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Too Big vs Well Equipped

Published on Jun 03, 2024

Is 360 Blue too big? It’s a question that comes up with some regularity.

And it’s a fair question. We are, after all, the largest luxury vacation rental management company on the Florida Panhandle, with over 750 homes in our care. What accounts for our size and our growth? We continue to meet the needs of our homeowners with the home care we provide and the revenue we generate. We also continue to please guests, making their vacations here on the Emerald and Forgotten Coasts unforgettable.

Over the years, we have made it a priority to enhance our resources on a scale that exceeds our growth. Today, we have one of the highest employee-to-property ratios, with just over four employees for every home in our portfolio. By adhering to this philosophy, we’ve managed to make our size one of our most valuable assets. In short, it has allowed us to maximize our client’s rental income, maintain higher property standards, and provide an exceptional guest experience.

Here are a few specific examples:

Maintenance

We have a vast in-house Maintenance team with skilled technicians on staff—many of whom have certifications in HVAC, AV, plumbing and electrical service. Their expertise allows us to take care of a tremendous number of maintenance issues ourselves rather than having to hire expensive third-party vendors. The result: A HUGE savings in maintenance fees for our homeowners.

360 Blue maintenance technician fixing a light on the balcony of a vacation home
360 Blue homeowner looking at their Key Data Dashboard on a laptop

Revenue Management and Technology

We have perhaps the finest Revenue Management teams in the industry using state-of-the-art rate optimization software. As you can imagine, it’s expensive to have such a staff dedicated exclusively to your home garnering the best rates as each season comes and goes, as demand ebbs and flows. But it is definitely worth it—especially to our homeowners. When demand spikes, our Revenue Management team raises your rates accordingly. When it falls off, they lower rates to keep you home book. The result: More money in the pockets of our homeowners.

Property Managers

We take care of our property managers so that they can take care of you and your property. How do we do this? By strictly limiting the number of homes for them to manage. 360 Blue Managers typically oversee around 20 homes. Our competition? Sometimes they’ll be assigned 50 homes or more. The result: Our Property Managers also stay with us far longer than the industry average, allowing our homeowners to come to know them over the course of years rather than a few months. They also have the time and energy to focus on your vacation home.

360 Blue property manager showing homeowner data on tablet
woman scrolling 360 Blue's monthly New Homes email on her phone

Marketing

Our size has allowed us to have an award-winning in-house Marketing team that develops and deploys the most effective strategies and campaigns in the vacation rental industry. Our segmentation strategies ensure that each home is marked to the right audience at the right time using the most compelling content. The team also works hand-in-glove with the Revenue Team—a dual approach that enhances the attention each property receives, generating more bookings with maximum revenue. And our database of known luxury travelers is colossal—more than 650,000 in total. The result: A marketing reach that extends to the most receptive audience possible ensuring greater visibility for your home.

Customized Levels of Service

The days of one-size-fits-all vacation rental management are over. Our growth has also allowed us to offer customized levels of service to address the specific needs of each individual home—from midsize luxury vacation retreats with limited amenities to larger multi-family luxury homes to landmark Gulf-front properties. In other words, we now have a branded program that’s far more tailored to the needs of each homeowner than when we were just 360 Blue. This allows us to vastly enhance the care each home receives.

two women looking out over Emerald Coastline from their 360 Blue vacation home balcony

Here's a quick overview of each brand: