=======================================
Rentors.org News #16 February 25, 2004
======================================

Expert Tips and Tricks for Vacation Rental Homeowners from
the founders of Rentors.org:

http://www.greatrentals.com/
http://www.vrbo.com/
http://www.a1vacations.com/
http://www.cyberrentals.com/

This newsletter is e-mailed each month to owners of vacation
rental homes who have registered for a free Universal
Availability Calendar and/or Guest Book at:

http://www.rentors.org/

-- #Members: 24,299
-- #Calendars: 31,786
-- #Guestbooks: 10,577

In this issue:

1 - Please Update Your Calendar and Guest Book Today
2 - Generating Repeat Bookings
3 - Creating a Marketing Brochure from Your Listing
4 - Vacation Rental Security Matters
5 - Gimme Those Old-time Board Games
6 - Online Listings That Sell!: Planning Your Pictures
7 - "The Tax Person Cometh!"
8 - Get More Rentals with Visa/Mastercard
9 - CLASSIFIED ADS
10 - More Vacation Rental Tips
11 - Rentors.org Sponsors Information
12 - Please Refer a Friend to Rentors.org
13 - How to Cancel Your Rentors Newsletter Subscription

====================================================
1 - Please Update Your Calendar and Guest Book Today
====================================================

Your self-service Universal Availability Calendar at
Rentors.org has no value if it isn't kept up-to-date. 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.

While you're there, be sure to set up a vacation rental
Guest Book. Renter comments in guest books add credibility
to your vacation rental and help you to stand out from your
competitors.

And remember: As the owner, you can type in the comments
made by guests in your paper guest book (or sent to you via
e-mail). You don't have to rely on former guests to key in
their own comments, although they can do so online if they
want to.

==============================
2 - Generating Repeat Bookings
==============================

"There's no customer like a repeat customer!"

According to the Google search engine, no one else has ever
said that, so we will claim credit for this particular
phrasing of this very old truth.

If you own a vacation rental property, your best customers
are your previous customers or renters. They know you. They
know your property. They have had a satisfying rental
experience. And so, like Governor Schwarzenegger, they say,
"I'll be back." And if they don't return the next season
themselves, they are sure to tell their co-workers and
friends about your place.

But you can't afford to be complacent. As in any human
endeavor, building a relationship takes some work. You can
do everything possible to make sure that a renter has an
incredibly wonderful initial rental experience. But you
cannot simply assume that this will translate into lots of
return bookings.

That's why you should exert a bit of effort "after the
sale."

Take the time to contact renters after they have checked
out. Your goal is to reinforce the human relationship
between you and your renters and thus help set yourself
apart from competing property owners in your area. Put
yourself in your renters' shoes next year: Here are all
these properties, all competitively priced, which one should
we choose? The one we visited last year, where we had a
great experience? Or some other property that may a bit
closer to an attraction or cost a bit less?

Your renters almost certainly lead busy lives. So keep your
reminders short and sweet. You might send an e-mail the week
after they check out asking for any criticisms, comments, or
suggestions--while expressing your hope that they had a
great stay and that everything was to their satisfaction.

You could ask them to key in a few words of comment in an e-
mail message that you could then post to your Rentors.org
Guest Book. And, of course, when the booking season -- as
opposed to the rental season -- arrives, you can send them a
printed postcard or business letter notifying them of the
fact that you still have some openings and suggesting that
they consider putting in their reservations now.

Here's the key point: In marketing lingo, acquiring a
customer costs money. So once you've gotten a customer's
attention and persuaded him or her to rent from you, it's
only common sense to try to get those customers to rent from
you again. And again. To say nothing of their relatives and
friends.

So make the effort to reach out and establish a relationship
with your renters. Do not treat them as strangers in the
night, never to be seen again.

-- Jan and Pat VanVoorhis, Great Rentals
Home: http://www.greatrentals.com/
Join: http://www.greatrentals.com/Admin/Posting/Post.html

===================================================
3 - Creating a Marketing Brochure from Your Listing
===================================================

In his book, *Roadmap to Your Vacation Property Dream*
($9.95 from
http://www.rentors.org/redirect/vacationpropertyowners.cfm),
author Christopher Cain writes about the flyers he created
for his rental property on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. "I
spent an hour writing the flyer, $30 to print it, and
another hour distributing it door-to-door [to neighbors in
my Orlando housing complex]," Chris explains.

"As a direct result of this effort," he writes, "eight
neighbors called to inquire, and two of them rented my one-
bedroom condo for a week each. One of these neighbors liked
the condo so much that he returned the following year."
Chris's condo rented for $700 per week at the time, so his
efforts led to $2,100 in extra rental dollars. "Money I
would not have received had I left property rentals
completely up to the management company. Not a bad return on
investment."

That was a couple of years ago. Today it's even easier (and
cheaper) to print up a color brochure suitable for use as a
flyer or direct-mail piece. You'll need a color printer, a
ream of "bright white" paper, and an online listing offering
photos and a description of your property.

Start by loading your browser and bringing up your online
listing. Read it carefully. If you feel that your property
description, list of amenities, and list of local activities
and attractions could be longer or spiffier, use the editing
tools provided by your listing service to make the necessary
changes. (You might even want to update or add more
pictures.)

Once your listing is the way you want it, click on "File"
and then "Print Preview." If the layout you see is not to
your liking, close "Print Preview" to get back to the
browser's display page. Then click on "View" and "Text Size"
to shrink or increase the size of the displayed text. Try
"File/Print Preview" again and consider the results.

Once you're satisfied with the way things look, order your
browser to print one copy. (Note that with "bright white"
paper, the "Normal" color quality setting is just fine. No
need to opt for "Best.") Assuming the results are what you
expected, you can now print as many "flyers" as you like.

-- Dave and Lynn Clouse, Vacation Rentals by Owner
Home: http://www.vrbo.com/
Join: http://www.vrbo.com/global/owner.htm

====================================
4 - Vacation Rental Security Matters
====================================

While you're minding your primary home, think carefully
about the security of your vacation rental.

Most police departments will watch your second home, free of
charge, while you're away. Provide them a written schedule
of expected occupancy (you and your rental guests), so that
your guests don't get an unexpected visit from the local
sheriff's office. Fax your occupancy revisions to the police
department whenever you add or delete rentals -- or change
your own plans to visit.

On regular patrol, police will check locks, windows, and
walk around your vacation rental to check for obvious signs
of forced entry or water line breaks.

Some police departments say their surveillance can actually
alert the unscrupulous. So if your local police department
won't patrol your property, or is too busy to check your
vacation rental during holidays or peak rental season, pay a
neighbor or relative to check your property instead. Ask
them to remove any mail or newspapers that collect, so it
will be less obvious whenever your second home is empty.

Always lock all doors and windows, and stop all your mail
and newspaper deliveries when you're not personally there
Put a light and radio on a timer to create the illusion of
occupancy. Even when no one is expected to stay there soon,
pay someone to mow your grass, to clear the snow from your
entrance, and to rake the leaves when they fall.

Take these steps to secure your vacation rental. You'll
benefit from increased "peace of mind" that all will be well
the next time you or your guests stay in your vacation home.

-- Brian and Lisa Raub, A1 Vacation Rentals
Home: http://www.a1vacations.com/
Join: http://www.a1vacations.com/advertise/

====================================
5 - Gimme Those Old-Time Board Games
====================================

We had an e-mail recently from a woman "of a certain age."
(Actually, she was 51.) She told us that she and her husband
had equipped their vacation rental with a nice selection of
videos and lots of current books. But she wanted to include
some board games of the sort she and her family used to play
when it rained while they were on vacation.

"We always had a card table set up with a jigsaw puzzle in
progress. Anyone who wanted to could cruise by and help
complete the puzzle. But we also had a Scrabble game set,
and that's what I wanted to find -- the one with the maroon
box and the wooden tiles. Not the plastic stuff you see
today."

So she went on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/) and did a search.
Sure enough, there was an auction in progress for a used
(but in good condition), classic Scrabble set. She entered a
bid and got the game for $8.50.

What a great idea! Board games, unlike video games and
movies, really do bring families and groups together. After
all, being on vacation means doing something different. So
why not play a traditional board game? Turn the TV off after
dinner and return to a game of Monopoly that lasts for the
entire vacation!

But where to find traditional board games? Certainly eBay is
a great place to look. But you might also consider the
Vermont Country Store (http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/).
They offer classic editions of Monopoly, Go to the Head of
the Class, Cribbage, and other games. Including a replica of
the 1949 edition of Clue ("Professor Plum, in the library,
with the lead pipe").

Offering classic board games is a nice touch. And at $20 to
$40 each, not very expensive. If you decide to furnish your
property with these gems, be sure to mention that fact in
your online listing. It's one more way to get a leg up on
your competition.

-- Hunter Melville and Dave Bollinger, CyberRentals
Home: http://www.cyberrentals.com/
Join: http://www.cyberrentals.com/free.html

=================================================
6 - Online Listings That Sell!: Planning Your Pix
=================================================

In the last issue, we looked at writing property
descriptions that projected a real personality. This time,
we'll focus on photos.

As wordsmiths, we'd love to believe that photos merely
illustrate the text in online property listings. But we know
that it's really the other way around. People look at the
photos first, and only if they are intrigued do they read
the text. In our opinion, both text and pictures must
complement each other, and both must be superb. But a
picture really is worth a thousand words, and a really good
picture is worth thousands of words more.

Don't use just any photos of your vacation rental property.
Instead, decide that you need the equivalent of the photos a
real estate agent would commission if your property were to
be for sale. That's Step 1.

Step 2 is to assume that you can display an unlimited number
of pictures of your place. In reality, most Web sites let
you display three or four pix as part of your basic
subscription, but you can usually opt to display more for an
additional fee. (And on some systems, buying more photos can
give you greater prominence in a prospective renter's search
results. But that's a topic for another issue.)

Step 3 is to prioritize. Assume that you must select only
three or four subjects for photographs. What would they be?
Keep in mind that your audience is prospective renters. So
what does your place offer that they really, really want?

Step 4 is to either hire a professional photographer or to
bear down and think about how you will take the photos
yourself. Plan to shoot the absolutely essential images that
are at the top of your list, as well as the scenes or images
that you deem less essential. These "less essential" images
can be added to your listing later (for an extra fee), or
used for a Web page devoted to your property that you might
create in the future.

Step 5 is to "dress the set." Professional photographers
know all about F-stops, lighting, and film speeds -- or
their digital camera equivalents. But you can't expect them
to know what a given image should contain. If a picture of
your property's great room is going to have a vase of fresh
flowers in the frame, you must put them there. You can't
expect a professional photographer to do so for you.

Finally, if you use a professional photographer, make sure
that he or she gives you digital copies of all of the shots
taken. Probably on a CD, probably in JPG/JPEG or TIFF
format. Having your images in digital format will make your
life much simpler.

Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner, authors of *How to Make Your
Vacation Property Work for You!: The Quick & Easy Guide to
Advertising, Renting, Managing, and Making Money from your
Second Home*

For more information, visit:

http://fullybookedrentals.com/

===========================
7 - "The Tax Person Cometh"
===========================

If you own a short-term rental, you are almost certainly
subject to sales, occupancy, and other taxes levied by your
state, county, township, city, or other governing body.
While renters pay these taxes as an add-on to the rental
cost, it's your responsibility to collect and remit them,
usually on a quarterly or monthly basis.

The trouble is, each taxing authority has different forms,
different requirements, and different due dates. Making a
mistake can cost you dearly in penalties and interest. (And
don't think that revenue- strapped governments aren't using
the Internet to identify owners of vacation rental property
who may owe back taxes.)

That's why Rentors.org has partnered with HotSpot
Management, a tax management service for vacation rental
homeowners and property managers. HotSpot takes care of
everything, charging $5 to $10 for each return it files on
your behalf, plus an annual $19.95 service fee. That means
that for about $80 to $120 a year, you will not only be in
full compliance, you will also make sure that you are
receiving all applicable rebates for timely filing.

If you mention Rentors.org and this article, HotSpot
Management will either obtain your sales tax licenses for
free or, if you already have your licenses, waive the $19.95
annual service fee for the first year. Call HotSpot at
877-589-0207 or see:

HotSpot Tax Info:
http://www.rentors.org/redirect/hotspot.cfm

=========================================
8 - Get More Rentals with Visa/Mastercard
=========================================

You'll rent more often by accepting major credit cards for
your vacation rentals, through a program created by
Rentors.org -- designed especially for vacation rental
homeowners and their agents. See:

http://www.rentors.org/redirect/paradata.cfm

==================
9 - CLASSIFIED ADS
==================

Your classified ad can appear in the next issue of this
newsletter. Rates are $25/word with a 10-word minimum. Web
addresses counts as 2 words. ALL CAPS is not permitted.
Sorry, but we do NOT accept ads from vacation rental
advertising services, and we reserve the right to reject ads
for any reason. Ads appear in first-paid, first-listed
order. Contact:

admin@rentors.org

==============================
10 - More Vacation Rental Tips
==============================

If you would like to read more vacation rental tips, you can
refer to articles that were featured in previous issues of
this newsletter at:

http://www.rentors.org/archive/

====================================
11 - Rentors.org Sponsor Information
====================================

Rentors.org is sponsored by these experienced vacation
rental advertising services. As at least one authority has
said, "There are literally hundreds of vacation rental
property Web sites, but only four that really matter." Those
four are the founders of Rentors.org, and each will be
pleased to help you maximize the rental income your property
generates each year by advertising it on the Internet. All
charge a flat annual fee. There are no commissions or other
nonsense.

The Rentors.org Availability Calendar and Guest Book work on
all four sites, so you will have just ONE calendar and/or
Guest Book to maintain!

Great Rentals
Home: http://www.greatrentals.com/
Join: http://www.greatrentals.com/Admin/Posting/Post.html

VRBO - Vacation Rentals by Owner
Home: http://www.vrbo.com/
Join: http://www.vrbo.com/global/owner.htm

A1Vacations - A1 Vacation Rentals
Home: http://www.a1vacations.com/
Join: http://www.a1vacations.com/advertise/

CyberRentals
Home: http://www.cyberrentals.com/
Join: http://www.cyberrentals.com/signup.html

=========================================
12 - Please Refer a Friend to Rentors.org
=========================================

This "Tips for Vacation Rental Homeowners" newsletter was e-
mailed to members of Rentors.org -- which offers FREE online
availability calendars and guest books for vacation rental
property homeowners and property managers.

Please refer a friend to:

http://www.rentors.org/

==================
13 - How to Cancel
==================

To cancel your newsletter subscription, please log in to
your Rentors.org account and then select "Delete this
Account." Your free calendar(s) and guest book(s) will be
deleted, and you will no longer receive this newsletter.

==========================================================
Copyright (C) 2004 Rentors LLC, 95 Westlake Rd. Suite 205,
Hardy, VA 24101 USA Advertise: 540-375-3633
==========================================================
 

Click below to go to :

  Next Back Issue

  Back to Archive

  Article Contributions to Newsletters 

If you have any tips that you would like to share with fellow vacation home owners, you can send your articles

for consideration to be included in future issues.

Send contributions to rentors.org