At LiveRez, we are willing to put our websites up against the best in the vacation rental industry. In the blog below, we’ll explain exactly what makes LiveRez websites different and how they can help your business increase its bookings. As you read along, you may want to ask yourself this question: “Does my website do this?”

Website Design
Guests are more likely to book on a website with a professional design. Check out the web designs we’ve done for some of our partners.

Searching
On LiveRez websites, the search box is located in the top left-hand corner of the page. It’s the first place the human eye is trained to look. This ideal placement leads to a lot of searches, as evidenced by the heat map below.

LiveRez websites get people searching for properties, as evidenced by this heat map.

Results
At LiveRez, the results are shown within the same framework of the website – you won’t be linked to a new page with a different domain name. Guests even have the ability to compare properties or do an advanced search to narrow results.

With LiveRez websites, you can search for and view results for vacation properties right from the website, unlike some other software platforms which link you to a new page with a new domain.

Compare Properties

LiveRez websites let you compare up to three vacation rentals side by side.

Advanced Search 

LiveRez lets property managers set up advanced search options for their properties, which makes it even easier for guests to find and book properties on their LiveRez website.

Booking
On LiveRez websites, it’s very clear how guests can book.

With LiveRez websites, there's no confusion about how to book a property.

3-Click Bookings
With LiveRez, guests can book in just three clicks after arriving at your home page. This ensures that your guests don’t get lost in the booking process. With LiveRez, it’s as easy as Search, Shop and Book.

Making Changes to Your Website
LiveRez’s content management system (CMS) is built into the LiveRez back office, which means you can make changes to your website in real time, all from the same piece of software you use to manage reservations, communicate with guests and owners, manage property care and maintenance, and create and view a wide variety of reports about your business and the properties you manage.

Our CMS gives you complete control to change nearly any piece of content on your website. Look at some of the creative ways our partners have used this ability.

Local Area Guide

LiveRez gives property managers near complete control of their website's text. With this ability, managers can share their extensive knowledge of the area with travelers.

Embedded Google Calendar

LiveRez makes it easy to use HTML to embed items, like this Google Calendar, on its vacation rental websites. Even if you don't know HTML, embedding items like this is as simple as copying the code and pasting it.

Interactive Area Map 

LiveRez allows users to embed interactive maps, like this one.

Video 

Embedding video from online services, like YouTube, is also a simple task in LiveRez.

Embedded Google Map of Property

Embedding a Google Map of a property is a snap with LiveRez.

Check out our recent blog post explaining how to embed a Google Map in your property listings.

Great Search Engine Placement
LiveRez websites are designed to rank well in search engines. See how our partners are doing in this competitive Google search “Orlando Vacation Homes.” Five out of the top 10 isn’t bad.

LiveRez partners compose 5 of the top 10 results in this competitive Google search.

One Website Not Enough?
At LiveRez, we can create multiple websites for you and link them all to your reservation system. This ability allows you to effectively target niche markets within your business.

Learn More
Excited yet? Wait until you compare our prices with the competition and find out how fast we can have you live. Call us today at (800) 343-2891 or e-mail us at sales@LiveRez.com to schedule a guided product tour. And for more information, visit LiveRez.com or view a demo.

Public relations can yield great results for your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts through cultivating back links.

Public relations is an important component of business development. Getting your company publicity is a great way to connect with new customers and increase brand awareness. But, many businesses fail to realize its importance for search engine optimization (SEO).

Distributing press releases that includes links back to your website can help create back links, one of the most crucial components of how Google and other search engines rank your website in search results. The quality, quantity and relevance of sites linking to your website (called back links) help determine your own site’s authority in the eyes of Google and other major search engines.

News websites tend to have a lot of authority in the eyes of Google. A link to your website from an article on a major news website could give your SEO efforts a big boost. For example, if you’re a vacation rental business and you manage to score a mention in an article in USA Today’s Travel section, the back link you receive from the article would be rated highly by Google in terms of both authority and relevance.

But, getting into major newspapers is not easy. It requires great news judgment, solid news monitoring and the formation of working relationships with journalists. The good news is that you can start doing all of this for free, and get back links in the process.

Step 1: Write the Release

First, you’ll want to learn how to draft a news release (it’s becoming the preferred nomenclature for press release). Publicity Insider offers some great advice on writing a press release.  In addition to their advice, you’ll want to get a working knowledge of Associated Press Style (AP Style) – the specific style news articles are written in. Writing in AP Style will make it a lot easier for writers and editors to reuse content from your release.

But the single most important thing you can do to make your release successful is to highlight the news-worthiness of what you’re writing about. This requires you to have sound news judgment – that is, know what is news and what isn’t news. And, as you’ll see in the next section, news-worthiness will vary by the journalist and the news outlet.

Step 2: Distribute the Release

Links to your site from other sites, called back links, are important to search engines because they view these links as a vote of confidence in your website.

Next, you’ll want to create a list of journalists who write about topics related to your business. You can do this through monitoring news coverage and doing some quick searches online. Once you have their e-mail address, you can begin to send them releases.

A word of advice: Don’t send releases to reporters that don’t pertain to their topic areas, or beats as they are referred to in the journalism industry. For example, if the reporter just covers travel in Idaho’s Treasure Valley, don’t send him or her a press release announcing the hiring of the new sales manager at your vacation rental company in Florida. The one exception might be if the manager used to work for a prominent travel business in the Treasure Valley.

For even better results, if you have a story idea specifically targeted to an individual journalist, send him or her a brief note with your pitch. But, keep it brief; reporters tend to get a lot of e-mails.

Paying close attention to which journalists you send releases to will help you build relationships with journalists. Show them that you’ve done your research on what they cover, and let them know that you’re there to help make their jobs easier. There are plenty of public relations professionals that fail to recognize the importance of this, and they quickly lose their credibility with journalists.

Step 3: Post it Online

In addition to e-mailing journalists, there are plenty of ways to distribute a press release online. You can pay to have your release distributed on news wires like PR Newswire, PRWeb, MarketWire, etc. These services are generally pretty spendy, so exercise sound judgment in utilizing them.

Alternatively, there are plenty of websites that allow you to post press releases for free. And, if you do your homework, there are probably other news sites in your industry that let you post your own news stories. You’ll have to investigate which of these sites allows you to put live links in your release. Remember, you’re looking for back links to your website.

HINT: Reserve your less news-worthy press releases for free online sites. This will keep you from harming your relationships with journalists by sending them “junk,” but at the same time make a public announcement that can be pulled up directly by the consumer in searches – and maybe even reposted. And again, you’ll also develop back links.

Results

You never know what will happen when you write and distribute a news release. Be prepared to accept calls from journalists and be ready to answer their questions. They may ask you to provide them with more material, like in-depth statistics or images. And remember, when talking with a journalist, don’t say anything that you wouldn’t want publicized, even if you think it’s “off the record.”

If done correctly, your public relations efforts will win you coverage eventually, but don’t expect to get a story from every release you send out. Chances are that many of your releases will not get picked up by the media at all. That’s normal, especially for small businesses. If you judge your public relations efforts purely on news placements, you’re bound to be disappointed. Remember, public relations is about building relationships – both with your target consumers and with the key influencers of those consumers. Work on building these relationships by releasing consistent news about your business and respecting the role of journalists, and you'll be on the path to public relations success. And, along the way, you’ll get plenty of back links, too.

Rumor has it, adding a Google +1 button to your website could help your SEO efforts.

Earlier this year, Google introduced its own social network, Google+ – believed by many to be the company’s answer to Facebook. While Google+ is not yet available for businesses (it’s coming soon, they say), businesses can still take advantage of Google+ right now by utilizing Google’s answer to the Facebook “Like” button.

You may have noticed that little “+1” button next to the results in your Google searches. Clicking that button is roughly the equivalent of liking that page (or result) and recommending it to the people you’re connected with through your Google account. As you +1 pages, your recommendations will be shared with the people you’re connected with via your Google account. The video below explains the concept more fully.

According to rumors in the SEO community, increasing the amount of +1s your website has will help improve your search engine rankings on Google. Therefore, as you seek to grow your vacation rental business, you’ll want to put a +1 button in all the places you would normally put a Facebook like button: on your website, on your blog, etc.

You can generate the html code for the +1 button here. The video below shows how the +1 button helps give searchers recommendations, and provides instructions for how to add the button to your website. And, if you use WordPress for your blog, there are a lot of great social media plug-ins that include the Google +1 button (no coding experience necessary).

If you’re interested in the increasingly important intersection of SEO and social media, check out our recent blog on social search. And, to see the Google +1 button in action on a website, go to LiveRez.com. And, be sure to +1 us!

Resort Harbour's LiveRez-powered website makes it easy for travelers to find and book properties online.

Resort Harbour Properties
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Website: ResortHarbourProperties.com
Quick Quote: “They’ve taken (our) suggestions and they’ve made some changes. That’s impressive. Not a lot of companies will do that.”

Someone once said “location is everything.”

And while Angelo Celmo of Resort Harbour Properties could probably make a very good case for that statement, he knows location is just one of many facets that have made his business successful.

But when you look at Resort Harbour’s success, location is an undeniable accomplice. You see, Resort Harbour Properties seems to be based at the epicenter of fun, near the intersection of natural beauty and luxury accommodations.

Celmo manages beautiful 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condominiums that feature full kitchens and dining rooms, and huge screened-in lanais overlooking the water. And, they’re located right on the beaches at the tip of Fort Myers.

Guests at Resort Harbour Properties can enjoy incredible sunsets right from their rooms.

Right next door is Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa – a 4 diamond / 4 star resort. Just across the water are Sanibel and Captiva islands. And, just before dusk, Resort Harbour’s position on the west coast of Florida looking out into the Gulf of Mexico makes for some of the most beautiful sunsets you’ll ever see.

“We’ve got one of the best views in southwest Florida,” Celmo said.

If you’re up for a small trip, Sarasota, Tampa and Clearwater are all short jaunts to the north. One could easily make a day trip to both Miami and Fort Lauderdale to the east, and Marco Island and Naples are approximately an hour’s drive south.

Resort Harbour’s proximately to everything gives visitors a wide selection of activities from which to choose. A short walk away at the resort, guests can find a world-class spa, tennis center, marina, fine restaurants, tiki bars, swimming pools and more.

According to Celmo, many of his guests’ favorite things to do involve water – swimming, boating and fishing (snook and tarpon).

Golfing is also high up on the list, and visitors shouldn’t have a hard time finding a course they like.

“There are over 50 golf courses in the Fort Myers / Sanibel Island area,” Celmo said.

If you have a penchant for viewing nature, you can visit one of the many nearby nature preserves or watch dolphins and manatees play in the water right from your window.

Resort Harbour Properties offers condos that are right on the beach!

And if you still don’t know what to do, Resort Harbour offers a slew of concierge services.

However, Celmo said most of his guests have a good idea of what they want to do before they arrive.

“I think a lot of people know what they want to do, and that’s what drives them here,” he said.
“They want to go to a place where they can fish and boat and golf, or sight see or go on nature walks.”

There’s a good reason many of these guests already know what they want to do – they’ve been here before. According to Celmo, Resort Harbour has a very high rate of return guests – so high, in fact, that’s he’s gotten to know many of his guests.

“We get to know our guests, because our guests will come here year after year,” he said. “Many become owners here after many visits.”

And, he’s good friends with many of his owners, too.

“We have 160 owners, and I know almost every one of them very well,” he said.

It’s this interpersonal touch that’s helped Celmo be successful. He’s found that while location is important, service really makes the difference.

“Having that personal, one-on-one touch is really beneficial,” he said.

While other property managers may choose to take on properties from a variety of locations, Celmo focuses his effort all in one place. And, he runs his business from an office right on site. But, even though he likes being close to his guests, he wanted a management platform that he could access anywhere. And, he found that in LiveRez.

“What attracted us to LiveRez was the fact that it is web-based,” Celmo said.

Enjoy a huge lanai overlooking the water with a condo from Resort Harbour Properties.

Another thing that drew Celmo in was how simple it was for guests to book online.

“The end user can navigate through LiveRez easily,” he said.

And more recently, he’s enjoyed working with Sam Martin and LiveRez’s SEO/SEM service.

“I think bringing Sam Martin in was the catalyst that I really needed,” Celmo said. “Doing some search engine optimization was really important for me. When he came on, that made me very happy.”

Another thing that impressed Celmo was LiveRez’s commitment to continually updating its software. According to Celmo, LiveRez has actively used feedback from Kelly O’Brien – a 20-year veteran of the industry who manages his vacation rentals program – to improve its platform.

“They’ve taken her suggestions and they’ve made some changes,” he said. “That’s impressive. Not a lot of companies will do that.”

Improving its software and services is a natural progression for LiveRez, which uses a Pay-for-Performance pricing model. When its partners are operating at their full potential, LiveRez sees its best returns. And that was one of the major selling points for Celmo.

“I like the fact that LiveRez makes more money as we make more money,” Celmo said. “It kind of ties LiveRez into the responsibility.”

So while location is a major selling point for Resort Harbour, its partnership with LiveRez and its dedication to excellent service can’t be ignored.

Said Celmo: “I always say, the only thing that beats our sunsets here is our service.”

Carolina Beach Realty's partnership with LiveRez.com has allowed the business to dramatically increase its web presence.

Carolina Beach Realty
Location: Carolina Beach, NC
Website: CarolinaBeachRealty.net
Quick Quote: “In the two years that we’ve been dealing with LiveRez, the rate of growth in our business has doubled and our revenues have increased tremendously. I really attribute a lot of that to the presence LiveRez has given us on the Internet.”

Imagine taking a trip back in time – to a place that’s family friendly, with uncrowded beaches and where a business really hangs its hat on true customer service.

It’s not a dream – it’s called Pleasure Island. And with 45 years of experience in the area, Carolina Beach Realty has the inside track to a wonderful vacation there.

The company offers a wide variety of homes and condos for rent, ranging in size from one to seven bedrooms, with a variety of ocean front and ocean view properties, and at prices that can fit a wide variety of budgets. Its selection of properties is among the largest offered on the small island.

Every week during the summer months, the local chamber hosts a fireworks show. It's just one of the many family-friendly activities that visitors will find on Pleasure Island.

Pleasure Island is only about 8 miles long, but it encompasses both Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and the Fort Fisher Historic Area, the third-most visited historical site in all of North Carolina. All together the island offers a laid-back atmosphere, set amidst beautiful, unspoiled beaches.

“We just don’t have the crowds that you have to fight with,” said Jim Kitts, co-owner of Carolina Beach Realty. “But there are plenty of activities available – so it’s not like a ghost town, either.”

Those activities include, among other things, a fireworks show that takes places every Thursday night at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk during the summer months, and a family movie night at Carolina Beach Lake where families can bring their lawn chairs and blankets, and enjoy a family-appropriate movie projected on a big screen.

“It’s a very family-friendly and family-oriented beach,” said Kitts.“Our local chamber does a great job of providing family-oriented activities.”

Carolina Beach Realty itself is a family-oriented business. Kitts and his wife took over the business seven years ago from her father.  And, today they still offer that same old-school customer service that the business is known for.

One of the many beautiful views visitors can find out the window of their vacation home when they book with Carolina Beach Realty.

“To me that’s the most important thing – to offer that friendly, polite, courteous customer service that, quite frankly, isn’t easy to find these days,” he said.

Kitts said they try to offer people the same respect and same level of service that that they, themselves, would expect.

And, it’s not just service to the many guests that frequent Carolina Beach Realty’s vacation homes – it’s also a high level of service to the owners of these homes.

“It’s our job to make both sides of that transaction happy,” Kitts said.

Kitts said that balancing the needs of customers with owners can be challenging at times, but that his business works hard and, most importantly, tries to be fair at every turn.

“We don’t hit a homerun at every at bat, but we do our best,” said Kitts, a former NFL running back. “We figure if we get enough base hits, we’ll be successful, and that’s what we’ve done.”

One of the many outstanding vacation homes offered by Carolina Beach Realty.

The word “successful,” however, is an understatement when it comes to Kitts and Carolina Beach Realty. The company has experienced growth in every year since the Kitts have taken the reins, even through the recent recession.

And, according to Kitts, that growth took a shot in the arm when the company became a LiveRez partner two years ago.

“In the two years that we’ve been dealing with LiveRez, the rate of growth in our business has doubled and our revenues have increased tremendously,” he said. “I really attribute a lot of that to the presence LiveRez has given us on the Internet.”

After switching to LiveRez, Kitts experienced increases in search engine placement, and his website traffic received a considerable boost.

“The hits on our website have probably increased 65 to 70 percent, if not more, since we started using LiveRez,” said Kitts, who also noted a big increase in web bookings.

Kitts said this web presence has not only helped them pick up new customers, but also attract new owners.

“Obviously when people buy property and they’re looking for someone to manage it for them, the first place they’re going to go is the Internet – just like the people that are looking for a vacation,” Kitts said. “When we come up first and show a strong presence online, it gives us good credibility.”

Some of the stunning accommodations offered by Carolina Beach Realty.

According to Kitts, the interest from owners wanting to list their homes through his management company has been almost overwhelming. Right now his business is growing about as fast his infrastructure can handle.

“We’ve grown tremendously in just a short period of time,” he said. “We’ve got to the point where I kind of have to throttle back on the properties that I take on.”

The rush of traffic to CarolinaBeachRealty.net and the rapid growth of the business provide a perfect contrast to the quiet splendor of Pleasure Island.

You see, the most crowded part of Pleasure Island could very likely be Kitts’ LiveRez-powered website.

Cocoa Beach Best Condominium Rentals experienced dramatic increases in search engine placement, website traffic and web bookings in just its first few months with LiveRez.com

When Sheila Hobart of Cocoa Beach Best Condominium Rentals signed up for LiveRez.com’s SEO/SEM service, she had a clear plan in front of her for the customer demographic she wanted to reach – she just wanted a little helping getting her company in front of them.

After working with LiveRez.com SEO/SEM Manager Sam Martin to nail down her target audience, Hobart let LiveRez.com’s SEO/SEM service design and execute a custom plan.

And, in just a matter of weeks, Cocoa Beach Best is starting to see results.

“Our website is hitting its targets, and our numbers look good,” Hobart said.

In just over one month with LiveRez.com’s SEO/SEM service, Cocoa Beach Best’s search engine placement for seven strategic keyword phrases increased by 316 percent. On May 19, Cocoa Beach Best had an average search engine ranking of 75 among those seven keyword phrases. But, as of July 1, its average ranking has increased to 18.

Quick Stats on Cocoa Beach Best's success with the LiveRez SEO/SEM program.

Thank to LiveRez’s efforts, one of those keywords phrases – “Cocoa Beach FL Vacation Condo Rentals” – has moved from a No. 83 placement to a No. 8 placement, essentially skyrocketing the business from an eighth-page placement to a first-page placement in just over one month.

These results have given Cocoa Beach Best some great search engine visibility, and have helped monthly traffic to cocoabeachbest.com more than double.

“We were unknown before, and now we’re on the first page of Google,” she said.

These elevated placements – along a mix of intelligent in-house marketing and the addition of Martin’s Google Adwords campaign – have helped Cocoa Beach Best yield some astonishing increases in online business. From May to June, Cocoa Beach Best’s web bookings exploded, yielding a 2,900 percent increase in bookings and a 3,855 percent increase in nights stayed.

With her online business booming, Hobart couldn’t be happier with the value she’s getting from LiveRez’s SEO/SEM service.

Said Hobart: “Sam has been worth every penny.”

This heat map shows where users are clicking on this search results page. Notice how most of the clicks are concentrated on the top results.

Business isn’t a game of hide and go seek. As a business owner, you want those consumers seeking your products and services to find you – and before they find your competition. In the competitive vacation rentals industry, being found first becomes even more important.

According to some recent statistics released by Optify.com, the top three organic search results receive 58.4 percent of all visits from the search, with the top result garnering a massive 36.4 percent. The remaining items on the front page receive just 9 percent of clicks, and results on the second page receive just 1.5 percent of clicks. These statistics further reinforce the importance of ranking high in organic search results. But moving up the search engine ladder isn’t a walk in the park, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing.

A good search engine optimization strategy will consist of a competitive analysis of all the search terms that may be used by your target consumers. That analysis will create a comprehensive keyword strategy that will guide optimization tactics. Successful SEO efforts almost always generate dramatic increases in website traffic and, consequently, the amount of business leads received online. So, having an optimized website is one of the single most important things you can do to increase your company’s profitability.

Off the block, LiveRez websites are the industry’s most SEO-friendly websites. And, with some intelligent optimization, these websites are unmatched for search engine performance. Consider these LiveRez partners’ performance in these highly-competitive searches:

• Five of the top 10 results for “Orlando Vacation Homes” are LiveRez partners' websites.
• The top result for “Seaside Vacation Rentals” is a LiveRez website.
• The top result for “Seabrook Vacation Rentals” is a LiveRez website.
• The top result for “Sun Valley Resort Vacation Rentals” is a LiveRez website.
• The list goes on.

For partners that need a little help, LiveRez’s SEO/SEM program allows them to take advantage of the help of a team of SEO/SEM professionals. With this service, they’ll be sure to get the most out of their LiveRez website, they’ll increase their ranking in key search results, they’ll improve the efficiency of their SEM campaigns, they’ll save themselves valuable time, and they’ll be able to forgo the cost of a spendy third-party SEO/SEM service that may or may not get them the right results.

Whether you’re a LiveRez partner, a vacation rental manager or a general business owner that’s looking for a way to increase your profitability, keep in mind the importance of SEO and how it will help your business. And, to learn more about LiveRez.com’s SEO/SEM service for its partners, visit LiveRez.com/SEO.

Cambria Seaside Getaways' LiveRez-powered website helps visitors find and book their perfect escape.

Cambria Seaside Getaways
Location: Cambria, CA
Website: CambriaSeasideGetaways.com
Quick Quote: “We have been very, very pleased with LiveRez. And with the money that we’re saving, we’re able to advertise. And we weren’t able to advertise with (our previous software provider).”

You could call Lesli Godfrey and the staff at Cambria Seaside Getaways escape artists.

Cambria is the quintessential get-a-way locale, located off the beautiful Central California coast, and Godfrey and the staff at Cambria Seaside Getaways are the artists that can create your perfect escape.

Far removed from the hustles and bustles of modern life, Cambria offers beautiful coastal scenery set in lush, green foliage and outlined by the area’s famous moonstone beaches. It’s located off historic Highway 1– you know, the one in the movies where the protagonist is racing his Porshe around the tight corners that overlook the Pacific Ocean.

“It’s kind of like a hidden jewel,” said Godfrey, who manages Cambria Seaside Getaways, a division of Don Bricker Property Management.

The area offers a wealth of activities. Vacation goers can visit Hearst Castle (the former estate of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst), fish off nearby piers, enjoy the local wildlife, sample wine at the local vineyards, windsurf, scuba dive and more.

Outstanding views are one of the many reasons why so many guests choose Cambria Seaside Getaways.

“People like Cambria because it’s quiet and out of the way,” said Godfrey.  “And, we hope that they come back because of the customer service.”

Outstanding customer service is Cambria Seaside Getaways’ calling card. They’re Cambria experts and pros at making sure their guests get the most of their vacations. But, what’s particularly special about the team is its attention to detail.

“We try to provide a high quality of service,” said Ruth Shurtz, who has been with Don Bricker Property Management since 1995. “If there’s a problem, we try to take care of it right away, so that their stay is as enjoyable as possible.”

Among other things, the staff can arrange for a masseuse or a personal chef to come to their guests’ homes. They know the lowdown on many of the local restaurants and even have coupons.  They can tell you all about the tours of Hearst Castle, and even show you where the best local vineyards are.

Their level of service is so detailed, they’ve even partnered with CKID Interior Design to help their owners better decorate their houses, even on a tight budget.

And as a company that sets the bar for customer service and attention to detail, Cambria Seaside Getaways expects superior customer service from its vacation rental software provider.

According to Godfrey, they’ve found that with LiveRez.com – but not before a few bumps in the road. The company has made its own escapes from two other software providers.

One of the many unique properties Cambria Seaside Getaways offers its guests.

Godfrey actually found LiveRez.com when she was booking her own vacation in a mountain cabin.

“I was able to book it 1-2-3, and it wasn’t difficult,” Godfrey said. “I came back and showed Ruth, and then we started researching it.”

What they found was a product with superior features and exceptional customer service – a lot like what Cambria Seaside Getaways offers its guests.

They wanted an independent company that would offer great customer service – no matter how large it got. In fact, that was one of the motivating factors for them making the switch.

Godfrey said there were a number of factors that made the switch to LiveRez.com the right move. Among other things, she loved how quickly LiveRez.com returned phone calls.

“(LiveRez.com) returns phone calls before there’s even an e-mail saying a case is assigned,” she said.

Shurtz liked the fact that there were no hidden costs with LiveRez.com, and when she called LiveRez.com’s free support they immediately worked on fixing her problem – instead of telling her how much it was going to be to fix it.

“The accounting end is 10 folds better, because (LiveRez.com) stuck with the prices we were originally quoted,” said Shurtz, who does the company’s books and utilizes LiveRez.com’s QuickBooks integration.

Other motivating factors included LiveRez.com’s housekeeping functions, its owner’s portal and the website’s ability to offer online bookings.

This vacation home from Cambria Seaside Getaways offers amazing ocean views from its living room.

Another selling point was the fast and easy implementation. LiveRez.com was able to easily transfer Cambria Seaside Getaways’ data (property listings, etc.) from the company’s old website to its new LiveRez-powered website.

“With (our old software provider), we had to put it in ourselves,” Godfrey said.

Learning the system was also quick and easy.

“Overall, learning about it and working it – it’s so much easier than (our old software provider),” Godfrey said.

And, with the time and money Cambria Seaside Getaways has saved, the company has been able to reinvest in itself. You see, when you want people to come visit a “hidden jewel,” you have to go out and tell them where it is.

“We have been very, very pleased with LiveRez,” Godfrey said. “And with the money that we’re saving, we’re able to advertise. And we weren’t able to advertise with (our previous software provider).”

LiveRez.com let Victoria Smith of Alpenglow Vacation Rentals worry less about her day-to-day business and gave her more time to spend enjoying the amazing outdoor activities in Bend, Oregon.

Alpenglow Vacation Rentals
Location: Bend, Oregon
Website: http://www.alpenglowvacationrentals.com/
Quick Quote: “It (LiveRez.com) gave me my life back.”

Time is an important commodity for Victoria Smith of Alpenglow Vacation Rentals in Bend, Oregon.

As a professional vacation property manager, a hair stylist and an outdoor enthusiast in beautiful Central Oregon, Smith doesn’t have a second to waste.

So, as her vacation rental business started to grow, she turned to LiveRez.com.

So far, Smith’s recipe for success is a combination of price, quality, location and customer service. She offers quality homes at competitive prices, and specializes in the west side of Bend, which, she says, is the most desirable location in the area, due to its great scenery and close proximately to both the mountain and the town.

In Bend, there’s no shortage of things to do. Among other things, the city offers  amazing food and drink, a wide variety of shopping opportunities, beautiful scenery and unmatched recreational activities, which include hiking, biking, horseback riding, rafting, skiing, rock climbing, fishing and hunting, and even the opportunity to explore nearby caves. And, all of Smith’s Bend homes are centrally located to these activities.

But another ingredient in Smith’s success story is her LiveRez.com website.

“I’ve picked up more homes because of my website,” she said. “Definitely people on both sides – the guests and the owners – like the website.”

Alpenglow's LiveRez-powered website reflects the incredible outdoor adventures visitors will find around every corner in beautiful Bend, Oregon.

However, managing vacation homes hasn’t always been as easy for Smith, who also manages a few homes in Mexico.

At first, Smith was hesitant to get into vacation properties. She already had a very successful career as a hair stylist that required a good amount of her time. But, a few years ago, she had received a request to help market and list a vacation home. As it turned out, Smith was an instant success.

Soon after, she went out and got her property management license and began managing vacation properties in the Bend area. But, it turned out to be a lot of work.

Smith, who also has experience as a legal secretary, was writing her own forms, creating her own end-of-the-month reports, doing her accounting by hand and creating her own website through GoDaddy.

“And it was just this mounting thing,” said Smith, who at that point was working full-time as a hair stylist. “I think I had reached six houses, and I had coordinated really well that far. But, I was using so much of my free time.”

Finally, Smith decided that she needed to do something different, and she started looking for a solution that fit her needs. Smith stumbled upon LiveRez.com, and after many conversations with the sales team – where she says she asked every question under the sun – she decided to become a LiveRez.com partner.

Alpenglow Vacation Rentals offers its guests amazing accommodations, like the ones seen here.

How did it work out?

“It gave me my life back,” Smith said.

But, she admits, she had her doubts at first.

“The trust issue was a big thing for me. I felt like I was handing it over to someone else – and I didn’t want to do that,” she said. “But it was the best thing I’ve decided to do – because I’ve made more money and picked up more houses because of the look of the site.”

One thing Smith loves about LiveRez.com’s content management system is that it allows her to put video on her website – something that gives her a competitive advantage. And, Smith has used video to great effect as visitors see when they view her property listings.

“Not all the software companies I was looking at offered video integration,” Smith said. “And, LiveRez was competitively priced, if not better, than people like Escapia.”

But, in addition to the look and feel of her website, LiveRez.com’s end-to-end SaaS platform has saved her time by taking care of nearly everything she used to do by hand.

And, that’s given her more time to enjoy the beautiful area where she lives and works.

Heather Dawson, director of the Tamarron Rental Program, enjoys the beauty of Haviland Lake with her husband, Shane, and her son, Kelley.

Tamarron Vacation Rentals
Location: Durango, Colorado
Website: TamarronVacationRentals.com
Quick Quote: “I haven’t come across anything that it (LiveRez) hasn’t been able to do that I’ve asked for. So, I’m really happy with it.”

For Heather Dawson, one of LiveRez.com’s newest partners, honesty is always the best policy.

As Director of the Tamarron Rental Program, she’s found that advertising properties as accurately as possible has always led to more satisfied customers. That includes taking pictures that accurately reflect the property and writing descriptions that best match what the condo offers. And, often it includes talking to guests ahead of time.

“I usually talk to guests before they arrive, so I can determine different activities to do in the area and whether or not the condo is going to be a good fit for them,” she said. “I usually try to have a real personal communication with the guest before they get here.”

But for Dawson, it’s easy being honest when what you’re advertising is as appealing as the vacation condos at Tamarron.

Located just 20 minutes from downtown Durango, Colorado, and just 10 minutes away from ski lifts, the resorts offers outstanding views and amazing opportunities for outdoor adventures.

Tamarron's beautiful new LiveRez-powered website utilizes natural wood in its background and works off a color scheme that reflects the majestic scenery guests see when they visit the Colorado resort.

Guests can look out their windows and the enjoy the breathtaking views of red cliff mountains, or trek out on the many nearby mountains trails, accessible to many modes of transportation. The main lodge facility has a big indoor-outdoor heated pool, a hot tub, sauna, fitness room and locker rooms, and coming soon it will feature a restaurant and lounge.

“The biggest thing people say are just how spectacular the views are here,” Dawson said. “The views out in nearly every direction are just beautiful.”

And thanks to a newly designed website from LiveRez.com, potential guests can get a good taste for what they’ll see out their windows, on a trail, at nearby attractions or in their condo.

One thing Dawson loved about the LiveRez.com platform and the new website is the ability to set up advanced search options for guests. If you visit the site, you’ll see she’s set up search options for in-room Wifi, golf privileges, in-room laundry, king bed, electric fireplace and private deck. And, if she wants to add more, she’s only clicks away from doing so.

One of many beautiful places to stay at the Tamarron Resort.

Another thing Dawson liked was the reporting functionality of LiveRez.com, especially the occupancy reports. Although she doesn’t manage every condo at the resort, she needs to know when any one of the condos is occupied. And, she is able to use the system to track that and then make reports.

Although she’s only used the software for a short time, she’s finding it hard to pick out anything she’d want to change about it. Like the condos she manages, LiveRez.com has lived up to everything it advertised.

“I haven’t come across anything that it (LiveRez) hasn’t been able to do that I’ve asked for,” she said. “So, I’m really happy with it.”