2008 Vacation Rental By owner Season

2008 RENTAL SEASON

Well, the 2008 rental season is in full swing. We had tons of questions about how this season would turn out. Here is what we are seeing. The owners that are "working" the business correctly are doing better than ever. Our units and most of the owners we work directly with, that are using all of the tools available to them, online booking, advertising, running specials, photo albums, these owners are having record years.

They are all beating the 2007 numbers they posted last season. WHY? They are working harder than most other owners. The rental market is still very strong. With gas at almost $4 a gallon, people still want to take a vacation. So it is tougher on many, but with the proper tools, you can do very well in the toughest of times.

We are seeing some higher than usual cancellations. We feel this is due to many factors. They may have booked a few months ago, put a deposit down and when the full payment comes due, the funds may not be there for some families. This is another reason to be taking credit cards for your rent payments. Some guest who may not have the funds today, will put the final payment on a credit card, to make sure they can take the family on vacation. So it is another way to get business you may have lost.

We are also seeing new owners enter the market and doing VERY well. All for the same reasons. If they buy a desirable unit, they advertise properly, use the online vacation rental software from http://www.ivacationonline.com/ to complete bookings as fast as possible, they are filling up the calendar as soon as the start marketing.

REAL ESTATE MARKET. This is a totally different animal from the rental market. Real Estate markets are having a very tough time. Some prices continue to drop and some have leveled off. Buying a unit now is a great idea. Prices have not been this low in 4-5 years. But do not confuse a tough real estate market with a tough rental market. They are 2 different animals. Rentals are strong. You may have to work a little harder, but to the victor goes the spoils. Update your photos, take credit cards online, price your property correctly and you will have your share of business.

The bottom line is always been and always will be, you get out what you put in. Do the work to make your rental business a success and you will be successful. Do nothing and nothing will happen.

Stay tuned. We all hope the real estate market and the economy will swing back to the top soon.

Why take credit cards for Vacation Rentals by Owner.

This is a subject I feel passionate about. We work with owners everyday. Most owners have not run a business before, so opening a merchant account is something new and can be intimidating.

Most if not all businesses in general see the benefit in taking credit cards. It is what the market demands. Imagine going to a department store to buy some clothes to find out at the check out counter, they do not take any credit cards. What would you do? Would you still buy there? Would you ever shop there again? Think about it.

The majority of the people in the world today do a very high percentage of business, especially online with credit cards. They are fast, easy and provide a level of security for both the buyer and seller.

So why has the Vacation Rental By Owner market struggled so long to take credit cards? My answer is just a lack of knowledge on how they work, what the benefits are and what the REAL cost are.

If you want to compete online and maximize your vacation rental business, start taking credit cards. Why not? The cost has drastically come down. Everyone has one or two or more! We have negotiated one of the lowest cost out there with Securepay.com. Now having a full blown merchant service is VERY reasonable. Here is the rate structure we have negotiated for ivacationonline.com owners:




You can apply online here: ONLINE APPLICATION

Here are some more thoughts. Let's say you rent by the week. So you have a product to sell. It happens to be 52 items (your weeks). So you have limited inventory. One week may run $995, for example. If you are not 100% booked, could you improve your bookings with taking credit cards? My answer is YES! I have done just that. One more booking a year will more than pay for your $13 a month fee. If you have more than one unit, it is a no brainer. What if you get 3 more booking a year, the math will start to add up in your favor quickly!

Guests may not tell you that they didn't book with you because you do not take credit cards, but I have guest every year tell me they did book with me because I do take them. This is one of the ways I can out book my competition.

Now for the real life stuff. The merchant service with Securepay lets me take online bookings thru our online vacation rental software at ivacationonline.com.

This provides me a way to be on the phone with a guest, walk them through my listing and have them book it online, while I am talking to them and the transaction is complete. PERIOD. No pending weeks, no waiting on WORD documents and emails. The deal is done. To me that has great value. And the guest love it. They want less work, not more. If they can do it online and pay with a credit card quickly, they will. That is why I can beat some of my competition. Speed an ease. I make it easy, other owners make it hard. I win!

As time goes on, more and more owners are moving to online booking and taking credit cards. Why not get with the trend instead of behind it. Try taking credit cards and online booking. If you don't like it or it is not profitable, go back to emailing WORD documents back and forth.

You are running a business. There is always a cost to doing business, advertising, taxes, cleaning fees and your merchant service, are just a few. Don't try to skimp when you are trying to compete. It is time you have all the business tools you need to be successful! Good luck and let us know how you are doing!