You’ve heard the expression, “When everyone else abandons you, at the end of the day, at least you have your family?”
The saying comes to mind after seeing a story in The Ledger, a newspaper in Lakeland, Fla., about how Floridians are taking more trips in state despite an overall decline in visits by international and out-of-state travelers. To survive this temporary slowdown, Florida vacation home owners will need to market to their own.
Jackie Ewing, a member of the Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association, cited a U.S. Department of Commerce statistic that Florida suffered a 4 percent dip in travel this year, reportedly the first since 2001. She encourages short-term rental owners not to overreact by slashing prices, but focus on creating valuable, well-timed packages and email blasts and using Twitter–a free marketing tool–to entice tourists.
Florida landlords: What tactic has worked for you? Do share.
