START-UP VR OWNER BASICS
How to Rent and Advertise your Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO)
If you are a Do-It-Yourself kind of person, the information on this page provides the basics of what it takes to do it; and be successful doing it! Learn how to advertise your vacation homes and rent your vacation rentals by owner (VRBO)
Legitimate Business:
Recently on one of the vacation rental (VR) forums I frequent; a woman asked a very good question. Her name is Betty, she and her four brothers had recently inherited a Vacation Rental home from their father. She was asking advice, “How do I rent my home and how do I and my brothers divide the proceeds from the rental of our vacation rental home?” Keep in mind that they lived abroad and she would be doing all of the work. I have no doubt that she got many different opinions on the subject, mine included.
I couldn't help but encourage her to write down and start keeping track of her time for every task involved when renting their VRBO home. I encouraged her to do that because I felt that doing so would really show her brothers what is involved in renting to just one guest.
VRBO, vacation rentals by owner is not a hobby, but rather a business and if done right, it can be a very lucrative one!!
If you are serious about being a successful, lucrative, and legitimate vacation rental by owner (VRBO) business you need to act like one!
Something that we vacation rental home owners all need to keep in mind is that if we want families, couples and business travelers to consistently stay in vacation rentals instead of hotels, we need to do a few things that will make their experience with VR home owners a positive one.
- When we get an inquiry we need to respond in a timely manner!
- We need to respond in a way that says "Thank You For Inquiring" even if the dates they are inquiring about are already booked!
- We need to make the rental process fast, easy and convenient!
I find that one of the biggest mistakes that vacation rental home owners make is thinking that they don't need to accept credit cards.
In our current economy few people are willing to get into their savings for travel, as they may have in the past. With the rewards that card holders get when using their credit cards, you'll find more and more that your guests will be wanting to use them. It's truly a win-win that is going to make booking a reservation a lot easier and a lot more convenient...for both you and your guest!
Accepting credit cards is a good business decision for so many reasons!
First Step is to have the right mental attitude.
You are a host, not a landlord. Your goal is to make your guests feel comfortable and welcome.
Doing so will ensure referrals and repeat business from the same guests year after year!
Use your personality to decorate and provide little "extras" that will attract guests to your vacation rental home. Make a list of the items that you know would make your stay a better one in a VR home.
The cost of little extras is slight in comparison to the repeat guests and word of mouth advertising that you will get because you provide them.
The Second Step is making it convenient and easy for your guests to
pay for their stay in your vacation rental home.
Do you remember the commercial where a guy is in line at a store and everyone stops moving and the room goes silent because he tries to pay with cash instead of a credit card?
That commercial was great marketing on Visa's part because although it was exaggerated, it's a reality!
Using credit cards is fast, easy and convenient not just for the buyer but for business too!
Good reasons to accept credit cards:
- It will expedite the rental process!
- It will define you as a legitimate business!
- It will help secure damage control!
- It will increase occupancy!
Rewards:
Another smart marketing move on Visa's part was offering rewards to the card holder!
People are using their credit cards more than ever to earn the rewards and for some, it has truly become an obsession!
We all like rewards! For example; why do you put your extra money in a savings account instead of your regular checking account? Because you earn interest!
It’s the same with reward credit cards... Why pay cash and get no reward when you can use your rewards credit card and earn the miles that will get you to your vacation destination!
Protection and peace of mind:
In addition to the benefits your guest will get when using a credit card, as a vacation rental home owner you are more protected when you take a credit card for payment because in the event that a guest damages your vacation rental home, you will have a credit card to charge to pay for the damages.
Of course your rental contract needs to read as such with a statement that says that you reserve the right to charge the guests card if damage is done beyond the amount of the security deposit.
On your rental contract; ask your guest to provide credit card information (even if they pay by check) along with their billing address, the expiration date and ask for a signature acknowledging that they understand.
Adding a request like this to your rental contract will do three things:
- It will give you peace of mind!
- It will put an extra factor of “accountability” in the mind of your guest!
- With the guests' signature on the rental contract, your chances of winning a dispute (otherwise known as a chargeback) will increase significantly.
eCheck is another fast, easy and convenient way to accept payment:
eCheck is a payment solution that enables vacation rental owners to accept electronic check payments as quick and easy as processing a credit card.
eCheck is an ideal solution for vacation rental owners because in lieu of waiting for a check to arrive you can simply enter the routing number and account number through the Virtual Terminal just as you would a credit card. No more waiting for checks and no more taking your vacation rental property off the rental market while you wait.
Although fund availability is not in real-time for eCheck transactions, the status and funding of eCheck transactions is now much faster. Usually within 24-48 hours.
The eCheck.Net benefits include:
- Quick and easy Set Up
- No Additional Set Up Cost
- No Service/Statement Fee
- The Discount Rates are Substantially Lower than credit card processing rates
- The monthly minimum is only $10.00 - the minimum is met when your discount rate and per transaction fees reach $10.00. If you do not meet the minimum, you will only pay the difference.
Pricing varies based on Monthly Processing Volume~
Processing Volume Discount Rate & Per Transaction Fee
- $0-$4,999.99 0.75% + $0.35
- $5,000.00-$49,999.99 0.70% + $0.35
Getting set up to accept credit cards & eCheck:
There are dozens of merchant service providers that can set you up to accept credit cards, but why not work with a merchant service provider that specializes in the set up and subsequent support of vacation rental home owners!
eReservation Solutions is just that!
With over 500 VR home owners already working with eReservation Solutions, a subsidiary of eCom Merchant Solutions; they have put together a specialized program that includes a discount rate and fees that you can live with (even in the slow times), extra money saving perks that most other merchant service providers don't offer and a surplus of tips on how to keep your costs down.
Credentials & Recommendations:
eReservation Solutions, a subsidiary of eCom Merchant Solutions , has been in business since 1997 and are members of the Better Business Bureau and Dunn & Bradstreet and boast sterling records with both of these prestigious consumer resources.
eReservation Solutions is also highly recommended by many vacation rental experts!
Joe Godar Owner of ivacationonline.com, Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner Authors of one of the leading books on the subject of VR Ownership FullyBookedRentals.com, Eric Smith Owner of Corporate Housing by Owner CorporateHousingByOwner.com as well as over 500 VR owners.
Check out the "Testimonials" page to see what some current merchants and partners have to say about Com Merchant Solutions.
TIP* It’s a good idea to set up your credit card processing capabilities BEFORE you advertise so when your guests contact you, you will be prepared to take their payment!
The Third Step is finding a housekeeper, handyman etc.
Finding your help:
Unless you live close to your vacation rental by owner (VRBO) property and plan to do the cleaning yourself it's a must to find a good housekeeper that you can count on being there when they are supposed to be and one that does a great job… One of those qualities is definitely not more important than the other. Both are key!
How do you go about finding a housekeeper? I found my housekeeper when I saw her pull up to my neighbor's house in the resort that my VR homes are located. I walked over to her and asked if she had room in her schedule to take on another home. When she said that she did, I asked her to come over and give me an estimate on what the cost would be to clean my house. She came over, enthusiastically answered my long list of questions, the price was right. She was hired, and I had a housekeeper!
I admit that I got lucky when I found my housekeeper; but it really doesn't have to be a difficult task if you know where to look.
If the suggestion above doesn't work for you; go to the web site/s that you advertise your VR home on or plan to advertise on and look for other homes in your area. Contact other home owners and ask them who they use. Again word of mouth recommendations can't be beat but keep in mind that what one VR home owner considers a great housekeeper may not be what you consider great at all…
You can also try www.CraigsList.com. Craigs list has so many resources including advertising your VR home.
Homework:
Do some homework. When you have some names, call or email the housekeepers and choose one based on the timeliness in which they get back to you, how they answer your questions, if they are enthusiastic about taking on another property etc. You should have a list of questions prepared before you call or email them.
Those handy men!
If you don't live near your VR home or even if you do and you're not a handy kind of person, it is just as important to hire a handy man, a carpet cleaner, window washer, pool and hot tub maintenance service, etc. It is a good idea to have these service contractors ready before something goes wrong. To find them; follow the same steps you did to find your housekeeper.
Don't wait until you have an emergency! When you do find your housekeeper and service contractors, add their phone numbers to your cell phone address book for easy contact.
Tip* Like setting up a Merchant Account to accept credit cards it's a good idea to have your housekeeper hired and find the service contractors that will help maintain your VR home BEFORE you book your first guests.
The Fourth Step is advertising!
How will your guests find you? You must advertise rental homes.
You should create your own vacation home rental website. Having a website is a great source but keep in mind that it’s just as important to work with a website designer that can assist in getting traffic to your site. I highly recommend www.AVIBEweb.com – you can also reach them by phone at 503.296.8499 and tell them that Kristie Kliese sent you!
Another great way to advertise rental homes is to advertise on the vacation rental sites. There are dozens that offer a way for renters to navigate their way through finding the perfect Vacation Rental by state, number of bedrooms, amenities etc.
HomeAway and VRBO are probably the biggest and most well known but don't discount the smaller company's when advertising your home as (in most cases) the smaller the company, the better the service.
One thing that most of them have in common is an uncomplicated way of adding your VR home; including plenty of space to describe your home, the amenities you offer and the option to add pictures. Renters love pictures; so the more the better!
One of my favorites to help advertise vacation homes is SkipJump.com. This site is the perfect example of a smaller company that provides outstanding, prompt and professional support. I also really like this site and the guys that run it because it's FREE! The site is easy to navigate and appealing.
Longer term rentals:
If you plan to rent your house or condo out for a longer term, two weeks or more, we recommend that you ONLY advertise on a rental site specifically designed for the type of renter you are looking for.
Putting your home or condo on a short term rental site and a long term rental site will result in a constant conflict. So choosing the rental time frame that best works for you is a good idea prior to spending the money on advertising.
We highly recommend . Like the CHBO web site, the CHBO team is warm, friendly and uncomplicated. The cost is fair as well.
The Fifth Step is having an organized "system" in place when booking
a rental which includes a check list.
Time is of the essence!
Once a guest has inquired it is crucial to get right back to them!
Often people needing a place to stay will inquire with several VR home owners at the same time and in most cases, the first VR home owner to get back to them will book the guests stay.
If you think about preparing for a vacation, it is going to entail various tasks like purchasing airline tickets, a rental car, lodging, packing, someone to care for your pets etc. If you can start marking those tasks off your list, you will begin to relax... so the sooner the better! When potential renters are looking at the VR sites for a place to stay, they find the ones that appeal to them and then email the owners waiting for a cheery and timely response. I can tell you from experience... It works!!
An organized system:
Like most of us, you probably have a job other than your VR business so it is not always easy to manage. If that's the case; there is an inexpensive, comprehensive alternative!
That alternative is ivacationonline.com! ivacationonline is owned by Joe Godar. Joe's site also has a plethora of ideas that will help your success in the VR business. There are others but Joe is a hands-on owner and will help you through the process step-by-step. He is also just an all around nice guy!
The Sixth Step is knowledge.
Sir Francis Bacon wrote "Knowledge is Power" and when it comes to running an efficient, well managed, lucrative Vacation Rental business that quote could not be truer!
Do what makes sense to you!
The VR Forums can definitely help; but keep in mind that forums are full of opinions so I suggest that you read several entries on the same subject and do what makes the most sense to you.
If you become a member, you can correspond with other VR home owners too!
Additionally, I strongly suggest that you look up Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner, who have written one of the leading books on the Vacation Rental Business. They are well known and highly respected for their knowledge on the subject. FullyBookedRentals.com
