Owning a Vacation Rental
in the Poconos

Choosing a real estate agent starts with finding someone who knows the local Poconos market and has a proven track record. Verify their recent sales, average time on market, and how close their sales prices are to listing prices. You can also check reviews on platforms like Zillow and Realtor.com, focusing on consistent feedback about communication, professionalism, and results.

Interview at least two or three agents to compare their experience and approach. Ask how they plan to help you buy or sell, how often they will communicate, and what strategies they use in negotiations. A strong agent should be clear, data-driven, and attentive to your needs rather than pushy.

Make sure your agent is licensed and ideally a member of the National Association of Realtors, which requires adherence to a professional code of ethics. Pay attention to responsiveness and transparency, since communication plays a huge role in a smooth transaction.

As property managers, we work with agents every day. We are happy to refer you to a couple of agents who will best represent your interests.

Our founder has an extensive background in search engine optimization (SEO) and software development. We have built proprietary tools that analyze local property managers and thousands of Airbnb and VRBO listings to maximize your nightly rates and occupancy.

Estimating revenue is both an art and a science. The figures below are approximate annual gross earnings for comparable whole-home listings across the Poconos, before cleaning, fees, taxes, and operating costs. We use the median so a few outlier listings do not skew the picture.

Size	Est. Annual Gross	Avg. Occupancy	Comparable Listings
Studio	$4,000	16%	11
1 Bedroom	$15,700	55%	116
2 Bedrooms	$21,600	52%	369
3-4 Bedrooms	$28,200	47%	2,302
5 Bedrooms	$53,000	46%	447
6+ Bedrooms	$89,400	43%	359

The Poconos is a large-home market. Most of the competitive inventory is three and four bedroom homes, and the strongest earners by a wide margin are the five and six plus bedroom properties, which command much higher nightly rates and bring in several times the annual revenue of a small unit. Occupancy stays fairly level across sizes and even eases slightly as homes get bigger, so the real upside here is not in small units but in larger, well-equipped homes that sleep a group. Studios and tiny units are a thin, underperforming slice of this market.

Demand concentrates in summer and, for homes near the slopes, winter, with heavy weekend traffic from the nearby metros. That rewards properties that fit groups and carry the amenities those trips look for, such as hot tubs, game rooms, and quick access to the lakes, ski areas, and waterparks. These are market-wide medians, and well-managed properties with strong photography and pricing consistently outperform them.

These represent conservative baselines. Upper-bound performance depends on:

• Quality photography, the single biggest driver of booking conversion
• Proximity to I-80, Camelback, and Lake Harmony access points
• Entertainment amenities such as a hot tub, game room, theater, or pool
• Cabin or lodge character versus standard residential construction
• Views, since lake and Pocono mountain views command a meaningful premium
• Unique, photogenic decor and features

The Poconos market covers a wide stretch of northeastern Pennsylvania across Monroe and Carbon Counties, from the ski and waterpark corridor around Tannersville and Camelback to the lake communities of Lake Harmony and Lake Naomi. Each pocket draws a slightly different guest and books on its own rhythm.

• Tannersville, Camelback, and Pocono Township: The commercial heart of the western Poconos. Camelback Mountain (skiing in winter, the Aquatopia indoor waterpark year round), Kalahari Resorts a few minutes away, the Crossings outlets, and quick I-80 access make this an all-season, all-weather draw.
• Lake Harmony, Big Boulder, and Jack Frost: A four-season pocket in Carbon County off the Northeast Extension (I-476), with Jack Frost Big Boulder skiing and strong summer lake demand.
• Pocono Pines, Lake Naomi, and the Tobyhanna lakes: Family-oriented lake living, busiest in summer, with much of the inventory inside amenity-rich private communities.
• Jim Thorpe and the Lehigh Gorge: A walkable historic downtown anchoring rafting, biking, and one of the strongest fall foliage seasons in the state.
• Delaware Water Gap, Shawnee, and Bushkill: The eastern edge, with Shawnee Mountain skiing, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and river recreation.

A few things shape demand everywhere here. The Poconos is primarily a drive-to market, roughly two to two and a half hours from New York City, North Jersey, and Philadelphia, so weekend and holiday traffic runs heavy and booking windows are often short. Pocono Raceway brings predictable spikes around its race weekends, the indoor waterparks keep winter and shoulder weekends busy regardless of weather, and a large share of inventory sits inside private lake communities that come with their own amenities and, in many cases, their own rental rules.

The Poconos market has stabilized after post-COVID appreciation. Financing a vacation rental typically requires 20% down, though the structure (second home versus investment property) meaningfully changes your effective cash-on-cash return.

Before you start searching seriously:

• Get your pre-qualification letter or proof-of-funds letter ready in advance
• Line up your agent first, since they are your eyes on the ground at zero cost to you as a buyer
• Check new listings daily on Zillow, Realtor.com, and the MLS feed your agent sets up

Desirable properties in the Poconos can go under contract within 24 to 48 hours. Be prepared to make competitive offers and expect to lose a few before winning one.

In Pennsylvania, earnest money is a "good faith" deposit, typically 1 to 3% of the purchase price, delivered within 1 to 2 business days of contract acceptance to an escrow agent. Funds are usually held by a title company or brokerage to ensure security and compliance with the purchase contract.

The first month or two after onboarding may be minimally profitable or even slightly negative as we invest in setup. Plan for this, it is normal and worth it. Owners transitioning from self-management or another manager will typically have fewer of these costs.

Repairs. Every inspection generates a list of items to address. We will help you triage what is critical versus cosmetic and guide you through the process.

Decor & Furniture. Spending an additional $3,000 to $7,000 on fresh wall art, bedding, lamps, and statement pieces can meaningfully increase nightly rates. Unique, photogenic elements are the highest-ROI decor investment.

Professional Photography. You are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in this property. Spend $200 to $400 on professional photography, it is the single most important marketing decision you will make. Old listing photos, Zillow shots, or cell phone pictures are not acceptable.

Linens. We charge for a full replacement set of linens twice per year, priced per bed. Expect approximately $20 to $30 per towel set and $25 to $35 per sheet set, covering normal wear and tear under heavy guest use.

Trash Setup. Trash handling varies by property. Depending on location, your setup may be weekly curbside pickup, a bear-resistant trash can, or a shared resort or community dumpster. Much of the Poconos is bear country, and quality bear-proof cans or enclosures can run up to $1,000 - though basic curbside or community dumpster setups cost nothing extra. Setting up and maintaining trash removal is the owner's responsibility. We cannot handle curbside pickup where the hauler requires cans to be brought down to the street on pickup day - unless your property has a community dumpster or compactor, you will need to hire a garbage company that collects the cans directly from the bear box or shed. We make sure guests know how to handle trash so it does not attract wildlife.

Welcome Basket. A small arrival gift - local snacks, coffee, a handwritten card - sets the tone and shows up in reviews. Budget around $50 for a simple, thoughtful basket.

Door Lock. We provide a smart door lock at our expense. It allows us to give each guest a unique door code that only works during their stay, keeping your property secure.

We schedule at least one deep clean per year. High-traffic, larger, or pet-friendly properties should expect two. A deep clean costs approximately 2 to 3 times a standard cleaning and includes:

• Moving and cleaning under all appliances and furniture
• Dusting blinds, fans, ceiling fixtures, and ledges
• Treating wood surfaces and addressing cobwebs throughout
• Flushing and deep-cleaning hot tubs and jetted tubs
• Detailed grout, tile, and bathroom treatment

We coordinate scheduling to minimize vacancy impact, typically during a mid-week gap or slow period like January or February.

After closing, get all utilities into your name. We suggest creating a dedicated Gmail account for the property so you can share credentials with our team for after-hours support.

Electric. In most of the Poconos this is PPL Electric Utilities, with Met-Ed serving some areas. Confirm your provider by address.

Gas and Propane. Many cabins and lodges use propane for fireplaces and outdoor grills. Confirm the existing supplier with your agent and sign up for tank monitoring or auto-refill to avoid low-tank interruptions during a guest stay. If your grill runs on a 20 lb tank, replacing it when it runs out is typically the guest's responsibility and expense. Communicating that expectation to guests before check-in keeps things smooth. Otherwise, plan on around $75 per turn for us to check and swap tanks, which adds up across 50-plus stays a year.

Internet. High-speed providers vary by location, so confirm availability with the seller or HOA. Smart TVs or Roku devices are recommended for streaming. Roku is preferred for guest simplicity.

Water and Sewer. Setups vary widely here. Some homes are on a community or private association system, some on Aqua Pennsylvania, and many, especially outside the developed areas, are on a private well and septic. Confirm what serves your property at closing.

Guests expect access to live sports, so streaming services with live TV are essential. We recommend YouTube TV or Hulu Live over traditional cable, for lower cost and fewer hardware failures.

Register streaming accounts with the property Gmail address and share credentials with our team so we can help guests who run into issues. All TVs should be smart TVs or equipped with Roku or Fire TV devices.

Setting yourself up for success starts with meeting, and ideally exceeding, what the market expects. Key principles:

• Meet baseline expectations: all appliances working, BBQ grill, fireplace (if listed), coffee maker, accessible driveway, and live TV
• Offer something guests cannot have at home: a real Pocono lodge feel, a mountain view, a unique game room, an amazing fire pit
• Invest in features that photograph well: neon signs, chunky statement furniture, a putting hole, built-in bunk beds, a themed room, colorful decor elements

For rental homes (versus condos that typically have community amenities), income is higher but guest expectations are higher as well. Amenities should scale with property size.

• 1 to 2 bedrooms: Hot tub required; one entertainment amenity recommended (pool table or multicade)
• 3 to 4 bedrooms: Hot tub plus 2 to 3 entertainment amenities; game table, air hockey, foosball, shuffleboard
• 4+ bedrooms: Theater or media room; multiple game amenities; potentially an outdoor pool

High-ROI amenities to consider:

• Private pool, which can add $20,000 to $40,000 in annual revenue, with maintenance typically under $400 per month
• Hot tub, one of the most searched amenities and essentially required even at 1 BR
• Arcade or multicade, unique at small properties and expected at 3+ BR
• Pool table, popular and space-efficient; prioritize over sacrificing a bedroom
• Fire pit or outdoor entertaining area, very Poconos-appropriate
• Lake access or dock, which commands a significant premium where applicable

Avoid amenities that become unusable when a single piece goes missing (puzzles, board games, nerf guns). Stick to things that function even when imperfect.

Our management agreement is straightforward. We ask for a 90-day initial commitment to allow us to ramp up your listing properly. After that, you can cancel at any time. We earn your business every month.

If you are purchasing a property with existing bookings, the transition requires coordination. In most cases we target our start date as the day of closing.

If a manager is in place: Set a stop date with them and a start date with us. They handle or cancel any open bookings after our start date.

If the owner self-manages: Bookings are typically cancelled at closing; we provide a guest message template to invite rebooking.

Far-out bookings: Most stays book within about two to three weeks of arrival, though the window stretches in peak summer and for the largest homes. Far-out bookings on the calendar are often underpriced, and we can usually improve them.

Expect some guest friction during any transition. We handle it diplomatically.

Every property is different, but a typical launch looks like this:

Repairs and staging can run concurrently with the photo process. We check every kitchen and household supply item and purchase what is missing on your behalf. If you prefer, ask for our setup checklist and source items yourself.

We list your property on Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Hopper, and Vacasa. In the Poconos market, the large majority of bookings come through Airbnb and VRBO.

We optimize your listings for search rankings on each platform, but our goal is not simply high rankings, it is maximum revenue. We balance visibility with rate optimization continuously, working to achieve the ideal mix of occupancy and nightly rate.

Your property is a business asset as well as a vacation destination. Guests will occasionally move furniture, leave dishes soiled, bring unauthorized pets, or break a wine glass. This is a normal part of operating a short-term rental, not a crisis.

The owners who succeed long-term are the ones who can emotionally separate themselves from the property and treat it as a revenue-producing tool that requires ongoing investment and maintenance. We will help you do that.

We take guest screening seriously within the limits allowed by law. Our approach:

• Minimum age 21 for the primary booker, enforced more strictly on larger properties
• Minimum stay of 2 nights as a general rule; 1-night stays only between two existing bookings
• We request (but do not require) photo ID and a guest list for larger bookings
• Nightly rates after cleaning and fees are typically above comparable hotel prices, which filters out budget-conscious bookings
• We politely decline pet requests at non-pet-friendly rentals, citing allergy concerns

When guests bend the rules, bringing extra people or sneaking a pet, we generally follow the hospitality industry model and do not confront unless forced. This is a calculated decision:

• Kicking out guests or demanding more money almost always results in a bad review
• Bad reviews hurt your search ranking and may require rate reductions that cost far more than the violation itself

We average roughly 1 damage claim per 1,000 stays. Guests may leave things messy, but your property will almost always be left in acceptable shape.

Unless damage is significant, we repair or replace items and pass the cost through on your monthly statement. We generally do not chase guests for reimbursement on smaller items. Here is why:

• Guests almost always deny causing damage
• Claim success rate is below 50%
• An upset guest leaves a bad review, which damages rankings
• A 5% drop in nightly rate over 200 booked nights is $2,500 or more in lost revenue, far exceeding the cost of a $100 chair

Our recommended approach: budget 5% of gross revenue for repairs and maintenance. This covers the full spectrum from worn comforters to replacement cookware sets.

We triage maintenance like a hospital does:

• Guest-impacting and urgent (AC out in July, hot tub down mid-stay): addressed immediately, credit or refund offered to guests
• Non-urgent but notable (broken appliance drawer): ordered online, patched in the interim
• Safety issues (rotting deck railing): property blocked until repair is complete
• Low-priority items (new carpet): batched with other tasks to reduce service call fees

We refund guests liberally for inconveniences. $50 to $100 spent on goodwill saves many times that in review protection.

For projects exceeding one day, we connect you with vetted local contractors and coordinate scheduling, door codes, and post-project cleans. Examples requiring outside vendors:

• Roofing or siding replacement
• Flooring replacement
• Kitchen cabinet repair or appliance installation
• Deck rebuild

Cancellations are expected and built into our revenue model. For bookings on the OTAs (Airbnb, VRBO, and so on) we are typically required to follow their policies:

• 2 or more weeks to check-in: 100% refund
• 1 to 2 weeks: 50% refund
• Under 1 week: No refund

Airbnb's "Extenuating Circumstances" policy allows guests to cancel at no penalty in certain situations (illness, travel bans). We fight these when possible but are sometimes at the platform's discretion.

Cancellation penalties collected from guests are passed through to your statement. Historically, 80 to 90% of cancellations rebook, often at a lower rate but still net-positive due to the penalty collected. This allows you to get paid twice for the same dates. Recognizing and paying out these cancellations is something many property managers do not do.

During peak season (summer, plus winter for homes near the ski areas) we target occupancy well above the market average. During the slower stretches, notably March and the early-fall lull in September, we may see mainly weekends booking, helped along by the steady weekend traffic from the nearby metros. We always work to beat the market on occupancy so your revenue is maximized, but be prepared for off-season nights to book at well below peak rates.

If you have questions or requests, just reach out to your Local Operations Manager.

We recommend homeowners insurance specifically designed for short-term rentals. Proper Insurance and Wister are both national carriers that can help. You will need to list us as an "additional insured" (at no cost to you) to extend coverage to our team. We also carry a general liability policy that provides you with additional coverage.

Proper pricing is the single biggest lever on your revenue. We monitor booking pace constantly, using both software and experienced human judgment to adjust to market dynamics.

In slow season, bookings typically come in within about two weeks of the stay. Heading into the summer peak that window stretches to roughly four weeks, and the largest homes book even further out. Either way, we adjust quickly to maximize occupancy.

If your calendar fills too fast months out, you are underpriced. Owners who brag about being sold out six months ahead are often leaving 30 to 50% of revenue on the table.

We actively manage the guest review cycle from the moment of booking through post-checkout:

• Pre-arrival: FAQ messaging and building rapport
• During stay: Mid-stay check-in message, proactive issue resolution
• Post-stay: Thank-you message and review request

We target a 4.7-star average and respond to nearly every review publicly so future guests can see that issues have been addressed. All reviews, positive and negative, are visible to you unfiltered in your owner portal.

Our default recommendation is not to allow pets. Here is the trade-off:

• Pet-friendly filtering is not in guests' top-5 search criteria, so you are not missing much business
• Pets increase cleaning complexity and deep clean frequency
• Dog hair penetrates everywhere: blinds, under furniture, HVAC filters

Smaller property owners (1 to 2 BR) can see a roughly 10% revenue bump from being pet-friendly, which may be worth it at that scale.

Service animals are legally required to be accommodated. You may ask only two questions: whether the animal is required for a disability, and what specific task it is trained to perform.

Typically it is a flat management fee on all booking revenue. There are no monthly fees, hot tub fees, supply fees, or other owner surcharges. Guests pay all ancillary costs: local taxes, credit card processing, and cleaning fees including consumable supplies.

Here is a sample booking breakdown, for illustration purposes:

Item	Amount
Nightly Rental Revenue	$1,000
Taxes (about 9%)	$90
Platform Booking Fee (paid by guest)	$100
Professional Housekeeping (paid by guest)	$100
Total Paid By Guest	$1,290
Nightly Rental Revenue	$1,000
Pocono Vistas Management Fee (20%)	($200)
Online Agency & Credit Card Fees	$0 - passed through at cost
Inspections	$0 - at cost, no markup
Guest Amenity Fee	$0 - included in cleaning fee
Total Paid to Owner	$800

Pennsylvania short-term stays carry a 9% lodging tax, which is 6% state plus a 3% county tax, and we collect and remit it on your behalf.

Depending on your unit's location, there may be several different taxing districts that need to be paid monthly, and we collect and remit to all of them on your behalf. Each township and HOA also tends to have its own fees and its own restrictions on short-term rentals. Communities we have already navigated include Northridge Community, Village at Camelback, Laurel Woods, Snow Ridge Village, Pocono Farms Country Club, Indian Mountain Lakes, Emerald Lakes, Lake Harmony Estates, Blue Heron at Big Boulder, Split Rock, and others. We are glad to share what we have learned. You are responsible for any local permitting requirements and HOA fees, and if you are weighing a specific rental, we are happy to help you figure out what applies to it.

Dynamic pricing is one of our core competitive advantages. Our founder built a proprietary pricing engine that monitors Airbnb, VRBO, and comparable local managers in real time. Key principles:

• We spike rates around demand peaks and events, such as Pocono Raceway race weekends, ski and holiday weeks, peak summer and waterpark traffic, fall foliage weekends, and local festivals
• Properties booking too quickly far out are being underpriced, so we raise rates
• Last-minute bookings at heavy discounts signal over-pricing, so we lower them
• We typically price above comparable hotels to maintain guest quality
• Rates 30 or more days out are set 10 to 20% above normal as a premium for early planners
• Last-minute rates (within 21 days) are discounted 20 to 30%

Setting smart minimum nightly rates is one of the most important levers you have for keeping occupancy healthy, especially in a market like the Poconos where supply can outpace demand in slower periods.

Getting heads in beds matters. The Poconos is a crowded field, especially for larger homes. There are more than 2,300 whole-home three and four bedroom listings competing here, and the typical one sits under half full over the year, around 47% occupancy. In a market that deep, the gap between a sharp listing and an average one adds up to weeks of extra booked nights, which is exactly what good pricing, strong photos, a steady review record, and fast guest response buy you.

Minimums help you backfill cancellations. When a guest cancels and you have a short window to fill the gap, slightly lower pricing can mean the difference between an empty unit and a recovered booking.

Dynamic pricing should do the heavy lifting. With active revenue management, you should rarely hit your minimums during peak or shoulder season. They exist as insurance for the nights that need it most.

Remember what the guest actually pays. A $50 nightly rate might sound cheap compared to a hotel, but once you add cleaning fees, taxes, and booking platform fees, the guest's total is often higher than a comparable hotel stay.

Lower rates do not mean more damage. After reviewing over 10,000 stays, we found no correlation between nightly rate and guest damage. There was a correlation between rental size and damage claims, the bigger the unit, the more damage, but a $50 per night guest is no more likely to cause problems than a $200 per night guest.

The Poconos has two peak seasons rather than one. Here is how the calendar generally breaks down.

Summer is the broad peak. June builds, then July and August run hottest, into the high 60s for occupancy, carried by lake trips, the waterparks, and family vacations. Winter is the second peak, and it is strongest for homes near the ski areas. The market-wide averages below blend slope-side homes with everything else, so they understate how busy a well-placed ski-area property runs from December through February, and December also carries the highest nightly rates of the year.

Layered on top of the seasons, weekend getaways from New York, North Jersey, and Philadelphia run all year and stack demand onto Fridays and Saturdays, which is why sharp weekend pricing earns its keep in every month. Spring and early fall are the quieter shoulders, with March the annual low.

Fall foliage brings strong leaf-peeping weekends in October while midweek stays softer, so it lands as a good shoulder rather than a month-long peak.

Month	Avg. Occupancy	Season
January	43%	Winter peak
February	45%	Winter peak
March	30%	Slow
April	36%	Shoulder
May	35%	Shoulder
June	47%	Building
July	63%	Peak
August	69%	Peak
September	33%	Slow
October	37%	Fall foliage
November	38%	Shoulder
December	43%	Holiday & ski

These are market-wide averages. Well-positioned properties with strong photography, active pricing, and solid reviews consistently outperform them, and homes near the slopes run materially higher than the market in winter.

Owner payouts are deposited by the 14th of each month for all completed bookings in the prior month. Your bank transfer is initiated the following business day. Bookings that check out in the last few days of a month may appear in the next month's payment if platform funds are received after the 1st.

Your monthly statement and annual 1099 are both available in your owner portal.

When your listing first goes live, we price aggressively to build booking momentum. Listing platforms reward high conversion rates, so early bookings at slightly lower rates get us featured, which drives more views and more revenue. We gradually increase rates after each booking until we have dialed in your ideal pricing tier.

Expect the first 4 to 6 weeks to book at 15 to 25% below what you will ultimately achieve. This is by design, not a problem.

We suggest budgeting 5% of gross revenue annually for basic wear and tear on consumable items such as kitchen supplies, comforters, and shower curtains. If you like to plan ahead, budget another 5% for occasional larger surprises like a water heater, AC compressor, or hot tub motor.

We handle routine and minor maintenance without contacting you. For any single repair exceeding $500, we will get your approval first.

Our team generally contracts with vendors for most projects. That includes hanging a ceiling fan or installing an appliance. Larger projects such as deck rebuilds, HVAC replacements, or flooring will typically require more coordination for blocking off the rental and getting work order approvals.

Expect 2 to 4 service calls per month for a very active property. Common calls include:

• TV remote not working or streaming login issues
• Hot tub not reaching temperature
• Thermostat and HVAC troubleshooting
• Door code issues

We always attempt remote resolution first. If a dispatch is needed, we bill to the nearest quarter hour and drive time is included.

Airbnb policy allows guests to claim a full or large refund if a major amenity (AC, hot water, hot tub, wifi) is non-functional, and since 2022 this has expanded to cover nearly any guest complaint. We counter this by resolving issues fast and offering small goodwill credits ($50 to $100) before a guest files a formal refund request.

A few dollars of goodwill prevents a bad review that could cost thousands in annual revenue.

Malicious damage is rare and may be covered by platform insurance. What does accumulate is normal consumable wear: cookware, bath mats, pool cues, silverware, wine glasses. These are expected replacement costs, not chargeable damage.

75 guest groups cycling through your property in a year will leave it looking different than when you stayed last summer. This is normal, not alarming.

We can schedule regular preventative maintenance on your behalf. Approximate costs:

• Lawn mowing: Bi-weekly during season; HOA may handle
• HVAC preventative maintenance: Twice per year, approximately $125 per unit
• Extermination: Quarterly, approximately $100
• Window washing: 1 to 2 times per year
• Deep clean: Annually, more often for high-traffic properties
• Holiday decor setup and takedown: Available on request
• Snow plow: $100 to $250 depending on the size of your driveway, amount of snow, and so on

Standard home warranties (such as American Home Shield) are not practical for short-term rentals. Response times of days or weeks are incompatible with our need to resolve guest issues in hours. A single extended appliance outage costs more in guest refunds than the warranty saves. We recommend against them.

The pests we see most often in the Poconos are seasonal and tied to wooded, rural settings: ticks (a real guest-facing concern given Lyme disease in this part of Pennsylvania), brown marmorated stink bugs and cluster flies that push indoors in fall, carpenter ants and carpenter bees that go after wood structures, mice in the cooler months, wasps and yellow jackets, and the occasional spotted lanternfly outdoors. Bed bugs are the universal short-term-rental risk and we treat any report immediately. Regular treatment is strongly recommended. Some private communities include or coordinate certain treatments, so it is worth checking what your association already covers before adding a separate service.

• Standard extermination: Quarterly, under $100; re-treatment at no cost if pests return
• Bed bugs: Treatment runs $2,000 to $4,000 or more depending on property size
• Rodents: Traps deployed immediately when reported; exterminators called if traps fail

When shipping supplies or decor to our office for your property:

• Address: 2819 Route 611, Suite 101, Tannersville, PA 18372
• Address the package to your unit name first (for example, "Lakeside Lodge, Justin")
• Screenshot your order confirmation and email it to your Local Operations Manager so we know to expect it
• We bundle delivery with scheduled service calls to minimize fees, so allow 1 to 2 weeks unless urgent

We use standardized linens across all properties for consistent quality control. Replacement sets are charged twice per year (June and December) to account for normal wear, approximately $25 to $35 per sheet set and $20 to $25 per towel set.

Comforters are washed during deep cleans and replaced when soiled. We recommend keeping one spare comforter per bed at the property for fast swap-outs between guests. Duvets are preferred as they launder more frequently and a spare can be kept on hand for unexpected incidents. Spare duvets are to be provided by the owner.

Our cleaners are the most critical operational team members. They report damage, flag maintenance needs, and ensure every guest arrives at a clean property. They have direct access to our maintenance ticketing system.

We balance thoroughness with efficiency. After-guest cleans focus on bathrooms, kitchen, hot tub, and floors. Deeper items such as under-appliance cleaning and blind dusting are saved for scheduled deep cleans. This balance consistently produces cost-efficient cleans and high guest review scores across thousands of stays.

Hot tubs are the most requested amenity and require proper care:

• Treated with bromine after each stay
• Filters washed each turn; replaced 2 times per year if water quality is poor (approximately $50 per set)
• Annual acid flush to clean internal plumbing
• Every 2 to 3 years: expect $500 or more for pump, motor, or topside panel replacement

Hot tub maintenance is included in cleaning fees, with no separate charge to you.

Many Poconos-area properties, particularly outside the developed areas, are on septic. We recommend that homeowners pump tanks annually at approximately $350 to $450.

Warning signs of a full tank: slow-draining toilets and showers. We do not always get advance warning, so annual pumping is the safest approach. If you do not know the last pump date, start fresh immediately.

We replace smoke detector and door lock batteries at no charge during our regular cleaning and inspections. We typically use pleated filters for HVAC systems, and the recommended schedule to change them is every 3 to 6 months. Keeping that AC unit operating at peak performance is important, and this simple preventative step goes a long way.

Once your management agreement is signed, we will create your owner portal account. From there you can:

• View all booking dates and revenue
• Block dates for owner stays
• Read all guest reviews, unfiltered
• Download monthly statements

The dashboard gives you a one-glance summary of your year's bookings. Received payments are shown in one color; upcoming bookings in another. Everything you need to understand your property's performance is right there.

The calendar view shows all bookings, nightly rates, and performance data for the full period we have managed your property. This is where you can see our pricing strategy in action, with rates changing day by day in response to demand.

Your property is yours, so use it! To block dates for an owner stay:

1. Log into your portal and click "Create Owner Stay"
2. Select your dates and add a note
3. You will receive a confirmation email with dates and a door code

A standard post-stay cleaning is automatically scheduled and billed at the standard rate. If you do not need a clean (for example, for a furniture delivery), submit a request to remove it.

Your visits are invaluable. If you notice anything we may have missed, please share feedback after each stay.

To book a discounted stay for someone you know:

1. Submit a request to your Local Operations Manager with the guest name and desired discount
2. Send them your listing link and ask them to contact the host for a special offer
3. We will respond with a discounted offer through the platform

If the price is close to market rate, the guest can leave a review as well.

Tasks are how you communicate maintenance needs, shipping tracking, questions, or anything else you need from us. Every task is entered directly into our ticketing system, with no lost text messages or missed emails.

We batch and group tasks by location and urgency to minimize your service call costs.

Monthly statements are posted to your portal on or before the 14th for the prior month. Your bank deposit is initiated the following business day. Your annual 1099 is also posted here by late January.