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Whistler Homeowner's Newsletter - October 2009

Written / edited by  Troy Assaly.

Troy Assaly,
ResortAc.com Owner

Contents...

This edition of our newsletter is focused on tips to get more reservations on ResortAc.com for your Whistler vacation rental.

Please forward to anyone you believe would appreciate the information.  For instructions on how to subscribe or be removed from our list, see the bottom of this newsletter.

We appreciate your suggestions and feedback.

Whistler newsletter topics - October 2009 - at a glance:

1. INCREASE RESERVATIONS WITH DISCOUNT LIFT TICKETS

2. REVIEWS ARE YOUR SECRET WEAPON

3. LOOKING FOR OLYMPICS BOOKINGS?

4. VACATION RENTAL PORTALS VS. YOUR OWN WEBSITE - WHICH IS BETTER?

5. CALL FOR WHISTLER VIDEOS

6. NEWSLETTER TOPICS OF INTEREST

7. SUBSCRIBE & REMOVE INSTRUCTIONS

Increase Bookings...

1. INCREASE RESERVATIONS WITH DISCOUNT LIFT TICKETS

 RECOMMEND DISCOUNT LIFT TICKETS FOR ALL YOUR GUESTS - KIDS SKI FREE & EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS TILL NOVEMBER 15TH

Get your share of the rental pie... competition for Whistler packages is stronger than ever, but we have the best Whistler lift ticket rates we've ever had. Your guests save up to 39% and kids ski free.

We are into our 7th season selling lift tickets securely online at www.ResortAc.com/lifttickets.asp. Every order is handled by a real human who ensures that your guests are looked after properly.

Your guests' convenience and security are guaranteed!

• Save time - Avoid the lift ticket windows & have tickets personally delivered to your Whistler lodging (for orders $2500 or more).
• Save money - Guaranteed cheaper than Whistler Blackcomb ticket window prices... KIDS SKI FREE!
• Secure - Credit card details protected by 128 bit SSL encryption.
• Local service - Friendly staff and office right in Whistler Village.

Check out all the benefits and order discount Whistler Blackcomb lift tickets here.

Rental Reviews...

2. REVIEWS ARE YOUR SECRET WEAPON

More marketing studies have concluded that the majority of Internet-savvy shoppers read product reviews prior to completing their online purchases. Travel and restaurants are two market segments who rely heavily on customer reviews. For vacation rental owners, this is a very important trend to take note of.

USE THE LATEST WEB MARKETING TECHNIQUE AVAILABLE - ONLINE REVIEWS - FREE OF CHARGE!

After years of research and testing, we are now able to offer online reviews for your rental home listings on ResortAc.com:

1. Reviews can be added by guests directly from each listing page. Please encourage your guests to add reviews to your listing after their stay. We are using a 3rd party to handle this so that we do it right and have true credibility. The 3rd party we've chosen, PowerReviews.com, is the industry leader in the field and has a proven track record on websites like TripAdvisor.com.
    
2. You can also add reviews yourself by simply pasting comments from your guestbook or emails directly into your property description. This is less authentic, but better than nothing.

Please contact me with any questions or suggestions you may have about our vacation rental reviews.

Olympic Bookings...

3. LOOKING FOR 2010 OLYMPIC BOOKINGS?

If your Whistler rental home is available for the 2010 Olympics, you'll want to add your listing to our Olympic Page (click here to view).

To add your listing to the Olympic page, logon to your ResortAc.com account, then click on the property you want to add. Select the 'Available for Olympics' checkbox, then save your changes. Click on the link below to view a screenshot...

Your Own Website...

4. VACATION RENTAL PORTALS VS. YOUR OWN WEBSITE... WHICH IS BETTER?

Many owners ask me where to advertise and if they should have their own website. This post from the Yahoo Vacation Rental Owners' group offers great advice...

It depends on what you have / where you are listed now.

We have our own web site, but we are on a bunch of different portals (free
and paid, general and location-specific) as a means to gain more exposure.

When we were first getting started, the majority of our inquiries and web
site traffic came from the portals.

As time has gone on (it will be 3 years for us in December) the portals have
become less important for us.

My thoughts are (1) a portal has to have "produced" enough $$ for us in the
past year for us to renew and (2) the portals are like the "yellow pages" --
We use our portal listings to get people to contact us and then we "hook"
them with our web site, which contains much more info, photos, videos, etc.

Based on some poor-performing portals (that had been top-performers for us
in the past) and some newer portals that are blowing the socks off all other
portals _combined_, we've already decided to re-allocate marketing dollars
when things come up for renewal over the coming months.

I don't see website versus portals as "one or the other". I see them as
complementary aspects of an overall marketing plan, which includes portals,
website, blog (travel guide), Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, referrals and
old-fashioned paper guidebooks.

// Ray

We have been creating and marketing vacation rental websites over a decade. Contact me if you would like to launch your own Whistler vacation rental website. We have the latest tools and techniques to create effective websites at a reasonable cost. Special pricing available for ResortAc.com clients.

Whistler Videos...

5. CALL FOR WHISTLER VIDEOS - PLEASE HELP!

Not a single response on this last month, and we desperately need videos to promote your vacation rentals. Video marketing works, and we have opportunity to join the YouTube revolution. If you have a promotional video for your vacation rental and are looking for more exposure, please contact me with details.

Interested?

6. NEWSLETTER TOPICS OF INTEREST

Think of me as your personal reporter. You email your Whistler Resort questions and we'll find the answers and print them in the next newsletter. Simple.

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