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You are planning your next family vacation and you are so excited! Your family vacation is probably the most anticipated and expensive event of the year. These days you don't have to rely on the usual hotels for accommodations. Vacation rental properties are growing in popularity as an alternative to the mundane experience of the chain hotels.
Sites like VRBO.com and Homeaway.com offer an endless selection of vacation rental properties all over the world! You can find properties that will fit any budget, amenity or location.
While it is really quite fun to browse properties on sites such as these, there is nothing more discouraging than finding the perfect property and sending an inquiry only to be told that the property was booked for your requested dates (despite the fact that the calendar on the listing showed the dates as "Available") or even worse, never receiving a response from the listing owner at all!
In my tenure at VRBO.com & Homeaway.com, these are the two most often heard complaints from travelers:
As a vacation rental property owner myself, I never quite understood why listing owners would not respond to an inquiry. After all, we are paying for this service! Inquiries are the lifeblood of our businesses.
I am sure there were instances when listing owners DID respond and their email got routed to the traveler's Junk or Spam folders. Another explanation could be if the traveler misspelled their own email address on the inquiry form so that when the listing owner replied their response was undeliverable. (This is one reason why it is advisable for the traveler to also include their telephone number on the inquiry; if the listing owner cannot reach the traveler by email he/she can pick up the phone and call them.)
However neither of these situations can account for all of the many complaints from travelers that listing owners are unresponsive.
Some owners won't reply to an inquiry sent by a traveler if their calendar is up-to-date and clearly shows the dates that the traveler is inquiring about as "unavailable". It is tiresome to have to keep telling travelers "Sorry, my property is not available" when the traveler could have determined that himself simply by looking at the calendar.
However, such owners lose an opportunity to network with other owners in their area when they choose not to reply. Better to reply and let the traveler know that while "my property is not available, check out my {friend, neighbor, relative}'s property. Their listing number is #####." (A little advance communication between each party to make an agreement to network is a good idea.) Such a reply from the listing owner will make a good impression on the traveler as it is helpful and cordial; the alternative is a traveler who receives no response and vows never to use the site again.
The other complaint is the fact that listing owners do not keep their calendars up-to-date. Again, as a vacation rental property owner, I prefer that my calendar reflect my property's availability accurately because then I won't have to respond to inquiry after inquiry asking about dates that are not available.
Why would a listing owner not keep their calendar up-to-date? One reason is perhaps the listing owner owns or manages more than one property, but they only have one listing. If they update the calendar to show dates that the property advertised on the listing is booked then travelers won't inquire. The listing owner will lose an opportunity to show the traveler other properties that are available for their desired dates.
Another reason why a listing owner might not keep their calendar updated is because they are a property manager who advertises on sites likeVRBO.com and Homeaway.com as secondary advertising venues. Many property management companies have their own websites on which they advertise all of their clients' properties. This means that each time they take a booking they have to update their own site's calendar as well as the calendars on their VRBO.com and Homeaway.com listings. It's just too much work.
The bottom line in all of these examples is this: The actions of not keeping the calendar up to date or responding to inquiries benefit the listing owner. They do not benefit the travelers.
VRAssist will always respond to every inquiry in a prompt and timely manner. We will also make sure that the calendars on our clients' listings are up-to-date. Those of us who are participating in the vacation rental industry must do our part to improve the quality and trust-worthiness of the industry. This means taking the extra step when possible to interact with travelers with respect, cordiality and professionalism. In the end this kind of philosophy results in a win for travelers as well as owners.
Sites like VRBO.com and Homeaway.com offer an endless selection of vacation rental properties all over the world! You can find properties that will fit any budget, amenity or location.
While it is really quite fun to browse properties on sites such as these, there is nothing more discouraging than finding the perfect property and sending an inquiry only to be told that the property was booked for your requested dates (despite the fact that the calendar on the listing showed the dates as "Available") or even worse, never receiving a response from the listing owner at all!
In my tenure at VRBO.com & Homeaway.com, these are the two most often heard complaints from travelers:
- Listing owners do not respond to inquiries - not just in a timely manner, but also in many cases NOT AT ALL!
- Listing owners do not keep their calendars up-to-date.
As a vacation rental property owner myself, I never quite understood why listing owners would not respond to an inquiry. After all, we are paying for this service! Inquiries are the lifeblood of our businesses.
I am sure there were instances when listing owners DID respond and their email got routed to the traveler's Junk or Spam folders. Another explanation could be if the traveler misspelled their own email address on the inquiry form so that when the listing owner replied their response was undeliverable. (This is one reason why it is advisable for the traveler to also include their telephone number on the inquiry; if the listing owner cannot reach the traveler by email he/she can pick up the phone and call them.)
However neither of these situations can account for all of the many complaints from travelers that listing owners are unresponsive.
Some owners won't reply to an inquiry sent by a traveler if their calendar is up-to-date and clearly shows the dates that the traveler is inquiring about as "unavailable". It is tiresome to have to keep telling travelers "Sorry, my property is not available" when the traveler could have determined that himself simply by looking at the calendar.
However, such owners lose an opportunity to network with other owners in their area when they choose not to reply. Better to reply and let the traveler know that while "my property is not available, check out my {friend, neighbor, relative}'s property. Their listing number is #####." (A little advance communication between each party to make an agreement to network is a good idea.) Such a reply from the listing owner will make a good impression on the traveler as it is helpful and cordial; the alternative is a traveler who receives no response and vows never to use the site again.
The other complaint is the fact that listing owners do not keep their calendars up-to-date. Again, as a vacation rental property owner, I prefer that my calendar reflect my property's availability accurately because then I won't have to respond to inquiry after inquiry asking about dates that are not available.
Why would a listing owner not keep their calendar up-to-date? One reason is perhaps the listing owner owns or manages more than one property, but they only have one listing. If they update the calendar to show dates that the property advertised on the listing is booked then travelers won't inquire. The listing owner will lose an opportunity to show the traveler other properties that are available for their desired dates.
Another reason why a listing owner might not keep their calendar updated is because they are a property manager who advertises on sites likeVRBO.com and Homeaway.com as secondary advertising venues. Many property management companies have their own websites on which they advertise all of their clients' properties. This means that each time they take a booking they have to update their own site's calendar as well as the calendars on their VRBO.com and Homeaway.com listings. It's just too much work.
The bottom line in all of these examples is this: The actions of not keeping the calendar up to date or responding to inquiries benefit the listing owner. They do not benefit the travelers.
VRAssist will always respond to every inquiry in a prompt and timely manner. We will also make sure that the calendars on our clients' listings are up-to-date. Those of us who are participating in the vacation rental industry must do our part to improve the quality and trust-worthiness of the industry. This means taking the extra step when possible to interact with travelers with respect, cordiality and professionalism. In the end this kind of philosophy results in a win for travelers as well as owners.