Barefoot Technologies Blog- Vacation Rental Industry News

Being a marketing intern for Barefoot Technologies has been a great experience. My knowledge about Vacation rentals and the industry was very limited before I joined the Barefoot team. I knew it consisted of renting a furnished house, apartment or condo but I wasn’t sure how you went about it or made it happen. I had no idea this was a $23billion industry in the US in 2012 and that it is growing in popularity, but after all the information I have red I see the potential in investing in Vacation rentals.

I wrote a blog on April 2^nd titled “Preparing your Florida vacation rentals to be ready for changeand now change is one step closer. But the changes may not be as drastic as some local full-time residents had hoped for. The Florida Vacation Rental Bill-SB 356 just passed the Senate with compromise language. It will now go to Governor Scott. The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday with a 90-27 vote that gives local governments’ limited control over rentals but not the regulatory power many were seeking.

On March 12th we wrote a blog that described state lawmakers in Florida looking to have changes made to the rental properties industry by July 1st of this year. The bill is about the rights of the people who live near the rental properties according to those who support it.To read the full bill click here. If this bill passes, changes would need to be made to your business to abide by these new rules. The community would be able to impose rules on trash, noise, and traffic. This would mean property managers will need to be careful about who is renting the property. A group for a bachelor party would not be suitable for a quiet residential area for three nights but a young couple with small children should be fine. Here are some ways to prepare your business for the potential law changes ahead.

Guerilla marketing is a great advertising strategy where a low-cost unconventional resource is used. It could be in the form of street art, sticker bombing or as a part of a product (e.g. Colgate used the stick in an ice cream). It is used to promote a product or an idea in a competitive market. Here is 122 must see Guerilla marketing examples that are very creative and effective.

Over the past few months, several pieces of legislation have popped up that want to increase, or at least allow for the increase of legislative influences over vacation rentals.  We have already written about cases in Hawaii, Colorado, Las Vegas and more but the latest legislation is coming in Florida, a vacation rental hotspot.  The bill is aimed to remove a prior bill that restricts legislative measures.  We saw legislative involvement go over poorly in Hawaii and other places but what is going on in Florida?

Many times, professional property managers look to add homes to their inventory by reaching out to second homeowners and offering them the advantages of renting their home. While there are many advantages, some homeowners look at the prospect of renting their home as an overwhelming switch in lifestyle. This blog is designed to help you transition homeowners and their homes into vacation rental
properties.

It is said a picture is worth a thousand words. Most people are drawn to pictures and will judge their rental prospects predominantly on what they see as opposed to what they read. Flipkey, a vacation rental search platform purchased by TripAdvisor, completed a study revealing HD photography increased bookings by 98%.

There are a few important factors that need to be considered when deciding on where to go on vacation. Quite often there is an event or someone you’d like to visit that plays a part in your decision making process. Beyond that the choice between a warmer location to escape the winter or the opposite and embracing the winter and all it brings.

The FIFA World Cup is coming to Brazil this year for an event that will be watched by billions of viewers worldwide and attract around 600,000 tourists to the country according to International Business Times. It is an opportunity for Brazilians to showcase their culture, food and soccer skills in what is sure to be an amazing spectacle. But how can you use sports teams or events to benefit your business?