Why you should let us take care of your holiday home
It is true the holiday rentals business has never been more competitive. With the introduction of Airbnb everyone can rent out either a space in their house or their whole property. It is wonderful that there is now so much choice in the market place for people looking for short term rental accommodation and that the growth in competition has spurred accommodation providers to up the stakes on the quality of their holiday homes. It has never been more important to create a point of difference to draw guests to choose to stay in their home. At Ocean Blue we can help you do that. Here are a few reasons you should let us take care of your holiday home.
Why Ocean Blue exists
Ocean Blue Coastal Retreats was started by Sian & Peter West in 2008. Both Sian & Peter are originally from the UK and they quickly found a lack in the market of stylish accommodation to put up visiting family from overseas. Sian & Peter wanted to rent a holiday home large enough for their overseas family to come and stay, along with themselves and their young family at the time. They wanted a wonderful space they could spend time together and make memories.
Initially Sian and Peter bought their first holiday home and also rented it out for guests to stay. Another couple were added to the fold and Blue Moon Cottages in Rye was born. With the experience of running Blue Moon Cottages they found that other holiday home owners were searching for a someone who would be able to take on the work of helping them manage their own holiday homes in the same successful way. Ocean Blue Coastal Retreats was born.
Sian and Peter have now been successfully managing and renting holiday accommodation on the Mornington Peninsula for 17 years and now manage over 36 properties year round.
Why you should choose us
Choosing the right people to help you manage your holiday property is extremely important. Ideally you should choose a team who have similar values and hopes for your property that you do.
Here are some of the ways we can help you manage and get the best return from your holiday home.
We are an award-winning tourism business
We are a award winning tourism accommodation business. We have been working closely with Mornington Peninsula Tourism, Tourism Victoria and Tourism Australia for over 15 years. We won the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards in 2011, 2012, 2013 and Qantas Australian Tourism Award in Bronze 2011, Silver 2012, Gold 2013 for accommodation. Sharing knowledge is one of our core values and we live and breathe that mantra.
Our Values
Family
The core of our business is family. On many levels we embrace 'family', from the family friendly accommodation we offer to the family feeling we aim create in the relationship we have with our guests. We want our guests to feel they belong and that they are home when they stay with us.
Pet Friendly
We believe holidays should be for the whole family, including your furry family members, so we specialise in great pet-friendly holiday accommodation. Most pet owners will agree, I think, that our pets truly are a huge part of our families. We wouldn’t want to leave our kids in a kennel whilst we go away and have fun and we feel the same about our pets.
How we can help you
As mentioned earlier, with the introduction of Airbnb to the short term rental market, it has become easier for people to manage and rent out their own holiday homes. Perhaps you have tried this and now realise the amount of work involved in managing and renting out your holiday home? Perhaps you don't live locally to your holiday home, thus making it logistically difficult and time consuming to manage your holiday home? Perhaps you now realise that you need help creating a point of difference for your holiday home so that guests will not only book your holiday home, but will seek it out for their next stay? Let us take care of your holiday home and they will.
The services we offer
A team of real people
If the last year has taught us anything, it is that we need connection and community in our lives. At Ocean Blue we are a local, Mornington Peninsula team of people who are all working towards the values we list above. We really want to attract the right guests to stay in our properties. Guests who have similar wants, needs and hopes for great holiday accommodation. Guests who want to make memories with their families, friends and pets when on holiday.
Our guests value that they can call and speak to us, to discuss what they are searching for in the ideal holiday home for them. We are here to listen to them and help them create a memorable trip.
We have been doing this a long time now, so we know what makes our guests and owners happy. Saying that, we don't rest on our laurels, we are constantly reviewing and improving our systems to make life easier and happier for everyone.
Styling your property for success
We believe how you style your holiday home is one of they keys to attracting all year round guests to your holiday home. We live in a visual world and our guests are well informed about what they seek in their ideal holiday stay. They are not only buying a holiday, they are buying a lifestyle that they want to be able to share.
Holiday house interior styling for short stay holiday rental can be costly and time-consuming but should never be underestimated. In our experience, owners rarely budget for the interiors of their holiday home. It's important to plan to attract guests with beautiful and functional spaces and unique pieces to create a successful interior. A holiday house should reflect its surroundings and be an extension of the holiday experience.
We can help you style your property for optimum success.
Bespoke Linens & Commercial Linen
The importance of good bedlinen is often underestimated by holiday home owners when setting up their holiday home. At Zhush-it we can supply you with bespoke and commercial linens for your property and we can advise on the best choices when considering guests and the laundry, even if you don't have your property with us.
Boutique Quality Portfolio
We offer quality accommodation in both facilities and service. A small portfolio means we look after your property as if it were our own, you are not one of many, but a select few and we know your property intimately. It ensures we can work together to offer our guests the best accommodation possible. Read some of our owner reviews
Housekeepers not Contract Cleaners
We believe we are one of the only companies offering this type of accommodation that have a permanent team of housekeepers NOT contract cleaners. Our team knows your property intimately and takes care of it on a day to day basis. Each of our housekeepers has dedicated houses to look after and then the team comes together during the summer when we are super busy and need a super organised approach to ensure properties are presented as our guests expect.
We are also the only company to have its own Laundry Service - All Washed Out
Our own commercial laundry
All Washed Out as a dedicated laundry operation service for Ocean Blue Coastal Retreats. We wanted to help our holiday home owners and a select few other accommodation providers who needed a reasonable priced, quality laundry service. A service that provides attention to detail and care when looking after your linen.
Peace of mind - trust accounting
In Victoria it is not mandatory to hold monies in trust if you are a short term holiday rental operator. However, we do have a trust account system so all payments made by guests are secure and we pay our owners at the end of every month.
How we do marketing
Getting your property seen by the right people is our main aim. As we said before, we want the right guests to stay in your holiday home. We would like guests to come and stay who have a connection with your home and that will truly love staying there. We work to build that connection with our guests so that they will return time and time again and will share with other likeminded friends how they have enjoyed their stay.
The way we style and photograph your property, the way we have designed our website, the weekly newsletters to our mailing list, our social media posts and our in-person guest communication all combine to create a community and family feel with our guests.
What our owners say...
Don't just take our word for it. Take a look at what our owners have to say about being part of team Ocean Blue.
Our partnerships - support local
As part of the local Mornington Peninsula community, our partnerships with other local businesses are important to us. We are very fortunate that the local community is so supportive of each other. We are all working for the same goal, to create great experiences for visitors to the Peninsula.
The Peninsula Hot Springs
The Peninsula Hot Springs is still one of the largest draws of visitors to the Peninsula.
We are the only holiday rental company offering accommodation on the Peninsula Hot Springs website with an exclusive partnership agreement. Check out our exclusive Hot Spring packages
Local produce partnerships
Supporting local is one of our values. Wherever possible we will use local produce as part of our guest services, massages, yoga, wine tours or breakfast hampers and also our welcome gifts. Our welcome gifts include home baked dog treats from Pawdinkum, doggie poop bags from Oh Crap, candles and beauty products from Olieve & Oli and locally produced bubbly to welcome our guests on arrival.
Property Maintenance - We are locals with knowledge
We are locals – we know who to call when we need things fixed and our trades and services jump quickly. We know the area and provide local advice to guests on what to do, where to eat etc
We know the area and are alerted to the issues around the weather. We have an emergency plan in place for bushfires, total fire ban days and code RED alerts.
Available 24/7
We are on call 24/7 for emergencies. We are on the ground when common problems occur like TV and wifi reception issues. This is our most common callback and you can’t fix these issues remotely. If you have a swimming pool or outdoor spa there are often issues while the guests are in the house and we have people on the ground to help the guests and fix the issues, resulting in happy guests and no refunds.
Enquire about listing with us
Let us take care of your holiday home
