The number of travelers renting vacation homes is continuously on the rise, but we do still have a long way to go to educate the world on the advantages of renting a vacation rental as opposed to hotels. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when renting to a traveler booking a vacation rental for the very first time to ensure they will enjoy their stay and continue to book vacation rentals for the long run.

1.       List very thorough information about your vacation home throughout the listing process on whichever vacation rental listing sites you are a member of. Too often the mistake is made that the owner lists very little information and simply tries to direct the traveler to their own personal website link. While it’s great to list a link to the property’s site, you also want a lot of information available to make them want to take the next step of visiting your personal website.

2.       Be patient with all of your communication with a potential renter. Keep in mind that if this is the first time a traveler has rented a vacation home from an owner that they will have a lot of questions. You want to make them as comfortable and at ease about the rental as possible. Provide as much information as you can and be as patient as possible. Those “newbies” might just turn into repeat guests.

3.       Use a rental agreement. To help avoid any confusion and to let your guests know all of the rules and policies of staying in your vacation home, send a detailed rental agreement before you take any form of payment for the booking. This will give the renter confidence that you are running a reputable business and allows them to review all of your policies before taking the next step of sending a deposit.

4.       Keep your calendar up to date. One of the more frustrating obstacles a potential renter faces when looking for a vacation rental online is knowing which properties are actually available for the dates in which they are looking to book. Keeping calendars up to date makes it easier on them…and easier on you because you don’t have to waste time responding to inquiries for dates that your home is already booked.

5.       Put full contact information on the listing. Travelers want to know there is a real “live” person when they email or call to inquire about a property. You want to have your name and every possible means of contact listed so you are sure not to miss a valuable inquiry and booking.

6.       Respond in a timely fashion to inquiries. This is one of the absolute best ways to instill confidence in your potential guest that your home is right for them, as well as establishing a relationship early on before they have time to browse more and get a response from another owner before you contact them. Email is undoubtedly to most used form of communication these days, but nothing establishes a relationship more than a phone call. You’ll be able to know the guest a little better and answer questions they have faster.

7.       Post GREAT photos. Last but DEFINITELY not least! Take photos that showcase your property the best. No one wants to rent a property with dark photos or messy photos. Take photos in the best sunlight and make sure the shots you take look exactly like what the guest should expect when they arrive. If you change furnishings or update any features, take new photos to publish right away and replace the old photos.

All in all, it’s really not difficult to rent to a traveler that is new to the vacation rental industry. You will likely do a little more hand-holding than you would with veteran vacation rental guests, but it is worth it in so many ways! Not only are you gaining a booking and a potential repeat guest but you are also helping educate the public about all of the wonderful advantages of renting a vacation home! Good Job!!!

* Wonderful bedroom photo in a spectacular listing in Haiku, Hawaii. See it at: http://www.vacaconnect.com/Vacation-Rental.aspx?id=811 

The vacation rental market continues to grow, along with the competition to make your vacation rental stand out among the other villas, homes, cottages, lodges, beach houses and apartments. To grab the attention of potential renters, there are three easy tips you can do to pump up the traffic of potential renters, including:

1.      Make sure to list all the special features of your property that other local competition may not have. Things such as hot tubs, saunas, free wi-fi, water sports equipment, etc. will likely set your vacation rental apart from the rest and attract more renters.

2.      Great bedroom photos are a must! Potential renters place a lot of attention on making sure the bedrooms are comfortable, so adding some fluffy bedding and taking photos in the right lighting could really increase rental traffic.

3.      Make the potential guest feel right at home with the right descriptive words. Appeal to the potential guest’s senses by using the right text to help them understand what your property has to offer. Describe the scenery surrounding your VR and some of the fun things to do in town or fun festivals or markets that occur throughout the year.

Standing out from the crowd and capturing the interest of potential guest means appealing to all senses through photos, great text, past guest reviews, additional features and any little extras that set your rental above the rest. The more information you can offer…the better!

** This is one bedroom photo from a beautiful property in Quintana Roo. You can see the listing at: http://www.vacaconnect.com/Vacation-Rental.aspx?id=903 

TEN IDEAD FOR ENJOYING A MORE COMFORTABLE FLIGHT THIS SEASON:

1. STOCK UP ON THE AQUA! Bring along a bottle or thermos of water for the flight. One of the main challenges while flying is staying hydrated. Make sure you don’t fill it with caffeinated beverages because those are diuretics and won’t keep you all hydrated and feeling great like good old water will.
2. REQUEST AN AISLE SEAT. Aisle seats give you more freedom to pop up and go to the restroom when you need to without having to climb over other passengers and you can get up and stretch regularly, which is a GREAT idea for long flights!
3. BRING AN EYESHADE OR EYE PILLOW. These can be lifesavers for catching some zzzz’s on a flight. Even if it’s night time, there is always the chance your neighbor wants to turn on the overhead light to read. This way you can shut out the light and catch some snooze time no problem!
4. BRING EARPLUGS. We all know how much noise there is on airplanes. Even if you don’t get stuck sitting next to Chatty Kathy, there are still the seatbelt warnings, restless babies, snoring passengers….and the list goes on and on.  Block out the noise for a little more peace.
5. BRING THE IPOD! Even one step up on bringing earplugs, bring your IPOD and load it up with your favorite relaxing music and even audiobooks. These are wonderful to listen to, especially on longer flights. Makes the time go by much faster!
6. BRING A NECK PILLOW. These are wonderful to have on flights! You’ve probably seen them before. The donut shapes pillows that lots of folks are walking around with in the airports. They are much more comfortable than the flat little pillows planes provide, and most planes are even charging a fee for those flat pillows and blankets.
7. BRING A SWEATSHIRT, JACKET OR BLANKET WITH YOU. Most of the time it can be a little chilly on flights and these days with airlines charging for blankets (besides the fact that the paper thin blankets don’t do much anyway), you want to have something to cuddle up with to stay warm.
8. WEAR COMFORTABLE CLOTHES. Nothing is worse than being uncomfortable in your clothing on a long flight. You can always bring a change of clothes in your carry on if you feel like you need to change into something more formal after you land.
9. BRING SNACKS. With the tough economy the airlines have cut back hugely on what they offer free anymore. All snacks for the most part cost money and there isn’t much variety to choose from. Go ahead and pack some snacks you like in your carry on so you’re not hungry and wishing your stomach would quit growling. J
10. THE OLD TRIED AND TRUE…BRING A BOOK! These function as a "do not disturb" sign to potentially chatty seatmates and they’ll make the time go by much quicker. Try to pick up an easy read mystery or fun novel to get a little lost in for a few hours. Time will fly!

Most of us plan vacations in different parts of the country with fishing trips in nearby lakes, tanning on the beach chairs along the sea side or even hiking or spending the outdoors on the mountains. If skiing, snowboarding and watching the snow fall sound most appealing for a vacation, there are numerous mountain vacation homes for rent. Whether you are looking for a ski-in and ski-out lodge or a cabin that is a little off the beaten path, many vacation home owners are renting out their homes around the world in some of the most beautiful ski towns around.

There are many mountain cabin rentals around the world to choose from. Simply spend some time looking for the most economical and spacious for your next trip to accommodate the entire group and you will enjoy the privacy and space of your very own vacation home in the mountains.  

A great use of a mountain ski lodge vacation rental is for a corporate trip or family reunions. It is a great alternative to spending lots of money on expensive hotels and offers a lot more space for everyone to roam. It can also be a great time for everyone to spend more time together in a relaxed atmosphere instead of meeting up in crowded common areas of a hotel. Many mountain ski lodge rentals are known to have up to 10 bedrooms, so accommodating a large group is not a problem at all. Corporate trips and family reunions can be enjoyed like never before when you can all stay close to one another, dine together and enjoy fun activities all day.

If you are looking for something more off the beaten path, there are plenty of mountain cabin rentals available to choose from.  These well-crafted wooden cabins are fully equipped with modern day amenities including television, furniture and a full sized kitchen with its very own stove and chimney. You can choose a mountain rental cabin that is just right for you depending on your requirements, including location, view, color, cost and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

Whether you are looking for a fabulous ski lodge vacation rental for an entire group or a mountain cabin rental tucked a little out of the way, vacation rentals are a wonderful alternative to hotels in so many ways. You will enjoy the privacy, space and economical advantages just to name a few.

All of us pet owners know the feeling of worrying about our precious little pets while on vacation. Worrying if they’re stressed being in a kennel, or if the neighbor is taking good care of them. Well, there is a solution. There are plenty of pet friendly vacation homes to choose from so next time you don’t have to leave your furry friend behind.

A pet friendly vacation rental home can range from vacation homes, condos, cottages, beach houses, villas, lodges and more. In most cases, vacation rentals are a far better choice economically than renting a hotel room and many hotels do not accept pets or charge an astronomical fee if they do. There are plenty of pet friendly vacation rentals to choose from online and you’ll have more space and freedom for everyone, including your family pet.

As pets can be unpredictable, the owners of vacation rentals set certain rules for their pet friendly vacation homes that need to be followed. These set rules actually protect the vacation rental owners from possible damages that can be caused due to pets. You should research properly before booking your pet friendly vacation rental and speak with the owner about their rules for bringing along your pet.

Some pet friendly vacation rentals provide extra necessities for your pets, and some even have yards for dogs when you go out for the day to play on your vacation. Some vacation rental owners will offer extra goodies for a small charge for your pets. This actually saves you time and money because you won’t need to purchase and pack these things for you furry friend. They will already have food, treats and toys waiting for them when you arrive at your vacation home. If the vacation rental owner does offer this extra service, they will have it stated within their listing or verbally offer this service if you decide to book the vacation rental.

Pet friendly vacation rentals are becoming more and more popular and vacation rental owners do see the need for families to bring along the family pet. Just make sure to check if the vacation rental is a pet friendly vacation rental and always verify with the owner to make sure before booking.

Hi everyone!

Jason and I just got back last week from the trip of a lifetime! We flew to Grand Cayman on the 14th of June and were married on June 16th in a magical ceremony at the Grand Old House in Grand Cayman. After the ceremony, we all dined under the stars with our closest family and friends. It truly was the most special evening we could have ever imagined!

And of course we have to mention that we all stayed in vacation rentals for the trip and everyone loved it! Between us all, we had a five bedroom home and five 3-bedroom condos all located along Seven Mile Beach. Everyone had a blast scuba diving, riding jet skiis, visiting Sting Ray City, the Butterfly Farm....and the list goes on and on. If you haven't been to Grand Cayman yet...trust me that it is a WONDERFUL vacation destination!

Thanks to everyone here on VacaConnect for continuing to send us your thoughts and ideas. Look forward to the new themed sites....they are making their big debut just around the corner! We'll be sending emails very soon asking each owner which four themed sites they would like to be added. Thanks everyone! Have a wonderful week - Angie Volk :)

Hi everyone!

We are so excited our first set of print advertisements came out almost two weeks ago and we've seen a great increase in traffic and lots of interest! Great news!! We are still working around the clock on getting more bookings for all that are listed on the site. It's been LOTS of work but also LOTS of fun!

We'd love to hear about any bookings you have received. We have no way of knowing if you received a booking, so your input would be wonderful! Shoot us an email when you can! That would be wonderful. angie@vacaconnect.com or jason@vacaconnect.com We are going to start posting the great bookings people are receiving on the site. Looking forward to more great stories!!

We are now LIVE with http://www.vacaconnect.de/  , http://www.vacaconnect.co.uk/ and http://www.vacacionesconectan.com/ . All listings are automatically put up on those extra sites for free! We are in the works of getting the themed vacation sites up too! Look forward to www.skivacaconnect.com www.beachvacaconnect.com and many, many more! All owners will have the option of choosing up to four themed sites to be on as well. Everyone will be on 8 sites for no extra charge! We're so thrilled to be able to make this happen. Big thanks to the beautiful design of the site by Beyond Digital and the incredible development team at Element Code, both located in Dallas, TX, for making our dreams a reality!

Cheers!

Angie and Jason

Hello friends! A little off of business talk for a second...

Jason and I are getting married! We are off to Grand Cayman in June with all of our family to tie the knot in a gorgeous intimate beach wedding. A dream come true!

And another great thing...All of us are staying in vacation rentals. Of course! We'll be posting photos, videos and reviews upon our return!

Cheers everyone!

Angie and Jason

Hi everyone,

The last Vacation Rental we stayed in knew we were bringing our two little fluffy dogs with us and low and behold...they were dog lovers too and actually left a nice cushy doggie bed in the house for us. How nice! Our little rescue dog Peanut sure took full advantage of her temporary kingdom as you can see!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........................

Thanks so much to VR owners Pam and Don! Another reminder to all of us vacation rental owners....it really is the little things in life...Make someone else smile with a small gesture of warmth.

http://www.vacaconnect.com/ShowProperty.aspx?id=75

Jason, Angie, Muchkin and Peanut  :)

www.vacaconnect.com

Thanks to all who've been patient on our latest blog post, but the title says it all.  We rolled out a short beta phase and received an overwhelming response.  Now www.vacaconnect.com is available to everyone!  Thanks to all who've commented.  Now onto the fun. 

Here's Part 3 in the Series of "Keeping it Real". 

High End Vacation Rental with Wifi.  Server located on Site.

Our rental has been updated with the highest end hardward to accommodate those in need of a T3 connection to keep your company running seamlessly while enjoying your well-deserved vacation!   Our rack is hosted in our own temperature-cooled server room with direct access. 

The rental is designed for those with the desire to maintain the quickest communication with clients while maximizing time with the family.

While the description is nice... IT'S WRONG!  Let's list our properties like they are so we can continue to establish trust in our industry

Keep it real,

Jason & Angie