How to offer a vacation rental.

There are two ways that you can go about renting your 2nd home.

Do it yourself.
Hire a property management company.

Doing it yourself.

Doing it yourself is not as difficult as you would think. First, make sure your condo is stocked properly. You want to make sure you have at least two sets of sheets per bed and two sets of towels for the maximum number of guests. This way the cleaning person can take one set of linens home to wash and another set to leave for the next guests. Cleaning people usually do not have enough time to wash all the linens while they’re cleaning. Also, your unit may not have a washer & dryer in it.

You will want to stock your owner’s closet with: toilet paper, bath soap, paper towels, dishwashing soap, dishwasher soap, Kleenex, sponges and whatever else you can think of that guests will always need. Make sure the cleaning people have a key to your owner’s closet so they have access to linens and items to restock after guests leave. If you do not lock extra linens and other items up, guests will use them all, especially towels.

See short term furnishings list at the bottom of this page for a list of items that are recommended for your unit.

Now that you have your property stocked up and ready for guests, the next step is advertising. The internet is the best place for this. Here are a few of the companies that come up in the search engines and their fees:

A-1 Vacations.com $179.00 annual fee

VRBO.com $148.00 annual fee

Vacationsbyowner.com $99.00 annual fee

AVacationrentals.com $89.00 annual fee

They each have different options, so carefully go over each site’s criteria. VRBO.com is the most popular company. However, it has recently become saturated in our area. You may want to advertise on more than one website. The cost of some annual fees can be paid for by one night’s rental.

What do I charge? I recommend going through the lists of units in your area on the vacation rentals websites and see what others are charging. There are usually at least 4 price categories: Summer, Winter, low season, and holiday (xmas, new years). I recommend undercutting the competition a bit. One of my clients does this and makes a good ski season income.

Next you need to secure someone to clean the your property after the guests have left. I can provide you with some contacts in the area. Make sure you are strict with your check in & out times. Check out no later than 10:00 a.m., check in no earlier than 4:00 p.m. This is especially critical if you have a back to back rental, meaning someone leaving and someone arriving on the same day. If the cleaning people know you have a back to back they will generally put your unit first on their cleaning list for the day. You do not want guests lingering when the cleaning people show up at 10:00 a.m.

Collecting the charges and dispersing the keys: once you have been contacted by an interested renter that wants to reserve your condo what do you do? First take a one nights deposit upon booking. Ask to receive the remainder 10 to 14 days prior to arrival. Some owners go strictly by check in the mail and have never had a problem. You can use a credit card system but that will usually cut into your profits with the credit card fees. Do not give the codes to your unit until all monies are collected.

The easiest way to disperse the keys is to have a lock box by the front door. One that has a code to it, you can usually purchase them at a locksmith shop. This way the guest can punch in a code sequence, open the box and pull out the key. You may want a couple additional sets along with any garage door remote control inside.

If you have any questions on doing it yourself, I have some helpful owner contacts that would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Going through a property management company to offer a vacation rental.

If you want nothing to think about when it comes to your vacation rental, then a property management company may be the way to go. They procure the rentals for you through their advertising, they make sure your unit is cleaned upon a guest’s departure, and they take care of collecting the rental fees. Usually, at the end of the month you receive a check for your portion of the rental income. Here is a list of some of the property management companies in our area and the commission fee’s they charge.

Americana Resort Properties – serving all of Summit County. Commission fee 43%. www.americanaresorts.com toll free – 1-800-367-0485

Four Seasons Lodging – serving Breckenridge only. Commission fee 45%. www.fourseasonslodging.com toll free – 1-800-848-3434

Mountain Managers – serving all of Summit County. Commission 44%. www.mtnmanagers.com toll free – 1-800-766-1477

Quiet Pines – serving all of Summit County. Commission 30%. www.highcountrylodges.com toll free – 1-866-513-4500

Resort Quest – serving all of Summit County. Commission 45% of all rental procurred by Resort Quest, 35% if owner directly refers a rental, 20% if owner procures rental and collects rental fees from guests. www.resortquest.com toll free – 1-866-237-4140

Wildernest Property Management – serving all of Summit County. Commission fee 45% for units built in the past 5 years, 45% on all Keystone properties, 40% for Breckenridge properties, all others 48%. www.wildernest.com toll free – 1-800-554-2212

Minimum Furnishings Check List

General

· Color TV

· VCR or DVD player

· Broom, mop, and dustpan

· Vacuum & vacuum bags

· Fire extinguisher

· Light bulbs

· Telephone

· Iron/ironing board

Bedrooms

· 2 sets of sheets for each bed

· 2 blankets for each bed

· Bedspread for each bed

· Alarm clock for each bedroom

· Wastebasket

· Mattress pad for each bed

Bathrooms

· Toilet brush & plunger

· Wastebasket

· 2 sets of towels per maximum # of guests

Kitchen

· Coffee Maker

· Can opener, bottle opener, & corkscrew

· Cutting board

· Broiler pan

· Colander

· Cookie Sheet, roasting pan, & cake pans

· Cooking and mixing utensils - meat fork, spatula,

ladle, large spoons, whisk, etc.

· Mixing bowls

· Grater

· Skillets - 8 in, 10 in, & 12 in with lids

· Saucepans - 1 qt & 21/2 qt with lids

· Stock pot - 8 qt.

· Roasting pan

· Dinnerware setting for 1.5 times maximum guests to include:

dinner plates, salad plates, cereal bowls, coffee cups.

· Silverware for 1.5 times maximum guests to include: dinner knives

dinner forks, salad forks, teaspoons, soup spoons, steak knives.

· Glasses for 1.5 times maximum guests to include: Juice glasses, short

drinking glasses, tall drinking glasses, wine glasses.

· Knives - paring, carving, bread, butcher

· Measuring cups and spoons

· Pot holders/mitts

· Microwave oven

· Juice pitcher

· Tea Kettle

· Toaster

· Silverware tray

· Salt and Pepper shakers

· Pyrex casserole baking dishes w/lids 4qt. & 6qt.

· Potato peeler

· Salad bowl

· Pancake griddle

· Plastic cups for hot tub if applicable

· Ice cube trays

· Dish towels

· Rolling pin

· Muffin tin

· Bread pan

· Blender

· Electric mixer

· Placemats