Hey there everyone, welcome to the BookingTeam "What you need to know in the vacation rental industry" blog post! See below for everything to keep you up to date with the vacation rental industry. Enjoy!

$3M Lawsuit Against Vacasa Serves as a Warning for All Vacation Rental Managers

Last week, an Oregon resident and vacation home owner filed a lawsuit against Portland-based Vacasa requesting class action status and seeking $3 million in estimated damages on behalf of herself and others. Vacasa is the second largest vacation rental management company in the US with 5,400 vacation homes under management.

The complaint alleges that Vacasa misrepresented its commission and fee structure “by charging renters additional amounts for their nightly use of properties, but not sharing any of such amounts with home owners, including, but not limited to: the ‘booking fee,’ ‘hot tub fee,’ ‘pet fee’ and ‘early check in/late check-out fees.’”

Read on: http://www.vrmintel.com/3m-lawsuit-vacasa-serves-warning-vacation-rental-managers/

Managers And Owners Angry At HomeAway’s Changes, But Is It Fair?

Vacation rental managers and homeowners in traditional vacation markets are up in arms about the many changes at HomeAway since Expedia’s purchase of the company in late 2015.

VRM Intel receives daily complaints from vacation rental managers and homeowners about HomeAway’s latest changes and actions, which are largely related to its decisions to: charge additional fees to guests, require online booking, mask customer data to eliminate direct communications between managers/owners and shoppers, remove all manager/owner information from listings to reduce “leakage,” and threaten to remove listings for perceived infractions of the new policies.

Read on: http://www.vrmintel.com/homeaway-fair-airbnb/

The Must-Have Vacation Rental Features That Impress Guests

For businesses today, it may seem harder than ever to not only meet customers’ growing demands but to impress them. When it comes to vacation rentals, we’ve found that these features are what impress guests most.

Along with our booking professionals, our BookingTeam.com hosts work hard to craft exceptional experiences and provide guests with all their basic needs. However, if hotels are learning anything from the increase in vacation rental booking, it’s that the basic amenities don’t cut it anymore. If you want to impress your guests, spread word-of-mouth and increase your bookings, you need to go beyond the basics.

Read on: https://bookingteam.com/2017/09/06/must-vacation-rental-features-impress-guests/