All Forum Posts by: Bill Cereske

In my case, it's what's in the holder, plus 2 in the cabinet.  Then, the housekeeping department will bring you as much as you want, without charge.   The point here is that if you get a complaint, you aren't doing your job.  Your job is to pamper your guests and give them an experience that they want to return to, year after year.  This means plenty of kitchen towels, luxurious bath linens, top quality bedding on a comfortable bed.  Improve something, twice a year (During the shoulder periods).  This tells the guest that you're on it.  Management tells me that people often book their next year's stay at checkout saying, "I have got to see what this guy does next"!    

This summer, guests were treated to a new hot tub and new hardwood flooring in the living room.  This fall and winter, they will be treated to a refurnished master bedroom with giant flat screen TV and a new 65" UHD TV in the living room.   Being cheap doesn't work well in this business.  Think like a hotelier, a 4 star one.

Although I don't use Airbnb, I'm going to guess that it's fraud related.  Fraudsters will take your photos and property description, load it on Craigslist and pretend to be you.  One person fell for it last year and lost money to an ad pretending to be my place.  I've been watching Craigslist ever since.

Before you take step 1, you need to find out what the requirements are for your specific community.  Some completely prohibit them.  South Lake Tahoe, which is where mine is, has a very specific set of requirements to be met before you receive a Vacation Home Rental license.  In SLT you don't want to get caught running a VHR without a license.  Your property would be out of business for good.

Our VR was originally bought in 1988 as a family getaway at Lake Tahoe. It served as such until 2004, when we converted it to a VR. In 2007 it became mine. Bookings were a little slow for the first couple of years, but picked up considerably as people liked the place and we learned how to accommodate guests better.  Watch 'Hotel Impossible' for tips and subscribe to the hotel magazines for ideas.  You ARE in that business!

Some have mentioned that you must occupy the property a number of nights for financing reasons, which exceeds the number of nights you may use it PRIMARIALLY FOR PERSONAL PLEASURE.  The thing here is to never use it for personal pleasure.  I keep a logbook and write down every little chore I do while on property, proving that it was a maintenance visit, not a pleasure one.  Doesn't mean you can't have a little fun while you're there, but you will find plenty of chores that need doing during regular visits, which I highly recommend.  My Tax attorney highly recommends this, as 99% of VR owners don't do it.  

This year, the place is on track to generate about $80 K in gross revenue, with about 50% of that going for full management, maintenance and utilities.   This spring was an expensive upgrade season, with a new hot tub, furniture and replacement flooring, totaling about $20 K.  When you factor in property taxes, the net is only about $ 8 K.  This wouldn't support a lot of financing debt.  Absent that, I find it to be a good deal and I really enjoy our maintenance visits! 

The 4th of July is our "Hot Test" maintenance visit.  That may sound like BS to many, but loading up the house with family and friends really DOES reveal any weakness in a fully guest occupied condition.  Every year I find weaknesses, either addressed on the spot, or requiring ordering repair parts. 

It may not be terribly profitable some years, but it's a legacy property on the shore of Lake Tahoe.  We could live there if we wanted to.  That's not a bad option to have.

Hello Brian!  I agree with Robb, a professional local vacation rental management company is the way to go.  They are expensive (mine takes 35% of the gross, plus the work they do on property), but I find them instrumental in maintaining and filling my South Lake Tahoe vacation rental house.  IMHO, just letting them run the property without regular owner participation is a mistake.  You are now running a mini hotel that is either 100% full or empty and have to bring the creativity of Walt Disney into play.  

One early lesson I learned is to constantly keep improving and updating the place.  While on property with family and friends, one friend shared that he and his buddies used to rent a certain vacation home every year.  On year four, they noticed that they had been drinking from the same coffee cups that they had used when they first rented the place.  I'm sure that this was indicative that nothing else had been changed or improved in the last 4 years either, but the result was that they never came back. 

During the July 4th period - when I go up with family and friends to "hot test" the property under full guest load, (remember, you're a hotelier now), I replaced the master bedroom furniture, (with the bed to follow later), removing an entertainment center that could have fallen if a child climbed it.    Just today, I ordered a new 65" TV for the living room.  It will replace the 52" TV (that was gigantic when I bought it), which I will install in the master bedroom.  It all happens later this month, when I make my next maintenance visit.

Vacation home rentals can be great business, but you have to actively participate.

If it's a straight shot, you might try using a "pruner on a stick" to hook the items and drag them out. 

We have a 5 bedroom VHR at Lake Tahoe and summer is definitely the season.  It's very heavily booked from mid May through September, then the weekends book during ski season.  One thing to keep in mind is that you're now a hotelier, and have to think that way to keep guests coming back.  I always change at least one thing during the slow season, so guests see something new for every visit.    I have a full management company running the day to day operations, but new projects and improvements are up to me.

When we first started renting out Lake Tahoe vacation rental, we had a charcoal grill.  Guests would dump hot ashes down the bluff, causing a fire hazard. One or two guests complained about having to buy charcoal. Now, we have a very nice gas grill on the deck, which is the natural grill to use, because of it's convenience.  Around the corner, we maintain a nice charcoal grill, for those that prefer it and know how to use it.  Everybody is happy and those burn marks are no more.