Did you catch it? Super Bowl 44, 3rd Quarter, 2nd "time out" aka commercial: The Griswolds visited "Hotel Hell" and America was introduced to vacation rentals as a lodging alternative to hotels, at a cost of 50% less than those hotels.
Funny thing is, the HomeAway Video has started to spurn other videos...could vacation rental videos go viral?
Here's a Super Bowl Vacation Rental Ad from the kids of Second Porch's founder:
Here's an ad from VacationRental.org - funny, says banned from the Super Bowl.
Here Escapia, a leading vacation rental management system provide, starts to address what "mainstreaming" of vacation rentals might mean to the professional manager (and owners):
Escapia Blog - Vacation Rental News and Trends: Super Bowl Vacation Rentals
So what do you think? Will guests leave their tiny over priced hotel rooms and flock to vacation rentals? Will these same guests be willing to change their own lightbulbs or empty the trash? What's the best way to position vacation rentals to hotel guests? After all only approximately 10% of US travelers have stayed in vacation rentals in the last year surveyed.(Source PhocuWright)
RE these questions, very good ones: What's the best way to position vacation rentals to hotel guests? After all only approximately 10% of US travelers have stayed in vacation rentals in the last year surveyed.(Source PhocuWright)
ReplyDeleteI think the answer is visibility and transparency.
There need to be more efforts made, and clearly made, about why and how vacation rentals are preferable to hotel rooms....price point for more than 2 traveling for more than 1 or 2 nights, space, privacy, amenities, etc. etc.
And, since rental guests are sometimes apprehensive about the unknown as are vacation property owners, each needs to know more about each other. There are several ways for a guest to "research" an owner and property including reviews on line.
But both guest and property owner have the best chance to know and trust each other more with the use of social media. Facebook and its new application Second Porch create a climate of disclosure in the vacation rental industry, one sorely needed.
With more visibility and more transparency, I believe we will see the vacation rental industry grown by leaps and bounds!
Samba, I think your right. It comes down to transparency and trust. Second Porch is on the leading edge of this issue and I know the best management companies and owners are trying to engage guests in many media. It's interesting that in the same PhocusWright study, I believe it was over 90% of guests who stayed in a vacation rental were satisfied - which is so much better than hotels! Oh the irony.
ReplyDelete