It’s that time of the season when SummitCove, and our homeowners receive lodging inquiries from VRBO, Homeaway, and Craigslist advertisements.  Many of our guests are working furiously to find the best property for their Keystone Resort vacation from a variety of sources. While this time of the year brings great opportunity to property owners, and excellent options for vacationers, there are some considerations you must make in order to avoid scams and ensure the legitimacy of the property that you have booked. SummitCove is committed to providing the best service for our homeowners and guests, and many of our Keystone properties may be found advertised on the aforementioned sites.  We have put together vital information for anyone using online vacation listings to keep you safe and happy this ski season!

SPOTTING A SCAM:  ITEMS TO WATCH FOR
- Careless or unprofessional emails with very poor spelling or many grammatical errors
– Use of a free email service (especially from a different country i.e. yahoo.ca)
– Requests for personal information other than a name and general contact information
– Responses with personal information other than a name and general contact information
– Responses in which the “property owner” is out of the country for an extended length of time or holds any outlandish  job title
– A guest who is attempting to arrange a surprise trip for someone and offers unasked for details of that individual or their profession
– Offers to pay more than the rate you are advertising or offers from an owner of a rate that is suspiciously low.
– Misrepresentation of  the listed property (i.e. calling a cabin a “condo” or a condo a “town home” or multiple postings with duplicate photos)

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Regardless of how formal or truthful someone sounds, NEVER give away personal information. The most information you want to give away is:
– Your Name
– E-mail Address
– and Phone number (if you want to)
If you keep it simple, legitimate property owners will understand that you don’t want to give away personal details. Any scammer should stop right there, because they will realize that they can’t get the information they need. While it is common for owners or vacation planners to establish a rapport with a guest over the course of a conversation, exagerrated, or detailed information could indicate a scam; particularly if it relates to information that you did not ask for.

PAYMENT OFFERS
Common scams involve requests for a bank account number or a money order. These are two surefire ways to spot a scam. At any mention of Western Union, Moneygram or wiring funds,  its almost always best to end the conversation immediately.  Do not deal with anyone offering to pay rental fees or accept rental fees with  money orders or cashiers check or payments of more than the agreed upon rate.

This does not mean you can’t deal with people asking if they can write you a personal check. Sometimes these are legitimate customers who prefer this form of payment. Be aware that very few owners or property managers will accept check payments, including SummitCove.  This is done for the protection and privacy of both the guest and the homeowner.

LEGITIMATE LODGING RESERVATIONS FOLLOW THESE BASIC STEPS!
1. Owner or property management company receives a request for information.
2. They send a response to the request/gather more information about the person’s vacation rental needs and general contact info (typically name, email and/or phone #)
3. Price and property specific information is shared
4. Schedule a phone call with the owner or property management company.  This is the best way to ensure legitimacy!
7. Reservations are entered.  For Keystone guests of SummitCove, this can be done by the owner, by phone with a SummitCove’s Vacation Planner,  or using the SummitCove website
8. Confirmation is sent with full balance and payment information, cancellation policy, directions and property information.

SummitCove only requires general contact information such as name and contact phone or email to share property information and pricing.  We only accept credit card payments at the time of booking, and immediately send out a confirmation with payment information at the time a reservation is booked.  We do not ask for bank account or personal information, or accept cash, check or wire transfers as payment.

If guests and homeowners follow these simple steps when booking reservations and negotiating vacation rentals, the result will be a worry free vacation!  If you would like to discuss your upcoming Keystone Resort vacation lodging, contact a  SummitCove Vacation Planner today!

Building 5 at the Pines is getting a facelift! The project will be a replacement of the siding at the Pines Longleaf building (Building 5) during May and June 2012.

According to the Pines Owner’s Association, the building’s siding has reached the end of its useful life.  Repainting the building would only extend the siding’s life two to three years at the most.  The improvements consist of removing and replacing the current white pine siding and installing new cementitious siding with a paint cycle greater than 10 years.  Balcony railings will also be replaced.

Due to the siding project’s nature, this building requires closure to all but the construction crew from May 15th to the projected project completion date of June 30 for reasons of safety.  No properties located in this building will be rented during this time period.  SummitCove will be offering other great rental options in Keystone during this time!

The June 30 completion date is projected based on the contractor’s construction schedule and on the experience with the building 6 project earlier this year.  If we experience an unusually snowy May and early June the building opening date of June 30 may be adversely affected. Owners will receive project completion updates during the course of the construction.

In early May of 2012 property management will remove all items from building 5 balconies and will move these items back onto balconies when the new siding has been installed.  If you have items hung on the interior or your exterior walls it is suggested you remove these items then re-hang them after June 30th.

If Pines owners have any questions or need further clarification on this project, please feel free to contact us at SummitCove.  

SummitCove would like to remind Owners and Guest of the Pines of a repair to the boiler ventilation system and required fire panel testing in several Pines buildings prior to Opening Day of Winter Season at Keystone.

• Fire panel testing will take place beginning on Wednesday October 26-Friday October 28th.  Fire alarms will go off during normal business hours on these days.
• A cold water supply will remain available, however hot water will be limited to what is available in storage tanks.  The pool and building shower will be available without disruption.

The maintenance schedule is as follows:

Building 2 (Foxtail): Wednesday, November 2nd to Thursday, November 3, 2011.

Building 5 (Longleaf): Saturday, October 29th to Sunday, October 30, 2011

Building 6 (Mountain):  Thursday, October 27th to Friday, October 28, 2011

SummitCove has closed reservations for those Pines properties that will be affected.  Please contact us with any questions that you may have. Thank you for your patience as these necessary repairs are made!

Homeowners and Guests should take note of upcoming maintenance to be completed in the Gateway Lodge building on Monday, October 24th, and at the Lakeside Village Plaza Garage on Monday, October 24th and 25th.

The Lakeside Village Plaza parking garage ceiling and columns are scheduled to be cleaned Monday, October 24th and Tuesday, October 25th.  During this time, there will be a crew on scaffolding and high pressured water guns spraying.  Please avoid parking in the garage during this time.  Please park in the gated area at the end of the Argentine Circle until the work has been completed.

The water in the Gateway Lodge building will be shut off on Monday the 24th from 4am-Noon.

SummitCove will inform incoming guests of these maintenance projects, and take the necessary steps to provide a great lodging experience.  Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Homeowners and guests of the  Plaza, Mall and Edgewater, take note:  The Spa at Keystone will be closed October  24^th – 31^st and is scheduled to reopen on November 1^st for normal business hours.

This closure also includes the Fitness Studio and Pool facilities.  During this time, folks staying at these properties are welcome to use the Eastlake Pool facilities.

We apologize for any inconvenience.  Please feel free to contact us with any further questions!

SummitCove would like to update homeowners of Soda Springs about re-scheduled Fire Alarm System Testing.  Due to a scheduling conflict, Allied Security was unable to perform testing and inspections on the Fire Alarm System in August.   This has now been rescheduled for October 4^th and 5^th.

The Inspectors will be entering every unit, and there will be loud noises during this time.  We will be notifying guests of this testing to limit any inconvenience.  Any questions may be directed to SummitCove Property Management.

SummitCove has learned of a construction update on a project for next week at Expedition Station.  The flat roof will be re-done, and the construction will begin on Tuesday, September 6, and conclude on Tuesday, September 13th.  There is expected to be some construction noise during the day while this project takes place.  We apologize for any inconvenience, however this work will prevent future leaks to units within the building and has been planned at time in which limited interruption to guests and owners should occur.

Thank you, and if you do have any questions regarding this project, please feel free to contact us at 877.250.7750.  Thank you!

Homeowners in Summit County should be aware that the County has signed on with a private company to begin seeking short-term rental properties not properly registered or paying lodging taxes within the community.  SummitCove managed properties are automatically registered and SummitCove Property Management takes care of the tax payments for these items.  We are committed to providing excellent service for our homeowners, and this is just another way that we make the process easier for our owners!

Compliance LLC, a private third-party vendor recommended by the Colorado Association of Ski Towns (CAST) was contracted by the county in early August to help identify properties booking rooms under the radar so the county can follow up to ensure they are properly registered and paying taxes.  These will primarily be tracked by monitoring listings on sites such as vrbo.com and craigslist.org.

To learn more about this story, click here.  If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at 877.250.7750.