— from Karen Key Speck —
Recently I responded to a local island resident who complimented me and my company for regulating my vacation rentals in a manner as to be the least intrusive to neighbors and to his concern about Vacasa mass marketing to Orcas Island residents.
I appreciate those words. I and my company really do care and want you to feel as positive as possible about those who vacation-rent through my company – owners and guests.
I am concerned about the Vacasa mass-marketing to Orcas Island received by most postal patrons. The person they hold out as their Orcas Island property manager is based in Seattle! More importantly, absentee management is just as impractical as absentee ownership when renting to others.
If one does an internet search on companies like this one, public reviews as well as reviews from company employees can be found, One will also see the glossy marketing letter mailed to Orcas residents is far from an accurate picture. The more various searches one does online, the more negative comments reveal about this company.
If San Juan County is true in its desire to regulate and legislate its vacation rentals, requiring a “local” property manager would be wise for owners, neighbors and companies like mine that have been playing by the rules since the County’s ruling in 1999.
I would suggest you contact your local councilman and express your views. (360) 378-2898. Orcas County Council representative Rick Hughes and the two other county councilmen can be reached by email at county@sanjuanco.com
A key factor in creating a sustainable community on this island, a much discussed topic on Orcas Issues recently, is to support our local businesses and farms.
I would not recommend using/contracting with Vacasa to manage your property. Vacasa has 3 vacation rentals on Orcas currently (they have more on Lopez) and one of those is a fairly new listing. I became an independent contractor for Vacasa doing housekeeping for the other two properties when Vacasa took over management of them in August 2013. In May 2014 I chose to end my working relationship with Vacasa for numerous reasons. They have a business model that may work in urban areas like Seattle and Portland but lack the knowledge and experience to make the necessary adjustments for a rural market. Because their isn’t any local management oversight or drop in inspections done on the properties the owner has no assurance that their property is being properly cared for unless they establish their own relationship, separate from Vacasa, with the housekeeper. It worked better for the owners and myself to circumnavigate Vacasa whenever we could but that was my choice as I was under no contractual obligation to do anything other than clean after the departure of guests.
I agree with Karen that requiring a “local” property manager would be wise for owners, neighbors and the island community.
And if you are interested in being a 24/7/365 on-call maintenance tech for little to no pay I’m sure Vacasa has an opening.
I received the mailings from Vacasa and was put off by the idea that they claim to have a rep here on the Island but when you look at the phone number it is clearly out of area. I have a rental and choose to rent full time although I could make more money renting to transients. We need the rentals and I would much rather help support a young person who wants to live and work here than support either the tourist business (which I feel makes our economy so lopsided!) or make a little extra money! Merry