◀◀ ▶▶ Blog 12 of 227

Lodging Newsletter 20240229 Noel Coward Snake

By Wm, May
Published: 02/29/24 Topics: Advertising, AirBnB, Marketing, Self Improvement, Selling Comments: 0

Noel Coward and Snake Oil
Sir Noel Coward, the playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, was known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise."
 
When asked his advice for young actors, he said, "Speak clearly, move about the stage gracefully, and falling back on the playwright is always a good idea."
 
Why is it that in some careers that some people just do the basics, some become reasonably competent and still others become exemplary, like Sir Noel?
 
In lodging management, vacation rentals in particular, the playing field is now littered with managers and individual hosts at every level. And all feel they are successful. Mostly because they don't know the facts, because they don’t study.
 
AirBnB and VRBO enticed people by proclaiming how easy it is to buy a vacation rental, get some bookings and live happily every after. That pitch works because, indeed, if a home is listed on a single website, it will get some bookings. Not necessarily a lot, but at least some bookings.
 
Unfortunately, that gives every participant confidence that they are doing things right. But in fact, if a home is only listed on one or two advertising websites, it is leaving money on the table.
 
The rule we were taught in college is that advertising is a matter of reach, frequency, consistency and messaging. It is a simple formula.
  • To get more sales, get more inquiries
  • To get more inquiries, get more visibility
  • To get more visibility, advertise every way you can afford
There are hundreds of duties necessary to achieve maximum income. The most fundamental is to advertise everywhere always. If you don’t know how, you need a professional full-stack manager.

 

- - - - - - -

Lodging Newsletter
by Wm. May, for February 28, 2024
 
Property owners hire professional vacation rental managers to do the work they don't have time to do, or don't know how to do, or that they may feel uncomfortable doing.
 
A recently retired Colorado manager explains to owners that managers take on sophisticated tasks to propel vacation rental success, (such as guest services, wide ranging advertising, personnel training, and guest services) but often they pay managers "to scrape poop off toilets."
 
Over decades of managing homes in various locations, from beaches, to lakes, to cities and mountains, our staff have invested tens of thousands of hours mastering every duty, from the lofty to the mundane.
 
SNAKE OIL
 
As the vacation rental industry has grown (and as happens in every popular topic - think Pickle Ball!) the industry is now rife with so-called experts.
 
These "experts" speak at every conference, author bland blogs, write never-ending articles on websites (like LinkedIn), pontificate on podcasts, and own paid, member-only forums. Some of these have some good information, but many have the kind of headlines that have always come with get-rich-schemes.
 
"Get rich working only 4 hours a week!"
"Become a manager in just 30 days!"
"Make your vacation rental a money machine!"
"Slick ways for easy rentals!"
 
And all these riches will be yours by buying their product, book, or seminar from people with insufficient knowledge and experience. If you think this sounds like a late-night infomercial for hair-growing vitamins, you are correct.
 
Unless you spend many hours every week mastering the industry, you will never maximize your income. The trouble is that snake oil sales people are providing 10% facts and 90% nonsense that harms readers by promising far more than they can deliver.
 
Benjamin Franklin said "Freedom  of the press should be restricted to those who can afford one." But now the internet has made everyone a author, broadcaster, editor and publisher. How can you know who is really an expert? You can't.
 
The American Idol TV show is famous for promoting tone-deaf singer auditions, because the signers believe they can sing. How sad for those contestants. And how sad that homeowners are being led astray by experts who aren't.
 
It was once said, "That those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." But today those who can't, just say they can.
 
Better advice for vacation rental home owners is to heed dear old Sir Noel Coward, rely upon the author. For vacation rentals, that is to hire a competent, consistent, always learning, full-stack, professional manager.

Author: Wm, May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0982 – 02/29/24

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Comments: 0

To comment, login or register now free