News Author: Rex Brown

Like many short term rentals around the world, we were locked down in my Seazen rental in Melbourne.  How could we get ready and spring back to life when the lockdown was

So what do you do when there are no guests?  The pause in bookings may go on for as long as the Coronavirus shuts down business and disrupts our lives.

Everyone is uncertain about travel right now. No one really knows how the coronavirus will affect them.  Should I take that overseas holiday I booked? I might get stuck.  Should

Our friends were amazed.  They had been renting their apartment on Airbnb for the last year for the times they were not using their apartment.  They were learning the hard

The short answer of course is we don’t really know, but it may not all be bad for everyone. We don’t know if Coronavirus will fizzle out in China through

You know you are doing something right when 11 of the next 13 days booked are from past guests who read your newsletter. That was the case last week when

Gradually the internet giants dominating accommodation bookings are being reeled in by consumer watchdogs.  The travel aggregator Trivago is the latest culprit convicted.  On 21 January 2020,  Trivago was found

Do you have a newsletter email list that you can use in a crisis? It is a valuable asset. This was brought home to me this month as the Australian

This week a friend said she hadn’t listed on booking.com because she was worried they would control her prices.  Is she right? Well, yes and no. For years Booking has

Calendars are at the heart of short term rental operations. Get them right, all goes smoothly.  Get them wrong, it can cause grief.  This article compares the main online travel

The online travel agencies (OTAs) are responding to industry demand for ‘Co-hosting’ for short term rental property owners. In the past this was hard, but the OTAs have made it

Short term rental owners often think they are locked in to the online travel agencies (OTAs)  like Airbnb for all their bookings.  They feel trapped, exploited and powerless.  Is that

Continuing our series on outstanding performers in our industry. Bryan James operates Points South, a group of 3 self-contained cottages at Wongarra on the Great Ocean Road Australia. points-south.com.au  They

Yesterday a friend with a rental was shaking her head.  “You won’t believe it. They’ve put my stovetop coffee maker into the dishwasher and it’s ruined, it’s black!” We have

I have a tough ask of you, my readers.  I’d like to hear from you if you are doing some things that are special that help you stand out from your competitors.

Through tears my cleaner Lesley said “I’m leaving, so sorry”.  Yikes, this was very bad news! She knew she was the only private cleaner in town, and other private cleaners

Sometimes, vacation rental owners have to know the really important question to ask your guests. This came to me when I was speaking to a switched on audience at Yarra Valley tourism

360 degree photos get you to the next level of quality in displaying your rental property, giving your future guests an amazing immersive experience. Trust in reality The curious guest

Creative cockroach? The Airbnb founders were from design school where they learned to be creative.  Their early inspiration to make money from hiring airbeds soon morphed into creative ways for

A vacation rental colleague told me a surprising story of how a return guest declined her direct booking discount, and made a more expensive booking through an OTA!  Thank you