MANATEE - After six years of honing their skills in the Cape Cod area, the owners of an online vacation rental company chose the west coast of Florida to expand their business.

The market is wide open in Florida, despite more competition than up north, said Jeff Talmadge, owner of WeNeedaVacation.com.

When Jeff and Joan Talmadge tried to plan a trip to Florida a year ago, the couple had a difficult time finding availability.

"None of the Web sites had updated information," Talmadge said.

Noticing that Florida was the most requested destination for their Massachusetts clients, the couple decided the time was right to grow their business.

"We were always tempted with the notion: Would this migrate?" Talmadge said. "There's quite a synergy between New England and Florida."

Keeping the calendar updated is the responsibility of subscribers. The feature is convenient for vacation seekers and keeps them loyal, Talmadge said.

"We're more work than some of the other sites," Talmadge said. "If the calendar gets stale, we can kick them off."

With 270 listings in Florida, Talmadge acknowledges it's only a fraction of the existing business.

"There seems to be a lot of growth and no saturation," he said.

Evan Batoff, a Tampa real estate attorney, owns a condominium in Holmes Beach. One block from the ocean, his vacation property commands $900 a week or $3,000 a month.

Living only an hour away, Batoff and his wife use the property heavily, occupying it many weekends. During the winter months, they rent it out.

Batoff would prefer not to handle the rentals himself but said he sometimes needs a secondary source of rental income. His primary source is a Realtor who manages property.

"I'd prefer not to mess with it myself," Batoff said. "We need to try and fill it sometimes in the winter when the Realtor fails. After the first of the year, I was able to fill my open dates so it has been successful."

Batoff heard about WeNeedaVacation.com from a flier he received in the mail.

"It's the only site I've looked at," he said. "It's good marketing on their part."

WeNeedaVacation.com charges $192 a year for a Web page and four photos. Two-month and six-month trial options are also available.

Traditional property managers typically earn 15 percent on seasonal rentals.

The market can bear a company like the Talmadge's, said Ken Jackson, owner of Green Real Estate in Anna Maria. He predicts the service will appeal to buyers who bought property in the last five years and want to save money.

Jackson sells property management and real estate, relying on renters who return and send referrals.

With real estate costing more and the stakes going higher, Jackson advises property owners to know who they're renting to.

"You can look at a photo on a Web site, then get the advice of someone you've known for 15 years," Jackson said.

David Grace, a Web site designer in Lakewood Ranch, advises property owners who go the self-management route to ask the companies they're dealing with for statistics on how many people visit the site, and where they're coming from.

"There's a lot of companies that tell you they'll drive traffic to you," Grace said. "Make sure you can track their usefulness. Then you won't overspend."

WENEEDAVACATION.COM