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.

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My Mother Was a Liar. Dad Too.

By Wm. May
Published: 12/31/16 Topics: Comments: 0

At the age of 15, her father had decided Mom's niece, then age 6, was going to be the next Shirley Temple and moved the entire family to Hollywood California. Little did he know what a fibber my mother would become. Read more

New Years News- Lodging Newsletter December 31st, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 12/31/16 Topics: Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

We are thankful for the hot weather, sometimes for cooler weather and for all the guests who have chosen our properties over everyone else this summer.

We are thankful for the amazing staff who work day and night, weekdays and weekends to keep the summer bookings chugging along, selling reservations, cleaning homes, maintaining advertising and websites, answering guest and owner questions and dealing with lots of pesky issues. Some homes require a bit more love than others.

We are thankful to all our property owner clients who allow us to offer their homes to the public and who understand the intricacy of doing what appears to be a seemingly simple industry. Walk a mile in our shoes as they say.

This month's update is about what it takes to friendly and helpful when dealing with the public. It's our job and we enjoy it although some days we enjoy it more than others.

Thanks for working with us.

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Remember this quote, "People in glass houses should not throw stones"?

A very wise comedian once said, actually "No one should throw stones"

Last month's letter was about being thankful for all we have. This month's letter is about how we are always helpful, friendly and hospitable by not throwing stones.

INTEGRITY: Lodging is a retail business where every consumer can buy our product and a few of those people are - shall we say - difficult to deal with. Thankfully most vendors and owners are courteous and kind just as we like to be in return.

We want to always be friendly, helpful and cheerful, even when we have to get out of bed and drive to homes to deal with unpleasant things, like toilets in the middle of the night. (Yuck!)

We do not swear, call names, make-fun or show disrespect. We hire folks who can be courteous and considerate, even if others are not. That is a rare skill that requires training, discussion and clear commitment.

PERFECT TRIP: We do understand that travelers want their vacations to be perfect. Better than imagined, superlative, extraordinary. So when it rains or local events are cancelled, or they can't get an early check-in, they become bothered usually for things beyond anyone's control.

We understand their behavior is often the result of other unrelated personal issues. They are unhappy in love, in their jobs or have other issues finding it convenient to transfer their problems to others.

Everyone has an E.Q. (Emotional Quotient) just like they have an I.Q. The scores vary, and we can't expect everyone to act as maturely as we must. No matter the cause of a guest's misbehavior, we understand and show mercy, even when that is not the natural feeling. Of course every good hospitality business does this. But it is not as easy as it sounds.

HELPING: There are times when it is necessary to be very straight-forward and firm, such as when someone demands the impossible, or wants decisions not in their best interest.

It is during those times, that our wonderful staff earn their gold stars by being kind, considerate, helpful, cheerful and good people. We can only hope for the same in return.

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PROFILE: Jackie Martin lives at the beach. She loves it there. Small community, loads of visitors and many homes for her to clean, maintain and upgrade. Jackie's greatest strength is her unfailing happiness, positive attitude and non-stop energy. She is indispensable, loyal and always ready to help every owner and guest.

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0542 – 12/31/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Thanks To Everyone - Lodging Newsletter November 30th, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 11/30/16 Topics: Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

What a wonderful time of year to see so many guests staying in all the lovely properties we are allowed to take care of. I hope your Christmas was bright and your New Years is shiny.

Especially in this season, it’s a good time to say thanks for all that we have and hope that others around the world can one day enjoy the blessings we take for granted.

Departing a bit from my usual letter, I am going to include a long list of things we are thankful for here.

Let's all work together to make the world a better place this coming year.

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There are so many people in the world doing good things for others that sometimes we feel inadequate. But in our small way we are working to make people happy and to make their travel lives smooth and carefree.

It's not an easy job, but we don't complain because serving others is what the hospitality industry is all about. As you go about your lives, especially this time of year, let's take time to notice and thank the server at the restaurant, the fellow who delivers, and everyone else who serves us. Here are some people on our list:

Clients - We would like to thank all those courteous helpful property owners who make their properties wonderful for guests and make our service lives a bit easier too. Because they don't get to meet guests, they may forget how generous they are in helping others enjoy the homes they love.

Guests - Of course we must thank the 100,0000+ people who have stayed with us over the years. It gives us extra energy when we hear how their families had wonderful holidays with us. So many return year after year indicating we must be doing something right.

Onsite Staff - Although we are leaders in technology, websites and marketing for maximum results - really the unsung heroes are the onsite staff who clean and maintain homes, most of whom have been a part of our business family for years. They are out working while the rest of us are Christmas turkeys. We are so thankful for them.

Office Staff - Ours is not a 9 to 5 business, so we are lucky to find people who work nights and weekends 365 days a year to help things go smoothly at every home. Even the technology, creative and accounting people have the same devotion. Strangely, ours is a highly intricate career with a thousand details. No other company matches our commitment.

Dan Blair - We just opened affiliate offices in North Idaho. After building a 450 home management business in Hawaii. Thankfully Dan returned home to open with us in Coeur D'Alene, Sandpoint, Priest Lake and other destinations. The continued growth of our network allows us to provide even higher outcomes to every home in every location.

Outdoors For All - This wonderful organization provides sports assistance for disable folks including skiing, horseback riding and more. Check out OutdoorsForAll.com and you'll want to send them a donation.

NBC Camps - Lastly a shout-out to Fred Crowell who his company decades ago to teach kids about basketball and - more importantly - about life. They are now the largest such camp in the US and several foreign countries having just opened in China. If you sometimes need a lift, check out www.CrowellU.com

Coach taught us this - Being thankful is the greatest gift you can do for yourself, as well as others. Do it everyday, and every minute of the day. Thanks Coach.

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0541 – 11/30/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Conferences Conventions - Lodging Newsletter October 31st, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 10/31/16 Topics: Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

Yes it is Thanksgiving season with Christmas soon to arrive. But did you know its also conference, seminar and meeting time for many industries?

In every business, keeping up with what's new and changed is important. In the lodging market it has become absolutely critical as it seems every aspect of our niche seems to be under constant improvement and sometimes threat.

Some changes are operational as guest expectations continue to rise. But technology continues to leap ahead requiring our constant attention and initiatives.

Although it eats up hours and even days, we do participate in many industry training and learning opportunities. I am attaching a summary of some of the new things to be thinking about.

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With Autumn here, the lodging industry presented many seminars, conferences, workshops and classes. Here is a run down.

WA Lodging Association - Their annual conference was held at the new Davenport Grant Hotel in Spokane. Unlike its cousin the renovated and luxurious Davenport Hotel, the Grand is everything new and almost futuristic.

Hotel staff were very well-trained, professional and accommodating, although surely they know they are being evaluated by hundreds of people in their own industry.

Technology is used to speed check-in, schedule maid service and even lower the blinds. Furnishings were very comfy and very modern. Great Colors, big desk, USB ports bedside and huge flat screen TV.

It is a reminder to Vacation Home owners that they are in competition with a very large industry that is working overtime to return guests to traditional hotels.

Downstairs the meeting rooms were impressive with attentive servers, huge presentation screens and technology everywhere. They even immediately switched to the Seahawks game when the meeting was done.

HomeAway Summit - Presented by the owners of VRBO.com, VacationRentals.com and dozens of other websites this seminar was all about their company, with only a few offerings by other vendors.

HomeAway admitted they have work to do to confront the advent of AirBnB, but their purchase by Expedia (headquartered in Seattle) gives them powerhouse technology and marketing.

Their newly implemented guest service fees has been despised by vacation rental managers and owners, but they reason that new income is necessary to advertise more which helps property owners.

They did not mention that $400 million in additional fees will help pay for the $4 billion price Expedia paid. Hmmm.

HomeAway is finally taking a bigger role in opposing vacation rental prohibitions pursued by some cities including San Francisco and even Seattle. Time will tell. Their technology plans

AirBnB Open (Conference) - Held in Las Angeles, AirBnB continues to promote "home sharing" as just a way for owners to pay their bills. While that is true for some, it has not stopped new regulations - San Francisco and New York State have both passed laws that prohibit renting by many home owners.

Big events were Delight Guests, (Interior) Designing for Success, and The Future of AirBnB. Finding your Inner Happy Host. The event is a love-fest for many hosts who actually share rooms in their homes for the joy of meeting other people.

That concept is growing, although it differs some from many vacation rental owners who want to make money, while keeping their places safe and secure.

Just last week AirBnB announced they were going to offer personalized tours worldwide, so that guests in homes could find "Authentic" experiences. This might be a brilliant idea, but some guests are already confused by a lodging website that does not focus on lodging.

It is fascinating to see AirBnB grow so fast, but their customer service seems to be falling behind trying to keep up. Complaints are growing from guests, owners and managers.

Summary - The WA Lodging group has a comprehension of the industry that other segments can not match. There is great collaboration for the mutual good, while allowing diversity of properties and competitiveness. HomeAway's recent fee changes may or may not result in benefits to managers and owners. AirBnB holds to its roots of room rental, but whole home Vacation Rentals are a huge portion of their income.

For your information we advertise on HomeAway, AirBnB and over 300 other lodging websites, plus thousands of search engines as well as hundreds of websites in our network.

Advertising widely is what yields inquiries which yield bookings. No one does more than we do. We keep owners apprised of industry trends as we incorporate them into the best management services in the world.

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Profile - It does not seem possible, but Salman Arshad joined our business as lead engineer about ten years ago. He is our Web Developer responsible for all programmatic and many graphic design elements our websites. He holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from University of Karachi His expertise includes legacy ASP/SQL Server and PHP/MySQL. He is a perfectionist when it comes to his work.

Salman is married and enjoys every minute spent with his family. The very little spare time he has is spent either on his programming blog or on online gaming servers.

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0540 – 10/31/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

How & What Vacation Rental Managers Get Paid For

By Ron Lee
Published: 10/06/16 Topics: Comments: 0

How and What Vacation Rentals Get Paid For

There are many ideas about what vacation rental managers do and what they get paid for. Like any industry, compensation methods vary, but as time has gone by, property owners and even managers themselves, have misinterpreted it in various ways.

That is because vacation rental managers come from a variety of backgrounds, educations, and motivations. There is a low threshold to become a short-term rental operator - which requires no training, no industry certification, no capital, and no commitment to the craft.

The internet has been helping the industry grow for two decades, but it has also made it easy for most anyone to enter the industry and offer what they would call management services. All that is necessary is for a amateur to print business cards, and proclaim himself or herself an expert.

Hotels - Some professionals learned their craft at inns, resorts, motels, and hotels. While there are similarities to short-term rentals, not all policies, procedures, and costs are transferable.

Long-Term - Others migrated to short-term rental management after administering long-term rentals, such as at apartment buildings. They bring along ideas of how management should be done and at what price.

Businesses - Professionals with business experience in other industries may know how to run an enterprise, how to recruit good employees, how to utilize proven methods, and how to charge an appropriate fee.

Migrants - People who may oversee their own short-term rental home, sometimes cast about to provide management for community neighbors, learning as they go (at their client’s expense).

WHAT MANAGERS DO:

This is a seemingly simple industry that only goes right when someone (a professional manager) does 100 things correctly every day. If owners want maximum income with minimum fuss, only long-tenured, well-trained and highly-committed managers can make that happen.

Not everyone can or will take on a job in an industry that demands 24-7-365 allegiance. Duties include roles as unglamorous as cleaning toilets to overwhelmingly challenging mastery of today’s vicious website advertising. Winning managers continually adapt to new ideas and better methods.

Managers incur costs of which property owner clients may be unaware. From staff recruiting, payroll taxes, supervisors, software, pricing research, guest services, housekeeping, and maintenance - just to name a few. Most firms spend 75% of their fee income for staff and related costs.

MYSTERY MANAGER FEES:

No one really knows how or why the first vacation rental managers decided to work in return for a percentage of rentals procured. Maybe they were hoping to make a windfall profit. Or maybe property owners insisted on that, thinking incentivized managers would produce more profit for owner and manager alike.

Hotel Managers - In conventional lodging, companies that manage hotels, resorts and inns (from big to small) have never worked on the same percentage arrangement as short-term managers came to do.

Often the "General" fee for such a company is as low as 3 to 5 percent of rent, but that fee only covers the upper management expert oversight that a firm brings to properties. Other services are priced separately.

Hotel managers have separate fees for their reservation department, accounting services, reservation crew, staff recruiting and management (both onsite and in support offices), employee benefits and more. Charging advertising costs to each hotel requires large upfront costs. Software, too, can be expensive and is billed to the hotel.

If a hotel has restaurants, spa, pool, tennis, golf, and other amenities, then both the expense and the income are posted to the property.

Hotel managers set budgets for each property, of course, but those must be based on the economy, market, payroll demands and more. The fees should be somewhat proportional to income, but have a minimal cost even in slow years, and costs can escalate unrelated to income (such as union contracts).

As might be imagined, the total costs of running a hotel or resort are often a much larger percentage of total income than what a short term manager will charge for vacation rentals.

For that small 3-5% fee, the hotel general management fee serves as a bonus to the management firm for a job well done.

HISTORICAL FEES:

Not too many years ago, depending on the geographic market, vacation rental managers often charged 40 to 50% of total income, because they were expected to incorporate all services into a single fee.

In those days, housekeeping and basic maintenance were included, but over time managers recognized it was impossible to anticipate the individual needs of each vacation rental home, cabin, condo or villa. A standard fee caused some owners to be overcharged and others to pay too little.

There was no way to foresee all possible costs for managing vacation rentals, which differ more greatly than hotels, are smaller, but with even more duties, and are more sensitive to economic factors, government regulations, and competition.

As an example, service costs are higher in a seasonal market than in geographic locations where they can be spread over the full year.

Surprising, as large corporations pounced on the management space as their next big opportunity, they unknowingly embraced the percentage fee model, thinking they could slice off major profits, just as novices did decades earlier.

And of course, over the years, new managers became desperate to attract clients, often making guarantees they could not keep. They hired insufficient and inferior staff, short-changed labor, only to fail at onsite services, fail to innovate with regional advertising, and actually returned less profit to owners.

But big time, big business plan proposals have repeatedly stumbled with companies like Resort Quest, Vacasa, and Evolve losing hundreds of millions of dollars. All attempted to "Disrupt" an industry where local regional managers can do a better job for less and remain stable. Those large corporations disrupted things alright, but stumbled into oblivion.

FORCED UNBUNDLING:

Over time, managers were forced to "unbundle" their fees to have them better match the costs associated with each home.

For example, older homes or those neglected by owners, will incur more maintenance costs, while new homes should have very few.

Housekeeping and maintenance were separated from general duties, because they are not necessarily related to property size, room configuration, age, market, seasonality and competition.

When rental rates can go up, housekeeping becomes a smaller percentage. When the market is soft they are disproportionate. No manager can control those factors. Employees won’t work for less just because there is less travel at the time.

UNINTENTIONAL GUARANTEES:

Perhaps the biggest surprise outcome to the percentage fee model is when property owners, with no prompting from managers, mistakenly believe and insist that a manager can guarantee rental revenue.

No lawyer can guarantee the outcome of a trial, although every client will ask for that. No doctor can guarantee a disease will not recur, but patients beg to be told that. No accountant can guarantee to save you more on taxes than another.

Unwise vacation rental managers, desperate to have clients, will promise more than they can deliver. That is why so many go broke, often leaving property owners holding the bag. Having our first office open 1964, we know better and price services accordingly, to offer owners stability as well as superb assistance.

No manager can guarantee that all guests will treat properties well, although the vast majority do. Instead, comprehensive "Full Stack" managers employ all possible methods, tools, and staff to avoid issues. Monitoring and other devices are recommended to enhance managers’ capabilities in this regard.

No manager can guarantee that guests will not attempt credit card and challenge chargebacks, but managers must have skills to object to and seek reversals of those. Doing so triples the work for managers.

No manager can guarantee that the economy will produce ever-increasing net profits. No manager can guarantee that competition will not grow. No manager can guarantee weather and natural disasters will not cut into revenue.

No manager can guarantee that cities and counties will not curtail or prohibit short term rentals. But managers can and should monitor regulations, so they can assist property owners in submitting applications to comply.

All of these things cut into owners’ income which is why the manager is motivated to anticipate and deal with every occurrence to help the property, their clients and themselves.

Lawyers don’t pay clients for representing them. Accountants don’t pay clients for doing their taxes. And Doctors don’t pay patients for managing their health, no matter the outcome. In the same way, vacation rental managers cannot compensate property owners for the privilege to perform in similarly unpredictable situations.

In accepting work on a percentage fee, managers cannot guarantee the actions of other people, of Mother Nature, or of other factors beyond anyone’s control. Managers must guarantee they will do the work contracted for, and do it well, but no business can provide such extensive additional services for free.

AVERAGING FEES:

Some bookings are smoother than others. Some guests expect only what they pay for, but others require more time and attention. Short-cutting services cannot be used to offset costs.

Owners don’t want to pay extra if a manager must work longer and harder on particular bookings. So the percentage fee that managers charge must be thought of in the aggregate. Over months and years, the total fees earned are to compensate the manager for all bookings, whether they be easy or difficult.

It is common to only calculate the management fee on bookings where service is provided. Cancelled bookings do require advertising, reservation staff, accounting and other work. But many other services are unnecessary.

Once a booking is no longer cancellable, the manager provides additional services and needs to be paid for the work done. If a guest causes damages, fails to depart timely, attempts a credit card chargeback, has a channel takeback, or (in rare cases) if a guest has to be evicted, the manager is forced into providing far more (sometimes unpleasant) services, and further labor to document and support the work.

The percentage fee is due because the work was unavoidable and provided by the manager.

STANDARD GUARANTEES:

Just like attorneys, accountants, and other professions, vacation rental managers must guarantee their diligence and effort. But they cannot guarantee the actions of other people such as guests, neighbors, and even government officials with their newly hatched permitting schemes.

If managers agree to do wide-spread advertising, they must do all of that and more. If listing websites inject new requirements, they must spend time adjusting. If channel technology staggers, they must adjust software. If they agree to clean houses, staff will have to work weekends, holidays, and after hours. (A schedule most owners would avoid for themselves.)

Unlike hotels, where management firms are given full authority to maintain and repair properties, individual vacation home owners limit the manager’s authority to helping when need be, and with the owners’ permission. This too adds additional labor.

Understanding that management is no longer simple, some owners still want to feel that the percentage service fee implies that the manager is somehow participating in both the profit and loss of their properties. But to do that a manager would need to charge more on particularly large or profitable bookings and less on smaller bookings or those that result in guest credits.

No owner wants to pay more. Instead they prefer to have a standard percentage paid for management and then expect the manager to do intensive work to provide the best possible outcome.

Author: Ron Lee – Contributor, Vacation Rental Association
Blog #: 0087 – 10/06/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Grading Vacation Rentals on the Curve

By Wm. May
Published: 10/01/16 Topics: AirBnB, Vacation Rental Association, Vacation Rentals Comments: 0

Research has showed that average ratings on AirBnB are a full one start higher than the number of stars for homes on HomeAway.com. Could this mean that only the better homes are listed on AirBnB? Nah,. Just the opposite. Read more

More Owner Q&A's - Lodging Newsletter September 30th, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 09/30/16 Topics: Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

Happy Halloween! Can you believe it's that time of the year.

Although it’s a bit slower in most destinations, we get extra time for deep cleans and maintenance. Plus raking leaves too!

At the same time we visit each property with an extra survey for everything that could or should be done to help owners attract more guests, higher occupancy, and better rates. (We do this every autumn and spring.)

The quality of homes continues to increase. Guests are demanding more, and the best way to help owners succeed is to recommend upgrades and improvements.

They are not always necessary but almost always a good idea.

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More Questions and Answers this month. The kind owners ask - we have answers.

Q: How are sales and lodging taxes handled? We collect and remit all necessary taxes to state authorities who then disburse some locally. They range from 8 to 14.5% so we hope it is all well spent.

Q: What are lodging taxes used for? The funds go to local "Lodging Tax Advisory Committees" who fund advertising intended to bring more visitors to each market.

Q: Are those funds well spent? Some are productive and some are questionable. Frankly, we are not sure those funds derive sufficient benefit, but we collect them anyway of course.

Q: Should owners allow pets? Industry research says that pet friendly homes average 30% more income per year. We think it's lower in some areas, but even higher in beach and lake communities.

Q: Do you charge extra for pets? Indirectly rates can be higher for pet-friendly homes and when multiplied times higher occupancy, owner income grows.

Q: What about pet clean-up? Guests are charged an extra pet cleaning fee per pet per day and seem willing to do so. Some pets require little effort, but cleaning after others can be a chore. The cleaning income in total is intended to cover the clean costs in total.

Q: Do you allow all pets? Actually we are never "pet-friendly' but some homes are "Dog-friendly." No cats, ferrets, pet rats etc.

Q: What about service animals? Federal law demands that animals used to assist with a physical ailment can not be turned-away and often it is not possible charge a pet cleaning fee. Some owners do not like this rule, but it is the law.

Q: How are credit cards handled? Now a days, virtually all payments are by credit or debit cards. If you were not aware banks charge about 3% of all charges (rent, cleaning, taxes, etc.) so we collect a reservation fee of that amount from the guests. Then remit it to the credit card companies.

Q: Do you limit occupancy? All homes are listed as (i) a "Normal" occupancy and rate (ii) a "Sleeps" occupancy and (iii) a "Maximum" occupancy which is usually just one or two people more than Sleeps.

Q. Why allow a few more? This answers the constant question about charging for children who will "Sleep on the floor." Using any other system just encourages guests to sneak in an extra person or two.

Q: Why are guests charged for extra person cleaning fee? So called per-person-pricing has become common in the lodging industry. This allows a slightly lower rate to smaller groups and higher to larger parties. Because there is more cleaning, a portion goes to the cleaners and the rest is accrued to the owner as rent.

Q: Why do rates differ during the year? We use a proprietary S2D2 system that adjust rates based on season, strategy, distribution and dynamics. Weekends are more expensive than mid-week. Summer is higher, Holidays are higher. But very slow seasons are much lower.

Q: How do you keep track of all the rates? We use our own system, some third-party algorithms plus our own kind of personal algorithm to get in the ballpark and then adjust them sometimes every day.

The market determines prices but we must know the market and respond.

Note: So called Dynamic pricing is very complicated and becoming more so. Rest assured our engineers and staff are leaders in this field that creates more bookings and income for owners.

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Profile - Jonathan McIntyre was an early principle in our business and we have enticed him to rejoin us and oversee our main office operations as well as creative services that includes websites, photography, graphics and more. As a former youth minister, Jon has the patience of a saint. Many of you have spoken to him and others will appreciate his wonderful humor and selfless service.

Jonathan helped us become the best management firm around and is now helping us race far beyond the competition yet again. We are so glad he is back. Jon and his wife Lisa are the beaming parents of two young daughters - Miracle and Harvest.

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0539 – 09/30/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Foggy Early Morning at Diamond Belle Ranch Walker lake

By Ron Lee
Published: 09/22/16 Topics: Comments: 0

A sight seldom seen, full of gold light and light lacey fog on our trophy fishing Walker Lake. Rouse yourself from under the comfy down comforters, tippy toe through the great room and step out onto the porch to see the magic of a foggy early morning on the lake. Read more

767 Acres wilderness guest ranch, surrounded by thousands of acres of forest service, with 44 acre private fly fishing Walker Lake. Majestic Wauconda lodge sleeps up to 23 over night guests, and up to 250 daily visitors for private weddings and groups. Nearby by but far from Spokane, Wenatchee and Seattle Tacoma. – DiamondBelleRanch.com

Owner Q&A's - Lodging Newsletter August 31st, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 08/31/16 Topics: Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

As we head into autumn, and then winter it is time to cover some basic information. Property owners have question and we have answers. In fact we have better answers than the other manager guys.

Perhaps you have met or talked with many of our staff members. But did you know there are many specialists behind the scene, working diligently to meet your goals?

Some are assigned to keep every home safe and clean. Some assist guests to arrive, enjoy their stay and depart happy. Some answer the phones rapidly all day long. Some work in dark rooms keeping the servers and technology humming. Others count and recount the money, sending it on its way.

There are more details to that seemingly simple job than can be imagined. We have mastered them all but are always looking to learn more. It would take a year to tell you about everything we do all year.

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Questions and Answers:

When are phones open? The help desk is 9AM to 7pm, sometimes longer on weekends and high seasons. We try to close for Christmas but guests are renting so we work if they need us.

What about the business office? It's open 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Call the main number and ask.

Can I call after hours? Yes. Please do so only for emergencies or urgent matters. Allow time for call back.

Can I call my manager directly? It is better to call the help desk, who can find personnel, answer questions or schedule a call back.

Managers do not work every day of course, and work irregular days and hours.

How do I block dates from renting? Every owner has a private logon dashboard to block or unblock dates. Or, you can always telephone. If you don't know your logon, call us.

What if there are damages? We try to notice even small things, but not everything is instantly noticeable.

Who builds your websites? Our ace in-house tech staff create all websites and those have full ecommerce capability - which allows us to do more and react quicker to lodging trends.

Who takes those superb pictures? That would be the super photographers Joe, Noel and Jon.

Houdini - We even create a website for every home. No one else can do this either. So we get more bookings.

How many websites do you advertise on? Over 300. On many, dates and rates are automatically updated whenever a new booking arrives. This prevents double-bookings and problems.

Do you use the big ones? Yes. AirBnb has become big. Plus VRBO, HomeAway, Trip Advisors, Expedia and more. The list grows all the time.

Do those websites charge fees? Yes, and that trend is growing. We cover some of those costs through association websites plus we mark-up retail rates to offset some of those costs.

Why don’t all managers advertise so much? Well it is a lot of work and a lot of money. But, that is the only way to get maximum bookings.

Owners using other managers lose out.

Do you get return visitors? Of those, many have stayed in every destination within our group. They like our services. We like to make them happy.

When are homes cleaned? We try to inspect each home after guest departures, the same day or within a day or two. Cleaning is often done then, but the home may be visited several times to finish the job.

Do you clean after owners stay? At owners request, yes. Even if owners do their own cleans we like to double-check.

Why are deep cleans necessary? Regular out-cleans cover all the basics, but homes get dirty everywhere. When was the last time you cleaned the tank of your toilet? Yes guests do look and complain about such silly stuff.

What about deep cleans? We survey homes twice a year, spring and fall, to recommend improvements and deep cleans.

Can owners do their own deep cleans? Sure. Just let us know when it's complete or we'll get it done for you.

How can slow season sales be grown? We outbound email, answer phones and often have specials, discounts and promotions. We probably work harder for sales in winter than in summer.

When should homes be upgraded? With the fast changing demands of vacation rental guest.

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Profile: She is a life long super Oregon Duck fan. Kylee Genett started in reservations with unbridled enthusiasm taking difficult shifts and never flagging in her energy. She has now become a go-to person for bookkeeping, accounting, and all things money. What would we do without her? How do we always seem to be so lucky to get such great people?

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0538 – 08/31/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Avoiding Bumptious People

By Wm. May
Published: 08/01/16 Topics: Comments: 0

The TV show American Idol has been a favorite for years combining very talented people with those who are, shall we say, talent challenged. How can such bumptious performers feel they have talent. Read more

OTA's as Yellow Pages - Lodging Newsletter July 31st, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 07/31/16 Topics: Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

We are thankful for the hot weather, sometimes for cooler weather and for all the guests who have chosen our properties over every one else this summer.

We are thankful for the amazing staff who work day and night, weekdays and weekends to keep the summer bookings chugging along, selling reservations, cleaning homes, maintaining advertising and websites, answering guest and owner questions and dealing with pesky issues. Some homes require a bit more love than others.

This month the update speaks about the continued encroachment of "Online Travel Agencies' (OTA's) and how this industry continues to morph, expand and become even more intricate. They are a pesky lot, they are powerful but we are pushing back to help every property do well.

Thanks for working with us.

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Have you noticed the hundreds of TV commercials for Expedia, Hotels.com, HomeAway, Booking.com, Trivago, AirBnB and others?

Online Travel Agencies, and listing websites (OTA's) have become one of the biggest advertisers on TV and Google too. More of these are charging commissions to property owners, managers, and even guests directly.

Their goal is to become the Yellow Pages of the Internet (for those old enough to remember yellow pages), but with a twist. Having a wide selection of lodging in one place sounds good, but their methods are nefarious.

It is their publicly stated goal to "Take" a bigger and bigger chunk of lodging income away from property owners. Take is such an ugly word, when they should be justifying their existence with what they provide to properties. Worse yet, every one of the OTA's wants an ever higher commission percentage.

Is it any surprise that the hotel industry hates OTA's and is fighting back with a passion? Hate is not too strong a word. Luckily, we saw this problem coming long ago and in our own way are fighting back too.

When asked why he robbed banks, the infamous bank robber Willie Sutton replied "Because that's where the money is." Avoiding or failing to solicit guests through OTA's would decrease property income because that is where (much) of the money is.

To offset some of those costs we advertise on other (usually smaller) websites, publish dozens of our own websites, support travel associations, email and mail repeat visitors, make outbound phone calls and even cooperate with other lodging managers. Sometimes we can mark-up rates distributed to OTA's and limit their access to popular dates.

The goal for each property must be to increase the net income to the owner. So when you see agency costs increasing on statements, please understand that we are taking inventive steps to improve performance for owners. Strangely, Agency costs may actually be making you more money by gaining higher occupancy at larger rates.

No one knows where the industry will go. It seems unlikely the Online Travel agencies will ever go away. The Hotel industry will continue to battle them.

And, in our own small way, we are finding ways to help every owner by increasing rents and controlling costs.

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PROFILE: High on the slopes of Mt. Rainier lives the wonderfully cheerful Jan Covey, lodging manager of Crystal Cabins. In winter, when the snow is big, wet and heavy she and her staff trudge from house to house without complaint. In summer, when temperatures soar she never complains that our ace marketing and reservation team send her wave after wave of vacationers. We are lucky to have her.

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0537 – 07/31/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

AirBnB Racism Facilitated by Social Media

By Wm. May
Published: 06/01/16 Topics: Comments: 0

Surely, building familiarity with guests and hosts is a good thing. The world needs more communication and personal interaction. But the very act of showing a photograph of every host gives racists the key to shunning people they don’t like. Read more

Help Desk & Dynamic Rates - Lodging Newsletter May 31st, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 05/31/16 Topics: Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

Is summer everyone's favorite time of the year? It is for us.

Guest and owners coming and going, glorious sunshine (most days), warmer weather and then there is the 4th of July with watermelon, s'mores and lots of fun.

Of course many of us will be out cleaning and maintaining houses, responding to guests and - in general - just staying on top of things. Phones are open everyday of the year if you need something.

My thanks to our wonderful staff who have to work on the holiday, never complain and seem to always be smiling.

And in the glorious time of year let's all remember to be kind and considerate. Happy 4th of July to you and yours.

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We know you have choices when it comes to property managers so how about we run some of the newest and great things we bring to every property. (Sorry about the plug.)

On the job - So on this glorious 4th of July weekend our ace staff are working diligently to make every guest and owner vacation a fun filled time. (We take a few days off after!)

Help Desk - Being open everyday of the year, owners and guests can get a live person on the phone for questions, maintenance requests or other needs. They dispatch staff to take care of issues and keep track of the details.

Dynamic Rates - Just like hotels and airlines, rates fluctuate by time of year, day of week, upcoming events and other variables. In seasonal markets, unfortunately there will always be slow seasons so we help you get maximum income during the high seasons. Even then, rates can vary daily. Our algorithm is better so owners make more money.

Listing Websites - VRBO.com, AirBnB.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, and other listing websites are essential and most of our properties are on 300 or more of those places. (Yikes.) Many charge fees, but filling every possible date requires cooperation with these giant influencers. Rest assured, we advertise farther and wider than anyone you can find.

Phone Sales - Even with instant online bookings from our own website and outside listing websites, we speak to guest personally to ensure the booking is a good fit for the property, for the owner and for the guest. Its extra work that the others guys shirk. We call it being careful.

Dynamic Range - Online guests give each listing only a 1 second look and grabbing their attention with amazing Dynamic Range photos is the only way to do it. We have been leaders in HDR for 10 years and the other guys don't understand it and don't invest in it. Too bad for their clients.

Houdini Websites - We create individual websites for each vacation rental home and every Inn or Resort, along with our local business websites. Through an affiliate we access numerous local tourism "feeder" websites. Other managers fail to do this.

Out Cleans - This is the time of year when homes receive frequent "Out" cleans after guests depart and before the next guest arrives. Sometimes this is the same day and housekeepers hustle to "turn" the home. Most of our housekeepers have been here for years which is why our homes are cleaner than others.

Profile - Deresa Norman, a housekeeper operations manager, is just about to celebrate her 10th year with us. An early riser, we have found Deresa cleaning houses before the sun rises (And well into the night too.)

In fact, Deresa is so good and so courteous to work with, other housekeepers around our group just love being trained by her. We are lucky to have her. Longevity provides great stability and very clean homes. Other firms pay low wages and get low results.

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0536 – 05/31/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Upgrades & Events - Lodging Newsletter April 30th, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 04/30/16 Topics: Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

Now that Memorial Day is upon us, we are happy to report that guest inquiries and bookings are strong and it is time for an update about Vacation Rentals.

Good weather always helps to stimulate demand even for dates far in the future. There must be something about the flowers and sunshine that makes everyone think about going on vacation.

By the way, be sure to block out the dates you want for yourself, family, and friends. Doing that far in advance ensures that you get the time you want as the most popular dates go first.

The continued fast paced changes in this industry may be common in other industries as well, but keeping up takes lots of time and we want to stay well ahead of the curve in order to deliver the best occupancy and rates for your property.

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Thanks for allowing us to work with you.

Each month we jot down a few notes on what's new and exciting. Yes, our enthusiasm is always at a high for this business where we create lasting memories for guests and take care of homes for owners. There is seldom room to cover "All the news that's fit to print" but we'll give it a try.

NEW PROPERTIES; More owners are joining our family all the time as the demand for vacation rentals continues to grow. In fact, our list is increasing faster than other managers. We have met our goal to provide the most comprehensive management service and are now working to do even more than competitors.

AIRBNB: Airbnb.com is a fast growing lodging website that features vacation rentals around the world. However, the majority of listings are actually for people offering a bedroom or two in their homes. In a way, the latter is a brand new category which can sometimes confuse prospective guests.

The website has some peculiar attributes. It requires that guests inquire and book only through their website, AirBnb charges the guest credit cards and in some subtle ways controls the relationship between guest and manager. Customers are more chatty which takes time but that effort can pay off in knowing a bit more about the guests before allowing them to book.

While there are undesirable aspects, we were an early advertiser on AirBnb because it generates inquiries and income for owners. AirBnB fees are inexpensive but they add a "Service Fee" charged directly to the guest. Will AirBnB continue to grow or will its unusual rules and methods cause it to stall? Time will tell.

UPGRADES: With the continue growth of vacation rentals, the expectations of guests continues to grow. Physical upgrades that will increase income are hot-tubs and being dog friendly. We dislike suggestions that cost owners money, but will increase income.

TELEVISIONS: When flat-panel TV's were first invented they were very expensive and most owners waited to upgrade. Today these brilliant displays are now expected and failure to upgrade will cause guests to lose interest and not book. If you have not upgraded, considering doing so soon.

FIRE SEASON: For homes in wildfire prone areas, we take extra precautions such as posting "No fire" signs in fire pits and discouraging the use of charcoal barbecues. Propane is safer, easier to maintain, and cheaper to operate. Guests prefer them so what's not to love. (If your home does not have a barbecue, please invest in one today, or ask us to buy and install it for you)

EVENTS GALORE; In every destination, local festivals, concerts and other events greatly increase tourism and that helps us book more nights. You will notice we list local events on the websites, along with shops, restaurants and other services. Guests love it and it even helps increase visibility on Google, Bing and other search engines..

PROFILE: That friendly voice that so many of you will recognize on the phone is Penny Taylor, head of reservations. She has run businesses and large sales teams which is why she and her staff sell higher percentages of bookings than anyone else. Thanks to Penny.

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0535 – 04/30/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Lodging Newsletter 20160331 Change & New Complex - Lodging Newsletter March 31st, 2016

By Wm. May
Published: 03/31/16 Topics: Advertising, Lodging Management, Lodging Newsletter Comments: 0

Spring has sprung so it must be time for an update on all things Inns, Resorts and Vacation Rentals.

We hope to start sending an update with the monthly statements to keep you posted on our work and the state of the Vacation Rental Industry. This month is a good example because there have been momentous changes from some of the websites on which rentals are advertised.

This month we also have a few other topics that you may be interested in. Please rest assured we are working more diligently than anyone in the business to keep your homes safe, provide attentive guest services, and produce the most comprehensive advertising around.

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April 30, 2016 Update Statements Dated March 31, 2016

Here is an update on your property, our work for you and the industry in general. There is not room to cover every topic but over time we'll cover important and informative topics.

PROPERTY COORDINATION: Kylee Genett has been promoted to Property Coordinator, responsible for the many details necessary to setup properties, arrange services and onsite staff, and work with our advertising experts and website engineers. She has been with us for a year and has more energy than the Energizer bunny.

AD WEBSITES: Our managed homes are advertised on over 300 websites and that is not an exaggeration. Other managers use just a few websites, and some up to 5 or 10. Our large reach is sure to garner more inquiries and bookings for properties.

Because we employ our own programmers, we have been able to automatically distribute listings to dozens of websites. We are able to synchronize calendars to dozens more (which prevents double bookings), but we still manually submit advertising to all the others. It is a chore but that is why we produce more bookings and better rates.

HOUDINI WEBSITES: A reminder that we usually produce an individual full e-commerce website for every home in our care. These help to garner more attention on the internet. If you have not yet sent us your portrait photo and a few paragraphs for the "About Us" section, please do so as it will comfort guests and gain bookings. For privacy reasons we do not recommend using your last name.

HUB BUB: On January 1st 2016, HomeAway.com, owner of many websites such as VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com, was purchased by Seattle based Expedia. They are now implementing many changes such as charging guests an extra fee on top of rental costs, employing "Best Match" which means not all properties are displayed to all guests at all times and more.

The industry is aflame with dissatisfaction but complaining will do no good. So we cooperate and place further emphasis on all the other websites we use including Houdinis, Kreskins (our local manager websites), and Marcos (affiliated tourism websites). Our full integration with HomeAway and other websites should cause these changes to benefit your property. Time will tell.

SUMMER: The high season is well on the way and our onsite staff is beefing up and being trained. Over the past decades the industry has noted that guests are not booking as far in advance of arrival. That makes it more difficult to examine advance sales to determine the future but our office staff has also expanded to take care of last-minute bookings. We are open 100 hours a week by phone and 24/7 for guest and property services.

NEW RESORT: Our newest project is Oyhut Bay Resort in Washington State. 36 condos, 24 cottages and soon 200 more along with retail, restaurants, pool, wedding chapel and more. As clients, you get an additional 10% off the already low introductory rates. See www.OyhutBayVacationRentals.com.

That’s it for this month. You are invited to send in questions you would like to see covered in future months.

Author: Wm. May, Vortex VIP
Blog #: 0519 – 03/31/16

Sponsor: Vortex VIP – – VortexVIP.com

Server Crash All Night Bash

By William May
Published: 03/25/16 Topics: Self Improvement Comments: 0

Getting good folks to work for you is easier than you think. All you gotta do is put yourself in their shoes, and do it literally. Leaders do the toughest jobs, not the easiest. Leaders must be out-front or they are really only stragglers. Read more

Assumptions Make Everyone Equally Unhappy

By William May
Published: 02/27/16 Topics: Self Improvement Comments: 0

This age old cliché succinctly explains the problem with assuming things without stopping to check the facts and why it makes others so unhappy. Read more

Oprah is an Alien And Other Internet Facts

By William May
Published: 01/04/16 Topics: People, Reputation Comments: 0

Randy Jones from San Antonio lives with 1,000 cats all named Wilbur. Cindy Rigmore from Alberta has lived her entire life on a diet of egg shells and whiskey, and is 91 years old. There is a man in Sherwood Forest who calls himself Robin Hood, but lives in a mobile home. It is true if it is on the Internet. Read more

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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.