Barefoot Technologies Blog- Vacation Rental Industry News

Vacation Rentals vs. Hotels

Posted by Claiborne Yarbrough on Sep 15, 2014 11:17:00 AM

As part of our continuing series "Notes from the Edge", our anonymous vacation
rental staffer and guest blogger offers thoughts on the the subject of homes vs hotels.

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Tags: Vacation Advice, Vacation Rentals

Marketing Your Vacation Rental: Inbound Part 5

Posted by Adam Zippin on May 21, 2014 4:13:00 PM


Congratulations, your web traffic is higher than ever, you are seeing more leads now and you are closing and bringing in more guests than years past.  I guess this means your inbound marketing program is over, right? Not quite, social referrals and social medias are worth their weight in gold and now is the time to turn your guests into advocates!

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Tags: Vacation Rental Industry, How to market vacation rentals, Property Management, Rental management Software, rental marketing, Property manager marketing, Inbound Marketing, Vacation Rentals, Rental Industry Changes, HubSpot Tips

Marketing Your Vacation Rental: Inbound Part 2

Posted by Adam Zippin on Apr 10, 2014 12:34:00 PM

In the constant struggle that is marketing, getting more people to your website is not always the answer, sometimes it’s getting the right people.  This week I will address the Paveya infographic’s first stage which is “attract website visitors”.  This is the starting point for all your inbound marketing tactics for your vacation rentals and can impact your business immensely.  The point of this stage is to move “strangers” to become “website visitors” and improve visibility for your website.

In years past, this one have been done with one word, “SEO” or search engine optimization.  Many people use the term SEO to this day but the old definition of SEO bears a minimalistic resemblance to the current methods of optimizing your website.  The first page on Google or other search engines has led to some interesting tactics in web design.  It also led to the creation of an entire industry that would focus on helping you beat the google algorithm.  However, Google has evolved and its latest stage of algorithm has left the SEO hotshots of old in the dust.  The new way to think about SEO should focus on content creation.

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Tags: Vacation Rental Industry, How to market vacation rentals, Property Management, Rental management Software, rental marketing, Property manager marketing, Inbound Marketing, Vacation Rentals, Rental Industry Changes, HubSpot Tips

Why professional photos of your vacation rental are worth every penny

Posted by Aj Mudford on Feb 26, 2014 3:51:00 PM

It is said a picture is worth a thousand words. Most people are drawn to pictures and will judge their rental prospects predominantly on what they see as opposed to what they read. Flipkey, a vacation rental search platform purchased by TripAdvisor, completed a study revealing HD photography increased bookings by 98%.

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Tags: How to market vacation rentals, Marketing, Rental Management, Vacation Rentals, Professional Photography, Rental ROI, HomeAway listings

Will Your Website Ruin Your Business?

Posted by Adam Zippin on Oct 30, 2013 5:11:00 PM

In short, yes, but let me elaborate.  Last week the Barefoot team travelled to the VRMA conference in Nashville TN.  Aside from some great music, awesome food, and southern charm, there were some great things to be learned at the conference.  Douglas Quinby, the VP of research at PhoCusWright gave an eye opening speech at the close of the show.  If you left early you missed out but I will do my best to shed some light here as to why your website may ruin your business.

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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Client Expectations, VRBO, Vacation Rental Software, rental industry competition, How to market vacation rentals, Management Software, Competitive Advantage, rental marketing, future of vacation rentals, Property manager marketing, Vacation Rentals, rental management business, Rental Management CRM, CRM Tips

Blog Update: Why Airbnb Has A Tough Road Ahead 2.0

Posted by Adam Zippin on Oct 8, 2013 5:35:00 PM

 Back in May I ran a blog about Neil Warren who had rented his room through the popular site Airbnb.com.  This site has made news headlines a few times for its rental policies and the people who are avoiding laws and legislation while using the site.  One member found renting a room was violating her condominium complex’s policies.  Mr. Warren was in violation of several leasing laws for the city of New York.  He however, decided it was best to continue renting his apartment to quests.

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Tags: Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Client Expectations, VRBO, Vacation Rental Software, VRBO Portal, rental industry competition, vacation rental scam, How to market vacation rentals, Property Management, Property Manager, Management Software, Property manager marketing, professional management, rental indusrty competition, Airbnb.com, Vacation Rentals, rental management business

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

10 Things to Look for in Vacation Rentals When Traveling with Kids

Posted by Adam Zippin on Jul 10, 2013 3:53:00 PM

In the constant attempt to bring you new and relevant information, today's blog is coming not from me but from HouseSittingjobs.com.  This article is about what to look for in vacation rentals when children are part of the equation.  One massive perk our industry offers is the ability to tailor better to a family than a hotel room ever can.  We read the article and found it well written enough to reccomend it to you, our readers.  Without much more babble, here is the 10 things to look for in a Vacation Rental when travelling with kids.

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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Vacation Rental, Client Expectations, Rentals, Rental Market, VRBO, Property Management, Vacation Advice, Vacation Rentals, Vacation Home, Vacation, Offerings

Change Your View: Vacation Rental Property Vs. Asset Manager

Posted by Adam Zippin on May 21, 2013 4:55:00 PM

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Tags: Vacation Rental Management, Vacation Rental Industry, Barefoot, Vacation Rental, Software, Rental Management, Property Management, Second Home, Property Manager, Vacation Advice, Management Software, Rental Software, Vacation Rentals, Rental Management CRM, Golden Number

Another Witch Hunt For Vacation Rentals

Posted by Adam Zippin on May 10, 2013 3:23:00 PM

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.

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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