Barefoot Technologies Blog- Vacation Rental Industry News

 Too often, we are obliged to report on a scam trend in an area that capitalizes on hopeful renters wiring payments into off shore accounts.  Today, while we do have another two scam stories, we are also going to be writing about some lighter news.  Would you like the good or the bad news first? Wow, with an overwhelming majority voting for the bad news first who can object (we like to try to keep things light here).

The vacation rental industry has long been seen as a “Mom and Pop” industry, one that focuses on the needs of the customer and not just the bottom line of the company.  We have reported before on the pet friendly side of the industry in several blogs.  Years ago, animals were seldom allowed in either hotels or rental homes but like the old saying goes, where there is a will there is away.  In recent years, homeowners have come around to allowing animals to vacation at their homes just like their owners.  After all, a dog’s life is known to be very stressful.

Have you ever had Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream?  How about seeing the HGTV Dream Home?  Well if you have heard of either of these then you know about Stowe Vermont.  It is a small Vermont town with all the character one could hope for, and a booming ski economy to boot.  Recently I went to visit a customer in Stowe, Stowe Country Homes for a little insight into the daily life that happens in a vacation rental management company.

 In the past months we have been trying to keep you aware of the scams in the industry.  Several have come from company sites like Homeaway and Vrbo.com while others have come from less reputable sites like craigslist.  The one thing that all of these scams seem to have in common is that no one will claim any responsibility.  A previous blog we did described a scam done through VRBO.com where the site only claimed to be the introduction point for the 2 parties and claimed no responsibility.

 Avoiding a $1,000 a day fine

Update on Hawaiian Legislation

1 in 30 homes home in the United States is a second home according to the US Census.  That’s 3% of the 115,904,641 homes in the United States.  In some states however this number jumps as high as 15.6% of homes.    How many homes are in your area and of them how many get rented out?  Imagine the potential business that you have yet to reach out to.  These homes are investment or vacation properties in most cases, and sales are only expected to rise.  This video by Cotton & Company gives some insight into current market speculations.

The final installment of our software blog will discuss the CRM aspects of our software and how it can directly increase your revenue.  Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, is one of the current evaluators used to determine a company’s potential success.  Gone are the days that big companies can abuse their customers with huge and frequent mail blasts. With social media and the internet, customer relations have become an integral part to the success of any business.  The question for most is how to convert those relationships into revenue.

 Who created the software your company runs on?  What qualifications do they have?  Are they even in the industry?  These are some immensely important questions to be asking about your vacation rental software.  In December, I wrote a blog about the lessons I learned at the Triple Play Realtors Conference, one that resonated with me was that software is often written by people outside the industry.  What if Enzo Ferrari had never driven, would we have these luxury cars today? 

               In Hawaii, a bill is currently under legislation that will allow the state to collect an additional $35 million in tax revenue.  Currently, if a Hawaiian property is owned by a non-resident and additionally, rented by an out-of-state company the taxes due from the rental are difficult to track down.  With states looking for additional revenue, this has been low hanging fruit and a loop hole in many states lodging tax models.  Barefoot has written a blog about several cases in Colorado where VRBO homes have been rented without paying the proper taxes, seriously limiting the money collected.  For example, Breckenridge Colorado has estimated that it has lost over $1 Million in taxes and fees based over the past few years because of this loop hole.

                For years out of state owners have rented out their properties under the radar of state lodging tax laws, but with the introduction of large online travel agencies and vacation rentals becoming more main stream these transactions are now out in the open.   The taxes structured around all lodging   are designed to help with the wear and tear on the environment and infrastructure in the area as  well as to pay for tourism marketing programs.  The question  is how does a state manage this efficiently.