Thank you for considering Morton & Furbish Vacation Rentals! 🙂
Morton & Furbish Vacation Rentals is owned and operated by Jamie and Beth Eastlack. Both Jamie and Beth grew up in Rangeley and after college, decided to return to Rangeley to raise their family. Morton & Furbish Vacation Rentals currently represents approximately 300 properties. We have small, one family homes, condominiums, secluded cabins, and large luxury homes listed on our website.
Our philosophy guides every decision we make.
MORTON & FURBISH VACATION RENTALS PHILOSOPHY
We are dedicated to matching each guest with the perfect home.
We respect and work to enrich the community in which we live.
We succeed only when we meet and exceed the expectations of our guests.
We have a passion for excellence and will endeavor to deliver the highest standards of service, value, integrity, and fairness.
We hope the following information will help answer any questions you have about our rental program. You will find: • Morton & Furbish Vacation Rentals responsibilities to owners
- Who are our guests?
- Suggestions to make your home a great rental
- Suggestions for a fully stocked kitchen
- Community outreach programs – Donation program
Once you have read over this information, please feel free to email us with any questions. In order to proceed with this agreement, we will need the entire packet returned with all information filled in and the agreement signed. We also need a copy of your renter’s insurance policy for our records.
MORTON & FURBISH VACATION RENTAL AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES TO HOMEOWNERS
How we will advertise your property:
WEBSITES:
www.rangeleyrentals.com www.rangeleymaine.com
www.rangeley-maine.com www.homeaway.com
www.VRBO.com www.vacationrentals.com
www.rangeleyvacations.com www.maine-rentals.com
www.visitmaine.com www.flipkey.com
www.tripadvisor.com www.airbnb.com
PRINT MEDIA:
Maine Invites You Activities of Maine Guide
Travel Maine Snowmobile Maine
Real Maine Weddings Rangeley Highlander
Mountain Messenger Rangeley Lakes Region Travel
We hire a professional photographer to provide quality pictures of your home.
We will partner with industry leaders to maximize bookings
We have invested money in reservation software programs. Streamline Vacation Rental Software provides tracking and history on each guest, a real time calendar for each property, and allows homeowners to log on to view reservations, owner statements, and to block dates.
We will provide all personnel necessary to maximize bookings
We have reservationists in the office seven days a week to work with potential guests during office hours. Email is the preferred form of communication for many guests and owners and allows us to respond to inquiries before, during, and after hours. We have four phone lines and voicemail that provides information and emergency contact numbers for guests.
We will establish a competitive, seasonal pricing model
Morton & Furbish uses a seasonal pricing model for all properties. Our goal is to maximize your rentals by basing pricing on comparable unit availability, weather, season, length of stay, days of the week, and any other factors that affect the rental of the property. We also apply a revenue management system, so your nightly rate can increase your rate up to 30% based on supply and demand in the area.
We will partner with reputable, independent contractors who share our business philosophy
Morton & Furbish does provide a 24/7 maintenance manager to ensure that your property is renter ready, and to allow us to assist tenants with any emergencies/problems/complaints that may arise during their tenancy. If there is a problem at your property, we will notify you in a timely manner. Our goal is to respond to and correct any problems a guest may have as quickly as possible.
WHO ARE OUR GUESTS?
We at Morton & Furbish Vacation Rentals always try to remember that this could be the ONLY vacation the guest has all year. So, whether your property is an older hunting cabin, or a new luxury home, our guests expect to arrive at a home that is sparkling clean and well-maintained. All advertised amenities should be available for the guest to use and should
be in working order. The home should be free of owners’ personal belongings and/or family treasures. Generally speaking our guests come to Rangeley for a specific reason, i.e. skiing, snowmobiling, fishing, boating, hiking, bird watching….or even because of family tradition. They are usually looking for that “small town”, “clean air”, “slower pace of life” experience, but still expect modern amenities like telephone service, satellite TV and internet.
SEASONS
We have two “HIGH” seasons – Winter and Summer. Summer guests want to be on the water and in a more private location. Winter guests are looking for close proximity to snowmobile trails, the ski area and/or cross-country trails. During the winter we consider the week between Christmas and New Years and February Vacation week a HIGH season. The HIGH summer season is generally after the 4th of July through the third week in August. Depending on the location of your home and the amenities offered, it is important that your home be available for rent for the HIGH weeks in order for us to market it correctly and maximize your rentals.
COMMUNICATION
Morton & Furbish Vacation Rentals uses several methods to track our guests’ satisfaction with their experience. Each guest receives a comment card upon check-in. This card asks: 1) Was the property listing accurate? 2) Was the property clean and well-maintained? 3)Was Morton & Furbish responsive to your needs? 4) Would you recommend this property? 5) What were some of your favorite restaurants/activities? Any time a guest has a suggestion for improving the property we forward that suggestion to you for consideration. Each guest is also sent a request for review through our reservation software system site. These reviews are then posted on your property page on our website. These reviews aid travelers who might be new to the area or to your property. Many properties have a guest book in the home that gives homeowners insight into how the guest enjoyed the property.
SUGGESTIONS TO MAKE YOUR HOME A GREAT RENTAL
The current rental market is changing all of the time. Currently in the Rangeley region and across the Northeast, the demand for rentals far outweighs the supply, especially in the summer months. When potential guests are searching, they are looking at multiple travel destinations and have hundreds of options in front of them. We believe that Rangeley is the best place to vacation and our goal is to offer great rentals at a great value in order to capture every potential guest. We have learned that amenities matter. Below are some suggestions for making your property stand-out.
A great rental:
- Is clean and well maintained
- Is accurately advertised
- Has internet access
- Has comfortable & attractive furnishings throughout the home
- Has multiple living spaces with TV
- Has one or two bedrooms with King or Queen sized beds
- Has one or two bedrooms with kid friendly beds (twins, bunks, trundles)
- Has a nicely stocked kitchen (suggestions included on a separate page)
- Has updated appliances (including a dishwasher)
- Has newer beds, bedding, and pillows (we recommend pillows be replaced each year)
- Has a washer/dryer available for guest use
- Has satellite TV and DVD players
- Has board games and/or a game system
- Has a variety of books or other reading material
- Has ping pong/pool table/foosball table/air hockey
Summer rentals offer:
- Picnic tables
- Outside furniture
- Swim platform
- Dock with ladder
- Fire pit
- Gas or Charcoal grill
- Canoe, kayak, or rowboat for renter use (waiver signed by guest)
- Outside games
Winter rentals offer:
- Space for drying/storing winter gear
- Gas or Charcoal grill
- Fire pit
- Fireplace or woodstove with plenty of wood
- Hot tub
- Equipment for sledding
A FULLY STOCKED KITCHEN SHOULD HAVE:
Large Appliances
o Full sized refrigerator with freezer
o Dishwasher
o Oven with stove-top burners
Small Appliances
o Microwave
o Coffee Pot (with auto shutoff)
o Toaster (wide slot) or toaster oven
o Blender
Dinnerware
o Dinner plates
o Sandwich/salad plates
o Bowls
o Flatware (forks, spoons, butter knives)
o Steak knives
o Water glasses
o Coffee cups
o Wine glasses
o A large serving platter
Cooking Accessories
o 13X9 baking dish
o 2 Quart Pyrex dish
o Cookie sheet
o Large casserole dish
o Measuring cups/spoons
o Saucepans with lids
o Skillets
o Paring knife
o Carving knife
o Rubber spatula
o Colander
o Microwavable dishes
o Soup ladle
o Tongs
o Serving spoons
o Large salad bowl
o Dutch oven with lid
o Mixing bowls
o Cake pans
o Roaster with lid
o Vegetable peeler
o Rolling pin
o Pitcher
o Pie pan
Other
o Cutting board
o Can/bottle opener
o Corkscrew
o Tea kettle
o Trivet
o Fire Extinguisher
o Ice cream scoop
o Pizza cutter
o Pot holders
o Kitchen scissors
Basic Pantry Items
o Salt and Pepper
o Coffee filters
o Toothpicks
o Napkins
Optional Items
o Lobster Pot & claw crackers
o Cookbooks
o Crockpot
o Spices
o Griddle
COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS
“We respect and work to enrich the community in which we live”
FORK IT OVER program: We ask that guests donate any unused/unopened food to the local food pantry. Our guests can drop items off at our office, or our housekeepers will pick it up and return to our office. We make sure it goes to the pantry that services this area. You will see the “Fork it Over” notecard in your home.
CONSERVE & PRESERVE program: We encourage our guests to use energy wisely. We offer suggestions on ways to stay warm/cool, conserve energy and recycle.
RECYCLE program: We collect plastic and glass recyclable bottles and cans. All funds are donated to the Rangeley Lakes Regional School PTA to support programs for the children in our area.
$4 DONATION program: We offer our guests the opportunity to support our community with an optional $3 donation to a non-profit organization designated by Morton & Furbish Vacation Rentals.
DONATION PROGRAM
We offer you the opportunity to give back to this community. Morton & Furbish is often asked by non-profit organizations to donate accommodations as part of a raffle. We also get many requests to provide housing for travel writers, photographers, and other tourism professionals. We like to answer these requests positively as often as possible. We do believe that this program brings new guests to our area and that often, those guests become repeat customers or are responsible for positive word of mouth advertising.
We ask our homeowners to donate a minimum three night stay (some homeowners have offered a week long stay) in their property. The stay is offered in the off season, is good for a period of one year, and Morton & Furbish will donate the cleaning cost.