Escapia Blog - Vacation Rental News and Trends

The results are in! Guest reviews boost bookings; 91% satisfaction

By Bill Furlong, CEO

At the annual conference of the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) in Phoenix, I shared the podium with T.J. Mahony of FlipKey to discuss why vacation rental managers should use guest reviews to drive success in their agency and how to do so.  Thanks to T.J. for being a great partner in making the presentation and to FlipKey for being a great partner for EscapiaNET.

Vacation Rental Guest Reviews

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: vacation rentals)

Included in the presentation are a number of charts that showed what we have learned about guest reviews at Escapia after having collected 40,000 reviews.  Here are some of the key findings from our data analysis:

1. Guest reviews drive bookings:  We've always thought they would.  But now we can see it in the data from ClearStay.  The ratio of bookings to units on ClearStay for units with reviews is 41% higher than for those without reviews.  That's a compelling result that units with reviews get booked more often than those without them. 
2. Vacation rentals generate exceptionally high satisfaction:  91% of past guests said they would recommend the unit they stayed in to a friend.  And the average overall satistfaction score is 4.46 out of 5.  That is a spectacular result and significantly higher than the average ratings I have heard of for hotels. 
3. Great location; less great condition:  Escapia asks guest to rate their overall satisfaction and gets their rating on four specific factors -- location, service, cleanliness and condition.  Location gets the best scores; condition the worst.
4. Bookings happen for all units and all ratings:  One concern occasionally expressed is that units with a low rating will not get any bookings.  On ClearStay, we've seen that even units with low ratings actually do get booked.  In fact, units with a rating of 1, 2 or 3 out of 5 represent 30% of ClearStay bookings but just 13% of units.  My conclusion -- first, consumers sometimes have specific criteria that trumps the rating (i.e. they want a place with a hot tub and Internet access above all) and second that they understand a price/value tradeoff.
5. Ask and you will receive: I asked a number of managers at the VRMA show what response rate they get for the paper surveys many of them leave in the rental units or hand to guests at arrival or departure.  The typical answer was low single digit percentages.  Escapia has now asked over 100,000 guests to review their stay.  The response rate has been a very high 38% -- reflecting the enthusiasm people have for sharing their experience when it is made easy.  And of the responses, 75% include not only a rating but also a written comment.

If you are an Escapia client interested in getting started with reviews, please contact customer support.  If you are a vacation rental manager using a different software platform and are interested in incorporating reviews into your business my first piece of advice would be to consider using EscapiaONE software which incorporates reviews at no extra charge.  If using EscapiaONE isn't an option (for some unimaginable reason :-) , my second piece of advice would be to contact FlipKey.  They run a free and well desiged service and they can set you up regardless what software you use.

Get Ready for Great New Features!

By Kris Lande, Product Marketing Manager


This just in! Escapia is coming out with a number of great new features to be released on November 17th.  Included in the new release will be an advanced custom reporting module, open item accounts payable and expanded ratings and reviews.  All of these features will be previewed at the upcoming VRMA annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Click here to read more details about the specific features to be included in the release. 

Another Quarter of Record Growth at Escapia!

By Kris Lande, Product Marketing Manager


Today Escapia announced record growth for the quarter ending September 30th - with sales this quarter tripling that of the same quarter last year. 

Congratulations to Escapia's team and clients that made these great results possible!

Click here to see the full press release. 

Attracting Special Event Travelers

By Parag Vaish, Vice President of Consumer Marketing

If you’re looking to fill offseason holes or increase vacation property rental year-round, don’t forget to reach out to special event travelers.  These travelers, who often make trips and attend events in groups, will be especially interested in the benefits of renting a vacation home.  Not only are vacation homes a better value for travelling groups, they offer a welcome alternative to over-abundant “no vacancy” signs.

If your area isn’t hosting the Olympics or the Super Bowl in the near future, don’t despair; don’t forget about more minor sporting events (such as the Fiesta Bowl), conferences, contests (such as fishing), trade shows, festivals, and fairs.  Sites like CitySearch.com offer a good snapshot of events in various cities.

You don’t have to flood your property description with event promotion to effectively attract event travelers.  A simple addition of “Available for [event]” at the end of your property headline is a tactful way to inform and remind without overpowering your ad. 

Give it a shot.  Previously overlooked events may just be your ticket to rental success.

Making the most of SEO Pt. 3

By James Sells, Dir. of Client Services

Recently Hotels.com released their “Visualizer” feature which allows their potential guests to create a Visual DNA profile that allows them to be matched with accommodations that meet suit their particular needs and interests. Unlike nearly every other search module in the travel industry, which starts off by asking when you’re leaving, where you want to go, and how much you want to spend, the Visualizer asks you what you want your experience to be like. Such questions as, “I’m looking to spend most time doing…”, “I’m looking forward to this feeling on my trip…”, “My idea of a fun night on this trip…”, are asked before even drilling down to the country and city you want to visit. What is even more interesting is that instead of typing in your answers, you click on images of rooms, activities, and candid moments to navigate through the profiler. Only then do they ask you where you’re headed (i.e. your actual destination.)

The genius of this feature is that by getting their potential guests to click on the different images of people relaxing, playing, and walking on the beach at sunset, they’ve already mentally put them into that experience. Regardless of the technology used to pull it off, the Hotels.com Visualizer keys in on a foundational component of marketing; help your customer visualize themselves using your product and thereby convince them that they need it.

So how can you take advantage of this marketing savvy without the luxury of the Visualizer? In a word; content.

In a previous post I wrote at length about the importance of quality images (here) advising that you “…help potential guests visualize themselves staying in the unit, make sure to include things like books and games on the coffee table, or drinks out on the deck or patio in your pictures. And if the unit is popular for weddings, reunions, or vacationing families, take pictures that communicate this.”

However images are only one aspect of your websites content. Another equally important aspect is your unit descriptions. Time and time again I see unit descriptions that say things like, “Very nice 3BD/2.5BA two level upper condo. Contemporary furnishings. Front balcony, rooftop deck - ocean views from both.", This description provides accurate data of the unit but really doesn't offer much of a compelling reason to stay there. What is worse is that it subtly communicates “It is what it is, take it or leave it, we don’t care.”.

Instead, it should say something like "Stylish Lahaina condo with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The front balcony and rooftop deck provide great views of the Pacific Ocean and the downtown Lahaina area. Perfect for vacationing couples or those on their honeymoon who want a romantic setting.". This description not only uses keywords multiple times (which should help improve overall SEO), but it also speaks to a particular audience and helps them visualize themselves in the experience.

As with most things, improving performance is like turning a battle ship; it turns very, very slowly and takes quite a bit of time. But trying the above should help get you pointed in the right direction.