Frequently Asked Questions

We really try to limit the number of personal items in the condominiums. The reality is that most Rental Guests consider this as public accommodations and not a residence. The décor should reflect this. It is also important when renting to corporate and business groups that all condominiums are virtually identical. This adds to the ease and comfort of dealing with these groups and it is what they expect. Also, personal items are too hard to keep track of and may go missing. We cannot, therefore, guarantee the security of these kinds of items. If you would like to have these types of items when occupying your condominium please feel free to do so. Prior to your departure, simply store them in your Owner's closet. Please call if you have any questions regarding this policy.

Each Owner has the right to designate their condominium as a "smoking" or "non-smoking" condominium. On the last page of your Rental Management Agreement, you will find the section where you will indicate your choice.

When a guest calls and requests a particular size, location, feature, view or type of condominium, we will do everything possible to fulfill our guest's needs as best as we can. When a guest calls and has no particular request, our sophisticated property management system, Springer-Miller Systems, distributes rentals on a fair and equitable basis, making sure that all condominiums are rented equally while taking into consideration Owner use.

Since housekeeping and maintenance of the condominium are such an integral part of the guest experience, we devote substantial management time to quality control. We perform inspections with trained supervisors to ensure that the quality of cleaning and condominium presentation meet a minimum AAA "3-Diamond" service level standard. Our Rental Guests are provided with, daily housekeeping, as well as a linen and towel change. IHM pays for all housekeeping costs and services, including all laundry, guest supplies and amenities, as well as labor. (Refer to Schedule B in the Rental Management Agreement.)

We complete a VERY comprehensive pricing and competitive analysis before determining the rate structure for The Village. We take into consideration the proximity to the many services and amenities that surround the lodge, as well as the amenities that are on-site. We set our rates according to what we feel should be charged for first-class accommodations and the services we provide. Taking all these factors into consideration, we determine rate levels based on demand, and if the need arises, WE CHANGE THEM! With so many factors influencing a buying decision for our guests, we would be remiss to simply create rates once a year and then not touch them until next season rolls around. Rates are constantly re-examined to ensure we are ALWAYS maximizing the revenue the condominiums generate. 
 
Here are some of the many features and services the lodge has that influence what rates we set:

• Comparison of our product to the competition: quality of product, amenities, experience, service levels, and price.
• Current economic conditions inside and outside the region.
• Price resistance/acceptance of our current rate structure.
• Seasonality, holidays and other special events.
• Weather.
• Year-round heated outdoor hot tubs.
• High-speed Internet connectivity.
• 24-hour front desk.
• Peak-hour Bellman and Concierge staff.
• Pre-arrival grocery shopping service.
• Daily housekeeping with superior amenities package including coffee, bottled water.
• Ski/Snowboard storage.
• Heated and secure underground parking.
• Proximity to the ski lifts in winter.
• Children's games room and Media room.

IHM is responsible for the upkeep of the condominiums including maintenance requests and annual preventative maintenance inspections. Quick and efficient response to your condominium's maintenance needs is a major objective of ours. IHM maintains an inventory of commonly used repair items and tools on the property. Maintenance personnel are radio dispatched for quick service to you and the Rental Guests. (Refer to Schedule B in the Rental Management Agreement.)

If any damage / theft should occur within a condominium, IHM will endeavor to attach the damage / theft to the guest who caused it and charge them accordingly. If this cannot be done, the Manager pays for the cost of any damage / theft to the condominium to a maximum of $500.00, at which the Owner's insurance would pay the rest. (Refer to the Rental Management Agreement, Article V, Section B.)

As far as IHM is concerned, the Owner can use the condominium as much as he/she wants. There is a very detailed explanation of Owner use in our Rental Management Agreement. (See Article I, Section B.) At least once per year, you will receive an Owner Usage Calendar. If you know the dates you will be using the condominium, simply fill out the calendar and send it back to us. If you would like to make a reservation with more reduced notice, you can personally phone in a reservation to the Owner Relations Manager. We will try our hardest to fulfill an owner request. 
 
You must understand that owner occupancy reduces the overall opportunity for revenue and this is even more dramatic during peak occupancy periods. Based on supply and demand, when demand is the highest (all holiday weekends), the potential revenue we can achieve is also, by far, the highest. This should be considered in determining dates for your personal use of the condominium.

We cannot in any way predict or guarantee occupancies or revenues; however, we can give figures based on historical information from other local lodging establishments and other resorts where we perform rental management services. Generally at our other resorts, this type of lodging product has been achieving 35% - 55% occupancies annually. We also have good data on "average" annual occupancies in the Squaw Valley area. In general, the collective average occupancy in Squaw Valley lodging establishments has been between 52% - 58% annually in the past few years. These successes are partly due to a couple of the hotels efforts in marketing and sales to tour operators, travel wholesalers and travel groups as well actively soliciting and hosting corporate groups in their conference facilities. It is our goal to help drive occupancy by actively marketing to wholesale and tour operator companies that are an excellent source of extended stay bookings which round out occupancy throughout the year, especially during the quieter periods. Using these and other distribution networks can account for up to 40% of all room nights achieved. Also, 22 Station (Phase II) of the Squaw Development will include about 5000 sq. ft. of meeting space for The Village, which is specifically being built to drive occupancy in the seasons outside of winter. Please see the marketing summary with more details on our marketing plans.

For your condominium, liability insurance and contents insurance are required. In the Rental Agreement, there are specific instructions and minimum amounts described. (Refer to the Rental Management Agreement Article V, Section D/Paragraph 1.)

The rental management company has absolutely no control or influence over the HOA. The HOA is governed by a separate Agreement between a Property Manager (not necessarily the Rental Manager) and the HOA. The annual budget and levels of service are decided on by the HOA at regular and annual meetings. All homeowners are responsible to pay their fair share of these fees, which represent the overall costs of operating and maintaining the building, whether they are participating in a rental program or not. HOA fees should cover all electricity, gas, water, sewer, cable television, landscaping, garbage removal, snow removal and hot tub maintenance, elevator maintenance, reserve fund, administrative (legal, accounting, management), insurance, common area utilities, and common area property taxes. A detailed account and list of these items can be found in your CC&R documents.

Well, it depends! We create prices for the condominiums based on many factors, but the main influence is simply supply and demand. On the days where there are more people who want to rent the condominiums than we have physical condominiums to rent, we will maximize on that demand with higher rates. On the other hand, on the days that there are 10 condominiums in the area for every one guest who wants to rent, we want that guest to stay in our condominiums, not elsewhere in the area, so we will offer a very competitive rate. In both these situations we win as the condominiums are occupied and therefore we are receiving revenue. We pride ourselves on our percent of return guests, as once you stay at an Intrawest resort, you want to again and again. Our goal is to occupy the condominiums at the best rate the current demand allows. 
 
Not only will rates vary based on level of demand for rooms at the time, but also based on WHO is renting the room and for HOW LONG, HOW MANY rooms they want to rent and HOW OFTEN they come (as well as what our competitors are charging). This is true not only for the regular leisure or business guests but for group, wholesale and tour rates as well.
 
 
Our rate structure is attached in Schedule C in the Rental Management Agreement. The mix of the types of rentals/or guests will affect the overall nightly rate, but, in general terms, the nightly realized revenue will be about 70 - 75% of our top retail rates. We like going to the market place the first few months with some aggressive "opening rates" in an effort to drive occupancy and create market awareness for The Village at Squaw Valley. (Refer to Schedule D in the Rental Management Agreement.)

IHM is the company Intrawest has formed to offer rental management services at each of our resorts. Currently, Intrawest is involved in the operations at 12 different resorts in Canada and the U.S. and includes such resorts as Whistler/Blackcomb and Panorama Resort in British Columbia; Blue Mountain, Ontario; Mont. Tremblant, Quebec; Stratton Mountain, Vermont; Snowshoe, West Virginia; Sandestin, Florida; Copper Mountain, Colorado; Mammoth, California; Lake Las Vegas, NV; and others. We manage over 5100 condominiums across all of our resorts. For more information on Intrawest, please visit our website at www.intrawest.com.

Unlike many other rental management companies, IHM avoids many of the "claw backs" common in this type of service and chooses not to "nickel and dime" our Owners. Typical 'claw backs' IHM avoids charging to Owners include: charges for Rental Guest housekeeping, all types of maintenance, any damage or theft, linen replacement, in-house reservation and marketing fees, and others. Under our Agreement, the Manager's commission pays all of these expenses. At first glance our program may seem more expensive, but once you compare 'apples to apples' you will see it is better and easier to work with. You will not have to deal with an endless supply of invoices from us to take care of your condominium. Everything is included. The real differentiator of our rental management service is our marketing. Because of our marketing, we are best positioned to put more 'heads in beds'. We are also going to be generating a higher average daily rate because of the level of service being provided. This includes:

• Providing a "4-diamond" level of housekeeping to our Rental Guests on a daily basis, which includes fresh towels and linens. Owners do not pay for this. (Please see Schedule B in the Rental Management Agreement.)
• A front desk with fully uniformed staff operating 24-hours per day.
• Business services available with fax, photocopier and computer services for all guests.
• Peak hour valet, concierge and bell services.
• Packaging of our rooms with a variety of activities (ski tickets, golf, bike rentals, etc) to help drive occupancy.
• A marketing and promotions team appropriate for the rental of these condominiums. Corporately this includes full-time sales people in conferences/meetings, international, and national destination sales, groups, and transient lodging sales.
• On-site PBX telephone system connected with front desk computer and voice-mail. In-room telephones have data ports for use in connecting to the Internet. No charge to owners for local and 800 number calls.