C21 Sierra Properties Wishes You a Safe and Happy Halloween

Halloween (or Hallowe’en) is an international holiday celebrated on the evening of October 31; today it is often celebrated in the morning and afternoon as well. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting haunted attractions, carving jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories, and watching horror movies. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the Western world, most commonly in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, and at times in parts of New Zealand. In Sweden, the All Saints' official holiday takes place on the first Saturday of November.
Source: Wikipedia

Because You Never Know What Might Happen on Your Vacation...

Even the best-planned travel can be impacted by the unexpected. Illness...medical emergencies...severe weather...delayed flights…lost passports or luggage. Troubles can occur when you least anticipate them forcing you to cancel or interrupt your trip, lose your vacation investment, and incur unplanned expenses. And when you're away from home, things like medical emergencies and illness are even more difficult to manage.

That's why we've partnered with CSA Travel Protection to offer travel insurance and convenience, security and assistance services to keep you and your family protected before, during and after your trip.

Protect Your Investment
Coverage for trip cancellation or interruption, trip delay, or a missed connection.
Protect Yourself
Coverage for necessary medical, surgical, or emergency dental care during your trip. Includes emergency transportation to the nearest suitable medical facility.
Protect Your Stuff
Coverage for loss, theft, or damage to your baggage during your trip.
Protect Your Rental Car
Coverage if your rental car is damaged due to collision, fire, flood, theft, vandalism, windstorm or hail.

Call us to see how we can help protect your travel investment 800-523-8758

CSA Travel Protection website

How We Screen Our Guests

Screening our guests is a responsibility that we take very seriously.

How do we do it? We talk to each potential guest on the phone before taking their booking. It's amazing how much information about a person we can get from a short phone conversation. By asking the right questions, we're able to discern a lot about our guests.

What's the purpose of their trip? Have they stayed in a vacation rental before? How many adults and how many children will be staying? What attractions are they interested in?

We are always on the lookout for any red flags. If we have a bad feeling in our gut about a potential guest we trust it. It's better to pass on a booking if it doesn't feel right.

Time for Some Leaf Peeping

It's a great time to come up to the West Slope of the Sierras to view the Fall Colors.

The leaves that create the glorious riot of fall colors are many but the principal ones are:
Yellow poplar - these leaves turn a deep yellow.

Red maple - these leaves turn scarlet.

Quaking aspen - These leaves turn a golden color.

White ash - These leaves turn purple and pale yellow.

Beech - These leaves turn golden orange.

Buying a Hot Tub For Your Vacation Rental Property

Many vacation rental property owners benefit greatly from having a hot tub on the premises. Investing in a hot tub can help you draw more renters, especially during the off-seasons.

Many guests inquire during the months of November and December about our homes having hot tubs.

As for managing and cleaning, we can help you to hire a qualified spa specialist to come and clean your hot tub after each guest leaves. The jury is still out as to whether or not you should empty, clean and refill the water after each guest. If you already have a hot tub, we will add a clause to your rental rules regarding hot tub safety.

If you don't have one already think about Installing a hot tub. It's a big draw for potential guests.

Announcing The Murphys Loft

This beautifully decorated loft has two bedrooms with luxurious queen beds along with a queen sized sofa bed in the spacious, well-appointed living room. With a fully equipped kitchen it has all the amenities you’ll need for entertaining your family and friends. All linens are provided, as well as quality bathroom toiletries in each of the two full bathrooms.

Located right on the historic Murphys Main Street park your car in the reserved off-street parking and you are only steps away from the many great shops, restaurants, and wineries. Rich in charm and character, Murphys provides visitors a glimpse of the past while offering first class food, wine and shopping. You can't beat staying in the heart of “One of the Top 10 Coolest Small Towns in America”.

After a fun day wine tasting in the numerous nearby wineries, return to The Murphys Loft and relax on the outdoor balcony overlooking Main Street. A perfect fit for both romantic couples or a family with children. You will simply love the comfort and the personal touches of The Murphys Loft.

Call 800-523-8758 for pricing and availability or visit our website to learn more.

View The Murphys Loft Virtual Tour

How to make your vacation home friendly to green travelers

If you’re looking for ways to attract more travelers, consider going green. With the explosion of greener vehicles and interest in alternative energy sources, now is the perfect time to get in on the green market. People who are willing to spend extra to make environmentally friendly changes in their own lives are also willing to spend the money to rent an eco-friendly vacation home.

By making small, relatively inexpensive modifications to your vacation homes, you will attract these travelers. Offer easy recycling by providing separate bins for plastics, glass, and cans at each home. Use eco-friendly appliances (such as those labeled with the "Energy Star" and replace all your old, inefficient filament light bulbs with newer, longer lasting, economical bulbs. Another easy way to make your vacation homes more energy efficient is to set your water heater at the lowest effective setting, especially when unoccupied. Provide filtered water systems and thorough guides to area public transportation. For more ideas about easy ways you can modify your vacation homes for eco-conscious travelers, check out this article on the top 10 ways to make your home green.

Once you make your vacation homes green, it is equally important to employ a good marketing campaign so that travelers are aware of your efforts. Not only will you gain business by offering green options; you will continue to reap the benefits of the eco-friendly appliances, lighting, etc. that you have installed as they save you energy and money over time. The newer light bulbs commonly advertise 75% energy savings, and can last up to ten years.

To attract repeat business from people who are not already living green, educate them about the changes you have made to your homes. Stock your homes with materials such as books and pamphlets which inform travelers about what you are doing for the environment, and they will likely feel good about returning. Also include information on your website; you might just convince some travelers that an eco-friendly vacation home is what they’re looking for.

By Parag Vaish, Vice President of Marketing Escapia