Spring Summer Rentals - are they slow for others

[CTJake]

We have a 1bdr/1ba condo. It rented very well last summer. This summer our mgmt company hasn't booked a single week yet. It's not just our unit, but the others they manage in the same complex also have no rentals so far. I have booked 3 weeks using VRBO, but that is still terrible. Usually I have May & June and most of July fully booked by now. Are others dealing with the same situation? I am tempted to switch mgmt companies, but considering that my VRBO inquiries are down as well I am wondering if this is just a slow year?

[Miss Kitty]

We have seen a steady increase in our bookings since we began renting in May 2003. This summer our 2/2.5 in WaterColor is, at last check, almost completely booked.

[kurt]

I don't have a rental or any numbers but have heard a lot of good news from others. We've had a strong Spring and expect Summer to be full up.

It may not be your management co., or your location, or it could be one or both. It would be unusual for your bookings to be down from last year, if all other things are the same. One thing that isn't the same is there is more competition every year.

Care to post your vrbo link?

[barefootguy]

Our numbers seem good for this year. We've currently booked 19 weeks and 3 months (jan, feb & oct), plus 1 month for next year. Although we had 3 weeks open in April that we thought should have booked. We're not listed with VRBO, but overall the number of inquiries we've received this year has been smaller than the last two years.

[beachmouse]

Parents say that their place in Miramar Beach is fully booked through mid-August. They're now threatening that if they come down during the summer, they'll be staying at my house. (I love them dearly, but we really get along best when everyone's got their own space)

[Mango]

Has there been an increase in price? Sometimes that is a factor.

[SGB]

Our house is fully booked starting next week, until mid August. Our Spring had about 3 weeks rented. This is pretty typical for us, but it seemed like it booked out earlier than normal for the summer. The number of VRBO emails have been lower than in the past. We found that the number of rented weeks increased when we changed to our current management company a year and a half ago. We have increased our prices slightly every year for the last 5 years.

[Paula]

We have two cottages side by side. One is fully booked except one week in the summer (and was booked probably 3/4 of the spring). The other, though it's very similar, is about half full for the summer and was probably 1/2 booked this spring. It always books a bit slower than the other, but usually gets booked. It's interesting because the cottages are very similar except for the decor/colors. So, I'm assuming I need to brighten up the colors in the cottage that rents more slowly because the brighter colors show up more on the VRBO photos. I, too, get a bit nervous this time of year if the cottages aren't fully booked yet.

I think some vacationers feel there are a lot of places available so they feel like they can book closer to the season. In part, that's certainly true with the building that has been going on. The only risk with that is that they'll have less choice in terms of size, cost, location. But for many people that doesn't matter because they're at the beach and any place (within reason) is nice at the beach. But if it rains and people have to stay inside for a while, it's great to have a nice place.

Good luck on your rentals, CTJake.

[Rather B Paddlin]

Our larger houses are booked fully, although in previous years they were fully booked 2-3 months earlier. Our smaller house has a couple open summer weeks, which is not normal. In talking to other homeowners with similiar size houses, they are experiencing the same slow down . The odd thing is August. We have always had a hard time booking deep into August. This year we actually had more August rentals than we ever have had. My guess is that more visitors are coming from the midwest where school start later in August.

In reviewing many VRBO listings, I have noticed there are a lot more smaller homes in some of the newest (shall be nameless) developments on the west end of 30-A. Additionally, some of the homeowners in these developments are not necessarily being totally honest by "not" posting that the beach access is a shuttle bus ride(10am-4pm), a car drive, or an illegal golf cart ride away. I am sure there will be some unhappy renters when they get to the beach when thought they were getting a good deal.

Any how. Good luck in getting your place rented. I am sure you will be fine.

[Paula]

RBP: Yes, every now and then I notice something untrue on VRBO (e.g., ocean view which is pretty darn minimal, access to Camp Creek Golf course which you can't have unless you live in a St. Joe property, photos of beach paths that are actually quite a bit away from the property, etc.). The best kind of marketing isn't VRBO or a management company, but it's return guests and word of mouth advertising from happy guests -- so, as you know, it always pays to be honest and to take very good care of guests. Our goal would be to have at least 50% return guests and guests who learned about the cottages from friends within 5 years if not sooner (it's about 20 - 25% now I think).

Winter guests seem to be picking up. Last year we had a 2 month rental in the winter and this year we have a two month winter rental already. The fishing is supposed to be great around 30A in the winter.

[spinDrAtl]

We had our usual 2 weeks during spring break - originally we had 3 but one cancelled at some point through the management company. May is pretty well booked although we are using about 9 days ourselves. June is totally booked except about 3 days. July seems to be moving slow so far with only about 11 days booked to date.

[Wastin Away]

My home actually booked quicker this year than it ever has but I also have about 60% returning guests or referral guests. I have been booked from the middle of February till September 1st right now and I have a week in September booked plus an October booking plus a couple of inquiries into Thanksgiving. I agree with Paula, I think a lot of advertising is word of mouth, what you offer your guests and how they feel they have been treated. As one of my guests said, "Just a little bit of Southern Hospitality goes a long way."

[RiverOtter]

Ours are up. However we do have an odd gap in July . We had a great spring

[Beach Runner]

We changed management companies in January, so our new company didn't have much of a chance to work on spring. Even under these circumstances, we've had more spring rentals than ever.

As far as summer goes, I didn't reserve a week for us because when I went to their website in early March, we didn't even have half of June and July booked. A few days later it was totally booked for June and July except for one week, so I blocked that week for us.

No rentals for August yet. That doesn't surprise me. They always come in later. We usually get three, and then I reserve a week for us before school starts back.

We keep the prices a bit higher than we should in the off-season because frankly by the end of summer I am so sick and tired of dealing with loss and damage from renters that I just don't want to rent it unless I make a nice profit that makes up for the hassle of taking care of replacing and repairing things.

But I'll have to admit that our new management company has done a great job of repairing items and collecting damage deposits. I might consider lowering the rates in the off-season if they continue to perform this well.

[STL Don]

Ours are up. However we do have an odd gap in July . We had a great spring

We have a similar gap for July

[BeachSiO2]

SoWal was up 20% bed tax collections for March 2007 versus March 2006. Similar expected for April.

[CTJake]

Interesting feedback, it seems as though everyone is having a good year but us. Our unit is in Beachwood Villas, our rates are in line with others. I checked the other 1bdrs on vrbo for BV and most with the exception of 2 of them are vacant for most the summer as well. I also went on our mgmt company's website and there other 1 bdr BV units are all vacant for the summer. I would like to shop around and find another company to possibly manage us. However, I have found in the past that there aren't many company's who will work with Beachwood Villas. Last time I check with Garrett they said they weren't accepting anymore BV units b/c they had too many already. Is anyone using other company's for BV and having good success?

[Paula]

CTJake: Actually, I wouldn't assume that because I believe there are still more vacancies than usual which is what I see when I check out vacancies along 30A (which I do now and then to see how the season in general is going). I think it's because people have more options because of the many new communities in the area. Our rentals in the cottage that doesn't yet have the same repeat business history as the other (we bought it about a year later) have come in slower than usual. We also haven't raised our rates in 2 years because of the increase in rentals available. But we've stayed steady overall (but as I said with later bookings) and have increased winter rentals (though I think fall rentals decreased somewhat last year). I hope you're year picks up! We figure that we'll just come down and use our cottage if the last weeks don't get booked (which is beginning to sound VERY tempting to us!).

[SHELLY]

Don't underestimate how the present economy is going affect summer vacations. The middle-income folks are having a rough go of it this year with the increase in gas prices, maxed-out home equity, mortgage resets, looming job layoffs, and inflation (yes, food and fuel DOES count Ben!).

As I stated previous, a number of folks who used to rent in our area bought their own place during the frenzy--adding more inventory while decreasing the number of renters. Additionally, with the threat of increased hurricane activity this season, some may be fearful of losing a deposit if they book too early (even if a 'cane doesn't directly hit the area, the churning Gulf and rainy weather could make for a crappy vacation.) Moreover, waiting for the last minute to ensure a hurricane-free vacation may also prove beneficial if they can swing a "last minute cut-rate condo."

IMO gulf-front places and folks who woo their repeat guests will do OK...the others will probably have to work much harder to fill their places in advance.

.

[Paula]

As I've said before on this discussion board, our accountant was wise enough to tell us not to count on rentals to cover the mortgage or short-term appreciation (he also told us to stop and enjoy the cottages after buying 2 small cottages). He said it's the long-term gains that matter and the cottages are, of course, only part of a solid long-term financial portfolio. So, we see the current and even medium term rental market as just part of the ups and downs of owning our wonderful places - haven't lost any sleep over them. The memories we've built with family there while we bide our time, as well as the friendships we've made, have been priceless and have led to many sweet dreams -- and we have many future decades and a few more generations of memories to build there as well.

And learning about the vacation rental business, service, etc., has been fun for me -- you can't learn some of this in school, only through experience. But you sure have to be ready for the experience and it's not for everyone!