A few weeks ago, several members of the FlipKey team attended the 4^th annual RezFest, a 2-day conference for Instant Software users, in lovely Snowmass Village, Colorado. Hundreds of property managers from across the country attended.

The event, held at The Silvertree Hotel & Snowmass Conference Center was centered on informative class sessions, which provided property managers the opportunity to hear about the latest trends in the vacation rental industry, learn about Instant Software’s latest offerings, and those of their partners. A special thanks to the Instant Software team for their dedication to making the event a great success — you did a fantastic job!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the FlipKey booth and learned more about our service.  In many cases started managers activated their FlipKey account and began collecting guest reviews during the conference!  It was great to meet plenty of new folks and re-connect with all of the property managers who are already using FlipKey.  We look forward to continuing to work with you.

Please enjoy some of our favorite shots from the weekend.  Note: We’ve spared several people, mostly ourselves, by not including photos from the evening festivities.  We’ll see many of you at Annual VRMA in Phoenix in a few weeks!

Beautiful views along Independence Pass

Team FlipKey at 12,095 Feet

Bryan helps Barb from Lahaina Island Accommodations activate her integrated FlipKey Account

Koryn spreads the good word about FlipKey

Bryan speaks with Jenny from Alpine Lodging

Koryn working at the FlipKey booth

Mermaid Cottages – a Tybee Island, GA vacation rental company has recently added FlipKey’s “Property Widgets” to its website.

In their own words, Mermaid Cottages offers:

Whimsical, funky cottages, historic, classic homes, pet friendly, complimentary high speed and wifi internet, comfy, cozy, welcoming places to nest, relax, re connect and simplify. That’s what the Mermaid Cottage Vacation experience is all about.

With FlipKey Widgets, the Mermaid Cottages Vacation experience is being confirmed by their past guests.  Mermaid Cottages has a history of happy and enthusiastic guests and is a pioneer in leveraging FlipKey guest reviews to harness the power of word-of-mouth marketing and trusted guest recommendations.

Click here to see a great example of the guest reviews featured for Doodlebug Cottage.

By adding the FlipKey Property Widget across its website for individual vacation properties, Mermaid Cottages is able to let their guests promote the Mermaid Cottage experience.

“Thank you for having this great service, I’ve already had a couple of guests reserve homes because of the great reviews!!”

- Diane Kaufman, Owner Mermaid Cottages

FlipKey Widgets are provided as a free feature to all FlipKey users to help vacation rental managers easily add guest reviews to their website to attract and convert more guests.

• 78% of consumers indicate they are significantly more likely to rent a vacation rental if they can read reviews from past guests that stayed in the property. (Source: FlipKey / Compete, Inc. Vacation Rental Research Report – Issue II)
• Hotel websites have documented a 100% increase in online conversation rates when website visitors read a guest review.  (Source: TripAdvisor, Hayes & Jarvis Case Study)

Reputation is the opinion and public perception of an individual, a group or an organization/company.  In the vacation rental market reputation is created by the opinion of prior guests’ experiences with the rental properties and underlying hospitality services of a specific rental manager.  If you run a great vacation rental company, telling people your product and service are wonderful is of little consequence.  Let’s be honest, what else would you say?  The only effective way to let future guests know how great your vacation homes and guest services are is by letting the words and experiences of past guests do the talking for you.

To help our users maximize the impact of their guest reviews FlipKey offers free “Extension Tools” that feature our FlipKey Verified reviews directly on the manager’s website.

Mermaid Cottages of Tybee Island, GA recently added the FlipKey Reputation Widget to their ‘Questions?’ page.  The widget automatically updates (no coding required!) as Mermaid Cottages collects additional reviews through FlipKey.  Visitors who click the widget are taken directly to Mermaid Cottage’s FlipKey Profile where they can read specific reviews of individual properties.  With 150 guest reviews and an average star rating of 4.75, Mermaid Cottages is effectively leveraging their guests’ experiences to communicate their strong reputation.

FlipKey offers a number of different tools that allow our manager users to extend FlipKey Guest Reviews directly to their own site. We will report on additional examples and tools in future posts.

We spend our days and nights helping vacation rental managers understand and leverage the benefits of guest reviews.  We built our service based on feedback from the industry.  Now, with over 50 vacation rental managers actively using the FlipKey Guest Review service we wanted to hear directly from our users and get their reactions.

In the spirit of transparency we would like to share the good, the bad and the ugly.

(+) = Positive feedback
(-) = Critical feedback / feature request

(+)  Ease of use / Speed: Many users noted how easy and quickly they were able to get started and begin to collect property specific reviews.

(-)  Review Alerts: Although FlipKey offers automated review alerts when a low rated review is submitted, users have informed us that they also want to be alerted of the POSITIVE reviews!  We are working on new reports to help our users efficiently track all guest reviews – both positive and negative.

(+)  Owner Management: A surprising, yet consistent, point of feedback was FlipKey’s positive impact on Owner Management.   Managers are forwarding guest reviews to owners and finding the owners receptive to critical feedback that is supplied from guests.   (Note:  Owners are much less receptive to critical feedback delivered directly from the management company).   In one example the owner decided to upgrade the mattress in the master bedroom after multiple complaints over the “firmness” of the bed.   In a different example, an owner now has fresh water delivered to the home in case their water (drawn from a well) is not acceptable to the guest.

(-)  Property Detail Info: Some users have noted that the property detail info and calendar info on FlipKey is not always 100% accurate.    We consider this a top priority and are improving our content/data syncing systems, as well as partnering with a number of the industry’s leading software firms to better ensure content accuracy.   (Click here to read our recent partnership announcement with Instant Software)

(+)  Account Support: All FlipKey users are assigned, free of charge, an Account Manager who helps them get started with FlipKey and handles all support needs.   A direct quote submitted about one of our Account Managers:  “Bryan has been incredibly helpful!  Truly an asset….”

Don’t get any funny ideas Bryan… raises aren’t available until year’s end.

In the coming months we will work to publish more useful input and recommendations from our users. Thank you very much to all the people who contributed by participating in our satisfaction questionnaire.

FlipKey is focused on helping vacation rental managers collect and manage guest reviews and is constantly developing new tools to help maximize the value of this powerful social asset. Today, we are happy to announce the launch of FlipKey Alerts.

What are FlipKey Alerts?
Research shows 81% of vacation rental reviews are positive, 16% neutral and only 3% are of a negative nature.

The fact is, consumers love the vacation rental product; however, there will always be a few voices you simply can’t satisfy. In some situations these negative reviews are justified, but in most cases the second side to the story gives a more accurate picture.

With the Response feature, FlipKey allows managers to respond to all reviews and provide context or more information (such as maintenance improvements) to a guest review. Now with FlipKey Alerts, FlipKey sends an alert message as soon as a negative review is submitted to help managers efficiently respond to negative reviews.

Benefits of FlipKey Alerts:

• Immediate email notification of negative reviews
• Direct link to the FlipKey Response tool to allow managers to post a public response to provide more context to the guest’s opinion
• FlipKey customer service outreach within 48 hours if the review has not been responded to

Early Example of a manager response to negative review alert:
Ladybug Cabin – Carolina Mornings (Click to view)

Scrolling to the bottom of the page, we see the first review is not positive. However, the manager’s response highlights Carolina Mornings commitment to quality, responsiveness to guest feedback and counter opinion. Suddenly, when put into context this first review does not seem particularly negative and provides credibility to the four subsequent positive reviews.

If you are an existing FlipKey user or are considering using FlipKey and you have any questions regarding FlipKey Alerts, feel free to call us at 877-FLIPKEY.

Carrie Hill of Blizzard Internet Marketing recently wrote a great post highlighting some Do’s and Don’ts for responding to negative reviews online. Among other great tips, she encourages managers to acknowledge the problem or issue presented in the review and publicly respond, thus allowing future customers to see your proactive approach. (Read Carrie’s post in full here)

Andy Beal wrote a post on Marketing Pilgrim back in November of 2007 which described “Five Ways Negative Reviews help your Online Reputation“.

From Andy’s post:

Here’s how you can benefit from negative reviews:

1. Your need to know. If your products or services are crap, then you need to know about it. It’s better to hear it from your customers-so you can fix it-than never know about it and wonder why your sales suck.
2. Build credibility. As Goodman points out, negative reviews add authenticity to your reputation. Consumers are smart-mostly-and they know that if you have 1000 customers, a few will be upset over something. Take a look at the hotel industry. Just about every hotel has a review that mentions dirty sheets, cockroaches, or rude staff. Yet we still stay in hotels. We just look for the ones that have the best overall reviews.
3. Fix the problem. Research suggests that a customer will tell ten people about a negative experience with a business. However, if you fix the problem to their satisfaction, they’ll tell twenty people how happy they are! Look for negative reviews and fix the problem!
4. Show you care. Potential customers look at how you handled the situation. If you do find yourself with a negative review or critique, rectifying the situation publicly will demonstrate to potential customers that you care about your reputation-and your customers.
5. Learn from competitors’ mistakes. Don’t just read your negative reviews, read those of your competitors. If you learn where your rivals keep slipping-up, you can fine-tune your offering to make sure you don’t make the same mistake. Better still, how about reaching out to an unhappy customer of one of your competitors and fixing their problem-you could win a new customer for life!

For vacation rental mangers, collecting verified guest reviews is an excellent first step, but more may be needed to solidify your company’s online reputation. The guest reviews you collect must be managed. Whether it be thanking a consumer for a great review or addressing a consumer who had a bad experience, the review and your response together will create an image of your company and the homes you represent to future consumers. Negative reviews should be seen as an opportunity rather than a nuisance. Companies that embrace this philosophy will instill confidence in potential guests. This confidence will lead to increased conversion rates, higher occupancy and the ability to charge higher nightly rates.

Managing your online reputation means more than collecting and displaying verified guest reviews of your vacation rental properties. An additional component is the ability to engage in direct dialogue with your past guests by using FlipKey’s ‘Manager Response’ feature.

By responding to guest reviews, managers are taking the next step and engaging in a public dialogue with their consumers, a powerful tactic and integral part of maintaining a company’s consumer brand. In an industry hungry for more consumer confidence, vacation rental managers can benefit substantially from this.

Below are several examples from managers that are using the ‘Manager Response’ tool on FlipKey to effectively engage their current consumers and present themselves to prospective guests.

Clarifications and Additional Property Details
Using the Response feature, property managers clarify information in their guest reviews and provide additional details about the property. Franconia Notch Vacations uses the Manager Response to clarify the maximum occupancy of the home and the repercussions of breaking these rental rules.


A response from Franconia Notch Vacations in Franconia, NH clarifies information in this guest review.

Addressing Specific Guest Experiences
Here Escape 2 Florida Homes responds to a guest review and provides specific information about the pool and the hot tub in this vacation home. By displaying this public dialogue, future consumers learn how diligent this property manager is about customer service and the satisfaction of their guests.

Escape 2 Florida Homes in the Orlando, FL area uses the Manager Response to address specific guest information and highlight their hospitality services.

Thanking Your Guests on a Public Forum
Vacation property managers also use the Manager Response tool simply to publicly thank their guests. With this personal response, Surfside Realty demonstrates the hands-on nature of vacation rentals and includes the direct email of their guest services coordinator. Responding and creating a guest-manager dialogue on a third-party site adds to the trusted nature of the verified guest review.

Surfside Realty, Myrtle Beach, SC thanking a guest for their review.

Managing your reputation online does more than increase consumer confidence – it also helps you manage consumer expectations. With the help of guest reviews and direct dialogue with the Manager Response, vacation rental managers can add more to their property listings and services information. More information provides potential guests with a better sense of each home, making it easier to match a guest’s expectations with the right property and create a better vacation experience.

I’m heading to Croatia this summer with a group of friends. Rather than bounce around from hostel to hostel we have decided to upgrade to a week-long boat charter. After a little online research, I submitted a request to a charter service and a boat broker quickly responded. He was very helpful, selected a perfect boat for the group and then asked me to wire $12K to the boat owner’s bank account.

Hold on – wait a minute. You want me to do what?

I had read enough international scams to smell on few fleas on this deal, so I kindly told the broker that if he couldn’t accept a credit card then I wouldn’t be able to reserve the boat. He insisted that he ran a legitimate operation and provided references of his past guests. I noticed one of his references was a professor at Babson College. A professor seemed like a legitimate reference, so I emailed him (email string featured below).

Professor X:

My name is Jeremiah Gall and I’m a Boston area resident. I’m a few months away from going on a trip to Croatia and considering renting a private boat charter. The company, a charter broker by the name of Navicular, gave your name as a reference. Our main contact, Manuel, said you rented the MS Eleganza and can verify the legitimacy of their business. We are being asked to wire $12K to the owner of the boat and are looking to verify this business and feel more confidence about sending this wire.

Please let me know if you can confirm and provide any information.

Cheers and thanks for your time,
Jeremy

– Response –

Jeremy,

I too was reluctant to wire the $15,000 up front, and had the business checked out by my son’s father-in-law who is Croatian. I had no issues with the final financial arrangement, but be sure to bring plenty of cash in euros as it is difficult to find cash on the islands. The experience we had on the Eleganza was fabulous, and my sons and their wives are pestering me to do it again. I can give the highest recommendation for Navicular from my experience with the captain, Lovre, he was honest, attentive and responsive. Have a great trip.

Professor X

The professor’s email satisfied my concerns and presto: I was converted into a wire transferring guest of the MS Eleganza!

Renting a boat charter requires the same level of trust, if not more, required to convert a vacation rental guest. How nice is the boat? How’s the crew? Is this a legitimate business? Where is my money really going? Add to these concerns an international element and only the strong of heart or those, like myself, who are provided the verified words of past guests will participate.

Trust is an international currency and it’s as difficult to find as a two dollar bill. Small lodging business operators (vacation rental managers, rent-by-owners, boat brokers, etc.) are all faced with the challenge of establishing trust with their end-customer.

Soon, FlipKey will open its doors and offer the industry the first dedicated resource to effectively establish and communicate trust to your customers.

In a recent article on Blizzard Internet, Carrie Hill proposes an interesting question: Do you have a Reputation Management Plan?

Carrie’s article highlights the value in having a proactive internal system to react to negative press when it manifests itself through various Internet properties. Services such as TripAdvisor and Yelp have begun allowing business owners to respond to negative comments. However, these services tend to cater to traditional lodging, activity, and restaurant categories.

The vacation rental industry is faced with a much different challenge – establishing reputation. The fragmented nature of our industry has discouraged larger community and travel services from providing a useful platform to cultivate and manage reputation.

As a result, there are few property management companies and/or independent vacation rental operators that have been able to create a public reputation that encourages a visitor’s conversion from “looking” to “booking”. In fact, a recent FlipKey study of 300 vacationers who stayed at a vacation rental found that only 16% of guests are even asked to share their experience publicly.

As an industry we are constantly challenged by consumer confidence in our product. Is the property as advertised? Does the home exist? What happens if something goes wrong with the house? How do I get the keys? What if I lose the keys? If there was ever a travel category that needed a robust reputation solution, it is the vacation rental industry.

For those that joined us at the VRMA event in New Orleans, you were able to see the reputation service that FlipKey is soon launching that singularly focuses on this key issue. Carrie Hill is right, you are well served to actively manage your reputation. FlipKey will soon provide you with a mechanism to do that.

If you are managing rental properties click here to sign up for our beta service. It is completely free.