Author: Shelby

We’re in the process of adding three new listings this month! We’re very particular about the units we take on, and have a waiting list right now, so finding the perfect combination of unit, owner, and help to make it happen has been wonderful. I thought now would be the perfect time to talk about the process we go through when setting up a new listing.

Step 1- Purge

A lot of units in Mammoth have been around and in the same family for many years. It’s wonderful that our owners are building equity and have that special family gathering place, but often their vacation condos also become a gathering place for years of junk that never gets tossed. Think, VHS tapes, stereos, giant old tvs, lots of extra bedding and blankets that have seen better days, random knick knacks that collect dust. It all needs to go! Toss it, donate it, sell it if you can, but we’re looking for a fresh start. A unit shouldn’t feel sparse and bare, but when it’s cluttered with stuff it doesn’t make a good impression on guests.

Step 2- Repairs and Deferred Maintenance

Now that we’ve got all the unnecessary stuff out of the unit, we’re going to go through every room to look for deferred maintenance or repairs that need to be made. Almost always, we’re going to recaulk everything in the bathrooms. This is often neglected for years and mildew in the bathroom caulk is always a turn-off, making the unit look dirty even if it’s just been scrubbed. Check all the plumbing and drains, make sure all the light bulbs work. Clean the heaters and make sure they’re working properly. Check the blinds and curtains to make sure they move easily and aren’t ripped or torn. Once you’re sure everything is in good working order, then it’s time to clean!

Step 3- Deep Clean

Scrub it all. You know the drill. Shampoo the carpets, wipe down the walls, wash the inside and outside of the windows, wash all the pots and pans. Pro Tip: you can buy the same material that magic erasers are made out of in bulk on Amazon for dirt cheap. They’re ahhhhmazing, especially for things like wall scuffs and the grime around the bathtub.

Step 4- Staging and Supplies

Now that everything is working and clean, it’s time to bring in the fresh linens, bedding, paper products, toiletries, etc. New, crisp duvet covers  that match if you have more than one bed in the room are great. We provide coffee beans and hot chocolate mix in every unit, so placing out those items. Prep as if you have your first guest arriving and it’s the Queen of England. Here is a list of things we provide to help get you started.

• toilet paper with extras
• paper towels
• dish soap/ sponge
• dish detergent
• laundry detergent/ dryer sheets
• coffee filters
• creamer and sugar
• salt, pepper, olive oil
• coffee beans and hot cocoa mix
• bath towels, wash cloths, hand towels, kitchen towels
• hand soap
• shampoo, conditioner, body wash
• sign with wifi information
• information binder

Step 5- Photos and Listing

Get a professional photographer. Just do it.
Take extra time setting up the listing by reading other units reviews and descriptions. I recommend going on to Airdna.com to check out the top listings in your area and see what they look like. Is there anything you can learn about their success to apply to your own listing? Use both a mobile device and a computer when setting up the listing, as Airbnb’s process actually gives you different options on each. Make sure every section is filled out. Before opening up the calendar, make sure to check the pricing of other units for the same dates. You want to price yourself very low for the first few weeks to attract guests to your listing even though it won’t have any reviews. This is where having other listings and being a superhost comes in really handy. Guests who otherwise wouldn’t book a property without any reviews will see the badge next to your name and be able to read all the other good reviews for your other properties.

Step 6- Get Those Reviews!

Price yourself low and then make sure your guests have an amazing experience. Check in with each one and ask for feedback. Be honest that they’re one of the first guests and see if they have any suggestions. If there’s something you missed, guests will be less likely to leave a bad review if they feel like they’re helping you out and that you legitimately care what they think. I will ask the first handful of guests to let me know what could be improved, and if they had an amazing stay, to leave a review. The first 10 reviews need to be stellar!! Once you’ve got these under your belt, you’re off to the races! Keep up the momentum and you can begin to raise prices. Good luck!!

2 Bedroom Occupancy and Income

 

I get messages all the time from people who are considering purchasing a vacation rental in Mammoth. The questions I inevitably get are “How much money can I expect to make” and “what are you occupancy rates”.
So, let’s break it down and get into some numbers!

I’ll start with our two bedroom units (included here are 1+loft units, which sleep the same number of people). We currently manage five of these units.

Here you can see our occupancy rates for these 5 units. As you can see, we keep our occupancy really close to 100% all winter long, as well as mid-summer. “Shoulder Season” here, late spring and late fall, are when our biggest occupancy dips are, with November in particular always being low occupancy. (November in Mammoth is too cold for summer activities, the fall colors are gone, but there’s usually not enough snow for the skiing to be any good. Even locals like to get out of town in early November!)

Make sure to take a look at the dotted line below, that shows the market average occupancy rates, which stay well below 50% for the entire year. This really proves to me that how you manage your unit makes a huge difference. We can discuss what we do to keep our occupancy higher in another post, or feel free to reach out to me directly.

The next graphic shows the income for the same five units through the past year. The biggest caveat here is that each of these units is individually owned, and the owners use their units personally at varying degrees and times of the year. All of the units except MG114 are in the center of town, MG114 is walking distance to Eagle Lodge and a bit higher end. We didn’t begin managing that unit until mid-November 2018. The L5 unit was getting remodeled during Sept, October, and November 2018. S7 has the most frequent owner usage. It’s very obvious when looking at the income for each unit during the same times of the year that how much you personally use the unit (and WHEN- weekends and holidays?) make a huge difference in your bottom line.

What do your occupancy and income rates look like? Or, if you’re considering purchasing here, what are your goals? Can we help you meet them?

 

 

Pet Friendly Vacation Rentals

Do you allow pets in your vacation rentals? We’re adding two new units that are both pet friendly this month, but there are a lot of pros and cons to allowing animals into your rentals.

In Mammoth, generally, only condos are eligible to rent on a short term basis, so the first thing we have to consider with regards to animals is homeowner’s association restrictions (HOA). We manage a few units in HOAs that don’t allow any renters to have guests, but only the owners of the unit. Obviously if the HOA doesn’t allow it, that makes the discussion very short! We don’t want to deal with fines or other issues from the association, or our guests being harassed by management there.


If the association permits though, we love to allow our rentals to be pet friendly. We, of course, let the owner decide for themselves, but we have found that pet friendly units far and away produce more gross income than non-pet friendly units. Think: last summer, we had a pet friendly one bedroom that was grossing more than a 2+loft condo. It seems people really love to bring Fido with them on their vacations to the mountains! And what pup doesn’t want to frolic in the snow or swim in the lakes?

But what about damage?


We have had some minor damage due to pets in our units before. When we started allowing pets, I purchased a carpet shampooer that takes care of 90% of any issues. It’s definitely no fun when an animal relieves itself inside, but it’s generally not hard to take care of with the proper tools. The only other damage that we’ve experienced to this point is some scratch marks on the doors. This has also been easy to take care of with a bit of sand paper and some touch up paint or stain. To be entirely honest, we’ve had much worse damage come from guests with small children than guests with pets. So far, we’ve had a great luck with contacting airbnb guests whose pets have caused damage and having them pay for the extra work or clean time without any issues.

If you or your owners (and your cleaners!) are prepared to handle the minor inconveniences of allowing pets in exchange for the major payout, here are some tips we’ve found invaluable:

• • Θ Make sure to be explicit in instructions to guests about cleaning up after their pets. Let them know where they can find dog bags and where the closest dumpster is.
  • Θ Provide carpet cleaner (if there is carpet in the unit) that’s designed for pet messes that the guest can easily find.
  • Θ Provide a lint roller! We keep multiple lint rollers in each pet friendly unit. One for guest use and another for our cleaners. If guests see a lint roller they are more like to help keep furniture clean of pet hair., saving your cleaner time.
  • Θ Lastly, make sure to pay your cleaners more to clean a pet friendly unit than a similar sized one that doesn’t allow pets. If they need to spot clean the carpet, lint roll the furniture, and vacuum more carefully, they need to be compensated for their extra time. Make sure to have a system in place for the cleaners to notify you of any damage or messes so that it can be handled immediately.

  
  

I’d love to hear about your experiences with pet friendly units, or why you chose not to allow pets.