My Interview With Vacation Rental Conceirge Expert
Would you like to book more weeks in your vacation rental?
If so, you’ll love to hear what Janet Bartoli and I are talking about today in our video interview.
Are you just offering guests a place to stay? Or are you offering a true vacation experience?
Millenials Want More Than Just Your Vacation Rental
Did you know 6 out of 10 millennials would rather spend their money on experiences rather than material things?
A rental is material, the experience isn’t.
What does this mean for vacation rental owners and management companies?
Simple- we need to sell the experience, not just the rental.
Embrace The Future of Travel
Why? Because Millennials are the future of your vacation rental business like it or not.
Millennials are expected to spend incrementally more on travel services than any other age group.
If you’re truly interested in renting your vacation rental more often, then you need to stop acting like a roadside motel and get serious about your business.
Conduct your business more like a concierge service or at least a professional hospitality agency and see how you’ll get more travelers who want to do business with you.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Janet Bartoli, a vacation rental professional who runs a concierge service tailored for vacation rental owners and property management companies.
An entrepreneur of 12 years, Janet offers great insight to owners and property managers about the benefits of concierge services and how it can maximize your booking income. Watch our vacation rental expert interview.
To be brutally honest, I feel many vacation rental professionals market their rentals much like a roadside motel.
Unfortunately, many property owners are only focused on the money and just interested in renting nights in their vacation homes.
All they offer their renters is a place to lay their head…Anyone can do that!
When people are traveling they don’t usually stay in the property the whole time, unless that property is a roadside motel, where weary road warriors catch up on a few winks before heading on the road again the next day.
That’s not who you’re looking to attract is it?
Actual vacationers get involved in events, go to attractions and participate in activities, and thats why I think a service like Janet’s serves a need in the vacation rental industry.
Offer Value & Help To Potential Guests
You should be helping your renters plan a vacation by offering advice on attractions and activities.
Share secrets (everybody loves secrets!) about the best hot spots and cool hole in the walls in town.
Instead of offering them just a place to stay, offer them the complete vacation rental package.
Your guests will love you for it and now you’ve increased your property position in the eye of your prospect.
Your competition never had a chance!
Seperate Your Vacation Rental Business From Others
As an entrepreneur, you should be looking for ways to stand out from the competition.
This is exactly what Janet helps others do by helping them to provide more than just a rental.
When I asked Janet what sparked the idea for this type of service, she said she simply asked people what their problems were.
Travelers had the problem of planning vacation activities and property owners and managers wanted to help them but didn’t know how.
Like Janet did, find something that people want and need! Do your research and ask questions.
Also, get on the other side of the booking situation. Take a vacation. Janet, being an avid traveller, experienced the pains of vacation planning herself and realized their was a void.
Read the benefits of taking a vacation as a vacation rental owner.
I think another great take away from my interview with Janet is for owners to talk to at least one client every week. Are you doing this?
Janet advises owners to reach out regularly to those who have booked in order to get them used to communicating with you frequently, and also to get them excited about their vacation.
Even after the vacation, keep the relationship alive. Continue to communicate with them and update them with new rentals and vacation spots.
It’s much more likely that they’ll plan their next trip with you because you’ve earned their continued business.
I also asked her my famous question, “what is the most valuable thing you’ve learned in the rental business?”
She said it’s to have a strict adherence to free time. Get away from your email, go outside and get your mind away from the business.
Clear your mind so when you get back to work, you’re refreshed. Create blocks of time to do specific tasks.
To learn more about Janet’s concierge services and get more of her great insight, join our community and add her as a friend in the Villa Marketers Community to follow her posts. You can also email her at jb[at]myconcierge.io
Be sure to share the most valuable thing you’ve learned in the vacation rental business and be entered to win a $3500 website.
Only 11 more days to win- don’t miss out!
What’d you think about Janet’s helpful advice? Share your thoughts.
Janet, Jay thank you for sharing this. I particularly like the part about contacting one person each week!
Im glad you liked it Josh. I too agree that reaching out to “old’ clients is a great idea. I think it’ll help you stay sharp and in tune with whats happening with your customers, while building relationships with your guests.
The question is how many of us are actually do it.
Glad you enjoyed it Josh! Thanks so much!
Hi Janet can you tell me which type of services are most popular? Massages/spa?
Hi Jeffrey! Depends mostly on the location and type of vacationer. I’ve seen 20-30s more interested in scuba diving lessons, hiking and zipline for example and older couples 65+ more interested in enjoying the catamaran dinner cruise. I’ve advised my customers to make sure they engage with their guests and find out what their interests are. MyConcierge provides access to VR owners, to track the number and type of activities booked, to help VR owners know what their guests are most interested in doing during their stay, seasonality, etc.