Vacation rentals attract attention

By GWEN MICKELSON
Sentinel staff writer

SANTA CRUZ — Sandra Lovelace hopes to learn some new software tricks at an upcoming vacation rental conference Monday and Tuesday at the Coast Santa Cruz Hotel.

The conference, sponsored by Seattle-based Escapia Inc., which makes vacation rental management software and marketing products, aims to bring together Northern California coast vacation rental management, staff and vacation industry leaders to discuss new trends and technologies that will determine the future profitability of vacation rentals in the area.

Lovelace, vacation manager with Kendall & Potter Property Management Co. in Aptos, said her company was looking for an updated program for its database, seeking something more Web-based, and it chose Escapia’s software.

"We’ll learn things we don’t know already because we’re just starting to use their software," she said.

The conference is one of a series held at various U.S. vacation locations. Escapia and co-sponsor Buehner-Fry Inc., a Bend, Ore., vacation rental management services company, will present seminars, roundtable discussions and a technology showcase.

The vacation rental market here merits it, according to Chris C. Kemp, president and chief executive officer of Escapia.

"Vacation rentals is a market that’s evolving in Santa Cruz," he said. "It’s a huge industry that’s growing at a pretty rapid rate. When baby boomers retire, about 60 percent of them want to own a second home or vacation home somewhere."

Over the past six years, according to the Vacation Rental Managers Association of Santa Cruz, the vacation rental industry has been growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per year.

The industry consists mainly of real estate companies that sell homes to investors who plan to use them part-time, said Kemp.

Kemp said he expects between 12 and 24 attendees at the conference.

The featured speaker will be George Volsky, veteran industry analyst, speaker at vacation rental events across the country, former vacation rental manager, attorney and expert on issues facing vacation rental managers.

Topics discussed will include how to draw people to a seasonally affected area, legislative resistance to vacation rentals, Internet marketing and how the Web is affecting the industry and how to make vacation rental companies more competitive with rent-by-owner offerings and pricing.

The two-day conference, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, costs $195 per person, which can be paid at the door and includes breakfast and lunch. For information, visit conference.escapia.com/-northerncalifornia/ or call (877) 871-5156.