HomeAway Unveils New Vacation Rental 'Community' Site

AUSTIN, Texas, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- HomeAway®, Inc. – the world's leading network of online vacation rentals – today introduced Community from HomeAway, a site for vacation rental owners and managers to share expertise and opinions, and access blogs and resources to optimize their vacation rental businesses. The new site represents an enhanced version of the "Owner Community" on HomeAway.com, which houses articles, podcasts and webinars, catering specifically to vacation rental owners. Community is a free site for anyone interested in everything vacation rentals.

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Designed to be an interactive platform, Community enables members of varying experience levels and backgrounds to discuss issues related to their vacation rental business. The site offers a number of communication channels to educate and facilitate conversation including:

• Forums for members to start discussions or respond to threads on topics such as "Interacting with Guests"
• Private Groups in which community members can self-organize based on interest such as "Web, Software & Technology," or by location
• Blogs from experts in the vacation rental industry with:
  • Christine Karpinski, author of "How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner," sharing her thoughts from her personal rental experience in Christine's Vacation Rental Insights blog;
  • Tom Kelly, author of "How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment: New, Tax-free Methods for Using a Vacation Home for Recreation, Retirement…and Investment," discusses his approach on ways to invest in vacation homes and the long-term benefits of second home ownership in his Rent Your Way to Retirement blog and;
  • George Volsky's recommendations for property managers who want to generate greater return for their business and the homeowners they represent at Volsky's Views on VRMs blog.

"Our goal was to create a true online community for vacation rental owners and managers to share their experiences," says Brian Sharples, chief executive officer of HomeAway. "Thousands of owners and managers who have a passion to share what they've learned – each an expert in their own right – want to participate in this industry and this is a platform to do so."

"The HomeAway Community is a great resource. You can learn so much on the forums – find out what the hot topics are, post a question, or even set up a poll," says Amy Greener, Community from HomeAway member. "Community is everything for vacation rentals at your fingertips. If you own a property and haven't joined the Community, you need to be here. This is what VR owners have been searching for and now it's all in one location online."

About HomeAway, Inc:

HomeAway, Inc., based in Austin, Texas, is the worldwide leader in online vacation rentals, with sites representing more than 540,000 paid vacation rental home listings throughout more than 120 countries. HomeAway offers an extensive selection of vacation homes that provide travelers with memorable experiences and benefits, including more room to relax and added privacy, for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodations. The company also makes it easy for vacation rental owners and property managers to advertise their properties and manage bookings online. The HomeAway portfolio of websites includes HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; HomeAway.co.uk and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de in Germany; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; HomeAway.es in Spain; and AlugueTemporada.com.br in Brazil.

In addition, HomeAway operates BedandBreakfast.com, the most comprehensive global site for finding bed-and-breakfast properties, providing travelers with another source for unique lodging alternatives to chain hotels. For more information about HomeAway, please visit www.HomeAway.com.

SOURCE HomeAway, Inc.