Vacation Rentals - Part III - Home Grown Marketing

You've taken the plunge by purchasing this new property; now let's get it rented!

The internet is by far the most effective and cheapest form of global advertising. You'll find a myriad of web sites, such as DirectHomeRentals.com or a1vacations.com, which are available to market your rental world-wide. These sites usually provide a web page, detailed property descriptions, an online availability calendar, automatic updates, geographic indexing for easy viewer searches, and the ability to easily add photos and information.

These sites can be obtained for as low as $150/year, or free on NationalRentalProperties.com. When you're shopping around, ask if they provide any sort of reporting to let you know how many people are visiting your site and whether the links are being clicked on.

Rental sites provide tips, advice and often a forum where you can chat with other owners. They are extremely user friendly, which means it is easy for potential renters to locate the condo of their dreams and book it with the push of a button. Payment arrangements and deposits can also be accepted easily and securely through PayPal.

Photos are the next best thing to being there, so make the effort to obtain good quality, enticing shots for your web ad. Don't stop with the images; it's important to take extra care when composing the descriptions of the property in your ads. Karpinski has advised against using over used descriptive terms, such as beautiful, nice, spectacular and magnificent. She has suggested choosing from the following examples: clean, peaceful, romantic, spacious, classic, cozy, private, inviting, rustic, warm, secure/security, and well-appointed.

Word of mouth is an old standby; ensure everyone you know, has heard about your luxurious condo in Maui. Do be watchful for bargain hunters; your friends may be expecting freebies, and you need to let them know this is a business.

Newspaper and magazine ads can be effective, however their audience is much more limited than a web site and the cost is considerably higher.

Repeat visitors make your marketing job easy. Send thank you notes to your guests along with their final receipt, and offer them a bonus night if they re-book within a certain time limit.

These are forms of marketing your vacation property that are easy to implement. Don't get discouraged, give your business at least one full year to really get the word out; and soon you'll be amazed, the rental will be selling itself!