Vacation Rental Secrets & Sources CD: More Details

Here's what's covered in the eight articles on our Vacation Rental Secrets & Sources CD:

Fine-Tuning Your Advertising Program

• Why the best strategy for advertising your VR property is to sign up with as few sites as possible.
• How to do an annual review of your VR advertising program to determine what’s working and what’s not.
• Bookings vs. Inquiries? Which one should you be tracking and why?
• How to get extra months and other freebies if you’re not satisfied with a particular site’s performance.  
• Where to advertise your VR property. The “Big Four” sites we identified and recommended in the first and second editions of our Book/CD package are now owned by HomeAway. So we’ve taken a fresh look at the VR advertising field and come up with a new list of “Must-Have” sites. We’ve also revised and expanded our recommendations for the best regional and special-interest sites.  
• Adding a new site to your VR advertising program often means having one more calendar to update every time you take a booking. Unless the site supports the HomeAwayConnect (formerly Rentors.org) “Universal Availability Calendar.” But which sites support the HomeAwayConnect calendar? There’s no master list available anywhere—even at the HomeAwayConnect site! So we’ve created one and presented it in this article.

Taking Great Photos (or Hiring a Pro to Do It for You)

• Expert tips on taking great photos, from a professional photographer who specializes in doing interior and exterior shots of vacation rentals.
• How to avoid the amateur “snapshot” look in your photos.
• Creative ideas for “dressing the set” (Some might call it "staging.") to make your photos more appealing.
• What to look for in a professional photographer if you decide to hire one.
• How to find a professional photographer (or a talented amateur) in your area with the right set of skills for taking the shots you need.
• How to work with your photographer, once you find the right one.
• A terrific source of “inspiration shots” to get your creative juices flowing!

Creating and Using an Online Photo Album

• Why creating an online photo album for your VR property is a good idea.
• The best free and low-cost photo-sharing Web sites.
• Step-by-step procedure for creating an online photo album that will help you understand the process, regardless of the specific site you decide to use.  
• How to include a link to your online photo album in your listings on HomeAway, VRBO, and other leading sites.  
• How to present your online photo album as a clickable link in e-mail messages and sig (signature) files.

Showing More Photos for Less with Photo Collages

• How to show more images of your VR property on sites that limit the number of photos you can include in your listing.
• How to save money on VR advertising sites that charge extra for adding photos to your listing.
• Why paying extra for more photos on VRBO is no longer a surefire way to move higher on the search results page.

Creating a Web Site for Your Vacation Rental Property

• Our Position: You may not need to create a Web site for your property. It’s definitely not the way to begin your advertising program, as we explain in this article. Create effective listings on several leading VR sites first, and then reassess the situation.    
• What are your options if you decide the time is right for creating a Web site for your VR property? What will you need and what’s the best way to go about it? What’s it likely to cost?
• Why hiring a professional Web designer (vs. doing it yourself) is the way to go.
• Examples of truly superb vacation-rental Web sites that you can use as a source of ideas and inspiration.
• Our “short list” of recommended Web designers with experience creating sites for VR owners.
• Tips and techniques for creating an effective VR Web site—one that elicits the “Wow!” reaction from prospective renters.
• Where to go for free critiques of your VR Web site, by experienced vacation-rental owners.
• How to get some of the key benefits of having your own Web site without actually creating one (a low-cost technique that you can set up in minutes).

Going Keyless (or Using a Lock Box) at Your Property

• Why keyless locks and lock boxes are preferable to mailing keys to your renters.
• How to buy keyless locks and lock boxes. Features to look for. Where to buy.
• Recommendations on specific makes and models that get high marks from VR owners.
• Two excellent Web sites that offer guidance on what to buy for your specific situation.
• The benefits of using a lock box as a backup to your keyless-entry system.

Cutting Energy Costs with a Tamper-Proof Thermostat

• How to prevent your guests from cutting a hole in your pocket by running the A/C at 65 degrees (or the furnace at 80 degrees). We discovered a great solution that’s very affordable, but unless you know what to look for, you’ll have a hard time finding it.
• We’ll tell you exactly what to buy, and how to install and use it in your VR property.

Avoiding and Coping with Rental Bans and Restrictions

• How rental bans and restrictions get started and specific steps you can take to avoid them.
• How to harness the power of the Net to stay informed about what’s going on in the community where your VR is located.
• The best sources of news and information on Home Owner Associations (HOAs).
• Why collecting and paying sales and occupancy taxes is a good idea (and where to go for more information on what’s required in your area).
• What to do if your town or HOA announces plans to restrict or ban short-term rentals.
• Rental Ban Success Story: How one savvy property owner took action and fought a proposed rental ban.

As with all our publications, you can count on the FullyBookedRentals 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied. If you like How to Make Your Vacation Property Work for You!, you'll love the Vacation Rental Secrets & Sources series.

But even those who have not yet been exposed to our "foundation" book/CD seminar-in-a-box will find something they can use to make more money in the VRS&S series. The cost is $49.95 for the CD, $5.95 for individual articles.