This is guide is prepared using half a decade experience of GetFriday Virtual Assistants in managing Vacation Rental Owners Backend and Admin Tasks. Following is the complete guide for the Vacation Rental Owners to consider in mind while taking decision about your business next time. Guide for Vacation Rental Owners – Increase leads, engage guests and stand out of the crowd In an age where almost everyone aspires to embark on a holiday, Vacation Rentals have come to rule the roost. Privacy, security, flexibility are the specifics every traveler loves. Vacation Rentals offer such benefits to everyone; be it an avid traveler or a backpacker. No wonder, this sector has seen a significant boom in the recent decade. From a nondescript start, Vacation Rentals have come a long way to dominating the recreation space. It’s springing up in literally every tourist hotspot in the world. It has become a lucrative business and provides employment opportunities to many. But how does a vacation rental property owner stand out from competition. We compiled a list of best practices from our long experience and hundreds of interactions with property owners, property managers, guests, cleaners and even property neighbors in many popular destinations. Our survey has brought out some very interesting facts. And if you are a vacation rental owner these are certainly actionable points for your business. Weekends see a surge in inquiries. Our study shows there is generally a 37% increase in inquires during weekends. A Google survey conducted with 5000 consumers found that 74 % of leisure travel begins with online research. Vacation rental owners must be ready for increased traffic during weekends, as most customers begin their online search with undecided plans. The opportunity to influence their decision to book your house significantly increases if you are better prepared to handle the surge. Increase chances of booking by 2X. Our study shows chances of booking confirmation increases 2x times if booking enquiries are responded within one hour. Let us do the math. Combining the results of our survey, 1. If your house on an average gets about 5 enquires a day, you will see this increase by 37% during weekends, i.e 7 enquires per day. 2. If your normal booking confirmation rate is 2 out of 5 enquires, then our study tells you, there can be 2X increase in booking confirmation if response rate is within one hour. This will mean 12 confirmations coming out of 14 enquiries on weekends. Isn’t that something to really focus on, if you are a vacation rental owner? The paradox of calendar management Our survey finds rental owners rank calendar management as their top priority problem or issue to contend with. While guests looking to book rentals also mention the calendar as the first place to check before a booking decision is made. So calendar management is a double priority.