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THE MANY FACES OF BOOK-DIRECT: WHAT ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCIES AREN’T TELLING YOU.

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Middleton, Wis. – The “book-direct” slogan gets tossed around in the hotel and vacation rental industry a lot lately. Two words which seem clear enough have recently become less clear now that Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are moving to an online transaction model. Today, when OTAs refer to booking direct it does not mean directly with hotels or vacation rental owners/local managers. It means that travelers book “directly” through middleman websites. Wait… that means its no longer actually direct, right?

Travelers beware: many third party booking websites still waive the book direct flag, but only over their website properties. Booking though middleman booking websites is not actually booking direct. The OTA booking path has forked – unpredictable booking fees to the left and new traveler fees to the right – both roads resulting in extra fees for travelers.

Have you been watching the hotel giants spend millions to clarify the meaning and benefits of booking direct? Did they just wake up and ask themselves “How did we become barnacles on the hull of these giant OTA freighters?” Did they wait to long to detach themselves? Their urgent shift to a true book-direct model sends a clear message to the booming vacation rentals industry: You want to control your booking process, customers and rental inventory, not lose control.

Though my JM Creative Group is a start-up business which competes with hotels for traveler dollars, we are inspired by their commitment towards clarifying what “book direct” means, and we embrace the same philosophy for the vacation-rental industry.

The travel business is ever changing and as the industry realizes the priorities of its customers, hopefully “book direct” will actually mean “book direct” once again.

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Christmas card views from the Lake Front in Lake George, NY

Imagine relaxing at this cozy home during the Winter! Lake Front Cabin on Lake Hadlock is a great winter destination. The home is near downtown Lake George and its shopping outlets and great winter dining options. The kids are sure to love mixing in time at The Lake Front Cabin and the Great Escape indoor Water Park. Whether you’re planning a romantic weekend with your sweetheart, or taking the family on a ski trip, you can still enjoy Christmas-card lake views.

lakefrontcabin2A Life Made Simple manages this home along with other seasonal and year round Lake George cabins. Lake Front is a 4 season home offering a 4-season family playground! Enjoy all water sports from swimming, kayaking, fishing. Enjoy hardwater sports too: Ice fishing and Lake George snowmobiling trails (Groomed and close by). During Winter, make Lake George your destination for fun: For a unique cross-country skiing experience try the network of lighted trails in nearby Glens Falls. At RentNewYorkCabins.com you book with the local property manager and get the lowest price online. Now get out there – live and play like a local while you are visiting Lake Hadlock in Lake George, NY.

lake-george-skiingExercise your taste buds by visiting the Adirondack Winery and Tasting Room, the regions premier winery is open year round, just like the Hadlock Lake Front Cabin. Romantic cabin time in Lake George, NY during winter includes lots of snuggle time and a bottle of local wine. Try something different, go ice fishing!

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Cabin Time has no borders. Visit our other state-specific website too:
RentWisconsinCabins.com | RentMichiganCabins.com | RentMinnesotaCabins.com | RentMontanaCabins.com and RentTennesseeCabins.com

Thanks for supporting our growing number of state-specific, vacation rental website that allow travelers to easily plan AND BOOK DIRECTLY with owners and local property managers. Avoid those middleman booking websites and get the lowest price online. Tell your family and friends about our great websites!

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JM Creative Group announces launch of its 6th state-specific, vacation rental website: RentTennesseeCabins.com. Disrupts OTA’s online transaction service model.

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Nothing compares to the vacation experience found at Tennessee cabins, cottages, lodges, or homes. With passion and an entrepreneurial spirit, my JM Creative Group has taken advantage of a growing online opportunity in the vacation rentals niche – booking direct. Allowing travelers to easily book vacation rentals directly with owners or local managers is becoming a big competitive advantage. Middleman OTA (Online Travel Agency) booking websites are slowly removing their annual subscription (book direct) option making travelers book through their online system. However, vacation rental owners and local property managers have always relied on personal interaction which leads to repeat bookings.

JM Creative Group launched RentTennesseeCabins.com in March 2016. With just one introductory email we received our first 28 property listings. We now have 63. Book direct service is alive and well.

RentTennesseeCabins.com is not the first vacation rental website launched by our JM Creative Group. In 2009 we launched our recently trademarked RentWisconsinCabins.com. Since 2014, we’ve launched five more websites: RentMinnesotaCabins.com; RentMichiganCabins.com; RentNewYorkCabins.com; RentMontanaCabins.com and the newest; RentTennesseeCabins.com. We own dozens of rental-industry smart domains for many states, so watch for more websites coming soon.

A membercentric philosophy – We have a strong membercentric philosophy. Instead of being guided by shareholders, our business decision makers include rental owners/managers and travelers.

Membership report – As of 11/3/16, our JM Creative Group has grown rental owner/manager membership to 325 listing 1,500+ vacation rentals across 6 states.

Website organic traffic report – Our six websites recently surpassed 3 million page views.

No booking fees. No traveler fees – All JM Creative Group websites are free for traveler, and owners/managers pay a low annual fee based on the number of rentals they list. Our book direct model also eliminates booking website scams and double bookings.

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Vacation Rental Owners/Managers: Book Direct is alive and well.

2009 seems so long ago, but that’s when we launched our first state-specific, vacation rental website: RentWisconsinCabins.com, from a home office in Waunakee, WI. Now we have 6 Live websites with plans for 21 sites by the middle of 2017. We now have ‘legit’ office space in Middleton, WI.

It didn’t take long for rental owners & property managers around the country to tell us that there is a big demand for a listing website that embraces the “Book Direct” philosophy. We speak to vacation rental owners & managers often, and the conversations are similar; “large OTA’s are out of control! They control our inventory, rates and are now charging our renters an extra traveler fee.”  Our consistent growth has confirmed that large OTA’s are not the only advertising choice.

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RentWisconsinCabins.com: Nearly 700 rentals
RentMinnesotaCabins.com: Nearly 400 rentals
RentMichiganCabins.com: Over 200 rentals
Plus our newer states RentNewYorkCabins.com, RentMontanaCabins.com and RentTennesseeCabins.com: Over 200 rentals
…We are just getting warmed up!

Our renter traffic grows an average of 48% every year. Over the last year, our websites attracted over 1 million page views.

Why take on the time & expense to roll out unique websites for so many states? It’s never been done before! By 2012, our Wisconsin website proved that (even from a home office) we can compete long term with large OTA’s in Google Search by targeting regional organic long tail keywords & topics. Search for yourself – go to Google and type in popular terms like Wisconsin vacation rentals; wisconsin cabins; wisconsin cabin rentals, etc. Then try michigan vacation rentals; michigan cabin rentals; mn cabin rentals, etc. There we are!! From these first page results, how many “book direct” websites do you see?

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We also discovered the immediate need for “traveler fee” education. We recently added a question about traveler fees to our survey and were shocked to learn that nearly every respondent had no idea that booking websites charge a traveler fee. What we’ve know for years though is that renters prefer to book vacation rentals with the owners and local managers 25-1.

What do you think of booking vacation rentals directly with owners/managers?

Joe and Team
JM Creative Group
Middleton, WI

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Coming soon: RentKentuckyCabins.com

It won’t be long now! We are new to Kentucky, but not new to promoting vacation rentals in the United States. The JM Creative Group has been rolling out state-specific, vacation rental websites since 2009. Kentucky; you’re next! Finally, a website that simply connects travelers to Kentucky vacation rental owners and local managers …no booking fees – no traveler fees. Welcome back to BOOK DIRECT.

We’ve already launched in WI, MN, MI, NY, MT and TN. Did you know, travelers prefer to book directly with rental owners or managers instead of through third-party booking websites – 30:1.

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Welcome to Arbor Vitae!

Welcome to Arbor Vitae, also known as nature’s original water park! Close proximity to lakes, rivers and streams. Cabin Time here includes fishing, boatings, skiing, swimming, and more. When the snow falls, the Arbor Vitae area becomes a Winter Park…Snowmobiling, skiing, ice fishing, and outdoor skating rinks. Compare nearly 20 cabin rentals in the Arbor Vitae area…http://www.rentwisconsincabins.com/location.php?id=Arbor%20Vitae http://ow.ly/i/m3Px7 http://ow.ly/i/m3PAg http://ow.ly/i/m3PBf http://ow.ly/i/m3PCi http://ow.ly/i/m3PDq http://ow.ly/i/m3PEv http://ow.ly/i/m3PFE http://ow.ly/i/m3PGF http://ow.ly/i/m3PHW http://ow.ly/i/m3PIX

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Our Top 3 River Towns in Minnesota

While there are many lists regarding favorite towns in Minnesota, we had a hard time finding someone’s favorite towns along the Mississippi River. Why neglect this mighty river that has shaped the way America travelled, traded and toured? We have compiled 4 of our favorite towns along the Mississippi River so sit back and enjoy the ride.

Hastings:

In this charming small riverside town shaped by not only the Mississippi River but the Vermillion River and St. Croix River. This historical town has plenty of recreational opportunities. Take in the Vermillion Falls, Point Douglas Beach, St. Croix River and the Mississippi River. You can even take a beautiful dinner cruise along the St. Croix.  For those looking for more adventure, hiking and biking trails are everywhere along Hastings. Don’t forget to check out the Extreme Sandbox, a heavy equipment adventure unique in the Midwest! Be sure to check out Great River Wine Trail map as well because Alexis Bailly Vineyard, the first winery in Minnesota! For more information and places to stay in Hastings, please click here: Hastings Rentals

Otsego:

There is a reason why this community is growing at a rapid pace and it’s no secret. The way this town works together and plays together is evident. To enjoy this community like the locals, take in all the recreational activities. You can hike, bike or ski the Woodland Trails, canoe or fish the Elk River, go extreme at the ERX Motor Park and Car Race, or just simply relax on the beach at Lake Orono or enjoy the blissful sounds of the Thursday night riverfront concert series in the summer.

Brainerd:

Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River and is one of the largest cities in Minnesota. Its close proximity to the Twin Cities (only 2 hours away) is one great reason why you would vacation here but there are plenty more.  What makes this unique is the Pioneer Village, Wildlife Park, Dogsleds, Casinos, and loads of lake activities, adventure sports and trails. Not to mention, the spas, restaurants, and fine dining. To see vacation rentals in Brainerd, please click here: Brainerd Rentals