As stated before, it’s a central fact that in the economic downturn, people are both looking to save money and new ways to make money.  Vacation rentals allow for both, and sometimes in wonderful ways.

It’s still early in the vacation rental market, and we’re expecting significant improvements in the consumer experience in the years to come.

See the story here.

Winter is a great time to rent vacation homes this winter.  Here’s some good tips about what to look for when renting a vacation home.

Not only is it a great time to rent a vacation home, winterizing your vacation home (especially with a hot tub!) can really drive additional income during typical down months.

Search for a vacation home today!

Check it out:

http://www.iletyou.com/vacation-home-rental

Bookmark this page, and visit iLetYou to search across multiple vacation rental sites for the perfect vacation home.

Save money, live in style, and travel like a real person!  I love vacation home rental - and we hope you’ll like searching for vacation rentals on iLetYou and love them as well.  Sign up today, and you can also list your homes for rent, instantly!

Stay tuned - we’ll be adding more features and tips to find the perfect vacation home and travel destination, and growing the search engine!

WalletPop reports about Google renting goats for landscaping, skipping the lawnmower.

Apparently this is a common phenomenon, as a small herd goats will clear acres of land over a period of just a few months.

It’s certainly a creative idea, and hopefully the downsides can be overcome!

Sure, this can be blown off as another example of a study telling us something we intuitively know.  But isn’t that often what a study is designed to do?  I love the validation of something we strongly believe to be true.

It’s again a wonderful reminder why renting, instead of owning, can lead to higher satisfaction - and happiness at a high level.  Netflix popularized a cost-effective way to enjoy film and cinema - who needs all those DVDs?  It’s not the high-end dress, jewelry, and venue that makes us happy - it’s the memories of a wonderful night that can be cherished forever.

So go experience something today.  With money tighter than ever, use your cash to enjoy with your loved ones, friends and family.

(Also from CNN, published on Friday, iLetYou is mentioned from the RealSimple piece as a place to locate all different types of products for rent.  It’s also a nice little guide outlining the main categories of rental, picking out some rental stores, and showing example pricing for certain products for rent.  Check it out.)

http://190north.com/shows/091309_bargain.htm

Thanks 190 North!  Please stay tuned for some excited new developments in the coming months.

In particular, editors at Smart Money Magazine and Urban Daddy have written in-depth pieces examining the rental market and iLetYou:

• Smart Money Magazine: How to Rent (Almost) Everything
  
• Urban Daddy: Your New One-Stop Rental Shop

Some additional coverage:

• CNN (Smart Express Blog)
• Naples Daily News
• ABC 16 WAPT

Please e-mail pr@iletyou.com for any press inquiries.  Thanks for taking the time to cover iLetYou!

Cheers,

Rodger

In the down economy, renting makes more financial sense than ever.

From an ecological standpoint, you can make a real impact by changing your purchases into on-demand rentals.  From car sharing to consumer subscription services, new and innovative rental businesses are helping you do this without skipping a beat.

Green businesses have embraced rental as a means to turn a product into a service for some time, reducing consumption levels.  Studies tell us what we already know: we derive more enjoyment from our lives, experiences and the people around us, and that’s a better way to spend our hard-earned cash than surrounding ourselves with useless stuff.

iLetYou helps you discover the products you can rent, and the activities that have been enabled by rental businesses helping you discover your inner do-it-yourselfer, adventurer, fashionista, and much more.

It’s a lifestyle you can affordably and sustainably enjoy!

From the comments on the TechCrunch post, it looks like there’s an increasing flow of rental fans especially when you can see the tangible benefit and savings.

Chegg also issued a press release around saving students $16 million in 2008:

Students Saved Over $16 Million Renting Textbooks From Chegg.com in 2008

Chegg.com, The Online Textbook Rental Leader, Reports Record Growth

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Number one online textbook rental company, Chegg.com, has seen record growth in 2008 as the company continues to provide college students with a money saving alternative to buying textbooks. In 2008 alone, the student population saved over $16 million renting textbooks from Chegg.com. As demand for cheaper textbooks grows, more and more college students are flocking to Chegg.com, which is available at over 4,000 university campuses nationwide. Students from every state and more than 10,000 cities have rented from Chegg.com.

“Students are knocking down our door to use the Chegg.com service,” said Osman Rashid, Chegg.com CEO. “The demand is greater than ever. Students are learning that they don’t have to pay full price to buy textbooks they only need for four months. Now they are saving up to $650 a semester renting textbooks with Chegg.com.”

Chegg.com allows college students to rent as many textbooks as they like with just a few clicks, quickly delivering them straight to students’ doors. By renting textbooks through Chegg.com, students can save 65-85% or $650 per semester on their textbook bills. With fast delivery, free return shipping, and live customer service, Chegg.com is the number one way for students to save money and save the environment. In addition to helping students save money each school year, Chegg.com also keeps the environment top of mind by planting a tree for every textbook rented. Chegg.com has successfully planted 150+ city blocks of trees and is expecting to significantly increase that number during the next planting seasons.

“Chegg has allowed me to save money each semester,” said Alyssa Mora of Purdue University. “Being able to keep more money in my wallet is a huge value to me. Saving money on textbooks through Chegg.com allows me to put more money towards other college needs.”

Press release regarding the funding:

Chegg.com, the number one textbook rental company, today announced that it has received $25 million in Series C funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Foundation Capital and existing investors Gabriel Venture Partners and Primera Capital. The additional financing is part of an aggressive growth strategy for building the textbook rental market and Chegg.com’s position as the number one brand.   The financing will be used to grow the site to provide superior service to students, increase the textbook rental catalog and expand leadership in the textbook rental market.

“Chegg.com is executing its strategy to save students millions of dollars a year with online textbook rentals,” said Osman Rashid, CEO and co-founder of Chegg.com.  “With this funding Chegg.com will be able to reach even more students, with more books and more money saving services.  We are proud to welcome KPCB and Foundation Capital to our team.”

Chegg.com allows college students to rent as many textbooks as they like with just a few clicks, delivering them straight to students’ doors. By renting textbooks through Chegg.com, students can save up to 80 percent or $650 per semester on their textbook bills. The online option also eliminates time spent waiting in lines at the bookstores. Students also have the ability to buy, not just rent, textbooks over Chegg.com and know at the time of purchase the exact amount of cash they will receive at the end of the semester if they so choose to sell the book back to Chegg.com.

Chegg.com has helped students save millions of dollars on textbooks and in July, Chegg.com celebrated its first anniversary of the textbook rental company. In addition to helping students save money each school year, Chegg.com also keeps the environment top of mind by planting a tree for every textbook rented.  Chegg.com has successfully planted 150 plus city blocks of trees and is expecting to significantly increase that number during the next planting seasons.

“We believe there is strong potential for growth and success for the textbook rental market as parents and students look for new ways to save on the costs of a higher education,” said Ted Schlein at KPCB. “We look forward to working with Chegg.com to drive forward the company’s leadership in the market.

“As an original venture investor in Chegg.com, Gabriel Venture Partners realized early on that the company had a disruptive, forward-thinking business model that would propel it to market leadership,” said Rick Bolander, managing partner at Gabriel Venture Partners. “The capital-efficient and disruptive nature of Chegg.com’s model has already translated into impressive revenue growth, and we look forward to continuing to work hand-in-hand with the management team to extend that growth over the coming quarters.”

About Chegg.com

Chegg.com is the number one textbook rental company. Chegg.com founded in 2005, launched its textbook rental service in July 2007, Chegg.com has saved students at 4,000 plus campuses nationwide, millions of dollars.  With over 1 million books to choose from, Chegg.com makes renting and returning textbooks as easy as a click of a mouse.  On top of added savings, Chegg.com will plant a tree for every book rented.  To date Chegg.com has funded over 150 plus city blocks of trees.  For more on Chegg.com, log on to www.Chegg.com.

Congrats both Chegg and investors!

Now the LA Times reports on ski equipment hitting travelers with fees that add up fast, possibly adding up to $80 for the round trip. Some airlines treat skis and boots as separate bags, compounding the problem. Numerous alternative delivery options are given, but this presents another opportunity to rent instead of buy. Jennifer Rudolph of Colorado Ski Country USA says that a recent trend is to just bring your boots, and rent at your destination.

As with many things rental, it may just come down to your attachment to and how satisfied you are with your current equipment. With all the added fees, it might just be more convenient and effective to rent at your destination instead of lugging your long K2s through LAX or JFK.

It might also be a great opportunity to try out some of the latest ski equipment, saving on some exorbitant baggage fees in the meantime.