May 26, 2025 • 29 mins
Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of peak season for vacation rental managers across the country—are you truly prepared? In this tactical episode, we unpack the essential strategies for navigating the "100-day war" that defines our industry's busiest period.
From comprehensive housekeeping preparations to staff motivation techniques, we share battle-tested approaches that successful managers use to maintain quality and sanity during the summer rush. You'll hear practical advice on staging pre-season training sessions (including our innovative property scavenger hunts), creating effective communication systems between departments, and ensuring your billing processes capture every billable moment—a critical factor in maintaining profitability.
The conversation goes beyond just operational readiness to address the human element of peak season management. We discuss creative recognition programs that keep staff motivated when the pressure is highest, including appreciation events, strategic communications, and performance incentives that actually work. One of our favorite tactics? A perfect attendance drawing for big-ticket prizes that significantly reduces those dreaded Saturday morning call-outs.
Whether you're already in the thick of your busy season or planning ahead for next year, this episode provides concrete, actionable guidance from managers who've learned these lessons through decades of hands-on experience. The difference between a chaotic summer and a profitable one often comes down to preparation and systems—let us help you build both.
Ready to transform your peak season experience? Listen now and discover why proper planning truly is the key to profitability in the vacation rental management business.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tim Cafferty (00:10):
You're listening to the Vacation Rental Key with
T&T, the podcast for vacationrental managers by vacation
rental managers.
I'm Tim Cafferty and I managetwo companies, one in Virginia
and one in North Carolina.
I'm one of the two T's.
Tiffany Edwards (00:26):
And I'm the other, T Tiffany Edwards, born
and raised in the vacationrental business.
I help manage our familybusinesses from Key West all the
way to Kauai.
Tim Cafferty (00:36):
In the next 30 minutes, we're going to give you
our keys to success in thevacation rental business.
Tiffany Edwards (00:45):
Welcome back for another really exciting
episode.
I cannot wait to dive in today,Tim.
Tim Cafferty (00:51):
Well, it's a good thing, because the season is
upon us and I'm already into it,so let's go.
Tiffany Edwards (00:58):
Today we're going to talk about what all you
need to do to get yourselfready for peak season, and
there's quite a few lists thatyou need to be checking twice.
Tim Cafferty (01:09):
Amen, sister, we're into it.
This podcast is being droppedon Memorial Day, so I'm sure
some of you said a little lateon this, but better late than
never.
And we've actually broken itdown to the three areas, like
our takeaways, and so we've gotthree areas.
We've kind of organized yourorganization for the season.
The first one would bepreparing for the season.
(01:32):
Then we're going to talk aboutthe season itself as we get
going and then maybe thepost-mortem after the season is
over what not to do and whatmaybe you should do.
As you've learned over the next90 or 100 days, I am ready to
roll, and I know you are too.
As you've learned over the next90 or 100 days, I am ready to
roll, and I know you are too.
Tiffany Edwards (01:48):
So let's go ahead and get started on
preparing for season.
So, tim, how long do you thinkthat you really need to start
communicating with your staffand reviewing some of these
items, looking at that peakseason timeframe?
Tim Cafferty (02:03):
Well, you're going to get me on my soapbox here.
I would say that it startsduring budget time, which should
have been several months ago,maybe even last year, preparing
for this year what are ourexpenses going to be, what's our
income, how much payroll and soon.
But for me, our season,traditionally Memorial Day to
Labor Day we'd love to say itextends on either side, but the
reality is that's go time right.
(02:24):
And so, as we prepare for thispast weekend, if you will, we
started pretty much in January,tiffany, as we thought about
things like the materials we'regoing to need, the staffing
we're going to need, thetraining that we're going to
need, and it does take time toget that just right.
How about you?
Tiffany Edwards (02:42):
Yeah, absolutely.
And one of the things that wedo in preparation of that
staffing and one of my absolutefavorite key takeaways that we
do for all of our businesses isa housekeeping meeting.
So to make sure we build in.
All of our housekeepers arecontractors, but we want to
(03:03):
build in ties and relationshipswith these housekeepers so we
know during peak season they'regoing to show up.
We do have some housekeepers wekeep all year round, but
obviously during the peak seasonwe need a lot more.
So we put a fun little luncheontogether.
We usually have our owners orour general managers there
helping cook hot dogs andhamburgers.
(03:25):
We sit all the housekeepersdown at the table anyone who's
reached out to us, any of ourhousekeepers who have been with
us for a very long time and wereally talk through what our
processes are.
We talk through whatexpectations are.
We make sure that it's a reallyfun event for these individuals
and I think that that reallyhelps build the expectation.
(03:48):
We also help too, for a lot ofthe housekeepers talk through
how they can create their ownbusinesses and provide them
supporting materials so thatthey can be a contractor.
Tim Cafferty (03:59):
That's really important, and many of you out
there use contract services toclean your properties.
I use employees, and there is.
You out there use contractservices to clean your
properties.
I use employees, and there is avery distinct difference.
Employees I can direct to dowhatever Contractors.
You can give them yourguidelines, but you really
(04:20):
shouldn't have that control overexactly how they do the job.
You can give them guidelinesand that meeting that you
described is great For ourpurposes.
This past weekend, for instance,memorial Day weekend, we had
five training sessions for ourstaff Friday morning, friday
afternoon, saturday morning,saturday afternoon and Sunday
afternoon, whether it be aquality control person or one of
our employee housekeepers.
We went through all thechemical usage, we went through
(04:42):
our standard property appearancehandouts.
All this takes time to prepare,and then the one that I thought
we really were good on thisyear was we went to a property
after the meeting and we had ascavenger hunt, so to speak,
where the team that was therefor that meeting had a checklist
and they could find 17 thingsthat were incorrect in the way
(05:06):
that we've prepared the property.
And we went there before, ofcourse, and purposefully didn't
put a towel on a bed or didn'tput the soap out in the proper
position or the coffee maker wasnot in the right spot, and
whoever got through that listand found all 17 items first got
a little prize.
It was pretty cool.
Tiffany Edwards (05:24):
I love that.
We've done that before too,where we've hidden gift cards in
places where they should belooking.
But don't always do that.
I love that incentive componentto it.
Tim Cafferty (05:35):
I have a quick story there.
I used to do that years ago.
I would go on properties and Iwould hide money in the toaster
and the oven and so on, and thenwe had guests calling.
We found a $20 bill in the oven.
That was not exactly what I hadin mind.
Oh, so we've refined that.
Tiffany Edwards (05:57):
That's a good one.
The other thing, too is whenyou look at from a contractor
for services, you really need toknow who your preferred vendors
are Absolutely.
For some of our markets, acsgoing to go out peak season
where you have nowhere to movethe guests.
You need to make sure that youhave someone on speed dial to
(06:18):
help in any of those areas.
That could be very problematicfor your owner and, more
importantly, your guests.
And so who's going to come outand answer the phone for you
after hours and do you trusttheir work?
Tim Cafferty (06:33):
So when we talk about preparing for the season,
I hope you all already have, ifyou do, welcome bags.
I hope you ordered those monthsago, because the tariffs are in
place now.
You're a little out of luckthere.
How many soaps do we need?
What's your inventory par?
Have you done an inventorycount on what you have?
Do you have re-par, which iswhat the recommendation would be
?
And those kinds of things canbe done well in advance, much
(06:56):
prior to the meetings we'retalking about.
And then, how about policies?
Making sure policies are inplace in advance of the season.
You've done very well with this, tiffany.
Tiffany Edwards (07:05):
Yeah, so we look at our hurricane policy
specifically every year.
That's one of the ones that Ijust want to make sure it is
very well communicated with ourstaff.
Our number one priority is toprotect that investment and a
return of investment for ourowners and also make sure that
our guests are safe.
Turn of investment for ourowners and also make sure that
(07:27):
our guests are safe.
And so we need to make surethat anyone that works with us
knows exactly what needs to bedone prior to a name storm, when
there is a name storm and thenif we have to return.
And then the other policy thatwe really hone in on is
expectations for our staff.
During peak season, hours maynot look the same.
(07:47):
Responsibilities may be shared.
There were many times that Ijust spent days going and
stripping beds, even though Iwas technically supposed to be
checking people into the frontoffice.
It is a team building timeframeand you really need to
communicate that with your staffteam building timeframe and you
really need to communicate thatwith your staff.
Tim Cafferty (08:05):
Particularly if you have a quick ramp up, which
is what we had this year.
May was a little softer thanusual and, quite frankly, I
think we got a little fat andhappy in some of the departments
where the maintenance techswere able to clock out at 4.30
and get the convenience store onthe way home.
No, I need you till 6.30 now,buddy, sorry, we're in the
hospitality business and that.
Tiffany Edwards (08:29):
Nor does it have holidays, Tim, Because I
grew up in the business, 4th ofJuly to me was one of the worst
and hardest days and weeks, soI've never understood what a
holiday off is.
But you really need to makesure you communicate that with
your staff as well.
Whether your summer is yourpeak season or there's another
(08:50):
time that is your peak season,there are holidays that fall,
and those holidays aren'tnecessarily given to anyone.
Tim Cafferty (08:56):
Yes, we have names around here for Memorial Day
and Labor Day.
They're called Mondays, andthis year July 4th is called
Friday.
Friday we are working, baby.
Yes, understand that.
And then for your full-time,year-round staff, you may need
an understanding about paid timeoff.
(09:17):
You maybe are on a slipperyslope if you say you can't take
off.
I think the Employment SecurityCommission may have something
to say about that.
But you can certainly frownupon any time the thing that we
say all the time is okay, you'releaving, who's covering for you
?
Because that's the issue, right?
All of us have important jobsto do, in whatever role we have,
(09:38):
and if you're not there thatday, somebody has to take up the
slack, and you need to considerthat when you take your time
off as well.
Tiffany Edwards (09:45):
Absolutely, and those are just ways that you
can communicate.
More importantly, tim, we canadd in how do you keep those
staff members and your teamexcited and encouraged during
that peak time so rolling intothen what looks like season is
(10:05):
on us?
How do you usually keep thoseteam members engaged?
Tim Cafferty (10:10):
Well, I think the frontline folks are the ones I
concern myself the most with.
Our maintenance techs, forexample, who are on the road on
Saturday.
They're out by 830.
And many times they're workingtill 730 or eight o'clock that
same day before they wrapped upand it can get quite tiring.
So we put a policy in placelast year where we give them a
holiday once a month.
You get an extra day off thisweek.
(10:31):
Go recharge your battery, Don'tdo anything involving work, and
we've found that to beeffective.
But you really have to becreative and adapt yourself to
the best ones and make surethey're all happy and check in
with them.
That's the other thing.
Do that check-in.
How's your heart, How's yourmind?
Everything good.
Are you loving it?
Still Not so much, but we usedto call it the 100-day war.
We only have 33 days left in100-day war.
(10:53):
We're going to be okay.
Pump them up every time.
Tiffany Edwards (10:56):
Yeah, and again it's that team aspect and
camaraderie.
You never want to have it.
Where it's woe is me.
It's a mindset that's differentand we're all in it together.
We started, on really busycheck-in days, providing lunches
at a central location, so atthe office, so everyone could
get together for a few minutes,grab a quick bite to eat.
(11:18):
So no one felt like they had togo somewhere else.
We could still stay efficient,but we had time together almost
in a family aspect.
Right, Not everyone takes lunchat the same time, but we're all
in the same room takingreservations calls eating.
So for any of our inspectors oranyone who's out on the road in
the front line had thatavailability.
Tim Cafferty (11:38):
So we told you there were three areas.
We're obviously really divinginto this prep for the season.
A couple of the things on mylist for prepping for the season
Tiffany and you and I havetalked about this offline before
.
That is, testing your systems,making sure those things are
working the way you think theywere working and making sure
that you whoever you are most ofyou listening to this podcast
(12:00):
are either an owner of avacation rental company, an
owner of a vacation rentalitself, or a mid to high level
manager.
Have you gone into the propertywith a set of guest eyes to
make sure it is what you thinkit is?
Tiffany knows I just had anexperience where I rented a
property in her area and Ishared with her my frustration.
I feel like I'm pretty goodwith technology.
(12:22):
I could not get to flipping TVon in the master bedroom to save
my life.
Just ask Deb.
She was like are you going togive up on this?
No, I am going to make this TVwork, but the remotes were not a
help and there was noinstructions anywhere to find
out how to turn on the TV in themaster bedroom.
So those kinds of things.
And then the guestcommunication how are you
communicating with the guest?
And are you communicating withthe guests?
(12:43):
Are you checking in with themduring their stay to make sure
everything's okay?
If you only communicate withthem before they arrive and as
they depart?
Tiffany Edwards (12:56):
with them before they arrive and as they
depart.
You are missing it Absolutely,especially if they are renting
outside of your direct website.
You're really missing the boaton your branding, opportunity
and loyalty.
But, tim, that's such a goodpoint to go into a house and
look at it from terms of a guest.
One of my biggest pain pointsis during peak season, so I used
to answer the phone.
One of the positions I hadearly on with my mother is
during peak season, so I used toanswer the phone.
One of the positions I hadearly on with my mother is I
(13:16):
answered the phones and I wouldbe almost the maintenance
dispatcher.
So it was about, I think, 13when I started that, and so all
of the calls that come in arethose communication points that
we don't need.
My AC isn't working.
Well, it's not working.
You've had the door open andyou've been bringing all your
things in.
My refrigerator is not working.
Well, it's not working becauseyou have loaded it with all
(13:39):
these groceries and the groceryhas been sitting in your car for
an hour.
So making sure that youcommunicate that and one of our
companies does this.
So the refrigerator they have alaminated sticker that says the
refrigerator might be a littlewarm, but we've inspected it's
completely clean and disinfected.
(14:00):
So please give it some time.
So it's not even somethingthat's in a packet where guests
will just not think about it,but it's right there and it
gives them also a sense of ohwow, this is so clean.
Someone's inspected this hereand it's laminated and it stays
in their refrigerator and thatwas one of my favorite things in
one of our properties that wewent into.
(14:20):
But it prevents thoseadditional calls that slow down
your workday.
Tim Cafferty (14:24):
That's a great point about prepping your staff,
those frontline peopleanswering the phone.
We still do get phone calls andusually they're 911 emergencies
from somebody very stressed outabout the air conditioner not
working properly and the poorgal answering the phone is 24
years old.
She doesn't know.
You need to train her.
You're going to get this kindof call.
You're going to get this kindof call.
(14:44):
You're going to get this kindof call and this is how we want
it handled.
Good on you for that.
Tiffany Edwards (14:49):
So communication internally with
your staff and then making surewhat communication you're
sending out externally to yourguests.
Tim Cafferty (14:56):
Check it Very good , all right, so let's transition
now.
The season is on us, it isMemorial Day, monday.
We have all these guestsin-house.
How about some things here thatwe can look at?
How about extra help Not beingcaught by surprise on turnover
day when you have perfectlyscheduled the day for
housekeeping?
You have all the QC peopleyou'd ever need, and then three
(15:20):
of them call out oops, we have12 houses we need to clean,
tiffany.
What are we going to do?
Oh my God.
Tiffany Edwards (15:27):
And, by the way , they've called out in the
houses that they've beenassigned for the people who
showed up at 7 am to get there.
Tim Cafferty (15:35):
Always.
Tiffany Edwards (15:37):
And they've driven through the night.
Yes, with six kids in the car.
Yes, and they're very angry.
Tim Cafferty (15:43):
Yes.
Tiffany Edwards (15:44):
So making sure again that you have individuals
that you can call, I think, theother for us as well, for our
properties that have laundries.
Making sure that we have peoplewho work late into the night to
wash and have all of thoseitems prepped and ready to go
and have extra bundles oflaundry so that if someone else
(16:06):
is coming in they can quicklygrab.
So really looking holisticallyat your business and saying
where are those kind of painpoints, where are we going to be
backlogged and where do we needpeople?
We also hire more inspectorsduring peak season for our areas
that are peak for summer.
We hire a lot of teachersbecause they work just two or
three days a week.
(16:26):
It's enough for them and whatthey want in the capacity and
they know the area pretty welland they like the work of being
out and about in the community.
So that's really helpful for us.
But you really need to makesure the housekeeping is really
where it starts.
Tim Cafferty (16:42):
I would say I've got two more big ones on my list
here for in-season preparation,if you will.
One of them is does operationsknow what's coming?
And so what I mean by that ismaintenance, housekeeping,
inspections, whatever ops meansfor your company.
If I had done a check-in reportfor this past weekend, I would
(17:07):
have seen I have X number ofarrivals.
Great, got them scheduled,we're good to go.
If I had done that report againon Friday, I would have found
24 additional arrivals thatweren't on the list on Wednesday
because we had a last-minutebooking.
Oh my Lord, do you have acommunications process in place?
Reservations knew they werecoming because we have the lease
(17:29):
, we have the payment.
Oh yeah, great, the house isopen.
I booked it.
Hooray Oops, we have to go getit cleaned, or we have to go get
it inspected, or there'ssomething going on with the door
handle.
We need to go get that fixed,making sure you have that
holistic communications approachthat everybody knows.
There's a check-in into ABC 123on Saturday morning.
Tiffany Edwards (17:49):
And Tim, I'll add on to that too, because I
feel like if owners live nearbyand they see that it's open for
a short period of time close toit, they'll book it themselves
or their family members willcome in during that time.
So you really need to have yourteam be prepared for an owner
arrival.
Especially if it's midwaythrough peak season, that
(18:12):
property could look a littledifferent after some significant
wear and tear.
So how are you communicatingthat to make sure that those
special owners that come inaren't being surprised and
you're not surprised by theirarrival?
Tim Cafferty (18:24):
Well, that's another pre-season thing we
could do making sure thoseowners are of a mindset that,
hey, we could book your property12 hours before check-in.
So make sure you tell us whenyou're coming, because we've all
experienced that that's no good.
Another one that you may notthink of until after the fact is
are your billing processestight?
Let's face it, one of our corevalues is profitability.
(18:48):
Don't hide from it.
We're in this business as afor-profit agency.
Everybody working here wants tomake more money next year than
they made this year.
I'm pretty sure of that.
I haven't checked witheverybody and I'm pretty sure.
The only way we can do that ismaking sure we're billing
properly for the work that we'redoing, right.
And when the season is upon usand those calls come in about
(19:15):
the toilets clogged or whatevera billable scenario would be in
your mindset, you insert issuehere Do you have the billing
process tight, that you are notonly entering the work order for
the work to be done but closingthe work order and billing it?
You do not want to be like Iwas a few years ago when I
looked at the end of August andI found 700 open work orders,
many of them from June and it'svery difficult to go back to an
(19:38):
owner and bill in August orSeptember for something you did
90 days ago.
Tiffany Edwards (19:43):
Yeah, I hate to say we've been there too and
really making sure that there'ssomeone who does help go through
some of those.
We've put a little bit more onour accounting side during the
peak season because they'reright in front of the desk and
maybe they can review a littlebit more, but just making sure
that those work orders areclosed out, because those are
really rough calls from an ownerwhen they get charged over and
(20:06):
over in November.
Tim Cafferty (20:08):
What else do you have for end season?
Kind of things do we need to bethinking about as we are in the
heat of the moment.
Tiffany Edwards (20:13):
So, in the heat of the moment, I still think
it's important praise, check inwith our team, which we've kind
of talked about, but I alsostart planning out a end wrap-up
party, goodbye to peak season.
You did great so that ouremployees have something to look
(20:34):
forward to and we try to makeit really special something.
If it's a bonfire on the beachin some locations, sometimes
I'll bring in California, we'lldo lunch and do a little party
in the office, but something sothat everyone feels touched,
heard and celebrated and thatthere's almost an end in sight.
And so we start prepping forthat by sending things out and
(20:57):
communicating with our team.
Tim Cafferty (20:58):
I love that that appreciation is not just the
beginning of the season, the endof the season For those of you
that are rental managementcompany owners, your presence is
a point of appreciation.
I'll do a little self-brag here, or at least self-awareness
here.
For the last 20 years I havebeen the first one at work on
(21:19):
Saturday morning.
I come in at 5.30 on Saturdaymorning and I help the cleaners
load their cars because theycome here to get the materials
to clean the houses.
I ask about their children, Ifind out what's going on and
first of all can't believe I'mactually the owner of the
company.
I'm just Tim, the warehouse guywho gets here early.
Are you really the guy thatsigns my check?
(21:41):
So that's really cool.
But then that weeklyappreciation whether it's even
cold water and snacks availableto them when they come in, just
a really appreciate a good jobdone there.
And if you haven't made somesort of a brag board, ours is a
big screen TV in the warehousearea where we can put those
kudos up.
There we get comments fromguests.
That's the cleanest house I'veever rented.
(22:01):
You know, aaron got a shout outfrom the guest at SS1234,
greatest house cleaning I'veever seen.
Those go a long way.
Tiffany Edwards (22:11):
Absolutely.
And I want to dive a little bitdeeper, tim, because I also grew
up where my mom was thedispatcher on Saturdays, where
we used to have 300 check-ins inone day and it was seven days
non-negotiable rental and my momsat at the housekeeping office
office and she'd sit on twophones and prior to when we had
(22:32):
keys, prior to the locks, theelectronic locks, we would know
when a guest would leave, keyswould be returned and I'd be at
the front desk calling her tolet her know to dispatch
housekeeping.
And then we'd have this constantcommunication of when guests
came in to dispatch housekeeping.
And then we have this constantcommunication of when guests
came in.
But to have the owner or the GMor whoever it may be in those
(22:52):
offices, one, it's appreciation,but two, you get to see a whole
nother level of your businessand the efficiencies or
inefficiencies, and that kind ofbrings us a little bit more to
our post-season of how youevaluate.
But you're never going to seethe ground up than unless you
are right there on a busy, busyday and you're ground level.
Tim Cafferty (23:17):
And, let's face it , there's a certain awareness
you have as a company owner andan upper level manager.
So, for instance, if I haveGloria who comes in as a
housekeeper and just isn'tlooking just right for me, I've
been known to write down whathouses did Gloria do today and
let me see how those turned out.
(23:38):
And invariably Gloria is goingto be a problem.
You know, if they come to workdragging butt, they're probably
not going to find energy on theway to the house.
Maybe they cut a few corners,maybe they didn't do exactly
what you're supposed to do andyou've got to police that stuff,
because in another episodewe're going to talk about your
brand and professionalism.
(23:59):
Maybe two episodes actually,but at any rate it all fits
together.
I like to say everything speaks, and that speaks loudly when
you see a one-off and you needto follow up on it.
Tiffany Edwards (24:11):
Or you've hired a company for contract services
but you don't have the samecleaners week to week.
So you know that the houseisn't going to be consistent.
But you now know why it's notconsistent.
Tim Cafferty (24:22):
The other side of that, when you talk about
appreciation and in-season, oneof the things that I heard at a
conference recently that I thinkwe're going to implement is a
bonus for staff that reportconsistently.
We talked about call-outsearlier.
How about somebody that doesn'tcall out?
I use Gloria as a bad example.
(24:43):
We use Gloria as a good example.
Gloria reported to work everySaturday this summer and she
gets to go in a drawing for an85-inch big screen TV.
Tiffany Edwards (24:53):
It works, I'm telling you.
I love that.
That's great.
I might be using that for someof our locations.
Tim Cafferty (24:58):
Use those credit card points to get some gifts
that you can give away and bringit in a couple of weeks in
advance so everybody can see theTV and they see that their
name's in the hat.
So that's good.
So the postmortem, you canimagine we've already given you
many things that you should beaware of.
So how did it go when you dohave a break in the season and
understand?
Over the last few years, manybeach areas especially haven't
(25:21):
had that break in the fall, butthere does come a time where you
can step back a little bit andsee how it went.
How did our billing processeswork and what do we need to
change to make sure we don'thave those work orders that are
95 days overdue, whether it befrom our individual billing of
our own people going out, orthat air conditioner vendor that
(25:41):
you were talking about, thatyou don't always use and they're
not the best at accounting, andthey forgot to bill you for
that new unit.
And so what kind of things doyou put in place there?
What kind of things did youlearn from the season that you
can put into place for a betterseason in the future?
Tiffany Edwards (25:58):
Tim I'll touch on that where some of those that
we've done post-mortem, wherewe've learned one of it
reviewing how many discounts didyou give away and I know before
we've talked about not talkingthrough you know, using the word
discounts, how many rebates didyou give away instead of maybe
offering a dinner or offeringmore towels or offering some
other type of services?
(26:19):
And so we learned that a whileback, because I think a lot of
our property managers would justbe easy to say, well, let me
give you some money back,instead of maybe providing a
different service or just alistening ear.
The other thing that werealized too we love, love, love
Breezeway.
We use it in all of ourlocations.
We found that a lot of ourtasks it would be open the
drawer, look in the drawer,review the drawer, so it was
(26:43):
taking way too much time toinspect a property.
So we were getting to only afew in a day where we could have
tripled and it was becausethere were too many tasks
associated.
So, really taking a look atwhere were some pain points
where we can find efficienciesto earn or create more money and
a better guest experience and abetter experience for our
(27:06):
employees.
Tim Cafferty (27:07):
If you aren't exactly sure what Tiffany was
referring to there.
Marco DiDimizio had his earscovered there for a moment when
she said the word discount.
Our previous podcast, where wehad the king of hospitality on,
said never provide a discount.
Give them a guest loyalty, givethem a credit towards a future
stay.
Those kinds of things work very, very well.
(27:27):
That way you have also thesecond opportunity to earn that
business back.
Great strategies there.
Okay, we've covered a lot here.
Anything else on thepost-mortem that you can think
of that we should pass along tothese folks.
Tiffany Edwards (27:38):
The only other thing I would say is really
looking at when did you startyour preparation for peak season
, Because now in the postmortem,you have plenty of time to
reassess.
But create another action planof when you should be looking at
this.
Tim Cafferty (27:52):
And if you have a budget, go back and say well, I
didn't put enough money in thisline item.
As we get prepared for budgetseason, which is gonna be about
two weeks after the season forTim's crew, we better make sure
we remember that for the future.
I hope you got something out ofthis today.
Folks, we're both in the brosof the season, just like you are
(28:15):
.
I hope you prepared properly.
I hope many of this doesn'tresonate at all because you got
it knocked, but maybe for a fewof you you were able to jot down
a few things that you canimprove on and we are glad to
help.
Tiffany Edwards (28:21):
And I can't wait.
Next week, like you hadmentioned, next episode we'll be
touching a little bit more onbrand, and all of this is hand
in hand, because you got tobuild that brand loyalty, so
this is the stairway to get youthere.
Tim Cafferty (28:35):
So that's it for this edition of the Vacation
Rental Key with TNT.
We are so glad you're with us.
Don't forget to send us amessage.
You can find us at our website.
Spell it all out the VacationRental Key with T and T.
Or you can find us on socialmedia, which Tiffany's doing a
great job putting out for youguys.
We love to hear from you and,if you don't mind, look at that
(28:58):
podcast app that you're usingright now.
There's an option up there foryou to give us a review.
We would love a five starreview, if you can.
Helps us get more listeners andhelps us spread the word about
being more professional in whatwe do and what we love.
Tiffany Edwards (29:09):
Thanks guys, Until next time.
Tim Cafferty (29:11):
So long, everybody , bye-bye.
You're listening to the Vacation Rental Key with
T&T, the podcast for vacationrental managers by vacation
rental managers.
I'm Tim Cafferty and I managetwo companies, one in Virginia
and one in North Carolina.
I'm one of the two T's.
Tiffany Edwards (00:26):
And I'm the other, T Tiffany Edwards, born
and raised in the vacationrental business.
I help manage our familybusinesses from Key West all the
way to Kauai.
Tim Cafferty (00:36):
In the next 30 minutes, we're going to give you
our keys to success in thevacation rental business.
Tiffany Edwards (00:45):
Welcome back for another really exciting
episode.
I cannot wait to dive in today,Tim.
Tim Cafferty (00:51):
Well, it's a good thing, because the season is
upon us and I'm already into it,so let's go.
Tiffany Edwards (00:58):
Today we're going to talk about what all you
need to do to get yourselfready for peak season, and
there's quite a few lists thatyou need to be checking twice.
Tim Cafferty (01:09):
Amen, sister, we're into it.
This podcast is being droppedon Memorial Day, so I'm sure
some of you said a little lateon this, but better late than
never.
And we've actually broken itdown to the three areas, like
our takeaways, and so we've gotthree areas.
We've kind of organized yourorganization for the season.
The first one would bepreparing for the season.
(01:32):
Then we're going to talk aboutthe season itself as we get
going and then maybe thepost-mortem after the season is
over what not to do and whatmaybe you should do.
As you've learned over the next90 or 100 days, I am ready to
roll, and I know you are too.
As you've learned over the next90 or 100 days, I am ready to
roll, and I know you are too.
Tiffany Edwards (01:48):
So let's go ahead and get started on
preparing for season.
So, tim, how long do you thinkthat you really need to start
communicating with your staffand reviewing some of these
items, looking at that peakseason timeframe?
Tim Cafferty (02:03):
Well, you're going to get me on my soapbox here.
I would say that it startsduring budget time, which should
have been several months ago,maybe even last year, preparing
for this year what are ourexpenses going to be, what's our
income, how much payroll and soon.
But for me, our season,traditionally Memorial Day to
Labor Day we'd love to say itextends on either side, but the
reality is that's go time right.
(02:24):
And so, as we prepare for thispast weekend, if you will, we
started pretty much in January,tiffany, as we thought about
things like the materials we'regoing to need, the staffing
we're going to need, thetraining that we're going to
need, and it does take time toget that just right.
How about you?
Tiffany Edwards (02:42):
Yeah, absolutely.
And one of the things that wedo in preparation of that
staffing and one of my absolutefavorite key takeaways that we
do for all of our businesses isa housekeeping meeting.
So to make sure we build in.
All of our housekeepers arecontractors, but we want to
(03:03):
build in ties and relationshipswith these housekeepers so we
know during peak season they'regoing to show up.
We do have some housekeepers wekeep all year round, but
obviously during the peak seasonwe need a lot more.
So we put a fun little luncheontogether.
We usually have our owners orour general managers there
helping cook hot dogs andhamburgers.
(03:25):
We sit all the housekeepersdown at the table anyone who's
reached out to us, any of ourhousekeepers who have been with
us for a very long time and wereally talk through what our
processes are.
We talk through whatexpectations are.
We make sure that it's a reallyfun event for these individuals
and I think that that reallyhelps build the expectation.
(03:48):
We also help too, for a lot ofthe housekeepers talk through
how they can create their ownbusinesses and provide them
supporting materials so thatthey can be a contractor.
Tim Cafferty (03:59):
That's really important, and many of you out
there use contract services toclean your properties.
I use employees, and there is.
You out there use contractservices to clean your
properties.
I use employees, and there is avery distinct difference.
Employees I can direct to dowhatever Contractors.
You can give them yourguidelines, but you really
(04:20):
shouldn't have that control overexactly how they do the job.
You can give them guidelinesand that meeting that you
described is great For ourpurposes.
This past weekend, for instance,memorial Day weekend, we had
five training sessions for ourstaff Friday morning, friday
afternoon, saturday morning,saturday afternoon and Sunday
afternoon, whether it be aquality control person or one of
our employee housekeepers.
We went through all thechemical usage, we went through
(04:42):
our standard property appearancehandouts.
All this takes time to prepare,and then the one that I thought
we really were good on thisyear was we went to a property
after the meeting and we had ascavenger hunt, so to speak,
where the team that was therefor that meeting had a checklist
and they could find 17 thingsthat were incorrect in the way
(05:06):
that we've prepared the property.
And we went there before, ofcourse, and purposefully didn't
put a towel on a bed or didn'tput the soap out in the proper
position or the coffee maker wasnot in the right spot, and
whoever got through that listand found all 17 items first got
a little prize.
It was pretty cool.
Tiffany Edwards (05:24):
I love that.
We've done that before too,where we've hidden gift cards in
places where they should belooking.
But don't always do that.
I love that incentive componentto it.
Tim Cafferty (05:35):
I have a quick story there.
I used to do that years ago.
I would go on properties and Iwould hide money in the toaster
and the oven and so on, and thenwe had guests calling.
We found a $20 bill in the oven.
That was not exactly what I hadin mind.
Oh, so we've refined that.
Tiffany Edwards (05:57):
That's a good one.
The other thing, too is whenyou look at from a contractor
for services, you really need toknow who your preferred vendors
are Absolutely.
For some of our markets, acsgoing to go out peak season
where you have nowhere to movethe guests.
You need to make sure that youhave someone on speed dial to
(06:18):
help in any of those areas.
That could be very problematicfor your owner and, more
importantly, your guests.
And so who's going to come outand answer the phone for you
after hours and do you trusttheir work?
Tim Cafferty (06:33):
So when we talk about preparing for the season,
I hope you all already have, ifyou do, welcome bags.
I hope you ordered those monthsago, because the tariffs are in
place now.
You're a little out of luckthere.
How many soaps do we need?
What's your inventory par?
Have you done an inventorycount on what you have?
Do you have re-par, which iswhat the recommendation would be
?
And those kinds of things canbe done well in advance, much
(06:56):
prior to the meetings we'retalking about.
And then, how about policies?
Making sure policies are inplace in advance of the season.
You've done very well with this, tiffany.
Tiffany Edwards (07:05):
Yeah, so we look at our hurricane policy
specifically every year.
That's one of the ones that Ijust want to make sure it is
very well communicated with ourstaff.
Our number one priority is toprotect that investment and a
return of investment for ourowners and also make sure that
our guests are safe.
Turn of investment for ourowners and also make sure that
(07:27):
our guests are safe.
And so we need to make surethat anyone that works with us
knows exactly what needs to bedone prior to a name storm, when
there is a name storm and thenif we have to return.
And then the other policy thatwe really hone in on is
expectations for our staff.
During peak season, hours maynot look the same.
(07:47):
Responsibilities may be shared.
There were many times that Ijust spent days going and
stripping beds, even though Iwas technically supposed to be
checking people into the frontoffice.
It is a team building timeframeand you really need to
communicate that with your staffteam building timeframe and you
really need to communicate thatwith your staff.
Tim Cafferty (08:05):
Particularly if you have a quick ramp up, which
is what we had this year.
May was a little softer thanusual and, quite frankly, I
think we got a little fat andhappy in some of the departments
where the maintenance techswere able to clock out at 4.30
and get the convenience store onthe way home.
No, I need you till 6.30 now,buddy, sorry, we're in the
hospitality business and that.
Tiffany Edwards (08:29):
Nor does it have holidays, Tim, Because I
grew up in the business, 4th ofJuly to me was one of the worst
and hardest days and weeks, soI've never understood what a
holiday off is.
But you really need to makesure you communicate that with
your staff as well.
Whether your summer is yourpeak season or there's another
(08:50):
time that is your peak season,there are holidays that fall,
and those holidays aren'tnecessarily given to anyone.
Tim Cafferty (08:56):
Yes, we have names around here for Memorial Day
and Labor Day.
They're called Mondays, andthis year July 4th is called
Friday.
Friday we are working, baby.
Yes, understand that.
And then for your full-time,year-round staff, you may need
an understanding about paid timeoff.
(09:17):
You maybe are on a slipperyslope if you say you can't take
off.
I think the Employment SecurityCommission may have something
to say about that.
But you can certainly frownupon any time the thing that we
say all the time is okay, you'releaving, who's covering for you
?
Because that's the issue, right?
All of us have important jobsto do, in whatever role we have,
(09:38):
and if you're not there thatday, somebody has to take up the
slack, and you need to considerthat when you take your time
off as well.
Tiffany Edwards (09:45):
Absolutely, and those are just ways that you
can communicate.
More importantly, tim, we canadd in how do you keep those
staff members and your teamexcited and encouraged during
that peak time so rolling intothen what looks like season is
(10:05):
on us?
How do you usually keep thoseteam members engaged?
Tim Cafferty (10:10):
Well, I think the frontline folks are the ones I
concern myself the most with.
Our maintenance techs, forexample, who are on the road on
Saturday.
They're out by 830.
And many times they're workingtill 730 or eight o'clock that
same day before they wrapped upand it can get quite tiring.
So we put a policy in placelast year where we give them a
holiday once a month.
You get an extra day off thisweek.
(10:31):
Go recharge your battery, Don'tdo anything involving work, and
we've found that to beeffective.
But you really have to becreative and adapt yourself to
the best ones and make surethey're all happy and check in
with them.
That's the other thing.
Do that check-in.
How's your heart, How's yourmind?
Everything good.
Are you loving it?
Still Not so much, but we usedto call it the 100-day war.
We only have 33 days left in100-day war.
(10:53):
We're going to be okay.
Pump them up every time.
Tiffany Edwards (10:56):
Yeah, and again it's that team aspect and
camaraderie.
You never want to have it.
Where it's woe is me.
It's a mindset that's differentand we're all in it together.
We started, on really busycheck-in days, providing lunches
at a central location, so atthe office, so everyone could
get together for a few minutes,grab a quick bite to eat.
(11:18):
So no one felt like they had togo somewhere else.
We could still stay efficient,but we had time together almost
in a family aspect.
Right, Not everyone takes lunchat the same time, but we're all
in the same room takingreservations calls eating.
So for any of our inspectors oranyone who's out on the road in
the front line had thatavailability.
Tim Cafferty (11:38):
So we told you there were three areas.
We're obviously really divinginto this prep for the season.
A couple of the things on mylist for prepping for the season
Tiffany and you and I havetalked about this offline before
.
That is, testing your systems,making sure those things are
working the way you think theywere working and making sure
that you whoever you are most ofyou listening to this podcast
(12:00):
are either an owner of avacation rental company, an
owner of a vacation rentalitself, or a mid to high level
manager.
Have you gone into the propertywith a set of guest eyes to
make sure it is what you thinkit is?
Tiffany knows I just had anexperience where I rented a
property in her area and Ishared with her my frustration.
I feel like I'm pretty goodwith technology.
(12:22):
I could not get to flipping TVon in the master bedroom to save
my life.
Just ask Deb.
She was like are you going togive up on this?
No, I am going to make this TVwork, but the remotes were not a
help and there was noinstructions anywhere to find
out how to turn on the TV in themaster bedroom.
So those kinds of things.
And then the guestcommunication how are you
communicating with the guest?
And are you communicating withthe guests?
(12:43):
Are you checking in with themduring their stay to make sure
everything's okay?
If you only communicate withthem before they arrive and as
they depart?
Tiffany Edwards (12:56):
with them before they arrive and as they
depart.
You are missing it Absolutely,especially if they are renting
outside of your direct website.
You're really missing the boaton your branding, opportunity
and loyalty.
But, tim, that's such a goodpoint to go into a house and
look at it from terms of a guest.
One of my biggest pain pointsis during peak season, so I used
to answer the phone.
One of the positions I hadearly on with my mother is
during peak season, so I used toanswer the phone.
One of the positions I hadearly on with my mother is I
(13:16):
answered the phones and I wouldbe almost the maintenance
dispatcher.
So it was about, I think, 13when I started that, and so all
of the calls that come in arethose communication points that
we don't need.
My AC isn't working.
Well, it's not working.
You've had the door open andyou've been bringing all your
things in.
My refrigerator is not working.
Well, it's not working becauseyou have loaded it with all
(13:39):
these groceries and the groceryhas been sitting in your car for
an hour.
So making sure that youcommunicate that and one of our
companies does this.
So the refrigerator they have alaminated sticker that says the
refrigerator might be a littlewarm, but we've inspected it's
completely clean and disinfected.
(14:00):
So please give it some time.
So it's not even somethingthat's in a packet where guests
will just not think about it,but it's right there and it
gives them also a sense of ohwow, this is so clean.
Someone's inspected this hereand it's laminated and it stays
in their refrigerator and thatwas one of my favorite things in
one of our properties that wewent into.
(14:20):
But it prevents thoseadditional calls that slow down
your workday.
Tim Cafferty (14:24):
That's a great point about prepping your staff,
those frontline peopleanswering the phone.
We still do get phone calls andusually they're 911 emergencies
from somebody very stressed outabout the air conditioner not
working properly and the poorgal answering the phone is 24
years old.
She doesn't know.
You need to train her.
You're going to get this kindof call.
You're going to get this kindof call.
(14:44):
You're going to get this kindof call and this is how we want
it handled.
Good on you for that.
Tiffany Edwards (14:49):
So communication internally with
your staff and then making surewhat communication you're
sending out externally to yourguests.
Tim Cafferty (14:56):
Check it Very good , all right, so let's transition
now.
The season is on us, it isMemorial Day, monday.
We have all these guestsin-house.
How about some things here thatwe can look at?
How about extra help Not beingcaught by surprise on turnover
day when you have perfectlyscheduled the day for
housekeeping?
You have all the QC peopleyou'd ever need, and then three
(15:20):
of them call out oops, we have12 houses we need to clean,
tiffany.
What are we going to do?
Oh my God.
Tiffany Edwards (15:27):
And, by the way , they've called out in the
houses that they've beenassigned for the people who
showed up at 7 am to get there.
Tim Cafferty (15:35):
Always.
Tiffany Edwards (15:37):
And they've driven through the night.
Yes, with six kids in the car.
Yes, and they're very angry.
Tim Cafferty (15:43):
Yes.
Tiffany Edwards (15:44):
So making sure again that you have individuals
that you can call, I think, theother for us as well, for our
properties that have laundries.
Making sure that we have peoplewho work late into the night to
wash and have all of thoseitems prepped and ready to go
and have extra bundles oflaundry so that if someone else
(16:06):
is coming in they can quicklygrab.
So really looking holisticallyat your business and saying
where are those kind of painpoints, where are we going to be
backlogged and where do we needpeople?
We also hire more inspectorsduring peak season for our areas
that are peak for summer.
We hire a lot of teachersbecause they work just two or
three days a week.
(16:26):
It's enough for them and whatthey want in the capacity and
they know the area pretty welland they like the work of being
out and about in the community.
So that's really helpful for us.
But you really need to makesure the housekeeping is really
where it starts.
Tim Cafferty (16:42):
I would say I've got two more big ones on my list
here for in-season preparation,if you will.
One of them is does operationsknow what's coming?
And so what I mean by that ismaintenance, housekeeping,
inspections, whatever ops meansfor your company.
If I had done a check-in reportfor this past weekend, I would
(17:07):
have seen I have X number ofarrivals.
Great, got them scheduled,we're good to go.
If I had done that report againon Friday, I would have found
24 additional arrivals thatweren't on the list on Wednesday
because we had a last-minutebooking.
Oh my Lord, do you have acommunications process in place?
Reservations knew they werecoming because we have the lease
(17:29):
, we have the payment.
Oh yeah, great, the house isopen.
I booked it.
Hooray Oops, we have to go getit cleaned, or we have to go get
it inspected, or there'ssomething going on with the door
handle.
We need to go get that fixed,making sure you have that
holistic communications approachthat everybody knows.
There's a check-in into ABC 123on Saturday morning.
Tiffany Edwards (17:49):
And Tim, I'll add on to that too, because I
feel like if owners live nearbyand they see that it's open for
a short period of time close toit, they'll book it themselves
or their family members willcome in during that time.
So you really need to have yourteam be prepared for an owner
arrival.
Especially if it's midwaythrough peak season, that
(18:12):
property could look a littledifferent after some significant
wear and tear.
So how are you communicatingthat to make sure that those
special owners that come inaren't being surprised and
you're not surprised by theirarrival?
Tim Cafferty (18:24):
Well, that's another pre-season thing we
could do making sure thoseowners are of a mindset that,
hey, we could book your property12 hours before check-in.
So make sure you tell us whenyou're coming, because we've all
experienced that that's no good.
Another one that you may notthink of until after the fact is
are your billing processestight?
Let's face it, one of our corevalues is profitability.
(18:48):
Don't hide from it.
We're in this business as afor-profit agency.
Everybody working here wants tomake more money next year than
they made this year.
I'm pretty sure of that.
I haven't checked witheverybody and I'm pretty sure.
The only way we can do that ismaking sure we're billing
properly for the work that we'redoing, right.
And when the season is upon usand those calls come in about
(19:15):
the toilets clogged or whatevera billable scenario would be in
your mindset, you insert issuehere Do you have the billing
process tight, that you are notonly entering the work order for
the work to be done but closingthe work order and billing it?
You do not want to be like Iwas a few years ago when I
looked at the end of August andI found 700 open work orders,
many of them from June and it'svery difficult to go back to an
(19:38):
owner and bill in August orSeptember for something you did
90 days ago.
Tiffany Edwards (19:43):
Yeah, I hate to say we've been there too and
really making sure that there'ssomeone who does help go through
some of those.
We've put a little bit more onour accounting side during the
peak season because they'reright in front of the desk and
maybe they can review a littlebit more, but just making sure
that those work orders areclosed out, because those are
really rough calls from an ownerwhen they get charged over and
(20:06):
over in November.
Tim Cafferty (20:08):
What else do you have for end season?
Kind of things do we need to bethinking about as we are in the
heat of the moment.
Tiffany Edwards (20:13):
So, in the heat of the moment, I still think
it's important praise, check inwith our team, which we've kind
of talked about, but I alsostart planning out a end wrap-up
party, goodbye to peak season.
You did great so that ouremployees have something to look
(20:34):
forward to and we try to makeit really special something.
If it's a bonfire on the beachin some locations, sometimes
I'll bring in California, we'lldo lunch and do a little party
in the office, but something sothat everyone feels touched,
heard and celebrated and thatthere's almost an end in sight.
And so we start prepping forthat by sending things out and
(20:57):
communicating with our team.
Tim Cafferty (20:58):
I love that that appreciation is not just the
beginning of the season, the endof the season For those of you
that are rental managementcompany owners, your presence is
a point of appreciation.
I'll do a little self-brag here, or at least self-awareness
here.
For the last 20 years I havebeen the first one at work on
(21:19):
Saturday morning.
I come in at 5.30 on Saturdaymorning and I help the cleaners
load their cars because theycome here to get the materials
to clean the houses.
I ask about their children, Ifind out what's going on and
first of all can't believe I'mactually the owner of the
company.
I'm just Tim, the warehouse guywho gets here early.
Are you really the guy thatsigns my check?
(21:41):
So that's really cool.
But then that weeklyappreciation whether it's even
cold water and snacks availableto them when they come in, just
a really appreciate a good jobdone there.
And if you haven't made somesort of a brag board, ours is a
big screen TV in the warehousearea where we can put those
kudos up.
There we get comments fromguests.
That's the cleanest house I'veever rented.
(22:01):
You know, aaron got a shout outfrom the guest at SS1234,
greatest house cleaning I'veever seen.
Those go a long way.
Tiffany Edwards (22:11):
Absolutely.
And I want to dive a little bitdeeper, tim, because I also grew
up where my mom was thedispatcher on Saturdays, where
we used to have 300 check-ins inone day and it was seven days
non-negotiable rental and my momsat at the housekeeping office
office and she'd sit on twophones and prior to when we had
(22:32):
keys, prior to the locks, theelectronic locks, we would know
when a guest would leave, keyswould be returned and I'd be at
the front desk calling her tolet her know to dispatch
housekeeping.
And then we'd have this constantcommunication of when guests
came in to dispatch housekeeping.
And then we have this constantcommunication of when guests
came in.
But to have the owner or the GMor whoever it may be in those
(22:52):
offices, one, it's appreciation,but two, you get to see a whole
nother level of your businessand the efficiencies or
inefficiencies, and that kind ofbrings us a little bit more to
our post-season of how youevaluate.
But you're never going to seethe ground up than unless you
are right there on a busy, busyday and you're ground level.
Tim Cafferty (23:17):
And, let's face it , there's a certain awareness
you have as a company owner andan upper level manager.
So, for instance, if I haveGloria who comes in as a
housekeeper and just isn'tlooking just right for me, I've
been known to write down whathouses did Gloria do today and
let me see how those turned out.
(23:38):
And invariably Gloria is goingto be a problem.
You know, if they come to workdragging butt, they're probably
not going to find energy on theway to the house.
Maybe they cut a few corners,maybe they didn't do exactly
what you're supposed to do andyou've got to police that stuff,
because in another episodewe're going to talk about your
brand and professionalism.
(23:59):
Maybe two episodes actually,but at any rate it all fits
together.
I like to say everything speaks, and that speaks loudly when
you see a one-off and you needto follow up on it.
Tiffany Edwards (24:11):
Or you've hired a company for contract services
but you don't have the samecleaners week to week.
So you know that the houseisn't going to be consistent.
But you now know why it's notconsistent.
Tim Cafferty (24:22):
The other side of that, when you talk about
appreciation and in-season, oneof the things that I heard at a
conference recently that I thinkwe're going to implement is a
bonus for staff that reportconsistently.
We talked about call-outsearlier.
How about somebody that doesn'tcall out?
I use Gloria as a bad example.
(24:43):
We use Gloria as a good example.
Gloria reported to work everySaturday this summer and she
gets to go in a drawing for an85-inch big screen TV.
Tiffany Edwards (24:53):
It works, I'm telling you.
I love that.
That's great.
I might be using that for someof our locations.
Tim Cafferty (24:58):
Use those credit card points to get some gifts
that you can give away and bringit in a couple of weeks in
advance so everybody can see theTV and they see that their
name's in the hat.
So that's good.
So the postmortem, you canimagine we've already given you
many things that you should beaware of.
So how did it go when you dohave a break in the season and
understand?
Over the last few years, manybeach areas especially haven't
(25:21):
had that break in the fall, butthere does come a time where you
can step back a little bit andsee how it went.
How did our billing processeswork and what do we need to
change to make sure we don'thave those work orders that are
95 days overdue, whether it befrom our individual billing of
our own people going out, orthat air conditioner vendor that
(25:41):
you were talking about, thatyou don't always use and they're
not the best at accounting, andthey forgot to bill you for
that new unit.
And so what kind of things doyou put in place there?
What kind of things did youlearn from the season that you
can put into place for a betterseason in the future?
Tiffany Edwards (25:58):
Tim I'll touch on that where some of those that
we've done post-mortem, wherewe've learned one of it
reviewing how many discounts didyou give away and I know before
we've talked about not talkingthrough you know, using the word
discounts, how many rebates didyou give away instead of maybe
offering a dinner or offeringmore towels or offering some
other type of services?
(26:19):
And so we learned that a whileback, because I think a lot of
our property managers would justbe easy to say, well, let me
give you some money back,instead of maybe providing a
different service or just alistening ear.
The other thing that werealized too we love, love, love
Breezeway.
We use it in all of ourlocations.
We found that a lot of ourtasks it would be open the
drawer, look in the drawer,review the drawer, so it was
(26:43):
taking way too much time toinspect a property.
So we were getting to only afew in a day where we could have
tripled and it was becausethere were too many tasks
associated.
So, really taking a look atwhere were some pain points
where we can find efficienciesto earn or create more money and
a better guest experience and abetter experience for our
(27:06):
employees.
Tim Cafferty (27:07):
If you aren't exactly sure what Tiffany was
referring to there.
Marco DiDimizio had his earscovered there for a moment when
she said the word discount.
Our previous podcast, where wehad the king of hospitality on,
said never provide a discount.
Give them a guest loyalty, givethem a credit towards a future
stay.
Those kinds of things work very, very well.
(27:27):
That way you have also thesecond opportunity to earn that
business back.
Great strategies there.
Okay, we've covered a lot here.
Anything else on thepost-mortem that you can think
of that we should pass along tothese folks.
Tiffany Edwards (27:38):
The only other thing I would say is really
looking at when did you startyour preparation for peak season
, Because now in the postmortem,you have plenty of time to
reassess.
But create another action planof when you should be looking at
this.
Tim Cafferty (27:52):
And if you have a budget, go back and say well, I
didn't put enough money in thisline item.
As we get prepared for budgetseason, which is gonna be about
two weeks after the season forTim's crew, we better make sure
we remember that for the future.
I hope you got something out ofthis today.
Folks, we're both in the brosof the season, just like you are
(28:15):
.
I hope you prepared properly.
I hope many of this doesn'tresonate at all because you got
it knocked, but maybe for a fewof you you were able to jot down
a few things that you canimprove on and we are glad to
help.
Tiffany Edwards (28:21):
And I can't wait.
Next week, like you hadmentioned, next episode we'll be
touching a little bit more onbrand, and all of this is hand
in hand, because you got tobuild that brand loyalty, so
this is the stairway to get youthere.
Tim Cafferty (28:35):
So that's it for this edition of the Vacation
Rental Key with TNT.
We are so glad you're with us.
Don't forget to send us amessage.
You can find us at our website.
Spell it all out the VacationRental Key with T and T.
Or you can find us on socialmedia, which Tiffany's doing a
great job putting out for youguys.
We love to hear from you and,if you don't mind, look at that
(28:58):
podcast app that you're usingright now.
There's an option up there foryou to give us a review.
We would love a five starreview, if you can.
Helps us get more listeners andhelps us spread the word about
being more professional in whatwe do and what we love.
Tiffany Edwards (29:09):
Thanks guys, Until next time.
Tim Cafferty (29:11):
So long, everybody , bye-bye.
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