Real estate and snowmobiling. How I've brought them together.

[Steve Dove]

As an avid real estate investor in Michigan, I also enjoy snowmobiling just about anywhere there is snow. About two years ago, I planned an 800 mile snowmobiling trip through Ontario, and used some of the then available online tools to plan the trip. However, I found them to be lacking in a number of different ways. As an owner of vacation rentals, I also don't like getting gouged by VRBO or watch them take an additional commission from the renter. On this trip, I had a lot of time to think, so I decided to create a website that offered a comprehensive set of tools for planning a snowmobiling trip.

I built the site on the Google Maps platform, which we have overlaid with GPS trail data for snowmobiling in Michigan, Minnesota and New York (More states are coming). I'm able to populate any POI to the map to show a snowmobiler where to get fuel, food, etc. I have built in a lodging module to the site, where an owner of any type of lodging accommodations can list their Vacation Rental, Hotel, Motel, etc. Users can search our lodging directory, or also visually locate a place to stay within it's proximity to the groomed trail systems.

We charge an annual fee, with no commissions. $60/year or $100 for two years. The systems also has a review function built-in, but we do not offer a full suite of rental management tools. We put the owner of the accommodations back in touch with the prospective client, before the client pays.

The site is also crowdsourced, meaning any registered user can update a trail report or trail status; build, save and share routes, as well as upload and share their own GPS data. We really think that this is going to gain some traction, as it is unique in the fact that it is a comprehensive offering to the sport. We've done a soft launch of the site last Tuesday, and already have over 500 registered users on the site.

I'm looking for ways to get the word out to owners of lodging, above and beyond direct mailing. We have that covered and will begin mass mailings soon. I also invite any of you, with lodging accommodations to take a look at our site, and see if this type of advertising would appeal to you, if you can accommodate snowmobilers.

You can visit the site at https://www.groomedtrail.com. I look forward to your feedback.