FlipKey was born out of my own experience as a vacation home owner/renter. For the last year I have rented out my Boston condo to people from around the globe. When friends hear of my little side business they are quick with questions:

• Has anyone trashed your place?
• What happens if there is a problem?
• How can you trust a complete stranger?
• Has anyone tried to scam you?

It’s human nature to focus on the negative, but I’m happy to say that my experiences have been 100% positive. I have met people from all around the world that wanted to taste Boston - all have been respectful - and in some cases I have made life long friends.

Moira L.: A wonderful woman from Australia who was in town for four weeks to promote her personal care product line. She called once a week with a general question about the home and then took me out for coffee to say thank you. Moira left my home in better shape than the day I moved in.

Dolores G.: In town for a week to help her daughter find an apartment. I needed to pick up my bike in storage and met them in my home. Dolores had a wonderful family that left behind a bottle of wine to thank me for a great experience.

Elizabeth D.: Arrived in Boston during a cold and rainy Spring week. I was in San Francisco during her family’s stay. Unfortunately my furnace broke down and the family was stuck in my 40 degree condo for 24 hours while I arranged a contractor to replace the broken unit. Elizabeth helped me coordinate letting the contractors in and stayed in good spirits throughout the ordeal. I refunded their last two nights.

The people who have stayed with me have been great, but problems do arise - a broken furnace here and a lost key there. I am fortunate enough to live within 10 minutes of my vacation condo, but my experiences have highlighted the necessity for ‘assistance’. Although occasional rentals can be managed directly by the owner, a seamless experience can only occur if a dedicated service/individual is available for the various mishaps that can occur during a vacation rental.

As renters we have a responsibility to ensure a great vacation experience for our guests. Bad guests do exist, but they are few and far between. Below are my recommendations for ensuring guests receive the support they deserve:

• Use a property manager. Although property managers will charge a 15-30% service fee on the total room rate, they provide end-to-end services that will remove the back breaking chores of cleaning & maintenance and will take care of onsite problems. You get what you pay for, and more importantly your guests will get what they paid for.
• If you are independently renting your home make sure you have a trusted contact within 15 minutes of the home. Your ‘back-up’ should have key access and be aware of when guests are in the home. Should a problem arise your back-up should have previously agreed to manage the situation.
• Before a guest arrives provide them an emergency contact and explain your process in the case of an unfortunate event. If you are a property manager this is a key communication to emphasize the reputation of your service and advantages of using a professional management service.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 2:50 pm and is filed under Food for Thought, Property Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.