Continental (included in fee)
“Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Linens.” Terry and sheet construction, terminology, current manufacturing, durability, pound weights, and more.
“Buying Linens” How to research linens, bid linen purchases, order, and properly receive the shipment.
“Shrinkage, the Bane of Our Industry.” An examination of all the factors that contribute to linen loss and effective ways to reduce these expensive losses
“Fundamental Vacation Rental Linen Systems” and the Pros and Cons of each.
“What Constitutes a Par?” How to compute pars. How many pars do each of you need (because different systems have different requirements)? How to maintain pars throughout the year.
Lunch as a Group. (included in fee)
“Fundamental Linen Measures Every Company Needs.” Rag Logs, inventory methods, productivity measures. Sample documents provided!
“Dealing with Contract Linen Suppliers” Whether or not you own or rent. What to expect, how to get the most from what they provide and what they do.
“Dealing with Chemical Vendors.” Tricks to make sure they are not wasting your resources.
Tuesday March 12, 2013
9am Continental (included in fee)
“Tips for Managing an In-House (on premise) Laundry Operation.” Washing, drying, folding, storage. How to maintain productivity.
“Homeowner Linens.” How to make money and control these items so losses do not occur and you have those embarrassing incidents with property owners
“Linen Pack Making and Distribution” Best practices for distributing linens to housekeepers and getting them back from the properties.
“Quality Assurance-Putting it All Together.” How to maintain QA, who should maintain QA, educating your property owners, control over your rental guests(?)
Lunch and afternoon training at Electrolux North America Headquarters.
Demonstrations of the Electrolux Professional laundry equipment to include a flatwork ironer to be operated by a single person to save labor.
Where your laundry dollar expenses should be allocated.
How laundry expenses can be affected by each of the following areas: selecting the right equipment, laundry design, staffing recommendations and maintenance tips. Session will help those who already have a laundry and provide a guide for those who wish to consider one.
ResortRentals.com Bringing Solutions to Secondary Timeshare Market
Feb 2, 2013, EXETER, NH — VacationOwnership.com and SellMyTimeshareNOW.com, timeshare resale and vacation ownership innovators, in affiliation with ResortRentals.com, announces the soft launch of a new product the company describes as revolutionary in vacation booking and timeshare rental. Launching in February 2013 as a beta site, ResortRentals.com will offer the solutions the secondary market has been seeking. ResortRentals.com will provide consumers a simple and reliable way to book affordable weeklong luxury vacations. For the timeshare industry, ResortRentals.com will provide a groundbreaking approach for individual owners, HOAs (Homeowner Associations), resale companies and management companies to both effectively monetize timeshare and concurrently promote the timeshare product to a whole new market of vacationing consumers.
Developed to be more competitive than the OTAs (online travel agencies), ResortRentals.com will feature vacation resort rentals at prices set by the owners, at prices no other online travel service currently offers or can match and guarantee. ResortRentals.com will utilize the types of SEO (search engine optimization) technology proven effective by SellMyTimeshareNOW.com in aggregating an inventory of more available timeshare rentals and inquiries than any other known secondary market company. Partnering with leading timeshare exchange providers the inventory will be cleaned and scrubbed and the bookings secure. ResortRentals.com will deliver a new concept in booking vacation accommodations, while eliminating the consumer risk associated with renting from other by-owner websites.
VacationOwnership.com and SellMyTimeshareNOW.com CEO Jason Tremblay says, “We are tremendously excited about our new partners and being able to bring this technology to consumers and to the timeshare and vacation ownership industry. For vacationing families, ResortRentals.com will be the most affordable way to book a vacation — and not just any vacation but one that puts you and your family in the spacious, condo-style accommodations of timeshare with multiple bedrooms, kitchen and dining areas and other valued resort amenities.
“For timeshare owners, ResortRentals.com will mean an easy, reliable way to rent out your timeshare any year you don’t plan to use it yourself, helping to offset the cost of annual timeshare maintenance fees; providing the guest the opportunity to choose later to become owners, turning the site into a marketing tool for by-owner and broker facilitated resales.”
Tremblay adds, “For the timeshare industry as a whole, there is simply no better way to showcase the roomy, amenity-rich vacation venues of timeshare than by getting families into the resorts first on a no-obligation, rental vacation. ResortRentals.com will deliver to the Resorts/Associations an opportunity to inspire the next generation of timeshare owners by introducing vacation ownership to a whole new market of internet-savvy consumers who are already accustomed to booking their travel online.”
Describing ResortRentals.com as disruptive and innovative, Tremblay explains that ResortRentals.com will utilize the SellMyTimeshareNOW.com and VacationOwnership.com position as leaders in organic-driven internet search to drive the discounted timeshare resort rental offerings to the forefront of online vacation booking. Our partners will provide the critical next step (known in the timeshare industry as “cleaning and pressing”) of ensuring the usability of the deposited timeshare weeks, delivering consumer confidence that each week’s availability will be there when booked and when they arrive.
February 01, 2013, Chicago, IL —TripRental.com, a budding startup in the vacation rental marketplace, has announced its completion of Series A funding of $500,000 from private investors. This positions TripRental.com as a successful travel start-up that is in high demand.
TripRental.com, a startup online marketplace of vacation rentals, has completed it’s first round funding of $500,000 from private investors. One of the many private investors, Vaughn Moore, who also served as an invaluable member of TripRental.com’s board of advisors, said, “I am excited to invest in a company with a fresh advertising idea for the vacation rental industry, and looking forward to watching and sharing in its growth and success. It was an easy decision for me to expand my investment in TripRental.com and I am pleased to lead the Series A investment.” Vaughn is the President of AIT Worldwide Logistics and a 17-year logistics industry veteran.
Series A funding is where a company receives its first significant round of venture funding by investors. Stock is sold to investors in exchange for investment. This is a critical stage for new companies.
By completing the Series A funding investment, TripRental.com strives to build a strong sales team across the country, expand product development and offerings, while continuing to increase traffic and subscriptions to the site with high quality content and marketing.
TripRental.com caters to all that are looking for vacation rentals. By completing a highly successful 30 day launch, the company has seen a huge demand in high vacation states, such as Hawaii, California, Florida and Colorado as well as international vacation destinations such as the Caribbean, Costa Rica, and Europe. With this huge growth, TripRental.com has strategically placed key sales executives to its corporate leadership team, signed property managers across the United States and in nine different countries. With the vacation rental market at an all-time high and only trending upward, they have only scratched the surface. TripRental.com is also a member of the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA.com) where they are plugged into the vacation rental management industry.
About TripRental.com Triprental.com strives to operate as THE online listing service for vacation rental owners and property managers to advertise their properties online. With the use of proprietary tools and services, TripRental.com aims to generate even more rental bookings for rental owners and property managers in an easy and cost-effective way. In turn, this provides travelers a simple and safe way to find the perfect vacation rental on an easy-to-use website that hosts an extensive selection of vacation homes. If you are looking to rent your dream vacation rental or are looking to rent out your vacation rental property, find us online at http://www.triprental.com/ or contact Joe Sickles, Director of Business Development, at 1-866-826-5252 ext. 302.
Vacation Storebuilder names Mike Montemurro COO, ramping up for continued growth.
Feb 4, 2013, Chicago, IL —Vacation Storebuilder, provider of a Software-as-a-Service ecommerce platform for the vacation rental industry, announced today that Mike Montemurro has joined its leadership team as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Used by both individual owners and property management companies, Vacation Storebuilder deploys and manages branded webstores for vacation rental properties quickly and easily by automating digital marketing and increasing web bookings.
Montemurro joins the growing company to lead product development, deployment and support operations for the cloud-based vacation rental ecommerce platform. He will ensure scalable and effective delivery of the technology to meet increasing demand, targeting the unique needs of individual owners and managers of vacation properties and resorts.
“Mike is a hospitality reservations and distribution technology veteran. His breadth and depth of experience working in the consumer travel and ecommerce space will be invaluable as we keep pace with market demand and deliver our next set of products to market,” said Sunil Aluvila, President and Chief Executive Officer at Vacation Storebuilder. “We have generated a tremendous amount of momentum with our platform, and Mike is best equipped to help scale our business as we expand market coverage and enhance functionality.”
Montemurro, who was most recently Senior Vice President of Product Management Strategy at Pegasus Solutions, a travel technology and services company, said, “Throughout my 20-year career, I’ve led product development and strategy for global enterprises as well as start-ups in the converging worlds of digital marketing and distribution. Vacation Storebuilder is at the center of this convergence for a large, untapped market, and I look forward to helping vacation property owners and operators reach consumers directly while making the search and booking process a richer and more seamless experience.”
Editor’s note: Montemurro worked closely with the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) on the Switch project and represented the VRMA Switch at several conferences.
Montemurro has helped guide the product and distribution vision for multiple travel industry leaders. At Pegasus Solutions, he was responsible for all aspects of product development across reservations, distribution, hotel representation and financial services product lines. Before Pegasus, he led the Reservations and Distribution business at TravelClick, establishing its product leadership in the hotel central reservations and web booking engine space with iHotelier and iStay. He also headed the distribution product business for Galileo International, managing numerous Global Distribution System products and services.
The vacation rental and ownership industry generates more than $25 billion annually in the United States and $85 billion globally, having more than 6 million vacation property owners, 1.5 million managed properties and thousands of resorts in the US alone.
About Vacation Storebuilder
Vacation Storebuilder provides a robust SaaS-based ecommerce platform for the vacation rental property industry. Its easy to use cloud-based technology helps sellers, from private owners to global management companies, deploy, market and manage branded webstores for one or many properties. Integrated with leading property management systems, the platform offers property content, inventory, pricing, digital marketing tools and online booking to drive and convert online bookings. For information, visit www.VacationStorebuilder.com.
January 28, 2013 — HomeAway, Inc. (AWAY), is the #1 worldwide leader in online vacation rentals. In June, 2011, Francis Gaskins, editor of the IPODesk.com warned subscribers to stay away from AWAY, opining that the IPO price of $27.00 was too high, the company’s organic internal growth rate of 30% was too low, and that a whopping 81% of the proceeds were actually bailing out insiders.
Notwithstanding Mr. Gaskins’ well thought-out opinion, the stock popped nearly 40% on opening day when it rose to $37.80, and for the next few months it traded well above the IPO price before reaching a high of $45.00 and crashing to $20.00 in December, 2011. So, who was right, and who was wrong about the IPO is really a question of timing.
It’s my view that the company has matured, it’s growing nicely, and the economies of scale are becoming visible and impacting on earnings. I believe investors should take a look at AWAY, which closed at $23.23 on 1/25/2013.
Overview
Based in Austin,Texas, AWAY was an early entry into the fast-growing consumer market trend of vacationers going online to book vacation rentals from private owners of homes, condos and cabins. The company generates income from listings they sell to property owners on an annual subscription basis. The 5 Tier subscriptions are payable annually in advance to AWAY, and they range in cost from $349.00 to $999.00, depending upon the upgrades selected and number of sites the listing will appear on.
Once a subscription is paid, the subscriber can set up the listing site which includes photos, pricing, a calendar showing the availability of the property, and all the information needed for a vacationer to make a booking. It’s a very attractive proposition for property owners (like myself) looking for extra income to cover property taxes and carrying costs of second homes.
Since the concept really works for all parties (property owners and vacationers alike), some 720,000 property owners in 168 countries have already subscribed to AWAY’s program. As a customer myself, I’m delighted with the results.
Van Pelt’s Conclusion: For all of the reasons stated above, I suggest that investors watch this stock. If it dips lower to its technical support level of around $20.00, I’ll be a buyer. I’m comfortable with what the company has accomplished since going public. I understand it’s business model and I’ve experienced it as a customer. Lastly, it meets the definition of Warren Buffett’s “Economic Moat” which, theoretically, makes the company more valuable.
