FVRMA/CFVRMA Xtravaganza kicks off Aug 20

August 16, 2014

The Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association and the Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association have joined together to create the 2014 VRM Xtravaganza, August 20-22 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista.

Speaking sessions will address leadership, social media, the changing vacation rental marketplace, reputation management, revenue management, and inbound marketing. In addition to industry-recognized presenters, speakers include:

Brian Solis

A digital analyst, business strategist, and futurist creates new media strategies and frameworks that build bridges between companies and customers, and with employees and key stakeholders.

Pam Moore

Founder and CEO of Marketing Nutz, a full services social brand, conversion optimization and digital marketing agency.

Dr. Story Musgrave

Retired NASA Astronaut, who brings the passion, love, vision, and lessons of human space flight down to Earth for all of his audiences as a professional public speaker focusing on Six Space Shuttle Experiences, Leadership, Teamwork and Team Building, Creativity and innovation, Human Peak Performance, Goal Setting and Achieving, Risk Taking, Change/Adaptability, Motivation, Inspiration, Patriotism, Technology, Future, Imagination, Environment, Earth Science, Travel and Adventure.

The conference is designed to allow managers to share and hear tips and techniques on improving their vacation rental business as well as the bottom line.

Several VRM Intel Sponsors will be at the conference, so please stop by their booths and tell them thank you for sponsoring VRM Intel.

Ascent Processing

Payment processing with a personal touch. Ascent Processing is a small, progressive, client-centric electronic payment and gateway service provider. They are committed to excellence and have a high standard of ethics in our tight-knit vacation rental industry. Their program is designed to lower costs by reducing unnecessary losses and processing fees. Increase profits utilizing their expertise & industry knowledge.

LiveRez

A true partnership approach to software. Having partnered with 800+ property management companies in just the past six years, LiveRez is the fastest growing and most-used cloud-based software for professional vacation rental managers. LiveRez offers a complete end-to-end solution, from fully loaded management software to the industry’s best performing websites. The company’s broad offerings empower professional managers to run their entire business with a single solution.

NAVIS

NAVIS ended their fiscal year last month with a 33% increase in revenue over the prior year. In addition to strong growth, the year marked several milestones – the successful implementation of the Portland datacenter, a record year in new sales, the hiring of more than 100 new employees, a record year for the NAVIS RezForce call center, and the launch of NAVIS Reach, a new CRM data marketing solution. The new fiscal year is starting strong with the opening of a new office in Orlando, adding to offices in Tempe, Arizona, Dallas, Texas, and the headquarters in Bend, Oregon.

PointCentral

Smart Home Control for Vacation Rental Management
PointCentral property automation is a cellular, Smart Home solution that can be accessed from any web-enabled device. With no upfront capital investment, vacation rental managers gain superior control of their entire inventory of homes – Keyless Access Control, Energy Management, Site Monitoring, and Improved Client Satisfaction.

Red Sky Travel Insurance

The travel insurance team you can count on. Red Sky’s ownership and management team have been in the vacation rental industry for decades, so they know from experience the challenges you face. Their commitment to personal attention is more than a strategy – it’s a core belief that’s rooted in our their experience on your side of the rental counter.

RentalPlaces.com

Professionally managed vacation rentals only. RentalPlaces features the finest professionally managed vacation rentals covering over 400 destinations around the world. Their targeted localized marketing platform provides real time data with real time results allowing visitors to obtain the information they need to confidently book their vacation rental. They also help in the booking process and ensure each property manager’s listings, specials and terms & conditions are always accurate & up to date.

TruPlace Interactive Floor Plans

$99 FVRMA Show Special. TruPlace combines professional photography with accurate floor plans and insta-load technology to give guests an online tour through your homes. Our interactive floor plans are proven to increase revenue, bookings and lead time.

Travel insurance: VRMs told “opt-out” not an option

VRM Intel Staff

August 16, 2014

Commissions from selling travel insurance products provide a significant source of ancillary revenue for vacation rental managers.

Over the last decade, travel insurance representatives taught the vacation rental marketplace that they could make more money by having guests opt-out of travel insurance in the online booking process rather than opt in, leading to a 40 percent increase in insurance sales.

As a result, professional vacation rental management companies moved to an opt-out model on their booking pages. In this model, there is typically a check box next to the travel insurance line item which is pre-checked. Guests can un-check the box to decline the insurance. Vacation rental managers were able to increase revenue from travel insurance by 30-40 percent by switching to the opt-out model.

However, CSA Travel Insurance, one of the leading travel insurance providers in the vacation rental industry, recently notified clients -including HomeAway and Wyndham Vacation Rentals -they would no longer be allowed to use an opt-out model on their websites.

CSA’s decision has precipitated a robust discussion about why the change is being made, if the deadline to implement the change makes sense, and if this is an inevitable industry standard.

Total buy-in of opt-out model

Switching to the opt-out model proved to be a win-win situation in the vacation rental industry. In the example below, a property manager with 8,000 annual reservations and an average stay value of $2,000 could add over $112k to their bottom line simply by pre-checking the travel insurance box.

	Opt-in	Opt-out
Average Stay Value	$2,000	$2,000
Number of Reservations	8,000	8,000
Typical Travel Insurance Fee:	7%	7%
Percentage of stays which include travel insurance	25%	35%
Commission from travel insurance sale -35%	$280,000	$392,000

In addition, travel insurance provides enormous protection for the homeowner, the guest and the vacation rental company.

This is especially beneficial for hurricane-prone destinations like North Carolina where the North Carolina Real Estate Commission legislated that in a hurricane event, guests are not entitled to a refund if, “prior to the tenant taking possession of the property, the tenant refused insurance offered by the landlord or real estate broker that would have compensated the tenant for losses or damages resulting from loss of use of the property due to a mandatory evacuation order.” For North Carolina property managers, the best way to comply with rental regulations is through an opt-out model.

Why it is a problem

CSA’s notification letter to clients in July 2014 states:

“the purchase of our insurance plans must include an affirmative selection made by the guest, and these insurance plans should not be presented in an ‘opt-out’ or mandatory fashion.”

Since CSA was a proponent of opt-out offerings, what triggered the change in direction?

In 2012, as a result of complaints about Travelocity’s hidden fees, insurance provider TravelGuard and underwriter National Union Fire Insurance (NUFIC) came under review.

Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Commerce alleged in 2012 that TravelGuard had violated state law by automatically enrolling consumers in travel insurance without their express consent when they booked on Travelocity.com.

Unless they specifically opted out of the insurance, customers were buying policies that cost $25 to $45 per traveler, according to the state. The companies agreed to issue nearly $2.5 million in refunds and pay a $250,000 civil penalty.

Missouri

Last year the Missouri Department of Insurance announced that Missouri consumers who purchased travel insurance policies offered on Travelocity websites would be entitled to a refund of nearly $2 million.

The department alleged NUFIC violated state law by requiring consumers to affirmatively “opt-out” of buying travel insurance policies. The settlement says NUFIC will refund $2 million to Missourians who purchased travel insurance policies from the company through Travelocity and other websites powered by Travelocity from June 1, 2009 to January 24, 2012. NUFIC sold nearly 70,000 policies of its Travel Guard Protection Plan to Missourians during that time period.

“Missourians who may have been misled into purchasing unwanted travel insurance policies will be entitled to refunds,” said John M. Huff, director of the Missouri Department of Insurance. “Protecting consumer rights is essential and holding companies accountable for questionable business practices will remain at the forefront of our department’s mission.

Department of Transportation

The Transportation Department’s full-fare advertising regulations for airfares went into effect in 2012. They include a rule that prohibits opt-out provisions in ads, further closing a loophole that had “cost consumers millions and generated thousands of complaints.”

Since each state has its own Department of Insurance, it is up to each state how they regulate this. Minnesota, Washington and Missouri have increased regulation and have imposed fines on companies using pre-checked boxes, but it is not known if other states are reviewing opt-out booking models.

After assessing the Travelocity/Travel Guard fallout, CSA underwriter Italian-based Generali has made the interpretive decision that the risk of being reviewed and fined is greater than the reward of higher travel insurance sales.

To opt-in or opt-out

As a result of the change, an unnamed source, recently ended his contract with CSA and chose a different travel insurance provider. “From what we understand, this decision is not based on any pending regulations, changing industry standards or threat of fines. It is is just an arbitrary decision by CSA’s underwriter. We are a laid-back, loyal company, and we don’t like to rock the boat. But we don’t like it done to us either.”

CSA underwriter Generali believes eliminating pre-checked boxes for travel insurance is part of instituting best practices going forward in the vacation rental industry, and that the best way to protect their company and their clients’ interests is to be proactive in implementing opt-in standards.

Software companies who make a percentage of vacation rental travel insurance sales from their partnership with CSA are making changes in their system to eliminate the automatic calculation of travel insurance. For web companies, the change means the discontinued use of pre-checked boxes for adding travel insurance for CSA clients, but there are different ways to display the option, including the use of un-checked boxes and inclusive subtotals.

However, the example below still does not include an “affirmative selection made by the guest.”

(VRM Intel is searching for an example of an opt-in model which is in compliance.)

After news of TravelGuard’s troubles, along with this recent move by CSA, it appears that the opt-out model is being examined, but the elimination of an opt-out model is not currently mandatory.

It will be a difficult decision for CSA customers who wish to continue using pre-checked boxes to either change providers or comply with new underwriter policies.

Additional Info:

HomeAway and Wyndham are continuing their relationship with CSA and complying with policies.
LiveRez is making changes to comply with the new format.
Airbnb does not offer travel insurance on its website.
TripAdvisor’s FlipKey offers insurance in a process which is separate from the booking process.
Priceline has a check yes or no format (guest must check one or the other) with a second chance opt it.

By Amy Hinote

Milne resigns from Wyndham, Marriott exec named President Vacation Rentals North America

VRM Intel Staff

August 15, 2014

Earlier this week Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) named Marriott’s Mary Lynn Clark as President, Wyndham Vacation Rentals North America following the resignation of current president Bob Milne.

Mary Lynn Clark spent 26 years in various roles with Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Marriott International, most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Product and Customer Development overseeing product strategy and customer development for their points-based vacation program.

Bob Milne resigned from Wyndham in late July after three years leading the North American vacation rentals division. Milne has also resigned as a member of the Board of Directors for the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA).
Milne began his career in the sales and marketing department with Steamboat Resorts in 1985. Over the next ten years, Milne held several operations positions before becoming president and ultimately buying The Resort Company. In 2007, Milne sold The Resort Company, stayed on after the sale as a minority owner and the company’s CEO, and helped grow The Resort Company into a leading vacation rental and property management company with a portfolio of approximately 1,000 rental units.

In 2011, Milne led the sale of The Resort Company to Wyndham and joined the Wyndham leadership team.

Wyndham’s hiring of Mary Lynn Clark’s indicates a move by Wyndham towards a more corporate, vacation club-based leadership paradigm for its vacation rental operations.

Clark will be based in Parsippany, N.J.

By Amy Hinote

…And this is why I never talk about Airbnb by Matt Landeau

VRM Intel Staff

August 15, 2014

By Matt Landeau, Vacation Rental Marketing Blog

Over the past 4 years, I’ve written a total of 277 posts on this blog, all designed to help vacation rental owners and managers generate more bookings.

And in a measly 4 of them will you actually find me mention the name Airbnb.

So people kept asking, “Why don’t you ever mention Airbnb?”

And I’ve chosen to answer that question using the following example.

You’re probably familiar with the email:

“Tommy T. would like to book your vacation rental for 14 days at a rate of $300/night.”

Hooray, we get excited. A $4200 booking straight into our bank account!

But not so fast…(the email continues):

“In order to confirm this booking, to access Tommy T.’s identity, and to receive the payment when he checks in, please log into our messaging interface and agree to our terms of use at your soonest convenience.”

Doh!

A wonderful gift…but one that comes with conditions.

Here’s The Catch…

“The Data Curtain” (a phrase I think I just invented unless someone can point me to it elsewhere online) is the foundation of a genius business model.

It withholds vital data in order to streamline a smoother service.

By forcing all transactions through their system and keeping sensitive or valuable data (like guest contact info or credit card details) “air” tight, the company essentially legitimized an industry of random people lending other random people space in their home.

And as acutely pointed out by Jason Clampet in 6 Ways Airbnb Changed Hospitality And The Vacation Rental Industry, Airbnb’s model has made transactions better, feedback more transparent, discovery easier, cities bigger, and rentals safer.

There is no arguing that Airbnb’s centralized system has done all these things masterfully and apart from the last five words of his article’s title (more on this below), I agree with everything Jason says.

Why “The Data Curtain” Impedes Growth

The success of the Data Curtain model of Airbnb (and increasingly of HomeAway and FlipKey) is predicated on two assumptions:

1. They must control a large share of the demand (in other words, lots of travelers inquiring for a place to stay)

2. Their suppliers (owners and managers) must not know how (or want) to generate leads on their own

This second factor, is what makes things…well, complicated.

From a newbie’s perspective, the $4200 booking is merely a conditional gift:

It fills up your calendar in exchange for some nominal tradeoff costs.

But beyond simple costs, the Data Curtain is an enabler.

Not unlike I have very clearly outlined in the 3 Pillars of Sustainable VR Marketing Whitepaper, investing one’s precious time and energy in vacation rental marketing should be an investment that pays for itself over and over again…not just a one-time fling.

Working in front of the Data Curtain is perfect for those who are not looking to take full control of their mini-hospitality business…

Those who are fly-by-night or simply happy to trade off some benefits in honor of joining a community movement…

Maybe it’s just me, but when I read it again, that initial email actually sends a message more like this:

“It feels like Tommy T. has recognized your hard work and chosen to stay with you for a period of 14 days at a rate of $300/night. But we are creating a barrier to you working with Tommy.”

Here’s Why I Don’t Talk About Airbnb

First of all, Airbnb is focused on primary residences whereas my niche is vacation rentals or second homes…

We can’t blindly lump Airbnb into “the vacation rental industry” because it is fundamentally different (although that is starting to change).

Second, the majority of Airbnb listings are urban whereas the majority of my niche is not.

I’ve had some very nice conversations with the folks at Airbnb, and they are all super smart, progressive people very aware of these differences.

In fact, I tried to pitch them the idea of guest blogging (you know, teaching their hosts how to establish their own web presence, build/improve their online reputations, and diversify their marketing portfolio much like I do for the lovely folks at HomeAway and FlipKey)…

But the idea never quite panned out.

And at the time, I wasn’t so sure why.

But perhaps it’s part of the greater reason I don’t write about Airbnb much as a whole either: because of an incongruence in the overlapping of what they do and what I do:

I build the brands of individuals and communities.

Airbnb builds a community around one central brand (their brand).

The Conflict Of Interest (I Think)

Last week, Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky went on my favorite show (The Colbert Report) and did the awesome interview …

The Colbert Report
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Colbert Report on Facebook

And from this great video (funny how Colbert calls it “home prostitution”) the one thing that really struck me was the following quote:

“Everyone should be able to participate in the economy like a corporation.”

This is a ballsy statement (I personally love it).

But knowing what we know about The Data Curtain business model as it relates to Airbnb, I felt like that statement should have been something more like:

“Everyone should be able to participate in the economy like a corporation…but preferably a corporation without its own marketing department.”

Airbnb would be its own worst enemy if it encouraged hosts to go out into the world and establish their own true hospitality identities.

And apart from some select empowerment tools, I think the company would be walking a fine line between helping hosts make more money and giving them the ability to do so independently.

Could they build even more loyalty if they opened up their resource center to help hosts truly get more professional?

Beyond just hosting standards, Airbnb stories, or other internal best practices?

I definitely think so.

My Final Thoughts…

Of course, you won’t find me damning the Airbnb business model or brand because it’s smart as hell on the side of the big corporation.

In fact, anyone who’s complaining about fees or control of any of these sites is barking up the wrong tree: either adopt their terms or go find a way to do it yourself.

But apart from the host values that I preach (all very in tune with Airbnb), I’m more an advocate of full control, flexibility, independence, and evergreen marketing work.

Even if it means you’re building something super makeshift like this bathroom (right) I just used in the San Blas Islands where I’m publishing this post.

I admire the revolution that Airbnb has begun (and will likely continue in blowing their competitors out of the water).

But screw small handicapped corporations…

I believe vacation rental owners and managers can build their own mini-empires!

Beach Vacation Rentals wins White Glove Award for third year straight

VRM Intel Staff

August 12, 2014

Across Florida, thousands of lodgings offer 370,000 rooms to Florida’s 95-million annual visitors.

Last year, only 132 lodgings, including all of Beach Vacation Rental’s properties, earned the highly coveted White Glove Award.

Pompano Beach, FL –Cleanliness is typically a traveler’s top priority when needing to stay in a hotel room or vacation rental. It couldn’t get any better than at Beach Vacation Rentals’ Fort Lauderdale area properties in Pompano Beach. All five Beach Vacation Rentals short-term cottages and apartment lodgings scored 100-percent during rigorous surprise inspections recently, to win the Superior Small Lodging Associations’ prestigious White Glove Award for the third straight year.

“It’s a huge achievement by my staff to get 100-percent excellence in housekeeping scores three years in a row for all five properties, especially after undergoing surprise inspections that last for hours,” said Elaine Fitzgerald, president and CEO of Beach Vacation Rentals. “My staff deserves all the credit because of our very high standards. We go the extra mile to keep our properties clean and attractive inside and out for our tourists and business travelers.”

Across the state, thousands of hotels, motels, B&Bs, travel lodges, inns, beach houses and resorts offer 370,000 rooms to Florida’s 95-million annual visitors. Last year, only 132 lodgings, including all of Beach Vacation Rental’s properties, earned the highly coveted White Glove Award.

Once again, the winning Beach Vacation Rentals properties are Cottages by the Ocean, Bahama Beach Club, Pineapple Place, Pelican Place and Sunny Place. All are fully furnished beach-area apartments or cottages available to tourists and business travelers for about the price of a single hotel room.

“The White Glove Award is our organization’s highest recognition for housekeeping achievement,” said Scott Rizelli, executive director of Florida’s statewide Superior Small Lodging Association . “Honorees receive their awards at our statewide conference in October.” The tough guidelines for Superior Small Lodgings inspections go far above and beyond the State of Florida annual inspections that are required of all hotel properties.

“The Superior Small Lodgings inspector pulled apart the bedding to check the quality of our sheets, mattress pads and pillow protectors. She looked for any dust on the light bulbs. She measured the sizes of our soap and towels. She pulled the furniture from the walls to look behind. She checked everything including the silverware, pots and pans and toilet seats,” said Fitzgerald. “She inspected our places for several hours. It was intense; but in the end, we scored 100-percent.”

6th Annual Laundry/Linen seminar, Sep 23-24

VRM Intel Staff

August 12, 2014

You’re invited to Tampa, FL on September 23 and 24, 2014 for Pro Resort Housekeeping’s 6th Annual Laundry/Linen seminar.

As usual, this seminar is for managers of all departments, especially those involved in any way with linens.

Pro Resort Housekeeping’s “Laundry and Linen” Seminars are designed to provide you with the latest news, up-to-date information and education to take your laundry/linen departments to the next level and give your company the ultimate competitive advantage.

Space is limited to 50 attendees.

Agenda

Topics to be covered and the order of sessions are as follows:

Tuesday September 23, 2014:

“Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Linens.”
“Fundamental Vacation Accommodations Linen Systems” and the Pros and Cons of each of the five known systems.
“Shrinkage, the Bane of Our Industry.” An examination of all the factors that contribute to linen loss and effective ways to reduce these expensive losses regardless of the type of linen system you have
“What Constitutes a Par?” How to compute pars. How many pars does your company need (different systems have different requirements)? How to maintain pars throughout the year.
“Dealing with Contract Linen Suppliers” Whether or not you own or rent. What to expect, how to get the most from what they provide and what they do.

Wednesday September 24, 2014

“Ozone” What is it? How is it created? How can it help your laundry and extend the life of your linens?
Creating an In-house laundry for ‘free’” Learn how to have your own laundry without having to invest in machinery
Group discussion: A group discussion of the laundry tour: what you saw and what you should have seen. How to compute laundry productivity. Prizes to the most observant!!

Blitz Topics:

Tips on running an in-house laundry
Dealing with chemical suppliers
Budget guidelines for chemical, labor, utilities, etc.
General machinery maintenance tips

For more details and registration info.

Special offers for Vacation Rental Managers

VRM Intel Staff

August 11, 2014

Special Offers for Vacation Rental Managers

Here are special offers from vacation rental vendors:

TruPlace Floor Plan Tours -$40 off interactive floor plan tours

Late Summer Special: Order floor plan tours before September 15, and get $40 off each tour. For the price of professional photos, you get pro photos and the tours and the technology.

Geronimo -Free gift certificate generator

EXTEND YOUR BOOKING SEASON! Once you have a free Geronimo property manager account, you’ll be able to extend your booking season by creating a certificate valid for shoulder season/ off-season travel. Your brand and your destination will automatically be promoted at hundreds of non-profit fundraisers. If a certificate is purchased, you’ll receive a check too! Brand new platform from Geronimo Solutions. Get your free account (or post certificates at your existing Geronimo property manager account).

Maxxton -CRM Tools included

For a limited time, select Maxxton clients receive full end-to-end Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. Maxxton integrates CRM across your entire organization. Increase satisfaction with Loyalty Programs, Integrated Guest Reviews, Fully Automated Email Marketing, Web Based Owner and Guest Portals, Business Intelligence, Reservations & Payment Automation including Housekeeping & Maintenance Integration.

Vacation Futures -Free Registration

For a limited time, vacation rental managers can get FREE registration on VacationFutures – a $1,000 value -to grow inventory with immediate access to homeowners looking to work with managers just like you.

VRMA- Join now for just $300

Join now for just $300! No matter how many rental units you manage. Special promotion extended: For a limited time, VRMA is waiving the $3 per unit portion of dues for any management company joining now until Aug. 31 2014.

PMT launches Click and Go Mobile Guest App for the Vacation Rental Industry

VRM Intel Staff

August 11, 2014

Mobile Apps for the Vacation Rental Industry

PMT, Property Manager Tools, the leader in automated quote responder technology, has launched their “Click and Go” Mobile Guest App for the vacation rental industry, with no download required. It works on any device, and is part of the GoVacation.mobi^TM network where guests can use one URL to connect with any of the participating Property Managers.

Robert Simmons, Co-Founder, Marketing Director, states “Our goal was to give guests what they wanted in a Guest Service App. So when we surveyed the guests, we found 80% said they preferred a Web App over an App Store app to use during their stay. And, the ‘Share My App’ feature lets all guests in the party use the app without the need to download from an App Store. Guests are eager to access their info, and are looking for a one click option.”

Instant access extends to Property Managers as well. They can sign up, customize and deliver the content to their guests immediately.

We also designed the app to be self-service so no setup fee is required. This means that Property Managers can configure and release their app, then grow it while serving their guests. PMT does provide the option of Professional Services if needed for even more enhanced features. And since Web apps are much less costly to deliver, PMT’s solution costs the Property Manager half of what others charge for the service.

Doug Rein, Co-Founder, Technology Lead notes: “PMT’s Guest Mobile App is seamlessly upgradable. So, guests will never be bothered with prompts to reinstall. When we add a feature, your guests see it right away. For example, when we added the ‘Survey’ feature, Property Managers were posting surveys and getting responses within a few hours. In the same way, the information you publish reaches your guests the moment you enter it.”

With nothing to install, there is also nothing to delete. In downloadable Apps, the guest removes the app when they complete their stay. PMT’s solution remains available, and you can even include the instant login link the next time you market to the guest.

PMT, Property Manager Tools, LLC launched in 2011 with the goal of using automation to make Property Managers more profitable. They offer a growing suite of solutions that work individually or together, including their innovative auto quote responder, which introduced auto-suggest to the industry.

For more information and to sign up for the Mobile Guest App, go to www.propertymanagertools.com/app

And visit them at the upcoming conferences:

RezFest 2014 Nashville, TN Sept 17-19

VRMA Conference 2014 San Diego, CA Oct 26-29

Listing pages vs property pages: What vacation rental managers do better

VRM Intel Staff

August 11, 2014

Checklist for Optimizing Short Term Vacation Rental Property Pages

The effort the big distribution players are putting into improving the conversion rates on their listing pages provides property managers with areas of opportunity. Through their research, they have identified criteria which are easier for a local provider to incorporate on their websites.

This is Part 3 of a series on Listing Pages vs. Property Pages

Part 1: Listing pages vs property pages: What do they know that you don’t?

Part 2: Listing pages vs property pages: What we can learn from listing sites.

Resource: Property page checklist for vacation rentals

Here are five things which can make your property pages better than their listing pages.

1. Floor Plans

At VRM Intel, we preach floor plans on a regular basis because they work. We looked at data from several vacation rental management companies who use floor plans on a portion of their inventory and found an indisputable connection between increased nights, reservations and revenue with properties using floor plans. In addition, properties booked faster, as there was consistent evidence that homes with floor plans booked an average of 22 days faster.

2. Appealing titles and descriptions

Elizabeth Weedon’s blog WeNeedAVacation.com has some good tips on creating titles and descriptions that sell. As vacation rental managers, it is difficult to add the “owner” touch to your rentals, but the effort pays off.

From Elizabeth:

The Title

The title is important because it appears on the brief summary list of homes pulled by vacationers in their searches. So, be sure to single out the most attractive features to “sell” your home and ensure that viewers “click through” to see your full listing. Try to make it descriptive and appealing, easily accomplished by simply adding an adjective or two. Examples: “Spacious Waterfront Home Ideal for Two Families” or “Newly Renovated Cape – Sun, Privacy, Walk to Beach”

The Property Description

Most importantly, your description should include information about all three of the following:

The interior of your home, particularly highlighting any special amenities such as air conditioning, internet access, outdoor shower, linens provided, etc.
The home’s immediate setting including the yard and neighborhood, and, of course, any desirable views
Your property’s location and proximity to area attractions such as restaurants, shopping, bike trails, and, of course, the closest beach

3. Comparison shopping

With more normalized data comes a better opportunity to provide apples-to-apples comparison shopping for your guests. “Shopping carts” can easily be shared with friends and family allowing your guests to make a faster booking decision. Here is one from Century 21 Thomas North Myrtle Beach.

4. Response time

In a real-time world, guests don’t want to wait hours or days for responses to inquiries. Response time is a major problem for HomeAway, Airbnb and FlipKey. As a professional, you have the ability to immediately respond to inquiries on your property pages and gain a competitive advantage over listing sites. Many vacation rental managers have implemented click-to-chat which allows you to respond live, keyboard-to-keyboard, to your guests.

5. Area attractions and neighborhood and mapping

No one knows the area restaurants, shopping, grocery and attraction locations better than a local property manager. Including this information on your listing pages will improve your conversions. Airbnb, HomeAway and FlipKey are in the early stages of incorporating this info on their listing pages, but they have a long way to go before they are able to aggregate restaurants and attractions all over the world. Monetize your local knowledge.

Tip: Contact your CVB. They may have already done the work for you.

6. Data capture

Ecommerce companies such as Amazon and Zappos have become religious about monitoring and collecting data for prospective customers. Through abandoned shopping carts, user surveys, subscription sign ups and special offers, the ecommerce industry prioritizes data gathering from shoppers who have not yet purchased.

These primary data points can be collected through:

Subscription sign up
Special offers
Comparison shopping tool
Customer sign in
Call center

Here is a data checklist for prospective guests.

Property pages checklist for vacation rental managers

Here is a quick checklist for making sure property pages are optimized for conversion:

By Amy Hinote

Listing pages vs property pages: What we can learn

VRM Intel Staff

August 11, 2014

What are vacation rental managers doing to optimize their property pages for better conversion? We reached out to several website designers in the vacation rental industry, and the response was surprisingly limited. One website design company which specializes in vacation rental websites said, “Our layouts are based on experience, but we don’t have any tracked statistics to back them up.”

This is Part 2 of a series on Listing Pages vs. Property Pages

Part 1: Listing pages vs property pages: What do they know that you don’t?

Part 3: Listing pages vs Property Pages: What vacation rental managers can do better

With limited time and resources, property managers can take some cues from what the large online competitors are doing.

Here are a few must-have features which are being incorporated by top-tier listing sites.

Updated Calendars, Quoteable Rates and Online Booking

As a vacation rental manager having updated calendars with quoteable rates and real-time online booking is mandatory in today’s ecommerce environment. Most property managers have this nailed down, but it needs to be said. If you don’t have it, get it.

Mobile friendly design

From a development perspective, it isn’t as hard as it seems, but the big listing sites have spent millions making this happen. Creating a property page design while maintain intuitive functionality is key to performance success with vacation rental property pages.

Professional Photos

One of the criteria for HomeAway in their algorithm is the number of photos. They recommend 24 professional photos per property. Intercoastal design did some heat map testing on their clients’ property pages.

According to Intercoastal Designs’s David Hutnick, “Pages with bright colorful professional photographs kept people’s attention much longer than pages without. We also saw a very high image click through rate on pages where you could click on an image that opened another page. In fact visitors seem to ignore the top navigation if there was beautiful photo of a property they could click on. When we compared the number of clicks between property listings that used professional photographs versus the properties that used their own photos, studies (via Flipkey) have shown a 159% increase in traffic for listings that used professional photographs.

Reviews

According to TripAdvisor, 80% of travelers say they are significantly more likely to book a rental if they can read reviews from past guests.

“The importance of reviews should never be underestimated,” said Matt Hoffman, founder at InstaManager and Sales and Business Development Director at Real Page. “Online reviews provide transparency into the product being evaluated, in this case, vacation rentals. The listing page or property page is the ‘storefront’ for every vacation rental. The experience you portray and the quality of data you use to market this product is further validated by reviews. It allows the consumer to do your marketing for you by giving them a voice, which in turn creates customer loyalty.”

Matt Hoffman will be presenting a session about reviews at the 2014 VRMA Annual Conference in San Diego, Oct. 26-29.

Part 3: What vacation rental managers can do better than listing sites

Resource: Vacation rental property page checklist

By Amy Hinote

Listing pages vs property pages: What do they know that you don’t?

VRM Intel Staff

August 11, 2014

Vacation rental distribution sites, such as HomeAway, FlipKey and Airbnb, spend a significant amount of time and money testing and optimizing the design of their listing pages to increase property-specific conversion rates, while vacation rental management companies spend relatively little time and effort developing their own property pages.

With all the resources online marketing sites put into creating listing pages optimized for conversion, what can property managers learn from their research?

Here is a HomeAway listing page next to a Florida property manager’s property page.

What the competition is doing

Airbnb, HomeAway and Flipkey have made major changes to their listing pages and ranking algorithms in 2014 with the single goal of getting guests to the cash register faster.

Earlier this month, Airbnb redesigned their listing pages making the following changes:

Made calendars easier to read
Replaced the multi-tab layout with a one-screen layout
Added a neighborhood guide with images
Included a map with property-specific recommendations for attractions, restaurants and shopping.

Last week, HomeAway announced it is launching a Listing Quality Scorecard for property listings this quarter. “We believe one of the factors impacting our traffic growth is the ongoing quality initiatives aimed at reducing the number of visits required to secure a booking,” said Brian Sharples, CEO at HomeAway.

TripAdvisor’s FlipKey revamped their property pages, adding the following:

A “what’s nearby” feature
Specified bathroom and bedding types
Numbered dining and seating capacity
Made more amenities searchable.
Added more search parameters, such as “suitable for children,” elevators and “retired” amenities.

The ranking algorithms implemented by these sites are founded on components which have been proven to lead to higher booking conversion rates.

Here are some ranking factors for the distribution channels:

Part 2: What can vacation rental managers learn from the testing done and changes made by HomeAway Airbnb and FlipKey?

Part 3: What vacation rental managers do better on their property pages than HomeAway, Airbnb and FlipKey?

Resource: Property webpage checklist for vacation rental managers

By Amy Hinote

Google to rank sites with encryption higher

VRM Intel Staff

August 8, 2014

Earlier this week in a move to make the Internet more safe and secure for users, Google announced it is adding website encryption to its ranking algorithm.

Google said in a blog post, referring to the protocol for securing communications over digital networks,

“…we’re starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal. For now it’s only a very lightweight signal—affecting fewer than 1% of global queries, and carrying less weight than other signals such as high-quality content—while we give webmasters time to switch to HTTPS. But over time, we may decide to strengthen it, because we’d like to encourage all website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS to keep everyone safe on the web.”

Google itself has been making moves to better securing its own traffic in recent months, which have included encrypting traffic between its own servers. Gmail now always uses an encrypted HTTPS connection which keeps mail from being snooped on as it moves from a consumer’s machine to Google’s data centers.
According to Google, here are some basic tips for getting started:

Decide the kind of certificate you need: single, multi-domain, or wildcard certificate
Use 2048-bit key certificates
Use relative URLs for resources that reside on the same secure domain
Use protocol relative URLs for all other domains
Check out our Site move article for more guidelines on how to change your website’s address
Don’t block your HTTPS site from crawling using robots.txt
Allow indexing of your pages by search engines where possible. Avoid the noindex robots meta tag

If your website is already serving on HTTPS, you can test its security level and configuration with the Qualys Lab tool.

Savannah commission delays decision on short-term vacation rental ordinance

VRM Intel Staff

August 6, 2014

The Metropolitan Planning Commission postponed a recommendation on whether to establish a definition for short-term residential rentals in the city’s zoning ordinance, a change necessitated by the growing popularity of online vacation rental websites such as Airbnb and VRBO.

By JULIA RITCHEY, Courtesy of SavannahNow.com

The MPC board was presented Tuesday with the final language of the amendment, including districts where the use would be permitted, conditions of use and parking requirements. Yet many members said they were unclear on what was being proposed and asked for more time to think it over.

“I think this is a very good start, I just think it needs more time,” said board member Adam Ragsdale.

The board voted 6-2 to continue the item to their next regular meeting on Aug. 26.

Presently, the rental of a house for transient guests, i.e. those staying less than 30 days, is not identified in the city’s code. The city had been regulating the use as an “inn,” but only in districts where inns were approved.

Last fall, city staff identified nearly 300 short-term rentals by searching online, some of which were operating without a business tax certificate and others of which were in residential neighborhoods. After a citywide crackdown to bring those units into compliance, the city, with the input of residents and vacation rental owners, began crafting an ordinance earlier this year.

Out of those meetings came a zoning ordinance and a separate certificate process to address issues such as life and safety, taxes and violations, though the latter portion will be addressed by City Council at a later date.

The zoning amendment proposed Tuesday included stipulations such as no more than two adults per bedroom and a requirement that the property owners maintain the residential appearance of the rental.

The parking requirements would be similar to those for residential dwellings, with the exception of rentals with four or more bedrooms — those will require additional off-street parking.

Public comment was split down the middle, with four people speaking in favor of the amendment and four people against.

Bill Durrence said nearly half the houses near his residence on Washington Square were vacation rentals and that parking had become a real problem. He said the ordinance should address the number of these units allowed in a neighborhood.

“One or two inns in a neighborhood is one thing, but every house on a block with this type of use is a very different type of impact,” said Durrence. “I’m not suggesting eliminating this type of use but putting on density requirements.”

Savannah resident Susan Trimble also warned of potential oversaturation of vacation rentals and said she would like a similar condition added.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing for Savannah to provide alternative housing to visitors,” she said. “But the danger is when there are more (vacation rentals) than there are actual residents.”

Corey Jones, owner of Lucky Savannah Vacation Rentals, spoke in favor of the amendment, stating he felt it would create a more level playing field for all involved in the industry.

“Do I think it’s perfect? No. But I do think it’s a great starting point … and addresses the concerns of some of the primary residents who live in these areas,” said Jones. “It’s something that all sides can live with if they have the best intentions of the community as a whole.”

Brett Turner, who owns multiple vacation rentals, said he, too, thinks it’s a good start, but discouraged more onerous regulations.

“I think this is a good step, but we have to be very careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water,” said Turner. “These units needs to be registered, they need to pay taxes, but we need to be very, very careful about use restrictions.”

Under the proposed ordinance, short-term rentals will be allowed wherever inns are currently allowed, as well as three additional mixed-use districts. They will still be forbidden in predominantly residential neighborhoods such as Ardsley Park.

City Manager Stephanie Cutter, a voting member on the board, encouraged members to vote on the ordinance as written, though to little effect.

“Let me remind the commission, this has been vetted by the city attorney’s office, this has gone out to the public, and I think we all realize this is a beginning and will be continually revised,” said Cutter. “It’s not a can we can continue to kick down the road, we have to address the issue.”

Determining Thread Count

VRM Intel Staff

August 4, 2014

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from vacation rental owners is how to create a hotel bed experience and for me it starts with a good mattress followed by good quality linens. Bed linens are a matter of preference and everyone has a different opinion on what they prefer. Personally, I love crispy white linens and I am also looking for affordable and durable sheets.

By Alanna Schroeder Millar, founder at The Distinguished Guest, courtesy of VRMA

The first thing you need to determine when purchasing a new set of sheets for your vacation rental is your budget. Keep in mind that the sheets you provide will need to be comfortable, durable, and should be cost effective. I recommend that you keep two sets of sheets for each bed for convenience when cleaning, for guests who want a change of sheets mid-stay or if a set goes mysteriously missing. Do not keep more than two sets of sheets to prevent over use of linens, more work for the cleaners and to limit clutter.

Be mindful of Thread count which is defined by the number of vertical (warp) and horizontal (weft) threads found within a one square inch piece of fabric. The highest thread count you can typically find in a one square inch piece of fabric is around 400 for a single-ply yarn. Over time the focus of consumers has turned to thread count (the assumption has been the higher the thread count the better the sheet) as an indicator of quality so manufactures started to inflate the thread count based on the ply of the yarn used (for example a 400 thread count sheet with a two-ply yarn can be marketed as 800 thread count). Manufactures have been able to market higher thread counts due to yarn ply as there is no oversight or standards so consumers continue to be misled on this issue and this has been recognized by the Federal Trade Commission.

When it comes to ply it is important to know the difference between a single ply and a two ply yarn. A single ply yarn is one individual thread that is used in the weaving process which results in a lighter weight fabric. A two ply yarn results in a heavier weight sheet. Note that ply is important but what is more important than ply is a good quality cotton so look for a cotton with a long staple length.

Consider your fabric options for both a cotton (long or medium staple length – Egyptian or supima) and a cotton blend (cotton/polyester) sheet when purchasing for your vacation rental. In our opinion, the blended sheet provides the best of both worlds when it comes to sheeting for vacation rentals. The cotton is added for its wicking capabilities, softness and cool qualities. The polyester is added for durability, laundering efficiency, and it’s resistant to wrinkles and shrinking.

Now choose the weave you like. A percale weave provides a light weight weave that provides a crisp feel and a smooth finish and is the most common. Depending on where your vacation rental is located you may consider a flannel, or sateen.

You will never be misled by thread count again, now it’s time to put your new found knowledge to work. I recommend that you consider a sheet set that has a thread count of 200 or more with a single ply yarn since it results in a lighter weight sheet which will be more efficient when it comes to laundering. A cotton/polyester blend (with a higher percentage of cotton) will provide a more durable sheet and will be resistant to wrinkles and shrinking. Finally choose a weave that makes sense for your location and if you are in doubt go with the percale since it is the most basic. Not every guest will appreciate a flannel or sateen.

Identifying data fields for vacation rental managers

VRM Intel Staff

August 1, 2014

Vacation rental managers who collect accurate data and learn to use their data in real-time for marketing, reservations, rate management and intelligent business decisions will gain an enormous competitive advantage in the near future.

The process of collecting clean data can be overwhelming for a busy vacation rental manager. However, adding processes to collect clean data isn’t burdensome once the necessary data fields have been identified.

What data should be collected?

There are four types of vacation rental data needed to accomplish “big data” needs:

Property data
Rate data
Reservation data
Prospect data

Here is a data collection cheat sheet below.

Not all of the following data is necessary for every short term rental businesses, but this provides a good starting point to assess the data currently being collected, what could be collected, and what data is not relevant to the business.

(An industry vendor/supplier will also need client data.)

1. Property Data

This is the most complicated data to secure, which is why distribution channels are putting so much time and energy into optimizing their property pages. Fortunately, once property data has been verified and added to the database, updating he information is easy.

**Tip** Design software to make as many of these items as possible displayed in drop down options to avoid errors in data entry.

Internal Property Code

Property Type 1 (House, condo, villa)

Property Type 2 (Waterfront, ski in/out, waterview)

Property Type 3 (Additional type criteria)

Property Type 4 (Additional type criteria)

Property Name

Property Address 1

Property Address 2

City

State

Country

Zip/Post Code

Destination Type

Region 1

Region 2

# Bedrooms

# of Baths

# of Half Baths

Amenity (1-30)

Sleeps

Parking allowed

Bedding Configuration

Dining capacity

Seating capacity

Company Rating

External Rating

Pets

Property specific fees (1-x)

Handicapped Accessible

Suitable for (Kids, Retirees, etc)

Attraction 1 (Beach, Disney World, Downtown)

Attraction 1 Address or Mapping Coordinates

Attraction 2

Attraction 2 Address or Mapping Coordinates

Attraction 3

Attraction 3 Address or Mapping Coordinates

Attraction 4-x

Attraction 4-x Address or Mapping Coordinates

Property Contract Start Date

Property Contract End Date

2. Rate Data

Like property data this information is likely to be added periodically, and not all data fields apply to all companies (e.g., some VRMs only allow weekly rentals, while some urban markets have one rate for all seasons).

*Season 2-x = as many seasons as are provided

Internal Property Code

Season 1 Start Date

Season 1 End Date

Season 1 Title

Season 1 Daily Rate

Season 1 Weekend Rate

Season 1 Weekly Rate

Season 1 Monthly Rate

Season 2-x Start Date

Season 2-x End Date

Season 2-x Title

Season 2-x Daily Rate

Season 2-x Weekend Rate

Season 2-x Weekly Rate

Season 2-x Monthly Rate

3. Reservation Data

Collecting clean data from reservations is critical for success in analyzing performance, setting rates and implementing successful marketing efforts.

Again, it is advisable to add preset options to as many fields as you can (e.g., state, country, source codes, discounts, reason for stay, etc.).

Reservation number

Internal Property Code

Client Code

Guest Name

Guest Name (2-x)

Gender

Email (1-x)

Address 1

Address 2

City

State

Country

Zip/Post Code

Primary Phone

Mobile Phone

Reservation Made Date

Check In Date

Check out Date

Source 1

Source 2 -x

Status

Entry Date

Rate

Revenue

Discount code

Discount applied

# Adults

# Kids

# Pets

Special Needs

Reason for Stay

Activities interest

Lease signed date

Survey sent date

Survey complete date

Survey results/rating

(For marketing purposes, some VRMs are adding names, emails and mobile numbers for all guests staying at the property)

4. Prospect Data

This is why, when a customer calls, the salesperson asks for a name and then asks, “If we get disconnected, is this a good number to reach you?” At that point, they have secured the customer’s name and telephone number, followed by information on what the prospect is shopping for and solicited an email address to send a special offer.

These primary data points can be collected through:

Subscription sign up
Special offers
Comparison shopping tool
Customer sign in
Call center

Here are data collection options for prospective guests:

Guest Name

Gender

Email (1-x)

Address 1

Address 2

City

State

Country

Zip/Post Code

Primary Phone

Mobile Phone

Dates requested

Property type interest

Property region interest

Attractions interest

Activities interest

Event interest

# Adults

# Children

Pets

Conclusion

In order to get to “big data,” a professional property management company will identify which data to collect and put in systems to collect the information in a consistent way. This checklist provides a solid starting point in assessing current data collection and determining data goals.

By Amy Hinote

Sizing the marketplace: Professionally managed vacation rentals

VRM Intel Staff

August 1, 2014

How many professional vacation rental managers are in the U.S.? This question arises often at VRM Intel. Due to varying definitions of second homes, inconsistent rental revenue reporting, and a relatively fragmented marketplace, the number of professional vacation rental managers is not easily obtained. However, there is key data available which assists in estimating the actual size of the professionally managed vacation rental industry.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census:

Total Housing Units: 131,704,730

Total Seasonal, Recreational or Occasional Use Homes: 4,649,298 (3.5%)

According to PhoCusWright:

Total annual income generated by U.S. vacation rentals: $24 billion

Percentage of vacation rentals which are professionally managed: 44%

According to HomeAway:

Average income per vacation rental property: $27,360

According to Wyndham:

According to Wyndham’s 2013 Annual Report, “The global supply of vacation rental inventory is less organized than the lodging industry and is highly fragmented with much of it being made available by individual property owners. We believe that as of December 31, 2013, there were approximately 1.3 million and 4.2 million vacation properties available for rental in the U.S. and Europe, respectively.

In addition, it is widely estimated that the average vacation rental management company has between 50 and 75 properties under contract. The average size of a VRMA member vacation rental management company in 2013 was 137 properties.

Also, according to AHS, the percentage of second homes which are vacation rentals is 25 to 35 percent.

The results

Using the data compiled above, the size of the professionally managed vacation rental industry falls in the following range:

PhoCusWright and HomeAway

Taking the PhoCusWright and HomeAway data at face value:

$24B divided by $27,360 per property = 877,192 U.S. Vacation Rentals

x 44% Pro Managed = 385,965 Professionally Managed Vacation Rentals

This would mean there are between 5,146 and 7,719 Professional Vacation Rental Managers in the U.S.

PhocusWright and Wyndham

44% of 1.3 million vacation rentals in the U.S. =572,000 Professionally Managed Vacation Rentals

This would indicate there are between 7,626 -11,440 Professional Vacation Rental Managers in the U.S.

Using U.S. Census Data

If we add in the U.S. Census data and AHS estimates, the picture looks more like this:

Number of Professionally Managed Vacation Rentals: 511,423 -715,992

Number of Professional Vacation Rental Managers: 6,819 -14,319

Industry analysts estimate the number of vacation rental managers in the U.S. to be 8,000. The data above supports their theory, but as the industry matures and industry data becomes more readily available, we look forward to the day we don’t have to guess.

By Amy Hinote

Under the Hood with Vantage Resort Realty

VRM Intel Staff

July 31, 2014

Brad Callahan, founder and president at Travel Advantage Network (TAN), needed vacation rental inventory in Ocean City, MD, to meet membership demand. After working with various operators in Ocean City, Callahan struggled to find the level of service his customers needed. Consequently in 2007, he started Vantage Resort Realty.

Seven years later, Vantage currently manages almost 400 properties in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

Stitcher Joins the Vantage team

Lance Stitcher joined Vantage Resort Realty in March of 2013 as General Manager after spending six years managing Virginia Eastern Shore’s Captain’s Cove Golf and Yacht Club. “When I came on board, I didn’t have much experience specifically in vacation rentals, and I told Brad (Callahan) that I would retain 90% of owners and staff,” said Stitcher. “He looked at me like I was crazy, telling me that 10% of inventory changes ownership, so it isn’t likely. That year, we retained over 93% of our owners.”

Advantages of Being Part of a Larger Company

Vantage Resort Realty is under the Travel Advantage Network umbrella, along with Elevate Cleans and Beachtree Properties. Both Vantage’s fast growth and future plans are founded on the scalability provided by its parent company’s shared services, including Human Resources, IT, Marketing, Legal, and Accounting.

“Being a part of a large company gives us economies of scale,” said Stitcher. “This is especially beneficial in what we can offer our employees (for example, health insurance), and has allowed us to build a stable operation and a strong company culture. We have an absolutely wonderful staff.”

Owner Acquisition and Retention Strategy

Owner acquisition and retention are top priorities at Vantage. On the subject of retaining owners, “Our rates are a little higher, we have high service survey scores, and we have a lot of repeat guests, which make our existing owners happy,” said Stitcher. “At the end of the year, there were a few properties we weeded out because the owners wouldn’t reinvest in the property. Now we are more selective in the properties we bring on.”

“Our business model for property acquisition is fundamentally different than what is being done in Ocean City, as we have placed a business development focus on attracting owners,” said Stitcher. “Operationally we separated our owner -focused staff from our guest-focused staff and added Owner Relations Assistants who monitor owner success after the contract is signed. We also added incentive based commissions for our business development team.”

“Our growth has been largely organic with the largest source of inventory being referrals, and our messaging to prospective owners is strong,” said Sticher. “We focus on what we do well, we demonstrate to prospects that we are more forward thinking and progressive, and we show that we are more accountable to our owners than our competitors.”

Technology

During Stitcher’s tenure, the team at Vantage Resort Realty has been laser focused on improving technology. They recently implemented Barefoot Technologies vacation rental software and launched a new, integrated website.

“One thing we do better than anyone else in our market is technology,” said Stitcher. “Our parent company’s dedicated IT team partnered with our vacation rental team to enable us to quickly and efficiently convert to new software, add the Glad mobile app, and launch a new website before the season started.“

Marketing

Vantage’s marketing team uses multiple channels to reach guests, and owners can purchase additional tiered “marketing packages” which include listings on distribution sites (e.g. VRBO, FlipKey, and other mainstream channel partners), TruPlace’s interactive floor plans and property-focused marketing initiatives.

“Our software also has a great autoresponder,” said Stitcher. “When someone comes in to our funnel through any of the marketing channels, we are able to quickly reach out to them.”

With many of the distribution channels moving to a pay per booking model, we asked Stitcher which model works best for Vantage’s inventory. “Pay per lead and pay per booking models don’t currently make sense for what we are doing,” he said. “For the VRM, the subscription model provides greater value. We need to keep a watchful eye on it to make sure the math continues to work in our favor.”

Stitcher added, “We are working to become less reliant on these sites over the next two years.”

Industry Involvement

The Vantage team sees enormous value in joining and engaging in the area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA). “We are very involved in the VRMA,” he said. “When I came on board, I leaned heavily on the VRMA to learn as fast as I could. I networked with other members, volunteered for committees and joined the value task force. In fact, we are partnering with Vacation Future’s Andrew McConnell to teach a session about inventory acquisition at the VRMA Annual Conference in San Diego in late October.”

In addition the Vantage Team is heavily involved with the Ocean City CVB. “The Ocean City CVB is what makes this destination work. Forty percent on the U.S. population lives within a five hour drive of Ocean City, and the CVB does a great job of creating and marketing events in the off season. We want to help in any we can, and we sponsor events such as the White Marlin Open.”

Expansion

We can safely expect to see Vantage Resort Realty grow in the coming months and years. With their service-based foundation and the scalability and resources offered by TAN, it is likely Vantage with spread its coverage both in their existing markets and in other destinations. “We started from scratch in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey, but in other markets, we may discover that acquisition is a better strategy,” said Stitcher.

By Amy Hinote

Vacation Rental Industry Ripe for Acquisitions

VRM Intel Staff

July 28, 2014

2014 has already seen key acquisitions by growing vacation rental management companies, with several big announcements on the way. Late last year, Wyndham purchased Hatteras Realty, and this year Vacasa acquired Utah Vacation Homes, Resort Realty bought the VR operations of Colony Realty, Seaside Vacations bought JoHank Rentals, Turnkey Vacation Rentals purchased Coastline Adventures, Long & Foster acquired several companies in New Jersey, and Invited Home recently purchased Maui Blue.

According to Ben Edwards, President at Weatherby Consulting which provides transaction advisory services and consulting in the vacation rental industry, the current market for vacation rental management companies is highly active. “There are companies looking to buy right now,” said Edwards. “With a lot of new entrants along with rapidly expanding existing players, and it is an optimal time to buy and sell in this category.”

Market Conditions

As Edwards points out, market conditions are ripe for acquisition in the vacation rental industry. Besides the macro conditions, such as a solid economic recovery, low interest rates, and the influence of the baby boomer demographic , there are industry related factors which add to the favorable environment.

Increased Awareness

Large distribution channels have increased awareness of vacation rentals as a mainstream lodging alternative.

Larger Second Home Market

NAR 2014 report showed that 717,000 vacation homes were purchased last year, the most since 2006 before sharp declines in the real estate market took effect, and 89% of vacation home buyers plan to rent their new property within the next 12 months.

Regulations and Restrictions

An anticipated increase in regulation is expected to prompt owner managed vacation home inventory to move under professional management.

Increased Seasonal Occupancy

According to HomeAway, the occupancy rate for owners who report the winter season as their peak rental season rose to 70% during the winter season, while the average summer occupancy rate for vacation rentals increased to 77% for vacation rental owners who consider summer their peak season.

Improved technology

Advancements in technology, notably real time online booking, multi-office systems, rate management tools, and customer relationship management (CRM), have made it feasible to manage multiple operators across destinations.

“From a buyer’s perspective, building a successful national brand is more attainable than it has ever been,” said Edwards. “From a seller’s perspective, there is a high level in interest. We are seeing deals close quickly, especially in the range of 3.5-4.5 times earnings, depending on the overall health of the company.”

“We can expect this trend to increase as we move past the busy summer season, said Edwards.

By Amy Hinote

About Amy Hinote

VRM Intel Staff

July 25, 2014

Amy Hinote is the founder and editor of VRM Intel which provides news and education for the rapidly expanding professionally managed vacation rental industry. With a background in finance and marketing and over 10 years in the vacation rental industry, Hinote has worked with property management companies, suppliers, and intermediaries and provides insider information about the growing vacation rental industry. Hinote resides just north of Chicago in Evanston, IL.

Contact Amy Hinote
amy.hinote@vrmintel.com
(251) 455-4994

STRAC management moves under Travel Tech umbrella

VRM Intel Staff

July 25, 2014

Airbnb, HomeAway and TripAdvisor have joined Travel Tech and moved the management of the Short Term Rental Advocacy Center (STRAC) under the Travel Tech umbrella.

Formed in early 2013, STRAC was created through a coalition of Airbnb, HomeAway and TripAdvisor to provide resources to help hosts, homeowners and rental managers legalize and legitimize short term rentals in their communities.

“Travel Tech is a trade association for travel intermediators, companies who connect travel suppliers with consumers,” said Philip Minardi, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Travel Tech. “A vital part of what we will be doing with STRAC is creating a portal through which hosts and managers learn about restrictions and regulations, find resources for communicating with city and county officials, and engage with other members of the community.”

As part of its advocacy strategy, Travel Tech recently appointed Matt Kiessling as Director of Coalitions and Grass Roots, a role created to head up initiatives that connect owners and managers with community officials.

“We want policy makers to understand the short term rental marketplace,” said Minardi. “This space is not new. It is an established and important sector of the travel industry and contributes significantly to the local economy.”

One of the challenges Travel Tech faces in dealing with legislation will be helping to define the category. Terms such as “sharing economy” are being widely circulated in the media and are causing confusion about short term rentals.

“We have seen local municipalities struggle with defining short term rentals and understanding the business model, so they come up with policy and regulations which are unnecessarily burdensome,” said Minardi. “As we see short term rentals grow globally, Travel Tech and STRAC will be working with communities, local residents, property managers and providers to establish policy which advances short term rental regulations, provides a framework for compliance and safeguards travelers and residents.”

Minardi added, “Short term regulations should be easy to locate and comply with. Travel tech will provide an industry-level voice and will leverage STRAC to provide education and resources for council members, the press and the community.”

“With the formation of STRAC along with their internal initiatives, HomeAway, TripAdvisor and Airbnb have approached government advocacy in a very intentional way,” said Ben Edwards, President of the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) and Vice President of Business Development at Newman-Dailey Resort Properties. “As a vacation rental manager, I am appreciative of their efforts and what they have been able to accomplish through STRAC in a relatively short amount of time.”

“From the VRMA perspective, we are exploring ways we can work with Travel Tech and these partner companies to further help vacation rental mangers navigate the legislative landscape in their communities.”

STRAC was previously managed by the Glover Park Group in Washington D.C.

By Amy Hinote

HomeAway names new CMO

VRM Intel Staff

July 24, 2014

HomeAway today named Visa’s Mariano Dima as chief marketing officer (CMO). In this position, Dima will oversee all global marketing, corporate communications and brand initiatives.

As former Visa Europe CMO, Dima oversaw strategic marketing, brand communications, advertising, sponsorships, and insights and analytics. Additionally, Dima managed a product portfolio that included credit, debit, commercial and new payment developments such as e-commerce, digital wallet, mobile payments and contactless technologies.

Dima’s seven-year tenure with Visa Europe was punctuated by the company’s wildly popular 2012 Olympic-integrated marketing campaign, “Life flows better with Visa,” that featured a series of ads including “Running Man” with Usain Bolt and “Flow Faster.” Under Dima, the company was also recognized by BrandZ as one of the 10 most valuable brands in the world in 2013.

“Mariano has elevated some of the world’s most recognizable brands,” says Brian Sharples, chief executive officer of HomeAway. “As our industry continues to grow, he has the experience and passion to create an emotional connection between our brand and the families and groups who stay in vacation rentals.”

“HomeAway is more than the leading online marketplace for vacation rentals; it is a brand that connects families and friends to share the most memorable experiences of their lives,” says Dima. “I look forward to the opportunity to help transform the vacation rental customer experience, creating platforms for connection and enjoyment and telling the HomeAway story in a very impactful way.”

The announcement comes after institutional criticism about HomeAway’s marketing allocation. JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth observed in late May, “We believe increasing marketing spend is appropriate to grow the PPB business and we are also encouraged by healthy renewal rates and strong subscription pricing growth, but we believe visibility will be limited in the near-term and return on marketing spend could take some time.”

RealPage User Conference Underway

VRM Intel Staff

July 21, 2014

The RealPage (NASDAQ: RP) RealWorld 2014 user conference in Chicago is currently underway and is being met with a high level of excitement and engagement. RealPage, a widely used property management software provider in the long-term management space, recently jumped into the vacation rental industry with their $50 million acquisitions of Bookt/InstaManager and Kigo.

Some of the products/updates being launched at the conference are:

Slick, updated user interface
Big data performance dashboards with competitive data and predictive analysis
Social engagement platform for employees and tenants/guests
Maintenance management solution
Virtual tour creator

More to come…

By Amy Hinote

Airbnb’s rebrand: Turning company into creed

VRM Intel Staff

July 17, 2014

Airbnb launched its new logo and rebranding campaign today. There are two videos below, the new logo launch and the comments by CEO Brian Chesky.

In his comments, Chesky said, “What has happened is, that over time, our community outgrew us -the brand. ‘Cause when people see Airbnb today –that are outsiders -they still see that little website that rents rooms, when what we do together is so much bigger.”

One of the guests in the video talked about his experience with Airbnb, ” No ‘Do not Disturb’ sign could create the kind of peace and serenity I experienced. In the mornings I would wake up, and I would have the sweet scent of incense burning, and I would meditate with my host…”

This isn’t a traditional vacation rental experience.

It is clear that Airbnb is not trying to replace HomeAway, FlipKey or compete directly with professional property managers. They are more interested in creating a new category than being a distribution outlet for vacation rentals as evidenced by:

1. Not engaging Professional Vacation Rental Managers

Airbnb does not allow any technology integration with property management software systems, which makes it difficult for property managers to maintain updated availability and manage listings.
Have not engaged with the professionally managed vacation rental industry which represents over half the short term rental market.

2. Prioritizing the rental of primary residences in legal battles

Airbnb is pushing the legalization of rentals in primary residences, not traditional second home vacation rentals. When they are working on the ground to influence policy concerning short term rentals, they are not actively trying to protect professionally managed vacation rentals.

Comments online

Here are some comments from social networks about the brand:

Luca Deplano

4 hours ago

Wow, talk about an inflated, self important view of themselves. The tone was such that for a moment I thought they would announce they cured cancer… instead, 35 minutes to announce a logo change and a website redesign….

Brandi Veil

18 hours ago

My symbol aka logo is the heart for my initials BV and my alter ego BLOVE a universal symbol. 🙂 As we open our heart to more sharing we become more trusting which in turn allows more light to come into our being and shine freely from our soul. xx Brandi Veil, a shared economy ambassador

Ricky Stafford

1 hour ago

I don’t really remind the completely irrelevant logo, other than it referring to the numerous number of sexual acts going on in AirBnB rooms, but I am completely appalled by the redesign of the actual listing pages.

Burnaby Street

11 hours ago

I much preferred the old logo – the white and blue “a” seemed more upbeat and was very recognizable. Okay, this is recognizable too…but more so as the terminal end of the male genitalia as expressed in paperclip form. Perhaps steering well clear of the pink spectrum of colors would help….

Zooming in on HDR photography

VRM Intel Staff

July 16, 2014

HDR Photography or, what’s commonly referred to as ‘Fusion’ photography, is ranking very high on the popularity chart nowadays.

For those of you unfamiliar, HDR photography (High-Dynamic Range) represents the really cool things you can do to enhance you photos with digital imaging. It basically turns your realistic photos into graphic paintings – often, a misrepresentation of your property is the end result.

With an increase in tools and digital techniques, it is quite common to see HDR photos in the MLS, on Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com…the list goes on. Not sure what we’re talking about? These HDR photos look like cartoon renderings or video game stills, with extreme saturated color and heightened textural effects.

Customer Expectations

“With all of the new technology that has been brought into real estate photography, High Dynamic Range (HDR) brings a new excitement in home sales,” says Duane Heaton, the Photography Training Manager with TruPlace. “It is important to understand the importance of the proper use of any tool, including HDR, while maintaining a realistic view of th e property. I have found that the “Fusion” services that are being offered, sometimes push the true and genuine views of the homes. The last thing that any company should do is create a false impression on where people would plan so many dreams and events within their lives.”

HDR photography was developed so photographers could escape the difficulties of traditional photography; a blown-out sky or a dark, underexposed face, varying wall colors, etc.. With HDR, these obstacles can be overcome by shooting multiple frames and ‘fusing’ them together, or using a single image and adjusting it with photo-enhancing software.

You will most likely recognize the term HDR from your iPhone’s camera, or, when you use certain filters on Instagram to completely enhance/distort your selfies 🙂

Whatever the method, the effect can be eye-popping, or can completely misrepresent the scene; for Realtors, it will most likely distort the way their listing looks in photos. HDR increases local contrast at the expense of overall contrast. Basically, when looking at fusion or HDR photographs that are ‘overdone’, there is nothing left to lead your eye around the frame. If not done properly, all that remains is a big, scrambled omelette of exaggerated ingredients.

A Look at the Difference

Here is a photo Duane took, with normal adjustments to exposure and color. A typical example of a TruPlace photograph:

HDR or Fusion Photography

Now, here is the same exact photo, but, edited through an HDR-Scape filter:

The HDR image above certainly has “pop,” but it no longer looks like a ‘real’ front elevation of your listing in DC (or Maryland, or Virginia…or anywhere for that matter). The TruPlace photograph portrays a sunny, warm, blue-sky day. The latter image displays retina-searing contours, clouds that look like their from a scene rom ‘The Perfect Storm” and landscape that looks plastic.

“In real estate work there is an expectation of reality so the more dramatically creative looks frequently see in HDR work is not appropriate for real estate work. The photography that TruPlace does fulfills that expectation,” Heaton concludes.

Whether it’s a wide-angle landscape, or the interior of a vacant property, HDR photos are all the same and all show off the same distorted vision of otherwise gorgeous real estate. As a Realtor, you focus on giving yourself the competitive edge and providing your sellers with unique marketing and photography services. If HDR photos are distorting your listings and doing them an ‘injustice’ of sorts, are your sellers going to be happy? Some people love HDR, and there is nothing wrong with that; but keep your reputation and marketing edge in mind when considering between true, professional photography and an expensive Instagram filter named ‘Fusion’.

By Marissa Ferraraccio

Ascent Processing

LiveRez

NAVIS

PointCentral

Red Sky Travel Insurance

RentalPlaces.com

TruPlace Interactive Floor Plans

Total buy-in of opt-out model

Why it is a problem

To opt-in or opt-out

Here’s The Catch…

Why “The Data Curtain” Impedes Growth

Here’s Why I Don’t Talk About Airbnb

The Conflict Of Interest (I Think)

My Final Thoughts…

Agenda

1. Floor Plans

2. Appealing titles and descriptions

3. Comparison shopping

4. Response time

5. Area attractions and neighborhood and mapping

6. Data capture

Property pages checklist for vacation rental managers

Updated Calendars, Quoteable Rates and Online Booking

Mobile friendly design

Professional Photos

Reviews

What the competition is doing

What data should be collected?

1. Property Data

2. Rate Data

3. Reservation Data

4. Prospect Data

Conclusion

The results

Stitcher Joins the Vantage team

Advantages of Being Part of a Larger Company

Owner Acquisition and Retention Strategy

Technology

Marketing

Industry Involvement

Expansion

Market Conditions

Customer Expectations

A Look at the Difference

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