January 23, 2013 –By Matt Landau
Dave McCormick is like a lot of people. As the Owner of Pro Kitchen Gear, Dave travels a lot. And whether for business or pleasure, he has been a hotel traveler all his life. He’s always liked the standardization, the amenities, and the comfort in knowing precisely what he was booking prior to arrival. As a matter of fact, he used to work for Sheraton a number of years ago. So to say Dave was opposite to a vacation rental traveler would not be an exaggeration. Until recently that is…
I wanted to profile Dave because I think it really helps vacation rental owners to understand this type of personality in order to better cater to his needs. You see, Dave has always chosen hotels for his travel needs, but this past trip to Hawaii, he opted for a vacation rental and, in his own words, “the experience completely converted me.” If you haven’t read my free guide, How To Steal Hotel Guests (Nicely), then this is precisely what we’re talking about.
“Typically,” Dave told me, “with hotels, you have everything in one spot such as a fitness center, a bar, a place to eat. From that point of view, it is very nice to have those things under one roof.” Of course, as vacation rental owners, we can’t really accommodate ALL these things (anyone have a full gym and room service?!?!). But as Dave continues, by offering up things like recommendations, day passes to local gyms, and introductions to locals, we can basically make up for it.
“I figured, if I am able to find a vacation rental that has these amenities (at least some of them) I’m better off going with a rental. After all, there aren’t many locals that hang out in hotel bars for the great scene or to meet their friends,” Dave says, which is to say, a vacation rental compensates in many ways.
You can tell that Dave kinda wanted to switch to a vacation rental and forgo some of the conveniences of hotel travel. So I asked him what were the real concrete reasons he was happy he stayed in a rental.
“We wanted to live like a local. We wanted to feel like we were coming home every day and…More>>
About Matt Landau
Matt is the founder of vacationrentalmarketingblog.com Vacation Rental Marketing site and VRLeap – two online resources for vacation rental owners and managers. He is also a columnist for HomeAway and FlipKey, the world’s two largest vacation rental marketplaces.
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