In The Society’s quest for delivering the highest quality vacation rental experience, we are publishing a series entitled: “Success Leaves a Crumb Trail”. Over the next several months, The Society will feature organizations that consistently distinguish themselves as leaders in luxury.
The Ritz Carlton hotels are high-end resorts that are dedicated to luxury, comfort and location. Their commitment to fulfilling the needs of their guests “with the utmost discretion, professionalism, and attention to detail” has set them apart from their competition and they intend to keep it that way.
The Ritz Carlton Suite in Bachelor Gulch, Colorado, is one of the most coveted suites in the Colorado high-country. It contains a private balcony with views of the pool, fire-pit and Bachelor Gulch Express lift, and panoramic views of the Bachelor Gulch Ski area on Beaver Creek Mountain. The bedroom is outfitted in 400-count Egyptian cotton Frette linens and the bathroom contains Bulgari toiletries and amenities. Other qualities include an I-Pod docking station, a fireplace at the foot of the bathtub, a butler kitchen and a dining room with seating for up to ten guests.
Hotels have historically led the way in diamond standard luxury, but The Society is committed to creating a marketplace where consumers can experience the same luxuries of a hotel, all within the privacy of a vacation rental.
For the local property managers and rental owners in the area, living near a Ritz Carlton provided a challenge, forcing them to raise the bar in their accommodations—and did they ever. Luxury vacation rentals in this area are now equipped with amenities that allow them to strongly compete with the neighboring resorts. Heated driveways, in-house saunas, spas, steam-rooms, butler kitchens and 24-hour concierge services are now all services that can be received at select luxury vacation rentals. Your destination home awaits.
The days of thinking that a luxury home consists of only whirlpools, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops are a thing of the past. According to a 2006 Forbes article, these items should have been installed years ago.
Lucy Maher’s article, New Luxury Home Must-Haves, showcases the new luxury items, and let me tell you, they don’t come cheap.
The newest luxury trends on the market are ‘green’, or environmentally friendly features. These new amenities are costly, as they are built with materials that are nontoxic or eco-friendly, although most “homeowners find the long-term results worth it.”
Of all the current must-haves for the eco-friendly homeowner, the spa tops them all. The new ‘it’ spa features “…serene bathrooms with souped-up saunas, towel warmers and heated floors.”
Bringing luxury outdoors is another luxury that is gaining awareness in the real estate world. The new outdoor remodel of a luxury home should include everything from ultra-luxurious pools to fully loaded outdoor kitchens, which can cost upwards of $200,000. As Mike Logsdon of Land Design states, “People are living outside…Pools have gone from a $15,000 kidney shape to a $400,000 pool with tiles.” Indeed, luxury has again changed its form, and although you now have access to the most popular trends, “in the race for the ultimate home, you’re still behind.”
The home remodeling competition just reached a whole new level.
The Society: For our readers who are not familiar with your company, can you give us a brief description of CottageLINK Rental Management?
Heather Bayer: We are a year-round vacation rental company in Ontario, Canada that specializes in lake front cottages. Ontario has an enormous cottage industry because it does consist of over 250,000 lakes. Unlike the States, going to cottages is a rite of passage for Canadians. Just as New York has the Hamptons, Ontario has the cottages. Of course, in the UK, where I grew up, we were very familiar with cottage holidays there as well.
S: Can you describe how the cottages are year-round destinations?
HB: There are five months of winter in Ontario, (we already have two feet of snow!), with many activities, such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and dog sledding, but summer is still definitely our high season. In the summer, we have a lovely Mediterranean climate where the temperature can reach eighty degrees from May to early September
S: What types of cottages are on your website?
HB: We don’t specialize in any particular types of cottages. We take on almost everything, even the smallest cabins, which are off-grid (a.k.a. solar powered) providing they meet our stringent quality standards. More and more of these properties keep coming on, as people are becoming increasingly environment-conscious. Being lake-front is the only quality that is absolutely necessary, as everyone goes to the water. With the amount of water we have in Canada, why should anyone rent something that does not have water? The biggest lakes are Muskoka, Joseph and Vernon, which house the largest of the mansions. Many celebrities have properties on the big Muskoka Lakes, such as Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.
S: How many homes do you manage in a year?
HB: Just over 100, at the moment.
S: Are you comfortable with this number, or do you see yourself increasing the amount of properties you manage?
HB: As Ontario is so large, only about two or three companies cover the whole province, while other agencies are dedicated to smaller areas. Our company is expanding into Southern Quebec and our future plans see significant growth within Ontario and other Canadian provinces.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3.5 million incidences of missing bags have occurred this year, which is a startling increase from the 2.9 million of the previous year. Due to this development, some travelers have opted to have an alternate company look after their luggage, not the airlines.
These private companies are now willing to pick up your luggage from your home and meet you when you arrive at your destination.The service does come with a hefty price tag. Some companies charge $92 for 50 lbs. and others charge $500 per delivery. Another drawback to this service is that your bags need to be packed in advance.
Four businesses offering this service include: Luggage Concierge Inc., Luggage Free, Luggage Club, XS Baggage. Luggage Concierge advertises to make transporting your luggage as simple as possible. Luggage Free’s has the easiest website to navagate. If you are want a trusted expert go with the Luggage Club. Finally, if you want something a little more inexpensive use XS Baggage.
There are also luggage companies that offer various other services, such as luggage insurance and electronic trackers to help prevent luggage loss. In my opinion, this service is a great alternative to the airlines if you want guaranteed delivery of your luggage, or if you have valuables that are worth sending separately. If you would like more information on this topic or would like to check out the WSJ article, please click here.
On MSNBC, Harriet Baskas writes about how to avoid getting stuck in an airport security trap. Here are a couple of her guidelines:
Dress with the least amount of metal possible. Consider every article you are wearing because airport security will.
Think about other areas of your body where you might possibly carry metal. This means any piercings or metal that you have inside your body. If you have the time, remove any jewelry or get a doctors note for any metal inserts, such as a metal hip replacement.
Send holiday packages via mail if you can help it. If you don’t, you are likely to have to open them for airport security.
If you need more room than the mini plastic bag for your carry on, consider buying products that come in a different form. Harriet suggested powdered toothpaste or perfume that is in bar form.
Check out the food regulations when you are bringing food on board. There are some foods that are restricted.
Review your luggage for any surprises as well. It is a good idea to review your purse or similar items.
Hopefully this is a helpful starter for your travels.
Network, network, network. That seems to be the theme at so many of the conferences these days. Almost to a fault — afterall, if it’s only about networking, does that release the planners from creating meaningful, useful content? I hope not!
All that being said, it is important for the property management industry to be networked. Not in the sleezy, used car salesman way, but in the meaningful, helpful informative way. There are so many “best practicies” that can be shared from manager to manager that will help increase business and elevate the industry as a whole. We are in the midst of conducting several interviews with industry experts in hopes to shed light on some of the best practices in the industry.
In the meantime, I would like to point out a few very useful networking sites:
1. LinkedIn (the best for professional networking — in fact, sign up and get your employees and others in the area connected. It’s a great source to find qualified employees, partners, etc).
2. Facebook (I know, I know — it’s for college students! Ha. I’ve had more requests from business associates in the past month than LinkedIn. There are even several property managers showing up on the site. You can find Palm Springs Rentals there)
3. Plaxo (formerly just an oline address tool that has reinvented themselves into a professional and personal networking site)
4. The Society (we’re new, we’re not focused on ’social networking’ per se, but we do have tools that will help you stay connected with past guests, suppliers, and even future guests)
There are 1000s of other networking sites but the key is to be apart of the one(s) that are being used by your industry and affiliates.
The vacation rental industry has been gaining speed and growing at a rate that is far ahead of hotels, but with one major problem. It is one of the hardest industries in which to gain trust.
Homeowners fear renters who will destroy their home, and renters are skeptical up until the moment they personally see the rental. Pat Merewether, a traveler who was expecting a delightful resort condo from Internet pictures, found herself calling her rental, “Hotel Claustrophobia.”
Many sites post pictures that conceal severe housing deformities or even lie about the exact home locations. On the other hand, numerous renters are coming in and destroying luxury homes at every turn, leaving most homeowners frustrated and with no trust. As Denver-based luxury homeowner, Jeff Progar, stated, “Someone can do $5000 worth of damage in fifteen minutes—one scratch on a stainless Sub-zero refrigerator equals $2000.”
Thankfully, there is a solution. A luxury online rental company, The Society, has created a company based solely on trust. The houses are previewed and accepted by The Society if, and only if, they have met the high standards of a luxury home. In addition, not only can members rate the luxury homes they stay at, but the luxury homeowners can also rate their renters. That way, both sides are satisfied. Vacation world is finally at peace.
In a recent article on hotelmarketing.com, Karen Escalera (from the KWE Group) highlights 10 top trends for luxury travel in 2008. In the meantime, check out the trends below. My comments are in parenthesis.
Traditional demographics won’t define luxury consumers
Relationships with family and friends take center stage.
Creativity checks in. (We interviewed Heather Bayer, from Cottage Link Rental Management in Ontario Canada, and their company group is experimenting with many creative methods to attract consumers during the shoulder and off seasons like partnering with professional chefs to cook dinners)
Concierges are king. (Les Conceirges, out of SF, would agree. And so would the Kiertsu Forum who just backed them with $2.4M in funding).
Altruism and social responsibility are back.
Health, well-being and looking good continue to move up in financial priorities.
Saving time. This is the greatest luxury in our 24/7 world.
Big money follows culture and is big news.
The affluent are becoming sated with product and looking for unique experiences. (We’ve noticed this as travel requests are more related to total vacation experiences which include learning and living like the locals)
Space, space and more space is luxury. (What? Is 5,000 sq ft not enough for a family any more? Of course not!)
For the entire article without any commentary please click here. To follow other trends, insights and information from the KWE Group, check out their blog KWE Group Blog.
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In The Society’s quest for delivering the highest quality vacation rental experience, we are publishing a series entitled: “Success Leaves a Crumb Trail”. Over the next several months, The Society will feature organizations that consistently distinguish themselves as leaders in luxury.
The Society crossed paths with The Cottage Blogger, Heather Bayer, this week. She is the author of 