Tip One: Make full use of Skype

About Skype

Skype is a piece of software that lets you make free calls to anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world. Calls between Skype users are free. You if you have friends or family near your rental or your management agent uses Skype then it can save a great deal of money on international calls. Of course if you have an internet connection in your rental you can also call friends and relatives at home free of charge. For dealing with customers you can also put a 'Skype me' icon on your contact page of your website. See the icon on our Contact Page. To be fair Skype to Skype usage is low when used in this way. The real benefit is being able to call and be be called by mobile phones and landlines.

SkypeOut, SkypeIn

This where SkypeOut and SkypeIn prove useful. SkypeOut is a cheap way to call from Skype to landlines and mobile phones. You can also use SkypeOut to forward calls from your Skype to your home number or mobile phone. With Skype Out you can call customers and your agent for a few pence a minute. For example, the US, France and Spain is only 1.4 pence per minute for landlines!

Now for the exciting bit, SkypeIn is a number that lets you receive calls from landline and mobile phones on Skype. But here is the clever bit, you can choose where-ever you want to have this local number. As my properties are in Florida I chose to have a local number in Cape Coral. In fact you can see it at the top of this page. This means that Americans calling me to arrange a rental only pay local rates rather than international rates which they may think twice about calling! I have any adverts on US listing sites directing calls to this number. Checkout SkypeIn!

Skype Voicemail

When you sign up to SkypeIN you get Voicemail free of charge. Again this can be very useful if your rental is in a different timezone. You can even personalise your answer when you are not available. Any missed calls not leaving a voicemail are shown with their telephone number, so you can call them back.

Skype Mobile

If you have a 3G smartphone or PDA with Windows Mobile then you can also download Skype to use on your Mobile. Now, it is fair to say that the quality of calls is not great, but I dont use it to make and receive calls. I use it as a pager so I know I need to call someone back. If I am work or out in the evening I can see if I have missed a call or hear any voicemails I may have. This means I know to log on to my PC and call them back.

Setting up Skype

To start an account with Skype, all you have to do is go to the Skype homepage and click "Download Now" to download a free program. This program is the Skype soft phone client, which includes an on-screen keypad you can use to make calls.

After you install the program, the Skype Getting Started wizard shows you how to add contacts, make calls and import contact information from your address book. If you haven't already signed up for an account at the Skype Web page, you can also follow a link from the program to create your username and password.

The Skype application looks and works a lot like an instant messaging(IM) client. As with an IM client, you can change your online status, look at your contact list and decide who you want to talk to. In order to use these functions and to make calls, your computer has to be on and connected to the Internet, and your Skype application has to be running.

Receiving a Skype call is a lot like receiving an instant message. The program plays a ring tone and flashes an icon to let you know someone is trying to reach you. If the call is from another Skype user, the program tells you who is calling. You then decide whether to accept the call.

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