Remember dreaming about purchasing your first vacation-rental (VR) home or investment property? The mixed emotions—excitement, yet wondering if it was the right decision? You envisioned all the benefits of VR ownership and dreamed about the positive personal and financial impacts this significant investment would have on you or your family’s future. Regardless of your motivation, you wanted to own a place where people could “escape the ordinary.”
After you close on the purchase of your VR investment, the full weight of the commitment and responsibility of ownership sets in. You quickly learn that hospitality is a demanding business with many complex variables. You realize you need to develop a network of housekeepers, handymen, plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, lawn care, snow removal, pest control, and pool/hot tub service. Furthermore, to drive the highest revenue, you need a website and software to manage bookings from multiple third-party channels such as Airbnb, VRBO, Booking. com, and Expedia, among others. Writing listing descriptions and guest guides, handling late-night phone calls, dealing with unhappy guests, managing accounting, and dealing with damage claims and guest disputes become daunting to think about, much less to resolve. For many at this point, the VR ownership dream starts to feel more like a mirage, fantasy, hallucination, or, in the worst cases, a nightmare.
Seeking to buy back your own time and sanity, you start hunting for the right VR management company. But finding that elusive unicorn of high-quality, comprehensive service, professionalism, and good revenue is no less of a daunting task. This is especially true in many secondary and tertiary markets where properties are still affordable and the best returns can be found. Advertised management fees can range from 10 to 40 percent of booking revenue for a short list of service offerings. Many managers sneakily charge fees directly to guests on top of their management fees. Their simplified owner statements show booking revenue net of passthrough expenses such as channel commissions and credit card processing fees.
Focusing on the future of the industry to develop and create a curated Collection of Inspired Homes and Retreats
The second type of VR manager is a newer phenomenon—a big-box solution like Vacasa or Evolve. Backed by private equity and venture capital, these behemoths are built on the notion that consolidation and scale add value for owners and guests. They appeared on the scene with a splash, driving down VR management fees and trading profitability for market share. However, as investment capital runs low, the picture is becoming clear that developing economies of scale on a national level is an elusive quest, and VR management is best handled locally.
The third type of VR manager is the cohost. Though they may have energy, ambition, and passion, they often lack the experience and skills required to deal with the complexity of providing comprehensive solutions.
Recognizing these challenges in the marketplace, Enjoy Unique Stays is a forward-thinking VR company redefining hospitality through experiential stays that allow people to “escape the ordinary”. As a vertically integrated company that began operating in Chattanooga, TN, they provide innovative solutions to assist VR owners with acquiring, designing, building, managing, and selling VR properties.
Focusing on the future of the industry, Enjoy Unique Stays is designing and developing purpose-built landscape resorts, implementing revolutionary AI-driven technology in partnership with BOOM software, ensuring consistent hospitality brand standards, and designing curated experiences for their guests to create a Collection of Inspired Homes and Retreats.
Foundational to their success is their emphasis on four key pillars:
Stewardship—taking an owner’s perspective.
Partnership—honest guidance and innovative solutions.
Transparency—tailored owner solutions and best-in-class owner portal.
Relationships—delivering services in a highly personal way to build long-term relationships.
Enjoy Unique Stays is not competitor-obsessed; it is customer-obsessed. It starts with what the customer needs and works backward. Hospitality is an ever-evolving landscape, join Enjoy Unique Stays on the journey and follow them on Instagram to learn more @_enjoyuniquestays_ or visit enjoyuniquestays.com.
