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The Dirt On Monsoon Season

September 24th, 2019 | By Claudia Moreno

It’s that time of year again…we wait with great anticipation for the monsoon season here in the Valley! Monsoon storms often bring us much needed (and heat-relieving) rain, as well as spectacular displays of lightning, high winds and blowing dust. Okay, maybe we don’t look forward to the crazy wind and walls of dust so much…

If you’ve ever owned a home in Phoenix – especially one with a pool – you already know that monsoon storm clean-up can be a huge chore. While you might postpone clean-up for a few days at your personal residence, vacation rental homeowners don’t enjoy the luxury of procrastination if guests are due to arrive.

Because these storms can develop rather quickly, it may not always be possible for the vacation rental homeowner – no matter how well-intentioned – to guarantee that the outdoor areas of their rental property are going to look exactly as pictured when guests arrive. Vacation rental home hosts should always make their guests aware of the storms that can occur in this area of Arizona, and the effect they may have on the appearance of the outside of the property.

Now, this is not an excuse to not TRY to make sure everything at your vacation rental home is as perfect as it can be. In fact, there’s a lot you can do prior to these storms that will help keep your vacation rental looking its best, while at the same time ridding yourself of additional potential problems during the monsoon season.

Work With Your Guests

Aside from alerting your vacation rental guests to the possibility of intense storms during their visit, it’s also a great idea to ask for their help in keeping your property and equipment safe from storm damage.

Outdoor umbrellas should always be closed when not in use. Leaving an umbrella open during a monsoon says, “Goodbye and good luck, umbrella! I’ll be replacing you tomorrow.” Ask your guests to be sure to close your umbrellas unless they are sitting under them (which they shouldn’t be, during a monsoon!)

Landscaping and pool umbrellas aren’t the only casualties of monsoon winds – downed power lines also become a thing during this season. If your guests see downed power lines on or around your property, advise them to call 911 immediately. Oh, and DON’T TOUCH the downed power lines! (Astounding to think a guest might decide to pick up a live power line, but you never know.)

Guests should also be reminded that any floating items for the pool (toys, loungers, etc.) should be stored securely when not in use.

For more great information on Phoenix-area monsoon weather, check out these other Moxie blogs:

Monsoon Season and Your Vacation Rental Home

Wildlife and Wild Weather- Things You Should Know About Summer in Phoenix

Attention to Landscaping

A professional landscaper will always advise thinning large trees and removing any tree branches that appear unstable – and this is particularly important before and during the monsoon season.

The winds created by the monsoon storms can be severe, easily breaking branches and even uprooting entire trees, so it’s crucial you be proactive in keeping your vacation rental’s landscaping as least vulnerable as possible to wind damage.

Also keep in mind that anything picked up by the wind has a really great chance of coming down in your pool, creating additional clean-up!

And Speaking of Pools…

Summer in Phoenix is the best time to have a pool – but it can also seem like the worst! Moxie Girl recommends a reputable professional pool service such as Aquaman Pools to take care of the pool at your vacation rental home.

If left unattended, foliage and other debris are blown into your pool can cause your pool pump and filter to work overtime, affecting their efficiency and lifespan – trash and leaves can also permanently stain some pool surfaces. So it’s best to “get the big stuff” out right away, if possible. Your guests may be of some help here – especially if they want to swim after a storm – if you provide a skimmer and a brush for them to use.

Check out our conversation with Chad Nikkel, owner of Aquaman Pools, for more summer tips for vacation rental homes with pools!

Don’t Forget the A/C Filters!

They should be changed monthly anyway, but during the monsoon season changing the filter in your vacation rental home’s cooling unit is an absolute must. Dirty filters negatively affect your unit’s performance – and summer is definitely NOT the time to have sub-standard cooling in your vacation rental!

Moxie Girl Leads the Way in Valley Vacation Rental Care

Find out how putting Moxie Girl in charge at your vacation rental home can help you reclaim your time! Moxie Girl services over 100 vacation rental properties throughout the Phoenix area. CLICK HERE for a free consultation.

Moxie Girl is growing! If becoming a Vacation Rental Assistant and caring for some of the most beautiful vacation rental properties in the Valley sounds like your type of gig, we’d love to hear from you. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF!

Fall Fireside Chat – Chad Nikkel, Owner of Aquaman Pools

September 10th, 2018 | By Claudia Moreno

Phoenix is known for its year-round warm temperatures, but even if it’s 85 degrees on a “winter” day, chances are the pool water is at least 30 degrees less – Brrrr! If your vacation rental home pool isn’t heated, you may be losing fall and winter bookings to properties with warmer waters. Amanda Thomas of Moxie Girl recently had the opportunity to chat with Chad Nikkel, owner of Aquaman Pools, about the costs and benefits associated with installing a pool heater at your vacation rental home. Read on to see if a pool heater makes sense for your vacation rental!

Amanda Thomas: Hi there, I’m Amanda Thomas with Moxie Girl, your vacation rental specialists. We are here again with Chad Nikkel, the owner of Aquaman Pools, and today we are talking pool heaters. As guests come to the Valley and stay in vacation rentals, pool heat is a very popular option for them to add on. Since Chad has expertise in this we thought we’d ask him a few questions about what he sees with the vacation rentals he works with. So thanks for joining us.

Chad Nikkel: You bet, pleased to be here, Amanda. So we’re talking about pool heaters, right? As a vacation rental owner, having your pool heated probably means that people are going to choose your property over the next one. People come to the Valley and they want to enjoy the pool, whether it’s January or whether it’s May.

Even in the later spring, people enjoy swimming in warm water, not in… Minnesota water, let’s call it. So, a pool heater is a great way to make more money on your property. A lot of vacation rental owners charge extra per night if you want to use the pool heater. And that can be an amount of money that is highly profitable, ultimately. We can install the pool heater and put an automation system on it so you can manage it remotely. You can turn it on or off, you can set the temperature remotely, you wouldn’t have to be anywhere near that house to do that. And that could be controlled very easily through a website or an app on your phone. It’s a great idea.

AT: With some of the managers and owners that we work with, we’ve heard anything from $40 or $50 a night, and you were saying some of your clients charge upwards of $75 a night. They may charge a weekly minimum, so even if somebody’s there for three days, they still charge a week of pool heat because it does take that extra energy to get the pool heat up. It can be really profitable especially in those winter months when people come to Arizona and it’s 80° outside, they think the pool is going to be great to get into – until they discover it is 50° in the water! Can you talk a little bit about what is the upfront investment of getting a pool heater installed?

CN: So, a couple things… If you don’t have a pool heater already and if the house does not have natural gas, then a gas pool heater might be a more costly option because then you have to plumb in the gas line and things like that. Quite often the best solution is to install what we call a heat pump. It’s an electric pool heater – it works very similarly to an air-conditioner, only in reverse. It’s very cost-effective to run. In actual operation, it may only be a few hundred dollars a month to run it, if it is run correctly. The installation is going to be maybe $5,000-$7000, whereas a gas heater might be in the $3,000-$4000 range. The disadvantage to a gas heater is that it’s costlier to run, over time. The advantage to a gas heater is that it is more instant heat. If it’s March and you want the pool to be 85° tomorrow, you turn on the gas and it’s 85° tomorrow. With the heat pump, it will take a few days to get up to that temperature but it’s more cost-effective in the long run. I would say 80 to 90% of all the vacation rentals we take care of have heat pumps rather than gas heaters.

AT: All right, make sense. So, if you don’t have a heater in your pool and you are thinking about doing it, run the numbers. You want to look at the initial up-front cost of $5,000-$7,000 for an electric heater, or for gas, you’re saying $3,000 to $5,000. And then how quickly can you make that back? It may be a really good investment and you can get it paid for, and it’s profit on top of that as you go forward!

CN: Good stuff!

AT: Awesome! If you have any questions, please reach out to Aquaman Pools. They are locally owned, this is Chad the owner. Absolutely fantastic company. Highly recommend them for residential, vacation rental, all your pool needs!

CN: Sounds great, thanks!

For all your pool service needs, contact Aquaman Pools at 480-243 POOL (480-243-7665) or email info@supercleanpools.com!

With our vast experience, Moxie Girl can help with all your vacation rental home needs – and we’ve found some of the best local products and services in The Valley. Watch for more Moxie Girl fireside chats coming soon!