Barefoot Technologies Blog- Vacation Rental Industry News

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:

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?

Whether in the business for many years or just now beginning to dabble in it, the vacation rental management industry is growing by leaps and bounds.  No matter the size of your company, it is vital to stay on top of the latest technologies, trends and ways to effectively run your rental management business.  Let’s face it – this industry is one that requires more attention to detail than most any other business – except maybe accounting or medicine. 

Most resort communities are overflowing with vacation rental management companies all vying for properties to put into their pool of rental properties as well as the vacationers visiting their destination for a week.  It becomes simply a contest of sorts to see which company has the best rentals and the most guests. 

If you follow business trends, you will have noticed that giving back to the community is integral to the business plans of some of the most influential companies and entrepreneurs in the world.

By understanding your vacation rental owner base, you will derive some important clues
and demographic information about your potential tenant profile. After all, your property owners we

Make Portals Work for Your Vacation Rentals

Buzz is a hot word now that everyone wants, to have buzz about their homes or properties.  But how do you build buzz, as it doesn’t happen randomly or without cause.  “Buzz” can be called many things but largely, it is when people are talking about your product, so how can we help create some buzz for your vacation rental home?

1. Staycations- A staycations is a shortened vacation that because of the short timeframe, travelling is out of the question so one stays locally but gets away at the same time.  Things like a one night stay away from the family or a spa day at the local resort are ideas for staycations.  The staycation becomes powerful when in the right hands, like local reporters, bloggers, social media guru’s and more.  Give a short stay to someone local, it keeps their costs low and the return can be huge as they begin to tell your story.
2. Social Media- did you know that there is a social media for almost every form of expression?  Video, thoughts, pictures, websites and more can all be leveraged on these sites to gain some attraction for your vacation rental properties.  Share beautiful pictures, amazing videos of sunsets, and anything you can get your properties to more people.
3. Contests- Contests are a great way to build buzz and also to generate some loyalty.  Contests are not limited to any one idea but some include “tell us your best rental story” or “share your best picture” and so on.  These contests get people engaged as compared to other mediums that just get them looking. 
4. Rewards- This one is slightly different than contests but the idea is similar.  Be sure to, when people “check in” via 4Square or any other social medium, to occasionally reward people for the action.  I went out for Yofurt not long ago, took a picture of my fiancée and me enjoying our snacks and was given a $10 coupon to use the next time I came in.  Everyone in the store immediately followed my footstep in attempt to win their own coupon.
5. Be Creative- There aren’t many rules in trying to generate new ways to get people talking about your product.  You could try a tried and true method or perhaps be innovative and branch out.  As long as you are actively trying and learning from your failures and successes your company will benefit

If you set your company up to embrace the mentality to create buzz, be active, and reward those contribute you will see success. It is important to remember that if one of these methods does not work to your liking, you can rework the campaign however you desire.  “Always Be Testing” is a marketing phrase in today’s offices that pushes people to always try things, even if they fail, you will at least know what does not work!

I’ve been hearing from some vacation rental management folks in summer markets that the season is off to a slow start. The reason for the lower occupancy is probably attributed to the fact that so many school systems on the East Coast had to add days to the school year to make up for the MANY MANY MANY snow days (can you tell I am Mom of kids who were out of school 21 snow days this year?).

So your web traffic is increasing and you have been getting more leads than ever through your site, so what’s next?  Que the sales pitch right? Wrong.  This is arguably the most crucial part of inbound marketing, where we turn those leads you've nurtured, into renters or guests.  If we look at this from a typical sales process, these leads are fresh and you need to flood them with your sales pitch to both inform them and sell them at the same time.  However, this is not your typical sales funnel, this is your inbound funnel, and the leads that you are looking at have found you because of something you offer that interests them.