Marketing and Maintaining Your Whistler Vacation Home: Direct-Rentals

Owning a Whistler property: its about realizing a dream. But its also about sustaining yourself long enough to enjoy the dream. While some relish the idea of relinquishing control of their real estate investment and letting someone else do the dirty work, others prefer to take matters in to their own hands.

In our last article, we assessed the pros and cons of using a rental manager to handle the ins and outs of renting out your Whistler vacation home. We discussed marketing, emergencies, reservations and commissioned nightly rentals. Of course, using a rental manager is not the only option.

Today, well hit the other end of the spectrum and discuss the parameters of direct-rentals.

Whistler Direct-rentals: What Are Those, Anyway?

owner-direct rentals are exactly what they sound like: owners renting their properties directly to Whistler guests. Instead of using a rental manager to entice guests, owners undertake the task themselves. They advertise their property, screen guests, update their reservation calendars and collect payments. Owners have complete control over how often a guest rents their property which can be a good or bad thing. Because owners are responsible for advertising their own property, as well as creating their own merchant account, collecting damage deposits or waiting for cheques in the mail, they might never get around to renting out their home much at all.

While freedom is a plus, there is no guarantee the owner will rent out their property, or even receive those very important cheques in the mail.

Where Do Homeowners Advertise Their Whistler Rentals?

Doing direct-rentals does not necessarily mean relying on word of mouth to communicate the availability of your property. Many owners use online directories to help with the marketing of their properties. The options provided by these online directories vary. Some owners post in online classifieds, or sign up for detailed rental management software. No matter what tools are offered through any of these marketing channels, the purpose of direct-rentals is to allow property owners to take charge of their real estate investment and avoid losing their money to external property management companies and services.

Stay tuned for the third and final article in this series: owner-assisted rentals.

Cory Olsen-Miller is a staff writer with http://AlluraDirect.com, a vacation rentals website offering powerful search results and instant booking features for guests and property owners. If youre a Whistler homeowner, check out our Whistler property management resources and our all-inclusive owner-direct or owner-assisted Whistler accommodation rental programs.

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Reasons To Own A Boat

Reasons to own a boat:
There are many advantages to owning a boat. Relaxation, time spent with friends and family, and enjoying nature are only a few reasons why owning a boat is so wonderful. In my opinion, the best reason to own a boat is that it simply that it improves the quality of life. Once you board your boat and set off on the wide open water, your worries seem to fade away. It makes you feel like almost as thought you are in another world. Boating becomes a way of life for you and your family. Take advantage of all the benefits that boating has to offer.

Enjoying family and friends:
Running errands, bringing the kids to school, picking them up from practice and working long hours are all part of a normal week for most people. You need some recovery time from all of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. this also brings your family together for shared quality time. this is also a great opportunity to teach your kids something new, whether it is fishing, boating lingo, or exploring nature. Pull them out from in front of the video games and get them out there to enjoy the great outdoors. There are numerous activities that your family can enjoy on a boat. The kids as well as yourself can enjoy tubing, skiing, fishing, swimming or just cruising along on the calm waters. You will enjoy each others company, laugh, talk, and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Endless waters:
When you are on your boat, there is always somewhere new to go. With 2/3 of the planet covered with water, there is bound to be a river, lake, bay, or ocean that you havent explored. If you think that you dont live in an area where you will use a boat often enough, think again. Most people live within an hour of a navigable body of water. So look up your local marina, and find out where the closest body of water is to you. If it is a small river, see where it leads to. If may be a 20 minute boat ride to a lake you have never been to.

fun and stress relieving:
After working you tail off all week long, you deserve some recreational leisure time. Boating has proven to relieve stress and tension. When you are floating away from the shore, it feels as if you are floating away from your worries and troubles. They are not welcome out on the peaceful water. With endless activities and opportunities that boating has to offer, it can be so much fun. Once you decide what you will be using your new boat for, choose the type of boat that is right for you.

affordable recreation:
Many people think that to be a boat owner you need to be raking in the big bucks. That isnt true. You can finance a boat for around $200 a month. You can save that if you give up going out to dinner a few times a month. Owning a boat can be affordable if you budget your money. There are many money saving tips for boat owners. In the long run, owning a boat will save you money. Think of how much you spend on family vacations. If you own a boat, you can go anywhere that the water will take you. If you have a cabin and bathroom facilities, a weekend trip to somewhere new is always exciting for the family. Now you dont have to pay for a hotel, and you can bring your own food.

Now that you have decided that you cant go another summer without a boat, visit SellUrBoat.com to search for your new boat. It wont be long before you are watching the sun set over the lake that you and your family just spent the day on.

Kristy Bateman is the writer for Earl's Blog on SellUrBoat.com. These articles are unique and helpful to anyone interested in learning about boating and or fishing. Please visit SellUrBoat.com to view a variety of unique articles from Kristy. SellUrBoat.com is The Simplest Solution to Buying and Selling 'Ur' Boat.

Yoga Now

Bikram Yoga

yoga is at least about 5,000 years old. The hindus of the Indus valley civilization developed yoga as a practical device to unite the individual self with the Brahman, the universal self. It was codified about 2,000 years back into a system by Patanjali in his work Yoga Sutra.

His yoga, known as ashtanga yoga (or eight-limbed yoga) came to be the authority on yogic practice. These eight limbs are to be practiced in sequence to achieve its spiritual end. In the modern age yoga came to be understood as Hatha yoga, which practices the third and fourth limbs of ashtanga Yoga - asanas and Pranayama.

hatha Yoga, meaning sun-moon yoga, aims to unite the active and passing energies of the human beings. It harmonizes the body-mind relationship, and achieves a balance. The body becomes supple and strong. The mind relaxes and the stress eases. The internal systems, such as blood circulation, nervous system, digestive system and the endocrine system, are improved.

There are many systems of Hatha yoga, such as ashtanga Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Vini Yoga, Integral Yoga, Sivananda Yoga and Bikram Yoga. Basically they hold postures that exercise the system. It is formulated by different teachers, giving importance to different aspects of hatha Yoga.

Bikram Choudhry, the founder of Bikram Yoga, was born in Kolkatta in 1946. He became a disciple of Bishnu Gosh, the brother of Paramahamsa Yogananda, at the age of four. His mastery of the hatha Yoga technique was so good that he continuously won the Indian Yoga championship, and retired undefeated at a very young age. Bikram started many training centers for yoga, on the direction of his master Bishnu Gosh. Later, he founded his own system of yoga known as Bikram Yoga.

Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures, done inside a heated room. The temperature is maintained at about 90 100o. This warms the body naturally, and the postures are easily accomplished. The series starts with standing postures, backward bends, forward bends and twists. Each posture is repeated twice. The full routine takes about 90 minutes.

Bikram has a school in Los angeles where teachers impart yoga practice. He also travels throughout America organizing workshops and seminars.

Yoga provides detailed information on Yoga, Bikram Yoga, hatha Yoga, pilates Yoga and more. Yoga is affiliated with Cheap Yoga Mats.

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