Home Owner Community Newsletter April 2010

"I just wanted to let you know that your site is one of the most powerful sites for villa owners that I have used. It is easy to manage, has a powerful back office and a great look and feel for travellers. You have a fantastic tool for both holiday home owners and their clients!"

HolidayCube 2.0 is now live!

Following the initial launch of the site, the HolidayCube designers and developers have continued to work hard to deliver a number of improvements based on feedback that we have received from you over the past months. Some of these changes are very visible and you may have already noticed some of these since they were implemented, if not, here's the overview!

HolidayCube 2.0 at a glance

• Multiple Currency support
  You can now add your rental rates in your preferred local currency. Users of the site will see your rates in whichever currency you choose and they can also convert them into other currencies as required.
• Faster image gallery
  We are very aware of the importance of displaying images efficiently and have developed a completely new gallery to make sure that your images are presented in the best way possible to your potential clients,(and it loads a lot quicker than the old one as well!). Portrait photographs are now supported as well as landscape images giving you more flexibility to upload the images of your choice.
• New fields added to the property listing forms
  We have added some new fields to the five step property creation process such as Bedroom and Bathroom configurations and a new ‘Holiday Type’ section designed to help you describe the type of holiday that your guests will experience at your holiday home. A number of other fields have also been added so please take a moment to take a look and take advantage of the fields applicable to your vacation rental.
• Enriched design on all property listing pages
  We have revisited the design on all of the property listing pages and have implemented a clearer set of pages with improved navigation and social networking sharing options designed to present all aspects of your holiday home via a more intuitive and attractive set of web pages.
• Improved search functionality and search page design
  We have added some additional options to the search process to put users in more control of how their search results are displayed. Users can now select the number of properties to be displayed and the currency that rental rates should be displayed in. In addition to this we have re-worked the search result design to incorporate larger images and encourage users to review properties that they have previously stayed in.
• Search Engine Optimisation enhancements throughout the whole site
  SEO, SEO, SEO…. We are seeing great results on the main search engines (particularly in Thailand and Indonesia) and as part of our ongoing efforts in this area we have introduced another round of enhancements to the site to ensure that your holiday homes are getting Page One results based on multiple search criteria.
• Guestbook Management improvements
  Our approach to Guestbook maintenance has also changed. With the aim of ensuring that only real reviews are published on the site, home owners no longer need to approve guestbook entries, instead, the HolidayCube team will approve well written comments from your previous guests and home owners can now add their responses that will also be published as part of the guestbook.
• New Cube Types!
  We have received a lot of feedback surrounding our Holiday Cube types and have extended this search option to include 3 new Cube Types, Countryside, Diving and Unique Cubes are all now available.

The complete list of new enhancements is detailed and long so take a stroll through the site and take a look for yourself, we hope that these changes meet with your approval and as always we would be very keen to hear more from you on the new release and recommendations for enhancements in the future.

Feel free to Contact Us or alternatively, take a moment to complete our survey.

Five ways to help maximise your holiday home rental potential with HolidayCube!

The home-owner team at HolidayCube has five easy ways to maximise the potential of your home and help increase that revenue!

1. Get a free featured listing for your holiday home and for your friends when you recommend a friend to us
2. Help your guests have an unforgettable stay by listing your favourite local bars, restaurants and places of interest in the HolidayCube Local Directory available for each of your holiday homes.
3. Encourage your guests to write positive feedback on the HolidayCube Guestbook to entice other travellers to come and stay.
4. Decoration is critical...get inspired by the architects and interior designers featured in the link to Architectural Digest given in this newsletter. Make sure that your home is as inviting, comfortable and appealing to others as it is to you.
5. Watch that photograph! A picture says a thousand words...take a look at other people’s photographs and ask yourself an honest question...does my home look at good as it could (and should)? A couple of solutions - make sure your home is looking its best when you take the photo and if you’re not good at photography – ask a friend or a family member to take the photos for you. There are many professional photographers who specialise in this kind of photography, it could be a wise investment in the mid to long term.

Visa and PATA Survey Names Top Travel Destinations in Asia Pacific

Singapore, 11 February
Australia, Japan and Hong Kong listed as the top three destinations for travelers in 2010

The Visa and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Asia Pacific Travel Intentions Survey 'Determining Travel Preferences in 2009 and Beyond' [1] has named Asia Pacific as the number one region for those intending to travel overseas in the next two years.

Of the 5,554 people surveyed from 11 tourism source marketplaces around the world, 60 percent said they would travel to Asia Pacific. North America and Western Europe trailed Asia Pacific at 35 percent of respondents.

The top three Asia Pacific destinations that leisure travelers surveyed were considering between now and 2010 were Australia (43 percent), Japan (37 percent) and Hong Kong (35 percent).

Meranda Chan, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei, and PATA Board Director, said: "That Asia Pacific was named the leading global leisure travel region by respondents in Visa and PATA's latest travel survey reinforces the vital role this industry fills in the regional economy. PATA figures show that international arrivals to Asia Pacific destinations grew year on year by some 2.6 percent in 2008 - despite the economic slowdown which created a serious impact on inbound traffic in the second half of the year. The industry accounts for more than 5.5 percent of the total gross domestic product in the region, underscoring the importance of travel and tourism to the vibrant economies of Asia Pacific."

Greg Duffell, President and CEO - PATA said: "Travel and tourism is a key source of jobs in the region. The top two global markets for travel and tourism employment are China with 74.5 million jobs and India with 30.5 million jobs. The region needs a constant supply of trained, ambitious service staff to fill this need and keep up with the growth we will continue to see in Asia Pacific."

While Asia remains a major source of tourism arrivals with travelers surveyed from Singapore (77 percent), Chinese Taipei (76 percent), Korea (75 percent) and China (70 percent) all indicating that they would travel within Asia Pacific in 2009 or 2010, long haul travelers were also keen to visit the region. Respondents from the United States (40 percent) and France (32 percent) said they would visit Asia Pacific in 2009 or 2010.

Favorite destinations

• Australia has made an impressive debut with 43 percent of people considering a trip 'Down Under'. American (58 percent), British (56 percent) and French (40 percent) respondents all listed Australia as their top Asia Pacific destination. Indians (61 percent), Singaporeans (61 percent) and Japanese (59 percent) said Australia was not only being considered but also the most likely destination for their next holiday.
• Japan was the region's second most popular destination, with 37 percent of travelers considering a visit between now and 2010. Respondents from Chinese Taipei (66 percent), Hong Kong (54 percent), Singapore (48 percent), the US (42 percent) and Korea (40 percent) said they were most likely to visit Japan for their next trip. Japan was also more attractive for young travelers (18-24 years) than other age groups (52 percent versus 35 percent). Single people who also more likely than married people to want to visit (44 percent versus 33 percent).
• Hong Kong was the region's third most popular destination, with more than a third of all respondents (35 percent) considering a trip there between now and 2010. While travelers from China rated Hong Kong the destination they most considered when traveling (45 percent), Singaporeans (52 percent) and Indians (49 percent) were more likely to rate Hong Kong as a travel destination.

Visa's Chan said: "There has been a tremendous rise in interest in Australian, Japanese and Hong Kong cultures in the past few years - the image of the sun-kissed Aussie enjoying the inviting Australian landscape, Japanese mix of history, culture and creativity, and Hong Kong's shopping and dining have all helped drive regional and global fascination with these destinations. That fascination has clearly put these locations at the top of the Asia Pacific destination list."

According to the survey, the top three leisure destinations travelers actually visited in the past three years were China (32 percent), Thailand (31 percent) and Hong Kong (30 percent).

About Visa

Visa operates the world's largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world and Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than 170 countries and territories.

For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

The Green Free Fifteen – 15 Ways to Save Energy and Water in Your Home

If you don’t have any money to invest in green, sustainable, eco-friendly products or strategies you are in luck! Here are 15 ways that you can start to trim your utility bills by using less energy and water. Unless you have been living under a rock you have probably heard some of these before, but they are still worth repeating. Written by Dan Bossenbroek.

1. Turn Off the Lights: This is a favorite of dads everywhere. I can still hear my dad, and now I’m repeating it to my kids: “When you leave a room, turn off the lights.”
2. Turn Down / Up the Thermostat: By adjusting your thermostat down a few degrees in the winter and up a few more in the summer you can make a significant cut in your heating and cooling bills. There can be added benefits to doing this: more snuggling in the winter and less clothing in the summer.
3. Stingy Showers: By taking shorter showers or even skipping one here and there, you can save thousands of gallons of water a year. As an added bonus, your energy bills will go down as well, since it typically costs more to heat the water for your shower than for the water itself.
4. Wear it Once More: Wear your blue jeans and dress shirt more than once before you wash it and save hundreds of gallons of water and cut your energy bills at the same time.
5. Power Down: Don’t just let your computer sit there and let the screen saver run all day. If you are going to be away from your computer for more than a half an hour, go ahead and turn it off.
6. Line Dry Your Clothes: Hanging your clothes out to dry will not only save you energy, but your clothes will smell better (no dryer sheets required), be less wrinkled (saving you on ironing), and will last longer – effectively saving you money four ways.
7. Open the Windows: On those wonderful days where it is in the 80’s in the afternoon, but temperatures drop to the 60’s over night, open all your windows when the temperature drops below 78° (recommended thermostat setting in the summer) at night and let that cool air in. Then in the morning close all your windows to keep the heat of the day out. With the help of a couple of window fans you can easily avoid turning on your air conditioner well into May or even June (depending of course on where you live).
8. Open the Curtains: On those wonderful sunny winter days, open the drapes and let the sunshine in. This energy from the sun will help to warm your house and help to lower your heating bills a little too.
9. Close the Curtains: Yet, on warm summer days that very same sunshine can be an unwelcome guest in your house and a considerable burden on your air conditioner. On those days, closing the drapes can keep the temperature in your house several degrees cooler and keep your air conditioner from running quite as much.
10. Wave it: On of the most efficient method of cooking is with a microwave oven. Microwaves concentrate the cooking energy on the food and avoid heating up an entire oven, stovetop or even kitchen.
11. Keep it Raw: Better yet, eat it raw. Avoid cooking all together and enjoy a green salad, but keep in mind that a green salad need not be limited to some lettuce and spinach, with a few baby carrots and cherry tomatoes thrown in. Consider adding several of the following: onions, radishes, any one of a variety of nuts, broccoli, peas, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, cheese. Along with your salad you could enjoy a deli sandwich and some fruit. Why heat up your food and your kitchen, especially on those how summer days?
12. Wash in Cold Water: Many laundry detergents these days do a fine job of cleaning clothes in cold water. By washing your clothes in cold water your clothes will still get clean and your hot water heater will get a break.
13. Close it Off: Many houses built over the past ten to twenty years have a room that is called a living room on the floor plans, but it is there primarily for resale value and is seldom used. Many of these same houses have a guest bedroom as well that may be used a few times a year. By closing off these rooms your heating and cooling bills could be significantly reduced.
14. Up with the Sun: "Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." This may be an old idiom by Franklin, but is also good advice if you want to save some money on your lighting bills. If you don’t stay up so late you can turn off all those lights and save a little money.
15. Be a Water Miser: Only turn the water on when you need it when you are brushing your teeth and shaving and you can save hundreds of gallons of water a year.

Take a few free steps to save some energy and water, along the way you will find a little extra money in your wallet as well.