On a recent trip to the coast I was amazed to see that vacation property managers still advertise by taping pictures of rentals to their front window. Coming from an online perspective I had to wonder if those at the top of the window were paying more for the space than the ones toward the bottom. I guess it is possible that each company has their own window algorithm that dictates where you land on that ever important window that drives little to no traffic through the front door.
In the past year there has been a significant increase in the number of 2nd homes that are being used as vacation rentals. It has also been shown that people are still traveling but they are staying closer to home in order to save money and they are shopping for bargains online. In order to accommodate this shift most of the property management companies I visited have done absolutely nothing to accommodate renters and property owners when it comes to advertising on the number one place people are searching, the internet.
If you look at the industry average property managers charge between 20% - 40% of the per night booking with most places requiring a 3 night minimum. So if the nightly rate is $200 you will pay the property manager $180 for a 3 night booking. In return they will handle the rental agreement and make sure it gets cleaned and handle the communication with the renter. This arrangement makes perfect sense if your property is constantly booked and there is no headache dealing with renters. If renters are not finding your property and you are not booking it on a regular basis property owners are deciding that they can just do it themselves and start using different online services.
There are three groups that I encountered when I visited 20 different vacation rental management companies and I think it was a good representation of the market in general. The first group is the baby boomers that are on their way out and have been doing very well over the past 10-15 years and see no reason to change. The second group is the baby boomers that are adapting to the changes associated with the Internet and learning to use it to their advantage. The third group represents a changing of the guard so to speak as the children of these people take over the business or young savvy managers see an opportunity to generate lots of bookings.
When deciding who to let manage your vacation property it is paramount to have a property management company that is visible online. If they do not see the importance of the Internet I wouldn’t waste time interviewing them. There are plenty of companies that will make sure your property can be found online. No matter how nice a management company’s site may look it is just a billboard in the basement if they are not showing up in the search results. Always ask for statistics. Any good company will know how many visitors are coming to the site on a monthly basis and ask to see the analytical data to prove what they are saying. The more tech savvy a property manager is the better chance of getting your property seen and booked.
property management firms, individual owners, and the on-line renter community. This website and company were designed as a way to give the local property management company and individual property owner a web presence that would help them grow their bottom line by offering a pay-per-booking model. This ensures a positive return on every marketing dollar spent. Essentially, TheVacationBug.com has taken the risk out of a sometimes very difficult marketing decision.