Luxury Villa Finder's Management Tips for Vacation Property Owners

The following tips for "do it yourself" vacation home owners are excerpted from "The Glossbrenner Guide to Vacation Rental Resources (aka VR Resources Guide)."

To benefit further from the Glossbrenners' extensive knowledge of the vacation rental business,  please consult their website.

Tip #1. Offer an online availability calendar.

Prospective renters like to see immediately whether the dates they want are available. You'll increase bookings and minimize the time you spend sending out "Sorry we're already booked that week" messages by using an availability calendar like the one offered free through HomeAway Connect. The vacation rental management tools listed below in Tip #4 also offer Calendars.

That means that whenever you take a reservation for your property, you can update one calendar and the changes will appear in your listings at other sites where you may be advertising—a real timesaver! 

LuxuryVillafinder.com Notes: Included with your ad, Luxuryvillafinder.com offers you your own private availability calendar you can turn on or off for display, or you may link out to an external calendar like the one mentioned above.

Tip #2. Get approved to accept credit cards.

Your renters will appreciate the convenience associated with paying by credit card. But you'll also find that accepting credit cards makes your life much easier. Instead of waiting for rental deposit checks to arrive by mail (and then waiting even longer to make sure they clear the bank), you can process payments immediately and see the funds in your checking account within just a few days.

HomeAway Connect (www.homeawayconnect.com) offers a Credit Card Merchant Account  Program specifically designed for vacation-rental owners. Another good choice, with very competitive rates and top-notch customer service reps who know the vacation-rental business, is eCom Merchant Solutions (www.ecommerchantsolutions.com, 888-277-3332).

LuxuryVillafinder.com Notes: Here are two more recommendations for merchant account providers:

1. Quickbooks Merchant Services is a wonderful option in that it can connect directly to your bookkeeping (or bookkeeper's) Quickbooks software.  Quickbooks offers a reasonably priced online access version, or desktop.   Quickbooks also has a feature which can connect easily to your bank accounts and the merchant account for instant updating. 

2. Payment Processing, Inc. has been a leader in processing vacation rental payments for US-based customers.   Please visit them at www.paypros.com/merchants.asp or apply online at http://www.paypros.com/popApplication.asp.

LuxuryVillafinder.com Notes: Most merchant processors offer an online control panel for the account where you can set how "strict" or how "loose" you want the processing to be, i.e. address verification must always match or back-of-card security codes must always be given.  Be sure and discuss these options with your processor when setting up your system.  Please note also that not all online banking systems are compatible with Quickbooks "Web Connect" feature or they only connect with older versions of Quickbooks.  Check with your bank's technology department or choose a bank where your vacation rental account wil be more compatible with all the features of the Quickbooks software.

Tip #3. Establish relationships with a good CPA and real estate lawyer.

They can help to ensure that you're in compliance with tax laws and the various rules and regulations governing vacation rentals, which vary from one state to the next. You'll almost certainly be required to collect and pay sales tax to one or more jurisdictions (city, county, and/or state). Ask your lawyer, or visit HotSpot Tax Services (www.HotSpotTax.com) and read about their tax-filing service. It gets high marks from vacation-rental owners.

LuxuryVillafinder.com Notes: Before launching your rental property business, make sure you have all your various legal forms, deposit forms, receipt forms, and other agreements for the rental organized.  Scan these files to PDF Format.  Keep these in a folder on your computer's desktop for easy sending to your guests if they request something by email.  Services like Google Docs, Box.net, or YouSendIt.com are also helpful in keeping your rental business organized and backing up your records outside your computer.

Tip #4. Consider using a PC-based or online booking and rental management tool.

There are several software packages and Web-based services designed to help vacation-rental owners manage the booking process, and a number of others are in the works. Of the ones available now, these get excellent reviews from property owners.

      Vacation Rental Management Software:
      Vacation Rent Pro (www.vacationrentpro.com)

      Web-Based Rental Management Services:
      iVacationOnline Reservation System (www.ivacationonline.com)
      RentalReply (http://www.ivacationonline.com)

Learn more about How to Make Your Vacation Property Work for You. 

Longtime vacation-rental experts Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner are the authors of over 60 commercially published books with combined sales of over one million copies. Among their titles is the book/CD package, How to Make Your Vacation Property Work for You!: The Quick & Easy Guide to Advertising, Renting, Managing, and Making Money from your Second Home.

The Glossbrenners are also the founders of FullyBookedRentals (www.fullybookedrentals.com), a membership website for new and experienced VR owners, property managers, and service providers. The site is focused on giving members the expert information and quality resources they need to maximize the income generated by vacation-rental properties.

The FullyBookedRentals website includes member profiles, an insightfully annotated VR Resources Guide, expert How-to Articles, Sample Rental Agreements, Handy Forms & Checklists, “Ask the Experts,” and News & Commentary focusing on current developments in the vacation-rental industry and what they mean to owners and managers.

Alfred and Emily have dedicated themselves to “filtering the fire hose” of information for individual owners and property managers who are truly serious about the vacation-rental business.

To sign up for a one-year membership at their FullyBookedRentals site for just $25, visit www.fullybookedrentals.com and enter the promotion code LVF25 during the sign-up process.


This content is Copyright © Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner, FullyBookedRentals.com. All rights reserved.