Strong Fall Travel Season is a Great Opportunity for Vacation Rentals
July 23, 2006. As vacationers plan to increase their travel in the fall, vacation rental owners should prepare to capture their share of the market. An article in USA TODAY reports that airline bookings are increasing as travelers look for better rates and try to beat the summer crowds
According to a number of sources in the travel industry, a growing number of Americans believe that vacation season no longer ends with Labor Day. Travel agents across the USA are seeing more Americans building travel plans around the advantages of autumn, mainly smaller crowds and better bargains.
USA TODAY quotes a spokesman of AAA travel agency as saying that airline bookings for September-November travel are up 23% this year over last year. “Boomers, singles, even honeymooners are changing their dates (from summer) because of the better fares, better values, better hotels and more choices for their money," says Linda Criswell, a manager for Dillard's Travel.
This trend is particularly important for vacation rental owners who want to maximize revenues. Any vacation rental property that is luxurious, well-maintained and located in a prime vacation destination should be fully booked in the peak season. The thing that often makes the difference between a profit and a loss is rate of occupancy in the shoulder seasons.
For our own vacation property, we used to consider September a slow transition month between summer and the fall leaf season that begins in October. However, we have noticed in recent years that September has become one of our better months. Wise vacation rental owners will make a special effort to market the advantages of their vacation destination in the fall months.
