It's a bummer.... but, I had my home blocked out for the next two weeks... and it got cancelled today. If you know somoene looking for a deal for the week of 3/11 or 3/18 let me know.
Just had a cancellation for the next two weeks
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You think that's a bummer? I've only had one rental from September '05 until June '06 - it's in late May. I'mwhosyodaddy said:
. And I've offered a 25% discount.
Beach Runner said:You think that's a bummer? I've only had one rental from September '05 until June '06 - it's in late May. I'm
You have to do some marketing on your own, above and beyond what your agent is doing, if you want to get booked.
Beachrunner, the bookings on our house increased dramatically after we had a virtual tour done and advertised the house through Kurt's Web site. Exposure is everything. Also, although you won't find a rental/management firm that is perfect, some are far superior in terms of the marketing efforts on your behalf. We chose ours because they were the predominant player at our beach area, but also because of the magnificent color brochure they send out 50,000+ copies of each year and their magazine advertising program.
We also work hard at getting repeat renters, doing all kinds of things. For example, we'll sometimes call to ask if they are finding everything (including the rental company) satisfactory and just have a short chat. If we know a family is celebrating a particular occasion, we might send flowers to the house while they're there. And we send cards to all our renters from the past year, twice a year. The management company provides their names and addresses at the end of each year. We send a Christmas card, wishing a happy holiday season and thanks for being our guests, and it usually includes a beautiful snapshot of a Grayton sunset or beach scene. This year's got a really good response. It was a sunset photo of a sky ablaze with color and a big surf, as Hurricane Wilma swept past us far to the north en route to the Yucatan. The other card might be an update of what's happening on the beaches, sent at a time so it is a reminder that the house is booking for the coming season. This year's card will be a snapshot of the newly painted Conch Out. Basically, our objective is to have our renters think of the house as "their house at Grayton Beach," so they will want to come back year after year. We say so in the guest book and also ask them what we could do or add to make their stay more enjoyable, more convenient, etc. And finally, have one item in every room of your place that will make visitors smile when they walk into the room. Good luck! This has worked extremely well for us.
We also work hard at getting repeat renters, doing all kinds of things. For example, we'll sometimes call to ask if they are finding everything (including the rental company) satisfactory and just have a short chat. If we know a family is celebrating a particular occasion, we might send flowers to the house while they're there. And we send cards to all our renters from the past year, twice a year. The management company provides their names and addresses at the end of each year. We send a Christmas card, wishing a happy holiday season and thanks for being our guests, and it usually includes a beautiful snapshot of a Grayton sunset or beach scene. This year's got a really good response. It was a sunset photo of a sky ablaze with color and a big surf, as Hurricane Wilma swept past us far to the north en route to the Yucatan. The other card might be an update of what's happening on the beaches, sent at a time so it is a reminder that the house is booking for the coming season. This year's card will be a snapshot of the newly painted Conch Out. Basically, our objective is to have our renters think of the house as "their house at Grayton Beach," so they will want to come back year after year. We say so in the guest book and also ask them what we could do or add to make their stay more enjoyable, more convenient, etc. And finally, have one item in every room of your place that will make visitors smile when they walk into the room. Good luck! This has worked extremely well for us.
Whosyodaddy. Your place is very nice and well priced. Too bad about the lost rental. Have you considered noting that you have a "sale" for those weeks on VRBO in the heading and a discount because of the last minute cancellation?
Kurt and Donna provide great advice. We've done OK this past year, and we've followed much of the same strategies recommended by Kurt and Donna. Here's some more information.
1. About half of my rentals come from VRBO and my interactions with potential renters from VRBO and half from the agency. When someone contacts me through email, I respond in a very thorough and inviting way (typically I respond through email only, but I'll call if their situation is particular in some way). I've done fine with VRBO and the agency, but I may try another online advertising site this year to see what difference it makes in terms of numbers of inquiries and rentals (particularly for non-peak months).
2. I update the VRBO site regularly to reflect new "marketing techniques", changes in the cottages or areas, new kind of customers I want to draw to the cottages. For example, you may want to consider what's "unique" about your place that is particularly inviting to potential guests. What "experience" are you trying to give guests? We try to make sure our guests know that we really care about them and their vacation and that we're not cutting any corners.
3. I call my guests on the first or second day they are at the cottages to welcome them and see if they have any questions (and to let them know if I know something about the area that would be useful for them to know).
4. I make sure the cottages are in excellent condition and everything says "quality" and "fresh". High quality silverware, dinnerware, pots, quilts, etc. so that they think, "gee, this is great quality for a rental" and they feel special. Our cottages wouldn't be considered "upscale" or fancy, though, just predictably high quality, clean, and fresh. Since we're live far away, we can't guarantee everything will be perfect, but we try to do the very best we can -- I visit the cottage at least once very other month to make sure everything is fresh, clean, and in good repair.
5. I develop a mutually supportive and appreciative relationship with the rental agency. And they do a very good job maintaining, cleaning, and keeping an eye on the cottages. They know my philosophy for guests is to give them what they need to be happy and to be generous, so they respond to guest requests with that in mind knowing that I'll support their decisions.
6. Cost matters. If your rental is affordable (e.g., people feel they are getting a lot for the cost), they are more likely to be drawn to it. I want our guests to feel like they are getting a lot for what they are paying.
I do think it has a tougher year for rentals, though we've done fine. The biggest difference for us (I think) is that the rentals are coming in a bit later than in the past. I think people may think they have a lot of choices with all the new building. In part that's true, but the people who book early are going to have more choices and are more likely to get their first choice in accommodations. For example, I've had several inquiries about the week of June 10th, but it is already booked.
Hope this is useful. I love hearing ideas about what people do to make their rentals inviting to guests (and well-booked).
Kurt and Donna provide great advice. We've done OK this past year, and we've followed much of the same strategies recommended by Kurt and Donna. Here's some more information.
1. About half of my rentals come from VRBO and my interactions with potential renters from VRBO and half from the agency. When someone contacts me through email, I respond in a very thorough and inviting way (typically I respond through email only, but I'll call if their situation is particular in some way). I've done fine with VRBO and the agency, but I may try another online advertising site this year to see what difference it makes in terms of numbers of inquiries and rentals (particularly for non-peak months).
2. I update the VRBO site regularly to reflect new "marketing techniques", changes in the cottages or areas, new kind of customers I want to draw to the cottages. For example, you may want to consider what's "unique" about your place that is particularly inviting to potential guests. What "experience" are you trying to give guests? We try to make sure our guests know that we really care about them and their vacation and that we're not cutting any corners.
3. I call my guests on the first or second day they are at the cottages to welcome them and see if they have any questions (and to let them know if I know something about the area that would be useful for them to know).
4. I make sure the cottages are in excellent condition and everything says "quality" and "fresh". High quality silverware, dinnerware, pots, quilts, etc. so that they think, "gee, this is great quality for a rental" and they feel special. Our cottages wouldn't be considered "upscale" or fancy, though, just predictably high quality, clean, and fresh. Since we're live far away, we can't guarantee everything will be perfect, but we try to do the very best we can -- I visit the cottage at least once very other month to make sure everything is fresh, clean, and in good repair.
5. I develop a mutually supportive and appreciative relationship with the rental agency. And they do a very good job maintaining, cleaning, and keeping an eye on the cottages. They know my philosophy for guests is to give them what they need to be happy and to be generous, so they respond to guest requests with that in mind knowing that I'll support their decisions.
6. Cost matters. If your rental is affordable (e.g., people feel they are getting a lot for the cost), they are more likely to be drawn to it. I want our guests to feel like they are getting a lot for what they are paying.
I do think it has a tougher year for rentals, though we've done fine. The biggest difference for us (I think) is that the rentals are coming in a bit later than in the past. I think people may think they have a lot of choices with all the new building. In part that's true, but the people who book early are going to have more choices and are more likely to get their first choice in accommodations. For example, I've had several inquiries about the week of June 10th, but it is already booked.
Hope this is useful. I love hearing ideas about what people do to make their rentals inviting to guests (and well-booked).
Beach Runner said:You think that's a bummer? I've only had one rental from September '05 until June '06 - it's in late May. I'm
BR, you should list your property with Whosyodaddy! We're on it, Wastin Away's on it, and I know another SoWaller who will soon be on it. Join us and get some good exposure for your rental! :clap_1:
Whosyodaddy, your cottage is very pretty. I hope you can replace the people who cancelled. We had the entire month of March booked and they cancelled, but luckily we were able to cover at least half the month so it wasn't a total loss. It's maddening, isn't it??
If someone cancels, don't they have to pay at least 50% of the original rent? I believe that's what our agency's policy is. The renters have to pay 50% in advance and risk losing it if they cancel and the cottage isn't rented by someone else instead. Guests can buy travel insurance to cover unexpected emergencies, right?
We haven't faced that yet, but I'm sure we will at some point.
We haven't faced that yet, but I'm sure we will at some point.
TooFarTampa
SoWal Insider
Paula said:
I have been adapting the techniques of many of you, especially Paula and Donna (though Donna I think it helps if you have a drop-dead gorgeous "destination" house like yours!). Just want to say thanks because there are a lot of things I never thought of that I have done in the past year because of you guys.
Re: Travel insurance. How do you obtain that for your guests? Our new management company has an "owner rent" program, where you can collect payments, pay taxes and send info out while having to pay sharply reduced commission. The one fly in the ointment is travel insurance. I would like to offer that to my guests, mostly for the protection of both of us during hurricane season.
Paula,
That is the typical policy. Our experience has been one cancellation per house per year, always for different reasons.We try to offer credit to a future booking as opposed to keeping someones money for no service.
A larger problem we have found is someone booking the house, delay sending the payment of the initial deposit, and then ultimately never sending the deposit. My sense some people will book 4-5 houses to hold them until their group can decide which one they really want. Nevertheless, its all part of the short-term-rental business.
RBP
That is the typical policy. Our experience has been one cancellation per house per year, always for different reasons.We try to offer credit to a future booking as opposed to keeping someones money for no service.
A larger problem we have found is someone booking the house, delay sending the payment of the initial deposit, and then ultimately never sending the deposit. My sense some people will book 4-5 houses to hold them until their group can decide which one they really want. Nevertheless, its all part of the short-term-rental business.
RBP
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I probably won't have time to read them until tomorrow - snowed under with work!
Thanks again for your help!
Thanks again for your help!