I recently wrote an article on the promising year that vacation rentals had to look forward to in 2013. In that article, which can be found here, we discussed how numbers for january 2012 were up substantially from 2011 and that property managers were even more optomistic about 2013. In general, Barefoot has heard nothing but similar views from our own customers. All of this is helping 2013 shape up to be an excellent year.
In another blog recently posted on travelweekly.com, reports showed that in high end rentals, more home owners are drifting back to professional management instead of the VRBO model. In a report published by PhocusWright for the VRMA (Vacation Rental Managers Association) shows that over 50% of rental industry income goes to management professionals. Considering that this number was at 43% in 2007, the growth is promising for the industry.
These small numbers may seem just that, small. However, when we start to bring these seperate points together the bigger picture comes into play, and that is that 31% of travelers favor booking through a professional manager to avoid travel surprises. In such a personal industry, we at Barefoot hope that people are becoming more aware of the benefits of using a trustworthy source.
So when we look at all of these numbers and points and start to piece the puzzle together 2013 is shaping up to be a phenomenal year. Professional property managers have been through a tough few years economically but the future is bright. With social media, scams are becoming more prelevant to travelers, people are beginning to value things besides the absolute botom dollar again, and the vacation industry has survived and is poised for the future.
Make sure your company is doing all it can to position yourself as a trustworthy market leader. Stay tuned for our next blog that will outline something you can do to set yourself up for success.
Read the original article here: www.travelweekly.com
