By Bryan Boice, National Sales Manager
Last week Mike Zaroudny, John Suzuki and I traveled to the desert for our annual Palm Springs vacation rental breakfast seminar. We had a great turnout of local vacation rental professionals excited to learn and improve their businesses. It was clear folks can see the “light at the end of the tunnel” and most are hopeful that the worst of the recession seems to be behind us. Here are several observations that I made during our visits with managers:
- Lead times have shrunk in the Coachella Valley more noticeably this year than ever before. Our data confirms this;
- Guests are in the mood to bargain. Local and national media outlets have publicized 2009 as the “Year of the Travel Deal”. Travelers know we’ve got vacancies and their schedules are flexible enough to capitalize on higher than normal supply. Unlike other areas we’ve been recently, managers in Palm Springs are willing to provide those deals to attract clients and generate bookings;
- Yield Management techniques are being used to help increase occupancy and revenue. I was surprised at the number of property managers employing manual yield management techniques. What does this mean? It’s telling reservationists to offer 20% off for next week when they talk to guests. It’s looking at bookings today for August and deciding to decrease the nightly minimum from 7 nights to 3 to generate more bookings. We’ve all been doing this for years. Progressive managers of all sizes see a huge competitive advantage with Escapia’s automated yield management system;
- It’s hot in Palm Springs in June. You know this and I know it, but it’s always a shock to actually experience 110 degree desert heat in person. Can someone just follow me around with patio misters?
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