Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association to launch new website.

Press Release: July 28th, 2010

The Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association(CFVRMA) has released information regarding the launch of a brand new website. The website is set to provide a new look and feel to an organization that has grown significantly since 2007. Vacation Rental Management Associations nationwide have grown in numbers over the past 5 years. They have assisted in bringing a wealth of knowledge and growth to the vacation rental industry. Innovation and new ideas start with networking amongst industry professionals and the VRMA's have proven to be a breeding ground for just that.

Vacation Rental Industry on the Rise?

What makes the vacation rental market unique? It's consumers! The average vacation rental travel shopper is monetarily stable, well educated, and they take an average of 3-4 leisure trips annually. The vacation rental market represents a 24 billion dollar value. That's 1/5 of hotel room revenue, but only ends up being 8% of the total U.S travel market. So what does the vacation rental industry need to capture more than 8%? Standardization.

Standardization in the sense of streamlining the booking process. The current industry needs to adapt to new technology and welcome what it brings to their business. Did you know a majority of vacation rental companies still process bookings the old fashioned way? Integrated availability in vacation rental websites is essential in order to make the search process more efficient for the travel shopper. Think about when you book a hotel. Everything is based on making it easy for the consumer to access information and aiding the booking process.

I am looking forward to meeting the next generation of technology innovators in the vacation rental industry. Share your thoughts with me.

Vacation Rental Software Review

What does a vacation rental company or lodging manager look for when hunting for the perfect vacation rental software that suits their needs? There are several different software providers out there today, offering an array of services from online booking to trust based accounting. When many offer a majority of the same features, how do you define a clear difference? Lets take a look at what vacation rental managers are facing today and see if we can come up with a solution.

The first and foremost feature that separates the competition in most vacation rental markets today is online booking. Understanding that this doesn't apply to everyone (i.e luxury rental markets where updated availability is not kept in real time, possibly due to homeowners), the majority of travel destinations world wide embrace this technology and the success it has brought them. Given that fact, the online booking capability can work in a couple different ways. First, your website offers a Book Online option that directs the guest to a booking page separate from your website. See an example on this website. Even though the online booking capability is present, research has shown this process to have a lower ratio of online booking conversions (almost 2 to1), than websites offering integrated booking systems. This brings us to our second capability, integrated online booking. Think about it like this, do you like pop ups? Well that sentiment is unanimous. Websites that have reservation screens that “pop up” or use iFrames are literally nullifying their online business. The search and booking process must be completely seamless in order to guarantee a smooth and efficient transition through the online booking stages. Help them make their own decision by providing a visually easy as 1,2,3 process when proceeding to book. That being said, you just successfully eliminated a vast majority of vacation rental software options. So what's next? Click here to continue reading Vacation Rental Software Review...