Barefoot Technologies Blog- Vacation Rental Industry News

Online Travel Agents are an increasing presence in the Vacation Rental Management industry. During the most recent Vacation Rental Management Association conference there was a significant focus on OTAs who were attending as vendors and as a topic of discussion.

The vacation rental industry is growing by leaps and bounds.  More and more people have begun to look to vacation rentals instead of hotels for accommodations simply because everyone involved is more comfortable and the cost is comparable and even less expensive. 

One of our newer customers is really taking a hard look at Airbnd as a marketing portal for his vacation rental management company. He has been nice enough to share some articles that have impacted his research. I thought I might summarize these articles and provide you with links to them so you can continue your research as well.

I've been thinking about how vacation rental management companies use partner integrations. As part of the sales team, it seems that the customers that we are onboarding are looking for more options when it comes to the partners that they want their vacation rental management software to support.

We know you have heard the saying “It takes a village.”  In the vacation rental industry, it takes the world for companies to be successful.  At Barefoot, we could not manage without our many partners who count on our vacation rental management software to ensure their rental business is accurate and up to date.  Over the next few weeks, as a way to say thank you, we are going to feature several of our partners without whom we would not be where we are today. 

First up, is Canada’s largest vacation rental resource, CanadaStays.  This successful outfit offers up over 40,000 vacation rental properties across all of Canada in addition to having access to rental properties in other parts of the world.  They work hard to provide a wide variety of accommodations to travelers who want to vacation in any part of Canada.  For property owners who want to increase exposure and, ultimately, reservations, CanadaStays is probably one of the top resources to achieve those goals.  In a recent interview with us, Mark Bordo, CEO and Founder of CanadaStays, took some time to answer a handful of questions about his business and our partnership.  Here is what he had to say:

At the annual PhoCuswright conference last week, HomeAway’s CEO Brian Sharples made several announcements about additions to their mobile app, Glad to Have You, aimed at improving the customer experience.

In talking to many potential customers, especially people who are thinking about entering into this market, there is always the question of whether to do the website first or choose a vacation rental management system. What comes first, the chicken or the egg?

One of my favorite parts of attending conferences like VRMA, is the opportunity to talk with a wide array of people who are involved in shaping the vacation rental management industry. One of my conversations was with the accessible Brent Bellm, COO of HomeAway.com. Brent is responsible for leading the daily operations of HomeAway’s online vacation rental marketplaces in the United States, Europe and Brazil, as well as its HomeAwayRealEstate.com and BedandBreakfast.com websites.