Second Homes Need Second Porch — New Facebook Site for 7.5 Million Vacation Home Owners
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How To Find A Face Behind the Place.
Did you know there are more than 7.5 million second home owners in the U.S? I did, of course. And I also know there are about a million more properties out there waiting for owners. In the meantime, what do current second home owners do to monetize those second (and third) homes? Rent them, of course. Or maybe trade. But to whom? My biggest fear if I had to rent my vacation home: what if they trash it? How can I know and TRUST that the folks I hand a key to won’t be house monsters?
Only rent to people you know, like on FaceBook.
The folks at SecondPorch have created a Facebook-type social network to create trust in who you trade or rent your home to because these days, we seem to be lacking trust:
“According to a study released earlier this year by travel research firm PhoCusWright, trust has been identified as a significant industry barrier,” Brent Hieggelke, Co-Founder and President, Second Porch said. “Second Porch allows people to easily and tastefully promote their second homes to a trusted network of friends, and if desired, to other members of Facebook who like being able to see that there is a real person connected to the home.”
They’ve had great press and some big names behind them… Yahoo, Intel. Second Porch’s attractive, easy-to-use design allows users to display property photos, information, and updates on their profile pages. Users can choose to “follow” a property, like Twitter, which allows them to bookmark the home listing and receive updates. They can view or discuss homes their friends are following or have recommended (and totally pick them apart) and decide if they want to follow those homes as well.
This is House Porn on steroids, for Gen Y!
