Florida Spirit Spotlight: Guest Review

“My usual trips to Orlando consist of the hotel check-in process with the kids and the dog, cramped quarters, with absolutely no privacy, and no peace and quiet. A co-worker recommended Florida Spirit to me; I am so grateful that he did. I drove up, opened the door, and found Nirvana: separate bedrooms and peace.

I spent the best week vacation of my life in that house. I did not have to argue about what restaurant to eat in 3 meals a day, the dog and the kids had room to roam. The pool and hot tub trumped an amusement park, believe it or not. This was the first family vacation that I returned from and did not feel more stressed than when I left. I am a convert – no more cramped hotel rooms for this family! A Florida Spirit vacation home is effortless, relaxing and the best way to see Orlando.

See you again, soon!”

Lisa Mari – Coral Springs, Florida (March 12-19, 2011) Tivoli Manor

TIVOLI MANOR

Deep Cleaning Vacation Rental Homes

Here at Florida Spirit, we take the cleanliness of our homes seriously. It’s one of the reasons a member of our staff performs an inspection of every home prior to guest check-in; we want to ensure our guests walk in to a clean and prepared vacation home.

When a departure and arrival are back-to-back, cleaners only have about four hours to clean a five or six bedroom home. While this allows enough time to vacuum carpets, mop floors, wash and change linens and clean the kitchen and bathrooms, from time-to-time a deep cleaning is required.

Deep-cleans don’t require several days, despite those who seem to have this impression. It’s not cost-effective or efficient during a deep-clean to duplicate what the departure-clean has already done. The focus of a deep-clean should be on the tasks that the departure-clean team doesn’t have time for, and the areas that only require periodic attention. Some examples are:

• Clean and dust all air vents.
• Wash all baseboards.
• Clean window sills and tracks.
• Empty cupboards; wipe down inside.
• Dust silk plants.
• Move large appliances (refrigerator, washer, dryer); mop surface behind and underneath.
• Dust high shelves.

Make sure you have a checklist for your cleaning teams, both for the departure clean and the deep-clean. Compare your checklists to make sure tasks aren’t being duplicated. Florida Spirit schedules deep cleaning once a year, usually between peak seasons.

For a deep-clean checklist, or if you have questions, email us at info@floridaspirit.com

Energy Efficient Pool Pumps

Beginning July 1, 2011 the Florida State Energy Efficiency Code for Building Construction will change the regulations required for pool pumps. Standard pool pumps are built with only one speed and use a lot of energy to operate. The new regulations will require that all pool pumps have at least 2 speeds, the lesser of which uses no more than 50% of the power used by the higher speed. These variable speed pool pumps are expensive to install, around $800 to $1,500, but can save pool owners between 40% and 75% on energy bills.

Video Taping Your Home Can Improve Rental Sales

With the technology available today, it is important to give potential renters the most detailed view possible of your home. While posting pictures can be a good general impression of what the home looks like, a video is much more comprehensive. With 360 degree footage of your home, guests can really get a sense of what their vacation will be like.

Here are some tips to consider while creating your video:

There is no need to pay for High Definition. Most consumers will be watching your video on non-HD computer screens or even cell phones. Recording in HD will not improve the quality to the viewer.

Do NOT include music! You want your video to load as promptly as possible and music will only slow this process down. Should you choose to include music, make sure it is tasteful and appropriate as musical selections can create positive or negative associations with your page. We suggest you skip the music all together.

Choose a program that will load your video quickly in all web browsers. These will typically give a “3…2…1…” prompt before playing the video uninterrupted. This is an important detail, as many programs will “buffer” throughout the video, which can lead to frustration and impatience in your viewers.

Spring Cleaning Tips

At Florida Spirit Vacation Homes, we emphasize the importance of preparing your vacation home for guests. While Florida Spirit performs these tasks on a routine basis, homeowners should be sure to take care of their homes, especially before the busy summer month. Here is a checklist, similar to that we use for our own homes, that homeowners can use as a reference when readying their homes for summer guests.

General Cleaning
• Look for signs of insects and other pests.
• Clean and dust all light fixtures.
• Dust ceiling fans, photos, knickknacks, etc.
• Change batteries in smoke detectors.
• Change Air Conditioner filters (monthly).
• Inspect emergency lighting and change flashlight batteries.
• Replace any items from First Aid kits.
• Make sure fire extinguishers are not expired.
• Vacuum and steam clean carpets.
• Paint as needed.
• Clean windows inside and outside.

Exterior
• Make sure patio furniture is in good condition.
• Power wash patios and walkways.
• Clean barbeque if applicable.
• Trim down trees and plant flowers.
• Replace missing roof shingles.
• Replace door mats if needed.

Kitchen/Bathroom
• Wipe down sinks and counters.
• Clean out all drains.
• Empty/clean out refrigerator, and all other appliances (toaster, microwave, oven racks, etc.)
• Replace towels and bathmats if needed.
• Clean mirrors and glass doors.
• Replace soaps and paper products.

Bedroom/Living Area
• Replace any linens (pillows, sheets, etc.) if needed.
• Flip mattresses.
• Vacuum underneath beds and furniture.
• Remove and clean under couch cushions.

Annual Air Conditioner Tune-ups

Come summertime, one of the biggest issues on every homeowner’s mind is how to reduce energy expenses. As the temperature rises, so do energy bills. An annual service of your Air Conditioning unit can drastically reduce the amount of energy emitted, helping the environment and your wallet. As we enter the hot summer months, it is important to make sure your service is up to date. While it is important to have a technician come and properly tune-up A.C. units, there are things homeowner’s can do on their own to keep the machines running at their best.

Condenser
Make sure the condenser is not covered. This limits the air flow through the system, which can cause it to malfunction.

Filters
Changing the filter on your A.C. unit is a simple way to ensure that your unit is working at its optimal performance. Filters can be purchased at hardware stores or retailers such as Target and Walmart.

For more advice on how to reduce your energy costs, please visit Progress Energy’s consumer website.

Tips for Renting your Vacation Home

Setting rental rates for owner bookings
One of the most stressful things for any vacation rental owner is what to charge when he/she decides to rent out their home. With these difficult economic times more vacation home owners are deciding to rent out their vacation homes. In many very competitive rental markets, like the Walt Disney World area, deciding how to correctly price the property as a rental can be a very difficult and time consuming task.

Most everyone takes the first step by going online and researching the competition. In the World of Package deals and Special promotions, Orlando Florida, rental homes can range from $50 -$500 per night. If you are considering to list your vacation rental on popular websites such as VRBO® or HomeAway™, you may find them extremely helpful in price comparison, yet be prepared to be very frustrated- Guaranteed!

The key to remember is, when you find a really low rental price, not every home renter has the same immediate expenses. Many owners have paid off the home mortgage, or the home maybe much older and therefore cost less at the time of the purchase. The important thing to consider is that you maintain YOUR financial needs. There is always some risk in renting out a vacation home to a stranger and you need to make sure you are properly compensated for your time, energies and investment capital. The fact is some rental income is NOT always better than nothing, especially if the guest damages your home.

Avoid Price Wars
I have seen many Price Wars, where property owners keep dropping rates in order to be the cheapest home “for rent” in town. You should steer clear of doing this, by all means possible. Vacation rentals are like hotels! There’re really cheap motels and higher priced quality hotels in that market – everyone knows what they are paying for! You need to be competitive with equal quality homes, in similar locations and have comparable amenities. More than ever people want good value for their hard earned money and not just the cheapest thing, they can get. You need to help them understand the value you are offering!

Highlight Quality & Value
In these economic times I think we all want the best value when investing in vacation travel. Dollar for Dollar, more and more people are finding out that renting a home while vacationing is a better investment and a very pleasurable experience for the entire family, cat and dog included. Fortunately all rentals are unique and people are willing to invest the time needed researching a vacation rental to understand what the property offers in quality and value.

Items that show Quality & Value:
1. 24 hours, 7 day a week guest services to the property. This way guests can feel safe knowing if they have any problems they will be taken care of immediately. If you don’t have a property manager that offers this level of service- FIND ONE! The number one reason people do not choose a vacation rental over a hotel is FEAR! “What if something goes wrong? Who will help me? What will I do?”

2. Testimonials from recent and past guest showing the home is being upheld and maintained to a condition that guest are able to have the best possible vacation while enjoying all the amenities offered by the property.

3. Compare the cost of good quality hotels and resorts in the area, for the number of people that can stay in your property.

4. Provide FREE amenities like wireless internet, long distance phone calls or discounts on local restaurants. Offer: “For a fee services”, like an in-home Chef, in-home masseuse, and local golf lessons. Your current property manager should be able to assist you with these services.

5. Always highlight the quality of your homes maintenance staff and property manager. In most instances the home owner is residing in a different state or continent than the vacation properties location. Brag in you homes description, telling your interested prospective renters how pleased you are with the people you hired to look after your investment! They need to know everything is and will be good for their stay at your home. If your property is not cleaned and maintained immaculately by your property manager FIRE them, they are losing YOU money!

Always be wary of the last minute booking’s looking for a killer deal. Many owners get last minute request wanting huge discounts since the property is likely going to be empty anyway. These people know what they are doing and over the years I have learned- These are the last people you may want to consider renting your investment home out to.

You worked very hard to have your Vacation rental property.  You have invested endless hours and money to make sure it is a place that people want to stay. Don’t give into other property owners panicking and giving their places away. Practice good rental rate yield management! During peak seasons and Holiday periods do not discount the property. Let the other cheap rentals book up, and make the better profit margin during these times.

We would be more than happy to answer any questions or comments someone may have. Please post them to this blog.

Security and vacation homes

The security of vacation homes is really a two part issue. The first part is securing the home from the property owners’ perspective. How can I help secure my vacation home while it is empty? What are cost effective ways to secure the home and still make it rentable? The other is from the guest perspective. How safe am I staying in a vacation home? What steps have the owner or management company taken to make sure my family and I are safe?

Florida Spirit has been renting homes in the Disney area for almost 10 years and we have seen many changes in security of the homes. I do strongly believe that the area is very safe and wonderful for families; however just like almost everywhere in America basic precautions need to take place.

Most of the security issues I know about deal with petty theft from the homes while they are empty. We have found that by taking the following basic steps by the management companies, burglary of the homes can be dramatically reduced.

Use a monitored alarm at all times
Do not keep a regular schedule visiting the home
Use anti theft sliding door locks
Get to know all fulltime residents living near the home
Never advertise the property address online (guests get address once they pay in full)
If using a lock box on the home change code with every guest departure
Never let repair people and house cleaners have keys to homes, meet them at home to grant access and lock up the home
Never post open availability calendar online showing when the home is empty. Only show property on search results if available for searched dates
Make sure management companies do back ground check on all employees

Some homeowners in the Orlando market have installed surveillance cameras by the front door of the homes. These systems are pretty expensive and require internet access or a computer stored in the home to record the images. I would caution property owners to think about how rental guest may feel if they see a surveillance camera on a home they are staying in. Having someone break into your vacation home is a very frustrating experience. Beyond the emotional toll to you there is a very real financial expense. Most homeowners have $500 to $1000 insurance deductable to pay before anything is covered by the policy. Polk County Sheriff’s office has several good Crime Prevention Community Outreach Programs; you can check their website for more information.

Florida Spirit Eco Friendly Office Tips!

Florida Spirit Vacation Homes is owned and operated by individuals that are very focuses on enjoying and preserving the natural wonders of Florida.

Since August 2007, Florida Spirit Vacation Homes has chosen to offset 100% of the electrical power used by the management offices with renewable energy Wind Power credits.  We wanted to share more of our Econ-friendly office practices with people.

 Optimize energy usage:           

 Tint office windows and monitor air conditioning usage

Set computers to enter sleep mode when idle, and make sure to turn them off at the end of the day

Unplug any electronics when not in use like coffee makers, printers, cell phone chargers etc..

Use CFL light bulbs in all desk lamps, & open blinds on sunny days rather than turning on lights

Use only “Energy Star” electronics

Recycle all old cell phones and electronics. Never just throw them in the trash

Choose recycled office supplies

Purchase recycled paper for printers with 100% post-consumer and no chlorine bleaching

Recycle printer toner cartridges

Reuse paper for note taking and for packing material

Recycle all shredded documents

Embrace the digital document age

Email documents rather than print and faxing

Read and store documents electronically saving paper and storage cost

Take notes on your computer, laptop or PDA

Use inter- office document sharing and project managing software like Base Camp to reduce printing paper and travel to meetings

Travel less to meetings

Attend webinar’s and use gotomeeting.com to communicate

Keep company vehicles tuned up with proper tire pressure to save fuel

Eco- friendly eating  

Ban individual bottle water and offer a water cooler and give employees reusable Sig Bottles

Bring lunch to work when possible in a reusable container

Offer office staff paper, plastic and glass recyclable bins at work

Guest reviews of vacation rentals gains interest

More and more people are wanting to know what other users of a product and service think about it before they purchase.  Vacation rentals are no different, and now Flipkey.com is getting noticed by the media.

Florida Spirit has been using Flipkey reviews since they started a few years back.  The reviews let future guest know what others that stayed in a property thought about it.  This is a really powerful tool for the traveling pubic since property owners and manage companies cannot hide the true condition of the home from potential guest.  For years the industry as been tarnished by people seeing homes online that look great only to show up and find the home a mess.  This fear for many potential guest keeps them from booking a vacation rental and instead staying at a traditional hotel chain they know.

Current customer reviews through a third party like Flipkey keeps property owners and management companies from only posting good reviews or editing the comments they want.  Flipkey does not permit the management company to change the review or delete it.  The management company can reply to a review if they feel it is unfair or inaccurate.

Below is a video clip of TJ the founder of Flipkey explaining more about the service.

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