Archive for February, 2010

Tripadvisor reports vacation rental statistics and reveals world’s quirkiest vacation rentals

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Edited Press Release

TripAdvisor announced its list of the ten quirkiest vacation rentals around the world according to TripAdvisor editors. In addition, the site released the results of its 2010 vacation rentals survey of more than 1,000 U.S. respondents. Sixty-eight percent of travelers are either planning or considering a stay at a vacation rental in 2010, indicating an increase in interest from the 52 percent of past renters who said they stayed at a rental home in 2009. Eighty-eight percent of travelers said they would choose a vacation rental over a hotel if it was a better value.

Opening the Door to Vacation Rental Deals
Travelers have been taking to their keyboards over the month of January to begin planning their 2010 vacation rental stays. Search volume on TripAdvisor’s vacation rentals listings is up 123 percent month-over-month from December 2009 to January 2010, indicating an increased interest in rentals for the new year.

Bring on the Sunshine
Of the travelers planning to stay at a vacation rental this year, 53 percent said they are planning their trips for the summer months, followed by 34 percent for the winter, 29 percent for the spring, and 26 percent for the fall. More travelers are planning to stay at a vacation rental in the Southeast than any other region, according to the survey. The Northeast and Southwest were next in popularity, coming in second and third place, respectively.

Quirky vacation rental

Quirkiest vacation rental

Here are the top 3 quirkiest vacation rentals around the world according to tripadvisor:

1. DOME ECILE, St. George Island, Florida

Weekly Rate Range: $765 - $950

A geometrical wonder, DOME ECILE not only is a sight in and of itself, but it also sports beautiful beach views. One TripAdvisor traveler says, “All of my kids were excited to be staying on the beach, in a house like no other.”

2. Calypso Castle, Skopelos, Greece

Weekly Rate Range: $1,445 - $3,636

Complete with a stone tower and gorgeous views, Calypso Castle is a great rental home for travelers looking for a royal retreat. One TripAdvisor traveler raves about the “beautiful view” and “island” of Skopelos.

3. Unique Hilltop Windmill Rental, Odemira, Portugal

Weekly Rate Range: $526 - $756

Only in Portugal can you rent your own windmill-inspired house on top of its own mini-mountain for under $800 per week. As one TripAdvisor traveler puts it, “The Mill on the hill is rustic, homely, cozy and down to earth — just the way it should be!”

Click here to view the full list.

Instant Software Announces Partnership with ParadiseHunter.com

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Edited Press Release

Instant Software’s relationship with ParadiseHunter.com brings together technology, property management companies, and vacation travelers for a new and unique travel planning experience. Instant Software announces partnership with vacation rental website, ParadiseHunter.com, a vacation planning search engine that offers a variety of resources to help vacationers plan the perfect trip. By combining Detailed Destination Information, a television series, and the ability to book travel directly on their website, ParadiseHunter.com, according to Instant Software, is unique in its ability to connect travelers to the people and services who will create their memorable travel experience.

Paradiesehunter.com

Paradiesehunter.com

ISILink, ISI’s global distribution system for the Vacation Rental industry, will provide ParadiseHunter.com with the information needed to seamlessly create and maintain Vacation Rental listings, including property information, rate cards and up-to-date availability calendars.

ParadiseHunter.com’s President, Dennis Kambeitz is excited about the benefit this relationship will have for their customers. “ISI’s property management solutions manage more than 250,000 properties throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Our affiliation will increase the number of destinations represented on our website, as well as provide an influx of top-rated and quality rentals for our website’s visitors to choose from.”

ParadiseHunter.com is a comprehensive website for travelers, inspiring and educating them with information, videos, and photos on destinations worldwide. It features a powerful search engine for Vacation Rentals and International Real Estate, making it enjoyable and easy for visitors to find the perfect destination. In addition, website visitors can watch the Paradise Hunter TV Show online to learn more about the different locations and activities.

“Paradise Hunter brings a unique and wide-spread approach to the marketing of Vacation Rentals, which we feel will greatly benefit our clients,” said Dave Hopcroft, CEO of ISI. “With the economy still sluggish in the United States, Paradise Hunter’s popularity with Canadian travelers will help our clients tap into a growing customer base of thirty million people, resulting in increased occupancy rates.”

HomeAway quadruples PR budget in UK

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

HomeAway has recently launched its Grantourismo as part of its new PR campaigns and investments.

Granturismo Blog

Granturismo Blog

Read more about the PR campaign on

Escapia Posts Record Results for 2009

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Edited Press Release

Escapia, the vacation rental management and marketing solutions provider, announced record results for 2009. The company finished 2009 with another consecutive year of double digit sales growth, driving record revenue even in the midst of a tough economic environment. Escapia claims to have reached more than one billion dollars of bookings powered by vacation rental management companies using its software platform.

Escapia Logo

Escapia Logo

Escapia’s web-based software platform powers vacation rental management companies, providing integration across their business operations, website, and online marketing sites. The Escapia platform delivers streamlined property management, more bookings and more revenue. In 2009 Escapia’s software platform powered $300 million in vacation rental bookings, taking the company over the mark of having processed more than one billion dollars of cumulative bookings for vacation rental companies. The company also added more new vacation rental managers to its client list than in any single year in the company’s history. “Escapia has streamlined our vacation rental marketing and operations,” said Tracey Gaines, Owner of Port Aransas Escapes, who implemented Escapia’s vacation rental software last year. “We’ve been able to nearly double our business and market our properties in more places online. It’s all been about more bookings, better service, and more revenue that we wouldn’t have had without Escapia.”

2009 also marked a year of dramatic growth in Escapia’s commitment to increasing online revenue for vacation rental managers. The number of bookings driven through the EscapiaNET online distribution network increased by 570% in 2009 as the company added leading web sites like HomeAway.com, TripAdvisor.com, FlipKey.com, Yahoo Travel, AOL Travel and more to its distribution network.

“We are extremely pleased with our results,” said Bill Furlong, CEO of Escapia. “In a tough year, vacation rental managers recognized the value of Escapia’s online distribution and world-class web site solution that fully integrate with Escapia’s back-office software. With our commitment to driving as much business for managers as possible from the Web, Escapia has become a profit center for vacation rental managers instead of a cost like traditional software.”

Escapia’s consumer site, ClearStay.com also experienced growth in 2009 as well with the number of bookings made by travelers using ClearStay.com increasing by 262%. The leading web site dedicated solely to inventory from professional vacation rental managers, ClearStay.com increased the number of authenticated guest reviews to over 50,000 by year end and the number of vacation rental properties with real-time rates, availability and online booking by more than a third.