Owners Faqs

Below is a list of FAQ's directed towards owners. If you have a specific question, please don't hesitate to reach out to MINNēSTAY and we can answer it for you!

General Questions

What Are the Occupancy and Rate Expectations for the Unit?

We like to set clear expectations with each owner prior to us taking over when it comes to occupancy and rates.

The prime rental market in MN is between June and September. During this time, you can expect to see the highest nightly rates and occupancy.
Shoulder months (October/November and April/May) have moderately high occupancy with slightly lower rates than in the summer.
During the holiday season, Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Years, you can expect to see rates almost as high as our prime summer rates.
The slowest occupancy months are January, February, & March. We make it clear during our meeting that you will most likely see low occupancy and overall lower nightly rate.
February and March are the BEST months for summer bookings. Close to 50% of our summer reservations happen in these months.

How Do You Price the Units?

We use a Dynamic Pricing tool to help optimize daily pricing for each unit. Together with our local knowledge of the market, we will price each unit accordingly and maximize pricing for each booking.

How Can I Help Optimize My Listing?

There are a handful of things you can do to optimize your listings on the various platforms.

Favorite your listings
Click in and around on them often.
Send the link to your circle

How Do You Market My Unit?

Your rental will appear on MINNēSTAY's website, along with Expedia, Vrbo, Airbnb, Booking.com, FlipKey, TripAdvisor, and about 30 other travel platforms. We professionally curate each listing to ensure the most visibility in all searches.
Other marketing efforts include Google AdWords, social media targeted and retargeted advertising, email campaigns, etc. There is a full marketing piece available at request.

Booking & Management

Who pays the cleaning fee?

Cleaning fees are charged directly to the guests and goes to the management company to cover the cost of the staff and supplies. This does not factor into the commission rate.

How much does an owner fee if they stay in or use their unit?

Owners are charged at an hourly rate to clean their unit.

How does pricing work?

Pricing of the homes is based on size, location, and overall feel. We use a Dynamic Pricing tool to help fine tune the daily rates. Information is gathered and determined from multiples booking sources that look at local occupancy levels, rates, and events in the area. Pricing is updated daily.

Do you discount rates?

Yes, we do have parameters in place to maximize bookings for our owners. We typically do not discount Holiday’s or special events in the area.

Is this being marketed to businesses for corporate usage?

Yes, we have contacts with all the local and national companies that headquarter out of Minneapolis, plus many more.

Would you accept a long-term rental?

Yes, we would. There are many different factors that go into accepting a long-term renter including, but not limited to, what season it is and how long they are looking to stay. We define short-term as under 90 days. Long term is 91+ days.

What sites are you currently marketing the condos on?

We currently use 30+ sites including Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Expedia, as well as our own site, etc. We also have private entities that we market your condo to including credit card reward programs, traveling nurses, relocation companies, etc.

Do we need to worry about double bookings?

No, you don’t! We utilize a software that is integrated to ensure that there are no double bookings.

Who pays for the Channel Partner’s booking fees?

We pay all other commissions payable to Channel Partners, such as, Airbnb, VRBO, etc. We do have the right to raise or lower the base rates of the homes and/or add a percentage increase to the daily base rate to offset the commissions that Channel Partners, such as, Booking.com, Expedia, etc, charges to the Management company on each booking.

Are professionally photos provided?

Each unit will be professionally shot once the home is 100% ready to go. This will be billed to the owners statement.

Operations

Should we obtain additional insurance coverage?

Yes, it is necessary to have a short-term rental policy on your home. Some carriers will not cover damages without this type of policy.

Who manages the cleaning supplies?

MINNēSTAY

What happens if something breaks?

We take pictures after each clean to ensure all the unit furnishings are in good condition and nothing is broken or missing. If we notice an item is lost or broken, we will charge the guest and purchase a new item for the owner.

Who supplies toiletries? – Body wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion

MINNēSTAY

What houseware items need to be provided in each unit?

Please reach out to MINNēSTAY for a complete list. These items will be needed prior to us accepting the first guest.

Does MINNēSTAY have a way of reviewing a guest before the unit is booked?

MINNēSTAY has systems in place to review guests before booking. We look at their past rental history and any reviews they may have. However, we do not run a background check on our guests, like a hotel. We cannot guarantee any guests activities.

What would warrant a refund and how does that work?

Refunds are dependent on the situation and are handled by MINNēSTAY on a case by case basis.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to MINNēSTAY at

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