Baseball in Colorado!

Hey the Rockies are on the map now they won the N.L. Championship. Its a great reminder how lucky Boulder, CO is to be hidden snugly into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and still be a 30 minute drive to a major US City with great sport team, like the Rockies, Avalanche, Nuggets, and more. All contenders on the National scene, all hosting top sport entertainment close by.

We took advantage of the Coke promotion tonight and watched the Rockies lead most of the eve, yet still lose to the hardy Phillies. Shame yes, as the song goes, but fun as being in any other city in America watching a hard fought top game. My kids will remember it forever, and I again give thanks for being able to 'have it all' here in this corner of the world, called 'Boulder.'

Hello Potential Landlord, I want to rip you off

Every time we post an available unit on CraigsList, we get a familiar spam. Here is one I got today. The critical thing is the 'pre payment'. The scam is they over pay, and ask you to mail the overage to a bank account. Your bank can take 2 weeks to let you know the 'Certified Check' or 'Bank Check' you were sent has bounced, which it will. The long story verbiage is another dead ringer they are scammers.

Regular checks for your deposit amount, or paypal/visa, and wait for the check to clear. NEVER, my dear landlords, mail overage to a stranger:

From 'Jane Anderson' to Alpine Corporate Accommodations today, 2/22/08:

Hello Potential Landlord,

I am extremely interested in your advert abt the space available for rent,
Please I will like to have answers to the following questions below:

1) I will like to have the description of the space, size, and the
equipments in there.
2) I will like to have the rent fee per month plus the utilities.
3) Also I will like to know if there is any garage or parking space cos I
will have my own car come over there.
4) I will also be coming with some of my furniture, that is if it is
allowed, like bed, book shelf cos I read a lot, shoe rank etc
5) I will also like to know if I can make an advance payment ahead my
arrival that will be stand as a kind of commitment that I am truly coming
over and for you to hold the room down for me.
6) If the #5 questions is YES, I will like to know the total cost for the
initial move as in first month rent and if you accept deposit.
7) I will like to know the major intersection nearest your neighborhood.
Like shopping mall, bus line e.t.c
Lastly, I will like to know more about you and also I will like to have your
pics as for me to know how you look like.

Here is all I can say about my self for now.

I am 27 years old and I work full time, Monday through Friday and have
weekends off except for once a month. I was born United state and raised in
europe, but presently in R I on a business trip for more than 2 years..

I am a professional, A Computer Consultant and I deal in various kinds of
computer applications and soft wares. I graduated in the Queen's University
Belfas, Europe, 8 years ago and I have my B.sc in Computer Science... I am
not really a sports person, BUT I do love Hockey Games, I am a very out
going person and fun to be with. I do play the organ and piano,, and I do
have BOTH piano and organ here at my house. I am not a drinker and I don't
smoke and I don't do drugs. YES I would like to go out with you on weekends
and weeknights when I am free. I like going to movies, concerts, plays, I
like camping, hiking, bike ridding, swimming, and I love to travel.

I am a very dedicated individual who is totally committed to human
development, friendly, very trustworthy and value relationship above
anything. I am a laid back person, I love travelling, sporting and enjoy
meeting people around the world. I am an easy going person and like to have
an apartment/roommate that is very responsible and understanding, someone I
can really get along with. I will take my time to get you one of my pics in
two days time for you to know how I look like, I am sure you will like me.

I am presently in Tucson, Arizona and I will be moving to your city fully to
live for the rest of my life and start a new life and get my own business as
a Computer Consultant ( I have my resume). I will be Staying in your space
for a A YEAR or More.

I should be arriving the state soon......

I need answers to my 8 questions above as soon as possible so as to arrange
for you to get the money prior for my arrival to retain and consider the
room mine.. I will be making this advance payment ahead my arrival so that
you can be rest assured that this is real since I am not in you location
presently. If you think I will be a good to you and you are interested in
renting the space to me
Thanks and have a good time.
Warmest Regards,
JANE ANDERSON

*************************
Image from Young Writers Blog

Little things guests never know about, but affect their stay.

When I stay in any accommodation by myself or with my family, I make notes about 'little' things they do to make the stay more pleasant. When I walk around the properties I help manage, I try to think of myself as the guest, and what is important in their daily living there.

Here is a little thing example: Carpeting the garage pillars.

Pretty boring huh? Not smart to say in our marketing "We Carpet our Garage Pillars!" Not terribly sexy. Many of our units have secured, underground parking. Most spaces are 1.5 car widths wide, so they are easy to park in. Still, between each space is a concrete pillar both separating the spaces and helping to hold up the buildings.

I noticed over the years other owners wrapping these pillars with protective carpeting to avoid car scratches. So we are doing it. Not to sell our suites. Not to raise prices. Just to avoid a guest accidently scratching their car. The guest would probably not tell me anyway. But their experience would go down a scratch. We would be forever 'the place I got that car scratch.'

Little things add up to sum experience. Work to make it a good one for your guests, and you will succeed in the hospitality business.

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.

Remember to use our unique Lijit Search Box for searching both our posts and posts from sites we recommend! Have a real estate/hotel/inn/accomodation/review site you'd like on Furnished Rentals? Email us!

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.