Mt Hood Vacation Rental Homeowners are Choosing Professional Property Management
Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals | Friday, August 24, 2012

24/7:  Mt Hood Vacation Rentals manages vacation rentals 24/7 â�� we respond quickly and professionally to guest inquiries, vacationing guests and homeowners. Also, we respond to emergencies 24 hours a day. We provide all guests with our after-hours emergency number and we post important information in all vacation rentals.

Guest Services:  From reservation inquiries to secure, online booking; from check-in to repair calls; from concierge services to housekeeping, home and grounds maintenance and inspections; Mt Hood Vacation Rentals takes care of guests and vacation homes 24 hours a day.

Marketing:  Who knows better how to market your vacation home than a professional manager? We live here, we participate in our communities, and we are involved in tourism efforts to promote the region. Local events, holidays and seasonal opportunities are promoted to guests year-round. We maintain and market to an established customer base of thousands of guests who often return year after year as repeat customers as well as referring their friends and family to Mt Hood Vacation Rentals.

Internet Marketing:  We know Internet marketing including Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Management. Our websites are attractive, easy to navigate and up-to-date using real-time web-based technology on our reservation availability and booking calendar. We know how to help guests find your vacation home online easily when they are planning a vacation in the area. We manage email marketing to past guests, utilize social media marketing, listing sites like Flipkey and TripAdvisor and a variety of other internet marketing strategies that will lead browsers to our website, mthoodrentals.com and to guests booking our vacation rentals.

Promotion:  Print, Internet, travel writer tours, email blasts, Facebook & Twitter, pre-arrival and post-vacation emails and direct mail, guest surveys, contests, television shows (the Mt Hood episode of Getting Away Together on PBS was filmed at one of our vacation rentals), promotional trade outs, quiet season promotions, brochures and rack cardsâ�¦as professional managers we are hospitality experts who promote the Mt Hood area and your vacation home.

Reservations Made Easy:  In person, over the phone, via email or online â�� whether paying by check or credit card â�� Mt Hood Vacation Rentals makes it easy for guests to book your vacation rental in a secure, professional environment. Rental and refund policies are clear and professional. Guests receive detailed confirmation emails upon booking your vacation home.

Additional Services:  Travel insurance, security deposit protection, additional housekeeping services, discounted lift tickets, Sno-park permits and NW Forest Passes, Pack’n’Play and  booster chair rentals and much moreâ�¦Mt Hood Vacation Rentals offers guests everything they need for a great vacation.

Housekeeping & Inspections:  We employ trained, skilled housekeepers who keep your vacation rental home cleaned to hospitality industry standards. Inspectors as well as housekeepers, maintenance technicians and office staff are in your vacation home before and after every guest, ensuring consistency and quality and keeping everything in order.

Maintenance:  We make sure all vacation homes are in great shape at all times â�� safe, clean and in good repair. We offer professional in-house maintenance services with a timely response to maintenance problems and after-hours requests for emergency services 7 days a week. We use reliable vendors (electricians, plumbers, appliance repairs, HVAC specialists and so on) who are qualified, trained and licensed to handle practically any situation, even on weekends and holidays, at fair prices, when the job goes beyond the scope of our in-house staff. The security deposit protection plan purchased by guests covers the cost of accidental damages during a guestâ��s visit.

Money:  As professionals, we maximize the return on your investment property, earning you money when you arenâ��t using your vacation home. Professional marketing and excellent guest services earn guestsâ�� loyalty and repeat visits.

Records:  We keep the records â�� from revenues to repairs, from lodging tax to 1099s â�� youâ��ll receive professional, monthly accounting of what is happening at your property along with copies of vendor invoices and a monthly owner newsletter. We offer online owner access so information is available anytime, from any computer. Homeowners can review account information, rentals and revenues, make owner reservations and more.

Communication:  We let you know whatâ��s happening â�� from property repairs and marketing initiatives to local issues and industry standards. We know the vacation rental industry locally, nationally and internationally and weâ��ll keep you informed.

Security:  As professional property managers, we are the constant â��eyes and earsâ�� for your vacation home. Instead of sitting empty, vacation homes are lived in, checked and maintained continuously. We meet your guests at arrival in our office and we communicate with them throughout their visit as needed to assist with travel plans, recreation, where to eat and if a problem arises.

Accountability:  As your agent, we are primarily accountable to you, the property owner. All guests are required to sign a detailed rental agreement, and review the policies. We primarily rent to families and adult groups over the age of 25. We do everything we can to protect your home and your investment.

Local Connections:  We maintain relationships with local officials and agencies â�� from tourism boards to the Mt Hood Area Chamber of Commerce, from the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association to Travel Oregon, the stateâ��s tourism department. We are constantly making sure our homeowners and guests are top of mind in our community. Betsy LaBarge, the owner of Mt Hood Vacation Rentals, serves on the Boards for the Clackamas County Tourism Development Council (local destination marketing organization) and the Vacation Rental Managers Association (international trade association).

Good Neighbors:  Professional property managers understand the importance of being good neighbors. We maintain connections to property owners associations and your neighbors; we keep guests informed about neighborhood rules as well as local laws. We patrol our vacation homes in order to enforce policies that do not allow overcrowding of your home, house parties, parking violations or similar concerns.

Local Advocacy:  Mt Hood Vacation Rentals keeps homeownersâ�� best interests in mind at all times. We advocate for clean, attractive rivers, lakes and trails and we participate in our Chambers, Tourism Boards, Planning Commissions and other local & tourism related organizations. We sponsor and volunteer for local events and initiatives that have a positive impact on tourism.

Consumer Confidence:  Booking a professionally managed vacation rental through a member of the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) is a seamless process, as nearly all members offer secure phone and Internet reservations systems, and members have made a commitment to quality hospitality, professionalism and industry excellence.

Time:  Mt Hood Vacation Rentals saves homeowners time. We do it all so you can enjoy your vacation home when you visit!

For more information, please contact:

Betsy LaBarge
866.794.6813
[email protected]

Mt Hood Property Management

Why a Homeowner Should Use a Professional Vacation Rental Manager
Posted by Mt Hood Vacation Rentals | Friday, July 2, 2010

Why Use a Rental Manager?

We occasionally hear vacation rental homeowners ask about the tradeoffs between self-management and management services. Obviously managers cost money. Do managers earn it? Yes! Are they cost effective? Yes! This month, we share our answers to the question, â��Why use a manager?â��

• Responding promptly to emails by impatient renters who are quick to look elsewhere. In today’s marketplace, guests expect a response to their email inquiry within 30-60 minutes of sending the email.  Can you do that from work or when you are at your kids’ soccer games?
• Answering 10 inquiries for every booking. Again do you have time to spend on the phone or on your computer responding to all of the inquiries?
• Negotiating rent with bargain shopping renters. The Rent by Owner websites typically attract bargain-hunters. Renters who choose to work with a professional management company expect to pay more because they know they will get more, especially when it comes to customer service.
• Responding to renters who argue that a malfunctioning hot tub justifies a full refund. Professional managers are available to ensure there are minimal problems with hot tubs and other amenities at your home.  When the unexpected does occur, they are equipped to handle this type of customer without giving away the farm.
• Finding a back up cleaner when the regular cleaner doesnâ��t show up or is sick. This also applies to finding maintenance workers, handymen and other workers in a pinch.
• Dealing with lost keys at 2 in the morning. Even though it is a pain in the neck, a professional vacation rental manager will roll out of bed and get the guest back into their rental home.  If you live several hours away, it is difficult to help a guest who is locked out.
• Finding a vendor to remove unexpected snow that is blocking access to the home. Professional managers have built strong relationships with local vendors, so when they need snow plowed, furnaces repaired, broken water pipes fixed and so on, they usually have a number of licensed contractors they can call upon, even on Sunday afternoons.
• Getting prompt response by an a/c repairman in the middle of summer or a furnace repairman in the middle of winter. Same as above.
• Handling unplanned problems. Are problems rare? Work-order statistics commonly reveal as many major problems per home as rentals! Managers are experts in the problems that routinely arise in putting a non-resident renter into a home owned by a non-resident. We anticipate and avoid recurring problems through preventive maintenance. We put together networks of service vendors who respond to us faster than they would respond to an individual homeowner because we send them so much business. We can keep backup cleaners on call because we have enough homes to keep them busy. Our cleaners serve as our eyes and ears for homes in our inventory, helping us keep properties safe from unruly or unauthorized renters.
• Liability. Many rent-by-owners expose their net worth by failing to inform their insurance companies that they are renting their vacation homes without using a professional manager. In many regions, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain homeowners’ insurance for vacation rental homes. Many agents are more willing to work with a professional property manager because they of their business reputation. 

Managers minimize homeowner�s liability by using:

• Bonded & licensed workers. 
• Workers covered by workersâ�� compensation insurance 
• Professional laundry services (do you know how many pathogens survive a household washer)? 
• Taking credit cards, assuring more rentals. This is a credit card society where most renters want to either defer payments or earn miles by paying with credit cards–individuals canâ��t take cards and PayPal or third-party services are only partial solutions as they do not provide chargeback protections to the RBO. 
• Collecting and remitting local lodging taxes. No one enjoys dealing with the tax man. It is not uncommon for RBOs to not charge transient occupancy taxes. This may appeal to renters, but local tax authorities are mobilizing and starting to access homeownerâ��s Federal Tax returns (through PACE agreements) to identify homeowners who have reported the expenses associated with their rental homes. Managers relieve the homeowner of tax collection, tax reporting and, of course, interest, penalties and criminal penalties.  In Clackamas County and the State of Oregon, all lodging taxes collected are dedicated by statute to tourism development and promotion. 
• Offering Travel Interruption Insurance. Professional managers also earn their keep by relieving homeowners of the infrequent but inevitable nightmares– where heat or water systems break down and the renter cannot remain in the home or the guest experiences a personal emergency and cannot make it to the vacation rental. The Travel Insurance will cover the unexpected problems instead of the homeowner.  RBO sites sell travel insurance, but usually not in a way that prevents uninsured renters from demanding a refund from the homeowner. 
• Multiple channels to interact with guests including phone, online bookings, email and mobile devices. RBOs can become slaves to their phone and computer. Most importantly, there is the question of bookings. RBO sites make it easier for owners to market their own properties, at least for homeowners who are willing to chain themselves to their phones and computers. Aggressive RBOs can generate as many bookings as a manager. But most RBOs lack the time or energy to respond promptly to the many non-booking inquiries. And you only need to look at the leading RBO sites to appreciate the challenge of maintaining availability calendars.  Professional managers have real time integrated systems for their reservation software and online availability on their websites. 
• Maximizing rental revenue for a property. RBO sites attract bargain shoppers which often leads to deep discounting. We have a larger pool of renters who are more interested in getting the home they want than in getting a bargain. RBO site renters often send multiple email requests soliciting discounts. We monitor the booking pattern of a rental program to determine whether we need to give discounts. We have a good sense of when to discount and by how much.  With deep discounting, after paying housekeepers, paying for your online listings, utilities, mortgage payments, property taxes and all of the other expenses associated with owning real estate, the RBO is not paying themselves for their time and trouble; they may even end up with negative cash flow. 

To summarize, vacation rental management is fun, but it is not a stress-free job. Self-management can work for a homeowner who is both motivated and willing to do a lot of work. Some who self-manage know what they are getting into. Others donâ��t yet appreciate how much stress and work is involved. Professional vacation rental managers are equipped to do the heavy work for homeowners. We make vacation rental home ownership a more pleasant experience which is why most of our homeowners prefer to hire us; they appreciate their free time with family and friends.

This article is mostly written by George Volsky, Director of Research at Instant Software, with a few comments inserted by me, Betsy LaBarge, President and CEO of Mt Hood Vacation Rentals.

Another article on the same topic was recently published in the HomeAway Owner Newsletter; Using a Property Manager vs. Renting Your Vacation Home by Owner

Mt Hood Property Management