The Upside of Hosting Long-term Stays in Breckenridge

In beautiful Breckenridge, everyone wants to be here and now, more visitors want to stay, even longer!  Long-term stays are another form of guest reservation opportunity that is rapidly emerging in our local ski towns.  Long-term stays still cater to a guest with a fully furnished and a stocked home, but the terms of the stay are for at least 30 days or longer.

Seasonal stays have always been a desire by visitors to our ski towns, but historically, the local area has not offered enough services that cater to this market.  For example, visitors often request where they can get a “summer stay” to escape an excessively hot or humid climate in their hometown communities.

Long-term stays continue to be popular with more remote workers.  Even with the “return to the office,” modern corporate policies continue to empower flexible living that allows employees to work and play from a great location.  For example, Amazon’s flexible work policy allows its qualified employees to work from anywhere within the country for up to four weeks per year – this is in addition to their paid time off for vacation.

Also propelling long-term stays is the number of residential real estate owners and property managers, who as hosts or prospective home buyers, are seeking new alternatives to generate income from second homes.  This may be due to either the increasing short-term rental restrictions imposed by their Homeowners Association or their municipality.  Some homeowners simply want less burden and fewer property turnovers.

Who is the common long-term stay guest and what are they looking for?

• Many guests tend to be people who are spending their time working and recreating with less desire for that place to “party” for the weekend.  The guests typically tend to be less likely to be disparate individuals, on a short-term party trip with friends, for example.  They may be coming solo or with loved ones whose personal schedule matches their own for a longer time period.
• Working professionals on a long-term stay may be uniquely qualified by employers, because they are “eligible” to work remotely in their job. 
• Long-term stay guests are more likely to pay a premium for highspeed cable internet and reliable cell phone coverage, especially if they need to work remotely.
• Due to the amount of time away, a long-term stay guest may be planning to travel with their own vehicle.  Therefore, these long-term stay guests may be less particular about proximity to amenities, so long as their other livability factors are met.
• Utility costs can often be transferred or prorated as guest charges since their use was the sole use for the given month, as an example.
• A long-term stay guest may be more willing to pay more to bring their pets.  If your home has a yard or walking trails within reach of the home, these could be desirable features that generate more income.  Take extra care to advise these guests about leash laws and supervising their pets among mountain wildlife, even if there is a fenced yard.  Local pet sitter references can help hosts more proactively manage that the guests’ furry friends are getting out of the house, too.
• Some hosts believe long-term guests create less wear in the home, because they continue to stay there for a long-term period (i.e. bundling trash, sweeping and not leaving water running).  There will certainly be a higher use of laundry, bedding and other furnishings during any long-term stay.  Best practices and long-term stay data is still being researched, but with more uptake and time, and perhaps some property inspections built into the agreements, there are innovative ways to hedge the risk of wear in the home.
• Long-term stay rentals may be easier to forecast bookings and schedule employees.  The guests tend to know their plans for a long-term stay request more in advance than a short-term rental, because they have to make personal life changes to accommodate the longer duration.  Employees may be easier to manage because hosts can anticipate schedules better.  This predictability tends to lower stress and improve financial and personal life plans for hosts and their crew.
• Property turnover costs can be less for long-term stays compared to just-in-time, short-term rental bookings.  Cleanings and property inspections during property turnover may take more time with each trip, but they may also demand fewer trips to the home – presuming twelve, 30-day rentals per year is only twelve turnovers to manage, compared to say, twenty-six disparate short-term rental bookings.  This lowers gas costs and the time that an employee is spending driving to and from homes which frees them up for a more quality inspection and more quality cleaning or inspection for “the day”.

Revenues may be less than short-term rentals, but so are costs.  Fees and taxes that are levied against short-term rentals do not apply to long-term leases.  License rules that apply to short-term rentals do not apply to long-term stays.  Complaint handling for short-term rentals is different than for long-term stays.  Insurance and liability policies for the owner may be different for long-term stay than short-term renting.  There are less administrative costs due to fewer turnovers and greater predictability in scheduling, which lowers risks.

Currently, many property management companies do not yet support long-term stay rental services. However, these local Summit County property services do offer long-term guest stay options for both owners and visitors.  In addition, many hotels offer long-term guest stays.

• Alpine Outposts | www.alpineoutposts.com
• Sky Run | Vacation Rental Properties | SkyRun Vacation Rentals
• Summit Mountain Rentals | Breckenridge & Frisco Vacation Lodging | Summit Mountain Rentals (summitrentals.com)
• PMI Summit Colorado | PMI Summit Colorado | Vacation Rentals in Summit County

Long-term stays are sought-after by visitors, but there is still not enough inventory to support this type of visitor demand.   True, the long-term stay guests will expect to pay less per night.  However, in consideration of all benefits and costs, long-term stay renting could be an attractive option for generating passive income – and an option that still allows the owner a great deal of personal enjoyment, too.

Are you considering selling or buying mountain real estate?   Taryn is a nationally certified Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA) by the National Association of Realtors.  Taryn is a second-generation Realtor with experience in ski resort real estate and mountain cabins.  Contact Taryn Brooke by phone at 970.333.8297 or by email at taryn@coloradorealty.group.

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