You're Not Alone: VR Bookings down 25-30% since October

by Bill Furlong, CEO

Many vacation rental managers we speak with have indicated that their business has dropped significantly since the economic crisis began in October.  We recently analyzed booking data and confirmed what most managers know -- rentals are very, very soft right now.

Using Escapia's new custom reporting module, I analyzed bookings by month for 2008 and compared them to 2007.  The sample size is large -- repesenting hundreds of thousands of bookings and hundreds of millions of dollars from vacation rental managers coast to coast.

As you can see from the chart below, bookings in October 2008 were 24% lower than they were in October 2007.  And through early this week, November is tracking at 30% below a year ago.

 

So, what is a manager to do in this kind of environment?  At Escapia, we're big believers in using technology to give you every advantage possible to increase revenue and reduce costs.  Here are a handful of ideas of what Escapia clients can do using their EscapiaONE platform:

• Distribute units as widely as possible:  If ever there was a time to go the extra mile to have your units as discoverable by as many travelers as possible, now is it.  Learn more. 
• Flexible rental policies:  Do you have a policy of a seven night minimum for bookings?  If so, take a look at the recent blog post by Melissa Yang, our CTO.  And keep in mind that the advanced pricing engine lets you automatically create rules such as reducing a minimum night stay requirement as the time left to rent a unit gets shorter and shorter.
• Yield management pricing:  We've seen that average rental rates are also declining as managers are reducing price to drive bookings.  Our advanced pricing engine lets you create those kinds of rules without placing an unmanageable burden on your team.  And those prices will be applied everywhere consumers find your unit including your phone reservationists, your web site and your online distribution.  Learn more.

• Leverage your good reputation:  With availability calendars filling up more slowly, consumers have more options than ever about where to stay.  If you haven't yet started collecting ratings and reviews from past guests, now is the time to use your reputation as a competitive advantage.

Comments

[seaside vacations]

It is clear that Vacation Rentals are feeling the same pinch the rest of the economy is facing, but it is also clear there is room for growth with some minor adjustments. The industry is still new, and best practices are still being formed. The economy is challenging, but it is good to see positive attitudes throughout the industry, and strong trends we need to focus on.

[Burr White Realty]

An interesting article posted on MSNBC yesterday, worth a read:

9 reasons ’09 will be the year of the ‘naycation’ - Christopher Elliott

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28074671/

[Bill Furlong]

Interesting...if somewhat distressing...story. Thanks for pointing it out. It is consistent with what Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity reported about their drop in traffic in the past few months. Expedia had the most extreme decline -- down 25%. Interstingly, that's pretty close to the total VR booking decline.