John's Vacation Rental Blog

Tips and Advice in Choosing a Vacation Rental

John — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:52:00 GMT

The advantages of renting a vacation home have increasingly begun to outweigh the disadvantages. A vacation rental is so much more than a hotel room and you can truly have a much better experience on your vacation when you rent one.

There are many things you should consider when renting a home and though some of us dwell heavily on the price that should not be our number one concern. You truly get what you pay for and in renting a vacation home, it’s truer than ever.

Always look for vacation rental accommodations that have plenty of pictures of their rentals. This will allow you to get a good idea of what you’re getting into. Also, if the owner won’t speak to you about the property, you may want to go somewhere else. It’s important that you get as much information as you need when it comes to renting a home.

You also should stick to renting from vacation owners who have a lot of positive feedback on their Website. You don’t want to get into a situation where you’re unhappy with the vacation home and it totally ruins your vacation. That can really be a waste of your hard earned money and time.

Always look for rentals that offer parking off the street and offer safe, secure comfortable accommodations. It’s good to ask the owner about this as well, because if you know upfront what the situation is, you’ll be much better prepared to handle it.

Finally, it’s a good idea to do all the research you can to eliminate unwanted surprises. Once you’ve found a great vacation home and stayed there, it’s highly likely you won’t ever want to spend another night in a hotel.

Find reviewed and trusted vacation rentals at www.VRWD.com.

Five Ways to Keep Your Vacation Home Safe

John — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:36:00 GMT

Do you have a vacation home that you worry about keeping secure when you are away? If so, you are not alone. There are many vacation home owners who are in the same predicament as you.

So, how can you alleviate some of this anxiety when your vacation home is left unattended? There are many ways for you to protect your hard earned investment and give you some much needed peace of mind in the process.

Listed below are just a few tips to help you make certain your vacation property is safe when vacant:

1. Keep fresh batteries in the smoke alarms. This is one of your best silent protectors and you need to make certain it’s always armed for battle.

2. Check the filter on your heat and air unit. You may also want to consider purchasing a programmable thermostat to keep utility bills at their lowest.

3. Turn off the water on outside faucets and check to make certain there aren’t any leaks that can run up utility bills or create water problems.

4. Check all the toilets and facets to make certain they aren’t running or leaking.

5. Get a good security system installed in your vacation home. This is generally one of the best ways to make certain your property is always protected.

If you simply follow the above tips, you can begin to have the peace of mind that your vacation home is safe and secure. The price to keep your home safe is very reasonable in cost and the peace of mind it allows you is priceless.

How To Write Vacation Rental Ads For Both Travelers And Search Engines

John — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:48:00 GMT

When it comes to vacation rental ads, there is good, there is bad, and—I know this all too well—there is sometimes ugly. To help vacation rental owners write well balanced ads for both travelers and search engines I have put together three simple tips you should consider when you submit your next vacation rental listing on a portal or directory:

1. Keyword Inclusion – Whenever possible, make sure to use relevant keywords in your titles and descriptions. It can help make your vacation rental listing more attractive to the vacationers searching vacation rentals. Since most vacation rental directories and portals use your chosen title and description also for the web page Meta Tags, it may help your listing rank higher on search engines such as Google, MSN, etc...

2. Quality and Clarity – Clear, effective titles and descriptions give travelers a distinct idea of what type of vacation rental you have to offer. Avoid superlatives such as "best", "#1", etc... and do not use ALL CAPITAL letters (using all capital letters is not good for search engines and it comes across as shouting on the Web!) Avoid spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as poorly worded titles and descriptions as these will turn potential clients away and may also affect search engine optimization in a negative way.

3. Competitive Advantage – If there is something special about your vacation home, flaunt it! For example, if your vacation property has a jacuzzi, a fireplace, or an amazing view, be sure to mention it in your advertisement. There is so much vacation rental competition and sometimes these details make the difference. Using very targeted keywords in your title such as "jacuzzi", "fireplace", etc... may also give your vacation rental web page a competitive edge in ranking higher on the major search engines for more targeted vacation rental searches.

These are just some ideas to make your listing more attractive to travelers and more friendly to search engines.

How Travelers Can Avoid and Solve Vacation Rental Disasters

John — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:50:00 GMT

Are you thinking of taking a vacation? Do you want to take some time away from your daily responsibilities, to relax and unwind? If you decide to rent a home, condo, or cabin, instead of a hotel or motel, keep in mind that vacation rentals for 30 days or less are different from regular rentals. This fact sheet is designed to help you in the process of choosing a vacation rental and to give you tips on how to solve a problem if one arises.

Common Problems

There are a variety of problems that you may run into when renting a vacation property. Vacation rental advertisements or descriptions are designed to get you interested in renting that particular property. But, sometimes the ad goes too far or maybe not far enough. The advertisement might fail to tell you about important information or may simply overstate the amenities the property has to offer. For example, the property might be described as having a swimming pool, but you find the pool is under repair and cannot be used. Or, the property is advertised as having an ocean view, but you find you can only "view" the ocean while standing on the roof deck.

Steps To Follow

To avoid these problems, try following these suggestions when agreeing to a vacation rental contract:

get recommendations first

When searching for a rental, ask friends, family and coworkers for recommendations of places they have rented in the past. Because these recommendations are from people who have seen the rental and visited the area, they can give a reliable opinion.

view the rental property

If at all possible, visit the property you are thinking about renting. Otherwise, ask for a picture of the inside and outside if it is not already available on the Internet. Seeing pictures of the rental can help prevent any unpleasant surprises.

make sure the premises are clean and that there are no health code violations

The State Sanitary Code protects the health, safety, and well being of renters and the general public. Make sure that the rental is in good physical condition. Inspect the rental for bug infestations, unsafe structural elements, or any other problems that may affect your stay. If you arrive at your vacation rental and find it in poor condition, contact the owner or manager immediately to ask them to resolve the problem. If the owner or manager does not remedy the situation, you may want to contact the local Board of Health.

ask plenty of questions about the rental

Find out how many rooms there are, number of beds, and other amenities. Ask how far it is from the beach or center of town. Ask about your responsibilities during your stay, payments, security deposits, terms of the contract, contact information, cleaning fees, and anything else that you feel is important.

put your agreement in writing and review it carefully

Ask about any wording that may be unclear. If you don’t want to agree to something in the contract, talk to the owner or manager and ask to remove it. Make sure that you and the landlord or real estate salesperson agree upon all the terms of your agreement. Get any verbal agreements in writing. Double-check the contract to avoid any foreseeable problems.

be careful with Internet transactions

The Internet is an easy way to handle vacation rental transactions, but it can also be risky if not handled properly. Review all the terms and conditions of the rental and print out a copy of all agreements and E-mails between you and the owner or manager. If dealing with a company, check their complaint history with the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General’s Office in the state where the rental is located.

never pay more money than is necessary

Do not put money down unless you are sure that you want the vacation rental. If you put money down as a security deposit, make sure you understand what it may be used for and when it will be returned. Only send money to the owner or manager according to your agreement. You may want to agree on a payment schedule, preferably in writing, to avoid disputes.

use a credit card instead of cash or check

It may be harder to get your money back if there is a dispute if you pay by cash or check. If you use your credit card, you may be protected under a federal law, the Fair Credit Billing Act. If there are charges you did not agree to on your credit or charge card statement, you may dispute the charge and ask the credit card company to investigate. For more information, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-382-4357 or at http://www.ftc.gov.

keep good records

Make your own log of payments, receipts, complaints, contacts with the owner or manger, and other important events and documents relating to your rental. These records may be helpful in resolving any disputes that may occur.

Asserting Your Right

If the property is not in the condition you expected or your security deposit is not returned as agreed, and you are unable to resolve your complaint with the owner or manager directly, then you may decide to take legal action. If your problem is with a merchant that has engaged in an unfair or deceptive practice, which is a violation of your State Consumer Protection Act, the law requires you to send the merchant a letter 30 days before filing a claim in court. The letter must outline your complaint, the harm you suffered, and how you want the problem resolved. This is called a 30-Day Demand Letter.

The merchant must make a good faith response within 30 days, or could be subject to triple damages and attorney’s fees. The 30-Day Demand Letter serves to encourage the merchant to negotiate and settle claims out of court. It also establishes the amount of monetary damages you can recover if the charges are proven in court.

You may also want to seek mediation assistance through your local consumer group. Mediation is an informal way to resolve disputes between two parties. Your local consumer group is affiliated with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. You can also contact Consumer Affairs for a list of mediation services in your area.

You also have the right to sue in court if you feel your rights have been violated or the owner did not uphold their end of the agreement. For claims under $2,000, you may proceed in Small Claims Court. Larger claims must be brought to District Court. You may wish to seek legal assistance for larger claims.

5 Ways to Improve Your Vacation Rental Web Page Ranking on the Major Search Engines

John — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:49:00 GMT

Google Page Rank is based mostly on back links. Back links are links pointing to your website from another website. The more back links you have the higher your Page Rank (PR) will be.

1. Join vacation rental forums. Forums are a great way to achieve FREE links to your website. In most forums you are allowed to have a signature and in your signature you can put a link to your website. Make sure the forum is related to vacation rentals. With vacation rental forums you can advertise your website (bringing in targeted traffic) while improving your website's ranking on search engines. VacationRentalsCommunity.com (PR 5) provides a search engine friendly forum.

2. Submit to search engine friendly vacation rental directories. As the competitive nature of the web has matured, more and more website owners have turned to specialized web directories as an avenue to help with their search marketing efforts. Due to the editorial integrity involved in the listing process, many search engines view listings in "quality directories" as a valued citation. Make sure the directory has a high Page Rank of 3 or higher, offers vacation rental categories and provides search engine friendly links. Most vacation rental portals do not provide search engine friendly links. Vacation Rentals Web Directory - www.VRWD.com (PR 5) provides search engine friendly back links from 6 different vacation rental related websites with a single submission. Remember, the more back links you have the higher your PR will be.

3. Create vacation rental ezine ads. An ezine or newsletter is an electronic magazine delivered via email to people who have signed up (opted-in) to receive it. Ezines are published on different schedules (some weekly, some monthly or bi-monthly) and they can feature extensive content or just anouncements (for example, when a website is updated or when a new article goes online). Ezines will also allow you to increase your back links. Once you have created an ezine you can submit it to an ezine directory. The ezine directory will then link to your website (thus giving you a free link).

4. Create and publish vacation rental articles. Make article submissions to sites that have a Page Rank of 3 or higher. This is because Google only recognizes back links on web pages that have a Page Rank higher than three. However, do not ignore all other sites since most other search engines still acknowledge listings and back links from all sites irrespective of page rank. Make your article submissions relevant to your web site and your own content. The chances of your web site going up in page rankings increases if the title and content of your articles is similar to what you have on your website. Vacation Rental News and Articles - http://vacationrentals.vrwd.com (PR 3) allows you to submit your vacation rental articles for free.

5. Get links from other high-quality vacation rental websites. Gaining links from other vacation rental websites can be one of the most frustrating tasks you can attempt. They are very easy to find, but can be somewhat difficult to obtain links from. To find related websites, all you have to do is go to Google and make a search under 'vacation rentals.' Then, you need to convince the appropriate person of each vacation rental website to post a link from their website to your website. This can be a difficult task because many webmasters ignore emails from people requesting links - only around 10% of link exchange offers sent to relevant web sites receive a reply. And the number of sites that exchange links (out of that small 10% portion) is even smaller.

Break The Mould: Treat Renters Like Friends

John — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 16:46:00 GMT

As a vacation home owner I would like to share with you a few tips on how you can humanize your interactions with prospects and existing renters by being yourself and not pretending to be a hotel director. By doing this you're showing people you have ethics, you're a real person, and you care about the people you deal with. At the end of the day, your vacation home will be the one that stands out.

1. Don't outsource your vacation rental business Nobody can describe the property better than you can, and nobody can maintain it as well as you can. Cut out the middleman and you will be able to save money and frustration in the process as well.

2. Reply to inquiries in a timely manner and always be honest with them. Try to return calls and emails as soon as possible even if your property is already booked. If your vacation home is not what they are looking for, let them know. Make sure they understand your fees and policies (make them sign a simple agreement).

3. Forget the 'snobby' talk. When you talk to a friend, family member or your spouse do you meticulously make sure every sentence ends with a full stop? Ask for the renter's name straight up. Be friendly and polite when you talk to renters.

I'm sure some people will disagree with my 3 tips above (especially vacation rental managers), but I can honestly say they have worked well for me and will continue to do so.

Welcome to Vacation Rental Blogging!

John — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:16:00 GMT

Hello and Welcome to Vacation Rental Blogging!

I am honored to bring to you a website that should be very useful for everyone involved in vacation rentals. Herein you will find important information for both property owners and vacationers.

This community is filled not only with my own research, but also with information from numerous other experts in the field of vacation rentals. Be sure to visit regularly for the latest information, including updated news, new tips & advice, industry trends and developments.

This is your community, so feel free to voice your opinions, and lend your suggestions. Share your stories and experiences with your own free personal blog or discuss any vacation rental topic in one of our many vacation rental forum categories.

I hope you enjoy the Vacation Rentals Community, and visit often.

To obtain your own personal vacation rental blog please send email to: admin @ vacationrentalscommunity.com

Sincerely,

John