“Managing Your Online Reputation with TripAdvisor”wasco-developed by TripAdvisor and eCornell and leverages research from Cornell University’s world-renowned School of Hotel Administration and faculty insights.
In the free 3-hour course, property managers will receive guidance and learn best practices from Cornell and TripAdvisor industry leaders about how to monitor and improve their property’s online reputation.
The course focuses on building strategies and action plans for reputation management that ultimately drive bookings and revenue. The following topics are addressed in the curriculum:
Explain the importance of online reputation management to colleagues and peers
Take steps to assess your online reputation
Use methods for responding to online customer feedback
Understand the correlation between online reputation and revenue
Employ helpful tactics for incorporating customer feedback into day-to-day operations
Develop an action plan for managing your property’s online reputation based on best practices from Cornell and TripAdvisor
“As travel planning and booking become more dependent on online traveler reviews and opinions, online reputation management is paramount for property owners,” said Brian Payea, Head of Industry Relations, TripAdvisor. “We’re committed to helping businesses maximize their presence on TripAdvisor, which is why we partnered with eCornell to bring free, world-class educational content to hospitality professionals around the world.”
“Together, eCornell and the School of Hotel Administration have been providing professional development and training for hoteliers for more than a decade. Our courses in marketing, social media, brand management, and reputation management all enable hotels and travel organizations to drive more bookings and increase revenues,” says Chad Oliveiri, VP of Content and Partnerships at eCornell. “So this partnership with TripAdvisor is a natural fit.”
Course enrollment in “Managing Your Online Reputation with TripAdvisor” is free and available to hoteliers and B&Bs around the world. Click here to enroll in the course.
Twenty Four Year Old Property Management and Vacation Rental Management Company. Same owners since inception. All services in house. Over 40 plus homes in the portfolio. Ideal visa business, add on, or business opportunity for those relocating to the Sun Shine State. Contact Agent and Fax NDA. Owner Financing available for qualified buyers. Please refer to listing #43927456 when inquiring. Thank you!
Industry
Sector:
Real Estate
Industry:
Property Management
Location
Classification:
United States // Southeast States // Florida // Orlando
A well established true niche’ property management business focused solely on vacation rentals in scenic Northern Idaho. Long standing quality management has kept owners year after year. Current owner does very little marketing/advertising outside of web presence and referrals. Ex-potential growth for someone looking to expand the business with more properties –or maintain the current stable and consistent size as a side business.
60 Plus home vacation rental management company and property service company. Original seller, Ideal opportunity for Visa Buyers and Family Run Owners. Home Based, Strong Cash flow. Business comes with Dodge Pick Up truck. Best Developments make up the portfolio of properties. Limited inventory at this time makes this volume of homes a deal of a lifetime. Contact Agent and Fax NDA. Please refer to listing # 43930836 when inquiring. Thank you!
With so much emphasis placed on acquiring new guests, it is easy to overlook the importance of a strong homeowner acquisition strategy. If your Owner Acquisition Strategy (OAS) is not performing as well as you would like, it might be time for a fresh look.
When interviewing property managers in our Under the Hood series, we always ask about their homeowner acquisition and retention strategies. Understanding this information is highly confidential, we’ve pulled together tips and tactics utilized by property managers to grow inventory.
B2B + B2C =B2O
The relationship with the homeowner has both business and personal elements, so a healthy OAS combines B2B and B2C sales and marketing tactics to create a B2O (business to owner) plan.
The B2B purchase process tends to be rationally and logically driven, while consumer choices are typically emotionally triggered.
B2B clientele want to be educated and provided with expertise. B2C customers just want to enjoy themselves, be happy with their purchase and have it adequately fulfill their needs.
For homeowners, choosing a property manager is both expertise-driven and emotionally driven. Therefore the strategy should connect on both levels.
Steps for creating a successful Owner Acquisition Strategy
There are 6 components to a successful OAS:
Analysis
Targeting
Messaging
Channel Identification
Implementation
Evaluation
1. Analysis
The first step combines an analysis of the market/destination, owner acquisition strategies and programs utilized by the competition within the destination, the unique selling proposition of your homeowner program, and an in-depth look at your existing inventory (including any losses of inventory in the relevant past).
2. Targeting
Based on the analysis and consultation with your rental team, identify a set of criteria used to target new inventory (e.g. property type, amenities, location, specific buildings or communities). DMB Realty Network in Scottsdale posted a whitepaper describing a Second Home Buyer Profile.
3. Messaging
Working with homeowers is challenging because they view the relationship with the property management company (PMC) in both a business and personal way:
Business: The homeowner views himself as the CEO and wants the PMC as the manager to be fully accountable for increasing revenue, maintaining the quality and cleanliness of the property, achieving maximum rental rates, providing top notch accounting/reporting services, etc.
Personal: The homeowner also wants the PMC to act as a babysitter, making sure nothing is broken, monitoring who is coming in and out of the home, staying in close communication, understanding the home’s uniqueness and personally and lovingly caring for the vacation home.
Design the messaging to highlight the advantages of your program and appeal to the homeowner in both a professional and personal way. (Tip: both B2B and B2C marketers utilize testimonials)
In a successful OAS, a portion of your B2O messaging will be directed to the VRBO market. Whether it is a chart showing how your services save time and money or an introductory program with scaled down services, tapping into the VRBO market in your destination is likely to be necessary to affect your market share in a material way.
You have several options in deciding how you are going to reach prospective owners. Direct mail, email, PPC, display advertising, social media, in-person marketing, events and more. You may also want to add typical B2B channels such as whitepapers, LinkedIn or SlideShare with content showing the effectiveness of your rental program, video testimonials, etc.
Here is a marketing chart to help generate ideas from B2B marketers:
5. Implementation
Once the above elements are completed, articulate your strategy and identify tactics in a written plan. Include a budget and plan for evaluation. Get buy-in from stakeholders and begin to thoughtfully execute the plan.
6. Evaluation
The OAS should be evaluated on an ongoing basis identifying the ROI for each marketing channel. Metrics vary based on the marketing channel, but full reporting is key to monitor performance and maintain momentum. If possible, provide incentives to your sales and marketing team.
The Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) is offering a special promotion to any prospective vacation rental management member: Join by July 31 and pay just $300 for the remainder of 2014.
This offer is designed to attract new and former members and help grow the organization into a cohesive “voice” in the vacation rental industry. A unified VRMA which represents the interests of professional vacation rental managers serves to grow the industry, strengthen awareness, protect consumers and address the increasing number of challenges facing the industry.
In 2008, the VRMA changed their structure and increased dues to fund strategic initiatives such as DiscoverVacationHomes.com, a distribution technology “switch,” and the PBS series Getting Away Together. The increased dues significantly affected large property management companies and many of the larger companies did not renew their membership.
With many new challenges and opportunities facing professional vacation rental managers, it is critical to have a strong, vibrant trade association working to promote professional management, offer education, create networking opportunities and serve as an industry advocate.
VRM Intel is an active member in the VRMA, and we encourage participation in this organization.
Yesterday RealPage, Inc. (NASDAQ: RP ) announced it has bought Kigo, a European based vacation rental booking and channel management software platform headquartered in Barcelona. According to their press release, RealPage paid closing cash consideration of about $32 million along with a deferred cash payment of up to $5.5 million.
In January, RealPage acquired Bookt’s InstaManager, a similar vacation rental booking software for $14 million. With the acquisition of Kigo, RealPage further extends its vacation rental booking system internationally.
The acquisitions of Kigo and InstaManager demonstrate an increasing utilization of vacation rental software in Europe. However, the functionality in these platforms is still limited compared to the major software systems in the U.S.
By comparison, in 2010, HomeAway paid an estimated $27.1 million for Instant Software and an estimated $10.3 million for Escapia. Both acquisitions contributed to a synergy within the HomeAway business model. A $32+ million spend for Kigo following a $14 million purchase of Bookt’s InstaManager depicts an increased stand-alone valuation of software utilization in the global vacation rental marketplace.
Steve Winn, CEO of RealPage, commented, “We believe the vacation rental market offers significant growth for RealPage, and this acquisition helps expand our presence in Europe. Both Kigo and InstaManager offer tremendous opportunity by helping professional vacation rental managers increase the number of properties managed and the days per year utilized, resulting in revenue growth without adding to their staff.”
Bend, OR – June 16, 2014 – NAVIS announced it will formally launch NAVISReach at HITEC June 24 – 26 in Los Angeles. NAVIS Reach is a CRM tool that allows operators to increase revenue through combining data from online and offline systems for automated, targeted email campaigns. Clients use NAVIS Reach to identify marketing strategies, create email campaigns based on guest interests, and track results in real-time.
“NAVIS Reach gives operators the ability to leverage online and offline data to create and execute highly effective email marketing campaigns,” said Michelle Marquis, vice president of marketing and strategic Initiatives. “We developed Reach from the ground up specifically for the hospitality industry, then tested it with more than 70 clients in the past 12 month. Campaigns using Reach averaged 350 percent higher open rates.” Marquis explained Reach’s increased open rates generated more reservations, greater revenue, and better customer relations. NAVIS Reach is integrated with NAVIS360 CRM and is unique because it gives operators real-time access to data from multiple systems. “We will formally launch NAVIS Reach at HITEC for operators who want to communicate more successfully with guests.”
NAVIS Reach triples the amount of email opening rates
Marquis noted that independent operators must be more creative and nimble with their marketing programs than flagged properties. “Independents need to create guest loyalty themselves. They must be loyal to their guests and create recognition-based relationships with communication based on guest interests.” NAVIS Reach gathers information with specialized data mining programs that identify guest behaviors such as dates stayed, interests, activities, room preference, total spend per visit, overall guest value and even custom attributes.
NAVIS Reach gathers data based on specific configurable criteria, removes pre-bookings, eliminates duplicate names, and automatically groups people into the same households instantly. When this data is collected, Reach generates targeted lists that rank guests by interests or other factors. The system provides easy-to-use custom email templates. NAVIS Reach implements the email campaigns and tracks results to verify effectiveness. The system provides comprehensive oversight so operators can track revenue generated by each marketing campaign. Reach delivers more meaningful connections with guests and greater revenue for clients.
NAVIS provides ProServices professional turnkey marketing and email campaigns
NAVIS also now offers ProServices which leverages the NAVIS Reach data mining tools and a team of NAVIS marketing professionals. “ProServices is for operators who have limited time or resources,” Marquis said. “It is a turnkey email marketing campaign service that puts NAVIS’ marketing team at your service. NAVIS becomes a hotel company’s virtual marketing department with ProServices by handling all aspects of strategy, execution, and results measurement. Our team will find marketing opportunities in your customer information, create email strategies based off those trends for different customer groups, design the email templates, send them to customers, and report the program’s results. We also track how much revenue each email campaign generates so clients know which of their offerings are most valuable to guests.”
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed into law a bill returning regulation of vacation rentals that allows local governments to adopt ordinances targeted specifically at rental properties, such as an inspection program or trash rules.
But unlike the initial proposed Senate bill — which was amended to protect weekly rentals while allowing prohibitions on nightly or weekend rentals — no minimum-stay requirement could be imposed under the House legislation which was enough to win over some property rights advocates.
City and county officials have been working to repeal the 2011 law that banned all local vacation rental regulations since it was enacted, but the effort gained a powerful ally this year in Sen. John Thrasher, a St. Augustine Republican who represents a community where rentals have been particularly controversial.
“(The) vote in the House looks to be a fair compromise for all property owners,” association president Paul Hayes said in a statement. “This approach strikes a needed balance that we hope will protect Florida’s vital, $31 billion-per-year vacation rental economy.”
Former executives of Hotwire.com and HomeAway are expanding their technology-enabled vacation rental management service that improves the vacation rental experience for rental owners and guests.
Austin-based vacation rental management startup TurnKey Vacation Rentals (TurnKeyVR.com) has raised $3 million in seed funding fromSilverton Partners and an impressive group of online travel executives. These include:Rich Barton (co-founder Expedia, Zillow, Benchmark partner), Gregg Brockway (co-founder Hotwire, TripIt, Chairish), Alexis de Belloy (HomeAway, Accel executive in residence), Rob Greyber (President Egencia), Eric Goldreyer (BedandBreakfast.com founder), Joey Levin (CEO IAC Search & Applications), Karl Peterson (co-founder Hotwire, TPG partner), Spencer Rascoff (co-founder Hotwire, CEO Zillow), Russ Sach (Expedia) and Greg Slyngstad (co-founder Expedia, VacationSpot, Kayak board). The new funding brings TurnKey’s total seed funding to $4.8 million.
TurnKey empowers owners of vacation rental properties by managing the entire rental process – listing and booking the rental via the major guest sites such as HomeAway/VRBO, AirBnB and TripAdvisor; providing hotel-style rate management; handling guest support; and arranging cleaning and maintenance via mobile apps. Launched last year, TurnKey has grown to almost 200 rentals in three markets (Austin, TX, Port Aransas, TX and Santa Barbara, CA). It plans to use the new funds to launch ten new markets in ski, beach and metro locations.
Bill Wood, the founder of Silverton Partners who is joining TurnKey’s board stated, “This management team is unusually deep and experienced and we really like the market because it’s an opportunity to apply leading edge technology to an industry that has lagged in technology uptake.” TurnKey’s co-founder and Chairman John Banczak stated that, „We see a huge opportunity in delivering a better tech-enabled guest and owner solution, combined with lower fees, to this high-growth market.” Banczak added that, „Vacation rental homes are valuable income opportunities for millions of owners – and we believe that the owner can maximize their rental opportunity by taking advantage of leading edge technology and best practices.” To TurnKey this means that guests need to see a professional online listing, market rates, secure online checkout and receive immediate responses both on the booking side and when they are staying in the property. Co-founder and CEO T.J. Clark stated, it’s a full-time job and most owners either have a full-time job already or don’t live close to their rental.”
TurnKey’s solutions professionalize the management of the owner’s vacation rental starting at 10-14% commissions vs. traditional property managers that charge between 20-50% commissions. “We have the analytics and technology platforms to help our owners get more rental nights and often generate 30-50% more revenue than they were before – while we provide the key services and amenities that guests would expect from a luxury hotel” stated Clark. “We drive cost out of the rental process while increasing the quality of service – to offer an experience that’s better for everyone.” TurnKey will reach more of these owners by expanding their service to many new markets over the next year.
Funds to be used to continue rapid pace of innovation: financing led by Version One Ventures and Maveron.
Seattle, WA, June 10, 2014 — Dwellable raised $2 million in Series Seed financing led by Version One Ventures and Maveron. Additional participants in the round include former HomeAway board director Rob Solomon, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff, Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, Farecast founder Oren Etzioni, and other notable investors in Seattle and Silicon Valley.
Dwellable makes it quick and easy to find the perfect house, condo, or villa to rent from any connected device. This is the first capital raise for Dwellable, which launched its chart -topping iOS and Android apps in 2012 and was the 25 the most downloaded iPad travel app in the United States in May 2014.
The company will use the new funds to continue its rapid pace of innovation on all mobile platforms. There are more than 300,000 properties globally on the Dwellable platform and the number is growing every day. Dwellable is the only vacation rental platform that “organically” ranks listings in its search results.
“The vacation rental industry is in the midst of huge creative disruption, and companies that leverage mobile to transform the discovery and booking experience are the ones that will survive and thrive,” said Kirby Winfield, CEO of Dwellable. “The global brands of tomorrow will be built for mobile devices first, and I’m proud that so many experienced travel investors have backed Dwellable, a company that’s bringing trailblazing innovation to the enormous vacation rental market.”
Unlike traditional vacation rental companies, Dwellable is focused on mobile first. Its experienced team has created successful mobile businesses in the past. Prior to Dwellable, founder Adam Doppelt created Urbanspoon, the groundbreaking restaurant app featured in the first ever iPhone commercial, acquired by IAC. Co-founder Nathan Kriege created Snapvine, the social VOIP technology acquired by White Pages. CEO Kirby Winfield helped take Marchex, the leading mobile advertising technology company, through a successful IPO, and sold his cross
-platform analytics startup AdXpose to comScore.
Dwellable can be downloaded on the App Store and on Google Play.”Dwellable’s slick design, mobile -first growth model and deep digital media DNA position it to become the first household brand name for vacation rentals in the mobile era,” said Boris Wertz, general partner of Version One. “It’s the only vacation rental brand to truly leverage the tidal wave of mobile adoption to reach travelers wherever they’re planning a trip.”
The funding comes at a time of heightened recognition for Dwellable, which has been prominently featured in mobile app stores as the summer travel season approaches. Leveraging lightweight architecture, scaled data collection and quality -based sorting algorithms, Dwellable helps connected travelers find vacation rentals more than twice as fast as traditional vacation home listings websites. Dwellable collects millions of data points from vacation rental homeowners and management companies, structures and de-duplicates them, and surfaces the most relevant listings based on traveler preferences.
HomeAway (NASDAQ: AWAY) stock is currently trading under $29.00 Monday, down approximately 8% since Friday and down close to 38% in 90 days.
In a report published Thursday, JP Morgan downgraded shares of HomeAway from Overweight to Neutral saying, that the downgrade is “based on increased likelihood of greater marketing spend and downward guidance revision during the upcoming Q2 earnings conference call.”
HomeAway has seen additional insider selling with over $2 million shares sold by HomeAway’s C-Team since the last update in the article “Over $40M Sold.”
“Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals is a national organization built on the best and most efficient ways for housekeeping services in a vacation rental,” said Joe Refosco, co-owner at Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations and VRHP president. “This organization is made up of some of the brightest and most innovative professionally managed vacation rental companies from across the country that are dedicated to quality housekeeping.”
Jill Hatfield at Bald Head Island Limited serves as Administrative Director for VRHP and has been working to make this year’s conference a success. “One of the most empowering events of the year, the national conference with VRHP helps our team immensely,” said Hatfield. “The opportunity to learn from the best in the nation and having the time to network with your peers, pumps you up! Throughout the year, it’s great to stay in touch with who you have met and hear how what they learned through VRHP is changing their company for the better.”
Michelle Layne, General Manager at Carolina Designs, says their company has reaped enormous rewards from their involvement with VRHP. “Our company has been a member of VRHP since 2000,” said Layne. “The information learned from the seminars and newsletters over the years has been invaluable. VRHP has been a significant influence in ensuring the professionalism of our department and daily operations.”
To learn more about the benefits, membership and sponsorship opportunities with VRHP email Jill Hatfield at director@VRHP.org.
Event:
2014 VRHP National Conference November 10-12 Charleston
When:
Monday, Nov 10, 2014, 4:00 PM until Wednesday, Nov 12, 2014
Where:
Charleston Double Tree by Hilton
181 Church Street
Charleston, SC
Vacation rental software provider Rent One Online announced to customers this week they are discontinuing their web-based property management software service. Vacation rental managers were given until September 1, 2014 to move off of the platform.
Customers are feeling the frustration. “Rent One Online, owned by TravelGuard, sprung surprise news on all of their customers this week,” said Sarah Bradford, founder and President of Winter Park Lodging Company. “They are ‘decommissioning’ their system on Sept 1st. Needless to say, we’re all scrambling and frustrated. I, for one, will never use Travel Guard products in any way. It was disloyal and unprofessional to do this to so many customers in their busy season.”
The decision-making process in purchasing software in the vacation rental industry is complex with varied considerations such as accounting, owner relations, housekeeping, maintenance, reporting, reservations, calendar management, guest communications, website integration, channel distribution, keyless lock integration, security, pricing and much more.
In addition, implementing new software systems and training employees requires a significant investment of time and money, and even in the off-season, 90 days is a tight window in which to accomplish such a transition.
That’s when website owners show you ads only if you’ve already visited their website. It can also be described as remarketing. They typically work better than other forms of display ads because the person seeing the ad has already seen some of your message, brand or company.
Retargeting has taken paid display media placement by storm. Where, general display targeting has its merits, there’s something that’s crazy-effective about retargeting visitors of your website who didn’t convert.
It’s a powerful tool for internet marketers, but it must be carefully balanced to avoid annoying your potential guests.
As a “power” internet user as well as an internet marketing professional, I’m on both sides of this coin. I create ads that target those who’ve visited my website, and I also get targeted by them. Therefore, I’m always on the lookout for companies that do retargeting well versus those that are heavy-handed.
When it comes to vacation rentals, the bigger players in the space use retargeting fairly frequently. If you leave any of the larger websites in the vacation rental and hotel industry, you’re likely to see their ads on Facebook, Twitter and throughout the web.
The first few times, you expect it. Remarketing ads can delight users because the users are seeing ads that are more relevant and targeted to them than general display ads. But with poor management, you can upset potential guests and customers with over-aggressive targeting. Here are some quick tips for both sides to better manage retargeting:
1. Include Offers
A great way to kick-start a good click-through-rate on your retargeting ads is to include an offer in your creative ad. It’s a bonus for both the customer (an enticing offer always appeals to me!) and the results of the display campaign. I will caution businesses here: always including offers could create bad scenarios where your shoppers always expect a deal and therefore never actually convert into a booking on your website the first time.
2. Limit Frequency
Every ad platform has a method for showing you what your display ad frequency is. Google even has a dedicated setting to limit this for fear of over-targeting customers. My general rule of thumb is to target people no more than 15 impressions per day and for no longer than a month. Depending on the lifecycle of your average booking, you may want to tweak these numbers. Having longer sales processes can be tricky, but adjusting these numbers with testing will likely show you the best settings for you.
We’ve probably all been on the wrong side of a web advertiser who has gone a bit overboard with retargeting. It can cause people to get annoyed by your brand so much that they’ll vow never to return for fear of being targeted too aggressively again.
3. Rotate Creative
Perhaps the most common way I get frustrated at display ads is the same creative over and over. Companies like Perfect Audience retarget heavily if you visit their site, but I see several different ad creatives. If you’re going to show your ad more than a few times per day to customers, have different creatives in your ad account to limit the amount of “Ugh, I’ve seen that so many times before!” reactions.
4. Test, Test, Test
To sum it up, ABT: Always Be Testing.
You never know what’s going to click with your audience or entice the consumer. Perhaps an ad that worked very well with vacation rentals in Florida doesn’t resonate with your customers in Colorado.
When you’re always testing, everyone wins.
Potential guests win because they are seeing more relevant ads in their web browsing experience, which is a win for publishers and readers. If readers click through more often on ads, the publishers or ad networks make more money, allowing them to be profitable and maintain the content they provide to you.
Advertisers win because they see greater ROI from their display advertising budgets by bringing back lost customers. It’s always great to bring amazing retargeting ad results to your boss and show them the concrete value of investment in advertising.
The New Orleans City Council on Thursday could consider a tweak to regulations governing short-term vacation rentals. Officials say it would make it easier for the city to control them.
But what are the rules? And further more, what exactly is a short-term rental?
According to the city’s zoning ordinance, which regulates what people can do on their property, a short-term rental is, essentially, any kind of lodging for a period of 30-days or less.
That’s part of the problem. When people talk about short-term rentals, they are usually talking about informal operations — apartments and houses rented by property owners or tenants directly to tourists, who usually find them through websites like Airbnb or VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). Those are the kind of short-term rentals that some advocacy groups and locals think are ruining he city’s historic core by displacing actual residents in favor of tourists.
However, the current rules lump in all short-term lodging, including hotels and licensed bed and breakfasts.
For example, the current rule bars only short-term rentals to “nonresidents over the course of one or more years with a duration of occupancy of less than 30 days.”
The proposed rule changes would do away with the “one or more years” requirement, more clearly define short-term rentals so as to eliminate traditional lodging businesses such as hotels and the like.
Advertising short term rentals is technically a criminal offense, subject to fines and even jail time, but few if any have every been successfully prosecuted.
Licensed bed and breakfasts, on the other hand, are subject to several restrictions. They are required to submit to an inspection from the fire marshal and aren’t allowed have more than one kitchen, a major draw from many tourists.
They are also required to buy a permit, the price of which ranges from $200-$600 depending on how many rooms the operation has. Bed and breakfasts with three units or more have to pay an occupancy tax of .50 cent per night per room.
Yahoo and Tnooz team up to reveal research + innovative marketing tactics.
What are key data insights behind online booking conversions? How can new digital advertising solutions like native advertising and content marketing drive travel consumers through the purchase funnel?
Join Tnooz and Yahoo Travel for our FREE webinar and learn the details.
During this 60-minute session, Yahoo research and media product experts will share consumer travel research conducted in partnership with Compete, plus innovative media tactics based on those findings, including:
● Online behavior of travel bookers prior to purchase that can inform travel brands’ marketing strategies
● Consumer activity through the purchase funnel when shopping for top airline and hotel brands
● Digital advertising, especially native advertising and content marketing, on sites such as the new Yahoo Travel digital magazine
Do you have Chesky’s secret one page memo to take over the travel industry? Neither does Katie Couric, but she does get Chesky to give so insight into where Airbnb is headed. “What if we could design the entire trip? We could offer the entire trip from the time you leave your home to the time you come back to your home, said Chesky. “We are definitely going to become much more than a place to stay in the future.”
About recent legal issues, “A lot of these laws are 20th century laws, and sometimes even 19th century laws, in a 21st century world, and the core problem comes back to the idea that these cities want to view everything as a person or a business,” said Chesky. “If you have people in your home, you’re a person. The second you charge one person, one weekend you’re a business, and therefore you should be regulated like these huge institutions. We actually think there should be a third category created, and what we are doing is -city by city around the world -we are starting to create model legislation.”
Couric asked, “But are you worried about how this can potentially impact your business?”
“It is a huge risk for the company it we can’t manage it, but I am incredibly confident we can,” said Chesky.
Read the full story and watch the entire Katie Couric World 3.0 interview here.
HomeAway’s Q3 2014 report disclosed more details about the agreement reached in the acquisition of mobile app provider Glad To Have You, including the purchase price of approximately $16,791,000
In March 2014, the Company acquired Glad To Have You, Inc. (“Glad To Have You”), a United States company that is the creator of a mobile guest management solution for the vacation rental industry, for cash consideration of approximately $16,791,000. The direct acquisition costs incurred by the Company were not significant to the Company’s operating results, and all such costs were expensed as incurred and included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.
Of the total consideration paid, $250,000 of the cash consideration was deposited in escrow as security for the benefit of the Company against breaches of representations and warranties, covenants and certain other expressly enumerated matters by the sellers. The escrow funds not used to satisfy such seller obligations will be released to the sellers two business days following the first anniversary date of the acquisition. In addition, $250,000 of the total cash consideration was deposited in escrow as security and pending final net working capital related purchase price adjustments. These amounts are expected to be paid within 120 days after acquisition.
The acquired goodwill primarily represents synergies associated with adding Glad To Have You’s mobile applications to the Company’s marketplace of websites to provide property owners and managers with an additional way to manage and communicate with guests during their stay. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes. The acquired trade name has an estimated useful life of 10 years from the date of acquisition, the developed technology has an estimated useful life of 5 years from the date of acquisition and the customer relationships have an estimated useful life of 10 years from the date of acquisition. Non-compete agreements have an estimated useful life of 3 years. The total weighted average amortization period for the intangibles acquired is 7 years.
The results of Glad To Have You have been included in the Company’s consolidated results since the acquisition date in March 2014. Pro forma results of operations related to this acquisition have not been presented since Glad To Have You’s operating results up to the date of acquisition were not material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
The following table summarizes the Company’s acquisition during the three months ended March 31, 2014, with amounts shown below as fair values at the acquisition date (in thousands):
Glad to Have You, Inc.
Net tangible assets (liabilities) acquired
Cash
$
25
Deferred revenue
(65
)
Other
17
Total net tangible assets (liabilities) acquired
(23
)
Deferred tax liabilities
(1,653
)
Trade name
1,177
Developed technology
3,760
Customer relationships
1,643
Goodwill
11,647
Non-competition agreements
240
Purchase price
16,791
Less: Cash acquired
(25
)
Net purchase price
$
16,766
Tangible net assets (liabilities) were valued at their respective carrying amounts, which the Company believes approximate their current fair values at the respective acquisition dates.
The valuation of identifiable intangible assets acquired reflects management’s estimates based on, among other factors, use of established valuation methods. The value of the acquired trade names was determined using a relief from royalty method. Developed technology was valued on a combination of the income and market approach. Customer relationships were valued by projecting the estimated cash flow from the Company’s existing customer relationships. Non-competition agreements have been valued based on the present value of estimated future cash flows with and without this asset. Identifiable intangible assets with definite lives are amortized over the period of estimated benefit using the straight-line method and the estimated useful lives of three to ten years. The straight-line method of amortization represents the Company’s best estimate of the distribution of the economic value of the identifiable intangible assets. Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired.
NeedMoreRentals released the results of their independent surveys of vacation rental home owners and managers relating to their use of listings sites titled Listings Sites, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. The survey was designed to discover what owners/managers believe about using listing sites/booking portals to market their rental properties to prospective guests. The survey included 648 respondents in 47 countries and took place in April and May 2014.
The sites least likely to be recommended are AlwaysOnVacation, HomeAway, Airbnb, SunnyRentals, FlipKey, CraigsList, OwnersDirect, HolidayLettings, VacationHomeRentals and VRBO.
Reasons are widespread but include aggressive sales calls, no inquiries or bookings, guest booking fees, hidden guest details and inflexible cancellation policies.
What are the biggest concerns about listings sites?
The most common concerns owners and managers have with listings sites are spiraling cost, lack of inquiries, hidden guest details, payment not being received until after the guests’ arrival and the listing process being too time-consuming.
Which listings sites’ mobile apps are being used?
The leading mobile apps currently used by survey respondents were Airbnb, HolidayLettings, HomeAway, FlipKey, VRBO and HouseTrip.
343 respondents (majority) do not use any mobile apps due to confusion, frustration with login and perceived limitations.
LiveRez and PointCental began a partnership this spring to bring fully integrated smart home technology to 60,000 vacation homes utlizing LiveRez’s cloud-based vacation rental software and -today -launched the platform which enables users to lock and unlock doors, control house and pool temperature, monitor security and more directly from their LiveRez software. The technology also will empower these managers to track the execution of their vacation rental operations in real time.
“Without a doubt, smart home control is the next big innovation in the vacation rental industry,” said LiveRez Founder and CEO Tracy Lotz. “Our partnership with PointCentral will position our partners at the forefront of this new revolution and give them a significant competitive advantage in their respective markets.”
PointCentral will continue to offer a reservation system interface for those organizations not using LiveRez, but its high-level vacation rental software integration will remain exclusive to LiveRez.
Cindy Murdoch of Seabrook Cottage Rentals was an early adopter of the PointCentral integration. She said the PointCentral technology is expected to have a significant impact on their bottom line. “This integration will completely streamline our operations,” Murdoch said. “With LiveRez and PointCentral, I will know – to the second – when one of my houses is being cleaned or inspected and when my guests check in or check out. I could be on vacation a thousand miles away and unlock the front door for a guest. This technology is a real game changer.”
Steve Trover – who plays a dual role as Chief Strategy Officer for LiveRez and CEO of All Star Vacation Homes – was an early proponent of the integration, being one of PointCentral’s first customers. Trover, who manages more than 300 luxury homes across three states, said that the PointCentral technology has had a huge impact on his operations. “This technology will completely change the vacation rental industry,” said Trover. “From the moment I first saw this technology, I knew we needed to integrate it into the LiveRez software.”
Lotz said the fact that PointCentral is cellular powered made a big impact on his decision to integrate, as cellular connectivity ensures a level of reliability not provided by broadband / Wi-Fi offerings.
“There were other solutions in the marketplace, but none of them offered our partners a proven and reliable connection to the home,” Lotz said. “PointCentral’s cellular technology and unique offering led to our exclusive relationship.”
Burge, a pioneer in commercial home security and automation, is confident that introducing the PointCentral technology to LiveRez’s vast network of managers will speed the industry’s adoption of smart home control. “In the vacation rental industry, mechanical keys will soon go the way of the horse and buggy,” Burge said. “Five years from now, vacation rental managers will look back and ask themselves: ‘Did we really do business that way?’”
For the past several years, the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) has been involved in the development and production of the PBS television program Getting Away Together. The show followed groups of families and friends as they explored destinations utilizing vacation rentals which were managed exclusively by VRMA members.
In an recent email to its membership the VRMA announced it will no longer be affiliated with the series and has “transferred ownership and all future rights of the program to PineRidge Film & Television effective immediately. This transfer will allow the VRMA to focus its resources on membership and the association itself.”
“These resources may now be more effectively allocated toward the areas identified in VRMA’s strategic plan as most critical to our members and the overall industry we represent.”
According to the email, the show will continue with PineRidge Film & Television, who will be able to invest their resources and expertise into production and greater distribution of future seasons of the show.
“The world is filled with danger, things that are trying to frustrate our lives or reduce our success, reduce our opportunity for success…. We have no control over these forces. These are a constant, and they’re not going away. The only variable are the conditions inside the organization, and that’s where leadership matters, because it’s the leader that sets the tone.” –Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek explores how leaders can inspire cooperation, trust and change. He’s the author of the classic “Start With Why”; his latest book is “Leaders Eat Last.” Full bio
How does the use of pay per click (PPC) for vacation rental managers compare and contrast to that of hotels? With the proliferation by OTA’s using PPC to attract visitors searching for vacation rentals, the difference in strategy between vacation rental managers and hotels is decreasing.
The following article is written by hotel marketing expert Vikram Singh, who specializes in booking engines, search engine marketing, and online distribution strategy. The article outlines why PPC is important as a component of the overall search engine marketing strategy for hotels and provides vacation rental managers advice for their own PPC strategy.
I have had a front row seat to the hotel pay per click (PPC) world for the past decade. PPC is not new, but it’s rapidly changing. One thing that hasn’t changed: hotel marketers and owners are still caught up in debates about its effectiveness and viability. As a result, a lot of hotels are still not embracing the power of pay per click.
Google’s Golden Goose
Time for a reality check: Since its inception in October 2000, pay per click advertising, aka Google Adwords, has been Google’s nonstop money-making Golden Goose. Here are some powerful statistics highlighting its power:
In 2013, Google officially surpassed $50 billion in total advertising revenue. This comprised 85% of their total revenues for 2013.
Google reported $12.9 billion in net income for 2013.
Total paid clicks on Google and Google Display Network sites were up 31% over the prior year, and up 13% over the third quarter of 2013.
All the actions (algorithm updates, layout changes, etc.) that Google implements every few months have a clear goal, which is to make sure that Google can sell more ads. Google cares very much about pay per click, because billions in revenue depends on it. They need it to work for you.
Hotel marketers and owners simply cannot overlook or ignore PPC. Unscrupulous marketing “experts” love to trash PPC as a waste of funds. You should run from those who advise using search engine optimization (SEO) as a replacement for PPC. SEO is important, but only PPC can explicitly guarantee you placement in exchange for your investment. Every time someone starts talking about how they are not doing pay per click marketing because they are focusing on SEO, an angel in revenue heaven dies.
Brand Name PPC Is Not Optional
There are a lot of things that your hotel can save money on. Opting out of PPC is an axe to the foot, which you do not need. PPC is exponentially important when it comes to someone looking for your brand name on Google, i.e., someone “googling” your hotel by name. Look at this example:
When someone looks for you by name, one of these three things might have happened:
They researched you on any of the hundreds of travel sites (TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Expedia, etc.) and are now ready to have a direct conversation with you.
They received a personal recommendation from a friend.
They saw your offline marketing somewhere, and now they want to learn more.
These are the searchers that are lowest on the conversion funnel. In simpler terms, they are the people who are most likely to buy something from you right now.
There are only two scenarios that happen when people look for you by name:
You are showing an PPC ad for your hotel along the lines of “Official Site, Book Direct, Learn More.” You get the click and convert them on your site.
The OTAs and resellers have no competition from you (woohoo!) for their ads offering “Best Rate Guaranteed, No Cancellation Fee, Learn more!” They get the click and sell your room, making a handsome 10-20% commission.
It does not take rocket science to figure out that hotels participating in PPC for their brand name terms are harvesting those clicks into direct revenue, instead of giving them away to the OTAs. Please keep this in mind when the next budget meeting comes around. Pay per click can always be beefed up and fine tuned.
Pro tip: Do not waste time hating on OTAs. In the world of Google, it definitely takes money to make money. Own your brand on Google.
Be There or… Lose Revenue
I often observe a clear and present disconnect between hotel marketing/revenue goals, and setting budgets for PPC advertising. It’s strictly a pay to play party. Budget is generally a function of your location and how much competition there is in your market. You should spend enough to get optimal ROI. This amount will be different for each hotel.
Brand Name Keywords
You must aggressively bid on your brand name. This might run you anywhere from $100 to $300 per month. You can quote me when I say, “it will be the best money you have ever spent on online marketing.” As I mentioned earlier, these searchers are specifically looking for you. Make sure they find you.
Pro Tip: No matter how many OTAs are bidding on your brand name, you as the hotel will always get preferential placement, a lower cost per click, and higher conversion from these keywords.
Location Keywords
Once you are doing a smashing job of showing up and converting for your brand name, it’s time to take your campaign to the next level. This is where you target broader location-based keywords like “hotels near Wrigley Field,” and “hotels in downtown Chicago.” These keywords are much more expensive than buying your brand name, so you have to make sure you are paying close attention to your website and conversions. Quality counts. The quality of your website and booking engine can make all the difference is conversions. The quality of your PPC advertising team affects your placement and cost per click.
Pro Tip: Avoid automation at this level of spending. See below.
Look Beyond Automation
Automation is one of the key differentiators between hotels running effective PPC and those who are struggling. If you’re using a big agency, your campaign is probably automated. Once an agency has signed up hundreds of clients, its biggest goal becomes creating efficiency for its own department. Your hotel campaign’s performance is not top of mind for an intern clicking away on software that manages hundreds of hotels without any unique strategy.
Using automated software is so 2005. Active management, such as testing ads, running specials, and adjusting bid strategy, is what makes a campaign successful. If you’re worried about overspending on PPC, put some thought into who you are hiring to spend money on your behalf in Google. A slightly higher management fee can often result in thousands more dollars in revenue.
Pro Tip: It’s not the cost that matters; it’s the revenue. Getting a “great deal” on PPC management isn’t always such a great deal.
Conclusion
Don’t trust your most powerful marketing channel to automated software or an overworked/underpaid project manager at an agency with several hundred clients. There are no shortcuts or discounts on the road to hotel pay per click success. But you can tremendously increase your odds of success (and your PPC revenue) by working with the right team.
About Vikram Singh
Vikram is an expert in hotel-specific technology and marketing, with a strong focus on booking engines, search engine marketing, and online distribution strategy. His latest venture, madbooker.com, focuses on the current ecommerce challenges facing the travel and hospitality industry today. His strategies have helped power some of the biggest and most successful hotel equity turnaround deals in the last decade. A thought leader in the hotel/tech realm, Vikram is a frequently requested speaker at industry conferences worldwide. Former hosts include the US Department of Commerce, Travel Distribution World Asia, Arabian Travel Market, and HSMAI. He is a perennial favorite of audience members everywhere because he emphasizes action-oriented strategies. Vikram also writes the popular hotel and travel marketing strategy blog: www.wordsofvikram.com.
HGTV’s “Power Broker” and long time TruPlace client Mike Aubrey appeared on the Today Show this morning to discuss the importance of using quality photo tours to display properties.
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