Merchant Services and Vacation Home Owners.....Inevitable

The Internet and ECommerce had made the ability to accept electronic payment for goods and services more an expectation than an option in the mind of consumers. Content is king as far as Google is concerned but Convenience is King as far as consumers are concerned. As a consultant to small businesses, I constantly preach that the vendor/property owner needs to place themselves in the mind of the Internet consumer. In the case of vacation rentals, one must think about the profile of the person willing to spend money on your vacation home. Note: this person does not care about the price of your home, the amount of your mortgage, the cost of your cleaning service, your climate control bill, or any other cost involved with running your home. This customer is looking for a short term accommodation with a vendor they can trust that will deliver a valuable travel and vacation experience. As the vacation rental market matures in the United States less emphasis will be placed on direct contact with the property owner. In fact, I believe customers will view a vacation rental booking the same way they view a hotel booking on www.expedia.com or www.hotels.com. As is the case with all Internet commodities, this customer looking to book a vacation rental home will not be terribly loyal.

The merchant service model and bookings for commission models represent the largest revenue growth opportunity for companies like www.homeaway.com and www.findrentals.com. A vacation home owner that ignores this emerging business requirement does so at his/her own peril. Understanding sign up fees, monthly fees, transaction fees and discount rates will require a little work but in the end it will create huge market segment for serious participants in the travel and leisure business.

Hopefully this weekend I will spend time discussing real-time booking engines as they relate to vacation rentals, real time availability calendars and merchant service. (To be continued) info@vromarketing.com