Community : Discussion List - Social Media

6 Reasons to use Social Media in the first place

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:22:33 GMT

I see a lot of awesome tips here and lots of help how to use tools. So I thought I add a bit to it for those who are not so sure what to expect and why they even should spend their precious time in the social web.

Just FYI I'm a traveler, started with Home Away 2 years ago and just love the concept. So I thought I contribute a bit here:

Why Social Media ???

1) Because of the huge influence on deciding a property

60% to 80% of purchase decisions are based on recommendations.And the Internet is the single largest catalyst for such recommendations. And that is tru for vacation rentals as well. It is almost unimaginable that somebody books a vacation rental just because.

NOW - it is not easy to get good recommendations. people are hyper critical or just too lazy to fill out a form. BUT it is very easy to add a like on a page, re-tweet a tweet, like or even re-pin an image on Pinterest. If you only find a way to get people to do that you are on the side of the winner - unless your property is really really bad and you hope that there will be an idiot who doesn't look around. Of course you are not that kind of person.

2) Because electronic word of mouth is fast

It take years to build up a reputation the traditional word of moth way. But in the social web it may take only a few weeks. If you ask your renter to post photos and maybe add a link to your property, or ask them to re-tweet a tweet or share some of your photos, it may go pretty quickly around the globe. But please don't expect a million views - but just a couple hundred more than usual. That may give you the extra visibility you may need to rent out more.

3) Because you reach people you would never reach otherwise.

My friend Ralph visited us in our vacation rental in Cannes France. He shot a few photos and shared it on Facebook. Friends of his who I didn't know and obviously Hans our property owner would never imagine to talk to, came back and ask where this is and who I am. Long story short, they may rent it next year too. Other friends in Australia have friends of friends and if I only would post a link to the rental page they may check it and I would not even know that I helped sell a week worth of vacation. By the way, we are having 1.5 Million users who signed up because of friends of friends of friends. It took us only 2 years with absolutely zero advertising.

4) Because of reputation

Not only you can enjoy the extra marketing effect, you can also get in touch with your renters and possibly get a gimps into their lives, who they are, how they live... If you want to know if I'm a **** or somewhat decent, you would visit my profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter etc. and get a pretty good handle about me http://XeeMe.com/Axels (my entire presence)

5) Because of easy proactive customer acquisition

Let's assume you have a nice vacation rental in Bali, Malta, Korfu or wherever. Spend a few minutes each day and check out discussions on Twitter about those regions. Chime in and make friends - don't sell. If people check you out, they find you, your social presence and with it your vacation rental. And even if they don't come this year, maybe next year.

6) Because it is the least expensive way to reach your audience

Time is money and it cost time to engage. But you may find a few minutes each day easier than a few hundred or thousand dollars to advertise and promote your property. The modern, upbeat, forward thinking people, who are successful, are the ones who make money and they are the ones who use services like Home Away and the social web. Those are the ones you want. Not those who can't afford a vacation and look for the cheapest possible stay.

Now, not everybody has 10 years social media experience like I do, but probably 2 to 5 years. That means those people expect a professional engagement from you, equally well made like the property you are renting out. I'm here as a traveler because I felt most of the objects here are really good, and of good quality. Make sure your social presence is the same. It doesn't cost much, you don't need a consulting firm and you don't need an engineering team - just common sense and maybe a helping hand here and there. Plus you find a ton of great tips and support here.

Axel

I am at the summit. Will all slides be available online?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:40:01 GMT

Are the summit slides available?

Ask a question for the HomeAway Summit Social Workshop

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:36:26 GMT

Who has a question about social media? Ask now and we'll put it in queue for the Q&A!

What are you doing to market your rental with social media?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:05:46 GMT

What sites are you using and what tactics are you using on those sites? What's working for you?

What categories are people using for facebook pages.

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:37:31 GMT

After looking at the options that are presented I am wondering how people have categorized their facebook pages.

Local business.. seems right

Real estate.. probably not

Travel ... makes sense

????

Are you using Pinterest?

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:43:02 GMT

We're looking for examples of Pinterest accounts being used by owners and property managers to promote your vacation rental and the destination where your rental is located. If you are using pinterest, please reply and post the link to your account!

Owner double booked and now not returning calls

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:18:08 GMT

I am having getting the run around with an owner and could use some advise. I had paid in full for a weekly rental for last August and had to cancel due to a family emergency. The owner kept my rental fee and security deposit and offered me the opportunity to rebook for next year. I rebooked the same week for 2013 and thought everything was fine. I touched base with the owner this week and she told me she never received my rebooking rquest, even though i have a copy of my email. She also told me that the week I want is no longer available and also the only other week I could use was also booked. What is my recourse? Can I insist we should get the week, or insist she refund us our money since she double booked? I feel she let us fall through the cracks and now trying to backpedal. She has not returned my last 3 phone calls.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

I appreciate the feedback I have received so far and wanted to give additional info looking for more advise.

I heard back via email from owner that she only wants to comminucate via email and not the phone. To clarify my situation further, the contract allowed me to rebook my week one year out in the event I had to cancel, provided I rebooked before my initial arrival date and availability. This is what I did. Last year before I was to arrive, I advised owner that my first choice next year would have been the same week and the second choice would have been the earlier week. She sent me another email that afternoon telling me that both dates were free and that I needed to tell her "again" what my choice was. thisis where the problem lies: I do not recall getting that email, so I never responded. I assumed everything was fine, she had my full rental and deposit of over $2500 which she insisted on keeping for a year. That was the last I heard from her until this month when I reached out to double check the week I had booked last August. This is where she advised me I never confirmed with her and both of those weeks now are booked because I never got back to her. I asked her why she never thought to follow up once I did not get back to her, but did not have an answer for me. We are only able to use one of those two weeks.

In summary, I feel that I followed the proper protocal from the contract to rebook our vacation. I told her what my first choice was, she told me it was available, and she had my full fee and security deposit to secure it. But since I did not confirm again my first choice due to me not seeing her email, I am out over $2500. Do I have any recource?

Message was edited by: annie&dean

How To Use Social Media For your Vacation Rental Home

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:24:56 GMT

Hello Members,

It is the era of social media and networking to market your services and products. Do market and approach to your target audience through Social netwoking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Myspace for specific industry. I would like to know more specific ways and and how social media helps to market and getting more travelers ans owners to your website/services.

VRBO new look

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:08:01 GMT

I know that I get labeled as the Cheerleader for VRBO, but well, I only get excited about what I "like". I love the new displayed photos and that you can enlarge them to get more detail.

THANK YOU VRBO!!!

Manage Your Facebook Page with New App

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:14:21 GMT

Facebook has released a new mobile app that makes managing your Facebook page on the go much easier! The new app has added functionality specific to managing pages that is far easier to use than the main Facebook mobile app. See the article and iTunes description via the links below. Will you use the app to manage your page on your phone?

Here is an overview of functionality contained in the app:

http://allfacebook.com/how-to-facebook-pages-manager-app_b89572

Find the app in iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/app/facebook-pages-manager/id514643583?mt=8

Linking to a Facebook Page from your Listing

community-no-reply@homeaway.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:06:16 GMT

As discussed during the HomeAway Summit, there was some confusion on when you can link to outside websites like Facebook. on your vacation rental listing.

I took this back to our Customer Experience team and am happy to be able to update you with the change in policy and you are able to link to your vacation rental's Facebook page using the "Links to more information" feature. See below for where this would be located on the VRBO listing.

If you have tried recently to link to your FB page and the link has been rejected please let us know and we’ll look into it for you.