A
Last-Minute Availability Alert highlights an available
week within the next 4 weeks. An
Alert promotes
your listing by displaying a
LAST MINUTE ALERT icon and drawing attention to your
Owner Special in the following locations:
- the Last-Minute Availability and Deals page.
- your property listing
- the Power Search property search results, including the map view
- the general (Browse All) property directory
You may run each Alert for 2, 3 or 4 weeks at a cost of $15 per week.
At the time of purchase, you will choose the end date of an Alert to determine the
cost.
On the property search results page and in the general (Browse All) property directory,
your listing will be displayed in a highlighted box and contain the
LAST MINUTE ALERT icon and the dates of
availability, making it stand out significantly from other listings:
Your listing will also be displayed on our Last-Minute Availability and Deals page,
provided you have included a free Owner Special, too.
To add a LAST MINUTE ALERT
Alert to your listing, log in to your Homeowner Center page and click on the "Last-Minute Availability Alert" link.
Last-Minute Availability Alert FAQ's
How can I make sure my listing appears on the Last-Minute Availability and Deals
page?
When purchasing your Alert, just be sure to include a free Owner Special, specific
to the week you are trying to highlight.
Can I highlight several weeks with one Alert?
No, each Alert is purchased for one given week of availability. If you wish to highlight
an additional week of availability, you must purchase a separate Alert.
If I am lowering the rental price for an available week with an Alert, should I
lower the price on my calendar, too?
Definitely! Always adjust your calendar to reflect your current rental price for
any available week. Be sure your calendar price or price reduction is consistent
in your Owner Special as well.
Should I post an Owner Special that relates to my Alert?
Definitely! Use an Owner Special to highlight the Alert with a price reduction,
discount, or unique offer for your home's last-minute availability. Without an Owner Special, your listing will not be included on the Last Minute Alerts and Deals page.
How can I remove the Alert?
The Alert will be removed and your listing will disappear from the Last-Minute Availability
and Deals page as soon as you indicate on your calendar that the highlighted week
has been booked.
If I rent the week that I have the Alert for, can I transfer the Alert to another
week?
An Alert is not transferable. If the available week for which you purchased an Alert
gets booked or has come and gone, the remaining time cannot be transferred to another
available week.
How do I know that the Alert will work?
Although we cannot guarantee that an Alert will help you rent your home, we can
guarantee that vacationers pay attention to them. On average, the number of views
a property with an Alert receives is 40% greater than the number of views in the
two weeks prior to the start of the Alert. And the listings with Alerts generated
50-60% more email inquiries during an Alert than during the prior two weeks.
Does the Alert move my listing to the top of the results page in the Power Search?
No, your listing will not move to the top of the results page. The listings in the
results page are listed according to price, and moving your listing to the top would
disrupt the order. But having an Alert with an Owner Sepcial does place it on the Last-Minute Availability and Deals page, which is very popular with vacaitoners.
Why do you charge for Alerts but not for Owner Specials?
The Alert is fee-based and designed for one purpose: to further highlight a given
week of availability within the next four weeks. An Owner Special is free and can
be used to call attention to anything – a price reduction, special weekend rate,
cancellation, or special offer. Because they are free, there are likely to be a
large number of Owner Specials on the site at a given time. Thus, they do not stand
out as much as Alerts do.