Homeowner FAQs
Natural Retreats makes renting out your vacation rental easy–but we understand that homeowners have a lot of questions. We’re here to help! We have compiled answers to the most commonly asked questions we receive from homeowners. If you don’t find an answer to your question give us a call, or submit an inquiry via our form and a member of our team will reach out right away.
About Us
Our standard agreement is for 12 months from the effective date and renew for an additional year at the end of the term unless either party provides advanced written notification of their intent to cancel per the terms and deadlines of your management agreement. You may cancel the contract at any time with sufficient notice.
Our owners make personal and friends/family reservations via our propriety owner's portal. Our owner's portal is a web-based system which you can access through any computer/phone/tablet without the need to download an app. You'll have the ability to add notes or requests that pass directly to our sales and operations teams to any reservation booked in through the owner's portal.
Becoming a Natural Retreats’ partner not only elevates your vacation home’s reputation and recognition to a national database of travelers, but when you join us as a homeowner, you also receive special rates at many of our other beautiful destinations throughout the United States.
FAQs
We encourage you to interview several vacation rental management companies and explore the different models to find the right fit for you. Historically, any company promoting a split under 20% is offering marketing and reservation services only. They may not ever visit your property, and cleaning and maintenance services will need to be retained separately. Most full service property management companies are going to fall in the 25-40% range depending on location. Where they are within in this range usually depends on how they bill for things like credit card fees, listing site, subscriptions, etc. We work to make our commission as inclusive as possible, and do not bill owners for any marketing, credit card fee’s or accounting services.
We provide a full-service clean and inspection following every stay, including owner stays. Owners are charged for the labor/time it costs us to ensure the home is guest-ready again. The price for this owner cleaning will be determined and agreed upon before our management agreement is executed. If owners elect to clean their home following a personal stay, returning it to guest-ready standing, then the cleaning fee could be waived following a post-stay inspection.
You will only be charged our agreed-upon management fee for guest reservations. You will not be charged a booking channel fee, or credit card fee on any guest reservations. We do offer recurring services at some locations, such as monthly pest control or electronic lock management, that you may elect to enroll in, but this will be voluntary.
Our homeowners do not bear the cost of housekeeping for guest reservations which Natural Retreats arranges and manages.
No. Homeowners do not bear the cost of providing consumables for each reservation. Natural Retreats furnishes each reservation with a starter set of consumables such as soap, paper towels, trash bags, dish detergent, toilet paper, etc. Once this starter set is exhausted, it is the guest's responsibility to purchase additional provisions. These consumables will be restocked following each guest stay at no cost to you.
There are a variety of ways we can handle this scenario, all of which we are open to discussing. Natural Retreats is amenable to negotiating on and accepting a reduced management fee, acknowledging that considerable expense went into confirming the transferred reservation.
Additionally, we can migrate any and all reviews that you currently have on your privately run VRBO, AirBnb, etc. sites.
Property Qualifications
Yes, we require maintaining the industry standard coverage which includes comprehensive general public liability insurance covering any and all claims or demands arising out of the operating, renting or maintenance of the Property in the suggested amount of $1,000,000, and property insurance for the replacement cost of the real and personal property.
It's your home and you're welcome to use it at your pleasure! We do not restrict when or how long our owners can utilize their properties. We do require that you reserve your property in advance to prevent any availability conflicts with guest stays.
You do not. It is our goal to maximize your revenue. This goal can only be achieved with maximum availability. The more availability you provide us with, the more we can sell and generate revenue for you. This decision however lands with you as the property owner.
While Natural Retreats primarily manages high-end luxury accommodations in resort towns, we are open to reviewing the property for every interested homes, providing feedback if/how the property would be a good for the Natural Retreats portfolio.
Guests expect a fully-furnished home when booking a vacation rentals including appliances, cookware, glasses, silverware, internet, TV, etc. We are happy to work with you to ensure that all desirable amenities are in place.
We do request that these amenities be available to our guests. Considerations will be made in any regions where these services are not readily available.
This is completely your choice. We have seen an increase in the number of guests that travel with their dogs, so allowing pets in your home will increase the appeal of your property to the widest range of travelers. We do charge any guests bringing a dog a pet fee which is non-refundable. This fee is used to perform the extra cleaning that may be required to remove any pet hair/dander from the property following the guest stay. These funds are typically applied towards the additional labor and consumable expense, but revenue splits on such fees could be pass to you at certain locations if agreed upon in your management agreement.
Rate Management
Our in-house revenue management team actively studies current market statistics, comparable properties, and historical data and trends to determine fair market rates and seasonality. Nightly rates are reviewed on a weekly basis and adjustments are made as needed to keep our pricing for your home competitive and fair. It's our shared goal with our owners to maximize each nightly rate. Rate ranges and minimum/maximum thresholds will be discussed with owners to avoid any miscommunications.
Financials & Reporting
All expenses are tracked and accounted for. A detailed account is provided within your end-of-month statement.
You do not. Each guest is charged the required tax amount on every reservation. We will remit these taxes to the appropriate municipality on your behalf. You will also be provided with a full tax account at the end of each financial year for tax preparations.
Natural Retreats will deliver Owner’s share of the Net Accommodation Revenue no later than the last day of the month following the month in which such amounts are earned.
Marketing & Sales
Your home will be supported by strategic marketing initiatives at the local, national, and global level with targeted digital advertising, social media, and email marketing, as well as public relations campaigns to ensure your home receives maximum exposure at every level.
With the development of the digital age, we place particular emphasis on those channels. We will showcase your property on our directly managed websites, NaturalRetreats.com which benefits from the traffic driven by aggressive Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing strategies. In addition to our directly managed website, Natural Retreats will distribute your listing to a robust network of online travel agents, such as HomeAway/VRBO, AirBnB, TripAdvisor/Flipkey.
We are pleased to announce that Homes & Villas by Marriott International, the newly launched vacation rental brand of Marriott HotelsⓇ, has partnered with Natural Retreats to offer our portfolio of distinctive vacation rental homes to its 120 million Marriott Bonvoy members. Only Marriott’s hand-picked partners, such as Natural Retreats, may list properties on Homes & Villas.
Our reservations team is dedicated to knowing your home and the area, so that we offer a seamless booking experience. We pride ourselves on offering exceptional guest service around the clock, which gives your home increased repeat and referral guest revenue year after year. Our repeat guests are so excited to rebook that they often do so before returning home from their current vacation.
This is where exceptional service really shines through. We strive to create brand loyalty through consistent and quality experiences with all of our guests, capitalizing on bringing repeat guests from other destinations and introducing them to our entire portfolio.
At no cost to the homeowner, Natural Retreats provides professional home portfolio photography that is in line with current design and luxury hotel styling practices. Home listings are optimized to make your home more appealing to the right guests.
Additionally, we also provide professional property consulting services to homeowners wanting to further their home’s appeal and marketability.