Anyone experienced with VACASA?
Developer · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2018 · 21 posts · 7 votes
I’ve purchased three cabins-beachfront-great location cabins on 1/2 acre. I want to develop Condos or townhomes but meanwhile vacation rent them to help cover costs. I’m finding a lockdown style 32-35% property management rate by local managers and I’m not impressed by what I’m hearing on reviews. VACASA is new to this area and wants to manage the cabins but still want 32% not including extra fees for maintanance etc. The properties were very mismanaged so I can’t go on past rents. Area rents are great occupancy summer and dead in winter. I travel-work a lot and don’t really want to manage myself unless absolutely must. Does anyone have experience with VACASA or have suggestions. The local municipality requires a property manager for absentee owners and state of WA requires property managers to be licensed real estate agents. I’ve thought of a couple ways to work around all that but if VACASA is as good at marketing as they say I’d lean that way. Thanks.
@Debbie Bone
Before I switched over to self managing I did use vacasa as a pm. This is what I found they did which I did not like and thought was sneaky. They would charge rent which they say is dynamic to optimize your profit but what they do is also add booking fees the guest pay on top of rent for another 10-20 percent they say this is for credit card fees and other admin charges but then what is the commission for? This raises the total cost Which is what people are looking at when they book. The rent they did charge seemed to be really low so they still could put all their fees in there and be competitive with the normal listings they did keep the place booked but that is how they did it.
@Beth Lugo - I am not completely sure what you are getting at. The ONLY criteria for me are keeping the place rented and keeping the place safe and clean. If the tenant pays extra fees, then the market determines if the fees are too high. We had a 98-99% occupancy prior to the Covid lockdowns in Hawaii. Things are now opening up again and reservations are again up to 98% for the coming six months. I have no problem with the PM making money as long as I can make this kind of return. We earn over $2500 consistently after expenses (PM, HOA, repairs, vacancy, taxes, etc.) on a studio condo. It is easily the most profitable property that we have ever owned.
I think the expression is "stealing from Peter to pay Paul." She is clearly saying that by having lower nightly rates, they get more occupancy, they pay out less to you the owner, and they profit more from the fees which aren't passed along to you. If the cost to the guest were the same with a higher nightly rate and lower fees, they would theoretically have the same occupancy but Vacasa would pay out more to you.
Congrats on your successful rental!
@Account Closed - You might think that that is true, but it is not our experience. We had far lower occupancy rates with any of the other PMs that we tried. The extra tenants easily pay for higher fees. Vacasa is not a local company, but it is international. There are almost definitely better companies out there, but for this property we have not found them yet.
@Account Closed - In addition to calculating fees and profits, one must look at the less tangible parts of PM. The personalities of the staff, the talent of the cleaning crew, and the ease of communication all need to be considered. These are easily worth the price when dealing in short term rentals. Anyone can maintain and AirBnB listing, but not everyone can keep people happy and returning year after year.
@Beth Lugo - as I have mentioned, I can only talk about our experience. We have only two additional fees. One is housekeeping where 100% of the money collected goes to the cleaners. Then we have 5% service fee from the tenant that Vacasa gets, in addition to their 20% management fee from us. I must not be describing this clearly, because there seems to be some confusion. That is all that we personally pay for management. That is 100% except for Hawaiian taxes. There is nothing hidden and this is very transparent. We are shown every dime. Sorry, if I am not characterizing the total process correctly. I am more than happy to share 5% more with this company for doing such an amazing job.
@Beth Lugo - In comparison to the three other PMs that we have had on this property, the costs are lower at the end of the year under Vacasa. They even file all of our taxes for us which in Hawaii is a major undertaking on its own.
@Beth Lugo - all of that said, do not misunderstand my comments. The second that I think that I can find a better deal elsewhere, I will. This just happens to be the best that we have found on our specific island and market.
I'm sorry Ralph, that's just not accurate for the vast majority of Vacasa's listings. Anyone who wants to can just go to Vacasa's website as a guest and try to rent a property. Click on "details" under fees and you'll see how the fees add up. If you have a strong heart, just try to add a dog or two to your reservation, or find one with a hot tub, pool, or club house and you'll see just how much of the money taken for YOUR property ends up in their pockets and how quickly their "guest facing fees" can add up to be more than your total rent. I don't need to argue about this anymore, if people really want to see who is telling the truth here, they can look for themselves.
@Beth Lugo - as I mentioned several times, I cannot discuss other properties. I can only give feedback on our own property. I negotiated fees. I can easily prove all of my statements as being fact. I would not have gone with Vacasa if they could not match or exceed the costs of doing business with other property managers. I have no allegiance to them or their company, but the facts are that our renters only pay two fees. You can see that on all of our listings. There is no question and it is listed on each and every monthly statement. Thank you for your input, but your experience is not even similar to our own.
@Ralph Pombo I just came across this thread. My hat is off to you Ralph. You're a patient man!
I guess I'll revive this thread a little. I am a longtime investor, landlord, and real estate professional. I do not self-manage any of my properties at the moment, since they are all OOS and I do not wish to deal with it. I previously had only longterm rentals and just recently converted one of my units to an str. I was planning on this just prior to covid and checked into a few str mgt companies, including vacasa. They are very good at marketing and following up, etc. I spoke with them and they sounded interesting, but I was very turned off when I did some digging for reviews online. I don't remember the specifics, but, I did not like what I read, including some on other BP threads. Some of the info I remember (and from notes I still have) from talking to a few companies is:
Vacasa - 25% fees, but negotiable and this includes all their fees, they are based in Portland, OR (or was when I last checked), I have something in my notes about needing a linen program (not sure what that was),
Manorshare - can't even find them anymore and may be out of business
Evolve - 10% fees + 3% credit card processing fee on the total charge, I think they were more of distant mgt (barebones) and the owner would have to contract with a cleaning crew, which they can refer. I liked them, but decided I wanted more full service mgt, but check them out yourself, because I could be wrong.
Turnkey Vacation Rental - I have them listed but don't have any notes on them I may not have contacted them, but I also don't remember anything negative, so, contact them and check references, if they sound good.
itrip vacations - I read about them on a BP post somewhere. The posts/reviews were very positive and I ended up calling them, interviewing them, and actually spoke on the phone to a few of their str owner clients (local owners, as references), which were very pleased with them.
I think they are franchised, so my mgr owns the local franchise and is hands-on and personal. They charge around 20% and take care of the hospitality taxes and are full service. Their fee may have changed (gone up) or be different per location. They also very extremely helpful with referring me to a project mgr/designer, who assisted in the needed rehab and furnishings to get the unit ready for rent. I have been up and running for about 2 months now, and am so far pleased with everything. So far, their projections seem fairly accurate, but it's too early to tell. I may even look for another one in the area for them to manage. My guess is they are more personable and hands-on due to their franchise model and boots on the ground approach. I would definitely check them out, if they are available in your area.
Hope this helps anyone. I feel like I dodged a bullet by finding their name on BP, since I almost signed up with one of the other companies, which I found out later did not have good reviews (see the 1st paragraph at the top).
Booked a rental based on a listing on their site that left out the fact that the condo was disgusting. Paid $1600 for a dump. Vacasa reps called me everyday where I communicated the many issues including blood stains on furniture, smelly towels and sheets, bathrooms with mold, and more. Sent a detailed email after being asked to “contact us” about the experience. I was told that unless I had pictures they couldn’t believe me - funny because their pictures LIED about the condition of the home. A person named Hilary (works for Vacasa) who “speaks on behalf of” a person named April (also works for Vacasa) needs some coaching around customer service, listening, and tact. Awful experience, horrible problem management with customers, and AVOID VACASA because they are all about taking your money and delivering on sub par products. They contact you daily to ask about your stay, you tell them, and nothing happens. Not worth it.
Hello! I find this entire thread very illuminating. I'm actively seeking a STR PM for our new investment property in Austin. I spoke with Vacasa today and was shocked to hear the management fee they charge which doesn't include trash or lawn care so that's another expense I have to figure out. I've looked into Evolve as well and the low fee is attractive but their model requires more involvement on my part it seems which isn't the model I want. Grand Welcome has been recommended to me by my local realtor in Austin. I haven't spoken with them yet. Does anyone know much about Grand Welcome? Or any other personal experience with a STR PM in the Austin area?
I'm active on a few Facebook groups for Guerneville where my vacation rental is located. I put my feelers out through them for a good vacation rental property manager, received several referrals, which is where I found my current PM and so far am super happy with the results. My experience with the big chains, ie. TurnKey and Vacasa was VERY negative..
Hello! I find this entire thread very illuminating. I'm actively seeking a STR PM for our new investment property in Austin. I spoke with Vacasa today and was shocked to hear the management fee they charge which doesn't include trash or lawn care so that's another expense I have to figure out. I've looked into Evolve as well and the low fee is attractive but their model requires more involvement on my part it seems which isn't the model I want. Grand Welcome has been recommended to me by my local realtor in Austin. I haven't spoken with them yet. Does anyone know much about Grand Welcome? Or any other personal experience with a STR PM in the Austin area?
I haven't heard of Grand Welcome, but you may have read my post above. That was from my experience looking for an str management company for my unit in Austin. I was changing my ltr to an str and did research into str mgt. I ended up going with itrip, and have been happy with them. I almost went with Vacasa, but felt like I dodged a bullet when i started to look at some reviews of them. they are very good at marketing and following up, but the reviews I saw were not good at all.
I was very impressed with itrip and that they were local owners (it is franchised) and I checked references (spoke to current clients of theirs) and they all had only good things to say about them. I think they started managing my unit around April and so far, it has gone good. They take care of everything and I can track things on their website and so far all my reviews have been 5 stars. Amy (local itrip owner) also referred me to a designer/project mgr who helped did a full remodel on my unit.
Contact Amy at itrip. You can send me a message if you want and I'm happy to give your her #.
Thank you @Diana Bik Boeck! I appreciate hearing your experience.
Hello! I find this entire thread very illuminating. I'm actively seeking a STR PM for our new investment property in Austin. I spoke with Vacasa today and was shocked to hear the management fee they charge which doesn't include trash or lawn care so that's another expense I have to figure out. I've looked into Evolve as well and the low fee is attractive but their model requires more involvement on my part it seems which isn't the model I want. Grand Welcome has been recommended to me by my local realtor in Austin. I haven't spoken with them yet. Does anyone know much about Grand Welcome? Or any other personal experience with a STR PM in the Austin area?
I haven't heard of Grand Welcome, but you may have read my post above. That was from my experience looking for an str management company for my unit in Austin. I was changing my ltr to an str and did research into str mgt. I ended up going with itrip, and have been happy with them. I almost went with Vacasa, but felt like I dodged a bullet when i started to look at some reviews of them. they are very good at marketing and following up, but the reviews I saw were not good at all.
I was very impressed with itrip and that they were local owners (it is franchised) and I checked references (spoke to current clients of theirs) and they all had only good things to say about them. I think they started managing my unit around April and so far, it has gone good. They take care of everything and I can track things on their website and so far all my reviews have been 5 stars. Amy (local itrip owner) also referred me to a designer/project mgr who helped did a full remodel on my unit.
Contact Amy at itrip. You can send me a message if you want and I'm happy to give your her #.
Do they manage in San Antonio area as well?
Very helpful thread. I purchased a property in Maggie Valley NC in September. The previous owner used Evolve and it was easy for me to continue with them. But I discovered they are not full service. They rely on the homeowner to be the guest point of contact for most issues. I called Vacasa today. But after reading these post I'm not likely to use them. Wondering what determines where my property turns up on an Airbnb, Vrbo, etc, search. It seems Evolve and Vacasa are good at having their clients property show up at the top of an Airbnb search and, if true, that is a big plus for using these companies. Anyone know what drives where a property shows up in the search and if these companies provide more bookings than DIY? Also, if anyone knows of a str company in NC smokey mtn area pls let me know.
I expected Vacasa to take care of my home professionally, which is why I agreed to there outrageous charges.
When I came home, my dryer was gone. A barstool was gone. A writing table was destroyed. A wooden prayer in a shadow box was gone. 3 Room heaters were gone. A Dremel kit...gone. All bathroom accessories were gone. All trash bins (all pricey to match decor) were gone. Expensive Shark iron, gone.
They let me walk in and never even KNEW these things were missing.
This means, when a renter takes your table, they don't get charged, Vacasa lets them have it like a FREE gift.
Every time I asked for a replacement, they would argue that wear and tear was the culprit, even though the appliances were NEW and I was gone 2 years.
When they did replace the items it was with CHEAP PLASTIC. NOT EVEN MATCHING. As if throwing a cheap plastic brown trash bin would suffice for my wooden espresso trash bin that was part of a set!
There are not enough words to describe these thieves.
Stay away and never trust them with your home.
I had Vasasa in Colorado mountain town as my STR PM for a condo that could be rented as a 3 bedroom, 2 bedroom or 1 bedroom due to the 1 bedroom and bath could be locked out from the other unit. I was lied to by the sales rep about their ability to sink the calendars and it only went down hill from there.
The listing was written poorly and contained miss-information that was inaccurate with no input from me by someone who had never been in the condo. There were full sheets on queen beds, standard pillow cases on king pillows, a missing microwave turn table without explanation, miss matched towels, trash not removed after a guest stay, failure to lock the lock out door (2x's) so the guest got to meet each other (they were not impressed) and the list goes on and on and that is only the local story.
Trying to deal with the "customer service" people in Washington is frustrating and they lack any accountability or follow through. I had hold put on the property because they couldn't get it cleaned and a second time for other reasons they couldn't explain. To their credit they did reimburse me for those days after I questions the holds. Now I have been waiting 45 days since I fired them for my reserve funds to be refunded less the final cleaning fee that was only removing their sheets and towels but I was still charge the full $180 fee. My new PM cleaned to bring it up to their cleaning standards.
My opinion is Vacasa is/was so focused on getting big, buying TurnKey and going public and lost focus on the property owner and made it all about their revenue. I wouldn't recommend them and have told my story countless times to owners in the complex. Issues happen in STR's and that is not the point. It should be about how you deal with the issues and the sad part is my negative review and word of mouth could have been avoided if they just resolved the issues promptly or at all.
Very helpful thread. I purchased a property in Maggie Valley NC in September. The previous owner used Evolve and it was easy for me to continue with them. But I discovered they are not full service. They rely on the homeowner to be the guest point of contact for most issues. I called Vacasa today. But after reading these post I'm not likely to use them. Wondering what determines where my property turns up on an Airbnb, Vrbo, etc, search. It seems Evolve and Vacasa are good at having their clients property show up at the top of an Airbnb search and, if true, that is a big plus for using these companies. Anyone know what drives where a property shows up in the search and if these companies provide more bookings than DIY? Also, if anyone knows of a str company in NC smokey mtn area pls let me know.
Larry, did you locate the right management company for your needs in NC? Please let me know if not yet…I have several personal referrals who I have known professionally for years.
@Debbie Bone, what did you eventually decide on? How's performance so far?