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Investment: Holiday Home Rentals - Domegos.co.uk

It’s time to jump on the holidayhome bandwagon

The travel industry may have been predicted to be one of the biggest victims of the financial crisis, but holidayhome rentals is one travel trend that is continuing to defy the recession, with both supply and demand growing at the same pace.

In fact the credit crunch, the rise of the staycation and the current state of the property market are all contributing factors to the growth of the sector. More owners are renting out properties for the first time, either to generate some much-needed extra income or because they aren’t able to sell their property on, and more holidaymakers are booking holiday homes to take advantage of the excellent value for money they represent.

Another changing trend is the type of holidaymaker that holidayhomes are attracting. In the past they were associated with families, but now couples looking for a romantic getaway and larger groups of friends are all jumping on the holidayhome bandwagon in order to save a few pennies.

This general increase in demand for holiday homes has attracted the attention of the ‘classic’ travel industry and in turn, spurred a rash of investments and acquisitions. However, even the biggest marketplaces still cover less than 5 per cent of total rental properties and there is huge potential for further growth.

Internet research

Recent figures from Phocuswright show that while two thirds of holidaymakers do their research on the internet, only 27% of owners list their properties online, with many put off by the high subscription fees that the umbrella sites charge. The fees – which can be up to as much as £200 – is a particularly bitter pill to swallow, considering that there is no guarantee of the website actually delivering bookings.

To encourage more owners online, a change in the sector is necessary. There is the need for a holiday home website that is free to list properties on. This would remove the barrier to create an effective marketplace that has the critical mass to deliver traffic, to enable owners to operate independently and, more importantly, to continue having direct contact with clients. This is what websites like Domegos.co.uk are trying to do.

Establishing a relationship with customers is essential for owners encouraging repeat business and overcoming the biggest barrier to the growth of the market – the lack of standardization of holiday homes.

With no legal requirement to participate in a quality assessment scheme (and no Marriott or Hyatt equivalents - yet!), people can be wary of booking online. It is the task of the owners to encourage guests to post reviews – a surefire way of appealing to the Tripadvisor generation and alleviating any concerns.

With so much demand, paid-for sites need to re-think what the customer wants. This is one industry which is bucking the trend and those in it should be leading the way.

Domegos.co.uk

Dennis is Co-founder and Director of Domegos.co.uk

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