What can the Western Mountain and Southeast Beach Destinations Learn from Each Other?

By: Sarah Bradford, Owner Winter Park Lodging Company, Colorado & Trisha Howarth, Resort DOSM, Bald Head Island Limited, N.C.

While vacationers the world over seek to experience something that takes them away from their day-to-day routine, something enjoyable and something that will create a long-lasting memory, each destination brings different flavors to life for the traveler. Speaking with a unique voice, each market capitalizes on its unique merits, inviting guests to visit for a day, week or indefinitely. So with such diverse offerings, what is there to be shared between the Colorado mountain destinations and the Southeast beaches of North Carolina? For starters, an informal survey suggested the southeast beach market still favors a main-stay of traditional marketing, a printed rental brochure.

Sarah Bradford, Winter Park Lodging Company

Rental brochures range from high-quality glossy magazines featuring full page ads of rental homes, to a simple tri-fold, to a community directory such as Bald Head Island’s Haven. Southeast beach destinations have a variety of reasons for printing rental brochures, from employing a multi-media marketing strategy, to attracting (and keeping) new customers, to satisfying owners who benchmark performance of competitors. Ultimately, the southeast beaches find that sales literature builds loyal customers. While both mountain and beach destinations use Internet marketing extensively, rental brochures tend to be a more common tactical tool along the east coast than in the mountains of Colorado.

Trisha Howarth, Bald Head Island Limited

One potential reason? Mountain destinations tend to have less brand-loyal customers than those on the southeast coast, who often create traditions at certain beach locations, at certain times and at certain homes. Beach renters will often follow a home from agency to agency, while this is less true of the West Coast mountains where lodges, condominiums and villas are more similar in design and scope. Beach communities often find their clientele waits for the annual rental brochure to be published before booking their vacations, even though the homes and rates have been available online for months. While those in the West may not be in a rush to commit to a rental brochure, east coast managers certainly won’t be giving up this vehicle anytime soon.

Interestingly, however, there are similarities between both areas--therefore, the West may want to consider the East coast-style tried-and-true rental brochure. There is loyalty among ski town travelers, as some families return to the same resort annually. These guests enjoy knowing the slopes and going back to their favorite restaurants, shops and off-hill activities. So, perhaps the rental brochure should be tested by western mountain destinations, as it is especially effective for the older demographic who may be more comfortable with print media vs. seeing photos and details online. The over 60 crowd increasingly serves as the vacation organizer for family trips--even if grandma isn't skiing.

Average length of stay also varies between mountain and beach destinations. With seven night minimums at many east coast beach destinations, the average night stay in the east is closer to six, versus the average stay of four nights for those in the mountains. Perhaps this can be contributed to price sensitivities, as most skiers opt for package deals that include lift tickets. With less historical precedence for weekly stay requirements, the mountain destinations can more easily garnish additional rentals during low-demand periods and have the edge in filling holes during peak season. East coast homeowners are conditioned to rent for weeks at a time, especially in summer season. Rental agencies have had less success in convincing owners that national trends are for travel are shorter, more frequent breaks. Mountain destinations have effectively attracted traditional hotel patrons by reducing minimum night stays and offering last-minute discounts to fill gaps in peak season.

No matter the geography, the beaches and mountains share a concern for adverse weather. From hurricanes to avalanches, rental agencies are no strangers to dealing with the effects of Mother Nature. Both regions must work closely with state officials, the division of travel and tourism, local CVBs and chambers to provide consistent messages when the unexpected happens. Rental agencies in both the mountains and along the beaches will add an adverse weather section to their website which links to local authorities and provides up-to-the-minute news for renters and owners. There are software companies that provide disaster-relief tracking tools that will automatically update renters and homeowners with specific messages about damages and accessibility. Some agencies go the extra mile and send regular updates to their state’s division of travel and tourism to be posted on the state’s website. Working closely with the state and local authority’s takes pre-event communications planning.

Whether a renter prefers skiing with poles or skiing with a rope behind a boat, there are certainly things that the mountain and beach vacation rental management companies can learn from each other.

Did you know: In 2012, 42% of stories shared to users' Facebook timelines were travel experiences-- more than double that of the next category.

Consumer adoption of social media has shifted the online marketing landscape and with this change in consumer behavior, marketers have had to reevaluate their marketing plans.

According to the 2013 Portrait of American Travelers^SM study, 82% of travelers trust recommendations from friends and family, 74% of U.S. travelers have a Facebook profile and 1 our of 3 travelers reference social media as a main source of travel ideas and inspiration.

With an increasing amount of individuals communicating, reviewing and recommending products and experiences to their friends and family through social media, online word of mouth is vital to successful organic referrals, leads and conversions in today’s marketplace.

VRMA's public relations agency MMGY Global (formerly known as Ypartnership) has created a great resource for any tourism-industry professional looking to better leverage the power of Facebook marketing. First presented at the Facebook Global Travel Marketing Summit, MMGY has shared this 20-page white paper to help vacation rental management companies better understand and use Facebook as a marketing tool.

Download now: Facebook Marketing For Tourism Organizations

Guest Blog: A Look Back at How the Marketing and Competitive Landscape Has Changed for Vacation Rental Managers

Contributed by: Amy Hinote, VRMIntel.com; Originally published April 6, 2013

For vacation rental managers who have been around long enough to remember an offline life, the marketing of vacation rentals "ain't what it used to be."

An office on the strip, branded signs on the homes, and a rental brochure were enough to light up the phones on January 1st, with vacationers trying to secure their favorite house for one of the few weeks of the season.

But change is inevitable, and the sales and marketing of vacation rentals is no different. The first part of this series of articles takes a brief look back at some of these changes and how they impact the determination of key performance indicators for today's vacation rental management article.

Professional Property Managers initially offered comprehensive, full-scale services to vacation home owners, including but not limited to:

· Accounting

· Reporting

· Marketing

· Reservations

· Maintenance and Services

· Furnishing Services

· Local Check-in/Check-out

· Local Assistance

· Housekeeping

· Guest Services

· Real Estate Services and Accounting

As technology progressed in the early to mid 1980’s, vacation-rental-specific property management systems were created to help VRMs manage these services, including Resort Data Processing (RDP) and AV Main (FRS). AV Main creator First Resort Software was instrumental in bringing VRMs together with the first user conference called "The Forum,” which later became known as RezFest after Instant Software’s acquisition of the company.

In 1985, the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) was founded, and ten vacation rental managers gathered in Lake Tahoe for the first Annual Conference, which featured sessions on marketing and advertising and a presentation from the California Department of Real Estate. The industry expanded rapidly.

By the mid 1990’s, the internet as a vacation planning tool began to transform VRMs, vacation rental websites with online booking components began to appear around the country, and web-based software developed.

However, many vacation destinations were located in areas with unreliable internet connections, so technology growth was sluggish. In addition, adoption of new software was painful and creating a successful online presence was costly. Consequently, the road was paved for 3rd party channels to sell and market vacation rental properties online.

In recent years, the traditional Vacation Rental Management Company (VRM) has seen considerable changes in the competitive landscape:

The impact of 3rd party websites

From 1995 until 2008, multiple 3rd party vacation rental websites were born. However, during this period, the only 3rd party website causing disruptive competition for the traditional VRM was HomeAway’s VRBO.

Learning to navigate a distribution strategy related to VRBO.com was faced by VRMs with varying levels of success and angst. Many chose to place their own professionally managed properties alongside for-rent-by-owner properties on VRBO.com causing a consequential expansion of the source of competition. Other VRMs chose to pour their marketing dollars into heavy SEO/SEM initiatives to compete head-to-head with VRBO.com.

Simultaneously, TripAdvisor began compiling reviews which worried many VRMs who at the time lacked the ability to adequately respond to negative comments.

With the real estate market collapse, the number of rentals available to consumers increased; with easy access online marketing outlets, the number of rent-by-owner properties grew exponentially; and with double digit industry growth, the investment community got on board.

In 2008, TripAdvisor’s took a majority stake in Flipkey, HomeAway raised $250 million in capital, the 3rd party website competition began to increase, and new 3rd party websites were born. Some of these include Airbnb (with a current $2.5 billion valuation), HouseTrip (just received $40m in capital), and the metasearch platform by StubHub execs Tripping.com.

By 2013, the vast majority of VRMs have adopted:

1. A marketing strategy which incorporates 3rd party channels.

2. An operational strategy which handles inquiries and bookings from distribution channels.

3. A guest relationship strategy which converts one-time guests into long-term customers.

Search engine results

As vacationers turned to the search engines to plan their vacations, it became extremely important for VRMs to dominate the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). SEO/SEM experts such as Blizzard Internet Marketing, Blue Tent Marketing, and Visual Data Systems began dominating the programming lineup of industry conferences with the latest and greatest tips to achieving a listing on page 1 of Google for "[Your destination here] Vacation Rentals”.

VRMs were able to compete with each other for coveted keywords and fight the Google battle with strategies and marketing budgets. As the search engine algorithms changed and the distribution channels started increasing in traffic and page rank, VRMs struggled to keep up online. The large VRMs have been able to retain beneficial presence in SERPs, but small to midsize companies in competitive markets have been forced to get more creative in their online marketing strategies, while new companies find themselves more reliant on third party distribution than on SEM.

 The increased competition from VRBOs

Before technology and communications allowed remote management, vacation home owners were heavily reliant on VRMs to manage their properties. The full service approach was beneficial for property managers, home owners and guests which made the relationship a win-win-win for all.

 

The real estate collapse brought major changes to the vacation rental market place, bringing in thousands of homeowners who had not previously considered renting their homes. Airbnb was one conduit who capitalized on the phenomenon in major cities.

 

Christine Karpinski made Amazon’s Best Seller List with her book How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner, which supplied would be owners with rental policy and confirmation templates, marketing strategies and tips on maintenance and housekeeping accountability.

 

Looking back on some the services which traditional VRMs offered, many tools became available to homeowners:

· Accounting and Reporting: QuickBooks Pro worked well for many VR owners, and there are services available which show owners how to use effectively.

· Marketing: Distribution channels (VRBO.com, Airbnb.com, HomeAway.com. HouseTrip.com, Flipkey.com, etc.) and low cost website building tools allowed homeowners to effectively market their properties.

· Local Check-in/Check-out: Keyless entry options became more advanced and affordable.

· Local Assistance: Companies with hybrid business models sprouted which allow fee based services such as 24/7 on call service, housekeeping, maintenance and reservations.

· Housekeeping: Housekeeping tracking services are available for owners.

In addition the distribution channels provide support, communities, forums, conferences, training, credit card processing and travel insurance options for VRBOs.

Awareness of other destinations as vacation options

 

Among vacationers who utilize vacation homes, for many years the trend was to visit the same place year after year and establish family traditions. Vacations were often longer than a week, and it was typical to stay in the exact same home each year.

 

Developments in technology, transportation, communications, and the family composition allowed travelers to think outside the box about vacation choices. With more options to explore with the click of a mouse or the touch of a screen, destinations all over the world became accessible for vacationers.

 

However, for the same reasons, more travelers are finding and using vacation homes as a lodging option, and there is still substantial room for growth.

Trends in 2013 and 2014

The competitive and marketing landscape is still shifting for VRMs, and the following trends are currently reshaping how traditional VRMs market to their owners and guests:

· Mergers and acquisitions in the vacation rentals space (in management companies, technology and distribution channels)

· Increasing online marketing costs for VRMs

· Previously traditional timeshare inventory becoming available to the retail vacation rental market at lower rental rates

· Emerging technology/tools becoming available to individual homeowners

· An increased attention to data mining and usage

· A surge in tools to manage the guest experience and remarket to the guest after their stay

Coming soon…Part 2: Metrics should be used to measure performance for a Vacation Rental Management Company

Would you like to contribute as a guest blogger for the Key Insights blog? We are always looking for relevant industry content. Contact us!

Thank you to all who attended one of VRMA’s Regional Seminars in April! This year’s Seminars featured a new educational format specifically based on manager feedback. And with attendance at or near record levels for both events, more professional managers than ever before walked away with tangible tips to improve their businesses, enhance homeowner satisfaction and keep guests coming back. Despite an April snowstorm, the Western Seminar in Westminster, Co., brought together 198 attendees—just 2 shy of 2012’s Western Seminar attendance record. The Eastern Seminar in Savannah, Ga., shattered previous attendance records, with a jaw-dropping 468 vacation rental managers and suppliers in attendance (a significant leap from the 2011 record of 407 attendees!).

Attendees also benefited from Vendor Showcases at each event featuring many new, innovative suppliers to help their companies continue to raise the bar and offer new services and products to homeowners and guests.

Below is an overview of what attendees gained from the sessions presented at this year’s Seminars.

Opening Session: Ask An Expert

The Ask An Expert session gave attendees the opportunity to ask questions and interact with peer experts in small-group discussions. Attendees chose from dozens of table topics covering vacation rental management administration, guest services, property services, sales and marketing, strategy and more.

"This session is the reason to come to VRMA events,” said Sarah Bradford, owner of Winter Park Lodging Company. "It’s not possible to find just a PowerPoint or watch a presentation online and get the level of content available in this session. There were so many ideas shared, and time to ask questions with the people who know the content best.”

Executive Session 1: How The VRMA Can Work With VRM Members When Challenged With Restrictions, Regulations and Bans of Vacation Rentals

This hands-on, interactive session gave vacation rental executives tools they can use when faced with potential vacation rental restrictions, regulations and bans in their area. The panelists also discussed how VRMA can address government advocacy issues to prevent bans and regulations in the first place. Feedback from this session is being reviewed as VRMA looks to strengthen its advocacy resources.

Workshop Session 1: Conservation Maintenance

Going green can put green in your pocket. Managers learned simple swaps, such as selecting the right fluorescent light bulbs, which will save money and also allow the company to market environmentally friendly practices.

Concurrent Session 1: Tear Down This Wall! Eliminate Booking Barriers

Attendees discovered key ways to showcase properties online (including via mobile sites) to help potential guests easily and painlessly determine which property is right for their vacation. The session also covered how adding an online chat feature can increase bookings.

Concurrent Session 2: "How Are You Going To Compensate Me?!” – Guest Compensation And Consequences

How do you deal with a guest asking for compensation? The ideal solution is to avoid guest complaints in the first place. This session provided tips and takeaways to proactively prevent compensation requests, while also covering some easy, less costly ways to apologize for any inconvenience that might arise.

Concurrent Session 3: Bragging Rights and Traveler Behavior: The Re-Personalization of Travel and How to Make it Work for Your Vacation Rental

Often, a defensive response can hurt a management company far more than the negative review. Attendees received tips on how to best respond to negative reviews to minimize damage and maximize transparency. The session also discussed how to leverage online reviews with current and prospective homeowners.

Executive Session 2: What Keeps You Up At Night?

This executive-only session was wholly driven by what attendees wanted to talk about. Attendees brought up the issues most affecting them, and then brainstormed how to address these problems. Attendees walked away with new contacts, new ideas and new resources to improve their companies and squash the issues keeping them up at night.

Workshop Session 2: Safety On Site

This three-hour class focused on the highest priority of a maintenance associate: Safety. Discussion topics included OSHA regulations, M.S.D.S. sheets, chemical storage and use, moving heavy equipment properly, crime/security issues, protective equipment, OSHA-required Lockout/Tagout kits, and preventing infection from blood-borne pathogens.

Concurrent Session Block 4: The Skill and Art of Housekeeping Inspections

This highly-ranked session covered key elements of housekeeping inspections including: When to call a housekeeper back to re-clean; how to manage comments/ complaints to ensure housekeepers are aware of any issues; "follow the wall” inspections; and how "owner cleans” may differ from the standard cleaning.

Concurrent Session Block 5: Reservation Sales Training: 3 Keys To Becoming A Reservations Superstar

Becoming a prospective guest’s friend makes them more likely to buy from and trust you. This session provided tangible tips on how to actively engage callers instead of simply taking orders. 

Concurrent Session Block 6: Guest Service: Going the Extra Mile

This session discussed special touches to elevate your company’s hospitality—and keep guests coming back— such as loyalty programs, partnership with other area businesses, concierge services, gift baskets, packages and more. The session also covered how to make things right for guests who experience issues during their stay, such as empowering each staff member to take ownership of a problem, offer a solution and follow up.

Concurrent Session Block 7: Breakthrough Coaching

Are you coaching, or just managing? This highly-ranked session covered ways to ensure top sales performers stay incentivized while bringing lower-performing agents up to speed.

Concurrent Session Block 7: Don’t Let A Courtroom be Your Classroom: How ADA and Fair Housing Affect the Vacation Rental Industry

This session reviewed Fair Housing Act requirements and what vacation rental managers must do to ensure compliance. One key topic centered on service animals and how vacation rental managers should respond to inquiries regarding service animals in properties not designated as pet friendly.  Other topics included handicap accessibility, careful assessment of property descriptions used and pool requirements.

Concurrent Session Block 7: New Revenue, New Challenges Require Innovative Solutions

In this changing industry, commissions are difficult to increase, new inventory is hard to find, and new fees offer solutions in limited situations. This session provided insight from airlines and hotels to help managers find new revenue, such as a la carte fees, tapping into the wedding market and offering extended stay discounts to fill vacancies.

Closing Session: Everything You Do Is Marketing

Renowned keynote speaker Anne Sadovsky wrapped up the Seminars with an insightful and dynamic presentation to inspire attendees to perform their best each and every day. This session covered trends that help vacation rental professionals better anticipate guest needs, guest service tips to help de-escalate tense situations and ways to simplify what you do and how you do it. The session also helped attendees identify how their personality traits may affect various situations.

Additionally,some presenters provided session materials that are available for download:

• Western Seminar Sessions/Materials
• Eastern Seminar Sessions/Materials

The Regional Seminars offer just a small glimpse of VRMA’s Annual Conference programming line-up. More than 60 educational sessions will be offered at the 2013 Annual Conference, Oct. 20-23 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Have an idea for a session or want to present at the Annual Conference? We’re looking for speakers who can share their expertise and experience with other vacation rental professionals. Presentation proposals are due May 10. Learn more.

Earlier this month, as part of VRMA's ongoing rebranding efforts, all members were asked to help select a path for VRMA's visual identity.    

Every member was given the chance to participate in this survey, which allowed participants to choose between the organization's current key logo and a new logo concept. The results are in: A resounding 84 percent of members prefer the VRMA "open door" logo concept over the key logo.

This logo represents unlocking possibilities. The open door represents the opportunity membership in VRMA provides. The "M" doubling as an open door creates a welcome environment for members and their customers.  

The response rate was higher than average for VRMA member surveys; additionally, many members took the time to submit comments at the end of the survey. Though 84% of members voted for the open door logo, we also recognize that 16% of members did not. Already work is being done to tweak the open door design concept and incorporate feedback from the survey.

With this overwhelmingly positive response to change, we are pleased to move forward with this logo concept.

Over the coming weeks and months, this logo will be incorporated into all of VRMA's various outlets, including (but not limited to):

• Eastern and Western Seminar materials
• A new email template
• A new association website 
• Newly designed publications
• ...and more!

In the coming weeks, a final version of the logo will be distributed along with a brand standards guide so that you may use this logo in your marketing materials.  

We appreciate your participation, patience and enthusiasm as we move forward. The key logo has served the organization well through the years--and it's now time to unlock the power and possibilities of the professionally managed vacation rental industry as it moves forward.

About VRMA's Rebranding Initiative

Within the survey comments, a few members asked why VRMA launched its rebranding initiative. 

VRMA's rebranding efforts are about more than a new logo. Last year, members were asked what the VRMA brand meant. The most common answer was startling: Most members were unsure. Even within the organization's own membership, VRMA's brand was not recognizable or well-defined.

In order to grow and truly be the voice of the industry, VRMA, led by a task force of manager and supplier members, embarked on a rebranding initiative to better define itself and its value for current members, the entire professionally managed vacation rental industry and consumers.  

Member feedback has been critical in defining VRMA's brand. All members have had opportunities to participate. Your feedback through surveys, focus groups, phone calls and interviews has directly shaped a new mission, vision, values and promise. These elements are the cornerstone of how VRMA strives to serve its membership.

For more information about the rebranding initiative, see VRMA's Rebranding Initiative: Frequently Asked Questions.

Next steps

Actions speak louder than words. VRMA's brand can't be empty words and a new logo. VRMA is taking the steps necessary to improve member value, elevate the professionally managed vacation rental industry and help build a global reputation as the preferred vacation stay option. The branding feedback and the responses from the Member Survey earlier this year are currently being reviewed to shape VRMA's overall strategy. Additional communications will detail the changes as they are implemented.

Thank you for your feedback, as always, and we look forward to embarking with you on this new path toward VRMA's future.