Should you Offer Free Gas Promotions at Your Vacation Rentals?
With gasoline prices soaring over the past few months, several destinations and travel organizations that depend on automobile travel to prosper have begun offering gasoline voucher programs to encourage visitors. Some of these initiatives are dusted-off versions of promotions from last year, when the travel industry was faced with a similar fuel scenario as the summer travel season loomed. Others are new�, reports Charles Leocha in an article in MSNBC.com. The article reports on ten places that do have free gas promotions.
However, the article reports that the interesting thing is how infrequently programs like this are offered. If history is any guide Americans can be expected to increase their travel, not curtail it. Certainly our weekly reports of occupancy rates and room rates confirm that the travel industry has experienced a boom thus far this year.
As to whether vacation rental owners should consider free gas promotions, your current occupancy and future bookings should determine whether you want to follow the lead of these 10 destinations that have chosen to offer such promotions. If you are sharing in the current strong performance of much of the lodging industry, there is no reason to do so. However, if occupancy is low, it may be worth a try.
