“Cheap Vacation? Give the Hotel the Heave Ho” plus 1 more |
| Cheap Vacation? Give the Hotel the Heave Ho Posted: 29 Apr 2010 09:29 AM PDT When Daniel Chandler and his girlfriend planned their recent London vacation, they decided against paying steep rates and possibly ending up in a sterile hotel room, opting instead for a once-obscure lodging option: an apartment swap. Chandler took a chance on staying in somebody's London home while the owner of that home vacationed in Chandler's Paris apartment at the same time. Not only was it cheaper, but there was more space and the opportunity to really get the feel for a city. "You get an insight into somebody's life in a foreign city," Chandler said. "You feel more at home than you would otherwise at a hotel." Stay Up to Date on the Latest Travel Trends from ABC News on Twitter If apartment swapping isn't your thing, another popular way to save on a vacation is through home rentals. Whether it's through a management company or an individual homeowner, the cost can sometimes be less than hotel rooms -- especially for large families -- and there is the added savings of having your own kitchen. Chandler did his Paris-London swap through Luxe Home Swap and is now looking to do a second swap in Bratislava, Slovakia. He knew he wanted to get away, but wasn't sure where. When an available swap opened up, he decided to explore someplace new. "People are very proud of where they live so they have a personal interest in showing off the area where you live," he said.
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| Detailed schedule may help Kathy Standage fit in life issues Posted: 29 Apr 2010 10:07 AM PDT Month 2: Legal, logistical hurdles In her desire to have a multifaceted, customer-friendly website, Standage invested in a complicated vacation rental management software package for online booking. She now realizes that maintaining the site is taking up more time — and money — than she had expected. Coach's advice Standage sought the advice of others in her industry and examined five different options before selecting her current software package. "I wanted to make this a totally automated site," she says. "A lot of sites are still 'Call for availability and call for rates.' But a lot of people want to get online at 10 p.m. and just book." Yet, she didn't realize how much work would come with maintaining such a complex system. "The maintenance — I didn't even think about that because in my past world I had an IT department," says Standage, who previously worked in the broadcast and cable TV industry. Now, she has to wrangle with issues such as how to set up a server. Often, small-business owners "look at cost and features and don't look at online integration and maintenance," says small-business adviser Rhonda Abrams, CEO of The Planning Shop. "Kathy has gotten all this functionally, but it comes at a cost," Abrams says. "Maybe in the first year or two, she could have had a less-robust site. She didn't need to have all the bells and whistles." Since she has already invested nearly $17,000 on her system, Standage is going to keep using it. But Abrams' advice for other small-business owners is to initially consider signing on with a Web-hosting company. "It can be a lot fewer headaches when you don't have to deal with these (technical issues) yourself."
Month 1: Financial concerns • Lag time between bookings and payment. Standage gets a commission on the total rental price, but does not have access to that fee until the rental guests have departed. • Extremely cyclical business. Rentals are brisk in winter but drop off in other seasons. Coach's advice Standage must plan ahead as well as keep an extremely detailed budget to make sure she doesn't overspend when less revenue comes in. "Get yourself QuickBooks (financial software) or a good accounting program," says Steve Strauss, author of The Small Business Bible. She has invested about $65,000 from her savings and a second mortgage on a home in Vail, but she should also look into loans to help her through the leaner periods, Strauss says. She likely can get a good rate on a Small Business Administration-backed loan, Strauss says. Yet he cautions: "Borrow as little as you can, because you eventually have to pay it back." Standage should also create "multiple profit centers" so her business can reap some revenue during slower times. "You might want to think of other products you could sell that would work in off-peak times," he says. "Do some brainstorming." A couple of weeks after the session with Strauss, Standage says that she is following up on many of the topics they discussed, such as looking into a microloan from her bank and determining offseason revenue streams.
Introduction to the business Standage has opened a vacation rental management business that caters to travelers looking for high-end Vail and Golden housing rentals, as well as concierge services for renters such as airport limo services, ski and snowboard rentals, grocery shopping and restaurant reservations. She had worked for more than two decades in the broadcast and cable TV industry, and was laid off from her sales position in 2008. Prior to holding jobs in the TV industry, she worked in the hotel and hospitality field. ExclusiveVailRentals.com launched at the end of 2009 with 10 properties listed. Standage hopes to expand to other resort areas such as Breckenridge — as well as have up to 70 rentals listed on her site by year's end. The 'aha!' moment When Standage hit age 50 — "a gut-wrenching birthday," she says — she realized that she wanted to pursue something new and exciting. Following a subsequent vacation at a "gorgeous" Napa Valley house, it occurred to her that she has a passion for beautiful homes. A friend who had a Vail vacation rental management site said he was moving and she considered buying his business, which she'd used for her Vail home. She instead decided to create her own business. She's had some time-consuming troubles along the way — such as issues with the back-end software for her site — but is plowing ahead. "Despite the challenges, I don't regret for a minute leaving the corporate world after 25 years and launching this exciting new business," she says.
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