The professional image

Each day I speak to people about the vacation rental business I remind them that they are in the hospitality business. Websites and listings are just commodities these days for a typical vacation rental owner. The fact of the matter is that each year millions of domain names are bought and sold, millions of websites and web pages come and go. In my mind the key is to be professional from top to bottom. (I am not a lawyer and any of these ideas should be run through your lawyer, tax advisors or any others who help you in decisions relating to your vacation rentals and homes). That said, I would apply for a limited liability company, aka LLC, though your attorney or through www.legalzoom.com. Only use www.legalzoom.com if you know what you’re doing with respect to all aspects of setting up such an entity, I.E. taxes, estate planning and legal. Next, I would give serious consideration to setting up a system that will allow customers to book a room with you the same way they do with www.expedia.com. The idea behind this is there is a growing market of people who prefer to make a decision and "BOOK IT" right away. The conventional wisdom at my company is that a well laid out professional website with a booking engine will have a higher "BOOKING RATIO" than a standard vacation rental listing or website. In short, consider a real time booking engine.

Next, keep the message professional and short on your phone line and answering system. Lots of times, a long "windy" message results in a hang up by the prospect. Note: sometimes your message can be short but an electronic operator will come on and leave a long and annoying message teaching you how to leave a voice message. Along the same vein, dedicate a line for your vacation rental. An inexpensive solution is a SkypeIn phone line that you can get at www.skype.com very inexpensively. Skype has some amazing features that cost almost nothing compared to a standard phone line with any major Telco. Another choice is Vonage, www.vonage.com, because they can convert voice messages to text to which will allow you to receive an email in lieu of having to login to your voice mail, listen to a bunch of messages and finally get to the one you need. Imagine trying to do that when you’re in the middle of a meeting or already on the phone.

The key is to do anything reasonable to get back to your prospective guest immediately. Obviously, when someone makes an owner inquiry send them back an auto response with a link to your website. Don't refer a potential guest back to your competition's website. For example, don't send them a link back to your listing service because you will just be making it easier for them to comparison shop and rate shop. Also, get back to these potential guests right away. Ideally, you should invest in a handheld device that will allow you to get your emails real time. For example, I use a Cingular phone service with my Blackberry. This allows me to respond within seconds of receiving a call. The benefit of this ability is obvious. Finally, don't be afraid to send a SMS text message to your potential vacation rental guests. SMSs are ideal because they are so quick. I could send a response to a caller with my BlackBerry like "I will call you right back as soon as I get out of my meeting because I am offering a discount on my property this week. Please give me 10 minutes to get back to you, thanks".

These are just a few ideas but, ones that I think will make you look and feel like a real pro in this increasingly competitive vacation rental market place. Good luck getting more bookings.

Homespun Websites LLC