***Please contact info@stayinarnold.com to report outdated information on this list***
❏ Business License
Calaveras County considers your vacation rental operation a business requiring a license. You can find the application and FAQ here: Business License (calaverasgov.us). If you have a contract with a professional property management company, ask them if you can operate under their license.
❏ Transient Occupancy Tax
All income received from vacation rentals is subject to the County’s 12% Transient Occupancy Tax (“TOT”). You can register and pay this quarterly tax online here: TOT (calaverasgov.us). If you have a contract with a professional property management company, ask them if you can operate under their TOT registration.
If you have questions about TOT or the business license requirement, you can contact Emily Goble at the Tax Collector’s office (egoble@co.calaveras.ca.us / (209) 754-6350)… she is very helpful.
❏ Management
You can choose to manage your vacation rental yourself, or you can hire a professional property manager. There are full-service property managers, who handle most of your rental operations and charge higher fees, and ones who offer less services for less expense. There are both local companies and non-local companies.
If you choose to manage your rental yourself, there are many online tools that can be helpful. If you are taking direct bookings and/or listing on more than one platform (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.), you should consider using a Property Management Software (PMS) which handles reservations and organizes property management operations. Popular PMS’s are OwnerRez, Guesty, Lodgify, and Hospitable.
❏ Local Assistants
If you self manage, you will need to hire someone to clean your house after each group of guests. You might also ask this person or company to open up your house before your guests arrive, turn on lights, water and heat, make beds and supply towels (if you provide linens) and ensure supplies are restocked.
In addition to a housecleaner, you should also have a snow removal company and handyperson you can call on when needed.
For recommendations, ask a realtor or search on Nextdoor and local Facebook groups. One of our Stay in Arnold members has just such a business: Arnold Concierge.
❏ Insurance
Some homeowner’s insurance policies do not extend coverage to short term rentals, so check with your insurance agent about options for including short term rental coverage.
You can also take out Damage Protection insurance for each guest. The guest might pay, for example, $45 to cover them for $1500 in accidental damage. If you use a PMS you can choose to add this insurance to each rental and fold the small cost into your rate.
❏ Rental Agreement
Guests should sign a Rental Agreement to set expectations and protect against liability. There are many templates available online. If you self-manage, you can use your VRMS or an e-sign platform (e.g., DocuSign, Hellosign) to send your Rental Agreement to your guests for electronic signature.
❏ Marketing Online – How to Book Direct
❏ Independent Website: there are many ways to build your own site, such as Square Space and Wix. Google Sites allows you to build a free site. For the most customization, another inexpensive option is to purchase a domain, an SSL certificate and a hosting plan (from a site such as GoDaddy or NameCheap), install WordPress and create your own site. There are many tutorials to teach you how to do this, such as WPBeginner. Or you can hire a web developer to create a site for you.
❏ Houfy website
❏ StayInArnold.com (free, regional listing site; companion site to AVRH)
❏ Google Business Profile (so your property appears in Google Search and Maps)
Online Travel Agencies
❏ Airbnb
❏ VRBO
❏ Calendar
Keep up to date and synced among platforms (VRMS, Airbnb, VRBO, Houfy)
❏ Reviews
Request reviews from all guests and, if you have an individual website for your property, include your reviews there.
❏ Responsible Renting
Share and enforce compliance with the AVRH Good Neighbor Guidelines by including this document as part of your Rental Agreement rules and posting a copy at your vacation home. It addresses guest limits, garbage, noise/light, parking and pets.
Share information required by your HOA, such as CC&Rs and rules for Short Term Rentals.
Post visible signs so that neighbors and passerbys can contact you or your manager
- Window Sign
- Sign visible from street with a way to contact you (e.g., StayInArnold sign; PM sign)
If you are not local, designate a local, available contact to respond to urgent matters
Share Local Resources and information on Fire Safety, Bear Safety and Environmental Protection
❏ Recommended Facebook Groups
- Arnold Vacation Rental Homeowners: This is a private group. Please join once you are up and running. Great place to get recommendations of local contractors, marketing strategies, and guest experience ideas.