Bill's Beneficial Blog
Does anyone really read the millions of blogs out there? Or are they really just a ploy to entice Google for a bit more ranking or space? Every other ad agency blog is going to be all about how great they are, why they are the smartest and other clearly self promoting stuff.
So we decided to just write about what interests us. Our only hope is that - every now and then - you find a nugget that is a slight value for you. We hope. If you want to get these rantings in your inbox every so often, Signup to get emails. Here goes.
Vacation Rental Security - Lodging Newsletter December 16th, 2013
By William May
Published: 12/18/13
Topics: Lodging Newsletter
Comments: 0
Are you in the Holiday Spirit? Please read, study and memorize this email as there will be a pop quiz on Monday.
Hey, you haven't sent me any ideas for future topics. Can you do it now?
Sincerely,
William May
Vortex Organization
Voice: 866-925-5188 x902
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PERIODIC UPDATES FOR 12/16/13
OWNER FAQs: An important update has been made to the flyer "Frequently Asked Questions FAQs" for Owners. Please download and print out copies. Delete all prior copies.
- Logging to your website
- Select "Documents" from the menu
- Search by "All" documents and Keyword of "FAQ"
SECURITY: Keep in mind that most vacation rental homes (including those that do not rent) are empty many nights per year, so planning security is important for owners and managers. There are many things that can be done to improve security.
KEYSAFE CODES - These must be changed periodically and certainly after any guest who departs late or appears to have been a problem of any kind.
ELECTRONIC LOCKS - We are evaluating several types of electronic locks so we can recommend the best option. This will allow us to provide a custom code for every guest, keep a log of who came and went and - best yet - prohibit unauthorized early checkins or late checkouts.
LIGHTS AND TIMERS - Putting several lamps on a timer is a great way to make a house lived in.
DEADBOLTS - All homes should have Deadbolts on all exterior first floor doors, which make it just a bit more difficult for a burglar to break in.
DOUBLE SIDED LOCKS - Deadbots can be arranged that use a Key on both sides of the Deadbolt. This is a great idea for primary homes where the owner can leave the interior key in the lock on most occasions, but remove it when away for extended periods. This makes it more difficult for a burglary to dash out the door with loot.
WEBCAMS - Some owners have installed Web Cams which are now very inexpensive and do not require a computer, although you must have an internet connection. By law, cameras are only allowed to look away from the building to display outdoor areas. Interior cameras or those that might look in windows are prohibited. The cameras should always be password protected and its coordinates should be given to the central office. We can now make these easily viewable by logging into the unit, complex or destination website.
DRIVE BY - It is impractical to check on every house in person every day. However, when you are near to any home, even if it is not scheduled for cleaning, always take a few minutes to drive by the house to insure it is not occupied. In fact, if the houses is rented, its great personal attention to stop, introduce yourself and ask if you can be of any service.
CHECK INS - We ask all guests to check-in and check-out by phone (In person if there is a desk) and those are recorded in the computer system. Many guests fail to notify us and, given time, we hope to telephone guests the day after departure if we have not heard from them.
CONCLUSION: Recent studies concluded that 80% of perpetrators are intoxicated or high when they commit a burglary. And more than 80% of the time the crook did not "case" the home ahead of time. They usually enter through a back door and depart by the front door. Once they reach the street police have no "Probable Cause" to stop or question them. For vacant vacation homes, unfortunately, that means the odds increase of having a burglary. Encourage owners to take these security steps which will decrease the risk of burglary.
KNOWING WHOM: When anyone calls you (guest, owner or vendor), it is important to make sure you know who you are talking to. If you don't recognize the name, ask "May I ask a few questions just to protect your privacy? Then ask several questions to identify the person. The best questions are:
- Address, city, state & Zip
- Booking ID if they know it.
CAREFUL WITH NAMES: Currently we keep Guest and Owner name and contact information in two places - Goldmine and Samantha - which can lead to problems. Please follow these rules when speaking with people or updating records.
- Always ask "May I confirm I have your correct address?"
- Then repeat what you have and ask if it is correct?
- Do the same for address, phone numbers and email address
- If people tell you the name of their spouse or children, enter those too.
- Enter changes to Goldmine AND to Sam.
- If not at a computer, call in changes to the office.
Failure to keep records straight means messages go awry which risks problems and wastes time.
Author: William May – Manager, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0331 – 12/18/13Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com
Coming to Skippy's Class ill Prepared
By William May
Published: 12/11/13
Topics:
Comments: 0
Looking back it is astonishing to realize that a world class scholar was teaching in a small community college off the beaten path in the Northwest corner of the country. She would have wowed any student in the finest college anywhere. Read more
Manafest Photos - Lodging Newsletter December 9th, 2013
By William May
Published: 12/09/13
Topics: Lodging Newsletter
Comments: 0
Here is your periodic update for data, information, tips and techniques. Please keep a copy of these updates and send me your ideas for future updates.
Sincerely,
William May
PERIODIC UPDATES FOR 12/09/13
CHILLY CHILLY: Its that time of year for cold days and colder nights. Regardless of the time of year, a manager or housekeeper is to visit every home on the day of, or the day before, guest arrivals to complete a "Check Up." Often that just means walking through to make sure everything is correct. If it has been long between guests, it may be necessary to upgrade the trip to a "Freshen" by dusting and straightening up the house. Always the house heat should be turned on to take off the chill. (AC temp turned down in summer) And the porch light must be left on. Please do not skip Checkups because guests will call and scream at staff members making it very uncomfortable. If you don't have give us a call - maybe its time to hire someone to do it.
TECH NEWS: Just in case you notice this, here is technical news you might need. In certain websites, Universal Content (Such as news, newsletters, FAQ's) can be joined to one or more domains and displayed on the matching website. In some cases the domains/websites are not real but used as a way for data to appear on sub-pages within a different website. These Domains are called Placeholders. For example, on Vrai.org the Leaders.asp page determines its content from Users joined to VRAmembers. To distinguish between regular domains and placeholder domains we are now using domain extension of " . Place" instead of the regular extension such as .com. For example VRAmembers.place, could display News only visible to Association members. If you see such a domain, remember it is NOT a actual live website and can not be viewed in a browser.
MANIFEST PHOTOS: It happens frequently that an owner, guest or staff member needs to discuss a small detail of a home with the Reservations Crew. Most questions are easy to answer, but sometimes we wish we had X-Ray vision and could inspect the home from many miles away (Kind of like Superman.) All we want to know is what the thermostat looks like, or which way the door know turns. Crazy really, but we need to know some of these things. Rather than trying to write a boring list of very properties eccentricities - there is a better way. When homes are photographed for advertising we will now start doing "Manifest" photos of every nook and cranny in the place. Then we'll be able to see those photos if they are ever need them.
From now on, we'll be doing Manifest photos on all new properties, and getting them on existing properties when in the area. Here is a list of the kind of things we need to be able to "see" if the need arises.
- The inside of the refrigerator and freezer
- Inside of cabinets, with doors open. Kitchen, bathroom, store rooms.
- Inside of garage and any outside storage closets or buildings.
- Inside of fireplaces and wood stoves.
- Underside of sinks to display pipes.
- Backside of toilets, showers
- Lighting fixtures up close. (labeled by room)
- Furnaces & Air Conditioning units.
- Thermostats & Controls
- Stereos, TV's, DVD's & Cable/satellite controls close up.
- Underside of decks and patios.
- Roofs as best can be seen or photographed.
- Behind TV's, couches, etc.
- Both sides of Doors. Locks (Close ups)
- All furniture, front and back.
- Mattresses without coverings.
- All areas of the yard & Driveway.
- The view from the property out in all directions
- Photos of neighbor buildings from the property.
- Roads as they approach the property.
Author: William May – Manager, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0327 – 12/09/13Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com
Sad Story for Non Renting Vacation Home Owner
By William May
Published: 12/06/13
Topics:
Comments: 0
Home Owner Association caretaker has bad news for vacation home owner who should have kept his home in rental, with which he could have retained the attentive eyes of a full time manager almost next door. Read more
HelpBook.me - Lodging Newsletter December 2nd, 2013
By William May
Published: 12/02/13
Topics: Lodging Newsletter
Comments: 0
I was going to say Happy Thanksgiving but, whoops, I'm a week late. Here is your periodic update for data, information, tips and techniques. Please keep a copy of these updates and send me your ideas for future updates.
Sincerely,
William May
PERIODIC UPDATES FOR 11/25/13
HELPBOOK.ME - The Versatility of our lodging software continues to be of good help. All the condos at Crystal Chalets are very similar, but the goals of the owners differ. In addition, the property sits on forest service land that requires a certain number of condos be available for rent to the public at all times. That means some condo owners can not use their places any time they like. The process of managing units had been very complicated. With HelpBook.me we've been able to simplify it by giving all owners a Tape type Calendar in their private Dashboard. In this way they can find other owners to exchange nights with. Plus we are also posting a number of FAQ's that answer questions that are very specific to Crystal Chalets.
SECRET PROJECTS - When the government has secret projects they are often called "Skunk Works" for God knows what reason. We won't call ours that, but we have a number of complexes that we are working with while they are under development. We'll let you know when they become public, but cross your fingers for us all.
HOURLY BILLING - For work that is to be invoiced to properties on an hourly basis great care must be taken to document the work. Owners want and deserve to know what was done and precisely when. Recently a manager sent in some billing that said things like "Bob - 10:00 AM through 8:00pm, 10 hours." Owners may find this unbelievable because every worker needs to take breaks and probably a lunch break. Personal time must be subtracted from hours on site.
INVOICE DETAIL - In addition to accurate hours, the payment request must include details of the work such as: 1.5 hours to fix the kitchen sink, .9 hours to mow the lawn. Some owners never ask, but others do and we need to create good documents to avoid questions and possible owner dissatisfaction.
OVERTIME - In some destinations, it is the very busy season. We certainly want employees to have a good income but managers must be careful to avoid overtime payroll. As you probably know, employees must be paid 150% of their regular hourly rate for any work over 40 hours in a week. Property Management is fun, but not necessarily a high profit industry. So paying 50% extra for payroll can cause the manager to lose money. Now is the time to make sure you have sufficient workers to avoid overtime.
KEYSAFES - For fifteen years, we have been using a standard Keysafe (lockbox) to allow guests easy access to homes. We give them the code, they open the box to get the key. Now we have found an improved box and want to request that it be used for all future new properties or when a keysafe needs to be replaced. They are nicer in appearance, bigger inside (More keys), have a protective cover and the faceplate is on a hinge so it can't be dropped or lost. You can take a look by copying this URL into your website Browser:
CODE CHANGES: For convenience it is almost impossible to change keysafe codes after every guests - and then properly inform the next guests of the revised code. So codes are only changed every now and then. That should be done at least every 90 days and more often after guests who are, in any way difficult. Sometimes codes should be changed more often but great care must be taken to change, record and notify guests of revised codes.
And the only BEST way to do that is - while you are standing at the keysafe changing it, telephone the office and give them the code immediately. Don't decide the code in advance, and don't call the office later. Do it immediately so the office can coordinate guests without fail.
Author: William May – Manager, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0323 – 12/02/13Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com
Northwest Skier Magazine - Lodging Newsletter November 1st, 2013
By William May
Published: 11/01/13
Topics: Lodging Newsletter
Comments: 0
A heads up - We are working to finish up NorthwestSkiers.com.
Long ago the predecessor of our PlumbobPublishing.com business, bought the print Northwest Skier Magazine. Now we're making it an Online Only magazine. It will be news and information for Skiers and Snowboarders and a great promotional tool for our rentals in snow areas.
I have taken the liberty of including staff names there, and those of you in Mountain Communities are listed as Correspondents. What does this mean?
Well - - keep your eyes open for ski news and, if you know someone interested, we are looking for volunteer writers, photographers and video makers. And the website just might give you a chance to meet prospective property owners.
Please visit the and taNorthwestSkiers.com websitetake a look. If you were not included and want to me, just let me know.
Author: William May – Manager, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0316 – 11/01/13Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com
Deep Clean Season - Lodging Newsletter October 21st, 2013
By William May
Published: 10/21/13
Topics: Lodging Newsletter
Comments: 0
There are many details to this industry, so I am going to keep a list and email out "Periodic Updates" data, information, tips and techniques when we think of them. A list of the current ideas is below. We can call these "Best Practices" as we work to build the most professional comprehensive lodging management services.
Can you help me with future updates by sending me your thoughts for inclusions in the next Update Emails?
Please print out and keep a copy of these updates for future reference.
May I ask you email back on this to let me know you received this email?
Sincerely,
William May
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Insider Updates 10/21/13
UNIT NOTICES: Having notices in units which are accurate and up-to-date is critical to making guests happy and making sure they behave. Weeks ago Joe sent out a form on which you were asked to write down the Notices you have in each house, and return it to him. If you have not completed this task it makes everyone's job more difficult.
NEW NOTICES: Once received Joe is going to revise the notices to include the name and logo of each local manager. That will be more personal and they'll be prettier too.
So - Please complete your list and return it to Joe no later than October 31st.
DASHBOARDS: In case you haven't heard, your property owners can now sign on to see their account on your individual websites such as LeavenworthGetaways.com,BeachyDay.com etc. Previously they had to logon to Sunspots.info and they can still go to. Plus they can logon to Istay.net to do the same thing.
Owners are required to use their Logon and Password to look up calendars, statements, FAQ's and we will be adding more features. The good news is that you can also logon to your own local website however the information you can view is more complete than what owners are given.
One day we will be posting alerts and other important data just for managers.
DEEP CLEAN SEASON: October and April are Deep-Cleaning seasons. Now is the time to call owners and ask if they plan to do their Deep-Cleans, or would like to have you do it for them. They may want to know the cost, so have that figured out for each home. Once they approve be sure to send them a confirming email for the record. Of course, include the billings on your weekly request so we have a record that the Deep-Clean is done.
PROPERTY SURVEY: During the Deep-Clean the property survey sheet should be filled out to include any and all repairs, upgrades or improvements that each house should have. Prioritize each item from 1 to 3 with one being essential, and 3 being not very important. Include a cost for you to do the suggested work and mail these off to the owners. Of course they can choose to do the work themselves, so give them a week or two to respond. If they ask you to do work, get a signature on the survey and get started.
New Properties
- Lu Ann Kolten enrolled totally Wired Condo at Westport by the Sea Resort. TotallyWiredCondo.com
- Jean enrolled Blue Haven Valley near Leavenworth.BluValleyHaven.com
- Jan Covey enrolled Lazy Elk Lodge at Mt. Rainier, Near Crystal Mountain Resort. LazyElkLodge.com
- Lac Le Jeune Wilderness Resort near Kamloops British Columbia. LacLeJeuneWildernessResort.com
Vortex Operations
- AnchorInns.com
- GoldenerResorts.com
- Istay.net
- PlumbobPublishing.com
- Signatours.com
- SunspotResorts.com
- Varoom.biz
- VortexManagers.com
Member Destinations
- 101Escapes.com
- AllAroundSeattle.com
- BeachyDay.com
- BytheseaBythesea.com
- ChelanSunspots.com
- CrystalCabins.com
- GigHarborGetaways.com
- HoodCanalHideaways.com
- KauaiSunspots.com
- LakeCushmanSunspots.com
- LeavenworthGetaways.com
- MyHouseminders.com
- RoslynHideaways.com
- Sandpointers.com
Author: William May – Manager, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0314 – 10/21/13Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com
Vacation Rental Housekeeper Spills the Beans
By William May
Published: 02/16/13
Topics:
Comments: 0
As professional lodging managers it's not too often that we get a full glimpse of what life is really like for Rent by Owners who manage their personal vacation homes. Here is a Q&A with a top housekeeper who has horror stories to tell. Read more
The Vacation Rental Dollar Store
By William May
Published: 01/16/13
Topics:
Comments: 0
Who knew that Dollar stores were such a good source of items needed to outfit a Vacation Rental home. This author learns a lesson and receives great customer service too. Read more
- Topics
- Aberdeen Washington
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DETAILS: We work to keep this information up to date, but details do change from time to time based on circumstances, often on short notice, and sometimes beyond our control. To verify any answer or other information you may need, please call or email us anytime. Allow a reasonable amount of time for response. Only legitimate inquiries will be answered.