Jive SBS Syndication Feed

Micron Associates Economy News Blog - America's economy

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 04:52:50 GMT

TREASURY rentene stiger. Så er dollar. Inflasjon er fallende. Aksjer har blitt slått tilbake litt av en global besvimelse, men har falt mye mindre enn andre markeder. Arbeidsmarkedet er bedre hvis beskjeden jevnt. Industriell virksomhet er flat, men andre privat sektor aktivitet ser sterk. Husholdningenes økonomi ser mye sterkere. Hva skal vi gjøre med alt dette?

Svaret synes å være mest tydelig i inflasjonen tallene. Som Matt O'Brien notater, kjernen inflasjon har vært sørover på tre år, og viser lite tegn til å bremse. Nedgang over det siste året, som har fanget mange overraskende gitt anstendig ytelsen til den amerikanske økonomien og Fed's (relativt) imøtekommende holdning, reflekterer utviklingen av noen tasten trender.

Først er ebbet av vare pris tidevannet. I KPI, har energipriser falt 4,3% i året til April. I NIPA dataene falt prisene for energi varer i 7,5% årlig tempo i første kvartal. Dette utviklingen det meste vises i overskriften tiltak av inflasjon, selvfølgelig, men også jobbe seg gjennom til kjernen priser til en viss grad. Synkende råvarepriser synes å være delvis på grunn av raskere levere vekst (spesielt i energi) og delvis på grunn av en uventet skarp nedgang i fremvoksende markedet økonomisk vekst.

Andre er bred disinflation i varer priser. I NIPA tallene prisene for varige forbruksvarer falt i 1,1% årlig tempo i første kvartal, og for ikke-holdbare varer falt i en 0,8% årlig tempo. Tallene i KPI er like med unntak av overraskende styrke i prisene for kjøretøy. Prisene for varer synes å være mer reflektert av globale kapasitetsskranker enn innenlandsk produksjon gapet, så denne slowdown synes også knyttet til utviklingen i verdensøkonomien. Rask vekst i produktiv potensial over hele verden er å kommunisere med en skarp nedgang i veksten i etterspørselen, til fordel for amerikanske forbrukere.

Tredje er det ligner en meningsfull og vedvarende nedgang i kostnadene for helsevesenet. Priser for helsetjenester steg bare 1,9% i 2012, ned fra 2,7% i 2009 og 3,1% i 2006.

Priser for de fleste andre servicekategorier vokser i ganske stabilt mote, på nær 2%. Og prisene for husly stiger i en lav men akselererende tempo.

Jeg skrev nylig at jeg var bekymret Fed kanskje tror i dag ser mer ut som 2004 enn 1995. Oppmuntrende for den amerikanske økonomien ser (forutsatt at Fed får ting riktig) gjeldende forholdene svært mye som de som rådet under tech boom år. Råvare-pris Press var nesten helt fraværende da, takk delvis til veldig svake økonomiske forhold i Asia; Det høres sammenlignes med det vi ser nå. Hjemme, var økonomien nyter stor vekst i økonomiske potensialet takket være teknologi og detaljhandel innovasjon. Som, igjen, ser sammenlignbare. Boligsektoren vokste i robust mote på 1990-tallet. Men Inflasjonen var det meste dempet og begrenset til tjenesteaktiviteten – det vil si lønns gevinster. Svak pris gevinster i varer og varer la Fed følelsen sikker turtall den økonomiske motoren; nominell utgang vekst chugged på mer enn 6% i 1990. Rask vekst og stramme arbeidsmarkedet oversatt til fin nominell lønns gevinster som kombinert med lav varer og varer inflasjon å gi husholdninger en sunn virkelige lønnsforhøyelse.

Men det var lett, logistisk snakker, for Fed til å la ekspansjon kjøre, fordi renter var mye høyere. Fed funds rate var rundt 5% for de fleste av 1990, og så alt Fed måtte gjøre for å holde ting går var justere opp eller ned for å holde sine beregninger på en linje. Men nå, opprettholde holdningen til pengepolitikken (andre ting like) betyr å holde balansen konstant og lovende til å forlate politikken rate nær null i flere år. Fed ønsker ikke å gjøre det, fordi det er stadig mer bekymret for alle slags finansiell risiko. Det virkelig ønsker ikke å presse på gasspedalen litt mer å holde beregninger på sporet. Alan Greenspan kunne skjær 50 basispunkter av fed funds rate i 1998. Ben Bernanke har å kjøpe milliarder i Treasuries og boliglån-støttet verdipapirer og gjøre alle slags kommentarer om hva økonomiske forhold vil utløse hva rate handlinger flere år nedover veien. Fed liker ikke gjøre det heller.

Where the Experts Dish on Making (and Getting) the Most From Your Vacations

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:02:01 GMT

Welcome to the new Vacation Rental Living blog – where travel meets family, food, fashion and fun tech & gadgets.

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be checking in with a variety of the nation's top family, travel and lifestyle experts to spill their favorite insider tips and recommendations for all the best parts of taking a trip and staying in a vacation rental – the “living” part, where memories are made that will last a lifetime.

From meal ideas, recipes and grocery store checklists for vacation; entertaining tips and ideas for group getaways and family trips; to packing tips and fashion/style guides, crafting projects for kids and even best apps and gadgets for travel – Vacation Rental Living will be a go-to resource for inspiration and advice on howto make (and get) the most out of your next trip.

Look out for the first post from Austin-based personal chef, cookbook author and storytelling cook – Kristin Schell – who will be dishing out her top tips for stocking a vacation rental kitchen pantry, plus easy and healthy recipe ideas for the family…coming soon!

An Endearing Glimpse Into the Minds Of Dads This Father's Day

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:53:58 GMT

The family vacation experts at HomeAway recently surveyed more than 5,000 dads to find out what they really want for Father's Day. To spice things up a bit, HomeAway also checked in with the ladies to see what they think tops their husbands’ wish lists.

So just how in tune are men and women when it comes to picking out the perfect gift for Father's Day? The results just might surprise you, make you giggle, or even blush just a little.

Family vacations top dads’ wish list for Father’s Day

According to the survey, dads would prefer a family vacation over any other gift for Father’s Day (35%), including new technology (11%), a new set of golf clubs (6%), a luxury watch (3%), home theater equipment (3%), or a riding lawn mower (2%), etc.

Overall, 72 percent of dads said they'd like to receive some sort of vacation or trip for Father's Day. When we asked dads what kind of vacation trip they’d like to take, the majority of dads chose a family vacation (49%) – even over a romantic getaway with their significant other (38%). Only a small group of dads said they'd prefer a guys' trip with their friends (just 13%).

Gift ideas from the kids

We asked dads what they’d like to receive from their children, specifically, for Father’s Day. At the top of the list, 31 percent of dads said the gift they want most from their kids is unplugged time with the family (no texting, social media, iPads, etc.).

Coming in at a close second, dads said they’d also like to get something homemade from their kiddos (25%). Check out the HomeAway Father’s Day Pinterest board for homemade gift ideas and inspiration.

Not surprisingly, only 12 out of 1,097 dads said they’d like to get a neck or bow tie.

And from the significant other…

On the flip side, we asked dads what they want from their significant others for Father’s Day, and then compared it to what women told us they think their husbands want from them for Father’s Day. The result? Women assume husbands want sex as a gift from their wives, when they'd really just prefer a romantic meal, instead.

According to the old saying, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so not surprisingly, 46% (the majority) of men said they’d like a romantic dinner from their wife.

When it comes to gifts in the bedroom, women actually overestimated their husbands’ desire for something more intimate for Father’s Day. The number-one answer women thought their husbands would choose when it comes to a personal gift from their significant other was to “make love” – when actually only 22% of men listed it as their first preference.

The very bottom of the list? Only 19 out of 1,061 dads said they’d like to receive cologne from their wives for Father’s Day.

Where to take dear old dad?

So now that you know what dad wants, what kind of trip should you plan for him this summer? According to the survey, dads want to head for a beach or lake (48%). Surprisingly, golf (5%), gambling (2%), camping (3%), vineyard (5%), sporting event (3%), theme park (4%), and fishing / hunting (4%) trips came in at the very bottom of dads’ wish list for Father’s Day.

Here are the top 10 destinations dads said they'd like to go for Father's Day:

Florida
Hawaii
France
Italy
California
Colorado
Nevada (Las Vegas)
Mexico
Canada
London

For additional ideas of where to take dad, homemade gifts and crafts, recipes and more to make this year extra special, check out HomeAway's Father's Day board on Pinterest.

Hass and Associate blog reviews: America and Europe strengthen their cyber-defense

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:54:18 GMT

Though all sides agree about the seriousness of the threat, America’s partisan divide hampers agreement even in cyber-security. Most Republicans emphasise national security and information-sharing, but want to avoid imposing burdensome government-set security standards on private firms. Democrats worry less about regulatory overkill, but are fearful of anything resembling a snooper’s charter that would allow the state to pry into data held by internet firms on individuals.

Mr Obama’s executive order focuses on sharing information about threats between government agencies and the private sector. This will usually be unclassified, but could potentially include classified material if the attacks are on operators of infrastructure “so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on the nation’s security, economy, health or safety”.

By contrast, the European Commission’s cyber-security strategy is at an earlier stage. It wants member countries to introduce laws compelling important firms in industries such as transport, telecoms, finance and online infrastructure to disclose details of any attack they suffer to a national authority, known as a CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team). Each CERT will be responsible for defending vital infrastructure-providers against online attacks and sharing information with its counterparts, law-enforcement agencies and data-protection bodies.

How I Did It: “Greening” Your Vacation Rental

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:40:44 GMT

Meet Sinya, a very unique, safari-inspired vacation retreat in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. The name "Sinya" is significant in two ways: first, it pays homage to my first tent experience on safari in Tanzania, Africa; and second, it's the name of an orphaned baby elephant I helped to fo

ster through the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya.

My name is Lynn Gallimore, and I live in Wimberley, Texas. Born from that life-changing journey to Africa was a strong passion to downsize my big, hectic life and get back to a more natural way of living. Sinya is my eco-friendly "Guest Tent" rental that I built and operate in the “greenest” of ways. I have found it is possible to be much gentler on the environment while still enjoying a very luxurious lifestyle by simply using different sustainable and eco-friendly products like the ones used in Sinya.

Here are some of my favorite green products found in Sinya that you could use in your vacation rental:

Cleaning products by Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day
Paper towels and bath tissue made with 100% recycled paper by 365 Everyday Value® (found at Whole Foods) and Seventh Generation™ products that can be purchased at most local grocery stores and pharmacies
Bamboo/organic cotton blend bed linens by Kassatex
Bath products and toiletries by Arbonne®

When it comes to shopping for produce and groceries, whenever possible, I shop through The Bountiful Sprout, an online farmer's market that offers "local, healthy and sustainable food" such as honey, eggs, bread, nuts, meat and vegetables. These products are not only extra fresh and delicious (many are harvested that very morning), but they also contribute to my local economy. A quick internet search will help you locate a local or online market near you.

When selecting the furnishings in Sinya, some pieces came from my storage space and others from craigslist and consignment stores. I searched for lightly used, high-end furniture and haven't needed to buy new furniture, as the items I found not only met but exceeded my expectations.

If you are planning a large-scale renovation to “go green,” there are many energy efficient appliances and building materials found in Sinya that you might consider for your project:

Propane "Tankless" water heater
Propane hot tub heater
Extra energy efficient (17.5 SEER) "Mini-Split" A/C and Heating System
Induction Cook Top by Waring Pro®
Reclaimed local lumber
Building supplies from local Habitat for Humanity® "ReStore"
Additional ceiling fans
Reusable gray water to irrigate surrounding landscaping

Making small, environmentally conscious choices can go a long way towards making the environment inside our homes much healthier and safer while having a much smaller negative impact on the environment outside our homes. Creating Sinya has been a journey that I plan to continue for many years to come. The products and materials I chose to create and maintain Sinya are energy efficient and sustainable and allow me and my guests to enjoy a high-end, luxury experience with a minimal environmental footprint.

It is my intention that guests of Sinya leave relaxed and rejuvenated with a newfound appreciation for a more earth friendly way of living.

And please, remember: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

Sincerely,

Lynn

Visit Sinya here: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p282933

The Avanti Group Information Technology News : Google ask US gov't information

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:15:24 GMT

Source

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google is asking the Obama administration for permission to disclose more details about the U.S. government's demands for email and other personal information transmitted online in an effort to distance itself from an Internet dragnet.

In a show of unity, Google rivals Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. also supported the attempt to pressure the U.S. Justice Department to loosen the legal muzzle that limits disclosures about government surveillance authorized by courts to protect national security.

Google made its plea in a Tuesday letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller. Google is trying to debunk media reports that the company has created a way for the National Security Agency to gain access to large amounts of its users' online communications as part of a secret program code-named "PRISM."

The reports surfaced last week after a government contractor leaked confidential documents revealing the NSA has been tapping into the computers of Google Inc. and many other Internet services to retrieve information about foreigners living outside the U.S. The other companies linked to PRISM are: Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo Inc., Apple Inc., AOL Inc., Paltalk, Google's YouTube and Microsoft's Skype.

All the companies and services have denied giving the U.S. government unfettered access to user data. The companies say they only turn over user data under legally binding orders, and try to regularly resist orders considered to be too broad.

Minimizing the appearance of their involvement in PRISM is important to the technology companies. The companies don't want Web surfers to become paranoid about sharing personal information on their services or, worse yet, avoiding their websites altogether. Attracting big audiences helps the companies sell more advertising. Those ads command higher prices and run more frequently when the companies are able to decipher personal data and determine which parts of the audience are most likely to be interested in certain products.

The stakes are particularly high for Google, which sold $44 billion in digital advertising last year alone.

James Clapper, the director of national intelligence for the Obama administration, last week confirmed PRISM had been approved by a judge and is being conducted in accordance with U.S. law. He hasn't listed the companies cooperating. Those identifications came from the PRISM documents leaked to The Washington Post and The Guardian, a British newspaper.

Even while acknowledging PRISM's existence, Clapper has insisted the scope of its surveillance has been more limited than depicted in published reports.

Google also portrayed itself as an unwitting participant in the program. Executives at the Mountain View, Calif., company maintain that they didn't know about PRISM until reading about it for the first time last week. Google insists it hasn't been handing over user data on a broad scale, something the company believes it can prove if it receives clearance to disclose the number of requests that have been submitted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

Federal law currently prohibits recipients of FISA requests from revealing information about them.

"Google's numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made," David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, wrote to Holder and Mueller. "Google has nothing to hide."

In its own statement, Microsoft said it also wants to be more forthcoming if the Justice Department would allow it.

"Permitting greater transparency on the aggregate volume and scope of national security requests, including FISA orders, would help the community understand and debate these important issues," the Redmond, Wash. company said.

Ted Ullyot, Facebook's general counsel, said the social networking leader wants to provide "a complete picture of the government requests we receive, and how we respond."

Introducing Vacation Home DIY

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 18:30:18 GMT

Hello vacation rental owners! I would like to introduce our newest blog, “Vacation Home DIY.” DIY, or “Do It Yourself,” is a sentiment shared amongst many of our vacation rental owners and embodies the independent and entrepreneurial spirit that drives each of you.

In the posts to follow, you’ll learn tips and tricks from interior designs, renovation professionals and thrifty experts who will show you how to make your vacation home stand out from your neighbors and both increase your curb appeal and guests’ experiences once they’ve arrived. You’ll also hear from several owners like you who are finding creative ways to keep their calendars booked.

The first blog will be from Wimberley, Texas vacation rental owner Lynn Gallimore who will tell you about her quick and inexpensive methods to lessen her home’s negative environmental impact. Lynn’s tips will not only help you “green” your vacation rental, but your home as well, and give you a good idea of the kind of information you will learn in the coming months from “Vacation Home DIY.”

As you read along and feel as though you'd to contribute your expertise, please feel free to message me with an idea. I would love to discuss how you can participate in future blog opportunities.

Happy reading!

Adam

The 6 Biggest Vacation Rental Marketing Mistakes Of All Time

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:19:18 GMT

OK enough of all the positive talk. Today, I’m going to be mean. Real mean. I’ve put together a list of the 6 most glaring (and detrimental) mistakes that vacation rental owners and managers are making on a daily marketing basis. Chances are, you’re guilty of some (if not all) of these gaffes. And chances are, after reading the article, you’ll be in a better position to control them moving forward.

1. The one-dimensional reputation: If you don’t think your potential guests are Googling your name and the name of your rental before they actually book, you’re either ignorant or oblivious or maybe both.

In today’s online market place, if vacation rental owners want any feasible chance against hotels for the real meat and potatoes of the industry’s vacation travelers, they simply cannot survive on one-dimensional marketing plans. This applies to the owners who only have one source of exposure online (and it’s most often listing sites).

To curb this fatal flaw (because remember, guests who can find social proof online from various sources stating “This rental is the bees knees!” are far more likely to book than guests who do a search and come up empty) make sure to feature your name (and your rental’s name) on various other webpages such as social media profiles, blogs, and news articles. The surround sound effect of having multiple websites endorse your wonderful property means bookings go up, fast.

2. Not tweaking email responders: How many of you have been using the exact same auto-responder or canned email template for the past several years?

(I just saw a lot of virtual hands go up.)

Neglecting to tweak and improve your email correspondences is about as irresponsible as a vacation rental owner can get. Considering that just some small improvements can increase your conversion rate (a.k.a. the amount of inquiries that actually turn into bookings), you can’t afford not to dedicate some time to this right now. Improving just a few percentage points is like taking back your money that was otherwise left on the table.

3. Going cold tuna on marketing: OK I get it. Your rental isn’t a cash cow. You don’t pull in crazy numbers. Rather, just enough to cover the mortgage with maybe a little left over for a McRib. But in vacation rental marketing you have to spend money to make money.

There are only a limited amount of freebie techniques you can use and no-cost investments you can make. And when you realize that upping your spend (let’s say upgrading to a higher tier of VRBO or spending some money on Adwords) can have direct results, you’ll look back on this mistake down the road and think, how did we ever survive without these paid marketing channels?

Just be sure that your carefully selected paid investments are the right ones.

4. Waiting: This mistake is the shortest and perhaps the most crucial on my list. If you are waiting for your bookings to go up – if you are ‘waiting to weather the economic storm’ or ‘waiting for high season to roll around’ or ‘waiting until you finish building your deck – then you are losing time, money, and most of all market share.

As I concluded in Capitalizing On The Emerging Vacation Rental Industry, the vacation rental industry is facing a tumultuous few years ahead of it. More than ever, now is the time to get proactive on your marketing and to set the bar for rentals in your neighborhood. He (or she) who has the gold makes the rules. And those who are sitting around waiting for travelers to start flocking through their doors are in for an unpleasant surprise.

5. Not asking for critical feedback: Most vacation rental owners and managers I know are stubborn. And so am I. No one wants to hear harsh words from some dude in a fanny pack about how your water pressure could be stronger or how hypoallergenic pillows are really the way to go.

But let me tell you this: the single most tangible spike I can point out in my vacation rental marketing learning curve, was finally understanding precisely what my vacation rental guests wanted. And how did I make that revelation? I started asking guests how I could improve.

Whether your doing it in person or using a SurveyMonkey questionnaire, there is enormous value in soliciting negative feedback (probably more valuable than positive feedback). If you can work up the courage and bite your lip when the critiques come flowing in, you’ll have a checklist-like blueprint to follow and improve.

6. Being content: I recently did a podcast with the veritable queen of vacation rental blogging, Heather Bayer, in which I was asked, “who is my blog designed for?” My answer to this question was very simple: “this blog is for anyone who needs – not just wants, but needs – to increase their bookings.”

Because let’s face it: there are plenty of you out there who are perfectly content with your property’s performance, and for you guys, finances and getting the biggest ROI isn’t the most important thing in the world. For you, my blog is not.

But for others of us, those who need to generate top-dollar returns, the word content should not be in your vocabulary. You should always be hungry for new ways to generate more bookings. If you’re 100% full, you should be considering acquiring more properties. Complacency is a common worm in long-term ventures like building a vacation rental marketing portfolio. You just need to learn how to constantly reinvent your marketing spirit.

The Dad Factor – Happy Father’s Stay

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:00:45 GMT

The Dad Factor, as I define it, is what adds up to make all Dads 100% awesome. Each Dad’s factor is comprised of varying levels of ego, competency, age, # of children, stubbornness and many other elements.

However, within the factor there are some basic certainties that apply universally to Dads, certainties that might be considered when looking at Dad’s experience in your vacation home.

First, what do we know about Dad’s role while in your vacation home?

He is usually the one to unclog the toilet (who clogged it notwithstanding).
He is usually the one to change a light bulb.
He is usually the one to fix “it” when it breaks.
He is usually the one to figure out how to use the TV and remote.
He is usually the one to fire up the grill.

Considering the above, there are things that we, as vacation home owners, can do to increase the likelihood that Dad will Love his stay in our home and ideally become a CFL (customer for life).

Here are some ideas (please share yours in a comment below):

Help him be useful if he wants to be (he does), so give him the right tool for the job.

Make sure that Dad will have no problem finding the plunger when his 4 year old princess uses half the roll of toilet paper. Better yet, upgrade your plunger to the type intended for big clogs. You know, the ones for heavy doodie use?

While at the hardware store, it’s not a bad idea to pick up a twenty dollar basic home tool kit when you are buying that HD plunger. Having basic tool kits in our houses has had a positive ROI by helping Dads resolve an unexpected situation for us, preventing a call to the handyman. After all, every Dad is somewhere on the handyman spectrum.

Help him be the problem solver.

Make sure there is a flashlight with good batteries so he can investigate that noise outside.

Let Dad replace the light bulb your property manager hasn’t noticed is out yet. Put a few of each type of light bulb somewhere accessible but out of the way, such as an upper cabinet shelf. Dads usually are the ones asked to reach it off the upper shelf anyway.

Help him prevent meltdowns by providing basic step by step TV/DVD/Satellite instructions with the remote control so Dad can get the Disney channel on before the little one loses it. It’s her vacation too!

Provide long wooden matches or a long BBQ grill lighter somewhere in the kitchen or near the grill so if the igniter isn’t working (as they often aren’t) the burgers and dogs won’t be delayed. BEST PRACTICE: Give the grill a good cleaning every checkout, Dads always appreciate a clean grill. And provide proper tools (stainless steel grilling instruments) for the job!

Help him make great memories.

Help Dad easily make some lasting memories with his family while enjoying your house. Family board games or video games, pool toys, game tables like foosball or shuffleboard, or a basketball hoop can do the trick.

What’s unique to your area? Maybe you have a big lawn. When was the last time anyone played croquette? I have great family memories playing croquette with my grandparents, uncles, cousins and my Dad. Those are the kind of Delightful Memories we want to provide.

Another delightful memory maker we’ve had success with is providing a waterproof digital video camera for our guests to use in the pool and around the house. Guests who want it willingly pay an additional $5/day for their stay and thank us specifically for it upon checkout.

The Bottom Line: Dads are awesome, every single one of us. Our experience in a vacation home should be at least as awesome as we are. Vacation home owners can consider Dad’s experience and do a couple things to help Dad stay awesome while on vacation. Do things to win Dad’s vote to stay at your house next time they come to town. Help him be useful if he chooses to be, and help him keep his family’s trip from any hiccups related to the house. Most of all, help him make some delightful memories that will further his family legend of awesome for years to come.

Here’s to Dads, and to the rest of you who put up with us…Happy Father’s Day!

Cheers!

Michael

HomeAway Summit 2013

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:00:59 GMT

Summit book launch is completely sold out!

I've attended all four of HomeAway's Owner Summits, but this year's fourth annual conference in Scottsdale, AZ was my first as an author. We rolled out my book, Vacation Rental Success Vol. 1 from Start to Profit, and I was blown away by the response. Not only did I sell out of every copy I had at the conference, but the book immediately shot to #1 on the Amazon Hot New Releases list!

I’m really honored to have the opportunity to share what I love about vacation rentals in a way that helps others succeed, and I’m truly indebted to the many smart people who agreed to be interviewed for the book, most notably HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples, who wrote the foreword.

So who should read this book? It’s written for those wanting to know more, are ready to get started, or early in their adventure with vacation rentals, but we’ve packed in tips, tricks, and insider secrets that even veterans will benefit from. The early feedback has been tremendous.

“Joel’s book gets right to the heart of what every owner wants to know – what are the most effective and efficient strategies for successfully owning and managing a vacation rental, and how can I implement them quickly? Vacation Rental Success is practical, straight forward, and filled with easy-to- follow advice focused on taking action.”

– John Banczak, Co-founder of TurnKey Vacation Rentals

“Vacation Rental Success is a Gold Mine! It’s full of sage advice and trade secrets for owners to avoid costly mistakes. Easy to read and easy to understand – readers will reap the benefits of Joel’s profitable instructions.”
– Bob Easter, Author of Home Buying Power

You can see a trailer for the book here:

Additionally I will be a featured author (and the only male!) in a Google Hangout Virtual Launch Party this Tuesday, June 4th. Please join us to win autographed giveaways and learn more about “Vacation Rental Success”.

To all of you who met with me at Summit

or have corresponded with me since, I can’t thank you enough for your support.

Finally, the book will be on sale for the next week so jump over to Amazon now to take advantage of special pricing while it lasts!

The link to Amazon is here:

http://amzn.to/14ocWBa

Sneaks at the 2013 HomeAway Summit: Mobile and Insider Guides are live!

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:08:05 GMT

At the HomeAway Summit this past weekend, owners and managers gathered in Scottsdale Arizona to connect, learn, and share with each other and HomeAway employees. We'll be posting the presentations and a wrap up in the coming days.

Brian Sharples held forth on the evolution of the vacation rental industry, and Brent Bellm shared some awesome market research, while HomeAway employees and vacation rental experts shared best practices on topics ranging from social media marketing and online security to new HomeAway products. Everyone made new friends, toasted old ones, networked and kibitzed. There was even an impromptu “ideas” panel pulled together by spirited Summit attendees to generate ideas for enhancements and improvements to HomeAway’s service.

On Saturday, teams of HomeAway engineers and product managers showed off some “fresh from the lab” ideas for products in the Sneaks session. A hybrid of American Idol and a Hackathon, the Sneaks are always a popular session at the summit. The teams pitch their ideas, and the audience votes with their applause to select a winner. Some of these features are live right now so go ahead and give them a spin! (Insider Guides and the iOS Mobile App)

Sneaks are real time market feedback for HomeAway and a chance for owners and managers to influence our roadmap of coming releases. After each demo, the Applause-o-meter was put up on the screen to measure how the audience felt about each team’s efforts. We pay close attention to which sneaks get the most applause - so the audience yelled, stomped their feet, and jumped up and down for their favorite features.

After the 2012 sneaks, four of nine sneaks were released as products – Automating reservations via online booking, Traveller screening via profiles, filtering and searching on VRBO, and the mobile owner app have all made their way out to owners and managers. A fifth sneak, “fighting phishing” is nearing beta, while the others are still over the horizon.

In 2013, two of the sneaks are available today for you to try out. See below if you want to get an Insider Guide on your listing or get our new iOS mobile app (it works for VRBO, HomeAway, and HomeAway UK) that enables you to manage you calendar, inquiries, reply with quotes, and send payment requests.

Here’s the list of 2013 sneaks and presenters:

The VRBO team (Melissa, Paul, and Kirk) showed how the VRBO traveler site optimizes the experience across iPads, Iphones, Android Phones, Android Tablets, and devices of every size and shape
Matt of the HomeAway Traveler team illustrated a way to view the properties that are the most popular with travelers, with HomeAway Leaderboard,
Kate showed how Panoramic 360 photographs (see an example here) enable owners to really show off their properties
Dustin, leader of the HomeAway Traveler Team, created an Insider Guide revealing a new way to market your properties and provide your guests with information for their stay (learn how you can add an Insider Guide here)
Dave from the mobile team showed how owners can manage their inquiries, calendars, and bookings from their iphone. Learn how to get the mobile app here.
Patrick, Tim, and Michael of the social team showed a way for potential guests to learn if they know anyone who has stayed at or reviewed your property, increasing trust for reviews
Jason and Patrick of Glad to Have You showed a vision for how mobile apps and home automation from BeHome247 can make for hassle-free stays and save money
Jacy, product manager for HomeAway owner tools, showed masked email addresses, unlimited templates, and attachments as part of a new Inbox could make your lives easier while helping secure the vacation rental marketplace.

It was too close to call a single winner, so the judges awarded a three-way tie to Panoramas, Home Automation, and the Inbox. It was a great session, and thank you to everyone who participated for all of their hard work, creative ideas, and energetic pitches.

Most of the sneaks were future concepts, fresh from the lab. But two of the products that were sneaks are live today!

If you want to create an Insider Guide like these (standalone guides here: vrbo.com and homeaway.com; and how they appear on listings on vrbo.com and homeaway) simply follow the instructions here for HomeAway owners or these ones for vrbo owners. Or just check out some of the awesome guides below:

Guide to Honokeana Cove in West Maui

Guide to to San Francisco and East Bay

Guide to Ilmington and the surrounding area

Guide to Greater San Diego

And if you want to start managing your VRBO, HomeAway, or HomeAway UK listing from your iPhone, open up itunes, and search on "homeaway vacation rentals" or learn how to get it here. Or if you are reading this on a mobile device, go here.

We hope to see you next year at the summit!

Today we are happy to introduce our company Airportfleet.co.uk

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:32:56 GMT

We would like to introduce our company Airportfleet.co.uk to our HomeAway Community guests.

We have been serving London VRBO guests for more than 4 years. We have been an established and popular London airport transfers company with an excellent track record for the best customer satisfaction.

We have never compromised on the quality & the services provided to the customers. Please feel free to keep in touch with us about any of your London airport transfers queries as we have very competent prices for guests. Pre-book your car online now with no cancellation charges.

The Ultimate Entertainment Amenity: “Unlimited” Videos!

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:19:11 GMT

The advance of technology, particularly entertainment technology, is relentless. So if you offer your second home as a vacation rental, you absolutely must provide up-to-date entertainment amenities.

When we first got into the vacation-rental business in 1994, we provided tube TVs with VCR players and a library of videotapes. When DVDs appeared, we replaced the VCR players with combo units that could handle both VHS tapes and DVDs. At this writing, those units and the tube TVs they were hooked up to have all been taken out of service and donated to the Salvation Army.

That’s because today, you’ve got to have flat-screen TVs. This is simply the way of the world. And not just any flat-screen TV will do. It’s got to be at least 32 inches measured diagonally, and it has to be HD (high-definition) capable. Our cable supplier is Comcast, so that means a new box for each of the two TVs in our vacation rental property, and an extra “technology fee” for each box.

Listening to Our Guests

We weren’t thrilled about this extra fee, but we figured it was just a cost of doing business. Fortunately, the price of flat-screen TVs has fallen greatly in recent years. But (and this is important), we didn’t decide to upgrade our entertainment equipment on our own. What pushed us to the tipping point were requests from two sets of guests.

The first was a relocated business executive who informed us shortly after he arrived for a multi-week stay that he planned to buy a 32-inch TV to use in place of the smaller one in our vacation rental’s living room. The second was a couple who said that having a large HDTV was so important to them that they planned to bring their own from Florida and hook it up to our cable box.

Clearly, it was time to do something. We must listen to our customers/guests if we want to survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

Upgrading our TVs and Video Library

So here is what we did. We bought and installed two HDTVs. We had Comcast come out and install two HD-capable cable boxes. We got rid of our library of VHS tapes but left in place our limited selection of DVDs.

Then, in what we consider the masterstroke, we replaced the VHS/DVD combo units with Panasonic Blu-ray Disc players that are Internet-enabled. This means that both units can play the DVDs in our small library (or any discs our guests may bring with them). But they can also play content streamed in from the Internet via our vacation rental’s wireless network.

Sounds great, but what are they going to play via the Internet? The answer: Netflix! (And other streaming options, of course.)

We opened a Netflix account for our cottage and linked the Blu-ray players to it. The cost is $7.99 a month for Netflix streaming, which gives our guests access to over 12,000 movies and TV shows. No need for the video libraries of old.

We have preloaded the Netflix streaming queue with some of our favorite titles. But guests can easily search for and add their own selections by following the onscreen prompts. Netflix even offers a special “Just for Kids” tab with hundreds of movies and TV shows to keep the little ones entertained while mom and dad relax or fix dinner.

A few further notes on the necessary hardware: We chose to offer our guests Netflix streaming capability by installing Blu-ray Disc players, but there are other options. You can buy a “Smart TV,” for example. Or you can install a Roku or NeoTV wireless streaming device. You may find that such devices are cheaper than buying new Smart TVs or Blu-ray players. It all depends on the age and capabilities of the equipment that’s already installed.

Two Additional Recommendations

Whatever option you choose, once you’ve upgraded the entertainment equipment for your vacation rental, be sure to do the following:

Write up simple instructions explaining how to use the equipment. Our instructions fit on a single sheet of paper with headings that read “To Watch TV,” “To Watch Netflix” and “To Play a DVD.” We’ve slipped it into the front cover of a 3-ring “view binder” that holds the owner manuals for the equipment. Many of our guests, especially the younger ones, are thoroughly familiar with the current technology and know exactly what to do. But others really appreciate having a step-by-step guide that tells them which remote to use and what buttons to press.
Update your vacation rental listings. For heaven’s sake, be sure to publicize your new entertainment amenities! Tell your prospective guests that not only do you have HDTV, but you also offer “thousands of streaming movies and TV shows via Netflix.” You can present this information in the description of your property on sites like VRBO, HomeAway, and FlipKey. But these and many other vacation rental advertising sites also include an “Entertainment” section with checkboxes and text fields that you can fill out with details on what you offer in the way of TVs, DVD players and video library.

Right now, HDTV and WiFi streaming are fairly new amenities. Vacation rental owners who install the equipment and vigorously promote its features have a golden—though probably temporary—opportunity to gain a competitive edge.

Happy Renting,
Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner

Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner own and operate a very successful vacation-rental property in Bucks County, Pennsylvania (www.buckscountycottage.com). They are also the founders of FullyBookedRentals (www.fullybookedrentals.com), a website focused on helping new and experienced VR owners advertise, market, manage, and make money from their second homes.

Family reunion at property

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:20:58 GMT

My husband and I are new at using our second home as a VR, so we are newbies at VRBO. After reading about a number of topics on the community blog especially with regard to scammers we're a little suspicious of a recent inquiry. The inquiry states that they are hosting a family reunion and that they want more details and pictures of the back yard, etc. They listed 6 people and want to rent it a year from now (April 2014) for a week and they also want to take a look at the property before they rent it. From what I've seen on the community blog is that you do not give the location of your property (address, etc.) until you send out your agreement, which list your property address and shouldn't we receive payment in full before allow individuals to view the property? Not sure if I'm overreacting, but our home is 2200 sq. ft. and the maximum it sleeps is 8 and with a family reunion we're afraid more individuals would end up staying overnight in the home. Also, not sure what we will be doing a year from now with our home and we really do not want events to be held at our home. Is it bad to say that we do not allow events to be held at our home or that we do not book that far out (2014)? Not sure how to repond to this inquiry, but I am somewhat concerned because I'm not sure if this is a true inquiry or a scam? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

VRBO Listing Page Is New and Improved!

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:21:13 GMT

Have you looked at your VRBO.com property listing recently? If you have, then you might have noticed we’ve made some pretty big improvements. (And if you haven’t, well, that’s what this post is for!)

In our never-ending quest to be the best vacation rental site, we have made some changes to our property listing page format, including:

Bigger photo viewer: nothing is more important than making sure your property looks good! So we have upgraded our photo viewer so your pictures are front and center. (Make sure your pics are the right size and resolution – 1024 x 768 works best) (first image below).

Calendar and map toggle: Travelers can easily click to change the photos to map or calendar, so it’s easy to see where your property is located and if it’s available for their dates.

Overview section: Just below the photo viewer is a summary of the most important data travelers are looking for, so they have everything they need to make a decision at their fingertips.

“Sticky” buttons and right rail: As the user scrolls down the listing, buttons below the photo viewer stay on the page as a top navigation to easily click to other sections. And most importantly, booking and contact information stay onscreen, so they don’t have to scroll back up to start the reservation process (second image below).

Every one of these changes has been researched and tested so we can say with confidence that they’re for the better. But we want to hear what you think too! Take a look at your new and improved property listing and let us know your thoughts.

Happy renting!
The Product Marketing Team