I just finished with the entire menu of videos HA posted on their site.  The ad that ran in the super bowl is just a taste of the smorgasbord of videos they now have.  I’m only going to speak to the Super Bowl ad.

First of all, I liked the ad.  I think it could have gone further but, it’s not my dime they are spending and I’m sure they spent a few.

Let me start with the end: “Rent a house for half the cost of a hotel.”  Well… maybe.

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HOLD UP! … ARE YOU SAYING A TV AD IS MIS-LEADING… THE INHUMANITY

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While explicitly saying “half the cost” is accurate in some instances, it’s not for everything offered.  I think this could create push-back from new potential renters.  But what I’m wondering is the pushback from the VR owners.  Especially those that are already discounting prices.

I’ve been watching this Super Bowl ad deal at HA evolve since October and don’t recall anyone from HA reaching out (I get their emails) to the VR Owner community  requesting feedback or suggestions.  If they did and I missed it, please let me know.  My suggestion would have been: “Rent a house for a fraction of the cost of a hotel.”  More accurate; more ability to manage expectations; less “hypie”; creates mental theatre where the viewer defines “fraction.”

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I love the idea of the Griswolds.  Frankly, it’s brilliant.  Where the idea loses water with me is that anyone who has watched any of the Vacation series knows they run into problem after problem.  It’s evident in the 30 second spot.  What is not evident, and maybe this is the gist of the ad I don’t know, is how HA can solve the problem.  But they appear to be solving a “financial” problem, and not an accomodation problem.

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I just looked at the 26 responses to the ad on HA.  One guy hates it as he has to wade through the flash video to get to checking, however, he took the time to write such.  One person said they clicked through to HA off of the add.  Many VR owners pimping their own properties.  Most everyone loves the ad.  So that’s 1 out of 26, just shy of a 4% response REMARKABLE!  From a pure mathematical stance that shows this ad is a 100% winner!

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Back to the critique: I would have liked to have them bash the hotel less and show the benefits of vacation rentals more.  Show them entering the Napolean Suite then cut to the grand kids in their spaceous rooms; show the valet kid then show the personal (and secure) garage; show the guy at the counter, then show the kids/grandkids excitedly coming out of the house to greet the grand parents.  AHHHH hell… this could go on and on.  I’m no Madison Ave. ad exec, I’m just postulating.

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Bottom line: I laughed at the ad; found it compelling and am glad that HA spent the cash to spread the word about vacation rentals.  Good job HA!

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Remember to download your free copy of chapter 4 of The Vacationers Guide to Vacation Rentals and then get the full edition to make your next vacation unbelievable.

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You can see what HomeAway has to offer here:
HomeAway is the vacation rental network with over 115,000 listings

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Make some trails!
Terry

Last week I came across VacationHomesForCharity.org and was really impressed with what they are doing to help charities using vacation rental homes.  It’s about a 12 minute interview and I hope we cover everything but I’m sure we left a few things out. If you have any comments post them here.
To learn more about how you can help a charity of your choice or to learn more about vacationhomesforcharity.org you can reach them at: http://www.vacationhomesforcharity.org

Michael McFadded of VacationHomesForCharity.org Interview
“Thank you” to Michael and all the best!
Make some trails!
Terry
p.s. remember to get a complimentary copy of chapter four The Vacationers Guide to Vacation Rentals.

VRBO.com Improves Vacation Rental Search Functionality

Kudos to vrbo.com for finally improving their search functionality.  Now, we as rental guests can now search by date.

But you wouldn’t know it as they decided it was more important to put a press release out telling the world how they (homeaway) is going to be advertising during the super bowl (how does that benefit ME?… THE GUEST) instead of telling their end users how their site is easier to use… go figure!  Man am I glad I’m not in the corporate world!  (If they did put a press release on this I will stand corrected, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.)

Instead of typing you through it, I’ve posted a video at www.vacation-rental-info.com which walks through the basic functionality.

Bottom line… THANK YOU VRBO!  You just saved your guests a ton of time and in the end, money.

Make some trails!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuIU_TfSg1o

Day 1, Post 2 of 2 for the day.

If you have been here please add your experience.

Recently my wife bought the book: 100 Wonders of the World by Michael Hoffmann & Alexander Krings. I decided to take the next 50 days and go through it. I don’t know how many of these places will have vacation rentals, if they do, I’ll mention some resources; if they don’t, then I won’t.

100 Wonders of the World

Day 1:      Amboseli National Park – Kenya

Amboseli is a one-of-a-kind game reservation in southern Kenya.  One of the oldest national parks in Africa.  It is famous around the world fo its unique elephant population*

Resource:     Bootsnall.com

Get Chapter Four of The Vacationers Guide to Vacation Rentals

The Guide saves you time and money and makes an easily confusing process easy to understand.

*=From 100 Wonders of The World, Michael Hoffmann & Alexander Krings

Recently I’ve discovered a somewhat disturbing trend in vacation rentals. I’m seeing a lot more postings from dissatisfied guests. The issues range from infestations of insects to out and out filthy properties. I think many of these issues would have been cleared up with a simple request.

I have talked about “more pictures please” at vacation-rental-info.com and without fail everyone agrees that recent pictures are a great way to help make a decision. I’m in the process of updating The Vacationers Guide to Vacation Rentals for 2010 and I’m considering putting in an entirely new request in the “Before” section: “send me a video.” Thoughts?

I have no idea how this is going to be received by the owner group out there, but I think the request is reasonable and easy to accomplish. Frankly, to walk through a house with a video camera rolling will take all of about four to five minutes; transferring it to a computer another five minutes then posting it to the site only moments. So the entire process, not including commute, is less than 15 minutes.

If the property has internet access and the owner/manager has the necessary equipment, they could get the recording, transferring and posting to the site done with one visit. The additional benefit to them is that they now have a recent video to use to market the property.

Some vacation rental sites already have videos posted. I usually find them helpful, some more than others. I saw one in an area of the world I was familiar with and the video, if I were renting the place, would have sold me.

The owner did a fantastic job of not only walking through the condo but also went to the patio and did a panoramic shot describing everything I was looking at, including restaurants and other businesses she thought would be useful for the potential renter to know about. She even pointed out a few things that were new to me and I thought I knew the area like the back of my hand.

It think videos also add to the “personal touch” I like so much about vacation rentals. Remember, we are dealing, usually, with a mom and pop operation who just want to provide the best accommodation for the best price.

Make some trails!