The Outer Banks area in a very competitive market with 3,735 properties on HomeAway as of July 9, 2007.  Luckily, the area is still a hot vacation destination.  However, as with most tourism-based markets, it's tough to make your property stand out amongst the competition.  After narrowing down the search to properties only located in Kill Devil Hills, the pool drops down to a manageable 346 properties.  The majority of the properties are 3 and 4 bedroom houses that sleep 5 to 12 guests.  Only 3 homes are wheelchair accessible and only 4 are "suitable for elderly or infirm."  This could be an opportunity for any homeowners in the area who are looking to remodel. Latitude Adjustment: http://www.homeaway.com/132778

PROPERTY HEADLINE & PROPERTY ACCOMMODATION SUMMARY

Your property's name "Latitude Adjustment" is original, but may make renters have to think a bit too hard when they read your headline.  And it takes up valuable space on one of the most important parts of your ad.  If you have a lot of repeat renters who might search for your property specifically, you can include "Latitude Adjustment" in the body copy of your ad and your listing should pop up if they search for it.  Or better yet, stay in contact with past renters through a quarterly (or yearly) email newsletter. "Comfy Coastal Retreat" is great and seems to describe your property to a tee.  Why is it in quotes? Your thumbnail photo is solid and gives the renter an idea of what to expect from your property.  One thing you might consider: when looking at properties in a beach locale, the first thing that renters want to know is how far you are from the beach.  To show that you're in a beach community with beach access you may want to take the picture from a higher point (perhaps down a hill) to get more of the background in the frame.

PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS

Overall, your photos are great.  They showcase your property and gives renters a sense of what to expect.  Good job using all 12.   Photo #1: The first photo is pretty much the same as your thumbnail.  I'd only use the one that the most recent.  In the caption for this photo, try to squeeze in as much detail as possible with the number of characters allowed e.g. "Welcome to Latitude Adjustment- 3BR, 2BA Beachfront."   Photo #2: To get a cleaner shot of the room, you might try pushing the kitchen table out of the frame and taking the picture standing on a chair or stool looking down on the living area.  In the caption, perhaps spell out "Living Area" instead of writing L.A.  That might be confusing to those browsing your ad.  I'd substitute "Comfy" for "Denim." Also, watch your spacing.   Photo #3: You've done a great job furnishing your property to fit the space and I love the bright colors in the kitchen.  Since your next photo is features the kitchen try to frame this photo without much of the kitchen in the frame (I realize this may be tough.) Watch your punctuation in the caption.  I'd go with "Dining Area Seats 7.  Great for Playing Games." Again, consider spelling out "D.A."   Photo #4: Try to keep the kitchen table out of the frame.  In your caption describe what makes your kitchen "well appointed."  Many people may not know what that means exactly.   Photos #5 & #6: There's not really a need to have both of these pictures.  But if you can't find 12 to put up, it's fine to have them both since it gives a sense of the space of the room.   Photo #7 & #8:  These are fine.  Watch your spacing.   Photo #9:  This is a good picture, because a lot of people love to sit outside and will appreciate the provided furniture.  Try to re-take this picture when there is more sun or brighten it up in a photo editor.  The caption is good.... paints a picture.   Photo #10: This is great.  Renters want to know "what the exact view is from your property."    Photo #11: Cute area.  Good caption.   Photo #12:  Beautiful. Great idea shooting a photo of a landmark from your property.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY

Your description is fantastic.  It walks the renter through the experience step-by-step and details your amenities along the way.  My only suggestion would be to include the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the text toward the top for those who quickly scan.  Also, be careful not to use the same description on multiple listing sites.  The search engines might see the pages as duplicate content and will only index one of the listings. Your location information is also great.  It hits the local landmarks, conveniences, and gives exact distances, which renters really appreciate and gives your page great search engine benefits.

AVAILABILITY CALENDAR

Great job keeping your calendar up-to-date.  Consider offering a "Special Offer" or lowering your minimum stay to fill those September dates if it gets a little bit closer and they're still available.

RENTAL RATE & FEE TABLE

Your rates are clear and very reasonable for your area.  Good idea including your age restrictions in your listing.  This should cut down on the number of inquiries that you get from college students.  How you handle linens is also a little confusing. From what I can gather, you charge a fee to rent linens in for 2007 rentals, but will not in 2008.  If are are providing linens and towels for your 2008 renters, I'd leave beach towels out of the equation.  They're expensive and easily forgotten on the beach.

BASIC PROPERTY FEATURES

Why do you choose to designate your property as a "cottage?"  If I'm headed to the beach, I'm likely to look for a "beach house" or "beach condo," but it would never occur to me to search for a "beach cottage."  In Kill Devil Hills there are only 6 "cottages.  You may be missing out on renters who use the left-hand navigation on HomeAway to narrow their search. After looking through the first few pages of results on HomeAway, it seems as though most properties provide linens to their guests at no charge.  Since you don't (at least for 2007), this could your property at a slight disadvantage.

AMENITIES & ATTRACTIONS

You provide a wide array amenities that should entertain movie buffs and porch-sitters alike.  You might even want to highlight this is your title e.g. "Filled with Extras!"

Great use of the further details section.  By including specific attractions by name, your property will be easy-to-find using the search function. By having a  review available, your property stands out in the search results. Your contact information is complete.  Good job putting your time zone in parentheses.  This should (in theory) keep renters from calling you at inconvenient hours.  Just to be sure, you can specific which hours to call between in this section of your ad.  Also, by providing an alternative phone number such as a cell phone, you can make sure that you never miss a call. The Diagnosis: Very complete ad with great descriptions, but your photos might sell your property short.  Change up a few of your photos and might attract even more renters. Do you have additional suggestions for this ad? Email us.