Boosting Vacation Home Rentals with Contests

One way to prod frugal vacationers to think about renting your vacation home is to hold a contests. That's what HomeAway is doing. The big Website is offering a "Getaway," worth up to $5,000, to the best blog post, video or photo essay submitted before Jan. 8,2009. The company says the contest will "creatively spread the word about the value of vacation rentals," and point out that a family's travel budget "goes further when you rent a vacation home, because you have more space to comfortably accommodate family and friends--at the same, or often lower, nightly rate as hotels." To enter, tell HomeAway why you need a week away and where you want to spend it. Among the choices so far: a house on Lake Travis near Austin, Texas and a mansion in Las Vegas.