0 Shares VRS038 – Dealing with Vacation Rental Complaints and Damage I spent the weekend at the Podcast Movement Conference in Dallas, where I spoke on a panel about podcast promotion, networked with 600 other podcasters, and had a thoroughly good time. It was such a diverse crowd of people with shows on topics ranging from juicing to body building, WordPress hacks to selling on Ebay; […]
0 Shares Meeting Vacation Rental Guest Expectations Has anyone noticed how this year renters seem to have much higher expectations than before? I remember when the most asked question was, ‘Does it have running water and electricity’, and feeling amused and slightly smug saying that not only did my cottage have the luxury of an indoor toilet, but it also had a TV. Now, some of the most frequently asked questions are, ‘What size is the TV and does it get the sports channel?’, and ‘Is there hi-speed internet?’ Just a few weeks ago, I heard a complaint from a renter who had completed their vacation at a cottage on a lake local to us. The cottage has grass to the shoreline then shallow water with a hard sand bottom with a few rocks. I would say water shoes are advisable but then I’d recommend that anyway. The listing for the cottage said: “Sandy, shallow walkout to the water, deepening gradually toward the end of the dock”. The renter complained that the ‘beach’ that was advertised was not there and her daughter was unable to play in the sand. Apparently, using the word ‘sandy’ in the listing gave the impression that there was a portion of Bondi Beach on the shoreline, dunes stretching in every direction, and an expectation her children of the family spending happy hours building Buckingham Palace type sandcastles.
0 Shares The Vacation Rental Welcome Book I am about to share my ignorance. Back in school, oh about 40 years ago (although it really does feel like yesterday), I prided myself on being pretty good at geography. I knew the capital cities of most countries in the world, could recite every state in the US and province in Canada, and I […]
0 Shares Why vacation rental owners and agencies should be podcasting – Part Two Part One of this post explained why I really believe that podcasting should be in your marketing plan, and this Part briefly explores how you can get started, and just how easy it is. I am not going to go into this too deeply as there are some really great tutorials available that provide everything […]
0 Shares Why vacation rental owners and agencies should be podcasting – Part One I’m super excited because as I write this, it’s only 10 days till I fly to Dallas for the first ever Podcast Movement Conference. This looks to be an amazing event showcasing some of the top experts in podcasting with keynote presentations, topic specific sessions and a range of panels featuring podcasters who are making […]
0 Shares VRS034 – How to Increase Vacation Rental Guest Happiness in 10 Easy Steps We all know that guest exepectations continue to rise and what was tolerated 10 years ago, would be grounds for a complete refund today, but some areas are slower to catch on than others. There are a lot of reasons for this, not least of which is the traditional nature of vacations in places where […]
0 Shares A Month in the Life of a Vacation Rental Manager We’ve reached summer and passed the longest day, and as the nights start drawing in and my annual vacation is a mere 12 weeks away, I figured it was a good time to reflect on our busiest month of the year as June closes with Canada Day (July 1st) and for those south of the border, […]
0 Shares VRS017 – Are You Covered or Exposed? With VR Insurance Specialist Phil Schofield It’s not often you’ll hear me say that I’m looking forward to talking about insurance, but I was actually eager to talk to today’s guest as he is not only a vacation rental owner himself, but is also an expert on vacation rental insurance. Phil Schofield is head of inbound marketing at Schofields insurance, specialist insurers […]
0 Shares VRS015 – 25 Ways to Attract 5 Star Reviews In this session of Vacation Rental Success I share 25 ways you can make an impact on your guests that will contribute to them writing a great review on your listing. I know from personal experience how much reviews can impact a vacation decision. We use vacation rentals wherever we travel and the reviews are […]
0 Shares The Sure-Fire Way to Get Negative Reviews – and How to Avoid Them I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what happens when things go wrong at a vacation rental and how easy it is to screw up all the goodwill you have created with guests by simply mis-handling the situation. When I say ‘mishandling’ I mean not having the systems and procedures in place to manage a […]
