I've been with Beach Rentals of South Walton for several years now and just met with the new manager of BRSW/Sterling resorts. I've decided to stay with Sterling/BRSW (they said they're going to keep the BRSW name) for these reasons:
1. The new manager seems extremely competent. She was great to talk with, could articulate her plans for the future, owned up to the problems they were dealing with, has a business background, is from the area (at least for several years so is invested in the area), and is full of energy and is professional.
2. Sterling has sent me two letters so far explaining the transition and their plans for the future. I like their emphasis on really servicing the renters well (there will be nice new services in that area), communicating well with the owners)
3. I like the BRSW building and it's well situated in Seagrove for our Cottages at the Cottages at Camp Creek.
4. I'm not sure, but I think that the overall fee structure may go down so I may be taking home a little more money from the rentals (again, I'm not sure of this yet).
5. Sterling seems experience with what they do, and seem very invested in marketing BRSW rentals and South Walton.
6. I really don't want to change to a new agency now.
For me, in addition to the things I mentioned above, a real test of a rental agency is how well they clean and maintain their rentals, as well as the quality of the linens (the sheets have to be in good shape and fit the beds well so that they don't come off the edges at night when you're sleeping). I get all my rentals from VRBO (which means a lower fee paid to Sterling), but it would be good to see Sterling bring in more rentals to the area as well.
Right now, I'm very optimistic about Sterling/BRSW because the new manager/company ownership seem to have a lot of good ideas about how to upgrade services for guests and for marketing. And, frankly, I was happy with BRSW before they ran into problems, so Sterling has a good base to build from.