This weekend marks the end of the peak summer season for many vacation home owners. All in all I would say that it's been a pretty good season for me. I won't elaborate too much on that because the last time I think I jinxed myself. (Read my blog post). I hope that everyone had a good summer rental season too. And this week marks the time when most parents are jumping for joy because their kids are finally going back to school! But back to school means fewer families with school age children vacationing in our homes. So to get the fall booked, it's time to market to renters with toddlers, young couples and retirees. To help you along, I have written some articles about targeting renters with non-school age children.

Another thing that I noticed (I'll blog about it fully on Monday) was that since my summer rates are over, they have dropped off my ads for HomeAway. Remember, having your rates field filled out on your ad increases your position on the search results pages. Besides—it's good for your renters to have your rates posted.

Happy Renting by Owner!

Christine

Top 10 Ways to Increase Your Property's Web "Curb Appeal"

Curb appeal is very important when selling a home. And equally important to vacation rental owners who “sell” their second home daily on the Internet to browsing vacationers. Since, often the exterior photo of a vacation rental property is used for the thumbnail that appears on the HomeAway search results pages, it's vital that the exterior photo of your home shows what it has to offer.

Here's ten ways to increase your property's web curb appeal:

1) Remove unnecessary objects from the yard, driveway, and patio area (vehicles, garbage cans, water hoses, beach toys, etc.) 2) Rethink your landscaping. A few strategically planted shrubs can really shape up a yard. If nothing else, be sure to water your grass before taking an exterior photo.

3) Work with your surrounding terrain. Most travelers are going on vacation to leave behind their suburban subdivisions with perfectly manicured lawns. Embrace your rustic, beach, rocky, desert, snowy, or urban setting. 4) Take the photo on a brightly lit day. A cloudy sky can put a dreary damper on your property's appearance.

5) Watch for shadows. Determine what time of day a photo need be taken to avoid a dark shadow obscuring the front of your home.

6) Reflect the character of the area. Vacationers are often looking for the “feeling” of an area when browsing through listings. Make your beach condo appear “beachy,” your mountain chalet “rustic,” your desert pueblo “southwestern” etc. 7) Use a digital camera to take the photo, so that you can crop, edit brightness, and increase color later.

8) Add little touches like potted plants or a thematic mailbox to make your property feel more “home-y.”

9) If the front of your house is obscured by tall trees or bushes, consider taking a photo of the rear view of your home, including your pool, patio furniture, etc. 10) If your home is in an area where the seasons change, it's great to change your photos with seasons. Having a photos with beautiful fall colored leaves could “sell” your home to leaf peepers, or the shot with the dusting of snow could “sell” your home to skiers.

Recently Added Articles to the Owner Community

Seven Ways to Make Your Vacation Rental Home More "Kid Friendly" Have you put some thought into making you second home safe for children?

Buying Towels for Your Vacation Rental Property Tips for buying affordable and long-lasting towels for your vacation home.

Descriptive Words to Use in Your Vacation Rental Ad Your property isn't ordinary. So why use boring or trite language to describe it?

How to Use Digital Camera to Take Photos of Your Vacation Property Quick tips for using your digital camera to capture your vacation rental property's best side.

Futons vs. Sofa Sleepers Buying a new couch? Here are some pros and cons of buying a futon or a sofa sleeper.

How to Market Your Vacation Home to Families with Children Tips for attracting groups traveling with young children.

When Should You Hire a Professional Photographer? Tips for choosing and hiring a professional photographer to shoot pictures of your vacation home.

Keeping Damage Deposits vs. Charging Fines Two ways to go about preventing damage to your property.

Sample Deposit Refund Letters (When Withholding for Damages) For the very rare occasions when you have to withhold a portion or all of your damage deposit.

Often Overlooked Amenities: Pens and Paper With the many uses for pens and paper, it's a great idea to stock your vacation home with writing utensils and scratch paper.

VRBO Listing Critique: Tranquility (Green Turtle Bay, Bahamas) The inconsistent punctuation in this listing would make me uncomfortable as a renter.

Question of the Month We didn't get any responses to our question of the month last month. I'm hoping that's because you were all on vacation. Come on everyone, I know you have awesome stories to share!

This month I'll up the ante…anyone who submits will be added to a drawing to receive your choice of prizes: A free Special Offer on your HomeAway ad for 4 weeks, or a free copy of the Second Edition of my book.

Here's the question, it's an easy one. Where do you find the best deals for items that you need to restock occasionally such as sheets, towels, silverware, etc.?

My Answer is: Towels—Macy's 4 X's per year has their 30” X 54” bath towels 4 for $10 dollars !

Local Rental Market Information

We've started to compile the local rental information that you guys sent in last month. The pages that we have up so far are:

Vacation Rental Resources: California

Vacation Rental Resources: New Hampshire

Vacation Rental Resources: Florida

Vacation Rental Resources: Virginia

Starting a Vacation Rental in... Fenwick Island, DE

Thanks for your help! And keep it coming...

Local Rental Alerts August 31, 2007: St. Augustine Beach to Enforce Law Against Vacation Rentals City to crack down on vacation rentals within the city limits.

August 30, 2007: A New Twist on an Old Scam A savvy owner recounts her conversation with an over-the-phone scammer.

August 29, 2007: Okaloosa Citizens Alliance in Push to Engage Voters Group formed to examine local taxation and budgetary process.

August 16, 2007: Petition for Regulation of Vacation Rentals on Maui Please sign this petition and help support the vacation rental industry.

August 5, 2007: Durango vacation rental owners now required to have permit City now enforcing law that requires all vacation rentals that rent for less than 28 days to obtain a permit.

Christine's Blog Posts

August 27, 2007: Nothing's Ever Easy Christine recounts her struggle to install an over-the-stove microwave in her vacation home.

August 20, 2007: How I'd Like to Respond to Stupid Questions Christine talks about how she'd really like to answer stupid questions from her renters.

August 6, 2007: Not-So-Smooth Sailing After boasting about her smoothly running summer last week, Christine deals with an array of less-than-ideal situations this week.

July 30, 2007: Summer Update, Seminar Tour, and Survey Christine talks about a smattering of topics this week include how the summer has been so far for her rentals, why she's limiting seating in the fall seminars, and how a little survey can get owners big press exposure.

Recently Added Podcasts

Buying an Investment Property in Martha's Vineyard Christine talks with Edgartown realtor, Fred Roven about the Martha's Vineyard vacation home market.

Ask Christine #7: How to Find Short-Term Rental Insurance Christine answers a question from an owner who can't find an insurance company to cover her property.

Buying an Investment Property in Park City, Utah Christine interviews Park City realtor, Dennis Hanlon about the Park City vacation home market.

Ask Christine #6: How to Get Keys to Renters Christine answers a question about how to handle keys.

Have a question for Christine? Leave a message at (512) 493-4340 and get an answer on the air.

Also, check us out on iTunes! If you like what you hear, please leave us a review.

Seminar Schedule

Registration is now open for the following fall seminars:

September 23rd: Gatlinburg, TN

September 29th: Burlington, VT

September 30th: Boston, MA

October 1st: New York City

October 2nd: Philadelphia, PA

October 4th: Washington DC

October 20th: Austin, TX

October 27th & 28th: Destin, FL

For more information and to register, please visit the Seminar Schedule.

Would you like Christine to give a seminar in your area? Take a survey.

August Vacation Rental News

Visit the Owner Community for more August Vacation Rental News and 100s of articles in the Vacation Rental News archive.

8/30/07: Fort Myers Beach considers increase in sales tax News-Press.com

8/30/07: Lawsuit aims to stop tax reform in Florida GulfBreezeNews.com

8/30/07: Aspen vacation homes: Energy hogs DenverPost.com

8/30/07: Oneonta city candidate spurs debate on rentals TheDailyStar.com

8/29/07: Deducting mortgage interest tricky on three homes Mortgage101.com

8/29/07: Environmentalists vs. Luxury Developers in Mexico WorldPress.org

8/29/07: Real estate slow but strong in York, Maine SeacoastOnline.com

8/29/07: Titusville vacation homes on the block FloridaToday.com

8/29/07: Neighbors have standing in rental appeal in Venice, FL VeniceGondolier.com

8/29/07: Crews keep flames from ski area in Idaho SeattlePI.com

8/28/07: Private rental plan stirs debate in Cape Cod CapeCodTimes.com

More on HomeAway Special Offers

Adding a Special Offer is a great way to increase your exposure on HomeAway and to rev up your last-minute bookings. Still have Christmas week open? Run a special offer offering 10% off if you book by September 15th. Bookings lagging in November? Offer a "Rent 2 nights, Get 1 Free" deal.

What exactly does a Special Offer do for me? A Special Offer will make your listing stand out on the search results pages by adding an orange border around your listing with your special above your ad (see screenshot on the right). It will also add your property to the Special Offers section of site that many travelers use when booking last-minute accommodations and to the Special Offers drill-down on the left-hand navigation of the search results. How much does it cost? A Special Offer is $20 for two weeks and $10 for each additional week. Do I have to offer an actual "special offer" or can I just pay the money and get the nifty orange box around my listing? Yes, you have to be running a legitimate special of some kind whether that be a discounted rental rate or a bonus (like a free meal at a local restaurant) for renting your home.

How do I add a Special Offer? Sign in to your HomeAway Owner home page, click "Edit Listing" and click the Special Offers tab.

For more information about Special Offers, visit the HomeAway Guide to Special Offers.

Learn more about the HomeAway Network or List your property today.

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