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Listing Your Property
Common questions on what you'll need to list your rental, including how to get your photos into your listing and how to link to your listing.
- How do I get my property to place at the top of a search?
- How often can I update or access my property web page?
- Do I need to know HTML or be a "web guru" to have a nice web page?
- Can I have a personalized URL?
- How do I link to/from my Web page?
- Can I use HTML in my property description?
- Can I display more than 4 images?
- How do I get photos of my property on the web site?
- What photo file types do you accept?
- How do the property reviews work for my listing?
- What are your intellectual property (copyright/trademark) guidelines?
- How do I add/update my rental rates?
- Google and the other Search Engines
How do I get my property to place at the top of a search?
All 'Premium Package' listings appear at or near the top of all searches in which it would normally appear! This can drive even more potential renters to your property page and can easily pay for itself with one extra booking!
See our price page for more information.
Last Updated on Monday, June 09, 2003 - Top - FAQ Home
How often can I update or access my property web page?
You can access and update your property web page anytime - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7). We have email support 24/7. Please contact us if you need any assistance updating your listing.
Unlike other listing sites, we do not charge an extra fee to update your photos.
Last Updated on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - Top - FAQ Home
Do I need to know HTML or be a "web guru" to have a nice web page?
No, you do not need to know HTML or be a "web guru" to have a nice web page for your property. We’ve done all the work; all you have to do is fill out a simple form for you property.
If you do know HTML and would like to use it, you can use limited HTML tags in your property description field, policies field, and unlisted amenities field. This includes almost all tags except for anchor tags (<a>) and image tags (<img>).
Last Updated on Monday, June 09, 2003 - Top - FAQ Home
Can I have a personalized URL?
Every property subscription comes with a easy-to-remember URL of the format http://www.vacationspaces.com/ID (where ID is your listing number).
Last Updated on Friday, April 16, 2004 - Top - FAQ Home
How do I link to/from my Web page?
Linking to your rental listing is easy! If you already have a property on our site, we've generated all the HTML you need to link to it! We provide a comprehensive list of linking examples on our links page.
We allow 2 outbound links from your listing. We do not allow links to other listing service sites, sites that advertise rentals not advertised on our site, or any other unsuitable site. Please note that we do review the content of every property page on our site and may edit your content if you do not adhere to the policy.
If you have any questions please contact us for assistance.
Last Updated on Friday, April 16, 2004 - Top - FAQ Home
Can I use HTML in my property description?
You may use limited HTML tags in the property policies and unlisted amenities fields. This includes almost all tags except for anchor tags (<a>) and image tags (<img>).
Last Updated on Monday, June 09, 2003 - Top - FAQ Home
Can I display more than 4 images?
Our 'Basic' plan allows up to 4 images with your listing. Upgrading to our 'Photo Deluxe' or 'Photo Elite' package for a small increase in your subscription price will enable your listing to show more photos.
See our price page for more information.
Last Updated on Monday, June 09, 2003 - Top - FAQ Home
How do I get photos of my property on the web site?
You can upload your JPG photos online. You may also email photos to us or send us your original photos by mail.
If you choose to email photos to us, it will take a few business days for us to upload them. If you choose to mail the photos to us, it will take a few business days to scan them in using professional imaging software and upload them, plus any transit time. We do not charge a fee if you email or mail your photos.
You may email your photos to photos@vacationspaces.com or send them by mail to our postal address. When you send your photos to us in this way, please include your username and property name! If you would like us to return original photos to you, please include a $5 check to cover postage, shipping materials, and handling. If you send us photos by mail, remember that original photos are required for quality and copyright purposes. We cannot accept photocopies, brochures, postcards, slides or negatives.
Last Updated on Friday, April 16, 2004 - Top - FAQ Home
What photo file types do you accept?
Most digital cameras and images you find on the web are in JPG format. We accept the JPG format during photo upload. You may email us almost any photo format and we will convert it to an appropriate type. Some file formats we have worked with include:
- .jpg
- .gif
- .tif
- .bmp
- .png
- .psd
- .pcx
- .wmf
- .emf
If you are unsure of the file type, or need help getting your photo on your site, please contact us.
Last Updated on Monday, June 09, 2003 - Top - FAQ Home
How do the property reviews work for my listing?
The "Reviews" section of your listing acts similar to a guest book. Past renters leave feedback on your vacation rental, including rating various facets of the rental experience. This serves as a valuable tool for potential renters to find out how others felt about your rental and to feel more comfortable with renting your unit.
To help prevent abuse, reviews MUST be approved by the property owner prior to posting on the site. When a review is submitted for your property, you will receive an email notification. Also, when you login to your account, we'll list any reviews pending at the top of your account home page. Simply click on the link to read the review, and click on 'approve' or 'reject'. Rejected reviews are not posted to the site. Approved reviews are immediately posted to the site.
Last Updated on Friday, September 26, 2003 - Top - FAQ Home
What are your intellectual property (copyright/trademark) guidelines?
The following general guidelines are written to help you better understand intellectual property laws as they relate to your use of VacationSpaces.com. The laws regarding intellectual property can be confusing, so it is no wonder why users sometimes make mistakes. The information contained on this page is for informative purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. For specific advice regarding your use of VacationSpaces.com, please consult an attorney.
General Information
What is a Copyright? A copyright protects original work of authorship such as a picture/photograph, drawing, graphics, software program, written work, sculpture, song, or photograph. Copyright law prevents you from copying another's copyrighted work for any purpose, making things based on the copyrighted work, distributing copies of the copyrighted work, publicly performing the copyrighted work, displaying the copyrighted work, and in the case of sound recordings, transmitting the recording over the internet or in another media. In a nutshell, copyright law protects the expression of one's idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
If it does not have a copyright notice, it is ok to use.
NOT REALLY. Almost all works are protected by copyright, even if they do not have a copyright notice. Therefore, you should assume that you need to obtain permission to use any material that you did not create.
It's on the internet, so it is ok to use it.
FALSE. Simply because an image is found on the Net does not mean that it is in the public domain. Unless the author of the work has explicitly stated that his work is "public domain" or that the copyright has expired because the work is very old, then you must assume it is not. Further, a person who posts an image on the Net and claims that you are free to use may not have had the right to post the image in the first place. Thus, your use of the image may violate the rights of the actual copyright owner.
It is Fair Use.
PROBABLY NOT. Fair use of a work for the purposes of a sale is treated very differently than for informative purposes or for commentary. In general, a claim of fair use of a work when it is used for sale will not hold up in court, especially if the sell is for profit.
The First Amendment protects my freedom of speech, so I can use whatever images I want.
FALSE. Freedom of speech is a constitutional protection that guarantees that the government will not oppress your right to self-expression. It does not give you the right to use intellectual property of another to sell or distribute merchandise.
Sources for Information
For additional information on Copyrights, please visit the United States Copyright Office Library of Congress at http://www.copyright.gov. For additional information on Trademarks, please visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office at http://www.uspto.gov. For general questions about Intellectual Property Rights (copyrights/trademarks), please visit the Nolo Law Center at http://www.nolo.com.
Report Copyright/Trademark Infringement
We encourage intellectual property rights owners to contact us if they believe that their rights have been infringed by a user. We also encourage our users to contact us if they suspect that another user is infringing the rights of a third party. Please visit our FAQ for information regarding the procedure to notify us of any alleged infringement by a user of our service.
Last Updated on Friday, April 16, 2004 - Top - FAQ Home
How do I add/update my rental rates?
To add rental rates to your listing, you must specify an exact start and end date for your rate. To edit or update an existing rate, you must delete the rate and re-enter the information.
Please follow these steps to add/update rental rates for your property:
Step 1: Login to your account at VacationSpaces.com by clicking on the "Owner's Space" link on our home page.
Step 2: If you have an existing listing, click on the "Edit Rental Rates" link as in Figure 1 below. Please note, users with multiple listings will need to click on the listing name first, then click on "Rates".
FIGURE 1:
STEP 3: Enter the rates for your property by filling out the fields as in Figure 2 below. Only fields marked with an * are required. Click "Save New Rate" to save the individual rate and enter to enter another rate.
FIGURE 2:
STEP 4: After a rate is saved, it is displayed on the page in the "Current Rates" section. At this point, you can delete any current rate by clicking on the "Delete" button next to the rate to delete. To edit or update an existing rate, you must delete the rate and re-enter the information.
FIGURE 3:
Last Updated on Friday, April 16, 2004 - Top - FAQ Home
Google and the other Search Engines
How do I get my listing to show up in Google/AOL/Yahoo/Etc search engine results when I search for "x"? Why does my listing show up when I search for "x" in Google, but doesn't when I search for "y"? Why does Google show listing X on a search for my city, but not my listing?
Internet users rely on search engines to scour the web to find the information they are seeking. For example, if somebody was planning a trip to Orange Beach, Alabama, they might go to Google and type in "Orange Beach Condos". Google then digs through it's index to find what it determines are the most pertinent pages across the entire Internet. As you might imagine, each search engine usually comes up with different pages it determines are the most pertinent from the millions of pages across the Internet. The search engine then returns links to it's most pertinent results, and the user can then click on the link.
To make matters even more confusing, one person might search on "Orange Beach Condos", another might search on "condos Orange Beach", while a third person might search on "Orange Beach Alabama Condo" - and all three of these search phrases are treated as very different searches by the search engines and different results are returned as a result! As you might imagine, there are almost as many different ways to search for your your topic as their are users searching!
Also, please keep in mind that some of the largest of the search engines (Google, AOL, Yahoo, Earthlink, Netscape, etc) work on their own schedule to index web pages to be included in their results. This means that it usually takes 1 to 2 months before a page added to our site might appear in search results. There is typically no way to speed this process, which is why we usually recommend staying with our service for at least 3 months before you feel the full effects of our efforts. It should be noted, however, that you do not need to submit your listing to any search engine. We are working daily to make sure the search engines crawl our entire site and update their index with new listings as they are added to the site.
Finally, when a search engine decides to return a page or two from our website for a search phrase, it will usually return links to specific vacation property pages. It's up to the search engine to determine which listing pages are most "pertinent" to the exact search phrase being used. This means that while you might have a listing in Orange Beach, Alabama, your listing page might not be returned for every Google search. Remember, however, that there are many possible search phrases that users will use to locate a vacation rental and, although your listing might not show up for a specific phrase you are testing, it's very possible it is being returned for other search phrases that you haven't even thought of!
We generally recommend, for maximum exposure to the search engines, you write a thorough description, amenity, and activity summary about your vacation rental. It usually won't hurt to use a few phrases in your property description that you think renters will use when searching for a rental. It's also critical that you also include information about nearby attractions, restaurants, festivals, sporting events, etc. As renters try to find a rental, it's very possible they will include some of those same terms in their search. For example, they might search for a rental near the spring festival, and it's important for your listing to mention the name of that event so that the search engines feel it's pertinent to their search phrase.
At VacationSpaces.com, we are constantly working to tweak our web pages so that our pages are deemed pertinent to as many search engines and search phrases as possible. We are constantly scanning the server logs to determine how users are finding our site, what search phrases they are using, and tweaking our listings to rank higher in the search engines. Also, please keep in mind that we are hard at work getting potential renters to our sight through search engines, online banner ads, traditional print advertising, and other means. Once we get a renter to our site, we optimize our site to make it easy for them to find your vacation rental ad and contact you for rates and availability.
If you have any questions about a specific listing or phrase, please feel free to contact us and we'll take a crack at optimizing your listing for specific phrases and terms. We do hope you understand, however, that we cannot guarantee search engine placement for any term.
Last Updated on Friday, April 16, 2004 - Top - FAQ Home
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