Tip # 1: Study the competition.
Before you begin to prepare a listing for your vacation property, take the time to analyze what’s being offered by your competition. There are many Web sites devoted to vacation rental advertising. (The Yahoo directory’s “Lodging>Vacation Rentals” category includes literally hundreds of them.) But for the broadest, most comprehensive sample, go to the leaders in the field, such as A1Vacations,CyberRentals, GreatRentals, and VRBO.
As you review listings posted by your competitors, put yourself in the shoes of a prospective renter. Pretend that you’re searching for a place to spend your next family vacation. Which listings do you find most appealing and why? What are the rates? How do the owners handle deposits, cleaning fees, and other charges? Print out the property listings you really like and use them as a model for creating your own listing.
Tip # 2: List your property on the leading vacation rental Web sites.
You’ll need to list your property with several vacation rental sites in order to generate all the bookings you want. To get the most bang for your advertising buck, we recommend starting with the sites in Tip #1. They cover vacation destinations throughout the world—not just for a single region or for a particular vacation hotspot. And they’ve all been around long enough to have developed a loyal following of vacation travelers, who check these sites first whenever they want to search for rental properties.
Depending on the location of your property, you may eventually need to list with one or more region-specific and special-interest sites. But avoid the temptation to accept all the “free listing” offers that come your way. Five or six listings are quite manageable. Venture much beyond that and you’ve got a major project on your hands each and every time you want to change rates, add an amenity, or make other modifications to the information you present about your property.
Tip #3: Take the time to shoot lots of really great photos.
In the vacation rental business, photographs are crucial. If your property is in a highly competitive location, the quality (and quantity) of the pictures in your online listing can make all the difference in the world. Remember, most of your guests will be renting your property sight unseen. So the more you can do to show them its charms and eliminate their doubts, the better.
Make an effort to “dress the set” for each shot. You might even want to consider hiring a professional photographer. A pro will have the knowledge and equipment to advise you on composition and to properly light each scene. We also recommend that you take lots of pictures. In the future, you may want to pay to add extra pictures to your online listings. Or you may want to create your own personal Web site. Either way, you’ll be glad to have those additional photos.
Tip #4: Write a wonderful description of your property.
Sure, easier said than done. Many people freeze up when they have to write something. That’s why so many of your competitors’ property descriptions are so bad, so short, and so thin on details. Here’s a trick you can use to overcome writer’s block and get your creative juices flowing:
Imagine that you are describing your vacation property to a very special aunt and uncle. They’ve never seen the place before, and you’re thrilled that they’re coming to stay for a week. What would you tell them? Why do you love the property? The location? What joys will they (and your renters) find there? Put some personality into your property description to set your place apart from every other “2BR/2BA Condo w/Ocean View.”
And remember: You can always go in and edit or add to the text descriptions in your online listings.
Tip # 5: Offer an online availability calendar and guest book for your property.
Prospective renters like to see immediately whether the dates they want are available. You’ll increase bookings and minimize the time you spend sending out “Sorry we’re already booked that week” messages by using the free Universal Availability Calendar offered through Rentors.org.
Providing enthusiastic customer testimonials is also a surefire way to boost prospective renters’ confidence that your property will live up to their expectations. The Rentors.org Universal Guest Book feature (also free) makes it easy for renters to record their comments and help spread the word about the great experience they had renting from you.
Conclusion
In the computer business, people are always searching for the “killer app”—the application that makes it essential to buy a particular piece of hardware or software. Well, for current or prospective owners of second homes, the power the Internet provides for renting out those second homes, with or without an agent or management company, is the killer app. But you’ve got to do it correctly. The five tips presented here will get you started in the right direction.
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About the Authors. Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner are the authors of over 60 books on home buying, personal finance, the Internet, and other topics. Their most recent book is How to Make Your Vacation Property Work for You!: The Quick & Easy Guide to Advertising, Renting, Managing, and Making Money from your Second Home (FireCrystal, 2004). Designed as a complete “seminar-in-a-box,” this 320-page book/CD package shows you how to create listings that really SELL on the leading vacation rental advertising sites. It also includes tips and techniques for managing your property, a CD with sample forms and checklists that you can customize as you see fit, and a variety of money-saving offers. For more information and to order a copy,please click here to visit their website.
Click here to order your copy using Amazon.com