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‘Fixer Upper’ houses turn into vacation rentals around Waco

By
VRM Intel Staff
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By Carl Hoover — For devoted “Fixer Upper” fans planning a visit to Waco, it seems too good to be true: the chance to stay several nights in one of the homes that Waco home renovation/design couple Chip and Joanna Gaines fixed up for their HGTV cable television series.

It’s true, though, for nearly half a dozen “Fixer Upper” homes, whose owners have them listed on online property rental services VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) and Airbnb. Those listings have drawn guests from coast to coast; expanded an aspect of Waco’s hospitality business; added destinations to the map for Waco and Magnolia Market visitors; and, in some cases, opened the door to new business opportunities.

The Gaineses themselves tapped into the potent combination of “Fixer Upper” popularity and the convenience of online booking when they renovated a McGregor house into a bed and breakfast named the Magnolia House. Mere hours after online reservations were made available to fans in February, the Magnolia House had booked customers throughout 2016.

At least six other “Fixer Upper” homes could be found listed on VRBO and Airbnb earlier this month, although the owners of one were in the process of downplaying its “Fixer Upper” connection:

  • The Gorman House (season 1, episode 2) – https://www.vrbo.com/763365
  • The Mailander House (season 1, episode 12) – https://www.vrbo.com/875028
  • The Shotgun House (season 3, episode 12) – https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11692621
  • The Barndominium (season 3, episode 11) – https://www.vrbo.com/878965
  • The Chicken House (season 3, episode 18) – https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12559252
  • The Mid-Mod House (season 2, episode 11).- https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11364081
  • The Harp House (season 1, episode 11) will join that number next month.

Most were listed as renting from between $250 to $350 a night.

Although none of the homeowners contacted for this story had intentions of renting rooms or their houses for Airbnb or VRBO guests when they bought their homes, the prospect of a “Fixer Upper” client flipping a newly renovated home immediately into rentals is causing the Gaineses to consider changes for season 5 applicants.

“We have no problems with our clients’ interest in using sites like VRBO and Airbnb to rent out their homes. In fact, we get it. But we are going to be more strict with our contracts involving ‘Fixer Upper’ clients moving forward,” Magnolia spokesman Brock Murphy said in a statement.

“We want to honor our national viewing audience. We want to do remodels for clients’ homes. That’s the true intent of our show, and we want to ensure that does not get lost in this new vacation rental trend. What started off with perfectly understandable intentions could cast a shadow of a doubt on the much bigger picture, and we are going to do our best to protect that moving forward.”

Ironically, the popularity of “Fixer Upper” and the unexpected celebrity it brought to houses and homeowners led some to turn over their properties for vacation rentals and move to another house.

Three years ago, Dave Morrow left a career teaching civil and environmental engineering at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, to move to Waco, where his bride, Dr. Marla Hendricks, had a successful veterinary practice at Crossroads Animal Clinic.

 

Unwanted attention

Mailander House Vacation Rental from Fixer UpperThey wanted a home close to Cameron Park and its mountain biking trails and found, with the Gaineses’ help, the Mailander House on North Fifth Street, built in 1910. But as the couple settled in, they found they weren’t alone. Cars with rubbernecking passengers would drive slowly by. Some would stop and people would get out for selfies with the house as backdrop. A few bold ones would come to the door and ask if they could look inside.

The polite, but unbidden attention led Morrow and his wife to renovate another house in Central Waco for their use and turn their Mailander House into a vacation rental. They’ve had guests from as far as California, New Jersey and Minnesota.
“They’re mostly women in their 50s and tend to be big ‘Fixer Upper’ fans or Baylor-oriented,” Morrow said. “(The home’s interior) is very Zen. We keep it like Joanna does — no clutter.”

Morrow also throws in, for those who are interested, a healthy dose of Waco history and information and Mailander House rentals come with use of mountain bikes for nearby Cameron Park. He often drops by Magnolia Market to chat with out-of-town visitors and sing the praises of his new hometown.

“Folks are nice here. People are respectful. It’s very easy to be accepted here,” he said. “I look at the Magnolia effort almost like Disneyland. It’s clean, a family place and where you can let your imagination go. . . . The Silos are providing a new vision of what Waco can be.”

Public attention to Clint and Kelly Harp’s “Fixer Upper” house on North 15th Street, and also to their Harp Design Co. shop next door, caused them to move their family of five (three children ages 3 to 9) to a house in another neighborhood after about a year in their “Fixer Upper.”

“We love that house. It’s such a great house. It’s not like we didn’t want to live in it,” said the 38-year-old Clint Harp, a frequent collaborator with Joanna Gaines on “Fixer Upper.”

Harp said he never felt “Fixer Upper” fans’ attention threatened their family’s safety, but the proximity of his shop kept his business always on his mind.

“I remember looking out the window on a Saturday in May, a great time to be playing with my kids, but I was worrying that there weren’t any cars in the (shop’s) parking lot,” he recalled.

Moving away has allowed some needed separation between work and home.

“I feel like (the Harp House) is not ours, but in a good way. I don’t want that to stop,” he said. “It’s such a fun thing. It’s brought joy to people and I love that.”

Converting the Harp House into use as a vacation rental has meant another round of home renovation for guest use and convenience — separating connected bedrooms and adding a hallway on the second floor, redoing a half-bath in the back of the first floor, and the like.

Future guests may be familiar with the Gaines’ work in the Harp House, but that only covered a few rooms. The Harps, as other “Fixer Upper” clients have too, finished out the balance of their five-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath house.

 

Change in plans

For Charmaine Hooper, who owns the Gorman House with her husband Chuck Codd, vacation rentals weren’t on the radar when their “Fixer Upper” transformation was complete. They had planned to lease space in their house for a day care, but nine months into the project, that plan changed, leaving them with an empty five-bedroom, three-bath house.

An acquaintance suggested listing it on VRBO, which Hooper did after a little investigation. Within a day, she had two customers and a new problem: 10 days to furnish the house before her first guests arrived. Since then, she’s fielded queries from as far as Belgium, England and her native Canada. With room for 12 adults, the Gorman House has hosted groups that come to Waco for weddings, family reunions, business meetings, shopping trips and Baylor University events.

“I’m blown away every time,” she said.

Interest in “Fixer Upper” and the Gaineses’ Magnolia Market, with its iconic twin silos, draws an estimated 20,000 visitors weekly to a downtown area that some city officials and businesspeople are calling the Silo District. It’s no surprise to Waco tourism manager Susan Morton that requests for a tour of Waco sights often include a “Fixer Upper” property.

Mindful of homeowners’ privacy, she limits her “Fixer Upper” stops to the outside of the Magnolia House and the vacated Harp House — pictures, but no trips inside — although the Gaineses’ 2016 purchase of the Elite Cafe and the Dossey mansion on Hillcrest Drive has given her other drive-bys with a Magnolia fingerprint.

In a city where tourist traffic typically swelled during football season and summertime, McLane Stadium, Magnolia Market and their surrounding development have evened the past ebb-and-flow to a higher level year-round, Morton said.

That increase in visitors translates into a rising demand for places to stay and while some may think the growth of Waco vacation rental spots might encroach on hotel and motel business, Morton says there’s room for both. Hotels and motels can handle large groups and travelers needing a place to spend a night; while bed and breakfasts and vacation rentals provide personal, individualized service with a homier atmosphere.

Waco’s hotel and motel occupancy rate presently averages about 70 percent, she said, among the highest in the state. The addition of four new hotels to the Waco area in recent years had little impact in lowering that rate, Morton noted, adding there’s still a need for more hotels.

“People are coming from farther away and staying longer,” she said. “Waco’s been a family destination for some time. It’s inexpensive, family-friendly, located in the middle of the state and without the big crowds and lines you see in other cities.”

Thanks to the relative ease and low cost in setting up a vacation rental property for Airbnb or VRBO, more Waco sites are popping up on those online listings, with “Fixer Upper” and Magnolia shopping joining Baylor football and graduation as selling points.

But would-be proprietors may not realize they need the city’s permission to operate legally. Vacation rental operators need a city permit, gained through a process of application to the Planning Services department, a public hearing, consideration by the Plan Commission and approval by the city council, Director of Planning Services Clint Peters said. Once approved, they also need to charge and collect a 7 percent hotel occupancy tax.

Peters estimated about a dozen bed and breakfasts and vacation rentals have the necessary permits, which are reviewed and renewed annually, with several presently in process.

“Honestly, I think the ones not operating with a permit don’t know they need one,” he said. “It’s a new frontier.”

In some cities such as Austin and San Francisco, the mushrooming growth of vacation rental properties has led to clashes between rental operators and neighborhood residents over issues such as noise, parking and property values.

But “we really haven’t received any complaints,” Peters said.

For one Waco “Fixer Upper” couple, their experience with VRBO and Airbnb rentals is leading them into an entrepreneurial move to more property rentals, even as they downplay their house’s “Fixer Upper” connection. Josh and Jill Mayborn Barrett, owners of the midcentury modern house the “Mid-Mod Home,” renovated in season 3, found new business opportunities.

An unexpected change in Josh Barrett’s job status shortly after the two moved in with their children led them to rent out their house on VRBO and Airbnb for the occasional weekend as a way to bring in some extra income.

The frequency of rentals increased as they discovered interest in their “Fixer Upper” extended to fans as far as California, Oregon, Chicago and New York City. It took work — picking up the family and staying at another Waco property to accommodate guests sometimes got “cray-cray,” Jill said.

 

‘Really weird’

But the personal encounters with guests proved rewarding if sometimes surprising. Josh recalled one man who treated his wife fighting cancer to a “Fixer Upper” stay, while another set of guests invited the Barretts to dinner — in their own house.

“It was really weird,” he said.

For Jill Barrett, who founded the Baylor-area coffeehouse Common Grounds and ran it for 19 years, attending to guests’ personal needs and interests opened her eyes to a business opportunity, what she calls boutique VRBOs.

In her eyes, creating a temporary home for visitors is part of a continuum that includes their love for their own home and family and their work with Hospitaller House, a transition residence for women trying to break out of addiction.

Josh Barrett now works in insurance and real estate and the couple plan to relocate to another Waco house, upgrading their Mid-Mod House, which sleeps eight to nine adults, for expanded vacation rental use.

They foresee adding other renovated properties as VRBOs as they can. At the same time, Jill Barrett is working to turn a warehouse in the Silo District into an antique market with home furnishings, vintage finds, antiques and possibly a beer and wine garden.

She has been friends with the Gaineses since her days with Common Grounds — a lawn service that Chip created once mowed her yard — and shares a love of design with Joanna, as well as their entrepreneurial sense.

Respect for the Gaineses’ work with Magnolia and a desire to protect their brand is leading the Barretts to downplay the “Fixer Upper” connection as they expand into more VRBOs, but Jill Barrett can’t help riffing on one of their phrases.

“We want to make Waco more hospitable, one house at a time.”

By CARL HOOVER choover@wacotrib.com

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales Acquires Long & Foster Deep Creek Lake

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales, today announced the acquisition of Long & Foster Vacation Rentals & Real Estate at Deep Creek Lake. This will increase the number of professionally managed vacation rentals they represent to over 350 along with an increased number of real estate listings.

Long & Foster Deep Creek Lake has a long history in the Deep Creek Lake area and has an excellent reputation in all aspects of their business in the area as well as their service to the local community. Those characteristics make them an excellent fit with the Taylor-Made family.

Deep Creek Vacation Rentals“It is an exciting time at Taylor-Made! We now have a larger selection of vacation homes to offer our guests, and this is also a great boost for our growing real estate division,” stated Jodi Taylor Refosco, Owner of Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. “Our team looks forward to welcoming new home owners, employees, and guests to the Taylor-Made family.”

Taylor-Made is owned by Jodi Taylor Refosco, her husband, Joe Refosco, and her brother Chad Taylor. They are hands-on owners who are involved in the day-to-day aspects of running the company. Betsy Spiker Holcomb and Jay Ferguson are co-owners of the real estate agency.

Starting with just 1 property in 2008, Taylor-Made quickly earned notoriety for their rapid growth. By harnessing technology and combining it with exceptional customer service and years of vacation rental industry experience, they built a platform that proved successful in an area where real estate and family vacation rentals are a vital part of the economy. Adding the strengths of the knowledgeable Long & Foster team puts Taylor-Made in an excellent position for future growth.

“The acquisition gives us the inventory and resources to better serve all of our customers – homeowners and guests alike,” stated Joe Refosco, Owner.

Taylor Made acquired Long & Foster

The Do’s and Don’ts of Service Animals: How to Determine and Properly Accommodate ADA Approved Service Animals in the Vacation Industry

By
VRM Intel Staff
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8

 

By Steve Craig — Many people in the vacation rental industry are confused and frustrated by the subject of service animals. I do not know of any company that has an issue dealing with a true service animal (like a trained guide dog for a blind person). However, confusion and frustration sets in when companies are forced to deal with guests who claim their pet is a “service animal” when it is not.

Issues occur when these abusers demand to rent “no pet” properties and refuse to pay pet fees. This causes companies to become frustrated because they feel they cannot question these claims for fear of potential lawsuit reprisals and subsequent bad publicity.

As you probably know, many people claim their pets are service animals because they provide emotional support, comfort and companionship. They can even go online and get documentation for an animal.

Try it.

Google the phrase “buy service animal documentation” and you will be stunned at the proliferation of sites selling vests, certificates and special leashes. You can get a service dog ID card for $55. You can register a “therapy” dog for $39.99 and can even get a “complete emotional dog kit” for $129. Banner ads claim, “Take your dog anywhere” and, “Never pay a pet deposit when renting.” Even the names of some of these agencies are quite impressive: Service Animal Registry of America (SARA), United Service Animal Register, National Association of Service Dogs, etc. None of these agencies are of any value. Just because these agencies may send a certificate saying that a dog is a service animal doesn’t mean that it is true.

Most of the rules surrounding service animals are based in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to the ADA, “A service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to perform tasks for an individual with a disability.” The dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability. For example, a person with severe depression may have a dog that is trained to remind the individual to take his medicine. An epileptic may have a dog trained to detect the onset of a seizure. A diabetic may have a dog to alert the individual when his blood sugar levels reach extremes.

Emotional support, therapy, comfort or companion animals are not considered service animals under the ADA.

Here are answers to the questions that I have been asked most often when pertaining to service animal regulations:

 

  • Is the dog considered a service animal if it calms a person when he is having an anxiety attack? The key is whether or not the dog has received specific training. If the dog has been trained to sense an oncoming anxiety attack and is trained to take specific action, it is considered a service animal. However, if the dog’s presence is the sole provider of comfort then it is not considered a service animal under the ADA.

 

  • Can a guest with a service animal rent a property even if a “no pet” policy exists for the property? Yes. They cannot be restricted to solely “pet friendly” accommodations.

 

  • Can a pet cleaning fee be charged? No. A charge to clean pet hair or dander is not permissible. However, if the service animal causes damage to the accommodations, a fee can be charged as long as it is equal to damage fees charged for other guests.

 

  • Can the service animal be left alone in the accommodations? No. The dog must be under the handlers control at all times.

 

  • Must the service animal be on a leash? Yes, unless the leash hinders the service animal’s work.

 

  • What if the guest makes claims about his service animal based on the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA)? The FHAA only applies when a guest rents long-term. (In some cases emotional support animals are allowed.)

 

  • What questions can I ask as a company to prove the dog is a service animal? You can only ask two questions:
    • Is the service animal required because of a disability?
    • What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

 

You cannot request any documentation for the dog or ask that the dog demonstrate its task. You also cannot inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.

Therein lies the rub.

If the person says the dog has been trained for a specific skill but the company is not allowed to pursue “proof” of that fact, then the claimant almost always gets his way.

I hope this article has been helpful in determining which pets are considered true service animals (as defined by the ADA) and which ones are not. The government has a detailed FAQ that is accessible on the U.S. Department of Justice’s website which can be found at www.ada.gov.

By Steve Craig, Pro Resort Housekeeing

Village Realty Transforms Business With Smart Home Integration

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

By Stan Earnshaw — Running a vacation rental management company is an operational challenge ̶ to put it mildly. For Village Realty, with 600 properties along 40 miles of beach on the Outer Banks, the challenges are greatly magnified, which is why they decided to look into Smart Home to see how it could help.

I spoke with Laik LePera, Director of Operations at Village Realty, who was intimately involved in their Smart Home project. I asked him why they decided to install Smart Home and what it has meant for Village Realty.

 

The Smart Home Vision

“Two years ago, Village Realty had a mix of keyed and keyless locks,” said LePera. “We saw the smart home movement on the horizon and decided we needed to have all of our property owners on a single platform for consistency and efficiency. As the management company, we needed to see all the locks and thermostats in real time so we could easily manage all of the properties we represent.”

LePera added, “Homeowners were starting to install smart thermostats, and we could see lots of potential for complications with 600 individuals controlling the locks and temperatures. We were aware of several keyless providers in the market, but saw that the keyless lock was just the tip of the spear leading to an enterprise Smart Home solution. When PointCentral introduced us to the possibility of energy management and real-time status information for every property, we could clearly see benefits for our owners, our guests and efficient operations.”

 

Moving to Smart Home

“Lower energy costs for our homeowners and more convenience for our guests were our goals. Asset management is an often overlooked part of a property manager’s responsibility and Smart Home gave us a platform to monitor and measure with future potential for a smarter house,” said LePera. “The tipping point in favor of PointCentral was their use of the robust cellular system as opposed to the home Wi-Fi.”

According to LePera, “Wi-Fi routers are a relatively frequent cause for a maintenance call. Connecting Smart Home technology to an unreliable device just didn’t make sense. Initially we thought we might be able to install everything ourselves, but we decided to bring in the PointCentral team to handle the install, and it was the right choice. PointCentral brought in a team for the north and one for the south and had over 550 properties up and running in two weeks.”

 

The Vision Takes Shape

Village Realty wanted to take advantage of the automated notifications such as guest departure, cleaning and inspection status and early arrival for the next guest. Village Realty has been a leader in the vacation rental industry in customer service and next generation technology improvements that benefit our owners and guests, and the Smart Home platform holds a bright future.

 

Guest and Homeowner Reaction

“Guests really enjoy keyless entry,” said LePera. “But the best feedback we’ve had is the automated notification when their home is ready early. Even if it’s just an hour, guests love being able to immediately go to the property and start their vacation because that’s what it’s all about.”

“Our homeowners enjoy the added security knowing there aren’t duplicate keys that haven’t been returned by vendors or guests. They love the online reports we give them that show who has been in their property and when. We really like how vendors and maintenance have their own closing codes so we can get a handle on how long work orders are taking and if the vendor really did go to the property. Our ability to measure energy savings for the property owner, along with providing convenience for the guest (and occasional owner) who is locked out of the home, is phenomenal.”

 

Real-Time Data Saves the Day

“I was at our reservation desk one day when a guest called in to let us know the air conditioning wasn’t cooling properly. So we went online to look,” said LePera. “This particular property has three thermostats. We could see that the downstairs thermostat was going up a degree every 30 seconds. The reservationist asked the guest to check the bottom level entry door. While they were on the phone, the guest went downstairs and discovered the door was wide open. Normally that would have resulted in a call to maintenance and a tech driving over there only to find the door open. But we were able to troubleshoot it over the phone, which wouldn’t have been possible without the real time data PointCentral provides.”

 

The Future Looks Smart

Bob Oakes, owner of Village Realty added, “By implementing PointCentral Smart Home, we are able to track access information much more efficiently and quickly, we’ve eliminated the potential liability of physical keys, and we think we can save significant energy dollars for our property owners. We look forward to further integration with our HomeAway V12 and Glad To Have You software and the continuing benefits of Smart Home for our owners and guests.”

“Shark Tank” Star Daymond John to Headline 2016 LiveRez Partner Conference

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

LiveRez.com today announced global marketing pioneer Daymond John as its featured keynote speaker at the company’s annual Partner Conference, October 10 through October 13 at the Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Austin, TX.

Best known for his starring role on ABC’s Emmy Award-winning business-reality series Shark Tank, John is a world-class entrepreneur and marketing expert, who built his lifestyle brand, FUBU, into a household name.

John has received a wide array of honors throughout his 25-year career. In May 2015, the White House appointed him Global Ambassador of Entrepreneurship, and he’s earned more than 35 prestigious awards, including Brandweek Marketer of the Year and Ernst & Young’s Master Entrepreneur of the Year.

He’s also penned three national best sellers. His most recent title, The Power of Broke, debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best-Seller list.

“Our professional manager partners come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but the common denominator among them all is a true entrepreneurial spirit,” said LiveRez VP of Operations Tina Upson. “Daymond’s story is a true example that the American dream is still alive and well. And, I know our partners will be inspired and empowered as he shares his deep expertise in building world-class brands.”

John came from humble beginnings to build a global empire. From the streets of Hollis, Queens, John started a global movement from the basement of his mother’s house by capitalizing on the then fledgling hip-hop culture. Today, the streetwear market that FUBU pioneered is a $20 billion dollar industry, with FUBU eclipsing more than $6 billion in global retail sales.

He now helps other entrepreneurs to achieve the American dream. Through his role as an early-stage investor on Shark Tank, John has invested millions of dollars to help more than 60 companies grow their businesses.

At the 2016 Partner Conference, John will empower LiveRez partners to grow their brands through sharing many of the key insights he’s learned over his decorated career.

In addition to John’s keynote address, the conference will feature a big unveiling of new technology, a stacked lineup of classes from industry and software experts, and much more!

To learn more about the 2016 LiveRez Partner Conference, visit Conference.LiveRez.com.

About LiveRez.com

LiveRez.com is a complete, online, vacation rental property management solution, focused on making vacation rental property managers fully operational online and thereby increasing bookings. LiveRez.com offers an all-in-one cloud-based platform, featuring best-in-class websites optimized for online bookings, a full-featured reservation and property management system, a robust CRM system, an exclusive connection to QuickBooks for trust accounting, and a unique “Pay-for-Performance” approach, which provides a mutually beneficial partnership between LiveRez.com and its vacation rental manager partners. The company’s largest competitor is HomeAway Software for Professionals.

ATTN: Florida Vacation Rental Professionals – Help Fight Crippling Regulations on Sep. 22 in Orlando

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

Florida’s Vacation Rental Industry is under attack by Local Governments. Ordinances that over-regulate our industry are being considered all over the state. Come help support the political activities that keep these burdensome regulations at bay.

Please join us in Orlando on September 22 for a cocktail reception & an evening of networking to benefit our industry’s political activities.

 

Thursday, September 22, 2016 — 6:00 PM

Discovery Ballroom, Renaissance Orlando
6677 Sea Harbor Dr.
Orlando, FL 32821

 

Minimum Donation $200 to Benefit The Florida Vacation Rental PC

Sponsorship Opportunities Available

 

Kindly RSVP at www.fvrpc.com or to Maggie Freedman at 1.850.222.5702 or mfreedman@llw-law.com (Please make checks payable to the Florida Vacation Rental Political Committee).

 

Florida Vacation Rental Political Committee

 

The Voice of Florida’s Vacation Rental Industry:
Since 2010, Florida VRMA and its affiliated political committee, the Florida Vacation Rental PC, have worked tirelessly to protect our members’ interests in the state legislature. From ensuring that state laws respect owner’s property rights to promoting our industry’s important place in the fabric of Florida Tourism, we are fighting for your interests every day.
Since 2010, Florida VRMA and its affiliated political committee, the Florida Vacation Rental PC, have worked tirelessly to protect our members’ interests in the state legislature. From ensuring that state laws respect owner’s property rights to promoting our industry’s important place in the fabric of Florida Tourism, we are fighting for your interests every day.

Contributions to the Florida Vacation Rental Political Committee are voluntary and not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Paid for by the Contributions to the Florida Vacation Rental Political Committee.

Florida Vacation Rental Political Committee

Florida Vacation Rental Political Committee

 

Free VRM Intel Online Classes for Vacation Rental Professionals

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

Provide continuing education and training for your vacation rental team by registering for the free VRM Intel Webinar Series.

Start Off 2017 by Adding to Your Bottom Line

January 10, 2017, 2:00 ET/11:00 PT

Learn more about lowering your Payment Processing costs by reducing unnecessary losses and processing fees and add that savings to your bottom line. Presented by Dawn Yeskulsky, Director of Business Development & Partner Relations, Ascent Processing

Employee Handbooks: Key Changes for 2017

January 24, 2017, 2:00 ET/11:00 PT

If your handbook hasn’t been updated in the last 6 months, it is most likely out of date. For example, do you realize that you can’t prohibit discussions on pay and benefits and are you aware that recent changes to overtime may require changes on how you pay salaried employees? Creating or updating employee handbooks may be a daunting task, but it is a task that must be completed. Employee handbooks can be powerful tools for communicating policies, standards of conduct and values to employees and supervisors however, they also can be a source of employment law liability. This session will help participants get the most out of their employee handbook while avoiding liability. They will learn about common mistakes often made in drafting policies and important strategies to eliminate those errors. Presented by Sue Jones, President, KLS Group

Understanding the Buyer’s Journey

February 14, 2017, 2:00 ET/11:00 PT

This presentation will outline the typical buyer’s journey. Understanding how a traveler researchers and plans for vacations will ultimately help you find new channels for marketing and better assess the channels that you are currently utilizing. We will be discussing abandonment rates on your website, the purchase cycle of a traveler, understanding how this displays in your analytics, and ways to increase lead capture throughout the buyer’s journey.        Presented by Tim Schutts, Resorts and Lodges

How to Diversify your Online Distribution Strategy

February 28, 2017, 2:00 ET/11:00 PT

The Internet has deeply transformed the tourism industry and allowed big new companies such as OTAs to develop and grow quickly, making it difficult for small rentalpreneurs to stay visible to their customers. However, vacation rentals would be guaranteed a higher occupancy rate by diversifying their online distribution channels. Throughout this webinar, we will present you the unmissable platforms of the industry, and the characteristics of each of them. We will also focus on the different types of connection that Xotelia proposes for each of its partners. This is an opportunity for you to know more about the new certified connection with Airbnb. Presented by Silvia Escudero, Xotelia

The Basics of Professional Vacation Rental Housekeeping

March 14, 2017, 2:00 ET/11:00 PT

Housekeeping is the most labor intensive department of the vacation rental company. Having it run efficiently is not rocket science. There are several basic pieces of knowledge that when mastered will allow the department to run smoothly. Presented by Durk Johnson, Executive Director, Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals (VRHP)

 

Archives

Designing Your Website for More Bookings

Peter ScottWhile facing fierce competition on the digital front, it’s more important than ever to capture your audience on your website and focus on improving the user experience to increase your bottom line.

In video, Peter dove into specific tactics to generate more online bookings by optimizing your digital experience and creating an environment designed for long-term growth. While these adjustments may be small, optimizing will deliver an improved experience for your guests and increase your overall revenue. Presenters: Peter Scott, President, Bluetent

2017 Online Marketing Game Plan

How to create a complete digital marketing plan for 2017. SEO, PPC, Social, Email, UI/UX, Analytics.

By Brandon Sauls, President and Owner, ICND

 

Five Formulas to Audit Your Revenue Performance

Heather WeiermannIn today’s competitive industry, streamlining operational efficiencies to drive revenue performance is the key to more success. There are metrics within your data that can tell you which processes could be hiding higher profits and these formulas could be your key to optimizing your vacation rental company.

Find out these key formulas, how to identify the data, and learn those areas where you could improve revenue performance and get more out of your business! Speaker: Heather Weiermann, NAVIS

 

Intro to Dynamic Pricing and Yield Management for Vacation Rentals

Ian McHenryLearn how you can leverage data to make more money without spending a dime on marketing. We’ll cover the basics of predicting demand, analyzing supply and competitor pricing, analyzing hotel competition, and understanding booking curves. If you are in charge of setting rates at your company and want to become more sophisticated in your pricing either to ward off “next-generation” competitors or to make your owners happier, this is a great opportunity to learn and share strategies.

Presenter: Ian McHenry, Co-founder and President of Beyond Pricing

 

 

Online Strategies for Homeowner Acquisition 

Josh GuerraStrategies for landing homeowners. Combining your current tactics with online marketing for greater conversion.

Presenters: Joshua Guerra and Brian Selleck, Bizcor

 

 

Vacation Rental Software and Open APIs: What is an OPEN API and is it right for my business?

By
VRM Intel Staff
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By Carlos Corzo, CEO — If you pay attention to technology news in our industry, it is likely you’ve heard plenty of talk concerning Open APIs and how critical they are to pretty much every vacation rental management company out there. And, if you are like some of the property managers I’ve talked to, chances are your reaction was something along the lines of this:

Huh?

Though crucial to the future of our industry, Open APIs are anything but a beginner’s level topic. Unfortunately, even the most seasoned of property managers may have a difficult time discerning what an Open API is and how it pertains to their business. Regardless of the fairly high level programming knowledge it takes to implement, Open APIs are not as hard as you may think to understand. In fact, with just a little bit of guidance – and a quality programmer at your disposal – your property management company can take advantage of this powerful tool and bring your business to new heights! All you need is just a little direction, and we’re here to give precisely that.

 

What is an Open API?

Before you run off and begin building business plans around this exciting technology, it is important to understand exactly what an Open API is.

At its core, an API is an Application Programming Interface that provides developers with access to the data housed in your vacation rental management software system. Even more importantly, however, Open APIs provide a secure communication stream to utilize any information you would like to share with third party vendors and often your internal programming staff.

In other words, it is a system that potentially allows you to share the information governed by your property management software – such as property information, amenities, inventory, calendars, reservations statistics, maintenance management info, etc. – with anyone that you desire in a safe and secure manner (programmatically, of course).

To break this down even further, let’s imagine that you have a black box filled with a handful of items. Normally, only you have access to this box. No one else can look inside unless they have the proper credentials to do so. However, because you want to show other people what your black box contains, you create a special language that allows outside parties to ask the box questions pertaining to the box’s contents. Now, people can ask questions about the contents of your box, so they may use that information to their advantage. For example, knowing that the black box contains shoes, they could ask questions such as:

  • What shoe brands are in the black box?
  • How many pairs of shoes are in the black box?
  • What are the shoe colors available?

 

Even though they were not able to go inside the black box, they were able to access critical information about the contents of the box.

At its most basic, this is what an API does – only the black box is your business’s data, and the outside parties are other technology providers, such as your website provider, BookingPal, LeisureLink, Homeaway.com, FlipKey.com, Booking.com, and any other tools that you might want to use in the future.

 

How can an Open API help your business?

The flexibility afforded by an Open API is crucial to a growing business, allowing you to reach new horizons with your technology capabilities, business and marketing efforts.

Here are just a few of the major benefits your company will experience when using an Open API platform:

  • Share your inventory data easily and quickly. In today’s industry, sharing your inventory with companies, like Homeaway, AirBnB, Flipkey, Booking.com, Expedia and many others, is critical to your success.
  • Expand your boundaries. No one knows your business better than you do. That’s why being restricted to your data due to a lack of an Open API can be frustrating. Having your data locked in a box is a thing of the past. After all, it is your data. Shouldn’t you have access for possibilities that could revolutionize your property management company? Whether it is reservations, maintenance, housekeeping, CRMs, revenue management tools or whatever category in which you need data to meet your objectives, Open APIs give you the access you need – and allow you to come up with the next groundbreaking idea that revolutionizes your business. At Streamline, even though we believe we have the best reservations technology in the industry, even we don’t know everything you might need to improve your business. However, we also believe by offering our software users an Open API, the road is paved for new innovation and free and creative thinking to transform your business and the industry as a whole.
  • Easily work with the developers of your choice. Do you have a favorite web development company? With search engine optimization becoming more challenging every day, you want to find an expert. An Open API gives you the flexibility to make a choice.
  • Open data for all. Historic data gives you the ability to analyze performance, identify methods of increasing revenue, and see trends in your business. But just being able to see that data yourself can be a hindrance that you need to avoid. Fortunately, Open APIs allow you to give access to your data to any third party company you wish (like VRM Intel’s Benchmark Reporting), making it easier than ever before to integrate with analytics – for goal and conversion tracking – or simply improve your marketing efforts. At the end of the day, the key to improving your marketing strategies is data, and having open access to it puts you one step closer to striking gold.

 

Is there a downside?

Though having an Open API is important, there is one major downside that you need to keep in mind…cost.

Yes, Open APIs are massively powerful platforms that can put your business on the fast track to success, but in many cases, access to an Open API can cost a pretty penny. There are vacation rental software providers that offer an extensive and advanced set of API functions at no cost. However, there are also software providers that have APIs, but they pick and choose which developers with whom they will work.

With that said, if you have your heart set on an Open API but you are restricted by API access cost, limitations or software companies that just don’t offer this fundamental feature, it might be time to start contemplating a more advanced software solution. Not having access to all of your data, all the time, is simply something you should not stand for in today’s technology environment. Pay the extra cost, if necessary, or move on to greener pastures.

 

The future is now.

At the end of the day, our industry is facing many changes, especially in technology. In fact, it is tough to speculate what will happen even six months from now. As a result, it is more important than ever to seize on any technology that will allow for ingenuity, creativity and fewer restrictions, and an Open API is precisely that. Allow your company to reach new heights by considering vacation rental software that offers an Open API.

Good luck, and see you at the VRMA!

By Carlos Corzo, CEO, Streamline Vacation Rental Software

Successful Software Implementation to Ensure a Smooth Transition

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Webinars for vacation rentals

By Doug Macnaught – So you have bitten the bullet and decided which software you will be installing for your company; now comes the most important part – implementation.

There are many facets to the implementation process such as system setup, training, data entry and conversion and parallel running in order to go live. In this article, we will discuss some points to consider as you go through the transition.

 

Managing the Project

Having a project manager (PM) is key to the successful implementation of the software. The software vendor should assign someone from their team to be the PM, and you should do the same internally. When selecting your internal staff member, prior experience of managing a company-wide project is helpful, but not necessary. However, the PM should be involved in the selection process and be very familiar with the way your company works.

The most important thing to do for your internal PM is to empower him with the authority to get things done.

 

Creating an Implementation Timeline

The software company should provide a timeline for you including setup, training and data conversion target dates. By using this process, you can set your desired date for the new software to become your primary system and then work the dates backwards in order to generate a master timeline. Things to consider include: How much data entry will I need to do? How long will it take to have my website converted to get it up and running? What partner integrations will need to change and how long will they take

Once this has been established, you can set milestones within the timeline and measure your progress toward each one which will help configure your ultimate “go live” date.

 

System Setup

The setup process is normally where you configure the software business settings to match your company’s processes.

Unless you are a new company installing software for the first time, you will have to ignore the way you use your existing software. Remember why you are changing and consider adapting and evolving your practices to best fit the new system. This is a great time to change the convoluted procedures that you have been following forever even though you can’t remember why you began using these procedures in the first place.

Take your time with this process. Understand all the options that the new system will provide and make decisions based on what you want to achieve and not based on what you have done in the past.

 

Training

I am a great believer in on-site training where feasible. Often, this is not financially or logistically possible, but if you can get it and afford it, take it.

You can expect the training to be broken into logical modules and spread out over many sessions. It is imperative that all staff members are adequately trained and conversant with the new system before you go live. Data entry is often a good way to become familiar with parts of the system, but it is not enough to just be able to “hit the ground running” when the time comes. Ask for a training or test environment where your staff can practice and try out different scenarios. Run role-play sessions with your staff, using real world examples, and make sure to understand the process before you encounter pressure situations with real guests.

Training is a big part of the success and you should not skimp on it. Provide good staff cover to ensure a good learning environment and allocate practice and follow-up time to reinforce what they learn.

 

Data Entry and Conversion

There are four categories of data to consider when thinking about data conversion and data entry: static, dynamic, financial and historical. Each one has different elements when deciding whether or not to convert or enter the data.

• Static Data

This includes data such as unit information, owner details and information, vendor details, descriptions and images, unit features and marketing information, and your guest database.

To convert or enter? Typically, this information does not change frequently and you should look to convert as much of it as possible to help minimize time and potential errors. Most software companies have mechanisms to import this type of data (even if it is from spreadsheets populated from your old system).

• Dynamic Data

As its name suggests, this data is dynamic and changes regularly. Examples include reservations, work orders and leads.

To convert or enter? Ideally, the reservations (at a minimum) will be converted for you, although, do not expect more than the guest, unit, total charges, arrival and departure dates and status. You may get additional information, but you should plan on reviewing every reservation and adding charge and payment information to get the two systems balanced.

The timing of the reservation conversion is critical to the success of the transition between the old and the new system. Expect to hire extra staff and pay overtime to your existing team to verify and enter the missing data for each reservation. This can be a long and laborious process and is prone to human error, so checking one system against the other is critical.

• Financial Data

This includes data such as owner charges, vendor invoices, statement transactions and reservation payments, or to put it another way, the money in the system.

To convert or enter? Do not attempt to convert financial transactions. This is a nightmare and should not be considered. You should expect to enter this data when the time comes. Ideally, you will open a new bank account to handle the money in the new system and leave any unaudited money in the old one. This is the cleanest and safest way to handle the transition of financial data.

Note: If you are converting mid-year, you must bring in sufficient detail to be able to produce the end of year 1099’s for owners and vendors.

• Historical Data

This is historical reservation, work order and financial data. Not all companies have the capability to import this into your new system without impact on your other data, however, if it is possible to do so then it can be very useful to bring historical information, especially reservation data.

 

Parallel Running

Once your reservations have been converted, you are in the parallel running phase of the conversion process.

You will need to enter all new reservations in both systems. Start by putting them in the “Primary or Live System,” and then enter them into the secondary system.

All existing reservations will need to be reviewed. Post charges and payments and make any changes to notes or data that occurred during the conversion. Changes to existing reservations will also need to be duplicated in both systems. A daily change log report is a great way to track and verify them.

Ideally, you will be able to switch the primary systems over as soon as everything is verified and balanced. Double entry is a necessary component of any transition, but it can be very demoralizing to the staff who are having to pull double duty.

 

Go Live

So now you have switched the systems over and you are live. How long do you run your old systems in parallel?

Most issues don’t show up immediately. Instead, they are associated with weekly or monthly tasks that you haven’t yet practiced or reviewed.

Some companies decide to cut the cord immediately, while others like to run a month in both systems to make sure that the money is correct on owner statements, etc. Whatever you choose, be sure to have a contingency in place to handle problems. Pausing or going back is not an admission of defeat – it can be a wise, short-term strategy until you resolve the issues…then try again.

 

In summary, the process is a painful one. Expect issues and roadblocks throughout. Work with your software vendor; they want you to succeed and should be able to help you through the issues with guidance and additional resources where required.

 

Doug Macnaught, co-founder of Instant Software and creator of PropertyPlus software has worked in the vacation rental industry for decades to implement integrated technology solutions that allow large vacation rental management companies to operate efficiently and effectively. He is a founding member of The VRM Consultants.

Millennials, Mobile and Business Travelers: How Vacation Rental Managers Can Take Advantage of New Guest Trends

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Summer vacations - Girls taking selfie on the beach

By Julian Castelli — Worldwide online travel sales are robust, with continued growth projected through 2019. For determined Property Management Companies (PMCs), striking while the iron is hot is imperative to take advantage of new guest opportunities. Emerging markets that could reap big profit rewards include Millenials and the mostly untapped business travel market. PMCs also need to gear their marketing strategies to a changing traveler mindset that includes mobile bookers and “Connected Travelers.”

Today’s fast-evolving vacation rental distribution landscape threatens laggard PMCs who are likely to lose owners to more dynamic PMCs who adopt new channels successfully. Many may lose owners to self-management with the growing ability to “go direct” with channels like VRBO. To combat this threat and tap into lucrative, new guest markets, LeisureLink offers PMCs the ability to provide state-of-the-art, integrated distribution programs to their property owners who cannot possibly replicate this on their own by using VRBO.

Here are some valuable insights to help management companies take advantage of new guest trends with a broader distribution strategy and optimized rate and inventory management.

 

Millennials

For all the attention Millennials receive in the travel industry, the generation is often undersold as wanting to travel often but not being especially big spenders. While they are still working on their full income potential, there are several reasons Millennials are more than worth targeting for PMCs. First, Millennials are the only generation increasing their budget this year. According to the 2016 TripAdvisor Travel Barometer, 40 percent of Millennials will spend more on travel this year than last. While Baby Boomers still have more buying power at this point, Millennials have some noteworthy, valuable characteristics. They have a distinct preference for experiential travel, which makes them especially well suited to vacation rentals, and though they are budget conscious, they are willing to spend on aspects of travel that support this endeavor.

 

What to Know About Millennials:

  • Three-quarters do their own travel planning.
  • 50 percent prefer booking on Online Travel Sites (OTAs).
  • Millennials are the most likely generation to extend a business trip into a personal vacation (62 percent did so last year).
  • Many will move to alternate accommodations to make it more affordable.

 

Business Travel

PMCs have traditionally given less consideration to business travelers than the leisure or group segment ̶ until now. Business travel expenditure is anticipated to grow 3.7 percent in 2016 and with the continued blurring of the lines between business and leisure, the opportunity for PMCs to capture business travelers has availed itself. Business travelers who use Airbnb, for instance, stay longer and spend 156 percent more than those staying at hotels. Some PMCs also note that business travelers are low maintenance and gentle on the property.

What to Know About Business Travelers:

  • Over 50 percent of travelers bring a family member or significant other with them.
  • Of business travelers who booked their own travel, 50 percent of business travelers ages 18-24 booked via OTA, and 45 percent of travelers ages 35-54 reserved on third-party sites.

 

Mobile

Though mobile is technically a sales avenue, it has an evolving demographic of its own and the potential to convert new guests is high among this segment. Mobile bookers are avid travelers, spanning multiple generations. 42 percent percent of travelers worldwide are what TripAdvisor calls “Connected Travelers” ̶ travelers who are twice as likely to book their accommodations on a smartphone.

What to Know About Mobile Travelers:

  • Mobile travelers are frequent travelers, taking 3+ trips annually.
  • 52 percent of luxury travelers are likely to book via mobile device versus the 29 percent average of other travel segments.

U.S. smartphone shoppers are three times more likely to shop for accommodations on an OTA rather than on a direct website.

 

For each of these travel segments, appealing to their quick pace, their desire for flexibility, and their movement across platforms during the planning and purchasing process is essential to capturing and converting their business. This requires a robust direct and third-party strategy, generous minimum stays and competitive (but not too low) pricing as well as an all-around mobile-friendly ethos.

“The best way to play these new opportunities is to be on the most cutting-edge distribution channels and partner with LeisureLink ̶ who delivers the tools to cater to the trends,” explains Julian Castelli, CEO of LeisureLink. “We offer solutions that drive bookings by providing integrated, easy-to-use access to all the key online distribution channels, so PMCs can increase revenue without increasing staff. The way many PMCs do this now ̶ managing siloed relationships with a variety of discrete online channel vendors manually or worse, with a tool designed for hotels ̶ is cumbersome and cost-prohibitive. LeisureLink offers a much better way with a more effective, more efficient approach to increase reservations, supported by industry experts, so managers can grow their business and deliver market-leading services to their property owners.”

Ski.com acquires VacationRoost from LeisureLink

By
VRM Intel Staff
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LeisureLink today announced that it has reached an agreement to sell VacationRoost.com and its other mountain consumer brands and operations to Ski.com.

Ski.com is North America’s largest provider of mountain vacations and the addition of the new sites including MountainReservations.com, VacationRoost.com, ParkCityReservations.com, BreckenridgeDestinations.com and several others mountain travel sites will complement its strong consumer offering.

Interview with Julian Castelli VacationRoost“Though it is hard to let go of a business that we have grown and loved for 10-years, we know that our customers and destination experts will thrive in the Ski.com family,” said Julian Castelli, CEO of LeisureLink. “Going forward, this transaction will allow us to focus even more of our resources on our core business of vacation rental distribution. Our distribution platform will allow more vacation rental suppliers to connect with great travel brands like Ski.com, Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia in the future.”

“We are very excited to bring VacationRoost and the websites under its umbrella into our portfolio of brands,” said Harry Peisach, Ski.com president and CEO. “We now have an even stronger relationship with LeisureLink, and we look forward to expanding our partnership with them to feed our websites with commerce-enabled vacation rental inventory in the future.”

Ski.com’s online reservations technology will be integrated into VacationRoost.com and other LeisureLink consumer websites, and Ski.com’s call center, manned by specialists who average more than two decades in the mountain-travel industry, will handle all calls starting August 10, 2016.

 

About LeisureLink

LeisureLink helps vacation rental companies maximize bookings online, offline, anywhere. Through industry leading online connectivity tools, such as distribution, yield management, and booking engines, LeisureLink drives better lead conversion without the time-consuming work of managing multiple extranets. With the industry’s largest distribution network, vacation properties have the opportunity to connect to top online travel channels like Expedia, Booking.com, Airbnb, HomeAway, all the major GDS players and travel sites. Suppliers can manage all of their listings from one platform – optimizing rates, availability, specials, and content changes. LeisureLink consolidates all accounting, payables, and receivables with a single, source of payment, providing clarity to the often-complex accounting issues. Founded in 2007, LeisureLink is a privately held company and headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT. For more information, please call 800-976-4925 or visit leisurelink.com.

 

About Ski.com

Founded in 1971 in the heart of Colorado Ski Country, Aspen-headquartered Ski.com is North America’s largest provider of mountain vacation packages and an industry leader in online travel technology. The company specializes in booking custom ski vacations at more than 120 of the most popular ski resorts and heli- and cat-skiing destinations in North America, Europe, Japan and South America and offers the largest collection of mountain lodging and ski-vacation components, including discounted lift tickets, flights, equipment rental, ski school, activities and more. Providing unsurpassed mountain-travel expertise, Ski.com’s 65+ Mountain Vacation Specialists average 26 years of experience in the ski travel industry.

NAVIS Taps Industry Expert Amber Mayer as Vice President of Product Solutions

By
VRM Intel Staff
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NAVIS today announced a strategic new addition, Amber Mayer, to its executive team. As Vice President of Product Solutions, Amber will lead product strategy, product management, and all product launches as well as oversee the continued expansion of NAVIS Revenue Performance Solutions™ in response to the emerging demand for the company’s innovative solutions.

Amber has a proven expertise in product development in the hospitality space including telephony analytics, reservation booking engines, and CRMs. She has an impressive track record of success in online sales strategy and implementation, database marketing, digital marketing, email marketing and 3rd party channel distribution. Before joining NAVIS, Amber held executive leadership positions for such notable brands as Wyndham Vacation Rentals, Instant Software (now HomeAway), and TravelStorm. She also brings valuable hands-on experience, having served as Director of Rental Management for Seascape Resorts where she was directly responsible for the creation and growth of the Resort Vacation Rental Division.

“NAVIS is committed to providing powerfully integrated solutions that deliver profitability for our clients,” explains NAVIS CEO, Kyle Buehner. “Amber is joining as our VP of Product Solutions to help us better understand market/use trends and focus on defining the user experience and product requirements. Our NAVIS Revenue Performance Solutions™ have generated an incontrovertible ROI for our clients and with Amber on board, we will keep moving the needle to bring high-value solutions to the market. Our team and partners will benefit tremendously from her knowledge, keen market insights, and strategic approach and we are thrilled to have her on board.”

“NAVIS has a powerful platform that I used successfully for years as a former client and more recently as a consultant helping others to substantially increase revenue,” said Amber. “Using the latest technology and data-driven insights has become the only way to remain competitive in the hospitality industry. The more devices, channels, services, and applications that travelers are using, the greater the need to manage the complexity using automation, analytics, and engagement to create and convert more profitable direct demand. I’m honored and excited to play a role in helping NAVIS shape the future of hospitality marketing and guest experience.”

Increase conversions with NAVIS

Expedia CEO on HomeAway: “Results have been better than expected.” Takeaways from Q2 Earnings Call

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Last week, as part of its Q2 2016 earnings call, Expedia provided an update on HomeAway activity.

According to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, “The HomeAway transition continues to go very well. We have now implemented the traveler service fee in all major markets, allowing us to increase investments in technology and products as well as marketing in order to build our brand globally.”

Khosrowshahi continued, “HomeAway Q2 revenue grew 36% year on year on a pro forma basis, driven by strength in both subscription and transactional revenue. And based on current trends, we expect revenue growth to accelerate in the second half of the year.”

 

11 HomeAway Takeaways from Expedia’s Q2 2016 Earnings Call

 

1. Transition from Classified Advertising to a Travel Ecommerce Business

Dara Khosrowshahi: Although this transition is not easy, we believe the pivot from pure classified advertising to a travel e-commerce business is a winning plan that will allow us to create better products for consumers and drive more bookings through our homeowner and property manager partners. In addition, as we move more of HomeAway’s business to online bookable, we will be more aggressive in offering HomeAway inventory on our OTA brands which will drive even more bookings volume and will give our huge global customer base more places to stay.

 

2. Increase in Online Bookable Listings

Dara Khosrowshahi: The real focus for HomeAway right now is to build up the online bookable muscles. And we’re really, really pleased with the progress there, over 1 million online bookable listings, overall listings growing at 20% plus, actually accelerating versus how fast listings were growing there. That’s the focus right now is the HomeAway team and then taking some of that revenue and reinvesting in marketing to make sure that our homeowners and property managers get plenty of traffic.

Dara Khosrowshahi: When we look at HomeAway conversion versus, let’s say, Hotels.com or Expedia conversion in like destinations, HomeAway conversion is far lower. So, we think we’ve got plenty of work to do there. And we think that we have got plenty of upside there.

 

3. Impact of the Addition of Booking Fees

Dara Khosrowshahi: The reaction — when we did bring in the booking fees, etc. — we did see a conversion decrease initially. And the great news is that chain, the HomeAway technology team — now they have got traffic and they are able to optimize the site in a way that they were not able to. So conversion is actually up on a year on year basis, because of the optimization work and because of the feature work that the teams are embarking on. And I think that that momentum is going to continue for some period of time.

 

4. Subscription vs PPB Listings

Dara Khosrowshahi: The other factor that we want to look at is subscription renewals and subscription renewal rates. And again, things look good there. So I think, anytime you change your model you introduced some uncertainty into the marketplace. We’ve had to over-communicate to our homeowners and our workers, but I think now we’re settling down and we can both build a great business together.

Dara Khosrowshahi: As far as the HomeAway new subscriptions and the change between PPB and subscription, I think it remains to be seen. I do think that one way or the other, more and more players are going to come online and make their listings online bookable. Whether they want to go through subscription is — we’re fairly neutral to and really we just want to make it easier for our users to become online bookable. And then, once we have become online bookable for obviously over the long term, going to see the majority of demand in that marketplace because it’s clearly what our consumers want. And ultimately we think it’s going to be a win-win in this marketplace when consumer expectations are met with homeowners and property managers. That’s really what this model change is all about.

 

5. Growth in Professionally Managed Listings vs Owner Listings

Dara Khosrowshahi: I’d say that in general the professional managers group is probably engaged a little more quickly. They’ve got a bunch of volume and they are leaning forward into the traffic growth that HomeAway is delivering now. But we continue to work with our individual owners. They are an incredibly important component of our marketplace and we see excellent progress in bringing them online and making them online bookable. So it’s a process. It’s a communication and education process and I would say so far, so good.

 

6. Increase in Transactional Revenue

Dara Khosrowshahi: Last quarter we actually ordered a book to transactional revenue number, just to give you a sense of it. And what that represented is essentially the revenue that HomeAway derives from bookings that have been online, on a booked basis. Recognition happens on stay. That number this quarter was well north of 200% year over year. So we’re seeing really strong results there and we’re able to actually put that increased volume and increase revenue that HomeAway has back into the business.

 

7. Increased Marketing Spend

Dara Khosrowshahi: And one of the most significant investments that HomeAway has been making is not only in product and technology to make the experience better for both owners and managers as well as consumers, but they have put a significant amount of money back into sales and marketing.

Dara Khosrowshahi: In the first half of this year, direct sales and marketing spend up over 80% year over year. So we’re really creating this flywheel and it just seems the more volume we create, the more attractive online bookability becomes for owners and managers. And we’re starting to get real traction there that we’re very pleased to see.

 

8. Online Payments and Traveler Guarantee

Dara Khosrowshahi: We’re working to introduce more payment methods, online payment methods, especially on the international front — PayPal, all kinds of credit cards, etcetera.

And we’re also looking to build out products like the traveler guarantee for HomeAway that incents travelers to book essentially on system because there are some bookings, obviously, that go off system which is to people talking to each other and writing a check and hoping that the check lands someplace.

So we think that we can create a safe and cheap environment for consumers to come together with homeowners within the HomeAway platform and we will be looking to optimize that a go-forward basis.

 

9. Vacation Rental Regulatory Impact

Dara Khosrowshahi: From a HomeAway standpoint, we tend to have a more significant portion of our business today in destinations that are not urban destinations and destinations that are mountain/beach destinations. And these are destinations that had had this business around for a long time. The majority, the vast majority of HomeAway’s business are whole homes. All of HomeAway’s business is whole homes.

They are usually second homes and they are usually in destinations where the home rental, the seasonal home rental business has been around for a long time and is a very significant contributor to local economies, etcetera. So we’re watching with interest what’s going on. Every single municipality is looking at this issue in a different way. We’re working closely with those municipalities. And we think, in the end, this is a product that consumers want. It attracts travelers to destinations.

Travelers bring jobs, they bring money. And we think that in working with these local municipalities ultimately we will come up with the appropriate laws to protect consumers and homeowners and the residence of those municipalities as well. This is a process that’s going to take a long time. But we’re in for the long haul. And at this point, the activity that we see is affecting us less than, let’s say, some of the other players out there.

 

10. Addition of Urban Destinations

Dara Khosrowshahi: As far as HomeAway inventory adding urban inventory to the mix, we’re looking at adding to inventory all over. I do think that our strengths tend to be in the resource area as far as sun destinations, mountain destinations, etc. But we’re adding urban listings as well. And I think that as we integrate more fundamentally with Hotels.com, Expedia, Travelocity Orbitz, the pace of urban listing acquisition is going to increase.

 

11. Integration of HomeAway’s Inventory into Expedia’s Broader Network

Dara Khosrowshahi: We don’t have specific timing at this point on it…The thing that you should look for is a much deeper integration of the HomeAway inventory onto the Expedia platforms, in general. Prior, when we worked with HomeAway as partners before, the integration was more of a link-off experience.

It was a little bit of a shock for users. And this HomeAway inventory is going to be fundamental to our product on a long term basis. So we’re making the kinds of investments that we have to, to make sure that the integration is perfect and our clients who are online bookable and especially instant bookable get plenty more traffic the way they want that traffic.

We expected to be bringing in a really strong company and we wrote a big check to bring in HomeAway. And I’d say so far the results have been better than expected. So I think that this alternative lodging space is — it’s just a big space. And HomeAway is benefiting from that and obviously Airbnb which is the other player in the category, is clearly benefiting from it as well.

3 Ways to Overcome the Perception That OTAs Are Cheaper

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

It’s all too easy to blame OTAs for shrinking profits by pointing fingers at their costly commissions and frustrating policy of withholding customer contact information. But, in reality, the biggest battle you face isn’t so much against the OTAs, but rather the mindset of OTA customers.

The truth is, your profit margins are being squeezed because of the general public’s assumption that OTAs offer the cheapest rates! According to a Tnooz survey, 75 percent of travelers between the ages of 18-64 believe that they can find the best hotel prices on an OTA. It’s time to poke holes through this OTA myth and sway customer perception with the truth.

Here are 3 tips on how to convince your audience that booking direct is best:

 

1. Reinforce Best Price Guarantee

Consumers usually aren’t aware that your hotel offers the exact same price as OTAs for the same rooms. So, it’s up to you to continuously reinforce the message that booking direct is in their best interest. You’d be amazed how much your conversion rate can go up by simply placing a prominent reminder to consumers on your booking widgets that booking direct is better!

Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to simply have a Best Rate Guarantee on your website. That has very little impact on the average consumer (and often requires them to go through the hassle of completing a form just to take advantage of it). Today’s guests are all about convenience, so the smartest tactic is to build your BRG into your booking engine itself, where OTA rates are displayed next to your own rate, proving to the visitor that only booking direct gets them the best prices. This type of feature will also automatically match the OTA’s cheaper rate if they are out of parity.

 

2. Simpler Design and Booking Process

Because OTAs cover so many aspects of the travel experience – hotels, airfare, car rentals, activities, cruises and bundle packages – their websites are naturally complicated, cluttered and overrun with content. You can use that to your advantage by ensuring that your hotel website design is  easy on the eyes and simple to navigate. Create a visually arresting story. Select only your most stunning images, cut down on unnecessary text and reformat current text so it is easier to digest.

Most importantly, don’t make it complicated to book a room with you. There are plenty of antiquated booking engines that are littered with small text, redundant buttons, complicated design and too many fields to fill out. All of these elements can frustrate a traveler and irritate them enough to give up, abandon their reservation and find a better hotel that is easier to book with.

 

3. Highlight Direct Booking Benefits

Go beyond the standard Best Rate Guarantee and showcase the perks that only guests who book direct can enjoy. Is it complimentary WiFi? A complimentary upgrade (if available)? More loyalty points? Free daily breakfast? It’s about highlighting the value of booking direct and getting that message across in as many channels as needed. The first place a traveler goes after seeing a hotel that interests them on an OTA site is to the hotel’s website itself. So, publish your direct booking benefits visibly and prominently on your homepage, add it to your retargeting ad copy, include it in every post-stay email and remind your followers of it occasionally on social media.

 

About Tambourine

Tambourine uses technology and creativity to increase revenue for hotels and destinations worldwide. The firm, now in its 30th year, is located in New York City and Fort Lauderdale. Please visit: www.Tambourine.com

In Memory of Maui Rental Group Founder Paul Dobson (1955-2016)

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

In May, the vacation rental industry suffered an enormous loss with the passing of Paul Dobson, president and principal broker of Maui Rental Group.

Known for his intelligence, insight, kindness, friendship, bright smile and willingness to help others, Paul Dobson touched hundreds of vacation rental professionals and his legacy lives on in the industry that he loved.

In 1988, Dobson founded Maui Condo and Home Realty after picking up everything and moving to Maui after only a brief visit.

“My first fond memory of Paul Dobson was meeting him in 1991 in Hot Springs Arkansas,” said Lucy Kawaihalau, founder of Kauai Vacation Rentals & Real Estate, Inc. “It was his first VRMA Annual Conference. Being the only two from Hawaii, we shared many things, including a cab ride to the airport returning to Maui and Kauai. This began a wonderful friendship.”
Paul Dobson Vacation Rental PioneerTim Cafferty, President at Outer Banks Blue Realty Services, also met Paul Dobson at this time. “I joined the organization in 1991, and Paul was one of the first folks I met and really one of the first people I hung around with in the organization,” said Cafferty. “He was one of the ‘cool guys’ that everyone wanted to hang out with.”

Cafferty added, “In my view, Paul was always the smartest guy in the room, but never showed his hand. He let others talk, and he just smiled.”

In 1997, Paul Dobson became the seventh President for the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA). According to Pedro Mandoki, President and CEO at Mandoki Hospitality in Gulf Shores, Alabama, “Paul was the one who jumped in and took care of things when our president resigned unexpectedly.

“Paul was on the Board of Directors and served as President from 1997 to 1999,” said Kawaihalau. “Paul was always interested in all things high-tech and was happy to report during his presidency that the VRMA website was developed.”

In 1998, Dobson’s Maui Condominiums, which had 430 units under management, became part of the initial rollup in the forming of ResortQuest International, where he served as Founding Board Member through many ups and downs in the industry.
“Paul was one of the most fun people to just sit around and talk shop with,” said Jim Olin, who served as CEO at ResortQuest. “I would seek him out at every event we attended together, and we would find a quiet place and exchange war stories. He was a consummate professional who shared his expertise generously, and was a ton of fun to be around.”

Doug Brindley, owner of Brindley Beach Vacations, was also part of the ResortQuest founding board. “Paul was great to work with, always kind and insightful,” said Brindley. “He visited me and my family on the Outer Banks, and we had the pleasure to visit him in Maui. Paul was a classy guy all the way!”

Cafferty added, “We hung out a lot in the ResortQuest days, and whenever there was a meeting, Paul would be the person I would go to first to ask ‘so what do you think about what we just heard?’ Invariably, he was on point, and whatever he told me usually came true. Whenever I needed a straight answer about something happening in the industry (or in ResortQuest), he was the guy I called.”

In 2005, after Gaylord Entertainment purchased ResortQuest, Dobson left the company and founded Maui Rental Group.

“He was always thinking out of the box and trying new things,” said Kawaihalau. “He was happy to share his discoveries with his associates. I would love receiving his calls. He would say, ‘Hey, Lucy, how are you doing?’ and then go on to say, “I have been thinking about…,” sharing one of his latest ideas.”

Paul Dobson, while best known to most of us for his insight and contributions to the vacation rental industry, was a family man first.

“I remember when he met Kim and how happy he was to be married,” said Kawaihalau. “We all had many fun times at VRMA events over the years. He took great pride in raising Chandler and Myles. His family and their schedule took priority in his life.”

Cafferty agreed, “He was so personable, smiling all the time. He had this smirk he would have on his face when he had an inside joke, like he was 14 years old again and couldn’t wait to tell me what he was getting ready to burst out laughing about. He rarely had a bad day, and he really loved his family. Whenever we compared notes about children he just beamed when he was talking about his kids and wife. We both have sons about the same age, and it would always be our conversation starter about what our boys were up to.”

“Paul was a friend above all,” added Cafferty. “I last spent time with him in San Diego at the VRMA conference in 2014. We had a blast, as usual. Some of the former presidents had sort of drifted away from the organization over the years and were really disconnected. Lucy gets credit for getting us all back involved. Lucy, Paul, Pedro, and some of the other old timers had about a four hour dinner together, and he was the same old Paul. Happy guy, content and still the coolest, smartest guy in the room. That’s the memory I will always have of Paul.”

“He was a very successful businessman and property manager on Maui and so well thought of by everyone,” said Lucy Kawaihalau. “He was a wonderful kind man, an awesome dad, and a loving husband. Paul was an inspiring coach and mentor – both in sports and for our vacation rental managers – and a good friend to so many. He is greatly missed, and I am grateful to have called him my friend all these years.”

Paul is survived by his wife and his sons, Myles and Chandler. Our thoughts, prayers and appreciation go out to his friends and family.

By Amy Hinote

Save the Date: Events, Conferences and Seminars for Vacation Rental Managers

By
VRM Intel Staff
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1

The vacation rental industry is transforming.

Don’t miss an opportunity to learn more about the industry, network with other vacation rental managers and find out what’s new in the space at one of the upcoming events for professional property managers.

 

September

 

September 13

Webinar: Five Formulas to Audit Your Revenue Performance

2 ET/ 11 PT — Register for September 13, 5 Formulas for Auditing Performance

 

 

September 20

Webinar: Intro to Dynamic Pricing and Yield Management for Vacation Rentals

2 CT/ 11 PT — Register for August 30, Intro to Dynamic Pricing and Yield Management for Vacation Rentals

 

 

September 21-23

RezFest

Orlando, FL — Renaissance Hotel

www.software.homeaway.com

 

September 28-30

Streamline Summit

Chandler, AZ –Sheraton Wild Horse Pass

www.streamlinesummit.com

 

 

October

 

October 10-13

LiveRez Partner Conference

Austin, TX –Lost Pines Resort and Spa

http://www.liverez.com/2016Conference/

 

October 16-19

Annual VRMA Conference

Chandler, AZ — Sheraton Wild Horse Pass

www.vrma.com

 

October 26

VRM Intel Live! East Coast

Wilmington, NC — Hilton Wilmington Riverside

vrmintellive.com

 

November

 

November 7-9

VRHP National Conference

Las Vegas — Excalibur Hotel and Casino

www.vrhp.org

 

November 9-11

OPMA Fall Executive Summit

Destin, FL — The Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort

http://theopma.org

 

 

November 30

VRM Intel Live! Gulf Coast

Destin, FL — Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, Baytowne

vrmintellive.com

 

December

 

December 4-5

NEVRMA

Lincoln, NH  — Mountain Club on Loon Resort & Spa

 

 

To add your event to the calendar, email the information to amy.hinote@vrmintel.com.

Expedia Q2 Earnings: Revenues Fall Short Of Estimates

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Will Alibaba buy Expedia

By Adam Clark, Zacks.com — Expedia Inc. (EXPE) just released its second quarter fiscal 2016 earnings results, posting earnings of $0.40 per share (excluding special items) and revenue of $2.195 billion.

Currently, EXPE has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but it is subject to change following the release of the company’s latest earnings report. Here are 5 key statistics from this just announced report below.

1. Missed earnings estimates. The company posted earnings of $0.40 per share (excluding special items), just below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.44 per share. Diluted earnings per share came in at $0.21.

2. Missed revenue estimates. The company saw revenue figures of $2.195 billion, below our consensus estimate of $2.24 billion and increasing 32% year-over-year.

3. Gross bookings increased $3.8 billion, or 25% year-over-year, excluding eLong, to over $18.8 billion in the second quarter.

4. Global lodging portfolio increased by 25,000 properties, or 2-% year-over-year, bringing total hotel property count to over 307,000 available on Expedia Inc. sites.

5. EXPE was down $7.77, or 6.51%, to $111.50 as of 8:30 PM ET in after-hours trading shortly after its earnings report was released.

Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/expedia-inc-expe-q2-earnings-revenues-fall-short-of-estimates-cm656919#ixzz4Fkk4vGiZ

SoCoastal Vacation Rentals: Hyper-Local Marketplace Takes Aim at Myrtle Beach

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

VRM Intel interviewed Justin Urich, CEO of SoCoastal, a hyper-local booking platform about his new venture and the value proposition it offers.

How would you explain what your company does in 15 words or less?

We find the perfect vacation rental so you don’t have to.

Where did the name SoCoastal originate from?

The name is actually a tribute to the birthplace of the business; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. So is short for Southern. Coastal is an elongated version of Coast. SC is the abbreviation for the state of South Carolina. (Pronounced so-co-stuhl)

What inspired you to start your own business?

In May of 2014, I lost my older brother (Nathan) to an extremely rare form of Leukemia. That experience made me realize that I wanted to spend the rest of my life pursuing ideas and relationships that I am nothing less than ridiculously-passionate about.

When did you officially launch and how many vacation rentals do you currently represent?

Not too long ago. We launched on June 27th of this year. Currently, we have a little over 600 instantly-bookable condos and beach homes.

How does your company generate revenue?

Currently, we receive a commission on confirmed bookings. Our commission percentage is negotiated exclusively with each property manager we partner with.

In the upcoming months, we plan to rollout new features and offerings that will allow us to diversify our sources of revenue.

What problem(s) do travelers suffer from currently that your service solves?

To put it bluntly: The process related to searching for and booking the “right” vacation rental is nothing short of a nightmare. We don’t believe there is just one singular problem we need to solve in order to create differentiation, which is why hope to address a few different problems:

Fragmented Inventory:  We work to mitigate this by consolidating inventory from various property managers, in a single region, into a singular resource for travelers. The Myrtle Beach area is home to over 40 different vacation rental companies and we look forward to the opportunity to work with each of them.

Lack of “Real” Support: I’m not talking about the type of support you need when you’re having payment issues. I’m referring to the intricate level of support travelers need when trying to navigate crucial parts of the vacation rental selection process.

Help with questions like: What city? What neighborhood within that that city? Which resort? Which rental within that resort? What time of the year? All questions that end with “is best for me?”.

In my opinion, no automated travel bot or some guy/girl sitting in a call center that has never actually been to the destination that you’re interested in, is going to be able to effectively and authentically answer those questions. That’s where SoCoastal comes in.

We work with a team of hand-picked destination experts to offer guidance and recommendations based on real experiences. Each destination expert currently lives in, has lived in previously or frequently visits the Grand Strand. Not only is our team familiar with the area, but they are also familiar with the local property management industry and the specific vacation rental options available.

No Booking or Service Fees:  I think it’s best to learn from the recent public backlash towards HomeAway and their implementation of these types of fees. SoCoastal is and always will be “booking fee free” for travelers.

What advantages does SoCoastal offer property management companies in the Myrtle Beach area that the big guys like HomeAway, FlipKey and AirBnB currently don’t?

We focus on the areas where we feel the larger players aren’t doing so well — specifically, in accommodating the complex relationships with property management companies.

  • SoCoastal absorbs the time and cost related to developing a custom API connection from our partner’s property management software to our platform. There’s no need for manually updating property data — everything is automated. We require just a short amount of their time in order to get them fully-integrated and receiving booking requests.
  • We handle everything related to the pre-stay process including: pre-screening guests, inquiries, customer support, recommendations on things to do, payment processing & management as well as emailed communications to guests.
  • Our platform was built from the ground up to be universal. We understand that each business operates differently and we can accommodate just about any pricing and policy structure you can throw at us. And if we currently can’t support it — we’ll customize our system to fill the gap.
  • We’re constantly updating and improving our platform. SoCoastal can roll out new features in just days or weeks, as opposed to months or even in excess of a year for the larger companies.

For more information about SoCoastal, please contact Justin at justin@socoastal.com or (843) 779-5533.

Additional Insured Requirements: Saying Goodbye to the Idea of the Additional Insured Requirements for Vacation Rental Managers  

By
Darren Pettyjohn
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0
umbrella vacation rental home insurance

Every day, we receive the same calls from property owners asking, “I need an insurance policy for my vacation rental, and my vacation rental manager has asked to be additionally insured. Can you do that?”  

Our answer is always the same. “Yes, we can insure your property, and yes, we can add your property manager as additionally insured.”  

However, there is actually no need to add a property manager as additionally insured because they’re already a named insured. Unfortunately, there is confusion about this which can cause friction between the homeowner and the property manager.    

This may seem like a confusing topic of discussion, but it is actually fairly simple, so I’m here to ease the confusion and explain how this particular insurance topic works.  

Who is considered an Insured?  

The first thing to understand is that every insurance policy must define ”who is an insured.” It is also important to know that coverage is extended beyond the primary named insured on a policy.   

Example: John gets a loan from a bank and buys his first home. He also purchases homeowner’s insurance and is listed as the named insured on the policy. John also has a wife and a ten year old son who live at the home, but they are not listed on the policy.  

Question: Does John need to call and ask his agent to add his wife and son to the homeowner’s policy as additionally insured and then request a certificate of insurance showing proof of coverage? No. Any spouse and children under the age of 21 who are in the care, custody, and control of the named insured are automatically covered for personal liability as defined under the homeowner’s form.   

Standard homeowner’s forms define an insured as, and extend personal liability to: named insured, spouse, children and other residents.  

Note: By “forms,” I mean policy forms. Virtually all insurance companies use the same standard forms approved by the Insurance Services Office (ISO), including homeowner’s forms, landlord forms, and commercial forms.)  

You are probably thinking, “I don’t see a property manager or real estate manager listed there.”  

That is because the homeowner’s form does not define and extend liability to real estate managers, and a property manager wouldn’t want this because homeowner’s policies carry personal liability.  

Landlord Insurance Forms  

In Landlord Insurance Forms, who is defined as an insured? This is very relevant, as many vacation rental owners carry a landlord policy which covers premise liability, which would be a big upgrade from personal liability.   

Standard landlord forms define an insured as, and extend premise liability to, the named insured, family members and employees of the named insured in regards to the premise. The landlord insurance form does not define and extend liability to real estate managers.  

Commercial Insurance Forms  

Many vacation rental owners are seeking commercial insurance for their properties as a result of the maturation of the industry, the broader coverage and new regulations across the country. Standard commercial forms define an insured, and extend commercial liability to, the named insured, spouse, volunteer worker and any person or organization acting as your real estate manager in regards to the business.  

There it is. And I will state it again, “any person or organization acting as your real estate manager.”  

What this means is that, instead of property managers requiring to be added as additionally insured onto their owner’s policies, they should simply require proof of Commercial General Liability Insurance.  

That’s it.    

With that proof of insurance, property managers know that they are defined as an insured and that the commercial liability is extended to them and their company. There is no need to be added.  

Proof of this coverage is provided through a standardized document that all insurance agents use called “Certificate of Insurance (COI).” Just make sure this includes commercial general liability and not premise or personal liability.  

Advantages of having this proof of insurance for property managers:  

  1. There is no longer a need to use the dreadful words “added as additionally insured.” It is human nature for owners to think they are purchasing insurance for their property manager, but now you can explain the coverage thoroughly.   
  2. Commercial General Liability is far superior coverage to premise and personal liability. It extends beyond the premise by covering things like sexual assault, invasion of privacy, slander, dog bites and much more. Plus, it does not fall into the gray area of “business activity exclusion” found in premise and personal liability. It is also the highest level of liability insurance offered to a business.  

As the industry continues to mature, it is beneficial for property managers to make adjustments to owner contracts to reflect the changes and correct verbiage. This commercial requirement is already starting to show up in communities across the county.

Commercial liability insurance for vacation rental owners is not as expensive as you would think and is actually comparable to the other forms. I’d like to tell you Proper Insurance is the only firm to offer this coverage to vacation rental owners, but then this would just turn into a PR piece. The truth is that there are many carriers currently offering commercial general liability to vacation rental owners, and I imagine there will be more coming as the industry continues to grow and more regulations come down our way. Currently, the main three insurance companies are Proper Insurance, CBIZ Insurance and Propel Insurance.

Insurance is not a secret thing. Insurance policies should be examined, dissected and fully understood.  Every carrier has slightly different enhancements and exclusions, but the base forms are the same.

Many property managers have already adopted this practice, and they often ask how much should be required. Most require $500,000, but $1,000,000 is the standard limit for commercial general liability and what most carriers offer.  It is actually more difficult for an owner to purchase $500,000 versus $1,000,000. The industry requirement should be $1,000,000, and that is what I recommend.

You often hear that insurance companies try to deny and wiggle out of claims, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, there are exclusions and certain things are not covered, but the bottom line is that an insured pays a premium for a contract. In that contract, it clearly states what is covered and what is not. This contract also defines who is considered an insured. The recurring problem here is that oftentimes these policies aren’t read and understood — leading to false expectations. The insurance companies aren’t trying to scam you. In fact, they do exactly what they say they will do in the defined policy.

It is time for change in the vacation rental industry. Property managers, you can use this information to your advantage. When it comes to insurance for vacation rental owners, remind them that you are on their side by having the knowledge to help them dissect their policy. If your owners carry commercial general liability, then you are an insured on their policy as a real estate manager. Period. It is in the contract written in black and white, so say goodbye to the idea of the additional insured requirement.

 

Disclaimer: Personal and premise liability do not define a “real estate manager” as an insured. A property manager would need to be added to have coverage extended. Only commercial general liability defines a “real estate manager” as an insured. A property manager would want to verify coverage via a COI showing commercial general liability.  

Senator Elizabeth Warren Launches Inquiry Into Impact Of Short-Term Rentals On Affordable Housing

By
VRM Intel Staff
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4

A group of three senators are concerned that the affordable housing market is being squeezed by the increasing number of short-term rentals.

Senators Brian Schatz (HI), Dianne Feinstein (CA), and Elizabeth Warren (MA)urged Federal Trade Commission chairman Edith Ramirez in a letter [PDF] to study the commercial manner in which individuals or firms are using online services to rent out entire residences or multiple residences at a time, potentially taking housing inventory off the market and driving up the cost of rent.

“In recent years, we have seen the emergence and rapid growth of companies like Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, and Flipkey,” the senators write. “On one hand, these firms have sparked innovation, increased competition, and have provided new means by which our constituents can earn extra income. On the other hand, we are concerned that short-term rentals may be exacerbating housing shortages and driving up the cost of housing in our communities.”

The letter raises concerns related to recent data provided by the New York Attorney General’s office that revealed commercial users in the state made up a significant share of revenue from the short-term rentals.

Commercial users accounted for only 6% of the hosts in New York City, yet generated 37% of the revenue. The report indicated that 72% of unique units rented in New York City appeared to violate state and local law.

Any inquiry by the FTC should focus on determining what percentage of hosts are “acting in a commercial manner by renting out entire residences and or multiple residences simultaneously.”

“This distinction is critical to Congress and state and local lawmakers as we seek to assess the wide-ranging impact of the short-term rental industry on the communities in which they operate,” the letter states.

The resulting data, like that from New York, will provide lawmakers and local authorities better information on how the services affect their neighborhoods.

We’ve reached out to Airbnb for comment on the letter, and will update this post when we hear back.

However, a spokesperson for the rental company tells BuzzFeed News that Airbnb welcomes “any opportunity to work with lawmakers and regulators who want to learn more about how home sharing helps the middle class address the issue of economic inequality.”

The spokesperson suggested that the vast majority of those using the site are not commercially related, pointing to a recent study that found 51% of its hosts rely on the money they make through rentals to “make ends meet.”

Of course, one could point out that a hotel owner or the landlord of an apartment building also relies on their income to “make ends meet.” That’s why most of us have jobs.  Pointing out that someone relies on Airbnb rental money doesn’t directly lead to the conclusion that this person is not renting out five or six properties in the same building.

VRM Intel Magazine Summer 2016 Issue is here! Look for it in your mailbox.

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

The 2016 VRM Intel Summer issue is officially in the mail and heading your way. With over 30 original articles, this magazine includes an inside look at Booking.com and the reverse auction site Tansler, and there are three feature articles that discuss how current market conditions are helping professional vacation rental managers gain a competitive advantage (Revenge of the Property Manager, Winning at Google and Winning at Email Marketing). Also, there are some amazing articles written by Sue Jones, Doug Kennedy, Amber Mayer, Evan Hammer, Ben Edwards, Steve Craig, Josh Guerra, Durk Johnson, Julian Castelli, Rod Fitts, Mike Copps, Matt Curtis, and more.

Take a special look at Winter Park Lodging Company’s Sarah Bradford’s “Questions to ask a VRM” and Carlos Corzo’s article about open APIs in VR software. We will be talking a lot in the coming weeks about software and integrations and how software companies are working behind the scenes to add value and -in some cases -restrict your ability to take advantage of new opportunities.

If you are a U.S. resident and are not already receiving this publication in the mail, sign up below and we will mail you a copy. For non-U.S. residents, we will send the digital issue.

Enjoy!

 

[vfb id=1]

SF Looking to Amend Vacation Rental Law to Avoid Airbnb Lawsuit

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

By Carolyn Said –  San Francisco may revise its latest attempt to crack down on vacation rentals in private homes, hoping to stave off issues raised in a lawsuit filed by Airbnb that seeks to halt new enforcement measures.

Supervisors David Campos, Aaron Peskin, Eric Mar and John Avalos introduced new language at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting to update a get-tough amendment that the supervisors passed unanimously in June. The June amendment, which is now facing legal challenges from Airbnb, was scheduled to take effect July 27. Its enforcement is on hold pending a judge’s ruling on Airbnb’s request for a temporary injunction, which will be heard in early September.

The latest revision, which must now go through the legislative process, directly addresses issues Airbnb raised in its lawsuit, which said the city was violating the First Amendment, the Communications Decency Act and the Stored Communications Act.

The ultimate aim of both sets of amendments is to impose steep fines and criminal penalties to hold services like Airbnb, HomeAway and FlipKey accountable when vacation-rental listings lack the city’s mandated registration number for hosts. Only about 1,472 hosts, out of many thousands, have met a requirement to register with San Francisco before renting rooms or homes to travelers.

Potential penalties

The newest revision says those consequences would kick in only once a hosting service accepts a fee for booking a tourist to stay in an unregistered home. In the previous version, companies were on the hook for up to $1,000 a day per listing just for showcasing unregistered properties. Airbnb said that was a penalty for publishing content and therefore a violation of the federal Communications Decency Act, which shields Internet companies from liability for user-generated material. The latest update would remove the prohibition on displaying unregistered listings — but companies would be fined up to $1,000 each time an unregistered property is booked by a guest.

“These commonsense amendments aim to address some of the legal arguments that Airbnb has made in its lawsuit, and they strengthen the city’s legal position,” Campos said. “I think these amendments make the lawsuit moot.”

“The introduction of today’s amendment acknowledges the legal infirmities with the city’s recent changes to the short-term rental law,” Airbnb said. “The fact remains that the ordinance as it stands today violates federal law, and these new proposed amendments still wouldn’t resolve the legal shortcomings that were raised in our complaint. We remain hopeful that we can work together to find solutions that address our shared policy concerns.”

The revision would allow the city’s Office of Short-Term Rentals to subpoena records from hosting services when it discovers possible violations of the city’s vacation-rental laws. Airbnb’s lawsuit said it could not legally provide information on its hosts without being subpoenaed.

In another change, companies like Airbnb, HomeAway and FlipKey would have to submit monthly affidavits affirming that all their guest stays in San Francisco were in “lawfully registered” properties. The update would also require the companies to keep three years’ worth of records on hosts and guest stays in San Francisco.

Possible exemptions

While Airbnb and FlipKey handle all transactions for their hosts, HomeAway and its VRBO subsidiary function more like classified-listing sites, similar to Craigslist. That could exempt HomeAway from the new requirements.

“If a platform does not get a fee for booking services, it would be outside the purview” of the revised law, said Robb Kapla, a deputy city attorney.

Expedia’s HomeAway and TripAdvisor’s FlipKey had expressed interest in joining Airbnb’s lawsuit against the city. U.S. District Judge James Donato gave them until Tuesday to file motions. Although sources said they were expected to so, those motions had not been submitted by late Tuesday afternoon. The companies did not respond to requests for comment.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Palm Springs votes to secure vacation rental rights

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Dempster desert house in Palm Springs

By Skip Descant – For now there will be no moratorium on new vacation rentals in Palm Springs as city leaders opted to explore changes to the proposal to better accommodate the tourism industry and neighborhood groups.

The move keeps in place Palm Springs’ vacation rentals policy, and the city will resume issuing new permits Thursday.

City Council had been prepared to explore placing a temporary moratorium on new vacation rentals, a move that galvanized opposition and support and drew hundreds to Palm Springs City Hall on Wednesday.

Sensing the passion from each side, Mayor Robert Moon announced via Facebook, that the council will limit the number of speakers to 10 persons from each side. However, at the start of Wednesday night’s meeting the item was pulled from the agenda.

The crowd – filling the main council chambers and an overflow conference room – erupted in applause after learning the issue has been put on hold and City Hall would resume issuing permits.

The move to restrict rentals bubbled to the surface over the weekend, prompting sharp criticisms from the tourism industry, saying such a significant issue should not be rushed as an “urgency ordinance” without hearing thoroughly from stakeholders.

“This has also been about due process,” remarked Kelly McLean, of McLean Company Rentals, one of the longest running vacation rentals management firms in the city.

“We want to work with the subcommittee process,” said McLean.

“This proposed ban, though temporary, has already created economic turmoil in the real estate industry and business communities,” wrote the Palm Springs Vacation Rental Tourism Association in a statement Wednesday. “It does nothing to address the main concerns of residents and the root problem of enforcement, and poses the real threat of creating more problems by forcing future rentals underground with no accountability to the city and residents.”

A moratorium would have required approval from a super-majority of four out of five council members. It could have placed a moratorium on new vacation rentals until March 31, 2017, according to city documents.

From July 2015 to April, Palm Springs collected $21,769,881 in transient occupancy taxes. The city’s 1,819 registered vacation rentals accounted for more than 25 percent of Palm Springs’ TOT collections.

Since the city of Palm Springs began tracking the number of vacation rental properties in 2009, it has seen a 94 percent increase in the number of certified vacation rental properties. The city estimates that almost 10 percent of all the “roof-tops” in the city are now certified vacation rental properties.

Marla Malaspina, part of the steering committee for Protect Our Neighborhoods, said in an email that the moratorium on all short-term vacation rentals gives the city time to meet with more stakeholders and learn about the impact vacation rentals have on the city.

Protect Our Neighborhoods, an organization representing people who feel short-term rentals are bad for the city, disputes that these ordinances will depress property values and believes the only people hurt by this moratorium “is the vacation rental industry and its outsider clients who couldn’t care less about the quality-of-life issues facing residents,” Malaspina said earlier this week.

By Skip Descant, Desert Sun

Airbnb Plans Dual Stock Sales to Push Off IPO

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

WSJ -By Rolfe Winkler, Douglas Macmillan and Maureen Farrell – Airbnb Inc. lined up investors for a new funding round and an employee stock sale that will value the room-rental website at up to $30 billion and help defer an initial public offering, said people familiar with the matter.

The San Francisco company plans to raise between $500 million and $1 billion from more than a half dozen large, investors in the coming weeks, the people said. The deal is expected to value Airbnb at about $30 billion, up from $25.5 billion a year ago.

One of the people familiar with the deal later clarified the company expects to raise up to $750 million.

In a separate transaction, investors are planning to buy about $200 million in stock from Airbnb employees, one person said. Because those investors will be purchasing common shares, rather than preferred shares which grant certain investor protections, the employee stock sale is expected to value Airbnb at less than $30 billion, the people said.

That transaction could value Airbnb as low as $25 billion, one of the people familiar with the deal said.

 

Airbnb has already selected investors and expects both deals to close this summer. It is unlikely to pursue an IPO in 2016 or 2017 as it continues to expand aggressively, the person said.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Airbnb projected an operating loss of about $150 million last year. The company also told prospective investors last year that it expected to achieve $3 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 2020.

 

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