You may have noticed in the the recent weeks we’ve rolled out some new features on Skipjump.com.  Here’s the lowdown on what’s new:

Ratings and Reviews
Guests can now submit reviews of your property, along with 5-star ratings.  The higher the rating, the higher your property will appear in your our search results.  Feel free to invite former guests to rate, and even write a brief review, for your property – it will increase your search ranking!

Thumbs-up (or, down) Voting
We’ve rolled out a Facebook-style thumbs-up / thumbs-down voting system throughout the site, allowing the community to vote on your property’s listing page.  Like something you see?  Let us know!  Your vote contributes to search results ranking.

Inquiries with “stealth” details
This new feature gives owners a true “snapshot” for all potential guests that fill out an inquiry.  All Skipjump inquiry details now include the users’ home location (via IP address), the last 5 properties the user has viewed (see what other properties this guest was interested in) – as well as email, phone, number of guests and travel dates – of course.

Daily sync with Google Base
All your property’s details and latest rates are imported into Google Base on daily basis – automatically.  This increases your visibility on Google’s natural search results pages (SERPs), and improves SEO for your property’s website.

Coming soon:  Can you say video?  We can.
In the next few months, we’ll be rolling out video features across Skipjump.com.  Stay tuned, we’re working hard on this and a few other features, and we’ll let you know when this is available. 

As always, Skipjump.com is 100% FREE: no fees, no commissions, no kidding.  

Inquiries are delivered directly to your inbox – you can even link to your own website.  We’re only interested in building the best vacation rental portal in the industry… and selling a few ads along the way (don’t forget, we make money selling ads for other travel-related services, like air/car/train/ferry travel, retail stores, and restaurants.)   We don’t take ads for other lodging/accommodations, so you’ll never see a competing ad on your rental listing page.

Are you an agent or property manager with more than 10 listings?  Email us, or call Matt at 877-833-1555.  Using our bulk import feature, we can have all your properties automatically published on Skipjump.com overnight (we’ll do all the work for you.)

Happy Trails,

Matt

Skipjump.com – Vacation Rental Accommodations in over 13,000 destinations

We’re at it again.  We’re holding another contest in June  – post your property, and win $1000!  We call it the “Great Weekend Giveaway”, because if you win, we either book your property for a weekend (or, if you’re the owner, you can choose $1000 cash.)

To get started, hop to Skipjump.com and post your property for free: http://www.skipjump.com/register

Posting on Skipjump.com is FREE.  No commissions, no listings fees, no credit card, just FREE to use.  How? Like Facebook and Google, we make money on advertising (from other
travel-related services like airfare and car rentals.)

I have more exciting news – we’ve selected May’s contest’s Final Four.  Drumroll, please:

1. San Diego Beach Rental – Spacious Oceanfront Rental With Rooftop Deck And Spa – Oceanside, San Diego, CA, USA
2. Charming Nantucket Home, Guest Cottage And English Gardens, In Town – Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA
3. Luxury In Sunriver  – Sunriver, Oregon, USA
4. 12 Brant Point Road – Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA

One of these lucky properties will be chosen as May’s winner, and the owner/agent will have
the option to choose a weekend booking (if the winner is an owner, they can choose $1000 cash.)  Three runners up will receive Skipjump t-shirts.  We will officially announce the winner June 19th.

Don’t forget – your FREE Skipjump.com property listing has it’s perks:

1. Detailed listing page, maps, 30 images, rates, tags, blackout dates
2. Inquiries delivered right to your email inbox
3. Link to your website for an SEO boost
4. Your property posted to Google Base, Twitter, and syndicated via RSS feeds

And if you have more than 5 properties, contact us and we’ll automatically import them for you.

Happy trails!

Matt

Skipjump.com – Vacation Rental Accommodations in over 13,000 destinations

We’re happy to announce the winner of April’s Great Weekend Giveaway Contest!

As announced last week, we narrowed it down to our final four.  One grand prize winner received a weekend booking (or, if they’re an owner – $1000 cash), while three runners-up receive Skipjump t-shirts.  The properties being posted on Skipump.com are all beautiful – so needless to say, this was not an easy decision for our editors!

But, the votes are tallied and the winner has been picked.  So, without further adiieu – we are happy to announce our first ever Great Weekend Giveaway Contest Winner!

WINNER! Gorgeous Bridgehampton Residence On Kellis Pond in Bridgehampton, New York, USA!

And, the following three runners-up will all receive Skipjump t-shirts!

1. Barntucket – Nantucket Town, MA, USA
2. Caresaway – Governor’s Harbor, Bahamas
3. River Spirit on The Toccoa River – Blue Ridge, Georgia, USA

And we’re at it again.  We’re holding another contest in May  – post your property, and win $1000! To get started, just hop over to Skipjump.com and post your property for free: http://skipjump.com/register

Posting on Skipjump.com is FREE.  No commissions, no listings fees, no credit card, just FREE to use.  How? Like Facebook and Google, we make money on advertising (from other travel-related services like airfare and car rentals.)

Also, before I sign-off, I just want to remind everyone of a few things you get when you post your property on Skipjump:

1. Detailed listing page, plus maps, 30 images, rates, tags, etc
2. Link to your website for an SEO boost
3. Your property posted to Twitter, and syndicated via RSS feeds
4. Your property synched into Google Base, daily!

And don’t forget – if you’re a property manager or agent with more than 5 properties, we can automatically import them into Skipjump.com for you. Contact us!

Happy trails!

Matt

Skipjump.com – Vacation Rental Accommodations in over 13,000 destinations

OK – it’s official.  We’ve either gone completely mad, or haven’t received the memo that we’re in a recession.

But, we’re at it again.  We’re holding another contest in May  – post your property, and win $1000!  We call it the “Great Weekend Giveaway”, because if you win, we either book your property for a weekend (or, if you’re the owner, you can choose $1000 cash.)

To get started, just hop over to Skipjump.com and post your property for free: http://skipjump.com/register

Posting on Skipjump.com is FREE.  No
commissions, no listings fees, no credit card, just FREE to use.  How?
Like Facebook and Google, we make money on advertising (from other
travel-related services like airfare and car rentals.)

Now, onto some other exciting news – we’ve selected April’s contest’s Final Four.  So, without further adieu (drumroll please):

1. Barntucket  – Nantucket Town, MA, USA
2. Gorgeous Bridgehampton Residence On Kellis Pond – Bridgehampton, NY, USA
3. Caresaway – Governor’s Harbor, Bahamas
4. River Spirit on The Toccoa River – Blue Ridge, Georgia, USA

One of these lucky properties will be chosen as April’s winner, and the owner/agent will have
the option to choose a weekend booking (if the winner is an owner, they can choose $1000 cash.)  Three runners
up will receive Skipjump t-shirts.  We will officially announce the winner April 18th.

Also, before I sign-off, I just want to remind everyone of a few things you get when you post your property on Skipjump:

1. Detailed listing page, plus maps, 30 images, rates, tags, etc
2. Link to your website for an SEO boost
3. Your property posted to Twitter, and syndicated via RSS feeds
4. Your property synched into Google Base, daily!

And if you have more than 5 properties, contact us, we can automatically import them all into Skipjump.com for you.

Happy trails!

Matt

Skipjump.com – Vacation Rental Accommodations in over 13,000 destinations

Can you believe April is almost over? There’s only two days left to take your chance at $1000 on Skipjump.com!

I first announced our “Great Weekend Giveaway” Owner’s Contest on the 1st of this month.  Since then, the response has been overwhelming – and why wouldn’t it be?  We’re giving away $1000 (or, a weekend booking) to one lucky owner/agent out there that posts their property on Skipjump.com.

All you have to do to enter is post your property on Skipjump.com – and you’re in.   http://skipjump.com/register

And I can’t stress this enough: posting on Skipjump.com is FREE.  No commissions, no listings fees, no credit card, just FREE to use.  How? Like Facebook and Google, we make money on advertising (from other travel-related services like airfare and car rentals.)

As if giving away money wasn’t enough , might I remind you of a few other freebies you get from your Skipjump.com listing:

1. Detailed listing page, plus maps, 30 images, rates, tags, etc
2. Link from Skipjump.com to your website for an SEO boost
3. Your property posted to Twitter and syndicated via RSS
4. Your property synched into Google Base, daily!

So what are you waiting for?  Get started by posting your property for FREE, and take a chance to win $1000:  http://skipjump.com/register

Happy posting,
Matt

P.S. The Great Weekend Giveaway Contest ends this Friday, April 30th.  We’ll announce the winner by May 10th. 
Full details available here:  http://www.skipjump.com/great-weekend-giveaway-contest

P.P.S. Got more than 5 properties? Allow us to do the work – ask us about auto-import.  Email us at import@skipjump.com

Skipjump.com – Vacation Rental Accommodations in over 13,000 destinations

Are you a property owner or manager with 5 or more listings?  If so – you’re going to love our new auto-import feature.

Here’s how it works:

1. Send us links to your properties’ pages
2. We automatically import those properties onto Skipjump.com

That’s it!  Seriously (and no, we haven’t trained a group of chimpanzees).  We’ve been hard at work on a spider program that crawls the property listing pages you give us, and automatically imports the property information into Skipjump’s database.  Technical details aside, this means getting your properties listed on Skipjump.com is now easier than ever.

What gets imported?  Title, description, and other accommodation details – like bedrooms, bathrooms.  Photos, rates, and any features/amenities are also imported.  In addition, a link is created that points back to the original property listing page, which boosts your site’s SEO (while getting you effortlessly listed on Skipjump.com for free.)

Our auto-upload feature is totally FREE.  To get started, just send us a list of URLs you’d like to import, and we’ll do the rest. You’ll receive an email confirmation once your properties have been imported, and you can login to Skipjump.com at any time to update your property listing information.

Want to get started?  Send your links to: import@skipjump.com.

Cheers,

Matt

PS.  And don’t forget: each property posted through auto-import enters you into our Great Weekend Giveaway Contest, so you qualify to win $1000!

Skipjump.com – Vacation Rental Accommodations in over 13,000 destinations

Just wanted to update everyone on the our Great Weekend Giveaway Contest that’s going on over at Skipjump.com.

So far we’re into the first week and the listings in full swing.  We’ve received numerous entries from Italy, South America, Brazil, and other great destinations all over the US.  It’s exciting to see so much support for the Skipjump.com concept – professional property listings, 30 photos, no spam, free for owners/travelers.

In case you don’t know, we’re holding a contest for property owners/agents that post a property on Skipjump.com.  Here’s how it works:

• Post your property, free: http://skipjump.com/register
• Skipjump.com editors choose one winner each month
• Winner booked for a weekend at published rates - or, owners can choose a cash prize of $1000!

We’ve also added two new features you should know about:

• You can now add a link to your property page or website on your Skipjump.com listings page
• If you have more than 10 properties, we offer a FREE bulk-upload service.  Contact Matt for more information.

So if you haven’t entered yet, hop on over to Skipjump.com and take a chance at $1000.  Good luck!

Matt

P.S.  Full contest details available here: Skipjump’s Great Weekend Giveaway Contest

Skipjump.com – Vacation Rental Accommodations in over 13,000 destinations

It’s an exciting night here at Skipjump HQ in NY. We’re officially launching the public beta, and have begun promoting the site through vacation rental message boards and other rental accommodation sites.

Skipjump means free advertising for your vacation rental properties. We built a better vacation rental website from the ground up, then we made it free for owners and agents. For travelers, Skipjump lets you search, sort, review and book thousands of vacation properties from more than 13,000 locations worldwide.

But – what’s really exciting (as if you needed something else?) is our “Great Weekend Giveaway” Contest! This contest is open to owners and agents who post their properties on Skipjump. It works like this:

• Owners and agents post properties on Skipjump.com. Each published property counts as a contest entry.
• Each month Skipjump editors will choose a winning property (that’s right, we’re running this contest each month)
• The winning property will be bookd for a weekend at published rates (owners can also choose a cash prize) up to $1000!

More details are available on the Great Weekend Giveaway Contest page.

So – we cordially invite you to check out Skipjump. Get your vacation on!

Cheers,
The Skipjump Team