This article outlines a summary of the most recent changes to Rentalo's listing features and rates. It also covers relevant information about Rentalo's newest listing subscription: Standard listing, as well commonly asked questions and answers regarding these changes. Below is a comparison chart showing a summary of our listing benefits and features:
Features Explained:
Web Page Listing - A published listing with unique URL, unlimited description, amenities, photos, availability calendar, pricing, YouTube video link, Google map, reciprocal link(s), contact form, unlimited special offers, auto offers, and much more!
Private Leads - Unlimited inquiry alerts from travelers interested on a specific property listing.
Destination Leads - Unlimited inquiry alerts from travelers looking for a place to stay in a destination.
Priority Placement - Display listing ad with top ranking on destination page.
One-Way Link - Re-direct leads and increase SEO value to your own website.
Marketing Boost - A special marketing service designed for those clients who want to maximize their advertising potential through Rentalo.com. We will expose your listing to a monthly audience of 100 million travelers by distributing it via RSS feeds and affiliate partner sites to over 300 highly ranked travel portals (e.g. AOL Travel, Yahoo Travel), traditional media publications (e.g. LA Times Travel), online travel blogs, social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), networked sites (TravelBB, 1Stop-Rentals, TripLodging, Lodging123), and many others. We may also select your listing to be featured in our bi-weekly and monthly newsletter publications reaching 1.2 million opted-in travelers (as of January 2012). You will also receive complimentary editorial services to boost your listing's rankings in the search engines via search engine optimization (SEO).
Below is a summary of Rentalo's 2012 listing subscriptions and rates.
Standard Subscription
> $119 per 6-month advertising (~$20/month)
> $199 per 12-month advertising (~$17/month)
> $359 per 24-month advertising (~$15/month)
Premium Subscription
> $179 per 6-month advertising (~$28/month)
> $299 per 12-month advertising (~$25/month)
> $539 per 24-month advertising (~$22/month)
Sponsor Subscription
> $229 per 6-month advertising (~$38/month)
> $399 per 12-month advertising (~$33/month)
> $719 per 24-month advertising (~$30/month)
You can find the above subscription listing options by signing into your account and clicking Properties > See & Pay Subscription Options.
Why the Standard Listing subscription?
Over the years we received frequent requests from clients who were only interested in receiving inquiries from travelers who have seen their listings, as they are used to from the other directories. So, this year we decided to launch a listing subscription that would compete "apples-to-apples" with the advertising sold by most of our competitors in the industry.
Destination-based leads is an industry-unique feature offered by Rentalo, and available in Premium and Sponsor listing subscriptions.
Who should choose the Standard Listing subscription?
If you own one or two properties and prefer to receive listing-specific inquiries from potential travelers exclusively, then a Standard listing is the right fix for you. We expect our Standard listings to receive a minimum of x10 (e.g. $2,000 or more) return of their investment, as it is also backed up by our 1000% ROI guarantee.
Who should list (or continue to list) as a Premium or Sponsor listing subscription?
The concept of 'destination-based' inquiries has been successfully pioneered by Rentalo since 1999, and has had a very good acceptance across all lodging categories (vacation rentals, hotels, b&bs) over the years. According to our internal stats, about 60% of our existing clients in all lodging categories are happy with our destination-based leads mainly because it broadens their reach of potential guests. At Rentalo, our clients often get to book travelers who started their online search for other types of lodgings. On the other hand, this level of 'comparison shopping' experience is only available to travelers in Rentalo, and an increasing number of travelers (now over 1.3 million opted-travelers and counting!) love our site and service (check reviews). So, in conclusion any short-term rental or hospitality business who can benefit from more leads and bookings could benefit from our Premium and Sponsor listings.
However, it is important to have the following tips when answering our destination-based leads:
1. When replying to a traveler who submitted a destination-based inquiry, please do not assume that he/she has seen your specific property listing. Take the time to present your property as if they have never seen it before.
2. Make sure your listing contains all the necessary information potential guests need in order to make a booking decision e.g. high quality photos, a decent description including specific details on bedding arrangements, and availability information.
3. Keep in mind that you are competing with other businesses in your destination. Take the time to compare your property with other properties in your location, and stay competitive in rates and overall value.
4. Last but not least, please hit the REPLY button as soon as you can. Your timing is very critical. If you are not near your PC or phone during the day, consider taking advantage of our auto-offer feature to let Rentalo generate an instant offer for potential guests upon submitting their inquiries.
Premium Listing Subscription Increases by 20%
We are not proud of this, but we had no other choice if we wanted to continue generating quantity and quality leads for our clients. Also, we have not increased the cost of our Premium listings since 2009. Unfortunately, the cost of internet marketing and leads continue to increase every year. For example, in Google, the average cost per click for the key phase 'vacation rentals' is $1.52 (as of 1-9-2012). Using a click-to-lead conversion factor of 5% (typical conversion factor for pay per click campaigns), each inquiry we generate costs Rentalo roughly $20. On average, our clients need 10 inquiries in order to secure one booking (assuming a 10% conversion from leads to bookings). So, If Google would be Rentalo's only source of traffic, we would have to invest $200 on average to help each client get a booking. But wait, clients want more than one booking! Typically, they need 2 to 5 bookings per years in order to justify a listing renewal, which means that Rentalo would need to invest up to $1,000 in marketing their listing in Google to justify their renewal.
The above is just an illustration to help you (our client) understand why rates need to go up, and how expensive internet marketing is getting nowadays. Of course, leveraging our 12+ years of experience in the e-commerce and travel industries, at Rentalo, we have developed highly successful business strategies and partnerships to continue generating quality and quantity leads for our clients, allowing us to stay in business and stay profitable.
We understand the economy is still bad for some, but we are very optimistic about 2012. Travel trends are improving, and soon everything will go back to normal. So, let's keep a positive outlook toward the future!
