As a vacation rental property owner, you already know about the benefit of being listed on a vacation rental website.  And chances are good you’ve already joined one.  If you have, I have a recommendation for you. I’m going to suggest you join another. If you’re an owner of a vacation rental property, it’s worth the money to be listed in at least two directories.

Online vaction rental directories

But first, if you’re not already listed on one of the national or international vacation rental directories, here are the top 3 reasons why you should be:

1.  Number of inquiries. The big directories, which charge between $200 and $500 per year to list your property, spend big bucks on advertising.  The advertising gets the attention of Mrs. Prospective Vacationer, at just the right time– when she is formulating the summer vacation plans. Personally, as an owner, it’s worth the money for me to have my property listed on five different vacation rental sites.  From some I get 5 inquiries in a good week, and from some I might get one inquiry a week – it’s still worth the cost.

2. Quality of inquiries.  Theoretically, the ‘list your property for free’ sites should give you the same quality of inquiry as the pay-sites, but they don’t– not in my experience on Cape Cod. From the free sites, scam inquiries actually used to be rare.  Now, scam inquiries are a regular occurence.  Is “free” really free when you have to spend your valuable time screening prospects because something about their inquiry sounds ‘fishy,’ but you’re not really sure?

3.  Pics and videos.  At some point in the future (and maybe by the time you’ve finished reading this!),  you will need to have at least 20 good quality photos and a couple of videos of your property to compete with other owners that do, and to ‘close the sale’ with a vacationer online.  Make sure to list your property on a website that allows for this.

Benefits of listing in multiple directories

Now I’ll talk about how to choose a second vacation rental directory.

The big national and international directories promise to deliver lots of inquiries, and they do.  But no single directory gets EVERY vacationer inquiry, or even a majority of them. If you’re only listed in 1 directory, you’re missing out on LOTS of prospective vacationers.

Do you get a rental from every prospect?  Neither do I.  Not by a long shot. For my Wellfleet Cape Cod rental,  I need to get between 5 and 15 inquiries before I  get a deposit.  It depends on the week.  Shoulder season weeks – that’s the spring and fall in Cape Cod – are harder and need more internet exposure.  Summer weeks are easier to rent and need less exposure, so fewer inquiries are needed.  But the summer weeks are so valuable.  I’m more confident about raising prices when I’m getting more inquiries.  More inquiries can get you more income.

In evaluating whether it’s worth it to list your property on more than one rental directory, consider the possibility that an additional directory listing could result in one additional week or weekend rental. What’s your lowest priced week?  If it’s $600 or more, then you can see how it’s worth it.

Another reason to join an additional vacation rental directory even if you’re already listed in one is specialty.  Some directories specialize in a certain geographic area. For example, First Vacation Rental specializes in Wellfleet and Cape Cod and has a “Things to Do” section on their site.  Directories like this can enhance and emphasize the desirability of a specific location. This may add value to your individual vacation rental.

Lastly, another reason to join a second (or third or fourth) vacation rental directory: Customer Support.  Was it a hassle to list your property in your current directory?  I know what that’s like.  I’ve listed my vacation rental in about 12 different sites over the years.  What a pain.  But some of the new sites make it extremely easy.  Some will walk you through the process over the phone, use the pictures you already have, even come to your house and take high quality shots.  (High quality pics are VERY important, but that’s another topic.)  Look for a vacation rental directory that has a “Whatever it takes to earn your business” attitude.

Online vacation rental directories are a great tool to rent available weeks and to increase the inquiries you get for your popular weeks, giving you the confidence to raise prices. Because each directory has different strengths, you can often benefit by listing in two or more directories. Vacationers use one directory at a time, and if you’re not listed there then they won’t find your property. And a vacationer who becomes interested in your property could be a life-long customer.

The First Vacation Rental software offers a large number of different inputs, if you choose to fill them out, about your rental property.  Although the software allows you to describe your rental in great detail, the simple things are usually the ones that matter most.  One such field is the name of your property.

The highlighted area above is how your vacation rental name will appear on our listings page.

The Name Stands Out

When vacationers are browsing the listings on First Vacation Rental they will immediately notice the name because of its bold blue color and large font size.  Remember that your vacation rental listing is competing with 20 other listings on this page.  If you want vacationers to click your listing and learn more, your name had better be appealing to them.

Provide Information

One way to attract to renters is to let the name of your property provide them information they are looking for.  For example, one the most common questions our home owners receive in their inquiries is: “How close is your house to the beach?”  Every house on the Cape is pretty close to the beach, but not every vacationer knows that.  You can use your property name to show off just how close you are with a name like “Only 15 steps from the beach”.  When coming up with the name, think about what vacationers are looking for when selecting which home to rent.

Be Professional

It’s not hard to attract attention by using funny looking characters and typing in all caps.  If you named your home “~!~!!! CLICK HERE !!!~!~” everyone might see it, but probably no one would want to rent it.  Both you and your listing should look professional and respectable in order to gain the trust of renters.

Truthfulness is another important characteristic your property name should possess.  Do not claim your home is 15 steps from the beach if in fact it is a mile away.  Vacationers will eventually figure this out and dismiss your property.  If your home is a bit further from the beach, highlight some other great characteristic.

Experiment

You are not married to the name of your property on your listing.  Feel free to change it and experiment with it.  If you picked a name last year, but think maybe it’s time for a new name, then go for it.  You can keep changing your name until you find something that works.  There’s no perfect formula for naming your property, so you might need to try a few names before finding one that both describes your rental while also attracting the interest of vacationers.

Want Help? Let Us Know

If you want some help brainstorming some names, or just want to bounce a few ideas off us, then let us know.  Cape Cod vacation rentals are our specialty and we’d would love to hear your story and give you our best advice.

If you use a  real estate agent or property manager to lease your vacation property, an important function they perform is to shield you from being defrauded, or scammed.  One way they do this is they have the vacationer make payment to an agent, and then you receive your money from the agent.  If payment to the agent was fraudulent – stolen credit card, bounced check -  the agent suffers the loss, not you.

Another important function the agent performs is the screening of the prospective renter.  I’ll explain how to efficiently perform these 2 functions, but allow me first to mention:  Having an agent is a double-edged sword.  Whether it’s a Real Estate Agent or a Managing Agent, an agent has a fiduciary responsibility to represent your best interests.  This is good for you… as long as they don’t screw up. If they do anything bad in relation to your property,  you will be held responsible.  Examples include:

• The agent accepts a deposit for a week that’s not available
• The agent promised that the fireplace works, but it doesn’t
• The agent fails to inform you of an unsafe condition and someone gets hurt

Your agent is your legal representative.  Choose wisely. If you choose not to have an agent, you need to  learn how to screen prospects and qualify people. (I’ll share my ‘broker’s secrets’ with you in another blog entry.)  If you don’t use an agent, here’s a few things you should know…

Bad checks,  phony money orders, and stolen credit cards

Stolen credit cards being used to pay for vacation rentals: I haven’t heard of specific cases of this happening, but I’d bet it does.  The last I checked, MasterCard, Visa,  and American Express do not process “rent” payments.  They do process fees, commissions, and of course, hotel room stays.  If you are interested in accepting credit cards, there are various places to go on the web. PayPal is an easy way to receive payment online by credit card. (PayPal is owned by eBay.)  To enable a vacationer to pay you using a credit card, you need a PayPal account.  Read their terms and conditions carefully.  I’ve heard  merchants’ claims of being “cheated” by PayPal.  For example, what happens in the case that a vacationer uses a stolen credit card?

There is a bank money order scam that goes like this:  You receive an inquiry that includes a request for the “total deposit” due or the “total payment” due, or something like that– a  how-much-should-I-send-you question.  ”Hmmm…” you should be thinking.  ”Isn’t the price listed?”  The inquiry doesn’t mention anything specific to your property.  That’s because it was mass mailed to property owners.  Odd - they didn’t ask any questions about the rental.  Just ‘how much should I send you.’

What happens next is you get a money order for some amount more than the amount you requested.  An explanation is given as to why this was done. You deposit the money order, and the vacationer requests a refund of the excess, which you’re happy to do.  Then your bank notifies you they’ve debited your account for the amount of the money order.  The money order was fake.  But you don’t receive the notification from your bank until possibly 4 weeks have gone by.  Same as a bounced check.

This is why it’s important to make sure full payment is received and deposited at least a month before check-in.  And if you receive, or are told you will receive,  a payment in excess of the amount due,  someone is attempting to scam you.  You can bank on it.

Using Search Engines to Your Advantage

First Vacation Rental receives a lot of its traffic from Google.  In fact, about 70% of our new visitors come directly from Google searches.  These visitors are potential vacationers searching for a rental on the Cape, usually near a popular Wellfleet destination such as a beach or pond.

Our most popular searches include the following terms:

• Wellfleet vacation rentals
• Indian Neck Beach
• Bound Brook Island

How to Get These Vacationers to Your Listing

The easiest way to get these searching vacationers to your listing is to provide them with information they might be searching for.  If your rental is on a beach, provide information about that beach.  The First Vacation Rental listing service gives you a lengthy description field to write anything you want about your rental and the surrounding area.

Here are some guidelines on how to use the description field to effectively lure internet searchers:

1. Include a couple of sentences that describe the popular destinations that are close to your rental.  Beaches, town centers, and any activities for kids are great topics to write about.  Remember to include how far these destinations are from your rental with terms like ‘walking distance’ or ‘short drive’.  Vacationers may be searching for these terms in Google, Yahoo, or Bing as they look for a summer vacation rental. As an added benefit, the more information you provide to vacationers to pique their interest, the more likely they will be to inquire about your listing.
2. Write as much as you can about your property.  A few sentences describing the property’s location in Wellfleet and how beautiful Wellfleet and Cape Cod are in the summer months will go a long way in driving traffic.  Search engines love text, so the more you write about your property, the higher your listing will appear in their search results.
3. Like most Cape Cod property owners, you’ve probably vacationed on the Cape a few times.  And over the years, you may have learned helpful tips about the area surrounding your rental.  It’s a good idea be to pass that information along to any vacationers who are browsing your listing.  List your favorite restaurants and shops in town.  Provide any insights you have about parking at the popular beaches that vacationers need to drive to.  Remember, you’re an expert when it comes to the area around your property, and vacationers will find your advice very valuable.

But Don’t Overdo It

Providing information on the area immediately surrounding your rental is a great idea, but describing every destination on Cape Cod is just too much.  There’s no need to list all the beaches in your town– set a limit of 4 or 5 destinations to talk about.  Also, try to stick to destinations that you’re familiar with and can really give great advice about.

Let Us Help

First Vacation Rental has a lot of experience when it comes to writing content about Wellfleet and Cape Cod.  Feel free to bounce ideas off us, or have us review your listing page or help you write a description about your property.