Guests, Rules, Feedback

We just had some returning Guests stay with us whom we really like. They are an older couple with family in town, and return again and again. Great guests are the reason I stay in the business of providing accommodation. The truth is its hard work and you need to own properties for a good decade before you can hopefully gain substantial equity.

Providing Furnished Rentals is not a cakewalk, it’s a job with responsibilities. Sometimes things happen when you are busy with family or work, but you have to drop everything to address an issue with a guest or a unit. Great Guests remind me why I do it.

Trust develops between lodging host and these special people. I don't ask them for a deposit anymore. If there was a problem and they could not arrive, I would accept this. This has never happened. They leave the place in great shape. They give us feedback on the suite, not just what they like, but what they don't like and what would improve a unique accommodation.

It's hard to even put a price on returning guest feedback. I joked to them I should pay them a managerial fee, but there is a kernel of truth in this joke. I simply don't have the time, or inclination to stay in all the units I manage for weeks at a time. But this is the only way to know what the experience is like. This is why having partner ownership can help, part owners will often provide the kind of hard feedback accommodation providers need to know about the suites we provide.

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Slow Season , Partners, and keeping Furnished Units Occupied

Furnished Accommodations are cyclical, and different areas have their own unique cycle.


For our Boulder Accommodations, the 'High' Season is the summer, from Late May to Early September. Why? I can give some possibilities, but I have no real demographics, just my experience for the last decade. Our summer guests are often 1) Scientists from Abroad doing a Summer engagement with Ucar/ENCAR along with touring America as speakers & 2) Athletes, especially Tri-Athelete's who want to train in the high altitude of Boulder.

Both of these types of Guests often have Families, and Boulder is a great town for kids and spouses to vacation while the one (or sometimes both) parent(s) work. A third guest is also taking advantage of the summer months as the best time to take vacation from our Jobs, business tends to slow down in most markets for the summer and people can take longer vacations, of course teachers get entire summers off.

Boulder is not close enough to Colorado Skiing to be a Ski town, though locals have discovered Eldora Ski Resort just 40 minutes into the Rockies west of our neighbor town, Nederland.

The cycle for Furnished Rentals in Boulder's High Season, usually the 3 months June, July & August, at the highest rents per month.

Starting in September, and running until April, short term furnished housing is more available and guests enjoy lower rents. An example 1 Bedroom that rents for $1800+/month during the summer can be had for as low as $1400/month, or even less. The longer the stay, the lower a guest can request the rate.

One thing I've learned is having a group of investors who share ownership in a furnished rental, and have family who like to visit Boulder, can fill units with family/partners during slower winter time, and usually the arrangement is the guest simply pays the carrying costs of the unit.

Often partners will check with management about vacancies, and plan trips based on what units have been booked at market rates and what units are not filled.

Its important to remember whenever parties share ownership in an investment property, a clear partnership agreement should always be in place to avoid misunderstandings. Further, if there are more than 2 parties sharing ownership, a single entity, usually a managing partner, should make decisions about the day to day operation, maintenance, and rental of the unit. If done right, this arrangement allows all the investors to enjoy the long term benefits of property ownership along with the perks of having family and friends stay inexpensively during slow season. Usually I advise for high season periods, the units be rented to the market for the high season rents. The profit margin of the High Season helps cover the lower margins of the slow season.

If you are looking to stay in a furnished accommodation, research what the high and slow seasons are for that area. You can often negotiate a lower rent for low season stays.

Thank you, come again!

Furnished Rentals is a place for both: A) hosts of furnished accommodations and B) travelers who patronize furnished rentals as an alternative to hotel stays; to comment on the industry and their own personal experiences.

My name is Barney Moran, and I am a partner at Alpine Corporate Accommodations, providing furnished accommodations to guests initially in Boulder, CO, and now Manhattan, NY. I had no idea this industry existed until the late 1990's, when my wife and I went to contract for a one bedroom condo in Boulder, CO, from a Seller named Craig Hooper. Mr. Hooper was including the furniture in the sale of the condo, though we had not asked for it, but at the closing we met his manager, a lovely and experienced fellow Ritch White, who has managed Mr. Hooper's furnished units and others in Boulder for Decades, and works with us now as well.

Thus began our journey from a typical landlord to providing shorter term experienced & savvy travelers with this economical alternative to hotels when one needs to stay in an area for (usually) more then 30 days. We have learned a considerable amount in our over a decade in this industry, but we expect there are others with good advice for both hosts and guests in this industry, and we love the blog platform to help get this information to the world community.