Barefoot newcomer, Claiborne Yarbrough, attended the VRMA Conference with the team in Nashville this month. With less than a month under her belt and being stuck in a booth with 3 annoying gents, this would be quite a task for the new member of our vacation rental software team. Read on to see how she handled it, her key takeaways, and an overall introduction to the newest member of our sales team!
Tags: Barefoot, Client Expectations, Vacation Rental Software, How to market vacation rentals, Rental, Rental Management, Property Management, Property Management Software, Management Software, Airbnb.com, rental management business, Rental Management CRM, VRMA, VRental management Software
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
In the world of Vacation Rentals, there are sometimes too many numbers and trends to search through to find the value. In these cases, large companies tend to excel and HomeAway is no different. In a recent purchase, for a yet defined amount, HomeAway is purchasing the majority of travelmob, an online startup with vacation properties in Asia Pacific. While this may seem like an odd move, HomeAway backs it with strong numbers, reporting that "over 100 million people will enter the Asian middle class each of the next several years, and Asia will have an increasing influence over the world's economic growth" as told by Brian Sharples, chief executive officer of HomeAway.
Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Rentals, Rental Market, VRBO, HomeAway, Rental, Rental Management, Property Management, Second Home, Property Manager, Management Software, Rental Software, Vacation Rentals
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:
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!
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
The summer is here with warm weather, boat shoes, cookouts, Frisbee’s and family. Did you notice the one thing missing? Correct, vacation rental scams are missing this year because you have read this article on 5 steps to avoid a vacation rental scam!
Tags: Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Rentals, Rental Market, Scams, Vacation Rental Software, Rental, Property Management, Second Home, Property Manager, Vacation Advice, Rental Scam, Rental Software, Vacation Home, Vacation
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.
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.
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
In Las Vegas it has become illegal to rent homes in short term rentals. Now, a town in Arizona may be making similar strides. Gilbert Arizona prohibits short term rentals in single family neighborhoods and is considering extending the legislation to multifamily neighborhoods like condo buildings. As is, short term rentals are only supposed to occur on commercial properties, however this loophole allows people currently residing in multiple family complexes to skirt the law.
Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Client Expectations, Rentals, Rental Market, Rental, Rental Management, Property Management, Property Manager, Vacation Advice, Management Software, Rental Software, Vacation Rentals, Vacation Home, CRM
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.
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
