Happy Fall.  Hope all is going well for you and your rentals. This month in our newsletter, along with some of the new articles that were added to the Owner Community this month, we are also bringing back some oldie but goodies, that were written a while back.   For quarterly sales tax filers, don';t forget that in October your taxes are due from the 3rd quarter rentals, which for most of us, is the largest revenue quarter—June-Sept.  This is one month that I wouldn';t want to be late. If you live in the northeast and still can make one of the upcoming seminars this month, we still have space left in Philly and NYC (we did fill up, but were able to get a bigger room, so now we have around 40 more seats open.  Feel free to come and pay at the door).  Sorry DC is full, no more seats are available.

Hey thanks everyone for sending in a response to the question of the month last month! We go so many great responses that we put them all into an article.  There are certainly some great deals out there for buying supplies for our vacation homes.

Happy Renting by owner!
Christine Karpinski

Top 10 Things We See Wrong With Property Listings: Part 2

1) Not describing/including photos of each bedroom in detail.  How many beds?  What size?  Is there a tv?  Jacuzzi tub?  2) Property name in the headline.  Chipper Chipmunk Cabin may mean something to you, but isn't what your renters are looking for when scanning over a mulititude of property headlines.

3) Seasonal rates inconsistent with the area.  Your rates shouldn't go up in the fall after kids go to school.

4) Competitor-bashing.  Don't tell renters why they shouldn't choose your competitors.  Tell them why they should choose you. 5) Photos of the toilet, hallway, or staircase.  Yes, for smaller properties it can be tricky to come up with 12 photos... but opt for photos of amenities or their exterior from different angles instead. 6) Assuming that travelers are familiar with your area.

7) Giving rate ranges instead of specific rates for specific dates.  8) Having no sensible order to your description or photos.  9) Displaying the wrong season photos for the current booking season.

10) Confusing rates.  Don't expect your renters to know what the peak, low, shoulder, and off seasons for your area.  Give specific dates.

Recently Added Articles to the Owner Community

How to Market Your Vacation Home to Skiers Here are tips for gettg skiers to choose your vacation home when they are planning to hit the slopes.

The Ethics of Using Photoshop to Edit Photos of Your Vacation Rental Where is the line when it comes to using a photo editor to enhance pictures of your vacation property?

How to Fire Your Housekeeper When the cleaning staff is pulling you underwater instead of helping you swim, when should you cut the line?

How to Set Your Rental Rates Tips for properly pricing your vacation rental property including how to assess the competition and how to pick your peak season.

Post-Peak Season Maintenance Plan After 12 weeks of continuous use, your property probably deserves a little TLC. Here's a quick list of the items to assess.

HomeAway 2.0 Release Coming Soon Don't get stuck at the bottom of search results, please update your rates now!

Renting to Members of the US Armed Forces Advice for how to handle renting your vacation home to members of the US Armed Forces.

Baby Gear Rentals: What a Great Idea! The benefits of referring your guests to baby equipment rental companies and where to find them.

Vacation Rental Resources: Colorado Handy resources for Colorado vacation rental owners including tax information, regulations, and forms.

Question of the Month We had a great response to our August Question of the Month.  So many, in fact, that we created an entire article from your answers: Where Vacation Rental Owners Find the Best Deals on Linens, Towels, and Decor?

Congrats to last month's drawing winner, Karen, Palm Desert (CA), HomeAway Listing #116805.

This month's question is: What are some of the stupid questions that you get asked by renters?

Local Rental Alerts September 17, 2007: Pismo Beach to Hold Meeting about Vacation Rentals The city of Pismo Beach plans to hold meeting in response to resident complaints.

Christine's Blog Posts

September 17, 2007: Christine's Take on HomeAway 2.0 Christine talks about the benefits to owners of HomeAway 2.0.

September 11, 2007: The Most Difficult Part of Renting Christine contemplates the housekeeping situation at one of her properties.

September 4, 2007: Do Two Wrongs Make a Right? Oh no! Christine's renters showed up and her vacation home wasn't clean. She recounts how she handled it and why you should check your HomeAway listing to make sure that your rates haven't dropped off.

September 30, 2007: On the Road Again... Christine checks in from the Northeast seminar tour.

Recently Added Podcasts

Ask Christine #9: Should You Provide Linens or Have Your Guests Bring Their Own? Christine answers a question from an owner about whether it is better to provide linens or to require your guests to bring their own.

Buying an Investment Property in Los Cabos, Mexico Ever thought about buying in Mexico? Christine talks with Los Cabos realtor, Julie Kershner.

Ask Christine #8: Can You Ask for a Credit Card in Case of Excess Damage? This week, Christine answers a question from a Dillon Beach owner, who wonders if she can ask for a credit card in case of excess damage. 

We';re currently looking for guests for our How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner podcast series.

Call for Podcast Guests:

• Do you own in a vacation market that no one has ever heard of?
• Have you fallen for a scam?
• Did you buy your property sight-unseen?
• Have you owned your home for more than 20 years?

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:

October 1st: New York City

October 2nd: Philadelphia, PA

October 4th: Washington DC  **Full**

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.

September Vacation Rental News

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

9/29/07: Federal suit filed to block Maui TVR crackdown MauiNews.com

9/28/07: Discussion continues on vacation rentals in Lincoln City NewportNews-Times.com

9/27/07: O'Brien Mountain residents battle over use of homes Redding.com

9/27/07: Regulations discussed again for private cabin rentals in Greenship Township, MN Timberjay.com

9/26/07: Budget approved in Belleair Shores, focus shifts to short-term rentals TBNWeekly.com

9/26/07: Vacation Home Sellers Face Billion Tax Bill in U.S. Measure Bloomberg.com

9/25/07: Town officials consider regulations for rentals in Redington Beach TBNWeekly.com

9/25/07: Seeing the silver lining in Napa real estate NapaValleyRegister.com

9/25/07: Death may cancel debts, but that's not all it cancels News-JournalOnline.com

9/25/07: Titusville bans short-term rentals FloridaToday.com

9/25/07: Plaintiffs In Short-Term Rentals Fight Win A Round in Massanutten RocktownWeekly.com

The HomeAway, Inc. European Sites

We have a lot of owners ask us about our European sites (Holiday-Rentals.co.uk (U.K.), Abritel.fr (France), and Fewo-Direkt.de/VacationVillas.net (Germany) and whether or not we suggest that they list their property on those sites, in addition to, stateside vacation rental listing sites. 

What are the benefits of listing a U.S. property on a European site? With the Euro continually gaining against the dollar, it's becoming more and more affordable for Europeans to travel to the United States.   By adding your property to a European site, you're widening your traveler base to include European customers that are more accustomed than Americans to renting vacation homes when they travel.  Europeans have different school schedules and tons of vacation time.  Any chance that you have to increase your exposure in this business is an opporunity worth looking into.  That's why we suggest that you list your home on at least 3-5 paid sites.  Adding a European site (or two) into that portfolio will only widen your potential customer base that much more.

Who should consider listing their property on a European listing site?  The increased exposure would likely benefit most properties... however, properties in internationally known regions would benefit the most (i.e. Hawaii, Florida, Colorado Rockies, etc.).  Take a close look at where your current renters are coming from.  Do you have many from outside of the U.S.?  If so, you'd probably benefit from listing on a few European sites.

What are the drawbacks?  With increased exposure comes an increase in inquiries and in work.  You'll be dealing with a customer base with different cultural norms and are also likely to get foreign language inquiries.

The Bottom Line: Listing on European sites is a great way to increase the number of eyes that take a gander at your property listing.  However, when you list make sure that you use the verbiage used by Europeans regarding vacation rentals.  Use "holiday rental" and "holiday home" in place of "vacation rental" and "self-catering" instead of "rent by owner."

Sign up for Holiday Rentals.

Sign up for Fewo Direkt.

Sign up for Abritel.

Have a question or comment? Email us.