Owning Vacation Properties In Different Areas.

The vacation rental business is sometimes a odd creature. For many owners the ebb and flow of peak seasons are like clock work. The Panhandle of Florida starts to heat up just as the north does, and follows the college spring breaks year after year. May tends to be slower and as soon as Memorial weekend hits it is hard to answer all of the calls.

It may seem strange to others the summer is the peak season in northern Florida, but it is a big family vacation destination. That said southern Florida has a bit of a different peak season, even though they enjoy a vibrant summer vacation rental season, winter is a very busy season for them with many northerners escaping the cold. Canadians love Florida and marketing to their cities is a good way to get renters.

Often vacation rental owners that hold several properties often have them in the same general vicinity. There is merit to this decision, but having properties with different peak seasons is not a bad idea as well. The Smoky Mountains has a big fall travel season and runs all the way to New Years. They of course do well all summer long.

 A home in southern climates can keep you cash register ringing all winter long with snowbirds, and any beach property does well during the summer.

Certainly there are difficulties with having properties in different locations, such as having to use different cleaning companies, different maintenance people. There are also benefits, remember there are tax deductions available when you have to travel to your property to inspected, clean, and repair.

Of course always check with your tax adviser about deductions, and call ivol.biz to set up your properties. Through their online system you can automate the cleaning crew so that they are notified of each cleaning, You can store your list of service providers in their system so that you or your on site manager can contact them in short notice.

VRBO, Homeaway, Vacation Rentals. Rentalo, When Is It Enough Advertising.

Are You  Spending Too Much On VRBO, and Homeaway ?

If you are running a successful vacation rental business or have a vacation house or condo that you rent out, you have un-doubtably heard of one or all of these websites. You may actually be using one or all of them. Some of these websites can be expensive but combine the cost of several of these and you could be spending a small fortune on listings for your property. One key factor to decide when you have reached a tipping point is when you return is no longer worth the investment.

When starting out renting your vacation property or properties you need a lot of exposure, but if you have been renting your property for a while and have taken advantage of ivacationonline's website offer you have most likely built up some repeat customers. Not only have you built repeat customers but you most likely have some ranking on the search engines. Ivacationonline even offers a service to help get your website ranked. Back to the point at hand, do I need all of the listing I'm paying for? Here is the first thing I would ask. Are your properties booked as much as you feel they can be? Are you turning away potential renters for the same weeks over and over again. Do you have multiple properties?

If you answered yes to these then most likely you could start scaling down some of your ads. You may want to just lower you subscription level on some, or get rid of 1 or 2 all together. 1 thing about having multiple properties is that you can refer inquiries from a property that is already booked to another property. Another tactic to save money is to build a network of other owners in your area. When all of your properties are booked start referring them to other owners and ask them to do likewise. This is free and a referral is good way to build confidence with the renter.

So lets say you do stop a few of your listing and you feel your bookings are not what they used to be, you can always turn your listing back on and typically the website has all the information saved so that you don't have to build the listing all over again.

Give reducing your listing a try if you feel confident that your bookings can be maintained. It could mean the savings of thousands of dollars each year for advertising your properties.

Travel Guard Product Training Through ivacationonline.com

If you are a member of ivacationonline.com then you are very familiar with the benefits and peace of mind that travel guard offers to those who invest in their insurance programs to protect themselves and renters from accidental damage and travel insurance. If you are not a member here is a golden opportunity to learn about Travel Guard and their relationship with ivacationonline.com

You are invited to join us for a Webinar on April 17 2012, this open-forum training session will allow ivacationonline.com members and non-members to learn about the travel insurance and damage protection available through the ivacationonline.com system and the benefits to the homeowner and their guests.

Details of the event:

Title: Travel Guard Product Training: ivacationonline.com
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM CDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements

PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/481660576

Stop Losing Money With Your Vacation Property.

Many people own a second home or vacation condos and have them on rental programs. These rental programs rarely generate enough income for the home owner to cover the fees of renting their property. With property management companies charging fees as much as 35%, the home or condo owner is left with very little revenue. What if there was a way to achieve 50%, 60% or even 70% occupancy in you vacation rental? What if there was a system that allowed you to easily manage and book your own property?

Well there is way, VACATION RENTALS FOR PROFIT is a vacation rental website that shows you how to rent your own property and turn a profit. They are hosting a free informational seminar at the Sharonville Convention Center Saturday, FEB 25, 2012, 11:00 AM to 6:00PM. The seminar is free to all vacation property owners and their spouses. Any vacation rental owner or anyone interested in buying a vacation rental will recieve FREE admission to the seminar and all of its events. There is no obligations when register for or attend the event, this seminar is 100% free.

Not only is the event free but lunch will be provided for free by one of the events sponsors, Travel Guard. But wait, it gets better, not only is the seminar free, your lunch is free, and everyone who attends will recieve a free copy of "Vacation Rentals For Profit" by Author, Joe Godar. This book which sells for $28.95 and is yours free just for attending.

The seminar is an educational and informational event. Here is just a partial list of what will be covered at the Seminar:

• How to keep our units fully occupied.
• How to price your unit for success.
• How to advertise on the Internet.
• How to set your terms for you guest.
• How to use the booking site www.ivacationonline.com
• Tax advantages of owning real estate.
• Plus much more!

If you are thinking of buying a vacation rental, have had one for years or currently have a management company run it for you, this seminar is for you! Meet Joe Godar, industry professionals, and other home owners who have learned to start making a profit with their vacation property.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW! Seats are limited. To register for the seminar simply follow this link and fill out the registration form online. Go to www.vacationrentalsforprofit.com/seminars.html/

Deposit Insurance with Travel Guard

We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Travel Guard. Travel Guard and ivacationonline.com have teamed up to provide a unique service to both private owners of vacation rentals and management companies of vacation rentals.


Accidental Rental Damage Insurance through Travel Guard is now integrated into your ivacationonline.com account. As the property owner or manager, you now have the option to charge a $45 fee for coverage up to $1500 in accidental damage done to your property. This benefits both the owner and guest.

The owner now has up to $1500 in coverage in case of an accident. If you previously took a $300 security deposit, what did you do when something cost more than $300? Now with the Travel Guard Accidental Rental Damage Insurance being integrated with the ivacationonline.com vacation rental software, your bookings can have up to $1500 in coverage. That is 5 times the coverage of a $300 security deposit.

You will also see an increase in bookings as your pricing now seems to be lower. If you are taking a security deposit, that appears to be an additional fee to book with you. So they may shop elsewhere.

The good news is the owner/manager receives a portion of this fee as compensation for offer the coverage on their property. Now you can actually make money by running your business on the vacation rental property management system, ivacationonline.com!

The guest also benefits from this as they do not have to tie up additional funds in a security deposit for months. They also have more coverage then a $300 security deposit provides.

We feel this is a huge step for the private owners to run a successful vacation rental business. They can act just like the pros!

Claims are all handled inside the ivacationonline.com software and the whole transaction is automated upon booking. There is no additional work for the owner/ manager or guest.

Next on the development list is the Travel Guard TRAVEL INSURANCE interface. The owners/managers will be able to offer either optional or mandatory travel insurance with every booking through the ivacationonline.com vacation rental management software. This is another huge step forward in protection and convenience for the owners/managers and guest. Stay tuned....

Here is a short note about Travel Guard:

Travel Guard works with marquee clients worldwide to provide customized travel insurance plans, emergency travel services, travel medical assistance, concierge, and customized call center solutions for their employees and customers. When you partner with Travel Guard, our passion for exceptional customer care will exceed your expectations and those of your customers.

John M. Noel is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Travel Guard. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Travel Guard is one of the world's leading travel insurance providers. The company specializes in providing innovative travel insurance, assistance and emergency travel services for millions of travelers and thousands of companies throughout the world.

Travel Guard has built its reputation upon unparalleled customer service and its values-based approach to doing business. As a result, John Noel has been awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year, the University of Wisconsin Regent Partnership Award, and the State of Wisconsin's Exemplary Employer Award. Recently, Noel was named as the recipient of the World Tourism Award in recognition of "Travel Guard's values-based approach to business and its philanthropic mission to give back to both the global and local communities it serves.”

"Our clients appreciate our exceptional customer service and our ‘never say no’ approach to doing business… We’re proud to work with leading companies throughout the world who share our commitment to solid corporate values."

John Noel
Founder & CEO, Travel Guard

ivacationonline.com is proud to be associated with TRAVEL GUARD and we look forward to a long relationship with them. If you need a reservation system for your vacation rental and want to have this level of service and the protection that TRAVEL GUARD provides you and your guest, join ivacationonline.com today!

Happy Renting!

Joe Godar
ivacationonline.com

Stop Vacation Rental Foreclosure

This is the "SIGN" of the times! It does not have to happen to you!

If you own a vacation rental and you are having trouble with making the payments, there is help. Here is what we are seeing as the biggest problem in the vacation rental industry. There are really 2 things that have happened.

SPECULATION. Many buyers a few years ago have purchased a property when the market was on the rise hoping to flip in in the short term for a profit. They bought as the market was going up and then it peaked and fell off. So selling it for what they paid is not an option. This was the start of the real estate bubble.

So now they own a vacation home or condo and may not have wanted to be the owner for the long run. They do not have a plan in place to rent or manage the property. This is very common in this market. There is help. We want to help! ivacationonline.com can help you manage your property online and turn it into a cash flowing machine. It is not that hard. You simply have to look at this as a business. You need to advertise, take credit cards online and set up your business! Once set up, the market is still there. People are still going on vacations and they can stay with you and now you have help to pay your mortgage.

This does take work! It does take time. The option of not doing this and giving the property back to the bank is last thing most people want to do. This is a great business. Guest want to pay you to stay in your vacation home or condo and this is cash flow you need to support the property. Sitting around and "waiting for the market to come back" is basically financial suicide.

Fell free to contact us today for a complete property evaluation. We can take a look at your property, estimate cash flow and help you get started on the road to a successful vacation rental business.

Here is the other problem we are seeing in the vacation rental market.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT. Many owners have properties and have had them for years before this real estate break down. Many property management companies do a great job. It seems that the smaller, private companies or mom and pop shops seem to have a leg up on the mega companies we see in almost every resort town.

The smaller companies are able to pay more attention to your property and may have several key people that work there and will know you and your home. Some mega companies have a rotating system to place business in your property and they have a hard time keeping your unit occupied.

We can help you! You can do this on your own if you need the extra cash flow to pay your bills. Sitting there and doing nothing will end up getting you NOTHING in the long run. Make a change. Find a new company that can produce results or go out on your own. We have the online vacation rental software that will run this business for you. Once set up, taking online bookings and handling the day to day things that this business needs is very easy. It makes you look like a top rate company, with one property!

Make some changes! Try something new! Got out on your own. Stay out of foreclosure. We have software, books and customer support ready and willing to help you run your vacation rental by owner. It has never been easier! Just take some action today! Call us, we are ready to help! We help owners every day turn vacant, empty, cash sucking homes into cash flow machines. Just give this a try!

Joe Godar
888-716-2220
ivacationonline.com Vacation Rental Software
Vacation Rentals for Profit - Book