More Than A Room

06/16/2024

In their own words... ❤

04/24/2024

We love helping people with longer term stays, but booking those stays months in advance is necessary. Inquire and book early for a long term stay, regardless of the reason. Currently, we cannot accommodate long term stays before mid-October. Book now for winter stays, as these dates will fill up quickly.

04/21/2024

We love being able to provide that comfortable homey experience for our guests. 💕 March 2024 guests.

04/05/2024

We qualfied "Super Host" status through AIRBNB this quarter. Looks pretty impressive, right?

The real question is, what if we didn't have a Super Host designation? Does that mean we arent great hosts or not providing a good service for our guests? Or maybe you should only be booking with a Super Host? Answer: It could mean that, but in our case, no! We don't make Super Host or Premier Host status every quarter in ALL the platforms we use to generate bookings. Since we had 65 nights booked through AIRBNB in the first quarter of 2024, that didn't really leave much for many bookings on VRBO. We DON'T have Premier status for VRBO for this quarter.

Some of the criteria used by the booking service is the number of bookings you get through their service. Since we use both AIRBNB, VRBO those bookings compete with each other. Not only do we use those sites, we promote through social media, by being a member of the local Chamber or Commerce and take direct bookings. (Yes, we have the appropriate insurance and report those earnings to the State of Iowa and remit our hotel /motel tax.)

Statistically, each year about 50% of our booked nights are direct bookings. Most from repeat guests with family here in Bellevue. That alone and then add using two online booking sites...meeting Super or Premier Host status by attaining the minimum amount of bookings through a service each quarter is tough.

If all of our bookings were coming from one platform, without doubt, we'd maintain that Super Host or Premier Host status every quarter.

Will we continue to use these services? YES! Do we rely in them to attract 100% of our guests, NO, but they certainly help in the big picture of things. Plus, we will continue to use these online platforms when we a travel. They are a great tool, especially when traveling to an area where we have no ties.

So, what we are trying to say is, if you are using one of the online booking services to book your lodging when you travel, don't get too hung up on the host's 'status.' If they have a lot of good reviews, that should make you confident you are renting from a quality Host. It's hard to tell how many platforms they use. If they are using multiple platforms OR do longer term rentals in their STR, they may never qualify for that companies 'status' symbol.

Trust the reviews and look past the status titles.

03/28/2024

Eat, drink, shop, & stay local. Moore Local - Great post!

Eat like a local! We grabbed birthday lunch for Allison at Obie's Bar and Restaurant yesterday!

How can you support local business this long weekend? Post a pic of every locally owned business you check out this weekend and we’ll pick someone to drink like a local on us next week! You can have as many entries as businesses you support!

03/18/2024

"Do you take long term bookings?"
We get that question a lot. We love getting long term bookings! The problem we have with that, is most people don't ask the question until right before they need it.

As of right now, we have intermittent bookings up until September. We don't have more than 12 days between any of our bookings until after Labor Day. That makes doing a month or longer booking impossible up until then.

If you know of someone looking for long term 30 days or longer) accommodations for this fall or winter send them my way. Keep in mind, dates will be filling in, so book ASAP to hold the dates you need.

Long term bookings do get a steep discount too! The prices you see on the calendar are short term rates. (Discounts for stays over a week.)

03/18/2024

A big shout out to Shane at S &J Mobile Wash. We are so glad you are able to fit us in to help keep our short term rental looking beautiful. We will be on your schedule again this year. 🗓

02/17/2024

The basement living room! Probably the my favorite improvement that we have put into the house. The built in book nook under the steps created a nice use for that space that is typically underutilized area beneath the steps.

10/22/2023

The beauty natural beauty of Bellevue on top of the beautiful fall colors... It's no wonder why we host so many people in October.

This beautiful video says it all.

Bellevue colors

07/30/2023

Owning a short term rental is far from glamous.🙄 Although, as a rule, we are pretty fortunate. We rarely get guests that make us have to really work our butts off to get ready for the next guests. But every now and again... But seriously, in the big picture of things, it could be so much worse.

07/17/2023

White towels, white wash cloths. Why White? Because we want to insure things don't just look clean, but are clean. When we started this venture almost 9 years ago, we bought dark towels. I'm a bleach user. Those dark towels couldn't stand up-to bleach.

Of course, even with bleach, sometimes there are stains that just don't come out. Out with those and in with new ones.

06/09/2023

We just love to hear that there out people that love our little community as much as we ❤️.

Located along the Mississippi River, check out the great things to do in Bellevue, Iowa. Outdoors, indoors, and great eats!

05/20/2023

This area is amazing... come visit. 🙂

St. Donatus, Iowa.

02/25/2023

Remember the days of slumber parties with your friends? Our little guest house is a great place to do your girls weekend and have a slumber party with your girl friends. We'll even throw in the popcorn. 🍿

Plenty of Spring weekends avaible. Spring rates only $125 per night plus h/m tax.

01/09/2023

Hunters welcome. Spring turkey season is right around the corner. Book early. April will be here before you know it. Call or message regarding availability.

10/30/2022

We are excited that our basement family room project is what we can consider DONE! All of the construction part is completed. The little nook under the steps was the final part of the project. Still have a bit of furniture to finish to bring down. (A round table and chairs)

10/24/2022

Even though fall is here, I couldn't bring myself to throw out the fake flowers. I ended up pulling out some of the white flowers and adding some fall colors.

10/18/2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Moore Local, just one of the wonderful shops downtown. ☕️ Stop in on your next visit to Bellevue.

The world ✨ needs ✨ what Y O U got.
Stop in and warm up until 6! ☕️

09/24/2022

In September 2014, we had just bought our little house. We spent most of the month cleaning, painting, decorating and putting finishing touches on the house. We had it ready for our first guests in October. It's hard to believe this little venture started 8 years ago.

Over that time, we have worked hard to make sure our guests have a safe, comfortable and homey place to stay while in Bellevue. It's not always easy, but the great people we have met along the way, make it all worth it. We are looking forward to what the next 8 years has to offer.

08/29/2022

We get inquires for multiple month stays on a regular basis. It's hard to make that happen UNLESS IT'S PLANNED OUT AND BOOKED EARLY. We 'currently' have availability of a furnished rental January 1 - May 1st 2023. If you are doing a remodeling project, have family or business associates coming to town for a visit, don't wait to book. Book now! Dates will start filling in.

08/14/2022

HOME- We are so happy we've been able to provide a homelike experience for guests for nearly 8 years.

07/05/2022

I'd love it if they could keep the flags along the river, up longer. It is such a beautiful site.🇺🇸 (BTW... this is just a half block from the house.)

07/02/2022

Shampoo✔️
Conditioner ✔️
Body Wash ✔️
It's all about the little things that makes our place feel like home.

06/28/2022

Sometimes you just have to admit defeat....🙄

06/26/2022

It's been a busy couple weeks. Not only do we have have happy guests, but happy visitors to our town. It is always great to hear our town described as,"friendly."

06/20/2022

I love the clean crisp look of white. But even with generous amounts of bleach, make up stains weren't always coming out of my bright whites. Time for a little change. The new facial cloths are kinda cute.🥰 👄💄

06/08/2022

Over the years, I have had many guests ask about renting a boat. We are in a river town, right? You'd think there would be multiple places to rent a boat. I'm so glad to finally be able to give a place to contact regarding rentals. (Your are a forward thinker Dan! Best wishes on this endeavor.)

Rent a boat today, with or without a boat captain, and get out on the water! Browse our huge selection of boat rentals near you including yachts, pontoons, sailboats, ...

05/16/2022

Keeping up with the needs of our STR. There is always something to do. But we love every minute of it.

05/12/2022

Since 2014 we've been saying, "this will be the last year for this poor apple tree." We have threatened to cut it down and replace it with another. But with blooms like this, we will hold out one more year. 🍏 🌸 🍏

04/29/2022

A little something chill'n for former school mates.