Book by Owner

You book the guest. We do the rest.
Overview
When VRBO (aka Home-away) started in 2005 the goal was to enable individual property owners to market their properties directly through an easy-to-use web portal. This enabled individual owners to save money and to stay in control of their property.

Additional, VRBO discovered that people simply enjoyed participating in the marketing role of their property.

Additionals
VRBO "disrupted" the industry, whereas "traditional" property managers wanted a significant portion of the rent (up to 50%) for providing two essential services: 1) Marketing and 2) Ground Services. Although the marketing function was replaced by the Owners, the ground services still required a local property management company. Owners quickly became aware, that without living in the resort town, sourcing and managing ground services was both challenging and costly. And because owners typically own just one property, service providers don't pay much attention to them. When an issue would arise, the cost and frustration were exacerbated and the guest experience was diminished. Examples of such problems are endless… The Bottom line – It's virtually impossible to handle all these services, at a professional level, from a distance.

That's where BBO comes in; as soon as the property is booked, we completely take over – we communicate with the guests, to arrange their check-in/check-out (through automated software). We perform thorough inspections between each guest to document damage, and ensure its ready for the next guest, as well as provide a copy to the homeowner. We coordinate housekeeping, and follow-up to ensure the home is suitable for the next renters, and perform maintenance as needed.

Why Our Franchise?
We strongly believe in the entrepreneurial spirit of business ownership. Although the marketing of a property can easily be done remotely (by the owner, or professional service provider) the ground services clearly require people nearby. Anyone that travels, or has lived in different places knows that each town is unique, and carries its own "vibe" or "character". Each town also has unique needs and opportunities. Most small businesses in resort towns are locally owned and operated. A BBO Franchise Owner is a local business owner and is part of the fraternity of other local business owners and can respond quickly to local needs.

A vacation property owner is a small business owner, as well. They understand the great investment, risk, and reward associated with their business venture of a vacation rental property. Our Franchisees relate well with property owners, and with other local business owners. We live in the resort town because we want to, and the property owner purchased a home in the resort town because they desire to spend time in this town. Many look forward to the day on which they can spend much more time enjoying their second home. You will build long-term relationships with your clients who carry this dream. We encourage our Franchisees to acquire homes for their own portfolio.

BBO has spent many years developing systems and processes to care for short-term rental properties and can handle the care of seasonal and long-term rentals, as well. You may have clients that will rent short-term for a long while, then find a tenant for a longer period, during the off-season, perhaps – we can do both. Although there are national, corporate-owned property management companies with offices in many of the resort towns, they simply don't operate like a locally owned unit. They tend to turn-over managers and staff quite often, and without investment in their trade, often neglect their customers. Our clients long for local support, yet appreciate our national coverage.

We provide the training, support, and networking tools to successfully build your local business; and when it's time for you to retire, we can help you sell the business. Year-round revenue from recurring clients helps to provide significant value for the business. Many of our existing Franchisees are looking to expand by opening additional offices – ironically, far away from their current territory – we encourage this once a well-managed office has been established.