Crystal Coast Rentals

It seems every day when one turns on just about ANY news station, all the hype is about the sagging economy. No doubt, its not picture perfect by any means, but I look around and its hard to believe its nearly as bad as the media would have us believe. I still have to wait in long lines at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants. So it looks to me as though a majority of the population is still gainfully employed and SPENDING. Many folks in the Emerald Isle rental industry are very worried about low booking numbers, cancellations, etc.

Wasn’t it last year when the media was hyping the high gas prices as the latest “crisis” and rental managers were worried people wouldn’t drive down here to rent beach houses? Pure hogwash! Last year was yet another banner year for vacation rentals in our area. I’m confident that once again all the hype of the poor economy will prove to be nothing more than hype. And come the end of summer the property management companies as well as the rental by owner managers will see even more rentals than last year.

Let’s face it, the Internet has completely turned this business inside out. Some rental companies do 50% of their business online. One of the most powerful things about the Internet as it relates to vacation rentals, is people can now wait until nearly the last minute to book and pay for their rental. Naturally this is going to take some of the companies some getting used to. Many property managers could already have most of the properties rented and the money in the bank before summer even started. This is no longer the case.

At any rate the economy may have an impact on the rental industry in one or another, but I’d still hang my hat on the fact that renters will be here this year in droves just as they have been in years past.

Happy Renting,

Jason