RISMEDIA, November 21, 2008-Viscape, an online platform to connect vacationers with vacation home owners and vacation real estate, has announced its official launch. Seizing the convergence between the Internet, social media, vacation real estate and travel planning, Viscape forges a vibrant community where travelers can find the perfect vacation home and destination in just minutes, the company reports.
The $63 billion dollar vacation rental industry has been dominated by a few traditional listing services that wield tremendous power over the vacation home market. Vacation property managers face a daunting decision; to list with companies that charge 20 percent commission on bookings or risk losing potential renters. Travelers also face a daunting challenge-finding a trusted source for their vacation home rental.
The traditional online vacation home model puts travelers last and vacation home owners are not far behind. Viscape believes this model is broken and instead leverages the wisdom of the crowd to create, rate and elevate the very best travel destinations and vacation rental homes. By invoking the power of “free” to re-energize the vacation rental market, Viscape offers home owners and real estate professionals a new way to list and market their properties without having to pay a subscription fee or commission for bookings. Viscape also offers travelers a passionate community with one goal – to find the perfect and affordable vacation spot and home.
“Whether it’s a family planning a trip or a vacation home owner looking to rent their property, Viscape provides a service to both, completely free of charge. It also gives travelers the power to decide where to go and where to stay,” said Caroline Allison, president of Viscape. “There’s a tremendous market opportunity for Viscape to modernize traveling, just as Ebay did for auctioning and Wikipedia did for information sharing.”
According to the company, in its short time online, Viscape has been well received by the vacation home industry and is growing rapidly in both members and properties. With more than 10,000 worldwide vacation homes to from which to choose, Viscape is on pace to become one of the largest vacation home websites and travel communities on the Internet.
In addition, Viscape is sponsoring a “Be a Travel Writer” contest where community members are encouraged to review their favorite travel destination. The winner will be chosen by a panel of Viscape judges and sent on a travel writing trip to Belize or Key West. Not satisfied relying only on traditional distribution channels, Viscape also offers tech-savvy travelers and property owners multiple ways to access Viscape. Travelers can stay up to date on all things travel-related by visiting Viscape directly from a mobile phone or tuning into their monthly podcasts.
For more information, visit Viscape.com.
