It’s time-consuming for vacation rental owners to search the internet for resources. Whether that’s for website help or product information, it’s hard to know what information is reliable.
To solve that, Futurestay created the e-book The 20 Best Places to Learn from Successful, Independent Vacation Rental Entrepreneurs.
During our research, we found amazing resources crafted by vacation rental entrepreneurs. Some of those resources are websites and blogs. This blog shares the 9 best rental entrepreneur’s to learn from. You’ll learn about their backgrounds in the industry and what content they offer.
The Vacation Rental Entrepreneurs
Websites to Learn From
Rent More Weeks by Alan Egan
In an interview with rentalpreneurs, Alan Egan, the founder of Rent More Weeks, shared his story.
Alan Egan has owned and managed a photography and management business. This provides him with diverse, global experiences. At one point, Alan and his wife decided that they wanted to spend more time traveling/sailing on their yacht. This meant Alan needed a new source of remote income while they traveled. He decided to apply his background to the design.
3 years later, Alan has become an industry influencer. Alan has had many successes. One of which includes speaking at the Vacation Rental Success Summit. The second is his successful online courses BookingPlus 4G.
Rent More Weeks features popular articles for rental owners. These are free and written by Alan or other industry professionals. Other popular content includes his rental guides. These include design and marketing tips:
- The Vacation Rental Photography and Staging Bible
- Vacation Rental promotional secrets to boost your Vacation Rental bookings.
- Marketing Makeover Guide
- “35 pages packed with over 80 hi-res images that show the concept, the methods and the professional tricks that lead to more bookings.”
Rental owners can learn marketing tips that will boost their listing. Or how to update their property to look even more polished.
Vacation Rental Formula by Heather & Mike Bayer
From their introductory video, Heather and Mike Bayer introduce their start in the industry. Heather has years of experience, first in the United Kingdom and now in Ontario, Canada. As a published author and successful rental owner, Heather transitioned her two books into her website. Besides her weekly podcast and position as CEO, she also works on Cottage Blogger.
Mike Bayer joined Heather to manage her properties. During this time he created his own property management service. Since moving to Ontario, Mike has also seen the growth of the vacation rental industry. He has set the goal of buying a new rental property every 5 years.
Heather and Mike’s experiences as property owners make their content even more valuable. They know what it was like starting their own businesses and want to share their information. Vacation Rental Formula offers free content such as:
- The formula behind their website’s name is a breakdown of what rental owners need to know to run a successful business.
- Research and Understand the Vacation Rental Business
- Preparing for Rental
- Creating a Marketing Strategy
- Managing the Operations of your Business
- Creating Guest Satisfaction
- Growing Your Business
- Podcasts
- Selecting the Right Property Management System for your Vacation Rental Business
RentalPreneurs by Thibault Masson
As cited on his website, Thibault Masson has been in marketing for 16 years. Thibault is a property manager for various properties in Bali and St Barts. He first created rentalpreneurs to store his own Airbnb tricks and marketing tactics. As his site gained popularity, he started to share the content publically.
RentalPreneurs offers valuable content such as:
- Vacation Rental Marketing Blog & Tips for RentalPreneurs
- RentalPreneurs Club
- Access to online courses
- Live expert sessions
- Learn how to save time and get more bookings
- Private membership gives you access to a community to ask questions of
- Private Facebook Group
- Gain tools, tactics, and a network to expand your business
Booking Plus 4G – Alan Egan
As we mentioned before, Alan Egan also produces Booking Plus 4G (B+4G). This website is an online source of video courses. The goal is to help vacation rental owner’s use stand-out marketing for their business.
Some of the available courses include:
- Social Marketing for Vacation Rental Owners
- WordPress for Vacation Rental Owners
- Social Media Integration for Vacation Rental Owners
Booking Plus 4G also has tabs of case studies and blog posts for owners to refer to. Partnered with Rent More Weeks, owners have a variety of resources to rely on.
The Business of Holiday Rental by Karen Spencer
Karen Spencer was introduced to the vacation rental world through a luxury self-catering holiday agency. Through interactions with owners and guests, Karen found the drive to help owners earn more for their holiday homes.
Karen applies her Styling Professional background to her vacation rental business. She launched The Business of Holiday Rental to blend her knowledge as a vacation rental owner with tips for others in the industry. Her website features:
- Blog Content:
- 10 Tips to Ensure Your Holiday Home’s Guests Get a Good Night’s Sleep
- Holiday Home Styling — The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
- Free Resources
- 10 step Beginner’s Guide to Building a Profitable Holiday Rental Business.
- 5 Important Things To Consider Before Buying Your Holiday Home
- Paid Resources
- One-on-one business analysis & tips
Blogs to Learn From
Cottage Blogger by Heather Bayer
On the blog-side of Heather and Mike Bayer’s website is Cottage Blogger. Here, rental owners can find blog posts such as:
- Getting Started in Vacation Rental Property Management
- Looking Back And Planning Ahead For Vacation Rental Success
Vacation Rental Marketing Blog by Matt Landau
Featured on the VRMB site, we learn that Matt Landau was a travel journalist in Costa Rica. During his career, he learned many tips and resources. When he began to share them, his visibility increased, and so did Vacation Rental Marketing Blog (VRMB).
Matt and his team provide free resources of industry best practices for property owners and managers. They do this through the following content:
- Weekly blog articles
- Unite Your Stakeholders
- Choosing the Right VR Software (Decoded)
- Learning exercises
- Case studies
- Videos/TV Show — Sense of Place (aka. The VRMB Show)
- Matt travels the world staying at vacation rentals. He meets the hosts and shares the “[rental] process, inspiring travelers and prospective hosts to enter the industry with the right expectations.”
- Podcasts
Tyann Marcink Blog by Tyann Marcink
Tyann Marcink is the owner of two vacation homes and one short-term rental. She is a photographer for vacation rental properties, small business, and more. Her website features several different tabs for vacation rental owners to refer to:
- Photography
- Tyann’s Portfolio which you can draw inspiration from. Or hire her to photograph your vacation rental.
- Website Design
- E-books
- Create Killer Vacation Rental Property Photos
- Teaching / Mentoring
- Workshops in your area
- Blog
- Makeover Takeover: San Ramon Villa
- Vlog Episode 3: Goose Tarn
Vacation Rental Management Association Blog (VRMA)
The Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA) blog is a source for professionally managed vacation rentals. The blog is for education in all aspects of running a successful property. VRMA provides a community of professionals. It also reflects the growth of the vacation rental industry.
The VRMA blog features articles such as:
- Advocating with Social Media
- Vacation Rental Managers: Fighting for Your Rights
- Regulatory Updates
- Analysis of surveys & studies
What Resources Do You Rely On?
Have you used any of these resources before? Do you have a favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
Would you like a free, 100+ page e-book? Download your copy of The 20 Best Places to Learn from Successful, Independent Vacation Rental Entrepreneurs. We discuss these vacation rental entrepreneurs and their specialties in more detail.
