Posts Tagged ‘vacation rental assistant’
Washers and dryers at vacation rental homes sure take a beating! It’s not uncommon for the use of these two appliances in a vacation rental home to be 2-3 times that of a washer and dryer in a regular residential dwelling, especially if guests have access to the laundry room. The increased usage of the vacation homes washer and dryer should be met with more frequent maintenance and cleaning to keep them performing their best – and avoid pricey repairs and replacements.
With the cost of a professional appliance repair person ranging from $45-$100 an hour and parts marked up at least 100%, it’s in your best interest as a vacation rental homeowner to regularly clean and maintains these appliances – and even be able to do a little troubleshooting on your own!
Check Your Connections
When performing maintenance on your washer and dryer, be sure to check all the connections for water and power. Cords, hoses, connections should all be in good repair – no kinks, frays, tears, or holes. If you do notice anything amiss here – and you’re not confident in your repair knowledge or skills in this area – it may be best to call in a pro, just due to safety concerns.
Best Practices
Abusive practices, such as overloading the washer and not cleaning out the dryer lint trap after each use, will cause problems sooner or later. Especially if your vacation rental home guests have access, be sure to post instructions for proper use!
Hard Water Blues
The need for a stepped-up maintenance and cleaning schedule for your washer and dryer is even more important if your vacation rental property has “hard” water – that is, water with high mineral content. While it’s safe to drink, the dissolved calcium and magnesium in hard water can leave behind a film in your washer, and this film can attract and hold dirt from the laundry. Ewww.
Washing Your Washer
Cleaning your washer is really pretty easy, and doesn’t require any fancy supplies. In fact, baking soda and vinegar are the only two things you’ll need besides a spray bottle and a cleaning cloth! We found a great set of instructions for both front loading and top loading washers that walks you through the cleaning process, step-by-step. Check it out here!
Your Dryer Needs to Vent!
Seriously. A clogged dryer vent causes inefficiency and undue stress on your dryer leading to higher utility costs and machine breakdown – but a clogged vent could also cause a fire! In a typical residence, dryer vents should be cleaned annually, but since the dryer in a vacation rental home is generally used more frequently (think of all those towels!) you may want to check your dryer vent 2-3 times a year.
In the Phoenix area, you can find a professional to clean your dryer vent starting around $69. If you’re into the DIY lifestyle, we found this very informative video that not only shows you how you can tell if your dryer vent needs cleaning, but leads you through the actual process!
What’s Wrong?
Even with regular maintenance and cleaning, there’s always a chance that one day, they just won’t work. Rather than rushing to call in the repair person, there are some basic troubleshooting tasks you should do first, if possible, such as checking the power to the laundry area. You certainly don’t want to pay an appliance repair person to tell you your electrical outlet is bad, or you’ve thrown a breaker. Checking all connections to the appliance itself should be at the top of your list.
If your problem does truly seem to be the appliance itself, your owners manual should include a troubleshooting guide – and many manuals can now be found online for your convenience. Even if your appliance is under warranty, the warranty company will want to walk you through these steps before a repair is scheduled.
Appearance Counts
Don’t forget the outer surfaces of your washer and dryer – these appliances should look as fantastic as the rest of your vacation rental home. Wipe them down regularly (Moxie Girl recommends Truce All-Purpose!) for a clean shine and fresh scent!
Moxie Girl is Here to Help!
Moxie Girl brings years of experience to caring for your vacation rental home and we are here to help. Whether you’re looking for professional between-guest turns, or just need some helpful tips, Moxie Girl has what you need. Contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION, and check out our blogs, past, and future!
With the immense popularity of Marie Kondo’s Netflix series, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” more people than ever are choosing a neater, more minimal lifestyle within their homes. It turns out many of us have a lot of unused (and useless) stuff just taking up space. What does this have to do with vacation rental homes, you ask?
Well…smart vacation rental homeowners have been doing this type of “tidying” on their rental properties for years! Vacation rental homeowners newer to the industry are using this tidy approach right from the get-go, setting up and stocking their vacation rentals in the least cluttered and most efficient way possible.
What Does Your Vacation Rental Home Really NEED?
There is much to be said for minimalism in a vacation rental home. Let’s face it, more stuff = more stuff to clean. More stuff also = a greater potential for damage (or theft) of that stuff. Two areas in many vacation rental homes which tend to be outstanding in the “too much stuff” field are the kitchen and the linen closet.
Moxie Girl has posted two blogs you may find helpful! Whether you are actually just setting up your vacation rental home or determined to make an improvement to an existing situation in your vacation rental, check out “How to Set Up A Vacation Rental Home Kitchen” and “Laundry 101 for Vacation Rental Homes” for some excellent tips!
The Benefits of “Kondo-ing” Your Vacation Rental
Vacation rental home guests have a tendency to use whatever is made available to them, so if your vacation rental home offers an abundance (especially an over-abundance) of usable items such as towels and dishes, chances are there will be much more to clean (and organize) once the guests depart. While you always want your vacation rental guests to have everything they need, don’t over-do! Having fewer stock items (such as sheets, towels and kitchenware) available to your guests will also help you – or your vacation rental cleaning crew – keep an eye on the inventory and condition of your items.
Don’t forget to extend your tidying to the decorative items in your vacation rental home, too. With cleaning in mind, how “rental-friendly” are your decorations? Moxie Girl recommends durable decorative items with smooth surfaces for your vacation rental. You know, things that don’t break easily, but can be easily dusted or wiped clean. (That awesome Native dream-catcher isn’t going to look awesome at all once it starts collecting desert dust and cobwebs – which are nearly impossible to remove. A PAINTING of a dream-catcher would make a vacation-rental-friendly alternative!)
Choosing the right items for your vacation rental home helps avoid the overuse of resources as well as dramatically cutting down the time needed for between-guests turns!
Folding Fun
Well before her Netflix series, Marie Kondo became famous for her folding techniques (Google her YouTube videos!) With all of the bath, bed and kitchen linens in your vacation rental home, consistent folding and storage will keep your vacation rental beautifully organized.
Moxie Girl loves creative folding, too! It’s not a Kondo thing, but several of our Moxies really know how to put the fun into it. Creative folding, especially with bath linens can give your vacation rental a look that’s a step above standard staging. Our Moxie, Rebecca, is known for her bath towel elephant displays. Now THAT sparks joy!
Moxie Girl Can Help!
Moxie Girl, your vacation rental specialist services successful vacation rental properties throughout the Phoenix area – even offering same-day turns to our valued clients! CLICK HERE to take the first step in putting your vacation rental home in the care of our local team.
Interested in becoming a vacation rental specialist? We are always looking for thoughtful, caring individuals to join the Moxie Girl team! Please TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF!
Ready or not, summer is on the way! If you’re a vacation rental home owner there are definitely more than a few things to think about. Summer in the Valley of the Sun does bring some special needs…
Dry or Not, It’s Still HOT!
First and foremost on everyone’s minds in summer here in the Phoenix area is air conditioning! Most people – especially those visiting from cooler climates – would find Phoenix absolutely uninhabitable at it’s natural temperature.
If you haven’t scheduled an annual maintenance service for your vacation rental home, it should be first on your to-do list today! There are oodles of heating and cooling service companies in the Valley, but even the biggest and the best of them are booked solid days – even weeks – in advance.
Regular maintenance of your cooling unit keeps it operating at its most efficient and can identify issues before they become emergencies, extending its life, overall. Extremely important, too, is changing the air return filters in your vacation rental home at least every month. A few crazy haboobs can really gunk up a filter!
For more tips on making your vacation rental home and systems safer and more efficient, check out our blog, “How to Prepare Your Phoenix Vacation Rental for Summer.”
Your Vacation Rental Home Oasis
If your vacation rental property boasts a private swimming pool and/or spa, you probably realize those features have their own set of challenges, year-round. But a vacation rental home with a pool is likely to be considered much more desirable by potential guests, especially in the Phoenix summer, so that’s a plus!
As a vacation rental home owner, hiring a professional pool maintenance service can reduce your headaches tremendously. Moxie Girl recommends Aquaman Pools. Aquaman has extensive experience in all phases of pool and spa care here in the Phoenix area, and services many of the vacation rental homes owned by Moxie Girl clients!
Moxie Girl has posted a plethora of tips regarding your vacation rental home pool! Check them out here:
5 Sizzling Summer Tips for Vacation Rental Home with Pools
Pool Perfection – Fireside Chat with Chad Nikkel of Aquaman Pools
Pool Maintenance 101 (for you DIYers!)
Towel, Please
Summer laundry, believe it or not, can bring some special challenges as well – more so if your vacation rental home has a pool or spa, private or community property. As we’ve previously noted (see our blog, “Laundry 101 for Vacation Rental Homes”) if you’ve got a pool, you NEED pool towels! You’ll also need to make sure they are visible and convenient to your guests.
We’ve also mentioned previously that it’s a great idea to provide your vacation rental guests with disposable make-up removing wipes. Guests tend to take advantage of “amenities” and a few pennies spent making disposable wipes available can really save your linens in the long run.
Since it’s summer, you may also want to consider providing larger, disposable body wipes for your guests to remove self-tanning and bronzing products. If you think a little mascara on a pillowcaseis a problem, just wait until you see what a body or two covered with sparkly bronzer can do to a whole set of towels and sheets! I have and it’s devastating.
Summer Fresh
Changing out a few decorative items in and around your vacation rental home can really give it a fresh look for the season. Summer is also a great time to visit your own vacation rental property and see firsthand what may need updating or repair. Read our blogs for some Moxie Girl thoughts on these subjects. (Yes, we know it says refresh for spring, but you can refresh for any season!)
Visiting Your Own Vacation Rental Home?
Refresh Your Vacation Rental for Spring
Could Your Vacation Rental Property Use a Vacation Rental Specialist?
Moxie Girl has a stellar reputation in Phoenix area vacation rental home care – even offering same-day turns to our valued clients! Find out how to make our caring team YOUR caring team – a FREE CONSULTATION is just a click away!
Summer is upon us here in The Valley and if you own a vacation rental home in the Phoenix area, you may think business is a goner until September or so. Some vacation rental home owners even go as far as to “close” their rental properties until the end of summer. Big mistake! For more on those particular subjects, check out these informative Moxie blogs: “Summer Vacation Rentals – Moxie Girl Debunks the Myths” and “Boosting Summer Vacation Rental Bookings”!
While it may not seem as popular during the summer months, there are still plenty of bookings to be had by making your vacation rental home more available to road-trippers! Phoenix is a frequent stop for those traveling to the Grand Canyon and other National parks, San Diego and lots of summer music festivals and other events in the Southwestern U.S. – even Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) Mexico.
Competitive Pricing
As we highlighted in our ‘Boosting Summer Vacation Rental Bookings,” you will most likely need to make some adjustments to your pricing during the hot, humid months. Most of the best resorts in the Phoenix area offer their rooms at rock-bottom prices in the summer, because, well, they figured out long ago that’s the way to drive your business in the “off” season – and something is definitely better than nothing.
Look at the competition around the location of your vacation rental home and aim to keep your prices in check, keeping in mind these fancy resorts are also probably sweetening their deals with “packages” that you just may not be able to offer. Yes, we know it seems heart-breaking to list your stunning vacation rental at less than half of it’s winter value, but again, something is definitely better than nothing – and you have expenses pertaining to your rental property all year long.
Increased Accessibility
Moxie Girl works with many vacation rental homes that have a 2-night minimum stay required and don’t usually offer last minute bookings. During the busy season, when throngs of visitors are making Phoenix their vacation destination, those policies are pretty standard and certainly don’t tend to deter bookings. But summer is a different animal – especially if you want to attract those road-trippers!
When an overnight in Phoenix is just a stop on the way to Disneyland, most folks are ready to roll first thing in the morning – having no intention of being here any longer than necessary, so a 2-night minimum may indeed have your potential guest scrolling on to the next AirBnb listing. It’s a good idea to, at the very least, lift your 2-night minimum Monday-Thursday nights since this is what the road-trippers will probably be most interested in anyway.
Since one-night-only road-trippers most likely want to get on their way in the early morning, you’ll generally have a few more hours to turn your vacation rental home than you normally would, which makes taking those last-minute bookings even easier!
Need Help with Your Vacation Rental Home?
Moxie Girl is the Valley’s vacation rental specialist! Our main focus is vacation rental properties of all sizes, throughout the Phoenix area. Our clients enjoy more stress-free living with Moxie Girl handling their between-guest turns – even same-day! Find out what we can do for you – just click for a FREE CONSULTATION.
As a vacation rental home owner, you know there are a lot of things that need attention in order to make your vacation rental business a success. One of most important things on your list is being certain your vacation rental home is made guest-ready between bookings. Many vacation rental home owners depend on an outside service to attend to those “turns” on their behalf, and guests definitely pay attention to cleanliness – as well as presentation ( or “staging” as we like to call it.)
Now, if you’re working with an established team of vacation rental specialists (such as Moxie Girl) chances are you are completely satisfied with your service and feel you’re getting the most bang for your buck. But what if the team or individual you’ve hired to take care of this crucial task just isn’t performing to your standards?
It’s easy to fall into the trap of continuing to use a service we’re not completely satisfied with, for many reasons. We tend to be discomforted by “being the boss” – or we haven’t gotten around to finding a replacement. Lots of people don’t even like the thought of confrontation, much less having to fire someone. So we “live with it” – and grow resentful.
Moxie Girl is here to tell you that you shouldn’t “settle” when it comes to the care of your vacation rental home. Business is business and your rental home IS your business, so that makes you the boss, whether you like it or not. Rather than let your resentment build, here’s a cut-and-dried method to rectifying the situation in a professional manner.
Step 1 – Communicate
We assume you did, at the beginning of your relationship with your vacation rental cleaner, agree on the services that the cleaner would provide and how things should look and feel in your vacation rental when they’ve done their job. Perhaps your needs changed somewhere along the way and the info didn’t reach the cleaner? Or maybe your vacation rental cleaner is just “missing” some things that are turning up via bad reviews on your AirBnB or other vacation rental platform.
You must clearly communicate your requirements and be sure to highlight those things that are particular “sticking points” to you. If you’re one of the many people who would prefer to avoid a face-to-face confrontation, email works! (And you’ll have documentation for future reference – either in letting your current vacation rental home cleaner go and/or in hiring a new one – BONUS!)
With all of your needs clearly communicated, asks your vacation rental home cleaner the big question: Going forward, will you meet these requirements? If the answer is “yes” – great! But do make it clear that these things are “musts” and that you’ll be keeping an eye on the situation and if the agreement isn’t kept, you’ll be forced to hire a different vacation rental home cleaner.
Now, it IS possible that your vacation rental cleaner can’t or won’t agree they can come through for you, so you really should have a back-up plan ready. We won’t lie, Moxie Girl has turned away a few clients with VERY detailed and specifically-detailed needs. (Hey, we’re a team currently responsible for well over 150 vacation rental homes Valley-wide AND we offer same-day turns. We just can’t GUARANTEE that the throw pillows on your sofa are going to be exactly 1.5” apart, with the smaller points of the triangle print facing north, dude.)
So, if your vacation rental cleaner says “no,” they’ve basically just fired themselves and now you don’t have to. You do, however, need to get your back-up plan into action. If you have a vacation rental in the Phoenix metro area, Moxie Girl would love to talk to you! Just click for a FREE CONSULTATION.)
Step 2 – Set an Agreement (They Said Yes)
So the answer was “yes, we will do that.” Great! Now you’ve both got a renewed understanding as to how things will be done at your vacation rental home and everything should be smooth sailing from here on out.
As part of this agreement, you might require that pics of the vacation rental home be sent to you, showing that everything has been completed according to your requirements. This is not uncommon, especially in cases where the vacation rental home owner resides out of state.
If going forward you find that vacation rental cleaner isn’t keeping their end of the agreement, all you need is present them with the documentation and again, they’ve just fired themselves. Next!
Well THAT Was Easy!
Easier, anyway. We repeat: It’s crucial to have a Plan B when it comes to firing your vacation rental cleaner – you definitely don’t want to interrupt your booking calendar simply because there’s no one to turn it for you in between guests. Chances are that if you were unhappy, you probably did at least a little bit of searching for alternatives.
When interviewing a new vacation rental cleaner, you can pull out that list of requirements from Step 1 and let it be Step 1 in your interviewing process as well. It may also be helpful to think back to when you hired that last vacation rental cleaner – the one that just fired themselves. In retrospect, was there anything you feel you should’ve asked (or handled differently) during that process? Here’s your chance to improve your communication and make sure your NEW vacation rental cleaning company is on the same page.
Moxie Girl leads the way in the care of vacation rental homes throughout the Phoenix area. Not only have we made vacation rental home care our priority, we guarantee our work and we guarantee same-day turns for our valued clients! CLICK here to see how we can help you achieve the goals you’ve set for your vacation rental home.
P.S. We are always looking for the next Moxie Girl (or boy!) to join our team. If making money while staying active and fit on a flexible schedule sounds good to you, we’d love to meet you – CLICK HERE to apply!
Attention Arizona Vacation Rental Home Owners!
The business of operating vacation rental homes has skyrocketed in the past five years, with these short-term rentals increasing in number by well over 500% since late 2014 – and occupancy rates for these vacation rental properties are at an all-time high! Business is definitely booming if you’re the owner of a vacation rental home.
Vacation rental properties – or their guests, rather – also provide a steady influx of new visitors to businesses in the areas surrounding these rentals. That equals greater success to those business -and more money into city and state sales tax coffers! There are even business (Moxie Girl, for example) dedicated to serving the vacation rental industry, boosting employment opportunity in the Valley!
Other Side-Effects of this Boom?
Yes…Complaints, unfortunately. Many permanent residents of nearby vacation rental properties – especially larger ones – tell tales of woe. Noise, trash and increased traffic have been among the most common complaints. To those living next to “party houses,” short-term rentals have become a nuisance – and residents have not been quiet in making their feelings known to officials.
New Law Affecting Vacation Rentals Signed by Gov. Ducey on May 21, 2019
As the operator of a vacation rental home in Arizona, you need to be aware of the new legal requirements that apply, state-wide. Most importantly, regardless of what city statutes and license regulations may apply, anyone in the vacation rental game in our state must have an Arizona sales tax license to operate legally.
The new law also states that rentals may not be used for weddings, banquets or other special events that would otherwise require a permit. Certain occupancy specifics are also affected by the new legislation. Rep. John Kavanaugh, R-Fountain Hills, sponsor of HB 2672, says this measure addresses and aims to eliminate the “party house” issues at the root of many complaints.
There are also a number of new rules regarding providing vacation rental home owner contact info to cities and towns, as well as changes to violation process policies. With fines for violations ranging from $250 to $1,500+, you’ll definitely want to stay on top of your admin (and enforcement) duties as the owner of your vacation rental!
But is the New Law Enough?
Many Valley residents say the new law, which goes into effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session ends, doesn’t go far enough in curbing the disruptions they have been experiencing due to neighboring vacation rental properties. When the bill was first introduced, it included a much longer list of restrictions than the final version, signed into law this week. Rep. Kavanaugh was concerned that if included in the final bill, it would either not get enough votes to pas – or face a veto by Gov. Doug Ducey. Ducey, in signing the bill stated “In Arizona, we respect the right to do what we want with our property without undue government interference. I am open to corrective action if this bill is applied too broadly.”
Most cities already have noise, parking and littering ordinances, but officials say these rules are tough to enforce in many cases – especially in the case of vacation rental properties. Many are hopeful, though, that the new law will at least help take care of the worst violators.
You can read HB 2672 HERE.
Need Help With Your Vacation Rental Home?
Moxie Girl focuses on caring for vacation rental homes throughout the Phoenix Metro area, even offering same-day turns for our valued clients. Just click for a FREE CONSULTATION and find out how Moxie Girl can be YOUR vacation rental specialist!
