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.

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!

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!

In October we wrote of new guarantees being offered in the vacation rental market. Ultimately we found these guarantees to be reactive and counter productive in driving consumer confidence. Reimbursement of a night’s stay and assistance in finding alternative accommodations - after realizing the home you booked does not exist - is hardly compensation for a disrupted and potentially ruined vacation.

Say hello to what we consider a more appealing guarantee. The Exclusive ResortQuest Snow Guarantee® is a proactive guarantee that gives guests the ability to relocate their reservation to another ResortQuest ski destination if snow conditions do not meet their expectations, without forfeiting any deposits.

Ski destinations offered by ResortQuest include:

• Colorado: Aspen, Breckenridge, Keystone, Snowmass, Steamboat, and Telluride
• Idaho: Sun Valley
• Utah: Park City
• B.C. Canada: Whistler

How It Works:

I discover my scheduled destination has poor snow conditions; I call ResortQuest (at least 7 days prior to arrival) and request to be relocated to a ‘like accommodation’ at another destination, with better conditions. ResortQuest changes my reservation and I’m all set to hit the slopes.

Pros of the ResortQuest Guarantee:

• I can book confidentially, knowing that if Mother Nature is not working with me I can select a more desirable location prior to my actual departure
• It’s free - no change fee

Cons of the ResortQuest Guarantee:

• Snow conditions tend to be fairly similar in common geographies. As a result, changing my destination to better conditions will likely require changing my flight. Unfortunately the airlines will likely not be as accommodating as ResortQuest
• The guarantee is contingent on ‘available’ units at a similar or lower nightly rate. (Correction: if an upgrade is required, the guest is not responsible to pay the upgrade fee.) During high seasons, it will be difficult for ResortQuest to change a reservation.

As the saying (kind of) goes, “nothing is guaranteed except death and taxes”. We like the ResortQuest Snow Guarantee and think it’s a brilliant marketing campaign, but in the end only a handful of people will be in a situation that is able to take advantage of the offer. Regardless, this is a creative and productive approach for encouraging vacationers to select a vacation rental.

About Cort Roussel:

Cort Roussel is the Owner Broker for Franconia Notch Vacations, located in Franconia New Hampshire, surrounded by the White Mountain National Forest. Graduating from the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business & Economics with a BS in Hospitality Management Cort joined the vacation rental industry in 2000 after a decade of experience in the resort, hotel & restaurant industry. In December of 2005 He purchased Franconia Notch Vacations and is now the principal owner. He has served on the VRMA Board of Directors for two years and has moderated and presented at many educational events. Roussel is also active in his local community serving as a Member of the Board for the Franconia Notch Chamber of Commerce and as a volunteer firefighter for the town of Easton, NH.


Q: Cort, you are well known for your love of the New Hampshire’s White Mountains. New Hampshire is unique given the sharp contrast in seasonal attractions. What marketing strategies do you employ to manage occupancy rates across the various, and sometimes harsh, seasons?

CR: Franconia Notch Vacations employs a “Catch-n-Release” method when enjoying our area’s lakes and streams, however we are all about “Catch-em and Keep-em” when it relates to marketing new guests and owners. We cast as large & varied a marketing net as possible using traditional print, and as much of the emerging Web media as we are able, and we have our not-so-traditional yet productive methods as well. We then follow up with exceptional personal professional grade service that ensures our guests’ return or good words and good will otherwise. With 3 to 4 months of “off-season”, we must be sure to capture as much of the market as possible and then maintain it as this is where the real growth & potential lies.


Q: You made mention of some non-traditional marketing methods. Might you elaborate on this a little?

CR: One example has to do with our Green Franconia Notch Vacations company pen. Having worked for years in and around restaurants I understand they serve us all; guests, residents, second homeowners, contractors etc. I also know that most wait staff are left scrambling for pens. So- every few weeks we make sure to visit our area restaurants, gas stations and other points of popular interest deliver a handful of pens. Now folks see me coming and smile knowing their day will turn out all “write”. We have gained many owner and guest referrals in this fashion.


Q: To the extent you are comfortable sharing, what specific efforts are you pursuing to grow your business?

CR: Quality Care for our owners, their properties and their guests. I have little doubt these will be the corner stones of growth for Franconia Notch Vacations. Most anyone can sell for less, most anyone can invent the next greatest hype; however few can gain a foot hold against top quality care and the services to match. Below my monitor and in front of my key board reads the following: “Be it Owner or Guest, We aim for Vacation Rental Success” and along with that there is favorite Fortune Cookie fortune, “With integrity & consistency your credits are piling up.” Constant reinforcement of the principles - that’s what it takes to us forward day by day.


Q: Franconia Notch is simply beautiful - especially in the Fall Season. To what extent have you gathered positive feedback, pictures and testimonials from past guests to help tell the world about Franconia Notch?

CR: We do indeed dedicate a fair amount of time to capturing what a Franconia Notch Vacations is all about by way of photographing “daily life” in Franconia and by requesting our guests’ comments on the same. The Franconia Notch Vacations comment card has 2 distinct sections. One section is devoted to asking about the Agency & Vacation Experience where the other section is all about the Property. We then use these comments, in conjunction with our psychical attribute requirements when formulating a property’s rating as Grand, Deluxe, Standard or Rustic. We have also designed the comment card so that we may easily separate the guests’ comments about their experience at a property and we forward these to our owners. The agency can and does tell owners what they ought to invest in or upgrade, however it always seems to carry more weight when they read it coming from their guests.


Q: You are a volunteer firefighter - have you ever had to jump into a burning building on the verge of collapse? (I’m sure you have been asked this a million times)

CR: No- however I have responded in uniform to one of my rental properties that experienced a furnace malfunction which left the guests wondering to what length we will go to assure their comfort. I think most professional managers might agree… we are all “fire-fighters” on some level if we are doing our jobs to the highest degree.

See you in the Mountains!

We are introducing a new feature to the FlipKey Blog. We did not want to limit the commentary on the FlipKey Blog to our research findings and internal observations, so we are featuring a guest interview every few weeks. Our hope is that we can share the thoughts and opinions of some of the industry’s most enthusiastic participants.

We are happy to announce Steve Trover, CEO of All Star Vacation Homes as our first guest interview!

About Steve Trover:
Steve Trover is the CEO of All Star Vacation Homes - a well known and reputable property management firm in Orlando, Florida. Steve represents over 150 vacation rental properties and serves as a Board Member of FVRMA, and on the Osceola Resort Area Council (ORAC). Steve is president and one of the founding members of a public relations and marketing association, Discover Vacation Homes. He is also an active member and regular presenter at VRMA conferences.

Q: How did you first become involved with the vacation rental industry?

Steve Trover: “I started three businesses prior to All Star and I was always looking for another opportunity. At the time my mother was in the general real estate market here in Central Florida. She would occasionally sell a vacation home and not have a good management company to refer her clients to. We started discussing the business potential of operating our own and decided to jump in. All Star began as a marketing company first, with a focus on Internet marketing for many management companies around the state of Florida. This allowed us to see how different managers operated and helped form our early business model.”

Q: Steve, you represent homes in the highly competitive Orlando market. What challenges do you face that are unique to the Orlando market compared to the industry at-large?

Steve Trover: “The Orlando market is one of the most competitive vacation rental markets in the world. There are an estimated 700 management companies and thousands of vacation rentals. On top of that, there are over 135,000 hotel rooms and a multitude of other lodging options. Although we have an industry-wide lack of awareness of the vacation rental product, this is even more acute in central Florida as compared to most mountain and beach destinations. I will say that it’s a great place to cut your teeth.”

Q: You are an active member in several industry associations. How would you characterize your charge in the industry? In other words, what are the main topics/challenges you focus on?

Steve Trover: “First and foremost I would say awareness. We are seeing the vacation rental product become more of a consideration in the mind of the consumer but we are just getting started. It is our biggest obstacle and our greatest opportunity.

I would also say standards. It is critical that our industry starts to identify and adopt a group of standards that consumers can expect when they rent a vacation property.
Having our own unique identity is important but we must improve the overall quality of the products and services we provide in order to achieve a higher level of adoption of our product. We need to understand that we are more than managers of property, we are hospitality providers. We are the new hotel.”

Q: What can we, as an industry, do to create more effective PR and service awareness to make vacation rentals an ever greater mainstream consumer lodging option?

Steve Trover: “There are opportunities to work collectively to promote our industry on a national, state and local level through the various associations and emerging alliances. We should be working with our destination marketing organizations to make sure we get equal or greater exposure compared to other lodging options in their marketing efforts. We should be pitching all forms of media, both online and off, about the great story of vacation home rentals.

We, as a company, and through our local and state vacation rental manager associations are participating in the first annual Vacation Home Expo in April 2008. This event, held in Atlanta in conjunction with the general consumer travel show, will focus specifically on our industry and give us the opportunity to speak directly to travelers about the vacation home accommodation. We are very excited about participating in this first of its kind show!”

Q: If you could start a new property management company in any area of the nation - other than Florida - where would it be?

Steve Trover: “We have been asking our guests where they would like to see us go for some time now, and they will have a substantial say in that decision. I will tell you that we will consider locations that have an inherently strong visitation, a longer than average season and a strong ordinance and zoning allowing for vacation rentals.

Outside of that I do have a certificate of ownership for ten acres on the moon and I hear Virgin Airlines is planning flights there by 2050. ☺”

Last week I wrote about the value of keyless entry systems. The analysis highlighted the pros and cons of enabling owners to go keyless. The main con cited by industry sources tends to center on the disintermediation of property managers as the point of key exchange. The basic conclusion is, “keyless entry is one more reason to incentivize owners to migrate to independent management”.

Although this is a respectable concern, we wanted to highlight data points that suggest keyless entry will not motivate rent-by-owner migration.

In a recent FlipKey study, we surveyed 22 owners who currently use property managers. The sample size is limiting, but provides some solid directional findings in their motivations to use a property manager.

Key findings:

• The primary value owners see in property management is convenience. Property management allows the owner to effortlessly collect additional income, without having to worry about marketing, maintenance or cleaning logistics.
• Key exchange is a secondary motivation.
• Focusing your service messaging on convenience is the most effective message. If enabling your owners to become ‘keyless’ supports that message, you can position it as an added benefit.

I recently traded emails with Secure Lodging, Inc. Secure Lodging specializes in ‘keyless’ entry systems. There are several keyless home providers, but I like the Secure Lodging folks, so I will focus the discussion on their specific product.

Keyless entry systems aren’t new, but they are getting more sophisticated compared to the static button system I grew up with. Secure Lodging’s Oracode 660K product allows managers to remotely program access codes from their web browser. Since the lock does not require an internet connection I assume the Oracode lock receives transmissions via a radio signal - very cool.

In addition to remote updates, Secure Lodging allows you to control access levels. This means you can make sure a guest’s code is only active during a specific period of time (ie. the days they have reserved the unit). Oracode also allows you to monitor and control times of access for cleaning service staff and maintenance contractors. Again, very cool.

So why hasn’t keyless entry taken off?

It’s not entirely cheap. The cost of a keyless entry is $400-500 per home, with prices going down with bulk orders. Installation is easy enough to do-it-yourself - the manufacture provides a video walking you through the process. Given the security and convenience advantages of keyless entry I think many owners would be willing to foot the bill, but I admit others will not.

Speaking with various industry pundits, rent-by-owners are the primary customers of keyless entry systems. It makes sense. Rent-by-owners cannot be on-site to manage key exchange and mailing keys is a disaster waiting to happen. Keyless entry solves one of the rent-by-owners largest management challenges.

The benefit to owners underscores the lack of adoption by property managers. Installing a keyless entry system potentially disintermediates property managers from one of their key functions (pardon the pun).

Yet, I tend to have a positive outlook on the vacation rental world and the services that surround it.

1. Yes, keyless entry enables an owner to control home access remotely. With a phone and some dedicated efforts an owner can effectively manage guests, cleaning and maintenance remotely.
2. However, if I’m about to spend $2,000 on a weekly vacation rental, I don’t care if the owner has a StarTrek teleporting system….. I would feel more comfortable if there was a human being within 10 miles to ensure my stay is seamless and enjoyable.
3. As an owner, I would be ecstatic if my property manager offered to install a keyless system for me - I would even pay them to do it!
4. The value of property management is much deeper than the process of key exchange. It’s about making sure both parties - guests and owners - have a seamless and comfortable experience. It’s a juggling act of coordination, hospitality, and PRESENCE.

I emphasize PRESENCE, because it’s arguably the most important service provided by property managers and it can never be replaced by technology.

For the average property manager, a guest booking a vacation home represents the end of the sales process. Congratulations! But for the average guest, the booking of their vacation home is just the beginning of their vacation planning. Next comes the flight, the rental car, the tickets, and all the other essential itinerary planning.

Enter Kayak.com. Kayak represents everything that is great about the internet - it’s quick, it’s comprehensive, and it is pretty much guaranteed to give you what you want. Kayak is different than Expedia and Orbitz. Kayak is what is called a “meta” search engine. Kayak’s charge is to search all other travel search engines to help the consumer find the best option. As such, the Kayak search engine covers more ground than all the other travel sites out there. Thus you are almost always assured of finding the cheapest flight.

Kayak is a great service to help your guests book the rest of their trip. Luckily, Kayak provides some simple tools that can allow you to extend its service to your own website. By simply copying and pasting some simple html into your site you can help your guests find a cheap flight and car rental service.

For one example:

Embedding a widget like this on your web site makes it very simple for your guest to begin their flight search. It costs nothing to add to your site and can help compliment your primary service (providing great lodging accommodations).

Since most vacation home sites are regional, you can even pre-populate Kayak’s tools with the airport nearest your vacation homes. Kayak offers several simple widgets you can embed on your website. Click here to see more options.

In addition to helping your guests, you can earn money by signing up for an affiliate id via linkshare. By inserting the id into the widget on your site, you can ensure you earn a commission on anybody you send to Kayak.

Your guests look to you as an expert. By providing them with easy access to the best-in-class tools on the internet, you are setting high standards that will keep guests coming back to you every year.

FlipKey was born out of my own experience as a vacation home owner/renter. For the last year I have rented out my Boston condo to people from around the globe. When friends hear of my little side business they are quick with questions:

• Has anyone trashed your place?
• What happens if there is a problem?
• How can you trust a complete stranger?
• Has anyone tried to scam you?

It’s human nature to focus on the negative, but I’m happy to say that my experiences have been 100% positive. I have met people from all around the world that wanted to taste Boston - all have been respectful - and in some cases I have made life long friends.

Moira L.: A wonderful woman from Australia who was in town for four weeks to promote her personal care product line. She called once a week with a general question about the home and then took me out for coffee to say thank you. Moira left my home in better shape than the day I moved in.

Dolores G.: In town for a week to help her daughter find an apartment. I needed to pick up my bike in storage and met them in my home. Dolores had a wonderful family that left behind a bottle of wine to thank me for a great experience.

Elizabeth D.: Arrived in Boston during a cold and rainy Spring week. I was in San Francisco during her family’s stay. Unfortunately my furnace broke down and the family was stuck in my 40 degree condo for 24 hours while I arranged a contractor to replace the broken unit. Elizabeth helped me coordinate letting the contractors in and stayed in good spirits throughout the ordeal. I refunded their last two nights.

The people who have stayed with me have been great, but problems do arise - a broken furnace here and a lost key there. I am fortunate enough to live within 10 minutes of my vacation condo, but my experiences have highlighted the necessity for ‘assistance’. Although occasional rentals can be managed directly by the owner, a seamless experience can only occur if a dedicated service/individual is available for the various mishaps that can occur during a vacation rental.

As renters we have a responsibility to ensure a great vacation experience for our guests. Bad guests do exist, but they are few and far between. Below are my recommendations for ensuring guests receive the support they deserve:

• Use a property manager. Although property managers will charge a 15-30% service fee on the total room rate, they provide end-to-end services that will remove the back breaking chores of cleaning & maintenance and will take care of onsite problems. You get what you pay for, and more importantly your guests will get what they paid for.
• If you are independently renting your home make sure you have a trusted contact within 15 minutes of the home. Your ‘back-up’ should have key access and be aware of when guests are in the home. Should a problem arise your back-up should have previously agreed to manage the situation.
• Before a guest arrives provide them an emergency contact and explain your process in the case of an unfortunate event. If you are a property manager this is a key communication to emphasize the reputation of your service and advantages of using a professional management service.