Pay for Vacation by Going on Vacation – What a Concept

Roomorama has short term rentals in Paris right now.

There’s an old saying stating that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. However, there is an exception that every traveler should know about. A New York based company has a way for travelers to fund their vacations and trips buy renting out their apartments when they head out of town.

The concept is simple, you do the traveling and Roomorama can actually work out a short-term rental for your apartment when you are gone. Or if you are traveling to one their listed cities, you will be able to find a short-term rental of your own.

This is a safe and sensible service you can use time and time again. There’s nothing wrong with letting your home earn money for when you’re on the road. This is a stress fee alternative to the confines of the dreaded hotel room that seem get a little smaller every time you check in.

Payments are handled online, so you won’t get stuck carrying large amounts of cash. Hosts will be at ease knowing that their guest has paid up front. Guests will know that their money is secure until they check-in and deliver the payment code. Roomorama makes the entire transaction as easy as a hotel check-in without getting stuck in a long line at the front desk.

Roomorama is known for their superior customer service and accessibility to make sure each process is handled smoothly and efficiently.

The area of influence for this company continues to grow reaching out to seven cities in United States, two in Canada and four in Europe. Here’s a listing of their ever-expanding base of cities or click here and check it out for yourself.

North America

1. Boston
2. Chicago
3. L.A.
4. Miami
5. New York
6. San Fran
7. Washington DC
8. Toronto
9. Vancouver

Europe

1. Barcelona
2. London
3. Paris
4. Rome

Ultra Light Startups to Spotlight PR, Branding, and Buzz

January 2010 Entrepreneur's Forum

On January 7, 2010, Ultra Light Startups is hosting an expert panel on PR, Branding, and Buzz. After six months of covering and blogging about the various events put on by Ultra Light Startups, I’m now pleased to actively participate and moderate the first Entrepreneur’s Forum of the upcoming new year.

Our panel of experts will include:
Todd Barrish, Managing Director, LaunchSquad
Rachel Honig, Managing Direct, G.S. Schwartz & Co.
Karl Schmieder, Founder, MessagingLab
Lloyd Trufelman, Founder of Trylon SMR, publisher of NYConvergence

PR, Branding, and Buzz are terms that have various and ever changing meanings as the “new media” technology evolves around each one of us. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and LinkedIn seem to launch a new application or sharing tool almost every week.

My company, Bizbriefs, has used many of these tools in conjunction with one another to help various businesses boost their SEO rankings and divert more attention to their websites.

What I’ve found is that it’s not how you use one of these social media tools by themselves, but how you can link them together and start a viral campaign with a targeted audience.

Every business owner seems to have a favorite social media site, just one that they feel most comfortable using. However, not using other site options to support their efforts, means losing out on potential prospects and future customers.

In conducting several social media campaigns during the past three years, I’ve learned that there are certain steps you should take before just diving in.

1. You have to identify the true audience your customers are trying to reach first.
2. Once that’s done, you must craft the message or the image that each company wants to portray to the online community.

Too many times, companies want you to just get started, without knowing the message they want to deliver or what audience they hope to reach.

To learn more about branding, buzz and PR strategies, join us at for the first Entrepreneur’s Forum in 2010 sponsored by Ultra Light Startups.

Lodging Industry’s 6 Year Growth Streak in Jeopardy

The numbers were encouraging for the Lodging Industry in 2008, but 2009 promises to be a much different story. Total industry revenue rose for the sixth straight year in 2008, according to The 2009 Lodging Industry Profile recently released by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). Lodging statistics for 2009 won’t be available until mid-2010.

Total industry revenue rose in 2008 to $140.6 billion, up from $139.4 billion in 2007. More than 58-million international travelers came to the United States in 2008 smashing the 2007 mark by 2-million. Overseas travel alone jumped 6% totaling more than 25 million visitors.

“The positive numbers illustrate that interest from both U.S. and international travelers translated into real dollars supporting a strong tourism product in 2008,” says AH&LA CEO Joseph A. McInerney.

However, the sunny outlook appears to dim quickly in 2009 with an expected 8% decline in the number of foreign visitors due to an unstable global economy and fluctuating exchange rates.

Another lodging option (instead of hotels) is also emerging in the form of short term furnished apartments. An organization called Roomorama is renting out apartments in several major metropolitan areas including several cities in Europe. This gives travelers the option of getting away from the strips and finding a little piece of home even when they are on the road.

Moderate growth is expected to return to the lodging industry in 2010 and 2011, but nothing close to the record numbers reached in 2008.

See the Rock Center Tree Light Up the Night

Planning a trip to New York City to see the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree? The tree lighting ceremony is traditionally held on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving. This year’s 2009 ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2, 2009.

There is so much to see in the city during the month of December even if you can’t make the actual lighting ceremony the tree is up throughout the month of December, the Rockefeller Ice Rink is always a hit and shop owners across the city have pulled out all the stops for their storefront displays.

Hotel rooms are hard to come by, but there is another and more comfortable option sure to be a hit whether you are traveling with the family or are on your own. Roomorama is the new travel option where instead of a hotel – you can book short-term rentals in furnished apartments.

FUN ROCKEFELLER TREE FACTS:

Type of Tree: Norway Spruce

Height: At least 65 feet tall

Width: At least 35 wide

More than 5 miles of lights will adorn the tree

Trees don’t normally grow that big in the forest, they usually come from someone’s yard.

The city doesn’t pay for the tree – the tree comes from a proud donor each year

The tree gets recycled by the Boy Scouts producing 6,000 pounds of mulch

Ultra Light Startups Takes on the Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding Debate

Girlsrock.com presentation at Ultra Light Startups

Ultra Light Startups enjoyed its greatest turnout ever on Thursday night for the Bootstrapping vs. Venture Funding Forum at Sun Microsystems in New York City. The event kicked of with multiple entrepreneurs pitching their business models and concepts to a packed house.

Each company founder had 60 seconds to present to the audience with businesses ranging anywhere from dating sites to female gaming sites.

One company called siftsort.com helps people gather all of their critical personal information into one place electronically. The company rep says the idea came from seeing the desperate people who had no documents to prove who they were in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Next up was the Bootstrapping and Venture Funding debate.

The moderator:
Owen Davis, the Managing Director at NYC Seed.

The panelists:
• Art Chang – CEO of Tipping Point Partners
• Brian Cohen – President of iFluence PR and Board Member at New York Angels
• Mark Davis – IT Venture Capitalist at DFJ Gotham Ventures
• Dennis Mortensen - Director of Data Insights at Yahoo!

There were definitely opposing ideologies on the panel that made for a spirited debate at times this evening.

Mark Davis with DJF Gotham Ventures began the discussion by saying, “If you need a lot of money to start a small business, you probably shouldn’t do it.”

Davis has written multiple articles about when people should and should not start a business.

As to the bootstrapping versus venture funding question, Brian Cohen pointed out that many companies bootstrap at first and then seek venture funding once they really get the company rolling and gaining strength.

Mark Davis cautioned that it’s very important for new company owners to be careful and save more money than you think you need. “It’s important to plan ahead and save a little bit of capital. Then raise the money you need when you need it.”

Art Chang says most new company owners have to go through a learning process when starting a company and that the majority of angel investors want nothing more than to see them and their new ventures succeed.

Dennis Mortensen from Yahoo made it clear that he believes in Bootstrapping over Venture Funding. He says that venture funding is not always the smartest the thing to do with your new business.

One person in the audience asked Art Chang about the risk of angel investors stealing company ideas during presentations. Chang indicated that he thought the risk was very low saying, “Ideas are a dime a dozen – it’s all about execution and follow through of the person putting the company together.”

Serial Entrepreneur Outlines Social Media Strategies for Business

Michael Lazerow, entrepreneur and founder of Buddy Media, recently spoke about the power of social media sites at the Web 2.0 Conference in New York City. He addressed the implications of Facebook, Google and other social technologies where he says millions of people are having conversations everyday. Lazerow says businesses now have a simple decision, Socialize or Die.

Lazerow’s Law:  As social networks get larger, the speed at which content flows gets faster

Lazerow states that it only took social networks 4 years to penetrate 50% of the households in the United States. He says that’s astronomically faster than any other communications medium in history.

The potential to reach massive audiences has never been greater with more than 300 million people sending out 45 million updates per day.

If Facebook were a country, Lazerow says it would be the third largest country in the world. Another reason it’s critical for people to socialize their sites by opening up audience conversations on their Facebook or Twitter site pages. This can be accomplished by ensuring that users are treated to very easy and user-friendly tools.

Lazerow says another important tool is to establish an “Ecosystem of Sharing.” If the user has to hunt or search for how to interact with your site, you’ve already lost them. He also stressed the importance of creating engaging experiences, by using a combination of social data and personal experiences.

USING FACEBOOK TO SET YOUR BUSINESS ON FIRE

• Set your presence and update your content at least three times a week. Post these things on your wall.
• Facebook publishing offers the potential for geometric/exponential growth.
• Develop strategies to draw people to your Facebook Fan Page – get them into the conversation.

Ultra Light Startups Presents Email Marketing Strategies for Startups

It was a packed house Thursday night for Ultra Light Startups as the company unveiled its new meeting location in Midtown Manhattan at Sun Microsystems. The night kicked off with a slew of entrepreneurs pitching their sites and services to a captive audience.

Tonight’s panel topic was “Email Marketing Strategies for Startup Companies.” The all-star panel included:
• Greg Cangialosi the CEO of Blue Sky Factory
• Neil Capel, Founder and CEO of SailThru
• Adam Rich, Co-founder and Editor-in-chief of Thrillist
• Maisha Walker with Message Medium

The panel covered a wide variety of issues including finding the right email marketing strategies and helpful tips on selecting the email service distributors that are best for your business. The panel agreed that the days of renting e-mails lists and sending out e-mail blasts to unwilling participants are coming to an end.

The moderator, Maisha Walker explained that the emailing landscape has undergone a great deal of change in the past couple of years.

“It’s not just about sending emails out, it’s a discovery process,” says Walker. “You want to find out what your customers are interested in and what will keep them coming back for more.”

Neil Capel with SailThru says fresh content and interesting emails are a critical component during any e-mail campaign.

“Always send quality and engaging emails,” said Capel. “If they’re not good, people are going to opt out.

“Email is all about e-relevance, said Greg Cangialosi with the Blue Sky Factory. “Without new and fresh content, poor quality emails could do serious damage to your online reputation.”

Cangialosi also says if you do decide to rent an e-mail list, here are some questions to ask before you hire any e-mail service distributor:
• Don’t get sucked into anything shady.
• What are their list practices?
• Where did they get the names?

“There is no magic bullet for building a successful email list,” says Adam Rich, Co-founder and Editor-in-chief of Thrillist. “The best shot you have is to create a great product and put strong content behind it.”

The panel also agreed that integrating social media into your email campaigns is likely to give you a significant boost in viewership. Have the tools available and if your email is interesting, many people will be happy to use the social media share function.

Ultra Light Startups Legal Panel Addresses Business Immigration Challenges

Ultra Light Startups audience at Legal Round Table event.

Ultra Light Startups presented a Legal Roundtable discussion Tuesday night designed to help entrepreneurs navigate the tricky business of dealing with immigration.

The panel was made up of three attorneys, Andrew Lerner, Jonathan Freedman and Stephen Chin. Freedman and Chin advise entrepreneurs on the legal ins and outs of getting a new company off the ground, while Lerner deals exclusively with business immigration.

Lerner led the discussion by cautioning that immigration is becoming nastier and more difficult to deal with. Lerner says that immigrants are under extreme government scrutiny right now and many employers are already being targeted.

“Government agencies are making sure that all employees are documented properly and that all employers are following the letter of the law,” said Lerner. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a foreign national or a U.S. Citizen, if the immigration paperwork isn’t perfect, government agencies are cracking down.”

Next up was Jonathan Freedman who covered the ins and outs of when to incorporate your start up company. Freedman says there are two basic factors that should prompt entrepreneurs to incorporate:

• When the business is taking on material contracts.
• When the person is ready to form a partnership.

Freedman says, “When you form a partnership, it’s very important to determine who owns what, even if that partner is your best friend. Conditions need to be set forth and agreed upon to avoid future trouble.”

Stephen Chin rounded out the legal panel by addressing various topics including trademarks, copyrights and patents. Chin explained that it takes about six months to a year to go through the trademark application process and costs approximately $300.

Chin also talked about the hardship of trying to obtain intellectual property rights. He says it can be incredibly difficult and time consuming, but if you are successful in getting them, it can definitely pay dividends in the future.

Gary Vaynerchuk: Let Passion Drive Your Success

New Jersey’s Wine Wildman and Social Media Magnate, Gary Vaynerchuk hosts a Video Wine Series on the Internet that snags more than 80,000 viewers per day. His new book “Crush It! – Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion” is gathering momentum across the country.

He hosted a book signing in New York City Wednesday night at the Columbus Circle Borders Book Store.

The 33-year-old entrepreneur blew up the family business (in a good way) helping it skyrocket from $4 million to $60 million in just the last five years.

As the title might suggest, Vaynerchuk says there has never been a better time than right now to cash in on your passion.

All wine aside, Vaynerchuk says his true passion is the New York Jets and his ultimate goal is to someday buy the team. It comes as no surprise that he’s even found a way to integrate his passion for the Jets and wine during his video wine broadcasts. After he samples each wine, he spits the remainder of the wine into his special Jets trashcan.

Vaynerchuk says there has never been a better time in history to reach out to consumers using the Internet.

“If you are willing to work your face off while chasing down your passion – you can win,” Vaynerchuk told the audience. “If you have no plans to retire in the next five years, you better make damn sure you pay attention to my book.”

Vaynerchuk says that at the end of the day, he wants to be heard. He says his message is the right one and he’s desperate to push it out there.

“The most money you can make is by following your passion, I believe that.”

Vaynerchuk also has a fascinating answer for people who ask him where his energy comes from, “You don’t need Red Bull — Do what you love and you are tireless!”

The Wine Wizard closed things out by offering his critical key to success. Find the thought leaders in your industry. Surround yourself with them, work for them and learn everything you possibly can.

Justine Henin Ready to Hit the Tour Again?

Justine Henin maybe eyeing a comeback, but keeping it quiet.

Courtesy of MySecondServe.com

A week after Kim Clijsters grabbed an unlikely win at the U.S. Open, another Belgian star, Justine Henin, is reportedly ready to announce her comeback to professional tennis. Henin was ranked number in the world when she called it quits in May 2008.

Two of Belgium’s top newspapers, the La Derniere Heure and Le Soir reported the comeback on Monday. Henin holds seven Grand Slam singles titles including four French Open wins and two at the U.S. Open.

Clijsters quit when she was at the top of the women’s game citing a variety of physical issues that would never allow her to return to the tour.

There’s been a great deal of speculation regarding her return to tennis, but Henin herself has yet to release a statement.

Henin did take the take the time to congratulate her countrywoman on her website after Clijsters knocked out both of the Williams sisters en route to her U.S. Open title win earlier this month.