The weather is expected to be very nice in the Outer Banks next week.  With any luck at all, the 60 – 70 degree weather anticipated next week will hold for a while.  There are many properties available on Open Vacation Weeks.  Owners, don’t let these last few weeks of the season pass you by without an aggressive effort to maximize revenue.  Try posting a special from OVW to Craigslist.  It takes about 2 minutes.

Another unique capability exclusively for Open Vacation Weeks Clients…within the next 30 days we are anticipating the release of a feature that could truly change how renters search our site for a property within their budget.  Historically, bargain seekers have responded to Craigslist ads and/or combed through individual calendars to see which properties match their needs and fits their budget.  It is impossible to gauge an owners response to the inevitable question “will you take less since it is still vacant.”  It is an arduous process for the renter.  With OVW’s new “Offer Wall,” renters can post their last minute offers to a board by area, budget and amenities.  Owners that have open calendars will go review the offers on the board to see if any of the offers are close enough for discussion of their property.  It’s almost like a reverse Craigslist post to a targeted area of owners and property managers.  This will save a ton of time for the renter and provide the owners another option for finding renters to maximize revenue.  We’ll keep you posted on the release date.

One of the main goals in building this product was to give owners and property managers a way to take control of their marketing. We have a couple of properties in the Outer Banks of NC. Over the years, we have become more and more comfortable leveraging the internet to help people “find” our houses, but we never had a way to do more than sit back and wait for people to find us. So, we built Open Vacation Weeks. I like to draw the analogy this way…with sites like Homeaway, VRBO and others, you are sitting back, like a catcher, waiting for people to find you (waiting for the ball). With our site, you get to pitch. The tools we provide help you find renters. In addition to the annual listing, some of the tools we provide include an e-bay-like auction posting, easy post to Craigslist and an email blast capability. Give it a try and tell us if you like what it does for you.