Management Program Comparision Summary
| ISSUE | OTHER MGMT COMPANIES | SUMMIT VACATIONS |
| Management Fees | 45% to 60% | 28% |
| Housekeeping | Cheap Migratory Labor | Quality, In-House Staff |
| Cleaning/Check-in Inspections | None | Every Unit/Before and After Each Reservation |
| Availability Calendar | None | On-Line, Up-To-Date, With Rates |
| Web Presence | Minimal | 150+ Pages/110 Site Locations |
| Overhead | Exhorbitant Cost to Owners | Very Minimal, Well-Managed |
| Repairs & Maintenance | Ridiculously High Priced | Very Reasonably Priced |
| Office Hours | 8 Hrs Day (At Best) - No Wknds | 12 Hrs Day/6 Days Week |
| Avg Nights Rented | Less Than 75 | More Than 75 |
| Check-in Process | Pick Up Keys at Office (Mail Box After Hours) |
Keys in Lock Box at Unit |
| Linens | Leased - Cheap and Worn | Owned/Provided by Summit Vacations - One Time Charge/Not Annual |
| Unit Selection | Predetermined Rental Rotation | Unit Selected by Guest |
Owner Fees
- Summit Vacations charges a base rate of 28% of rental revenue.
- Owner pays a 3% credit card processing fee.
- Owner pays for incidental maintenance & repairs.
How can you charge so much less than everyone else charges?
4 reasons our overhead is lower: We don't have to maintain a check-in office on Main Street, we don't produce an expensive 50-page, four-color brochure that floats around the town and ends up in the waste can, we concentrate our advertising costs on the Internet, and we have all the skills needed to excel in this business in just 3 key people. These are all costs that owners would normally have to pay for.Advertising
- Summit Vacations advertises almost exclusively via The Internet - maintaining over 100 different locations on the Web, and 5 private domains.
- Summit Vacations publishes a complete web page of information for each property it represents, including 8-15 professional digital photos, a complete description, including amenities and location specifics, and an up-to-date color-coded availability calendar.
- Summit Vacations does utilize Breckenridge Central Reservations, and does not pass on the costs of doing business with Central Reservations to the owners.
- Summit Vacations does not typically place advertising in printed magazines or newspapers, because it hasn't been found to perform as well as the Internet.
- The tremendous costs of magazine ads, tour operators and travel agents must be borne by the owners, and these unnecessary costs greatly reduce an owner's net income.
Why don't you advertise using traditional methods?
Statistics show that 90% of guests coming to Summit County use the Internet to find lodging. We tested the traditional methods, but none seem to work nearly as well as Internet advertising, and the costs for traditional advertising are exhorbitant. Again, the owner bears these costs.Reservations
- Upon locating Summit Vacations information via the Internet, guests are given the privelege of selecting the property they would like to reserve, instead of being placed in a unit based on a pre-determined rotational system. We believe this system is by far the fairest approach available. It also accurately reflects the quality of an owner's property, as well as the degree of care and investment placed in the property.
- Guests may book online, place a telephone call on a toll-free number between the hours of 8am - 10PM MST, or send an email notification of a reservation at any time.
- We are one of the few companies that offer an online bidding system, allowing guests to take advantage of last-minute vacancies at a discounted rate.
Wouldn't I get more rentals using a rotational reservation system?
Only if you own a unit that you don't want anyone to see. If you haven't maintained your unit, and upgraded it periodically as needed, guests won't pick it from our web sites - they'll pick an owner's unit that looks nicer. The nicest units will get the most rentals, and this is an incentive to our owners to keep their places looking nice. If you have a unit that is not appealing, then you probably want to work with a management company that will be renting it sight unseen. Of course, no guest will want to return to it...Wouldn't my income be diminished by the use of the online bidding system?
Absolutely not. The bidding system was designed to attract guests that wouldn't normally be planning a trip in advance, and to fill in open nights between normal reservations. It allows owners to grab a piece of the last-minute reservation market, and enhance their overall annual rentals. Since the guest always pays the cleaning fees, the owner always wins. In addition to the increased rental income to the owner, guests recognize a bargain when they see it, and will continue to utilize the system on an ongoing basis.How do I know when my place is rented?
Simply check the online calendar located on the web page that features your unit or at your owners login page. It is updated a real time basis for your convenience, and that of guests.Guest Operations
- After making a reservation, guests receive an email confirmation immediately. This includes a receipt, all unit-specific check-in information, and parking permit/pool pass.
- Payment and cancellation policies are provided in the emailed confirmation and listed for the guest to read before completing a booking online.
- A credit card is for each reservation as insurance against damage or theft.
Why do you answer the telephone until ten o'clock EST every night?
Most people are unable to perform Internet research for lodging accommodations during their working hours these days, due to corporate crackdowns on personal Internet access and general time constraints. The people outside the Mountain Standard Time zone generally wait until after work, dinner, family time, etc., to sit down in front of the computer and look for lodging. When they call late at night, we're there to help them.Check-In/Check-Out Procedures
- Summit Vacations utilizes a self check-in procedure. A combination lock box is permanently mounted on the door frame of the property, containing an entry key. Each guest is given a combination in the emailed confirmation. The guest is not required to pick up a key at another location, and they do not have to carry the key with them during their stay. This reduces the number of unit keys that can float around the town.
- A telephone number is provided to guests to access a 24-hour Guest Services Director, as well as the Housekeeping Manager.
- A departure checklist is posted within each property, asking the guest to perform certain minimal tasks upon departure (lights, thermostats, windows & doors, trash, dishes, etc).
- A Guest Services/Information binder has been placed within the property that contains a complex map, town map, telephone numbers, local services, rental policies, transportation information and a Breckenridge Dining Guide.
Why don't you have a central check-in office?
Because you'd pay for it, and it's very expensive to maintain. We don't see it as a necessary overhead cost.What benefit do you see from using a combination lock box?
Guests are very concerned about arriving late and not being able to find their place, or gain access to it. Most management companies require after-hour arrivals to pick up their keys at an inconvenient location, and to fish through a mail box full of keys, in the dark, to locate their particular keys. Guests get a higher feeling of security with Summit Vacations, knowing they simply open the door and walk into their unit, even if it's 3 am.Since you don't have a check-in office, how do guests reach you?
Guests are provided with a local telephone number for our Guest Services Director, who is available on a 24-hour basis. There is an office for them to visit if needed in Breckenridge.Housekeeping/Inspections
- Guests are asked to pay for all cleanings but this is a negotiable item.
- Guests are required to pay for any cleaning resulting from an online bid reservation.
- A contracted housekeeping crew is permanently assigned to clean each specific property. Assigning crews to specific properties raises the level of accountability of the housekeeping crew, as well as providing them with a degree of "ownership" with the properties they clean.
- The lock box combination is changed ONLY by the Housekeeping Manager or the Guest Services Director. By doing so, this keeps a high level of security.
- An inspection is performed BEFORE each cleaning, and again before each check-in.
How do you get high-quality housekeeping personnel?
We have our own laundry operation in Breckenridge. We run both our laundry and housekeeping operations at a break-even, and pay our housekeeping personnel with the profit from these operations. This allows us to pay our housekeepers 2 to 2 1/2 times as much as the other management companies are paying. Our Housekeeping Managers are college degreed, while the majority of our housekeeping personnel have some college education.What measures do you take to recognize and deal with damage and theft issues?
We send 3 different sets of eyes through your unit between guests. This increases the possibility that we will notice any problems in the unit. We also limit the number of people that are in the unit by assigning a housekeeping crew to the unit. This raises the level of accountability of our housekeeping personnel, and they take a degree of ownership and pride in the unit.Are 2 inspections necessary?
We believe they are. Unfortunately, many people throughout Summit County have acquired master keys for condominium complexes for various reasons, and have periodic access to units without our knowledge. Property Managers and contractors go in and out of units, and sometimes disregard the fact that guests will be arriving after they have dirtied a unit. Our pre-check-in inspection insures that your unit is clean and ready for a guest arrival.Linens
- In our program, we provide linens for our owners' properties for a "one time" fee. The Owner will never have to pay for linens ever again as long as they are on our rental program. Nothing is worse than a beautiful property that has shabby linens.
- No recurring annual cost.
- Guests are greeted by quality linens that they expect from a resort like Breckenridge.
Monthly Statements
- Summit Vacations issues detailed, easy-to-read financial statements every month. The statement contains a nightly accounting of the entire month. The delivery date is targeted to be the 15th of the month following the rentals.
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