When you own a vacation rental, you aren?t just responsible for maintaining a home. You become the key person that oversees reservations, housekeeping, laundry, maintenance calls, marketing ? everything that when combined, creates the guest experience. When you host a family or group looking to make memories on vacation, you take ownership of their experience before, during, and after their stay in your home.

The bottom line: owning a vacation rental is WORK. And if you?re not interested in being the Director of Hospitality for your own home, working with a vacation rental management company may be the best option for you.

Here we?ve answered some frequently asked questions on how we manage the guest experience for you:

Q: What type of communication do you have with guests leading up to their stay?

A: We have a team of local reservation agents that are constantly responding to inquiries coming in from booking platforms, our website, social media, email, and phone calls. Our team is available to answer any questions a guest has leading up to and throughout their stay. In addition, we send out pre-stay email communications that provide quests with information about their upcoming trip and a key-less entry code to enter the home.

Q: What happens if there is a guest emergency?

A: Our team is available and responsive to guest needs 24/7. During office hours, our centrally located team of professionals should be able to dispatch and resolve the issue quickly. After hours, guests are provided an emergency contact number, where they will reach a manager on duty.

Q: Do you provide the guests with any supplies for their stay?

A: Yes, we stock homes with clean bed linens, bath towels, and a starter kit containing 2 rolls of toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, sponge, garbage bag, and a dishwasher tab, if needed. Our pet-friendly rentals are provided with waste bags. In addition, we include small touches throughout the home to welcome guests, from bed-made cards introducing the home?s housekeeper to locally sourced gifts for our returning guests. We also provide a spice jar for all guests to use during their stay and to take home.

And this is just the minimum provided! Our team will work with you to customize the level of hospitality you want your guests to receive, whether it?s a bottle of wine with every stay or a list of professional chefs that service the home.

Q: What if my neighbors are uncomfortable with a guest during their stay?

A: We make it a priority to ensure that the communities we manage vacation rentals in feel safe, respected, and heard. All neighbors are notified that the home next door will be used as a short-term rental and we provide them with a magnet containing our contact information, so that they can reach out any time with concerns.

We?ve built a courtesy to neighbors section into our rental agreement, so that guests know not to enter neighboring properties without permission and that quiet hours are to be observed between 10:00pm and 9:00am. However, we receive few complaints, as we maintain a family atmosphere at our rentals and all guests are vetted before arrival.

Q: How do you gather feedback from guests regarding their stay?

A: We encourage guests to provide us with feedback regarding their stay! We send out a guest satisfaction survey via email and constantly request 3^rd party reviews from guests on Google, Facebook, Yelp, The Knot, and VRBO. We compile this feedback, so that owners are always aware of how their rental is perceived and performing. Owners are also welcome to leave their own review cards and surveys in their homes for guests to fill out.

---

If you need help with managing the guest experience or simply want to work less and enjoy your lakefront home more, call our Owner Services team today! (866) 317-2109