Owner FAQs
How do you ensure my home stays in good shape?
Two members of our cleaning and homecare staff inspect the home after the guest departs. This is our staff most familiar with the home and its contents. We remove the garbage, inspect the home, and make any necessary repairs (or arrange for repairs if needed). We track our list of repairs/replacements in software that we share with our guest services manager and handy men—so we all have visibility into action items required and status of repairs for the home.
Repairs for accidental damage caused by the guest will be submitted to insurance for coverage. We charge each guest for this insurance policy. If they prefer a $1000 deposit, we will use the deposit funds. Our agreement also requires the guest to pre-approve use of their credit card for insurance does not cover or in excess of a security deposit. Additional cleaning required or damage caused by the guest that is not ‘accidental’ is charged to the guest’s credit card on file within a few days of their stay.
Guests that violate terms of the Vacation Rental permit or the rules sited in our rental agreement will be fined and/or evicted. We have visible signage on the home with our phone number, and we distribute a letter to our neighbors asking that they PLEASE contact us directly in the case of a disturbance at the home. If we do need to send someone to the home, we will send a staff member that is on-call 24/7.
What is included for your fees?
RnR Vacation Rentals charges commission on rental income for our services. RnR provides full service management for your home.
We handle everything for you–from marketing, reservations, and 24/7 guest services to collecting and remitting taxes to the city, cleaning the home, providing linens and towels at no extra charge, maintaining a clean hot tub for guest stays, and taking care of maintenance. We are in close contact with all of our owners. Some of our homeowners are more involved in the upkeep of their home than others. We will work with you to provide as much or as little extra service as you desire. We report all activities on a monthly basis, and send payment for the net rental revenues.
What is not included in your fees?
Your only tasks are arranging for yard care, snow clearing in the winter, and paying reduced cleaning fees during your stays. You are also responsible for approving maintenance items to keep your home in great shape. We are happy to help.
We charge an hourly rate for owner cleanings. Every home and every owner is different, so the amount each homeowner pays for cleaning after their stay varies. If you leave the home clean, the charge will be less.
You are only responsible for hot tub service when the home is vacant or used by you or your guests.
How do you forecast revenue and set pricing?
A: Occupancy: Forecasting
Homes in our portfolio rent for 120-250 nights each year. As you can imagine, the quality and location of the home dictates this answer. In general, we will not add a home to our portfolio if we do not believe we can rent for at least 120 nights each year. We do have higher occupancy with higher quality guests than anyone in Tahoe. We maximize revenue for you through better marketing, advanced management tools, a great reservation staff, and a screening process to ensure the quality of the guests and a match to the right home.
B: Pricing: Determining Nightly Pricing
Our pricing engine is very advanced and the intelligence we add makes our yield among the best in the market. Our prices change every day to maximize revenue and occupancy. Like hotels and airlines, we maximize your return through yield management to balance occupancy and revenue/night. Combined with minimum length stays and careful guest screening over the phone, we ensure a quality guest at the highest possible rate.
C: Who is responsible for paying City or County taxes?
We collect all TOT and TID taxes from the guests directly. We pay monthly to the city and quarterly to the county, depending on the location of your home. We have never been late.
Why does RnR book better?
Our homes rank higher than our competitors, average 70% more inquiries than regular listings, and are often “Featured Rentals” displayed at the top of the South Lake Tahoe search results page. We advertise on the worlds largest Vacation Rental sites including AirBnB, HomeAway, VRBO and dozens of others. our commitment to guest satisfaction means many guests book their return trips directly on our site too. We have an ongoing social media program with a presence on all key sites including FaceBook, GooglePlus, Twitter, Pinterest, Yelp, and our blog that drives traffic and bookings to our web site. We invest a substantial amount of money upfront in marketing to promote your property, at no cost to you.
Photography and Aerial Images/Video
Our photographers and videographers know RnR Vacation Rentals demands a little more. our superior imaging is critical to the success of your home.
How will you keep me informed?
You will be provided access to your own “Owner Web” page on our website where you can view the availability calendar and make bookings for yourself and family. Our team is also available by phone and email, 7 days/week.
What is my responsibility, and what is RnR’s?
You are responsible for ongoing upkeep of the home exterior, including gardening/landscaping and snow removal. We ask that you hire, manage, and pay these service providers directly. We have a list of trusted providers that we can recommend. RnR will monitor the quality of their work, and inform you if there is a lapse. RnR will manage all cleaning for the home, but you should expect to pay for an additional thorough cleaning twice/year, along with carpets and windows.
Home Maintenance and Repairs:
We pride ourselves in taking care of your home like it is our own. We want it to be exceptional for guests and our owners. Timely maintenance means happy guests and increased revenue. Repairs and upgrades are usually conducted by our staff or trusted suppliers. For big projects, we are happy to help manage third parties approved by you. If we have an urgent repair needed for guest satisfaction or safety, we take care of it with our staff or hire contractors.
How do we offer our home to friends and family?
Friends and family can reserve your home directly through us. You simply decide if their stay is free, or discounted. We provide a set of coupon codes to you that lets you offer a variety of discounts. If the stay is free, we need to know who will pay for cleaning.
Friends that receive a discount and book on our website using a coupon code will be treated as a normal guest, and will be required to sign a rental agreement, and will receive our standard welcome documents.
What can guests expect that book our home through RnR?
Our goal at RnR VR is to provide a 5-star guest experience. Guests can find our homes on a variety of sites, including HomeAway, VRBO, Vacation Rentals.net, Airbnb and more.
A: Reservations Process
We speak with every guest during the booking process. We screen to ensure compliance with age, maximum occupancy, maximum vehicles, and other local ordinances including noise and hot tub use.
We answer a broad range of questions, and strive to help our guests with special requests and needs. Guests sign our rental agreement, and then receive welcome documents through email and also through our mobile application for iPhone, or Android.
B: Arrival and Stay
Our guests arrive to a home that is warm, well lighted, and CLEAN, and are provided with freshly laundered linens and towels, bath soap, shampoo and conditioner, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, trash bags, and kitchen necessities. We provide 24/7 on-call service, and respond to guest requests in 20 minutes or less.
C: Reviews
We solicit every guest to provide feedback on their stay. We feel every review is an opportunity to improve our service and our homes, and ensure 5-star reviews from future guests.
What is required to prepare my home for vacation rental?
A: Timing
How quickly you can begin renting your home is dependant on how "guest ready" the home is. As soon as we can get professional photography completed, your home will be marketed and bookings will start soon after. We will work with you closely to get your home on the market and looking its very best.
B: Home Preparation: Getting your home ready to rent
We are selective in choosing vacation homes in our portfolio. We provide a complete checklist to help you stock and prepare your home for your first guest. Some popular upgrades to consider include a hot tub, pool table, being dog friendly, bikes and water toys, and TVs in every bedroom. You will want to secure homeowner’s insurance that is specifically designed for short-term vacation rental. We will install a Home Automation System including the controller and digital door lock so we can limit access to the home with every guest having a unique code.
C: Home Stocking: Linens
We provide sheets and towels at no extra charge. We recommend you setup every room with high quality bedding to how off each room. We can help you with this if need.
D: Transitioning from a previous VR Management Company or self-management
We take care of everything: permit transfer, existing guest reviews, transfer of current bookings, and listing transfer if self-managed. We typically work directly with the previous management company, and have structured the transfer of bookings in a variety of ways—we are flexible and want to make it as simple as possible for everyone.
E: VHR Permit
We work with you to fill out the forms and even submit them to the city/county on your behalf. We are your local contact to handle 24/7 calls from guests, neighbors, and the enforcement agencies. We will ensure the home meets all permit requirements for maps, exit lighting, hand rails, etc., and will meet the inspector on-site for the inspection. We also install noise monitors in nearly every home to ensure our guests are considerate. Many of our owners also have us install a parking camera to ensure guest compliance.