Web Search Strategies

Among the key web search strategies for renters? Don't look in just one place.

Choice is not going to be a problem. Even if vacation rentals haven’t been on your radar until now, the vacation rental industry has been growing at a nice clip for years.

Aside from a major consolidation of listing sites -- which hasn’t been a roaring success, so far -- there are a lot of new players have jumped on the bandwagon. Some are solid resources, some just make a lot of noise. And you can eat up a lot of precious time trying to tell one from another.

So, before you dive in, here’s the 30,000-foot view of the available categories along with web search strategies you can use to effectively broaden or narrow your search in whatever way makes most sense for you.


#1. ‘More is more’ websites

The largest and most visible vacation rental listing site is HomeAway. This venture capital-fueled site is a relative newbie. But after gobbling up most of the industry pioneers such as VRBO, it provides staggering abundance: 176,000 homes -- and growing.

As you're considering web search strategies, take a moment to wrap your mind around what that quantity might mean to your personal search for a vacation home.

Upsides: Everybody loves that feeling of being a kid in a candy store! Dive in and use built-in search criteria to quickly whittle your list by destination, number of bedrooms and price.

Downsides: With vacation rentals, you’re always going to be comparing different varieties of apples. But there’s no quality-related rhyme or reason to HomeAway, or even much consistency to the listings.

Some have more photos (which they pay more), and better photos. Some have detailed listings. Some give you little more than a marketing blurb.

Two complaints I’ve heard from the owners who list on these big sites: their listings are edited without permission (increasing the potential for misinformation that hurts everybody,) and they sometimes get the geography wrong.

Bottom Line: Once you’ve narrowed your search using the obvious parameters, you're on your own. If you’re picky (like I am) or have a list of specific criteria you need to meet to accommodate your group, you could easily spend hours sifting through your options. That’s before the hours you may spend personally vetting the best candidates.

That's why it pays to take a look at some other web search strategies.

Can You Find a Great Beach House Using Social Media?

But new players and strategies are already emerging. Here's a look at what's going on and tips for using this interactive, contact-rich media to plan your next vacation.

If you don’t know a lot about your destination or you’re hosting a larger group (in multiple homes close to each other), a local rental property manager can be like a specialty travel agent.

Many are long-time residents of the destination you’ve chosen and can provide help you with rentals and event-planning and give you invaluable guidance and personal recommendations.

Upsides: Typically these local rental property managers represent a small inventory of vacation rentals in a compact geographical area. Some combine real estate sales with rental management (more on that later). Like vacation rental homeowners, they are a mixed bag of gems and duds.

The best know each vacation rental in their inventory intimately and are willing to spend all the time you need helping you select the home that best meets your needs. They can be more objective about individual homes than homeowners, who are understandably passionate about their homes.

The worst are booking machines who don’t answer their phones or return calls promptly, refuse to provide input when you’re choosing a home ... or anything else except a key to the property.

The local companies that I’ve profiled on Beach Vacation Rental Scout have vacation rental inventories with a nice diversity of sizes, styles and location on or near the beach.

The big plus is their local perspective. They can recommend anything from the secluded beaches to killer burritos. If you’re raring to see the sights, they have coupons and lots of advice. More and more local companies -- like La Jolla Vacation Rentals -- are adding free beach gear and bikes. Some like Santa Barbara Beach Rentals offer luxury concierge services. If you’re planning an event, companies like Better Vacation Rentals in Oceanside can recommend a vetted wedding planner and treat you to a complimentary bottle of champagne.

If you could use some assistance (and peace of mind) planning your vacation in a rental, tuning into local management companies is one of your best web search strategies.

Downsides: Of course, finding a good fit in a limited inventory is not guaranteed, no matter how good the rental manager.

And you may pay more. A rental property manager is another layer, a middleman, between you and the property owner. Rental managers take a (sometimes hefty) commission that may be reflected in the rental fee.

But not always. A sharp manager can be more in tune with the needs of market (you) than a lackadaisical owner, so it pays to do your homework! I’ve found locals offering phenomenal off-season prices and specials.

Bottom Line: If you’re new to a destination or need help with special criteria as you plan your vacation (such multiple homes for a large group), local experts should right at the top of your web search strategies checklist. Many I’ve talked to welcome repeat-guests who they've come to think of as close friends year after year.

A new sort of-hybrid listing site called Zonder -- part of the trend in consolidating vacation rentals listing sites -- represents only professional managed homes. This company made its entry into the market by (unfairly, I think) trashing the vacation-rental-by-owner model which as been working very well for years.

In early press releases, Zonder played up stories about vacation rental scams and misinformation. They created a “Zonder Trust Seal” guaranteeing "a property exists, the calendar is accurate and the price includes no hidden charges," among other things. And the national media took the bait.

My two cents: I don’t see a need for negative approaches that attempt to gain an unfair advantage on the backs of smaller competitors with fewer resources.

And shame on the mainstream media for letting a press release trump a balanced story. But, most of all, I know for a fact you can easily find exceptional quality and service without the Zonder guarantee.

This is where players start to get creative.

If you adore cabins or beach cottages, there are sites that represent only to those types of vacation rentals.

Beach House Rentals cuts straight to the chase with an inventory of thousands of vacation rentals on the beach.

Many of these sites are hybrids, combining style and local expertise, such as

Anna Maria Beach Cottages .

If you want to pull-out-all-the-stops Luxury Vacation Rentals by Dream Exotic Rentals is a service that can point you to the right villa, mansion, or castle. You can search for homes online by destination or send an email wish list and receive a list of homes matching your criteria (including some not listed online!). A Villa Customer Service Representative will help you book your choice.

Upsides: This may be one of your favorite web search strategies if your top priority is to narrow your search to the home style or experience you love. I’ve found a lot of these sites have a better personal component than catch-all listing sites.

Downsides: You’ll probably have to do a keyword search to see what’s out there. Many sites specializing in beach cottages are by destination.These sites alone may be too narrow for people who are open to many different types of homes.

Bottom Line: Can’t hurt to give them a whirl.


# 4. Theme sites

Who you’re traveling with plays a fundamental role in your choice of vacation rental.

If you’d love to take your dog to beach with you, here’s a shortcut to dog-friendly resources, including my list of favorite dog-friendly vacation rentals and local management companies. Ditto for vacation rentals that cater to family reunions and large group gatherings

Ocean Summit Travel agents will help you find a family reunion rental that accommodates from 12 to 50 people in Colorado, the Yucatan Peninsula Mexico, Puerto Vallarta and Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Another “theme” you can search is great customer testimonials. I’ll have a lot more to say about testimonials further on in this series. In a nutshell, they are should factor into every one of the web search strategies used by prospective renters. If you’ve grown to trust TripAdvisor make FlipKey (now part of the TripAdvisor brand) one of your first stops. FlipKey verifies every property listing and gathers testimonials real travelers write about homes they’ve rented.

My two cents: FlipKey ranks high on my list of web search strategies. Having this kind of customer-focused resource has been a huge boon and a giant step in the evolution of the vacation rental industry.

Upsides: I love web search strategies that shave hours off my search and specialty sites can if a particular theme or event tops your vacation rental priority list.

Downsides: Be wary of larger “catch-all” sites that entice you with long lists of activities and vacation themes you can use as search criteria. Some, like VacationRentalsListed actually create theme-based sub-sites such as Honeymoon Vacation Rentals.

Great idea, but not one of the best web search strategies, because you still have to do most of the work putting the pieces together when it comes to the details matter -- for example, which golf courses you are near. By all means give these sites a whirl, if you like. But keep your expectations in check.

Bottom line: Look for sites that offer specialized personal support.

#5. Your Own Keyword Search

Like Internet-savvy travelers, vacation rental owners who are dedicated to marketing their homes themselves are getting savvy about planting keywords in their listings and on their own sites that jibe with specific must-haves and nice-to-haves on your vacation rental wish list.

And search engines (I’m still partial to Google) are getting better, too. So, adding several focused keyword searches to your list of web search strategies could net you some interesting results.

Upsides: Let’s say you want to be close to particular beach in Santa Cruz. Listings can be exasperatingly vague or obtuse when it comes to specific proximity. Do a web search with the name of the beach and “vacation rental” and could come up with half a dozen links to listings or owner web sites. The more specific the search words, the better the results.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the ads in the right column. I have seen some very interesting places -- vacation rental homes and management companies that beg for follow up -- appear alongside right my Google email!

Downsides: Alongside the other web search strategies, this is probably more hit-or-miss. And if you’re not accustomed to doing keyword searches, it could more miss.

Bottom line: Just one more tactic to try that could get you results much faster than the long, slow troll through listings.

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