Rest, Relaxation And Rockin’ Revenues

Charles Molineaux

November 19, 2008

W hen Audrey Nettlow and her family arrived at their rented cabin in Blue Ridge, a nasty discovery awaited them. A recent freeze had ruptured a pipe and the cabin had no water. By the time they realized the problem, it was already evening. On a weekend. In the North Georgia Mountains.

She really found out she was dealing with the right property management company once something went wrong. "It was amazing," she recalls.  "I thought I was in for an embarrassing nightmare."

"We had friends with us. They came in and we had no water. It was a busy weekend. All the other cabins were rented. We didn't know what was going to happen." But a frantic call to the cabin's property manager, Pamela Miracle, brought rapid results.  

"It was probably five o'clock at night when we called her, and [by that] night, there was a guy out there rebuilding the whole pipe system. It was freezing cold, but by 10 o'clock, we had water again. She took care of it. That was pretty impressive."

Miracle says a reputation for that level of responsiveness, communication and customer service has brought rapid escalation to her fledgling Alpharetta company, Escape to Blue Ridge. Her in-home business consists of herself, her husband Doug, and - since the addition of a new director of guest services - one employee. In less than two years of operation, Escape has seen an impressive 300-percent annual increase in revenues. "It's been unbelievable growth," she marvels, "exciting growth, very exciting."

After starting at the beginning of 2007 with just one property - her own, Miracle has seen her business expand to cover 34 mountain houses in the rolling peaks and misty valleys of Blue Ridge, about an hour and half from Atlanta. 

Today, the operation's large and detailed Web site displays cabins that range from quaint little two bedrooms to multimillion dollar luxury log leviathans for enjoying the mountains in high style.  Their names, such as "The Rat Race Getaway," "Dream Catcher," "Bearadise" and "Stairway to Heaven," highlight Miracle's slogan and theme: "Relax, Reconnect, Recharge."

"That's our experience every time we go up there," she explains.  "Whether it's with each other or with good friends, we always are able to reconnect with our friends in a very hectic, busy life."

Miracle embarked on her entrepreneurial adventure after her entry into the world of investment properties revealed an acute need in the market. A former employee at The Home Depot, she and Doug decided their stock in the company was looking "stagnant."  Hoping for a better return, they bought a rental cabin and engaged one, and then a second management company to run it.  It was an exercise in disappointment - and opportunity.

"Quickly we realized that there was a void with the quality of customer service," she recalls. "The void was that our property manager was using our cabin to make money for himself, but we weren't really a client of his. He didn't look at it that way. And we found that with both of the property management companies we used, so we felt like it would be a neat business to get into."

Miracle says her philosophy revolves around the notion that the property manager serves two clients - the vacationer renting a cabin and the property's owner, who needs to be kept in the loop.

When Escape started full operation in April 2007, she made sure the company's Web site included easily accessible information for the owners of the cabins she rents, including an online reservations system and availability calendar, so owners know when their properties are booked.

"I would say probably half the companies out there don't even have an online availability calendar," she says. "Also, we have a special login page, where the homeowner can see - at any given time - how much their next check is going to be, and how much money we've made for them. They know how much we're spending on maintenance. If we have to replace a mop or a pool stick, they know that by logging into the system."  

That communication is priceless for property owners like Stephen Yoham. He trusts Miracle and Escape to Blue Ridge with the management of two cabins. Yoham puts a premium on Miracle's promotion and outreach, which he says have yielded frequent bookings - and steady income.  "She has just been going gangbusters on my stuff.  The gal that I was using before," he says, sighing, "she has had her own Internet site. If you didn't end up finding her site, that was about it. Too bad.  Pamela spends a lot of time working and promoting and trying to get out there where people know about it."

"My biggest concern, as a business owner," Miracle says, "has been filling those cabins, getting the 'butts in huts' so to speak."

Her attentive approach also gains high marks from renters like Tara Moore, a repeat guest at several cabins run by Escape to Blue Ridge, as well as by other managers, who frequently uses the term "top-notch" to describe her stays with Escape.

"I have rented at the beach. I have rented in the mountains.  I have rented in Sky Valley," she says. "Customer service is definitely the top of their list. You can just tell." It's the little things that impress Moore. "We went up maybe a month ago and they welcomed me with a package from the orchard close by. Those are nice touches. People don't always do that and add in the special touches," she says.

"We want them to be wowed from the moment they walk in," says Miracle. "We require our cabins to be well maintained, to have wood stocked for the fireplace and a gift for the guests. The lights are on when they show up, so everything is welcoming them."

Miracle's other clients, the property owners, are happy to leave such touches up to her.

"You do have some guests who are more what you would call 'higher maintenance' than others," grants Yoham. "We recently had a client in our upper house who wanted a stocked refrigerator set up. Well, [Miracle] went shopping and got everything in there they wanted. Some clients want a certain kind of flower on the table. Those kinds of things are just a hassle, but that's the kind of thing that keeps the clients happy and keeps them coming back. I think that's great."

Miracle does keep a leery eye on the precarious state of the economy, and hopes her cabins will remain an appealing, cost-effective, alternative to pricier getaways if vacationers decide to cut back.

"That's always a concern, because were talking about vacations but, it's a great way to spend a weekend or a week-long vacation inexpensively. This economy, we feel, has actually helped us. There is so much to do up here and it's coming up to enjoy the simplicity of life."

Clients on both sides of the ledger also add another asset to Escape's list of assets:  Pamela Miracle's winning personality.

"Usually," Yoham says, "when I meet somebody I have a feeling of whether I like the person.  She just came across as really down to earth and I really liked her.  She could almost be my sister.  She seems that friendly and that sincere." 

Moore agrees. "I've dealt with enough people that I can tell when they care and when they don't.  She runs her business like I would like to run it, if I had one."

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