Edson Cabin - Georgetown Lake, MT

Property Management

The primary goal is to efficiently manage Jake and Carissa's Cabin, optimizing short-term rental operations. Utilizing the Guesty platform to integrate Airbnb, VRBO, & your own standalone website. Allowing us to capture bookings from the two largest short term rental platforms along with capturing our own direct bookings from the website. Creating a space that offers the best experience possible for the guests to make long lasting memories and hopefully return to stay with us again!

1. Create a name and "brand" for your Cabin:

We want to set ourselves apart from other rental options in the surrounding area. I've found it is important to create a name and brand for your location that people can have a further connection to rather than "let's go stay at that cabin at Georgetown"
Incorporate a name that captures the experience guests will have when staying at your cabin along with a name that resonates with you and your own connection to your cabin.
Create branding around your name including logo design to utilize for advertising and marketing

2. Short-Term Rental Management via Guesty:

Set up and configure Guesty for Jake and Carissa's Cabin.
Integrate property details, availability, and pricing on the Guesty platform.
Implement automated messaging, guest communication, and check-in/check-out procedures.
Monitor and manage reservations, ensuring a seamless guest experience.
Handle guest inquiries, reviews, and feedback promptly and professionally.
Optimize pricing strategies based on market trends and demand fluctuations.

3. Standalone Website Design:

Develop a user-friendly and visually appealing standalone website for Jake and Carissa's Cabin.
Design a responsive layout to ensure optimal viewing across various devices.
Include key information such as property features, amenities, local attractions, and booking details.
Implement an integrated booking system to facilitate direct reservations.
Utilize SEO best practices to enhance online visibility and attract organic traffic.
Provide a content management system for easy updates and modifications.

4. Professional Imagery:

Capture professional high-quality images to showcase your cabin and highlight our amazing location all year long.
Showcase the interior, exterior, and unique features of the property.
Ensure the images align with the desired branding and atmosphere of the cabin.
Optimize and edit images for use across various platforms, including the website and social media.
Provide a library of images for marketing collateral, online listings, and promotional materials.

Estimated Timeline:

Short-Term Rental Management via Guesty: Implementation and optimization within 4 weeks.
Standalone Website Design: Development and testing within 6 weeks.
Professional Imagery: Photoshoot and image delivery within 2 weeks.

Budget:

The budget for this project includes Guesty setup, website development, and professional photography services. A detailed breakdown of costs will be provided upon agreement.

Communication:

Regular check-ins and updates will be scheduled to ensure alignment with project timelines and goals.
Any significant deviations from the proposed schedule or budget will be communicated promptly.

Approvals:

Jake and Carissa's approval will be sought at key milestones, including website design mockups and imagery selection.

Process

Consult & Strategy

Initially we will want to cover the main details regarding renting your Cabin. We'll go over the setup with Guesty, standalone website, maintenance & repair processes, specifics for renting the Cabin, and an estimated timeline of when we can go live with renting the Cabin

Design & Setup

Once we have our strategy and initial content created the design process will begin. I have found that this is typically a fluid process with ideas and concepts changing throughout the naming & logo design, website building, booking channel integration process. Consistent updates with progress and ongoing changes will occur through this step

Content Creation

As Photographer and part of my own design process, I will typically build many elements of the website, logo, and property around the visual content. So the next step will be to create photo & video imagery of the cabin itself along with the highlights of our local area that are a main selling point of visiting Georgetown Lake, Philipsburg, and the surrounding activities.

Finalizing

When the setup and design process is wrapping up, we will begin to review all aspects to go live with the listing. We will be sure all parties are satisfied with the end product and have had other users test the website and other functions as necessary. The client will then 'signoff' that it is completed and ready for launch.

Platforms

Guesty

Guesty Website

Booking Integration Software

PMG has been utilizing Guesty for over 3 years now to manage multiple properties and unify the booking channels and process for each property into one management platform. This creates a seamless process for us as the managers as well as simplified features for owners to check in on their property bookings and analytics from one location.

There are many benefits to utilizing Guesty all of which can be seen below. We will discuss more in depth the highlights that we utilize the most when we have a chance to discuss with you further.

Web Design vs. Coding

In our modern age, fully coding a professional website is not completely necessary. There are many platforms out there that allow "Web Building/Designing" over coding (Wordpress, GoDaddy, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, etc. This also allows for a number of added perks:

Less time from start to finish - rather than designing AND coding a website, the website can be designed and created at the same time without additional time needed for coding the design elements
Cost Effective - Yearly hosting fees, domain integration, and backend user access are built into the site from the start without additional time and efforts needed to implement those variables
Owner Access - You will not be held 'hostage' to your web developer. The option for you to control your own website is built into the backend owner dashboard. This allows for editing the site directly, editing live elements indirectly, and much more without having to call your web developer if you choose to.

Wix - Editor & Web Hosting

Your website will be created utilizing Wix's Platform. As mentioned above, there are many options out there and I have found that Wix has some of the most efficient and user friendly options for myself as the website creator as well as the client to manage their own website as much or as little as they would like to.

Here are some of the local websites I have created for your reference:

(Click each image for their respective website)

Rates

Property Management & Guesty Integration

Philipsburg Marketing Group offers full Property Management for a percentage of the net nightly rate based off of monthly confirmed and fulfilled bookings at your property. Typically we are at 25-30% commission on the nightly rates depending on the level of our involvement you are looking to get. In general our Property Management services include:

Property Marketing:
- Develop and implement a marketing strategy to attract guests.
- Create compelling property listings on various online platforms.
- Use professional photos and descriptions to showcase the property.
Guest Communication:
- Respond promptly to inquiries and reservation requests.
- Provide information about the property, amenities, and local attractions.
- Communicate check-in/check-out procedures and address guest concerns.
Reservation Management:
- Handle booking transactions, including payments and security deposits.
- Maintain an up-to-date reservation calendar.
- Confirm reservations and send booking confirmations to guests.
Cleaning and Maintenance:
- Coordinate cleaning services between guest stays.
- Ensure the property is well-maintained and address any maintenance issues promptly.
- Conduct regular inspections to identify and address maintenance needs.
Key Management:
- Manage key exchanges, whether through traditional keys, key codes, or smart locks.
- Ensure secure and efficient access for guests.
Guest Services:
- Provide information about local services, attractions, and amenities.
- Address guest requests and resolve any issues during their stay.
- Collect and respond to guest reviews and feedback.
Regulatory Compliance:
- Stay informed to the best of our ablility about local regulations and ensure the property complies with them.
- Obtain necessary permits and licenses for short-term rentals.
Financial Management:
- Set rental rates based on market conditions and property features.
- Collect and manage rental payments.
- Keep accurate financial records and provide regular reports to property owners.
Security and Safety:
- Implement safety measures and emergency procedures.
- Ensure the property is secure, and inform guests about safety features.
Legal Responsibilities:
- Draft and enforce rental agreements.
- Handle eviction procedures if necessary.
- Stay informed about landlord-tenant laws and regulations.
Marketing and Branding:
- Develop and maintain a brand identity for the property.
- Implement marketing strategies to increase property visibility and bookings.
Technology Utilization:
- Utilize Guesty as our property management software for bookings, reservations, and communication.
- Stay updated on industry trends and adopt new technologies for efficiency.

Guesty & Booking Channel Setup

As mentioned above, Guesty is an important tool that we utilize to manage all aspects of your property in one central software dashboard. Guesty's fee's are based off of each reservation and to utilize their ongoing services they charge 3% per confirmed & fulfilled booking. This small fee goes beyond just managing the property, it allows us to market your property on all of the major platforms without the risk of overlapping reservations. It is also a key part of offering direct bookings as we can create a seamless reservation page within our website that is directly connected to Guesty and avoids the extra fees associated with VRBO & Airbnb.

The initial integration of Guesty along with creating and setting up the various booking channels (VRBO, Airbnb, Booking.com) requires time and efforts to coordinate a smooth integration initially and to ensure all of the pieces are functioning correctly. For the initial setup we have a flat rate of $500

Breakdown

PMG Commission: 25-30%

Guesty Fee: 3%

Booking Channel Setup Fee: $500

Market Branding, Website & Professional Imagery

Scope: We want to create an experience for the guests reserving your cabin for their vacation. This starts with the Branding: name, logo, aesthetic which then translates to the website and imagery we want to portray to our potential clients.

Website Design

Consulting & Strategy

We want to make sure your website is designed and feels exactly how you want it, so we will create development plans in order to create your very own 'story' for your website to incorporate all of the design and appearance elements you want to appear on your site

Branding Content

Integrate our logo and image branding to have a cohesive feel to our clients

Design

Production of your website including:
- Wireframe and Layout building (creating the 'bones' of the website)
- UI/UX: Aesthetic, theme, and overall design profile of the site with incorporation of Imagery, Verbage, User Interfaces (reservation system ResNexus), and any other requested elements
- Mobile Version development and design
- Backend user development: incorporating elements that can be updated by the client/user without the need to reach out to the developer - essentially allowing you to control and update your website without the need to pay further hourly rates to me on a regular basis

Domain, Hosting, & SEO

Establishing your domain connection (likely already in place as you are already utilizing Wix)
Adjusting your Wix plan in accordance with the new website and its requirements
Incorporating Google SEO (search engine optimization) in order to appear as high as possible within search results on Google

Testing & Finalizing

Testing the website for flaws, sizing of different screens and devices, and overall assuring the client is happy with the end product and making any adjustments accordingly

Total: $2,000

Market Branding

Create a Name, Brand, & Logo for your Cabin:

Brainstorm and create a name that fits your cabin and your aesthetic feel you want to portray to guests
Correlate naming with available website domains
Design a logo around the name and aesthetic of the cabin

Total: $250

Professional Imagery

Capture Imagery of the property for marketing:

Capture interior and exterior of home utilizing HDR imagery
Incorporate Drone Imagery to enhance the guests initial impression and allow them to get a better idea of the location of the cabin on Georgetown Lake
Include local activity imagery such as downhill skiing, boating, SXS/offroad, hiking, etc. (these would be included from past imagery that I have taken over the last several years
Professional Processing & Editing of all new images.

Total: $500

Overall Total

$2,750

Thanks for your time and consideration!

There is a lot of information in this proposal and initially beginning the process of setting up a short term rental property and working with a Property Manager may seem like quite a bit of work. There are certainly a lot of pieces that need to be established and put together right away and we are here to help with all of that.

Please do not hesitate to question, negotiate, or comment on any of the above information. Our goal is to work with you in any capacity to make sure this is a mutually beneficial venture

Eric Bunting

Property Management + Professional Photographer + Website Designer

Philipsburg Marketing Group LLC - Philipsburg, MT

Cell: 763-639-5519

Email: eric@philipsburgmg.com