We recently surveyed our guests and discovered some interesting facts and suggestions.  These might be of interest if you are considering renting our home.  

• Over half of guests had visited Estes before (58%)
• Nearly all of our guests had previously stayed at Vacation Rentals (lots of times)
• Nearly all of our guests had previously used VRBO.com (lots of times)
• Most of our guests had looked at our website prior to visit (85%)
• Top 3 Reasons in order of preference for selecting the Overlook
  • Good Reviews and Pictures/Description (Tied)
  • Price
• Most attractive features Prior to visit
  • Location
  • 3-Bedroom
• Most attractive feature After visit
  • Location
  • Kitchen
  • Yard and Horse Shoes
• All said pricing was FAIR (not too low or too high)
• Suggested features we currently have but should promote more
  • Location (several listed)
  • The Shining (movie) Theme
  • History of the Overlook
  • Comfort and Furnishings (several listed)
  • WiFi and TVs
  • Heated Toilet Seats (several listed)
  • All the Unexpected Extras (several listed)
  • All of the Useful Notes and Tips
• Suggested Improvements
  • Provide More Firewood
  • Add a Colander in Kitchen for Straining Pasta
  • Front Bedroom Bed Too Soft

After reviewing these results, we installed a firewood station where guests can purchase additional firewood (beyond the amount we provide for free) for $5 per bucket or bundle.  This limits the amount of time our guests have to spend going into town and purchase more firewood when necessary.   We also realized that some guests were not finding our collapsible colander and therefore added a new more visible one for their convenience.   

A big thanks to our guests that participated in this survey.  We really appreciate you taking the time to provide this useful information.

We always supply one free bundle/bucket of firewood, lighter fluid, matches and kindling.  However, many of our guests enjoy using our fire pit to make s'mores, roast hot dogs, or just enjoy the great outdoors.  As a result, it is not uncommon for our guest to need more firewood during their stay.  Many guest do not use any firewood.  We have found it impossible to guess how much firewood a guest might need, and we are often caught off guard with the amount some will consume.  We have even seen guests go through more than 10 bundles of firewood in just two days! Since this requires trips into one of the many Estes Park stores, and many of our guest dislike jumping in their car all of the time, we set up a self serve honor system for firewood.  Each additional bucket is just $5.  We hope this will be a convenient option for our fire loving guests.