Question 1

1. Commission & Costs: Please explain your commission structure and any additional costs a homeowner might incur.

Accepted Answer

Property Management Commission is 18% and lower percentage can be discussed for multiple properties being added or large homes.  We do not charge owners any fees. We do have a preventative maintenance & Safety check fee of $40 for condos and $50 for homes.  This is to reduce multiple small charges for an owner, and is set up to save the owner money through preventative maintenance and safety checks each month.  We provide all linen and do not charge credit card fees to owners.

Question 2

2. Marketing: Please detail the strategies you utilize to market properties to guests.

Accepted Answer

Current Tides is using the following Online Travel Agencies to market properties to guests:  VRBO, Airbnb, Marriott Homes & Villas, Booking.com, HomesToGo, Rentalz, and BnB Finder.  We also have our web site, www.currenttides.net, where we market guests to book direct for the best price.  We offer returning guests a 10% off to book direct and receive a better price than VRBO or Airbnb.  We offer Veterans a discount. We also email market our past guests to rebook.  We also have a VIP level when guests achieve several stays with Current Tides or when they are here for special occasions.

Question 3

3. Cleaning & Maintenance: Please outline your property management services, including but not limited to cleaning, inspections and maintenance.

Accepted Answer

Current Tides uses an in house cleaning team, and is led by our Housekeeping Supervisor.  Our cleaners are well paid and will clean only one property per day, unless there is not a back to back guest, then they can clean another property.  We provide all of the cleaning supplies for the cleaners to confirm the best cleaning supplies are being used to clean the property.  We have an in house laundry facility where al of the linen is professionally laundered and stored.  We inspect every clean before the guests arrive.  We inspected properties when vacant more than 7 days to verify there are no issues with the property.  We have two in house maintenance personnel who handle most of the work orders.  We will contact plumbers, electricians, HVAC, or other specialty vendors when needed and approved by the owner.  We perform monthly preventative maintenance and safety checks for each property.  These checks are used to change light bulbs, batteries, check smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, CO detectors, and other checks to verify the property is being maintained and not charge our owners a lot of fees.

Question 4

4. Communication & Reporting: How do you communicate with homeowners and what types of reports do you provide? Who will I be working with on your team? Will I have a dedicated representative or a team approach?

Accepted Answer

Current Tides communicates with our owners through regular newsletters throughout the year.  We identify a Property Manager to be their primary contact to oversee and manage their property.  The Property Manager will coordinate maintenance, issues and keep the Owner informed.  Owners receive an Owner statement for their property's monthly revenue and expenses.  This is usually completed by the 8th day of the month. Owners can also can access their statement, financials, bookings and manage their owner stays through the Track PMS portal.

Question 5

5. Financial Management: Please discuss how you handle financial management for the properties you manage. Do you follow trust accounting principles?

Accepted Answer

Current Tides has a Chief Financial Officer, who oversees all of the financials for the business, paying owners and vendors and lodging taxes.  We use trust accounting for the business.  We also have a financial analyst, who manages the monthly payments and books through Quickbooks.  We also use TopKey financial system to allow us to post any credit card charges for the business or for a property by taking a picture of the receipt and identifying where the charge is to be posted. It is them pushed to Quickbooks.  We also use Track Property Management software to manage the incoming revenue from the guests booking direct and through the OTA's.  The expense are also managed in Track and transferred to Quickbooks.

Question 6

6. Technology: What kind of technology do you employ and how does this technology provide benefits to both homeowners and guests?

Accepted Answer

Current Tides utilizes several pieces of technology working together to help us manage the property for our guests and owners.  Track is our Property Management software and manages all incoming reservations, financials, guest and owner contacts, owner statements and OTA management.  The Current Tides web site was built by Atlas and manages direct bookings and advertisement of Current Tides and the properties we manage.  Breezeway is our guest communication tool and allows us to communicate via text with guests before arriving, during they stay and when they are leaving.  We can offer them early arrival or late departure options, along with the opportunity to arrival days earlier or extend their stay.  Breezeway Guide sends them a link to all of their arrival information and departure instructions.  Breezeway is also used for our housekeeping, inspection and maintenance work orders and scheduling.  We use Direct Booking Tools, which is imbedded in our web site and shows the guest the pricing difference between our web site, VRBO and Airbnb.  We use Vintory to assist with owner acquisitions and finding new potential owners.  We use TopKey and Quickbooks to manage financial reporting, tracking and analysis.  We use Rev & Research, Key Data, and Wheelhouse to determine pricing for the properties at the various times of the year.  We meet each week to discuss and maximize pricing for our owners and determine how we are ranking against the market in pricing and occupancy. It allows us to receive and review pricing, booking windows, average daily rates for our market and adjust pricing accordingly.  This allows us to get the prices for our owners and manage paid occupancy to fill openings in a property's availability.  We use Slack for internal team communication.

Question 7

7. Differentiators: What unique aspects set your company apart from other property management companies, especially in terms of advantages to homeowners?

Accepted Answer

Here are a few key points that make Current Tides unique. We are the only property management company with a high level of focus on guest and owner safety.  One of the owners of Current Tides is the world's leading authority on safety and loss prevention in the Vacation / Short Term Rental industry. Our house keeping team will typically clean one property a day to allow for a focused clean and not to be rushed by multiple cleans in a day.  We offer our owners a guarantee.  If they are not happy with Current Tides Management after 120 days, we will refund their property management fees. In house laundry allows us to provide professionally managed laundering of linens. Dedicated team to manage pricing through data analytics and adjusting pricing automatically or manually to meet or exceed the market conditions.

Question 8

8. Guest Damage: What is your approach to managing damages caused by guests? Do you require a security deposit or offer damage insurance? If you opt for insurance, how do you establish the coverage details?

Accepted Answer

Current Tides charges guests a nonrefundable damage waiver fee to cover any accidental damages.  We will pay for any accidental damages and inform the owner.  If the damage is not accidental, we will contact the guests to pay or work with the OTA the guests booked through to recover the costs of the repairs or replacement.  Our guest damages have been low throughout our years in business.

Question 9

9. Revenue Management: Please explain your strategy for revenue management? How do you determine pricing to optimize earnings? Do you utilize dynamic pricing software, manage rates manually, or employ a combination of both methods?

Accepted Answer

Current Tides uses a combination of tools and services to maximize revenue management for our owners.  We use Wheelhouse, a dynamic pricing tool, Key Data, a service providing market specific data on pricing and other metrics for the market, and Rev & Research, provides review and analysis of the data from the other two tools to provide oversight and guidance to the Current Tides team on pricing and a revenue management strategy.  Current Tides has a weekly meeting, with Rev & Research,  to review the forward looking market conditions and the less than 60 days, 30 days, 21 days, 14 days and 7 days for open dates for the properties.  This strategy has allowed us to improve our occupancy and maintain the pricing to maximize revenue for our owners.

Question 10

10. Community Involvement and Reputation: Are you involved in the local community and do you support local initiatives?

Accepted Answer

Current Tides is a member of the Orange Beach and Gulf Shores Chamber of Commerce and participate in these events.  We support different organizations and events through financial support, donations, or our time involved.

Current Tides Vacation Rentals

What We Offer

Property Manager Supplied Metrics

VRBO Metrics

Current Tides Vacation Rentals Reviews

They are always responsive and ready to work & help with any situation.

They care about their clients

Current Tides is great!

Always there for me!

Can always count on Current Tides!

Current Tides Manages My Property Without Any Concerns

Current Tides has been incredible to work with!

Contact Manager