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.

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.

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/

We are excited to announce that FlipKey will be a featured speaker at this year’s Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association (FVRMA) Annual Conference & Tradeshow.

:: Session Title and Summary

Social Media & Internet Based Reputation - Changing the Face of Vacation Rental Marketing

Reputation is the opinion and public perception of an individual, a group or an organization. In the vacation rental market reputation is created by the opinion of prior guests’ experiences with your rental properties and underlying hospitality services. Great reputation yields highly qualified guests through recommendations from family and friends. Poor reputation or, more appropriately, a lack of reputation forces the industry to re-market itself with every new guest. Your reputation and the word-of-mouth buzz it generates is your most powerful marketing asset.

At the FVRMA conference, TJ Mahony, CEO of FlipKey.com, will review the impact of social travel sites and will highlight new services and strategies that are available to vacation rental managers to help attract more guests and command higher nightly rates.

Please Join Us:

If you haven’t registered it’s not too late.

Click here to visit FVRMA’s online registration!

There are a number of interesting speakers and events at this year’s event. We hope to see you there.

2008 Highlighted Speakers / Sessions:

Trent Blizzard, Founder/CEO, Blizzard Internet Marketing
“Internet Marketing Training”

Dale Brill, Director, Office of Tourism, State of Florida
“State of the State address”

Regina Ebert, Ascent Processing
“Credit Card Pitfalls”

Lee Hughes, CSA Travel Protection, and Barbara Worzella, AIG
“Travel Protection for All”

Rita Craig, The Craig Group
“Solutions to Ensure Future Success”

TJ Mahoney, FlipKey
“Social Media and Internet-Based Reputation”

Nancy Friedman, Telephone Doctor
“How to Be an Island of Excellence in an Ocean of Mediocrity”

Lisa Hogan, Resort Rating Specialists
“The Bar Has Been Raised: Tips on Evaluating Vacation Rentals”

Round Table Sessions:
“ROI/Increase Income; Internet Marketing; Housekeeping/Laundry Services/Maintenance - Focus on Efficiency & Quality; Guest Services/Niche Marketing - Increase Your Repeat & Referral Business”

AND MORE!

David Kaufman published an interesting article in the New York Times today about the soaring cost of hotel rooms due to an overall shortage of rooms. The article highlights that:

• NYC’s hotel room rates rose 15.4% last year with average room rates at a blistering $320.87/night
• In 2008, hotel rates are expected to rise by 5 - 8% in the U.S. and 12 - 14% in Europe
• Room rate increases upwards of 35% year-over-year have been observed from India to London to Dubai

[Correction: David's original article was published on January 20, 2008 in the New York Times]

* Click here to read David’s Full article republished today on Boston.com

The Times article highlights an opportunity for the vacation rental industry to promote its product as a strong alternative for guests that typically would have chosen to stay in a hotel room, but are being deterred by rising room rates. The combination of higher hotel rates with a faltering economy will likely deter travelers from traditional accommodations prompting the search for alternative vacation plans.

How rising hotel rates benefit the vacation rental market:

• With rising room rates across all lodging categories, vacation rental managers can increase nightly rates while maintaining a competitive and often a more economical alternative for consumers
• Depending on geography, managers can target aggressive ’shoulder season’ campaigns and promotions to lure cash conscience travelers from traditional accommodations
• Opportunity to expand vacation rentals beyond family destinations. Over occupancy in urban markets such as NYC, San Francisco , Boston and Chicago signal an opportunity for services to expand into city centers. (FlipKey has personal experience with managing vacation rentals in downtown Boston and can confirm that demand far exceeds supply in the downtown area - during all seasons)

The Times article sees the same opportunity for the vacation rental market and even provided a short plug:

Although they will be much harder to secure in 2008, savings will be available even in the highest-cost destinations for travelers willing to work for them. Henry H. Harteveldt, travel analyst with Forrester Research in San Francisco, suggested opting for apartments instead of hotels for stays longer than four days or for small groups. “They are far more economical and can feel much more like home,” said Harteveldt, who suggested using websites such as Condo.com and HomeAway.com. “This is something I actually did on a recent visit to New York.”

Our industry often focuses on competition between property managers and local rent-by-owners; however, its hotels that typically act as the primary competitive lodging alternative for many key markets. Rising hotel room and occupancy rates signals an immediate opportunity for the vacation rental industry to effectively promote itself as a mainstream lodging option.

FlipKey looks forward to working with active associations, local cambers of commerce and popular media channels to help promote the vacation rental category. The time is now!

Last week, FlipKey attended the annual Central Florida Property Managers Association Conference and Tradeshow in Orlando. The event was fantastic, well-attended by vacation rental managers and oversubscribed with suppliers. We thank the organizers for putting together an educational, productive and fun event. Thanks also to the property managers who spent time at our booth learning about FlipKey. We look forward to continuing to work with you.

The conference took place at the modern Contemporary Resort at Disney, with several spacious and comfortable banquet halls dedicated to the tradeshow, group seminars and small break-out sessions on industry topics. This was a local chapter event, but with so many British property managers and national vendors in attendance it felt like, yes I’ll say it — a small world after all.

At the conference, the CFPMA announced its rebirth as the CFVRMA, with a new name and brand to align this large local chapter with the national VRMA association. Look for their new site in the coming weeks.

Below is a handful of our favorite photos from the event. Happy Thanksgiving from the FlipKey team.

Topiary Mickey welcomed us with open arms to the CFPMA Conference at Disney.

Bryan works the showroom floor.

The FlipKey booth with a constant stream of property managers learning about our service.

TJ discusses reputation and verification with a manager during the social hour.

Steve Trover from All Star Vacation Homes stops by the booth. Special thanks to Steve and Sara Moore for their hospitality.

Trent Blizzard of Blizzard Internet Marketing happily swings the sword on the floor while Sir Longhairs looks a bit anxious in the background.

For added safety, each All Star Vacation Home is outfitted with pool guards — electronic alarms that must be pressed as you open the sliding glass door to the pool area. Apparently my method of “pushing the button real hard” isn’t the proper way to disable the deafening alarm. Thankfully, All Star had maintenance personnel at our rental home within an amazing five minutes to replace the alarm.

Every once in awhile we take an afternoon break at FlipKey to catch up on what’s happening in the world. I was excited yesterday to read a link Carl found on cnn.com.

As featured on CNN.com:

Your next hotel might not be a hotel. It could be a condo, a rental apartment or a home.
Hotel rooms generally don’t offer as much space or privacy as renting a house or condo.

And maybe it should be.
It isn’t just that traditional hotels, inns and resorts turn off many travelers. There are plenty of reasons to check out of the lodge these days — through-the-roof room rates, being nickeled and dimed for every little extra item — and the alternatives are often roomier, less expensive and more convenient.
No one is predicting the demise of the hotel industry. Not by a long shot, but when it comes to overnight accommodations on your next trip, you might consider an alternate to a traditional hotel.

Here are five reasons why:
- Lots and Lots of Room
- More Privacy
- A Better Price
- You Can Go Native
- Extra Flexibility

*Article has been abbreviated.. Click here to read the full article on CNN

We recommend you read the full article. Thanks to Christopher Elliott for the great write up.

FlipKey has been selected as a “main dish” presenter at the next meeting of Dave Beisel’s overwhelmingly popular Boston Web Innovators Group. “WebInno” has quickly become the place to see and be seen in the Boston area Web Industry. We are big fans of the bi-monthly event and we thank Dave for selecting us amongst the many qualified candidates.

For anyone in the region, we welcome you to come on down and listen to TJ’s presentation or swing by the FlipKey booth and talk to us. We’ll be showcasing our soon to be released vacation rental reputation service. Event information and registration can be found here (It’s Free!):
http://webinno15.eventbrite.com/

About Rick Fisher:
Rick Fisher is the President of Vacation Home Expo - the travel industry’s first and only consumer travel show solely focused on the condominium, villa, and vacation home rental segments. Prior to co- founding Vacation Home Expos, Rick was a Vice President for Expedia’s Specialty Lodging division which included vacation rentals and bed and breakfast. He has been a visible spokesperson and strong advocate for the vacation rental category for the last twenty years.


Q: The industry is excited to see the launch of the Vacation Home Expo. How did you go from working at Expedia to launching the Vacation Home Expo?

Although I came from the leading online provider for vacation rentals in Expedia I have always felt that the opportunity to create more awareness of the growth and popularity of vacation rentals with consumers and the media was via offline exposure. It’s very simple…we believe that approximately 85% of North Americans have never stayed in vacation rental type accommodations and have only experienced a traditional hotel stay .Most of the focus in our industry has been on pushing out product to the market place via the internet. Along the way there’s been very little commitment from our sector to do more in creating more offline awareness with consumers, the media, and travel trade about the benefits of the “vacation rental experience”. Vacation Home Expo represents the ideal venue to help contribute to that needed effort. The fact that the Expo in Atlanta is being endorsed and presented by the Atlanta Journal Constitution also lends a tremendous amount of credibility to our category.


Q: The first Expo is in Atlanta this coming April. Is this an annual event or can we expect to see additional showcases in other major cities in 2008?

Our intent is to make the Atlanta show an annual event and we are already exploring dates for 2009 and beyond. Our plans are also to expand the Vacation Home Expo to other key cities and markets around the country. We have just formed an industry Advisory Council comprised of seasoned executives representing a broad cross section of the vacation rental space. One of the assigned tasks of the council will be to provide us with critical feedback regarding future potential venues as well as other ideas and recommendations that will position the Expo for continued growth and success.


Q: How will you measure the success of the Vacation Home Expo?

That’s a great question and for me it won’t be based simply on numbers that can be easily quantified like the total of consumer attendees to the show and the final tally of exhibitors. Instead, I envision the Vacation Home Expo as a step by step process that will be instrumental in introducing more consumers to this phenomenal accommodation lifestyle. Anyone will tell you that, like cruising, vacation rentals reflect a high level of consumer satisfaction and the propensity for strong repeat and referral business. The challenge has always been and still exists today to attract new customers who will experience this lodging option for the first time. As I’ve always said once you taken them to “the promised land” you will most likely have a believer and convert for life. Our hope is to have the Vacation Home Expo act as a key catalyst to rally an already diverse and fragmented industry around this common cause and purpose. In addition to servicing the needs and interests of existing vacation home renters true success will come with our ability to touch that tremendous untapped pool of new customers and further grow the category.


Q: Between the various VRMA events, RezFest and other industry association events, it seems like there is an opportunity to migrate supplier focused conferences into hybrid events that focus on property management and industry awareness. For instance, in New Orleans there could have been a day dedicated to exhibiting property managers and vacation travel services to consumers. Are there discussions with VRMA or other associations to create this type of partnership?

At Vacation Home Expo we believe that we need to remain inclusive which translates into getting more of our industry association partners and representatives from the supply community to join us in getting our messaging out to the market place. Too often we meet and exchange ideas amongst ourselves while consumers, the media, and travel trade are left on the outside looking in. We have already considered the concept of potentially co-locating future shows around association conferences or vise versa. This would result in not only creating more industry awareness but also maximize participation by consumers and suppliers alike.


Q: You live in Connecticut, a state notoriously split between the Yankees and Red Sox. FlipKey is not shy about its love of the Red Sox… Who’s your team?

Although I’m from Michigan I grew up with Mantle, Maris, Ford, and have always been a hard core New York Yankees fan and supporter. At the time of this interview there’s not too much to celebrate but as they always say … “There’s always next year”.