So yesterday I posted that LakePlace.com has taken some listings in a couple of new states. We listed some North Dakota lake properties and Michigan lake property for sale…so yes - we are finally expanding - but the beautiful thing is that the market made us do it (more on this later). Cameron and I have been very careful about growth. Growth is a great thing - but if it is not managed properly - it can be a disaster. The website is finally in a position where we feel we can start to move outside of the invisible borders of Minnesota & Wisconsin - and bring this little site we call LakePlace.com to new markets.

A world-wide audience.
While the vast majority of our current visitors come from the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Chicago & Madison (in that order) - It is amazing to see how many visitors and emails come from around the world. Soldiers in Iraq planning a vacation when they return home (frequent), buyers in Dubai setting up appointments to view properties, etc…it is truly amazing to see the reach and potential of the internet and LakePlace.com.

The market made us do it.
We have a list of emails a mile long from cabin owners, vacationers, buyers and sellers that have requested we add additional markets. Most of these requests have come from Michigan. We listed a couple of Upper Peninsula (UP) lake properties late last fall - but we snuck them into our mix of Wisconsin lakeshore property listings. Yesterday we listed 15 Devils Lake ND lake property listings - a great development for those looking for excellent fishing at an affordable price. We added North Dakota lake property and UP lake property maps to our For Sale page - and we are now open for business in these states. In short - the market made us do it - the market demanded we spread our wings and we are excited and looking forward to working with an entirely new, additional group of great people!

For the record, we are now officially accepting real estate (waterfront, water view or deeded water access) listings in North Dakota and Michigan’s UP from this point forward and will be adding more listings soon. We plan to offer buyers, sellers, rental owners and vacationers the same great resources we currently offer in Minnesota & Wisconsin. We will be offering cabin rental and resort advertising in these markets. If you are a seller, agent, cabin rental owner, or resort owner/manager in Michigan or North Dakota - and you would like to team up with LakePlace.com (or if you have any questions) - please contact us online or give myself (Dave) a call at 612-366-4457 or my partner Cameron a call at 612-366-4454.

We look forward to working with you - and as always - happy lake home hunting!

I just got back from the Sportsman Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I bumped into a friend who has been selling resorts for 20 years. Word on the street is that Izaty’s Resort was sold for $2.8 million (free and clear) at auction today. A steal. It had been listed for sale at $11M and I believe the debt on the property was in the $5M - $6M range…this final sale price number knocked my socks off.

Izatys Resort features two (2) 18 hole championship golf courses, hundreds of acres of land, a huge marina on Mille Lacs and the list goes on and on. Visit their website here.
For all of you out there sitting on $2.9M - you missed out today!

Update: More info here & here.

CANADA TO PURCHASE ELY, MINNESOTA
Deal Could be Final by Early 2009

Official press conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU

ELY, MINN. — April 1, 2008 — Today it was announced that Canada has made an unprecedented offer, as a boost to tourism, to purchase the famous Boundary Waters town of Ely, Minn., and relocate it north of the U.S./Canadian border.

In a prepared statement, the Premier of Ontario pledged Ely will retain its worldwide reputation as the entryway to the Boundary Waters, though now from the other side, as well as its legendary lakes, resorts, restaurants, gift shops and museums, including the world-famous International Wolf Center.

Reportedly, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has entered into negotiations with the Minnesota DNR and the Governor’s office to arrive at a satisfactory price. Sources close to the deal say that Ely will become Ely, Ontario as early as 2009.

Minnesota residents are left wondering if this might be the last summer to enjoy the one million acres of unspoiled wilderness Ely is known for worldwide.

“It’ll certainly be the last summer we can spell neighbor without a ‘u,’” says Ely mayor Charles Novak. “And all the schools will have to start using zed instead of ‘z’ when they teach the alphabet, and we’ll all have to learn the value of a loonie, I guess.”

Outraged Minnesotans have launched a counterattack and are petitioning the state and considering a protest at the capitol. Interested citizens can visit ely.org or call 1-800-777-7281 to sign the petition or to volunteer for the protest, or just to book one last summer fling in Ely.

[note: please notice the date. tks to Voyageur North Canoe Outfitters for the email]

Just another quick reminder to resort owners and operators throughout the Northland.  If own or operate any of the 2,000+ Minnesota resorts or Wisconsin resorts - time is running out to get in on LakePlace.com’s 2007 advertising rates.  We have special packages and discounts available right now - but resort advertising rates are going up on February 1.

If you have been on the fence - now is the time to send us an email or give us a call.  Thanks very much and we look forward to serving you in 2008!

We just want to take a minute to let everyone know that as of February 1, 2008 - LakePlace.com will be increasing it’s annual membership fees for Minnesota resorts & Wisconsin resorts.

This does not affect current resort members. All current members will be grand-fathered in at their 2007 rate. This increase will raise the cost of advertising on LakePlace.com from $500 to $600 annually. If you are a resort owner and you have been considering moving some of your advertising budget online - now is the time to lock in the 2007 rates.

Compare Rates, Compare Return on Investment

As I stated in our LakePlace.com Year in Review post - our featured resorts ads were clicked on 524,325 times in 2007 - in other words, we sent a lot of traffic to our resort member websites. We have been working hand in hand with the MN & WI resort industry for about 5 years now and if you are not yet a member yet - we sure hope you will give us a shot!

If you have any questions or concerns - as always - please feel free to contact us!

Here are a few testimonials from LakePlace.com Resort Members…

Advertising isn’t a sound science. You’re not guaranteed returns from any media be it Internet, magazines, newspapers and the like. Exposure in the right place, in the right markets is the focus and goal. Also the issue of the private cabins will always be out there whether they advertise on Lake Place or on another site. The visits to Birchwood Resort have increased since my signing on with Lake Place (I need to figure the hard numbers). In fact Lake Place has surpassed The Congress of Minnesota Resorts with visits to the Birchwood Web Site. I’m pleased…
Mark J. Krupowicz - Birchwood Resort

Thanks for your attention. We’ve visited our listing at your site and are happy with our exposure - so happy that we already have a link to your site (above) and have done much to broadcast our mutually successful relationship both within CMR and with some resort friends who aren’t still involved in CMR. Please let us know of any future opportunities we should be aware of. Best wishes.
Preston Turner - Big Timber Lodge

Your site is great and I have picked up quite a few reservations from it. I would be interested in any extra exposure on your very worthwhile site!!
Jennifer Gibson - Blacks Cliff Resort

LakePlace.com has not only provided the traffic to our web site they said they could, but has far exceeded our expectations. We can highly recommend their site.
Andy and Marilyn Einspanier - Delta Lodge

I want to complement you and Lake Place on there marketing. You’re really getting yourself out there and bringing in a lot of business. Seems like most everyone has heard of you. NO small task these days.
Peg Landin - Buckhorn on Caribou

Rock will look forward to seeing you, and your site helped a lot w/ last min reservations–the way most of us manage life! It was Awesome!! Thanks again for letting us know and doing a Wonderful job of getting the word out.
Lee Gillson - Life of Riley Resort

You may have noticed that I did not make a post to The Pine Needle Lawn last week. If you tried to email me – you received a pesky auto-response. If you tried to call me – you got a message asking to you call my business partner Cameron – I was unavailable.

I had been planning to take a vacation this summer but could not find the right place. My wife and I discussed several locales but could not come up with anything that felt perfect. We have 3 girls and we like to let each of them bring a friend along…After a trip to Florida (or similar) it often feels like we really need a vacation as soon as we get back. Last week – a new cabin rental was listed on LakePlace.com – a private island getaway just outside of Grand Rapids, MN – I showed it to my wife and we knew this was it.

On very short notice, we made our arrangements, packed up the kids and their friends (and our dog, buster), and headed north.

We arrived in Grand Rapids a few hours later with two SUVs packed to the max. We met John and Kim (owners and hosts) at the private access lot and packed up the pontoon boat for the ferry to the island. John and Kim were great. They helped us pack and unpack the boat, showed us all around the cabin and island, and brought us on a boat tour through the channels that connect Little Jay Gould Lake to other bodies of water (Pokegama, Big Jay Gould, and the Mississippi River). After orientation, John handed over the keys to the pontoon boat and our vacation was underway.

We were extremely lucky to have seven days of sunshine and temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s. We spent the week boating, swimming at the sand bar, fishing (the bite was on), and just plain relaxing. The kids had a great time, the dog had a great time, and my wife and I had a great time. I spent the entire week without Internet access and in and out of roaming cell phone service. I did have access to television (two fuzzy channels), DVDs and VCR - but went without. I was on vacation with my family – and it was absolutely wonderful.

If you are planning a summer or fall getaway (or 2008 getaway) – I highly recommend this private island vacation rental in the Grand Rapids MN area. John and Kim were gracious hosts and their private island is a little slice of heaven. I already miss it.

Sick of paying high property taxes? Sick of using your own money to make that second home payment? List your vacation rental with LakePlace.com today to launch a part-time, highly profitable business! If you are not using your lake place everyday - and you are not renting it out - you are effectively leaving a lot on the table.

I forgot to mention last week that we finally completed our upgrade of the vacation rental section. Members now have the ability to (once again) login to their accounts, add a rentors.org availability calendar, pinpoint their cabin location on the Google Map and update information, descriptions and images (we now allow 12 vs. 5 images with every vacation rental listing).

We have also automated the add your vacation rental area. It is a simple 4 step process to get your Minnesota & Wisconsin vacation rentals listed on LakePlace.com. Read the FAQs, Go over our many testimonials and join the largest and most visited MN & WI vacation rental directory on the Internet!

LakePlace.com offers owners/managers of Minnesota resorts & Wisconsin resorts the opportunity to place your property in front of tens of thousands of visitors each week. LakePlace.com has become the default starting point for thousands of people searching for their next vacation spot - contact us today and let us put the power of LakePlace.com to work for you!

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Rock will look forward to seeing you, and your site helped a lot w/ last min reservations–the way most of us manage life! It was Awesome!! Thanks again for letting us know and doing a Wonderful job of getting the word out.

Lee Gillson (owner)
Life of Riley Resort

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LakePlace.com has not only provided the traffic to our web site they said they could, but has far exceeded our expectations. We can highly recommend their site.Â

Andy & Marilyn Einspanier (owners)
Delta Lodge

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I want to complement you and LakePlace on your marketing. You’re really getting yourself out there and bringing in a lot of business. Seems like most everyone has heard of you. NO small task these days.

Peg (owner)
Buckhorn on Caribou

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Your Testimonial Here!

Today some news came out that a vacation rental website (homeaway.com) just received a whopping $150,000,000 in venture capital…and that is on top of the $50,000,000 they raised about 4 months ago, bringing the total to $200,000,000! Wow – that is a lot of money! With all that cash, they acquired the popular VRBO.com – which is (was) the largest vacation rental site on the web…wait…the largest vacation rental site with the exception of Minnesota vacation rentals & Wisconsin vacation rentals – LakePlace.com still holds that honor (even when the “big guys” combine).

So why is LakePlace.com so popular in this part of the country? It’s simple really. We focus 100% of our efforts on promoting the Northland. When a vacation rental owner lists his/her property on LakePlace.com, they know that every single visitor to our site is looking at Minnesota and/or Wisconsin only. Our visitors are not searching for rentals in Hawaii, Mexico, or Florida. As a matter of fact, we probably get 10x more traffic for Minnesota and Wisconsin vacation rentals than the big guys get…

We have and always will put our customers success ahead of our own. We have and always will recommend that all of our vacation rental owners (at least those who we have not flooded to a 100%+ booked rate) list their rentals on multiple websites. The cost is usually around $100/yr, and if you pick the right sites, they are worth every penny. We might be a little biased, but we have your best interests at heart.

We look forward to helping you fill your rentals for many years to come and we congratulate and wish HomeAway the best! Boy that’s a lot of mullah!

Tags: homeaway, vacation rentals, Home Away, VRBO, venture capital

LakePlace.com is happy to announce that we have recently entered into an agreement with the Wisconsin Innkeepers Association. Under the agreement, LakePlace.com will offer owners and managers of Wisconsin resorts the opportunity to advertise their properties at deep discounts. Resort owners will also be able to place individual Wisconsin cabin rentals in our vacation rentals directory.Â

We are very happy to be working with the Wisconsin Innkeepers Assoc. and we hope that Minnesota Resorts will follow suit.

LakePlace.com’s directory of Minnesota & Wisconsin Resorts is the largest and most visited of it’s kind. Nearly 10,000 people visit LakePlace.com each day searching for MN & WI lake property, cabin rentals, and resorts. Our goal is, and always will be, to promote the wonderful experience of spending time at the lake.