Hotel Safes: An Amenity for the Wired Generation
As we all know, burglary and theft are an unfortunate part of life. So it just makes sense to take precautions, regardless of where you live, work, or vacation. That’s no doubt why many hotels have...
View ArticleAdvertising Your Vacation Rental: Why Creating Your Own Website is Not the...
In the early days of personal computing, new users thought they had to learn computer programming, usually by mastering BASIC. In our roles as computer columnists and book authors, we said, “No, no,...
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Advertising Your VR: The "Cocktail Party Quick Handle"
In the first article in this three-part series about the most effective way to advertise your vacation rental, we strongly urged owners to start by creating really great listings on VRBO.com and...
View ArticleAdvertising Your Vacation Rental: Creating Your Own Website
The first article in this three-part series advised starting your vacation-rental advertising program by developing really good content and pictures for your listings on VRBO.com, HomeAway.com, and...
View ArticleSizing Up Vacation Rental Advertising Sites: 7 Key Features to Look For
The person on the other end of the line was beside herself. She’d listed her second home on literally dozens of vacation rental advertising sites and she was getting hardly any bookings. What’s more,...
View ArticleDon’t Be a Doormat: Dealing with Vacation Home Freeloaders
Of all the issues we vacation-rental owners must deal with, the one that gets the least attention is the problem of freeloaders. You know what we’re talking about: relatives, friends, and friends of...
View ArticleEternal Vigilance and Vacation Rental Bans
Recently, a reader of one of our articles about getting started in the vacation-rental business wrote to ask: “Can my local municipality prevent me from renting out my second home? It’s a house we use...
View ArticleVR Dilemma: Pet Friendly or Pet Free?
One very important decision you’ll have to make when you begin offering your second home as a vacation rental is whether you’ll allow guests to bring their beloved pets along with them. It’s so...
View ArticleVR Secret: Better Photos = More Bookings
The expression “a picture is worth a thousand words” and other phrases conveying the same idea come up frequently in modern civilization. One source traces it at least as far back as 1862 in Turgenev’s...
View ArticleThe Taxman Cometh: Why You Need a CPA
Tax season is behind us. It’s May, “the lusty month of May,” as Vanessa Redgrave sang in the movie Camelot. But even though you probably don’t want to hear it, now is the time to begin thinking about...
View ArticleSetting Your “Sleep Number”: It’s More Than Just Counting Beds
What’s your vacation-rental property’s “sleep number.” We’re not talking about a degree of mattress firmness, but about the number of vacationers you can comfortablyaccommodate—emphasis on comfortably....
View ArticleHow to Avoid a Last-Minute Cancellation Guilt Trip
Here’s a scenario that every vacation-rental owner faces sooner or later: The day before your guests are due to check in, they call with bad news. One of them is too sick to travel. Or there’s been a...
View ArticleLessons Learned from Hurricane Sandy
To set the record straight, the storm that hit the Northeast in late October 2012 was a hurricane! In fact, it was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. And it was second only to Katrina in...
View ArticleGetting Ready for Busy Season 2013
January. It’s the time to put away holiday decorations, make resolutions, and, if you’re a vacation-rental owner, prepare for a high volume of inquiries from travelers who likewise have turned their...
View ArticleThe Ultimate Entertainment Amenity: “Unlimited” Videos!
The advance of technology, particularly entertainment technology, is relentless. So if you offer your second home as a vacation rental, you absolutely must provide up-to-date entertainment...
View ArticleHotel Safes: An Amenity for the Wired Generation
As we all know, burglary and theft are an unfortunate part of life. So it just makes sense to take precautions, regardless of where you live, work, or vacation. That’s no doubt why many hotels have...
View ArticleAdvertising Your Vacation Rental: Why Creating Your Own Website is Not the...
In the early days of personal computing, new users thought they had to learn computer programming, usually by mastering BASIC. In our roles as computer columnists and book authors, we said, “No, no,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Advertising Your VR: The "Cocktail Party Quick Handle"
In the first article in this three-part series about the most effective way to advertise your vacation rental, we strongly urged owners to start by creating really great listings on VRBO.com and...
View ArticleAdvertising Your Vacation Rental: Creating Your Own Website
The first article in this three-part series advised starting your vacation-rental advertising program by developing really good content and pictures for your listings on VRBO.com, HomeAway.com, and...
View ArticleSizing Up Vacation Rental Advertising Sites: 7 Key Features to Look For
The person on the other end of the line was beside herself. She’d listed her second home on literally dozens of vacation rental advertising sites and she was getting hardly any bookings. What’s more,...
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