Rentalo Blog

This year’s glamorous Oscar gala is over and the Academy chose its winners for the 81st time. I especially enjoyed the Broadway musical spirit in the Hollywood version and was excited about the big winner of that night, Danny Boyle’s master piece, Slumdog Millionaire. Beautiful photography and excellent story!

Talking about the movies, one of the things that always capture our attention is the location. Just imagining those breathtaking ocean views of Greece in “Mamma Mia” or quaint little streets of Paris in “Amelie” makes me want to drop everything and go there immediately!

There’s nothing wrong with dreaming, so why not to stop for a moment and look at movie-like destinations in Rentalo? As the Academy chose its winners, I selected our vacation rental candidates in the following categories:

1.    Best Tropical Getaway

Who doesn’t like waking up by the ocean, just steps to pristine white sand beach? How about a private vacation villa with a waterfront deck, fresh fruits for breakfast and breathtaking sunsets for dinner? All that is possible if you stay in one of those properties:

Our Candidate number one - Tiare Breeze Luxury Bungalow - is nestled on a hill overlooking the crystal blue waters of the South Pacific. With the heavenly smells of vanilla and Tiare flowers, you can be a part of the peace and tranquility this beautiful island offers. This luxury bungalow boasts extensive decks with open coastal views and access to the surrounding lagoons. You can enjoy sunset with French pastries and fresh exotic fruits delivered to your doorstep every morning. If you wish to relax, you can take a mid afternoon nap in a comfortable king size bed. You will also be just steps away from snorkeling, dolphin watching and some of the best surfing in French Polynesia.

You can also find a little piece of heaven in the Colonial Mexican Villa in Puerto Vallarta. This luxury 8,000 square foot home combines beautiful Mexican antiques with regional folk and boasts spectacular views of the Banderas Bay.  A large living room and dining room open to the infinity pool with breathtaking water views and if you take a stone path from courtyard, it will lead you to a gorgeous tropical garden below. Full staff including maid, cook and a gardener will be at your disposition. Feeling like a celebrity already?

2.    Best Luxury Ski Spot

How about a pampering vacation with gorgeous mountain views in a luxury Breckenridge condo? Sounds good too, right?

Our first candidate in this category is located just steps from the lifts, premier ski areas and trendy boutiques. You can even view the lift line from the large wraparound deck and prepare delicious steaks on your own barbeque. This spacious ski in/ski out Breckenridge condo is beautifully furnished with luxurious new leather sofas and gourmet kitchen. You will also find indoor and outdoor hot tubs, indoor swimming pool, steam and sauna room and exercise facility within the building. In the evening you can warm up by the fireplace and enjoy excellent views of Maggie Pond.

Second nominee is a five-bedroom ski in/ski out Breckenridge vacation home. This charming rental has everything you need to feel truly special and relaxed. It features four entertainment areas with pool table, ping pong and foosball and offers easy access to slopes and two lifts. After the whole day of skiing, you can relax in a large outdoor hot tub or warm up in front of a fireplace. High speed Internet and barbecue are also available.

3.    Best Unique Vacation

Have you ever felt like strolling the streets of Montmartre in Paris like Amelie Poulain? Or maybe you would like to sit by the fountain in a charming medieval hill town in Tuscany? Choose between a luxury Paris studio and a Siena castle. Here are the nominees:

A luxury studio in Paris is located in a lively neighborhood out of the tourist area, yet within a five-minute walk of Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. It has been designed by a Parisian artist and boasts a huge round bathtub, electrical adjustable king-size bed, flat plasma panoramic TV with DVD and professional built-in espresso maker. You will also be just a 10-15 minute walk to the Galeries Lafayette, Opera Garnier and Café de la Paix.

My second choice is a medieval Italian castle situated in the beautiful Tuscan countryside near Siena. Very centrally located for art touring, winery visits and exploring back roads, this charming castle offers apartments or a villa for rent with a swimming pool and tennis courts. There are also thermal spas, golf and polo available nearby.

“What about the prices?” you might ask. Well, you may think that for a movie-like getaway you would need a celebrity-like salary. Some of those places, however, sleep large parties, so if you divide the costs, it’s not always that bad. Still, we were just day-dreaming…

So, the Vacation Rental Oscar goes to… What do YOU think?

Marta

Some months ago we decided to join the CFVRMA (Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association) to develop our communication channel with property owners and managers from this area of the country and to stay tuned for the industry events and news. The CFVRMA is the biggest association of this type in Central Florida which unites the vacation rental industry by providing valuable information to property managers and by improving travelers’ experience as well.

Once a month CFVRMA organizes a meeting for members and vendors where property managers and owners can share their experience, discuss new industry trends and get advice on how to market their properties more efficiently. Last month we were invited to Sponsor the monthly meeting and on October 16th we had the chance to present Rentalo to CFVRMA members.

The meeting was held in Orlando, Florida where we drove the day before to be able to attend the meeting early in the morning the next day. We received a very warm welcome from the host Jeff Chase, who is the Executive director of CFVRMA and an extremely positive and dynamic person! He also helped us out with all the technical aspects and had our presentation ready for us to run upon our arrival. Great host indeed!

There were about ninety people present on the meeting most of which were property management companies as well as some vendors. During our speech we talked briefly about Rentalo’s history and presented our value proposition for property managers. Our presentation was very well taken and it was such a positive surprise to find out that half of the room already knew Rentalo!

One of the most exciting aspects of the meeting was definitely meeting face to face with some of the property owners we have been working with for many years. Finally we could meet our loyal clients personally, which is always a very positive experience. At the end of the presentation we were able to answer some questions and share tips with property owners looking for ways to increase their bookings this year.

We also had the opportunity to learn about struggles property management companies go through regarding city permits for repairing their units. It seems that the process is quite overwhelming since the city not only requires permits for every small change but also the execution by licensed and bonded contractors. Not very encouraging for property owners!

Overall however, we were happy to learn that most property management companies in Central Florida seem to be doing better this year (in terms of occupancy) comparing to previous years. It is mostly caused by the increasing popularity of vacation rentals which have proven to be an excellent way for cost –effective family getaways!

Marta

Trial and Error or Advice

Recently I was booking a hostel in Barcelona for one weekend of November. I visited many websites, saw countless hostels but after a while they all seemed exactly the same and I still had no idea which one to choose. All I wanted was a clean place in a central location, but all of them stated they were close to the center and extra clean. So which one to choose? Then I noticed one great feature of one of the websites – guest comments! According to others, a hostel I was thinking of choosing was not very clean and located near a very noisy street! Of course, I ended up booking the one which had the highest number of positive guest comments.

They Judge, we Buy

Opinions, comments and reviews have become omnipresent elements of the purchasing process. We prefer to buy products with high ratings and recommendations, the ones other people used and had experience with. It eliminates disappointment and gives us guarantee that a product we just bought will be working perfectly, just like it did for others. What’s more, we don’t need trusted experts to tell us their opinion anymore. We can simply listen to other consumers, real people just like us.

Guest Comments and Vacation Rentals

Today’s marketplace is full of well educated customers, who enjoy comparing products and make informed buying decisions. That’s why opinions and guest comments are essential also in a vacation rental industry. Travelers want to trust property owners when they say their house is perfect, but to be really able to book with confidence, they obviously prefer to relate to experience of others.

Being a Good Listener

So how can you encourage your guests to write a review of your vacation rental? I think there is only one recipe. If you provide your guests with an excellent service and go the extra mile to make them feel at home, you will surely hear about it.  Also, let your guests know that you always strive to meet their needs and value their opinions. It only shows you care and are committed to maintaining high standards. Where can guests write their reviews? Here are some examples:

- Guestbooks. Keep a guestbook book in a visible place in your vacation rental and ask travelers to write about their favorite experiences. If they do so, ask them for a permission to include those on your website or Rentalo listing.

- Internet. Encourage your guests to post comments and feedback on your private website or Rentalo listing. Such real testimonials are very valuable for travelers.

- Welcome letters. Leaving your guests a welcome letter is a nice detail and at the end of such letter you can have a space for comments and feedback.

Two Sides of the Coin – You Always Win

However you gather comments about your vacation home, always listen to what guests have to say and value their feedback. Whether the review you received is positive or negative, either way you can only learn. Good reviews are like a reward for you and only assure you, you are doing your job the best you can. Bad reviews though, are even more useful than the positive ones because a constructive criticism can only help you become a master. If you are afraid of bad reviews, it means there is probably something you should improve.

I really encourage you to gather feedback and include travelers’ comments in your property descriptions in Rentalo. After all, it can only complete information about your rental and create more trust of your potential clients.

Marta Olszewska

After couple of months of hard work of our development and marketing team, we have successfully launched the newest version of our website! When you visit our site, you will notice that a wide (1024 pixel resolution) and new attractive interface has taken over our entire website including our Home Page as well as the SmartSearch. We haven’t finished with that! You will also experience a richer content and new design of Property Listing Pages and State and Regional Pages, which will now be much easier to navigate for all our users!

These major changes don’t only make travelers’ jobs easier. They also help you, our property owners to showcase your property in more appealing way and to increase your bookings.

Log on to your Property Listing Page which is now more user-friendly and clearer than ever. It displays all the necessary information about your place including detailed descriptions, an attractive and eye-catching photo gallery, easy-to-use quick inquiry form and a new property map among others. In addition travelers are now able to add your vacation rental to their favorites and forward it to friends. That’s a whole lot of a great exposure for you!

As a result of all those changes, travelers will inquire about your property easily and immediately without having to leave the page and what is the most essential for you, new pages will help you generate quality traveler leads and get more bookings.

To take advantage of these features, don’t forget to complete your property listing page. Remember, the more details you include, the more attractive it will be in the eyes of prospective travelers. Upload unlimited pictures, add your video if you still haven’t done so and update your availability calendar.

Happy Editing,
Rentalo Team

Recently Gary Stoller from USA Today wrote an article about the vacation rental industry.  Impressed by Rentalo and its large inventory of properties and ease of use, Gary decided to use Rentalo as the starting point for his article.  He interviewed several of our property owners in order to grasp a better understanding of the industry.  Bob Singer, a Rentalo customer, goes on to say that “the internet is the only way I can make a buck”.  Singer invest most of his advertising dollars in Rentalo.com because of the great success that he has had with it over the years.   All his properties are Sponsor properties, which maximize his return on investment due to its many benefits.

To read more about the article click here

Once again Budget Travel has taken note of the incredible rates that property owners offer travelers through Rentalo.com. 

 Kudos to our property owners!

 Budget Travel is seen by millions of travelers each year and it is a great way for Rentalo to be branded among travelers.  This will also help to bring more targeted traffic directly to the site which can convert into bookings.

 The read the posting on Budget Travel click here

Dont you just wish you could add a video of your vacation rental property in your property ad page? Well NOW YOU CAN! And best of all its free!

If you have a video of your vacation rental property (and we strongly recommend that every property owner have one), then you can showcase your video in your property ad so that travelers can see it right then and there.

Today’s internet users are growing more and more accustomed to online videos. As a matter of fact, it is changing the way that many traditional markets do business. Think about it, most news media websites now offer free streaming videos of their websites. Some folks don’t even watch the news on tv anymore!

Having a property video can give you a great competitive advantage. If a traveler is deciding between a couple of vacation rentals and yours is the only one that has a video, there is a good chance that they would be more interested in your property.

To add your online video, simply record a short video of your property in a digital camera. Once you have the video in your computer you can upload it to an online site like http://youtube.com or http://video.google.com and then use the code they provide to insert your video in the Rentalo page.

Once you have the code, log in as a property owner, click on properties, select your property and click on Video. You will see the space to add your property video there.

If you need any help, our friendly staff is ready to assist you, simply contact us by clicking help.

Press Release

Search Engine’s Choices Include Hotels, Apartments, Houses, B&Bs 

MIAMI, April 12, 2007 ” An attractive, multi-story house in Vail, Colorado, with four bedrooms, three baths and mountain views in every direction is available right now on Rentalo.com, the Internet search engine that specializes in linking property-listing owners to travelers and vacationers.  The house, 2,900 sq. feet, has wrap-around decks, fully equipped kitchen, two-car garage, washer and dryer, high speed Internet and cable TV/Stereo among other amenities. The nightly price through May 26 is $695 for a three-night minimum stay

 Rentalo.com helps sports and vacation travelers with its listings of hundreds of apartments, hotels and other short-term accommodations at all price levels. The hi-tech innovations of the online search engine and directory allow viewers to quickly find the best values in accommodations they seek. Rentalo provides quick access to 200,000 short-term rental accommodations ” houses, hotels, apartments, bed and breakfasts, villas, guest houses and time shares - in 15,000 destinations worldwide making it the Internet’s most comprehensive travel lodging and vacation rental portal. Vacation rentals are one of the most important segments of Rentalo.com listings.

In Mont Tremblant, Quebec, an hour and a half from Montreal, Rentalo lists a privately owned slopeside condominium with three bedrooms and three baths and spectacular mountain views.  The condo property, built in 2000, includes a large private swimming pool, lake and 60-foot waterfall and stream. It is a mountain retreat in an Alpine village setting and units are rented exclusively to families with children. The privately owned unit sleeps eight and the reduced weekly rental rate is $1,200 for a seven-night minimum stay through April 30, $1,000 through June 14. 

 In Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Rentalo is featuring a two-bedroom chalet in Burgess Creek Canyon with views of the upper ski area slopes and National Forest with a private shuttle service at the driveway every 30 minutes that runs to the Thunderhead Lift and Gondola/Base area. Evening shuttles run to Ski Times Square and connect to the Old Town.  The chalet is furnished with family antiques from around the world and has both a residential and guest unit, each completely private from the other.  Chalet owners are a local family who are available for concierge services. Access to the National Forest is just 50 yards away with excellent snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking and biking trails. Through May 31, rates are $150 nightly or $795 weekly. 

 Another large chalet on Rentalo.com is in the Canadian resort of Whistler in British Columbia.  The five-bedroom house with 4.5 baths is located on the 14th fairway of the world famous Nicklaus North golf course and is just a five-minute drive to the base of ski lifts at both Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. The chalet, fully equipped with amenities, has an open living space and fantastic views. The spring skiing and golf rental rate through June 22 is $699 nightly with a three- or four-night minimum stay.

 Each Rentalo property listing provides the telephone contact number, e-mail address for contact and a request to call back. For registered users, Rentalo automatically completes quick searches and produces results in rental accommodations for both immediate booking and future travel. Rentalo destinations are worldwide ” throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe and beyond.

     Travel planners can scroll Rentalo’s published inventory or click on the ’submit Inquiry” tab to get personalized offers from rentals in destinations of their choice.  Visitors to the site can save time and money by using Rentalo’s unique “property finder” service - fully automated and free ” that matches rentals with the inquirer’s criteria: by property type, budget, amenities, things to do, special needs and vicinity and notifies them in a matter of hours. Rentalo maintains privacy by using “virtual” e-mails when sending out a general query for registered users.  Only when the inquirer contacts the properties does his or her actual e-mail become known.   

     For more information on spring rentals in the U.S., Canada, Europe and around the world, log on to www.Rentalo.com.  The e-mail address is contact@rentalo.com and the toll-free number is 1-877-710-5914.

Finding a Vacation Rental
IndependentTraveler.com

Posted on Mar. 29, 2007

Vacation Rental Web Sites

There are a number of helpful Web sites to consult when looking for your vacation rental. Many sites are just listings agents and do not vouch for the properties, so check what kind of support, if any, you can expect from the site if things don’t go as planned.

Worldwide Locations
10KVacations.com
1st ChoiceVacation Properties
A1 Vacations
ApartmentService.com
At Home Abroad, Inc
Cyberrentals.com
DestinationVillas.com
GreatFamilyRentals.com
GreatRentals.com
Rentalo.com
VacationRentals.com
VacationSpot.com
Vacation Rental Network
Villas International
VRBO.com

Planning a Spring Break Trip
Miami Herald by Jane Woolridge
Posted on Sun, Mar. 04, 2007

Rentalo.com: This website offers family-friendly and reasonably-priced vacation rentals in Florida, Mexico and many other locations. One Orlando choice: A four-bedroom, three-bath home with screened heated pool and full kitchen in a gated community 10 minutes from Disney rents for $985 per week during South Florida’s Spring Break.