Professional Property Management in North San Diego County and South Orange County Coastal Cities

BETTER Vacation Rentals specializes in short term rentals of fully furnished beach properties.

Who is BETTER Vacation Rentals, Inc.?

The answer to “who is” BETTER Vacation Rentals is best told as a story. The story of BETTER Vacation Rentals begins with a family with two small children crowded into a hotel room in downtown Chicago. The parents loved to travel together and thought that the children would lead lives rich with new experiences gained from travel. They had successfully visited many destinations already, though were finding it harder and harder to stay awake while they laid quietly on a hotel bed and tried to sing their toddler to sleep. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that an infant, a toddler, and two adults might not enjoy their nights in a hotel room the way the couple once did…this night was just one of many that led to a search for something BETTER the next time the family traveled somewhere. The vacation rental experience was born for the DiPerna’s and it wasn’t exactly the same as the cottages they had visited in the New England of their youth, though there were those too. It wasn’t long after several summers of Maine coastal vacation rentals that this family bought their own cottage on Maine’s mid-coast and dreamed of summers spent there with the children and in retirement…problem was: work, school, mortgages. Being former New Englanders, the DiPerna’s quickly set to renting their seasonal coastal cottage as a vacation rental when they couldn’t use it, which turned out to be most of the time. That was May 1999…and the beginning of the vision that would become BETTER Vacation Rentals.

Melinda’s “hobby” soon took on a personality of it’s own: web design, vacation rental advocacy, search engine optimization-Melinda immersed herself in the tools needed to be successful with her own vacation rentals- far more successful than the “average” vacation rental by owner or vacation rental manager, which is only about 35% of the available rental dates. After successfully organizing a grass roots effort to save the right to offer short term rentals at Palm Valley Country Club in Palm Desert, Melinda DiPerna found that there were many owners looking for something BETTER in a property manager, and that she could deliver. BETTER Vacation Rentals was born.

Although BETTER Vacation Rentals property management flourished in Palm Desert at Palm Valley Country Club, in mid 2007, Melinda decided she and her family would be better served if BETTER Vacation Rentals focused on coastal properties closer to home. BVR no longer manages desert properties except the 1 owned by the DiPernas. Since mid 2007, BETTER Vacation Rentals has been serving North San Diego County, and specializing in Oceanside and particularly at North Coast Village in Oceanside, California.

BETTER Vacation Rentals believes in BETTER people, and the virtual workplace. We believe that if we provide interesting work, appropriate freedom and responsibility, flexibility, and fair wages we can attract a BETTER caliber of people to work with our owners and guests and at our properties.

Everyone who works for/with BETTER Vacation Rentals is an independent contractor. This allows our people to set their own schedules, work from their homes, on the road, or even a kid’ sporting practice. We believe that LIFE comes first. We believe that by accepting the realities of life in our work, that everyone who works with or for BETTER Vacation Rentals will produce high quality and quantity of work, because it matters to them…not just because they collect a pay check. We look for owners who expect their property managers to actually care about everyone involved: owners, guests, and our employees or partners. BETTER Vacation Rentals' owners are part of our team.

What does BETTER Vacation Rentals do?
We market and manage fully furnished coastal properties that are appropriate for the short term rental markets: vacation, corporate, military, and seasonal. We manage on an exclusive basis only because we believe that guests and owners are better served by a property manager who is fully accountable. Once we contract with an owner for property management we handle all aspects of marketing the property, dealing with guests, cleaning of the property, and as a coordinator of normal maintenance. We are the owners’ partner and as such we will advise the owner on how to best present their property for rental in order to maintain and maximize property value and meet their personal goals regarding their property. We recognize and respect that different owners want and need different things from their coastal property and we work with owners to meet their personal goals.

Where does BETTER Vacation Rentals manage?
We actively manage in Oceanside CA and Carlsbad CA at this time. We are interested in vacation rental management opportunities in: Oceanside and Carlsbad, west of the 101 only. We are not accepting vacation rentals in Palm Desert or Maine for management-these are our personal rentals only.

Why would a vacation rental owner list their property with BETTER Vacation Rentals?
Below is a list of some items that make BETTER Vacation Rentals better. We’d be happy to talk with you to explain each of them.

• Owner Web-24/7 access to your calendar, make personal reservations, statements
• LiveRez-state of the art reservation and booking system used by BVR
  
• Search Engine Optimization-in house expertise, and use of outside tools
  
• Integrity-we are real people with real ethics & values-integrity is everything
• Verified Guest Reviews-via FlipKey
• Online Presence-fully integrated web strategy
  
• Social Networking-cutting edge vacation rental innovator in the use of social media
  
• High Touch interactions with guests
  
• Personalized service
  
• For Owner by Owner-our founder is a vacation rental owner & understands needs
  
• For Guest by Guest-our founder and contractors are frequent vacation rental guests
  
• Blogging-BVR maintains blogs for each destination, general travel, and vacation rentals
  
• Systems-best practice employed, including trust accounting
  
• Testimonials-from guests, owners, and community members
  
• Cleaning-long term relationship with cleaning company and clear & specific standards
  
• Maintenance-on call independent maintenance contractor
  
• Extra Touches-area guides, concierge services, welcome baskets, towel origami
  
• Local-located in Encinitas CA-close to properties
  
• Licensed-CA RE Broker, means more training & accountability
  
• Educated-MBA with marketing concentration
  
• Experienced-over 10 years in vacation rentals
  

Why would a guest choose BETTER Vacation Rentals?
We have excellent guest reviews and ratings which are easily found by the public. We are well respected in the community and receive referrals from many former guests as well as repeat guests. We are a corporation; we are licensed by the California Department of Real Estate; we are members of the Vacation Rental Managers Association as well as local trade, business, and community groups. All of these association give guests peace of mind that we are legitimate and that they have avenues to pursue if they were not satisfied with us or the property rented. In addition, guest chose to stay with us because we provide an easy to use web site, detailed information and photos, use knowledgeable professionals to answer their phone calls, and have 24/7 local coverage in the event of an emergency. Guests also choose BETTER Vacation Rentals because we insist upon clean, well maintained, and well appointed vacation properties on their behalf.

What training does the staff of BETTER Vacation Rentals Have?
Every person working for or with BETTER Vacation Rentals first understands that “good enough” isn’t: we are BETTER…period. We are problem solvers for both guests and owners. That said, we are active members of the Vacation Rental Managers Association which is the premier organization for education of people involved in vacation rentals. We stay up to date on the vacation rental marketplace and trends via social media and networking, participation in local groups, and by sharing ideas and knowledge with everyone involved. It’s not uncommon for us to send a new cleaning idea to our independent housekeepers, nor is it uncommon for our maintenance people to let us know when they think we could save an owner money or make cleaning simpler by making a change. All of our contractors are experts in their own fields and we give them the tools to improve daily.

What education and experience does the staff of BETTER Vacation Rentals Have? We operate a virtual company made of independent contractors. Our guest services specialists have some college education and experience in leasing, advertising, sales, and hospitality. They have traveled and understand the needs of people on vacation, relocating, and on the move. Below is a bio of our Founder. Our inspector was in charge of inspections for a major nearby hotel, our cleaners are well trained, and our maintenance person has decades of experience.

Melinda DiPerna, Founder, Broker, REALTOR®
BS Chemistry, University of NH, 1985
MBA, Northeastern University, 1993- Concentration in Marketing
Continuing Education Includes:
Baxter Management Institute: Profession courses in Marketing,Sales, Management, Relations
Saddleback College: Web Design I/II, Advanced Web Graphics, Property Management, Real Estate Principals, Real Estate Law, Real Estate Appraisal, Real Estate Finance

GNC Web Creations: Search Engine Optimization

Vacation Rental Managers Association:
Guest Relations, Accounting for Vacation Rental Managers
CA Department of Real Estate Broker’s License # 01809497

In Which organizations are BETTER Vacation Rentals Active?

• Vacation Rentals Managers Association(VRMA)
• Oceanside Chamber of Commerce
• Oceanside Tourism Council
• Oceanside Lodging Association
• Oceanside Tourism Marketing District Advisory Board Member
• North San Diego County Association of REALTORS®
• California Association of REALTORS®
• National Association of REALTORS®

How do you keep people from ruining or stealing from my vacation home?
First we insist on occupancy limits. Second we keep your home well maintained and clean. We have found that the better maintained and cleaner a vacation rental is kept, the better and cleaner a guest will keep it. Third, we treat the tenants as valued guests. Most people are respectful and careful. There are of course exceptions. We never allow guests to “self-clean” and we explain why. We take a non-refundable damage waiver fee from each guest which acts as an insurance policy. This allows us to repair minor accidental damages (a carpet stain) properly without playing the “he said/she said” game. Guests resent security deposits and when deductions are made. Owners resent paying for minor damage repairs from accidents. The damage waiver allows us to file claims (covered up to $1500 for accidental damages which is more than most security deposits). If a guest were to cause intentional damage or theft, we are prepared to take the legal means needed with the homeowner. We also use a good attorney prepared rental agreement designed specifically for vacation rentals.

How do you keep my rents safe?
We keep a separate trust account at an FDIC insured bank, and as a corporation your funds are more secure than if we operated as a sole proprietor as many other area vacation rental managers do.

When do you pay?
Statements and payments are generated by the 15th of each month. Payments are made for stays that were completed in the prior month (ie: paid June 15 for stays ending May 1-31). We pay on longer stays on a pro-rated monthly basis. Payment is available via check or wire transfer.

How much do you charge?
Our commission is 30% of gross rents. There is a monthly “BETTER” cleaning charge ranging from $55-$100 depending on the property for deeper cleaning activities that we perform on an ongoing basis rather than seasonally.

What do I pay for?
Repairs. Maintenance. Carpet/window/upholstery/laundry & dry cleaning (deep clean only). Specialty cleaning supplies(granite, stainless, glass cook top) if needed. HOA check in fee (we reimburse you if there are stays less than 3 nights). Linens. Light bulbs. Batteries. Wireless internet and all other utilities. Delivery & service waiting fees.

What do you supply?
Cleaning supplies. Toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, soap. Basic kitchen supplies (flour, sugar, coffee, creamer, salt, pepper).

Who does the cleaning?
We use an independent contractor to do the cleaning, laundry, inspection, and setup. We work very closely with our cleaners to manage the high and low seasons. We use a unique person for inspection, which insures proper cleanliness.

How do you handle maintenance?
We use independent contractors for maintenance. We have developed relationships with good, dependable, honest, and fair service people for all of the typical needs of property management, as well as some back up relationships. We are happy to contract directly with these service people on our owners’ behalves and we are also willing to provide referrals for those owners who prefer to be more involved in non-emergency maintenance and repairs.

Rather than just speak for ourselves, we'd like to share some testimonials BETTER Vacation Rentals' Owners:

"Great Results, Expert, High Integrity. Melinda and her team are exceptional! Our guests rave about her properties and service. We are so fortunate to have her as a resource.” M. Bell, Hotel Bell & San Diego Concierge, December 3, 2009

"Personable, Expert, High Integrity. Melinda and her team at BetterVacationRentals have managed our beach condo for two years. They have provided invaluable support in readying the property for rent and have marketed the property expertly. My wife and I trust the Melinda and her team implicitly. The results have been gratifying, even in the current market. We recommend her without reservation for rental property management services.” N. Treister, December 20, 2009

What about the community? Are you involved? How are you and your rentals perceived by the local community? Listen to what Oceanside professionals say about BETTER Vacation Rentals: