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Newsletters #4- Jan/10/2002
Tips for Vacation Rental Homeowners
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========================================================================== Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 Rentors LLC and the individual contributors. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form requires written permission. ========================================================================== This newsletter is emailed 6 times annually to 3,885 owners of vacation rental homes who have registered for a free universal availability calendar at: http://www.rentors.org TO UNSUBSCRIBE: See Article ##12, at bottom of newsletter. 1 - Please Update Your Availability Calendar Today 2 - Kudos & Testimonials 3 - The Importance of Amenities 4 - Temporary Reservations 5 - Hey, Remember Me? 6 - The Power of Yes 7 - Rates: Daily, Weekly, or BOTH? 8 - A Free Day 9 - Splish Splash 10 - Rentors.org Sponsor Information 11 - Please Refer a Friend to Rentors.org 12 - How to Unsubscribe ================================================== 1 - Please Update Your Availability Calendar Today ================================================== Your self-service universal availability calendar at Rentors.org has no value if it is incorrect. Please follow the link below to login to Rentors.org and update your vacation rental calendar today. RENTORS login: http://www.rentors.org/login.cfm If you've forgotten your Rentors.org PASSWORD, check the bottom-left text in the yellow box at the login screen. ======================== 2 - Kudos & Testimonials ======================== One of the best ways to increase your number of inquiries and bookings it to show potential renters some of the nice things previous renters have written about your property. Anytime you get a "thank you" note or good e-mail from a previous renter... do not discard it... save it. Include the best parts of those notes in your brochure, on your web site and in any online ads that you have. Including some good testimonials can really make the difference in the number of responses that you receive to your advertising efforts. -- David Clouse, Vacation Rentals by Owner =============================== 3 - The Importance of Amenities =============================== Vacation rental prospects enjoy hundreds of choices when searching for accommodations on the Internet. While your weekly or daily rate is often a key selection factor, so are your property's amenities. Your vacation rental must compare favorably to similar properties in your region, or a competing property will get the booking. Use the Internet to check your local competition very carefully. Aside from competitive rates, do they ... and you! ... include major (and expensive) amenities like air conditioning, dishwasher, telephone, cable TV/VCR, and a hot tub? How about minor, inexpensive touches like a starting supply of toilet paper and paper towels, cooking spices, kitchen utensils, blender, toaster, plus fresh towels and bed linens? If you include these amenities, be sure to list them on your webpage. Given the choice of a rental WITH fresh towels and bed linens, vs. a rental without them, which would YOU choose? -- Brian Raub, A1Vacations ========================== 4 - Temporary Reservations ========================== Vacation rental homeowners should avoid 'holding' a reservation for vacationers while they finalize their plans or try to gather a rental deposit. You should really look at your rental weeks as black or white, booked or open. Allowing a gray area of being half-booked is a bad idea for several reasons -- and can often result in one or more rental groups being extremely disappointed, even to the point of bringing up the dreaded 'L' word for lawsuit. It is much wiser to stick to a strong, hard-nosed policy that a reservation is not final until a signed rental agreement, and more importantly, a deposit check have been received by the owner. Be sure to make this policy known up front. Renters will benefit by not being 'juggled' which invariably results in some of them being jilted. Many potential renters will take advantage of a policy of leniency to wait until the last minute to make a decision, and homeowners can be left high and try without a rental, even though they were motivated by the best of intentions. There are people who deliberately seek out properties that allow for such flexibility, e.g. they book a ski rental for the same week in Colorado, Vermont and Banff and wait until the last minute to determine who will have the best snow. They book that one and with plausible excuses cancel the other two. A good strategy for them in optimizing their vacation, but an unscrupulous one that costs homeowners thousands in lost revenue. Sticking to a strong, well-thought out deposit and booking strategy will result in happier renters and wealthier, less hassled homeowners. -- Hunter Melville, Cyberrentals ===================== 5 - Hey, Remember Me? ===================== The new year is a perfect time to touch base with former renters and those who have inquired about your property in the past. Send them a brief email or one page newsletter updating them on your property's new amenities, online availability calendar, rate changes, special local events for the coming year, etc. Be sure to make the tone of your mailing upbeat and personable; welcome them to book your property again should they be planning a vacation in your area. Don't forget to include updated contact phone numbers, email addresses and web page addresses (URL) of your property. TIP: If your email provider allows you to use 'signatures' like Microsoft Outlook, include the URL's along with your name and contact phone numbers. Even people who are not inquiring about your vacation rental may be interested in seeing the photos. -- Pat Van Voorhis, GreatRentals ==================== 6 - The Power of Yes ==================== During a phone conversation with a potential renter, you want to get them into a "yes" frame of mind. If they say "yes" enough times during the call - then they are more likely to say "yes" when it comes time take the reservation. One way to do this is to start off the call with a question that gets them thinking about how nice that vacation is going to be. For example... Put on a big smile (YES, people can "see" you smile over the phone!) and say: "Are you ready for a vacation?" "Do you want to go to the beach?" "Are you ready for some skiing?" Who in their right mind is going to answer "no" to those questions? Tailor the question to fit your property and the time of year, then take the time to thoroughly answer their questions. Sprinkle the call with some other "yes" questions that apply to your property. Also, ask them questions that will help you determine if these renters are suitable for your property. For example, "How many are in your party?" and "Do you have any pets?" When the call is starting to wind down, don't forget to ASK THEM for the booking. Have a question already prepared in your mind - here are some examples... "Would you like me to save that week for you?" "Which weekend would you like me to save for you?" "We only have one property, so we can only take one family at a time. Would you like me to save some time for you?" Use the power of "yes" to increase your number of bookings. -- David Clouse, Vacation Rentals by Owner ================================== 7 - Rates: Daily, Weekly, or BOTH? ================================== Most vacation rental prospects rent "by the week" or "by the day". You'll get more inquiries and bookings if you include BOTH rate options ... daily and weekly ... on your webpage. If YOU typically rent by the day, you may be surprised to find that you can book some very profitable weeks, simply by adding weekly rates to your page. Weekly rates are typically 5 to 6 times the daily rate. And if YOU typically book by the week ONLY, try adding daily rates (perhaps with a 2 or 3 night minimum) during your OFF season. Daily rates are typically 1/5 to 1/6 of weekly rates. An out- cleaning fee can be added to "daily" rentals if necessary, to keep them profitable. -- Brian Raub, A1Vacations ============== 8 - A Free Day ============== Though we hope your online advertising will result in 100% occupancy and that you won't have a single open day, it's rare that this lofty goal will be met. You may find yourself with an open day or week following a group's stay. Consider giving them a 'free day'! It costs you essentially nothing and can result in a goodwill bonanza. For someone who is spending say $1500 a week to rent your home, you've just given them a $200+ freebie that won't be soon forgotten. The surprise element of learning about it just as they are planning their departure is priceless. Think of what it would have meant to you if some kind homeowner had offered the same thing on one of your last vacations. It's like free life! After all, don't we all live for vacations? The main consideration in contemplating this idea is the how it affects the cleaning staff. If you're managing by remote control it might be a negative to be jerking around the schedule; on the other hand it might be a plus: if house cleaners have 10 homes to clean on Sunday because that's the normal check-in/check-out day, they might love to know that one has been postponed to Monday. In any event, keep the idea of a 'free day' in mind; it can mean a lot to building up a loyal, and returning, rental following. -- Hunter Melville, Cyberrentals ================= 9 - Splish Splash ================= Safe, well cared for outdoor pools and/or hot tubs are excellent selling points for people in search of the perfect spring getaway. For people who know little about pool care, contact phone numbers for the people in charge of your pool maintenance will be much appreciated if there is a problem or question about pool use. If you do not have someone who regularly maintains the pool area (i.e. gardener or local caretaker), be sure to leave renters with explicit pool care instructions. A fenced in pool area and detailed safety guidelines are especially important to families with children. Include this information on your web page as well as a photo of your pool to help generate inquiries. For existing renters, a positive pool experience can be an influential factor in repeat bookings. -- Pat Van Voorhis, GreatRentals ==================================== 10 - Rentors.org Sponsor Information ==================================== Rentors.org is sponsored by these experienced vacation rental advertising services. All will be pleased to help you advertise your vacation rentals on the Internet. Why not join all four sites to promote your vacation rental? The Rentors.org availability calendar works on all of them, and you'll have just ONE calendar to maintain! VRBO - Vacation Rentals by Owner Home: http://www.vrbo.com Join: http://www.vrbo.com/global/owner.htm A1Vacations Home: http://www.a1vacations.com/ Join: http://www.a1vacations.com/advertise/ CyberRentals Home: http://www.cyberrentals.com Join: http://www.cyberrentals.com/signup.html Great Rentals Home: http://www.greatrentals.com Join: http://www.greatrentals.com/Admin/Posting/Post.html ========================================= 11 - Please Refer a Friend to Rentors.org ========================================= This "Tips for Vacation Rental Homeowners" newsletter was emailed to 3,885 members of Rentors.org -- which offers FREE online availability calendars for vacation rental property homeowners and property managers. Please refer a friend to: http://www.rentors.org ======================= 12 - How to Unsubscribe ======================= To be removed from this mailing list, please log in to your Rentors.org account, then select "Delete this Account". Your free calendar(s) will be deleted, and your email address will be removed from this mailing list. ========================================================================== Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 Rentors LLC and the individual contributors. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form requires written permission. ========================================================================== Click below to go to :
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