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Rent Your Mountain Condo or Lake House to Tourists

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Contributed by: T. Edward Richardson on 3/16/2006

New Web Site Gives Homeowners Tools to Advertise Properties to Travelers, Take and Manage Reservations and Accept Payments Online

Do you own a mountain cabin, a faraway condo or a house by the lake that sits vacant most of the time? Why not rent your getaway to travelers and let them enjoy it too? Of course, the extra income isn't bad either.

A new Web site called Global Vacation Rental Listings helps homeowners and property managers take reservations and payments online and find travelers who want to rent vacant homes, apartments and condominiums. It even includes whimsical travel-related quotes on the bottom of each page. The site, developed by Sunflower Holdings, just opened to the public at GVRL.com.

GVRL.com lets homeowners and property managers create online ads that describe their rental properties, complete with up to twelve photos and manage listings for an unlimited number of properties. The GVRL Total Reservations System™, available with every listing, includes a property rental availability calendar and a system that lets owners and managers accept checks and credit card payments. You can even post the availability calendar on other Web sites and take reservations from there.

GVRL.com also includes tools to manage reservations and communications with travelers, including an "auto-confirm" feature that lets advertisers confirm a reservation with the click of a mouse. Homeowners and property managers can use the GVRL Communications Center to answer questions from prospective customers without revealing private contact information.

"Just sign up at GVRL.com and in 25 minutes you can be online and ready to take reservations," says company president David Lampe. "We believe the GVRL Total Reservations System™ is the easiest, most cost-effective way for vacation rental owners and managers to manage availability, take reservations and payments online, and communicate with prospective renters. It's better than most of the more expensive software that’s out there."

Lampe believes in the Total Reservations System™ so much, he says, "We’re offering homeowners and property managers the chance to try GVRL.com free for six months." Adds Lampe, "After that, if they don’t like it, it’s easy to cancel. But I bet most people will renew, which is easy and very inexpensive."

Tom Grant, a producer at GVRL.com says, "We have unique features you won't find on other sites, including free travel blogs and vacation photo albums, where our members can share travel stories and images. They can also rate and review places where they stay, which helps other travelers evaluate their lodging opportunities. Owners and managers can even use the blogs and photo albums to supplement their ads."

Grant adds, "Our online software costs much, much less than similar reservations management systems. It also comes with an audience of avid travelers who want to rent from you. We’re even offering a free six month listing for advertisers. What could be better?"

As they roll out the Web site, Lampe and Grant plan to promote it aggressively to develop an audience fast. In the coming weeks, they'll add more features, including the ability for owners and managers to offer last minute discounts.

Post your own travel blog or photo album at GVRL.com or sign up and advertise that vacant condo, cabin or house free on GVRL.com. You may be surprised when you start making money from your home away from home, rather than just spending money on it.

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