VRMA is proud to introduce the VRMA Accredited Professional Property Management Company (APPMC) Program. The APPMC accreditation program serves as a mechanism to distinguish vacation rental companies who meet defined industry standards of excellence in operating professional short term rental management companies.
The program serves as the gold standard for doing business in the vacation rental industry. This designation is awarded only to those companies who achieve compliance with the standards in performing these defined professional business practices.
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Developed by an experienced group of vacation rental professionals, with vast experience in operating a successful VRM companies, the standards address eight areas of the short term rental business as follows:
- Section 1: Accounting and Finance Management
- Section 2: Legal Compliance
- Section 3: Housekeeping and Maintenance
- Section 4: Human Resources and Personnel Management
- Section 5: General Operations and Administration
- Section 6: Guest Relations
- Section 7: Owner Services
- Section 8: Marketing
This program complements the Vacation Rental Management Certificate program, manager certificate program by defining industry metrics and best practices to operate a successful company.
Much like the certificate program, the company accreditation program demonstrates quality and credibility to the vacation rental community. Achieving the program standards assure guests and property owners that your company has demonstrated a standard of excellence in the vacation rental industry.
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Program Requirements and Process
Completing this application is the first step towards achieving company accreditation. In order to be eligible for the program, a company must meet the following criteria:
- Be a current VRMA member in good standing
- Provide professional property management services AND
- Have a current VRMP certificate holder on the company’s staff
To achieve the accreditation, companies must purchase the APPMC accreditation application and complete all eight sections of the application. The application requires documenting compliance with each of the standards by providing a brief explanation, supplemental documentation or an attestation to the standard.
The application contains samples and supplemental commentary on the standards to guide companies in achieving accreditation.
Multiple stakeholders from any company may provide input into the application (ie a company’s housekeeping manager may complete the housekeeping standards while the owner relations manager may complete another section, etc.).
An application can be completed over days or weeks and does not have to be completed in one sitting. You can save your progress throughout the application process and return to it as schedules allow, however, once the application process is started, a company has six months to complete and submit the application from date of purchase.
Once an application has been submitted, it will be reviewed by VRMA staff for completeness and compliance with the standards. Certain portions of the application will be shared with accreditation reviewers who are vacation rental managers working in the industry today, however, identifying information will be blinded from the reviewers. Confidential and sensitive information may be redacted from the documentation submitted to VRMA. No confidential or sensitive information is required for submission. In the event confidential and/or sensitive information is submitted, it will not be shared beyond VRMA staff.
It is recommended to thoroughly review the accreditation standards and gather the company’s supporting documentation before starting the application process.
Reaccreditation
APPMC companies are required to submit a reaccreditation application every five (5) years in order to maintain their accreditation. Companies must demonstrate compliance with the standards consistently and will be required to resubmit an application every five years.
Companies may utilize the information in their initial application as a basis for a reaccreditation application and provide updated information as necessary.
VRMA will notify the primary contact on the company’s account when the company is for reaccreditation, however, it is the company’s responsibility to ensure that they are aware of their reaccreditation date.
Pricing
The price of the initial accreditation application is $550 and is open to VRMA members only.
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Development Process
In 2018, VRMA announced the launch of the Vacation Rental Management Certificate program, which serves as a mechanism to distinguish individual professional property managers in the industry. The next step in this process was to develop a program for property management companies to complement the certificate program and elevate professionalism for the industry as a whole.
The standards were developed by an experienced group of vacation rental professionals, with vast experience in operating a successful VRM companies. This group of subject matter experts carefully considered the areas of the vacation rental business that were critical for operational success.
Once the standards were developed, they were sent to the membership for validation. Standards that were not supported by stakeholder response were evaluated by the Task Force and ultimately removed. The final standards were reviewed by the VRMA Board of Directors.
The standards are reflective of industry best practices and can be implemented across the business, independent of the size or location of the company. There are many different methods for implementing these standards. The standards are not prescriptive in dictating exactly how they should be implemented, but rather, that each company implements the standards as appropriate for their individual businesses.
