On Cape Cod, 'We Need A Vacation' gives Airbnb and VRBO a run for their money
What sets “We Need A Vacation” apart from Airbnb and VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner) is the niche market it's created: a local business run by a local couple that know and love the Cape and Islands and 12 staff members who provide “gobs of customer service,” according to co-founder Jeffrey Talmadge.
This past Saturday Jeffrey and Joan Talmadge held a forum at DoubleTree in Hyannis for homeowners. Part presentation, part question-and-answer session, and part meet-and-greet, the event drew 120 registered participants, Talmadge said.
“We're a local business,” Jeffrey Talmadge said. The company is based in Orleans.
“We’re experts in that area, unlike the big boys," he said. "They don’t know Cape Cod from Cape Hatteras. We know it, love it, and live here. We’ve been doing it a long time. That's our niche.”
“We Need” has 3,800 to 4,000 properties for potential renters to choose from, depending on the season. Peak season is summer, but some properties are available year-round. The choices are wide-ranging, from beach bungalows to seaside mansions, rustic cabins to newly constructed homes. Rentals are available by the day, week or month.
From helping homeowners set rental rates to helping them deal with difficult situations, Talmadge says it’s the personal touch they can offer clients that the big online rental platforms can’t. They don’t charge vacationers or homeowners fees and they don’t make all communication go through their platform, like Airbnb and VRBO do, he added. Homeowners pay for a subscription service that can last from one month to two years, Talmadge said. Eighty percent of them are annual subscriptions.
Richard Santos has rented his Dennis Port home seasonally with "We Need" for seven years. He's also used Home Away and VRBO. He called the annual fees, booking, commission and processing fees charged by the big rental platforms "significant."
"In the last three, four, five years '"'We Need' has come on very strongly, I think," Santos said. "In my experience they’ve developed more clients than the big ones. It's wonderful that they’ve stuck with it."
The Talmadges started the company in 1997, just one year after VRBO and 11 years before Airbnb. Google hadn’t even been born when they set out to create the Cape-centric rental marketing company. It was the time of DSL when most people had dial up internet service. Downloads could take several minutes. At the start, property listings included only one picture. Now there are multiple photographs of the bedrooms, living areas, kitchens, outdoor areas and bathrooms.
"People are discerning," he said. “Customers want to see all the important rooms in the house.”
In the last 26 years, the Talmadges have learned how to showcase each property. They’ve taken photos of more than 800 houses to go with listings. Is there enough space in the dining room for a house that sleeps 10? Are there modern amenities? Is there a photo of the beach that the house is close to?
Lynn Archambault and her husband Rich have rented out their three-bedroom South Chatham home since 2006. She credits Joan Talmadge with helping the couple market the home on "We Need," as they learned the ins and outs of the rental marketing world. Information is constantly shared on zoom meetings, blogs and emails, she said.
"The thing I love about them is that they are responsive and interested in you," Archambault said.
Setting rental rates: a vexing problem
But the most vexing question is setting rental rates. Talmadge calls it both art and science. The owners get some general advice when they first list their properties, a thumbnail sketch of what to consider. They are advised to do their own search for properties to find prices. They are asked to think about the amenities their property offers like bedrooms and location. For a fee, “We Need” offers a deeper dive into price analyses that are like comps that real estate agents do.
“Pricing is tough,” he said. “We start with how did you do last summer? If you were booked by January, you might be underpricing – if you were struggling into June and July, you might be overcharging.”
There are few things certain in life, but one thing is sure: people will always want to take vacations.
Online rental platforms have been filling the need for do-it-yourselfers ― and growing as a result. The number of active listings in the vacation rental industry increased by 50% between 2015 and 2020 according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association. More than 60% of travelers chose vacation rentals over hotels in 2020, according to a survey done by TripAdvisor. Respondents reported that rentals offered more space, flexibility, privacy, and cost savings.
Most of the renters (97%) using “We Need” come from the U.S. with 70% to 75% living within four driving hours of Cape Cod, Talmadge said. Most are from Massachusetts. Many use the service because they attended school in the area and spent time on the Cape when they were here, Talmadge said.
"We Need's" subscription service pays for newsletters, blogs, and social media posts to boost engagement for homeowners. The Talmadge's count their memberships with the Cape's Chambers of Commerce as a big part of their success. And unlike some rental platforms, "We Need" allows conversations between renters and homeowners. Talmadge said those conversations are very important to property owners who want to know who is going to rent their house before the deal is made.
"We would never lock down the communication," he said. "It's just the wrong thing to do."
Denise Coffey writes about business and tourism. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape rental business winner: "We Need A Vacation"
