Barefoot Technologies Blog- Vacation Rental Industry News

More Vacation Rental Crackdowns Looking to Limit Rentals

Posted by Adam Zippin on Nov 26, 2013 4:48:00 PM

Berlin is now the most recent location to limit short term rentals.  This is the first international story we have reported on here, as most of our focus has been based on rental trends in the us.  However, with all of the crackdowns coming through as of late, this trend seemed destined to become global.

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Tags: Vacation Rental Industry, Vacation Rental Software, rental industry competition, Property Management, Second Home, Rental Software, Rental management Software, rental marketing, future of vacation rentals, Vacation Rental Legislation

How Secure is Browser Based Rental Software?

Posted by Adam Zippin on Nov 21, 2013 3:57:00 PM

Browser based, the cloud, web storage, and more are words that seem to paint the picture of a secret file cabinet hidden by location, not security.  Barefoot boasts a browser based vacation rental software system as one of the main selling points and recently, the question of security has come from a few prospective clients.  It’s time to set the record straight and assure you that browser based software is very secure and does not need questioning.

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Tags: Vacation Rental Software, Security, Property Management Software, Management Software, Rental Software, Browser Based Software

Why Your Marketing Is Missing Your Target: Vacation Rental Customers

Posted by Adam Zippin on Sep 12, 2013 1:30:00 PM

For some time now, the vacation rental industry has been a mom and pop field.  Many smaller businesses run and owned by families or small companies that tend to play on the safer side of all things, whether that be their vacation rental software, marketing, budgets, or any practice.

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Tags: Rental Market, Vacation Rental Software, How to market vacation rentals, Property Management Software, Vacation Advice, Management Software, Rental Software, Rental management Software, rental marketing, Property manager marketing

The Hyperloop and What It May Mean For Vacation Rentals

Posted by Adam Zippin on Aug 12, 2013 3:52:00 PM

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

HomeAway Making International Moves

Posted by Adam Zippin on Jul 18, 2013 6:20:00 PM

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.

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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 Merry Go Round – Are You Onboard?

Posted by Adam Zippin on Jul 2, 2013 4:05:00 PM

 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

It's Not Too Late To Capitalize On National Vacation Rental Month

Posted by Adam Zippin on Jun 28, 2013 12:44:00 PM

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

Vacation Rental Scam Avoidance - 101

Posted by Adam Zippin on Jun 13, 2013 2:46:00 PM

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!

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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

Must Read on Assessing your Marketing Investments

Posted by Adam Zippin on Jun 11, 2013 2:22:00 PM

 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

The Top Ten Reasons You Need To Move Away From FRS

Posted by Adam Zippin on Jun 4, 2013 3:56:00 PM

     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