Vacation rentals going "main stream" with an ad on the Super Bowl tonight. Tried to imbed it but couldn't find the code, but you can all watch it here if you like:

HomeAway Superbowl Ad.

So good for Slow Travel?

I would think so, Kim. IB should buy the spot following this commercial!

Technically HomeAway is IB's competitor because IB owns www.vacationhomes.com, www.vamoose.com and www.vacationtimesharerentals.com.

I saw that too, Kim, and thought it was interesting. The ad was featured on a Bay Area TV news station that was doing a rundown of Superbowl ads. (Not sure that this is really news, but that's another issue!).

-Roz

So I woke up at 5:30am and realized what was bothering me about that ad. All those issues they highlighted with hotels ... well, I think we all know they can happen in vacation rentals too if you're not careful (and use sites like ours ). What bothered me is that besides vacation rentals being less expensive - they didn't highlight the advantages of staying in a house/apartment versus a hotel.

The ad and other short movies are on line - HomeAway Hotel Hell Vacation. The thing that bothered me about the commercial was it did not really show the advantages of rentals other than voice over about the cost. It could have been a commercial about any other vacation review site. It just made me want to be certain I didn't get a bad hotel. I haven't checked out the shorts on the website but hopefully they will show the positive aspects of rentals. But it will only work if people go to the web site.

I did see the ad, and thought...hey...that's what I do...apt rentals! But there's only so much you can do with 30 seconds