Bookt LLC

Online Specials: What Works Best?

rob@bookt.com

Special Offers Deserve a Special Place in Your Marketing Mix

Name a more competitive online arena than Travel. Can you? As an entrepreneur in hospitality marketing and technology – perhaps I am biased. To me, the Travel marketplace is at the top tier of the web’s explosion of channel aggregation, information, and game changing consumer sophistication. To compete and win, today’s hotelier must develop a multi-layered strategy and deploy an array of finely-tuned tactics. And must do so while battling a recovering economy and navigating crowded sea lanes. Bon voyage!

Special times require special measures, with the keyword being “Specials” – a tried and true marketing tactic that can help you beat your competitors, engages consumers, and can be profitable when smartly done and managed.
Unless your city is hosting the Super Bowl, every day, forever, specials should have a time and place in your marketing mix.

Priming the Pump

According to their most recent survey on consumer satisfaction with reservations made on seven major independent travel sites, J D. Power and Associates reports – in order of importance – that consumers are looking for “competitiveness of price, ease of booking, usefulness of the information on the website, availability of booking options/travel packages, appearance/design of site, and ease of navigation.” Thus, while price clearly plays a key role in consumer satisfaction, just as clearly – improving your site itself is also critical. This means that savvy hoteliers will continually refine their website. Consumers are seeking comfort and value in your property as well as in their online experience. To prime the pump for effective use of special offers, get your website house in order. This is absolutely Step #1.

Website Content

Okay. Your website functionality and design is new and improved. So it’s time to launch your Valentine’s Weekend Away promotion – right? Not so fast. One other area on your site requires a look before you leap. Content. According to an April 2009 report from the global online travel and tourism site, TravelMole, when booking a holiday online, consumers say the following content are important:
• Pictures of accommodation and facilities: 76%
• A written description of the destination: 72%
• A destination map: 70%
• Destination activities and events: 67%
• Weather information: 65%
• Travel information such as time zone currency and visa requirements: 60%
• Local dining information: 51%
• Local sports and leisure information: 33%
• A video of accommodation: 30%
• Video of the destination: 25%
• Details of family and children's activities: 20%

MBO – Marketing By Objectives

Specials can drive revenue through more bookings, longer stays and filling your “Shoulder Season.” Special offers can also generate revenue and demand for your property’s amenities (Spa, Restaurants, Bike Rentals, Tours, Tickets, Excursions, Transportation and other unique services that you offer.)

This is also a good time to make friends and influence other local businesses that may be interested in making or solidifying special offers that can be bundled with yours. Restaurants, Clubs, Shopping venues, Sports, Theme Parks, Museums, Festivals and the like should be on your radar screen. Again, consumers are searching for both comfort and value. Align your objectives with those of your target consumers. Make sure that finding these special offers is easy, especially from your Home Page. Position them “above the fold” and write a blog article every time you launch a new one. Take advantage of seasonal events and holidays. Leverage your property’s best assets and partner when it will deliver an exponential value for your guests.
When not to use Specials? Some might say that specials are not necessary when demand is already high. Savvy hoteliers will still see the value of specials year-round as no one said price needs to be lowered, even during times of plenty. A “Romance Package” with Champagne, French Toast breakfast in bed, and Massage for Two at a premium price is a viable idea at many properties, even when the big convention is in town. Comfort and value. And value does not necessarily mean a bargain. It often relates to advantage and worth.
Making Sure You Have the Tools
While it may be obvious, it is important that your website booking engine can handle specials. Will your site accept and process special offers or do you need to upgrade to make that happen? Also, is your booking engine and reservation system fully integrated with your website? Some hoteliers are still using old school 3rd party pop-ups or framed solutions. In those cases it is hard to make the special offer part of your overall site content. The best place to for an offer is obviously on the home page. To be competitive you need sophisticated booking technology that can accommodate special coupon codes, percentage of rate discounts, fixed discounts, free nights, package prices and more. It is also important that this tool can accommodate blackout date requirements as well as integrate with lead source management for tracking purposes. When you speak with your web team, make sure they understand the flexibility you need to successfully exploit consumer demands for targeted offers and a positive user experience.
Marketing Your Specials

In addition to your own website, Special Offers should appear on your Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and travel communities you are connected to. Ask your web company if they can automate distribution feeds to your pages on these Social Media sites. It is easier than you think to automatically push this type of content once it is added to your own site. (You are exploiting “softer sell” Social Media today – aren’t you?)

Another channel is your own internal past customer list. By now, the savvy hotelier has built an opt-in email list for this express purpose. To alert past guests about specials, news and relevant offers that they may be interested in.

Are you sponsoring keywords on Google or another Search Engine? Targeted offers that sync with target keywords are marketing opportunities can have a measurable return on investment. Keep good records of campaign performance so you’ll know what to do next year if the opportunity repeats.

And, if affordable, place your special offers on local online destination guides. Future guests often start here when scoping out a holiday they are planning. Having a specific offer vs. just a plain vanilla listing will make your property stand out from the crowd. [Speaking of the competition – what Special Offers are they promoting? What can you learn from their ideas and experience?]

Finally, ask for feedback from guests who take you up on your special offers and display these reviews on your website. The Smith Family was delighted with your Kid-Friendly Package, especially the warm chocolate chip cookies before beddy-bye. This information will be meaningful to the Jones Family as they check-out your online offer and may motivate them to check-in.

Different Strategies for Different Channels

Many hoteliers find that they think about pricing options differently depending on whether they are addressing the needs of their own site vs. the aggregated hotel sites. Where is it best to adjust my overall rate and where is it best to utilize a special offer? To maximize revenue “yield”, consider adjusting to “right price” for the portals if conversion rates deliver, and run “specials” on your own website where the conversion improvement from a 10% “web-only” discount, for example, many times well pays for the revenue loss. Hopefully you have sufficient analytical tools to measure performance. I encourage you to try multiple strategies and compare your results; fine-tune going forward.

In Conclusion

Special Offers deserve a special place in your marketing mix. They can be both lower and premium priced. Today’s travel consumer has gazillions of choices so you and your offers must stand out and laser in on the comfort and value that travel shoppers are searching for.

Your website is your primary online storefront and must be easy to navigate and your special offers must be easy to find and book. Tell the world about your offers and smartly use email and Social Media to get the word out, automating where possible.

Finally, you have another great asset at your property that can be another key factor in successful Special Offer results. Of course it’s your people. Especially those who answer the phones and Registration. Your entire team needs to be well versed and trained on your specials and sell them, at every opportunity. The folks at Check-Out can also obtain a Guest Review and communicate about upcoming specials, and take a reservation.

Companies like Orbitz, Expedia, Hotels.com and all the rest of the big league players spend millions of dollars a year on research to learn how best to improve the travel shopper’s online experience so they can beat the competition and improve their revenue via site performance. Even if you do not have those resources available, sometimes it is important just to know that this is important. That your prospective guest is looking for a certain online experience. And there is no one better than you to start thinking about how you can get a greater performance out of your website and online marketing tactics. And, don’t hesitate if you need some help – find a company with proven insight and ask them to make you a Special Offer that delivers the comfort and value you deserve.

Special Lodging Offers Get Booked!

sam@bookt.com

Because so many travel consumers are looking for something extra special these days, Bookt has made it simple for lodging managers to create and promote special offers. To create a great “deal” on-the-fly around a special price, or amenity, or attraction or activity. Something extra to seal the deal.

Does your online Booking Engine have an integrated “Special’s Engine” that makes it easy to create and post special offers and packages with a couple of clicks? Bookt’s does! Designed and proven to inspire the travel-shopper to stop searching, and click-through to book online with you right now.

Our key to success is …flexibility! Our clients wanted a Special’s Engine that could create offers using a number of different variables to meet both the consumer’s needs as well as your revenue management goals. So we developed a Special’s Engine where you can create a variety of special targeted offers based on variables like…

Effective Date: When the special is starts, as in … you can check in on that day or after.
Expiration Date: When the special ends, as in … the last day your reservation can check out on.
Cutoff Date: The date you must make your reservation by, as in … you must book your stay prior to mm/dd/yyyy to take advantage of this special.
Min Condition Value: Make an offer tied into a minimum nights of stay required to take advantage of the special.
Amount: Used when the discounted value is a flat dollar discount.
Percentage: Used when the discount is a percentage of the total booking.
Coupon Code: The code can be applied by the guest at the time of the online reservation in order to apply the discount.

Does your online Booking Engine have this flexible functionality? Bookt’s clients use it every day. We would be pleased to show it to you – just get in touch and we can show you how it can work for your lodging business at info@bookt.com.

Bookt Goes to Hollywood

rob@bookt.com

Relax – we’re not giving up on lodging industry technology to make movies. We’re just moving our headquarters to Hollywood, FL, 15 min north of our current location in downtown Miami.

So it’s time to say goodbye to our Office Manatee and our lovely view, and hello to a new, bigger and better office that can accommodate our constantly growing team.

Our new address is:

Bookt LLC
2450 Hollywood Boulevard
Suite 201 Hollywood, FL 33020

Our phone numbers and other contact information remains the same. Here are some pictures of our new building. As stated before, we love visitors. If you are in town, please stop by our office.

Best,

Rob

Get More Units Bookt - Lead Processing

sam@bookt.com

By: Sam Marks

5/27/2010

Companies that don’t have effective lead processing strategies in place are literally throwing money and business away. No matter how much you market and attract new guests, your profit margins will diminish by not thinking each day how to increase your lead-to-booking conversion rate. In this game, speed, information, and accuracy are key.

Just remember that when someone inquires about a property or room rental, they are in the shop and compare mode. Unless they have been a loyal guest of yours for years chances are they are skipping site to site comparing properties apples to apples.

Speed - If you are the 2nd or 3rd company to follow up on a lead, chances are that you will lose this booking or have to close the deal at a smaller margin by offering a super discount. Bookt’s CRM pulls in lead information instantly and sends site administrators notification emails. In the Control Panel we provide management and follow up tools to help streamline your processes.

Information – If you don’t capture the right information at the time of the inquiry you will turn off the potential guest by having to dig for these details. Take advantage of your competitors deficiencies here by capturing travel dates, # of Adults and Children, type of property and location they are seeking, and special requests. Bookt’s websites capture leads on 3 levels, all gathering applicable information regarding the guest travel criteria. Information is power….

Accuracy – If you are not accurate when proposing a suitable and appealing rental unit then you will lose the prospect’s interest right away. This goes hand and hand with capturing the right information. When following up with a lead, you should be able to have a “perfect” property, and 3-5 others that are “excellent alternatives”. Always be armed with backup properties of like (accuracy) size, price, location, amenities and overall flavor. With this information captured, Bookt clients can easily search their inventory filtering by multiple attributes to drill down on a handful of ideal and relevant properties.

*Speed in many cases will make up for information and accuracy. Staff your company with a confident, well spoken, and personable reservationist that isn’t afraid to pick up the phone and dial away. Have them man your email and/or CRM with a top priority of follow up to each lead by phone within 5 minutes of receiving the notification. Do this, and engage with the guest prospect faster than your competition. The guest will appreciate the responsiveness, build faith in your services, and be willing to work with the reservationist to find and reserve that perfect rental.

I was speaking to the CEO of a well known rental portal the other day over dinner, and we were discussing different marketing initiatives regarding the specific traffic sources and the quality (often determined by the lead-to-booking conversion ratio) of each traffic source. We started talking about SEO and he immediately dismissed it touting the fact that they didn’t need it. His reasoning was simple. Instead of investing many thousands of dollars in SEO with fuzzy performance tracking and slow returns, they focus exclusively on paid search. With this, they know exactly what they are paying for, and tracking ROI is much more tangible. The Key – maintain a competitive advantage in lead-to-booking conversions. Where most companies will lose spending $2 per click on SEM, they are able to make a nice return because they have perfected speed, information, and accuracy.

Focus on optimizing your lead response processes and it will open up marketing avenues once believed to expensive to play.

Does Your lodging Website Shine in an Era of the Super Portals?

sam@bookt.com

5 online strategies using Bookt’s platform to maintain a competitive booking advantage over lodging portals

With the emergence of the "Super-Portal", if your online marketing strategy is only re-active you are likely to be re-lying on the marketing services of external channels. As more portals adapt their model from cost per lead networks to complete booking portals, it is more important than ever to close the sale through your direct and most profitable channel - your website. It is no secret that the mega- portals are aggressively attempting to dominate the organic search rankings for vacation destinations worldwide. So this begs the question, with some of these companies having access to hundreds of millions in capital, and tens of millions dedicated to marketing and SEO, how is it possible to compete? In order to answer this, you must first adopt and utilize today’s technologies to stay ahead of the lodging wolf pack. When it comes to your actual website one thing that is for sure, a seamless and completely integrated booking engine is essential to online success.

At Bookt, we recommend distribution and connectivity with booking portals if one of your primary business goals is to reach new customers. This doesn’t mean it is in your best interest for the reservation to be made on the portal, rather quite the opposite. One of the key benefits of distributing your properties to portals is the overall exposure and amount of direct traffic that will derive from these listings. Consumers will often see your listings on 3rd party sites, check the price, and then go straight to the source (your website) to shop for a better price. In most cases you are required to have price parody across all channels, so, how can you close the deal on your website where you benefit the most? Below are 5 strategies to achieving a competitive booking advantage over aggregation portals.

1. Make it clear who is in charge - With portals, the company managing the property and their reputation are not always clear; take advantage of that. Make it clear that you have a physical address close by your rentals, and that you have a knowledgeable staff available for guests’ needs. Make your company’s background and reputation clear on your homepage to show your credentials. On deeper pages of your website, provide some more personal information. Show a picture of your staff, their pets, and talk about living in the area. This will strike an emotional cord with your guests and make booking online that much more comfortable.

2. Cultivate lead Response Efficiency – Fine tune your inquiry auto responders so that they give some general information and promise a prompt follow up. Focus on getting your reservations staff to follow up with the guest prospect within 5 minutes to maximize your lead conversion ratio. Do so and you will engage consumers while they are in the shop and compare mode and it will be your reservation to lose.

3. Show More Rental Information – Always remember that next to the property owner themselves, you know more about the properties under management more than anyone else. This gives you a competitive advantage over a portal because you have firsthand knowledge of that property, and its surroundings. Often portal inventory is based on what a property manager puts into that system manually, causing laziness or lack of details. Take advantage of this by showing lots of information regarding rentals proximity to local attractions, activities, dinning, user reviews, and your overall expertise of the properties and the surrounding areas. There is no such thing as to much information in this context.

4. Limit your line items – When most people see cryptic line items, they think to themselves “how can I avoid these?”. As much as possible, try bundle additional fees into the base rate. Most consumers have a higher tolerance to taxes that are typical, but are uncomfortable paying minute fees that add not additional benefit to their rental or vacation.

5. Encourage Action with Specials and Discounts – Bookt’s specials engine allows you to create specials and discounts on the fly. This gives you the flexibility to be creative and spontaneous. It is often hard for portals to provide specials without having a more personal relationship with the Property Manager, since they do not control the inventory or pricing. Since YOU DO, you can provide extra booking incentive where you know you have margin to spare. Offer discounts and specials to encourage visits to take action now, before they can shop and compare. In your responses to leads, get creative! Keep a couple “hidden” coupon codes in your arsenal and find a way to make it specific and unique to the prospect. If you see a lead come in from your Facebook page, respond to the lead with “I see you found us through our Facebook Fan Page, that’s great! We can offer you a 5% coupon because of this by using coupon code “FACEBOOK5” if you book today!”. The trick is to engage consumers while they are on your site, show off your credibility, and offer them an extra incentive tailored to them if they take action now!

Lodging CRM - Customer Relationship Management. How Are You Performing?

joel@bookt.com

Leading Lodging Technology and Marketing Company Launches Free Assessment Tool for Measuring the Effectiveness of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Programs for Hotels, Resorts and Vacation Rentals.

Well-nurtured relationships via CRM with past guests and prospective customers can turn both groups into new revenue with a lower acquisition cost. Bookt invites Vacation Rental, Resort & Hotel Managers to take a free online Quiz. How does your CRM perform?

Miami, Florida – March 21, 2010: Online Travel Marketing & Technology firm, Bookt LLC, today launched a free online quiz for lodging managers so they can measure their effectiveness exploiting Customer Relationship Management strategies, tactics and tools.

“An effective CRM is a practical way to keep track of past customers, their interactions with your company and their preferences, and turn these interactions into bookings”, said Robert Käll, President of Bookt. “It is also a way to handle new prospects and provide consistent and prompt follow-up on inquiries that will also lead to sales and bookings.”

The Bookt Customer Relationship Management Quiz and “instant score” are available on Bookt.com. After taking the free quiz, Bookt offers Lodging Managers a free download of their PDF entitled “Effective CRM Strategies, Tactics & Tools” Report with 8 Tips For Success!

“Travel shoppers are much more likely to engage and book with Lodging Companies that quickly and seamlessly respond to their individual needs and vacation experience goals,” Kall says. “An advanced CRM that automates all the processes and tagging allows the Lodging Manager to focus on data-mining and precision target marketing …NOT the overwhelming tasks of data collection.”

Bookt is a comprehensive web services provider to the global vacation rental and hotel industry, delivering seamless integration and turn-key web solutions. The company provides a complete range of services for vacation rental managers, hoteliers, tour operators, developers and larger travel organizations, from sophisticated website development, online marketing services, search engine optimization and CRM strategies. For more information or to take Bookt’s interactive quiz on Customer Relationship Management Strategies, Tactics and Tools, please visit www.bookt.com.

Only in Miami: The Chicken Edition

rob@bookt.com

It’s Friday, so time for another “non-business” blog post….

Once again, I got reminded of the peculiarities of living in Miami when I went downstairs for some coffee. In the water there was a chicken head floating… How did it end up there? Most likely a victim of a Santeria ritual.

Speaking of chickens, this is what I saw in the parking lot of my local Costco the other day. Chickens are a fairly common occurrence in metro Miami and according to this recent article re. cut backs in city government, we should expect even more of them in the future…

That said, I love living in Miami and the ever exciting cultural experiences you have here. Please stop by our office if you are in town…

Have a good weekend!

Best,

Rob

FVRMA 2010 Annual Convention & Tradeshow

joel@bookt.com

Are you going to the show???

4 Tips to an Effective CRM Strategy Utilizing the Bookt Platform

sam@bookt.com

By: Sam Marks

3/16/10

With the rapid pace of business in this new decade and the immense competition in the lodging industry, it is more important than ever to adopt new technologies to help reach new customers while nourishing relationships with previous ones. Although the theories of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) have been around for years, the means by which we practice these strategies evolve each day. Today, new business is won or lost on the internet front and competitive accommodations are just a click away. Find four tips below to help you position your CRM strategies using the Bookt platform to achieve higher customer satisfaction and reach new marketing objectives.

Capture Website Visitor’s Contact Information! Driving traffic to your website is not a standalone key to online success; you must create new customers by capturing leads and generating online bookings. To do so, develop 3 effective onsite methods to capturing guest information. A robust CRM platform and strategy is meaningless without customers. While old customers are great, new customers are the most fundamental piece of a growing business. Unfortunately, if you are looking at your traffic analytics, you are probably realizing that 95% of your new website visitors are simply vanishing without a trace. Take action! Bookt’s platform was developed with customer acquisition in mind; integrating specific property question forms, newsletter sign up, social media sharing, and booking abandonment capture screens. Since your website is your most direct channel for online business, utilize this powerful medium to capture new customers and prospects because every new website visitor is an opportunity for new business!

“Tag” Previous and New Guests - So you have invested in a comprehensive CRM and have dozens of contacts pouring in each day... what now? In most cases days, weeks, months go by without much consideration to all these new contacts until your twice yearly mailing which happens to go out to ALL your contacts. Now, think about this scenario; you own a vacation rental business serving Florida's Gulf Coast. You are enjoying beautiful sunny days with high's in the low 80's. A wicked snowstorm hits the Northeast which happens to be where 30% of your customer base resides. Now you quickly write an inviting email, with a last minute coupon code and send it out to this clientele in just a couple clicks... effective and efficient! This can be made possible with Bookt’s platform by means of what we call "Tags". Create a master list of tags (e.g. northeast, family, has pets, beachfront only, long term guests) and get in the habit of tagging new customers with applicable attributes that will make searching, grouping, and mailing quick, easy, and effective.

Improve Your Lead Processing – All the leads in the world won’t do you any good unless you are investing time and resources in streamlining your lead follow up processes. Companies are letting reservations slip away every day by leaving this as a lower level priority! Through the Bookt Platform, you can test different methods of following up with both email and phone inquiries and gather conclusive data on how you are most effectively converting leads into online bookings. Work to shorten your lead response time to less than 5 minutes. Understand your reservationist’s strengths and weaknesses and develop a lead processing strategy that compliments your operations. Finally, track your different channels of leads as well as the cost and conversion rate of each. This will help you allot marketing dollars where you can expect a consistent ROI.

Know Your Guest History! After being in business for years with tens of thousands of previous guests, do you really expect to know the names and history of each guest? Let Bookt’s platform handle this for you so you can focus on obtaining new customers instead of remembering old faces. Our CRM will remember and automatically store the history of all your guests, and even those inquiring who never actually made a reservation. When a new lead comes in you can quickly reference the history (previous dialogue, inquiries, reservation details, preferences, and internal notes) of that guest and speak to them on a personal level, further building their loyalty to your company and increasing the chances of a booking conversion.

Connecting the Social CRM Dots…

rob@bookt.com

By Rob Käll, Bookt LLC

Intro

Connecting the Social CRM Dots… What does that mean? Simply put, it is how to leverage both Social Media tools and CRM best practices as effective marketing tools for your lodging business. This allows you to achieve objectives such as more repeat visitors and a higher level of trust with new customers. All without busting the bank in terms of work effort or new technology.

What is Social Media?

This question may seem a little moot, since Social Media is a topic on almost everyone’s mind these days, but for the purpose of this article I would like to define it more clearly. To me, Social Media is a new breed of online tools that lets users start or join conversations (e.g. Twitter), create connections with other users (e.g. Facebook) and share their feedback and experience (e.g. TripAdvisor). The aggregate of these activities are extremely influential on other users, and that is the core reason why there is now so much emphasis on Social Media as a marketing tool.

What is CRM?

Compared to Social Media, the concept of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) may seem stodgy. But the fact is that CRM is still in its infancy, especially in the lodging field. Most travel companies fail to fully utilize its potential. So what is CRM exactly? Here I choose to define it as: An effective way to keep track of past customers, their interactions with your company and their preferences. It is also a way to handle new prospects and provide consistent and prompt follow-up on inquiries that can lead to sales/bookings. And because so much of this follow-up is fast and electronic, I consider tools like Email Marketing a vital part of CRM. Yes - there is a reason your inbox is full of emails from companies you have done business with in the past. Email Marketing done right, still works very well.

How is Social Media and CRM Connected?

The obvious answer is that they both deal with your future, current and past guests and how you, in the best possible way can understand their needs and expectations. And when you do, you can use these tools in powerful new way to influence purchases (e.g. I saw my friend’s sister had become a fan of your resort on Facebook so I decided to visit it as well).

The Usual Problem

So if CRM and Social Media are both very effective and intrinsically related, why don’t most lodging companies have a coherent and integrated CRM and Social Media marketing strategy (putting up a Facebook fan page that is then left to linger is not a Social Media strategy…)? Yes, you guessed it. The reason is usually lack of time, no personnel with the right skills and no tools that make updating Social Media sites and recording customer preferences quick and easy. We have also found that there is sometimes a bias against having an employee update a site like Facebook during work hours if it is perceived as a waste of time or sends the wrong message to other employees. Thus, Lodging Managers need a strategy and a well thought out plan to get all the benefits while avoiding the pitfalls and drawbacks.

The Solution – The Connected Web…

At Bookt we strongly believe in connected systems. So much so, that one of our first strategic initiatives was to create service we call Bookt Connect, designed to allow us to connect to almost any other service out on the internet in a fast, secure and reliable manner. The solution to time and resource problems is to simplify generation of relevant content, reduce the number of places to post updates and as much as possible automate information distribution and collection. Here are the 3 core activities you need to perform in order to connect the Social CRM Dots:

Create Your Lodging Company Feed

Your “feed” is all the things you want your Social Media sphere to know about you. Here are some examples that have wide appeal and relevance:

Blog about relevant local news and upcoming events in your area
Include all new special offers and promotions you are launching
Include any new attractions and amenities coming to your destination
Include summaries and selected user reviews (e.g. 38 of 40 user reviews collected during Feb. 2010 rated us either 4 or 5 stars)

Distribute your Feed:

This is actually not that difficult any more. In the last 10 years, standards for organizing frequently updated web information have emerged (two common formats are RSS and ATOM) and many different tools allow you to both post and read data in those formats. Once your feed is set up, you should configure it so every new item also gets:

Posted to your Company Blog (preferably as part of your company’s regular website)
Posted as a Facebook status update
Posted as a tweet on your Twitter page
Posted to your Company’s LinkedIn Page
Included in your Monthly Email Newsletter

Engage in the Conversation

Unlike many marketing approaches of the past, social marketing is not a one-way street. Expect and encourage an open conversation with your new social user-base (after all, they are your “friends, followers and fans”). The more you engage, the more you will spur the conversation. Again, the new connectivity technology can help you manage this flood of messages in a meaningful way. Bring in and organize this data and tie it to the appropriate data in your CRM customer database (so that if you pull up the appropriate record you have any Social Media comments included in their customer history). Here are some specific tactics:

Set up Facebook and other user-conversion tools so emails are sent to a centralized inbox when someone makes a comment. Process that inbox through a CRM lead management tool and associate comments with the correct person
Monitor all relevant travel review sites and bring in all reviews in a categorized and organized way (most provide the same type of feeds that were discussed above). Respond to or challenge all non-favorable reviews.
Include links to your review management system, Facebook fan page and Twitter feed in every post-stay email your PMS sends out.

The Future of Social Media Marketing

The future is already here. It may just not be completely evident to everyone yet. It consists of three major themes:

Transparency – If you are not a great lodging company more people will figure it out faster than ever before. Focus on delivering excellent service (commensurate with your lodging category) and make sure that guests perceive it as such.

Mobility – Everything today can be done from anywhere – when someone has a bad experience at a hotel these days they won’t say: “I am going to write complaint letter when I get home”, they will pick up their phone and tell the world about it right then and there including posting it on Twitter.

Connectedness - You as a lodging manager can take advantage of this new paradigm, where the entire web and all its data is connected, and use it get a 360 degree view of how your customers perceive your services and where you need to make improvements.

With a strategy similar to the one described above, you are ready to take one the second decade of the new millennium - and the good news is, many of your competitors have not yet figured this out, which can give you a distinct and lasting competitive advantage.

I’d love to get your feedback. What works for your company? What doesn’t? Have questions? Need advice? Email me at rob@bookt.com and let’s chat. Maybe I could even include your comments and ideas in my next article – coming soon!
____________________________________________________________________________________
Rob Käll is the President and Co-founder of Bookt, a comprehensive web services provider for the global lodging industry, delivering seamless integration and turn-key web solutions. The Company provides a complete range of services for vacation rental managers, hoteliers, tour operators, developers and larger travel organizations, from sophisticated website development, booking engine hosting, online marketing services, search engine optimization and CRM strategies. For more information or to take Bookt’s interactive quiz to gauge your website’s effectiveness, visit www.bookt.com.

Our Office Manatee

rob@bookt.com

It’s Friday so I figured a little brevity is ok. Our office is located right on the bay in downtown Miami and today when I walked downstairs for some coffee, I saw this guy:

One of the wonderful things about Miami is the close access to the bay and the ocean. Right now during “Winter”, the manatees migrate to the warmest water they can find. In this case a marina outside our office. In a few weeks, he will most likely swim out to the wider bay to feed on the sea grass. Manatees are very gentle animals that are unfortunately endangered. Many are injured in boating accidents, since the tend to lie still right under the surface making them very hard to see from a distance.

Leading Travel Marketing and Technology Company Unveils Free Assessment Tool for Lodging Managers to Measure Effectiveness of their Website Design & Features

joel@bookt.com

Travel is more competitive than almost any online marketplace. Better looking and consumer-centric websites will win over vacation travel shoppers and book greater revenue in the new decade. Bookt invites Vacation Rental & Hotel Managers to take a free online Quiz. How does your website stack up?

Miami, Florida – February 16, 2010: Online Travel Marketing & Technology firm, Bookt LLC, today launched a free online quiz for lodging managers so they can measure their effectiveness exploiting Website Features and Design elements.

“A superior website is an essential and vital prerequisite for success for a travel and lodging business in 2010,” said Robert Käll, President of Bookt. “It is also an area that many hotels, resorts and vacation rental companies need to pay more attention to and can easily improve.”

The Bookt Website Design & Features Quiz and “instant score” are available on Bookt.com. After taking the free quiz, Bookt offers Lodging Managers a free download of a Effective Travel Website Design & Features Report with 6 Tips For Success!

“Consumers engage with travel sites that are well designed, make it easy to search and find what they are looking for, and sites that build trust as part of the user experience,” Kall says. “Some lodging managers are not even aware of how easy it is to improve their sites performance and capture more revenue online.”

Bookt is a comprehensive web services provider to the global vacation rental and hotel industry, delivering seamless integration and turn-key web solutions. The company provides a complete range of services for vacation rental managers, hoteliers, tour operators, developers and larger travel organizations, from sophisticated website development, online marketing services, search engine optimization and CRM strategies. For more information or to take Bookt’s interactive quiz on Travel Web Design, visit www.bookt.com.

SEO – Let’s Get Quantitative and Demand Results

joel@bookt.com

Hardly a day goes by when I am not speaking to a hotelier or lodging manager about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This is a topic that has continued to become more and more important in most hotels’ and vacation rentals’ marketing mix. And that’s no wonder, as properly done, SEO can very effectively increase any lodging organization’s bottom line. But beyond catch phrases like: “drive tons of traffic” or “rank at the top of Google” and other hyperbole common in the sales process of SEO services, how is a successful SEO project run and how can you be sure you are getting the results you are paying for?

Can SEO Success be Measured?

Given the title of this article, the answer is obviously, yes. However, many times the evaluation and metrics produced from an SEO project do not really tell the stakeholders what they need to know: Is this working very well, ok or poorly? The reason is, often only certain metrics are measured and those items are not being evaluated in a full context. Below is an outline of metrics and other considerations that when taken together produce the context that allows you to truly evaluate whether or not your SEO project is successful.

Before you Start

Before starting a new project, it always makes sense to define some objectives. I think most of the time the objective is to drive more traffic to the property website, which is likely to lead to closed bookings. Ensuring you have top ranking for key phrases is important, but not the only strategy as we will discuss below.
Establishing Your Baseline
If your website has been live for more than a few months, you are most likely already receiving organic search engine traffic (but probably not to the degree that you would prefer). Take a snapshot of that data and save it. All SEO gains are incremental and if you don’t know where you started from, you won’t be able to measure your progress.

Measure Your Potential

While it would be nice for any hotel to rank #1 for a phrase like “Hotel”, that is not realistic for any individual property or small chain website. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set your sights high. Pick the 3-4 attributes that represent your property best (e.g. luxury, boutique, business etc.) and your market areas in incrementally smaller segments (e.g. South Florida, Miami, Miami Beach, South Beach). Then, use a tool like Google’s keyword research tool (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) to research the number of monthly searches you get for each combination when paired with common words like “hotel” or “resort”. The more searches, the higher potential. This tool also gets you some insight into the competiveness of each keyword. Do some trial searches in a search engine and see which sites rank above you. That’s your competition. The best keywords are the ones that reflect your property the best, have the highest amount of traffic and the least amount of competition.
Measure Your Rankings
Once your project is underway, start measuring your ranking for your top keywords. Ranking position is critical. The difference between ranking #1 and ranking #8 for a popular keyword typically produces very significant differences in SERP (Search Engine Result Page) click-throughs to your site. What’s also important is that today, rankings are fluid. Because of constantly updated links, algorithms and content changes, sites move up and down in the rankings. Keeping track of rankings manually is very time consuming, so using a tool that does it automatically allows you to track it fairly frequently and graph it over time. You want steady improvement and top 3 rankings for at least some of your keywords. The best tools also cross reference the ranking data with keyword popularity and actual site analytics.

Measure Your Change in Traffic Patterns

Assuming you are embarking on a successful SEO campaign, what type of changes should you see? A tripling of traffic in a month? That’s fairly unlikely. Rather, measuring organic search engine traffic as a percentage of all traffic, you should start to see an increase in that share. You should also see a shift in the actual keywords that bring you traffic (this requires that you also study your website analytics report carefully). Whereas in the past your property name might have been your primary search word, you should now start to receive significant traffic on other keyword combinations, preferably the ones that best match your core offering. This is important, since those searches are likely to have the greatest online conversion (percentage of visitors that actually book on your site). If your site has been properly structured and optimized, you should also start receiving more “long tail” traffic. Those are searches that have a fairly specific set of search words. This would be a 4 or 5 word search phrase, e.g. “Art Deco Boutique Hotel in Miami”, where each combination is fairly rare, but given the many possible permutations, they still represent a rather large traffic opportunity.

Measure Your Success (and Failures)

Once you have the above-mentioned statistics in place, how do you know whether you are successful or not? As mentioned, SEO progress tends to be incremental, so that clear indicators, like a doubling in the number of bookings from the previous month is rather rare. Instead, looking at the metrics described above over a few months time, you should see steady improvement across the board. And what is failure? Failure is no progress or even sliding backwards while actively engaging in SEO activities. Failure can also be that you are able to drive more traffic to your property website, but that traffic is not converting at the same level as you have experienced in the past. If your site has an effective booking engine and relevant content but you are not seeing an increase in booking conversions, chances are the keywords that you are using are not reflective of what your visitors are expecting when clicking on your search engine link. Either way, failure requires reevaluation, both of strategy, and accountability; the people that work for you must acknowledge problems and take responsibility to rectify them.

Continuous Improvement

SEO is not a onetime thing. Even if you are able to reach a higher level of success, many of your competitors probably also employ SEO techniques and the landscape changes all the time. You will have occasional setbacks, but if you have a credible offering and an effective website that evolves with the times (lately we have found that various social media tools help generating significant incremental search engine traffic); you should be able to generate a positive return on your investment.
How to Evaluate and Move to the Next Level?
I am aware I just fed you a bunch of facts, terms and metrics, some of them rather esoteric. The purpose was to give you some insight and background. Don’t be afraid to ask your SEO team to explain and justify their results. After all, they are the experts. The idea is not accept everything at face value. Being an educated consumer always makes sense, especially in the SEO world…

I’d love to get your feedback. What works for your company? What doesn’t? Have questions? Need advice? Email me at rob@bookt.com and let’s chat. Maybe I could even include your comments and ideas in my next article – coming soon!

This article was originally published on HotelExecutive.com

Search Engine Success – Are You in Control?

joel@bookt.com

SEO – What You Need to Know!

By: Sam Marks

Director of Success, Bookt LLC.

Search Engine Optimization is a topic on the mind of just about everyone these days, and if you are not thinking about it, now is a good time to start. In general, SEO is the practice of optimizing your website to rank better in the search engines, thus increasing traffic and the presence of your website in a given market. SEO is comprised of many variables, but generally grouped in two parts: Onsite optimization and Offsite optimization (link building). There are thousands of companies selling SEO services, but wouldn’t it be great to have the tools to be in control? In the past unless you were a web junky and had a deep understanding of html and programming skills, there was little you could do to optimize your web pages for search engine success.

With Bookt’s online lodging solutions, you can super-charge your onsite optimization with just a basic understanding of SEO. First, determine your keyword targets. What are you offering? Recognize the competition for this these keywords. Understand that “Vacation Rentals” is far more difficult to rank for than “Long Island Beach House Rentals”… and everything in between. Don’t shoot for the stars right away, work on longer tail keywords that are less competitive

What Web Page Content is Important to Optimize?

Now it is time to apply what you know. The next step is to understand what parts of a webpage resonate with the search engines. Aside from the content you clearly see on a webpage, here are some additional page attributes more specific to Search Engine Optimization

Page Title – The title of the page is seen at the top of your browser. This is arguably the most important page attribute to optimize

Page URL –The URL is also extremely important to write specifically.

Page Meta Keywords – These keywords read only by search engines, not users. They give the search engines and idea of what the page is about

Page Meta Description – a description of the page and it’s offering. This is seen in search engine listings as the description of the page/listing

Image Alt Tags – tells the search engines and users what an image is about

How to know what content should be optimized?

With hundreds or even thousands of web pages on your website, it is not feasible to manually fine-tune the content for every page. This is why it is so important to have smart, dynamic generation of this content automatically. Bookt’s platform dissects your business, lodging type, market area, specialties, and other important data and automatically creates these optimized pages for you! This allows you to start off with “smart defaults” that are already optimized. For your most important pages, the Bookt SEO Editor puts the fine tuning in your control, further optimizing these traffic driving pages.

Let’s take a look at an example. In this particular case, we are showing a popular category search page - “Vacation Cabins Near Gatlinburg”. With the SEO Editor, we can easily fine tune the page details to support this keyword.

Below you can see the corresponding changes SEO enhancements you have made. You are now in the driver seat, and racing toward more search engine success!

Selling Summer Vacations in January?

joel@bookt.com

In my last blog posting entitled "Lodging Managers - Are You Monitoring Your Competitors?" - I talked about the importance of consistently looking at how your adversaries are going to market. Case and point - see the HomeAway ad that came into my email box this morning. Know that all of the hyperlinks were "live" in the email; I have pasted-in the email as an image (so the links are not active).

Whether you are in the hotel business or manage vacation rentals, HomeAway is targeting your same prospects and their vacation-dollars. And they are a major force to be reckoned with - to be sure. At least once a week I receive the HomeAway mailing and I am always impressed with their keen marketing skills. Here they are now getting a jump on the competition and already starting their Summer blitz....

While it is still January, are you starting to think about Summer and getting a jump on your target marketing? Please consider doing so, and please start monitoring the competition.

Want to schedule a fast, no-obligation online meeting where we can discuss your seasonal marketing campaign planning? Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to plan ahead and Get Bookt!

Lodging Managers - Are You Monitoring Your Competitors?

joel@bookt.com

At Bookt, we recommend that someone on your Lodging Management Team should be monitoring the competition, including what they are offering in terms of online "Specials" and "Deals". Further, it is important to view the competition not only as your local hotels, resorts and vacation rentals – but also look at this in a general way as you can learn a great deal from national and global competitors who are communicating with and targeting the same travel shopper demographics that you are.

How to collect competitive intelligence? Regarding your local competitors, we recommend you visit their websites on a frequent and consistent basis. At least once a month. Certainly someone on your staff can make this happen and write up a brief report to share with your entire team.

How about other non-local competitors vying for the same travel dollars and demographic? Sign up for newsletters from Orbitz, Expedia, Hotels.com and the like. I also get a weekly email from Budget Travel, and it is always filled with ideas that would be useful for Lodging Managers to review and process. You might find ideas here that will generate an idea for your lodging business.

Do any of these “steals and splurges” promotions turn on your creative juices for your property or rentals?

The Amazon & Inca Trail from $2285 for 15 days: Book an Intrepid trip in the Americas and save up to 15% or enter to WIN a trip for two in North, South or Central America! (From Intrepid Travel)

Book Now and Save up to $770 on Breezes Escapes: There's never been a better time to take a Breezes Resorts & Spas getaway. Book a 2010 Breezes escape now & save up to $770. (From Breezes Resorts & Spas)

MGM Grand's Guest Privilege Program: Join Prima for a complete VIP experience. Includes free suite upgrades, limo transfers, 2-for-1 entrees and more. (From MGM Grand Las Vegas)

Experience Maui's Hawaiian Hotel for $159/night! The perfect place for a getaway! Free nightly hula show, Hawaiian activities, children's program & more. Rates from $159/nt! (From Kaanapali Beach Hotel)

Tahiti–5 night getaway from $1,399. Escape to the paradise of Tahiti with this exclusive 5 night package from $1,399 incl. air, hotel and daily breakfast. (From Tahiti Tourisme)

Finally – compare your website’s performance to your competitors with tools like www.compete.com. The data is not always perfect, but you can learn a great deal from this type of service and like all of the above, can ultimately help you put the pieces together and achieve your revenue goals.

Want to talk about competitive intelligence in the lodging industry? Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to improve your marketing reach and Get Bookt!

With Sympathy for the People of Haiti

rob@bookt.com

I am learning more about the horrible earthquake event in Haiti and I keep thinking of this: As I have been travelling around the world (although I’ve never been to Haiti) and meeting people from many countries and cultures, I am always surprised how similar their priorities, aspirations and fears are to the people I know here in the States. The people in Haiti are right now feeling just like you or I would feel if we lost loved ones or our home and security was destroyed. But there is one important difference, unlike here, there are virtually no organized systems or infrastructure to deal with disasters like this in Haiti. It’s easy to feel helpless…

To do something I just made a donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. If you have the means, I encourage you to do the same.

New “How To” Video Tutorials Launched

sam@bookt.com

Bookt has many years of experience designing technology that can be best described as “intuitive” and very easy to use. We hear this all the time, especially during “How To” training when launching a new client on our platform. And clients can always call or email Support to get a personal “How To” refresher. But now we have taken this one step better. Recently we launched “How To” Video Tutorials accessible 24/7/365 through each client’s Control Panel.

Need a refresher on how to add or change a property photo? Add a new local restaurant? Manage your leads? Bookt’s “How To” Video Tutorials are a great resource and always available for you and your team.

Just login to your Control Panel and check out the Community Tips section on the bottom left. And let us know if you find these videos helpful and specific subjects for which you would like us to create a Video Tutorial in the future.

Bookt is dedicated to your Online Success! These “How To” Videos are just the latest example of “How To” walk that talk!

More tutorials here: http://www.youtube.com/user/booktmedia

Questions about how you can use Video to tell your story? Contact us and we can help you.

Social Media Changing How Vacation Rental and Lodging Companies Market and Communicate with Vacation Travel Shoppers

joel@bookt.com

Social Media has opened opportunities for travel businesses through the power of an immediate connection with consumers and exchange of information, ideas and personal preferences. Bookt invites Vacation Rental & Hotel Managers to take a free online Social Media Quiz. How Social Media savvy are you?

Miami, Florida - January 12, 2010: Online Travel Marketing & Technology firm, Bookt LLC, today launched a free online quiz for lodging managers so they can measure their current performance exploiting Social Media Marketing.

“The need for travel managers and their websites to connect with and engage 1-to-1 with consumers has never been greater,” said Robert Käll, President of Bookt. “Either you are connecting with your target vacation shopper or your competitor is.”

The Bookt Social Media Marketing Quiz and “instant score” is available here. After taking the free quiz, Bookt allows Vacation Rental and Lodging Managers to download a free Report entitled, Social Media Marketing For Travel – 7 Tips For Success!

“Social Media is another great channel that early adopters are already leveraging to create travel revenue,” Käll says. “Consumers have lots of choices. The faster and deeper you can engage with your target, the better!”

Cloud Based Services for Hotels

rob@bookt.com

As a vendor of Cloud based services for the hospitality industry, I thought this was an interesting article:

http://www.buyerinteractive.com/buyer/article.aspx?articleid=15564

I have actively gone out and spoken about the promise of the cloud for hotels and vacation rental companies, most recently at the CFVRMA.

What do you think? Let me know (rob at bookt.com),

In Leisure Travel, do you sell the Steak or the Sizzle?

joel@bookt.com

Are you selling hotel rooms or couples getaways? Are you promoting you vacation rentals or your great accommodations for family reunions? Which should you sell? The product (steak) or the benefits (sizzle)?

In leisure travel, most people search for the steak – meaning your units, as in the following keyword phrases:
Orlando Vacation Rental
Palm Springs Resort
Lake Geneva Hotels

Once they get to your website, you need to create “empathy” – especially with visual images – that shows the sizzle. Families splashing in the pool. Couples holding hands walking the beach or dining under the stars. You want people to see themselves in these images so they know they are in the right place and should stop and look around (at your accommodations).

While most people search for the steak, many people also search for the sizzle, as in:
Ski In Ski Out Breckenridge
Orlando Rental near Disney
South Beach Oceanfront Condo

So there it is. In leisure travel you should be selling both your units as well as your benefits, advantages, differentiators in price, location, amenities and services.

Sell the steak and the sizzle. That’s what vacation shoppers are searching for.

The Upside and Pitfalls of User Reviews on Your Own Website

rob@bookt.com

The Upside and Pitfalls of User Reviews on Your Own Website

By Rob Käll, Bookt

Online travel reviews are nothing new; they have existed in one way or another for over 10 years and many of the most popular travel sites allow users to post reviews. In fact, sites without user reviews may become less common over the next few years, as consumers rely more heavily on others’ experiences before making a decision.

So here is a question for you: if you are not displaying your customers’ experiences on your property’s site, what’s holding you back? I know, you’re probably thinking: ‘but what if I have a bad review on my site?’ and it’s a valid concern because at some point, no matter how good your hotel is, someone somewhere will have something negative to say. You can’t be all things to everyone all of the time. Let’s explain and analyze the pros and cons of posting consumers’ reviews of your property on your own website.

Why are Reviews Popular?

We humans are social beings and our behavior is, to a very large extent, influenced by other people’s actions and opinions. We also want to make an impact in some way and be influencers of others’ actions, so it makes perfect sense that we would spend time writing reviews – and especially if our experience has drawn out passionately positive or negative feelings. According to Market Metrix Hospitality Index, approximately 10% of hotel guests post reviews about their experiences. For some, it is a way to vent about their less than stellar experience at a property. For others, it’s a way to spread the word of a special experience. Either way, these reviews provide important information that potential guests will trust and value, and of course, influence their booking decisions.

The Transparency Revolution
Transparency and accountability - you hear those words everywhere and through the miracle of today’s technology, transparent information is more available than ever. That said, in the eyes of consumers, not being transparent can equate to being shady and unresponsive. You know that saying ‘honesty pays’? In the case of online reviews, this is very true. Being upfront and honest translates to more trust and eventually more sales.

The Upside

Since reviews – especially ones with dates, names and those that do not look filtered or edited - can help establish credibility with potential customers. Having them on your site can be very beneficial. If most traveler reviews indicate good experiences, a potential booker will assume that he or she will enjoy a positive experience too.

Regardless of whether you are a large hotel or hotel chain, an independent boutique hotel, or a vacation rental property, you can benefit from posting guest’s comments. Showing a list of customer reviews that are overwhelmingly (but not exclusively) positive will truly reinforce the trust factor. Just think, if you can reinforce the trust factor on your own website, where your offering is the only one available, the user may not bother to check any other review sites, where he or she is bound to be bombarded with many competing offers.

What about the Pitfalls?

The most obvious pitfall is having more than the occasional negative comment about your property in plain sight for potential customers to see. If you are seeing negative reviews on a regular basis (or if you are seeing many of the same complaints over and over), you should get to work on improving service by addressing each of the concerns.

The Inevitable Bad Review

Even if you do have mostly positive reviews, sooner or later you will see a bad review come in. What should you do? Delete it? If it contains inappropriate language or complete fabrications, you should. After all this is your site and you are responsible for its content and accuracy. But if there are one or two complaints in an otherwise positive review, respond to them and post your response just under the review. Make it personal and outline your version of the incident or respond to specific issues and how they were addressed. Be sure to thank your negative reviewers for their valuable input and consider inviting them back with an incentive to show that you really do walk the walk.

So while no one likes to be told that they are not perfect, negative reviews can actually work in your favor. Your response will show that you are customer-service driven and accountable. These types of responses (if not too frequent) can actually help you build credibility and show that you care about your customers’ happiness and satisfaction.

How It Can Be Done

If you do not want to implement your own review management system, you can actually bring in reviews from popular travel review sites like TripAdvisor.com (be sure to check specific terms and copyright first) through something called an RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication - which isn’t as simple as you may expect because “what is RSS” is a very common Google query). An RSS feed can be embedded into your site and will automatically refresh as new reviews are posted. Ask your website solutions company to set up your own review management system or RSS feed on your site. If you have questions, feel free to contact us at Bookt.

As a hotelier, it is in your interest to encourage the vast majority of guests who had a great stay at your property to write a review. That can be done in many ways. One of my favorite tactics is a short message on the room key folder that suggests they write a review. To incentivize further, promise a small gift, like 5% off their next stay or free parking next time they visit if they send an email to you with a link to their review.

Tap the Social Business Intelligence

Social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are increasingly important tools for the hospitality industry and the information that can be aggregated from them can be used for serious business purposes. Case in point, tracking average rating scores on a monthly basis from multiple review sites (tools that use the RSS feeds mentioned earlier exist) can illustrate important trends in your property’s customer operations. Reward your team for increasing scores, and demand improvement if the scores fall off. Empower your team to be a bigger part of the hotel and its success.

Evaluation Necessary

After adding reviews, it’s important to keep track of your site’s metrics and track the data internally. Make sure to track online booking conversion and abandon rates before and after the change. If you feel that reviews posted are primarily promoting your property and brand, keep up the good work. If they improve with time (which we frequently find), you are on to something. If not, remove the reviews and try something else because the most important thing about marketing – on or offline - is to always be thinking strategically and moving forwards.

Remember that online reviews are part of the constantly moving target of increasing traffic, increasing conversions and increasing bookings.

I’d love to get your feedback. What works for your company? What doesn’t? Have questions? Need advice? Email me at rob@bookt.com and let’s chat. Maybe I could even include your comments and ideas in my next article – coming soon!

This article was originally published on HotelExecutive.com

Five Common Booking Engine Mistakes to Avoid for Your Hotel or Vacation Rental Website

rob@bookt.com

Almost everyone in this environment is looking for ways to maximize revenue; from large hotel chains to independent boutique properties, hoteliers across the world are looking for ways to boost their sales. So it’s not surprising that in my conversations with operators, I am constantly being asked “What is the secret to success on the web?” I always respond with a question of my own: “How much attention do you pay to your property’s website booking engine?” More often than not, those looking for ways to increase their online sales have booking engine problems that can be fixed, without completing overhauling the property’s website.

Most hotel operators acknowledge that the company’s website is an important revenue generator, but rather than using it as the cost-effective and dynamic tool that it is, they lose focus and turn it into the equivalent of an online brochure. While brochures have their place in the marketing mix, they are not directly responsible for a hotel’s profits, whereas your website can be. By optimizing the booking engine, hoteliers can maximize bookings and revenues through this important portal.

First, though, hotel websites must avoid some of the pitfalls I see all too often that prevent a website’s booking engine from contributing positively to the property’s bottom line:

1. The Shy Little (Booking) Engine

When designing websites, I always try to present the website visitor with a one-two punch: first, the emotional reaction - “Oh, I want to go there!” - accomplished by beautiful images, often as a subtle slideshow. Right next to it, a very clear call-to-action: the quick availability and rate search. When these two aspects- which are the most effective at encouraging bookings- are the centerpieces of a successful web strategy, the property’s online revenues increase dramatically. An unobtrusive text link that says “Reservations” hidden in a corner will not make the grade; your home page is not the place for subtlety.

Remember, people make up their mind in seconds whether a website has the information they are looking for or not. Make it easy for them to find (and use) it. If they don’t see your call-to-action right away, their next click will be on the back button.

2. Popups be Damned

This is my biggest pet peeve. Next to email spam, popups are the most reported internet annoyance for consumers shopping for a hotel online. Just as you don’t want your most important online revenue generator to go unnoticed, you don’t want your booking engine to be scaring consumers away. The reasons for using popups vary and although there are ways to avoid being caught by a popup blocker, why take any chance that your booking engine will either annoy your customer or be blocked altogether?

3. Not Making it a Part of the Rest of Your Site

Before your booking engine can be the central feature of your website, it must first be fully and dynamically integrated into the website - as cleanly and seamlessly as possible. When hotel or lodging websites resort to popups, it’s usually because they lack a truly integrated solution. I believe that consumers expect a seamless booking experience similar to the one they have on third party sites like Orbitz or Expedia, and if they can’t get it through your property’s site they will go elsewhere. So what is the “right” way to do it? A consumer’s typical online purchasing process goes something along the lines of this:

Arrive at the home page, get rates for room types from booking engine.
Decide whether your rate and availability suits their needs– Is the rate too high? Are you booked solid through their travel dates? Then, especially in the current climate, consumers will search for specials and deals that may be available.
So the price is right and you have availability, next consumers want to find out what your property has to offer – pool, spa, golf course, restaurant, valet, etc. Don’t forget to include photos! Again, they have to decide whether what you offer suits their needs.
Hopefully, they’ve made it this far and they are happy with what you have to offer. So they click on the ‘book now’ button and once again, either reject or accept your cancellation policy, additional fees and security and safety of your site.
If you’re doing your job as web marketer, the consumer will then enter their credit card details and confirm the booking.

As you can see, even a person who is ready and willing to book their stay goes through multiple accept/reject check points. And at every one of these booking stages, you run the risk of losing the customer. If your site changes its look or there is a visual disconnect with what you are offering, forces a popup, includes broken links or incorrect data, or seems incomplete and difficult to navigate through any of the touchpoints, it is highly likely that you will lose the booking.

And always make sure the booking portion of the site looks like and is connected to the rest of the site: this is vital to create trust and high level of comfort. The unit description and booking pages are excellent opportunities for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because they contain many of the keywords that people are likely to enter when searching for lodging online. If those keywords are found on a different site - as they would be if your booking engine was a popup - that is another lost opportunity to deliver this traffic to your site.

4. Not Spelling out the Specials

Today, most sites have some kind of search box and most website management companies can track the results. Guess which category is the most common? Sales, deals and discounts. The most effective specials are those that appeal to each traveler’s specific situation. For example, a traveler with a large family that needs three rooms might be hoping to get the third room at a discount. A late-booking visitor, knowing that your property has availability, might be looking for a last-minute discount. Offering specials to these willing customers and then clearly outlining them in rate quotes (and again during the booking summary) will increase conversion rates tremendously.

5. Asking for the Wrong Info at the Wrong Time

The online booking engine is a wonderful invention, appreciated by busy travelers who want to compare rates at 2AM and by hoteliers who want to sell their inventory in an effective manner. One of the challenges the online booking has always faced is trepidation - even sometimes hesitation - on the part of consumers to give out credit card numbers online. So be smart about how you ask for this information. Make sure your security certificates are up-to-date, visible and recognizable. Use the best encryption and information security practices available. Keep your potential customers’ privacy as the central factor in deciding whether to collect any information because you can be sure, if their information is ever compromised, that’s the last sale that your property will ever get from them.

If you have an effective reservation department that can follow up on email inquiries, ask for name, email and phone number in the step prior to the credit card details. If the user for some reason has second thoughts (we techies call these ”abandons”), you still have a hot lead that you can call back to help “complete the reservation”. Conversion ratios on abandons tend to be much higher than regular email leads, especially if agents are empowered to offers small discounts as part of the process.

Clearly, your property’s online success also depends on many other factors beyond just the specific booking engine: low traffic, poor search engine optimization, lack of brand recognition or subpar revenue management will be equally detrimental. The most important concept however (a new website mantra!) is this – you have direct control over your website and booking engine so if it’s not working, fix it! Rededicate your website to the purpose of not just driving sales or increiasing leads, but creating revenue. Help your booking engine contribute to your bottom line, rather than ruin it.

I’d love to get your feedback. What works for your company? What doesn’t? Have questions? Need advice. Email me at rob@bookt.com and let’s chat. Maybe I could even include your comments and ideas in my next article – coming soon!

This article first was published online on HotelExecutive.com

Vacation Rental Managers Association on Facebook

joel@bookt.com

If you are a Vacation Rental Manager, you should be interested in Social Media marketing to help promote your properties and destination. Social Media can help you leverage the “soft sell” and build relationships with consumers who wish to engage on these emerging channels.

Leading by example is VRMA. This morning I received an alert to check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DiscoverVacationHomes

I immediately became a “Fan” – their 82nd, and I suggest that you consider the becoming one, too. At Bookt, we recommend that Lodging Managers get involved with Industry Groups. For Vacation Rental Managers, VRMA and Discover Vacation Homes are a terrific group to get involved with. Be sure to take a look at the Video and the Poll on this page, too.

I learned that November is designated as International Vacation Rental Awareness Month, quoting now...

As more people across North America seek ways to reconnect with family, friends and spouses – especially when on vacation - November 2009 has been designated as North America’s first-annual International Vacation Rental Awareness Month. For the first time, parents, grandparents, partners and best friends will have easy access to the tools, resources and inspiration to discover how to stay together on their next trip for less!

Here are a few ways to take advantage:

(1) VACATION RENTAL SPECIALS: Staying together will be made more affordable beginning in November, when http://www.DiscoverVacationHomes.com will list a huge amount of vacation rental travel specials across North America. Special rates and packages include a variety of multiple-bedroom vacation home, condo and villa rentals through the fall, winter, holiday and spring seasons, including regions from mountains to beaches, adventure hotspots to theme park capitals and everything in-between.

(2) TIPS AND INFORMATION: General topics and other resources will also be available online in November, including answers to frequently asked questions, debunking the top vacation rental myths, as well as planning tips, 10 secrets to saving on travel with vacation rentals vs. hotels, tips for choosing the right vacation rental and more.

A regional map will also allow you to connect for the first time with the most trusted vacation rental companies across Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and the United States.

(3) WAYS TO CONNECT ONLINE: Making it easier to ask questions, connect with other travelers, view and share travel photos and more, “Discover Vacation Homes” will answer questions about vacation rentals on Twitter when directed to @GoVacationHomes, including knowledgeable and personal responses by experts on the category. Facebook visitors can now post to a public discussion board, post past vacation rental reviews and browse and upload vacation rental images among other features.

Coming Soon from Bookt - More on Social Media Marketing for the Hospitality Industry - watch this space!!

Vacation Rentals for Family Reunion Vacations

joel@bookt.com

According to a recent VRMA Press Release, the “Family Reunion” is growing in popularity. Here are some of the stats:

23% of leisure travelers said it was the primary reason they were traveling during the past year;
this is an increase of 13% over 2008;
2.45 million family reunion travelers who took an overnight trip of at least 75 miles from home in 2008 indicated staying in a vacation rental.

Interesting stats! Is your Vacation Rental business and properties family reunion friendly? As VRMA points out: The vacation rental option often costs less than reserving multiple hotel rooms, and homes can even be rented side-by-side in the same neighborhood. Vacation Rentals provide a sense of privacy under one roof, rather than the stress of requesting adjoining rooms, remembering floor numbers, and designating “family” floor monitors to keep a watchful eye out for “tween” and teen members of the group.

I Googled family reunion vacation rentals to see how Vacation Rental Managers are marketing their properties for this type of large group. Click Here for results. ...Then "click" around and see what other Vacation Rental Managers are doing.

Bottom line? If your inventory contains individual properties or properties in close proximity that make sense for large groups like Family Reunions, create some special content and offers on your website to attract this target group. And, if you have already hosted Family Reunions, don’t forget to blog about them as Success Stories and obtain “testimonials” and reviews from the Organizers.

Family Reunions are growing and Vacation Rentals are a terrific cost-saving option for small, medium and larger lodging needs.

Couples Retreat – Promotional Idea for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

There is a new movie opening today around the nation. It is a comedy called Couples Retreat and is centered around four couples from the Mid-West who go on vacation to a tropical paradise. A near “perfect” opportunity for Vacation Rental Managers to employ Borrowed Interest Advertising.

As defined previously in one of our Blog Posts, Borrowed Interest Advertising — so-named because you “borrow” consumers’ interest in something outside your company — is a way for vacation rental companies to ride the coattails of much larger events — and is "free".

Why not create a promotion around this? Why not create a “Couples Retreat” deal for your Vacation Rental Business?

Offer a special price, a special package with romantic or couples-oriented amenities – and include Couples Retreat movie tickets for all of the individual couples or groups of couples who participate.

Are there other “Borrowed Interest” ideas and themes you can think of to sell and promote your Vacation Rentals? Is there a local event or even a national or global “happening” that you can tie into? I bet there are many creative ideas you can think of to promote your properties and destination.

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we'll talk "borrowed interest" and how this can be applied to your Vacation Rentals utilizing the free tools within the Bookt Platform.

There has never been a better time to borrow and Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Blog Topics Organized for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

I sort all my blog posts by purpose and topic, and continually update this article - in order to make it easy for Vacation Rental Managers to find exactly what they are looking for.

Bookt Platform
> Site Score for Vacation Rental Managers
> Promo Calendar for Vacation Rental Managers
> “Lead Scoring” for Vacation Rental Managers
> “Demo” Meeting with Vacation Rental Managers
> Marketing For Vacation Rental Managers
> Online “Empathy” Books and Closes the Vacation Rental Sale
> Vacation Rental Managers: BYOD!
> The “BEST of Breed” Vacation Rental Booking Engine!
> Take Command & Control of your Vacation Rental Business Now
> Location, Location, Vacation! Why Integrated-Mapping is Critical
> “Third-Party Endorsements” are “Sales Closers” and "Build Trust"
> The BEST and PERFECT Sales Representative for Your Business
> Free Competitive Website Analysis for Vacation Rental Managers
> Why Clients Love Our "Do-It-Yourself" Content Management Tools!

Education/Webinars
> News for Vacation Rental Managers
> How To Use Online Meeting Technology to Increase Bookings
> Blogging Webinars for Vacation Rental and Lodging Managers

FVRMA/VRMA
> Vacation Rental Managers: Please Read Report!
> FVRMA – Expectation “Set” and Good-To-Go!
> FVRMA "Summer Special" Offer from Bookt!
> Vacation Rental Managers – Call to Action!
> Hello! My Name Is...
> Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association – Proud Member!

Social Media
> Vacation Rental Managers: Social Media Trends
> Keyword-Rich Blogging for Vacation Rental Managers
> Twitter and Vacation Rental Marketing
> Read Any Good Vacation Rental Articles Lately?
> Indian Shores Florida Vacation Rentals: Blog Topic Ideas
> Blog, Blog, Blog for Online Success!
> Online Marketing: Exploiting Social Media For Fun & Profit
> Picking Topics For Your Vacation Rental Site Blog Is Easy As 1-2-3!

Notes From The Road
> Notes from "the road" - Naples, Florida
> Notes from "the road" - FVRMA Conference
> Notes from "the road" - Welcome to Florida!
> Notes from "the road" - Callaway Gardens
> Notes from "the road" - Columbus, Georgia

Industry Trends
> Vacation Rental Managers: Learn From Hotels
> President Obama - Consider A Vacation Rental This Summer
> TripAdvisor Survey Shows Popularity of Vacation Rentals
> Bragging Rights for Vacation Rental Managers
> Vacation Rentals: Where Leisure Travel and Real Estate Collide!

Editorial
> Vacation Rental Ads Where You Least Expect
> Another Vacation Rental Manager's Dream
> Vacation Rental or Hotel Room in Rome?
> Kate Rice, Executive Editor of TravelPulse.com
> Bullish on Bookt for Vacation Rental Managers

Looking for more information? Is there a specific topic you would like to chat about? Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to learn more & Get Bookt!

Century South Beach Hotel's Online Booking Conversions Increase a Whopping 185%

susie@bookt.com

The Century South Beach Hotel's former site needed a make-over front to back. Bookt designed a fully optimized website with an emotionally appealing design, new booking engine and tracking and management system. In its first month with the new site, The Century enjoyed significant increases in total online booking conversions, direct online bookings, total number of pages viewed per session and total pages viewed per session.

How did we do it? Keep it simple and follow the big guys. Expedia & Hotels.com offer uncomplicated websites and seamless booking engines with a secure credit card information stage. Hotel websites should be no different. Booking engines with pop-ups or iFrames confuse the would-be-booker and should be avoided. The new Century’s booking engine stays within their URL and offers a safe and comfortable environment in which to book. Century Proprietor, West Tucker, commented, “Several customers have mentioned that the [Century] online booking process has been streamlined to mimic that of the larger online booking sites. The interface is friendly, the results clear, and the message online is consistent.”

Online success begins with visibility on the organic searches. The Century’s original SEO program was less than optimal. The site now ranks well for natural keywords related to the hotel’s specialty, destination and common travel related terms, an improvement that may offer the highest ROI for a lodging website. SEO reports generated and reviewed on a monthly basis outline improvements that have been made and where opportunism to do better may still exist. This is where the hotel, with minimal effort, can take their property from good to great.

Transparency is a must. The Century site offers complete information on room sizes and categories as well as area attractions and proximity to hotel, accessible in one or two clicks. Automatic currency and measurement conversions make it easy for the international visitor and a TripAdvisor feed touts the hotel’s high customer satisfaction rate.

Lead capture information is one of the most important tools available in increasing online booking conversions. If the visitor abandons the booking process before the credit card stage or has a question before booking, the system automatically supplies the hotel with follow up information and the tools to respond. The Century was able to take their impressive 24% in direct online bookings to an even more impressive 185% total online booking conversions by using the lead capture and respond tool proprietary to the Bookt solution.

Additional key statistics include a 37% increase in total pages viewed and a 24% increase in pages viewed per session. These results are expected to improve further as full search engine optimization results show after a period of 2 to 3 months.

Today’s traveler is savvy and does their homework. If a lodging provider has a well-designed site with relevant information at one’s fingertips, immediate calls to action to book, and an uncomplicated booking process, increased bookings within as short as one month’s time are only a click, or two, away.

For the full Case Study, click here.

Great Ideas in the Vacation Rental Industry may need “Infrastructure” and Collaboration

While your friends at Bookt are not the center of the universe, we are at the center of a universe and talk to Vacation Rental Managers everyday who have terrific ideas.

And, while all of these entrepreneurs can certainly go-it-alone, sometimes these visionaries could benefit from a collaboration with another thought leader to make their BIG idea really fly!

At Bookt, each and every conversation we have about a BIG idea is confidential. We do not tell others about your “secret sauce” or tell you about theirs. Everybody’s intellectual property is protected and secrets are maintained. It is, after all, all about trust.

The specific purpose of this article is about collaboration of ideas – where 1 + 1 = 3, 4 or 5.

Bookt is well-positioned to make introductions for this express need and purpose, especially when we see that infrastructure needs and ideas intertwine.

Are you open to exploring a collaboration opportunity with another thought leader in the vacation rental arena? Would your BIG idea be better if missing pieces and resources could be integrated to save you time and money?

If you answer "yes" to the above, please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we will make the introductions and, if all makes sense, get you hooked-up.

The Vacation Rental Industry is consolidating & increasing its sphere of influence in Leisure Travel. BIG ideas abound. No one has all the answers so…

…There has never been a better time to Get Hookt & Get Bookt!

Vacation Rentals - Pictures Sell!

joel@bookt.com

Nothing sells a vacation rental like a picture showing a family or couple enjoying the great activities in your area, or the terrific amenities that you have to offer. Over the last few years, Stock Photography has gotten much more economical. What used to cost hundreds or thousands of dollars can be achieved often for tens of dollars. Like many other goods and services, Stock Photos have become a commodity. That's the good news! Even better is that your friends @ Bookt use photos in a way that creates "empathy" with your target audience and they will ultimately see themselves in the shot - enjoying a wonderful time in your little piece of heaven.

Want to create some images that sell your Vacation Rentals? Want to tell your story with pictures that get to the heart of the matter? Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we'll look through some pictures together and Bookt's talented design team will create your unique storyboard for your amazing Vacation Rentals. There has never been a better time to show-and-tell to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Ads Where You Least Expect

joel@bookt.com

This morning I was sent a link about something happening in my hometown which took me to Boston.com.

As a sales and marketing professional in the vacation rental industry, I immediately was drawn to the banner ad at the top of the paper advertizing Kissimmee – where Bookt has many Vacation Rental clients.

So I clicked it.

Lo and behold I saw that Vacation Rentals were an option for Kissimmee accommodations (along with hotels.)

So I clicked it. And saw many, many, many vacation rental options for the Boston visitor to choose from. Cool!

The site www.visitkissimmee.com is one BIG advertisement driven by the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau.

As a Vacation Rental Manager, do you belong to a local or regional organization that is marketing your destination along with your properties? If not, you should look into this and perhaps join the crowd selling your community and all it has to offer. You might just find that there are some advantages and buying power when you join a group of like-minded travel and business people.

As you may have read in the Instant Software and VRMA Report I blogged about the other day, Vacation Rentals really and truly help drive the local economy. These local groups selling your destination are the exact type of group you could be spreading the word that: >Vacation Rentals Generate Billions in Annual Real Estate Sales >Vacation Rentals Generate Millions in New Construction >Rental Homes Generate Millions in Insurance Premiums >Vacation Rentals Generate Billions Finance and Mortgage >Rentals Can Dominate Resort Area Property Tax Revenues Just a thought.

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to join in and Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Managers: Please Read Report!

joel@bookt.com

As you may recall, VRMA sponsored a 2008 survey of the vacation rental market by PhoCusWright, one of the travel industry’s prominent research authorities.

That survey concluded that the vacation rental market was a $24 billion industry in 2007, generating revenue equaling more than one fifth of all hotel room revenue and 8% of the total US travel market. And, further, in resort areas, vacation rentals actually tend to be responsible for a much higher share of revenues and can far exceed the revenue generated by hotels.

Please read this new research defining State and Local Economic Impact of the Vacation Rental Industry just released by Instant Software and Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA).

Top Findings: The vacation rental industry is an economic engine that facilitates non-resident investment in resort communities and drives local real estate, finance, and insurance industries. The vacation rental industry is a major “Tool for Growth” in these communities, often poorly understood by the local powers that be.

Read This Report as it is designed to help vacation rental managers educate themselves and state/local governments regarding the impact of the vacation rental industry on state and local economies. >Vacation Rentals Generate Billions in Annual Real Estate Sales >Vacation Rentals Generate Millions in New Construction >Rental Homes Generate Millions in Insurance Premiums >Vacation Rentals Generate Billions Finance and Mortgage >Rentals Can Dominate Resort Area Property Tax Revenues

Download the entire report here! Thank you VRMA and Instant Software!! GREAT JOB! Please email: joel@bookt.com or call 1-800-941-0868 x 934. Why? There has never been a better time to take advantage of these trends and to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Managers - Pictures Tell & Sell

joel@bookt.com

A few “clicks” during some online research today brought me to an Internet page that has nothing to do with Vacation Rentals or Vacation Rental Managers.

However, a simple ad I saw on the page was very clear and reminded me of the power of images to tell a story and deliver a message.

I am not involved in the day-to-day technical aspect of Bookt as I spend the vast majority of time speaking with Vacation Rental Managers about Online Booking Engines, Property Management Systems and Search Engine Marketing issues. I know enough “tech” to have immediately understood the “story” in this ad, and got the message loud and clear…

How are you telling your story with pictures online? Do you sell your services and vacation rental properties as well as the musclemen for liquidweb sell their heroic support?? Do your online images tell a story with a "direct-hit" on the empathy-button for your target audience???

At Bookt we know that an effective website design must capture the vacation-travel-shopper in the first couple of seconds; otherwise he or she will simply click the back button and look somewhere else.

Our website designs clearly offer the visitor a strong “emotional motive” to stay on your site as it draws them to your properties and your destinations and attractions. We employ very talented designers who will capture the essence of your brand and great story using your property photos as well as photos and images of your destination and all it has to offer.

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to find images that resonate with your target audience and succinctly tell and get to the heart of your story online to Get Bookt!

Another Vacation Rental Manager's Dream

joel@bookt.com

“Packaging” Vacation Rentals – Part 1

joel@bookt.com

Let’s first talk about paint as a "Case Study" for Vacation Rental Managers. Glidden paint. Familiar with it? I am staring at a gallon can of it right now as we are doing some painting in my home, including here in my office.

Primarily sold in Home Depot stores (among several other brands), Glidden paint is a quality American product that recently underwent a “packaging” redesign to recreate, rebuild and reestablish itself as a national consumer brand.

BEFORE:

For competitive reasons and because Glidden had not made any significant marketing changes in years, the Glidden brand was losing 1) share, 2) consumer recognition and 3) sales volume.

Earlier this year, Glidden turned to its expert “packaging” consultants to reinvigorate the brand’s packaging with these two goals: >> First, make the packaging work for HD sales associates so they could better use and reference Glidden’s product range in-store. >> Second, create an emotional connection between the product and the consumer.

With painting season just around the corner (April through October), it was important that Glidden find a way to bring its products back into the eyes of consumers fast.

AFTER:

The solution was to change the ”packaging” – to do a complete overhaul. In fact, the only thing that did not change [in the packaging] was the logo. BUT – while the logo stayed the same, it now appears three times on the packaging, which now enables the HD salesperson or HD consumer to view the logo from any angle.

Next, to create an emotional connection with consumers, the packaging now features photos of real Glidden customers with quotes explaining their experiences with the brand. Further, they have added abstract designs to remind consumers of the feeling of finishing a painting project – with the bright colors and circular elements on a metallic-finish foil stock label giving the package a premium, fresh look. Finally, they simplified the package with info on the can now clean and clear, better displaying the bold colors representing each paint variety. AND – to make the brand stand out further, Glidden put the trays that hold its paint cans to work by carrying the same design elements from the can over to the trays making the brand more eye-catching while creating a shelf block in the HD Stores.

The results: The redesigned Glidden brand began appearing in stores in late April 2009 and continued to roll out in 400 locations through June 2009. Within the first couple of months – before any advertising hit – stores that were reset with the new packaging were reporting a sales boost over stores that hadn’t been reset.

Glidden did all this to make the Glidden brand STANDOUT more for both consumers shopping and the HD sales associates serving these customers and staring at these shelves all day long.

THAT is the first definition of “packaging” – the literal look and feel of your brand. In “Packaging” Vacation Rentals – Part 2 we will drill down on “packaging” your units and offers as part of a larger Travel Offer to incentivize your target customers to book their vacation with you because you have connected the right lodging unit with the right amenities and activities at the right price.

In the meantime, does your Vacation Rental website “package” need a makeover? Is their an emotional connection to your visitors and target clientele? Is your BIG "painting season" just around the corner and does your online vacation rental brand need invigorating and a fresh coat of paint?

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to re-package to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental News – Good and Bad!

joel@bookt.com

First the good news:

Beautiful-Places.com is the first vacation rental company to ever receive a Travel Weekly Magellan Award. BRAVO! This opens the door to Vacation Rental Industry Recognition and Standards (they say in the article - click here.)

Now the bad news:

'Nigerian fraud' hits vacation rental firm – read the article here in the Newburyport Daily News, my hometown paper.

The Vacation Rental Industry is gaining strength, power and huge popularity. That fact will attract the good like Beautiful-Places.com as well as the bad/ugly like the scammers in the second article.

As a professional Vacation Rental Manager, you may want to blog about or publish these Fraud Prevention Tips on your website:

> Pay with a credit card > Avoid wire transfers and money orders > Speak to the owners or managers on the phone if suspicous > Ask for references if suspicious > Request the street address of the property > Ask where else the property is advertised and for how long > Never give out personal financial information

Want to chat about both the good and bad news?

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental or Hotel Room in Rome?

joel@bookt.com

Next September, my wife and I plan to go back to Italy. This trip, we will spend the first four to five days in Rome before jumping into our rentacar and driving south to Sorrento for 2 days. After the Amalfi Coast, we will take two more days and drive up Italy’s scenic East (Adriatic) Coast all the way to the top-right, northeast Italy on the Austria and Slovenia border – to our ultimate destination - Friuli, where my wife’s family is from. We will stay in Friuli to visit and EAT with family for about six days and then drive 4 hours west, over to Milan for the direct flight back to Miami.

While it is a year away, for big trips like this I like to do a lot of deep planning. And I like to be planning at exactly a year out so I can see the “now” and think about the “then”. For example, the weather now is perfect in Friuli and in the South. Also, we want to avoid Venice because the Film Festival – the oldest in the world – is happening now and will be happening then – next year at this time. By doing my research in this mirroring fashion, I get to see in real time what is going on now and look to see if it will be going on then.

What I cannot seem to do right now is see on Orbitz.com what a hotel room would cost in Rome because they only go out 11 Months in advance.

However, I can absolutely do this now on Holiday-Velvet.com and find terrific apartment rentals all over Rome and the rest of Europe. You CAN search a year out for a Vacation Rental in Rome on Holiday-Velvet. I am thinking of this Blog article as the 1st in a series where I will share my experience of researching then booking then going to Italy, at this time next year. What I see so far is that a Vacation Rental seems much more economical in Rome compared to what it appears a hotel costs. While I cannot be certain due to the inability to look out 12 months on Orbitz, it seems that a comparable Rome Vacation Rental will save us at least $150 a day in lodging and dining cost. That $150 in daily savings will pay for the entire car rental cost for the whole trip! Very cool Holiday-Velvet! Bravo! Affare fatto! (It's a deal!) That's it for today. I will pick this up another in real time day soon when I have more time to research. Arrivederci!

Vacation Rental Managers: “Borrowed Interest”

joel@bookt.com

Borrowed interest advertising — so-named because firms “borrow” consumers’ interest in something outside the company — is a way for vacation rental companies to ride the coattails of much larger events — and is "free", whether it be the Olympics, a president’s birthday, a steep rise in gas prices, a local “happening” in your area, or a newly published article appearing elsewhere. I like reading the great travel articles in Forbes.com and always see the "hook" that Savvy Vacation Rental Managers can deftly apply to communicate their message, and "borrow" the pro or con to capture the interest of their target vacation shopper. Here are a few from Forbes published since May of 2009:

Ten Trips On A Tank Of Gas America's Most Polluted Beaches America's Best National Parks Obama Went To Ghana. Should You? America's Best Bargain Vacations Chill With A Cerveza By The Coup Best American Towns To Visit By Car America's Prettiest Road Trips America's Hidden Travel Gems How To Forage For Springtime Food While the borrowed interest tactic may seem clever, some marketing experts feel it is a recipe for mediocrity. I agree! When every other company is “borrowing” from the same interest in a particular event, how can you expect to differentiate your firm?

A jewelry store, for example, shouldn’t expect killer profits on February 14 without a Valentine’s day promotion in line with all the other jewelers’ campaigns. So while borrowed interest ads can and do provide a boost, they should NOT form the backbone of your advertising strategy. But they do have their place - when used appropriately and when no one else is using them in your market area. That's why I like Forbes.com articles - because they are not the typical "fodder" for the typical Vacation Rental Manager and can make you stand out if "borrowed" in a subtle and useful way! Looking for ideas to book more vacation rental shoppers and stand out online? Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we'll talk "borrowed interest" and how this can be applied to your Vacation Rentals utilizing the free tools within the Bookt Platform. Here is some borrowed interest that you can take advantage of because of FVRMA! Offer good whether FVRMA Member or not. There has never been a better time to borrow and Get Bookt!

(Travel) Consumers Want Deals Now!

joel@bookt.com

In an article published today in the online version of Smart Money entitled 5 Kinds of Stores Discounting Deeply - AnnaMaria Andriotis says that Summer has just started, but retailers are already feeling the heat. Clothiers, restaurants and other vendors are wilting -- and cutting prices -- as they struggle to cope with a slowdown in consumer spending. The upshot for customers is a slew of deals across a variety of sectors.

Here are the five retail sectors that have been hit the hardest and are offering incentives to consumers to come in and spend money now:

1. Car Dealers

2. Home Furnishings

3. Apparel

4. Electronics

5. Full-Service Restaurants

Are you acting now to provide specials and deals to vacation travel shoppers? If Kohl's, Macy's, Chrysler, Target, Dell and Applebee's can do it, so can you! Would you like a sounding board on Vacation Rental Deals that work? What is successful and what will drive travel shoppers to your brand? Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or reach out via email to joel@bookt.com today. Ask me about Bookt's Summer Specials! There has never been a better time to Get Bookt!

Site Score for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

Answer these 10 questions and get an instant online effectiveness score for your Vacation Rental Website.

Vacation Rental Website Design & SEO 1) Does your website design promote a strong emotional reason to visit your destination? 2) Has your site been search engine optimized (SEO) and does every property you manage have its own page?

Vacation Rental Website Searching & Booking 3) Do you have a property/room availability quick search form on the home page of your site? 4) Does a consumer see rates and availability in one or two clicks from the home page of your site? 5) Is your booking engine appearing as a frame or a popup with a different look than the rest of your site? 6) Is your site catering to an international audience with automatic translation of units and currencies?

Vacation Rental Website Tracking & Control 7) Can and do you) track these 3 important metrics on your site: Monthly Visitors, Avg. Page views/Session & Website Bounce Rate? 8) Do you know which lead source a booking comes from and can you run reports that show your marketing ROI? 9) Are you in control of the content on your website and can you easily make changes yourself?

Vacation Rental Website Connectivity 10) Does your website automatically synchronize its content with your reservation system and any other portals you use to promote your properties? Take the FREE Quiz Here NOW! Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to see exactly where your Vacation Rental Website stands and to Get Bookt!

Promo Calendar for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

A “Promo” or Promotion Calendar is a tool. A tool that identifies in advance your marketing events, media & pr campaigns and your merchandising efforts throughout the year. A document that visually displays when and where these events are happening AND a place to put your ongoing results in real time.

Also known as a Marketing Calendar (or Merchandising Calendar in the Retail world) – savvy professional Vacation Rental Managers should create one of these Calendars as part of your marketing strategy for your business as a whole and individual units to both keep track of what is going on and to be able to quickly see where you should turn your attention next.

NOTE: While the Marketing Calendar is definitely a “thing” – meaning a piece of paper that you can hold in your hand, see it more as an Activity-Plan-Of-Action. It is not just the planner – it's the PLAN!

Will creating and living a Vacation Rental Marketing Calendar take time and resources? You bet. Proper planning and execution does take time but it also produces benefits. If done well and consistently, a Marketing Calendar can increase your overall rental revenue and occupancy as well as improve your Vacation Rental marketing campaigns moving forward, especially the same ones for next year!

How-To

The focus of planning your calendar and activities is to first, take full advantage of all the holidays and special events in your local area throughout the year. Next, to exploit and leverage both internal and external global events. And finally, fill-in with unique events that fit your vacation rental business’s needs or the needs of your individual property units. (For example, a large ocean front beach home, great for weddings or family reunions, has different needs and a different calendar than a plain vanilla two-bedroom condo on the Golf Course.)

Step 1: Go out and buy a BIG calendar, the year-at-a-glance type. Or buy a software program that allows you to set-up and see your calendar in this way. The key thing here is to use the year-at-a-glance format so you can get the overall, integrated picture.

Step 2: What should you consider putting on your calendar? Start with all the holidays and special events in your local area, add in internal and external global events, and then get creative with unique events to fill-in.

The Holidays: You would be shocked at how many businesses in general fail to take into account the impact of holiday seasons on their business. In the vacation rental world, we always consider the big holidays, but don't underrate the significance of some of the smaller holidays, including religious holidays. TIP: Remember – every holiday is an opportunity for somebody to give somebody else a vacation, even a vacation to be taken later. Do you email your past clients in late October or early November regarding a Family Gift they can give at Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan or Kwanzaa? Like a terrific week in one of your wonderful Vacation Homes! They can gift it at Xmas for the following summer. Don’t forget to add in an incentive like a free family pass to a local attraction. Less than obvious is to create, for example, a special Valentine’s Gift Offer – a box of chocolates with a Long Romantic Weekend Coupon to be booked at a time of the recipients choosing! Get creative and have fun with holidays!

Internal and External Events: Think about what is happening in and around your vacation rental company that might impact your overall marketing and advertising strategy. Company holiday New Property coming on board Launch of a new product or service Company or Property birthday/anniversary Your Owner-Contracting cycle A new Mall or Shopping Venue opening in your area A new Attraction pening in your area Major Tradeshows you attend

There's lots going on in the world that could impact your business. Major elections Major sporting events Major TV events (e.g. academy awards) Local community or city celebrations and events Local expos and social activities Seasonal cycles Tax season Summer vacation Winter vacation School holidays

Can your suppliers help?? I think yes! How about working with your Travel Insurance provider on a special Secure Travel Event/Month or Program. They may have some advertising dollars in their budget as well! Ask and you may receive!

Step 3: You need to track your results. By doing this, you can discover what is working, what you need to work harder on, and what you need to stop spending time on. Also, you can and should use your marketing calendar for virtually all of your marketing efforts. It's more than just holiday and special event planning. Every week & month, the calendar can keep you focused on your regular and consistent marketing activity. Why not use it to tell you when you plan to blog, submit articles to local publications, give live presentations, attend important networking groups, send out another direct mail piece, etc.?

Want some help creating your first calendar? Want to chat about taking your current calendar to the next level? Would you like to see how the Control Panel and CRM in the Bookt Platform makes life easy for the savvy Vacation Rental Manager?

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to create and live a Marketing-Promotional-Merchandising Calendar to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Managers: Social Media Trends

joel@bookt.com

Each and every week the Bookt team gives free, interactive “How-To” coaching Webinars via GoToMeeting with savvy Vacation Rental Managers. One of our most popular “How-To” sessions is on Blogging and other Social Media – a Webinar we did three different times just last week in both individual and group sessions.

This morning I realized that while we are experts @ coaching the “How-To” – sometimes I forget to mention the “Why-To” – equally important to cover, and I will do a better job of this moving forward.

Vacation Rental Managers need to not only blog and tweet, but also consider advertising in the emerging Social Media outlets. Why-To???

Gordon Borrell leads a research and consulting firm that tracks local advertising and helps media companies develop executive strategies. Their focus is interactive advertising and marketing and their primary strength is fact-based analysis. I love their slogan – says it all: Tomorrow's Media, Understood Today.

Earlier this summer, Gordon wrote a blog post that caught my attention, called Local Ads Moving to Social Networks. Basically they did an assessment of advertising placed on social networking sites and found that nearly 20% of all ad spending is by local businesses. They had assumed going into their research that commercials on social networks were almost purely national. The results – that local advertisers will account for about $641 million of nearly $3.3 billion spent on social networking sites this year trying to reach consumers.

Know this: That $641 million is just a small number – accounting for less than 3% of all locally spent online advertising. Most important to know is that nearly 60% of all that local social-networking advertising is going to two sites, Facebook and MySpace. They are the only two sites generating more than $100 million from local ad placement, w/ much of it in Google or Yahoo’s contextual placement program. And keep an eye on Facebook. It is the biggest share-getter. In fact, 74% of its ad revenues are from local businesses.

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com if you would like to chat about Social Media – either the “How-To” or “Why-To”. Or consider attending one of our upcoming free Webinars on the subject. Would love to see you there!

The bottom line is this…

There has never been a better time to understand Social Media and exploit it and Get Bookt! @ 800-941-0868 x 934 or joel@bookt.com.

News for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

At least once a week I take the time to look at news that affects our industry. For example, I learned something important from all of the articles I scanned today, including these three I saw this morning:

1. Secure America Acquisition Corp., formed to invest in the homeland security arena, has decided that a luxury vacation is a better game plan.

2. Wii Sports Resort Mobile Tour Offers Virtual Vacations at Minnesota State Fair

3. Workers Taking Fewer Vacations In Struggling Economy Virtual vacations? What’s the fun in that???? Perhaps this would be good for the folks in story #3, I guess.

If you have the time, "Google" the search term Vacation Rental and then click the "News" Tab and this is what you find. In addition to the "Sponsored Links" there are some pretty interesting stories. My favorite was the Top reasons to stay at a vacation rental. But I would like that one BEST, wouldn't I!

Reading the news for our Vacation Rental Industry from time-to-time keeps me abreast of some of the regional opportunities and problems as well as the trends and ways to stand out online for both Bookt and our clients. If you run across an interesting article or vacation rental-oriented blog post, please send it my way. Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com to get me and Get Bookt! Please and Thank You!

Kate Rice, Executive Editor of TravelPulse.com

joel@bookt.com

On July 1st of this year, Kate Rice published an amazing editorial on vacation rentals called: The Untapped Vacation Rental Market

A MUST READ!!!

While I am sure you will enjoy the article, it is Kate’s perspective that I think is most interesting to think about. We spoke on the telephone yesterday after trying to connect for over 2 months.

Where Kate is coming from is the perspective of the Travel Agent. TravelPulse.com and many of the other great publications in Kate’s domain – like www.vacationagentmagazine.com and the very popular www.agentathome.com – are focused on today's savvy Travel Agent community. And it would serve the vacation rental industry to pay attention to these travel advisors and their sphere of major influence on vacation travel shoppers.

YES – there are ways for Vacation Rentals Managers and Travel Agents to cooperate and help insure a great vacation for our joint clients. In addition to delivering their clients terrific properties with wonderful service and amenities, the incentive for a Travel Agent is a commission. Do you offer that commission to a Travel Agent who helps their client book your Playa del Carmen Beach Condo or Ski-In, Ski-Out at Keystone?? Your Vegas Villa? Your Paris pied-à-terre?

Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com to learn more about how to truly connect with the Travel Agent’s world and sphere of influence and Get Bookt!

As Kate concludes in her article... In the end, the vacation rental market is the perfect niche for travel agents willing to develop expertise in an area and charge fees for helping clients book a complex product. I heartily AGREE!

Thank you Kate! We appreciate your support to bring our two travel services provider groups together. Bravo Kate Rice! B-R-A-V-O!

Vacation Rental Managers: Networking Works

joel@bookt.com

I am not sure that networking is required to be a success in the Vacation Rental Industry, but I personally feel that it helps. Savvy networking works for many and can definitely work for you too!

Are you networking? Are you either physically or virtually getting out there and making yourself known? Are you sharing what you have and what you do and at the same time learning more about what others have and do?? Yes – it needs to be a two way street because your networking contacts will not be happy if you are only involved for your own personal benefit.

With effective networking in place you can definitely give your business more credibility. For example I belong to a number of networking groups within the Vacation Rental industry. Through LinkedIn alone I belong to 12 such groups - Click here to see my LinkedIn Page. LinkedIn has 29 "Groups" that may be of interest to professional Vacation Rental Managers. Are you networking with like-minded professionals on a weekly basis? It is often more convenient to network online than it is in person because online you can be exposed to volumes of people at any time of the day or the night. You also do not have to worry about being nervous or what you look like as you would if you were in person. I also like the camaraderie of in-person networking events. Are there business events in your town that would make sense for you to attend? Vacation Rental Managers would probably fit right in at any civic event and scenario as we have a great and needed product and EVERYONE knows someone or many people looking for lodging in their/your city. Tourism helps make your city great! The Vacation Rental business and YOU are a major force in Tourism throughout the country. Stand tall and proud! Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com to start your networking with me today to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Managers: Shoulder Season?

joel@bookt.com

If you have ever purchased a big, big, big bag of candy the day after Halloween or a Honey Baked Ham the day after Easter, then you've “experienced” the motivation and thrill vacation shoppers feel when buying a vacation during Shoulder Season.

Same exact delicious mouthwatering ham BUT priced at about half or lower than it was the day before.

Not expensive High Season. Not cheap and miserable Low Season. But “just-right” – almost perfect, still great weather, swim-in-the-lake, no hurricanes, smaller crowds, save-me-money, good old predictable Shoulder Season.

When is your Shoulder? What sort of vacation-travel-shopper does your Shoulder make the best sense for? How are you marketing this terrific time of the year? Are your local competitors also exploiting or is this an advantage you can stake out for yourself?? And remember, it's always shoulder season somewhere.

Let's connect today and put both our shoulders to the grindstone. Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com to start target marketing your Shoulder & Get Bookt!

Labor Day Vacation Rental Specials in...

joel@bookt.com

Labor Day Weekend starts in four (4) days for me, possibly sooner for you and your vacation-rental-shoppers.

Have you put together a “special offer” yet? Is it working? Does it need to be fine-tuned in real time?

What are your competitors doing for special deals this Labor Day? Do you have a log for each holiday by local competitor to make it easier to remember and for planning purposes, for next year?

Have you blogged about your “special offer” and used great Keyword-content? Have you put the offer out there on Twitter?

What are hotels in your area doing?

What events are planned in your local community for this Labor Day Weekend?

You have worked hard all Summer and Team Bookt hopes your Labor Day is Bookt Solid!

If you want to chat about any/all of the ideas above and take a Labor-savings walk through the Deal-management tools in our Control panel, call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to Get Booked & Get Bookt!

Bullish on Bookt for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

I am not a perfect salesman but I have found success by carefully honing my skills and presentation-style to resonate with a particular target’s personality, my perception of their needs, and how best to push them past the goal line of a closed sale.

While I often think I know exactly what to do and who to be “in the moment” and it is hard to put that “stuff” into words as it is more embedded inside me, I can assure you all that I do not tell prospects what he/she wants to hear or misrepresent what Bookt has or what we can do. When and if I ever misspeak, I correct it fast. If I am not sure, I call the Bookt expert right away and then call the Vacation Rental Manager right back with the right answer.

The above are general statements but are also my specific approach to telling the truth in the moment with a Vacation Rental Manager. BTW – telling the truth in the moment is, itself, an amazing sales technique. 9 times out of 10 the prospect moves farther faster in the sales process right after the truth be told. In 7 out of 10 cases, they are ready to move forward. In 2 out of 10 cases we both know that Bookt is not right for them. Either way – the sales process has moved forward to either a resolution (we cannot help them) or to okay – I can live with that – tell me more.

Another general statement is this: My brand of salesmanship is not BS. My brand of salesmanship is just plain B. B for bullish. Bullish and confident about the power of the Bookt Platform and the power of the Bookt Team. Bullish not bull. I am self-aware, because so many people have told me that why they buy from me as a salesperson …is my confidence. My enthusiasm and my confidence in what we have and what we do.

I am not a perfect salesperson. I am not the best salesman that there is. I try to be the best sales person that I can be and I am comfortable telling someone that our thing may not be right for them. I am also proud to tell a Vacation Rental Manager when our thing is perfectly right for them and will help them fix what’s broken in their process and take them farther faster in their business. Are you a Vacation Rental Manager who wants Bullish not Bull? Who wants to hear the truth in the moment? Good or bad??? Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to get bullish and Get Bookt!

I had a Dream...

joel@bookt.com

Today is my birthday. Perhaps that is why I had this amazing technicolor dream last night and was rewarded with a vision of the world - the way it should be. No. I'm not talking about World Peace. That would be cool, too, of course. But that wasn't my dream. I dreamt that I was on "vakay" - that's what we called vacation back in Newburyport. Anyway, I was on vakay and I was sitting at my computer as usual and opened up a fresh browser window and... - the world had changed. For the better. I saw the whole world like my world. And everyone was connected to it. And everyone was happy. Especially me. Below is what I saw... CLEAR as day! Click the image below to see what I saw - then click the back-button to read the rest of this post, below the picture... Happy Birthday to ME! If you received an email about this "vision" you are either a client or a friend. We may already be working together or hopefully will be soon. Very soon - I HOPE! Together, making the world All Vacation Rentals - All the Time!! While I will be on "vakay" after my 11 AM Eastern / 9 AM Central time meeting this morning, if you wish to give me a jingle to "seal our deal" I will be accepting your call. :) Thank you for your business and your friendship. Have a terrific August 29th. I know I will. Talk soon... JF

Keyword-Rich Blogging for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

The following post is Keyword-Rich for Orlando Vacation Rentals: Bookt is working with one of our favorite clients, a savvy vacation rental firm in the Orlando area. We live in Naples Florida on the Gulf in a permanent vacation home, so we do not need a beach vacation – my family likes to go up to the Orlando area a few times a year for a Disney World Vacation. For us, family vacations are a time to think about the cost-savings aspect of vacation rentals like a condo rental or another vacation home rental as we have two sons with wives and children. A Disney vacation is a great option for us because our client provides several types of Disney Vacation Packages – and we get to select our own price-point from a luxury vacation home to an all inclusive vacation villa. While there are oodles of hotels in Orlando, a hotel in Orlando does not offer a kitchen. Vacation homes give you that choice – and I love to cook for my family and turn our time into a dining vacation. Speaking of our great Orlando area vacation home rentals expert, they provide a fl vacation with a difference. Not only can you get a terrific vacation house or vacation condo or your choice of many vacation home rentals, but they can put you in a prime location for Disney vacations, so you may enjoy a Seaworld vacation or Epcot vacation or Pleasure Island vacation or Universal vacation in addition to your Magic Kingdom vacation! Plus they give an amazing amount of customer service that you’ll be glad you did not settle for some vacation rental by owner’s beach vacation rentals this year! There are so many things to do in Orlando! Vacation rent! In one of their vacation villas! No hotels vacation this year! For more info on their Disney World vacation packages, click here! For more info on Keyword-Rich blogging, call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to Blog to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Managers: Learn From Hotels

joel@bookt.com

Are you a Vacation Rental Manager competing head-to-head with hotels in your market area?

You may want to take a peek at an iPerceptions Hospitality Industry Report Q2 2009 just released.

As the linked 4Hoteliers article states, this report analyzes real-time feedback from more than 123,000 visitors on hundreds of hospitality sites to identify the most important issues and trends facing the online hospitality industry as it strives to improve bookings, customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The report gives hospitality marketers and site operators intelligence that can be used to optimize the online experience.

To read the full report, please follow the link below: www.iperceptions.com/en/resourcecenter/download/file_id/147

Bottom line? Problems travel shoppers face with hotels are very much opportunities for Vacation Rental Managers with Booking/Reservations and Navigation/Technical superiority – like we deliver at Bookt. ;)

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to improve your Booking Engine and Technology to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Managers: Learn From Hotels

joel@bookt.com

Are you a Vacation Rental Manager competing head-to-head with hotels in your market area?

You may want to take a peek at an iPerceptions Hospitality Industry Report Q2 2009 just released.

The report gives hospitality marketers and site operators intelligence that can be used to optimize the online experience.

To read the full report, please follow the link below:
www.iperceptions.com/en/resourcecenter/download/file_id/147

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to improve your Booking Engine and Technology to Get Bookt!

Special Packages for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

I am not often impressed with how hotels “package” their rooms and locations. Yesterday I was impressed after a simple click-through on a Hyatt Flash Ad on Yahoo!

I was impressed by its simplicity. A great offer at a great price at a great location. What could be simpler than that. And the rotating pictures absolutely resonated with my internal “I want to be there” button. Bravo Hyatt!

Resonating images and a good deal. We can learn a lot from this in the Vacation Rental community.

Are you using resonating images? Do you offer a good deal?

In my humble opinion, you should be. On both counts.

Travel consumers want to “taste, see and smell” your difference. Vacation shoppers want to feel attracted to your destination and to simply see themselves in your images. AND, they are looking for something special. Special price, amenity, attraction or activity. Something special to seal the deal. Something that simply makes them stop searching and click-through to book online with you.

Simply call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to simply Get Bookt!

Bookt Loves Nova Scotia!

joel@bookt.com

Dear R & K:

Sometimes the medium is the message. It is decision-time for you as you evaluate the strengths and weakness of the two approaches you are considering. I must admit that I am partial to one candidate that you might decide to hire for the “job” at hand. It’s a BIG job and an important decision. Here are my thoughts…

Hiring a Bookt Site is the BEST and most PERFECT Sales Rep you will ever employ. While "best" and "perfect" are STRONG words, I stand by them. Here are 22 résumé facts – you be the judge.

Your Bookt Sales Representative… 1. Is eternally vigilant and proactive, serves your owners and vacation travel shoppers 24/7/365. Never calls in sick or leaves early or takes a coffee break. 2. Speaks a multitude of foreign languages and delivers price, local weather, calendar and distances to local attractions in the native tongue of your visitors - automatically. 3. Is beautiful and classy – a pleasure to look at and work with. Is “empathetic” with each customer individually and gives each person a unique and custom experience of your online store. 4. Communicates testimonials and client-reviews of your individual properties in real-time AND at the exact moment this info is needed to help close the sale. 5. Is 100% consistent, especially when it comes to managing, converting and incubating travel shopper leads. 6. Delivers price and availability info on your properties without distraction – forming a meaningful “trust” bond with your prospects so they do not leave your store and go somewhere else. 7. Is plugged-in to your Reservation system and constantly knows the right price and availability of all of your units. 8. Is plugged-in to your QuickBooks making accounting/transactions a breeze. 9. Is the easiest to manage rep you’ve ever had – automatically and immediately alerts you to sales, leads, questions and problems. 10. Is the fastest/most consistent employee you’ve ever seen – automatically and immediately confirms, emails, updates and communicates with your prospects 24/7/365. 11. Is free! Just kidding, but is a cost-effective, already trained and proven employee ... producing more revenue than any comparable employee (or web solution). 12. Is a Search Engine expert! Meets and welcomes your targets on Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc., ushering them into your store to the precise product display counter they are looking for. 13. Can “wait on” dozens of clients simultaneously, all the while in discrete telepathy with your other employees, systems and rulebook. 14. Has all the answers to all the questions at her fingertips, or knows how to get them while making the client happy and comfy. 15. Is always subtly and ingeniously “pushing” your targets to book your cottages. Makes them feel warm, safe and secure, and "trust" giving you their money. 16. Imitates “salespeople” they are already comfortable with like Orbitz, Hotels.com and Expedia. 17. Simultaneously talking to your Owners, keeping them in the loop 24/7/365. 18. Is simultaneously telling your story, bragging and blogging about you and your attractions, specials and local events in other stores. 19. Is simultaneously tracking and reporting back to you where your targets are coming from and who is referring them to you. 20. Is simultaneously giving precise directions to where you are located and where the shopping, beaches, antique shops, stores, restaurants and other attractions are located. 21. Mentors you on online marketing strategies and tactics to help insure your ongoing online success. 22. Loves Nova Scotia – just like you!

As stated, I am biased and know this Sales Representative will serve you well and make you proud.

R and K - the medium is the message and the Experts at Bookt are ready, willing and able to perform on all counts and all measures of Online Success. The Bookt Sales Rep is already a proven winner just waiting to be shaped and cast to your individual and specific needs. To hire or ask additional questions about this savvy and strong candidate, dial 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com.

Bookt loves Nova Scotia! There has never been a better time to Get Bookt!

Bookt @ FVRMA, Destin, FL Aug 17-19

susie@bookt.com

Florida Vacation Rental Managers, if you haven't attended a FVRMA conference, what are you waiting for?! Bookt attended and had a successful 2 day show last week in Destin, Florida located in the Florida Panhandle. The show was not too long, not too short, but just right. We were pleasantly surprised with the Sandestin Resort where the conference was located. It was like a little city in itself with shops, restaurants and bars with every kind of cuisine and all kinds of live music like piano, blues, and jazz. We give a big thanks to the FVRMA team for all their efforts and for choosing such a great place to host the show.

The highlight of our trip was a featured speech by Bookt's President, Robert Kall entitled "The First Decade of the 21st Century: What did we learn and how does it relate to the Vacation Rental Industry?". The talk began with a background on Rob and the real estate industry and how technological advances took the industry to a another level (5 million online leads in 3 years for Remax alone) and how similar technology is available and applicable today to the VR industry. Rob gave solid examples of the way technology is underused and how Vacation Rentals can improve their representation online such as 'Reputation Management' and what happens when you Google your own name or business, the Cloud, aka 'Cloud Computing' (we are all using it but often don't know it), and the online free document management service called Google Docs. People walked away from this presentation with simple, immediate tools to better their business processes and provided them with a much better understanding of technology, how it relates to them, how it changed in the past 10 years and can expect to change in the next 10.

On a side note, if you ever get the chance to go to the Florida Panhandle, make sure you visit the town of Seaside located about 20 minutes up the coast heading East. It is the quaintest little town EVER! I've included a photo of Robert Kall, Joel Fellman and Joel's wife Paula in front of the post office. Seaside is the town where they filmed the movie Truman with Jim Carrey. A must see!

So all in all, a great trip and bonding experience for our team and other exhibitors and Vacation Rental Managers. We look forward to the next one!

Vacation Rentals Planet-Wide ... VRF!

joel@bookt.com

This morning my wife and I played one of our favorite Google games. We call it Vacation Rental Fantasy or VRF for short.

Want to play? Open up Google and type in any of your personal fantasy location(s) followed by the words Vacation Rental.

Hang-out near George Clooney? Lake Como Vacation Rental Escape to the South Seas? Tahiti Vacation Rental Going green is your game? Eco Friendly Vacation Rental Like animals? Safari Vacation Rental Want to Thai the knot? Phuket Vacation Rental

Here’s the thing. The world has gotten smaller. You can go anywhere these days. And you can find a Vacation Rental anywhere. By George!!!

AND your Vacation Rental location is a VRF for thousands of people searching online every day. Planet-wide. At Bookt, we even show your listings in a multitude of foreign languages and deliver price, local weather, calendar + distances to local attractions in the language of your website visitors – automatically.

Voglio vacation vicino a George Clooney - was my wife's VRF today.

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email joel@bookt.com today. There has never been a better time to be a VRF & Get Bookt!

New Tactic for Non-Professionally-Managed Vacation Rentals By Owners

joel@bookt.com

We have all heard about “By Owner” rental scams where a consumer gets duped and the vacation rental does not exist or does not live up to its advertising. That’s why vacation-shoppers should always rent with a trusted, Professionally Managed Vacation Rental Co. Still, these Vacation Rental scams give the entire industry a black-eye and while it is not fair... we sometimes get lumped-in here even though it is more the VR By Owner problem.

Check this out: www.rentalseal.com

Interesting idea – to be sure. However, in my humble opinion, these owners would be much better off listing their property with you! Instead of just getting a seal that says “I am not a crook” – think of all of the amazing 24/7 support, services and marketing that you as a professional Vacation Rental Manager have to offer property owners! YOU WIN HANDS DOWN!

Professionally Managed Vacation Rentals are the fastest growing portion of the Vacation Travel segment. While the seal is not a bad idea, the scam artist will use it to their advantage soon enough.

Looking for a platform to show off your Service, your vast array of Accommodation Choices, and your INTEGRITY? Looking for a platform that reeks of TRUST and makes it as easy for the vacation-shopper to book online as they do on Orbitz, Hotels.com or Expedia?

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time Get Trusted & Get Bookt!

Vacation Rental Managers: “Rent a Bike” Now

joel@bookt.com

I read a Travel-related article yesterday describing a new company called RentaBikeNow.com with the tagline – Go. Ride. Everywhere.

Kind of a nifty idea I think. Makes it easy for you to offer this cool service/amenity to your Guests.

I sent them an email asking if Bookt could seamlessly integrate their bike-rental widget into our platform. More to come on that …but in any case, Vacation Rental Managers can become an Affiliate and share in the rewards as you help your Guests find exactly what they may be looking for (a bike) to actively explore your area and get some exercise while staying in one of your properties.

Sometimes it is the amenity that you provide that gets the attention of the vacation travel shopper. “Go. Play. Everywhere.” is the name of the new firm that owns RentaBikeNow.com and Go-Play-Everywhere kind of sums up what this company may have in mind as they go to more cities and offer more amenities to your target customers.

Looking for Amenities and Widgets to attract more Vacation Rental Shoppers? Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to leverage another company’s great ideas & Get Bookt!

Reputation Management for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

CGM – or consumer generated media (CGM) – is a powerful online force. I would venture to say that every single day, someone somewhere is talking online about you, your company, your units, your competitors, and the vacation-rental industry. Have you ever "Googled" your name, your company, your units, your competitors, and the vacation-rental industry? Try it and see... What is Reputation Management? Just like it sounds, the "actions" of Reputation Management (RM) are managing-directing-controlling your online reputation, standing, status, name, repute and character. Because of CGM, RM is now a required activity for today's savvy Vacation Rental Manager. Required? Really? Yes. Really. In fact, over the last few years companies specializing in Reputation Management have emerged. They break RM down into three parts: 1) Building, 2) Maintaining and 3) Recovering (or Fixing). What is your reputation online? Are people criticizing you and your properties or service? Or are they saying great things about you? WHATEVER the case - you must pay attention to CGM and address the concerns or criticism as well as take advantage of all of the positives floating out there regarding your reputation. Further - there are many best practices to leverage RM - and Bookt can help in either case. Like many online realities today, it's very much about the Search Engines. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) must be part of your plan-of-action in the Vacation Rental space. And, your friends @ Bookt makes it much easier for you to manage-direct-control your reputation online. Critical issue! Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we'll walk and talk you through both understanding your current reputation and how to further BUILD it, MAINTAIN it, and FIX it (where necessary). There has never been a better time to manage CGM for RM through SEO & SEM and to Get Bookt!

Notes from "the road" - Naples, Florida

joel@bookt.com

Back home. Back to work. One final reflection on the trip and FVRMA... As reported prior to the meeting, my expectations were these: 1) Great ideas will be discussed and adopted. 2) Problems will be addressed and solutions found. 3) Bookt’s current customers will have new ideas to integrate into the Bookt Platform. 4) We will make multiple sales to new customers. 5) A good time will be had by all.

On a personal level, for Bookt as a company, and for FVRMA as a community - I would have to say that my expectations were definitely met. AND THEN SOME! The Vacation Rental Managers that we talked with were fantastic! The "drill-downs" were revealing and yes - there are solutions to be found, close at hand. These forward-thinking Vacation Rental Managers were truly open to partnerships, collaboration and new ideas. The same holds true for Vendors. They, too, were Open! Open! Open! So now let's collaborate and partner towards combined success! Yes. Let's. Now. Right away. Please note that these words: "partnership" and "collaboration" and "fantastic" are not mere sales chatter or exclamation points with no deep meaning and purpose. They are, rather, what I precisely found in real-time with real people. Over the next couple of days I will reach out to new partners who have needs and projects in the works right now. The time is now for taking savvy and targeted solutions and a business relationship in the "collaboration pipeline" to the next level. One of my biggest take-aways from the meeting was/is Bookt's place in all of this and all the ways that I can personally contribute to the advancement of our common goals. To steal an image from Bookt's President, Rob Käll's keynote speech and presentation, I am ready, willing and able - sitting right here among the clouds...

Would you like to have a personalized discussion on your future and online opportunities in the Vacation Rental arena? Whether you are a VR Manager or a VR Vendor - Bookt is here to collaborate!

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com now and we can explore how best to move forward together.

There's no better time for VROI, collaboration and to Get Bookt!

Notes from "the road" - FVRMA Conference

joel@bookt.com

The first full day at FVRMA was outstanding! Bravo to Beth Brinkley and her entire team for a truly wonderful program and events!

The Exhibit Hall opened early with Bookt and the other vendors able to connect with Vacation Rental Managers over coffee and continental breakfast. The coffee was especially well received following the Wine Tasting event the night before. :) Thank you!! The general session started with a welcome and some introductions from the always-steady Paul Hayes, FVRMA’s terrific President. Paul is the owner of www.rentkeywest.com and a very involved and dedicated person in our industry. Thank you Paul for all you do on behalf of Florida Vacation Rental Managers!

Doug Kennedy came next with an enthusiastic talk entitled "Contemporary Training Tips For Maximizing Reservations Sales and Hospitality/Guest Service Excellence in a Down Economy" – excellent presentation Doug!

I was never so proud of Bookt’s founder and president Robert Käll on his great and motivating speech on "The First Decade of the 21st Century: What Did We Learn and How Does it Relate to the Vacation Rental Industry". Way to go Rob! Informative and timely! There are many concrete things Vacation Rental Managers can do, especially if we think and act in concert.

After the first two presentations I moved back to the Exhibit Hall for a half-dozen or so deeper meetings with Vacation Rental Managers as well as several conversations with other vendors Bookt is or will be partnering with. While this is the way it should be perhaps, it is striking how supportive FVRMA is regarding the vendor community. The industry is young and there are a myriad of opportunities for Vendors and Managers to help each other move our industry forward. It is the most generous symbiotic relationship I have ever seen in all the fields I have worked in. Both sides join together and help the other grow along the lines of our common purpose and goals. In my humble opinion, this is definitely how it should be in all fields. FVRMA deserves the majority of credit for the hands-on approach to teamwork and team-building. Thank you Paul Hayes and FVRMA!

More to come… tomorrow from home in Naples.

Notes from "the road" - Welcome to Florida!

joel@bookt.com

Welcome to Destin! Home of this year's FVRMA Convention and, at this moment, the remnants of tropical storm Claudette. The drive from Columbus Georgia to Destin yesterday was very easy. Beautiful rural scenery through southern Alabama and into northern Florida. Rolling hills and farms. Very nice drive! As soon as we entered Florida we stopped at the Welcome Center to look around. There were a million brochures for vacation rentals, hotels, activities and events - all very well organized by the various regions of the State. On the way to Destin we stopped at Seaside - a planned community on the Gulf often cited as an example of successful implementation of New Urbanism. Time magazine called it "the most astounding design achievement of its era and, one might hope, the most influential" while others call it a manufactured fantasy. Many scenes of the 1998 film The Truman Show were shot at Seaside. Good movie! Today we have some client meetings and are setting up the Bookt Booth at the convention. We check-in to our Sandestin Resort vacation rental @ around noon. Yes - the tropical storm that passed through was exciting but FVRMA will be even more so. More so to come in the morning! Have a great day!!

Notes from "the road" - Callaway Gardens

joel@bookt.com

I rarely use words like "breathtaking" but in the case of Calloway Gardens, the word applies. Perhaps it is because I am a "flatlander" and live/work in South Florida and am used to palm trees and tropical horticulture, but - Callaway Gardens literally took my breath away. Callaway Gardens is a 13,000 acre resort complex located in Pine Mountain, Georgia, just outside of Columbus. The vacation rental resort draws over 750,000 visitors annually.

History: Callaway Gardens was founded in 1952 by Cason J. and Virginia Hand Callaway to promote and protect native azalea species. Today, it features terrific accomodations and a wide variety of recreational attractions including a large enclosed butterfly habitat, a horticultural exposition known for its wide variety of cultivars and native plants, and an amazing 11 mile bike trail that weaves through the wooded gardens (you can even rent bikes and helmets here). Robin Lake Beach in Callaway Gardens is the world's largest man-made, white sand beach as it stretches a mile around 65 acre Robin Lake. The beach serves as the hub of summer activity and features swimming, sunbathing, miniature golf, table tennis, shuffleboard, volleyball, a fitness trail, paddle boats, concession area, picnic tables, a store, and equipment rentals. Equipment rentals include sailboats, canoes, and motorized Suncats. One great upcoming event is the Sky High hot air balloon festival. I wish I could see that! Later today we are packing up and driving down to Destin for FVRMA. It is great to travel our beautiful country and see the hills and valleys and pine trees and forests so foreign to South Floridians. I will not soon forget the beautiful Calloway Gardens and the terrific vacation rentals in Pine Mountain Georgia! More to come from FVRMA tomorrow...

Notes from "the road" - Columbus, Georgia

joel@bookt.com

Columbus is the third-largest city in Georgia, and the one hundred twentieth-largest city in the United States. I am in Columbus with my wife visiting my niece and her husband and family. We are here for two days on the way to the FVRMA Meeting in Sandestin. This is a beautiful city, ranking number 4 on the 100 Best U.S. Cities to live by Best Life Magazine. Last night we visited with our family and had some terrific Georgia Barbeque at Country's - an amazing and delicious local culinary flavor and treat! Today we are going to Callaway Gardens - a Georgia vacation rental resort with luxury accommodations, family vacations, world-class golf courses, spa packages and weekend getaways. We got up early this morning and visited the Riverwalk - a beautiful City Park system in the downtown area. We are also going over to nearby Alabama to "take the boat out" on a man-made lake - about an hour away. While this is really a working vacation trip, I can already say that Columbus, Georgia is worth the trip! Click the following link to check out their Vacation Rentals and quaint B&B's!! Much more to come...

FVRMA – Expectations “Set” and Good-To-Go

joel@bookt.com

It is just after 4 AM. In about an hour we embark on a road trip which will include the FVRMA Meeting in Sandestin Florida.

During the drive North, I will participate in several business phone calls and a conference call. At around 3 PM I will have a Skype call with a client in Mexico City. And I will respond to emails throughout the day – wherever I am.

It’s good to live in a “connected” world. It’s business as usual today even with a 10 hour drive to Southern Georgia on the schedule.

On Monday, Bookt and other Members of the Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association gather in Sandestin to conference for 3 days about our industry, new technology, new ideas and ongoing issues in need of smart solutions. Bookt’s President, Robert Käll will deliver the Keynote Address – including several Käll-to-Actions! Some people have all the luck when assigned their last names!

I will report via this Blog about my experiences at this meeting. And I have certain expectations which I will share with you now, and report on how they are “met” from the field, in real-time.

My expectations are these: 1) Great ideas will be discussed and adopted. 2) Problems will be addressed and solutions found. 3) Bookt’s current customers will have new ideas to integrate into the Bookt Platform. 4) We will make multiple sales to new customers. 5) A good time will be had by all.

While both general and specific, these are my expectations. I will report on what happens in real-time via this blog.

Time to load up the car and make the sandwiches. We have a “book on tape” (CD) – Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park (a great vacation rental if ever there was one!)

Have a great day! Call me in the car. You know my numbers…

Very best regards,

Joel Fellman Director of Vacation Rental Solutions www.bookt.com

Direct: 305-760-4576 Ext. 934 Toll-Free: 1-800-941-0868 Email: joel@bookt.com Skype: joelfellman LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joelfellmanbookt Twitter: bookt_solid

“Lead Scoring” for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

Like you, from time-to-time the team at Bookt evaluates the quality of our leads. We know that some lead sources are better than others and we can fine-tune our marketing tactics to prioritize both our time spent and target marketing dollars in order to exploit/leverage both the higher quality leads and better lead sources.

In a nutshell, “Lead Scoring” links a value to each lead based upon weighted criteria. For example, a vacation-shopper who fills out a web form on your Bookt site might have a higher score than someone who emails you with a question. Or, a caller who asks for your Pet Policy may have a higher score than someone who signs-up for your Newsletter. Sometimes the differences in quality are subtle. The BIG opportunity is, by giving a value for each lead (hot/warm/cold in the beginning) your booking agents can better prioritize their lead lists and focus on those opportunities with the greatest potential value.

How do you accomplish this? By creating a perceived “value” system based on analyses of your past experience; it might be as simple as scoring based upon lead source or it may include a variety of factors including rental property of interest, length-of-stay, and time frame. Some of this information might be captured at the time the lead is created or later – and your rental agents can add or verify info so the lead score can/will adjust accordingly over time.

And, once you have a “lead scoring” methodology in place, your sales team can use it to prioritize their activities. In Bookt’s experience, this can make a huge difference in terms of productivity/bookings.

As you become more sophisticated with your “lead scoring” practices, you can move beyond a hot/warm/cold type of rating system to an actual numerical score based on a myriad of factors collected over time. And, as a Vacation Rental Manager, lead scoring also provides you with a way to analyze both the quality of your responses to inquiries and vacation rental agent performance. If all you have is anecdotal info or gut feelings about lead quality, it’s hard to change behavior. With lead scoring you can see by vacation rental agent, what the average score for their converted leads is and the average score for booked reservations. Further, over time, this metric can be built into their compensation and bonus plan.

Would you like to discuss the nuances of “Lead Scoring” for your Vacation Rental business? Would you like to take a peek inside Bookt’s Command & Control Center to see all of the easy-to-use tools that makes your life as a Manager more productive and your sales agents more effective?

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we can chat about “Lead Scoring” and how it can be used to increase your Online Bookings and create opportunities for Online Success!

There's never been a better time to methodically measure the "temperature" of your vacation rental leads and to Get Bookt!

“Demo” Meeting with Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

Almost every day, a Vacation Rental Manager (or two) calls or emails to learn more about the functionality and marketing features of the Bookt Platform. One of the principal means we use at Bookt to interconnect with Vacation Rental Managers is an online “demo” appointment via our GoToMeeting web conferencing system.

GoToMeeting is a great advance in “show-and-tell” as it allows for a very interactive and personalized discussion with both parties able to assume control of the screen to drill down on various fundamentals, unique situations and essential discussion points. Each and every “demo” is customized to the needs of a particular client/destination.

Within the meeting, which typically lasts about an hour, each party “interacts” along this general outline:

Interactive Talking Points: > Vacation Rental Manager’s (VRM's) & Company Business Goals > VRM's Current Online Booking & Web Traffic Situation/Objectives > VRM's Target Market Area & Competitive Landscape > Bookt's Experience, Expertise and Leadership –- what it means to VRM's Specific Case & Situation > Bookt’s Marketing & Technology Platform –- what it means to VRM's Specific Case & Situation > Specific Ideas/Best Practices to Build on and Sustain VRM & Co > What a VRM/Bookt Online Success Partnership would look like

Vacation Rental Managers tell us and appreciate that these sessions are very personalized and that we take a very "strategic-thinking" approach and work hard to put ourselves in their shoes as we look at their goals and solutions for their individual business reality.

This approach makes for a very interactive call and each client has his/her own problems and potential solutions to "demo" or demonstrate and instruct upon to us in real-time via GoToMeeting.

Are you a Vacation Rental Manager with your own set of unique problems and opportunities? Can you carve out an hour to discuss your issues and goals in detail with another industry professional?

Would you like a personalized, customized, frank discussion on your online presence/competition in the Vacation Rental & Lodging arena?

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we shall GoToMeeting!

There's never been a better time for Strategic Thinking & Get Bookt!

Marketing For Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

The proven Bookt Platform delivers dozens of top-notch marketing-specific features dedicated to your Vacation Rental listings and destination. Are you the person responsible for Marketing at your Vacation Rental company? Would you like to "turbo charge" your Vacation Rental Leads, 24/7/365? If m-a-r-k-e-t-i-n-g is your role and responsibility, then we have lots to talk about...

Booking Engine connected to your Reservation System always knows the right Price and Availability of all of your Units!

Pre-Defined Custom Searches by Amenity, Location, Building, Development = Shoppers find exactly what they seek – fast!

Integrated Maps w/ Precise Directions/Locations of Shopping, Restaurants & Attractions to your Units = Visitor satisfaction!

Deliver Price, Weather and Distances in the “Language” of your Visitors - Automatically. Shoppers “trust” and feel at Home!

Is “Empathetic” w/ Each Customer Individually – Offers Each Visitor a Personalized, Unique Experience. Builds more Trust!

Display Testimonials/Reviews of Each Property and Your Services Exactly When Needed to Close the Sale!

Search Engine Optimization is built into the Platform from the ground up! Get found on Google, MSN & YAHOO – included free!

Free Integrated Blog & Social Media Connectivity to Leverage Web 2.0/3.0 Travel-Shopper Connectivity! The currency of online customer-acquisition is Target Marketing. Bookt's Tools and Technology is cutting-edge and second to none. Let's schedule a "no-pressure" demo meeting via GoToMeeting and talk about your target vacation rental shopper and how to leverage the marketing tools built-in to the Bookt Platform for online success! Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com for a free, no-obligation chat and demo.

There has never been a better time to Get Bookt!

Travel Content/Deals Targeting Consumers – Vacation Rental Managers Must Standout!

joel@bookt.com

Most of the articles in this column discuss online marketing tips, ideas and technology for Vacation Rental Managers.

One consistent theme which pervades my blog articles is that there is enormous competition for the “eyeballs” and dollars of vacation travel consumers and the Vacation Rental Manager must “standout” relative to ALL of them. This morning, for example, I received three different emails in my inbox targeting vacation travel. Many vacation rental shoppers get these targeted offers everyday. The Vacation Rental Manager has to compete and "stand out" above the entire fray and huge noise-level for eyeballs and leisure travel dollars - every day! And, you never know which door (or Window!) your target consumer is going to go through to find the vacation offer that suits their budget and preferences. Let's take a peek at my morning mail...

The first is from AirTran Airways... and they are offering a Free Upgrade on a rental car from Hertz when I book my flight on the AirTran Portal. I like flying AirTran and take part in their Rewards Program to get special offers and earn travel discounts and other freebies. Their "partnership" with Hertz elevates them in my eyes + costs AirTran nada. Everybody wins!

The next one is from the 800 pound gorilla, Orbitz. Each and every week, this Travel giant sends me their so-called Top 10 Deals. These "deals" are both vague and specific and invariably motivate me to "click-through" to one or more of them to learn more. And once "inside" Orbitz, there are many other offers and trips to tempt me. Orbitz is a master of bringing you in the door!

The last one is from Microsoft and isn't a "travel deal" per se.. As you can see, this one is a tie-in to WindowsLive and they want to make it super-easy for me to upload and share my Vacation photos with friends and family. Sending this great offer during travel-season is the "hook". MS is "borrowing the interest" of vacations to sell their stuff. Very smart! Is your inbox filled everyday with travel offers and related material? Many, many vacation rental shoppers get these targeted offers everyday. The Vacation Rental Manager has to compete and "stand out" above the entire fray and huge noise-level for eyeballs and dollars - every day! And again - you never know which door (or Window!) your target consumer is going to go through to find the vacation offer that suits their budget and preferences.

Looking for CRM and automated emailing technology to attract/book more vacation rental shoppers and compete with the Travel giants? Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we can talk about this and other ideas good-to-go for Vacation Rental Managers, within the Bookt Platform NOW!

There's never been a better time to deliver your message before the competition does. There has never been a better time to Get Bookt!

The BEST and PERFECT Sales Representative for Your Lodging Business

joel@bookt.com

Hiring a Bookt Site is the BEST and most PERFECT Sales Representative you will ever employ. While "best" and "perfect" are BIG words, I stand by them. Here are 22 résumé facts – you be the judge.

Your Bookt Sales Representative…

1. Is eternally vigilant and proactive, serves your owners and vacation travel shoppers 24/7/365. Never calls in sick or leaves early or takes a coffee break.

2. Speaks a multitude of foreign languages and delivers price, local weather and distances to local attractions in the native tongue of your visitors - automatically.

3. Is beautiful and classy – a pleasure to look at and work with. Is “empathetic” with each customer individually and gives each person a unique and custom experience of your store.

4. Communicates testimonials and client-reviews of your individual properties in real-time AND at the exact moment this info is needed to help close the sale.

5. Is 100% consistent, especially when it comes to managing, converting and incubating travel shopper leads.

6. Delivers price and availability info on your properties without distraction – forming a meaningful “trust” bond with your prospects so they do not leave your store and go somewhere else.

7. Is plugged-in to your Reservation system and constantly knows the right price and availability of all of your units.

8. Is plugged-in to your QuickBooks making accounting/transactions a breeze.

9. Is the easiest to manage employee you’ve ever had – automatically and immediately alerts you to sales, leads, questions and problems.

10. Is the fastest/most consistent employee you’ve ever seen – automatically and immediately confirms, emails, updates and communicates with your prospects 24/7/365.

11. Is free! Just kidding, but is an inexpensive, already trained and proven employee costing much less than any comparable employee or (web solution).

12. Is a Search Engine expert! Meets and welcomes your targets on Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc., ushering them into your store to the precise product display counter they are looking for.

13. Can “wait on” dozens of clients simultaneously, all the while in discrete telepathy with your other employees, systems and rulebook.

14. Has all the answers to all the questions at her fingertips, or knows how to get them while making the client happy and comfortable.

15. Is always subtly and ingeniously “pushing” your targets to book your condos, villas, vacation homes, cabins or hotel rooms. Makes them feel warm, safe and secure, and "trust" giving you their money.

16. Imitates “salespeople” they are already comfortable with like Orbitz, Hotels.com and Expedia.

17. Simultaneously is selling your units in other stores and keeps track of what’s what with no double bookings.

18. Simultaneously talking to your Owners, keeping them in the loop 24/7/365.

19. Is simultaneously telling your story, bragging and blogging about you and your attractions, specials and local events in other storefronts.

20. Is simultaneously tracking and reporting back to you where your targets are coming from and who is referring them to you.

21. Is simultaneously giving precise directions to where you are located and where the shopping, golf courses, restaurants and other attractions are located.

22. Mentors you on online marketing strategies and tactics to help insure your ongoing online success.

Would you hire this Sales Representative for your Lodging business? To learn more about this candidate, please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or reach out via email to joel@bookt.com today. I will send you her resume and let you meet him right away.

Picking Topics For Your Vacation Rental Site Blog Is As Easy As 1-2-3!

joel@bookt.com

By now, everyone agrees that blogging is an excellent way to get out your marketing message in a very user-friendly way. Clearly, the more you blog, the better your results will be. Not only your results in terms of travel-consumers both enjoying and finding useful your targeted content, but also your results in Google, YAHOO, MSN, AOL and the other leading search engines. Blogging is as easy as 1-2-3!

Blog about what you know – what your “sweet spot” is.
Blog about subjects that you feel will resonate with your target audience.
Blog about timely information or events.

Here are some practical Topic ideas (with search-engine-optimized Headlines) that might make great blog articles and might just help get your creative juices flowing:

Success Stories - Headline: Family of Five Say Park City Vacation Rental Delivered the Best Ski Vacation Ever!
New Properties - Headline: PacificaVR Adds Elegant 3 Bedroom Villa to Palm Springs Vacation Property Listings!
Old Properties - Headline: Orlando Vacation Rental Close To Disney Is Great Choice for Economical Vacation
Your Unique Services - Headline: How Rent Key West’s Quality Assurance Checklist Delivers Total Customer Satisfaction!
New Services - Headline: Sign-Up For Free Lake Geneva Newsletter to Learn About Summer Vacation Home Specials!
Your Amenities - Headline: Ski In - Ski Out In Ogden Valley Utah and Spend More Time on the Slopes!
New Restaurants, Shopping Venues and Events in your area - Headline: Nordstrom’s Comes to Naples - Close to Beach Condo Rentals on Spectacular Gulf Coast!
New Staff Members - Headline: Mary Jones Joins Destin Holidays as Vacation Rental Specialists!
And More!

Need help picking your blog topic? Email me today at joel@bookt.com and I will be pleased to help you every step of the way and make blogging about your vacation rental business as easy for you as 1-2-3! Bookt is a comprehensive web services provider to the global vacation rental industry, delivering seamless integration and turn-key web solutions including built-in Blogs. Headquartered in the US, Bookt provides sophisticated website development, online marketing services, search engine optimization and CRM strategies to a wide range of domestic and international clients. For more information visit us online at www.bookt.com. Now get out there and blog, blog, blog!

Hilton Head Island Vacation Rentals @ CLVHHI

joel@bookt.com

Hilton Head Island is 20 miles north of Savannah, GA and 95 miles south of Charleston. It's an exquisite locale with 12 miles of amazing beaches and World Class amenities. HHI is especially known for some of the BEST golfing venues anywhere – so much so, the Island even looks a bit like a sporty golf shoe.

Our Carolina Lowcountry Vacations colleagues offer a wonderful and sophisticated collection of beautiful homes, townhouses and villas on Hilton Head Island. These properties are the perfect place to relax and enjoy the most beautiful island in the Lowcountry. Your vacation rental gives you access to one of the top ten family beaches in the country and offer the ideal place to set up your beach chairs, enjoy the sea breeze, play in the surf or watch the kids build the perfect sandcastle. If you want to experience the call of the ocean, CLVHHI offers fishing, kayaking, parasailing, surfing, wave running, wakeboarding, crabbing, dolphin watching and more. Want more action? In addition to golf, CLVHHI can hook you up with tennis, over 50 miles of bike trails, horseback riding paths, premier shopping and wonderful food – dining “in” or “out”.

Savvy travelers know that planning your trip to Hilton Head involves much more than just booking a unit. Carolina Lowcountry Vacations guest services are client-focused and the CLV Team will take care of all the particulars from golf tee times, court times, water activities, dolphin tours to dinner reservations. You’re on vacation so just tell CLVHHI what you want to do and they will take care of the rest!

Vacation Shoppers have a myriad of choices on Hilton Head Island. Looking for outstanding properties and 5-Star customer service? Contact the team at Carolina Lowcountry Vacations or call toll-free 1.866.957.0522. Ask your host about the Lowcountry Privileges Card and other great Special Offers!

A Little Traveling Music for Vacation Rental Managers & Online Travel Shoppers

joel@bookt.com

While I am not fond of websites that “push” musical interludes at you when you visit, there is some really great vacation music out there if handled in a subtle and professional way.

Here are my top 5 songs/videos for Vacation Rentals – to get your travel shoppers in the mood:

#5: Johnny Cash – I’ve Been Everywhere

#4: B-52’s – Roam

#3: The Beach Boys – Kokomo

#2: The Go-Go's – Vacation

#1: Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman – Time To Say Goodbye

Want to spice up your vacation rental website with some well-placed video or music? Want to do it in a subtle and professional way?

Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email us at: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to get the vacation travel shopper "in the mood" & Get Bookt!

Organized Vacation Rental Blog Topics for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

I sort all my blog posts by purpose and topic, and continually update this article - in order to make it easy for Vacation Rental Managers to find exactly what they are looking for.

There has never been a better time to learn more & Get Bookt!

Hello! My Name Is...

joel@bookt.com

Bookt makes Lodging Websites but that is not the product or the service that you get.

The Bookt Team has been online since 2001. We know that our clients are interested in more than a great looking lodging website with blinking lights.

At the upcoming FVRMA conference in Sandestin in mid-August, our name tags in the booth will proudly say for each member of the dynamic Bookt Team…

Online Success! Those are fighting words at Bookt and it comes from the top. Our co-founder and President Rob Käll says it best:

Anyone can put out a website. At Bookt, our whole philosophy revolves around what happens AFTER the website is launched. Lead capture and conversion. Booking ratios. Always increasing search engine traffic. Constant fine-tuning of our client’s online marketing and consistent upgrades to continuously improve the Bookt Platform. Launching websites for Lodging Managers is easy. Making sites that PERFORM and meet the revenue goals of the Lodging Manager, that are easy to manage and deliver what each and every stakeholder in the Vacation Travel Supply Chain is looking for, is the hard part. That’s why we are so focused and passionate about Online Success at Bookt. Online Success is not just our slogan. It’s our purpose.

Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to perform online and increase your effectiveness & Get Bookt! Hello! My Name Is ONLINE SUCCESS!

Twitter and Vacation Rental Marketing

joel@bookt.com

As most know by now, Twitter is a micro-blogging site and social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time. Twitter enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.

The question is… can you tweet your way to additional bookings and traffic to your Vacation Rentals?

Case Study: Twitter & Social Media Marketing For Small Business

Well, it is apparently working for LocalGetaways.com – Hotel and Travel Deals: San Francisco Bay Area, Wine Country, Napa, Sonoma, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Carmel, and more…

RESULTS (as of July 2009): Twitter is currently one of the largest sources of traffic to LocalGetaways.com Secured thousands of qualified followers in less than 30 days Tracked Twitter clicks through to sales Realized more than 20K website clicks in 2 months Generated national traditional media story Tweets trickled out to other social media sites, generating additional website traffic

You can find me tweeting on twitter @ bookt_solid.

The results for LocalGetaways.com speak for themselves. Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to tweet & Get Bookt!

Business Development at Bookt for Vacation Rental Marketplace

joel@bookt.com

Every week it seems we get a new inquiry from a company who has a great idea and wants Bookt’s input and potential participation.

“Input” is easy as we have an amazing Booking Engine and integrated Vacation Rental business platform. While we are absolutely open to “participation” – this is always a more complex issue as Bookt’s approach is to help and support all Vacation Rental companies and ideas.

We actively look for and embrace small “p” partnerships. But, in order to be most effective and promote the needs of the entire Vacation Rental Industry, Bookt has followed the “neutral” path and delivers great solutions that tend to move the VR Market forward without conflicts of interest with our clients and colleagues.

In fact, Bookt’s technology platform was designed and is constantly being fine-tuned to “connect-the-dots” throughout the Vacation Rental supply chain. And once we respond to an inquiry from a forward-thinking company about their idea, here are the questions we ask internally to evaluate our participation:

Questions we answer:

>Can the relationship refer us new clients and help us support current clients? >Does the relationship offer a solution consistent with our platform and w/o cannibalizing our existing business? >Can we power the idea/solution using our platform and is it profitable to develop and run? >Can we resell the “idea” as a new product within our Control Panel and further serve the industry and our clients? >Is the relationship party an industry insider that can elevate our standing in the VR community? >What other strategic and tactical reasons/opportunities does the idea present? >What are the quantifiable aspects of the idea/solution? >Added sales revenue? Time commitment? Legal costs? >Development time? Marketing and production cost and time?

The Bookt team takes small “p” partnerships seriously as we are well aware that our reputation is directly tied to the company we keep. We only partner with like-minded people and companies whom we can grow with, together, and with whom it is profitable as well as enjoyable to work with.

Do you have a forward-thinking idea that will help you and the Vacation Rental Industry succeed?

Bookt may just be able to help you turn your idea into reality. Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to be creative in the vacation rental marketplace & Get Bookt!

Bookt and the Vacation Rental "Supply" Chain

joel@bookt.com

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... so this will be my shortest blog posting ever...

The above is Bookt's view of the world. In the hierarchy, Vacation Shoppers/Renters are on top of the inverted Pyramid, Owners are next, then your Staff and You, followed by Bookt supporting all. Bookt meets everyone's needs & dreams; everyone wins. The end.

Read Any Good Vacation Rental Articles Lately?

joel@bookt.com

Knowledge is Power ...as they say. Are you reading all the articles coming out that feature tips, trends & tech regarding Vacation Rentals? Here are a handful of the articles you may want to check out: Are Vacation Rentals the Hottest Growth Area in Online Travel? Vacation Rentals Hit by Economic Downturn? Here’s Simple Tips That Will Help Boost Your Bookings and Fill Your Calendar. Survey delves into travelers' interest in vacation rentals Are you a Lodging Laggard or a Leader? Airfare, Hotel, and Vacation Rental Sales Abound While this may be a shameless plug for my own Tips, Trends & Tech regarding Vacation Rentals, save this LINK as one of your favorites. Every day of the week I blog on topics specifically for Vacation Rental Managers. Knowledge is Power! Power to ACT! Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email us at: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to read about the Vacation Rental Industry & Get Bookt!

Online “Empathy” Books and Closes the Vacation Rental Sale

joel@bookt.com

Travel consumers have many choices. The top-notch Vacation Rental Managers we are working with at Bookt are always looking for ways to make their online marketing Stand Out, Inspire and Motivate the vacation shopper to book their properties.

How do you Stand Out, Inspire and Motivate the Online Travel Shopper with so many competitors vying for the same booking? Through empathy. By putting your self and your site in their shoes.

Empathy … Like so: ...Have a website… that meets and welcomes your targets on Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc., ushering them into your online store to the precise pages, properties and amenities they are looking for. ...Have a website… “look and feel” that connects and resonates with your target demographic. If you target families, for example, your site should display families having fun and relaxing in your accommodations and activities. ...Have a website… that automatically recognizes where your shoppers are located and “speaks” a multitude of foreign languages to deliver price, local weather and distances to local attractions in the native tongue of your visitors. ...Have a website… that communicates testimonials and client-reviews of your individual properties in real-time AND at the exact moment this info is needed to help close the sale. ...Have a website… that delivers price and availability info on your properties without distraction – forming a meaningful “trust” bond with your prospects so they do not leave your store and go somewhere else. ...Have a website… with easy online booking so vacation shoppers can book your units – or easily email a question – 24/7/365. ...Have a website… that quickly, consistently and automatically confirms, emails, updates and communicates with your target vacation rental prospects 24/7/365.

Do you “Have a website…” like that? Does your online approach create empathy and fit the shoes of your target audience?

Bookt can help you create empathy with online travel shoppers and help you book and close more vacation rental sales. Please call us today at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email us at: joel@bookt.com. There has never been a better time to Stand Out, Inspire and Motivate the Online Travel Shopper & Get Bookt!

President Obama Should Consider A Vacation Rental For His Summer Family Getaway

joel@bookt.com

I was reading the Taiwan News the other day. I really was. [I use Google Alerts to keep tabs on vacation-related news stories, and this article was in my Google Alerts email.]

The focus of the story was on how President Obama and past-Presidents seem to get a lot of heat for taking vacations and the high cost to tax-payers for leisure travel by the Vacationer-in-Chief.

Looking for a terrific and economical vacation for you and the family this summer, Mr. President? Why not consider a Vacation Rental at a great destination! You cannot beat the Vacationomics whether you are looking for a beach condo, private home or villa, cozy cottage or mountain retreat.

Plus, many Vacation Rentals are "pet-friendly" so Bo, too, can join you on the First-Family Getaway.

There is something for the whole family in a spot like Orlando. And the mountains in Park City or the ocean in Laguna Beach also deliver wonderful family fun. Seeking local "attractions" or sports? There is a U.S. Air Force museum near Okaloosa Island and Central Florida has some of the best Golf Courses in the world!

Looking for something that's kid-friendly or would you prefer to take the whole family fishing or learn to dive?

Perhaps you would like to really get away. How about an Island like Aruba or R&R on Martha's Vineyard with the Clintons? You were in Paris recently so consider South Beach which rocks all year round. And the rocks around Keystone in Colorado are especially great to climb all summer long.

You have a stressful job and deserve time-off. And you just might find that the Vacationomics of a Vacation Rental may help silence your critics and provide you and your family with memories to savor in the years to come. And yes! Basketball is one of the many amenities available at many Vacation Rental destinations.

My humble suggestion? Take your mind off the problems of the world and Go-Go find your Vacation Rental now! Enjoy your summer. Vacations Rentals are worthy of your Vote!

TripAdvisor Survey Shows Popularity of Vacation Rentals

joel@bookt.com

More terrific news for Vacation Rental Managers...

According to a recent survey by TripAdvisor of more than 2,800 travelers, forty-three percent of travelers said they are staying at a vacation rental in the next 12 months because they believe there are good deals to be had in the market. Twenty-four percent are staying or have already stayed at a vacation rental this summer.

Sixty percent of travelers would take advantage of a great last minute deal at a vacation rental this summer, and 41 percent would require a 50 percent discount or more to entice them to book. Eighty-seven percent of travelers would choose a vacation rental over a hotel if it were a better deal.

The top reason travelers like vacation rentals is that they offer more space, according to 78 percent of travelers. Seventy-seven percent cited access to a full kitchen, while 57 percent noted the benefit of a vacation rental home's privacy.

Among travelers that have already stayed at a vacation rental this summer, the south is the most popular US vacation rental region, according to 37 percent of respondents, followed by the west at 18 percent and northeast at 14 percent.

Twenty-four percent of travelers have stayed at vacation rentals more than 10 times in their lifetime and 14 percent stay at the same property every year.

Sixty-six percent said that the top activities that vacation rentals allow travelers to do is sleep more people, 64 percent said they enjoy the ability to have homemade family or group meals, and 60 percent identified common areas for hanging out. Twenty-three percent believe the best benefit is more privacy for romance.

"Travelers on the hunt for a hot summer deal should take a closer look at vacation rentals," said Bryan Saltzburg, general manager of new initiatives at TripAdvisor. "Many rentals offer comparable amenities to hotels but with more space, privacy and similar comforts of home."

Would you like to see how easily Bookt can integrate TripAdvisor and FlipKey “Third Party Endorsements” into your online marketing approach, please call us today at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or reach out via email to joel@bookt.com today. There has never been a better time to be in the Vacation Rental Business and Get Bookt!

Summer's Keyword Ranking Recipe

sam@bookt.com

Summer’s Keyword Ranking Recipe

By Sam Marks

Directory of Success, Bookt LLC

2/17/10

There is an estimated 200+ ranking elements that are in

Ingredients

·         Title Tags

·         H1 Header Tags

·         Meta Description & Keywords

·         Keywords in Content

·         Optimized URL’s

·         Limited Trailing Slashes

·         Sitemap’s

·         Alt & Image Tags

·         Local Search Submissions

·         Inbound links

·         Domain Trust and Authority

·         URL Remapping

·         Age of Domain and Content

·         Topical Relevance of linked sites

·         Server Speed & Stability

·         Site historical data i.e. CTR

cluded in Google’s organic search algorithms. These coveted codes, although manipulated by some in the past have never been fully cracked. Further, the search engine indexes are always evolving and becoming smarter in order to show only the most relevant results for users. Google’s optimization recommendations, along side of statistically backed theories, split tests, and years of data mining have all combined to become what is known as SEO ‘Best Practices”. This summer, familiarize yourself with some of the more important ranking factors, and develop a plan to optimize your lodging website for the coming fall.

Preparation: 1 Week

Get the ‘low-down’ on the competition in your marketplace

All the energy and resources in the world can be futile without the proper preparation. You need to first understand your strengths and the competition’s weaknesses, and then put in place an aggressive strategy to obtain organic search traffic. Conduct the following research:

1. To begin, break your market into segments and determine where you have clusters of prominence. On a broad level recognize your country/state/province and even county; then establish the cities, regions, neighborhoods, developments and even streets that apply to your property.

2. Next, you want to identify your rental unit specialties if you are a vacation rental, or your hotel amenities if you are a hotel. Consider what your guests are asking forand what you can also accommodate. What people typically ask for when at your hotel or rental property is more often than not the same criteria for which people will search for online, so optimizing your pages with these keywords will resonate well with your organic search initiatives. Just to give you some ideas, here are some we know to be popular: with private pool, near beach, on golf course, waterfront, near attractions, by convention center, with boat slip, with mountain view, near ski lift.

3. Last, distinguish your property types. Terms such as ‘Hotels’, ‘Vacation Rentals’, ‘Resorts’ are the most common but are generally the most competitive terms in a market area. Don’t be afraid to target other terms such as ‘suites’, ‘lodging’, ‘accommodations’,’ villas’, ‘studios’, etc.

4. With this data defined, you now can make a list of primary target keywords, and secondary long tail keywords. Use the following tools to gauge the search volume, competition, and trends of each keyword phrase. Now you can develop your final lists of keyword targets. Time to start cooking!

-external keyword tools – for volume and competition

-Google trends – for keyword trends

Directions

1. Fine tune your Title tags

If you do only one thing this summer, review and fine tune every page’s title tag. These HTML tags identify what your page is about for both visitors and search engines. Use the keywords determined during the previous exercise as the base for your property pages. Most importantly, make sure your title tags actually relate to the content on the particular page.

*For extra flavor-fine tune and optimize your Meta descriptions, and keywords. The SEO values of this initiative are highly debated, but one thing is for sure, a well-written and targeted meta description will improve your click through rate on the SERPs. This will send more visitors to your site, and improve your historical data with the engines.

2. Rewrite and normalize your URL’s

Without clean and normalized URL’s, it’s difficult for search engines to properly index all of your pages. The more pages your site has in the indexes, the larger your footprint. In addition, having clean, keyword rich URL’s will improve your click through rate on the SERP’s. If you see a parameter in any of your site’s URLs such as “?”, then it is not search engine friendly. Additionally, if you are a vacation rental, try to limit numeric characters identifying your properties and instead, maximize the attributes i.e. property type, market area, and amenities.

*For extra flavor – try to limit the number of trailing slashes “/” in your URL’s. Most SEO experts agree to never exceed 4, for example www.myvacationhomes.com/searchhomes/floridakeys/condos/karas-cottage-nearbeach. Each additional slash will dilute the trailing keywords, so keep it simple this summer.

3. Say Hello to the Search Engines

It’s time that you formally introduce your website to the search engines. Of course, it’s best if you dress up your site in modern fashion prior to the introduction… after all, these are the governors of the Internet. Create both an HTML and XML sitemap. An HTML sitemap can be useful for your site visitors as well as the search engines. The XML sitemap should be located off the root of your domain (e.g. www.mydomain.com/sitemap.xml)) and then formally submitted to Google, Yahoo, and Bing through their respective webmaster tools. This dynamic XML feed will provide quick and easy navigation for the engines to regularly crawl your pages.

*For extra Flavor – while you are busy submitting your sitemaps in the respective engines, take the extra initiative and make a local search submission for your website/company. You will be surprised at how much traffic a page 1 local search listing can drive. It also extends your footprint in the search engine indexes.

4. Sleep, Eat, Build Links - Sleep, Eat, Build Links - Sleep, Eat, Build Links

This summer instead of squeezing oranges, reach out to where the real juices is – inbound links. Link building is without a doubt one of the most important and influential pieces of SEO, that is if it appears natural.

*For Extra Flavor – Read our 3 part series of Link Building

Topics include:

-Building links from sites with topical relevance

- Obtaining links from trusted and authoritative sites

- Deeplinking – spreading your juice to deep landing pages

- Avoiding link farms and spam sites

- The weight of links, including reciprocal vs. one way

-Out linking can be healthy too!

The Bookt Platform maximizes the automation of SEO elements to minimize your leg work. 10+ years of SEO theory testing has given us tremendous insight on the optimization initiatives that matter and we built our platform from the bottom up with this in mind. Our SEO Scorecard shows you a real time analysis of your keyword and other SEO related performance metrics so you can see ‘the proof is in the pudding’.

Treehuggers are Smartbuggers- The Lodging Industry Goes Green

susie@bookt.com

Listen up lodging professionals, do not be intimidated if the only green practice you know of is to choose paper over plastic. And if you don’t know about that one…oh boy, we’ve got some work to do! No worries, I won’t give up on you. We are in this together. I can’t stress enough how easy it is to ‘go green’ at the most basic level for your hotel, inn, resort, b&b or vacation rental. Besides being easy, it’s necessary, as the number of environmentally conscious travelers is growing at a rapid pace. Don’t be left on the sidelines looking green in the face.

Did you know that 44% of U.S. travelers consider environmental impact to be important to them when planning travel? Nearly one third of U.S. travelers would pay premiums, but these savvy consumers are looking for practices that go above and beyond cursory measures (Source: PhoCusWright's Going Green: The Business Impact of Environmental Awareness on Travel, 2009). The movement to go green is here to stay so lets work on getting your property prepared.

First, take it slow but take it seriously. Do not expect to transform your property into a L.E.E.D. certified well-oiled machine on day one. That’s a long-term strategy that requires a decent amount of thought and strategic planning. Do know this- there are L.E.E.D. certified lodging options on the market today and I suspect they will be laughing all the way to the bank when the rest of us are just trying to figure out what L.E.E.D. stands for. Start educating yourself and your staff now and make greening your property a priority with a clear timeline for achievements.

Today, you can implement small details that the guest and the planet will appreciate. In hospitality, it’s all about the details, right? I’m sure you’ve heard about Linen Reuse Programs. Of course, do that. It’s a no-brainer and a detail that won’t go unnoticed. However, below are some green practices and promotion strategies that you may not have heard of which will leave a big impression on your guests and may even earn you some greenbacks in the process.

IN ROOM RECYCLE BIN Place an attractive basket or bin that fits with your room or property décor and attach a printed or handwritten note that says, “We are happy to handle your recyclables for you. Please place them in this basket”. Couldn’t be easier, right? Stay with me…

NON-TOXIC CLEANING PRODUCTS The days when the smell of ammonia & bleach meant the room was clean are over! Use non-toxic cleaning and polishing products, non-chlorine bleach and non-aerosol sprays. Your guests will love the light, fresh scent that doesn’t produce a chemically induced headache. Too expensive you say? I say, no way! Good ol’ baking soda, vinegar, and lemon work wonders. These standbys and environmentally friendly cleaning products are now available in bulk at wholesalers like Costco.

LIGHT BULB SWAP OUT Choose energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. Although they cost more initially, you save money in the long run as they last up to 10x longer than incandescent bulbs. For fluorescent bulb recycling (they contain mercury and must be properly disposed of), contact the U.S. EPA or equivalent if you live outside of the United States.

EMAIL CONFIRMATIONS, ONLINE BROCHURES Faxing and rack brochures are so 90s. Today’s savvy travelers view a mailed confirmation or paper brochure as tree manslaughter. Travel consumers are surfing the net to make their next lodging decision. Make sure your website, a.k.a. your online brochure, is up to date, eye catching and keeps the viewer on your site without jumping off to find a better place to stay. Send by e-mail reservation confirmations, Thank You Letters, and guest satisfaction surveys. Have a ‘green’ tab clear on your site listing your green initiatives so that eco-friendly travelers know what you offer. SEARCHING CAPABILITIES Make sure, and I cannot stress this enough, that you are searchable on the Internet. Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy has to be comprehensive and all-inclusive. If your web designer or web hosting company is not well equipped to handle your SEO strategy, contact a company like Bookt to assist. Once you have a working green program in place and staff is trained and ready to deliver, be sure to include search keywords like “eco-friendly hotel” and “green vacation rental”. Be careful here, you’ve got to be able to talk the talk AND walk the walk if you are going to market your property as ‘Green’.

GET CREATIVE, ADD YOUR OWN SPECIAL GREEN TOUCHES Innkeeper James Blunt at the Centerboard Guesthouse in Nantucket, MA offers shade-grown/organic green coffee beans, which they receive in large burlap sacks (which are used to wrap shrubberies during the cold months) and roast fresh in small batches on the premises, eliminating the need to discard coffee containers. Great service, great coffee and less wear and tear on the planet earth. Not bad! Go James!

EDUCATE AND EMPOWER YOUR STAFF TO GO GREEN Even today, many adults think green is just another color on the wheel. That said, take a patient approach with your staff. Chances are many of them have kids who learn about the green movement at school and understand it far better than them. I’ll never forget the look I got from our cleaning person at a hotel I used to work at when I put a box with “Recycle” on it in the break room. Needless to say, the only thing she saw in that box was more work for her. Guess who took the recyclables each week to the drop off? Don’t give up like I did. Today there is momentum behind the green movement and people are more apt to listen and be interested. Hold green team training meetings with your staff. Make it fun and reward them for coming up with more ways to go green.

So go on, hug a tree! Your guests will thank you for it. By reducing your carbon footprint, you will experience more foot traffic to your property and, sorry but I have to use the cliché, make the world a better place. Ahhhhh.

Susie Belanger is the Director of Hotel Solutions at Bookt. She is the first step in a hotel's journey to increased bookings. Susie brings over 10 years of professional hotel, travel & marketing experience. After receiving an MBA in International Business & Marketing from the University of Miami, Susie held Director of Sales & Marketing positions for hotels Circa39 and The Tides in Miami Beach and opened her own events & travel company in 2007. To reach Susie, email susie@bookt.com or call 305.760.4576 x935.

Webinar on Webinars – How To Use Online Meeting Technology to Increase Vacation Lodging Bookings

joel@bookt.com

Bookt has designated August as Webinars Capture Reservations Month and will hold six free 50-minute Online Webinars where you will learn about… • How to leverage longer research-lead-times that travel shoppers employ to investigate a great vacation spot and accommodations • How interactive tactics like Webinars boost lead quality and improve conversion ratios • How group conversations can “sell” and “close” bookings online and differentiate your brand • How Webinars dovetail into your larger Social Media plan-of-action

Each Webinar will cover the same exact topics. Pick a day and time convenient for you and your time zone! Monday, Aug 3rd @ 2 PM Eastern Time Tuesday, Aug 4th @ 11 AM Eastern Time Wednesday, Aug 12th @ 4 PM Eastern Time Thursday, Aug 13th @ 12 Noon Eastern Time Friday, Aug 28th @ 3 PM Eastern Time Saturday, Aug 29th @ 10 AM Eastern Time Webinars are free and without obligation; sign-up is on a first-come, first serve basis. Space is limited. Reply to webinars@bookt.com to sign-up today. Please email your full Name and Email address for the session you wish to attend.

Complete dial-in instructions will follow as soon as you sign-up.

What is a Bookt Online Partnership with Vacation Rental Managers?

joel@bookt.com

Simply stated, Bookt is not just another pretty face. Your Bookt Vacation Rental Website is not a show horse – it’s a work horse. Bookt is right there, where the work is being done. ...Talking with your vacation shoppers in their homes via Google and escorting these targets directly to your units 24/7. ...Giving directions, availability and prices in the language your vacation shoppers speak – making targets comfortable and feeling right at home. ...Handling transactions, payments, bookings with speed and accuracy so everyone gets paid exactly what they are owed. ...Alerting you to sales, leads, questions and problems. Automatically updating you and vacation shoppers 24/7. ...Always selling, selling, selling shoppers to buy, buy, buy your condos, villas and vacation homes.

Your Bookt Website is a work horse. Our online partnership is focused totally on your online success.

We are working 24/7 to deliver the right vacation rental at the right price at the right time to the right customer.

A Bookt Website’s work, work, work is never done and we want our online partnership to never, never end.

To learn how a Bookt Vacation Rental Website can start working for you, call 1-800-941-0868 x 934. Where the work is, that’s where Bookt is. Call or email: joel@bookt.com today. Ask about our Summer Specials!

There's never been a better time to Get to Work & Get Bookt.

Vacation Rental Managers: BYOD!

joel@bookt.com

Bookt has some of the best graphic designers in the business and the “look and feel” of the sites we design create a strong emotional connection with vacation travel shoppers and truly resonate!

However, some Vacation Rental Managers are happy with their site's “look and feel” but not-so-much with their online results.

BYOD! Bring Your Own Design! Save money!

The team at Bookt will happily use your design and “bolt” it onto the Bookt Platform in order to deliver: >A professionally designed site using state of the art technology. >A seamless booking engine without distracting pop-ups or website redirections - consumers book their stay online with confidence. >A search engine optimized site attracting vacation travel shoppers searching for precisely the units and attractions you have to offer. >A powerful reservation system that makes it easy to organize guest data, booking & payment info, integrated to QuickBooks. >An automated Command & Control Center to self-manage your site, business operations AND convert/incubate consumer leads. >A cost effective turn-key solution, priced lower than any other comparable package.

Like your look and feel but not your online results? Please call us today @ 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com today. Ask about our Summer Specials - ending soon!

There's never been a better time to get "bolted" and Get Bookt

Take Command & Control of your Vacation Rental Business with Empowering "real-time" Management and Analytics Reports & Tools

joel@bookt.com

Your Bookt Website and easy/intuitive Control Panel allows you to measure, modify and manage your leads, sales, staff, follow-up and SEO performance with a CLICK and a SMILE.

CLICK to find out, measure and analyze… ::Vacation Shoppers in real-time visiting your website and where they are coming from ::Your “leads” generated in real-time including your lead sources and profitable keywords ::Individual and Total bookings, expressed in units and dollars, in both words and charts ::Staff performance including response speed, results and automated email follow-up ::Return on investment (ROI) of your Ad Campaigns and Special Offers, all in real-time

SMILE… because you are at Command & Control!

The Bookt Dashboard empowers you to view and to analyze the performance of your website, team and your business at a glance.

Wait! There’s more! You can actually do something about it. You can take action, 24/7/365 – all in real time!

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 to take our Command & Control features out for a ride and see if Bookt’s Empowering "real-time" Management and Analytics Reports & Tools will help you with your Vacation Rental Business. Actionable-knowledge is the real Power! Call or email: joel@bookt.com today. Ask about our Summer Specials!

There's never been a better time to Command & Control & Get Bookt

The “BEST of Breed” Vacation Rental Booking Engine – Accessible, Affordable, Achievable!

joel@bookt.com

As the Vacation Rental Solutions team leader at Bookt I see hundreds of lodging websites every month and review their online booking capabilities. Over time, we have learned that vacation rental travel-shoppers are looking for an online experience similar to what they find on all the major travel sites – like Orbitz, Hotels.com and Expedia.

And Bookt delivers on that consumer expectation and I am proud to say that the “BEST of Breed” Vacation Rental Booking Engine is now absolutely Accessible, Affordable and Achievable!

We make the “upgrade” as easy as 1-2-3-4 at Bookt, and we are experts at integrating:

> A seamless booking engine that does not rely on distracting pop-ups or website redirections, but instead offers an easy/comforting way for consumer to book their stay online with confidence. >> A booking engine completely synchronized to resonate with the keywords and search terms that vacation travelers are looking for in your market area every day. >>> A powerful reservation system that makes it easy to organize guest data, booking & payment information, with the connectivity to QuickBooks “included” in the implementation. >>>> A seamless connection to your action-oriented Command & Control Center empowering the Vacation Rental Manager and staff to self-manage both the website and business operations in one place AND manage, convert and incubate consumer leads.

Accessible, Affordable, Achievable!

Take a test drive today by calling 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com. Ask about our Summer Specials! There's never been a better time to upgrade to the “BEST of Breed” Vacation Rental Booking Engine and Get Bookt!

Location, Location, Vacation! Why Integrated-Mapping is Critical to Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

As we all know, a Vacation Home or Vacation Condo or Vacation Villa rental is merely the point of embarkation for all the fun and activities your guests will enjoy while visiting your destination. They may eat, sleep and relax in your property units, but it is the beaches, the ski slopes, the shopping and the local attractions they are coming for.

At Bookt, we pay a lot of attention to mapping “from here to there” and it is totally integrated in order to: > Automatically “Geocode” every one of your properties with exact longitude and latitude of the address > Instantly display all of your properties on a map automatically, in conjunction with the search results > Explicitly mark exact distances between your properties and popular attractions and landmarks > Automatically list and translate distances in familiar terms for global site visitors (kilometers vs. miles, etc.)

Vacation Rental Managers who offer their guests and prospects precise information about property locations in relation to local activities and other landmarks close more sales online!

Destination-Embarkation-Information-Integration = Vacation-Location-Elation!

Want a conversation on integration of your Vacation Location Destination Information? Dial 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com today. Ask about our Summer Specials! There's never been a better time to Get Bookt!

Bragging Rights for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

Despite “rumors” to the contrary, vacation rental guests are extremely satisfied with their accommodations and rental experience.

According to PhoCusWright's landmark study of the industry called Vacation Rental Marketplace: Poised for Change, nine in 10 vacation rental guests intend to rent again within three years and would recommend to a family member or friend. Nine out of 10! You cannot do much better than that!

How do these rumors get started? It’s the usual suspects. One bad apple spoils the barrel. In other words, guests who are not satisfied, or worse – have a BAD experience and their accommodations are not clean or do not live up to expectations, tell everyone. And the industry suffers by reputation.

How do we fix this? We keep sharing all the success stories, great reviews and testimonials. AND, continue to deliver great condos, cabins, vacation homes, villas and GREAT SERVICE.

Congratulations Vacation Rentals Managers. Keep up the great work and brag a little. You’ve earned the right! The PhoCusWright!

AND, if you would like to see how easily Bookt can integrate your success stories, great reviews and testimonials into your online marketing approach, please call us today at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or reach out via email to joel@bookt.com today. Ask me about Bookt's Summer Specials! There has never been a better time to Get Bookt!

Think Bigger in a Travel “Buyer's Market” for the Win-Win!

joel@bookt.com

Yesterday I read a news article where the author coined the phrase "a traveler’s market" referring to the myriad of online resources catering to travel shoppers, and that with great deals aplenty, Travel has joined real estate and automobiles as a “Buyer’s” market.

Are you getting your fair share? Are you offering deals that compete with all your local lodging competitor's offerings? Are you capitalizing on how your local merchants, restaurants and activity destinations are also making great offers to attract the same target shoppers you are aiming at? Are you partnering with any of these folks and linking to each other’s special promotions?

Think BIGGER. Think “collaboration” with like-minded, non-competitor businesses who are willing to share your offers with their targets to “add value” to their offers and broaden the scope of their sphere of influence. And vice-versa. Isn’t there a restaurant owner you know who would like to make an exclusive special promotion to your clientele to get them in the door? Isn’t there a local fishing boat captain who would appreciate working with you and take great care with your guests and show them a good time at a discount – and send his clients your way for a great place to stay?

The ideas and opportunities for collaboration are endless. AND, if you would like someone to brainstorm with on how to best integrate "collaboration" into your marketing plan during this Buyer’s market, please call us today at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or reach out via email to joel@bookt.com today. Ask me about Bookt's Summer Specials! There has never been a better time to collaborate and Get Bookt!

“Third-Party Endorsements” are Excellent “Sales Closers” and they truly Help You to "Build Trust" with Travel Shoppers

joel@bookt.com

When my wife and I went to Europe last year we used TripAdvisor as part of our research on where to stay in Paris, Avignon and Bruges. Why? We had never been to these cities and we wanted “peace of mind” to improve our chances of having a great travel experience. Did it work? YES!

Our expectations were totally met regarding the accommodations and the locations we selected, and we even returned the favor and wrote a TripAdvisor Review for one of the places we stayed (1st review on this page) to help other travelers do the same.

Bookt Lodging Website Solutions have many bells and whistles, with the vast majority created to Close Sales for our Lodging Managers. One such feature is Integration of Property Reviews and other unbiased testimonials from past guests.

If you are in the online Lodging business, you may be interested in this article published recently in the online edition of Budget Travel.

AND, if you would like to see how easily Bookt can integrate these “Third Party Endorsements” into your online marketing approach, please call us today at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or reach out via email to joel@bookt.com today. Ask me about Bookt's Summer Specials! There has never been a better time to Get Bookt!

Indian Shores Florida Vacation Rentals: Blog Topic Ideas

joel@bookt.com

Picking great topics to write about on your Vacation Rental Site blog will serve the needs of:

Vacation travel-shoppers who will find your targeted content helpful in planning their trip.
Search Engines like Google, YAHOO, MSN, AOL who are looking for targeted keywords that match the content and links that these same vacation travel-shoppers are searching for.

Currently, Bookt is working with a Vacation Rental Property Manager covering the Clearwater Beach, St. Petersburg Beach, Indian Rocks Beach… to Madeira Beach, Sand Key, Belleair, & the Redingtons in FL. Let’s use her as an example of the precise kind of subjects that she and her staff could be blogging about – starting with the following rules of engagement:

Blog about what you know – what your “sweet spot” is.
Blog about subjects that will resonate with your target audience.
Blog about timely information or events.

Here are some practical Topic ideas (with search-engine-optimized Headlines) that might make great blog articles and will engage both the travel-shopper and the Search Engines:

Indian Shores Florida Vacation Rentals: Come celebrate Indian Shores 60th Anniversary and Rock Around the Clock on Saturday, August 1st

Looking for Fishing or Golf Packages during your stay at Barefoot Beach Resort on the Florida Gulf Intracoastal? Book your Vacation Condo HERE and Learn More!

Looking for Fishing or Golf Packages during your stay at Barefoot Beach Resort on the Florida Gulf Intracoastal? Book your Vacation Condo HERE and Learn More!

Rent an Economical Vacation Home Near Clearwater Beach – Busch Gardens and Tampa Zoo Close By for Family Vacation FUN!

Monthly Condo Rentals on Beautiful Belleair Beach – Value Season Starts September 1st. Our Staff Overlooks No Detail while you Overlook the Gulf of Mexico!

Vacation Rental Success Story on Indian Shores: “Our BIG Condo was amazing! You spoiled us! The beach is beautiful and the location was perfect!"

Great Shopping Venues Near Sand Key Florida Delight both Budget and Luxury Vacation Travelers!

Blogging is a great way to stand-out and get noticed online. Both vacation travel-shoppers and search engines eat this content up! Speaking of food, here is the final blog post topic/headline:

Casa De Playa Condos – a Terrific Central Location for your Florida Vacation Rental – Dining-Out or Dining-In, Great Shopping, Water Sports, Beachfront, 90-Minutes to Orlando Theme Parks

Want to learn more about blogging? The medium is the message! Read this post entitled: Blogging Webinars for Vacation Rental and Lodging Managers

Here is a Great Service to Provide to your Vacation Rental Clients

joel@bookt.com

"Trust" is something you build and it takes time and attention to the big and small details.

This morning I researched "home security" for people taking a trip. Add this to your chain of communications with guests and vacation travel shoppers to reinforce that you consider trust and security issues a top priority. The email below is part of a larger automated email campaign sent to “Booked” Guests prior to their trip.

Hello Mr. and Ms. Jones!

We are all ready for your arrival on August 17th and look forward to serving you in Paradise Coast! As you prepare for your trip, here are some helpful hints that offer peace-of-mind while you are enjoying your time-off.

Home Security Considerations When Away On Vacation > Don't tell non-trusted people you are traveling. > Tell a trusted neighbor you are going and to watch your home. > Leave a car parked in the driveway. > Put interior and exterior lights and a radio on timers. > Don't record voice mail message that says you are gone. > Stop newspaper or let neighbor collect paper/mail/deliveries daily. > Lock doors/windows; wedge sliding glass doors shut. > Tell security service you're going; provide alternate contacts. > Take photo or video inventory of your valuables. > Hide small valuable items like jewelry. > Engrave your name onto larger valuables/computers/bikes/etc.

We cannot wait to meet you and want your visit to Paradise Coast to be relaxing, secure and FUN!

- Your friends at Paradise Vacation Rentals!

Did you know that at Bookt, we make it very easy for you to create and automatically send Bulk or Special Emails AND entire multi-part Email Campaigns to your clients and prospects?

To learn more about this and many other dynamic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, please telephone us today at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or reach out via email to joel@bookt.com - Trust me... we have the tools to help you build a "trusted-bond" with your clients and target vacation travel shoppers. "In Bookt Tech We Trust!"

Blogging Webinars for Vacation Rental and Lodging Managers

joel@bookt.com

Bookt has designated July as Get Blogging-Get Booking Month and will hold six free 50-minute Online Webinars where you will learn about… ...How to easily and profitably join the Online Vacation & Destination Travel conversation ...Why blogging can influence your Google PageRanking and make you stand out with Search Engines ...Picking topics that will resonate with and attract your target Vacation Shoppers ...How blogging dovetails into your larger Social Media plan-of-action Each Webinar will cover the same exact topics. Pick a day and time convenient for you and your time zone! Monday - July 13th @ 2 PM Eastern Time Tuesday - July 14th @ 11 AM Eastern Time Wednesday - July 22nd @ 4 PM Eastern Time Thursday - July 23rd @ 12 Noon Eastern Time Friday - July 31st @ 3 PM Eastern Time Saturday - July 25th @ 10 AM Eastern Time

Webinars are free and without obligation; sign-up is on a first-come, first serve basis. Space is limited. Reply to webinars@bookt.com to sign-up today. Please include your Name and the Session you wish to attend.

Complete dial-in instructions will follow as soon as you sign-up. Get Blogging - Get Booking!

VIEW End Of Summer Vacation Rental Deals!

joel@bookt.com

Have you created a competitive End of Summer Special for your Vacation Rental business? Mountain view? Waterview? Forest view? Garden view? Lake view? Pool view? Bridge view? Doesn't matter! In my view... sell whatever your VIEW is! There has never been a better time to Get Bookt!

Vacation Rentals: Where Leisure Travel and Real Estate Collide!

joel@bookt.com

Collide? Maybe that’s too strong a word. But certainly, trillions of dollars in Real Estate and Leisure Travel meet, amass, convene and connect at a location-location-location called Vacation Rentals. And precisely at that intersection stands Bookt – a true thought-leader in the integration of these two massive industries, with one foot firmly planted in online property marketing and technology and the other foot firmly planted in online lodging marketing and technology. Bookt is precisely and faithfully there where these two behemoths overlap and intertwine.

Since 2001, we have been successfully marketing real estate and vacation rental properties online. On a daily basis, hundreds of thousands of agents and consumers use our platforms to advertise and find real estate and vacation rentals. While we are focused now solely on online lodging solutions and vacation-rental-shopping consumers, our proven technology has driven well over 6 million leads to our clients and we have created the best of breed lead capture and conversion tools in the industry to turn those leads into sales and online reservations.

If you are a Property Manager and want to increase your online lead capture and conversion for your condos, vacation homes, cabins or villas – look no further. You’ll find us standing tall @ 123 Bookt Blvd at a location-vacation-location near you. To learn more, please call us at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or reach out via email to joel@bookt.com today.

Success Story: Be Master of Your Own Domain!

joel@bookt.com

Recently, we worked diligently for over a week with one of our newest clients to help them get control of their Domain Names. Unwittingly, control of their Domains was in the hands of a former Webmaster who had moved across the country and who they had not worked with for 2+ years.

After countless emails and phone calls and dead ends, we finally broke through the barriers and achieved a Success Story – worthy of repeating here as a cautionary tale.

What does it mean to "control" your Domain Names? Why is domain name security important?

Let’s start with these Three Keys to YOUR Own Domain Name Security Success Story:

1) ...Make sure YOU are the Registrant.

2) ...Make sure the domain's Administrative Contact is someone you totally trust - or, better yet, YOU be the Administrative Contact.

3) ...Keep your domain data organized with logins and passwords in a safe and easily accessible place.

Truly, your Domain Name is at the center of your online identity. In the Vacation Rental business, having targeted domain name(s) clearly communicates your offering to your prospects and clients. And makes it easy for vacation-rental-shoppers to find your website, says something specific about you and your business, and helps protect your brand.

If you lose control of your Domains, you are risking all that you represent online. And, if a disreputable individual gains control and decides to point your Domain to a different web site or use your Domain's email addresses for nefarious purposes, your problems get significantly worse.

At Bookt, we never ask for or take Domain control. What we do is help our clients first gain then maintain control themselves and then help them “point” their Domains to their site(s) and our secure servers. Like the Vacation Homes, Condos, Cabins and Villa’s that you rent, your Domain is also a valuable “property” to which you need total command and control.

Are YOU the master of your own Domains? Here is a quick way to check. Just go to www.betterwhois.com. Type your url (without the “www”) into the center Box and click “Search”. On the next screen, enter the magic code, click “Continue” and voilà – you will have your answer. And if you find you need some help – just call on your Bookt Account Executive and we will help you make-it happen!

Online Marketing 201 for Vacation Rental Firms: Exploiting Social Media For Fun & Profit

joel@bookt.com

The experts define Social Media as “…online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use.”

And it is the latter – business use – that is the focus of this article today.

The following “do-it-yourself” overview and guide to employ Social Media to drive more vacation-shoppers to your Vacation Rental business is for more advanced and dedicated individuals. It definitely takes a time commitment to consistently perform – but beyond that, anyone can do it and you can get started today.

What Google Wants is What YOU Want!

Larry Page is the co-founder of Google – the world’s largest Internet company and most important search engine and online advertising technology. He defines the "perfect search engine" as something that "understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want." Named after Larry Page, Google’s PageRank™ technology has changed the way searches are conducted with Google putting the most relevant and reliable search results first. That’s why Google is the Number 1 search engine and why their search Algorithm is so powerful.

To totally simplify why what Google wants, you want – it is all about content, keywords and links. That’s where Social Media comes in. Assuming that you have your Marketing 101 down pat and your Website is well optimized for the Search Engines, then exploiting Social Media is the next logical step to advance your progress in “being found” because it will add layer upon layer of content, keywords and links that will resonate with the Search Engines (and improve your PageRank in the process).

Social Media Includes…

Just as the Google Algorithm contains a multitude of channels and variables, your personal Social Media Algorithm (Socialgorithm) can and should leverage multiple online resources, including: Public and Personal Blogging, UGC (user-generated content), Online Video and Photo-Sharing Sites, Online Publishing and PR Sites, Personal & Industry Social Network Sites, Social Tagging/Bookmarking.

Public and Personal Blogging: Blogging should be the cornerstone of your online foray into Social Media as the search engines like nothing better than fresh content. If you are consistent, blogging will quickly improve your PageRank and drive more targeted vacation-shoppers to your site. TIP: Blog about your destination! Position your company and properties as the center of your destination universe. Write about shopping venues, restaurants, local events and local attractions. By definition, these are the “keywords” vacation-shoppers are searching for.

UGC (user-generated content): Today’s vacation-shopper is dramatically influenced by non-biased user reviews and testimonials; what was another family’s experience with your property and customer service? It is more important than what you say about your property. TIP: Integrate Trip Advisor and FlipKey into your site. Ask for and publish testimonials, both great and not so great. For the not-so-great experiences, make sure you “fix” whatever the problem is right away. Problems happen. Sometimes it is how you respond to those problems that differentiates you from the pack.

Online Video and Photo-Sharing Sites: This is perhaps the easiest of Social Media to leverage. TIP: Invest in a good camera that takes high resolution photos and videos. Create engaging, destination-centric titles and captions then post them on the usual suspects: YouTube, MetaCafe, Flikr, SnapFish, etc. Don’t forget to link to your videos and photos on your website and blog! And, like with blogging, make your visual subjects the local shopping venues, restaurants, events and attractions.

Online Publishing and PR Sites: Even if you are not the sponsor of a local event or attraction, create a special offer connected to the event or attraction and publish it on the myriad of free online publishing and public relations sites. TIP: While there is a cost involved, consider sites like PRWeb and Businesswire who will distribute your press releases globally for a fraction of the cost of traditional media. There are other sites like Ezine Articles where you can publish “expert” articles on your destination and specialties and truly standout with vacation-shoppers and search engines.

Personal & Industry Social Network Sites: The Facebooks and Twitters of the online world are definitely paying off for many Vacation Rental firms; and you can now even insert your online branding within these sites. Again, remember to post links to your blog articles, photos and videos here. TIP: Create a LinkedIn page for yourself and then join Industry Groups like Discover Vacation Homes and Vacation Rental Professionals and start networking with like-minded industry insiders.

Social Tagging/Bookmarking: Bookmarking is one of the oldest and most effective ways to connect online. Some popular bookmark sites are Digg and del.icio.us. TIP: Like all of the social networking ideas above, Bookt can help you make-it happen! In this category, Bookt provides what are called “link bait” widgets for your site to make it easy for visitors to add and share your site through simple bookmarking functionality.

Bookt is not a Website company. We are an Online Success company. Exploiting Social Media should be on your roadmap to Online Success. It's on ours and we will help you find your way. For fun and PROFIT!

About the Author: Joel Fellman is Bookt’s internal ‘champion’ of the Vacation Rental Industry and works with clients in a consultative way, helping match Bookt’s advanced platform capabilities with a client’s specific business requirements so they may solve their problems, gain a sustainable competitive edge and grow their business. Joel studied Hospitality at UNH. He is responsible for lead capture and conversion for hundreds of property agents/firms, helping drive their online success. Joel has 25 years experience in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, IT and internet marketing leadership. Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email joel@bookt.com for a free, no-obligation chat and demo.

Wi-Fi - A Perk w/ a Punch

rob@bookt.com

We have received a lot of feedback on this article published in Hopitality.NET - “Hotel Perks Pack a Punch”. When discussing what perks are most sought after, many people mention free Wi-Fi. I wanted to make you aware of a company that we have successfully collaborated with in the past – Smart Wires (http://www.smartwires.net/). They offer cost effective Wi-Fi solutions that can power a relatively large geographical area for an affordable fee. Suitable for Hotels, Resorts or Vacation Rental Companies. Check them out.

Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association (FVRMA) – Bookt is Proud Member!

joel@bookt.com

Bookt is a proud Affiliate Member of FVRMA and we look forward to participating in the 2009 Annual Convention & Tradeshow in Destin in August. While Bookt is a “Global” company, Florida is still our Home Town and we have been making award winning Vacation Rental and Real Estate websites in the Sunshine State since 2001.

FVRMA is a great group and clearly does a lot for its Members. It’s the go-to place for Information, Influence, Interaction, Education and Profitability for the Florida VR Industry. We especially respect the active “front-line” role FVRMA takes to promote Member Vacation Rentals right on the FVRMA website in the Destinations area and the Special Offers and Hot Deals pages. Well organized with great info. BRAVO!

FVRMA Members just received a special email marking the 1st day of Summer, with Bookt’s Hot Deals on our Website & Booking Engine Solutions.

Have you seen a Bookt site in action? Here are some examples:

• Rent Key West • Rent Orlando Properties • Lauderdale by the Sea • Rent A Villa Disney • Okaloosa Island

While all these sites look fantastic, a Bookt website is not just another pretty face! Our clients tell us every day what a difference the Bookt Platform has made in their Sales and Bookings. AND, there’s never been a better time to explore the Bookt Platform and see if it’s right for you.

Plus, taking advantage of our Hot Deals is the frosting on the Summer Cupcake.

Package	Usual Price	Summer Special
Market Leader	$9900	$7920
Pro Office	$5900	$4720
Standard	$3900	$3120
Starter	$1900	$1520

Bookt is a proud FVRMA Member and we look forward to hearing from you at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email joel@bookt.com for a free, no-obligation chat and demo. Cupcake included.

Why Bookt Clients Love Our "Do-It-Yourself" Content Management Tools!

joel@bookt.com

I am working with a new Bookt target client on a Website “makeover” and one of his pet peeves about his current website is how content changes are handled.

As his current web company (name withheld) states…

HOW TO UPDATE YOUR XYZ WEB SITE:

Step 1. Submit to XYZ detailed information about what you would like done.

Step 2. You will be notified of the estimated time it will take to make the update, as well as the estimated time you can expect the update to be complete.

Step 3. Give approval for the update to be completed.

>Your update will then be submitted to the XYZ Design Team, and a project manager will contact you if necessary.

>>Fill-in the form below: Tell us what needs to be done on your site? (To expedite the process, please be as detailed as possible.)

That's not good! In the above case, you need to submit a work order to your webmaster even for simple corrections. That takes time and costs money. With other systems, you might be able to make changes if you know HTML or more advanced coding languages.

At Bookt we know there is a better way!

Bookt's platform provides a completely integrated Content Management System (CMS) that gives you control over your site's text and images. And it's easy!

Properties: Using your Bookt Control Panel, you can easily add, edit, and delete properties in minutes. Let your new listing targets know you will list their rental on your website immediately. Need to change rates, taxes, fees, amenities, description, photos, or availability? It can all be done in minutes, in real time!

Points of Interests: Local attraction info is important to vacation-travel-shoppers examining your rental properties. Maps and descriptions of local tourist attractions provide valuable information to prospective guests and also help to generate additional search engine traffic. Many vacation rental managers also use this page to barter for coupons and reciprocal links. At Bookt, mapping and distance calculations are done automatically - a real time saver!

Other Pages: Your site also contains "static" pages that often need regular updates, like About Us, Area Information, Rental Policies & Additional Services. With Bookt’s Content Management System, you can edit this information as easily as writing an email.

Want to learn more about our easy-to-use Content Management Tools? Want to be empowered to make your own changes yourself in real time 24/7?

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email me today at joel@bookt.com for a free, no-obligation demo of our do-it-yourself CMS.

Bookt Clients love our Content Management Tools and you will too!

Is Your Lodging Website Summer-Ready?

joel@bookt.com

In the United States and the rest of the northern hemisphere, the first day of summer is the day of the year when the Sun is farthest north (this year it’s tomorrow, June 21st).

This day is known as the Summer Solstice – from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because tomorrow the Sun’s movement appears to stand still in declination; that is, the Sun's path north throughout our winter and spring stops, before reversing direction.

If you are in the Vacation Rental business, this is definitely not a day to stand still. Tomorrow is the first day of Summer. Do you have a Summer Sale/Deal/Promotion ready to launch? Many of your Lodging competitors do, both in and out of the Vacation Rental business.

Check out 5 Vacation Rental Spots for Summer Savings published in SmartMoney, or take a peek at this Examiner.com article reviewing “amazing” Hotels and Resorts deals this summer.

AND especially, go to your local competitors websites and see what they are offering to the same guests you are targeting.

Is Bookt participating in the Summer Sale Season? You betcha!

We put our marketing money where our marketing mouth is and are offering great Summer Specials and Discount Deals on all of our Lodging Website Solutions and Booking Engine.

Want to set-up a 1-on-1 Marketing Meeting to chat about ideas you can deploy online to attract travel-shoppers looking for a sweet summer deal? Want to learn more about Bookt’s Summer Special Discounts on our Website Solutions and cutting-edge Booking Engine?

Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email me today to joel@bookt.com.

Summer starts tomorrow. Now, please, don’t stand still!

Bookt Client Case Study @ eHotelier

rob@bookt.com

Check out this case study of a recent Bookt Customer with clear before and after shots and results at eHotelier: http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=P16304 The hotel is Invogue in Laguna Beach, a very striking website: http://www.invoguelagunabeach.com/

Lorem Ipsum - Did you know?

susie@bookt.com

Did you know Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text but is a variation of text from Cicero's 45 BC literary piece "On the Ends of Goods and Evils or or alternatively [About] The Purposes of Good and Evil "? In publishing and graphic design, lorem ipsum is the name given to commonly used placeholder text (filler text) to demonstrate the graphic elements of a document or visual presentation, such as font, typography, and layout. The lorem ipsum text, which is typically a non-sensical list of semi-Latin words, is a hacked version of a Latin text by Cicero, with words/letters omitted and others inserted, but not proper Latin. The original passage began: Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit (Translation: "Neither is there anyone who loves grief itself since it is grief and thus wants to obtain it"). It is not known exactly when the text acquired its current standard form; it may have been as late as the 1960s. Source: Wikipedia Submitted by Roy Vella, Art Director and 'cool trivia guy', Bookt, LLC

Wellness Strategies for Vacation Rental Firms

joel@bookt.com

Heath and Wellness is all the rage! Why not connect with local individuals/companies who already provide these services and already travel to a client’s location to deliver their personal touch?

The above is a badly drawn example of a graphic you could put on your website in specific spots. And add Cosmetologists, Personal Trainers, Herbalists and many other Health & Wellness providers to that list. You may/may not want to take a "cut" of what the Yoga Coach charges – that’s up to you and him/her to workout. What is important about this idea is that you are connecting with already existing local services to enhance your brand and offer. And it doesn’t cost you a thing! But will “add value” to your rental cabins, villas, condos and vacation homes.

Looking for ideas about ways to “add value” to attract/book more vacation rental shoppers and compete amenity-to-amenity with the big hotels in your area? Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email: joel@bookt.com and we can talk about this and other ideas good for the health of your business. There's never been a better time for Wellness and to Get Bookt!

The Natural Rule of Link Building

sam@bookt.com

Natural Links Win

With regards to link building, I am going to misquote an old sports saying, “[natural] versus nurture, [natural] always wins”. In our last link building blog All Juiced Up, we discussed the importance of obtaining quality links, and how to use its juice most effectively.

Consider inbound links in their most natural form; if you have a meaningful site, how will the majority of your natural links be derived, and what will they look like? They will come in from various channels (blogs, forums, resource directories) and use a variety of anchor text, deeplinks, and supporting text. Let’s us use a vacation rental website as an example, some natural links may look like:

“I recommend staying at one of these vacation rentals when visiting Laguna Beach”. * anchor text, homepage link, and supporting text
“There are some great attractions in Laguna Beach.” *anchor text, deep link, supporting text
“I checked out some guest reviews and found this companies vacation rentals to be well ranked: www.invoguelagunabeach.com/Booking/AvailableRooms.aspx.” *no anchor text, deep link to rental search page, supporting text

The variations are endless, but the point remains that high volume link deviation appears natural to the search engines. Make sure you consider this when constructing your overall SEO strategy.

What’s Not Natural?

Google’s algorithms are constantly evolving, and there are always large scale attempts to beat these coveted codes through unaccepted mean, typically considered Black Hat SEO. With Regards to link building, Google Bombing is the most recognized method and was made famous in 2007. The Democratic party is a social media powerhouse, and controls a vast network of authoritative online channels. Collectively, a portion of them linked the anchor text “Miserable Failure” to George Bush’s Whitehouse homepage, yielding his site as that the top result.

Google later changed its algorithms to correct the issue, and to identify and discount unnatural links (such as mass general directory submissions). Keep these 3 rules in mind when link building

Vary Anchor Text – Stay focused, but deviate your anchor text every few links, and in some cases just use a direct link to your website i.e. www.yoursite.com. *Make sure your anchor text selection is a larger consideration of your overall SEO strategy and keyword selection
Use Deep Links – remember most of the valuable information on your website is NOT on your homepage. Link to the pages that matter.
Work with sites of Topical Relevance – Chances are, a site completely unrelated to yours would never naturally link to you. So work with site of relevant content, it will be more meaningful to both parties.

All Juiced Up – Link Builder’s Intermediate Addition

sam@bookt.com

In our original link building blog “Drink Milk, Build Links” we published a starter’s guide to help you understand the importance of building links and making them advantageous to your overall SEO strategy. Once you understand link building fundamentals including how to spot a good linking site candidate, it’s important to study performance variables on a more granular level. Now that you are undertaking your own link building initiatives, start focusing on link “juice”.

Quality over Quantity – The old adage could not be more perfect with regards to link building. A quality link coming from a PR4+ site with related content (topical relevance) carries a significant amount of link juice compared to a general directory link submission. Link juice rules are largely hypothetical, but general link strength can be approximated by referencing this link strength analysis chart. Focus your initiatives on building quality inbound links to your site; your efforts will be more efficient, and the effects will be long lasting.

Quantify Your Links Correctly – It’s as simple as this – 1 link from 100 sites is more powerful than 100 links from 1 site. Typically, the first link (or the best link) from a site is all that counts. Once you have received that link, you are already receiving link juice and support from that site. Do not place value or emphasis on receiving additional links from that source as they will be less meaningful. Go out and find yourself some fresh juice!

Your Juice – Yes, your site has juice too… use it smart and sparingly. Each internal and external link you place on your site will dilute each link’s juice further. When you link to an inner page on your website from your homepage, you are funneling juice. This in essence will send Page Rank through to your inner pages which will make them more prominent in the search engine indexes. Be cautious when linking out from your homepage, this will decrease the strength of other links on your homepage (including those to your own site!), again, make sure the arrangement is advantageous.

Deep Linking –Deep linking is important for a variety of reasons, but here we are focused on the juice. Deep links are inbound links pointing to any of your website pages, besides your homepage. Doing so will help you drive external juice directly to some of your most important inner pages e.g. rental search, or property management pages if you are in the vacation rental industry. Deep links, accompanied by inner page linking on your own site is a powerful combination for funneling Page Rank and building web presence deep within your site.

Art Deco Hotel, Century South Beach, Offers Historical Rates for 70 Year Anniversary

susie@bookt.com

Who knew a 26-room Miami Beach boutique hotel exists right across from the beach, South of Fifth Street, and just blocks from some of the best restaurants, landmarks and attractions that this town has to offer! The Century boasts easy access to Prime 112, Nikki Beach, Joe's Stone Crab, and the new South Pointe Park with Smith & Wollensky nestled in the middle. This boutique gem, built by Art Deco legend Henry Hohauser, celebrates their 70 Year Anniversary with a $70 rate special good through the end of October, bookable online via promo code '70for70' at www.centurysouthbeach.com. West Tucker has been at the helm of the hotel's management since 2003. The Century has enjoyed repeat guests who come back for the personalized service, meticulously clean and tastefully decorated rooms, luxurious fine linens and fabulous location. So, what precisely has caused the Century to continue to fly under the traveler’s radar? How does a property enjoying so many advantages suffer from a lack of awareness problem? Bookt took a hard look at the Century. Their conclusions: in today's hospitality landscape, 45% of travelers book directly on a hotel's website and do their research via the search engines with Google ranking #1. The Century had the fine product at a great value but lacked the necessary excellent presence online. Their website did not effectively attract and keep viewers on their site and the Hotel was no where to be found on the search engines. That is when Bookt approached them to make an online success story out of this beautiful -- and underrepresented -- hotel find. Bookt is a local Miami company specializing in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Booking Engine Platforms, Website Design and Online Marketing. We took a good look at the Century, systems they had in place, objectives for the future, and their target market and created an online solution just for them. Bookt designed a site that captured the essence of the classic Art Deco property by incorporating photos of the lobby with the original terrazzo floors, the classic facade that has won numerous awards from the Miami Design Preservation League, and of course, nightlife attractions and the beach with golden sand and turquoise waters. Bookt oversaw all of the website pages and text to ensure that The Century received the maximum exposure on the search engines. Let's face it, if the traveler can't find your hotel on the web, then a pretty site is pretty useless! The One Stop Shop Approach - if you provide all the information clearly and accurately in one place, there is no reason to search elsewhere. The Century enjoys excellent reviews on TripAdvisor and since 22% of travelers consult TripAdvisor before making a vacation decision, Bookt incorporated a TripAdvisor feed & button right on Century's homepage. Add in weather & flight information, area attractions with pictures and links and the viewer has one thing left to do, book. The new Century South Beach site offers multiple places to book with an easy, no-stress system, leading to a higher booking conversion, a happy customer and a happy hotel proprietor. Now the rates- if you offer rates that are too high relative to your competition, none of the tools Bookt put in place will matter. The Century South Beach gets that and continually offers their guests and VIP clients, special rates. Since, 7 in 10 people say they will stay in less expensive hotels due to the current economy, The Century is ahead of the game. So celebrate 70 Years with a $70 rate special at The Century where you can party like an animal but still sleep like an angel. Details may be found at www.centurysouthbeach.com.

FVRMA "Summer Special" Offer from Bookt!

joel@bookt.com

Do the math! It all adds up! FVRMA + Bookt = Online Success! Bookt Packages:

Market Leader: $9900 | Summer Special = $7920 Pro Office: $5900 | Summer Special = $4720 Standard $3900 | Summer Special = $3120 Starter: $1900 | Summer Special = $1520

There has never been a better time for Vacation Rental Managers to Get Bookt! Bookt is a proud FVRMA Member and we look forward to seeing you in Sandestin. If you are not attending, call us at 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email joel@bookt.com for a free, no-obligation chat and demo. All FVRMA Members can take part in "Summer Special" pricing. Ends on August 17th, after the FVRMA Meeting in Sandestin!

Free Competitive Website Analysis for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

You may be familiar with the term CMA from the Real Estate world; it means Comparative Market Analysis and it’s an expert evaluation of a home's present value based on specific local market data – including the competition.

At Bookt we do a CWA, a Competitive Website Analysis for the Vacation Rental world. This is a free service and objective assessment of your website’s “value” including how you compare to your local competition.

Your free CWA includes analyses on:

· Design:

→ Is your website’s look and feel dated or contemporary?

→ Is the design professional or does it look homemade?

→ Does it resonate with vacation shoppers?

→ Is it as welcoming and tangible as your competition?

· Home page:

→ Is your home page informative?

→ Does it create a targeted context for vacation shoppers?

→ Are there multiple entry points for evaluating and booking your rental properties?

· Site organization and navigation:

→ Is your site’s flow intuitive and easy to traverse?

→ Is your site’s navigation consistent from page to page?

→ Do all pages link to your booking functionality?

→ Is booking via a direct-route or through pop-ups/redirections?

· Calls to action:

→ Are action-labels clearly displayed and above the fold?

→ Do you make it easy for vacation shoppers to complete a transaction?

· Search and search results:

→ Can your website be searched?

→ Are search results organized and deliver on expectations?

→ Are search results given relevance weightings and provide context?

· Credibility and trust factors:

→ Does your site’s workflow create a “trusted bond” with vacation shoppers?

→ Does your site engender a secure-feeling about a transaction?

· Performance:

→ Is your site well optimized?

→ Does your content/keywords match what vacation shoppers are searching for?

→ How do you compare to your competition with regard to Search Results?

· Lead capture and conversion:

→ Does your website contain a “back-end” Command & Control center w/ CRM?

→ Can you see what your staff is doing and how fast they follow-up?

→ Can you see where your leads are coming from and how this ties into your SEO?

The Bookt Team has been creating award-winning Vacation Rental and Real Estate websites and Online Success for our global clients since 2001.

Your CWA is provided to you at no cost and without obligation as an objective “second opinion” from the website experts at Bookt.

Order yours today by calling 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email joel@bookt.com today.

Vacation Rental Trend Report - 2009

sam@bookt.com

Is Your Website Ready for 2009?

"Even as other parts of the travel industry are projecting a slow 2009, the vacation rental industry – worth $24 billion - is poised for growth, even during the slow economic conditions that we are experiencing in the US and worldwide. So what is driving this trend?" Read the Full Trend Report Is your site ready for 2009? Take the Site Score Test

Travel Weekly & Bookt

sam@bookt.com

In January 2009, Bookt's President Rob Kall sat down with Travel Weekly's Jeri Clausing to discuss the Vacation Rental boom - an industry which has recently surpassed $24 Billion.

"When you have a lack of branding, what that really means is there is a bigger issue of trust. The problem with owner to consumer sites, is that you never really know what you are getting," said Rob Kall President of Bookt.com, which developes websites and other technology for the vacation-rental industry. "You might be renting a place where the owner is not there, and the faucet breaks and you are stuck."

Read the full story on Page 19 of Travel Weekly.

Bookt is Hiring - Sales & Marketing Exec

rob@bookt.com

Please check out this job posting if you are interested in joining our South Florida team as a sales and marketing executive: http://www.bookt.com/AboutUs/WorkatBookt.aspx

Seen Any Good Vacation Rental Movies Lately?

joel@bookt.com

There is still time to have a BLOCKBUSTER SUMMER! There is plenty of Summer left for you to Get Bookt!

Please call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email us at: joel@bookt.com. Free Popcorn included!

Vacation Rentals on Mars?

joel@bookt.com

As any schoolchild can tell you, there is not one hotel on Mars. Now don't get me wrong, they have nothing against hotels, nor do I. Bookt loves all forms of lodging; each one has its place. But as Bookt's internal "champion" of the Vacation Rental Industry, I must say that I am not surprised at the situation up there. After all, Vacation Rentals have distinct advantages over hotels.

Said in the spirit of friendly competition, summarized here is what VRMA has to say on this topic:

Vacation home rentals are the best way to enjoy a truly relaxing, rewarding and budget-friendly family vacation. Vacation homes give you room to relax after a long day and provide unique and luxurious amenities/services versus the limits found at even the highest-rated resorts and hotels. Vacation home rentals can provide luxurious amenities like: ...Private pools, spas, patios or decks, fireplaces, beach access ...State-of-the-art home theatres, high-speed Internet ...Multiple master suites and bedrooms ...Full kitchens and large and multiple dining areas Plus... Vacation home rentals deliver Privacy, Great Locations, Major Savings & Priceless Value.

I often stay in hotels for a night or two when traveling on business. But I always stay in a professionally managed Vacation Rental for holidays with my wife and family. If you're planning a trip to Mars, consider a Vacation Rental. It's worth the trip!

Drink Milk, Build Links

sam@bookt.com

By: Sam Marks

Link Building is a practice commonly regarded to carry a heavy weight when considering many aspects of Search Engine Optimization. If one were to consider Google’s ranking algorithms as a democracy, inbound links would be the people’s vote. Google views inbound links as community support. The more links, and the overall strength of the sites that provide them, the more weight it carries. While best practice on-site optimization can often be applied during your sites development, Link Building (off site optimization) should be viewed as a marathon…and one that few often run.

Tip 1. Develop a medium for bartering.

You probably are connected with your local chamber of commerce, service directories, and dozens of local business owners in your market area. Use these connections as a starting point to your link building campaigns. Reach out to these contacts and ask for a link first, then if needed, barter. To avoid paying for inbound links, develop a means for a link exchange (reciprocal link). As travel website owner, you can offer inclusion in the local attraction directory or on a special link page. For especially important link partners (see below how to determine their importance) consider adding a link in the footer of your site.* Read more in Tip 4.

Tip 2. Stay in Theme.

When strategizing your link building campaigns, it is important to factor in the relevance of a target site’s content to that of your own. In the Vacation Rental space, you want to primarily target travel and location related sites, such as: localized accommodation directories, local attractions, parks and museums, restaurants, golf clubs, and your chamber of commerce. A word of warning: Buying links from “Link Farms” will not do you any good, and may actually hurt your ranking.

Tip 3. Get Anchored.

When acquiring an inbound link, run a keyword analysis to determine the phrase to use in the anchor text E.g. It is more powerful to have your link as “Our preferred Key West Vacation Rentals” than “for vacation rentals in Key West click here”. Although both may achieve similar click through rates, the later carries far more weight in SEO. Make sure you have established 2-3 keyword phrases that you want to rank well in, and apply one in your anchor text.

Tip 4. Make it Advantageous. When you know exactly what you want, it’s that much easier. Think about inbound link placements logically; you want your link in the best piece of site real estate as possible. Before corresponding with the website owner you wish to obtain a link from, look at their site structure and develop a strategy to obtain a link that works to your advantage. Understanding the strength of and inbound link will go a long way when determining if you are getting the better end of a deal. Use this sample scorecard for practice.

*check your site’s Page Rank here

Read More about Search Engine Optimization

Read the next addition on inbound link juice

Bookt Launches New Corporate Website

sam@bookt.com

In celebration of the newly launched Bookt corp website, we have released 2 tools to help Vacation Rental and Resort Managers gain an edge in 2009.

Is your website going to be competitive in this advancing industry? Find out now by taking our interactive 10 question site test!

Sample questions:

- Has your site been search engine optimized and does every property you manage have its own page?

- Is your site catering to an international audience with automatic translation of units and currency?

Get Your Site Score Now

In addition to receiving your site score, we are announcing the release of the industry's 10 Secrets Report as a free PDF download.

Bookt is a comprehensive web service and technology provider for the global vacation rental and resort industry. To learn more about how Bookt can help your business achieve higher conversions and more online bookings, review our collection of services at http://www.bookt.com/

Get Bookt – Lead Processing

sam@bookt.com

To be successful in 2009, you must have an effective strategy for capturing leads. Consider a hypothetical; if your conversion rate (the percentage of site visitors that actually become a booking) is 1%, you probably have an additional 2%-5% of visitors who are interested in booking but leave your site for various reasons. These SHOULD be captured as leads and followed up with by one of your reservation agents. To capture leads effectively in 2009, apply these rules:

1. Provide multiple contact points. Simply having a Contact Us page in no longer sufficient. Supply contact forms, email addresses and/or a phone number on your property detail pages. This allows visitors to ask a quick question while they are still looking and interested in the property in front of them. The second they navigate away from that property, they have already forgotten many of its attributes.

2. Separate guest information collection. It is often intimidating to come across a payment screen with 15+ fields of information needing your attention. Break your payment screens into 2 pages. First, on page 1, grab the guest information. Then, on page 2, collect the payment information. If the user decides to “abandon” the payment screen, you have already captured that hot lead. Then simply call and close!

3. Stay Organized. Capturing leads is fruitless if you are not tracking and organizing them in an effective manner. Feed your leads into a database in real time; it is imperative that you respond to leads within 30 minutes to catch the consumer in their browse and compare mode. When a lead is processed, it is also important to track and itemize correspondence into Response Method, Date/Time, Result, Responding Agent, and Next Steps. This will help you make your process more efficient in the future. Work on capturing and processing leads and watch your conversions rates grow in 2009! Read More about Lead Processing

“Poker” Analogy for Vacation Rental Managers

joel@bookt.com

I am a BIG fan of Texas Hold‘em Poker and watch it sometimes on the Travel Channel. There are some amazing women and men players from around the world and I find it interesting to observe their play, and I really do learn a lot from just watching. The other day in a “demo” meeting I used a Poker analogy when speaking with a terrific husband and wife Property Manager team. The situation is that they have a stunning website but it does not have the booking, SEO and lead capture/conversion features that would help them better manage their business and book many more reservations online. Further, this East Coast Vacation Rental Co is in a very “high-end” market area and these two and their staff provide 5 Star Concierge services and really stand-out in their Market Area with beautiful inventory and the BEST customer care money can buy.

The problem is – while they are great players, have great skills and great properties – they are always “out of position” and are losing loads of business hands because of it. They not only get very little Internet traffic because of the lack of Search Engine Optimization, but when they do get site visitors, their online tools are sub-par and hardly performing, so travel shoppers just move on to another site and book their vacations there.

Again – they are great poker players but they are not well-positioned to capture and convert online vacation travel shoppers and get a “Full House” so to speak.

Are you GREAT but you are OUT OF POSITION? Are you a splendid Vacation Rental Management Company but missing opportunities online even though your properties and service are “The Nuts!” Bookt can help you before you go nuts! Call 1-800-941-0868 x 934 or email us at: joel@bookt.com.

There has never been a better time to Get in Position with the Online Travel Shopper and Get Bookt with a Full House!

Blog, Blog, Blog for Online Success!

joel@bookt.com

The Bookt Platform comes with free Blogging functionality. Blogging is a great way to get noticed by the search engines as they “perceive” consistent, new content as a more dynamic website and will rank your site higher due to the always changing and fresh nature of the content on your site.

Here is a recent article I found that would be a terrific topic for your next blog post. I have already gotten approval from the author, Debbra Brouillette, Tropical Travel writer for Examiner.com, to link back to her article. Simply personalize with your [“Keywords” – which the Search Engines look for and love] and then cut-and-paste it into your Blog… -----------------------------------

10 Tips for Staying Healthy on your [City Goes Here] Vacation

At [put your Company Name Here – i.e. Destin Vacation Rentals] we are focused on ensuring that our guests have a splendid vacation. We always go the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service so our guests not only have a superb [condo, villa, vacation home] to stay in but also can take total advantage of all the [attractions, shopping, museums, golf courses] and more that our amazing [Martha’s Vineyard, Park City, Key West] destination has to offer.

As Travel writer Debbra Brouillette says in a recent article on Examiner.com, “You’ve waited weeks, even months to go on vacation, and you want to enjoy it to the fullest!”

Here are Debbra’s 10 Tips for Staying Healthy on your Vacation: 1. Water, not wine. 2. Stretch and wiggle. 3. Protect yourself from germs. 4. Wash your hands. 5. Wear sunscreen. 6. Wear protective clothing, headgear, and sunglasses. 7. Don’t overdo it! 8. Don’t overindulge! 9. Maintain your routine. 10. Pay attention to symptoms

To view the complete article on Examiner.com, which includes information under each of the 10 topics, go to: http://www.examiner.com/x-12498-Dallas-Tropical-Travel-Examiner

The entire [Mountain Vacation Cabins, Shoreline Condos, River Rentals] Team is at your service to ensure the complete success of your [Vail, Cape Cod, Grand Canyon] Vacation. Stay healthy! Enjoy your Vacation to the fullest! We are here to make your [Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall] Holiday the best you’ve ever had.

Call us today at [1-800-XXX-XXXX] or visit us online at [OurGreatSite.com] to book your [San Diego, Vermont, Great Lakes] Vacation today!

-----------------------------------

Call your Bookt Account Executive today to learn more about Blogging for Online Success or more about how to our Websites Solutions and Leading-edge Booking Engine can be leveraged to grow your Lodging business for an even healthier bottom line.

Vacation Rental Managers – Call to Action!

joel@bookt.com

This morning I received a “call to action” email from VRMA. It seems disinformation continues to flow about the Vacation Rental Industry and I for one am ready, willing and able to take a place on the front line of this battlefield.

To all Vacation Rental Managers – stand strong and unified!

1) Read Douglas Quinby’s response letter to the New York Times 2) Read my Reply and reply on your own – recommended by VRMA 3) Publicize your Success Stories online and in print 4) Attend local, state-wide and national Industry events/conferences and collaborate with colleagues 5) Continue to reach for higher and higher standards leading to even greater vacation-renter satisfaction!

Together we are stronger and a powerful force of information. We will never silence the critics. So... Unity! Opportunity! Community!

Please let me know if I can help you in any way. Thank you.

Very best regards,

Joel Fellman Director of Vacation Rental Solutions www.bookt.com

Direct: 305-760-4576 Ext. 934 Toll-Free: 1-800-941-0868 Email: joel@bookt.com Skype: joelfellman LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joelfellmanbookt Twitter: bookt_solid

P.S. I have organized all of my blog posts by topic and purpose and keep this list updated. To see, click on: Vacation Rental Blog Topics for Vacation Rental Managers

Bookt Launches Bookt Connect

sam@bookt.com

Why Bookt Connect? No man is an island,” is an old saying and it applies to your online business as well. Bookt Connect was designed to solve some very common problems that Vacation Rental Managers face. How do I maximize my exposure in multiple online channels while minimizing double entry and over booking problems?

Bookt LLC, a web solutions company specializing in providing sophisticated Vacation Rental web technologies, announced the release of their anticipated Bookt Connect.The Bookt team was able to showcase their new platform addition at the most recent VRMA conference in Chandler, Arizona. This new service is the latest addition in a comprehensive platform designed for vacation rental managers to capitalize on the fragmented yet booming industry. Bookt Connect is a data synchronizing system that allows vacation rental managers to syndicate their rental inventory to many type of online portals and tightly integrate their website inventory and online booking engine with 3rd party reservations systems. Capitalizing on the Boom It’s no secret that the vacation rental industry is booming right along side of the internet. However, efficient and strategic online marketing has become a constant struggle for many. It is no surprise to hear how many VR managers are cutting offline advertising and looking to gain exposure using innovative internet marketing tactics. With over 80% of complete travel bookings now done online, it is imperative that web presence and optimization is at the forefront of your overall marketing strategy. The Birth of the Portal Vintage portals such as Yahoo have always harnessed a following of loyal users who take advantage of the comprehensive information from a variety of diverse sources. The presentation of this valuable, unified information reduces web browsing. Niche portals often take advantage of this concept and apply it to specific markets and information. Expedia, Orbitz, and Hotwire are all portals that are specific to the travel industry, providing destination reviews, weather and flight information, and of course travel bookings. More specifically, Flipkey.com, Homeaway.com, VacationRentals.com, and Bidavilla.com are all portals that are geared strictly to the global vacation rental industry. What does Bookt Connect mean for Vacation Rental Mangers? Bookt Connect provides a bi-direction data feed to these portals, as well as reservation systems. This means that your entire property inventory is fed to these portals where they receive exposure and bookings. Until now, it was common for VR managers to manage their properties on each portal through a site specific extranet. Bookt Connect allow you to make 1 change in your control panel, which is then reflected everywhere your properties are listed. The new API was design by Bookt’s development team to minimize tedious data entry for managers while capitalizing on the VR industry boom!

A New Model for the Vacation Rental Industry

sam@bookt.com

A New Era, a New Model for the Vacation Rental Industry Bookt Launches Industry-First Platform to Drive Visibility, Bookings and Revenue MIAMI, FL – Oct 20th, 2008 – One of the fastest-growing sectors of the worldwide leisure travel market is the vacation rental industry. Once relegated to regionality and at the mercy of travel agents and immeasurable word of mouth, vacation rentals have moved into a new era of distribution and visibility thanks to significant demographic and technological shifts within the global lodging industry, and a growing consumer base that demands more choice than ever before. The evolution of the vacation rental industry has been facilitated by a confluence of key drivers and changing market conditions, according to Bookt founder and President, Rob Käll. Käll’s company, which has been more than a year in the making, capitalizes on the industry’s recognition for standardization and consolidation in an increasingly fragmented landscape, and need for more marketing channels for vacation rentals inventory. There are other players in the arena, but what sets Bookt apart is its true comprehensiveness. Developed for the global vacation rental industry, Bookt’s proprietary platform allows for a much greater degree of flexibility in design, content and business rules than is currently available. Importantly, Bookt’s platform Connect allows for full integration of client information with virtually every leading management system and portal. By providing a solid platform on which to build a highly successful marketing, sales and visibility strategy for vacation rental units, Bookt helps vacation rental managers, tour operators, developers and larger travel organizations with diverse types of properties and portfolios attract and optimize their ideal customer bases far beyond current industry norms. Founded by travel industry, e-commerce and tech professionals steeped in the nuances of the real estate marketplace, Bookt is able to develop strategies and solutions tailored to the unique dynamics of vacation rental properties. Bookt’s bi-industrial approach shows a deep and sophisticated understanding of its clients’ needs, targets, and operational aims to better manage inventory, increase efficiency and usability, and of course, drive revenues. “Simply, the Bookt platform is the foundation upon which a successful vacation rental strategy is built. Our services expand on standardized industry capabilities to reconcile consumer-centric searching and effective online booking, solving a huge problem that has dogged the lodging industry for years,” says Käll. “Bookt’s solutions integrate valuable consumer data with third-party property management systems and portals, affecting a seamless transition for companies already utilizing a PMC, and are hosted in the company’s scalable datacenter, ensuring centralization and security. In other words, a complete turn-key solution.” Bookt’s modus operandi [approach] clearly differs from others in the vacation rental landscape [eco-system]. Its sites are designed to provoke an emotional response from potential consumers, presenting them with more features and options to drive better conversion rates. Combined with a focus on expansive property search within each site and search engine optimization (SEO), vacation rental professionals can develop an immediate, and impressive, global web presence that yields tangible results. The way Bookt sees it, the vacation rental industry is on the brink of great expansion. The maturity of new technologies, the emergence of new tourism hubs, the industry’s overall shift to online marketing and the need to turn underutilized real estate holdings into profit centers, has created the need for a new business model and new industry platform for the vacation rental industry - the Bookt platform. For more information about Bookt or to arrange an interview with Rob Käll, please contact Vanessa Horwell at vanessa@thinkinkpr.com or +1.305.776.8817. Success stories, fact sheets and data regarding vacation rental industry trends are available upon request.

Bookt Showcases at VRMA

sam@bookt.com

Vacation Rentals: Here and Now at the VRMA Conference Bookt’s Solutions for the Vacation Rentals Industry on Show at Industry Conference, October 26-28 PHEONIX, AZ - Oct 20th, 2008 –

In just a few short years, the vacation rental industry has blossomed and boomed , growing to a $63 billion dollar market and steadily gaining share of the larger, $100 billion leisure travel industry. Complex, largely unknown outside the industry, and definitely underestimated, the U.S. vacation rental market is poised for change. Thanks to some significant demographic and technological shifts within the global lodging industry, and a growing consumer base that demands more choice than ever before, vacation rentals have finally moved into a new era of distribution and visibility thanks to companies like Bookt. Bookt, who will be exhibiting at the upcoming VRMA (Vacation Rental Managers Association) conference in Phoenix next week, is an important figure in the vacation rental industry landscape. Bookt works very closely –here and around the globe - with vacation rental managers, tour operators, developers and larger travel organizations with diverse types of properties and portfolios, to attract and optimize their ideal customer bases far beyond current industry norms.

The company offers industry-specific web solutions tailored to the unique dynamics of vacation rental properties and provides a solid platform on which companies can build a highly successful marketing, sales and visibility strategy for their rental units. Bookt will be demonstrating its portfolio of services at the VRMA, including Bookt Connect, Bookt Site Widgets and the Bookt Control Panel; combined these allow for a much greater degree of flexibility in website design, content management and business rules than is currently available with other providers. Bookt will also be participating in industry discussions that focus on how suppliers, intermediaries and consumers connect, and presenting industry trends from its study of the vacation rental marketplace. Founded by experts in the travel industry, e-commerce and technology fields, and steeped in the nuances of the real estate marketplace, Bookt’s bi-industry approach shows a deep and sophisticated understanding of the vacation rental industry’s needs, targets, and operational aims to better manage inventory, increase efficiency and usability, and of course, drive revenues.

According to Bookt, the vacation rental industry is on the brink of great expansion. The maturity of new technologies, the emergence of new tourism hubs, the industry’s overall shift to online marketing and the need to turn underutilized real estate holdings into profit centers, has created an urgent need for a new business model and new industry platform for the vacation rental industry – the Bookt platform. Visitors to the VRMA conference will have the opportunity of seeing Bookt’s successes within the vacation rental industry, as well receiving information on lodging and hospitality trends in 2009. For more information on Bookt or to schedule an interview at the VRMA in Pheonix, please contact media liaisons Vanessa Horwell or Jennifer Rodrigues at 305.749.5342, or Vanessa@thinkinkpr.com or jrodrigues@thinkinkpr.com. ________________________________________________________________________________ About Bookt Bookt is a comprehensive web services provider to the global vacation rental industry, delivering seamless integration and turn-key web solutions. Headquartered in the US, the company provides a complete range of services for vacation rental managers, tour operators, developers and larger travel organizations ranging from sophisticated website development, online marketing services, search engine optimization and CRM strategies, to a wide range of domestic and international clients. For more information, please visit www.bookt.com.

SEO STILL KING

sam@bookt.com

As internet usage grows and evolves, the fact remains that SEO commonly remains the forefront of online marketing strategies. With search being the 2nd most popular application on the web behind communication, it is the Organic Search Engine’s and Directory’s daunting challenge to properly index (making a blue print) of the internet and all of its content. The difference to business and website owners is that some are paying top dollar to take advantage of this surging traffic; which is predicted to equate to a $25 Billion industry by 2011. With Search algorithms constantly changing and an exponential increase in new websites, SEO has developed into a dynamic art that requires experience, wisdom and of course trial and error.

It is not enough anymore to just understand SEO and its basic application. It takes inline strategies that are consistent through all delivery points to maximize your results. Metaphorically speaking, when applying SEO techniques, some use a hatchet; grossly compromising your sites aesthetic design and user appeal by keyword stuffing and placing titles and text where they feel web crawlers will find them. On the other hand, proper SEO is done with a scalpel: seamlessly integrating SEO concepts into a well structured, consumer friendly design that will maximize your overall exposure where it counts. Understanding your business’s environment, market, and target consumers are also a fundamental part when crafting your SEO strategy, which is ever so prevalent in the Vacation Rental industry.

For those who are who are seeking tools and SEO techniques specific to the Vacation Rental Industry, please read the Bookt SEO White Pages

Keywords – A Key To Online Success

sam@bookt.com

1. Know the basics

Keyword selection is a fundamental element of your overall online marketing strategy. Proper keyword selection allows you to foster free and qualified traffic from search engines. The majority of words found in the content of your website will eventually be indexed and stored in massive databases. The search engines rank your site based on calculated algorithms, derived of many factors including your sites keywords which can be found in your text, Meta tags, and image tags, and URL.

2. Define your audience

The basic premise behind keyword selection is “know your audience”. What solution does your website provide? Well, if you are in the Vacation Rentals business then you are helping people find the perfect lodging for their exciting getaway. Now you need to know how to target these people based on characteristics such as environment, demographics, and corporate competencies. Another important factor is “know your competition”. By knowing your competition locally, nationally, and world wide, you can choose keywords that separate you from the pack.

3. Stay targeted. It’s all about the niche

You do not want to optimize your website for individual keywords such as “vacation”. If your keywords are to general, they will most likely be lost in millions of competing websites across the web. Rather, target keyword phrases such as “Aruba Vacation Rentals” or “Aruba Property Managers”. You also want to take advantage of common keyword misspellings, and niche keyword phrases to target an audience with far less competition

4. Take continuous action

You know your business better than anyone else. If you can understand your industry and competitors, you should be able to create continuous improvements to you search engine page ranks. Bookt’s platform provides automated SEO tools to limit your labor and maximize your websites efficiency. Through various measures such as automated feeds, Meta tag positioning, alt tags, and keyword density analysis, you and your Bookt Success Manager can make sure your web pages are optimized to their full potential and differentiate you from competition.

Be Analytical

sam@bookt.com

Often times the success of re-launching a website lies in the understanding past traffic analytics. With the right tracking strategy, internal site analytics can hold the once undisclosed secret to your websites successes or failures. Applying this knowledge, you can reconstruct your sites content and navigation to optimize their return on every visitor. Unique Visitor Unique Visitor is a statistic describing a unit of traffic to a website, usually counting each visitor only once during a time frame. As a site owner, Unique Visitors is a good metric for tracking your sites overall web presence. To advertisers it is important because it gauges the amount of people their ad will likely have an impression on (taking returning visitors out of the equation). Unique Visitors are tracked in two ways: 1. Requiring a log-in to the site, capturing that visitors identity, or 2. Placing a cookie on each visitor’s computer, and writing that cookie to a database. Bounce Rate A bounce occurs when a website visitor leaves a page or a site without visiting other pages. Bounce rate is directly correlated to the ease of navigation and strength of content found on your landing page (typically your homepage). A bounce is registered by: 1. Closing a open window or tab 2. Typing a new URL 3. Clicking the “Back” button 4. Session Timeout (usually 30 mins) Frankly, a high bounce rate (90%) means that site visitors do not find your offering meaningful, or that your navigation is vague. A low bounce rate (10%) means that visitors ARE enticed and wish to click through. Use bounce rate to adjust your site’s design and content, and make sure that your marketing reflects your offering found on related landing pages. Page Views Page Views are the request to load a single page on a website. It is one of the best, if not the most, important metric to advertising companies. When launching a new site, make it a top priority to increase page views. This can be the single measurement to gauge the effectiveness of a new website. More page views per visitor means more involved traffic, ultimately leading to more sales and obviously a lower bounce rate. High, average page views generally means; easy and relevant navigation, meaningful content, and a strategic hook to encourage more site browsing. Abandonment Abandonment is one of the most significant metrics that is often unattended to. It is the scenario of someone starting the Checkout/Buy process on your site and abandoning before the sale is registered. Typically this occurs when a visitor has the intent to order your product or service, but is turnoff by one of the processes. Unnecessary information fields, additional taxes or fees, or just a lousy looking shopping cart can encourage abandonment. It is important to retain early contact information so that your team can follow up on these leads. Focus on cleaning up the checkout process and making it stress free for consumers and you will increase your unique sales.

Bookt Team Update

rob@bookt.com

I have some truly exciting news to tell you about: We are nearing the completion of our first set of beta customers and have spent almost a year perfecting the Bookt Technology Platform. In a nutshell it allows us to build highly sophisticated vacation rental websites (w/ the same capabilities as Expedia and Hotels.com ) for our customers in a very rapid and cost effective way. It comes w/ a Control Panel application that allows them to track and manage their properties, leads, bookings and marketing activities. We also have far reaching plans of connecting our customer’s inventory w/ major travel industry portals (read more on http://www.bookt.com/).

The Bookt Team is growing: Ben Strum is Bookt’s new Vice President of Technology and will play an important part as a member of Bookt’s Executive Team and Board.

I have known Ben for over 10 years and have enormous respect for his technical and business skills. They say that as a manager you should always try to hire someone for a role who is better than yourself. In this case I believe I have done just that. Besides 15+ years as a technology leader, Ben has founded the company ThinkTron, obtained a Master of Science from Columbia University and developed large scale websites and embedded systems for Fortune 500 companies. He has also done cutting edge research related to the travel industry’s pricing methodology. I am very proud to call Ben our new partner!

In addition I wanted to introduce two other key team members: Sam Marks – Success Manager and Roy Vella – Art Director.

As Success Manager, Sam is responsible for our clients’ success in launching and running their new Bookt solutions. Sam is a young Web 2.0 social network entrepreneur who is perfectly suited for the role. In 2005, while a student at Florida State University, he founded http://www.thegreekfaces.com/, which became an instant success with over 17,000 members within 3 months of launch. After selling his company he became marketing director for http://www.college.com/. Sam also has extensive SEO and project management skills.

Roy is an extremely talented graphic designer and illustrator, for some samples of his work for Bookt, look here and here. I had the pleasure of working w/ Roy a few years ago at eNeighborhoods, where he designed part of http://www.remax.com/, the second most visited real estate website in the US. In addition Roy has over ten years of experience as a graphic designer but still manages to be a really fun & cool guy (guess who these people are?).

With a fantastic team, a fully funded company and a solid core platform; we are taking our first steps into the travel industry arena. We’ll be launching a PR campaign centered around our customers’ success and attending industry events in the fall. Please reach out to us if you want to find out more or if you know someone in the industry who might be interested in what we are doing.