Vacation Home Property Management Services

Your Local Rental Expert for 33 years

(Why you should choose Mill Pond)

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide outstanding Property Management to our homeowners and superior brokerage service to our sales clients and customers; to provide the best vacation possible to our rental guest; to earn a fair return for our services; to be profitable; and to provide a positive fun work environment in which our employees can fulfill their professional and personal goals.

Commitment

The most difficult thing associated with investing in rental property is driving away and leaving your home in the hands of someone you hardly know. Take a clue from our other homeowners and rental guests. Mill Pond Realty has the highest retention rate on the entire Lakeshore, and we have the highest booking rate by former renters of any company we know. Please feel at ease with your decision. With national recognition for our services, we are among the best in the industry.

Marketing

We keep our finger on the pulse of the vacation rental market as well as vacation rental trends for our specific area. To provide the best possible promotion for your property, we have established a multifaceted marketing plan based on the data from research. We advertise heavily in the Saugatuck /Douglas Visitors Guide, which has a circulation of over 500,000 in the Midwest alone.  We advertise in numerous print publications including the Commercial Record, Waterfront Magazine, West Michigan Tourism Guide, and more.  In addition to print advertising, we are optimized online and on multiple websites including airbnb.com, Homeaway.com, VBRO.com, Rentalbug.com, Always on Vacation, TripswithPets.com, and Travelpets.com. Our experts know how to ensure the best placement on airbnb and vrbo and can help advise owners regarding blocking dates and other factors to ensure better rankings on these sites.      

Reservations

Our reservation specialists are in the office 7 days a week!  They know the details of every home and can assist guests to find the perfect fit for them.  We utilize zendesk to live chat with customers looking at our website 7 days a week and have a marketing plan to entice previous guests back to a Mill Pond Realty vacation rental.  Our priority reservation program ensures guests can book a vacation even before the property becomes available online which many return customers use to pre-book rentals up to a year in advance.  

House Keeping

We have a great cleaning staff to keep your home in tip top shape. Mill Pond Realty is a member of Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals (VRHP) and is leading the way toward establishing a professional cleaning standard for the Lakeshore.  

Inspections

Quality Assurance Inspectors support the efforts of Housekeeping to prepare units for the day’s activities and to follow-up with routine quality control property inspections. They will inspect for cleaning, report damage, look for missing items, and replenish small items such as light bulbs, and shower curtain liners. They also turn up the heat or air conditioning to ensure the vacation rental is perfectly ready for the guest.  Inspectors are a critical part of the team and help ensure your home is not only cleaned, but well taken care of too.

Maintenance

Maintenance is essential to the worry-free operation and customer satisfaction of your rental home. It's the attention to the little things like torn screens, broken slider locks and vertical blinds that make a world of difference to your guest. Maintenance is available 7 days a week and 24 hours a day for emergencies. We provide maintenance coordinators and dispatchers for arranging vendor services and routine maintenance repairs. Mill Pond Realty also has many relationships with area professionals and can help recommend a service person.

Accounting

All rents collected are held in an escrow trust account and regulated by the Michigan Real Estate Commission in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan.  We issue owner statements and checks within 4 weeks of the date the renter has checked out of your home.

Customer Satisfaction

Our customers are very important and repeat guests are vital to both you and Mill Pond Realty. Our Vacation Rental Property Management staff are available 24 hours a day to provide five-star hospitality.  Our owners receive five-star service too.  If you don't want to hassle with purchasing items like hand soap, new pillows, or any other items, just let us know and our staff can order and deliver to your home.  We have even helped assemble fire pits and grills making it easier for owners to upgrade their homes.  

Standards

All rental management companies are definitely not the same. We take great pride in being different. Our team attends national conferences for Vacation Rental Managers and is constantly adapting and using the best products on the market to ensure the best experience for owners and guests.

Local

Laura Durham grew up in Saugatuck and started Mill Pond Realty and Vacation Rentals in 1991.  She has seen a lot of change over those years and is very involved locally to promote vacation rentals in our beautiful area.  As some municipalities talk about limiting or putting restrictions on vacation rentals, you can be assured Mill Pond Realty is there representing our owners and guests.  Laura and team members attend local meetings and ensure there is a pro-rental voice at these meetings. Her knowledge and passion for the vacation rental industry is evident and she encourages everyone to get involved at the local level especially at this time when the conversation to limit rentals in Saugatuck is occuring.