Disaster Averted!

July 3rd, 2009

LiveRez escaped a major technological mishap due to prevention.

A fire at Seattle high rise Fisher Plaza late Thursday night disrupted Internet service for several companies - including one that handles online credit card transactions for hundreds of thousands of businesses. LiveRez.com was one of those businesses.

LiveRez, a complete online vacation rental property management solution, is focused on increasing bookings and making property managers fully operational to maximize online bookings.

Due to forward thinking business owner Mr. Tracy Lotz, business at LiveRez.com has continued without a hiccup.

A manual switch was programmed during the creation of LiveRez.com, which gives the Property Owner the option of handling credit card processing in house. Early this morning, when news broke of the fire, the LiveRez.com support staff went to work contacting each of their property managers via telephone, e-mail and Twitter– walking them through the simple step of clicking the manual credit card option, and its business as usual.

“We averted a major disaster,” says Tracy Lotz, Founder and CEO of LiveRez.com. “4th of July weekend is the biggest travel weekend of the summer, and in these economic times, property managers cannot afford a problem on what could be the biggest money maker of the year.”

Lotz averted another disaster on the accounting end.

Other online vacation rental software companies require clients to switch from proven accounting platforms like QuickBooks to their own accounting platforms, which reside online.

Thus, property managers must incorporate their mission critical accounting into online rental software, leaving it vulnerable to events similar to last night’s fire.

Lotz has always held that this was not a great idea because companies like QuickBooks and Peachtree have already perfected this aspect of the business. The LiveRez QuickBooks Integration is one of the many reasons Property Managers choose LiveRez.com.

Microsoft’s new Bing Travel service was also knocked offline by the blaze. The company said it expected things to be working again by about 5 p.m. Friday.

The small electrical fire started in the basement of Fisher Plaza at an electrical vault- the section of the building where city power lines meet the building’s transformers, said Seattle City Light spokesman Scott Thomsen. Thomsen said it appears equipment failure on the part of the customer caused the fire.

Email Marketing 101

July 2nd, 2009

email

Day after day I get the pleasure of receiving email marketing letters from Vacation Rental Property Managers around the country. I love it because I get so see the different destinations and where some vacation rental markets are. I love to take a look to see who is sending good email vs. not so good and how much they send. I look at email marketing as a great resource to contact potential guests, brand yourself and give others awareness of your existence.

I may not be an expert by any means for email marketing, but I have picked up a few tips and tricks along the way that may be useful to others.

THE SUBJECT LINE:

In the subject like, make sure that you give people a reason to open your email. Use call to action phrases if needed. For Instance…”20% Specials on Vacation Rentals for the Next 3 Hours”.  Instead of something like “California Vacation Rentals”.

THE MESSAGE:

Once you have figured out what you want to say make it visible and readable. Focus their Eyes. Use Structure that is simple and readable. Make sure you have a realistic call to action that is in plain sight and easy to see.  It’s important to use pictures and different color fonts and font faces but try not to completely make a rainbow out of your email. The end goal of your message should be to have the reciever to do something: Call you, Email you, book a home, visit your website or even something else.

YOUR TIMING:

The first step to timing your email right is Identifing your market. For instance: if you rent homes in the Hamptons to New York business people, then you should send your email at a time when they would read it and see it. Also make sure you send it at a time when it wont Pile up with all the other email that is being sent. For Business contact usually the general rule is Tuesday - Thursday and 9AM-1PM.

Either Way, Email marketing works. I get the message and I open them. Most email marketing programs have stats where you can view the open rate and the click rate on any links you put in the site.  With LiveRez Vacation Rental Software we give our partners the ability to export the emails for their leads and customers so they and then import them into their email marketing program.

We also have held and now pubished a webinar on email marketing, check it out: http://www.liverez.com/vacation-rental-software-downloads.asp

Thanks,

Tyler

http://www.LiveRez.com

My Website has a Long Tail…

June 26th, 2009

My Website has a Long Tail…

In the vacation rental management world getting people to your website is crucial. It become a very daunting task if you are new or in a very competitive market. So how can a property manger capitalize in SEO in a competitive market? Long Tail.

seoSearch Engines use many different factors to determine your page rank. One major part of your page rank is the keyword that you use. For example: if you are a property manager in Island Falls, Maine…(not likely) but you would think that people would be searching the Keywords “Island Falls Vacation Rentals” so then you would want to optimize your sight to those keywords.

Another Examples.. If you have homes near Disney World, people may be searching Vacation Rentals by Disney World. So you can optimize your site to those “Keywords”

Now, Lets imagine that there are 500 Vacation Property Managers in Orlando optimizing their websites for Orlando Vacation Homes. Now, the S.E.O. becomes very competitive also. So, then you can narrow down your home type or locations to cut down on your competition. For instance you, instead of ORLANDO VACATION HOMES, a very broad term, you could use ORLANDO Luxury Vacation Homes…see what i did there? that is the LONG TAIL.  To get an even longer tail “keyword” try “Orlando Vista Cay Luxury Vacation Homes” and then optimize your site to that… Not as many people search that, but not as many people will optimize their sites for those “Keywords”.

How Can I Optimize My Site?

Good question, The best place to start is your Meta Tags. Use spread your keywords throughout your Meta Title, Description and Keyword Tags. Next, I would distribute these Keywords and their different variations around the content or text or your site and especially on your front page.Then I would try to use these same keywords and variations on your Image Alt Tags.

Many LiveRez Vacation Rental Software partners can easily log in and make these changes themselves. You can also contact your web administrator to help you make these changes. If you are interested in partnering with LiveRez Vacation Rental Software we would be happy to share more instruction with you. Contact us @ 1-800-343-2891

Thanks,

Tyler

Why I dont use a Phone Book…The Internet

June 23rd, 2009

We all know that the world is going the way of the Internet. I constantly find myself talking about how the internet is the future of businesses. Think about where we have from since the inception of the Internet.

NFL.com in 1996

NFL.com in 1996

What the Internet use to be..

 

Since my realization of the internet in about 1995 -1996 when i was in 5th Grade. We sure have come a long ways.  I think of the internet back then as the ”Information Highway” and thats about it. You can find anything online. People would have websites to just be out there and to post their data about their cause, products, or organization.  Back when you were the cool kid to have a 56k Connection instead of a 14.4k like mine, having a website was great, but it didn’t inhibit business at all. Here is an image of NFL.com in 1996..Pretty Good for the year.

 

 

NFL.com in the present day!

NFL.com in the present day!

What the Internet is Now..

 

As much as we still use the internet for information. We use it for much more. Now we are purchasing things online, we are submitting and sharing data across the globe, there are business who purely do business online without a “Brick and Morter” storefront.  You can watch live TV, you can view past videos and Even make online bookings for your favorite vacation rentals, airlines. Order dinner, buy groceries, shop for cars, and so much more. Now days it’s not enough to just allow your customers to view your information online.

The Internet is now a massive shopping portal that everyone who has a business should utilize, including Vacation Rental Managers. Now, you have a store and an Internet store. Imagine that someone goes into your Internet store and shops. Then they want to buy but they can’t find a cash register…That is what happens when they can’t book online.  Now, it’s a Service and a time saver for you and your Customers to allow online bookings for at least some if not all your properties.

 

Maui Gold Condos

Maui Gold Condos

Why LiveRez.com

LiveRezhas been a huge value in many ways. We offer a very robust yet user friendly reservation system. We allow our partners to integrate with Quickbooks, but another huge value is the LiveRez websites that we build.  We make it quick and easy for someone to make a booking.  Also many will find that the LiveRez websites are very SEO friendly. The question some need to ask is? how easy is it make an online booking. Can they are start checking out within 3 Clicks? Is it simple and plain so that Anyone can book?
Looking at Maui Gold Condos you can see a great example of a great website that makes it simple and easy to make an online booking in a very professional environment.
You can learn about more about Vacation Rental Software at our website: www.LiveRez.com
Thanks
Tyler

VRMA WEST: Done up to the Nines.

May 12th, 2009

The Nines Hotel in Portland Oregon

We recently attended the VRMA West trade show in Portland, Oregon held at the Nines Hotel. It was hotel and show fit for a king or queen. Let me start by giving a huge thanks to the VRMA, for once again a job well done, The Nines Hotel also deserves props for a beautiful location and service. Not to mention giving credit to mother nature for the great weather we were given during our time in Portland.

It was great to meet and learn from everyone in the industry.  The seminars and trainings were amazing.  It also was nice to listen and to learn from the property managers about the needs and issue facing their businesses today.

We Are All in this Together

One thing that was really impressed upon me was the view and goals of the Industry as a whole. Although we may all be in different markets or from different companies, I felt that we still need to all work together to continue to Promote Vacation Homes as an alternative to Hotels. When this was discussed throughout the show I felt great comradely in moving forward the cause of Vacation Rental Homes. We truley we need to all do our part to continue to support and grow the industry.

 

Thanks,

Tyler www.LiveRez.com

Repeat Guests - Keep them Coming Back

April 6th, 2009

At last week’s VRMA East event, there was a wonderful discussion on Repeat Guests.  In a recent industry study, it was determined that it costs 6x to acquire a new guest vs. booking a repeat guest. 

That is some serious money.  I can add from experience, that the multiplier is much higher in the general eCommerce industry…….more like 10-15x.

Holding on to your guests and keeping them coming back is not rocket-science according to the recent discussion at the VRMA conference.  It is about making it a priority, and starting the sales process for the next visit, the moment they book with you for the first visit. 

The guest experience was broken into several stages, with ideas on each stage.

  • Pre-Arrival - find out why they are coming, who they are bringing
  • Arrival - ‘welcome home’, let them know how happy you are to see them
  • Stay - treat them like family
  • Check-out - provide special offers
  • Post-Stay - stay in touch with emails, newsletters, offers

In my April Webinar, I will cover each of these areas in detail.  Please join us for this event on Thursday, April 23.  See details and chance to sign-up below.

Webinar:  Repeat Guests - 9 Ways to Make the Most of Guest Relationships

 

LiveRez.com

 

Title:

 

     

Date:

 

 

 

     

Time:

 

 

Eastern VRMA Update #1

March 31st, 2009
Vacation Rental Managers Association

Vacation Rental Managers Association

First I want to say to everyone, flying is pretty good. As much as everyone complains (which by the way is not a good way to promote vacations), I had 3 flight to make it from Boise to Charlotte and all flights were on time. The only hiccup was the Delta employee who suggested that I should pay $175 for my over-sized suitcases. Really? I don’t think so. He caved like bad souffle.

The show. It was an active evening reception in the vendor showcase. More traffic than expected and more positive conversations than folk complaining about the economy. I have found a positive effect of the economy on many vacation managers. It has forced the issue of improving their operations and their marketing/selling.

We will come out of this recession stronger and in a better position to fight for market-share from the hotels. The activities I see vacation managers making to enhance their websites, their online marketing, the analysis of their prospects & guests, and the improvements in their operations are all very positive.

Overall the mood is very positive and anticipating a great recovery for our industry.

More to come tomorrow after some of the sessions.

LiveRez

VRMA (Vacation Rental Managers Assoc.) & Discover Vacation Homes to Promote Vacation Homes

March 20th, 2009

I am excited.  Very excited.  VRMA, the Vacation Rental Manager’s Association, is reinventing itself and bringing together our industry like never before.  VRMA has launched a new website at www.vrma.com - check it out.  It is a great source of info about the industry.

VRMA has also launched Discover Vacation Homes as a national public awareness initiative for our industry and to make vacation homes a primary vacation option for travelers. 

Be a part of it!  Vacation Managers have the opportunity to become a part of VRMA - check it our at www.vrma.com.  In addition, Discover Vacation Homes offers vacation managers a position at the leading edge of marketing and positioning the vacation home rental industry.  Don’t sit on the sideline, be a part of the goings on. Check it out:


WATCH Video For More Details
Create more business for YOUR company, YOUR owners, and YOUR destination.  Don’t miss out on the many benefits of this national campaign!

 

 

      Join the Cause!


LiveRez.com

Online vacation rental marketing tips for a recession

March 10th, 2009

In the current economic climate, the temptation is to cut back on marketing and promotion. While this may seem like a sensible course of action, it has the potential to harm your business in the long term.  If possible, now is the time to put space between you and your competition.  Travelers are still out there.  They are just looking for different ‘values’ in a vacation and have changed their decision process for booking that next trip.  Invest in adapting your business and marketing efforts to these new Values and Vacation Planning Process.

Following are several specific online marketing activities to focus on.  None of these have to cost much money, they just have to be executed diligently and with very specific goals in mind.  I will cover each of these items in more detail in future posts.  For now, use this as a checklist for your online marketing activities:

  • Focus on Campaigns/Specials Be specific with your marketing activities, making them value based and targeting specific events or seasons.
  • Flexibility in your Rates, Offline&  Online Do not limit your travelers in the # of days they can book for and adapt pricing to different demand levels.
  • Invest in your Website  Create and update content to be engaging and useful.
  • Optimise your Web Site  Search engine optimization, page layouts, and click-paths are all areas toi look into.
  • eMail Marketing  Use email campaigns to promote special offers and collect new email addresses at all possible opportunity.
  • Protect your Brand Online  Make sure your brand is visible online and becomes something travelers trust in and can recommend to friends.
  • Monitor Online User Reviews Continually monitor reviews posted on popular travel sites
  • Use a good Analytics package Do not fly blind, make sure you know your traffic, clicks, and conversions information.
  • Respond to Market Conditions Look what is happening in the world, country, economy and respond to these changes.

In summary, challenging times lay ahead for the vacation home rental industry, but if your website and online presence are in order, the internet sales channel can be an area of revenue growth for your business in 2009-10.


LiveRez

Now THAT is TARGETED Marketing - Travelocity pops my trip up on a Music Site

March 6th, 2009

Earlier this week I was researching some travel information on Travelocity for my trip to Charlotte, NC for the Eastern VRMA show at the end of this month.  I got some flight and hotel information for my budgeting plans.  I will make the actual reservation a bit closer to the travel date.

The next moring, while I was spinning on my trainer in my garage and listening to music on songza……SURPRISE!!!……up pops a Travelocity ad about going from Boise to Charlotte. 

Personalized Travel Ad Based on a Previous Search

Personalized Travel Ad Based on a Previous Search

Trip is Based on a Search I did a Day EarlierThis is truly amazing marketing. 

Targeted marketing from Travelocity on a completely different website, on a different day, and at a different time.

Trip is Based on a Search I did a Day Earlier

This is amazing stuff and is setting the expectations of travelers as to how they will interact with their vacation provider.

Kudos to Travelocity.
LiveRez.com