The economy is changing, and so are we!

With all of the concerns and turmoil over the economy these days, I thought you might be interested in an update on what we are doing for our owners to keep income up and costs down, especially during these times of economic uncertainty.

We are very excited to announce that we are moving forward with new software capabilities with our software partner, Escapia. They are now enabling us to do a whole lot more than ever before.

Our industry is becoming more and more driven by technology, especially with the increased influence of the Internet. Escapia’s software has been built completely on the Internet, with capabilities that have never been possible before. Our belief is that using the new capabilities in the Escapia platform will enable us to generate more bookings, give our units much greater visibility across the web, and enable us to improve our service to our owners and our guests in many ways. In addition to their comprehensive management software, here are just a few of the things we are excited about:

Visibility of our vacation homes across the web
Getting our vacation homes in front of as many “eyeballs” as possible is key to getting the most bookings possible. Escapia has a growing network of over 30 booking partnerships where we can display our vacation homes, and guests can book them. All of the information on our vacation homes are kept current up-to-the-second (i.e. pictures, availability schedules, etc.), and constantly updated automatically 24 hours a day.

Online Bookings on Our Website
Not only does Escapia provide the tools to help us make our vacation homes look fabulous on our web site, Escapia also enables our guests to book online. With online bookings growing at over 40 percent per year, Escapia will help us take advantage of that growth opportunity, especially since guests can now do business with us online 24 hours a day!

Ratings and Reviews
Escapia enables us to collect guest reviews from past guests and post them to our website, so prospective guests can learn from the experiences of others including Overall Satisfaction, Property Condition, Location, and Cleanliness. Let’s say you’re making a decision on your vacation accommodations. You have the choice of staying with a company that touts great service and fabulous homes, or you can choose to stay with a company that actually let’s its customers tell you about their services and products. Who are you more likely to trust your vacation with?

The best part of Escapia is that their software allows us to serve our owners and our guests better, and respond quickly to the changing needs and expectations of vacationers, which is exactly what we need today given the unknown nature of this “new economy.”

We’re working hard for you!