If there’s no place like home, the team at Moab Lodging & Property Management is committed to the next best thing – a home away from home.
Moab’s oldest and largest real estate management company, MPM currently manages nearly 250 residential properties throughout the area in four primary categories: long-term rentals; short-term furnished rentals; vacation/lodging rentals and caretaking services.
“We are considered to be, and we consider ourselves as, the local accommodations authority,” said Dustin Frandsen, one of MPM’s new business partners and the company’s general manager. Frandsen merged his previous property management business, Condos in Moab, with MPM in late 2011 and came on as a company partner and the general manager in January.
Frandsen and Allison Miles, another new business partner and the company’s long-term properties manager, join long-time owners and partners Laura Uhle and Dale Schantzenbach to offer “the best property management experience possible,” says Frandsen. Uhle and Schantzenbach purchased the company, formerly Moab Central Reservations, 15 years ago from Mike and Shirley O’Kelley and have since grown the business substantially – 30 percent since 2006, Frandsen estimates.
Frandsen and Miles lead the day-to-day operations with an experienced and knowledgeable team that is “like a family” according to Miles, who has been with the company since 2010.
“Our team knows this community,” said Miles. “It is our job to know the people here who are living or just visiting.”
One of MPM’s long-time employees, Andrea Martin, is the nightly lodging manager and has been with the company for 14 years.
“Working here has provided me a way to grow,” said Martin. “I’m a better professional and better person because of this team. I know Dustin and Allison’s influence will help MPM become more progressive for our clients’ needs.”
Currently, MPM manages an estimated 75 nightly rental properties. As Miles remarks, the overall value of a nightly rental is less money than a hotel room, so “why wouldn’t you?” choose a condo accommodation for a vacation in Moab? MPM offers owners of nightly rental properties worldwide booking engines (Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline), 24-7 real time online booking, 24-hour emergency services, full linen service, in house maintenance and housekeeping services and OwnerLink, an online scheduling tool to determine current availability.
“Our nightly rentals are simply a better price and better amenities than a hotel room,” said Frandsen.
A recent group from Denver provided the following feedback about their MPM accommodations during a five-day mountain bike adventure in Moab: “You can’t get this experience in a hotel room. The one thing to take from this review is this: for the price, you can’t do any better than this site (moabutahlodging.com).”
Likewise, for the long-term property management, MPM is able to offer owners extensive benefits, including: property advertising; property showings; tenant application and lease agreement processing; rent collection; ongoing and annual property maintenance and 24-hour emergency services. Such services cost the owner 10 percent of the collected monthly rent.
Short-term (30-180 days) furnished rentals receive the same benefits and services as the long-term rental properties, as well as additional housekeeping and linen services, as needed.
“No matter if we’re renting a property for one night or one year, our owners are our number one priority,” said Miles.
Michaela Sullivan, an out-of-town owner who has worked with MPM for nine years to manage her property on Rosetree Lane, said that she has always felt like MPM’s first priority.
“I selected MPM due to their expertise and their positive ‘can do’ team-based attitude. I have been most impressed with the fact that they truly care about my place and for keeping me in the loop as a landlord who lives a great distance from Moab.”
According to Miles, important for all potential owners or renters to know is the fact that MPM has its real estate license and that Uhle is a real estate broker, which enables the company to qualify any property rented via the Utah Division of Real Estate guidelines and regulations.
“All of our lodging is in first class rental condition – we maintain the highest quality standards,” said Fransden.
“Someone is giving us a home to take care of – we take that responsibility very seriously,” said Miles.
This weekly feature highlights a Moab business. E-mail Meredith at mereditharndt@yahoo.com with suggestions or tales of an exceptional experience.
