Author Archives: Doug
The Vacation Rental Revolution
It all started with the internet. Like many other industries, the vacation rental business came into its own with the advent of the world wide web. Finally, vacation rental properties could be marketed to the masses. Local property managers were the first adopters and soon every vacation rental business had a website, with online reservations soon to follow. … Continue reading
Vacation Rental Cleaning Procedure
Sooner or later, every growing vacation rental management company will be forced to standardize their housekeeping department policy and procedure, or suffer the consequences. Attempting to juggle the endless duties involved in vacation rental management without some sort of structured system in place can easily cause the entire management process to fail. And today the stakes are higher than ever. With the advent … Continue reading
Vacation Rental Blogging 101
Everybody’s blogging these days – and for good reason. We’ve discovered that blogging is an excellent way to create fresh content for websites and social media. It helps businesses connect with their customers and drives traffic to websites. Regular blogging will position you and your company as an expert resource and keep you in tune with your industry. Here are a few tips for new bloggers: … Continue reading
Building Your Company’s Vacation Rental Inventory
Building a vacation rental inventory for your management company follows many of the same techniques that real estate agents use for obtaining new listings. It’s all about building your professional and personal contacts, networking, farming, salesmanship, and performance. Search Engine Rankings Maintaining a high rank in the search engines is crucial to successful property recruitment. New prospects will want … Continue reading
Marketing Your Vacation Rentals With Video
Video marketing isn’t anything new to vacation rentals, but the importance of including a video campaign as part of your overall marketing strategy is more important than ever. Search engines love video just as much as humans do and vacation rental managers and owners are using video to showcase properties and promote their businesses with great success. Here are a … Continue reading
A Day In The Life Of A Vacation Rental Manager
I live in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California, specifically Big Bear, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. It’s a very competitive rental market with many unique challenges. Our winters are usually nothing compared to other parts of the country but every once in a while we get big storms and lots of snow. Several … Continue reading
Using Facebook To Promote Your Vacation Rental
Facebook is a great way to promote vacation rental properties and connect with past, present, and future guests. If you follow some basic steps and post consistently you will have an amazing marketing tool at your disposal. The only investment is your time. Here are a few tips for getting started. Start by setting up a page for your property. At the bottom of your profile … Continue reading
Make Your Vacation Rental Stand Out From The Competition
The stagnant real estate market is forcing property owners to produce income instead of selling and new vacation rentals are coming on the market every day. So what can you do to stand out? Here are a few suggestions for gaining an edge over the competition. Update your description and photos. Re-write your rental listing’ headline and description to evoke … Continue reading
Difficult Guests and Negative Reviews
Now matter how well you treat your guests or how professional your operation is, sooner or later someone is going to complain. With the advent of online reviews, if a disgruntled guest wants to retaliate they now have a place to do it. You must have a plan in place to handle the unexpected breakdowns and misunderstandings that arise out of your … Continue reading
Create A Welcome Book / Users Manual For Your Vacation Rental
One of the best ways to help your guests enjoy their stay at your vacation rental is to create a comprehensive “Welcome” book. Chances are your guests will be unfamiliar with your property and the surrounding area and will appreciate all the relevent information you can provide. Here’s a few tips for creating a custom welcome book for your vacation rental. Start … Continue reading