Windsor Hills Question -- How do I check out the mgmt co?

[BarbWB]

I have found a beautiful 4 bedroom pool home in Windsor Hills that I want to reserve. The mgmt co is Global Resort Homes. Does anyone know anything about them? How would I go about checking them out?
I'm just slightly hesitant to reserve have been burned on a beach rental last year ...
But, this place looks lovely and the owner is very friendly via email ...


Thanks for any advice!

-Barb

 

[5mins2disney]

Global is one of the bigger local MCs in the area. I would start by asking the owner about how they feel about their MC. Ask how long they've been with their MC, and if they're happy with them too.

You can also check out their online guestbook if they have one, look at their availability calendar, usually there's a link to the guestbook from there.

I believe there are a few owners on this board who use Global to run their WHR homes actually, and have reported positive experiences with them.

You might also do a search on this board for "Global" and see if anyone else has any home reviews who has stayed in a home run by them.

 

[deejay-55]

We have only had good experiences of Global. Plus they have a 24/7 emergency number if you do hit a problem.

 

[figment13]

Another Windsor Hills Question. We r staying at WH for the first time ever in a condo as opposed to a hotel room, mainly because of the great things read on this board. Being a novice, I didn't realize the management companies were so important. Has anyone ever had any dealings with Paradise Properties; thats the company that is being used by the person we r renting from.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
thank you

 

[5mins2disney]

Another Windsor Hills Question. We r staying at WH for the first time ever in a condo as opposed to a hotel room, mainly because of the great things read on this board. Being a novice, I didn't realize the management companies were so important. Has anyone ever had any dealings with Paradise Properties; thats the company that is being used by the person we r renting from.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
thank you

Nope, never heard of them. There are probably dozens if not 100s of local MCs in the area, and many in Windsor Hills. Many are small operations, our MC, for instance, is run by a husband and wife team. We feel this is better in many cases since they can provide a much higher level of service and focus on the properties and the guests, and it's a very personal touch. Our MCs put our whole home together for us (literally) so they probably know the home better than we do actually, so they're able to fix anything, they know instantly if something is missing or out of place, needs attention, etc. They've also limited the # of owners/homes they will manage, as they don't want to dilute the high level of customer service they provide. That being said, there are lots of similar small operations, and this sounds like another one.

I suggest 2 things... 1) ask the owner how they feel about their MC, and ask how long they've been with them, the longer the better. (Owners don't keep MCs for that long if they're not good) and 2) see if they have an online guestbook and check out recent guest comments.

You can also ask the owner for an example of a recent problem or issue, and how it was resolved, and how quickly. (hint: everyone has them folks! It's how they're handled that counts!)

 

[mungo]

To be honest when we go away we don't have much contact with the management company at all. Only if you need something do you contact them. If you have a good relationship with the owner that is the most important thing. If i'm happy with the owner, then I expect them to have a good management co looking after their home.

However if you book direct with the management company and do not have any contact with the owner, i suppose that is different.

In all the time we have been goin, only had to call them out once, to put the pool heat on, and they came out right away, no problem.

 

[5mins2disney]

Well, you most likely had a good MC then, for starters, but things do happen. 2 years ago before we were owners, we had a smoke detector beeping due to a low battery, for instance, they came right out and fixed it same day. We couldn't reach it on the ceiling w/o a ladder to stop the beeping.

The biggest thing though, is how clean the home is when you check in. You'd know in a second if you have a bad MC when you checkin and the home is dirty!

 

[mungo]

I probably did have a good management company, but the point I was trying to make was that you should not have to worry about it if you a booking direct with the owner.

There are too many management companies imo to worry about it not all we would of heard of, we will only have heard of the larger ones.

I have booked many times and the houses have all been clean and well kept. If you research where you want to stay, contact the owner, pay a fair price (if its too good to be true, then it probably is) springs to mind, you shouldn't have too much to worry about.

Us brits do it all the time

 

[deejay-55]

We agree with mungo - don't worry too much about the MC. If you have a problem, just let the MC and the owner know about it. The MC will likely fix it straight away, and the owners will want to know because they are paying the MC to maintain their home.