Free Fun Program: iTrip Vacations and Xplorie Provide Activities to Guests
NewsIn 2016, iTrip Vacations and Xplorie partnered to bring free fun to guests who book direct with iTrip Vacations. Today, over 20 destinations offer the program, helping vacationers save as much as $400 per day on popular activities and at...
Home User Guide Tips: Help Guests Enjoy Their Stay
Guest ExperienceThe short-term rental hosts my husband and I appreciate most are ones who smooth our stay by giving us a user guide or welcome book that helps us find things and figure out how things work. Not only does a home user guide provide useful ...
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Property Management Practices: 5 Expert Vacation Rental Tips for Owners
SalesWhether a new rental owner or feel like a pro, managing a vacation property may feel time-consuming and somewhat stressful. However, it doesn’t have to be a strenuous process, especially for those who follow our top property management p...
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19 More iTrip Vacations Managers Named HA Premier Partners
NewsIn 2017, HomeAway unveiled its Premier Partner Program, a way to recognize outstanding property managers who consistently deliver high-quality guest experiences before, during and after their stay. After the program’s official launch, 10...
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Vacation Rental Facebook Group: A Quick How-to for Managers, Owners
Social MediaIn January 2018, Facebook announced major changes to its algorithm. One of the biggest involves business pages ranking with less priority over other types of content in a user’s News Feed unless that page advertises on Facebook. The chan...
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Spring and Summer Decorating: How to Spruce Up Rental Homes
Interior DesignSpring and summer often bring sunshine and warm temperatures. They also represent a stage of new growth, as trees bud, wildflowers bloom and wildlife come out of hibernation. These changes provide the perfect opportunity to decorate vaca...
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Vacation Rental Videos: Use Visual Content to Market Properties
MarketingMost property managers know high-quality photos have become a must for effectively marketing properties. No longer a trend, images now factor into search algorithms and influence search rankings. However, the next wave is something bigge...
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Rental Photo Tips: Make Images Stand Out With These Tricks
Rental Listing TipsImage and video usage has skyrocketed over the years. Visuals have become a major draw on websites, increase social media visibility and help generate more business over time. In fact, studies show that people remember 65% of the visual ...
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Vacation Rental Outdoor Spaces: Design Something Guests Love
Interior DesignUpdating vacation rental outdoor spaces not only enable guests to enjoy the rental more, but it also helps increase its appeal. When designed well, outdoor spaces create an area to share with loved ones and offer a quiet space to enjoy w...
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Guest Education Day: Let Renters Know It Pays to #BookDirect
NewsAs a vacation rental manager, it may seem difficult to compete with large listing sites such as Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO. These sites spend millions on advertising, employ large staffs that build their brand and reach millions of people...
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iTrip Vacations Travel App Unveils Enhancements, New Features
TechnologyIt’s no secret that custom apps are here to stay. They provide easy access to information, include relevant information and provide a way for customers to interact with their favorite companies. With this in mind, iTrip Vacations has rel...
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SEO Changes 2018: Take These Actions to Help Rankings
SEOSearch Engine Optimization (SEO) changes occur on a regular basis. Specialists stay abreast of these changes, however many vacation rental professionals can’t keep up due to other tasks. Many do notice that rental listings and websites d...
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Pet-friendly Rental Tips: 7 Ways to Attract Travelers and Pets
Guest Experience, Rental Listing TipsAccording to a HomeAway survey conducted in 2017, a total of 38% of customers are pet lovers. That means these travelers want the ability to bring their four-legged companion instead of having to find a sitter or boarding facility. This ...
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Vacation Rental Industry 2017 Recap: What Changed, What to Expect
NewsIn recent years, the vacation rental industry – a.k.a. private accommodations – has seen groundbreaking growth. Once only an option for affluent travelers has now become a preferred choice for millions of people. And 2017 showed even...
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Airbnb Listings: How to Rank Higher in the Algorithm
Rental Listing TipsAirbnb has gradually become one of the top private accommodation listings sites in the world. Its platform reaches millions of travelers every day, making it a viable option for property management companies to reach a broader audience. ...
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iTrip Vacations Managers Earn HomeAway Premier Partner Status
NewsIn November 2017, HomeAway unveiled its Premier Partner Program, which paves the way for top property management companies and individual owners. The program recognizes those who consistently deliver outstanding traveler experiences befo...
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Dynamic Pricing: 5 Tips for Adjusting Rental Rates
Rental Listing TipsDynamic pricing is defined as a process that adjusts prices several times to maximize revenue opportunity. For example, presenting the right price to the right customer at the right time. In the private accommodations industry, the dynam...
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Decorate Vacation Rentals for Fall, Winter Seasons
Interior DesignWith every changing season comes the opportunity to transform homes into welcoming spaces and create a sense of freshness. Why not update your vacation rentals with new colors and décor? Not only will the rental look different, but gues...
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Vacation Rental TV Projects: Don’t Miss These Shows
NewsThe private vacation accommodation industry has exploded in recent years and has outpaced growth in the travel industry at a whole, with projections estimating its worth at over $36 billion by the end of 2018. With this growth and contin...
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5 Real Estate Earning Tips: How to Make More Money as a Real Estate Agent
SalesWhether new to the industry or an expert, you know the real estate market has its ups and downs. Many things affect a real estate agent’s experience and success, especially when the economy or individual market takes a downturn. Accordin...
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HomeAway Partner Summit: 6 Vacation Rental Pros Share Their Insights
NewsIn August 2017, iTrip Vacations helped sponsor the HomeAway Partner Summit in Nashville, TN. The two-day event brought over 700 vacation rental professionals together for educational sessions, presentations, training and networking oppor...
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Pro Customer Service Tips: Best Practices for Vacation Rental Managers
Guest ExperienceCustomer service best practices begin with knowing the customer. Today’s consumer audience expect exceptional service paired with exceptional value, and each situation is different. However, there are some pro customer service tips that ...
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Inntopia Data Sets Help Vacation Rental Businesses See the Future
TechnologyThe Inntopia Business Intelligence data platform gives properties, destinations and marketers an unprecedented view of past, present, and future performance and booking patterns. This data empowers partners to stay informed, strategic an...
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LinkedIn Best Practices: 6 More Profile Tips for Rental Managers
Social MediaNow that we covered the basic LinkedIn profile tips, it’s time to discuss general best practices. LinkedIn is a professional networking social site where millions of professionals come together to share success stories and news and motiv...
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5 Basic LinkedIn Profile Tips for Rental Property Managers
Social MediaVacation rental managers not utilizing LinkedIn are missing major opportunities to grow their business and connect with professionals. About 500 million and counting. As it relates to rental property managers, they can connect with poten...
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How to Improve Vacation Rental Review Ratings: 8 Expert Tips
Guest ExperienceVacation rental reviews have become a leading driver for online exposure and increasing bookings. Rental managers with several high reviews have an easier time generating bookings, while those who have no or low reviews find themselves p...
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Time Management Tips for Vacation Property Managers
SalesVacation property managers have a lot on their plate. They have to ensure rental owners are happy, the property makes money and rental guests are satisfied. These responsibilities include schedules, calls, emails, monitoring reviews, cle...
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SEO Essentials: What Vacation Rental Websites Need to Compete
SEOSearch engine optimization (SEO) best practices and algorithms continue to change, becoming more important for businesses trying to reach large audiences. Years ago, only basics were needed to rank well, however SEO essentials have evolv...
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Family-friendly Vacation Rentals: How to Attract These Guests
Rental Listing TipsAccording to a AAA survey, 70% of family travelers planned to take one to two vacations in 2017 and 28% planned to take over three trips. Regardless of how far they travel, families need accommodations that not only provide comfort but o...
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Inside Instagram: 7 Tips for Maximizing the Algorithm
Social MediaInstagram has become one of the most effecting marketing tools vacation rental managers use to promote their rental homes. It’s free and easy to use, too. Which is why the social platform has over 700 million active users (April 20174). ...
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Rental Interiors: Wow Guests With These Design Tips
Interior DesignRental interiors welcome guests before they even enter the home. Properties listed online showcase interiors through photos, videos and 3D tours, and should give potential customers a real feel for the entire home. As they scroll through...
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Vacation Rental Software: 8 Musts for Successful Managers
TechnologyA solid vacation rental software platform has become a necessity in the property management industry. Managers need a central place to store their accounting information, bookings, revenues and reports, while managing online activity and...
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7 VR Industry Trends: Ways to Stay Current, Beat the Competition
NewsOver the last two years, the vacation rental industry has evolved from upscale vacation homes to millions of affordable rentals across the world. With that rapid growth, comes higher demand for both private accommodations and the custome...
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What Is User Intent? How Internet Behavior Affects SEO
SEOOver the last couple of years, the term ‘user intent’ has appeared in news announcements, on forums and in technology advancements. This is especially true when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). The process behind SEO has cha...
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How to Price Vacation Rentals: 7 Tips for Owners, Managers
Rental Listing TipsWhether renting your own home or managing properties, pricing vacation rentals is important to both homeowners and guests. If priced too high, people will book somewhere else, and if it’s too low, you lose money. However, the process for...
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Customer Service Tips: How to Approach Different Age Groups
Guest ExperienceIn order to run a successful vacation property management business and increase growth, mangers must provide top customer service at all times. Even though it’s not always easy to do, the practice of high-quality service keeps customers ...
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Staging Vacation Rentals: 8 Ways to Boost Listing Photos
Interior Design, Rental Listing TipsIn today’s competitive vacation rental market, it’s important that property managers and owners use every tool possible to stand out from competitors. One way to do this is through the use of high-quality photography. However, no matter ...
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Enewsletter Tips: How to Market Vacation Rentals, Services
MarketingDigital marketing experts agree that email newsletters (enewsletters) rank as one of the easiest and most effective marketing tools. When implemented, this distribution process provides vacation property managers with a versatile way to ...
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6 Facebook Business Tips to Help Drive Engagement
Social MediaWith nearly 2 billion active users, it’s no surprise Facebook is the top social media site. In terms of vacation property management, most everyone uses Facebook to 1) Connect with current and potential guests, 2) Connect with other indu...
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How to Handle Negative Reviews: 10 Tips for Rental Managers
Guest ExperienceWith the surge in online research and bookings, reviews have become a major selling point for online travel agencies (OTAs). However, with the perks managers receive from positive reviews also comes the impact from negative reviews. If n...
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Vail Vacation Rental Management Company Celebrates Green Success
NewsThrough sustainable business practices, iTrip Vacations Vail-Beaver Creek has earned a spot as finalist for Actively Green Business of the Year for 2016. Actively Green, located in Eagle County, Colorado, focuses on businesses creating a...
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Space Agent Captures, Markets to Customers Before They Search
MarketingSpace Agent, an independent company spun-out of MarketChorus to focus on the travel industry, has created a solution to a problem online travel agencies (OTAs) face every day. How do we reach customers before they enter a competing sales...
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10 Welcome Book Ideas: Give Guests Something They Love
Guest ExperienceThe beginning of any memorable vacation starts with a greeting. While it’s customary to send an email with important information, a welcome book inside the vacation rental – and sent prior to check-in – takes guest satisfaction to a ...
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1 Chic Retreat Design Solutions Increase Bookings, Guest Satisfaction
Interior Design1 Chic Retreat, an interior design consulting firm, helps vacation rental owners and managers transform property interiors with the goal of increasing bookings and overall guest satisfaction. The company started in 2014, but has already ...
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SEO FAQs: 11 Common Questions Answered by Experts
SEOAs vacation property management professionals, we work with managers and owners to increase online exposure and brand-building. One topic that always comes up is the importance and process behind search engine optimization (SEO). In its ...
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Drone Videos Launch Vacation Rental Images Up and Beyond
Rental Listing Tips, TechnologyGlobal interest in technology has skyrocketed, and the vacation rental industry ranks among the top users with new innovations becoming available. Recent years have seen advancements in digital photography, 3-D images and virtual reality...
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Vacation Rental Trends: What Affects Property Managers in 2017
NewsThe last few years have seen a dramatic increase in vacation rental trends. Once a luxury that only some families could afford, vacation rentals now cater to singles, couples, groups and families, all at a fraction of the cost of a hotel...
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Rented.com Increases Revenue for Vacation Rental Managers, Owners
SalesRented.com – the leading marketplace connecting rental management companies with second homeowners – has a proven reputation for increasing revenue for both second homeowners and those managing these investments. As of 2017, Rented.c...
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3 Effective Ways to Target Vacation Rental Customers
Marketing, SalesThrough digital marketing, property management companies can use search engines and social media sites to target vacation rental customers. By implementing marketing and remarketing processes, businesses can capture potential customers a...
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5 Ways to Increase Rental Revenue From Design Made Easy (DME)
Interior Design, SalesThe short-term vacation rental market is much more competitive today as thousands of new listings enter the market and publicly traded hospitality vendors establish greater market presence. According to an industry report, data predicts ...
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BookingBoost Helps iTrip Vacations Franchisees Market Properties for Less
MarketingWhere does marketing vacation rentals rank on your to-do list? What about generating reports, analyzing statistics and staying current with industry trends? Effective marketing can become a full-time job, which is why some managers hire ...
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Vacation Rental Headlines: 7 Ways to Improve Click Rates
Rental Listing TipsThe headline in any solid vacation rental listing should grab the reader’s attention. After all, the headline is one of the first things an online user sees, second only to a photo. However, many property managers feel they don’t have ti...
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Pinterest Marketing: How to Showcase Vacation Rentals, Attract Travelers
Social MediaWith 150 million active Pinterest users and travel ranking as one of the top searched items on the platform, those not using Pinterest marketing to showcase their rentals miss out on a big opportunity. In fact, 87 percent of pinners (Pin...
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Matterport Creates 3D Vacation Properties for Real-world Experience
Rental Listing Tips, TechnologyMatterport – a media technology company that provides 3-D solutions – enables businesses and industry leaders to showcase products in a new way. One top product is the Matterport Pro 3D Camera, which collects data to accurately map a...
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Vacation Rental Networking: 7 Tips to Increase Connections, Sales
SalesLike it or not, vacation rental networking has become crucial to establishing connections in the industry. The power behind face-to-face networking helps property managers become a part of their community and meet other individuals and b...
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First-time Blog Tips: Marketing Through Effective Content Creation
MarketingReports show that to rank in search engines and market brands more effectively, websites need unique content added on a regular basis. One popular way to add this type of content is to write and publish blog posts. Blogs serve several pu...
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6 Tech Amenities Guests Need in Their Vacation Rental
TechnologyWith fast-growing demands in travel experience, vacation rental owners and managers can no longer offer just the basics. Many guests want their vacation rental to have the same amenities as their home and will become dissatisfied if thos...
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LinkedIn Guide: 3 Ways to Gain Vacation Rental Exposure
Marketing, Social MediaLinkedIn – named the world’s largest professional network – has 450 million users worldwide, with 120 million in the U.S. alone. According to a BeBusinessed.com article, the site has the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rates acros...
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Vacation Rental Reviews Can Make or Break Income
Guest ExperienceDo online vacation rental reviews really affect the leisure travel industry? The short answer is: Yes. Due to the popularity and influence reviews have on customers, they are here to stay. For property owners specifically, reviews have a...
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FlipStream App Simplifies Vacation Rental Turnover Process
TechnologyThe FlipStream app – designed by iTrip Vacations – is a mobile-ready application that allows iTrip Vacations’ property managers to monitor the entire turn-over process from their smartphone. The app provides users easy access to ever...
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Design Made Easy Simplifies Vacation Rental Updating Process
Interior DesignWith a focus on simplifying the interior design experience, Design Made Easy (DME) provides a custom app where users manage the entire vacation rental updating process via their iPad. Users can see design ideas in real-time, order materi...
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6 Ways to Dominate the HomeAway Best Match Program
Rental Listing TipsMajor listing sites such as HomeAway have followed search engine examples and now use algorithms to prioritize vacation rental exposure. This change brought about much debate in the industry and has left many property owners trying to fi...
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Party Squasher Prevents Parties, Enhances Security
TechnologyWhether renting a home for additional income or managing multiple units as part of a larger business model, you know vacation rentals are a valuable asset. Additionally, the rise in vacation rental usage and thriving industry growth have...
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Vacation Rental Remodel Spotlight With Loretta Luhman
Interior DesignMany vacation rental owners and managers struggle with the decision to update their home. Vacation rental remodel costs can start at several thousand dollars, and the process can become time consuming. However, remodeling a home may beco...
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Xplorie Enhances Guest Experience Through Free Activities
Guest ExperienceVacations serve as a way to get loved ones together and escape from it all. However for most families, gone are the days of just relaxing on the beach with a good book. Nowadays vacationers want to experience all the destination offers â...
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Instagram Marketing: 4 Ways to Promote Vacation Properties
Social MediaProperty managers not using an Instagram marketing processes are behind the times when it comes to free social promotion and marketing. Sure, everyone knows and uses Facebook, but Instagram is becoming the better – and more efficient â...
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SEO Overview: 5 Ways to Improve Website Rankings
SEOSEO – the acronym for Search Engine Optimization – is a process used for gaining online traffic through search engine sites, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. When implemented correctly, content – including a website, blog post, soci...
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Cold-calling and Email: 4 Steps to Help Grow Business
SalesVacation rental managers fall into two categories: 1) those who want more bookings and 2) those building their vacation rental portfolio. Whether you manage your own vacation rental or operate a property management company, you’ve more t...
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VR Pro Matt Landau Q&A: Marketing Advice to Property Managers
MarketingMatt Landau – founder of Vacation Rental Marketing Blog (VRMB) and one of the top vacation rental marketing professionals in the industry – works to help individual managers effectively market their properties and maximize rental inv...
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Vacation Rental Photos: How to Make a Property Look Its Best
Rental Listing TipsHigh-quality vacation rental photos and images have become more important than ever, especially in today’s digital world. Studies show that colored visuals increase people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%. Additionally, co...
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Vacation Rental Listing Tips: How to Write Effective Copy
Rental Listing TipsVacation rental listing copy and photos are the backbone of a listing that will be seen by potential guests. The listing and photos are the first thing a visitor sees on your website, and serves as the No. 1 way to turn a visitor into a ...
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