No Roughing It

Luxury rental cabins need service to match.

by Mary Welch

March 9, 2009

P amela Miracle and her husband, Doug, decided to buy a second home in North Georgia and rent it out. Little did she know she would find a career.
 
"We found this wonderful house in Blue Ridge, and it was going to be our retirement and weekend home," she says. "But we also wanted to rent it out, and we found a leasing company that handled renting homes out in the North Georgia mountains. But we weren't happy with their service. I just wanted the leasing company to handle our property as if it were their own."
    
After a couple of missteps with rental management firms, Miracle decided to take it into her own hands. Two years later, she is president of EscapeToBlueRidge.com, an upscale rental management company that currently oversees 38 cabins. "It was the perfect timing," she says. "I was a stay-at-home mom whose kids were in school, and I was ready for a challenge. I decided to manage our property, and then we had a neighbor who wasn't happy with his management company, and then it grew from word of mouth."
    
She put her home up on a Web site in 2007 and handled all the reservations herself for her house and her friend's house for about a year. She listened to what guests were looking for in a cabin and saw the problems and challenges that the owners, such as herself, experienced. She also oversaw any repairs herself. "I know who the good plumbers and landscapers are. I treat all the properties as if they're mine, so I make sure that all the little details are taken care of as well as the bigger issues. I handled all the operations."
    
After a year of doing it herself, Miracle, her husband and a fellow cabin owner began renting out the cabins of their mountain neighbors. She continued being the sole manager until they had 10 cabins in their inventory and Miracle had the "reservation phone attached to my hip." Word of mouth from satisfied cabin owners eventually led the trio to form EscapeToBlueRidge.com.

    
Today, there are eight reservation operators who are live 24/7. Miracle oversees it all, including the all-important Web site, which quickly establishes the luxury nature of the cabins as well as the upscale services Miracle's company offers both guests and cabin owners. The homes are beautifully displayed, thanks to professional photography and graphics. Of course, dubbing the cabins with such names as Bearadise, Moon over Mooseville, Dream Catcher and Waterfall Lodge, helps convey the proper marketing message as well. "People going to our Web site recognize a difference in our inventory and services. You get the full picture."
    
The numbers speak for themselves. In 2007, her company serviced 1,179 guests; in 2008, that number was 5,150, an increase of 437 percent. Her Web traffic increased more than 300 percent on unique user page views from 2007 to 2008. Ninety-five percent of the guests said they would refer the company to potential guests.

    
Part of the company's success is the type of cabins and service that are offered. The cabins are more luxurious than a traditional rustic cabin. All have hot tubs as well as game rooms, modern kitchens, DSL and other amenities. "Our guests want king-sized beds, lots of windows, high-count sheets, plasma televisions, fireplaces including outdoor fire pits, CDs in the bedrooms, finished basements. Wi-Fi is becoming important. People will pay more for a hot tub or a finished basement with a game room - even if they don't use it, they want it. Multiple families really like a game room where their kids can all go and be entertained. People want amenities."
    
Cabins rent from $165 to $350 per night or anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 for a week's stay.
    
In addition, the company offers a concierge service aimed at making a guest's mountain experience memorable. The concierge can arrange a guided fly-fishing trip or a round of golf. Other requests can include something as simple as making dinner arrangements, stocking the refrigerator, planning a white water rafting adventure or hiring a personal chef or an at-home massage.

    
"We want people to have the best experience, which includes having a wonderful, well-kept luxury house as well as getting the best experience at Blue Ridge and the North Georgia mountains," she says. "It really is the whole package - the house and the town of Blue Ridge with its boutiques, restaurants, antique markets and outdoor activities."
    
As with most businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, Miracle is watching the economy carefully. "We're in unchartered territory, so I'm a little nervous," she says. "Weekend rentals are strong, and repeat business is important."

    
She believes that with the tough economy, families will tend to stay closer to home and will seek ways to save money, such as sharing accommodations.  Blue Ridge is 90 minutes from Atlanta. Only one of her homes sleeps four; the rest accommodate up to 13. "Multiple families are now looking to go on vacation together and realize a savings in costs. The kids play together, and the adults can have adult time. That's why amenities are so important," she says. "We're also seeing friends getting together like maybe 10 people who rent a house and go white water rafting together."
    
Miracle admits she didn't anticipate finding her next career in the mountains but understands the key to her success. "It's quite simple," she says. "I treat every property as if it were mine."

www.escapetoblueridge.com