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The Best Value in Keystone Rentals

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Keystone Property Management Rental Numbers

Real estate agents and many others have been wondering why KRPM has waited for months to reveal its 2009 rental numbers. Well this week they were finally released and some interesting ideas come to mind.

First, in the vast majority of the buildings that KRPM has rental units, their 2009 numbers are drastically lower than they were in 2008. In some buildings their numbers are down more than 30%. It is interesting that when SCMR compares its numbers with Keystone Property Management, SCMR in most cases has exceeded the Keystone Property Management numbers. As far as net revenue to owners in EVERY case SCMR has out performed Keystone Property Management. There is just no way to compete with our low cost / high service model. It has now been proven that paying 3 or 4 times as much to a property management company like Keystone Resort Property Management does not equal better ANYTHING for the owner.

Another interesting concept is that even though KRPM has known its 2009 numbers since Jan 1, 2010, it took them until now to reveal them. Why would they wait so long to reveal the bad news? One possible answer is that March is the month that Keystone Resort Property Management charges owners for its 2010 marketing fee. It stands to reason that Keystone wanted to wait until these charges were incured in order to capture this revenue and discourage owners from switching to other management companies. These marketing fees add up into the millions of dollars.

I will have more to say about the performace of Summit County Mountain Retreats vs Keystone Resort Property Management in the future. So check back soon. More details will be revealed!

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Do Your Keystone Resort Cleaners Use a Mop and a Broom?

Cleaning quality and consistency is one of the top issues we are asked about when we are speaking to owners who are considering changing management companies. In some cases we have been asked if our cleaning staff uses a mop and a broom. The answer is yes and we use several other tools to assist with the cleaning process.
Many other Keystone management companies pay their cleaners more if the cleaning is performed faster. For example, a cleaner may be paid $30 for the first cleaning of the day and $5 more for each subsequent cleaning in the same day. So by the time the cleaning gets to the sixth cleaning of the day, they are making twice as much as they did for the first cleaning. This is a very big incentive to work fast and miss the details.
SCMR has implemented several procedures that we believe dramatically improves cleaning quality. Our cleaners are divided into competitive groups. The groups that perform higher quality cleanings are allocated more cleanings than those who only do an average job. If any cleaner does not perform to our minimum standards they are dismissed.
The second quality control procedure SCMR has implemented is a financial penalty for any major mistakes or errors in the cleaning process. For example, if a cleaner misses a dirty toilet bowl, they are fined for the mistake. There is never a good reason to miss something like this and we know it can have a significant impact on your guests stay.
The third quality control procedure is a cleaning checklist that must be filled out during each cleaning. This checklist is a helpful reminder to the cleaners of what each individual property needs. It also allows our inspectors to check the work performed.
Finally, we have two inspection procedures in place. First, all units are checked by a cleaning inspector that is part of the cleaning staff. Secondly, independent of the regular cleaning inspector, one of our regular staff spot checks units randomly. If mistakes are found the cleaners are required to immediately return to the unit and rectify the error. This process assists with training and is an incentive to do it right the first time.
You and your Keystone rental guest deserve the best experience possible in your high-end condo. Whether your condo is ski-in / ski-out or in the River Village, everyone deserves the same high standard of cleaning.
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Comparing Keystone Property Management Companies and Summit County Mountain Retreats

When Summit County Mountain Retreats entered the property management business in Keystone in 2008 there were many naysayers. We were told it is impossible to run this type of business with such a low management fee. We were told that our marketing strategy was low end and would not produce revenue for owners.
I would like to give a real world example of exactly what we have done for a typical 3 bedroom unit on our program. We have had Lone Eagle 3042 on our rental program since July 2009. That is a mere 8 months. In that 8 months we have grossed this unit over $62,000 and the owner has made over $54,000. This unit was on another company’s rental program before. This company has the highest management fee of all the competition and they claim their fee is justified based on the great service and marketing they perform. Well…lets compare. In the previous 12 month period that this unit was on our competitor’s management program it grossed about $68,000. The owner netted about $30,000 after all fees and expenses.
Again just in case you missed my point. In 8 months we netted our client $54,000 and our competitor netted him $30,000 in 12 months. Which one sounds better to you? Let me also add that SCMR did this for our client during a major recession and during one of the worst snow seasons on record. Our competitor made its numbers during a good ski season and during good economic times.
Also, if our marketing is low end, then how is it that we are on track to gross our client even more than our competitor with all its great marketing? Sounds to me like our competitor really just does not have an answer to our value proposition and therefore can only resort to scare tactics.
One more thing, in order for our competitor to net an owner $54,000 they would have to gross the owner about $110,000. To our knowledge this has never happened with any 3 bedroom condos in Keystone.  
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New Marketing for Summit County Mountain Retreats

In addition to the extensive marketing SCMR performs for its clients we are expanding our marketing presence into Craig’s List. This is a major undertaking and an experiment we hope will produce excellent results. Based on our preliminary research we believe this new marketing mechanism will significantly increase bookings for both ski season and off season. As always we are looking for new and innovative ways to market our clients’ properties and maximize rentals. Thanks for Tom and Dottie, for recommending this marketing mechanism for our Keystone Condos.
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