The 2013 Conference Season is in full swing and it was great to kickoff at Western VRMA! Typical April in Colorado, an unexpected blizzard swept through Westminster – catching quite a few of us (myself included) completely unprepared. Fortunately, the blizzard was accompanied by many laughs and as always, terrific meetings with clients, prospects and fellow vendors from all over, touching base after a busy winter and just in time for the summer push. Still somewhat of a newbie to the industry, I found this show particularly interesting as it focused on operational tactics and particular challenges vacation rental managers face on a daily basis. A few key takeaways:
- Guest Communications: The more helpful information vacationers receive about their trip, the better their perception, and the more likely they are to repeat visit.
- Mobile: The use of smartphones and tablets in trip planning continues to grow exponentially! Guests are using mobile devices to research activities, find out about property information, check out detailed area maps, view their reservation, make final payments, etc.
- Post-Trip Experience: Repeat guests are the very best leads available to vacation rental managers! Not only are they qualified prospects but they are also great spokespeople across their social networks. Ensuring that guests have a positive experience by requesting feedback, incentivizing to book their next trip, and encouraging them to share their experience are all excellent opportunities to proactively increase bookings for the upcoming year.
Understandably, all three can be daunting for VR companies to implement as there is so much else on their plate: catering to current guests, preparing for the upcoming season, attracting new owners, housekeeping, maintenance, booking reservations, etc. Blue Tent is constantly working to create the very best, most innovative products and services for the vacation rental industry. Ask us how we can help you to significantly enhance the guest experience by automating and increasing communication as well as saving time and resources for managers to focus on the operational tasks at hand.
Please reach out if you’d like to know more, or if you have questions on any other online marketing initiatives.
Thanks again to all who visited the BTM booth at WVRMA to speak with us! If you’re heading to EVRMA next week make sure to stop by and see Peter and Kara. Next stop… Savannah!!
