Q: What is the RunAway GetAway Alliance?
A: RGA is simply a collection of independent and locally-focused vacation rental providers across the country who accepted the invitation to present themselves on a common website.
Q: Are members "independent" from each other?
A: Absolutely. No member has any business connection with any other member. They post referral links on their websites to other members, and that's the total extent of any "connection".
Q: Are members national providers of vacation homes?
A: No. Invitations are sent to prospective members only if they are strictly local to their destination. They are local experts and members of the local community.
Q: How are members selected?
A: Selection criteria is based simply on extraordinary commitment to quality and service. And as mentioned above, they must be strictly local providers. If they offer homes outside their "RGA destination", they are not offered membership.
Q: How many members are selected for any given destination?
A: One. We think you will be pleased with the member we select. If you want to explore all vacation homes in an area, try VRBO or any other list-for-a-fee "yellow pages" of vacation providers. But keep in mind, those directories, being fee-based, do not actually care about the vacationer's ultimate satisfaction, they are just in the listing business.
Q: Do members pay to be a member of RGA?
A: No. Nor does RGA pay them to join. There is no financial connection between members and RGA.
Q: Does RGA receive any payment -- commission, service fee, etc -- from members based on referrals or sales?
A: No, never.
Q: What is the business relationship between RGA and its members?
A: None at all. There's simply a handshake agreement regarding membership.
Q: Are vacation rental home providers represented in RGA without their knowledge or against their will?
A: No and No. Based on RGA research, invitations are sent to our preferred providers. They are represented in RGA only if they accept the invitation.
Q: Why was RGA formed?
A: The developer of RGA is a vacation rental provider in one of the destinations and wanted to promote his offerings more effectively online. Because word-of-mouth and referrals is so effective, he developed the RGA idea knowing that excellent quality and service at one destination will help all others. Renting a vacation home can be risky. RGA was developed to offer confidence to vacationers that their vacation will be care-free and comfortable, knowing that satisfied customers
are return customers.
Q: What is the RGA policy on ads?
A: RGA derives all of its income for supporting ongoing operations through advertising, as do many websites. We will post only those ads that are relevant to the vacation experience. Google does a very good job at posting only those ads that are relevant to RGA site contents. We also accept ads directly from suppliers of services and products, but again, only if they are reIevant to vacation travel. It's our belief that vacation- and destination-focused ads bring additional
information to the vacationer that can be useful in their vacation planning.
Q: What's the story about RSS news feeds seen on destination pages?
A: RSS news feeds are an industry-standard way of delivering timely information to others in a respectful manner, as opposed to unsolicited email. RGA does not collect or store email addresses. With feeds, people can be alerted when new information is posted. We highly encourage site visitors to subscribe to news feeds so they can benefit from timely information at their convenience.See this information for subscribing to RSS feeds.
Q: How long has RGA been operating?
A: Since early 2005 ... and growing ever since.
Q: How many RGA members are there, and how many will there eventually be?
A: With over 40 members, we're close to the maximum now. Perhaps we'll top off at 60. You will see a list of RGA destinations on our home page. Click on any destination name to learn who the member for that destination is.
Do you have a question not answered above? Contact us.