Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste: How to Beat Euro Deflation.

Imagine if we could go back. Before the millennium, back before the double-dip recession, the ill-advised 4th Indiana Jones film, and the invention of the selfie-stick. Return to a simpler time, a time like 1999 when the Euro was just being rolled out and no-one was quite sure what to charge for anything. Well, you can. And to do it, you only need a flight to Europe.

The Euro is currently at a similar level to its rate in 1999. This means that travel to Europe has never been cheaper for tourists and the managers of vacation rental properties. This, alongside a strong American dollar, means that in terms of the cost, traveling from the US to Europe is equivalent to taking a step back in time.

As Winston Churchill said, ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste’. Vacation rental managers can turn this crash into an opportunity.Whilst currency fluctuations are generally a portent of serious problems, there are things that vacation rental managers can do to make the best out of a bad situation, on both sides of the Atlantic.

People travelling to Europe will be able to enjoy the best Euro exchange rate for over fifteen years. Meaning Europeans can concentrate their marketing on American Markets, utilising the strong American dollar to make it more appealing. The exchange rate hit $1.175, the lowest it has been since it was introduced. And this is not just a matter of cents being shaved off your holiday bill. Compared with 2013, your holiday to Europe will now cost 15% less. Lower fuel rates are also seeing real reductions in the price of long and medium haul flights.

What this means for vacation rentals is that not only will the cost of doing business between Europe and the USA will change, tourism could even be affected by this dip in the rate of the Euro as Europe becomes a cheaper and more appealing option for American travellers. But, of course, this means that the inverse is also true, Americans may be able to get a great deal when converting dollars to Euros but it means that visits to the USA are pricier than they have been for a decade. This is bad news for travelers to America coming from Europe and bad new for US rental owners hoping to capitalise on spring and summer travel guests from Europe.

How can vacation rental owners make this work for them?  

If you are planning a trip to Europe in the future, you have the option to bulk buy European currencies now. This is, of course, a gamble as the currency has the potential to fall further. You can lock in the current rates using pre-paid cards, or by exchanging your cash. If you do this you may find that you are able to take advantage of this current gap between the dollar and the Euro.

It is also the perfect time to look into expanding your business with properties in Europe. As well as having the advantage of a very favorable exchange rate between the dollar and the euro, there are many appealing locations where vacation rental owners could expand their businesses. Falling property prices in destinations such as France and Spain mean that now is the perfect time to consider an investment in these markets.

This rapid decline in the value of the Euro means that it is the best time for European owners to concentrate their advertising and marketing on American and other audiences. If you have a blog, why not create an update about this opportunity and send it to your customers and leads outside of Europe? Share links and information on your social media and try to use this currency crash to your advantage. Have you noticed a change in where your bookings are coming from since the fall in the rate of the Euro?

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