VRMA Blog

We hope that by now you have had the opportunity to read part one of this post, take a look at the analytics of your website and understand on how your visitors move around your pages. In this article we look at five reasons why potential customers might leave vacation rental websites without converting.

Last week, part one of the Vacation Renter Security Quiz started to look into what security measures you should take to prevent being victimized. Take the rest of this quiz today to learn more about what to do when an online prospective renter provides credit card payment and subsequent issues when dealing with such.

Perhaps the biggest news to come out of quarter three is that the Founder and CEO of HomeAway, Brian Sharples, stepped down. Not necessarily a trend in itself, his replacement, experienced Expedia executive, John Kim, signaled that this is part of the larger trend that shaping this quarter: The Big Boys taking all the fun out of guessing what comes next.

There is fraud risk everywhere on the Internet, and with their skyrocketing popularity, vacation rental websites are no exception. If you are a vacation rental homeowner or property manager, and use an online marketplace to rent out your vacation home, it’s important not to take the platform’s security measures for granted. While advanced technology can usually spot fraudsters, there are also actions that you should take to ensure that you do not become another fraud statistic, or be taken advantage of by your renters looking for loopholes in your rental contract.

The VRMA tracks state and local regulatory issues related to short-term rentals across the U.S. All too often communities miss the mark on creating equitable rules that protect residents, property owners and the community as a whole. The U.S. Conference of Mayors advises that “fair regulation of short-term rentals ensures greater compliance.” Instead, communities often create knee-jerk policies that generate more problems than solutions, including outright bans. This type of reaction is exactly why the U. S. Conference of Mayors warned that “onerous regulations of short-term rentals can drive the industry underground,” which is ultimately counter-productive to policy makers’ goals.