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5 Killer Interior Design Tips For Your Vacation Rentals from Rentals United

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VRM Intel Staff
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Kokopelli Property Management Focuses on Owners

By Robert Lawley, Rentals United –Interior designing a vacation rental can be a difficult task. Knowing the tastes of all the different types of people that will be staying there is frankly, impossible. Having the time to do it, when we barely have time to eat breakfast on most days, is potentially an even greater challenge. But unfortunately there isn’t an app for growing money (yet?!) so investing in your vacation rental is the next best thing. Read on for some killer creative and simple design tips that will not only turn your rental into something straight out of a magazine but will also put you on track to get more bookings than Copacabana on New Year’s Eve!

1. BE DURABLE

A vacation home can suffer a lot of wear and tear, especially ones on the beach or at a ski resort. Make sure that your home has flooring that is built to last such as hardwood or stone. Carpeting is difficult to maintain clean whereas rugs can be easily washed or replaced. The furniture should be no frills and sturdy. Buying used furniture, that is in good shape, is a great way to get high quality items without having to think twice about if it’s worth the investment or not. Quality furniture will last longer and guests are more likely to opt for your vacation rental when deciding between similarly priced and located options.

 

2. BE BOLD

Your vacation home is THE opportunity to decorate in a more adventurous way. Use colors and fabrics you like but are somewhat bolder than what you would live in. Statement posters and vintage items are easy to find and look great alongside modern features. Creative spaces such as a funky reading nook, a hammock, or an extra comfy chaise under a window give the home an edge and something your guests will greatly appreciate: privacy. Using red is bold and is known to stimulate senses, however, due to its intensity, use it in small quantities such as in cushions, and small details. Make sure to keep it simple and stylish but some bold patterns and unique features will make your place memorable and lead to more and repeat bookings.

 

3. BE PAMPERING

Holiday is a time to unwind and indulge in luxuries not available in our day to day lives. Your vacation home should provide as many of these opportunities to your guests as possible. Spa-like bathrooms with waterfall shower heads and oversized towels invite guests to relax and enjoy a VIP experience. Give the bedroom a romantic touch with an elegant headboard by using artwork or making a niche in the wall. Soft, high-quality sheets under a layer of blankets and pillows and a plush rug on the floor will make your guest, and their Facebook friends, never forget how comfortable and special their stay made them feel.

 

4. BE YUMMY!

It’s no wonder that the kitchen ranks the number 1 amenity that motivates travellers to book: a vacation is an opportunity to spend quality time with those closest to us and do the things we don’t have much time for usually, such as cooking! The dining and kitchen area in your vacation rental need to give your guests the ability to make those moments special. Having extra bar stools around so people can watch the chefs of the family work their magic without getting in the way, makes cooking inclusive and fun for everyone. Getting a dining table that can expand from seating 4 to seating 8 or more is a great way to give your guests flexibility in their dining needs. Amenities such as coffee machines and fresh juice makers are becoming essential items to have in your rental home’s kitchen. Surprise them with local cookery books and all the utensils you can get hands on.

 

5. BE LOCAL

Celebrate the beautiful location of your vacation rentals and reflect it in the interior design! Shop around in local stores for things that can only be found there, like artisanal decorations and artsy event posters. The paint used on the walls and ceilings in your property should remind your guests of nature and peaceful scenery. White ceilings and light blue walls, where they fit, will make your guests feel like they’re outside under the sky. If your home is at the beach, decorate with shells and light blue and green tones. If your home is in the mountains, use wooden furniture and warm flannel linens. City rentals should reflect the culture of the city they are in, this way, guests can still feel like they are exploring while enjoying the comforts of the house.

Once these design ideas have been implemented, make sure to flaunt them in your pictures and in your description. Tired of updating all your descriptions and photos manually? Try Rentals United, the synchronization platform!

Homeowners sue claiming property value drop a result of rental restrictions

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VRM Intel Staff
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Flagler County Commissioners were served this morning with letters and copies of property appraisals from 35 property owners showing that the county’s anti-vacation rental ordinance passed this spring will cost each of them an average of $650,000 in lost property value. The appraisals were submitted as part of litigation filed by the property owners under the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act.

“County officials have placed an inordinate burden on these property owners by severely restricting and vindictively targeting their properties with this ordinance,” said attorney Pete Heebner, who represents a number of the property owners. “We’re going to fight tooth and nail to protect the private property rights of everyone in Flagler County. These county officials have no right to single out one type of property owner over another. If they keep it up, it’s going to cost all county taxpayers millions of dollars.”

The majority of the properties are situated in the Cinnamon Beach area, and the $22,704,000 total property value loss is linked directly to the Flagler County ordinance that restricts how these 35 homes can be used.

“When these properties were purchased, this overreaching ordinance wasn’t in place,” said Heebner. “Homeowners rightfully had the freedom to use the properties as they wish, just like everyone else. But now, Flagler county commissioners have decided to single out certain types of properties and restrict their use, which has resulted in a significant drop in values.”

If successful, the claim against Flagler County would represent one of the largest judgments against any local government for the taking or inordinate burden of private property values.

“Not only are county leaders stripping rights from property owners and driving down home values, they are opening up county taxpayers to even more liability,” said Heebner.

The lawsuit was filed on March 6th, 2015. Mr. Heebner’s law firm recently won a $30 million judgment against the city of Ponce Inlet, Florida. A jury there found that city leaders stopped citizens from completing a development project after they had already invested substantial sums of money.

OPMA Suppliers & Management Companies Working Together on Behalf of Owners & Guests

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VRM Intel Staff
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To this point, the Onsite Property Managers Association (OPMA) has utilized one publication to communicate – The OPMA PULSE. Regardless of topic, all information has been included in the Pulse. As we have grown, we need to create different publications to address different business functions. Today, we are introducing The OPMA Suppliers’ Platform.

Each edition will feature one of the OPMA suppliers. They will tell their story; their goals and how the products and services they provide benefit your company, owners, and enhance the vacation experience of your guests. OPMA continues to attract the best condo hotel management companies and leadership to dominate the lodging inventory in the most visited vacation markets. They have a major economic impact in their respective communities. At the same time we have also attracted the best suppliers. Both management companies and suppliers are represented on the OPMA Board of Directors and it is important that we have the same working relationships in each marketplace.

A top priority of the association is to deliver leading edge superior products and services for owners and guests, as they are the ones who drive the profits for all of us. To achieve this, OPMA is differentiating from other organizations by minimizing the number of suppliers. This leads us to the relationship between the management companies and the suppliers. OPMA is providing the opportunity to move into the future with a different approach to work in a more cohesive environment. It is paramount for the OPMA management companies and suppliers to work in tandem.

The formula for success is for all parties involved to follow a simple process. When any management company requires products and services, they contact the OPMA suppliers FIRST. If a supplier cannot satisfy the needs, the management companies should go elsewhere. When they can meet or exceed the needs, it enables the suppliers to go back to their sources for better pricing or go to parent companies for additional funding to create better products and services for OPMA owners and guests. This results in OPMA management companies maximizing their savings and OPMA suppliers maximizing their buying power.  Everyone wins, especially the owners and guests.

The goal of the relationships is to maximize the profitability of all OPMA entities. To achieve this, new practices must be incorporated while many traditional methods are abandoned. To look ahead and to shape the future of the lodging industry is a major mission of OPMA. To collectively be on the leading edge by incorporating creativity, innovation and differentiation to our thinking and actions is what OPMA is all about.

It all starts with commitment from within. OPMA management companies and suppliers working on behalf of the owners, guests and each other is the foundation of the future. This publication is designed to support that OPMA internal commitment.  OPMA’s commitment is that suppliers will not be charged to create their own copy and have it distributed to all members and to provide properties with an in-depth understanding of the suppliers.

 

TripAdvisor in Crosshairs of Vacation Rental Group

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VRM Intel Staff
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By Heather Bayer –Dissatisfied after TripAdvisor ignored their letter asking for issues to be fixed, more than 100 vacation rental companies will meet in New Orleans to discuss an action plan.

More than 100 vacation rental companies representing over 15,000 individual vacation rental properties around the world will meet on October 25th at 4:00 in New Orleans to discuss joint actions to be taken against the Boston-based online reservation company TripAdvisor (TRIP).

“This year, our sales through TripAdvisor listings have dropped by more than 50%, and to top things off, their website randomly deleted more than 100 customer reviews of my properties,” said Alfonso Vergara, owner of AYP Rentals. “What’s really frightening is that I’m not alone. More than 100 other major TripAdvisor clients are having similar experiences.”

Listen to the Podcast with Heather Bayer and VRM Intel’s Amy Hinote about What’ Going on with TripAdvisor

 

Vergara and other vacation rental property owners and managers made plans to meet after TripAdvisor’s senior management ignored an August 15th letter sent to the company. The letter outlined major problem areas within the TripAdvisor website that are creating significant problems for TripAdvisor’s clients, resulting in lost revenue, missed business opportunities and customer dissatisfaction, including:

  • Major internal technical issues at TripAdvisor are causing inaccurate price listings that are damaging for property managers and vacationing guests alike.

  • There does not appear to be a systematic process for accessing technical support. Property managers asked TripAdvisor for a transparent support ticketing system that allowed for the entry, tracking and timely follow-up of requests to address problems.

  • Extensive staff turnover at TripAdvisor has resulted in inconsistent support, unfamiliarity with important issues, and overall poor customer service.

  • Lack of consistent pricing and customer review policies resulting in unfair and inequitable treatment of vacation managers vs. rent-by-owners.

 

“The first step toward solving a problem is acknowledging that there is one. Unfortunately, TripAdvisor either doesn’t care, or is so disorganized they don’t realize the magnitude of the issues we’re dealing with. But, if they won’t work with us, we are going to pull off our properties,” said Joyce Thomas, general manager of a property management company in Solana Beach, California. “I’ve never experienced such disregard toward a major segment of a company’s customer base.”

In the letter, TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals Account Managers Tracey Zhen and Dermot Halpin have been invited to join the discussion in New Orleans. However, the company has yet to respond or even acknowledge the letter. During the meeting, property managers will discuss a strategy for how the industry plans to proceed in order to resolve these concerns.

Property Managers interested in attending this can join by clicking on this link

https://cottageblogger.leadpages.co/tripadvisor-advisory-meeting/

HomeAway acquires Dwellable, moves team to Austin

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Dwellable gets $2M in Funding

By John Cook, —Dwellable has found a new home. The Seattle vacation rental startup — founded three years ago by developersNathan Kriege and Adam Doppelt — has been sold to its primary rival HomeAway.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but CEO Kirby Winfield said it was a positive outcome for investors. Dwellable raised just $2 million in funding — a pittance compared to other heavily-funded competitors in the online vacation rental arena. For example, publicly-traded HomeAway boasts a market value of $2.6 billion.

Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 12.19.14 PMAs a result of the acquisition, six members of the Dwellable team — including Doppelt and Kriege — will move to Austin. (Winfield will not join HomeAway, staying in Seattle). In addition, HomeAway plans to phase out the popular Dwellable app and service in the next 30 days, and the company is no longer facilitating new reservations through the service. Property owners are now being directed to HomeAway.

Winfield said he been talking to HomeAway since he joined as CEO in June 2013. “Their massive reach into consumers globally was something that just made sense,” said Winfield.

On a shoestring budget, Dwellable built an immersive and highly-rated app which in many ways outperformed the offerings from the much larger HomeAway. Last year, after raising the company’s $2 million venture round, Winfield said that they liked the idea of competing against a big rival.

“It is always great when you can put a target on one player, instead of 10 or 20,” he said. “There is still a real vacuum when it comes to brands in the category.”

The acquisition makes sense for HomeAway, which gobbles up top mobile developers and engineers. That mobile DNA will be injected immediately into HomeAway, which has been working hard to improve its mobile apps.

“The Dwellable team has built an incredible product with an impressive and growing base of travelers who use the app to book vacation rentals,” said HomeAway co-founder and CEO Brian Sharples in a release. “With 48 percent of travelers coming to HomeAway from mobile devices, it’s important for us to continue improving our mobile experience, with an even stronger emphasis on functionality and design for the traveler. Dwellable will help us take that next step.”

Doppelt came up with the idea for Dwellable after a horrible Hawaiian vacation rental experience, one which featured rodents in the ceiling and a noisy construction project next door.

It marks the second successful outcome for Seattle entrepreneur Doppelt, who previously co-founded restaurant director service Urbanspoon. Urbanspoon was sold to IAC in 2009, and then sold again earlier this year to Zomato, which subsequently shut down the service.

It also marks the second positive outcome for Winfield, who previously sold AdXpose to comScore for $22 million.

Backers of Dwellable included Howard Schultz’s Maveron and Boris Wertz’s Version One Ventures, as well as prominent Seattle angel investors like Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff; Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman; Mixpo CEO Jeff Lanctot and Farecast founder Oren Etzioni. In addition, former HomeAway board member and ex-Groupon president Rob Solomon was an investor.

 

John Cook is GeekWire’s co-founder and editor, a veteran reporter and the longest-serving journalist on the Pacific Northwest tech startup beat. Follow him @johnhcookand email john@geekwire.com.

Update: Over 100 Vacation Rental Managers Unite to Address Service and Support Issues with FlipKey/TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals

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VRM Intel Staff
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Throughout the second half of 2014 and into 2015, vacation rental managers have been reporting a multitude of support issues with their listings on FlipKey (TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals). From customer service to technology integration flaws, inability to address reviews and pricing complaints, property managers have been struggling with listing their properties and are questioning TripAdvisor’s dedication and direction regarding professionally managed vacation rentals.

One property manager said, “I’ve talked to several other managers around the country and they all agree FlipKey’s service to property managers is absolutely horrible. When you call their office their voicemails are always full and they’re always traveling around the country. Somebody needs to bring attention to them so they can get their act together.”

In Maine, Justin Ford, owner of On the Water in Maine Vacation Rentals, said, “The biggest issue we had with FlipKey and TripAdvisor was that a property that had previously been managed by another rental company switched to us for management. We, of course, listed it on FlipKey as we have a relationship with them. FlipKey ‘identified’ that the property was the same one listed with the previous agency and not only re-attached previous negative reviews for that property to our new listing of it, but they also copied over the horrible responses to those reviews from the previous agency, and attached our logo to those responses making it out that we responded to the negative reviews.”

Annee Martin, founder of Sanctuary Vacation Rentals in Pacific Grove, CA, said, “We have been thoroughly disappointed in the fundamental lack of stability in their service and technology. Uptime is something that we have come to expect from marketplaces, and we do not have these issues with any other providers. The folks at FlipKey have developed a business model that is counter to the goals and practices of professional managers. Their current model may be better for RBOs.”

Read FlipKey GM’s Tracey Zhen’s Response

In an effort to bring to light the service and support issues, over 100 property managers representing 15,000 properties crafted and signed a formal letter of complaint to TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer.

According to the group, “Our intention is to offer feedback on the Vacation Rentals division of TripAdvisor with hopes to make TAVR executives aware that there is a serious problem that many managers are talking about with the hope that ‘mismanagement and technical issues’ will be addressed and customer communications and response time can improve.”

At the time of publication, there had been no response to the letter from TripAdvisor CEO Stephen Kaufer. Read “Letter to TripAdvisor from Vacation Rental Managers” in its entirety.

Data Security Failure at VacationRentPayment

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VRM Intel Staff
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Payment services provider YapStone (VacationRentPayment) sent out a letter last month notifying property managers and owners who had applied for merchant accounts through HomeAway that personal information in their applications may have been compromised between July 15, 2014 and August 5, 2015. Reportedly, the VacationRentPayment application was stored by YapStone using an inadequately secured URL and may have been accessed by unauthorized users during this timeframe.

In the letter dated September 11, 2015, YapStone CEO Thomas J. Villante wrote, “Unfortunately, due to this application being available, your email, Social Security number, driver’s license, date of birth, and bank account were potentially exposed.”

When YapStone discovered the problem on August 5, they immediately blocked unauthorized access to the URL and began an investigation.

In a statement provided to VRM Intel by Steve Davis, HomeAway Chief Information Officer said:

“YapStone, one of HomeAway’s payment providers, notified us that a private URL containing vacation rental owner’s and manager’s personal information was made publicly accessible, resulting in an information disclosure that occurred on YapStone’s systems. The issue was immediately corrected and potentially impacted customers were notified.  No exposure of credit card information or passwords occurred, nor were HomeAway systems compromised in any way. We continue to support YapStone through this process and work closely with their team to ensure they continue to meet HomeAway’s high standards for security and data protection. HomeAway and YapStone sincerely regret any inconvenience this has caused our customers.”

As a result of YapStone’s failure to protect their customer’s application data, the company is facing a data breach class action lawsuit filed by a customer who claims the company is negligent and in breach of contract because it failed to protect customer data from a possible breach. In the complaint, Plaintiff, Jonathan Koles alleges YapStone failed to take reasonable measures to protect its customers’ personal information, promptly notify them o f the possible breach and specify exactly what information may have been compromised.

According to the lawsuit, “As a result of Defendant’s ongoing failure to notify consumers regarding what type of [personally identifiable information] has been compromised, consumers are unable to take the necessary precautions to mitigate their damages by preventing future fraud.”

As outlined on BigClassAction.com, “Because VRBO customers were required to accept payments online and provide their bank account information, YapStone breached an implied contract with customers in failing to safeguard their financial information, the complaint adds.”

In an email posted to HomeAway’s Community forum, HomeAway also said, “YapStone has sent letters to customers who were affected. Each letter includes personalized information and a detailed FAQ that addresses many of the questions you may have. If you did not receive a letter, your information was not exposed.”

By Amy Hinote

Virtual Resort Manager Offers Webinar: “Things YOU can do in VRM to improve your Website’s SEO” with Special Guest Connie Hutchins

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VRM Intel Staff
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Date & Time: November 12th, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.

Overview:

I have a very special friend of mine with me this month for “Tea with Brittany Lea“, Connie Hutchins. Connie will be walking us through some basic (and easy to do) things in VRM we can use to improve our website SEO!

If you are tired of your website working against you rather than for you, this is the webinar for you! Connie Hutchins is VRM’s own Director of Website Marketing Services and our resident SEO maven and has worked on dozens of websites over the years, helping Vacation Rental Managers from all over get the results they want from their Search Engine Marketing efforts.

If you have questions for Connie you want to be sure get answered make sure you Tweet them ahead of time to @VRMbrittany with #TeaWithBrittanyLea and tune in to see if it makes it into the webinar Q & A time!

 

register-now

 VRM-software-system

Bill Furlong Promoted at HomeAway to VP North American Business

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VRM Intel Staff
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HomeAway announced the promotion of Bill Furlong to vice president of the North American business and Matt Laessig to vice president of global business development.

Furlong is filling the position vacated earlier this year by Jon Gray, who was promoted to chief revenue officer. Furlong has been with HomeAway® since 2010 and most recently served as vice president of HomeAway Software®, the leading provider of property management software for professional vacation rental managers. Furlong will oversee HomeAway’s operations in North America, including HomeAway Software, which will continue to operate as a separate division.

As the former chief executive officer of Escapia®, Furlong has more than a decade of vacation rental industry experience. He also spent five years as a product manager at Microsoft and has a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Laessig is taking over business development responsibilities from Taleeb Noormohamed, and previously served as the general manager of HomeAway’s BedandBreakfast.com®, a role now filled by Lisa Westlake Chen, who previously headed up marketing for the brand. In his new role, Laessig will craft strategy, identify partnership targets and negotiate deals that enable families and groups to experience the beauty of whole vacations.

Prior to joining HomeAway, Laessig led business development for North America at Bazaarvoice. He has a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

“Bill and Matt have been significant contributors to the success of HomeAway over the years,” said Brian Sharples, HomeAway co-founder and CEO. “Their leadership and vision for our business will continue to be critical as we enter the next phase of HomeAway’s growth.”

Also, as announced in April, Carl Shepherd retired from his role as chief development effective September 11 but will continue to serve on the HomeAway board of directors.

LiveRez Taps Navy SEAL, Best Selling Author Marcus Luttrell to Headline 2015 Partner Conference

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VRM Intel Staff
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LiveRez announced decorated Navy SEAL and New York Times Best Selling author Marcus Luttrell as a keynote speaker at the 2015 LiveRez Partner Conference, Oct. 19-23 at the iconic Sun Valley Resort.

Marcus Luttrell is a retired United States Navy SEAL and author of New York Times Best Seller Lone Survivor. He received the Navy Cross for his actions in 2005 facing Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wing. Luttrell always knew that he was born to serve his country and do everything with discipline and commitment. Luttrell’s Lone Survivor is his story of the bravery, perseverance, and dedication of four Navy SEALS who fought dozens of Taliban fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan.

According to his website, Luttrell joined the United States Navy in March 1999. He began Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training with Class 226 in Coronado, California. He graduated with Class 228 after suffering a fractured femur early in his training. Marcus graduated 18 Delta in 2001, making him a team Medic.

Operation Red Wing

On June 28, 2005, Luttrell and SEAL Team 10 were assigned to a mission to kill or capture Ahmad Shah (nom de guerre Mohammad Ismail), a high-ranking Taliban leader responsible for killings in eastern Afghanistan and the Hindu-Kush mountains.The SEAL team was made up of Luttrell, Michael P. Murphy, Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson. Luttrell and Axelson were the team’s snipers; Dietz was in charge of communications and Murphy the team leader. A group of goat herders stumbled upon the SEALs, the four SEALs immediately took control of the situation and discussed what to do with the herders. After taking a vote and basing their decision on ROE, Michael Murphy made the final decision to let them go. The herders were subsequently released and disappeared over the mountain ridge. Luttrell believed they immediately betrayed the team’s location to local Taliban forces and within an hour, the SEALs were engaged in an intense gun battle. In the ensuing battle, the rest of the SEAL team members were killed. Team leader Michael P. Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle. Danny Dietz, Matthew Axelson, and Marcus were awarded the Navy Cross. An MH-47 Chinook helicopter was dispatched with a force consisting of SEALs and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment “Nightstalkers” to rescue the team, but the helicopter was shot down by an RPG. All 16 men on the Chinook were killed.

Luttrell was the only survivor. Badly wounded, he managed to walk and crawl seven miles to evade capture. He was given shelter by an Afghan tribe, who alerted the Americans of his presence, and American forces finally rescued him six days after the gun battle.

Following his physical recovery from Operation Redwing, Marcus went back and completed one more tour before being medically retired. He then wrote the book, Lone Survivor, to share the amazing story of his brothers who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

In 2010 Marcus started the Lone Survivor Foundation and is fully involved with The Boot Campaign.

In 2012 Luttrell released a second book, Service, that follows up with unanswered questions from Lone Survivor and gives honor and praise to other members of the military.

In the summer of 2013 Marcus went on his first public speaking tour along with Capt. Chad Fleming which included special appearances by Debbie Lee and Taya Kyle.

In early 2014, a major motion picture was released depicting the story of Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg.

“I will never quit. My nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies.” 

– Lone Survivor

HomeAway responds to Yapstone/ VacationRentPayment Letter to Homeowners

By
VRM Intel Staff
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HomeAway

A few days ago, homeowners received letters from Yapstone/VacationRentPayment notifiying them of what many homeowners referred to as a security breach for the time period between July 15, 2014 and August 5, 2015.

Here is the explanation/statement from Steve Davis, HomeAway chief information officer:

“Yapstone, one of HomeAway’s payment providers, notified us that a private URL containing vacation rental owner’s and manager’s personal information was made publicly accessible, resulting in an information disclosure that occurred on Yapstone’s systems.  The issue was immediately corrected and potentially impacted customers were notified.  No exposure of credit card information or passwords occurred, nor were HomeAway systems compromised in any way.

We continue to support YapStone through this process and work closely with their team to ensure they continue to meet HomeAway’s high standards for security and data protection.

HomeAway and YapStone sincerely regret any inconvenience this has caused our customers. For additional information, people may contact YapStone at (877) 238-3816.”

Vacation Rental Pros Acquires Orlando-based Five Star Vacation Homes

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VRM Intel Staff
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Orlando, FL, September 20, 2015 – Vacation Rental Pros, LLC, one of the fastest growing vacation rental management companies in Florida, reached an agreement to acquire Five Star Vacation Rentals, based in Orlando, Florida.

The move adds an additional 60 Orlando-area vacation rental properties to the management portfolio of Vacation Rental Pros, giving the company over 1,000 total properties under management.

“We are thrilled to expand our existing presence in the Orlando market, which plays host to more than 65 million travelers per year,” said Steve Milo, founder and president of Vacation Rental Pros. “In addition to Five Stars’ existing client base, their top-notch management team brings a wealth of experience in new and growing markets, and puts us in an excellent position for even more growth in the near future.”

Prior to the acquisition, Five Star Vacation Homes had doubled its size year after year under that company’s CEO, Juan Delgado, who will join Vacation Rental Pros and focus on new business development under Milo. Five Star’s occupancy rates, superb customer service strategy and owner retention programs made the company an ideal platform for Vacation Rental Pros’ continued expansion.

“Florida’s rapidly growing Spanish and Portuguese-speaking markets gives Vacation Rental Pros a competitive advantage,” said Delgado. “I couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of joining forces with Steve and his team.”

The deal is the second major announcement this year for Milo’s company, which in August announced revenue growth up over 54% year over year, the completion of a move into the company’s new, 7,000 square foot headquarters building in Ponte Vedra, and the creation of seven new positions to help manage the rapidly growing client and customer base.

 

Potential Yapstone/ VacationRentPayment Hack on HomeAway?

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VRM Intel Staff
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Over the last two days, there have been several reports that home owners listing on HomeAway’s sites received a letter from Yapstone (VacationRentPayment) informing them that personal information from HomeAway payments application may have been accessed by unauthorized persons between July 15, 2014 and August 5, 2015.

According to the letter, if you did not get a letter, your information was not exposed.  You can contact Yapstone at  877-238-3816, Monday through Friday 9 AM to 7 PM EDT.

One customer wrote, “Just received my letter. Possible unauthorized access to email address, date of birth, bank account info, and in some cases names, physical address, and social security numbers.”

Update: On Sep 20, HomeAway responded to the situation with a statement. 

Vacation Rent Payment Security Breach on HomeAway

 

Vacation Rent Payment Yapstone Credit Card Breach HomeAway

In the thread in the HomeAway Community forum, there is significant confusion and concern regarding the letter that many home owners have received.

We will research this more, but if you also received the letter, please comment below.

 

19 Kitchen Projects Every Homeowner Should Know About

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VRM Intel Staff
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The kitchen is the most important room in the house. We’re constantly calling it our main hub, where we cook fresh meals, entertain guests, do homework, post messages and, yes, every now and then watch TV.

But with the increased focus on function comes a lot of stuff that needs fixing, replacing, tweaking, cleaning and organizing. For that you’ll need to arm yourself with some kitchen knowledge so you can stay on top of what’s most important. Here are 19 projects good for every home dweller to know about.

 

RealTime Rental

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VRM Intel Staff
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RealTimeRental

Are you a scalable leader?

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VRM Intel Staff
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By Matt Juarez, VP Operations, NAVIS  —  One of my employees recently asked me, “As you continue to move up in the company, how do you stay on top of everything?”  As I processed the question I quickly reflected on how much my role has changed over the years. My focus now as a leader is to help others get their job done; not try to get everything done myself as in my early years. I’ve had to make this shift in my career otherwise the business would’ve run right over me. My answer then came almost immediately. I don’t stay on top of everything – but the team I lead does.

As leaders, sometimes we make the mistake of thinking we will always be the resident expert and need to know all that goes on in our organization.  I know I have. In reality, this isn’t humanly possible. When we try, we not only disempower those around us, but we also impede our ability to scale ourselves as leaders, ultimately keeping us from moving to the next level.

 

3 Things that Make Us Un-Scalable:

 

1. Insecurity

Insecurity feeds the need to control – control outcomes, control people’s behavior, and control results.  We often think controlling situations is “leading”, but we are fooling ourselves when we do so.  “Nothing gets done unless it’s run past me first” or “Have them come to me directly from now on” are all dangerous statements that will stunt our growth as a leader and ultimately as a company.  People like to be led, not controlled or micro-managed.  Leadership, in its purest form, is influencing someone to do something without controlling or imposing your will.   It’s like the old saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.”  This is true – unless you make them thirsty.  This is how real influence works.

 

2. Ego

More than likely we became leaders because we are good at what we do.  I’ve never seen a strong leader without quality skills and experience.  The problem with this is we sometimes think we are so good, that no one else can do it better.  This may be true in some cases, but we need to let others step up and more importantly, we need to get out of the way.  If others cannot do what we do, we will always be “doing” instead of “leading”.  We need to let go of our ego and empower others to use their skills. If we don’t, we create our own cap on any upward movement.

 

3. Greed

Over our careers we’ve gained loads of knowledge. Attaining this wealth of information is partly what has gotten us to where we are today and frankly, we’ve worked hard to get here, right? If we’re not careful, we have a tendency to be overly protective of our spot on the ladder – forget about telling someone else how to get here. We make the mistake in saying, “I can’t impart this to them, it could mean I am no longer needed” or “This will take me way too long to teach them, I’ll just do it myself.” If we are stingy with our knowledge we limit our capacity to lead because our knowledge transfer stops and in turn, so does our influence.  Our knowledge needs to flow to others like a fresh stream; otherwise, it will turn into a stagnant pond that doesn’t have the ability to expand.

 

“The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Theodore Roosevelt

 

5 Ways to Scale Yourself as a Leader:

 

Surround yourself with people smarter than you. 

This can initially feel counter intuitive and even threatening. Back to our insecurity, we tend to hire people below our skill level – which I’ve learned is a big mistake.  In order for us to move up, it’s essential for the people around us to have the potential to be better than we are. You say, “But what if they replace me?” I say, “PERFECT”. If our people are so good that they can replace us – beautiful. This means our current areas can be tended to nicely and allows us to take on other, higher impact areas within the organization. How will your boss ever consider you for a greater opportunity if they see that only you can cover your current area?

 

Listen to these people.

Ask a lot of questions. Be curious. Often times these people are closer to the client than you are so give them your full attention when they share their perspectives. When they present ideas, hear them out as opposed to saying things like, “We’ve tried that before, that will never work”. Who knows, maybe it will this time since business is always evolving.  Then again, maybe it won’t, but at least you heard them. People don’t necessarily need to get their way all the time, but they do need to feel heard. This doesn’t mean that everything they say is the gospel, but you can always use what they are telling you as one of your key data points.

 

Expect them to fail.

The difference between expectations and reality always equals the level of disappointment you will feel in any situation. If your people are taking risks and trying new strategies, they will inevitability fail so keep your expectations realistic. If they aren’t failing, they probably aren’t taking enough risks and/or pushing themselves beyond their limits. When this happens, instead of telling them what went wrong, ask them what they learned or, what should we do differently next time? Let them identify what went wrong. If they are good, they will be their own worst critic and be quick to fix the issue on their own so it doesn’t happen again.

 

Establish KPI’s and Dashboards. 

These are our safety nets. As much as we want to empower those around us to make their own decisions and think strategically, the buck still stops with us. Having key performance indicators (KPI’s) and Dashboards in place allow us to be separate from the day-to-day, but still gives us a good pulse on what’s going on in the business.  These dashboards should monitor areas that have high impact and give us early indications when things are going in the wrong direction. Also, keep air in your scuba tank.  What I mean by this is be prepared to “dive deep” if need be. If KPI’s are going south and/or you are hearing “noise”, move quickly. Go to your people and ask questions to find out what is affecting performance. Keep probing deeper until you identify the root cause of the problem. A problem solved is a problem clearly identified.

 

Lean on more than your gut. 

As you continue to move up in the organization, you will still need to make key decisions even though you are no longer close to the front lines.  Instead of reacting purely on your gut, go gather the data. Once you’ve collected all your data points, connect them with your first-hand knowledge of the situation and compare it against the wisdom you’ve gained in your career. Then, listen to your gut. And, for good measure, compare the decision against your core values to ensure there is alignment. Following this process should provide the best course of action when you are far away from the day to day.

 

As an operations person, I see un-scalable processes and technologies getting replaced all the time as businesses grow.  The sad reality is this can also apply to people, including us as leaders.  However, if we follow the above guidelines we will ensure our chances of success and continued growth in our careers; thus, making us all scalable as leaders.

 

Learn More About the Author: Matt Juarez, vice president of operations at NAVIS.

USA Today Blasts Add-On Fees for Vacation Rentals

By
VRM Intel Staff
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1

Today USA Today posted the article “Dreaded Fees Come to Vacation Rentals” in which National Geographic Traveler Editor Chris Elliott says, “Don’t look now, but vacation rental companies are piling on the fees, many of them pure junk.”

Elliott interviewed VacationFutures CEO Andrew McConnell who explained to him: “Rental managers only get a commission on the rental part of the transaction, but most negotiate that they get to keep 100% of fees. In this way they can make owners think they are getting a great deal with a lower commission, but actually take more of the all-in revenue by shifting more of the revenue to other fees.”

Elliott advises: “Some fees, like the ‘convenience’ fee and the ‘hot tub’ fee, are so absurd that a company may have some trouble justifying them. If you’re confronted by a surprise fee, even after doing your homework, challenge it. You may be able to negotiate your way out of paying it.”

 

Dreaded fees come to vacation rentals

by Christopher Elliott, Special for USA TODAY

First, there was a $25 “check-in” fee when she arrived, which, though disclosed in the fine print of her contract, was unexpected. And then there was a mandatory $200 “cleaning” fee for her unit after she checked out. Neither was part of the original price.Rhonda Moret’s vacation rental in Park City, Utah, came with a few surprises.

To add insult to injury, a construction crew in a nearby unit woke her at 7 a.m., on her first morning at the mountain resort.

“So much for relaxing with the mountain breeze,” says Moret, a healthcare marketing consultant who lives in Del Mar, Calif.

Don’t look now, but vacation rental companies are piling on the fees, many of them pure junk. Among the most common: booking fees, change fees, cleaning fees, hot tub fees, parking fees, reservation fees and — everyone’s favorite — amorphous “convenience” fees.

Simply put, rental fees are exploding. And there’s a reason why.

“Rental managers only get a commission on the rental part of the transaction,” explains Andrew McConnell, the chief executive of VacationFutures, an online vacation rental marketplace. “But most negotiate that they get to keep 100% of fees. In this way they can make owners think they are getting a great deal with a lower commission, but actually take more of the all-in revenue by shifting more of the revenue to other fees.”

It’s a model that closely follows the one used by airlines, which quote a low base fare but then add fees for everything from carry-on luggage to seat assignments — items that had traditionally been included in the price of a ticket.

These fees seem to be getting worse, although no one formally keeps track of them. Reputable vacation rental companies are resisting the surcharges, but eventually, the lure of easy money may prove too difficult to turn down.

Read More

Onsite Property Management Association (OPMA) Announces Fall Executive Summit

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

The Onsite Property Management Association (OPMA), which is focused on and advocates on behalf of onsite rental property management and the growing condo hotel sector, today announced the official launch of it’s Fall Executive Summit scheduled for November 17 – 18, 2015 at the Innisbrook Golf and Spa Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.

The Fall event follows the extremely successful inaugural OPMA Executive Summit held in May of this year, which brought key industry speakers and senior level executives from OPMA’s membership base together, providing an open dialogue and free flowing exchange of ideas and solutions between attendees.

According to OPMA President Paul Wohlford, “The combination of bringing industry executives together in a unique venue that stimulates thought-provoking ideas and solutions, represents the ideal formula for growth and success. Our Summit theme is “Welcome to the Future” and at OPMA we believe the future is now. We will be introducing ground breaking initiatives designed to position OPMA members, at a local grassroots level, to stay ahead of industry trends and to meet and exceed the expectations of their rental guests, owners, and their destination stakeholders of residents and the business community.”

 

The topics and speakers scheduled for the Executive Summit include:

 

“Panama City Beach’s Local Economic Impact of the Condo Hotel Lodging   Sector…A Model Program for All OPMA Members”

—          Dr. Steve Morse, Director and Economist, Hospitality and Tourism Program, College of Business, Western Carolina University

“What Can Local OPMA Members Do to Help Stop Illegal Vacation Rentals”

—          James S. “Jim ” Olin ,  Chief Executive Officer,  LevelField Technology, LLC

“Why Major Hospitality Companies are Joining the Vacation Rental Sector”

—          Mary Lynn Clark, President, Wyndham Vacation Rentals North America

“A 3-D Approach to Increase Your Direct Bookings by Showing Your Guests How Much You Care”

            —          John Dalton, Chief Marketing Strategist, OPMA

 

OPMA was officially launched a year and a half ago and the national association currently represents one of the fastest growing organizations within the lodging industry. Rick Fisher, Executive Director for OPMA notes, “The real strength of OPMA emanates from the collective contributions our onsite manager members bestow on their respective destinations. Beyond servicing rental guests and unit owners, even greater success comes to those onsite managers who most effectively measure and are thus able to present to their communities the positive economic impact of their contributions, such as new jobs created and revenue generated that further grow their local economies. At our Executive Summit we will be sharing and discussing specific initiatives that are positioning OPMA members as industry leaders, not followers, in their respective markets.”

For more information about the OPMA Executive Summit go to http://theopma.org/opma-summit/ or contact Rick Fisher, Executive Director of OPMA at (877) 870-6510 or rfisher@theopma.org.

 

About OPMA

Founded in March 2014 as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization, the Onsite Property Management Association (OPMA) is spearheading an effort to support the advancement of on-site rental property management companies. By providing education and advocacy, OPMA will promote the value of the short-term rental experience through on-site property management companies. By leveraging the collective experience of industry veterans, this network of mutual support will elevate industry standards to ensure superior guest and owner experiences. The association is committed to providing a clear and cooperative message and to championing the growth and success of the industry. To learn more about the Onsite Property Management Association, visit www.theopma.org or call (877) 870-6510.

 

# # #

 

Contacts:

Rick Fisher

Executive Director

Onsite Property Management Association, Inc.

rfisher@theopma.org

(877) 870-6510

 

 Or

Mary Jane Kolassa

AboveWater Public Relations and Marketing, LLC

mjkolassa@abovewater.com

(407) 463-0040

BookingSync

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

BookingSync

Colorado vacation rentals pit neighbor against neighbor

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

By Nick Coltrain, Coloradoan –Mountain guide Kurt Johnson picked his home in Estes Park for its sweeping views and quiet wilderness.

His home is attractive for the same reason as the short-term rental across the street — where vacationers frequently begin their revelry as he readies for bed and a 5 a.m. wake-up call.

“Whenever a new group shows up, we’re on edge,” Johnson said. “Are we going to be able to get to sleep when we want?”

Cheryl Anderson relies on the short-term rental of her Estes Park cottage, across the Estes valley from Johnson, for financial security. The professional caregiver poured all the equity from her Fort Collins home into the investment property 14 years ago, only to see her future shaken when a Larimer County regulation threatened to shut it down.

“I invested everything I had,” Anderson said from her rental home’s patio, shortly after prepping it for a new round of guests Thursday. “I got a loan on my house in Fort Collins and spent it all. So when (Larimer County) said they’d shut me down, it was devastating.”

A short-term vacation rental — for renters and those living nearby — boil down to two things: quality of life and making a living.

Larimer County, which has jurisdiction over Anderson’s property, recently stopped three properties from being rented out for less than a month at a time. County commissioner Steve Johnson described it at the hearing as a clear-cut violation of county land use code, which prohibits renting residential properties for fewer than 30 days.

Anderson says she is grandfathered because the ban went into effect after the county had recognized her short-term rental — though a disgruntled neighbor did try to cite the ordinance in an effort to get her to discontinue rental practices. Read More at The Coloradoan

New distribution channel launches for pro managed vacation rentals

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

In today’s rapidly changing world of vacation rentals, there has been a trend where larger OTA’s have been bypassing local rental companies, and more importantly service to travelers. While dealing directly with homeowners and saving money is fantastic for travelers, they are often left out in the cold if something goes wrong in their vacation rental.

Stuff happens on vacation – that’s a given. Appliances can malfunction. Rain may ruin pool time for the family and travelers may need suggestions where to have some fun at the best price. Keys may break and not work. Guests will need service and answers, however owners may be half a world away. Travelers with problems need them taken care of as soon as possible or there can be negative reviews about their vacation rental.

Vacation rental companies provide fantastic local service while making the check in and out process painless. They are also a tremendous resource for travelers who are unfamiliar with local attractions, activities, and geography. These local rental companies are often fixtures in popular vacation locales and are a major boon to the area’s economy.  In the past few years, more and more of these local rental companies have been bypassed due to pricing and advertising budgets by independent vacation rental owners and OTA’s.

There is a niche that has needed to be filled in the travel industry where everyone wins – where travelers get the best deals and trusted service, rental owners get bookings and revenue, and local rental companies get their piece of the pie and opportunity to gain new business. There is a new website called VacationFinder.com that can definitely fill this niche.

VacationFinder.com is truly a unique RBO site – in that 100% of all listings are supported with service from local rental companies. Travelers can rest assured that their needs will be met, should they need anything. Homeowners can take advantage of phenomenal listing prices and can directly deal with their guests to ensure repeat business. Local rental companies are able to take advantage of referrals to properties that they service, while gaining valuable opportunities to build relationships with future renters. Through VacationFinder.com, everyone wins.

VacationFinder will be attending the annual VRMA conference in New Orleans, October 25th – 28th. Visit Vacationfinder.com today and take advantage of a limited time offer where owners and rental companies can get 1 free Silver yearly listing when they sign up. Also, check out VacationFinder® on Facebook, Twitter, and on their blog at www.vacationfinder.com/vacation-blog.

Online Travel Sites Battle For Short-Term Rental Market Share

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
HomeAway and Priceline Lead the Market

By  –When  Expedia (EXPE) bought Travelocity in November, the big-four U.S.-based global online travel companies became three. If Expedia’s pending $1.3 billion merger with Orbitz (OWW) gets the green light from the Justice Department, the three will then be two — Expedia and Priceline (PCLN). Expedia expects the merger to close by year-end, though it’s being challenged by hotel and airline trade groups as anti-competitive.

Combined, Expedia and Orbitz generated $8.59 billion in revenue last year — slightly above Priceline’s $8.44 billion. More critically, the combination would take 74% of the U.S. online travel agency share in terms of gross travel bookings to Priceline’s 21%, according to estimates from travel researcher Phocuswright.

But that’s not the whole story in a an industry that is changing as rapidly as any that is based on the shift from old-school to new-school technology in the digital age. That shift has also been complicated by the increasing popularity of shared accommodations, such as spare rooms available on the website Airbnb.

With the rise of mobile phones and tablets for conducting all sorts of business, consumers increasingly turn to online travel sites to search for hotels, flights and other travel needs instead of going first to individual suppliers or brick-and-mortar travel agencies, the latter having long since shifted most of their focus from leisure to corporate travel.

And yet online travel agencies, or OTAs as they are called, accounted for only 16% of travel gross bookings in the U.S. last year, according to Phocuswright. That’s still well below the 28% share at each of the other channels — supplier websites, travel management companies and phone or walk-ins at suppliers, such as hotels and airlines.

That lower share suggests leisure travelers may do research on OTA sites, but don’t necessarily book trips there.

“There are many ways to book travel,” said Douglas Quinby, VP of research at Phocuswright. “The total (travel booking) market is much bigger than just three or four online travel agencies.”

In addition,Google (GOOGL) has been experimenting with hotel bookings since rolling out its Hotel Finder in 2011, “though that is still in very early development,” Quinby says.

Expedia and Priceline, the two dominant OTAs, have different strategies and goals. Expedia wants to be the biggest global full-service online travel company for bookings of flights, hotels, packages and corporate travel, Quinby says.

Priceline, on the other hand, is “laser-focused” on international growth, especially in hotels through its prized site Booking.com.

 

Profitability Vs. Gross Bookings

With Orbitz under its wing, Expedia would be “significantly larger on a gross booking basis than Priceline,” he said. “But from the perspective of investors, who look also at the bottom line and market cap, Priceline has outperformed” with bottom-line performance that continues to lead the market.

Priceline’s $63 billion market cap tops Expedia’s $13 billion by a wide margin. Shares of both stocks notched all-time highs on Aug. 5 after second-quarter results beat views. But Expedia shares have gained 66% over the past 18 months, vs. an 8% gain for Priceline.

Both reacted well to the market’s recent sell-off. Expedia dropped back 18% and quickly regained support at its 10-week moving average.

Priceline fell 17% for a quick test of its 40-week line, rebounding in the past week to retake its 10-week line as well.

Priceline’s earnings over the last three years have grown at a compounded annual rate of 28% vs. Expedia’s 11% over the same time.

Barclays, according to analyst Paul Vogel, views Priceline as “the gold standard of online travel.” The company “will likely continue to execute well,” he says, but could see slowing revenue growth and pressure on margins, which were evident this year at both companies.

Priceline’s earnings this year are seen growing at the slowest pace in years, 7%, according to a poll of analysts by Thomson Reuters. Expedia’s are seen growing only 1%.

Both charge fees to suppliers for listings on their sites and take a cut on bookings they facilitate.

A July 30 report from Morgan Stanley pointed to increased ad spending at Priceline and lower gross profit per room at Expedia. Morgan Stanley analysts noted that industry economics would likely improve in 2016 (though that forecast was before the stock-market swoon) and that incremental ad spending would slow.

Expedia’s margins got some relief in May when it sold its 62.4% stake in Chinese online travel site eLong for $671 million. ELong was expected to lose $100 million this year and drag down Expedia’s earnings by around 20%.

Priceline, measured by IBD’s Composite Rating metric, is the second-highest-ranked stock in IBD’s Leisure-Travel Booking industry group after Sabre (SABR)), a travel technology company spun out of American Airlines in 2000 (Sabre also launched Travelocity). Expedia (which bought Travelocity from Sabre in January for $280 million) is No. 3. The overall group on Friday ranked 58 out of 197 industry groups tracked by IBD, up from No. 119 eight weeks ago. Over those eight weeks, the group posted the fourth-largest gain among industries.

Also in the group is travel-review websiteTripAdvisor (TRIP) and Austin, Texas-basedHomeAway (AWAY), the largest online vacation rental marketplace. Overseas online travel sites, including China travel siteCtrip.com (CTRP) (which now owns a stake in eLong), U.K.-basedTravelport Worldwide (TVPT) and India’sMakeMyTrip (MMYT), are also a growing part of the picture.

TripAdvisor, which labels itself a travel deals and information aggregator, fell short of analysts’ second-quarter views and cut its full-year earnings and revenue forecast in late July, sending shares into a five-week slide. The company recently began offering consumers the ability to book hotel rooms directly on its site.

 

New Ideas Of Accommodation

One of the biggest changes in the online travel industry is the rise of a new category of accommodations known as “shared space” within a private home or apartment, spurred by the popularity of Airbnb and other short-term vacation and rental sites.

Phocuswright says the shared-space category “popped” in 2014. It estimates that 9% of U.S. travelers rented a room or space in a private home last year, up from less than 3% in 2012, when it first tracked the trend as Airbnb was starting to gain significant momentum and buzz.

The travel industry is seeing “a real broadening of the idea of accommodation,” said Quinby, who pointed also to vacation rentals, small bed-and-breakfasts and even “upmarket designer hostels.”

HomeAway focuses on rentals of entire homes and apartments, though its Asia subsidiary, Travelmob, offers shared spaces.

Expedia recently started listing some of HomeAway’s offerings on its website, but directs interested customers directly to HomeAway for completing the transaction. HomeAway is also making available its listings on Priceline-owned metasearch site Kayak this year.

OTAs have multiple in-house brands working to fill different travel needs, such as metasearches and online restaurant reservations. In 2013, Priceline acquired metasearch system Kayak Software and Expedia bought a majority stake in the German hotel metasearch site Trivago.

Priceline last year acquired online restaurant reservation system OpenTable for $2.6 billion.

Most OTAs shy away from shared accommodations. But Priceline’s Booking.com, which has been aggressively building a vacation-rental business, began offering shared-space listings on its site in the second quarter of this year.

Of Booking.com’s 707,000 hotels and other accommodations available worldwide in the second quarter, up 35% from a year ago, some 313,000 were “instantly bookable vacation rental properties,” according to Priceline. Vacation-rental properties grew 62% and accounted for 1.7 million rentable units.

It is unclear how many of those were rooms in private homes and apartments, but likely not many. As Priceline CEO Darren Huston said in a conference call earlier this month, the company just began “experimenting with self-onboarding of individually-owned vacation rental properties.”

The rentals, he added, were “subject of course to a set of quality checks” and their ability to be “instantly bookable.”

“We already have an encouraging pipeline of vacation rental properties to activate via this channel,” he said.

The Brindley Beach Fire – Insights and Observations

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

By Tom K –At 7 PM on Friday, June 12th, Brindley Beach’s headquarters burned to the ground. Doug Brindley and I will present a detailed session at the VRMA Annual Conference in New Orleans to walk you through how everyone worked together to check in over 500 houses on Saturday and Sunday with no resources, and how we restored the entire business in 16 days.

In this article, I highlight key insights and observations that left deep impressions while I was working with the Brindley Beach Family to overcome this disaster. It is a quick, but valuable, read.

 

Overview

It really is all about the People. Leadership, loyalty, tears, determination, compassion, relationships, finding that extra bit of energy when the tank has long been emptied… Everyone involved provided immense and essential contributions to both the immediate recovery and the rebuilding effort.

 

The Brindley Beach Family

It’s all about the People!

It was amazing to watch management and staff come together Saturday morning, to watch the faces shift through the day from shock and despair to determination to accomplishment. “Loyalty” is a frightful understatement. “Team” doesn’t nearly describe it. The leadership team, who had just lost EVERYTHING, shook it off, and managed, motivated, and mobilized all available resources to excellence. The staff dug in and got it done with what they had (not much), and found ways to get what they had to have.

At the end of Saturday, the assembled group was dirty, sweaty, exhausted, and elated at their accomplishment… almost 400 check-ins without packets, keys, computers, PM software, or their main office. Amazing!

EVERYONE did a stellar job. End of day cocktails were offered, but everyone declined. They were completely spent, and they had to do it all over again on Sunday.

 

The Community

It’s still all about the People!

The VRM industry in the Outer Banks is tremendously competitive, much more so than anywhere else I’ve operated. But it is an interesting competitiveness, with little underhandedness, and lots of mutual respect. On Saturday morning, Brindley didn’t get a bunch of “if you need anything” calls from the community, they got offers of equipment, computers, and vans… from competitors. One of the more debilitating issues was locks on homes, or actually no keys for the locks. VRM companies up and down the beach dropped off their existing stock of lock sets so Brindley’s maintenance staff could refit locks to the houses they had to break into to admit guests.

We worked very hard, but we ate very well! The deliveries of food, water, tea, juice, and even beers were donated by the community and our competitors throughout this most difficult of times. I do hope we adequately expressed just how deeply their kindness was appreciated by all!

 

Our Partners

It is all about the People… and Relationships!

That (Friday) night I started calling our technology partners to advise them of the disaster and to start planning emergency operations and a structured recovery. Everyone stepped up and worked all weekend to get Brindley’s core infrastructure running by Sunday morning (albeit in emergency mode using lots of duct tape and chicken wire 🙂 More systems and services were up by Sunday night. This couldn’t have happened without the long hours and super talents of my friends and long time associates at PropertyPlus support (HomeAway Software) and LSI (Local Social).

My forever Dell team was also fantastic. They worked above and beyond to expedite our needs. The 30+ new computers, monitors, switches, and printers started arriving on Wed. They were able to get us new servers in just under 2 weeks. Everything shipped next day or second day courtesy of my Dell team.

With the help of many, we had the complete environment restored in 16 days. This involved not only rebuilding the whole server infrastructure, configuring switches and firewalls, and rolling out 30+ PCs across 5 offices, but also re-fitting the Duck facility to become the new Headquarters, establishing a new data center in the Duck office, setting up a new remote office for Maintenance & Accounting, and re-locating lots of staff across the other remote offices. Whew!

 

The Backups

Well, maybe it’s not completely all about the People…

Simply put, without the excellent backup systems we had in place, Brindley Beach might not have been able to recover. Certainly not to the degree that we recovered, nor within the timeframe.

The fire started around 7 PM on Friday. Because we had a good multi-layered backup process in place, we were able to get the critical data from the cloud backups to bring our Property Management System live Sunday morning. Then we were able to use our system backups to restore EVERYTHING to Friday’s start of business once we had the new servers on line.

If you don’t have a proven backup strategy in place, you really need to consider resolving this immediately. If you are not sure how to start, call me. I can help!

 

Company Stuff

Again, maybe it’s not completely All about the People…

I never really appreciated the phrase “burned to the ground” until I saw it. We’ll have a few pictures at the VRMA session. NOTHING was left, except a lonely chimney standing tall.

The phrase “Its only stuff… no one was hurt” kept being bantered about. While all that we lost was “just” stuff, much of it was “important stuff”.

Take a walk through your offices. Observe all your company stuff. What could you not do without? What would be painful to lose? Determine how you can archive that stuff, or prepare to replace the stuff you can’t archive. Is any of that paper stuff in those filing cabinets important? Hire a clerk to scan it so it gets electronically backed up. Do you have records (not in those filing cabinets) of all the stuff you’ll want your insurance to replace? Do you have replacement insurance? Do you have documented inventories and receipts? Hmmmm…

 

Personal Stuff

Everybody has some personal stuff in their office. If it is important to you, or if it has value, you need to replicate it or document it. Make a copy of that signed photo of you and John Lennon and document that signed Terry Bradshaw jersey.

If you’ll be at VRMA in New Orleans, come join Doug and me for our session. We’ll get in-depth on the specifics of how the Brindley Beach Family was able to populate 400 properties the day after losing EVERYTHING (the amazing part), and how we restructured, relocated, and rebuilt the company in 16 days. It’s an intriguing tale.

If you have any questions or thoughts concerning this article, or need help ensuring you are prepared for a similar company-crushing disaster, please contact me at TomK@TomKConsulting.com, or via my cell 443.310.5110.

 

About Tom K

Tom K has spent the last 28 years working with company leaders to develop their technology strategies and create IT environments that will best serve their business goals, optimize the use of their computing resources, maximize their systems up-time, and get the most out of their IT investment.

Tom K’s experience was developed as a Director and lead consultant with three respected technology firms, one servicing Vacation Rental Management companies across the country, and two servicing NYC Clients in the banking, finance, and manufacturing industries. Tom also served as CTO for an e-Commerce Web Consultation firm and as IT Director for an international consumer testing company. He holds senior technical certifications from Cisco, Microsoft, Citrix, HP, and Intel.

Tom K brought his expertise from Wall St. to the Vacation Rental and Real Estate industry in 2003. Through his technical skills and business acumen, Tom has helped numerous companies effectively utilize technology to realize their business goals, increase productivity, and improve their bottom line.

Tom K’s extensive experience as both consultant and IT Director provides him with an in-depth understanding of the needs and expectations of his Clients, from both the business and the technical prospective. This knowledge allows Tom to consistently provide the solutions and exceptional levels of service required to exceed those expectations.

 

Tom K technology consulting for vacation rental managers

TRACK Hospitality Software

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0

TRACK Hospitality Software

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