This newsletter is emailed 6 times annually to 7,200 owners
of vacation rental homes who have registered for a free
universal availability calendar and guestbook at: http://www.rentors.org

TO UNSUBSCRIBE: See Article #13, at bottom of newsletter.

1 -  Please Update Your Availability Calendar Today
2 -  Why Am I Not Getting Bookings?
3 -  Why You Should Have an
     Answering Machine in Your Rental?
4 -  Localize Your Bookshelf
5 -  Mind Your Guestbook
6 -  Just Starting Out?
7 -  The Back to Back Plan
8 -  Already Booked That Week
9 -  Refunds - A  Necessary Evil
10 - More Vacation Rental Tips
11 - Rentors.org Sponsor Information
12 - Please Refer a Friend to Rentors.org
13 - How to Unsubscribe

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1 - Please Update Your Availability Calendar Today
==================================================

Your self-service universal availability calendar at
Rentors.org has no value if it is incorrect. Please follow
the link below to login to Rentors.org and update your
vacation rental calendar today.

  RENTORS login: http://www.rentors.org/login.cfm
 
If you've forgotten your Rentors.org PASSWORD, check the
bottom-left text in the yellow box at the login screen.

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2 - Why Am I Not Getting Bookings?
==================================

If you are getting inquiries for your rental property, but
don't seem to be getting many bookings, try what we
suggested to one satisfied customer:

1. REVIEW YOUR AD CAREFULLY.

- Are your rates higher that others in your area? Browse
vacation rental web sites to compare your rates to others
with the same location, number of bedrooms, types of
amenities etc., and lower them if they are too high.

- Are your rates clearly stated? Saying something like "from
$700/week" may make potential renters suspicious of the
actual price they will pay. (Think about motels that offer
rooms "from $39". These rooms never seem to be available
when you get there!)

- Do you state all additional fees on your web page ad?
Never surprise a renter with special cleaning fees, or local
taxes after he or she arrives. Always let the renter know
the total price right at the beginning.

- PHOTOS: Do you display the maximum number of photos
allowed by your web site? Do you have one of the view if you
advertise a view? Do you have at least one of the interior
and one of the exterior? How is the appearance quality of
your photos compared to others on the same web site? Would
you rent your property based on your photos?

- Is your description appealing enough to entice people to
want to stay at your rental? As long as you are being
honest, do not be afraid to 'blow your own horn'!

- Are you exaggerating the quality of the view, for example,
or the distance to the beach. It will affect the quality of
the vacation for the renters if they feel cheated. You may
get a negative reputation, which can be a difficult thing to
reverse.

2. REVIEW YOUR RESPONSE TO INQUIRIES.

- Do you respond to inquiries right away? Since an inquiry
is often sent by a vacationer to many property owners, check
your email and phone messages often and respond ASAP. The
early bird gets the worm!

- Do you follow up? After a day of getting no response back
from someone who has inquired, follow up with a phone call
(if they gave you a phone number), or an email message.
Sample phone script: "You inquired about our condo
yesterday. Have you found a rental yet?" If yes: "I would be
interested in knowing why you chose it over our rental so
that I can improve."

- Do you often ignore inquiries? Try to respond to each
inquiry. Even if you could have rented your unit over and
over again for Easter, reply suggesting that they try again
earlier next year or offer an alternative week.

If you can improve the quality of your ad or your response
to inquiries, you may also improve your number of bookings!

--Jan Van Voorhis, Great Rentals

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3- Why You Should Have an Answering Machine in Your Rental?
===========================================================

For the smooth operation of your Vacation Rental business,
we highly recommend that you install TWO answering machines.
Install one on the phone where you expect to receive
potential renter's calls and install a second one in your
rental property itself (assuming that the rental property
has a phone of course).

Question: Why an answering machine in the rental?

Answer: Not only for the convenience of the renter, but also
for use in case of emergency.  With an answering machine in
place, it will be much easier for your maintenance or
cleaning company to schedule needed work.  It's not fair to
ask the renter to spend their vacation time waiting for the
maintenance company to call them and schedule an
appointment.

Question: What kind of machine is best?

Answer: Choose the simplest machine you can find... don't
buy a more expensive model with all the bells and whistles.
The less buttons there are on the machine, the easier it
will be to operate (your guests don't want to spend their
vacation trying to learn how to operate a complicated
machine).  For durability, choose a digital answering
machine (does not require separate cassette tapes).  In the
case of a power outage, you don't want to lose messages, so
choose a machine that includes a backup battery.

Many recorders have the option of playing a synthesized
answer.  Since different guests will be occupying the
property each week, a personalized message is not required,
stick with the synthesized message.

Note: Make sure the back up battery is replaced frequently.
In case of a power outage

-- David Clouse, Vacation Rentals by Owner
  
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4 - Localize Your Bookshelf
===========================

Your vacation rental guests will appreciate local reference
materials that you leave on a bookshelf. Start with land and
marine maps, state and local guide books, local history and
folklore books, wildlife guides, and a local phone book. Add
other titles as you find them.

If you can't find the time to search local bookstores for
appropriate titles, try using a few carefully chosen
keywords to search an online bookseller like amazon.com --
where you're likely to find at least a few great additions
to your vacation rental bookshelf.

-- Brian Raub, A1Vacations
  
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5 - Online Guestbook a Marketing Plus
=====================================

Linking an online guestbook to your vacation rental page can
definitely earn you more revenue. And considering the return
on investment, (infinite, since the cost is free!) it's one
that shouldn't be overlooked. Since you are receiving this
newsletter, you are already set up for one through your
rentors.org account. See a sample at
http://www.rentors.org/guestbook.cfm?PID=1132

A guestbook can add an air of impartiality to your rental
offering that vacationers value greatly. It builds a sense
of confidence in your property that is hard to do in any
other way short of having the people visit the property in
person in advance. By reading about the past experiences of
renters like themselves, your potential guests can more
easily imagine themselves on vacation in your spot. They can
get ideas about what to do when they get there. They can
rest assured knowing that other people have paved the way,
been to your rental, and had a great time. Without a
guestbook your webpage is just an advertisement. With one,
it's all about people talking to people.

If you currently have a real guestbook in your second home,
look at it this way: wouldn't you want to have all those
fine and complimentary comments visible to folks BEFORE they
visit rather than after their stay? When you think about it,
the old-fashioned way has it all backward. Take a further
leap into the new technology: Use Rentors.org and its
guestbook to show your vacation rental in its best light.
See http://www.rentors.org/html/guestbookFAQformembers.html for
FAQ and more information. You can now 'turn on' the
guestbook option for any property you have entered in
rentors.org, simply log in as usual and activate the
guestbook. View your guestbook and you'll have the link you
need to post it to any webpage.

For best results, be sure to record some homeowner-entered
comments BEFORE posting your guestbook to the web. A blank
guestbook is a disappointment to the vacationers interested
in hearing about your rental. By starting off with some
positive comments, you'll be sure to attract others and have
a great asset to help show your property in its best light!

-- Dave Bollinger, CyberRentals
  
======================
6 - Just Starting Out?
======================

Buying and renting your own vacation rental property can be
a little overwhelming, especially in the beginning. To be
successful, self-education is a must. Laws regarding
vacation home renting differ from location to location,
state to state, and between countries. Consider getting in
touch with a local attorney who specialize in real estate.
Use him as a consultant if necessary, asking questions about
laws relating to landlord/tenant relations, as well as the
very important tax laws concerning second homes. If your
rental qualifies as a business, then more of your rental
income, legal and accounting fees, and other expenses may be
deductible. A good place to start finding out about tax
regulations is with the Internal Revenue Service's
publication #527, Residential Rental Property (call
800-829-3676 to order).

Will you make a profit renting a vacation home? This will
depend on variables such as how many weeks or months out of
the year can be rented and for how much, your adjusted gross
income, how much you use the property personally, and how
active you are in maintaining it. Given the appreciation of
properties in certain locations, you may not need to make a
profit to be successful in the long run.

Just knowing that you are on the right track can help you
gain control over your enterprise, not to mention giving you
some much-needed peace of mind!.

-- Pat Van Voorhis, Great Rentals
  
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7 - The Back to Back Plan
============================

Back to Back rentals that is... You know. When the departing
guest leaves in the morning and the new guest arrives that
afternoon, that's called a back to back rental.

If your goal is to maximize the income from your vacation
rental investment, then you should be looking for ways to
increase the number of back to back rentals that you book.
Back to back rentals are the most effective since it means
you will have fewer holes in your booking calendar.  It
would be highly unlikely for you to have 100% occupancy, but
one way to increase your occupancy rate is to try to book as
many back to back rentals as possible.

How can you implement your own back to back plan? The main
two simple rules are these:

1. Offer a very attractive weekly rate, one that your
renters will recognize as very competitive (as a rule of
thumb, try multiplying your nightly rate by 5.5 and adjust
according to your competition)

2. Choose one day of the week that works best for your
location and only accept bookings from guests who want to
arrive and depart on that day of the week.

For Example: Your best nightly rate is $200/night - multiply
$200 by 5.5 to come up with a very competitive weekly rate
of $1100 - you know this is very competitive and they other
similar properties rent for $1400/week.

Next... you observe that many of your guests prefer to
arrive on Saturday. So, you change your ads to highlight
your new very attractive rate. The limitation is that in
order to qualify for the best rate, your guests must arrive
and depart on a Saturday... it doesn't matter if they want
to stay one week, two weeks or more, but they must arrive on
Saturday and depart on Saturday.

That's the basics of the "back to back plan" - Watch for the
next issue of this newsletter where I'll go into more
details and help answer the following questions. In the mean
time, Happy Rentals!!!

What part of the back to back plan is the hardest to follow?

Who should always talk to BEFORE instituting a back to back
plan?

What day of the week is the best to choose for your
arrival/departure date?

When is it OK to break your own back to back rules?

How to accept 5 or 6 night rentals without hurting your
bottom line.

Are there times of the year when a back to back strategy
works better?

What type of rental should you always avoid?

See you next issue!!!

-- David Clouse, Vacation Rentals by Owner
  

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8 - Already Booked That Week?
=============================

So you just received your 9th inquiry for Thanksgiving week,
and you booked that week a month ago. How to respond?

The sad fact is that many advertisers simply ignore
inquiries for weeks that are already booked. These
alternatives offer an opportunity for profit ... and also
build goodwill with vacation rental prospects who might
consider you again:

1. Respond by phone (or email) that the dates requested are
not available -- but offer to book other weeks that ARE
still available. You'll be surprised to find that some
rental prospect's plans are more flexible than you think.
This strategy may succeed just 10%-30% of the time (more
often if your typical guests are retired, for example). In
any case, a $1 phone call may produce a unexpected week's
booking -- a great return on your investment.

2. If your alternative weeks don't produce a booking,
promise an email response with suggestions of nearby
vacation rentals that might be available. You can then point
your rental prospect to:

-- a friend's property, -- a regional listing of similar
properties offered by your vacation rental advertising
service, -- a reliable local rental property manager, -- or
the local Chamber of Commerce.

If you refer to a friend, it's reasonable to expect
reciprocal referrals from your friend in the future.

Successful or not, your rental prospect will appreciate your
help, and is more likely to contact you again in the future.

-- Lisa Raub, A1Vacations
     
===============================
9 - Refunds - A  Necessary Evil
===============================

Homeowners must have a specific and well-spelled out refund
policy. While vacationers never make a reservation with the
intent of cancelling it, they have the unfortunate habit of
doing so more often than we would all like. Whether it's the
loss of a job, death in the family, etc. the sad reason is
rarely debatable. The only defense is a strong, detailed
policy. Lenient if the cancellation made with plenty of
advance warning, strict if notice is given at the last
minute.

Normally a date is chosen after which deposits are non-
refundable. This date can range from 60 days to 20 days,
with 30 being the most common. This non-refundable
cancellation period varies with any given location and even
with time.  For example, in beach locations in the Northeast
with a short, but intense rental season, it pays to be
tough... to require renters to plan well in advance. In
spots where the rentals are more steady, and/or year round,
owners can afford to be more lenient.

Owners who repeatedly mention their cancellation policy in
every contact they have with renters will have less trouble
in the long run. We feel a good strategy is to be tough on
paper, but easy in practice. The key consideration is
whether you are able to re-rent. A common policy is to give
a full refund (less some nominal cancellation fee, say of
$20) if you are able to rent out the cancelled week.  In our
opinion it borders on the unethical to keep a deposit for a
week from a party that doesn't show, while receiving full
payment from another group. On the other hand deducting a
$20 fee for ALL cancellations helps keep people honest. It
deters the unscrupulous from making reservations in multiple
locations, and then cancelling all but one. Homeowners in
ski areas have seen this strategy in practice, where folks
book stays early in 3 or 4 different ski areas and then wait
to see who has the most snow and the best weather forecast.

Special circumstances such as hurricanes may require
exemptions. A good way to deal with these situations is to
allow renters to use their deposits for a stay at a later
date, or even another year. The gain in goodwill can result
in great future gains.

Many people don't realize that trip cancellation insurance
is available for vacation rentals.  This coverage can be
optionally purchased by the guest. It insures that if the
trip has to be cancelled due to a covered problem (such as
illness, death etc...) that the guest is covered, not only
for lodging costs but also for airfare and other costs.  You
might want to consider checking out http://insuremytrip.com/
since this company offers such plans from many sources and
allows guests to compare them prior to purchase.

-- Hunter Melville, CyberRentals
  
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10- More Tips for Vacation Rental
====================================

If you would like to read more vacation rental tips, you
can refer to articles that were featured in previous issues
of the newsletters.

http://www.rentors.org/archive/index.html

====================================
11 - Rentors.org Sponsor Information
====================================

Rentors.org is sponsored by these experienced vacation
rental advertising services. All will be pleased to help you
advertise your vacation rentals on the Internet.

Why not join all four sites to promote your vacation rental?
The Rentors.org availability calendar works on all of them,
and you'll have just ONE calendar to maintain!

  Great Rentals
  Home: http://www.greatrentals.com
  Join: http://www.greatrentals.com/Admin/Posting/Post.html

  VRBO - Vacation Rentals by Owner
  Home: http://www.vrbo.com
  Join: http://www.vrbo.com/global/owner.htm

  A1Vacations
  Home: http://www.a1vacations.com/
  Join: http://www.a1vacations.com/advertise/

  CyberRentals
  Home: http://www.cyberrentals.com
  Join: http://www.cyberrentals.com/signup.html

=========================================
12 - Please Refer a Friend to Rentors.org
=========================================

This "Tips for Vacation Rental Homeowners" newsletter was
emailed to 7,200 members of Rentors.org -- which offers FREE
online availability calendars and guestbooks for vacation rental property
homeowners and property managers. Please refer a friend to:

 http://www.rentors.org

=======================
13 - How to Unsubscribe
=======================

To be removed from this mailing list, please log in to your
Rentors.org account, then select "Delete this Account". Your
free calendar(s)and guestbook (s) will be deleted, and your email address
will be removed from this mailing list.

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Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 Rentors LLC and the individual contributors.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form requires written permission.
==========================================================================

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