In an effort to keep our guests happy and provide the cutest, cleanest, and best-located home in Sonoma County, we are always continually working hard to make our guests have a safe and comfortable stay. Therefore, hence the ongoing changes in 2023.
Vacation Rentals By Owner - Listing
Although rates tend to increase year over year, we decided to do something a little different and surprising and offered our lowest rate ever!
What we decided to do is offer this EXCLUSIVELY to past guests and recipients of this newsletter.
If you ever wanted to share this with any friends, now is the time!
TOT Tax
The TOT (or Transient Occupancy Tax) of 12% is now required for short-term stays. This is calculated on your booking on the VRBO website.
However, read here about the ongoing battle with now the state to increase it even more!
Windsor has allowed for short-term rentals and is working with residents and owners to work together to create an ordinance for short-term stays.
Past guests can take advantage of lower rates than what is offered at the time of the second booking.
The Lease
The lease is an essential part of renting a short-term stay and will be enforced. Please read when signing. The rules let you know what to expect when occurrences happen such as cancellations. Travel insurance is always recommended as I do not allow for cancellations the day before, (yes, this happened).
When you use a 3rd party website such as VRBO or any other similar platform, the ability to negotiate is minimized. The systems these platforms use are convenient but also challenging when negotiating with the owner on your own.
The cancelation policy remains as follows:
Cancel prior to 60 days before check-in and receive a 100% refund.
Cancel between 30-60 days of check-in and receive a 50% refund.
Cancel within 30 days of check-in and receive no refund.
Prior to automatic booking, if the home was rebooked, I would refund 100%. However, having the ability to use automatic bookings does not allow for this.
Automatic bookings
Sonoma Wine Nest continues to accept automatic bookings. However, there are pros and cons so please be aware.
The Pros:
It’s convenient to book and confirm quickly. No more waiting for me to respond sometimes up to an hour.
The Cons:
The fees and flexibility have changed.
Everyone pays the maximum fees. No refunds are offered, and although I offered a non-refundable property damage deposit, which is different than travel insurance, I have now changed it back to a $500 deposit. Anyone can request to have it changed to a $59 fee so that $500 is not withheld for months until 7-14 days after your stay.
The caveat is having to wait for up to an hour for me to confirm your reservation for me to make that change before your booking.
Bikes
The bikes are no longer available. A lot of people were not using them or did not want to sign the terms and conditions. Also, someone actually crashed the bike without letting us know so we decided to no longer offer them. It happens.
The Backyard
More backyard improvements coming soon.
We are working on upgrading the backyard and we’ll let you know when this happens.
We are happy with the new fence that was recently installed to hide the new construction of homes that were built behind the home but we’re hoping to not stop there. New furniture, completion of the gas fireplace, and a new colored deck are all in the works.
The problem has been finding the contractors.
Almost makes me feel bad how discouraged I got with the new homes being built!
Wildfires May Be Here To Stay but oh my!
now it’s the rain!
Tamales Bay
Look for a separate RED emergency book for information on hospitals, fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, smoke alarms, and a fire map.
We are always working to make improvements and most importantly, work with the city to find guidance on how to make your stays comfortable and most importantly safe.
Look for this binder when you arrive for emergency details.
Unfortunately, we have had guests who had to shorten their stay because of wildfires. It was imperative that they got the information quickly to leave in time.
Our neighborhood was evacuated for about a week while the dangers of looming wildfires were about a mile away. The second time, our guests didn’t take any chances: they simply left. (Yes, there was a second time.)
In situations like these including the pandemic when everything was shut down, refunds were immediately issued. No questions asked.
Although the nightly rate and fees have increased over the years, keeping past guests happy is my main concern. As a small appreciation of our welcoming your return, please let me know what you would appreciate the most. We have had guests who have been so gracious and kind throughout the years that we really do appreciate their return.
If you are taking advantage of Low Rates offered this year, we will work with you to continue giving you a discount on your next stay. The point is that when you return, you are considered family, and that comes with perks!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly for your next stay.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me via email at Claudia@ClaudiaNicole.com or text me at 310-265-3697.
Always know you have a home to come to in Sonoma County.
Many thanks! Be safe out there,
Cheers!