When Leslie Oestmann founded a vacation rental business in Scottsdale, Arizona, she saw a gap in the industry that she wanted to fill.
“I had always worked in the resort industry, and one thing that was really important to me – and what I thought was lacking in the Airbnb world – was the concierge-type service that you get when you stay at a five-star hotel,” she said.
Leslie owns Just Stay (formerly Platinum Rental Experience), a property management and investment company that operates 110 vacation rentals in Greater Phoenix, Sedona, and Flagstaff. The company plans to start operations in Prescott soon.
Adopting the motto, “we don’t book homes; we book experiences,” the company sets itself apart by including full vacation rental concierge service with every stay.
Offering a concierge service for guests at a vacation rental is a rare perk. But on top of that, Just Stay has customized the service in ways that help prevent neighborhood nuisance incidents and improve neighbor relations.
Responsible renting practices
Just Stay’s six vacation rental concierges go beyond helping guests book tours, private chef experiences, and other fun activities. They personally inform the guests of house rules by phone at least two weeks before their stay (unless it’s a last-minute booking). Additionally, concierges meet the guests at the vacation rental to do an in-person check-in for about 85% to 90% of guests.
During the in-person check-in, the concierge meets with the entire group of guests staying at the vacation rental and again, goes over the house rules. This step ensures that everyone, not just the person who made the booking, knows what’s expected during their stay, Leslie said.
In-person check-ins were particularly important during the recent uptick in pop-up parties during the coronavirus pandemic.
Just Stay concierges have caught at least two party groups that had posed as families in order to book a vacation rental. In one case, the group claimed to be a family of four with two parents and two children. When the group showed up at the vacation rental, the concierge could see there were no children in the group. Just Stay did not proceed with the check-in and canceled the group’s reservation.
Noise monitoring at vacation rentals
Just Stay takes house rules very seriously, such as quiet hours are between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., because they help to protect both the company’s assets and the vacation rentals’ neighbors from nuisances like blocked driveways and excessive noise.
Two years ago, the company started using NoiseAware noise-monitoring software to issue alerts when the amount of noise at a vacation rental exceeds a certain decibel measurement.
Each home has a noise sensor on the inside and outside. If the yard is large, there might be multiple noise sensors around the property.
“We are getting fewer neighbor complaints, and that ultimately is what we care about. I can say that is 100% because of NoiseAware,” Leslie said.
Just Stay has canceled guests’ reservations for violations of house rules, including ignoring repeated warnings to be quieter. When guests don’t heed warnings or don’t respond to warnings, the company’s security team goes to the vacation rental to resolve the violation.
A month ago, Just Stay had to throw out a bachelorette group from a vacation rental because the guests were being too rowdy, disturbing the neighbors, and failing to quiet down after warnings, Julie said.
“They had to go find a hotel at 2 in the morning,” Leslie said. “We are not afraid to do that. We want to let them know how serious we are.”
Being a good neighbor
About two years ago, Just Stay changed its approach to communicating with neighbors, Leslie said. Just Stay employees now proactively reach out to neighbors to let them know ahead of time when they take on a new property.
The process involves sending a letter introducing the company and a magnet that has the phone number for Just Stay’s neighbor complaint hotline, which has a live staff member available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The phone number also is posted on each vacation rental’s door.
“Instead of being adversaries with the neighbors, we’re saying, hey, we care,” Leslie said.
Just Stay encourages neighbors to report anything that bothers them – even if it isn’t an outright violation of rules.
“We’re not asking them to be the police,” Leslie said, “but if they see something that they don’t think we would like or that they don’t like, we want them to let us know because we do care. We want to be good neighbors.”
Download the free Good Neighbor Guide
Short-term rental advocacy
Modeling responsible renting practices like considering the neighbors’ feelings are an important part of any short-term rental business, Leslie said.
However, due to the developing nature of short-term rental (STR) regulations in different municipalities and states around the country, this is a crucial time for vacation rental owners and managers to be advocates for the industry, she said.
Especially in cities where bans have been proposed, it’s vital that owners and managers make sure their voice is heard during STR policymaking efforts. Doing so reminds lawmakers of the good actors in the STR industry and of the economic benefits of the industry, Leslie noted. For instance, Just Stay employs over 75 people, including vendors and cleaners.
Leslie has spoken at several Arizona Senate hearings on bills to regulate or ban short-term rentals.
Learn more with our top 10 short-term rental advocacy resources
“If we don’t have a voice at these meetings, it is not going to be long before we are not able to continue to do our business,” she said.
“We have made so many improvements in the industry and improvements that needed to happen so let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
•••
The Good Apples Series is Powered by NoiseAware
NoiseAware is a noise protection service for short term and vacation rentals. The only way to prevent a noise complaint is through proactive incident management. With NoiseAware protection, you can relax knowing that you will be immediately notified if the noise level at your property exceeds your quiet hours setting. Your neighbors will thank you.
