Having your own web site is a big step up. You can expand the amount of information considerably over what is allowed on a rentals site listing. More photos, details and background information all help to attract the potential renter.

The effective cost of your own web site, excluding your time but including domain name purchase and web space hosting, is likely to work out at no more than $100 a year. On top of this, you will spend a lot of time and perhaps another $200 a year to promote your web site.

The total cost in this example is low because it assumes that you will do all your own web site construction and management. This is easier than it sounds, especially if you have computer-savvy kids who can help. If you are not up to this, then you can probably buy a ready-built site of the same size and quality for not too much more, although you probably won't be able to make changes to the site so easily without added cost.

If you do not have a good understanding of what would be involved in effective web site promotion then this may not be the best route for you, although there are other benefits of having your own web site. Just having a good 'online brochure' to direct enquirers to shouldn't be under-estimated, for example. Which would you rather do - reply to each enquiry with a long email describing your home in detail, and attaching photos, or put a link to your web site which contains all this information and more?

So we can now see how to make sure that we get a good number of enquiries to work on. The next step in to consider how to respond to these enquiries effectively, and to convert enough of them into firm bookings to fill your rentals schedule.