Brent's Blog

How to Turn Your Client List Into Cash

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:04:21 -0600

Are you are Realtor, Lender or appraiser and have a large customer data base? Now you can turn your contacts or address book into cash.

You can turn your list into cash by selling current and past customers home warranty plans.

Zurvita has hundreds of successful realtor's, lenders and appraisers making $7,950.00 in monthly residuals just from selling home warranty plans to existing customer data bases.

If this were not enough, you also have the option of selling your customers a Zurvita Care Saver membership. Zurvita Care Saver is your personal discount program at your favorite restaurants, movie theatres, local retailers, daily services and, personal care and pet care providers. Zurvita Care Saver Card is your onsite discount program on everyday purchases and services.

Zurvita Virtual Mall provides you with private online shopping convenience and the Zurvita Cash Back program. In addition, ZURVITA Personal Assistant is always at your service, ready to answer questions, help with information or directions, or assist in arranging your next trip.

Put your financial career back on the right path and let Zurvita help you turn your client contact list into a monthly residual income into the thousands of dollars.

Visit the Zurvita Opportunity Website

Avoiding Foreclosure-Foreclosure Options

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:02:19 -0600

The type of mortgage loan you have may determine what types of alternatives you may be eligible to pursue. Please contact your lender to discuss which alternatives you are eligible for, and which one is best for your situation.

Options To Retain Your Home:

The following options will result in you retaining ownership of your property. First, you should make sure that you can afford the home and issues that brought you to this point. Was your situation short term or ongoing?

Repayment Plan: This usually involves establishing a schedule with your Lender to make a full regular monthly payment plus a little extra each month, to repay the delinquent amount over a specified period of time.
Special Forbearance Plan: This option may provide for a temporary reduction or suspension of payments, that will be increased at a later point to repay the delinquent amount over a specified period of time.
Mortgage Modification: This option may allow you to refinance the debt and / or extend the term of your existing mortgage loan.
HUD Partial Claim: If your loan is an FHA insured loan, your lender may be able to obtain a one time payment from the FHA-Insurance Fund to bring your mortgage loan current with payments.
Refinance: This option may allow you to use the equity that you have established in your home to pay the delinquent amount. Depending on the interest rate of your new loan, your monthly payments might be reduced. You can explore refinancing with your existing Lender as well as with any Lender of your choice.

Options To Dispose Of Your Home:

In situations where you do not want to oe can't afford to retain ownership of the home, the following disposition options may be available as an alternative to Foreclosure. These options affect your credit rating less than a Foreclosure will.

Sell The Home: If there is sufficient equity in the property, you may be able to receive more for your property than what is due on the mortgage loan. If not, contact a Realtor and negotiate a short sale with your lender.
Assumption: With this option, you would sign over the property to another person. That person would then take possession of your home, and take over making the payments. This option is not available in many states.
Short Sale: This option may allow you to sell your property for an amount less than what is necessary to pay off your mortgage loan. This option is increasingly popular.
Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure: This option may allow you to voluntarily "give back" the property to your Lender without further damaging your credit. Consult a Realtor, many times a lender will offer "cash for keys", allowing you to walkaway will a little cash in your pocket if you leave the home in a broom clean condition on a agreed upon date and time.

In this very difficult situation, it is best to contact a Realtor and your attorney to discuss what option is best for you as there can be tax issues on income and possible pending legal action on the deficiencies. If you find yourself in this position, remember to contact your lender, do not avoid the calls and notices. Contact your Realtor and attorney as quickly as possible.

The Fear of Success and Your Financial Future

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:49:06 -0500

Everyone wants something for free; they don't want to work for it, and they want it now. Well folks, I hate to break the news to you, success doesn't come for free. You have to ACT and work for it. What price are you willing to pay? The main reason people don't ACT is out of fear. Yes folks, FEAR. The fear of failing.

A few common responses to direct sales programs out there are "oh, I have tried a similar program and it never worked", "I am not a sales person", I don't have the time", "Fear of man, what will my friends think?", "It costs too much money to get started"...blah, blah, blah. What people fail to realize is that presenting a home based business opportunity to others is that "it is not about you and whether you succeed or fail, but it is about THEM. Other people may not have the same challenges as you do. Don't rob others of this opportunity to get themselves out of debt, send their kids to college, etc. Direct sales programs have been around forever. They obviously have had some success. If you choose to not ACT and do nothing, then in return, you will receive nothing, it is common sense.

To be successful in any venture you have to have CONVICTION. You have to believe that you are going to DO this thing and you are going straight to the top. If you do not believe then people will see it and hear it from you. If you don't have conviction, then you need to get the proper training, the proper reading materials and chat with other business people who do and that can motivate you to get out there and ACT. Many home based business opportunities can be started for less than $400.00; with no inventory to start a home based business...just think of the possibilities....receive a much higher return on your investment over the stock market.

Often people will never ACT unless they are called out....So we are doing you a favor and we are calling YOU out and you will thank us later. So what are you going to do? Just sit there and keep reading these endless articles day after day, or are you going to ACT today and do something about your life. Get off your chair and call us and talk to us about our opportunity we have to offer....we promise that we will not continue to call if you are not interested, we are busy people and don't have the time to pursue and persuade people, we want to focus on driven people who are motivated and want to step up to the plate and say YES, I can do this and work with us towards success.

We represent 2 awesome business opportunities to help you and your family to become financially free. These opportunities are available to EVERYONE who wants them; Realtors, lenders, teachers, stay at home moms, doctors and lawyers, Joe the Plumber, etc.

Fortune Hi Tech Marketing: Build a successful business selling name brand products and services that we all use in our homes and pay monthly bills on, thus creating a monthly residual income for you.

Who do you know that owns a cell phone, home phone, has a TV, has a computer with internet, takes nutricinal supplements, use beauty products or has been a victim of indenity theft? These are just some of the services offered with Fortune Hi Tech Marketing.

Zurvita: Build a successful business selling name brand services, such as fixed and variable rate energy plans, health plans, and personal discount programs on all of your online and off purchases, home protection plans and computer tech support plans.

Who do you know that goes shopping, go out to eat, shops online, buys cloths, purchases computers and office supplies? Who do you know that uses natural gas or electricity? How about someone who does not have emergency money set aside for unexpected and often expensive repairs to their home or appliances, health care issues or lack of health insurance?

Take a few minutes and review each business opportunity and see which one or both might be right for your situation, your family and your financial future. Print this article and hang it on your mirror, refrigerator or hang on your computer and read it a few times.

After 20 years of successful real estate investing and several business ventures, our lives we changed NOT by our actions, but buy forces beyond our control, we were forced to find an alternate means to support our family.

The U.S economy and the credit crisis of 2008 that affected ALL of us, has seen our real estate business near collapse, our 401 k plan lost over 40%, our net worth from real estate fell 50% and income dropped by more than $6,000.00 per month.

In 2008, we took control of our financial future and we ACTED and are so thankful to our friends that took the time to show us, successful business owners, the opportunities we are presenting to you.

You too have the opportunity to ACT! Are you going to keep relying on someone else for your pay check? Are you going to keep relying on your retirement plan to supplement your income when you retire, keep charging your monthly expenses, just to survive?

Zurvita Welcomes Your Travel Buddy Vacation Rentals

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:27:44 -0500

Zurvita recently welcomed leader and mentor Sherri Russell and Your Travel Buddy Vacation Rentals into its family. Zurvita is a business that has huge potential for anyone desiring to create not only a steady income but a residual income that will continue to grow and grow as the years pass.

Zurvita was founded by network marketers as a home for network marketers. Mark Jarvis, CEO and founder, along with his wife Tracy, were consistent 7-figure income earners in the field. They have always been "one company" people and now their company is Zurvita.

But it isn't just Mark and Tracy. The mark of a good leader is someone who surrounds themselves with powerful people, and these two have done that. The Zurvita field leadership is full of Marketing Representatives that have made big things happen in their network marketing careers. Why is this important to you? Because it is from these solid, high-integrity leaders that your true opportunity to become successful will emanate. These are the top industry professionals that work with Zurvita every day to create the kind of field leadership and training that will create the next

Zurvita has partnered with companies that are major players in their respective markets. The major supplier of Zurvita Choice, is one of largest natural gas and electricity suppliers in the country, serving nearly half a million customers in 14 states and 39 markets. Amacore, the parent company of Zurvita, works with a variety of partners to educate, advocate, present, and provide consumers with the many options available to them. They work with Fortune 500 companies to create affordable healthcare solutions for individuals, families, and businesses across the country.

"In all my years in online marketing, I have never seen a compensation plan or a business plan that is set up to help individuals become successful online, stated Sherri Russell of Your Travel Buddy, "You have people helping people to build a business. I would call this decision a no brainer. You are paying for these services already why not get paid for them and at the same time help thy neighbor to save and at the same time building your home based business at the same time which will pay you a residual income month after month, year after year."

"This is such a wonderful opportunity, that I began offering these services to our vacation partners, travelers and vacation property owners through Your Travel Buddy. In keeping with the value added concept that Your Travel Buddy was based on, we are happy to offer this concept to vacationers and property owners, everyone loves to save money, said Sherri Russell.

It's time for Zurvita to take this online and Sherri Russell will be bringing her team of mentors to help show individuals how to market these services to friends and family and online to others nationwide.

To find out more about this incredible business visit www.monaview.zurvita.biz or for a free consultation you may contact Sherri Russell at 616-638-9384 or Brent Vanderstelt at 231-206-5333.

Why Cap Your Energy Rates Now?

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:21:21 -0500

Where do you think energy rates are headed? According to top analysts and recent news reports, the only direction is "Up".

In Michigan, an energy package that will raise residential electric rates by up to 12 percent, require more electricity to be generated by renewable sources and put a cap on competition to the major utilities won final passage in the Legislature.

DTE officials said the average ratepayer who has a $75-a-month electric bill will pay an additional $6 to $6.50 monthly next year and $8 to $9 a month in the fifth year as a result of the legislation. Consumers Energy officials said monthly bills for average ratepayers will increase by $6 to $7.50.

Progress Energy who serves customers in Florida and some of the Southeastern states gives us a little glimpse into that question. In their statement they expect electricity rates to go up 31% next year. Bleak? I'll say. In North Carolina they are seeking a 16% rate increase.

In Florida the increase is to help Progress Energy recover their costs for fuel, clean air technology at coal burning power plants and nuclear plant investment.

How To Control The Cost Of Energy
With electricity and gas bills we pay one price one month and another price the next. And what's really interesting is that we use this energy and gas before we know how much we're going to be charged for it the following month. How do people manage and budget their money when they don't know what to plan or budget for? Well, the answer is... they really can't.

Kind of like a fixed rate mortgage, there is a way for you to control the cost of energy by having a fixed rate energy plan. For residents of Georgia, Texas, New York, Michigan, Ohio, and soon to be other states, a company called Zurvita can get customers on a fixed rate energy plan.

Zurvita Choice Customers Lock In Their Energy Rates
Currently Zurvita services 5 States: Texas, New York, Georgia, Ohio, and Michigan. With Zurvita Choice, a customer has better control over his or her budget and finances. Zurvita Choice customers lock in their energy rate for up to 3-years. This provides for a more stable financial plan in regards to the energy bill because there aren't any surprises. The really nice thing is that you can still keep your same energy company. The change is totally seamless and very simple.

Brent Vanderstelt is an entrepreneur who has taken energy deregulation to heart. One of his ongoing projects to help people save money on their energy costs can be found here. www.capenergyrates.com or become a representative with Zurvita at http://monaview.zurvita.com

Save Money with Fixed Rate Energy Plans for Your Vacation Home

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:18:59 -0500

Save Money with Fixed Rate Energy Plans for Your Vacation Home

Unless you've been living in the wilderness for the past few months, you may have noticed your energy prices are on the rise - and not by a small amount. Since 1999, natural gas prices have TRIPLED, electricity has DOUBLED, and in today's volatile market, energy prices fluctuate CONSTANTLY.

Rapidly growing wholesale costs of natural gas and oil have meant that the energy companies have scrambled to keep up - and that means increased bills for you.

Let's assume you're doing everything you can to save money. You're only using gas and electricity when absolutely necessary, you're switching lights off, your vacation home is well insulated, you use energy-saving light bulbs, etc. You can control those things, but energy prices will continue to rise regardless - and that's where fixed-price energy deals come in.

Vacation home owners can benefit with a fixed rate energy plan because you can lock in your rate for the next three years, thus potentially hundreds of dollars over the term of your contract. We have locked in our vacation home energy rates and encourage vacation home owners to do the same.

Fixed-rate deals may sound like a great idea, and in many ways they are, but there are a few things to consider before you go ahead.

Advantages of fixing

• Fixed energy deals offer security. What you pay now is what you will pay for the duration of the fixed period. Most energy companies will fix their rates for one or two years, but it can be longer.

So long as your other living costs stay more or less the same, this will enable you to plan how much money you have left over each month without worrying about sudden rises in your outgoings.

• The longer your fixed period, the more you should get for your money. For example, if you are on a fixed-rate deal for two years, and energy prices rise 25% in a year, it shouldn't be long before the amount you are paying is below what you would have paid on a standard variable-rate energy plan.

• The longer your fixed period lasts, the more prices are likely to rise - so you may face a big jump in prices when your deal comes to an end.

To learn more about how to cap your energy rates, visit the Zurvita Choice Energy website or Call 231-206-5333. Zurvita is currently open in 14 states.

Your Travel Buddy, a free vacation rental listing service will help you save money by offering free vacation rental listings and great money saving tips and articles for your vacation home or vacation rental business. Your Travel Buddy uses and recommends Zurvita Choice fixed rate energy plans for our vacation rental business.

"Vacation Packages" can increase revenue for Vacation Home Rentals

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:15:09 -0500

Traditionally in the travel industry, travelers are accustomed to seeing vacation packages primarily promoted by large resorts and hotels. A vacation package typically includes stay, meals and activities all for one discounted price.

Family travelers generally prefer vacation packages because they simply don't have the time to research restaurants and local activities to plan a successful family vacation and hope they made the right choices not being familiar with a desired vacation rental location. They just want to "get away" with as less effort as possible.

This same principle for "vacation packages" can be applied with vacation home rentals too. In fact, it makes more sense than ever for vacation home owners to partner with area businesses and create their own "vacation packages" to increase community interested with travelers. Vacation home rentals in general have attracted more interest especially now that travelers are staying closer to home.

"Vacation Packages" add tremendous value to a potential traveler, vacation owner and community, such as;

Proper restaurant selection - great food!
Safe Areas for travelers- pre-recommended parks, play grounds, activities
Generates more revenue w/in your community by keeping activities local and forcing guests to venture out and make additional purchases.
10%-25% savings in most cases
Increased reservations with vacation rentals
Convenience - restaurant certificates, activity reservations, and driving directions from vacation rental location provided. Boat rentals in the water and ready to use. Life jackets.
Peace of mind - for example, knowing the fishing guides have been background check and are safe/ professional and have been in business for a while - it can be intimidating going out into the water with someone you never met before and no way to escape.
SAVES TIME for the traveler
Additional Services; fire wood, information, FUN times

Desired stays are increasingly becoming shorter for many travelers due to hectic work and family schedules. Vacation home owners should learn to be more flexible on stay lengths to generate more interest also.

It may take a little effort on the vacation home owner's part in the beginning networking and creating these "vacation packages", but they can be very rewarding and increase reservations. Some areas of interest may be in adventure, canine friendly fun, hunting, river fishing, lake fishing, ice fishing, massage-spa, relaxing, family fun, fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking, boating, golf, etc.

Start to utilize years of personal experience and trusted relationships with local businesses from around your vacation home area and save the traveler time and energy while providing incredible value for their vacation dollar.

By Sherri Russell

Hess Lake Rentals and Your Travel Buddy

Newaygo, Mi

www.HessLakeRentals.com

Vacation Home Rentals are Becoming a New Trend "Say-Cations"

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:12:52 -0500

Many people will travel in the state of Michigan for a stay-cation in all seasons. Many look forward to spending quality time with family and friends, while others simply want to get away and unwind from the every day stresses. Some are looking for peace and quiet, while others are seeking adventure.

There are several advantages to renting a private vacation home. First, there is usually a lot more privacy in comparison to a hotel or motel! That will vary, depending on location and closeness of neighbors. Some may offer an outdoor hot tub like at the "The Charmer", a million dollar view at the "Poco Casa Chalet", home-like amenities at the "Buck Eye Breeze", group functionality at the "Paddle Shack", or great swimming, boating and ice fishing at "The Gray Goose". In some cases, you may be able to rent a home on acreage for some extra privacy or for hunting and fishing and snow sports purposes such as "The Bunkhouse".

Usually, renting a private vacation home can offer you more space to enjoy. This usually includes: private bedrooms, living room, full or partial kitchens, full or partial bathrooms with showers and tubs and a private lot or acreage setting. In some cases there will be a garage available for car storage during your visit. Games for children, Gas cooking grills, Cable TV, internet services provided also.

One thing to take into consideration relative to the cost of renting a vacation home is that in a home you are usually able to cook your own meals in a kitchen. Therefore you can save on the cost of going out to eat your meals. For a family on a budget, that can save a lot of money and enhance the type of accommodation they can afford.

We encourage you to start planning. If you don't have the time, contact us, and we will create a package for you - (stay, meals and activities at 10%-25% savings)

Call Sherri @ 616-638-9384 and make your reservation today.

Website: www.HessLakeRentals.com

By Sherri Russell of Hess Lake Rentals in Newaygo and Your Travel Buddy Vacation Rentals.

How Can I Receive Additional Bookings for MY Vacation Rental?

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:08:49 -0500

When we entered the vacation rental business in 2005, we really did not know much about the vacation rental business, so I went out and purchased every book I could find on the subject.

What I learned was that I quickly needed to build a website to get my properties available on the internet. Upon doing so, I discovered that I need quality links to my website to get higher rankings.

Upon searching for high quality links, links that centered around my website theme, vacation, tourism and travel, I discovered the benefits of linking to my local Chamber of Commerce and local Tourism Board or CVB (Convention and Visitor's Bureau).

When you join your local Chamber of CVB, it will cost you a few hundred dollars to become and "member" and have the linking abilities to your website. But as member's of these great community based associations, you are also entitled to other benefits associated with them. You may get discounted health benefits, inclusion in their press releases, as a featured business of the month, advertising discounts and much, much more.

After I had paid my dues to become a member of my Chamber and CVB, I saw my website referrals from these association websites skyrocket. Each month, these sites refer hundreds of clients to my website search for accommodation in my area.

In addition to the many other benefits that you will receive by joining these great associations, you will get massive traffic or referrals to your personal vacation rental website.

We have even partnered with these associations to sponsor many area festivals and events, which drives additional visitors to our vacation rental business. In fact; our website traffic is currently up over 425%, according to Alexia.com.

Sense starting our vacation rental business, and moving closer to our business, we have become active member's and now sit on the elected boards of each.

I would encourage all vacation rental owner's to become member's, active or not to join their local Chamber's and CVB's to enjoy the many benefits that each association offers. This is the best couple hundred dollars that you could spend locally, and it benefits your local community, as well.

By Brent Vanderstelt

Your Travel Buddy, Free Vacation Rental Listings

How to Use Videos to Market Your Vacation Rental

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:04:00 -0500

Want to be on the cutting edge when it comes to Internet marketing your vacation rental? The big thing in Internet marketing is video marketing, and it's easy to use video marketing to sell your vacation rental or website.

What is Video Marketing?

Video marketing is a new Internet marketing tool that is just on fire on among people that do business on the Web. Video marketing has launched the success of everything from movies to colognes. In the past video marketing wasn't really possible because of the slow speed of most Internet connections but these days most people that use the Internet have DSL or high speed cable Internet connections so that videos can be streamed from the Web with no problem Video marketing entails making small video clips that are funny, or informative, or have high tech graphics that get people's attention.

How is Video Marketing Different from Regular Commercials?

On the surface video marketing might seem like just another variation of a regular commercial but the difference is that most video marketing is done virally. Viral videos are videos that are embedded into a blog, or a website, or a profile on a social networking site like MySpace or Facebook. The code for the video includes a link so that people can email the video to their friends and family or submit it to news aggregator sites. Once a video gets spread around the Web, like a virus, it can generate thousands of hits to the website that it is advertising.

How to Make a Viral Video

Usually viral video clips are short, between 30 seconds and 2 minutes, and need to do more than just advertise a product or website. When advertising your vacation rental, a short clip is the best option to maintain the viewer attention. There are lots of resources on the Web that give detailed instructions on how to make a great viral video.

There are lots of sites that you can upload your video to where it will get seen by people but the most popular site for videos on the Web is YouTube. YouTube is a free site where you can upload your video clips after setting up a profile.

YouTube videos are displayed with links and HTML code in them so that watchers can email the video, embed the video in their own websites or blogs, or link to the video. If you want to see some great examples of video marketing go to YouTube and check out some of the great videos that users of YouTube have created.

Another popular, vacation and travel centered, FREE, video sharing website is, Vacation Commercials.com and is ran by YTB Travelmore Media, owner of YTB Vacation Rentals by Owner and the top Internet vacation blog, YTB World Travel and Vacations Blog and several travel booking websites.

By Brent Vanderstelt and Your travel Buddy, a FREE vacation rentals listing website packed full of useful articles and marketing tips for vacation home and vacation rental owners.

Do I Need Travel Incentives for My Vacation Rentals Business?

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:23:25 -0500

If you are a vacation rental or small business owner, chances are you'd like to increase your sales and improve customer loyalty. Here's the secret: give your customers free vacations! We've partnered with almost FREE travel premiums for hotel nights, promotional plane tickets, 2-for-1 cruises, and discount golf memberships. Sounds expensive, right? Well, not here. We'll have your marketing promotion on its way for much less than you'd expect.

We have many people asking if they need "incentives" for their vacation rental business. My answer is always the same, "what do you think"?. While we are vacation rental owners, we do not have a direct pulse on the whole U.S or foreign vacation home market.

If you are asking, then you must feel that there is a need for one reason or another. Some of the reason that I use travel incentives are.

Offering free incentives for joining my email subscription list
As giveaways for local Chamber, CVB and charity events (see related story)
In exchange when someone asks for a discount on rates
To put together vacation packages
Increase "off season" vacancies

If you are in a competitive vacation rental market, say Gatlinburg Tennessee that you may offer travel incentives to increase your bookings and set yourself apart from other property owners not offering travel incentives.

Travel incentives play an important role in my vacation rental business and we use them on a regular basis. You to can incorporate travel incentives in your business to increase bookings, eliminate reducing your rental rate and use for external reasons.

We have used several travel incentive providers in the past and will continue to do so, but in keeping with our FREE slogan, we use and recommend Almost Free Travel (http://www.almostfreetravel.com/) and encourage you to give them a try.

If you couple travel incentives with all the other FREE vacation rental marketing advice found on this site, you can dramatically increase your bookings and profitability. See our other vacation rental marketing articles.

By Brent Vanderstelt

Your Travel Buddy

Which Vacation Rental Availability Should I Use?

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:21:21 -0500

Do you own a vacation rental website and are asking yourself "which vacation rental availability should I use"? As a vacation rental owner, I had to ponder this question myself. After all, a Google search reveals that there are lots of free and paid options available. But which is the right vacation rental calendar to use?

HomeAway (www.homeawayconnect.com), formerly Renters.org, really simplifies the rental of your vacation home and is FREE to use. You can save time with the day-to-day details of your vacation rental, so you can focus on what's really important- finding the right guests and making them feel at home.

Weather you rent a little or a lot? HomeAway Connect can help you.

Manage your reservation and payment process with online tools.
Get ideas and advice from a community of vacation homeowners.
Benefit from the experiences of a team of vacation rental experts.

How it Works

Already have an account on Rentors.org, HomeAway Network (A1Vacations.com, CyberRentals.com, GreatRentals.com, HomeAway.com) or VRBO?

No sign-up or registration process is required. You will be automatically upgraded to the new Reservation Calendar.

If you don't have an account, follow these 4 easy steps to get one.

To open your free account, use your email address as your login ID and choose your own password - you'll need it in order to maintain your vacation rental calendar in the future.

After you create your account and select the tools you want, you will be assigned a unique Property ID.

Use your new login ID and password on the HomeAway Connect website (formerly Rentors.org) to update your property's Reservation Calendar anytime.

To link to your Reservation Calendar from another website, use the URL (web address) below and replace "[your property ID here]" with your unique Property ID number.
http://www.homeawayconnect.com/calendar.aspx?propertyid=[your property id here]
For example:
http://www.homeawayconnect.com/calendar.aspx?propertyid=9
Please update your bookmarks and links. All you need to change is Rentors.org to homeawayconnect.com

As vacation rental owners, we use the FREE HomeAway calendar because it allows you enter renter's information, arrival time and special instructions, and contact information.

What is even better, it works across the HomeAway Network that currently includes about 8 paid vacation rental directories and your own personal site, and our FREE Vacation Rental Listing site, Your Travel Buddy.

So, when you make a reservation and you update your HomeAway calendar, just ONCE! Your calendar is automatically updated on all sites where it is featured.

You do not have to list your vacation home on the HomeAway Network to get a free calendar, but we highly recommend it, as we have our vacation homes listed with them, along with our own personal vacation rental website and our FREE Vacation Rental website, Your Travel Buddy.

HomeAway Network and VRBO is the largest network of paid vacation rental services and get receive millions of hits each and every day. The cost to advertise your vacation home on the HomeAway Network is just $299.00 per year.

We are not associated with the HomeAway Network, but we know vacation rentals and we use their FREE vacation calendar and paid listing services.

Please feel free to list your vacation rentals on our FREE vacation rental advertising website and be sure to include your HomeAway calendar link to your listing. We all could use additional free advertising and bookings.

By Brent Vanderstelt

Your Travel Buddy

Marketing Your Vacation Rentals

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:19:41 -0500

Using word-of-mouth marketing strategies and NO cost methods to effectively reach vacationers

The adage "you have to spend money to make money" does not have to guide a vacation rental owner's marketing efforts. In fact, the marketing strategy that produces the best results is word-of-mouth recommendations, also called viral marketing.

Want to get people talking about a vacation rental property? It's easier and less expensive than many people think. Skip the advertisements in the daily newspaper, which are usually costly and are recycled after one reading. Try a few of these low-cost methods:

List Your Vacation Rental on Our FREE Vacation Rental by Owner Directory

Yes, you can still list your vacation rental for FREE and this is not an introductory rate at YTB Vacation Rentals by Owner.com This up and coming and very unique website will be the number one vacation rental listing and vacation rental "for sale by owner" site.

Include information about the vacation rental in every e-mail

Most e-mail programs are capable of attaching a small amount of information to the end of every e-mail sent, called an e-mail signature. Taking advantage of this simple feature can help reach hundreds of people without spending a dime.

Tip: Keep the information short and simple, such as "Beachfront vacation rental in downtown Miami" followed by a hyperlink or phone number.

Post on Craigslist

Free, simple and effective: Marketers don't come across opportunities with these qualities very often; when they do, they don't hesitate. Create a posting on Craigslist Consider posting to several major cities within a few hours of the property. In addition, if the vacation rental is in a location that would have widespread appeal, such as Las Vegas, consider posting to major cities nationwide.

Hold an open house

Invite local residents to see the inside of the rental property. Offer coffee and snacks to attendees so they feel comfortable and relaxed. Try to have a conversation with every person that walks through the door. While a few will seek out the free food and try to leave, many will be excited to tell their friends and in-laws about the property and friendly owners. We use this approach effectively each spring.

Stock the visitors' center with brochures

Place brochures in the visitor's center and anywhere else visitors are apt to visit during their trip to town. Local restaurants, shops and public areas often have brochure holders specifically to provide useful information to tourists.

Create a website for the vacation rental

There are inexpensive ways to get a vacation rental online. We use Russell Domains and Web Hosting for our vacation rental website. For less than $10.00 for a domain and $5.00 per month, you can create a personalized vacation rental website. Another option is to create a free blog using a blog platform such as Blogger or post your articles on our travel and vacation blog FREE of charge.

Advertise Utilizing Articles

Article marketing is a cost effective form of advertising. Writing an article is free, if you are not comfortable writing articles, you can hire a freelance writer for just a few dollars an article. Post your articles with visual appealing photos on our vacation blog for FREE and try many other free article directories such as For more information, read our article "How to Use Articles to Market Your Vacation Rental".

Create Video Clips of Your Vacation Rental

Create short 30 second to 2 minute video clips to share your vacation rental experience on FREE video sharing websites such as YouTube and Vacation Commercials.com. The big thing in Internet marketing is video marketing, and it's easy to use video marketing to sell your vacation rental or website.

Using only one of the methods will not work well for a marketing strategy. Try to combine two or three together, selecting print and Internet methods, to reach as wide an audience as possible.

The experience of vacationing at the property has to be as great as, if not better than, the marketing. Providing first-rate customer service and sending a personalized thank you card to customers are unparalleled means of retaining customers. Happy customers also speak highly of their trip...and where they stayed.

Showcase standout features

If the property itself has a standout feature, showcase it. Properties that lack built-in features need a service or two that stands out from competitors. Try teaming up with other business owners to offer special discounts, having groceries delivered, or providing special bridal or romantic packages such as flowers. We offer a FREE bridal registry and flowers through our YTB Business.

Finally, in every print and internet source, have the same general information and one place to seek more detailed information. For the basics, include:

Photo of the outside
A clear snapshot of the interior
Property address and general location (five minutes from downtown)
Reservation information (book two months advance for best rates)
Contact phone number (and Web site if available)
Unique feature of service (romantic dinner for two at included)

The key is to excite the reader with pictures and text within a few seconds. Give enough information to pique interest but not so much as to overwhelm the reader.

Brent Vanderstelt is a vacation rental owner, web developer and SEO expert in the travel and vacation markets. Brent also owns several travel booking websites, a vacation rental by owner website and several travel related blogs, video sharing sites and travel agent marketing websites. Free Vacation Rental Listings

How to Write a Traffic Generating Property Description for Your Vacation Rental

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:16:54 -0500

Renters will focus of many different aspects of your vacation rental listing, so writing a good property description is important. A good property description will give the owner an opportunity to sell the rental and answer questions that a potential renter may have.

Writing a property description that will rank your property listing higher in internet searches is the same concept, except you will utilize "Keywords" that will make your property listing easier to find when someone is searching for your property in the leading search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.

Keywords are words or phrases that a renter is most likely to enter into search engines searches. Example: Florida Keys vacation homes.

Your "Keywords" should also be included in your property heading, as well. What are "keywords"? Let's say that your vacation rental is in the Florida Keys. Your keywords will include Florida Keys, so you will want to mention the words Florida Keys often in your property description and include it in your heading.

What to include in writing your property description:

• Through your renters eyes. Painting a clear picture for the renter will help them visualize staying at your vacation home. Use descriptive words for listing homes and words like "you" and "your" to speak directly to potential guests.

• Description of beds/bedrooms at the beginning. The beds and bedrooms are extremely important to prospective renters and should be included in the beginning of the description. Don't make renters search for what could be the most critical aspect of selecting a vacation rental to book. Using numbers within your description will also help readers find information easier.

• Amenities and features. Highlight the best aspects of your home so renters know what is included. Using capitalized words will also help draw attention to the best features of your home.

• Brief location description at the end. Many owners are tempted to include location information at the beginning when writing a property description. Since the renter is already interested in visiting your area, this information is less critical. This is your opportunity to sell your home, but you should include some local attractions at the end of the property description, especially if you are in a competitive vacation rental market.

What NOT to include:

• Poor grammar and spelling or lack of punctuation. Not everyone is a writer, and some might struggle with how to write a description about a property. However, it is important to double-check what you've written and ask others to review your vacation rental listing. Multiple mistakes might make a renter wary of your vacation rental business. We suggest that you use Microsoft Word or similar program and run spell check.

• Abbreviations. Writing a good condo description or cottage description or cabin description means being thorough and limit the use of abbreviations. Not everyone is familiar with the same abbreviations, so it is important to be extremely clear when writing a property description.

• Unnecessary words. Although thoroughness is a useful ad listing tip, don't lessen the value of your description by including unnecessary words. Stick to the selling points to engage potential renters. A shorter description is better than one that rambles on.

Successful vacation rental listings include as much information as possible without making the reader have to dig for information. Draw attention to the highlights of your home in an easy to read manner for renters that focus on the property description.

When you list nearby attractions, you will also want to use your keywords, but here you can expand on keywords for addition traffic utilizing other related keywords.

Here is an example of a keyword loaded list for nearby attractions.

Florida Keys Scuba Diving

Florida Keys Golf

Florida Keys Dolphin Encounters

Florida Keys Sport Fishing Charters

Florida Keys Art Galleries

Florida Keys Overseas Highways

Florida Keys Kayaking and Eco Tours

Florida Keys Water Sports

Florida Keys Restaurants

Florida Keys Antiques and Collectables

Florida Keys Children Activities

John Campbell Coral Reef State Park

Such a keyword loaded attractions list will drive traffic to your vacation rental listing. When a customer is searching for a place to stay, the number two item they are searching for is activities and attractions, have this keyword loaded information available. Such a keyword loaded attractions section may get you a booking by the renter searching for let's say "Florida Golf" and stumbling upon your property utilizing a keyword loaded property description and attractions list.

If your vacation rental by owner listing website offers additional attraction hyper-links, utilize your local CVB (convention and Visitors Bureau) and/or local Chamber of Commerce or tourist association for additional attractions, festivals and area happenings.

You should also consider joining your local Chamber, CVB or tourist association and have them link to your property listing. I do this with my local Chamber and CVB Board and this generates hundreds of inquiries each month. I track my traffic using Google Analytics.

If you need assistance in writing a traffic generating, keyword load vacation rental listing and you are not comfortable doing so, consider hiring a freelance writer to do so for you. You can hire a freelance writer relatively cheap and they are easy to find by doing a search for "freelance writers". The cost of a freelance writer in comparison to increased bookings, especially in a competitive rental market in critical.

Brent Vanderstelt is a vacation rental owner, web developer and SEO (search engine optimization) expert for the vacation and travel industry. Brent's newest web project is YTB Vacation Rentals by Owner, a FREE vacation rental listing website

How to Use Articles to Promote Your Vacation Rental

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:14:15 -0500

Writing and submitting articles about your vacation rental is the cheapest and most cost effective form of advertising a property owner can do to increase traffic to his/her property listing.

Article writing increases traffic to your listing as it is picked up by several travel and vacation websites and blogs through our RSS (really simple syndication) feed and creates quality back links to your property listing, which is important in increasing organic web traffic (search engine optimization).

Article writing is also very cost effective as you can write your own vacation rental articles for FREE or hire a freelance writer for just a few dollars an article.

You do not need to be an expert writer, just write at least 4 articles (seasonal) annually and they may be a long or short as you wish, but 400-600 words are best.

When you are writing your vacation rental promotion articles, utilize "keywords" to increase your efforts with the top search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. Keywords are search terms a property renter may enter in to search engines when searching for a vacation rental, such as "Florida Keys vacation homes".

Include your keywords in the title and throughout the body of your vacation rental article for maximum exposure and increase your organic search engine rankings.

Talk about your vacation rental, area attractions, restaurants, unique shops and shopping opportunities, hidden treasures, what to see or what not to see, etc. and utilize keywords such as "Disney vacation rental" or near "Florida Keys scuba diving" or "Caribbean deep sea fishing charters".

Make your vacation rental article visually appealing and include 1 quality photo with your article. Your article should be no larger than 400x400 pixels.

Ok, you have your FREE, well written, keyword optimized vacation rental article and quality photo, where can you have your article published for FREE? Our vacation blog, YTB Travelmore World Travel and Vacations Blog (http://myytbtravel.blogspot.com) accepts articles with photos. Email your articles and photos to our webmaster.

You may also submit your article to several FREE article directories, such as

http://www.amazines.com/view_author.cfm?authorid=28402&Author=BRENT%20VANDERSTELT,

these are the article directories I use in addition to my own vacation blogs. These article directories will not accept photos, but are effective just the same.

Brent Vanderstelt is a vacation rental owner, web developer and SEO expert for the travel and vacation industry. Brent's latest project is Your Travel Buddy Vacation Rentals (http://www.ytbvacationrentals.com) by Owner, a FREE Vacation Rental by Owner directory service.

Your Travel Buddy, Offers Free Property Listings for Owners and Real Estate Agents.

Brent Vanderstelt (Your Travel Buddy) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:11:16 -0500

Your Travel Buddy (www.ytbvacationrentals.com) website will connect homeowners and property managers with travelers who seek the unique space, value and amenities of vacation rental homes as an alternative to hotels. With more than 284,000 available global listings, travelers may Your Travel Buddy.

Your Travel Buddy Vacation Rentals by Owner will be a totally free vacation rental listing service, with comparable features to many popular paid listing websites such as VRBO.com and Homeaway Network. Your Travel Buddy Vacation Rentals will feature additional benefits, such as Google Maps, a "last Minute" deals link for the thousands of travelers who book their vacations within two weeks of travel, and a vacation property FSBO (for sale by owner) link which will allow property owners and agents to also to list their vacation property, also for free.

YTB Vacation Rentals by Owner will be advertiser supported with Goodle Adsense and our travel provider partners. Our travel partners will provide travel booking technology to provide flight search, car rentals, hotels, cruises, vacation packages, golf vacations, event tickets and attractions, concert tickets, professsional sporting event tickets and adventure travel trips.

Our adventure travel provider offers world wide adventure travel trips, including trekking, mountain climbing, mountain biking, scuba diving trips and instruction, snorkeling, deep sea fishing, sky diving, kayaking, canoe trips, inside passge trips in Alaska, whitewater rafting, big game hunts, safarri hunts, fresh and saltwater salmon and trout fishing.

Travelers when searching for a vacation rental will be able to book a vacation home, book a flight, rent a car, purchase event tickets or book snorkling and deep dea fishing trips from one convienent travel website.

Indusrty leader VRBO.Com is a large site that reaches over 1.7 million people per month (5.6 million page views), mostly caucasian, slightly slant more educated females, ages 50+, afflieuent audiances. It will be the goal of YTB Vacation Rentals to be the largest vacation rental by owner website. * source: http://www.quantcast.com/vrbo.com

Upon completion of the Your Travel Buddy Vacation Rentals site, with an vacation property base of 25,000 by years end and 100,000 listings by 2011 making Your Travel Buddy one of the largest vacation rental by owner listing site.

Your Travel Buddy Vacation Rentals is being developed by Brent Vanderstelt and Sherri Russell of Newaygo Michigan and owners of Hess Lake Rentals (www.hesslakerentals.com).

Brent Vanderstelt is a successful vacation rental business owner, internet marketer, real estate investor and successful blogger and website developer. Brent has nearly 2 dozen websites and blogs on travel, real estate and vacation rentals.

Sherri Russell is a successful product engineeer, vacation rental business owner, real estate investor and avid home designer.

For more information:

Your Travel Buddy-A Mona View Holdings LLC company

9837 Kathleen Dr.

Grant Michigan 49327

Phone 231-206-5333

Fax 616-604-1900

Brent Vanderstelt (brent@monaviewholdings.com)

Sherri Russell (sherri@monaviewholdings.com)