About Bid My Rental
We provide a new and unique way to book a vacation rental property along with a great set of tools for website users. For vacationers
we put you in contorl of how much you will spend on your accommodations and provide a platform for deep discounts.
For home owners we
provide a fantastic service for booking all your properties -- during off season, empty calendars and more. Further, we provide the
tools you need to successfully manage your account.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bid My Rental?
There are many websites dedicated to promoting “by-owner” vacation rentals and new ones are being added practically every day. What do they all
have in common? Well, they also present copious amounts of property information and photos; some even have online booking and interesting owner-contact
methods. But what they also have in common in this: there is no easy way for owners to ensure prompt communication between them and a potential guest;
there are few tools to help them manage and sell their vacation property; the number of emails and length of time it takes to put one vacationer into
their rental is often times far too much than what it’s worth.
And it’s because of this that we see many former “by-owners” returning their properties to the care of a rental-management agency. It’s not that the
Internet can’t afford them the opportunity to put “heads in their beds,” but the right “management” tools haven’t been available in a single program.
Bid My Rental gives owners the same effective online tools that large rental management agencies have been using successfully for years. Tools for
managing your property, communicating with guests, and marketing to potential vacationers – all found in an organized, easy-to-use system for owners.
What makes Bid My Rental unique?
Apart from our industry-first management and marketing tools for property owners,
Bid My Rental offers a completely unique way to find and book a vacation rental property. Just as the name implies, vacationers “bid” on vacation stays: they select the desired property, enter their arrival and departure dates, and specify a total price they are willing pay for the rental. The “bid” is then emailed directly to the property owner for review and stored in the system for later review and/or retrieval. As the owner, you then have the option of “accepting” or “declining” the bid, or submitting a “counter-bid” to the potential guest.
What are some of the “tools” available to property owners?
Everything you need to manage your “by-owner” vacation property, from management to marketing.
On the management side, you’ll be able to modify property details, suggested rates, photos and more with a few clicks of the mouse and with live,
instantaneous results. You can set predetermined “price points” for a bid placed on your property; if a bid is too low, it will automatically be
declined.
Need help marketing your vacation rental to potential guests? Create “vacation specials” for your property to encourage bookings; use our
“email broadcast” features to notify vacationers of property availability or specials; import your own past guest lists or send to our database of
inquiries based on all kinds of demographical data.
With
Bid My Rental, YOU have the power to manage and market your vacation property.
Does the highest bidder win?
Bid My Rental is not a “high-bidder wins all” system like eBay and others. The property owner “chooses” which bids will be accepted and which will
be declined – there is no obligation on the part of the owner.
What happens after a bid is accepted?
Once a bid has been accepted, it’s up to the property owner to work out the details of the vacation stay with the guest. However,
Bid My Rental does
provide tools for owners to help make this easier, such as bidding history, guest information, and more.
How many photos are allowed per property?
Each property can have up to 30 large photos with captions for each.
Can you include external links to other websites within your property information?
Yes. While most other “by-owner” websites strictly prohibit and/or control this,
Bid My Rental allows you to link to other applicable websites
within your property description. However, all external links are reviewed regularly and removed if content deemed inappropriate is found.
In what order are properties displayed?
Properties are displayed on the website in a rotation, where each property gets an even distribution of page views and visibility. For added
visibility, we offer a “featured property” section that allows you to promote your vacation rental on the website homepage.
How much does it cost?
Each property listed is $45 per year with discounts after 10 listings, although we frequently run discounted
specials on our yearly listing fees. While many other property listing websites sell extra services “a la carte,” our single listing fee covers
ALL of our features and EVERYTHING you need to manage your vacation rental.
Is getting started easy?
Yes. You can get started online with our “easy-to-use” owner
registration system.