Owner FAQ

Before selecting a vacation rental property management company certain questions should be asked to ensure your goals as a homeowner are inline with what the property management company provides and to ensure your home will be taken care of. Southern California Vacation Rentals has compiled the "Top 10 Questions" you should ask before deciding on a property manager.

1. What makes you better than the other managers I've talked to?

At Southern California Vacation Rentals, our primary focus is the delivery of exceptional service to all of our owners and guests. The definition of service is someone in front of you helping to solve your problems NOW.

Beyond exceptional service, we know owners expect three things for their management company:  Maximum bookings, Property care of their investment, and Timely Communications.  We provide maximum bookings by executing innovative, aggressive and comprehensive marketing and guest communication campaigns. The maintenance and care of your home is the number one reason for complaint by homeowners and tenants alike. Through personal detailed attention and follow-through of repairs and cleaning, Southern California Vacation Rentals offers solutions not quick fixes. Communication should be done at the convenience and on the terms of the homeowner. Electronic communication is convenient, but does not replace the need to pick up the phone and talk.  Southern California Vacation Rentals operates with communication as our number one priority for owners and guests.

2. What is the property to staff (non-housekeeping) ratio?

Southern California Vacation Rentals values all of our owners and guests and has deliberately structured our company to ensure that needs are taken care of. For every four to six homes we manage we have one full time dedicated staff member (not independent contractor or 1099 employee). This allows us to maximize reservations and properly take care of your property.

3. How do you support guests and owners during their stays?

Our reservations call center is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to make sure we do not miss a call from a prospective guest.  Our offices are open from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Saturday to serve owners and current guests. After 6:00 PM and before 8:00 AM and on Sundays we have an emergency phone that rotates through our management team to respond to guest and owner emergencies. We also offer in-house concierge services and work with outside companies so we can make recommendations and provide local information.

4. How do you find guests?

Most of our marketing is done online through vacation rental websites as well as through other tourism related websites. We have an extensive lead management system which enables us to follow up with and communicate with previous guests and potential guests through email marketing campaigns, special promotions and outbound calls. We work with selective vacation rental managers in other destinations plus travel agents and online travel agencies to subsidize our marketing at no expense to you, our homeowner. We also market through various associations where we are members including The Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA), Discover Vacation Homes, San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau and The California Travel Association.

5. What precautions are taken to ensure my property is not damaged?

Southern California Vacation Rentals appreciates the investment you have made in your property and as such we have developed a process to minimize damage. This process is described below:

• A Southern California Vacation Rentals representative speaks with every guest prior to confirming any reservation, including those guests who book online. This personal contact allows us to know the group and their needs before they arrive. It also allows us to describe our policy on parties and large functions. Another reason we have decided against using travel agents and wholesalers is to ensure that a Southern California Vacation Rentals representative speaks with every guest.
• We require at least a 3 night minimum on all reservations unless we receive permission from home owners for a specific reservation.
• Our rental agreement, which we require every guest to sign before confirming a reservation, states that properties cannot be used for hosting weddings, parties or other large gatherings and that smoking inside the property and pets are not allowed. We enforce this policy by evicting guests who host parties or other large functions and charge guests a fine for smoking inside the property or for housing a pet.
• Occasionally there are guests who cause damage to the property. We offer our guests an accidental damage waiver which covers accidental damage to the property. If a guest chooses not to purchase the waiver, we collect a security deposit which is refundable upon our departure inspection. In addition, our rental agreement allows us to charge the guests credit card for the damage they caused.
• Southern California Vacation Rentals has made inspections a priority. Before a guest arrives and after the cleaning crew has finished cleaning, an “arrival inspection” is done. This allows us to ensure the home is ready for the guest and to assess the condition of the home. Upon departure and before the cleaning crew arrives another inspection is done and is compared to the arrival inspection. This often allows our inspectors to be in a property twice a day. By doing an arrival and departure inspection we can charge the guest for any damage beyond reasonable wear and tear. During the off-season or whenever a property is vacant more than one week we do an inspection to ensure everything is in order.
• During peak times we drive by properties at night to ensure the guest is not hosting a party or creating excessive noise that may disturb our neighbors.
• In most cases we do not provide keys to guests. This minimizes lost keys and helps keep properties secure. Each guest is provided an access code for a key pad which unlocks the door. We use a specific key pad and the cost for this is included in the set up fee.

6. What does it cost me to list my property with your company?

There is a one time set up fee of $600. This fee covers a full written evaulation of your home as a vacation rental by our expert team plus a professional designer, stocking and maintaining the home with linens, a professional photo shoot,  creating a unit page for our website, and replacing the current lock with our key pad. The linens and keypad belong to Southern California Vacation Rentals. We provide all of the above services at a bare minimum commission to the property owner. Other costs vary based on individual properties needs and include

• Required deep clean 1-2 times a year
• Window cleaning
• Annual supplies e.g. filters, light bulbs and batteries
• Carpet cleaning
• Pressure washing
• Hot tub/Pool maintenance

7. What is the cost for service calls?

Southern California Vacation Rentals does not charge a fee for going to your property. To maintain our standards we reserve the right to replace or fix any non-emergency problem without an owner’s approval if the cost is less than $500. If it is an emergency i.e. broken pipe at 3:00 AM we will respond immediately to the problem.

8. How many nights can I expect?

The amount of nights you can expect is dependent on several factors including the economy, sleeping capacity, location, owner use, rates, weather, decor, when we receive your contract, and amenities such as hot tub/pool, game table, view, and air conditioning. Most of our reservations are for the summer season, Memorial Day - Labor Day, but our winter business continues to grow.

9. Are there restrictions on how often I can stay at my property?

We realize one of the best reasons to own a vacation home is so you can stay there.  Therefore, we do not limit the amount of nights you can stay.

10. Who stays with Southern California Vacation Rentals?

Not only do we pride ourselves for personally knowing the homes we manage, but we know who stays in them. We have done extensive research gathering information from our guests to determine who they are and what they value. This knowledge allows us to better serve our guests to gain repeat guests. Most our guests are families, parents/grandparents visiting local family members such as college students or enlisted military members, and business retreats. 76% of our guests generally vacation with family, 79% visit at least one local attraction such as Sea World while here and 83% take at least one vacation to a beach location a year.