Community : Discussion List - Marketing Techniques

What do you include in your email signature?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:02:18 GMT

Hi All,

I was wondering what other people are including in their email signatures for communicating with guests? I was playing around with including a link to our Insider's Guide or Facebook page but I don't want to clutter it up too much. I know I kind of hate it when I get emails from people who have 10-line signatures. Currently our's looks like this:

Our Names

www.OurWebsite.com

OurEmail@Email.com

XXX-XXX-XXXX

9AM - 9PM PST

The email address probably isn't really necessary since I am sending replies from that email. If you link to your Insider's Guide what wording do you use for the link. How many lines do you feel are too many?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

I Need To Vent

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:11:21 GMT

It must be one of those days. FlipKey uses number of inquires responded to as part of criteria for determining position.

I got yet another request for less than a week, when I state weekly rentals only, for dates mid-summer that are rented.Okay, maybe not the best way to go but I hadn't had coffee yet Since I had to respond per FlipKey, my total response was "rented". I don't want to block responses for rented dates because I've had a few guests off-season that were able to change their desired dates and rented my condo when I offered alternate dates.

The guy writes back: SO, that's it? A one word answer? Bad business!

I responded:

Ok, more words, copied directly from my listing:

All summer weeks are rented. Many great Spring and Fall dates available. Please check calendar before inquiring.

BTW, the above wording is close to the top of my listing.

Man, do I need some decent weather or a get-away somewhere warm.

Susan

How to stop weekend inquiries for our week + rental home

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 01:31:42 GMT

I clearly specify under our rates that we rent for a 1 week minimum. However, over and over I get inquiries for 2-3 nights.

Is there a better way to prevent this type of inquiry - it's a waste of time on both sides.

I would like to see a pop up or some other control in place so we can specify our minimum stay requirements and not receive inquiries for less than that.

Has anyone found good soluions or HA tools to help with this?

thanks

2013 Marketing Strategy

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 02:11:41 GMT

How will your marketing change in 2013?

What will you be doing differently to attract new visitors to your vacation rental?

How will you increase your conversion rate?

~Ana

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ana-strauss/32/734/530

What is the best way to convert an enquiry to a booking?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 30 May 2013 12:26:38 GMT

What is the best way to convert an enquiry to a booking?

I have a gorgeous villa near Ste Tropez with an excusive golf course.

Insider Guide?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 28 May 2013 22:20:07 GMT

I got this , do u guys know anything about it

Give your guests the inside scoop!

In our never ending quest to help you get the most out of your rental property, HomeAway has teamed up with the award-winning travel site Gogobot to create a new feature that can improve your listing and make your guests' stay even better.

The Insider Guide makes it easy to point out the best parts of your area—restaurants, museums, or anything else—to help guests experience the hidden gems of your town.

Building your Insider Guide is quick easy. Simply click on the places you want to list; they'll automatically be added to your guide and map. You can even add your own photos and thoughts ("Try the shrimp!") to each entry.

does anyone know of a wordpress theme that intergrates vrbo portions

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:49:51 GMT

There was a wordpress theme that I can NOT find that intergrated various portions of VRBO into it. Calandar, ameneties, reviews, prices and I believe even a map. I have been searching for it and can not find it. Please if you know of it let me know. Thank you in advance

Weekends book quickly - How to book mid week dates?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:48:24 GMT

Thank you to some new photography our 2 rentals are 60% ahead of last year to date. Summer is our high season and we have nearly 100% occupancy. Our key to booking more dates is filling in the weekdays. We have 2 night minimums and the weekends are solidly booked. I have tried "book 5 nights" and get "something" for free" but ....... our market is big on weekend dates.

Any ideas to encourage mid week stays?

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? That is my Question

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:32:37 GMT

I am old and just two days ago opened my first Twitter account, "pagosacabin". Has anyone had any success with getting rentals from their twitter account. As I said, I am old and don't want to waste any of the time that I have left working on something that does not work.

Thank You VRBO!

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:27:25 GMT

We listed our property on VRBO & HA on March 24. As of yesterday April 23, there is only one week not booked from 5/02-8/17. Two weeks are booked for us, the remainder of the bookings all found us on VRBO & HA. Our first VRBO vacationer checked in March 28th for two nights only four days our listing went live. Only one weekend in April was not used and that was a last minute cancellation. All three first vacationers left reviews. Our condo is not listed anywhere else. Thanks again VRBO!

Just Imagine This

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:03:40 GMT

Hello all, I published this on rentmoreweeks.com today and thought you may like it.

Relax - stop working and take a holiday

The trouble with the vacation rental business is that it's all business and very little vacation.

That's why we have teamed up with IVHE.com. International vacation home exchange is just that, a home exchange for vacation rental owners.

Just imagine

Sightseeing in Paris

Getting pampered in Bali

Skiing in Colorado

Wine tasting in South Africa

Diving in Australia

Sailing in turquoise seas

Putting on perfect greens around the world

All for a fraction of the cost of renting...

Breathe

Breathe a new lease of life into your vacation rental property with non-simultaneous home exchanging

You may not have realised it, but your vacation rental home is a powerful asset: a bargaining tool that can be used against the cost of your own holidays all over the world.

How?

Easy: by joining up with a non-simultaneous home exchange network. Members of a non-simultaneous home exchange or home swapping network typically own two or more properties, and let their vacation homes to other members in return for credits which can then be used against other properties in the network. Traditionally, home exchanging is rather rigid, with participants agreeing to swap homes on a mutually agreed date, but when done through a non-simultaneous programme, such as the well-established IVHE, members get a set of keys to the whole world.

When Mr A wants to visit your vacation home in June, you get credits that can be used against Mr X’s vacation home in September. Or Mr Z’s in July! For anyone with a vacation rental property, it can be a godsend, and help take the strain off those weeks that a property might otherwise be standing empty.

Here’s why: Extra money for you: home exchanging your vacation rental home means that your property can be used when it might be standing empty, and by lending it to a fellow member you get to holiday in numerous countries all over the world at a hugely reduced cost. Add to that the fact that home swaps are not subject to tax, and that’s extra spending money for you when you’re on your next vacation.

Give your vacation home a break, guilt free: if you regularly use your rental property for your own vacations, you’ll no longer feel the obligation to go and “get your money’s worth”. A non simultaneous home exchange means that every time someone stays at your property, you will earn credits to stay at any available property within the network. Just the thing for holiday home owners who have begun to yearn for somewhere new.

IVHE.com

International vacation home exchange

http://www.ivhe.com/#a_aid=rmwandivhexxz

A secure service: as well as the reassurance of having someone stay in your property when it might otherwise be empty, by using a well-established luxury home trade/exchange service you get the peace of mind of professional house exchange contracts, references on your guests and feedback.

Trade partners you can trust: when looking for a home exchange programme to join, it pays to select one which caters specifically to people with second homes. IVHE, for example, is exclusively available to people with two or more properties, which means that you will be home exchanging with other owners who understand your concerns and will take care of the property as if it were their own.

Inside information: when you stay in another member’s holiday home, it comes with insider information about your destination. Things like a favourite neighbourhood restaurant and local attractions/beauty spots that won’t be found in any guidebook.

The personal touch: luxury home trade/exchange sites like IVHE work hard to find the right properties and the right house swap for you, actively searching out properties to suit your requirements. For more information on exchanging your rental property or for information on home swapping in general visit www.ivhe.com. IVHE members have access to luxury-staffed villas, yachts, ski lodges, boutique hotels, even safari game lodges. A versatile credit system based on non-simultaneous exchanges gives members access to an increasingly broad selection of choice properties. Add to that highly individual and personal service given to all members, and IVHE is the first choice for luxury

For fast acting relief, try slowing down...

We have posted previously about home swaps and we know that some of you had reservations about the idea.

But we like this site as it involves swapping with other, like minded, vacation rental owners. Plus the credit system induces a sense of fairness, something that was lacking in other models.

Check it out.

Here's the holiday let takeaway

If you like the idea of trading your empty vacation rental weeks for a vacation of your own then head over to www.ivhe.com, have a look around and sign up.

Choose from 498 properties (including 191 properties in 35 US States) in 57 countries.

Who knows, maybe you will be getting pampered in Bali later this year.

What do you do?

I hope that you found this article - Just imagine this useful.

What do you think?

Have you tried exchanging your vacation home?

I would love to hear your stories and views. Please use the comments section below to share your thoughts.

yours,