In this market, owners of cottages and luxury homes can rent them out with ease. The bigger challenge is ensuring that you rent to great guests.
That’s where a specialized rental agency comes into play.
“We’re seeing enormous growth in demand and number of rental properties listing with us in the Collingwood, Thornbury, Creemore, Kawartha and Haliburton areas,” says Jayne McCaw, owner of Jayne’s Luxury Rentals. Her company handles over 250 properties throughout cottage country. “As well, our cottage properties in Lake of Bays and Muskoka continue to be as popular as ever.”
Ensuring a superb rental experience means looking after the needs of the property owners as well as the guests, she says. Often those needs overlap: when guests book for longer stays, or return to the same property year after year, it shows the guests are satisfied, and eases the experience for the owners.
Jayne’s has a 70 per cent repeat guest rate, showing that they are more than satisfied with their experience.
“We do extensive screening of all guests, and aim to minimize the turnover on an owner’s property,” says Jayne. “Many of our guests will book for extended periods, even up to four weeks. This gives owners peace-of-mind, because it will only be one party on their property during that time.”
The Jayne’s Luxury Rental team also goes in depth to understand their owners’ properties and individual needs. The owner wants everything that the guest used back in the place where they left it and it is Jayne’s goal to have it seem as if no one was ever there. “Our owners are comforted by the fact that we are fully accountable should anything be damaged. Rather than the owners taking care of these issues, we send our team back to make it perfect without any hassle to the owner.”
Before and after each guest, the team from Jayne’s does a complete inspection – even lifting sofa cushions – to ensure everything is in tiptop shape before the owners return to use their space. Then, they meet with the owners and go through the property together.
This allows Jayne and her team to find any issues and address them with the owner immediately.
“We create meticulous notes, and we take pictures of the cupboards and waterfront, to better serve our owners,” says Jayne. “Our owners are our bread and butter, especially since they rent with us every year. Therefore, we put extra effort into making it a seamless experience for them.”
This proactive and transparent way of doing business speaks to the integrity of Jayne’s Luxury Rentals and is another one of the many reasons they are the top choice for many property owners in central Ontario.
TEXT CHRIS OCCHIUZZI
