Renters will contact you directly through your listing. All rental advertisements provide the owner's name, however, your email address & phone number will be hidden from visitors (for your safety). The Renters will fill out a form in which their contact information (email, phone number, etc. are mandatory in order to submit).You may opt not to post your telephone number, which will leave all contacts going through the website inquiry form to you.
What is the cost to list my Vacation Rental?
An annual subscription with VA Vacation Rentals allows you to list a property for a full year and pay one set price for unlimited bookings starting at $99 per year. . See pricing for annual subscriptions. There are no additional fees or commissions charged on any bookings generated from the website.
Can you Create My Listing For Me?
Yes! For a Small Fee of $30, we can set up your listing to include your description, details and photos. To use our Listing Service, contact us.
We cannot enter your rates, fees or taxes without your written permission and we charge an additional $15 fee for that service. We will instruct you on how to sync your calendar with other sites or a Google calendar using the ICal system.
Can I include a second or third rental property on my account?
Absolutely! Homeowners can add up to 5 properties. You can choose the Classic or Premium Subscription for each of your properties. See pricing for annual subscriptions. We provide Discounts for Additional Properties of 5 or more. For those with more than five (5) properties, please contact us.
What if I'm a Property Manager with More than 5 to List?
We provide Discounted Pricing for Property Managers contact us here. We also set up a Special Property Manager's Account.
Do you process payments for reservations?
NO!We do not Touch Your Money! No Money Goes Through Our Site!Renters PAY YOU DIRECTLY HOW AND WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO BE PAID. We do not collect rent, taxes or fees. We are a listing site to advertise your property. We feel it is best to leave it up to the individual homeowner to determine the best way to accept payments for reservations.
Options for accepting payments for reservations include checks, money orders and you can choose a servie to process your credit card payments if you choose. For accepting credit card payments, some options include using any of the following:
PayPal: There is a 2.9% + 30¢ Credit Card Transaction Fee. We recommend having a Business Standard Account for greater flexibility. There is no monthly fee with a Business Standard Account. You can easily send invoices for payments and you can transfer money to your bank account free. With the Business Standard account you can also get a credit card reader that works on tablets and smart phones.
Square: Invoices are free to send. Pay 2.9% + 30¢ per invoice when customers pay with credit or debit online. Pay just 3.5% + 15¢ to charge customers instantly when they authorize you to keep a card on file. See funds from paid invoices deposited directly into your bank account in one to two business days.
You are free to use whatever payment processing option you wish. We do not restrict your ability to choose whatever works best for you. You CHOOSE How and When You Get Paid!
Do you have Policies I have to follow on renting or cancellations? For instance, if I cancel a listing, will it affect my ranking?
NOPE. NOT AT ALL! Everyone manages their property the best way it works for them.
Our Motto isYour House, Your Cabin, Your Way!
Setting Up Your Listing
Commonly Asked Questions:
Can you Create My Listing For Me?
Yes! For a Small Fee of $30, we can set up your listing to include your description, details and photos.
We cannot enter your rates, fees or taxes without your written permission and we charge an additional $15 fee for that service. We will instruct you on how to sync your calendar.
How do I add Photos to my listing?
To add your Photos, login, go to Update your listing (see far right side of the screen). Once in your listing, click on the Photos Tab at the top of your Manage Listing Page. Then click on Choose Photos. There you can select the photos from your local computer you wish to upload. Then Click Add Photos and they will be uploaded to your listing. You can change the photos any time you wish, as often as you wish. You can also delete photos, rotate photos.
If you have the photos for your property stored in a Folder on your computer, you can add the Folder. Again, Choose Photos, select the Folder you want and then Add Photos. You may have to arrange the order of the photos depending on what order they were added. Simply Click on the Photos and drag to the position you want it in.
What size do my photos need to be?
Potential guests want to see large, high-quality photos. It helps them trust the property description and greatly improves the performance of the listing. The uploaded images should be at least 1132 pixels wide and 768 pixels high.
I'm having difficulty uploading my photos.
If you are currently trying to upload your photos, this is where you select photos that reside on your computer to be transferred to our web site. This part should NOT be filled in with a web address.
Once you are on the Photos Tab for your listing, click on the Choose Photos button for a dialog box and navigate until you find the image file you want to upload. Click on the file, then click Open. This will set the path to your image file in the text box. Next, click Add Photos and wait while the file is uploaded from your computer to our web site. The screen will not change until the transfer is complete. If the file is large or your connection is slow, this step could take several minutes.
If you have ALL your property photos in a file folder on your computer, you can Choose that file and it will upload ALL the photos in that file. Once done, click Add Photos. You may need to arrange their order depending on how they were sorted in your file.
What if my photos are already somewhere out on the Internet?
If you have no photos on your local computer, but have some on the Internet you will have to go fetch them first. You can download them to your local computer and then upload them to our site. To download photos, use your browser to view the photos, and place the mouse pointer over the photo itself. Click the right mouse button. A menu will appear. Select "Save Picture As" on the menu. This will bring up a dialog box that will give you a choice of where to save the photo and under what name. The original name of the photo will appear. Make sure the Photos you are dowloading to your computer are JPEG for highest quality. Photos should be saved somewhere on your computer that you will remember, like on your desktop. Click the "Save" button to transfer the photo. Once downloaded to your local computer you can upload them to our site using the instructions above.
Do Not Add Thumbnail Photos: Often when viewing a web site that contains your photos, a smaller photo will be displayed and when you click it, a larger copy of the photo will be displayed. The smaller photo is called a thumbnail. When taking photos from the internet, make sure you do not save the thumbnail. Click the thumbnail and save the larger photo, as described above. If you submit the thumbnail to us, it will show up as small and/or blurry on your listing.
How do I modify my listing?
You have full access to your listing 24 hours a day. You can modify any portion of your listing at any time, including the pictures. To make changes simply click on the "Owner Login" link. Once logged in, click "Manage Listings." You will see All your listings. Find the one you want to Edit and then on the Right Side of the Screen, Choose Update. and then use the tabs on top to navigate to the appropriate section of your listing.
How do I change my email address, password and contact information?
Go to the "Owner Login" link. Once logged in, click on "My Profile" - you can make all changes from a single page. If necessary, each listing can have separate contact information by clicking on "Edit Listing".
How do I request a new city or location be added?
If you are posting your property and do not see your city or location, just contact us. We will research your request and get back to you. Until a decision is made, we suggest you place your listing in the closest listed region.
If I receive a suspicious email or Spam, what do I do?
Unfortunately, Spam, Phishing and Sketchy Characters are a fact of any internet interaction. Which is why it is SO important to have Direct Contact, even speak to the renter. Scammers usually give themselves away in personal interactions fairly quickly.
Here's what to look for:
Email addresses with odd extensions, such as .ru or .ur or .ck these are usually indications of IP addresses from offshore.
Phone numbers that are too long, they may have an extra digit. Do remember that people do travel from foreign countries, but they will include the Country Code, not just an extra digit.
Bad Grammar. This is not always a sign but when combined with the above, it is a sign.
Asking you to wire money or if they can wire money.
Asking you to trade services for their stay. For instance, a known scammer would offer to provide a painting of a landscape to the homeowner in exchange for a stay. We discovered he was using an IP address from a Casino in Louisiana!
My personal favorite was when I would get contacted with this language in the email "We neither smoke nor do we drink nor do we own Pets."
Telling you something improbable, for instance telling you that they are a doctor coming to a convention in your town and their company will pay for the rental. Especially when your rental is in a small town that is not equipped to host a convention.
Asking for unusual favors, can they have 10 when your occupancy is 6. Or offering that they are happy to sleep on the floor if there is are not enough beds.
A check is suddenly sent out of the blue for way more than the amount asking you to cash it and return the balance to them.
The sender is usually attempting to obtain money, personal information or your email address.
You can Block the Sender in your Inquiry list (recommended). Or you can call us and we can help.
We recommend that you let us know you received this through our service and delete the message without responding. For further information about internet fraud and fake check scams, see fraud.org
How can I protect myself from potential fraud?
Be sure to provide a property lease/legal agreement, and insist on exact payment. One popular scam is the "Renter Overpayment Scam" where a renter will send you an inquiry which may seem legitimate and suggest he sends you more than your rental fees and ask you wire back the difference. The check that he will send is fake (the bank takes several weeks to catch it) and by then you have sent the difference back and will be unable to recover it. We suggest you insist on exact payment or if you do accept an overpayment wait at least 30 days before returning any funds. See fraud.org for more information.
What should I know about vacation rental sales tax?
Start by contacting your city, county and Virginia or West Virginia state government about requirements specific to your location. Ask about registering your property. Which governmental entities require registration for your area? Ask how much sales tax you should collect and how often these payments are due to the authorities. Generally, these taxes range from 5% to 15% tax on the total rent charges.
