There are many options concerning classified ads, the following is a brief overview:

Online Classifieds i.e. Craigslist: The online world has opened up many opportunities, We believe The Global Bundle with HomeAway and 5 Craigslist markets will get you the most exposure for the least amount of money.

“Guys, thank you for your Craigslist posting. I followed your advice concerning my home in Vail and placed ads in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and Denver. All those markets have non-stop air service into Eagle and my e-mail has been buzzing with requests. Thank you again.”

Newspaper: Consider ads in your local newspaper (assuming the destination is within “drive-time” and/or in the community where the vacation rental is located (potential vacationers may review the classifieds on-line or will review while vacationing for their next trip)

Magazines: Specialty magazines are excellent opportunity to target an audience. Ski and Skiing magazines are favorites among those with vacation rentals in “snow country”. Be forewarned, for major resort areas, the many ads lead to “clutter on the page”. Spend a few dollars on enhanced borders, highlights, bold and so forth.

Personal E-Mail Advertising: As a witty message to your e-mail signature block about your vacation hoe including a picture and a link. For example: If I am e-mailing, I am not on the slopes of Aspen, thus my vacation home is available for rental, check it out at:_____________________

As vacation home rental managers, we all face a unique set of challenges on a daily basis from the individuality of our inventory to competition from VRBOs to the unprecedented increase in supply and decrease in demand concerning vacation home rentals.

TheSociety.com is proud to be affiliated with VRMA which represents over 600 property management and associate members in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, representing approximately 150,000 vacation rental homes, condos and villas. VRMA members represent the leading vacation rental management firms in North America.

The 25th Annual Conference is scheduled for later this month in Washington D.C. The annual meeting is one of the most important and educational opportunities you can partake as a property/estate vacation rental manager.

Of particular interest this year are the following seminars most appropriate for today’s challenging marketplace:

• Emerging Lifestyle and Travel Trends: Implications for Marketing Vacation Home Rentals in the Year Ahead.
• Industry Trends for Executives
• Yield/Revenue Management; Enter the Mainstream of Travel
• E-Mail Marketing; From Lead Capture to Conversion
• How to Maximize the Impact and Attractiveness of your Property Listing

The above are just a sampling of the many programs and seminars available to participants.

To Register:

http://www.vrma.com/resource/resmgr/Annual_Conference/WashingtonVRMRegForm3LateReg.pdf

If you are not a member of VRMA, please consider joining by contacting:

Rick Fisher
Membership & Strategic Development
1-800-557-0135 or (203) 461-9176
Rick.Fisher@DiscoverVacationHomes.com

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, buyers of condo-hotel properties are heading to court across the country arguing that developers who sold such units violated securities laws. Of interest, the court filings began as the real estate bubble started to deflate. For many buyers, condo-hotels seemed like a great idea. Hotel developers could offset construction costs by selling rooms to individuals then share the rental income with the owners every time a room was booked. However, instead of the lucrative venture some buyers claim they were promised by developers, condo-hotels have turned out to be one of the worst investments in decades. What is an owner to do?

Each condo-hotel development is unique and one must review their condominium by-laws, specifically concerning rental and management programs. Some may prohibit an owner from soliciting rentals on their own i.e. all rental and management must go through the managing agent to more liberal policies allowing owners to procure renters and just pay cleaning charges.

The following are a few options to consider if 1) you own a condo-hotel unit and 2) are looking for opportunities to increase rental activity and income generation.

• VRBO: Vacation Rental By Owner is one of the largest sites for owners and managers looking to rent their vacation or similar properties. We would suggest as much detail as possible including location, amenities, rate, pictures and always negotiable (see below for description and text).
• Craigslist: This free on-line bulletin board is an excellent option to capture local/regional traffic as well as national/international viewers. Best to mention condo building identity and address in headline to capture a click-through.
• Global Bundle: For deluxe and luxury vacation properties, The Global Bundle is an excellent option to harness the power of the internet while target marketing to the affluent traveler. Offering placements on WSJ.com, LuxuryRealEstate.com, The Robb Report, HomeAway and other sites. The Global Bundle can be tailored to match prospective travelers with your vacation residence. Costs associated with marketing may be tax-deductible, please consult with your tax advisor.
• Local Tourism Bureau or Reservations Service: Many major tourism destinations will have a “central reservations” office or similar associated with their Chamber of Commerce or Tourism Bureau. Contact directly to see if your vacation rental can be posted on their site(s).

How to write a compelling property description:

Make sure to include key words that people will be searching for. As an example, if your property is not located in the most popular destination or is not directly next to a famous attraction, but it is in close proximity, provide these destinations or attractions in your description with drive time or miles away so that your property is picked up in the most likely searches.

See the description written for Fox Valley at the Raven as a great example. It is located in Silverthorne, CO, but is a close drive away from the best ski resorts and activities in Vail, Breckenridge, and Keystone.

For more on how to construct the perfect description, our distribution partner, HomeAway, does a wonderful job providing further tips. Check out this article for more on writing a description or browse through many other listing tips here.

Big news in the vacation rental industry. Yesterday Home Away announced another large round of financing. They raised an additional $250M. Techcrunch released a blog entitled “Monster Round For HomeAway: $250 Million, At An Absurd Valuation“. Below is the post, please click through to read the comments.

Austin, Texas based HomeAway, a vacation home rental service, has raised a $250 million round of financing. This comes on top of $209 million previously raised over two rounds.

The new financing was led by Technology Crossover Ventures, with existing investors IVP and Redpoint Ventures participating as well. The financing is the largest minority investment of a U.S. Internet company in the last eight years, according to Venture Source.

The pre-money valuation was around $1.15 billion, say a couple of sources, and at least $50 million of the round went off the table to earlier investors. The company was founded in 2005 and has grown primarily through acquisitions: They’ve acquired at least eleven vacation home rental sites, including VRBO, VacationRentals.com, Abritel.fr and OwnersDirect.co.uk.

The company has revenues of around $150 million and $50 million in ebitda. In addition to cashing out some of the investors, our guess is that the additional funding will likely be used for further acquisitions.

It’s also clear that the round was seriously overvalued. Ebay was rumored to have mulled over an acquisition earlier this year at $1.5 billion, but it never came through with a firm offer. It’s not clear who else could be a buyer at this valuation. Also, since HomeAway has acquired just about everyone in the market, there’s little room for
additional growth via acquisitions. 20x ebitda is a public company valuation for a company with real growth potential. Our guess is these new investors may take a bath.

What does this mean to the industry? Time will tell but my guess is they have a few things in mind:

1. Online booking tool/service for RBOs (Rent by owners). Either they will build it (or it’s built) or they will buy someone that is doing it well.

2. Make a bigger push into the property management segment of the industry.

3. Rollout premium services for existing clients, one of which might include an advertising engine for RBOs that currently just post their property profiles.