For the past seven years I have used VRBO/Homeaway as my advertising venue for the rental of Dans Florida Condos. I have two immaculate 2br and 1br units located on Anna Maria Island (Central Gulf Coast, in Bradenton Beach, FL). Last year VRBO/Homeaway was purchased by Expedia and immediately began changing their business profile. The first thing was to add a “Service Fee” of 7-13% to our rates all of which was passed on to you the renter. At the same time, we could see no benefit to you for that fee.VRBO/Homeaway began acting like any other rental Property Management Company and has continually harassed us to accept their “BIN” (Book It Now) feature, whereby they control the entire transaction, communication, etc. removing the “personal touch” of booking directly through an owner.Additionally, they removed the option to contact us directly (phone/personal email) in order to address any questions about the unit or the Island and accommodation. Thus VRBO/Homeaway is no longer an advertising or networking venue, rather a booking site which only priority is to drive the profits for shareholders.To combat this, by the end of this year I am discontinuing my listings from “big box” listing sites, and returning to a business model which allows open communication between guests and owners, and more importantly allows guests to avoid booking fees!I am excited to announce, my new “booking fee free” website which just went live. Check out Dans Florida Condos (like at bottom of this email) to take advantage of a Booking fee free experience. You’ll also find additional information on Anna Maria Island, FL along with pictures, guest testimonials, and an updated Blog of events happening on Anna Maria Island and Dans Florida Condos.<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/hostai-booking-prod-photos/clients/dansfloridacondos/blogs/images/e38cdd3a-55a6-4bf6-9ab0-ebd39e12764e.webp"><h2>Three ways to Save $ By Booking Direct:</h2><ol><li data-list="ordered">Try and book direct with the owner or property manager. If you want to book one of our properties, please visit our website, call/text 773-598-9717, or email me at dan@dansfloridacondos.com.</li><li data-list="ordered">Search on Facebook for the name and location to see if some of your favorite properties have a website or a Facebook page. From there you can contact the owner/manager directly. You can like my page by doing a quick Facebook Search “Dans Florida Condos” or visiting www.facebook.com/dansfloridacondos</li><li data-list="ordered">Search for your perfect vacation rental on any of the big box listing sites. Identify your top choices, noting the property’s name and location. Use your search engine (i.e. Google) to search for the property name and city and possibly the owner’s name to find their booking free website.</li></ol>These steps can save you hundreds of dollars in booking fees from the listing websites (and you won’t be bombarded by their continual spam after you inquire on a property).If you have any questions about the changing Rental By Owner market, you are welcome to reach out to me. Please also take the time to “Like” our facebook page at <a href="www.facebook.com/dansfloridacondos" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/dansfloridacondos</a>. I will be soon setting up a regional Facebook Site and website, so you will have an even greater pool of “Booking Fee Free” owners/units to choose from on Anna Maria Island and Bradenton Beach, FL.Here’s to starting a new adventure together, declaring independence from greedy profit hungry Big Box listing sites, and returning to a more personal Vacation Rental By Owner experience for us all.Your Host,Dan

For the past seven years I have used VRBO/Homeaway as my advertising venue for the rental of Dans Florida Condos. I have two immaculate 2br and 1br units located on Anna Maria Island (Central Gulf Coast, in Bradenton Beach, FL).

How to Avoid Hidden Booking Fees that Big Box Sites Charge

We are very proud to launch our brand new website. Want to avoid booking fees that Big Box sites like Homeaway/VRBO and Air B&amp;B charge? Do you want direct contact with the owner you are working with with the options of speaking by phone, next, or direct email? Then please continue to visit us at <a href="www.dansfloridacondos.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.dansfloridacondos.com</a>.Our first Phase was completed in July 2017 and we are working on additional functionality to keep the booking process easy, secure, and intimate. In addition, I will soon be launching some regional and Island specific webpages and social media presences which will provide you quick references to other property options on Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach, and the RunawayBay Complex.Please have a look around and feel to tell us what you think of it!Sincerely,Your Host and Owner, Dan

We are very proud to launch our brand new website.  Want to avoid booking fees that Big Box sites like Homeaway/VRBO and Air B&B charge?  Do you want direct contact with the owner you are working with with the options

Welcome Dans Florida Condos Blog (Anna Maria Island, FL)

It may not have been the fastest race in history, but Anna Maria Island won the marathon with loggerhead Eliza Ann.Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring and the Sea Turtle Conservancy placed a tracking device on a sea turtle June 19 after it nested at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, then released the turtle to the Gulf of Mexico early June 20. That tracker showed the path taken by the sea turtle as she nested twice more and journeyed on her three-month migration.This was the first confirmation of multiple nesting by a mature female loggerhead on the island.The turtle was named Eliza Ann for the Sea Turtle Conservancy event, Tour de Turtles, which ended Nov. 1. The Waterline Resort and Marina, in Holmes Beach, featuring Eliza Ann’s Coastal Kitchen restaurant, sponsored AMITW in the event.As part of the tour, 20 sea turtles were tagged and released from beaches in Costa Rica, Panama, Nevis and Florida. The turtles then competed in a “marathon,” a competition for which turtle swims the most miles during the three-month “race.”<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/hostai-booking-prod-photos/clients/dansfloridacondos/blogs/images/0bfab1bc-8a5f-4f42-93af-b191d97e7ac9.webp">Pictured Above – Eliza Ann traveled 1,693 miles to win first place in the marathon, which tracked distance covered through Nov. 1 by the tagged sea turtles. The runner-up, a loggerhead named Cruz, traveled 1,583 miles after it was tagged July 29 near the Disney Vero Beach Resort, south of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge in Melbourne Beach.The migration was tracked using satellite telemetry. Every time Eliza Ann raised her head above water, the antenna on her tracker sent a signal, letting conservancy research scientists know her location.The tracking device showed Eliza Ann coming ashore four times and nesting three times during the season, which runs through Oct. 31.Following nesting, the tracker showed the turtle traveled to the Bahamas to forage and, as of Nov. 1, was in the water north of Cuba.Additionally, the data received from the turtles’ transmitters allowed researchers to determine the number of dives taken during a 24-hour period, the duration of the most recent dive, and the water temperature of the location, according to Lexie Beach, Sea Turtle Conservancy communications coordinator.Following nesting and placement of a satellite tracking device atop her carapace June 20, Eliza Ann, a 300-pound-plus loggerhead, crawls back to the Gulf of Mexico. The device, placed by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and the Sea Turtle Conservancy, tracked Eliza Ann’s travels for the Tour de Turtles — a marathon for sea turtles. See page 26 for more. Islander Photo: ChrisAnn Silver Esformes“To adequately protect sea turtles in all their habitats, we must learn more about their migratory patterns, their behavior at sea, where their marine habitats are located, how the turtles use these different habitats and the migration routes turtles travel between habitats,” Beach said.Since the tour is over, this data becomes available to researchers around the world and also is being used as part of Sea Turtle Conservancy research scientist Dan Evans’ doctoral thesis.Turtle watch participated in the tour in 2015 with a loggerhead named Amie, but the turtle’s satellite tag fell off shortly after the race began and it was disqualified.– Article Courtesy of The Islander*Please note – Dans Florida Condos posts blogs of local establishments and events periodically, for the intended benefit of our guests and visitors of Anna Maria Island. We do not receive advertisement commissions or other compensation from these posts. These recommendations are either experienced firsthand by us, or via reputable friends and partners on the Island. This ensures we are informing our guests of the “best of the best” that the Anna Maria Island and the surrounding areas have to offer.*The content of this blog is not to be copied, adapted or shared without the written consent of Dans Florida Condos.

Tour de Turtles – The Islands Fastest but Slowest Race! It may not have been the fastest race in history, but Anna Maria Island won the marathon with loggerhead Eliza Ann. Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring and

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