2516 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530.542.5850 800.344.9364 Fax: 530.542.4863
E-mail: tahoelodging@vailresorts.com Web site: www.tahoelodging.com
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION
Vacation Rental Program
Trust. Experience. Professionalism.
Accommodation Station is the partner you can trust, for good reason. The Accommodation Station has been the premier property management company for the south shore of Lake Tahoe since 1976. Such longevity speaks to our passion and knowledge of the community and Lake Tahoe. As part of
Legendary Lodging, the property management division within Vail Resorts Inc., the Accommodation Station provides complete professional property management services for vacation, seasonal and long-term rental properties. Because of our vast knowledge of and experience in property management, as well as our extremely dedicated and skilled professionals, homeowners enjoy consistent personal service, superb home care, and flexible profit driven rental programs.
Ownership has its advantages
By placing your home on a vacation rental program, you have the combined benefit of using your investment property as a second home and also generating rental income from it. We continually work to keep abreast of current trends in the travel industry, aggressively market our destination and
properties, and consistently monitor and maintain the quality of our product - your vacation home. To be successful, we must have a sound working relationship with our business partner, you the property owner. With all the benefits of ownership and all the conveniences of local property management, you can more integrally experience the beauty and adventure of Lake Tahoe.
Comprehensive Marketing
We leverage marketing resources from our lodging partners, which include Heavenly, Vail Resorts Inc. corporate, and Rock Resorts to ensure success and maximize exposure of your property. In addition, our marketing efforts include aggressive internet marketing and search engine optimization, magazine, and travel planner advertisements, electronic newsletters, and email campaigns. This multi-tiered marketing effort drives guests to our call office and our website, www.tahoelodging.com.
Management Services
The Accommodation Station provides booking and property management services throughout South Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada. The booking services include marketing the property, developing a familiarity of each individual property in order to describe to potential guests; answering all inquiries; taking reservations; collecting all the monies; handling all paperwork necessary for guests, and checking them in and out.
Our property management services include assisting owners in maintaining their properties, responding to maintenance concerns from guests, housekeeping, landscape and yard maintenance, snow removal, BMPS, defensible space, remodels and renovations, accounting, and bill paying. After over 35 years, we have formed trusted and reliable relationships with contractors, electricians, plumbers and other service people we can depend on when we need them.
While we offer a wide variety of vacation rental units to the traveling public, we try to keep properties to a manageable level so we can continue to offer quality service to both owners and guests. From our inventory, we offer quaint studios that comfortably accommodate couples, to large executive homes that can lodge up to 16 people. The common features that all our properties share are comfortable furnishings, quality linens, fully equipped kitchens, fireplaces, BBQs, TVs with cable services or satellite service, DVD players, CD stereo systems, telephones, and high speed internet access.
Maintaining your home
A successful vacation rental is one which reflects pride of ownership. This does not mean that every piece of furniture has to be brand new, but the furnishings should coordinate and be clean, comfortable and inviting. Maintaining a quality vacation rental is a continual process and normal wear-and-tear is to be expected. This is the inevitable and necessary cost of participating in this type of business venture. The vacation rental owner who fails to understand this principle will see their rental revenue shrink with each passing year; while the owner who continually upgrades their unit and maintains it properly will be less affected by slumps in the economy and may even see rental income increase. We will make repairs and replace basic equipment to your unit to maintain quality rental standards. We will make every effort to contact you if an estimate for a repair exceeds $100.00. To preserve the
physical security of the unit, or the safety and comfort of the guest, it is sometimes impossible for us to reach you prior to performing the necessary maintenance. We pay for maintenance work from your property account.
Term of Agreement
While our rental management agreement is for a one-year period, it renews itself automatically unless either of us elects to terminate the agreement. We find that it time to develop a clientele for your property. This is particularly true with unique homes.
Future confirmed reservations that extend beyond the 60 days notice period must be honored and protected in any subsequent management contract or contract of sale.
Rental Rates and Occupancy
We strive to set rates that are competitive with other rental rates in Lake Tahoe. Our current rates reflect seasonal demand, unit size and location, and allow for variation in furnishings and amenities. We monitor competitive rates on a continual basis and make adjustments accordingly. We are more than happy to discuss any special rate requirements with owners. Accommodation Station reserves the right to set rates for a particular property that are competitive with those published by that property’s owner on their own website or any “rent-by-owner” site.
Lake Tahoe experiences two busy seasons, winter and summer, and two shoulder seasons, fall and spring. Ninety percent of our vacation rental revenue is generated from Christmas through March and from July through Labor Day. If the owner or the owner’s guests frequently use the property during these peak periods, they should expect to earn less revenue.
Due to a surplus of vacation rentals, the market has become highly competitive. As a result, the location of the vacation rental property and the property’s amenities, such as hot tub, pool table, or beach access, affect annual occupancy. In the winter months many guests request spa access and close proximity to the ski slopes. During summer months we see more requests for beach access, swimming pools, and boat docks. Therefore, the quality of furnishings and the quality of your rental unit can have a significant effect on occupancy.
Commission and Fee Structure
1. Rental Commission: After applicable travel agent commissions and credit card charges are deducted from the gross rental income, the net rental income is divided 65% to the property owner and 35% to Accommodation. Owners are not charged any supplemental fees for cleaning or re-stocking a unit with standard supplies following the departure of any guest booked by Accommodation Station.
2. Management Fee: In addition to rental commissions, each month we will charge you a fee of $50.00 to manage your property. This fee covers all services provided to you by us as outlined in this service information statement, which include but are not necessarily limited to: advertising and marketing your property, establishing regular procedures for renting your property, preparing monthly statements and related bookkeeping services, coordinating cleaning, maintenance and repairs of your unit, and regularly checking the security of your property when it is unoccupied or subzero temperatures.
3. Owner Referrals: We offer a reduced commission rate of 18% (instead of 35%) for reservations that are referred to us by the owner. The owner makes the original contact and lists the reservation on the website via owner web with all the contact and rate information. Once the referral is given,
Accommodation Station will collect fees from the guest as advised by the owner and generate the standard lease contract and credit card authorization.
directly to their own guests but would be responsible for establishing and collecting rents and paying all applicable taxes. We will assist you by checking-in your guest, handling maintenance problems,
cleaning your unit upon your guest's departure, and providing your guest with area information. Owners are allowed to clean their own units after their stay, but guests are not. We will charge the standard cleaning fee for your property to your account. In addition, we charge a standard owner guest service fee of $25.
Owner and owner-guest reservations will only be accepted from persons authorized by you. Unauthorized persons cannot place the reservation.
Owners must always confirm the availability of their property prior to booking an owner or owner guest reservation. ANY PRIOR RESERVATION BOOKED BY ACCOMMODATION STATION SHALL TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER AN OWNER OR OWNER-GUEST REQUEST, AND OUR PRIOR RESERVATION MUST BE HONORED.
We ask that owner and owner guests comply with our standard check-in and check-out policies. Currently, check-in time is after 4:00 p.m., and check-out time is by noon. We cannot guarantee early arrival/late departure until the day prior to arrival/departure. Unfortunately we cannot accommodate early arrivals or late departures during the holidays.
If your owner-guest arrives after our normal business hours, we will leave a packet containing keys and a map to your unit in a secured cabinet outside our office front door.
Seasonal and Non Rentals
We have seen a growing market for seasonal leases. A seasonal rental is for any stay longer than 30 days but less than 6 months. If your unit is rented continuously to the same party for 30 days or longer, you will receive 70% of the first month's net rental income and 85% of the subsequent months' net rental income. Properties may go back and forth between the vacation and seasonal rental programs.
We also offer a non-rental program for those owners who are not interested in renting their property but are interested in having it monitored and cleaned for their use. Please contact our office directly about services and fees under our “non-rental” program.
Vacation Rental Restrictions
Vacation rentals located in the city of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, or Douglas County are subject to similar ordinances/restrictions. These ordinances primarily restrict occupancy levels and parking for each property. The goal is to prevent abuses that can adversely affect the quality of life in our area and our environment. We take these restrictions very seriously because we want Tahoe to not only be a great place for visitors, but also for residents who live here year-round.
All vacation rentals are required to have a permit from the governing body for its location with a local agent listed. We qualify with local governments as the 24 hour, local contact required for your vacation rental permit. We can provide you with the necessary forms and help you obtain the appropriate permit. Once the permit is issued, we will ensure that it is properly posted according to specifications.
Garbage at vacation rentals is a recurring problem because visitors often forget about the wild animals in our area that are attracted to trash. The city and both counties require bear proof containers at all
Reservation Policies
Our staff receives reservations via our website, email or telephone. To confirm a reservation, a guest must submit the deposit at the time of booking, with the balance due thirty days prior to arrival. We accept personal checks, cash, traveler’s checks, and major credit cards. We require a signed agreement with a guest/vehicle list and credit card authorization.
If the guest cancels at least 30 days prior to arrival, 70% of the deposit is returned to the guest, and we retain the remaining 30% of the deposit. When a guest cancels with the 30 days of arrival, the rent is nonrefundable. While we have a strict cancellation policy we do work with the guest and may agree to move the reservation to a future date within 30 days. Every attempt is made to keep this reservation in the same property.
Owners will receive notification via email when a reservation has been moved or cancelled.
It is invariably an emergency or unsafe travel conditions that prevents the guest from completing their travel plans. We offer optional trip cancellation insurance to all guests, and this has generally helped reduce owner losses due to last minute cancellations.
Special events or holiday bookings require stricter payment and cancellation policies. Decisions regarding the enforcement of our cancellation policy are always within management's discretion.
We normally require a two night minimum stay for all of our units. Higher night minimums are required for high demand holidays.
Occasionally, a guest will arrive at Lake Tahoe and be dissatisfied with his/her reserved unit. When this happens, our staff will make every effort to satisfy the guest and retain the reservation. Decisions
regarding satisfying an unhappy guest are left to our discretion. We make every attempt to act in the best interest of our property owners.
Reservations taken by Accommodation Station must be honored by you, the owner. Moving the guest at your demand jeopardizes our credibility and reputation. If you insist that we move a guest, you will be charged for all expenses of relocating the guest in addition to the full rental commission due
Accommodation Station Rentals, as if the guest had stayed in your unit.
Monthly Statements
An itemized statement detailing all income and expenses for the previous month, including commissions and bills paid on your behalf, will be mailed to you by the 15th day of the following month. The
statement will give a month-to-month running balance of all activities for your property. With the monthly statement you will receive copies of all invoices and bills we pay on your behalf and which you should retain for your tax reporting. This service is provided to you as part of our monthly management services.
If the balance in your property account exceeds the requirements of the working capital account, a check in the amount of any excess will accompany the monthly statement.
You are required to maintain a minimum balance of $200.00 in your property account. Certain properties and circumstances may require that we maintain a higher working capital balance. If your working capital account falls below the required minimum balance, you must replenish the account as
soon as possible upon notification by us.
Travel Agents
Travel agents and online wholesalers are a small but valuable source of our business. Commissions run between 10% -20%. All such commissions are promptly paid and deducted from the gross rental income for your unit before the revenue is divided according to our commission split. We work diligently to identify and monitor those agents and wholesalers who provide the best value, while avoiding those agents with higher rates.
Limited use of complimentary lodging for property familiarization or promotional trade-outs is accepted practice in our industry. This usage is evenly distributed among all of the units we manage, and we limit the use of each unit for this purpose to no more than three nights per year. If a complimentary stay is placed in your unit, the stay will appear on your statement, but you will not be charged for cleaning.
Housekeeping
We attempt to assign a regular and consistent housekeeping crew to each rental property. This allows the housekeepers to develop a familiarity with your unit and they are better able to detect possible damages or required maintenance. Normally, our housekeeping crews clean only upon guest departure; however, daily or mid-week cleaning and linen changes are available with advance arrangements and for an additional fee.
The standard departure cleaning includes the following tasks:
Linens (sheets, towels) are changed.
Furniture surfaces are cleaned.
Hard flooring is wet mopped.
Carpeted areas are vacuumed.
Bathroom fixtures, sinks, counters are cleaned.
Kitchen sink, counters, appliances are cleaned.
All food items are removed from refrigerator and cupboards.
Mirrors, glass table tops, and appliance surfaces are polished.
Trash is removed and containers cleaned.
Toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels and soaps are re-stocked (initial set only).
Front walkways, patios and decks are swept (or shoveled).
Barbecues are cleaned and propane tanks are checked.
All windows and doors are secured.
All thermostats are adjusted (off in summer and 60 degrees in winter).
While you pay no additional housekeeping fees for guests booked by Accommodation Station, a flat housekeeping service fee is billed to your property account for all owner-guest reservations. This fee is based on the size of the property, and may be adjusted from time to time based upon our costs.
You may elect to clean after your personal use provided you satisfy our minimum standards. If you advise us that you will do your own cleaning, you will be charged a flat $20.00 fee to check the readiness of the unit for the next guest and to re-stock guest supplies.
Deep Cleans & Annual Inspections
After the busy summer and winter seasons, your unit will need to be thoroughly cleaned and refreshed. It is in the shoulder seasons that our housekeeping staff has time to undertake major cleaning, check inventory shrinkage, and do necessary maintenance repairs. Although you are welcome to perform your own spring and fall cleaning and maintenance, we realize that busy work schedules and limited leisure time may make this impractical for some. Our housekeeping staff welcomes the work during our slower shoulder seasons. Our office can provide you with a list of cleaning/maintenance tasks that must be performed on an annual basis to keep your property in tip-top shape.
Periodically, your property is thoroughly inspected by our reservation staff for the purpose of making recommendations for improvements. It is our reservation staff that regularly hears both compliments and complaints regarding your property. A copy of our staff inspection report is forwarded to you along with recommendations for improving guest appeal of your property.
Linens
We maintain a pool of quality linen which includes sheets, replacement bed pads, bath and kitchen towels and potholders. Each December, owners are assessed a linen fee of $12/person for the number of people that your unit sleeps. This fee is used to purchase replacement linens for the coming year and to maintain the quality and quantity of linens required for this pool. Your personal linens are not part of this pool and should be stored in a locked closet for your personal use. All linens are laundered in our commercial sized washer and dryer.
Inventory Control
We request that you provide us an inventory of furnishings, decorator items and other personal property contained in your unit when joining our program. If you do not have time to prepare the inventory, our staff can be employed to do so. It is incumbent upon you to notify us whenever a new item is added or removed from your inventory. We have found that by maintaining a copy of the inventory, it is easier for our housekeeping staff to spot problems.
Major items found missing or damaged are reported and the guests are held accountable. You must understand that with occupancy comes normal wear and tear such as nicks and scratches on furniture, and wear patterns and stains on carpets and upholstery. Dishes, glassware, utensils, blankets and pillows need frequent re-stocking. The cost for this normal shrinkage of inventory is an owner responsibility. Your home must comfortably accommodate the number of people that it sleeps in beds. For instance, if your house sleeps 8 people, it must have comfortable seating for this number in the living room area and dining room. Please see the “Recommended Inventory” form in the new owner information packet for guidelines in equipping your home a vacation rental program.
Each year we request that owners provide an updated amenities report for their property. We use this report to ensure the accuracy of our website, which helps us market your property more effectively, and so that guests know what to expect during their stay.
Your unit must have local telephone service in case of emergencies and for the convenience of guests.
Security Deposits
For most of our properties guests can either pay a refundable security deposit or a non-refundable damage waiver equal to 10% of the security deposit. The damage waiver covers guests for
UNINTENTIONAL damage up to an amount equal to the security deposit, AS LONG AS THE DAMAGE IS REPORTED PRIOR TO THE GUEST’S DEPARTURE. Repairs to damages under the unintentional damage waiver are paid for by Accommodation Station. Since its inception, the damage waiver program has been enormously successful in helping us monitor and reduce damages caused by our guests. It has provided us the flexibility to address any issues quickly and effectively
Owner's Locked Closet – Personal Items
Most owners maintain a locked closet for their personal belongings like skis, liquor, clothing, grocery staples, and special linen. Because some guests might be curious about what is behind a locked door, we recommend that you do not store any valuable items in this closet (or at the property.)
Accommodation Station cannot be held responsible for items kept in the owner’s closet.
Closets or storage areas containing electrical boxes or plumbing equipment should not be used for your locked owner’s closet. If such a closet is the only option, we must have the key or code in case of emergency.
Insurance
You are bound by our written contract to maintain insurance coverage to repair and/or replace the rental unit and its contents, and also to maintain personal liability coverage of $100,000.00 for each person to a maximum of $300,000.00 for each occurrence. While we carry insurance to cover our business, our agent recommends for our mutual protection that Accommodation Station, Inc. be added to your policy as a co-insured for liability purposes. Please instruct your insurance carrier to forward proof of your insurance to us for our files.
We maintain standard business insurance for our operations, including our vehicles, employee bonding and worker's compensation. This insurance does not include any independent contractors we retain to undertake any maintenance, housekeeping or repairs to your property, nor do we carry insurance to cover you or your property for theft, damage or loss.
Business Hours
Our website allows owners and guests to book reservations, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Our management offices are normally open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 A.M. to 5:30 P.M, with limited hours on Sundays during peak seasons. We are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. After hours, our local phone line is answered by our answering service. In case of an emergency, the answering service will contact a member of our office staff or the appropriate maintenance person. All guests are given this emergency information upon check-in but are encouraged to wait for normal business hours to call for any non-emergency maintenance issues. Calls to our 800 line are not
answered after normal office hours.
Getting Started
Our staff is available to answer any further questions you may have about our program. Whether your goal is to own an investment property in the mountains, or to help offset the ownership costs of your cherished home away from home, chances are you didn’t buy your home to spend all of your time managing it. So, picking the right property management partner can make all the difference. Trust your investment to the team at Accommodation Station. We look forward to explaining the details of how a partnership with us can bring your dream to life.
