Owner Report: December / January

The Holiday Rental Market:

December was a solid month with an average occupancy of 55%. Last minute bookings have continued to flood in for the school holiday period with the warm weather helping to create one of our best seasons for a long while.

Wish to Maximise Your Bookings?
Properties that are proving to be the better performers have a number of factors in common:
1. They offer something unique and different.
2. These properties are pro-active with additional Accom Holidays' marketing and advertising options such as: 
-Stayz Priority Placement
-Home Away Priority Listing
-Accom Holidays e-Newsletter Hot Offers
-Welcome Pack for guests
-Updated photography
-The Green Gecko Project (donate 1% of your monthly property income & we will match this amount).
-Enlisting a property stylist to update furniture and improve the property appearance.
3. Properties are priced at a level that is considered to be good value. Exceeding customer expectation creates a repeat referral.
4. Have been consistent overtime building a solid base of regular clientele.

News for Owners:

Reminder for Landlord's Insurance: we require all owners to provide us with a current copy of their Landlord Insurance. We ask that you please provide us with a copy ASAP. Thank you.

2013 Owner Bookings - Please confirm dates required: As usual, we aim to book all properties ahead of time so that we can fill the year in advance. If you would like to stay at your property between now and December, could you please email your dates to terrigal@accomholidays.com and our team will block out and confirm the dates for you.

Accom Holidays Magazine: we are receiving fantastic feedback from new and existing guests as well as from the businesses who happily stock our magazine on the Central Coast and through Sydney. With many tourists still in the area, we have been dropping more copies to our stockists. When asked how did they find out about us, a number of guests who make a booking have cited the Accom Holidays Magazine. 

Facebook Pages: Having had a number of our guests 'check-in' or Like a property on Facebook, we have resorted to creating Facebook pages for popular properties. This is an extra form of exposure to new and existing guests who may wish to stay in touch with the latest news and photos. Click the links below to see some of our Facebook pages: The Long House | Beach Break | Pinetree Townhouse | Terrigal Penthouse

Marketing / Promotional News:

Want to give your property exposure to over 4,000 subscribers?
We currently require two properties to participate in our Hot Deals February e-Newsletter. Hot Deals must be a minimum of 50% off the shoulder rack rate and these deals are not run during peak or school holiday periods. The special offer is only available to the first 5 guests to book. Properties are taken on a first-in, first-served basis. If you are interested please contact Tammerly to arrange.

Stayz.com.au: Important Pricing Announcement: "Effective from 1st February 2013 the Stayz nightly booking fee will increase from $14.90 to $15.90 (incl GST)." Please note that this price increase has come from Stayz (not Accom Holidays) and therefore we are required to pass this charge on to owners.

What does this mean?

• The Stayz annual listing fee of $164 will remain unchanged.

• These fees will be applied to all bookings received from Friday 1st February 2013.

• Any bookings already received for stays beyond 1st February 2013 will be charged at the existing rate of $14.90 (incl GST) per a night.

• The nightly booking fees for stays of 10 nights or more will be $14.90 per a night.

Welcome Packs Are Here: We all know the secret to a successful holiday rental is repeat business and referrals. A core group of regular clientele can make a huge difference to the occupancy rate of a property and its overall performance. It is our belief that providing a Welcome Pack gift will go a long way to helping create a happy customer, perhaps a repeat customer, and exceed their expectations. Please find our two new Welcome Pack options below along with their associated costs. We strongly believe the additional referrals and repeat business will far outweigh the cost per check-in. 

Indulge Pack ($55)
Hillier’s Chocolate Pearl gift Box Milk & Dark 220g
2011 Clare Valley Chardonnay (branded with Accom Holidays label) 

2008 Pyrenees Cabernet Sauvignon (branded with Accom Holidays label)

Palm Beach Collection Small Scented Soy Candle Coconut & Lime

White Twin Pack Wine Box

Presented in a gift bag

Relax Pack ($25)
Hillier’s Chocolate Crème Brulee Crème Souffle Purse Pack 168g

2011 Clare Valley Chardonnay (branded with Accom Holidays label)

Presented in a gift bag                          

If you wish to participate, please email Tammerly or call her direct (02) 4385 9564.

The Sales Market: A strong start to the season with a definite increase in investor activity, resulting from many analysts predicting a succession of further interest rate cuts. The Sydney Morning Herald says "ANZ bank have drastically cut its interest rate forecast, citing a sharp weakening in the mining sector, higher unemployment and the strong dollar." 

ANZ is now predicting a 25 basis point cut in each quarter, ending 2013 at 2%. Macquarie Bank has now supported ANZ's prediction. Most analysts are predicting some improvement in the housing market, however the main growth area will continue to be the lower priced end of the market in reaction to a continued shortage of accommodation and further increases in rents.

brentpilkington@mcgrath.com.au | 0410 872 541

See you next month!

- The team at Accom Holidays