Owner FAQ

Onboarding and Home Setup:

Q: Can I keep my old Airbnb?

A: For the best guest experience and to integrate with 24/7 Concierge – existing upcoming bookings are exported and uploaded to Wander, and other listings are paused. 

Q: Who manages my utility payments

A: Home owners continue to manage their own utility payments.

Q: Can you sell my unused items from home setups?

A: We don't sell unused items. Owners remove personal items, sheets, towels, pillows ahead of setups. If not removed ahead of setup, your project manager will arrange removal of items to a desired storage location -- please note this will require additional moving costs. 

Q: I already have many items in my home, what has to be standardized to be a Wander? 

A: Wander's hotelification includes standardized bedding, towels, and minimal standardized security and access appliances. 

Q: Where does a Wander sign go?

A: The Wander sign is mounted on a post by the home. 

Q: I self-manage and have Airbnb and Vrbo, how does transfer of upcoming bookings work?

A: To make it easy, owners can give owner relations your logins and we can grab the guest's info and dates Wander Concierge adds them to WanderOS and pauses upcoming availability on the platforms, and owners are paid out as usual as they occur.

Alternatively, owners if they’d like can pause all upcoming availability on their end, and export the upcoming bookings and guest information for upcoming bookings to give owner relations. Then owner relations passes the information on to Wander Concierge to enter into WanderOS and reach out to guests.

Q: Can I keep my current cleaning and maintance crew?

A:  We do not keep existing cleaners or grounds crew for homes unless the crew is currently managed by a professional vacation rental company of the same or larger portfolio size as Wander due to operational needs, no exceptions can be made to this

Q: What basic information do I need to give Wander to manage my home?

A: After contract signature, you will be provided with a form to complete which includes questions regarding access information, home care needs, and STR permitting.

Q: I don't love pets, do I have to be pet-friendly?

A: Homes that are pet friendly receive 10% more bookings, so we highly recommend being pet friendly with a pet fee for deep cleans after. 

Q: What kind of insurance do I receive for any guest damage?

A: Any damage from guests is covered by insurance by being on Wander!

Q: I don’t self-manage, how does the transfer from an old third-party property manager work?

A: Most old third-party property managers require 30 days' notice, below are outlined the steps.

1. The owner introduces Wander to their owner relations representative over email. 
2. Old property managers export an Excel or PDF of all booking data for the home, both historical and future, both for the owner’s records and accurate pricing analysis. 
3. Wander Concierge will enter all bookings into WanderOS based on the exported PDF, which owner relations will hand off to them. 
4. The old property manager pauses all availability 30 days from signing and ceases managing the bookings (ie: cleaning and communication) for all bookings with a check-in date within 30 days. 
5. The old property manager gives access information, and WiFi codes, and removes any of their marketing materials after the last reservation with a check-in date within 30 days of signing. 
6. Wander Concierge will reach out to upcoming guests and manage all reservations with a check-in date after 30 days, and the old property manager pays out the owner as usual for the existing bookings including any cleaning fees collected 

Q: Who sources the local vendors/cleaning crews? 

A: Wander has a dedicated property management recruiting team. Our operations currently manages 375+ local vendors across the United States. Our team for each home includes a local cleaning crew, a local maintance person, and a dedicated regional Wander Property Manager who coordinates the local representatives. 

Q: What are the hospitality discounts and how much are they?

A: When you set up your home to become a Wander, you recieve the items for your home at hospitality partnership prices. 

Crate and Barrel - average 15%

Article - average 10%

Dyson - average 15%

Rove Concepts - average 25%

Parachute - average 30%

Four Hands - average 40%

Amazon & Wayfair - average 10%

Q: How soon is a home setup (adding Wander amenities) after signing?

A: All setups take place 3 weeks out from signing. They consist of 5 setup days and 3 marketing days.

Q: How soon is a marketing launch?

A: Upon signing, pre-launch teasing materials to fill the waitlist are gathered the first available 1 day a week out, or the first available 1 day, 30 days out if transferring from an existing third-party property manager. Additional marketing material of improvements is gathered the first available 3 days post-setup dates. 

Q: How much does a Wander home setup cost?

A: A Wander home setup package cost $35,000 including all logistics, hotelification, and content creation. Interior redesign packages are quoted seperately.  

Q: How does pricing work? 

A: We look at your home’s historical booking data and data for similar homes in the area – to find the pricing for the seasons to hit a goal of 90% occupancy. 90% means the home is priced as high as possible and to get the maximum number of bookings without being too high that occupancy is lower. 

Lower occupancy at a higher price means less revenue overall if occupancy is below 90%, see below:

• Home 1 – charges $5,000 per night and in June 2023 only rented out 5 nights (implied occupancy of 17%). The total revenue generated was $25,000
• Home 2 – charges $2,000 per night and in June 2023 rented out 27 nights (implied occupancy of 90%). The total revenue generated was $54,000

In the above example, Home 1 may have had the higher “sticker price,” but actually generated far less revenue than Home 2.

The daily dynamic pricing calendar is available for Owners to view on their Owners Dashboard and Wander welcomes feedback and/or collaboration to help Owners achieve their goals.

Q: How do I know operating costs?

A:  Financial Statement are currently sent out on the 20th of the month. These statements contain all revenue and operating costs.

Q: Who is my point of contact?

A: Here are your dedicated representatives!

1) Your dedicated Owner Relations Representative: performance reports, pricing, higher level partnership discussions

2) Your dedicated Project Manager: home setup questions

3) Your dedicated Property Manager: any operational home-related questions or requests