Barefoot Technologies Blog- Vacation Rental Industry News

As of right now, the U.S. dollar is weak compared to the Euro, as well as the UK pound.  Now, $1 will only get you €0.69. The dollar being weak is an issue if you have planned on traveling abroad this summer since your dollar does not buy as much as it used to. This will hopefully keep more Americans in this country.

The price of gas dramatically increased over the last month or so, and is now around $4/gallon in most states, if not more. This has led to many vacationers thinking twice about their plans for the summer months.

As you probably know by now, we report on most of the fraud cases we come across in the vacation rental industry. We do not support the frauds in any way, and the only reason we report on them is because we want build awareness about this problem since it is one of the biggest issues our industry is facing at the time, if not the biggest.

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, then you know we have over the last 4-5 months reported on 2011 looking like it will be a great year for the vacation rental industry. If you haven’t been a frequent reader of the blog, and this happens to be your first visit here, then we suggest you spend some time looking at some of the other articles we have posted, in addition to reading this one.

In order for you to be a successful vacation rental company in today’s very competitive market, it is crucial to increase your repeat customer base. By repeat customers we mean people that have come and stayed with you at some point and then keeps coming back year after year. The question is how do you increase the number of repeat customers? Sure, a few will keep coming back because they know the owner of one of the properties you are managing, and some will come back just because they love the area. However, there are a few things you, as a vacation rental company, can do to take matters into your own hands and increase your repeat customer base.

Key West rental properties join the long list of properties that have become the target of online rental scams. According to recent news, some rental properties in Key West have been advertised by someone else than the owner or authorized representative.

Southwest Florida was hit hard by the recession; real estate values plummeted, construction of new homes was non-existent, and the island has had its fair share of failures, including self-dealing and fraud. However, thanks to the vision of and marketing efforts of its businesses and political leaders, Anna Maria has been able to recover better than anywhere else in Southwest Florida.

In the last issue of CRM Magazine there was an article called “ The Feminine Marketing Mystique.” The purpose of the article was to demystify the purchasing behavior of women. Why is it important to understand the purchasing behavior of women?