Enjoy his post below.

We are in a severe downturn, impacting both consumer behaviour and the travel industry.
As a result the general consumer’s primary objective is to seek better value at a lower spend.
And for you, owners, in this current climate, any additional source of income generated from renting out what you already have, is a welcome boost and a good way to manage your Real Assets.
In this post, I will explore the consumers’ needs that are changing, things to do to be prepared to meet those needs and ways to make money from your Real Assets while differentiating yourselves.

1 ) What are the main trends and travel consumer’s need?

Short holidays, a worldwide trend

People are taking shorter holidays and do so more frequently.

Impulsive and last booking

Holidays remains an impulsive buy, and last minute booking is a strong trend for years. We see people booking just one or two weeks before travelling.
The vacationers are still coming; they are just waiting until the very last minute to book their travels and vacation rentals.

Do-it-Yourself holidays

The majority of holidaymakers are educated, informed and confident enough to make their own travel arrangements. Do-it-Yourself holidays is a strong behaviour for flights and accommodations products. 
In Europe, with all these low cost airlines selling cheap fares over the internet, it is becoming easy to make your choice and to build your own short vacation package.

People are in the mood to bargain

Consequence of the global crisis, 2009 is the “Year of the Travel Deal”.
 Travelers want to find the best deals and know the travel industry has vacancies.

Flexible travel schedules

Vacationers’ travel schedules are flexible enough to capitalize on higher than normal supply. The crisis economy has created new flexibility and new behaviours.

Booking Online, a global and strong trend

Booking engines are well used in the airline and hotel industry for decade and at a very large scale.
Millions of consumers are well educated about the use of these tools and want this real time booking service in the vacation rentals industry.

Yield management is becoming to enter and to work for the rental industry

Like the airline and hotel industry, the vacation rentals industry has:

• Fixed resources
• Perishable inventory
• Customers willing to pay different rates at different times

They also have the same global challenge: to sell the right resources to the right customer at the right time for the right price.
Yield Management can help rentals’ owners optimize their sales and rates.
With the HouseTrip team and their advisors who come from the hotel industry, rental owners are in good hand and will have a very professional assistance from the team.

2 ) Things to do to be prepared to meet those trends and needs

The economic climate has most definitely changed the landscape of travel recently, so being able to offer discounts and deals to take advantage of last minute bookings is key. As always, flexibility is the key to snagging a great deal. So, I suggest you become more flexible on the following:

• You are selling TIME, a vacation rental time! Why not propose 2 or 3 days rentals to suit short breaks and week-ends. People want other solutions than the normal 7 days from Saturday to Saturday.
• Be flexible with your cancellation policy
• Change your reservation & cancellation policy to make it easier to book (ex : decrease the nightly minimum from 7 nights to 3 to generate more bookings)
• Be creative with your offer and try to add value to your products and services.
• Propose do-it-yourself amenities and have everything your guests need so they can make themselves at home
• On the premises, sell extra services “a la carte” around your key products and around the tourism area.
• Develop A-la-Carte pricing

There is a general recognition that any new business proposition would be based upon a “travel experience” perhaps linked to an event or activity. Throughout the World, there are Festival, tourism attractions, sporting and leisure-based events occurring on a regular basis.. Accommodations near such events are always in high demand. If are you close to this kind of event, use the Housetrip special auction system, you will optimize your sales and rates.
Feel free to comments and give use your tips or requests. The HouseTrip platform is a work in progress and all the HouseTrip team is looking forward to your feedbacks.

The Theresienwiese area during the Oktoberfest

The Oktoberfest is the world’s largest fair with over 6 million attendees every year! It is traditionally (the Wiesn – as it is called locally – dates back to the early 1800′s) held for about 2 weeks from the end of September to early October. It is of course very famous for its beer (about 7 million litres of it are drunk at every Oktoberfest!) and food (about half a million chickens will be eaten during the fair ) but also for its popular attractions such as roller coasters. There are a lot of funny traditions around Oktoberfest: one that caught our attention is that every year a special beer mug is edited – a lot of people collect them like you can see on this website which displays Oktoberfest’s mugs from 1978 until now.

We interviewed 2 Munich hosts to ask them our now traditional question: do they apply any special booking conditions for an event like the Oktoberfest? We also asked them if they market their property in any special way for the event and when people started booking for the Oktoberfest.

Heinrich from Bed and Breakfast Munich

A nice garden at Heinrich's Bed and Breakfast Munich

Heinrich sees reservations for the Oktoberfest come as early as between Christmas and New year the preceding year, meaning that in his experience guests book as early as 10 months in advance! And, interestingly, that is with very few marketing since Heinrich’s only advertising means are his website and a link in a classified ads directory. When asked if he applies any special rate for the event, he replies that he adds 100% to their roomrates during the “Wiesn”.

Ulrike from Bed and Breakfast Bavaria

View from the lovely garden at Ulrike's short term rental

Ulrike sees her guests book a bit later for the Oktoberfest but still about 6 months in advance, around April. During the event, her international clientele simply pays the prices described on her personal website, from 59€ to 89€, depending on the type of room. When it comes to marketing, Ulrike states working with a few bed and breakfast agents and she also has her website. She loves having such international guests – mainly brought by the agents she works with – and describes it as “a wonderful experience and a great enrichment”. Located in the countryside with a view on the Alps, her place can certainly make for a great stay during the Oktoberfest, sleeping away from all the crazyness of the fair!

From our interviews we can see that short-term rentals can make for great affordable accomodations during an event such as the Oktoberfest, welcomed by hosts who certainly can provide life-saving tips about handling beer By the time of the fair, HouseTrip will have been released (!!!) and although we could see from our interviews that most properties will have already been booked, we will make the most in order to offer sufficient short-term rentals to guests willing to attend this unmissable event! The heavy readers of this blog will not have missed that Stephan, our CTO, lives in Munich and we have already convinced him to put his spare guestroom on HouseTrip! Great way to make a bit of money on the side Stephan

View on gondolas while haveing breakfast at the Giudecca Mare Riva

This week we asked three hosts from Venice if they applied special booking conditions (rates, length of stay, etc.) during high and low demand periods for accomodation in the city. Below are their answers.

Carlo from bed & breakfast Fujiyama

The charming patio in Carlo's Fujiyama bed and breakfast

Having spent many years in China & Japan, Carlo has clearly been influenced by asian culture. One can easily see the tie through his well designed webpage & carefully selected pictures and symbols on the site. Carlo is proud of being able to recreate a special oriental atmosphere in the center of Venice, in contrast with the predominant Venitian style. His efforts clearly pay because his B&B is full all the time.

When being asked about his pricing strategy, Carlo does apply different rates during high & low seasons. The rate are flexible from 60 Euro to 160 Euro / night. He also offers a 10% discount if his guests stay more than three night during low season. Carlo doesn’t have special events’ rates although he recognizes that all the city’s accomodations are full during such major events as the biennale.

Susan from Apartments-Venice

Window on the canal at Susan's Miracoli apartment

A property manager, Susan is in charge of many rentals throughout the city. She proudly introduced some apartments in her portfolio : Madonna Near Madonna dell’Orto, Accademia behind the Accademia Gallery in Dorsodure, Miracoli near the Miracoli Church in Cannaregio. Most of her apartments are rented weekly except in some cases when a three days rental is also possible. Due to the fact that the properties are not hers, it is harder for her to play with the rates so they generally stay fixed.

Carlo from We Nice Venice

View on a canal from Carlo's We Nice Venice apartment

Carlo keeps his rates rather stable during high demand periods and offer discounts during low seasons. He says that, when his guests dates are flexible, he warns them that such or such periods will be busier and recommend a close by but quieter period: “Most people will appreciate it a lot. This way, I still have requests for traditionally busy times by people coming on purpose, and can sort of make those busy times longer and neither I (nor the guests) have a bad feeling from me making rates higher now and then”. His feeling is that “with most hotels and apartments raising their rates up during special periods, a good way to make guests happy is being different and to not follow the main stream”. To Carlo, word of mouth is the most effective marketing tools and it helps to keep his rates high: “I want people to like their stay, to tell their relatives and friends about this place and to plan coming again. I live in the same building where our apartments are and am always available for further information or for any trouble guests might experience (be it lost luggage, drugs or a doctor needed, a good restaurant in another district, warm water troubles or mosquitoes).”

View of the old city and the castle from Charles' bridge

A few words about Prague: undoubtedly one of Europe’s treasure, Prague has many wonderful highlights that one must see at least once in his lifetime. The castle is the city’s most impressive feature, certainly because one can see it from almost everywhere in the city: Franz Kafka’s famous book “The Castle” is for instance known to be inspired by the constant presence of Prague’s castle. Another fantastic – and fantastic is the word – sight of Prague is its old Jewish cemetery: when strolling around it, the chaotic entanglement of the tombstones always causes some sort of lugubrious feeling to the visitors. The alchemists’ street, right below the castle, is also a must-see: a lot of travelers still wonder if one alchemist ever found the “magnus opus” which supposedly grants immortality to its inventor as well as the ability to transform lead into gold…

This week, 2 hosts replied to the question “why would a guest stay in a rental rather than a hotel in Prague?”. Below are their answer.

Linda from Prestige Apartments

View on Prague's roofs from one of Linda's apartments

Linda is unequivocal about the fact that apartments are the way to stay in Prague: “I would definitely recommend guests to stay in an apartment rather than a hotel!”. Her apartments, located right in the city center – some only steps away from the castle – are decorated in a modern Prague style with a wooden floor. Her arguments – shared by HouseTrip – for staying in a short-term rental rather than a hotel are that the latter cannot provide the local lodging experience rentals have: the apartments’ “home-like atmosphere offers the opportunity to experience Prague as a local”. She goes further by advancing that rentals are better value for money than a hotel; especially for couples and groups. Lastly, and that is certainly a strong point for travelers, she remarks that her guests get unlimited assistance from her – a native Czech – regarding what they should visit and where they should go. If one is to stay at a rental in Prague, one is to make the most out of his stay but avoiding “tourists’ traps” – guided by well-intentioned locals – and by experiencing the local life…as a local!

Francesco from Atlante Residence

The corridor of your Atlante Residence flat

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Francesco emphasis the fact that a lot of people – falsely – believe that one can only get great service in hotels. He proudly responds by claiming that his goal is to “fulfil all the needs of the most demanding customer”. He goes on saying that he provides the same assistance one can find in good hotels but in a much more friendly – almost family-like – atmosphere. From his answer, and HouseTrip is in total agreement with him, he seems not too understand why would someone stay at a hotel: in addition to services, in our apartments you get “much more space and the possibility to cook” he says. He continues by mentioning that short-term rentals offer much more privacy than hotels: no cleaning lady waking you up at 7 in the morning! Important for Francesco as well is the degree of personalization he provides: he knows his customers by name, not by their room number like in hotels!

To sum up, to the persons who know and have experienced short-term rentals, it does not make sense to even consider hotels when traveling! You get personalized service, a real home, more amenities, a real local experience at much better prices! If one of you readers ever stays at Linda’s or Francesco’s flats, you will truly understand what we mean!

Renting a Vacation Rental during the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes is situated in the Côte d’Azur area and is known as one of the most glamorous destinations in France. During the prestigious film festival, Cannes draws not only the stars to the beautiful coastal city but also thousands of visitors.

The city of Cannes, France

The grandeur of this event is not only reflected through the string of celebrities who join the event but also by the decupled accommodation prices charged to visitors. To be sure not to miss this event some people book rooms as early as 12 months in advance.

The good news is that hotels are not the only accommodation provider: many homeowners are renting their place or simply a room. Staying in a vacation rental during the festival is, although more expensive than usual, a more affordable solution compared to hotel accommodation.

We then asked three hosts what effect the Film Festival had on their rentals:

Niall Bates is the owner of Chic Gites and for him the Cannes Film Festival is the major event in the city, which lasts full 12 days. Other conferences last on average only 4-5 days. A positive aspect for property owners is the fact that the event almost always attracts more visitors than there are available beds, putting owners in an advantageous position. Niall knows that rates are generally 4-5 times higher than normal off-peak season rates. Despite the economic downturn Chic Gites realized comparable rates with other years, underlining the importance of the event and the quality of the apartments offered by Chic Gites.

Cosy atmosphere in all the historical buildings

Karon Mousley is Landlord of Etoilenord, a luxury apartment in the centre of Cannes, and she is keen to have her apartment booked during such a major event. Karon charges premium rates during this period and appreciates that expectations are high. Prior to being a host she was a guest for almost ten years during conferences in Cannes and understands that service excellence is what really satisfies her clientele.

Karon's Place: Spacious lounge with modern dining table

There are also non-professional hosts, like Pierre, who lives in a nice flat in the city centre and rents out his place during the Cannes Film Festival whenever he can. For him it is a great way to gain some additional revenue: last year he even managed to pay his tax with the money earned. Pierre is not the only accommodation provider of that kind, there are even people who created simple websites to rent their studio just for the festival.

Living like a local - Chez Pierre

Major events always attract a lot of people, driving up prices for accommodation in hotels. Hosts realize the potential and adapt their pricing strategy accordingly. However, in the end, short-term rentals often seem like a bargain compared to overpriced hotels and offer in many ways more value for money.