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VRS030 – Successful Owner Series with Thibault Masson – From St Barths to Bali

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A few weeks ago I came across a press release from the owner of a luxury St Barth’s villa. The release was not about the property or the island – it was on the topic of securing a great deal for a vacation rental – and it was a great way of creating a newsworthy story that might be picked up by the media. I recognised Thibault Masson in the byline as an owner who is just about ‘everywhere’ on the web. From contributing to discussions on LinkedIn to posting interesting content on Google + to tweeting regularly, Thibault has a real handle on social media and I wanted to talk to him about that, as well as find out how he manages properties that are divided by a 12 hour time difference and thousands of miles.

tweet@realbali_com is a great example of a successful #vacationrental owner. Check out this podcast with @cottageguru

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Our talk covered a range of topics including property management, social media, the best tools to manage multiple properties, and the importance of creating a relationship with guests even while using a vacation rental management agency. We talked about:

  • How being head of marketing for an online travel company and publisher of a fashion magazine morphed into becoming a villa rental specialist
  • The three mistakes Thibault would not make again if he was starting up tomorrow
  • Why Airbnb are training owners to be hosts in Bali
  • The importance of reviews particularly when listing on Airbnb
  • How to write content for a niche market and gain clients
  • Why guests need to see your face
  • How to get Homeaway and other listing sites to re-tweet your listing
  • Creating a relationship with guests while renting with an agency
  • The best tools for managing your time

Press Release – 7 Tips to Negotiate a Discount with a Villa Rental Owner

Villa DOMINGUE in St Barths, French West Indies

Villa BULUNG DAYA in Bali, Indonesia

Villa ADAGIAN in Bali, Indonesia

Real Bali

Real Bali on Facebook

Real Bali on Google +

Real Bali on Twitter

Saint Barth’s

Smart Passive Income – Pat Flynn

Asana

Feedly

Wimco Villa Rental

Trip Advisor profile

Thibault’s About Me Site

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About the author

Heather Bayer

  • Thibault Masson

    Thank you so much Heather for having me on the show! This is the #1 podcast for vacation rental owners and I still cannot believe that I was a guest on it. Fellow listeners, feel free to ask me questions!

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  • elegancia

    We are Luxury Design House in the middle of the trendy Seminyak, Bali area famous for its boutiques, restaurants and nightlife and only a walk away from the beach. http://goo.gl/cT8hAU

  • Thank you Heather for the wonderful podcast (as usual!)Thibault, I really enjoyed all your comments and suggestions. May I ask you some design related questions? Your villas are beautiful and I was wondering what is the most common compliment you receive from guests. What do they love about your villas? How have you made them so beautiful? Thanks!

  • Guys, have you considered some targeted media buying/paid advertising. As an example, someone who likes on facebook different villas or properties in your locations is an ideal prospect. Also, if you know only a certain person can afford your rentals, you can choose this in facebook (only available through ppc ads). I met Thibault in the Dynamic Circle. Another tip is to focus on a particular demographic – example location independent entrepreneurs. I became one of Airbnb’s top customers in Sweden a few years back because I stayed for almost 1year in airbnb properities.Just a thought. Lastly, I’m looking into holding workshops and I represent a different demographic (as I am looking to rent places where guests can work and play – ex. a 6 person workshop where attendees can meet in a big room as well as well as sleep). Just some ideas. Paid advertising is the way to get ultra targeted!

  • Shola, what good ideas! Do you think there has been an uptick in the trend of properties that offer workshop or brainstorming session -friendly amenities? And what sort of amenities would be necessary in these scenarios? A whiteboard comes to mind, lighting fast wifi, maybe a yoga room.

    I think the idea is brilliant because it’s work combined with play and the new environment gets people to think outside the box. Love your ideas!

  • “has there been an update” – the answer is a resounding yes. Here’s a couple of reason why. #1 – accounting/tax friendly….business owners are able to expense part of the trip because their main motivation is to get training related to their business (an investment). In other words they can combine training plus “getting away” (which is actually something that improves your productivity). Second, the bottom line is we are all social creatures. With all the online networking happening, people still long for the need to connect physically/in person. Never before has there been a way to efficiently connect micro-niche audiences. For instance, say there are only 25 people in the world who share your exact interest, values, wants. etc. Well truth be told, most of us only have a few key relationships in life. So if you are, in one swoop for a $5k-$25k price tag able to meet those 25 people (vs. spending the next 20 years of your life searching across the 196 countries of the world for these exact 25 people), well it is worth the price. There’s a massive, massive, massive, MASSIVE untapped market here. Beyond having say a pretty big TV (so you can pull up stuff on the web or show a powerpoint presentation) and a white board, I can’t see any major additional addons needed. House staff who can see to the needs of the participants and/or a cook and or a driver. Other than the typical needs of your normal high-end client there aren’t much more things need. Put it to you this way: it only takes 200 $5k clients over a year to generate an additional $1 million in revenue. There’s absolutely a demand and a need there.

  • I’m going to write a post on this, Shola! The info needs to get out to the vacation rental community in a bigger way. Thanks for letting us all know.

  • Let me know when that is out there Mercedes.

  • Will do, Heather! I love Disqus, don’t you? I meet so many interesting people here!

  • Robert Ronning

    Interesting posts. I asked permission to read it. is certainly a success story is a good reference to be able to follow and emulate what has been obtained, especially regarding business and investment. Previously I did not quite understand about property investment, especially in Bali. Very interesting if we could find out more. Nice post. For reference:
    http://villabalisale.com/Property/
    thanks for the share.

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