BnB Caretaker Needed - Trade for Room and Board

Montverde FL

Description

Searching for a retired or semi-retired person or couple with a reliable vehicle who can help me turn my cabin into an AMAZING Bed and Breakfast near Orlando, FL. You will be the host and caretaker of the property full time. The great thing is guests are mostly zero work when they are checked in and this will provide a lot of flexibility for the right candidate. Will trade FREE RENT in a spacious (1,200 sf) 1 Bedroom apartment below my cabin for managing my Bed and Breakfast property and guests. Will also provide gas money for running errands with your own vehicle (must have). Also, there will be a monthly CASH BONUS ($200 - $500 monthly on 1099) based on keeping a 5-star rating with guests and the number of guests we host during the month. Here is the deal... (Please read carefully) I am living overseas for the next year or so and need to find a trustworthy, no-drama, clean and sober person or couple to help with maintenance, home repairs, cleaning between guests, laundry, keeping up the yard and pool, gardening, light cooking and being a great host for our guests. Currently I have to spend money on the lawn, the pool, and pay cleaners to clean the property. I would rather invest that money in a great person who needs a place to stay and wants to enjoy a quiet, comfortable home, in return for doing those things, managing my property and giving our guests a great experience. I estimate the value of this offer between $1,750 - $2,250 per month or more based on local rates for 1 bedroom apartments plus natural gas, water, electric, internet, auto gas, and cash incentives all included. I will expect between 40-50 hour per week commitment and some odd hours at times depending on guests which comes to $30-$50/hr average. For the right person I will provide the apartment plus utilities and limited use of the main cabin when we do not have guests. For example, you could use the pool and the back patio and yard. I am even fine with hanging out in the main living area to watch TV etc. Will even allow your own family to visit as guests from time to time (on approval when guests are not at the property). The primary concern here is the guest experience by making sure the entire property is ready to host someone at a moments notice. We can't settle for sloppy or unreliable candidates. Will do a background check, drug test and will expect a number of references willing to vouch for you. Here is what I will expect from the successful candidate: 1. Welcoming guests and showing them around the property when they arrive. This should normally only take 15 - 20 minutes per guest but is very important to the guest experience. Having a welcome drink of water, lemonade or ice tea after a long journey and a smiling face to show them the main areas of the cabin and what to expect is the most important part of the stay experience. You will be the first point of contact for any needs they may have will on property and will need to provide a cell phone number in case they (or I) need to contact you. 2. Keeping the cabin clean and maintained. It takes 3-5 hours to clean the entire place and reset it between guests. We are planning to have 2-3 sets of guest per week on busy weeks and 1 or 2 on normal weeks. This means on average you are likely to spend 6-10 hours per week on average washing linens, vacuuming, mopping floors, cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms and dusting. Each time a guest leaves we will need to inventory the property and inspect for any broken items or damage to report it to whichever platform the guest was booked on for insurance purposes. Normally this should only take 20-30 minutes to check everything. 3. Maintaining the property lawn, pond and pool area. The pool and lawn is maintained by a service. You will be responsible to insure they show up and do a good job weekly. You will clean up the pool deck and insure there is propane gas on hand for the gas fire pit in the pool area and insure the grill is clean and grill utensils are clean and ready. The backyard has a large fire pit which must be setup and using a leaf blower to insure it is clean before guests arrive. Banana plantation which need periodic fertilizer. There is also a pond in the back yard which is mostly self sustaining but should be looked after and the pump filter cleaned weekly and weeds around the pond should be cleared out as needed to maintain a nice appearance. 4. WANTED (not a deal breaker): Someone to grow vegetable garden and chickens. Chickens that need to be fed and watered and eggs collected. I have chickens now and I would like to keep this going. Gardening is also important to this position. I am really looking to find someone who loves to garden and grow fresh vegetables. All of the infrastructure is in place but nothing has been growing since I am overseas. This is a wonderful past time and provides fresh food for YOU and our guests year round. Keeping this cabin and garden going is not a job, it is a lifestyle. Ideally one would spend about 2-3 hours every day working on these various things around the cabin. If you can handle all the other things but this is not something you know or are willing to do I will still consider your application. Also, if you have read this in detail then you should know to answer the following question in your application email. Please tell me in the application email what kind of food you like to eat regularly. Anyone who can't follow instructions and have attention to detail will not be considered. 4. Periodic home repairs. Changing A/C filters, light bulbs, broken door handle, leaking faucet, etc. is part of life at the cabin. As a property owner small things pop up from time to time and you would be the person to fix things. If you are handy with tools (I have a ton of them) this is fun stuff (at least I think so and I am looking for someone else who does too). In summary... This is a special arrangement for the right person or couple. I imagine an ideal situation would be a couple who is retired and looking to save/earn a little extra and wanting to stay busy with a project like this interacting with people from around the world who come as guests, gardening, and basically enjoying an amazing property in Central Florida. My 84 year old mother lives near by as well as my brother and sister and friends who will stop by from time to time to check on the place for me. There are video cameras on the property to monitor people coming and going. This is a VERY safe and quiet neighborhood with no problems, noise, or anything else. ONE SMALL CHALLENGE... The only real drawback I have found staying downstairs when there are guests is they will sometimes want to party and play loud music at night. Also, just walking around upstairs can be heard downstairs. For me it is not a big deal but for some people and light sleepers this may be difficult to deal with so I wanted to bring it up now. At the worst case a good set of ear plugs will probably solve the issue for most people but better to know now than after you apply and move in. WANT TO APPLY? I don't need a "resume" but please send a DETAILED email to describe why you think you would be a great candidate for this gig. Please be very honest and ask any questions you may be concerned about. I will not answer everyone. If I do answer you I will be looking to interview candidates when I return to Orlando the week of Sept. 23rd. Interviews will be at the cabin itself so you can see the place and I will make a decision by mid-October. PLEASE... If you skimmed through this and haven't read everything you will have missed things and I won't respond to you. I will know. Good luck.