Customer Reviews

How to Make Your Vacation Property Work for You!: The Quick and Easy Guide to Advertising, Renting, Managing, and Making Money from Your Second Home

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just paid over $100 for this book and I was disappointed. Over 100 of the 300 pages of the guide are simply a glorified advertisement and screen prints (filler) from what the authors call the "big 4" vacation rental websites. There were a few useful tips that I got from the last two chapters of the book, but it is not worth the price. This book may help you if you have never rented a house before, and you are new to the internet, otherwise, it is much too basic to be useful.

Great book. Worth every penny. My listings are going through the roof! I have owned long term rentals for some time, but this was my first venture with a vacation rental. After implementing a number of suggestions from the book, my bookings are now 30% above where they were a year ago. Very, very worthwhile purchase.

Rick Scali

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Alfred and Emily for the excellent job they have done in putting together this book and CD on How To Make Your Vacation Property Work For You! It seems they have left no stone unturned in their effort to provide as much step by step information on how to do the best possible job in marketing and renting a property. We are brand new to this business. Our acquisition of these materials has come at exactly the right time. From marketing and managing your property to developing comprehensive forms and checklists, it is all there in clear and concise language. "Quick tips" provide you with excellent helps and innovative ideas that the authors have either used successfully or give suggestions on how you might go about using them. This book is a "Must Have" for anyone who is thinking about getting into the vacation rental business or who is already in the business.

This book is a must-have for anyone looking to rent their vacation property. Alfred and Emily cover everything that you need to know - from internet sites to list with, numerous marketing strategies, property management checklist, and a host of other important topics. It will definitely boost your rental income and truly "make your vacation property work for you!"

Alfred and Emily have put together one of the first comprehensive primers on how to turn your vacation home into a money making short-term rental. Whether you are just buying, already own, or hope to you can get a big head start with the insight this handy workbook provides. Good check lists, tips and techniques. Owning a vacation rental home is a great way to have your cake and eat it too. Use the home whenever you can get there, rent it out when you can't. The members of the Vacation Rental Owners Association recommend this book - Ron Lee, Assistant, Director

In the interest of full disclosure I manage a vacation rental listing website for owners to advertise their properties.

It is unfortunate that the information in the Glossbrenners is not exactly accurate or unbiased.

The authors advise that all you need to do is advertise on the "big 4". This is a huge advertisement for 4 web sites and a disservice to owners of vacation rentals.

The truth is: The "big 4", as the authors call them, No longer dominate search engine results. Many newer, high traffic sites, are doing far better than the big 4. These newer sites tend to be more user friendly than the other four sites, which haven't changed much since they were launched.

When it comes to online advertising, the authors are offering poor advice to vacation rental owners.

Since it is online visibility that vacation rental owners need to rent their homes, and since many other sites receive tremendous online traffic, the authors are simply incorrect in advising vacation rental owners only advertise on these 4 sites.

Certainly these sites should be considered, though it is necessary for owners to do searches on the internet to see what sites do the best in the owner's particular regional market.

The authors are correct in saying that these 4 websites were the first to enter into the online world of promoting vacation rentals for owners. While they did obtain a head start they no longer have marketplace dominance.

Moreover, from a property management and rental perspective, the book is filled with information that most vacation property owners just cannot do from a distance. The authors own a bed and breakfast on their personal homestead. There are many things that are different when handling long distance rentals.

I had been debating on for the past year on whether to pursue the vacation rental business. I had many questions that I needed answering. And I found almost all of them addressed by this book.

After studying it carefully, I felt fully armed with the knowledge of how to make this business work for me. I felt confident to purchase my first vacation rental property and have had bookings since my first day due to the marketing advice presented in this extremely informative book.

I saved many frustrating hours in filling out forms and writing ad copy for the four recommended vacation rental websites because there is detailed instructions on EXACTLY how to fill them out, what would give me best ad placement, etc. I'm sure I've saved a great deal of money in going directly to the best sites to advertise instead of trial and error.

For me, it is well worth the money to invest in this very practical and informative book. I appreciate that Emily and Alfred make themselves available for personal phone consultation as well. After a personal coaching session critiquing my ad copy and photos, I was able to fine-tune my ads to be even more effective. Thanks!

We're pleased to share this review written by travel writer and vacation-rental guru Joyce Hadley Copeland, author of the "Renting Paradise" series of e-guidebooks on exceptional vacation rental properties. The review originally appeared in Ms. Copeland's Ramblings blog at her RentingParadise.com website and is posted here with her permission. -- Alfred & Emily Glossbrenner, Authors

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME... THEN AGAIN, MAYBE YOU SHOULD

If you've had great experiences renting vacation homes--and especially if you've been swept into the welcoming (usually figurative) embrace of a particularly passionate owner--a funny thing might start happening. You might start imagining yourself doing the vacation rental thing yourself. And why not ask Alfred and Emily Glossbrenner?

If you own or are thinking of buying a vacation rental property, the Glossbrenners will show you how to pay your mortgage and make money by renting it yourself. Their 300-page book/CD seminar-in-a-box is based on what the couple learned from a decade renting a Williamsburg-style cottage on their property in Bucks County, PA. Today their second home is routinely fully booked as much as six months in advance.

The book is engaging (the Glossbrenners are successful authors with over 60 books to their credit) and full of practical wisdom, step-by-step instructions and clear examples that will guide you in maximizing the Internet to promote and rent your dream vacation or retirement home (finding the right listing sites, boosting your search engine ranking etc.).

HERE'S WHAT I ESPECIALLY LOVE: Guidelines for writing a property description! "Write from the Heart!" These smart-cookie marketers advocate infusing rental descriptions with "personality." (Because, aren't we all tired of the hype?) They talk about "painting a picture" for rental prospects... going into detail about what you (the owner) personally love about the property such as distinctive architectural details or an interesting history... weaving in off-the-beaten-path secret places you've discovered. That's music to a prospective vacation renter's ears. AND they devote a whole section to "Enhancing Your Listing With Great Photos." Hallelujah!

The Glossbrenners also include a CD containing a collection of personally-selected Windows programs to help you manage and market your vacation rental property--in what is becoming a highly competitive market niche--in your spare time.

Check out the 30-day Money-Back Guarantee. But also check out the Glossbrenners' promise: "Regardless of your rental rate, and regardless of season, if you get just one extra booking as a result of what we have to teach you, this vacation rental owner's training package will have paid for itself many times over. And it will continue to do so year after year from now on."

Pssst: Check with your accountant. You may be able to write the whole thing off as a business expense.

Joyce Hadley Copeland
Ramblings Blog
RentingParadise.com

THIS BOOK IS THE BEST. If you have a rental property in a vacation area, this is the best source of "how to". It tells you where to advertize and give sample of documents to be used.

As a long-time vacation owner and manager, I can highly recommend Alfred and Emily's system to those owners just starting out. The forms, copyrighting tips, and sections on how to advertise and attract guests are important elements for success.

When I bit the bullet and bought a property in the Bahamas over eight years ago, my wife and I were genuinely afraid we'd made a big mistake. At the time I didn't know about the Glossbrenner's system and had to figure it out on my own. Because of our lenghty learning curve, I DON'T recommend others do this! Get the book and CD's and start putting warm bodies in your vacation home now. Then you can breathe easier and more often.