Operating a vacation rental business takes a lot of time and effort. Periodically we like to interview one of our exceptional users. This week we spoke with Randy from Vacation Condos North Myrtle. Randy's website and operation can be found at thevacationcondo.com. Below are the questions we asked and his responses.
Can you tell us a little bit about your history?
Randy: We purchased our first condo in 2013 with plans to spend winter in North Myrtle Beach South Carolina instead of in northwestern Pennsylvania where the winters are terrible with annual snowfalls averaging 101 inches. Within six months of purchase, we decided to rent it in the summer to help pay the expenses associated with ownership of oceanfront property. Some of our condo neighbors, who were dissatisfied with their property management arrangements, asked if we would do theirs. In order to do so, we took the necessary courses and tests to become licensed in the state of South Carolina to manage property. In the past 7 years, we have grown from managing one rental to a current total of 26 rentals. This growth has been 100% word of mouth, as the original goal was to simply rent our own, and for a couple of friends, but word spread.
Property management is my 2nd job as I am still employed full-time by Hewlett Packard as a database engineer. As I get closer and closer to retirement age, the goal will be to grow the rental business as an income supplement for retirement.
What is your background?
Randy: I had worked in the I.T. sector as a consultant for almost 25 years before joining Hewlett Packard in 2005 as a full-time teleworker. Working from home provided great flexibility which allowed us to relocate from PA to SC without the need to change jobs. While I still work full-time from home, the flexibility of my position has made growing the rental business much easier.
What do you love the most about the VR business?
Randy: Positive Reviews. We started out just renting our condo and it has grown to 26 clients as a result of word of mouth advertising amongst condo owners. This is a direct result of striving to do the job correctly. The reason we have 700+ positive reviews is primarily due to the service we provide prior to guest arrival. This starts with communication and ends with making sure the rental unit is clean. Guests are provided with detailed instructions to make sure their arrival goes smoothly. The rental units are cleaned and staged so the first impression of their home away from home is a positive one. If you were to read our reviews, you will see multiple mentions about rental cleanliness and ease of communication.
What do you dislike the most about it?
Randy: Government overreach. The greater Myrtle Beach area’s source of revenue is tourism. The local government is continually enacting new regulations and policies that may very well run the small agencies out of business.
How do you use OwnerRez to manage your business?
Randy: We are listed on multiple websites, Airbnb, Vrbo, as well as our own OwnerRez Hosted Website. OwnerRez makes it all possible. We use OwnerRez for reservation management, guest communications, and reporting.
Having multiple properties with multiple pricing levels, the Rate Editor is a lifesaver. I will admit, I was a little skeptical at first, but it took some getting used to and the batch copy functionality makes it a great tool.
What is the most useful feature OwnerRez offers?
Randy: Owner Statements and tools to help extract data for annual tax reporting.
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Thanks, Randy! Hopefully the local Myrtle government will read this and relax a little! 😀
We wish Vacation Condos North Myrtle much success in the Myrtle Beach area as they continue to manage their business and thrive in the vacation rental industry!
