How To Close A Vacation Rental Deal Like A Pro - Part 2

By Author: Michael Canson
Total Articles: 7
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Continued from "How To Close A Vacation Rental Deal Like A Pro - Part 1"

Concern: Activities for your teenagers
Things to consider: * A number 25 bus - 3 blocks from our property - gets them to the beach in 20 minutes. Joe's Surf Shop offers private surfing lessons at $40 / hour. National park lifeguards on duty 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Kids should bring sandwiches and drinks - no food sold on the beach.
* I looked into hiking - several wonderful trails with or without guides - attached is national park brochure.
* Local movie house. Also, Gene's Video has the latest movies and your living room is equipped with a DVD.
* Roller blade trail and skateboard park just outside town - taxi would cost them $15 round trip.

Concern: Clinic in case your elderly mother requires care
Things to consider: I enquired about the best and closest facilities - here are names, addresses, phone numbers of those highly recommended to me.

Concern: Your mother's birthday party PowerPoint presentation
Things to consider: For rental of your ...
... projector and screen, contact Tom's AV (right downtown - they deliver!), (928) 444-4444.

Don't forget to enrich your FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) with any new info you discover.

- Personalize your communications based on your renter's personality type: With some experience, you'll be able to recognize different personality types and booking styles. Of course, everyone is unique, but you'll see some common threads. Following each inquiry, assign the renter a personality name - "Ms Efficiency" or "Bargain-hunter" or "I need to feel secure by sharing my life story with you" or "Procrastinator". Understanding which type you are dealing with may help you develop personalized techniques for communicating with each. Build a chart to consign your key messages for each type. For instance, the insecure type will feel more comfortable with an owner who shows himself to be very reassuring.

Your closing arguments

Make sure you master the art of "closing the sale". Just before you say goodbye - let's assume you're having a phone conversation with your renter - make sure you briefly recap the key benefits and advantages of your property and your region (use your FAQ), making sure that you integrate into your "closing arguments" the needs, concerns and hesitations expressed by your renter. Avoid being pushy, of course - just be sincere, warm and helpful. Before you hang up, ask your renter when he thinks he will be taking his decision, and tell him you look forward to doing business with him. The day prior to that date, make one more follow-up call.

The importance of screening your guest before confirming the booking

In order to protect yourself and your property, never confirm a booking without first screening your guest - especially if a little voice inside your head is sending you warning signals. Most guests are perfectly responsible and agreeable, but you may want to save yourself some trouble by saying "no" to the spring break bashes, the bargain-hunters, and, of course, the scammers.

- Never confirm a booking on the basis of email exchanges - make sure you speak with each renter personally on the phone. You'll learn a lot more about him than you could through email and you'll get a feel for his personality, sense of responsibility and degree of seriousness about the booking. Smile when you're on the phone - your friendliness will be felt at the other end. Learn to "small talk" - chat with the person about the purpose of his trip, what activities he wants to do while in your region, the number of adults and children, whether he has previously rented a vacation home, etc. It can even be a benediction to fall on the renter's message machine, which often tells you something about the person, or to note any loud, unpleasant music being played during your call - usually not a good sign.

- Have your back-away messages ready. When that bell goes off in your head and your better angels are telling you to be prudent, make sure you are ready to handle these situations. Prepare a list of typical situations you may want to back away from and think about the most comfortable way for you to deal with each of them. Here are a few approaches that could help you tactfully get out of a potentially sticky situation:

* Instead of saying right off the bat that the week requested is available, tell your renter that your aunt might be renting your property that week and that you will know for certain within a couple of days.
* Adopt a rigid posture: Explain your policies, security and damage deposits, and ask the person to read your rental agreement. Make sure he understands that you are "non-negotiable".
* Tell the party that his application will be reviewed on a first-come-first-serve basis.
* In this period of recession, it's normal to see an increased number of bargain-hunters, and there's nothing wrong with trying to get the best value for your money. But remember what you're home is worth and don't make unacceptable compromises. Especially beware of renters with an "attitude" who request big discounts. If you stay abreast of hotel rates in your area, you'll be able to compare cost vs. square footage vs. amenities which will make it easier to persuade your renter that your property is worth your asking price.

- Use Internet to screen. It's usually not worth your time and trouble to do a credit and background check for short-term rentals, and the 1001 questions you will need to ask your renter risk scaring him away. So just stick to the basics - verify whether the name, address, phone number and email address match the details provided by the renter. Don't be overly concerned, however, if your Internet searches don't produce results - a renter won't show up in search results if he is not a homeowner, only has a cell phone or is unlisted. However, if the phone number and address don't match the name he provided, he might not be who he claims to be.

Here are some helpful Web sites:

- www.whitepages.com
Do a "People" search, "Reverse Address" search and "Reverse Phone Number" search.

- www.google.com
Search for name, phone number and email address. Many kinds of documents may show up in your search results - official records, mentions in newspapers, documents signed by the person such as a news release, links to his page on social networks such as Facebook.

- www.pipl.com
"Unlike a typical search-engine, Pipl is designed to retrieve information from the deep web, our robots are set to interact with searchable databases and extract facts, contact details and other relevant information from personal profiles, member directories, scientific publications, court records and numerous other deep-web sources".

- Government or credit rating sites, such as www.government-records.com and www.usarecordsearch.com in the U.S. or www.equifax.ca, www.pointagedecredit.ca and www.rapportdecreditgratuit.ca in Canada, may charge a fee to search through public records. Beware if you find no records on your renter!

References
1. Christine Hrib Karpinski, How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner, 2nd Edition (Kinney Press Pollack, 2008)
2. Bridget McCrea & Stephen Spignesi, Second Homes for Dummies (Indiannapolis: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2007)
3. OwnerCommunity.HomeAway.com