Blog

Lodging Update March 31st, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 03/31/16 Topics: Advertising, Property Management Comments:

Spring has sprung so it must be time for an update on all things Inns, Resorts and Vacation Rentals.

We hope to start sending an update with the monthly statements to keep you posted on our work and the state of the Vacation Rental Industry. This month is a good example because there have been momentous changes from some of the websites on which rentals are advertised.

This month we also have a few other topics that you may be interested in. Please rest assured we are working more diligently than anyone in the business to keep your homes safe, provide attentive guest services, and produce the most comprehensive advertising around.

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April 30, 2016 Update Statements Dated March 31, 2016

Here is an update on your property, our work for you and the industry in general. There is not room to cover every topic but over time we'll cover important and informative topics.

PROPERTY COORDINATION: Kylee Genett has been promoted to Property Coordinator, responsible for the many details necessary to setup properties, arrange services and onsite staff, and work with our advertising experts and website engineers. She has been with us for a year and has more energy than the Energizer bunny.

AD WEBSITES: Our managed homes are advertised on over 300 websites and that is not an exaggeration. Other managers use just a few websites, and some up to 5 or 10. Our large reach is sure to garner more inquiries and bookings for properties.

Because we employ our own programmers, we have been able to automatically distribute listings to dozens of websites. We are able to synchronize calendars to dozens more (which prevents double bookings), but we still manually submit advertising to all the others. It is a chore but that is why we produce more bookings and better rates.

HOUDINI WEBSITES: A reminder that we usually produce an individual full e-commerce website for every home in our care. These help to garner more attention on the internet. If you have not yet sent us your portrait photo and a few paragraphs for the "About Us" section, please do so as it will comfort guests and gain bookings. For privacy reasons we do not recommend using your last name.

HUB BUB: On January 1st 2016, HomeAway.com, owner of many websites such as VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com, was purchased by Seattle based Expedia. They are now implementing many changes such as charging guests an extra fee on top of rental costs, employing "Best Match" which means not all properties are displayed to all guests at all times and more.

The industry is aflame with dissatisfaction but complaining will do no good. So we cooperate and place further emphasis on all the other websites we use including Houdinis, Kreskins (our local manager websites), and Marcos (affiliated tourism websites). Our full integration with Homeaway and other websites should cause these changes to benefit your property. Time will tell.

SUMMER: The high season is well on the way and our onsite staff is beefing up and being trained. Over the past decades the industry has noted that guests are not booking as far in advance of arrival. That makes it more difficult to examine advance sales to determine the future but our office staff has also expanded to take care of last-minute bookings. We are open 100 hours a week by phone and 24/7 for guest and property services.

NEW RESORT: Our newest project is Oyhut Bay Resort in Washington State. 36 condos, 24 cottages and soon 200 more along with retail, restaurants, pool, wedding chapel and more. As clients, you get an additional 10% off the already low introductory rates. See www.OyhutBayVacationRentals.com.

That’s it for this month. You are invited to send in questions you would like to see covered in future months.

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Author: Wm. May, Vortex Managers
Blog #: 0519 – 03/31/16
Sponsor: Vortex Organization – We train quality people to help run unique Inns, Resorts and Vacation Rental Management companies, in an industry that has been a webby net of technology combined with good old fashioned property, guest and owner services. – VortexManagers.com