Hi  Everyone,

It’s been a little while since  I have blogged.  I have been on the road a lot in the past month doing seminars  and I managed to squeeze in a little weekend getaway too!

I had the pleasure of going on  the Carter Center Winter Weekend trip.  Aside from spending five days with  President and Mrs. Carter, I learned a lot about the work that the Carter Center  has been involved in.  One talk that was of specific interest to me was with Dr. Jay Hakes, Director of  Policy and Research for the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil  Spill and Offshore Drilling.  He talked about the things that went wrong (from  both BP’s perspective and the government response).  He also talked about  policies and procedures the government is putting in place to assure this type  of disaster never happens again.  I’m going to invite Dr. Hakes as a guest on my  podcast.  Stay tuned….

So onto my rental life… It was  a slower start to the booking year.  It seems that the renters are booking  closer and closer to their rental dates than ever before.  But in the end my  inquiries and bookings seem to be on par with last year.  Keeping our fingers  crossed that booking will continue to roll in. 

Living 1000 miles away from my  closest vacation rental has never seemed to be too much of a problem except for  one silly issue.  The internet!  All of my properties have wi-fi connection  because quite frankly the renters demand it.   A couple weeks ago I had a router  go out in one of my properties.  You would think this would be an easy problem  to solve, but NO!  The stores around didn’t have any routers so had to buy a one  online and have it shipped.  But once it arrived, my housekeeper figure out how  to install it.  And though I could walk her through which wire to hook up where,  she needed to get onto a computer and set the passwords.  In the end, I had to  ask my renter to hook it up. Though not optimal, it worked. 

That brings me to another  story.   I had a really funny call with a renter the other day.  Here’s how it  went:

Renter: “I cannot get connected to the  internet.”

Me: “Go to the start menu, press control panel, press  network and internet…”

Renter: “Wait, my mouse is not working”

Me: “Are you at the desk in the  bedroom?”

Renter: “Yes”

Me: “Okay, your mouse is not working because the desk is a  glass top, the optical mouse has to have something underneath  it.”

Renter: “I’ll use the touchpad on my  laptop”

Me: “Okay, now type in the network  password.”

Renter: “<frustrated> ugh, this touchpad is not good; I am  having trouble typing because I keep hitting the touchpad. Let me put the phone  on speaker so I can do this with two hands.”

Renter: “Okay, it’s on speaker, can you hear me  now?”

Me: “It’s a little garbled but we can make due.  Now type  the password into the box.”

Renter: “<even more frustrated> geeze I cannot use this  dog-gone touchpad.”

Me: “<assertively> Sir, go get a piece of paper and  put it under your mouse.”

Renter: “Okay wait a minute. ” Renter comes back and says, “Can  you hear me better now?”

Me: “Yes, I can hear you. Now type that password  in.”

Renter: “<now just down-right mad> I cannot work this  touchpad!”

Me: <Hu?  Why isn’t he using his mouse?  OMG the light  bulb goes off!> “Sir I said put the piece of paper under your mouse,  not under your mouth!”

Renter: “<laughing> Oh wow my mouse works now! Okay I just  typed in the password and the internet works.  Thanks!”

Problem solved!  The silly  things vacation rental owners have to endure.

I am still laughing about the  conversation! 

Happy  Renting!

Christine

Hi everyone,

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility came out with definitions for the final claims process for anyone affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (also known as the BP oil spill). While going through the various options for claims, I came to the conclusion that since I am a multiple property owner, it is probably best if I retain an attorney. 

As you can imagine, there are hundreds of attorneys who are litigating these cases. Thankfully I didn’t have to search too far for an attorney I trust; I went with Buzbee Law firm, the same firm that has been contributing information to HomeAway's oil spill response site. 

With my other than Gulf Coast rentals, life has been nuts. The snow on the East Coast has made renting cabins in the Smokey Mountains all but impossible. I had a guest who waivered on whether or not to rent. I told her it’s highly unlikely that she will be able to get into our cabins (I basically refused to rent it). 

The night before the renter was scheduled to arrive she called me and said she was coming—go ahead and charge her credit card. I told her that housekeeper said the roads were only okay during the day; After dark everything turns to ice.  So the deal was I would rent but only if she would arrive during the day. But if she arrived at night, all bets were off; I could not guarantee that she would be able to access my cabin. 

I got a call the next evening and guess what? They didn’t make it there during daylight. Sure enough, the roads were all icy.  At that point, there was not much I could do. I told her I could help her find a hotel or if she was feeling adventurous, she could walk up the road to my cabin. She didn’t like either of those options. She said she would call me back. About an hour later I got a call from her saying she was in the cabin. I asked her if she walked and she said no, they went to the store and bought 20 bags of salt and salted the road! The salt on the road coupled with the extra weight of the unused bags in her car and she made it up the mountain. 

This is NOT how I like to run my vacation rental business! I should have stuck to my “no” but in the end the guests really enjoyed the cabin and their time there. I, of course, refunded her the money she spent on salt as well as some extra for her trouble. 

Christine

As we finish 2010, I reflect…

Looking back, 2010 started off on an upward trajectory, I was sure it  was going to be the best on record for my properties. Sadly, on April 20, 2010 everything changed because of the oil spill in the Gulf. Who could have predicted such a tragedy? There were people who lost their lives and livelihood and of course, there was significant impact on the environment and local economy. Retrospectively, I guess I was one of thelucky ones because most of my guests kept their reservations. No one  knows what to expect in the coming years but one thing we know for certain, there is an uphill battle to restore tourism in the region. I can only hope for the best.

The rest of my properties did well in 2010 bringing in the same amount of money this year as last. However the significant difference was I rented fewer nights for more money per night. I am extremely grateful  for this.

For my work at HomeAway, it was a year of many accomplishments. We  rolled out the new version of the Owner Community website that we’re using today. We also created a special website for owners whose rentals were effected by the oil spill, and just this  past month, rolled out our new Community forum.

We held 14 seminars across the country where we met and learned from  many homeowners and property managers. We also had our first ever  HomeAway Summit in May, which far exceeded expectations (we’re  doing another one this year!). It was also a great year for my podcast show—looks like we’ll end the year with just shy of 1 million downloads in 2010!

So in the end, despite some ups and downs, I have much to be thankful for.

I hope you have a happy holiday season and a safe, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Christine

Hi everyone,

I am finally back in the office from my whirlwind trip that included  visiting a college for my son, redecorating my vacation rentals, and  hosting the “Revive the Gulf” Symposium in Destin! Though it was  jam-packed with activity (and I’m certainly glad to be home), it was  also great to accomplish so much during one trip.

As promised, below is my recap of each of the sessions of our  Symposium. To start, here is a look at who attended:

• A majority of the owners in attendance owned property in the local  area, but we also met quite a few with homes in Alabama and Mississippi
• A significant amount of owners have been renting for more than five  years
• Many of the attendees owned more than one vacation rental property
• About half of the attendees had already filed with the Gulf Coast  Claims Facility

1st Session: State of the Vacation Rental Industry in the Gulf

Tom Hale, Chief Product Officer of HomeAway, Inc.

Tom’s presentation focused on the efforts HomeAway made to help boost  inquiries in the Gulf Coast following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,  which included increased pay-per-click advertising, targeted emails to  Gulf Coast travelers, a dedicated

oil spill  response website

, and customized banner ads throughout our website.

But perhaps more importantly, Tom shared some of HomeAway’s plans to  continue to promote the Gulf Coast and the entire vacation rental  industry in 2011. The owners seemed most excited about the improvements  to the Owner Dashboard, our upcoming Super Bowl commercial, the sneak  peek of our new listing analysis tool, and most of all, VRBO phone  support! Phone support, with click-to-call technology, is currently in  test mode, but it should roll out to all customers sometime early next  year. Stay tuned for more info!

2nd Session: Restoring Tourism and Economic Activity

Pamela Watkins, Beaches of South Walton

Pamela spent her session telling us all the things that the visitors’  bureau has done with their BP claims money to help boost tourism and  restore the image of the area following the oil spill. Pamela felt  strongly that the media didn’t necessarily portray the true state of our  beaches, so the media is the best way to correct that perception.

So, with their payments from BP, the Beaches of South Walton invested  in the following marketing efforts:

• Community workshops
• Dedicated websites
• Seaside newsletter
• Television and radio commercials
• Employee training
• Satellite media tours to 60 stations nationwide
• Celebrity PSA campaigns
• Partner co-op campaigns
• Rewards programs
• Back to the Beach concert

What I found even more interesting, though, was the study that the  Beaches of South Walton conducted with travelers who visited the area in  2009 but didn’t return in 2010. Here is what they found:

• 48% who traveled this summer but not to BoSW sited the oil spill as  their #1 reason
• 15% who had booked cancelled
• 85% never made a reservation this summer
• 49% of those who went somewhere else said that their experience  wasn’t as good as BoSW; 41% said it was about the same; 10% said it was  better
• 83% of those who did return intend to come back again in 2011; 6%  have already made reservations
• 66% do not plan to make their reservations sooner than a few months  before their trip
• 16% think the beaches will still be impacted next summer

Although there were some minor negative findings in the survey results,  overall it gives me hope that bookings will be just about back to  normal for next summer.

3rd Session: The Claims Process

Caroline Adams, Buzbee Law Firm

The Buzbee Law Firm has been involved in the oil spill since day one,  representing many rig workers, oystermen and shrimpers in addition to  vacation rental owners. When it came to our group and the claims  process, most people have filed for 1-6 month payments. No one has filed  for a final payment, and Buzbee recommends holding off on that as of  right now. Most people were paid about 2-3 weeks after submitting their  claims, if not sooner.

So, if you are among those who have not submitted your claim yet,  Buzbee recommends submitting your emergency claim with the following  supporting documents:

• Description of business losses due to spill
• Records showing gross revenues for 2010
• Letters of business cancellations
• Maps or descriptions of the area
• Financial statements for 2007-2010
• Signed income tax returns for 2007-2009
• Details on efforts to mitigate losses
• Daily/monthly occupancy information 2007-2010
• Documents of insurance/collateral source payments from government  entities

4th Session: Recovering from the Oil Spill

Christine Karpinski, Director of Owner Community for HomeAway, Inc.

Ok, I’m not going to toot my own horn too much, but here are the main  points I addressed in my session. For more information on these topics, I  encourage you to read the articles I’ve linked below:

• Stay firm on your cancellation  policy, and be up front about it with guests
• Have confidence when speaking to your renters! Hundreds of owners  sent checks back to travelers unnecessarily; we must change this whole  mentality and have more confidence in our business as a group.
• Encourage guests to purchase travel  insurance. Although most natural disasters aren’t covered, several  companies made exceptions for the oil spill.
• The oil spill created some bargain-hunting monsters, but you just need to know how to deal with them.
• Don’t undercut  your neighbors’ prices. None of us want to see a price war break  out.
• After you’ve met your booking goal for the year, consider raising  your prices. It’s perfectly fair to raise prices once a year, but  be sure to leave them that way. Rather than cutting prices later, you  can always run a special.
• Don’t scrimp on silly things – be sure to provide  the necessities like spices, detergent, a hair dryer etc.

So that just about covers it. If you have additional questions, I  encourage you to become a member of our forum on the Gulf Coast Response  Center website. I hope this event provided some much needed reassurance  for the future of our rentals. Here’s to a successful 2011!

Happy Renting,

Christine

Hi everyone,

This weekend the tables were turned for me again. Instead of receiving  and responding to inquiries on my homes, I was sending some. Going to  the other side always gives me a different perspective on things.

We’re going with our son for his first official college visit in  Daytona Beach. We’re only going to be there for two nights (yep, I know  most people have 3 night minimums) but honestly I would much rather stay  in a condo instead of one hotel room with the three of us.

Owning beach properties myself, I know that November is likely dead for  most people there. So I figured I’d give vacation rentals the old  college try. I went to HomeAway.com and found that many 2 bedrooms, 2  bath properties were available for the same price or $25 dollars more  than the Hilton or Marriott hotels nearby. I thought this was very  reasonable. But then I looked at cleaning fees. Many properties were  charging more for the cleaning fee than for the night’s rental rate! I  totally understand because my cleaning fees for my beach properties are  similar. But being on the other side of the coin now gave me a different  perspective.

This really made me think about my rentals during the fall and winter.  Is it reasonable to expect renters to pay a cleaning fee equal (or close  to equal) to one night’s rental rate? It seems a bit exorbitant (now).  Would this be a barrier that might make a renter choose a hotel over a  vacation rental? I bet it would!

So, a cleaning fee of $150 during the summer on a week-long rental of  $1500 might be reasonable. But that same $150 cleaning fee on a 3-night  booking during the winter when your rates are $150/night might be a bit  much. So what are we to do? You have to have the place cleaned right?  You have a couple of options. You can ask your housekeeper to scale her  rates according to the season or length of stay. Or you can split the  cleaning fee with the guests to nab a booking during the otherwise slow  (or completely dead) season. Me personally, I think I’d opt for the  second choice. I’ll try it and see how it goes.

Stay tuned for the results,

Christine