During the week of October 25-28, 2009, members of the Leighton Realty Rentals team attended the national conference for the Vacation Rentals Management Association (VRMA) in Washington DC. We found the sessions to be informative and motivating. The organization has traditionally been focused on educating its members on operational topics while providing a forum for networking and bench-marking. However, it recently has expanded its focus to developing into a sophisticated marketing and PR machine with a proactive approach to the evolving vacation rentals industry. We all have witnessed and experienced how technology has impacted the airlines and the hotel industries.  Technology has forced greater transparency and has provided consumers with greater access to information, which has shifted the balance of power over to the consumer. This shift in power has forced companies to be more competitive and in some cases consolidate, which in turn leads to fewer choices for the consumer. Customers of both the airline and hotel industries have experienced and tolerated deterioration in the quality of service and a marked decrease in customer satisfaction. In this economy, consumers are willing to forego choices and service in the name of getting the lowest price. Airline travel is considered a commodity and the customer sees little differentiation between the airlines. Hotels have not reached that point to the same degree because they recognized the trend early and made tremendous quality improvements. In this environment, the key is to figure out a way to provide the best perceived value for the lowest price before the consumer views the product or service as a commodity. The VRMA recognizes that these trends are also taking hold in the vacation rentals industry. Guests are demanding a higher level of service and higher quality rental properties than ever but on a lower budget. In order to accomplish this tall order, vacation rental companies are forced to find ways to operate more efficiently and owners are forced to continuously invest in their rental properties. We are at a crossroads – we either embrace the changes and hop onto the technology train or we choose to ignore what is happening and get left behind at the station. Leighton Realty Rentals has embraced the technology train and will continue to seek out opportunities to grow our market. We are also confident that our owners understand the critical role that they play in maintaining the quality of their rental properties and will continue to invest in improvements.