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- Founder, VRMB
Crowdsourcing means collecting information from other vacation rental people. It allows you to save time and money while tapping into lessons from owners and managers with different skills or perspectives from all over the world.
Crowdsourcing works best at early, pivotal stages of your vacation rental growth: believe it or not, many other VR pros have been through that challenge before. They may even have a...
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Latest reply by - AshleyK
Hi Ashley, I'm happy to share my pack with you and let you know how I do this.
I would be so grateful for anything you can share with me! You can email me at...
- Founder, VRMB
If you do one thing thing this year, double down on your hospitality brand.
Your hospitality brand is your unique style of taking care of guests (both internally with your team and outwardly with guests) and it's the single most valuable asset *fully in your control* that deserves attention, resources, and in some cases serious course corrections. Remember, Quality Branded IP stands the test of time.
I just...
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Latest reply by
- Matt Landau
I guess my issue with branding is that it feels like a marshmallow. It's a little hard to get a real concept of, and I can't quite put a finger on something concrete. And then how do you express it? Develop a set of...
- 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...
- 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 locals and guests use golf carts all year long. We bit the...
- Founder, VRMB
IDEA
All owners and managers want more bookings. Most try to achieve this by generating new inquiries. But few focus on increasing their conversion rate (the percentage of existing inquiries that convert to actual bookings). In reality, the same unit of energy spent on increasing a conversion rate can yield many more bookings than that same unit spent on generating new inquiries.
ACTION
1. Calculate your...
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Latest reply by - HWeb
@HWeb brilliant as I have only come to expect from you. Now I need to think up a way to explain this very true adjustment.
One thing I do that makes me...
- Founder, VRMB
This week’s discussion all about niche marketing ideas comes directly from the golf course! @CJ sent me the following photo of a vacation rental owner who scatters golf balls with contact information around the backyard of his golf course-front vacation home in Georgia. This is a cheap, creative, and focused way of speaking directly to his target audience.
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Where are your niche guests...
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Latest reply by - SScurlock
What a great idea! A previous guest painted encouraging messages on small rocks and left them all over the farm - it was fun to find them. I always left them...
- Founder, VRMB
Last week marked the end of our third round of Keystone Retreats, which are small-group learning experiences for short term rental professionals (new but still ugly website here) and I’d like to share one of my favorite takeaways.
"No Matter What Happens, You Can Always Pick Up And Move To France"
We hosted this particular retreat at Spring Lakes Ranch which used to be a drug rehab facility.
When they learned...
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Latest reply by - DMartinez
Ever since @Heather's first conference I had a great desire to attend a vacation rental focused event/conference. I would have made it there were it not for life interfering. My goal then and continues to be not only to gain knowledge and skills, but as mentioned above, to...
- Founder, VRMB
I recently came across an insightful case study (attached) titled "From Niche to Movement to Mainstream" about the rise of the food truck movement (and hip hop).
Reading it, I couldn't help but see the parallels with our work (and think about a similar discussion Can we copy the craft beer movement?)...here are some of the interesting nuggets I gleaned from the food truck PDF (attached):
The catalyst for the...
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Latest reply by - Lauren Madewell
@Dawn what a wonderfully relevant moment for the Hedgehog to make its return to the community.
@TomG and @Lauren Madewell -- I'm curious (been thinking about your family businesses this week as you have both endured centuries of market growth) -- is the hedgehog a...
- Founder, VRMB
Permission to Prune
IDEA: Tree pruning means selectively removing injured, dead, or infected parts of the tree in order to improve the tree’s structure, and promoting new, healthy growth. Vacation rental businesses can prune too by selectively removing parts of the business that are weighing us down and impeding our goals.
ACTION: Prune parts of your business that may be restricting your growth. Some examples...
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Latest reply by - StacyW
We are removing our property service homes as we no longer have the band width to take care of them for the peanuts we are making. We are dropping 12 homes where we do security checks and clean for...
- Founder, VRMB
NOTE: This MMM was inspired by @Mark's recent post: Mining Reviews for Marketing Gems
IDEA: As independent vacation rental professionals, our instinct is arguably our greatest advantage over bigger hospitality organizations: it keeps us agile, different, and focused (by following our intuition). Because our instinct is mostly internal, any tools that can help us channel, systematize, or articulate should used...
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Latest reply by - Catherine
Hi Catherine, when I say “cache” I am referring to store away — this could be copy/paste, it could mean exporting a file...
- Founder, VRMB
Today's MMM celebrates the inaugural episode of Season 3 of the Unlocked podcast. This episode titled The Biggest Lesson of My Career features Steve Milo, one of the biggest (and some might say most controversial) property managers in the US. I would encourage you to listen to this interview: it includes some harsh realities but also some deep lessons in survival no matter how passionate you are. Here's my big...
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Latest reply by - Flo
@Matt thanks! It is 40% total direct bookings all of which came through our website so far for the summer, and 60% listing site bookings. Compared with only 15% direct bookings all of last summer, and 85% through listing sites. 3.5 times more direct days...
- Founder, VRMB
IDEA
Approximately 100% of VRMB subscribers want more repeat/referral bookings
Around 75% offer a world-class on-site experience
Maybe 50% send guests thank-you notes or parting thoughts upon departure
About 25% have a newsletter campaign to stay front of mind
But less than 1% are all up in da Club ♫
Da Club is a private and tightly-knit group of former guests who have stayed, enjoyed themselves, and...
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Latest reply by
- Catherine
@Matt Landau Wonderful! I put lavender scent on them and also use them in my laundry. My clothes smell soooooo good!
You gotta get a "manly manly scent", Matt! Lol!
- Founder, VRMB
IDEA
Small incremental changes in pricing and price structure can yield significant cumulative returns over the course of the year. The better your track record, the more bold you can get with these kinds of changes. You don't need software to do this: you need conviction.
ACTION
As 2019 closes, do an audit of your vacation rental business and look for areas in which you can make small incremental pricing...
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Latest reply by - PatrickP
YESSS! What was the profit increase over the course of 1 year?
In fact 50% as i am in a town with no many hotels
I am full booked
- Founder, VRMB
This week's podcast episode (embedded below) featuring @TomG of Mt. Laurel Chalets in Gatlinburg, TN includes a very special segment (starts at 11:05) about an idea Tom calls Hometown Heroes here's how it's described on his site:
Every hometown has its heroes. The unseen caregiver who is called to serve. An unlikely achiever who tackles obstacles with a can-do spirit. Perhaps it's the unsung champion who runs...
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Latest reply by - Debi
Matt and I had a discussion about our Hometown Hero Contest on his podcast Unlocked back in May. We launched this pilot right after that and we are now naming our first round of winners. The fun is only getting...
- Founder, VRMB
I first learned the phrase "creative destruction" from my co-founder in Esperanza Social Venture Club (gang intervention program).
Brief Aside: Building a demobilization program was new and uncharted territory. No one had done anything like this in Panama. So with little experience, we assembled a team, raised money, planned a pilot intervention program with Gang #1 and it went surprisingly well. So well in...
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Latest reply by
- Lauren Madewell
Creatively destroying my homeowner acquisition process as we speak. Up until Summer of 2020, onboarding a new owner was like meeting a new friend- I met the...
- Efficiency Manager, VRMB
In my exploration of AI, I asked Pi about Matt Landau and VRMB. Pi's response was insightful and nuanced (screen-recording below).
Pi's voice is about a 1-second delayed. That's why you see the lag time from when I text and Pi's voice starts.
What's your take on Matt...
- Founder, VRMB
In vacation rentals we talk about listing sites.In the restaurant world, it's delivery apps like Grubhub, Door Dash, and Post Mates. These tech companies have taken a sizable bite out of restaurant economic models and margins -- especially in the wake of the pandemic as demand for delivery surges.
To discourage the use of delivery apps (aka. "book direct") Domino's Pizza got creative. Domino's franchisees (in...
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Latest reply by - RuthM
Just seeing this now. WOW. What a powerful choice for an advertisement. Makes you want to order Domino's, right? Doing the right thing in your community is always the...
- Founder, VRMB
One of the big shifts I've made over the last year is in recognizing creativity is THE muscle all homerunners need to start exercising more consistently and pronto -- said another way, it is the LACK of outside-the-box thinking that gets even the most innovative companies stuck in their old/comfortable ways and in some cases sunk.
Side Note: I've become so enamored with creative pursuits that I have begun to...
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Latest reply by - JPrugh
For several years I worked with a printer for big jobs as well as small jobs. He was easy to work with, reliable, and his...
The latest research from Booking .com makes for compelling reading if you are interested in sustainability in our industry. Sustainability both for the environment and the future success of YOUR business.
In summary
83% of global travelers think sustainable travel is...
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Latest reply by - BobG
Building on my post above about Google travel listings now we have an interesting development on flights.
Check out Google Flights planner. You can see the carbon emission per passenger per flight. Helps you and your guests build more environmental sustainability into...
- Founder, VRMB
The single most valuable skill a vacation rental entrepreneur can develop is curating special experiences for guests.
Done successfully the rest of the dominoes fall into place: special experience = 5-star reviews + repeat bookings / referrals / PR. Oppositely, if you don't do this (no matter how good the rest of your business is) guests won't remember, return, or refer.
"Curating special experiences" starts...
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Latest reply by
- Will Franco
The first thing that comes to mind is tailoring the experience(s) to their love language.
Speaking from a guest's perspective, three vacations come to mind:
Vendue Inn, Charleston
Apartment, Ravello
Useppa Island, SW Florida
I've never thought about why these...
- Founder, VRMB
This message from a guest gave me the chills.
It made me wonder, have any members of this community had any supernatural reviews?
Here's the full Twitter thread...
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Latest reply by
- Matt Landau
That's an amazing review!
We have one house. I know it was one of the originals in our little Oregon Coast town. it was probably the home to many salty fisherman. We're a newer culture so the homes...
- Founder, VRMB
This week's motivation is a hat-tip to @ToonTownRob who introduced us to the concept in this thread: Remodel nearly done. Now need a Logo
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IDEA
A wordmark is a text-only typographic treatment of the name of a business (or vacation rental property) used for purposes of identification and branding.
It is different from a logo, which is usually shapes, symbols, icons, badges...etc.
Because a...
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Latest reply by
- Matt Landau
We struggle with the individual name aspect as we have 80 plus homes. At what point is it a hinderance to add names to your properties and should focus more on the branding of your business...
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 confusion out there. Hopefully...
- Founder, VRMB
Last week I visited @Tarkan and Julia in Istanbul, Turkey and WOW what a gigantic bustling historic crossroads of world history (if you haven't consider planning a visit -- Turkish Airlines is amazing and Julia and Tarkan's properties rock).
For dinner one evening my best friend Adam and I booked our maiden meal on Eat With, which is basically like a listing site for home-cooks. In short, home cook makes a menu...
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Latest reply by
- SScurlock
My sister has traveled all over the world, and she and her husband always book a meal in someone's home (not sure through who) when in another country. She has said...
- Founder, VRMB
What do Japanese whiskey, oysters at a hardware store, and limited edition basketball jerseys have in common?
We'll get to that in a moment...
This week I had the chance to see many of you (@Megan C @MichelleR @Matthew @BrianO @BlakeM @AndyM @Nars @StacyW @GregoryF) at the NWVRP Conference in Oregon, where I featured an important new workshop titled First Mover Status, now available for your educational...
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Latest reply by
- DMartinez
What specifically about your destination (to borrow a phrase from @Virginia) makes your heart race?
Actually, it's the fact that my heat is NOT racing, that makes Sea Ranch such a wonderful location it's where we and all our guests (especially from San Francisco/Silicon Valley) come to...
- Founder, VRMB
@Steve Schwab went from living in the back of a bar in Puerto Peñasco Mexico and helping out with HVAC systems to building Casago into a major property management company with thousands of properties and franchises all over the US and Mexico. He's featured in our second episode of Homerunners and he's become a thought partner to Matt in tackling some of the deepest questions of our industry.
This episode is...
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Latest reply by - Steve Schwab
What a great experience working with Matt and Stuart on this project. I am always available if any of you ever want to talk about the industry, how to find your own values and...
- Founder, VRMB
When we talk about the “holy grail” of vacation rental marketing we talk about the repeat guest: the guest who knows and loves your vacation rental: the guest that you consider almost a friend. And to cultivate repeat guests, there are two spheres to consider:
Sphere 1: Activities that cost money and activities that only require time.
Sphere 2: Activities that are done a) pre-booking, b) during the stay, and...
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Latest reply by - DK
Yesss! Easy to do with a decent CRM or property management software.
Well, I'm still kinda stuck...
- Founder, VRMB
IDEA
Just because all vacation rental properties and owners are different (this is what makes us great) does not mean we cannot unite them under one umbrella. Collections or clusters of properties with a common theme and/or location have been used by big hotel brands for decades. So long as they have a core identity, Collections can tighten, distinguish, and drive the marketing of any growing vacation rental...
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Latest reply by
- Matt Landau
I'll need to search into past posts on "BackLinks" for past discussions on the topic.
re "invent a Collection name that...
- Owner & Hostess
I am at it again - after moving from Nashville where I ran the local Advocacy group for over 5 years, I am started efforts in my new hometown (Cocoa Beach, Florida). This is a MUCH smaller area than Nashville so I am working with a lot less resources (ie Airbnb and Vrbo...
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Latest reply by
- MeganM
Did you see my post on this other thread? Take a look, especially at the articles I linked to.
Thanks, Rob. I hadn't seen your post. I did already have a link to the UCF article but since it was pre-COVID was trying to...
- Founder, VRMB
In this week's unlocked interview with @Virginia (embedding it below if you haven't listened) at 40:00 we begin talking about the kinds of properties that are in vogue and Virginia reveals that she now offers a teepee!
In the listing description she BEGS people NOT to come to her teepee ("Do NOT come to this teepee! The road is rough, grumpy neighbor, you have to use outhouse") and lots of people DON'T come...
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Latest reply by - Karla
I am going to bypass the “if money is no object” part of the what I love about a place, so much makes my heart still race about Tropical Blessings that the money part...
Welcome to VRMB!
I’m Matt Landau, the founder of this forum. It was created in 2016 when a group of us wanted a safe space to discuss our growing STR businesses.
Today, you can join our community of 1,000+ creative, thoughtful, and generous members who believe in a better future.
Spotlight
Discover "Unlocked: The Intermission" - a captivating 6-part podcast series featuring the individuals who have shaped Matt Landau's horseradish in the past 6 months.