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I use the term "lifestyle brand" to describe a vacation rental business whose marketing leads not with the property, but the vibes (or lifestyle) guests experience when staying there. You can immediately feel a lifestyle vacation rental brand when you come in contact with it.
For instance, @Kristi and Starship Landing Retreat. The property itself is still there. But it's not the centerpiece of the photography...
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Latest reply by - Will Franco
We enjoyed the atmosphere and provenance of the cabin itself, but most notable (aside from the gorgeous hill country...
Are you wondering if making your VR business more environmentally sustainable is relevant to you? then take a look at these two statistics from Booking.com 2019 Sustainable Travel Report
73% of global travellers intending to stay at least once in an eco-friendly or green...
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Latest reply by - Tarkan and Julia
Thanks so much for this Bob. We need to work harder on it and it’s very helpful to see all these suggestions in one place.
- Savvy Vacation Rentals
I stumbled into vacation rentals a few years ago and had no idea what I was doing. Yet, the transition wasn't too tricky coming from a hospitality background. What was difficult was the transition from amateur to professional.
My business partner and I got started with one...
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Latest reply by - KarenHunt
There are several great tidbits here that we will work into our business. We charge the same for housekeeping whether you rent for 3 days or 7 and have never had a complaint.
Our two homes are beach homes in Charleston, SC where...
- Owner/Software Expert
Channel management might be the single biggest confusing and misunderstood topic I come across. Here are a number of the falsehoods I hear often:
“A PMS is not a channel manager”
“Channel Manager integration is superior to a PMS integration”
“You only need one Channel...
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Latest reply by - AlexN
Hi Terry: great article! I'd love some opinions on how much lift a channel manager can provide beyond direct bookings and the primary channel. In other words, if my primary channel is say, Airbnb, then how much can I boost my occupancy by adding all other available channels...
So, I’ll preface this with the comment that it’s a long post, but hopefully one that is valuable to this community. I try to be detailed enough that someone reading understands the principles of what I am saying, and then can agree or disagree, vs just giving some bullet...
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Latest reply by - AlexC
Interestingly, I can make the argument that this writer is making the exact same mischaracterization of the "brands' consumers are buying as I am describing as a root of a lot of...
I had a guest who had booked us through VRBO a few years ago, had a great time, left a great review. They then rebooked the same way 5 years later. It dinged my ego :confused: . I worried if they didn't trust us. Turns out they didn't realize they could have booked directly...
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Latest reply by - Sherry
With online agencies like AirBnB and VRBO dominating the vacation rental space, owners trying to develop independent properties face an uphill battle.
We asked the question: How comfortable are guests booking directly from the owner?
In August 2021, we ran a...
- Koloa Kai
The vacation rental (VR) industry is undergoing a renaissance as the COVID-19 pandemic transitions out of its position of global dominance. Our industry has received an enormous amount of press in the past few years—some good and some bad—all of it culminating in increased awareness of what our industry offers.
The term “renaissance” is used deliberately here. Some refer to our industry as “new” or “young,” but...
This guest post is by Inner Circle leader James Olin, CEO of C2G Advisors LLC, who has been involved in M&A activities in vacation rental industry since 1992. He is the only person to be CEO of both the nation’s largest privately owned vacation rental company (Abbott...
- Owner & Hostess
The short term rental industry has exploded over the past decade. This post examines the deep shifts in real estate, technology, and labor that have forged a new definition of "mixed-use" and opens the discussion with insight into the direction it’s heading next.
Part 1. The...
This post is designed to inspire Property Managers everywhere to run best-in-class, functional and profitable businesses, while staying healthy, happy, and free. And we think it's more salient today than ever before.
The biggest lessons from 3 years of explosive growth...
Most owners and managers respond to the same inquiries and questions frequently. And the more advanced folks use automation such as canned messages and auto-responders.
But very rarely do we realize that not all guests are equal, and that responding in the same way to...
No matter how much we plan, prepare, maintain, improve, innovate or do, we can’t control everything.
Construction noise, power outages, severe weather, medical emergencies, road closures, and land crab migrations through the shower can spoil our guests’ vacations—yet are...
- Anna Maria Island Rentals
This post by Nancy McAleer of AMI Home Rental is for anyone thinking about starting a listing site. Nancy is also the Co-Founder of Florida Rental By Owners an online vacation rental listing website, designed to allow owners and managers full control advertising of their...
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