Rental Owners,
Give your Online Marketing a Boost!

Bookt Prize: Website Marketing Evaluation and Report - a $500 Value! The design and online marketing experts at Bookt will analyse your site from the bottom up and evaluate your site's strengths and weaknesses from the search engine perspective. Prize includes a comprehensive report and 1-hour presentation on where you stand and will describe in detail the things that you and your web team can do today to improve your site's online performance and book more vacations.

About Bookt: Bookt is a comprehensive web services provider to the global vacation rental industry – delivering seamless integration and turn-key web solutions. Headquartered in the US, Bookt provides sophisticated website development, online marketing services, search engine optimization and CRM strategies to a wide range of domestic and international clients. For more information, email joel@bookt.com.

"I am happy to be on the jury panel for the Best Content category because it gives me an excuse to do what I love to do – read vacation rental websites and dream about vacations."

About Pauline: I am a traveler, a travel writer and a travel website publisher. In the last 20 years my husband Steve and I have stayed in over 70 vacation rentals in Europe and North America. I ran the Slow Travel website and community for most of the last decade, writing and publishing website content relating to travel and vacation rentals. Recently I launched two new websites: Cotswolder, a travel guide to this charming area in England, and Slow Europe, a guide to finding vacation rentals in Europe. In creating Slow Europe, I looked at thousands of vacation rental websites, selecting which companies to list on the site. I have developed a fine eye for what is of interest to website visitors, especially those planning a trip and selecting a vacation rental. I live in Santa Fe, NM with my husband Steve Cohen and cat Buddy. We spend two to three months a year traveling in Europe, always staying in vacation rentals.

"I am delighted to be a juror because I believe it's vital that companies make a good first impression through their online communications and I recognise the benefits travellers gain from an accomplished website when seeking information."

About Pauline: Sarah Lee is a freelance travel writer and editor. She is expert on the shared holiday ownership and fractional markets and writes on these, cruising, city breaks, luxury travel and destinations for consumer and business titles. Sarah is a Member of the British Guild of Travelwriters. More information about Sarah on her website: http://www.sarahleetravels.com

Holiday Velvet Prize: LIFETIME free advertising on Holiday-Velvet.com!

About Holiday Velvet: Formed in February 2006, Holiday Velvet has become an exciting holiday rental business offering vacation villas and apartments to holiday makers around the world. Our proposition is clear: to offer quality short term rental properties in carefully selected destinations. We either put you in touch with owners directly or with our experienced travel consultants. Every travel consultant has first hand knowledge of all the properties in a specified area and can therefore easily help you choose that perfect vacation rental. Our aims are to be: INSPIRING - RESPONSIBLE - DYNAMIC!

"After spending quite a few years travelling and photographing many different locations in Europe, Asia and Africa, I am excited to be a part of the Holiday Velvet Best Photo Award Jury because it gives me a chance to see through other's eyes for a change. The seemingly perfect rental is sometimes not so because of less than ideal photographs. I'll be looking for something that perfectly illustrates the subject, without leaving room for unexpected 'surprises' when your guests arrive!"

About Gaz: Gaz de Vere undertakes commissions for exclusive work and has had several 'coffee table' books of his travel photography published. His speciality is European cities and has extensively covered Rome, Venice, Paris and London. He has recently begun to take an interest in Northern Africa and has visited Tunisia and the Sahara several times on photo shoots. For more information visit http://www.gazebow.co.uk/

"Accurate and attractive photography is essential for rental property websites. It's a pleasure to be a juror in the Best Photos category. I look forward to reviewing the finalists' websites."

About Chris: Based in Central London, Chris Osburn (aka tikichris) is a freelance writer, photographer, editor, and social media consultant. American by birth, Chris moved to London from the United States in 2001 but has called a variety of places home, from Manhattan's Upper East Side to the Mozambican bush. When not stuck at his desk, Chris enjoys foraging for new lunch spots, trying to keep track of the bewildering London art scene, and traveling any and everywhere he can manage … taking loads and loads of photographs along the way. For more information visit http://www.tikichris.com/

Bookt Prize: Website Marketing Evaluation and Report - a $500 Value! The design and online marketing experts at Bookt will analyse your site from the bottom up and evaluate your site's strengths and weaknesses from the search engine perspective. Prize includes a comprehensive report and 1-hour presentation on where you stand and will describe in detail the things that you and your web team can do today to improve your site's online performance and book more vacations.

About Bookt: Bookt is a comprehensive web services provider to the global vacation rental industry – delivering seamless integration and turn-key web solutions. Headquartered in the US, Bookt provides sophisticated website development, online marketing services, search engine optimization and CRM strategies to a wide range of domestic and international clients. For more information, email joel@bookt.com.

FutureNow Prize:1 Hour Optimization call with Bryan Eisenberg! Bryan will be calling the winners and give them advice on how to improve their website conversion rates. Bryan is a co-author of the #1 best-selling Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, and  BusinessWeek best sellers: "Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?" and "Call to Action".

About FutureNow: FutureNow Inc.,has been helping business improve their conversion rates since 1998. OnTarget's innovative software-as-a-service business model monitors your website 24/7 but instead of web analytics reports and data, it provides clients with a to-do list of expert prioritized recommendations to increase conversion rates from visitor to lead or visitor to sale based on the clients available resources.