I love spring! Where I live there is a distinct difference between Winter and Spring. Spring is alive with ambition and what my garden can be...and then spring turns into summer heat, I realize my ambitions are fading and all I want to do is go on vacation! I want a break from the weeding, the feeding and the mosquito's eating me. My thoughts turn to the beach...and I wish I'd made a plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail---I always say. So this year I'm going to stay at a gem of a place, Surfside Beach in Southern California. A friendly, slow drum beat community among the fast pace, car race of Orange County. Surfside is a kick-off-your-shoes, play in the street, on the beach, and in the ocean kind of place. A small, gated-community between Surf City Huntington Beach and charming, small town Seal Beach. Recently, we added to our vacation rental site Surfside 101 Vacation Rental Beach House, a very affordable, furnished monthly beachfront rental. If you haven't already made plans for summer fade, I guarantee you'll be glad you booked here, when summer becomes super bad, don't get mad cuz you didn't make plans when spring sprang. :-)

Do-It-All Portland: Top Attractions

Looking for a unique vacation...somewhere "cool"? Check out Portland and this blog with plenty of good info: Do-It-All Portland: Top Attractions, and do consider staying at this family friendly 3 bedroom home with super amenities and our latest edition to Lodging4vacations.com Portland vacation rental located on the Willamette River.

Explore Portland from this peaceful setting on the Willamette River. Located in Aurora, Oregon this vacation rental home is only 20 minutes to Portland and Salem. There is a basketball court, pool table, ping pong table, and boat dock for accessing the river. For those folks who would like to relax there is a separate theater room for watching movies! Or shop to your heart's content. Aurora is one of the "Best Antiquing Towns in the US," according to the Travelchannel.com.

Get the House Tour

Dealing with Online Complaints

No one wants to read a bad review about their business online. Whether it’s posted on Google with your search engine results, or listed on Yelp or Angie’s List, a bad review can sway other potential customers away from your business. Worse yet, you may not even know it.
There are several ways you can deal with a bad review and, for the sake of this article, we will talk about the typical bad review – not the competitor or slightly crazy customer who is out there slamming you repeatedly. That happens, of course, but it is not the norm.
First, remember that a bad review is no different than when a customer comes up to you or a manager at your brick-and-mortar business and complains. Savvy business people understand that a complaint is really an opportunity. Why? Because that customer actually wants to keep doing business with you. After all, she took the time to complain and her hope is that you will do something to fix the situation or, at least, take the complaint seriously and look into it. That’s just good, basic customer service and furthermore, it can be helpful by surfacing an issue you didn’t know about.
Online complaints, sometimes in the form of bad reviews, are also an opportunity. Many companies are spending a lot of time and resources to listen online and pick up on unhappy customers. They monitor Twitter, Facebook, Yelp and other places online and when someone mentions their business, they respond immediately. Some of the best are the financial institutions like Wells Fargo and Bank of America. They have a team of people assigned to do the listening every day. And when a complaint surfaces, the team quickly responds and invites the customer to go offline and discuss the issue. So how can you adapt this strategy to your business? First, set up a listening post. Google allows you to set up alerts that will sniff around the internet for mentions of your name, then deliver a link via Email to anything that comes up. Facebook and Twitter allow you to search their sites for mentions of your business, and Yelp allows you to search, too. I recommend searching each of those sites at least weekly until you get a feel for how often people are posting about your business. If it is rare, then you can drop back to monthly searches. But set up your Google alert to deliver daily results anyway.
Next, respond to these posts, but do it as tactfully and positively as you would if the person was standing right in front of you. What you post on the internet never goes away, and if you post a rant in response to a customer complaint, it will be taken negatively by everyone who sees it. Look at these complaints as a chance to do some service recovery while at the same time making a positive impression on everyone else who reads it. Wouldn’t you be far more likely to visit a business that actively tried to resolve a customer complaint, than one that responded curtly or even rudely? Remember, one negative comment online is just one negative comment. Don’t go overboard trying to justify what a wonderful business you are. People have bad days, and things do go wrong in business. One bad review is not a crisis. However, it is worth looking into because these comments can serve as a wonderful early warning system for you, the business owner. If you have an employee who is not always courteous, then knowing that sooner is better than later. These complaints are an opportunity for the business owner to look into the issue and determine if there really is a problem, or not.
Online reviews can also be positive, and it is those you want to promote and elicit. Invite your customers to post reviews of your business online and tell them how to do that. Re-post or retweet posts that are positive. Respond quickly to those that are not so great, and try to resolve them. Above all, don’t ignore them. Your customers are seeing them and taking that feedback into consideration in their decision-making process. Make sure you know what is being said about you out there.
Kim Deppe, APR – President, Deppe Communications.Deppe Communications provides marketing strategy and outsourced marketing servicesfor small and medium sized businesses. Services include social media marketing, SEO, marketing planning, advertising, copywriting, and more.

Summer is finally here...And as soon as that sentence leaves my lips, the leaves will start turning and I'll be planning for next summer's greatest vacation that I missed taking this year. Hurry, quickly make one escape, the rest can be planned. I've got the greatest hidden gem of a house in Glenwood Springs, you've never heard of it? A very good reason to visit. Located in Colorado, Glenwood Springs is situated between the Roaring Fork River and the Colorado River. Lucky folks already know about the medicinal hot sulfur springs. Stillings Landing vacation rental home in Glenwood Springs, is a 4 bedroom home nested above the Roaring Fork River with views from the home and deck. While you are relaxing taking in the views don't forget to plan your bike ride, the Glenwood Canyon Trail is one of the most incredible bike rides in all of Colorado! Many folks return year after year, to enjoy an afternoon of scenic biking. Kayaking and fishing are accessible from this great vacation rental also. About 45 minutes from Aspen, Glenwood Springs is rich with natural history and offers breathtaking landscape. The city is home to one of the Colorado Mountain College campuses and chosen by Rand McNally as one of the top 10 Best Small Towns in America.

At Mammoth, a five-star idea for seeing the area on two wheels

At Mammoth, a five-star idea for seeing the area on two wheels
Mammoth Vacation Rentals

Downtown Huntington Beach, CA furnished 3 bedroom vacation rental. Phone: (949) 650-4443

Downtown Huntington Beach, CA furnished 3 bedroom vacation rental. Phone: (949) 650-4443

Breckenridge Fall Colors!

Visit Breckenridge! Gorgeous Fall Colors!
View Breckenridge Slideshow

If you're not a skier, Fall is a Great time to visit Breckenridge!
The town is easy to navigate with Free Shuttles or just Walking.
First stop by the Visitor Center along Main Street and the River Walk, the Blue River goes right thru the middle of town.
We spent an afternoon hiking along the Burro Trail--the next day we drove over to the Frisco Marina for a walk along the bike path (the entire loop is 26 miles around the Dillon Resevoir). Another very scenic day trip is a loop drive over Boreas Pass Road--stopping at Bakers Tank, the Continental Divide, then the Como Depo for Lunch, following Hwy 285 to Fairplay and Alma & back to Breckenridge.
Clint's, Cool River, Michaels Italian Restaurant, and Motherloaded are all very good & moderately priced.---Cindy Ostrowski

Successful Vacation Rentals

In the eleven years I have been advertising online vacation rentals I have discovered a simple but often forgotten formula that separates successful private owner advertising from mediocre online ads; and it’s free. Stage your home for digital photos. Your homes greatest potential lies in its appeal to shoppers. Take the time to stage your home. Print this list and bring it with you. Many times I have told folks not to forget how important the items below are to their advertising, but with so many other important things to do as well that I have regretted not having the list below with me when I photographed my own vacation rental.

Take your photos in the late afternoon, or very early evening before the sun sets.
Turn on all the lights, this is an easy one to forget, but remains one of the most important aspects of advertising online photos. All those recessed lights, bedside lamps, candle lights; every single light in your home can help create an inviting, warm ambience when digitally photographed.
Turn on the amenities. Turn on the TV and find appropriate channels, Disney is good. Take the lid off of the spa, and turn it on, lights, jets even staging with some people is fine, but not necessary, as most shoppers like to picture themselves in the photo! Light the fireplace and set the table, candlelight is a nice touch.
Example: Big Sky Vacation Rental

4. Keep your lights on and after the inside photos have been taken; take exterior photos with all the lights still on before it gets too dark.

You don’t need to be a professional photographer, just pretend you are doing a photo shoot for a magazine and your assignment is to show your home to its full potential. Your home will always look better in person then in photos, so do your best to make it shine!
---Taylor Lewis Vacation Rentals http://lodging4vacations.com

Malibu Beach for Winter Blues

Malibu Vacation Rentals
"In Malibu may be the nicest little beach you’ve never heard about.

You can’t see this lovely cove from the road; it’s tucked off the Pacific Coast Highway, but a big sign marks the turnoff. The beach is picturesque enough to have attracted location filming of, among others, Baywatch, Rockford Files, and Gidget, and there’s a great fishing pier. Somewhat protected, the Cove generally offers calmer waters, making it ideal for families.

With or without kids, the Paradise Cove Beach Café--all dressed up in vintage photos of the California Coast--is a first-rate restaurant, with style and no attitude. The sign inside the door says it all: “Dress Code—None.” The place is famous for its crispy calamari appetizer served in a bucket-size martini glass, but a close second must be the heaping (no portion here is small) fish tacos. Tuesday and Thursday nights feature live jazz, and if you eat at the restaurant, parking is free." California Travel and Tourism

3 Easy Ways to get more Business for your Vacation Rental

I hope business has picked up? I have some suggestions to help you with your advertising.


First, Google Places is a great free map listing, that’s right FREE! They do offer additional ways to get visitors' attention with some expense, but that is optional. I highly recommend Google places, and it is easy to set up an account here: Google Places
No time to set up an account with Goolgle places? no problem, I’m here to help, just e-mail me: taylor@lodging4vacations.com
Second, do you have a Facebook account for your condo? Facebook has always been a good way to connect with friends and family, but it is also a great way to connect with guests to your rental condo or home. Make a separate account for your condo, a fan page, this way it doesn’t have to be your personal account. No time? Have me help you! I can also contribute with fascinating articles.

Third, have you thought about a short 3 minute video of your rental home’s best features? If you have a video camera I can help you download the movie to Youtube and then I can embed the code on your web page. From Youtube you can link to your page helping it rank better in the search engines. Example: Islamorada Vacation Rental
Let me know if you are interested?


Also how about an online guestbook? With so much competition, recommendations are huge! So set out that guestbook for your visitors and then e-mail me any reviews, or suggest your guests go to an online review site such as Tripadvisor or Yelp. OR we can create one for you online. Give me a call: 760 258-0779 Taylor

Looking for a Cheap Last Minute Christmas Ski Vacation?

This is the year the last minute deals are cheaper, not more expensive. Normally when you book a last minute hotel you're going to pay through the roof...not this year. For example, I just heard about a great deal in Lake Tahoe. Normally this gorgeous house would be booked well before Christmas, but not this year. The private owner has decided to cut her prices. As well as many other private owners, because they can!! They don't have the overhead like hotels. So if you have procrastinated, because of the economy, and now you are dreaming of a White Christmas, then you realize prices may never be this good for a last minute Christmas vacation again.
Last Minute Christmas Ski Home in Lake Tahoe

Time to Fly South

For those of you living in the upper northern hemisphere, it's time to start exploring the lower southern United States. How lucky to stay in Florida! At Bridgewater in Bonita Springs after you visit you may never go anywhere else. This 1,700 square foot Bonita Springs luxury condo has panoramic views of Little Hickory Bay, Wiggins Pass and Florida's multimillion dollar waterfront homes. Take in the view from the large screened-in Lanai or walk to the sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, or simply fish in the Gulf. Boat slips included. Bridgewater is an exclusive gated community located 15 minutes north of world class shopping, dining, galleries, plus great golf and tennis recreation, between Naples and Fort Myers. Onsite there is a heated and lighted pool located bayfront for a refreshing dip. Whether golfing, swimming, fishing, sunning, or shopping is your pleasure, all are easily accessible from this luxurious Bonita Springs condominium.

Things to do in Panama City Beach

Our favorite things to do in PCB are the Beach (the turquoise waters are as beautiful as the Carribean), the new Pier Park is a mecca for shopping, dining and entertainment. Favorite restaurants are Salt Water Grill, Bonefish, Nunas Thai, and Lisa's. The Pirate Ship cruise is a must for families with children under 12. Kids are completely entertained for 2 hours while parents watch with no responsibilities. Well worth the money! And of course Golf. The Hombre golf course is home of the Southeast Regional Q School (qualifying competition for PGA Tour Card). Imagine our excitement to see Jack Nicholas in our backyard when his son Gary was qualifying.
Our Edgewater condos are among the nicest condos in the entire resort, consequently we have many repeat visitors. We live 5 minutes away and are available to help with any emergency, for instance, a 13 year old girl in our condo had a kidney stone attack in the middle of the night, we got out of bed, got her to the proper hospital and called our urologist in to see her.We often assist in activites and restaurant recommendations. We strive to give the personal touch to our guests, have excellent rates and often run SPECIALS.
Edgewater Beach Golf and Tennis Resort is still the only full service resort on the beach, with executive par 3 golf course, championship tennis courts, wonderful fitness center, extensive spa services, 12 pools, 3 hot tubs, Oceans restaurant and bar for inside or outside dining, Pizza Hut, Edgies and of course StarBucks.

Panama City Beach Changing?

Panama city beach is undergoing a tremendous change. Having been going there since my high school and college days, it has been interesting to watch these changes as a property owner. It is returning more and more to the family vacation place it once was. The restaurant selection has just exploded. If you are looking for great seafood, The Saltwater Grille has "become the “in” place to dine on Panama City Beach." A 25,000 gallon aquarium sits right in the middle of the room, and the seafood/steak selection fantastic! In looking for an after dinner cocktail, there is no better place than Margaritaville PCB down on front beach road. Lots of lively music and cold drinks.

I am an avid saltwater fisherman, so I usually try to take 3 or 4 trips when in town. Lots of good captains to choose from, but my friend Bubba Lang is who I go with. His boat is right over in the lagoon and he catches plenty of fish. After a hard day on the water, nothing tastes better than a cold beer and a dozen oysters. The Captains Table in St. Andrews is the only place to go for that. Mitch, the owner, is a great guy and he has great food. With the way Panama City Beach is growing, the choices for food and entertainment will grow as well. Still, there is no substitute after a great day at the beach, for a cold cocktail and watching the sunset from the beach. Shoes are optional.

While we are in Panama City we are close to everything! Our Summit vacation rental is located on the 7th floor, above the swimming pools. The condo balcony is a perfect place to relax and watch the sunset.

Fun Summers at Breckenridge Winter Resort?

Get out of the heat and into Alpine Retreat, and cool mountain breezes. Rent a bike in Frisco and ride around Lake Dillon. Across from the Lake Dillon marina is a "trailhead to miles of paved bike paths offering spectacular scenic tours. The surrounding National Forest also provides mountain-biking, rafting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding and camping. Jeep tours on old mountain roads will take you to nearby historical mining towns. Be challenged at one of Summit County's four championship golf courses".

Enjoy a meal on the patio at the Arapaho Cafe, "from 1972 to 1987 many people knew the building as the Tappan House but in early 1988 under new ownership and management it was returned to its original name and reputation as a great mountain cafe, the “Arapahoe Cafe.” Today the Arapahoe Cafe is one of the historic landmark site buildings in Dillon".

It could be the Dillon Farmer's Market will be open alongside the lake. Wonderful local produce and baked items are sold there, or take a look at the event calendar for Summit County and see all the wonderful activities available during your summer visit.

Return to Frisco on the same bike path, or for the more adventurous types, ride over Swan Mountain but beware, there is no bicycle lane on the two-lane road. For the more relaxed types, put your bikes on a ferry and cruise back to the marina at Frisco.
Of course, there is a beautiful bike path that runs through Breckenridge and will take you all the way to Vail, if you have the strength to do Vail Pass1

Another idea is to vist the Visitor's Information Center in downtown Breckenridge and purchase a book of hiking trails. They are excellent guides that give great descriptions and rate the difficulty level of numerous hikes in the area. Try our favorite hike at Mohawk lakes south of Breckenridge. It is of moderate difficulty with lovely scenery along the way.
For restaurants, our favorite for fine dining in Breckenridge is Alpine Cafe. South Ridge Grill is a favorite of the locals for a varied American menu. Mi Casa is excellent for fine Mexican food and Empire Burgers serve excellent hamburgers. These are just a few of many excellent places to eat in Breckenridge.

Our Alpine Retreat is an affordable summer vacation rental home perfect for large families, sleeping 10 guests.

Hottest New Trends

According to AOL Money and Finance, Google Maps is Hot! We in the vacation rental industry have known this all along. "Maps" being one of the most searched terms is as relevant to "Location! Location! Location!" as in Real Estate. For example: http://lodging4vacations.com/sunsetbeach/#map

This is a free map from Google showing property location, restaurants, ski or beach areas, museums activities....etc. So if you own a vacation rental, market your location!!!

Send or add your property address in an e-mail to your web advertising representative and be sure to add in the subject line. Please add a Google map to my web ad.

Legitimate Vacation Rentals

There was an article in USA Today by By Gary Stoller about the increase in Vacation Rental Businesses, "The Internet is doing for vacation rentals what eBay (EBAY) and similar online marketplaces have done for merchandise sellers. For not much money, owners can now display via the Web their vacation properties to a worldwide audience of potential renters."

The most interesting point to me was the problem of legitimate rentals. According to the article, many shoppers apparently are not confident in staying at a vacation rental for fear that it doesn't exist. "In some cases, the vacation rental industry is starting to address some practices that have kept it from growing, including rentals that have been listed on the Internet but don't exist. " For http://lodging4vacations.com/ we occasionally receive e-mails, or phone calls asking how long our clients have been with us and if "they are for real." Because we are familiar with all of our properties, we can back them up 100%. If we receive 3 legitimate complaints from different renters we will investigate and discontinue business with the rental owner. Although our site may not be as large as VRBO and Homeaway, we are happy to answer any questions a possible renter may have about a rental property listed on our site. Read the USA Today article "Staying at a real home away from home."

Matching Your Vision of a Perfect Vacation Rental to An Internet Vacation Rental

Are you looking for a home away from home, somewhere you can gather your friends and family to reconnect? Consider a vacation rental. Get Specific! What do the kids really want to do, sled or ski? Do your friends want to shop and relax at the spa? Try to narrow your search down to the most important aspects of your vacation, for example, " Breckenridge Colorado, private home rental, sledding vacations," using Google Lucky search, this page came up directly, http://lodging4vacations.com/fh-breckenridge-co/ And then linked to http://lodging4vacations.com/co/breckenridge/ Where you can find more great homes in Breckenridge!
Start with great expectations, half the fun of going on vacation is exploring the different possibilities. Is being pet friendly important? Affordable housing? Ski in ski out? Have fun with your search! But remember a few key things to keep your search from becoming endless. Start with the maximum amount of people. How many in your group? Queen beds can sleep 2, but if that extra last minute person can't make it, one person in a queen bed is more comfy. What location? What would you like to do while visiting the area? Ski? Surf? Museums? Within the first few minutes of searching for your accommodations, trust your intuition. Do you have a good feeling about this place? Does it seem legitimate? Did this vacation rental owner have to pay advertising costs or was is this a free listing? Is there a phone number? Watch out for phony advertising.
Recently, a scam artist was caught. The scammer had copied images and advertised the home as his own. When called by the prospective renters, the imposter of the vacation rental could not clearly give directions or was unable to repeat the correct address. Call the owner, if it is a scam they may not be able to clearly give directions, or they may be vague. Double check with map quest or another reputable map source to make sure the rental is located where the owner has said it is supposed to be located.
Private by owner vacation rentals are clearly the way to go for more than two people on vacation. Once you find a reliable source, for many renters, it is like owning a second vacation home without the mortgage and upkeep.
Why not spilt the cost with your friends and family and share the memories?

Big Sky Montana

Why Big Sky? With 5500 acres of skiable terrain and 4350 skiable vertical. All skiing levels are are covered at Big Sky ski resort. Intermediate skiers will love Thunder Wolf high speedquad that has nice "Blue Cruisers" adjacent to Black Diamond runs. Get more out of your ski runs, ski into the moguls until you feel you might break a leg and then cruise to the bottom on a "blue" run. Big Sky offers the best, least crowded skiing in North America. On December 26th, the longest we waited for a high-speed quad chair was 3 chairs. This resort is built like Breckenridge years ago, there are runs and lifts across the face of 3 mountains and on the backside of 1, without any of the crowds. Base lifts are a 5 minute shuttle ride from most condos. Big Sky Vacation Rentals

Christmas is just around the corner time to plan for Easter

The best deals for Christmas have come and gone. Now is the time to make travel deals for Spring. What will spring bring? After a cold winter, we'll be ready to warm-up or get in some of the awesome spring skiing. Places I recommend for awesome skiing uncrowded lifts and affordable vacations. Especially if you act now---Big Sky! http://lodging4vacations.com/mt/bigsky/