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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Rental Market, Vacation Rental Software, Rental Management, Property Management, Property Management Software, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, Rental management Software
With the unveiling of information regarding Elon Musk's latest venture, the Hyperloop, set for 4:30 et today, my mind has been running wild with all the possibilities this could mean for vacation rentals. It is almost scary to realize how little attention this incredible possibility has garnished in some circles. If you haven't heard of the Hyperloop, it is a new transportation method that will cut cross country travel to a matter of minutes!
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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Rentals, Vacation Rental Software, Rental Management, Property Management Software, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, Rental Software, Hyperloop, Elon Musk
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Tags: Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Rentals, Vacation Rental Software, Software, Rental, Property Management, Second Home, Property Management Software, Management Software, Vacation Home, Vacation
The vacation rental industry is changing, almost daily, as you are well aware. Home Away, Wyndham, Marriot, Trip Advisor and other large companies are moving us to places we have never been before. It can be a very challenging environment to work in. The good news is that these companies all bring awareness to our industry that there hasn’t been here before. PhoCus Wright, which is a travel research company, recently published a report, PhoCusWright’s U.S. Vacation Rentals 2009-2014: A Market Reinvented. It is a very expensive report, but brings some very valuable information to us. It was said that only 10-15% of travelers knew or considered vacation rentals. Well in this report, 20% of the travelers surveyed stayed in a vacation rental in the past two years. An additional 27% considered a vacation rental, but ultimately chose another option. Why? Well, part of it is the misconceptions of our industry, that vacation rentals are only suitable for longer trips and larger groups, as well as vacation rentals not having the “amenities” that hotels offer. Today, this is not necessarily the case.
So the good news is that more and more folks are looking at vacation rentals, but the bad news is that still, only 20% of travelers are actually choosing our industry to meet their vacation needs. How did it get from the 10% that it was 5+ years ago, to the 20%? And how do we get it from 20% to 30% and more? Most of us will agree that the national economy hasn’t improved that much. Unemployment is going back up, and so many people are still out of work. So why is it that our business is so much better? I would suggest that the marketing awareness created by these large companies, as well as the internet providing more and more innovation, is finding the average consumer, and we need to take advantage of it. So some thoughts on how you can get on board:
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Tags: Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Rentals, Rental Market, Rental, Rental Management, Property Management, Property Manager, Property Management Software, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, Rental Software, Rental Management CRM, CRM, Break
So its national Vacation Rental month this July and we hope that you are preparing for the blast of business and overwhelming amount of guests. What’s that you say, you’re not doing anything to push this news to your potential guests? Surely there is a mistake here as this is some free publicity. If you have not been publicizing this then you are falling into the shadows of large companies like Wyndham, who are playing on the national level. Fear not, here are 5 ways you can still make the most of the free publicity of this month!
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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Rentals, Rental Market, Vacation Rental Software, Rental, Rental Management, Property Management, Second Home, Property Manager, Property Management Software, Vacation Advice, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, Rental Software, Vacation Home, Vacation, Rental Management CRM
I have been in numerous meetings recently at the VRMA conventions where discussions regarding ROI have been addressed, and I believe the ideas put forth can be very useful to those that really want to be able to quantify their marketing investment returns.
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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Barefoot, Vacation Rental Software, Software, Rental Management, Property Management Software, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, Rental Software, Break Even, Golden Number
Over the past few years, there have been some great advances in the software that vacation rental management companies are using. At the same time, there are still people using outdated vacation rental software. All this begs the question of, why are people using Dos based systems still? With all the current trends in software, apps, smartphones, tablets, Wi-Fi, 4g, and all the other technical terms that are no longer limited to an IT department, a business would do just about anything to tap into some of these resources. But there is more to it than simply being able to tap into the internet to run your business. Browser based systems offer regular updates, most free; Barefoot updates its system every month. This means that once you purchase the system, the updates allow you to maintain the best system available without additional cost. A Dos based system is only as advanced as it was the day you bought it, or that you pay to upgrade to. It may make you nervous to consider what else you still use every day that is from the same time frame. Without further ado, here are the top ten reasons that Agent 3.0c is better than your current FRS system.
1. CRM Tools- The ability to send quickly and easily email correspondence toprospective owners, prospective and returning customers, and vendors from the software without the need to recreate that database in a third-party provider and send reservation data as an attachment.
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Tags: Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Software, Property Management, Property Management Software, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, Rental Scam, Rental Software, CRM
An article published over the weekend has shed a promising light on the vacation rental industry. In an interview with Carl Shepherd, co-founder of Homeaway, said that he and his company believes that vacation rentals are the future of the vacation industry.
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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Rentals, Rental Market, Rental, Rental Management, Property Management, Second Home, Property Manager, Property Management Software, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, Rental Software, Vacation Home, Vacation, Rental Management CRM, CRM
Most of our blogs have been about some news, trends, or business moves that we learn about. This one is a bit more generalized but I wanted to take the time to write it out. Barefoot Technologies actively uses social media, our website, e-mail campaigns, and calls to speak with our clients, both current and future. However, we also travel to industry tradeshows to meet you, first hand.
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Tags: Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Rentals, Rental Market, Scams, Software, Rental, Rental Management, Property Management, Second Home, Property Manager, Property Management Software, Vacation Advice, Management Software, Rental Scam
Today, through our webpage, a contact us form was filled out and submitted to us. The main resonating message of this e-mail was simple, I am looking to grow but simply cannot do any more work! As I spoke to this prospect, her issues resonated with me as mere wants of other prospects and clients. Things that were "nice" and "neat" or that "Jane from reservations would love" seem to get looked over all too often by those not aware of what a few process could do for their business.
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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Client Expectations, Rentals, Software, Rental, Rental Management, Property Management, Second Home, Property Manager, Property Management Software, Vacation Advice, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, Rental Software, Vacation Home, Offerings, Rental Management CRM, CRM, CRM Tips
