John Romano » John Romano Travels

Catching the Next Big Wave in the Travel Industry: Vacation Rentals

John Romano — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 13:18:00 +0000

Always scanning the radar for a new business opportunity? Pay attention to a certain blip growing on your screen. It’s not just bigger than a house – it’s the size of a metropolis. I’ve been profiting from the vacation rental boom myself already with geographically targeted directories. In my upcoming free webinar, you can learn how to efficiently start your own vacation rental business and claim your own vacation rental territory.

For now, let’s look at some numbers from U.S. Vacation Rentals 2009 – 2014: A Market Reinvented, a report recently published by market research firm PhoCusWright. Travelers are spending nearly $24 billion on vacation rentals, which is about one-fifth of the U.S. lodging market. In 2012, people booked 18.7 million vacation rental stays. That’s 20% of all travelers surveyed, twice as many from 2007.

Websites that list vacation rentals are empowering the rental-by-owner (RBO) homeowner segment to promote and book their properties more effectively.

Only 1 out of 10 RBO bookings happened online in 2007, vs. 1 out of 4 in 2012. Impressive! But that still leaves a large, untapped chunk of the RBO market out there. Regardless of whether they book online, nearly 3 out of 4 travelers shop for vacation rentals via the internet. And 15% are using a mobile phone or tablet for their search.

Right now you’re probably saying to yourself, “Okay, these numbers are interesting …but what’s the big opportunity for ME?” I’ll explain it all in the 30-minute webinar. Plus I’ll give each attendee my e-book, The Top 100 Vacation Rental Destinations. Go ahead and sign up now.

Boston Native John Romano Shares What it’s Like to Live in World’s Smartest City

John Romano — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:38:30 +0000

Boston baked beans, seafood, and the Boston Red Sox – that’s what most people think of when you mention Boston (aka Beantown), Massachusetts.

Boston is not as overwhelming as larger cities like New York or Chicago, but it has all the things you’d expect in a big city – culture, museums, great restaurants, and more – while retaining a small town atmosphere.

I was born in Boston (Medford exactly), went to high school in nearby Somerville, and attended University of Massachusetts Amherst. Boston’s education opportunities attract smart citizens whose projects foster intense innovation. It was wonderful for me to meet so many people that are driven, ambitious, and filled with inspiring ideas. Boston inspires innovation and provides great resources to help make your ideas a reality. I also liked living in a city with a small-town feel. It’s a great place to visit and a better place to live and raise a family.

Low crime rates, a good public transport system, a new highway system, top hospitals, and some of the best schools around make Boston a great place to settle down. In fact, parenting Magazine voted Boston the No. 1 city in their 2012 Best Cities for Families List. The third annual report examined 36 sets of data and ranked 100 cities using nearly 4,000 pieces of data. According to parenting Magazine, “Offering urban life with a focus on education, Boston is a classically great town in which to raise a family.”

If you’re a four-season type of person, you’ll like Boston’s weather. Cold and snowy in the winter, it’s not far from major ski resorts. Those who like the warmer, summer months will enjoy the Boston Harbor Islands, a group of 34 narrow islands spread across the harbor where visitors can explore, hike or swim.

Leave the history books at home and take the kids to Boston’s Freedom trail, a 2 ½ mile trail where history comes alive — the trail passes 16 historic sites, including Revolutionary War landmarks like the Paul Revere House and the Bunker Hill Monument.

There’s lots more for kids to do in Beantown – from watching sea lions at the New England Aquarium, spending the day at the Boston Children’s Museum or Museum of Science (with over 400 interactive exhibits, an IMAX theater, and a planetarium) to taking in a baseball game at historic Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Soxs since 1912.

Adults will enjoy Boston as much as the kids. Fans of the television show Cheers should pay a visit to Cheers Boston, and beer-lovers will enjoy a tour of the Sam Adams Brewery, which is home to the Boston Beer Museum.

Make sure you stop at Faneuil Hall Marketplace (also known as Quincy Market), an indoor-outdoor market that will delight shoppers and diners. And for the outdoor enthusiast, Boston has many parks and the nation’s oldest botanical garden, Boston Public Garden, famous for its Swan Boats.

A Christmas in Italy: Madonna Di Campiglio, Bolzano and Verona

John Romano — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 09:35:53 +0000

An Italian vacation is exotic enough; if the timing is during Christmas, it adds a whole other flavor to the entire deal. And I was not disappointed with my choice of bringing my family here. We flew into Verona and spent a couple of days in the famous mountainous regions of Trentino, the medieval European city of Bolzano and finished up relaxing by beautiful Verona.

Since Northern Italy had just received a heavy first snowfall, we figured that hitting the ski slopes would be the best thing to kick-start the vacation. Madonna Di Campiglio happened to be an elegant town used as a base for ski vacations by a great number of visitors. With over 9 miles of cross-country ski trails, skiing in the powdery snow among the ‘Dolomites’ was a unique experience. The nearby Adamello-Brenta natural park has lovely hikes in the valleys area in the midst of alpine vegetation and great lakes – an excellent option for those who are not into skiing. If outdoor activities are becoming too much, stop for a grappa and relax at one of the many taverns and bars in this mountain town.

Christmas Market in Bolzano

Bolzano, about two hours drive away, is the castle basin of Europe with over four hundred in the nearby surroundings! Once we got to know about the Christmas Market in Bolzano (the biggest Christmas market in Italy), we could hardly wait to go there and experience Christmas like we had never done before. When we arrived in the heart of the city, we found a beautiful Piazza Walther that was gorgeously lit and full of goodies and attractions for both adults and children alike like carriage tours, puppet theatres, music, Christmas tree decorations, handmade crafts, tasty local foods, and much more!

After a physically exhaustive week, the final few days in Italy were spent relaxing in the Romanesque town of Verona. The enchanting tourist trails of Romeo and Juliet in the city are a must for the Shakespearan fans. But, we opted to enjoy Verona in perfect traditional Christmas style… so we immersed ourselves in the full spirit of Christmas in Verona by enjoying the many small markets.

Christmas market, Piazza Bra, Verona

The most famous and largest is the Santa Lucia Christmas market held in Piazza Bra, you can’t miss the huge illuminated shooting star that seems to be flying out of the Arena and landing in the Piazza. Impressive too is the Nativity Exhibition held in the famous Roman Arena. The exhibition hosts incredible nativity scenes from all over the world.

After an eventful vacation, we bid goodbye to beautiful Northern Italy with the hopes of returning once again in the future.