Season's Greetings, Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! This month's newsletter is devoted to the “Best of 2008.” Herein we have compiled the most popular articles, podcasts, blog posts and webinars from 2008. Moving into 2009, the Owner Community will ring in the New Year with some new features. Watch for a new and improved design template for the Owner Community Newsletter.  Plus, the OC team and I will also be available to answer your questions via a series of Live Q&A sessions throughout the month of January. Click here to learn more.

Wishing you a Full Calendar in 2009 and a Happy New Year! Christine Karpinski Give the Gift of Life—Donate Blood

24 Ways to Cut Costs at Your Vacation Rental Ideas for tightening the proverbial belt.

Creative Ways to Keep a Large Home Booked in the Slower Season Pointers for keeping your large home full during the off-season.

How to Market Your Vacation Home to 30-Day Renters Market to this niche group to satisfy local minimum-stay regulations or to simply increase your bookings.

Should You Provide Paper Products? How important is it to have paper towels, tissue, and toilet paper available to your renters upon arrival?

Decorating Your Beach Vacation Rental Home Classic and understated beach-inspired decorating ideas.

12 Things That Every Vacation Rental Should Have Don't forget to stock these necessities next time you visit your vacation home.

What is a Reasonable Cleaning Fee? How do you determine how much you should pay for housekeeping between guests?

Energy Saving Tips for Vacation Rental Homes Tips for saving money on utilities.

Seven Tasks That Should Be on Your Maintenance Schedule Regular maintenance of your property will provide a more pleasant stay for your renters, as well as increase the life of your home and amenities.

Buying Multiple Vacation Homes It's contagious! Your property is renting so well you that you want to buy another. Here are a few tips to consider.

Common Mistakes Owners Make When Buying a Second Vacation Rental Three common mistakes that many owners make when purchasing a second vacation home.

Financing Options for Vacation Rental Homes How will you use your vacation home—as a second home or as an investment property?

Get Organized: 12 Ways to Simplify Your Vacation Rental Life Tips for more confidently handling any problems that arise.

Accepting Security Deposits by Credit Card How to handle deposit payments by credit card.

Sample Directions for Your Vacation Rental Guests Learn how to make your vacation rental directions clear and thorough.

Screening Your Guests What should go into vetting your guests, what information should you ask for, and what should you do if you have a bad gut feeling about a potential guest?

Easing Your Renters' Minds During an Economic Downturn Before you and your guests start to panic, learn how to work with your renters' financial concerns and keep your bookings strong.

Responding to Inquiries: Should You Call or Email? Vacation rental owners often ask whether it's best to call or email. Here's what we think.

What are your New Year's resolutions for your vacation rental? Last month, we asked about raising rates for next year and got a ton of fervent responses. Here's what you had to say: Raising Rates for 2009?

January 22, 2008: Following Up with Inquiries Christine offers advice for how to follow-up with inquiries for the summer season.

February 5, 2008: "Less-Than-5" Reviews Christine responds to her first “less-than-5” review.

April 7, 2008: Sending Two Contracts for the Same Week Christine gets on a soapbox about why you shouldn't send two contracts out to potential renters for the same week.

November 13: The Best-Equipped Home I've Rented Christine describes her experience at the most fully-equipped vacation rental she's stayed in.

Ask Christine #13: Pricing Mistakes Christine discusses common pitfalls when pricing your vacation rental property. 3/21/08 Ask Christine #15: How to Convert Inquiries to Bookings Christine advises a condo rental owner on how to convert her many inquiries into actual bookings. 5/5/08

Ask Christine #17: Signs of Scam Inquiries Christine gives some pointers about how to spot a scam inquiry. 7/21/2008 Ask Christine #25: Is It Okay to Leave a Family Photo? Christine addresses the balance between personal items and guest comfort at your vacation home. 11/25/08

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

February 7-8: Houston, TX Registration opens soon for: March: Atlanta April: Austin May: San Francisco & San Jose June: Boston & New York City

How to Get YOUR Property to Show Up Higher in Google Use these guidelines to increase the likelihood for your listing to be found through the search engines. Create an ad that is specific, descriptive and thorough to appeal both to renters and the engines. Learn more... Watch This Webinar (11 min)

Amenities: Must-Haves and Extras The amenities you provide at your vacation home could mean the difference between an inquiry and a booking. Learn the must-haves for your area and what amenities could set your home apart from the rest. Learn more... Watch This Webinar (10 min, 21 sec)

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

America's Top Second-Home Spots "Though the country's housing markets continue to soften, those who can afford a second, third or fourth home are opening their wallets..." Forbes.com 04/02/2008

5 IRS Rules for Renting Out Your Vacation Home "Whether you use your vacation getaway every weekend or just a few times a year, you may want to rent it out occasionally to offset some of your expenses. That's fine, as long as you don't set off any alarms with the Internal Revenue Service." Kiplinger.com 7/15/2008

Where home prices are likely to rise "Believe it or not, in the future people will be buying and selling homes. Some of them will even make a profit. It's not so crazy an idea." Forbes.com 8/25/2008

1) Which photos NOT to display in your listings from Sandy, Bryson City, NC (HomeAway #133735, VRBO #3362): "My comment is not a "must have" [photo] but a must not have! I don't think owners should EVER show a picture of the toilet specifically or even a toilet in the picture at all. I think the only bathroom pics shown at all should be something really exceptional like a pretty jacuzzi tub. I saw a picture on vrbo once that showed the toilet lid actually up. Awful!" 2) How to increase off-season bookings from Dee, Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (HomeAway 136793): “High season for our Villa in Playa del Carmen, Mexico is the winter months for North America. Knowing that many Europeans have a fixed holiday period in July or August, we chose to advertise on HomeAway.com's websites in Europe. I love the feature on the European websites that allows the potential renters to view the prices in their own currency. Homeaway.com also translates the basic text into the appropriate language for us! Our extended advertising on Homeaway.com in Europe paid for itself with one rental and allowed us to substantially increase our bookings in the summer (low season) months.”

3) How to choose whether to call or email an inquirer from Miriam, Daytona Beach, FL (VacationRentals.com): "If a prospective vacation renter includes a telephone number, I always call. First I check the area code out as I am living in the St. Louis area . . . and I don't want to call anyone at 11:00 p.m. at night....so be careful of time zone differences. Otherwise, I think it is a very good idea to call and chit chat for a few moments. People have remarked to me that they felt better after speaking to me as this was their first time booking a vacation rental online. They wanted to be sure a real person was on the other side of the screen."

4) Must-have extras from Pat, Groveland-Yosemite (VRBO #141025): "Games! If your property hosts families with children, stock a dozen board games. You can pick them up for a few dollars at any second hand store. Puzzles are good too, especially if it turns rainy over their stay." 5) How to decide what's a must-have amenity in your home from Scott, WaterColor, FL (VRBO #136571, VacationRentals.com #45243): "Determine your target market - we are in a family resort near the beach so families with kids are our market. We have filled the house with fun things for kids - including a Ping Pong table. Everyone enjoys it and we get many comments of the ping pong tournaments that went on."

6) A vacation rental necessity from Cynthia, Scarborough, ME (HomeAway #187729): "I keep a well stocked first aid kit in the closet near a bathroom. A decorative bin holds band aids, tweezers, antiseptic wipes, gauze and tape, anti itch creams and scissors."

7) How to get reviews from past guests from Tyann, Branson, MO (HomeAway 167204, VRBO 138158, VacationRentals #20808)"The day after my guest's departure, I send a thank you email thanking them for staying at our home, asking if there was anything that could have made the stay better, and mentioning that we would appreciate if they would leave a comment in our online guest book (making it a link directly to the guest book), as well as submit pictures for our guest slideshow. I then send out a similar handwritten thank you note that also includes a magnet that I had custom made with a picture of our home and our contact information (so it can go on the fridge and remind them of the wonderful time they had!). This has resulted in 16 reviews in only 10 months of our home being available for guests."

8) Offline options for marketing your home from Adrienne, Palm Desert, CA (HomeAway #166708, VRBO #141561) "I use my HOA newsletter to advertise. It's only $10/mth and I get many referrals from other owners looking for a place nearby for their family and friends. I also post a flyer (FREE) with tear-off's in the community club house. I get more bookings from these two sources than any other advertising I do."

9) How to create thorough directions from Beryl, Clermont, FL (VRBO #155967): "I always start our detailed directions from the moment guests leave the airport car park. This is when they can get confused the most, especially if it is dark. Knowing which lane to get in to is a great help. Plus we give them several maps, one with different colour coded routes, so that they can choose the route that is best for them. All important road numbers and exits we print in red, so that they can be seen easily by tired eyes! It is safer to make sure that your lock box number is on a different page to the directions. If the directions get lost, no one else will know the number to your lock box and will not be able to get into your house." 10) How to encourage repeat renters from Cathy and Mike, Brookings, OR. (HomeAway #149361, VRBO #27769): "We have bought them a birthday dinner out, given a free night, included free hot tub, flowers on the table, champagne for newlyweds, and our special business card for our returners with free wine or ice cream at our favorite ocean view restaurant printed on the back!"

Join us for one of five live chats in the month of January designed to help you get geared up for 2009 rentals. Learn more...
Tues. January 6th at 7pm (ET) Mon. January 12th 12pm (ET) Weds. January 14th 2pm (ET) Fri. January 23rd 4pm (ET) Tues. January 27th 6pm (ET)
Why Participate? Get your questions answered on-the-spot by the Owner Community team. Listen to questions from other vacation rental owners similar to yourself. Learn from the experience of seasoned owners in attendance. Discover new ideas for improving your rental process and increasing bookings. It's free!

Have a question or comment? Email us.