As reported to you in recent emails and newsletters, our exciting redesign of your listing is coming soon! Along with other changes, a picture slideshow feature will enable vacationers to view your pictures nearly full-screen size, but only if your current pictures are big enough so that they can be enlarged without loss of clarity.
To see the size of your current pictures, go to the "Preview Photo Slideshow" link in your Homeowner Center, and click on each of your pictures to see if they pop up to nearly full-screen size. Or go to your Picture Central page. A 
to the right of a picture means that we already have an enlarged version that will display in nearly full-screen size. If not, you can replace any small pictures by uploading larger versions of the original photos at any time.
There is no need to take immediate action. Your listing will still include a slideshow of your pictures, which will display the largest size picture we have available.
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Initial outlook promising for the 2013 rental season
Early booking numbers are very promising so far this season. As of the first week in January, bookings for Memorial Day through October were up over 13% from last year at the same time. In itself, this is good news for homeowners. Even better is the fact that last year's bookings posted a remarkable 28% improvement on the previous year.
This strong, early-booking trend is a welcome indicator that we have finally left the difficult economic conditions of 2009 behind. Vacationers are more financially confident and thus more willing to commit to their vacation rentals as soon as possible rather than risk losing the "ideal" home.
Larger homes (4+ bedrooms) always book earlier than smaller ones, so these particularly should be active on our site year round. But all homes, big or small, are also more likely to rent at higher prices in the early booking season than later when vacationers tend to expect discounts.
Stay tuned as updated numbers will be published next week in our first press release of the season, and it will be included in next month's newsletter. |
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Conducting business with respect to our community and the environment. Year round and seasonal services are our specialty. From Rubbish removal to portable toilets, we've got you covered.
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Have you contacted last year's tenants to see if they'd like to return to your home this summer? And have you contacted vacationers who have inquired about your home in the past but did not end up renting it? If they expressed interest at one time, they are likely to be interested again.
We make it easy for you to contact prior tenants and inquirers. Go to the "Email Inquiries" link in your Homeowner Center. Select the "Send email" link to create your target list, and compose your email. You can customize the email to tenants, which includes a link to your listing on our site and its first picture. The system allows you to send multiple, personalized emails to prior tenants or past inquirers in minutes.
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Turnover Day
There is no definitive right or wrong decision when determining the best day to set as your "turnover day" for your vacation rental. The vast majority (85%) of our Cape and Islands listings, however, use Saturdays as the date of check in and check out for their tenants. We believe this accurately reflects the needs of the majority of vacationers who prefer to leave their homes on a Saturday morning and return home on the following one, with an extra day on Sunday to unpack and prepare for the work week ahead.
Read our Homeowner Blog post for more info.
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Your goal, of course, is to find tenants who enjoy your home, are respectful of it, leave it in good condition, and will want to return. But how is this best accomplished? Step one is simple: Speak to your prospective tenants on the phone. While an initial email correspondence is fine, there’s nothing like a phone chat to establish a rapport and a sense of mutual trust. You want to trust that your guests will care for your home as if it were theirs. And your guests want to trust that what you tell them about your property is an honest and accurate representation. In short, it should provide assurance to both of you that your home is indeed a good fit for them.
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Click on your area:
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| Reminders |
| Use Booking Management |
Refer-a-Friend |
Need help with pictures? |
We urge you to use our Booking Management feature, which allows you to track vacationer bookings and communications, including the lease, security deposit, rent, keys, etc. It shows at a glance when certain items are due and when they are overdue. You can access this feature through your Homeowner Center.
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Refer a friend and receive 2 free months if you list for a year or more, or 1 extra month if you list for 6 months! And, don't forget: referring a Vacation Planner business or Home Service counts, too! |
Need help taking new pictures or video? Becky Fischer has photographed over 300 listings on our site and is happy to discuss your photography needs. The pictures she takes of your home will be perfectly suited for the new slideshow and will be enlargeable to nearly full screen size. Email
Becky@weneedavacation.com for information. |
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