VacationRental.org is a vacation rental website that allows property owners and managers to list rental properties. The platform facilitates direct communication between travelers and property owners, eliminating brokerage fees and thereby saving money for both parties. For a yearly fee, owners can upload property details, images, availability calendars, and more. The site has been in operation for 14 years, optimized for search engines and user experience, generating approximately $50,000 annually in profits recently. Additional SEO efforts could further boost income.
Creation and development of the website were managed by a firm specializing in vacation rental sites. The sale of VacationRental.org includes the website, domain, databases, a top-ranked YouTube commercial, and social media pages. The database features 18,000 locations, 6,000 listings, and 8,000 owners/managers. The site offers three listing packages: free, premium ($190/year), and featured ($290/year), with no additional commission fees for bookings.
The platform operates on PHP and integrates with payment gateways such as Authorize.net and 2CO, also accepting PayPal and checks. The website is described as user-friendly, with minimal administration required beyond approving new listings. Nonetheless, some effort in marketing and SEO is advised to maintain or grow the business. The decision to sell is driven by an interest in pursuing larger ventures. Profit reports indicate $50,000 annually, excluding earnings via alternative payment methods, and $5,000 from AdSense. Google Analytics data since September 2012 records visits, unique visitors, pageviews, and visitor retention rates.