Find out How Much Time Jenner Vacation Rentals Saved Switching Exclusively to Online Bookings

Jenner Vacation Rentals
Website: JennerVacationRentals.com
Location: Jenner, CA
Quick Quote: “LiveRez has made the whole booking process extremely easy and extremely friendly. Because of that, we only take bookings online.”

When you visit Jenner Vacation Rentals, you’re not just taking a trip to California’s beautiful Sonoma Coast; you’re visiting the future.

The company has taken some bold steps to move its company forward, and they’re doing things that many other vacation rental managers just don’t do…yet.

Shortly after making the switch to LiveRez.com in early 2010, Jenner Vacation Rentals did something truly innovative. They switched entirely to Web bookings – something most managers wouldn’t even consider. While such a bold move may not work for every manager, it’s been a homerun (maybe even a grand slam) for the business.

“LiveRez has made the whole booking process extremely easy and extremely friendly,” said Malcolm Sibbernsen of Jenner Vacation Rentals. “Because of that, we only take bookings online.”

Conventional wisdom may tell you that taking only online booking would alienate some of your less tech-savvy guests. But, in Jenner Vacation Rentals’ case, conventional wisdom has not been very wise.

“It’s been really good,” Sibbernsen said of the switch. “We were fearful at first that we might lose customers, but it’s been the case that 99 to 99.9 percent of our guests have been fine with booking online.”

“I know that’s a high percentage, but that has been our experience,” he continued. “We have had very little objection to that.”

Sibbernsen said the major advantages of going completely to online booking have been reductions in both clerical costs and the time employees’ spend processing telephone bookings.  Additionally, he said verifying receipt of terms and conditions has been much improved by the switch.

“It’s saved us a considerable amount of time,” he said. “And, I think the consumer is happy because they can find a rental, push a few buttons and relax knowing that their days are secure.”

Prior to becoming a LiveRez.com partner, Jenner Vacation Rentals did take bookings over the phone. And, according to Sibbernsen, it was a major hassle.

“The whole process was very cumbersome,” Sibbernsen said. “And now, thanks to LiveRez, that whole area of the business has been eliminated.”

How much time has that saved Jenner Vacation Rentals?

“I’ll just take a stab and say that not taking telephone bookings and not having to process them has saved – WOW! – a pretty substantial percentage,” Sibbernsen said. “I would say probably 30 to 45 percent of our time. And that might be low.”

With that extra time, the company has had the opportunity to really focus on marketing. And that’s another area where Jenner Vacation Rentals is setting industry trends.

Specifically, the company has excelled in using video on its website. With LiveRez.com, users can easily embed YouTube videos on their websites. And, Jenner Vacation Rentals has taken full advantage of that to highlight their many amazing properties.

“It’s a presence that we fell into a few years ago, when we had a videographer stay at one of our rentals and offer to do a video for us,” said Sibbernsen’s partner, Sherry King.

King said when they saw the video they were taken aback with how well it portrayed the essence of the property – not just how it looked, but the feeling you got from being there.  Since then, they’ve made professional video a staple of their property listings.

“We couldn’t imagine running this business without our videos,” she said. “And not only that – it’s the wave of the future.”

According to King, the company’s use of videos is one of the reasons why they were able to make the move to taking only online bookings.

“We rely heavily on our videos and our website to sell our rentals,” she said.

The company’s videos have also been a large part of its marketing efforts. King said they use their “extreme rental” to attract visitors to their website. Surnamed “The Glass House,” this extreme rental is described on the website as “an architectural gem set atop a craggy coastal spire jutting over the Pacific Ocean.”

But to really appreciate it, you’ll need to watch the video embedded below.

The Glass House is just one of 18 properties offered by the boutique rental company. The business specializes in properties that are located on or near (with a view of) either the Pacific Ocean or the Russian River.

Both Sibbernsen and King stressed the importance of great locations – something Jenner Vacation Rentals has in high supply. You see, they’re situated at one of the most beautiful crossroads of nature in California.

“It’s where the wine country, the Russian River and the redwoods meet the Pacific Ocean,” King said.

According to King, all of their properties have a water view – whether that be a river view or an ocean view. The one exception is a wooded mountain-top retreat named “Nirvana” nestled among ancient redwoods with spectacular views in all directions.

These properties come in a range of prices that can fit budgets of all sizes. According to Sibbernsen, it is important to him that the company’s guests get the most bang for their buck. But not only that – he expects them to receive the best service, too.

“It’s important to us that our guests have a really good experience when they come up,” he said. “And that means that we want to keep housekeeping firing on all cylinders and ensure that the rentals are presented as advertised or perceived as being better than advertised.”

The company does both pre-checks and post-checks to ensure that its properties are in tip-top shape for its guests, many of which come from California’s Bay Area, located just to the South.

“It’s convenient, because in an era of fairly high gas prices and transportation costs, they can get here for a reasonable amount of money,” Sibbernsen said.

According to both Sibbernsen and King, their guests have consistently given them positive feedback on their experiences staying with Jenner Vacation Rentals. In fact, the business has set up a guest feedback system through e-mail, and it’s helped them get very high ratings on many prominent websites, including an “excellent” rating on TripAdvisor and FlipKey.

It’s this attention to detail and forward-thinking that’s kept the business successful. And, its partnership with LiveRez.com has only helped Jenner Vacation Rentals achieve those goals.

“It’s been a great partnership,” she said. “And, yes, it’s definitely increased our business.”