The Blog

FlipKey has officially outgrown its Cambridge office and is moving downtown to accommodate its growing staff. We are excited about the move and love our new location in the heart of downtown Boston.

We will be spending a good amount of time getting settled this week, so we are going to give the Blog the week off. We’ll be back first thing next week, so stayed tuned.

Carrie Hill of Blizzard Internet Marketing recently wrote a great post highlighting some Do’s and Don’ts for responding to negative reviews online. Among other great tips, she encourages managers to acknowledge the problem or issue presented in the review and publicly respond, thus allowing future customers to see your proactive approach. (Read Carrie’s post in full here)

Andy Beal wrote a post on Marketing Pilgrim back in November of 2007 which described “Five Ways Negative Reviews help your Online Reputation”.

From Andy’s post:

Here’s how you can benefit from negative reviews:

1. Your need to know. If your products or services are crap, then you need to know about it. It’s better to hear it from your customers–so you can fix it–than never know about it and wonder why your sales suck.
2. Build credibility. As Goodman points out, negative reviews add authenticity to your reputation. Consumers are smart–mostly–and they know that if you have 1000 customers, a few will be upset over something. Take a look at the hotel industry. Just about every hotel has a review that mentions dirty sheets, cockroaches, or rude staff. Yet we still stay in hotels. We just look for the ones that have the best overall reviews.
3. Fix the problem. Research suggests that a customer will tell ten people about a negative experience with a business. However, if you fix the problem to their satisfaction, they’ll tell twenty people how happy they are! Look for negative reviews and fix the problem!
4. Show you care. Potential customers look at how you handled the situation. If you do find yourself with a negative review or critique, rectifying the situation publicly will demonstrate to potential customers that you care about your reputation–and your customers.
5. Learn from competitors’ mistakes. Don’t just read your negative reviews, read those of your competitors. If you learn where your rivals keep slipping-up, you can fine-tune your offering to make sure you don’t make the same mistake. Better still, how about reaching out to an unhappy customer of one of your competitors and fixing their problem–you could win a new customer for life!

For vacation rental mangers, collecting verified guest reviews is an excellent first step, but more may be needed to solidify your company’s online reputation. The guest reviews you collect must be managed. Whether it be thanking a consumer for a great review or addressing a consumer who had a bad experience, the review and your response together will create an image of your company and the homes you represent to future consumers. Negative reviews should be seen as an opportunity rather than a nuisance. Companies that embrace this philosophy will instill confidence in potential guests. This confidence will lead to increased conversion rates, higher occupancy and the ability to charge higher nightly rates.

Managing your online reputation means more than collecting and displaying verified guest reviews of your vacation rental properties. An additional component is the ability to engage in direct dialogue with your past guests by using FlipKey’s ‘Manager Response’ feature.

By responding to guest reviews, managers are taking the next step and engaging in a public dialogue with their consumers, a powerful tactic and integral part of maintaining a company’s consumer brand. In an industry hungry for more consumer confidence, vacation rental managers can benefit substantially from this.

Below are several examples from managers that are using the ‘Manager Response’ tool on FlipKey to effectively engage their current consumers and present themselves to prospective guests.

Clarifications and Additional Property Details
Using the Response feature, property managers clarify information in their guest reviews and provide additional details about the property. Franconia Notch Vacations uses the Manager Response to clarify the maximum occupancy of the home and the repercussions of breaking these rental rules.


A response from Franconia Notch Vacations in Franconia, NH clarifies information in this guest review.

Addressing Specific Guest Experiences
Here Escape 2 Florida Homes responds to a guest review and provides specific information about the pool and the hot tub in this vacation home. By displaying this public dialogue, future consumers learn how diligent this property manager is about customer service and the satisfaction of their guests.

Escape 2 Florida Homes in the Orlando, FL area uses the Manager Response to address specific guest information and highlight their hospitality services.

Thanking Your Guests on a Public Forum
Vacation property managers also use the Manager Response tool simply to publicly thank their guests. With this personal response, Surfside Realty demonstrates the hands-on nature of vacation rentals and includes the direct email of their guest services coordinator. Responding and creating a guest-manager dialogue on a third-party site adds to the trusted nature of the verified guest review.

Surfside Realty, Myrtle Beach, SC thanking a guest for their review.

Managing your reputation online does more than increase consumer confidence – it also helps you manage consumer expectations. With the help of guest reviews and direct dialogue with the Manager Response, vacation rental managers can add more to their property listings and services information. More information provides potential guests with a better sense of each home, making it easier to match a guest’s expectations with the right property and create a better vacation experience.

FlipKey’s mission is simple – help increase the presence of vacation rentals as a mainstream lodging option. At FlipKey we have managed our own vacation rentals and we have stayed, as guests, in other’s vacation homes. Our intimacy with the product is acute and we are confident that, in most circumstances, the vacation rental experience is superior to alternative lodging options.

The problem is that vacationers demand ‘predictability’. When consumers plan a trip with a hotel stay there is no pre-booking anxiety. Consumers are confident that there is staff on site for check-in, a standard TV with basic cable in the room, clean towels and a phone that with a press of the “0” button connects them with the front desk if there are any problems. Inherently, the vacation rental experience is not afforded the same consistency and predictability.

Prospective guests want to know:
- Is the home as nice as the advertisement claims?
- How do I get my keys?
- What happens if something goes wrong?
- Is there a deposit? How much is it? How do I get it back?
- Who manages the home?

Vacation rentals are a unique product with a unique consumer process. The industry’s uniqueness is it’s strength and advantage. The missing piece of the equation is the voices of past vacation rental guests singing the praises of not only the vacation rental experience, but of the specific company and home they stayed in. If consumers want predictability, then lets provide them with the most powerful resource we can offer – “honest words and reviews from our past guests”.

Third party guest reviews (via TripAdvisor) have been cited to increase hotel conversion rates by 100% (click here for more info). If a hotel can yield higher occupancy from reviews of its simple and predictable product, imagine what trusted reviews can do for vacation rentals!

FlipKey has begun to offer the vacation rental industry the power of transparency and the increased consumer confidence that comes with it. By offering the first advanced guest review platform specific to the industry, FlipKey is helping vacation rental managers collect robust guest reviews from verified guests and helping future travelers discover the vacation rental experience.

FlipKey is a relatively new service, but in the 30 days since opening our doors, a number of the industry’s leading management companies have begun using our free guest review and management tools. See some examples below:

Wondering where a great vacation rental is available in the Disney, Orlando area? Read the reviews collected by these Orlando/Kissimmee based vacation rental management companies:
All-Star Vacation Homes (Orlando, FL)
Escape 2 Florida Homes (Orlando, FL)
Imagine Vacation Homes (Orlando, FL)

Planning to get a few families together for some golf and seaside fun in Myrtle Beach, SC? See what guests (including me) had to say about specific homes managed by Surfside Realty:
Surfside Realty (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Ski season may be over, but homes are already being reserved for the fall foliage in Franconia, NH. Read some of the reviews from the vacationers who have stayed in the large family homes managed by Franconia Vacation Rentals:
Franconia Vacation Rentals (Franconia, NH)

Looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Boston and enjoy some rest and relaxation by the beach? Cape Cod is your spot for beaches, golf, shopping, whale watching, deep sea fishing and more. Take a look at what past guests had to say about Cape Cod vacation homes:
Cape Cod Rentals (East Orleans, MA)

Ever been to Northern Michigan? Holiday Vacation Rentals in Harbor Springs manages wonderful places to stay while visiting one of the most beautiful resort towns in America. Miles of Lake Michigan beaches have been called the “Riviera of the Midwest”. Check their homes with guest reviews here:
Holiday Vacation Rentals (Harbor Springs, MI)

Carolina Mornings not only boasts reviews from pasts guests, the owners of the properties have been involved as well. What better way to understand exactly what a property offers than hearing directly from the owner?
Carolina Mornings (Asheville, NC)

This is only the beginning of how powerful verified guest reviews will be for the vacation rental industry. By offering tools for collecting, managing and distributing guest reviews online, FlipKey is here to help educate consumers on the incredible experience of a vacation home rental. If you are a property manager looking to get started leveraging guest reviews with Flipkey, apply for the FlipKey verified program here.

I was able to get down to Atlanta this weekend to attend the first ever Vacation Home Expo dedicated solely to promoting vacation rentals as a mainstream lodging option to vacationers.

Friday
A number of industry round tables and topical presentations were available on Friday for attending suppliers and local travel agents. I was actually a featured presenter and estimated about 75% of the session attendants were travel agents, which was an interesting new dynamic we haven’t observed at standard VRMA events. (This becomes an important point later in the story.)

Saturday
Saturday was the first day of the consumer focused show. I thought vacation rental managers and destination organizations did a wonderful job putting together professional and engaging booths. Many companies were offering free weekend giveaways and various knickknacks to engage browsing consumers. Overall – a solid and inviting layout.

In terms of consumer foot traffic I would estimate 2K consumers attended the first day of the show. Overall, consumer traffic was a little low; however this was offset by solid travel agent attendance (read on for more details).

Sunday
Consumer attendance was stronger on Sunday, and many property managers reiterated their positive feelings for the show. Specifically, the breadth of travel agents in attendance who made an invested effort to better understand the advantages of the vacation rental product was a big win for all participants.

Ultimately the vision of the Vacation Home Expo is to promote the entire vacation rental category. As such, influencing 100 travel agents is the equivalent of speaking with 50,000 consumers. Travel agents play a critical role in the travel discovery process and equipping them with the vacation home rental story lifts the tide for everyone’s boat.

We are looking forward to the next show in Chicago. If you are interested in more info visit http://www.vacationhomeexpo.com/.

Here are some photos I took at the show.

It wouldn’t be a show with out Disney.

The Show Floor was separated into geographies.

These guys got extra credit on their booth.

Steve of All Star Vacation Homes and Randy of Imagine Vacation Homes talk shop.

Don’t get me wrong, work is work, but I will admit that working in the vacation rental industry has its perks:

• The opportunity to visit various vacation destinations.
• Meeting property managers and their staff.
• Staying in the homes these companies proudly represent and professionally manage.

FlipKey’s most recent visit to Royal Palm managed by Surfside Realty was all of this and more, check out the full story and pictures of our stay here.

Despite the wonderful accommodations, there was one small hiccup I had when getting settled in the house. Specifically, I realized the shirt I was planning to wear to the conference I was attending was, lets just say… not as clean as I remember it being.

“No Problem”, I think to myself, I will throw it in the in-unit washer and dryer and be ready to go in two hours. At that moment I realized I wasn’t washing anything, doing any dishes or shampooing my hair without a quick trip to the local store to pick up some supplies that I overlooked when packing for my trip.

Following my stay, I left a note in the “My personal tips” section of my review on FlipKey to remind future guests to bring things like dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent and small kitchen and bath amenities. See below:

With this experience still fresh in my mind, I came across an interesting concept offered by Outer Beaches Realty, on Hatteras Island in NC. All homes managed by Outer Beaches Realty are provided with starter supplies of all of the things mentioned above in my personal tip and more!

Check out a screen shot from their website below:

I wouldn’t expect a rental management company to provide all their guests with full supplies of these items, but a starter supply… BRILLIANT! These small conveniences, which are often overlooked, further emphasize the advantages of vacation rentals and promote vacation rentals as predictable mainstream lodging options. FlipKey applauds Outer Beaches Realty for pushing the envelope!

At the Eastern VRMA Conference in Myrtle Beach last week, FlipKey was lucky enough to be hosted by Surfside Realty. Surfside Realty is located in Myrtle Beach, SC and manages over 400 vacation rentals.

Representing some of the best properties in the region and maintaining a robust staff to ensure top-tier customer service, Surfside has begun using FlipKey to leverage the wonderful experiences and words of their past guests. With these guest reviews, Surfside Realty will attract new guests, instill a sense of confidence and excitement in the pre-booking process and ultimately set itself apart from neighboring hotels and other lodging competition.

Our experience with Surfside Realty and our vacation rental home was second to none. The check-in process was seamless and when we walked into the home (the “Royal Palm”) we couldn’t believe it. We found ourselves in one of the nicest ocean front homes we have ever had the privilege of experiencing.

Of course, we were too excited to keep our words to ourselves so we gladly responded to the “Invitation to leave a review” that was sent through the FlipKey Reputation Manager.

To see all reviews of Surfside Realty click here.

Below is a sample of my review and a few pictures we took at the Royal Palm.

My Review of the Royal Palm – Surfside Realty (Myrtle Beach)

View from the back deck leading out to the ocean at Surfside Beach.

The master bedroom with incredible views of the ocean.

Bryan giving thanks with a view of the Royal Palm from the beach.

Thanks again to Kim Raines and Surfside Realty for providing us with a wonderful stay. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the home and in Myrtle Beach and can’t wait to come back!

Last week, FlipKey attended the Eastern VRMA Conference hosted in Myrtle Beach, SC. This was an excellent conference with great attendance among vacation rental managers and a full showcase of suppliers. There was a national presence of property managers, not strictly limited to the eastern states. Thanks to the VRMA Board and staff for organizing another successful event.

Thanks also to the many property managers who spent time with us at our booth. Many photo opportunities slipped past our cameras but we’ve included a few photos from the event below. We look forward to seeing you all again soon and continuing to work with you.

TJ and Bryan fully prepared at the FlipKey booth.

Bryan listens to some insights from an interested manager.

Here’s Bryan sitting with Paul Cale from Hilton Head Vacation Rentals reviewing his account and demonstrating the Reputation Tools at FlipKey.com.

TJ providing a demonstration of our service on the FlipKey big screen.

Bryan chats with several managers on the showroom floor.

Here’s Bob Hawkins from the Vacation Company in Hilton Head Island, SC chatting with the FlipKey team.

Of course, the conference wouldn’t be complete with a social hour. Trading our favorite New Hampshire jokes with Cort Roussel from Franconia Notch Vacations. And yes, they are that funny.

For those of you attending the VRMA Eastern Seminar in Myrtle Beach this week, don’t forget to stop by our booth and say hello!

Over the last few months, the FlipKey Blog has brought you a number of great interviews from vacation rental industry insiders. Blizzard Internet Marketing’s Carrie Hill recently decided it was time to turn the tables on us and conducted her own interview of TJ Mahony. In the interview TJ discusses topics such as our recent launch, how FlipKey is making a difference in the industry, and where he’s thinking about going for his next vacation.

Sample Excerpt:
CH: How is the order of listing determined? I see you can sort by price, name and bedrooms – any chance of sorting by best reviews?

TJ@Flipkey:
Order is determined by a ‘Reputation Score’. The Reputation Score is a combination of several factors, but the number of reviews associated with a property is the largest contributor.

For instance, we will rank a property with 5 reviews with an average score of 4 stars ahead of a property with only 2 reviews and an average score of 5 stars.

There are many factors involved in ‘Reputation’ and we have worked hard to develop a system that helps consumers find trusted vacation homes with reliable services. We’ll keep the full recipe to ourselves, but generally the Reputation Score reflects guests’ reviews of the home, a manager’s experience and the reliability of their services.

You can read the full interview at:
http://newsletter.blizzardinternet.com/interview-with-tj-mahoney-flipkeycom/2008/04/01/