My wife and I have been renting our vacation home for over 40 years with ratings above 4 and in the last several years, our ratings have been averaging 5 stars. We pride ourselves in providing the highest quality vacation stay. Unfortunately, Ms. Luther’s star rating of 2 is far from being accurate, very limited in focus and purposely omitting the overall quality of our vacation home, its cleanliness and available amenities. So, something is not so clear with Ms. Luther’s review of how she responded to obtaining house keys and our handling the repair of a shower leak. Fortunately, there is another side to her perception, which Ms. Luther may have forgotten to acknowledge our quick responses. After further review, I’m requesting that the VRBO review team reevaluate Ms. Luther’s review and consider a removal or a re-rating by Ms. Luther. With all due respect, Ms. Luther claim of “terrible communication” starts we her. The rental agreement she signed explicitly communicates the transfer of responsibility and authority from the owner to the renter. Casa Franz is a short-term vacation rental with all the typical rental requirements imposed on Ms. Luther as a renter. We are not a hotel where management retains the sole responsibility for the occupancy issues of its guests. Ms. Luther’s expectation and her negative reaction to our text responses should not be the sole criteria for her review. Ms. Luther & her guests provided us with an ETA (expected time of Arrival) of 2:00 pm in her booking confirmation and specific instructions were provided to her “in advance” on how to gain access and parking permits to Las Gaviotas. The booking confirmation with a 2:00 arrival time provides for a point of contact with our Guest Manager, Rosalia Luna, should Ms. Luther have any questions or concerns. Apparently, Ms. Luther did not bother to read the instructions or perhaps she ignored them. With advance communication, to her arrival, we emailed Ms. Luther a Master Lock Box App requiring her to download the App to her cell phone. Again, the assumption being that she read and understood by this “communication” that she is the only person receiving the downloaded App and the first to arrive allowing her to retrieve keys to Casa Franz. The app cannot be transferred, nor would we allow it. On her late arrival, Ms. Luther texted me around 9 pm, to say that she doesn’t have the codes for entry. Our text responses were not meant to be rude. I texted her that there are No codes, it is a download app, and she is the primary and only guest to obtain keys. Then, she advised me that she wasn’t at Casa Franz but was in route to arrive around 10 pm. Her guests were now at Casa Franz expecting to get inside. I suspect it was a bit of an embarrassment for her. It appears that Ms. Luther dropped the ball in her “communication” with her friends. To help solve her immediate problem, we texted her an emergency code, which is used only in the event there is a problem with the Master lock App. This fiasco that she interpreted as a “rude response” is really a cover for her embarrassment which could have avoided if she had taken the time to read the booking confirmation or communicate in advance that her ETA was going to be delayed by several hours (8 hours in fact) and that her guests would be arriving ahead of her. Advance communication prevents most problems. We would have responded…thus, preventing a “no drama scenario.” With respect to the broken shower incident. Accidents do happen! Thing breakdown and we didn’t look to fault her children for this incident. Again, she texted me directly on Saturday evening rather than reaching out to the Guest Manager. I responded immediately, learned that her husband was able to shut off the water main. In short order, I contacted our Guest Manager to secure a plumber. But it became clear that on a Saturday night it would be a near impossibility to find a plumber. However, I was able to schedule a plumber for 9 am Sunday morning. We learned on Sunday morning that the plumber would not be available. We scrambled again, between Rosalia and me to locate one. The prospects seem dim. Then, Rosalia found a plumber, but his car broke down in route! Rosalia took it upon herself to drive down and pick up the plumber and had him available by late Sunday morning. Shower valves were replaced and by mid-noon, shower and water were restored to Casa Franz. Overall, we handled a water leak in short order with a 5-star performance, considering it was a Saturday night and finding a plumber was almost virtually impossible. But it was done. All in all, I communicated with Ms. Luther and kept her in the loop as to our progress as any responsible landlord would be with a renter. And of course, my main objective was to focus on fixing the water problem as quickly as possible. To that end, Ms. Luther and her guests were undoubtedly inconvenienced without water from Saturday evening to Mid-Day Sunday. We concurred with her text request to provide a 1-day refund, which we would have happily done anyway without her need of prompting us. Ms. Luna, our guest manager resolved it, and I am very appreciative of her quick performance without much of a word from our guests or Ms. Luther. This was admiral on the part of our Guest Manager, a FIVE STAR PERFORMANCE! And finally, regarding Ms. Luther’s Tennis Court complaint. She might have reconsidered booking Casa Franz If she had taken the time, to read about our proximity to the tennis court. But again, some effort is required to review, read and communicate with the homeowner about your vacation stay in advance. Again, no criticism intended. Hope that Ms. Luther will appreciate the behind-the-scenes attention to detail that we provided to her and her guests during her stay, including a bottle of Champagne to celebrate her birthday.

Thank you, Margaret! Rosalia Luna, our guest manager will be very pleased with your comments and rating. We try with continuous quality improvement...no detail is too small to have Casa Franz have a unique look and feel... Any suggestion for a better stay is welcomed. Let us know. Amy & Arturo Franz

Thank you for your review. Rosalia Luna, our Guest Manager will very pleased to hear.

Thank you, we are glad you had a good stay.

Thank You! We look forward to your future 3 day stay. You get 50% discount off your 4th day! Any day any time!

Thank you! We look forward to your future 3 day stay! And, we will provide you with a 50% discount on your 4th day.

Thank You. We look forward to your future stay.

Thank You. We look forward to your future stay.

Let’s make it more memorable with a future stay and we are sure to work the fees in your favor!

Carly, well its that time again. As a repeat guest, Amy & I are happy to provide you with a good discount on your next 3 day stay!

Hi Jennifer & family...Thank You for your review. As previously mentioned, for your 3 day stay, you are entitled to an addl extra free day on your next booking of 3 days....Look forward to having you stay...

Hi Josh...thank you for the review. Since you booked 3 days, as part of our reward program, you as a repeat primary guest, you get an extra free night on your next booking of 3 days or more.

Hi Simon...hope all is well with you. Wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your review. As previously mentioned, for your 3 day stay, you are entitled to an addl extra free day on your next booking of 3 days....Look forward to having you stay at Casa Franz!

Thank you for your response....We look forward to a future stay at Casa Franz. Amy & Arturo Franz

Hi Page...This a very belated response, but wanted to Thank You for your review. And wanted to remind you, As previously mentioned, for your 3 day stay, you are entitled to an addl extra free day on your next booking of 3 days....Look forward to having you stay at Casa Franz.