Courtesy of http://www.jenniferegbert.com/
When luxury travel meets concierge and innovation, something truly spectacular happens. That’s exactly what Omnifique has created, right here in Boulder. Omnifique is the world’s first premier luxury accommodation and full-service concierge firm, generating their clients an additional income revenue stream by primarily managing lived-in homes and often underutilized physical assets. We were so excited to chat with the founder Kate and her partner Pamela. In this interview, they share a little bit about how Omnifique started and what we can expect from the company in the future.
IN A FEW SENTENCES, WHAT IS THE OVERALL GOAL OR PURPOSE OF OMNIFIQUE? WHAT NEED DOES IT FILL?
We are an asset management firm representing luxury homes, yachts, jets and more. Think Airbnb meets Four Seasons. We handle every single detail of the process and our homeowners just watch their bank account grow.
For guests, we offer unparalleled concierge services including in-home chef, grocery delivery, shopping, goat yoga, babysitting, reservations and… well, literally anything (legal) they want! We Do.It.All. We call what we do “magic” because it really is. It sounds too good to be true, but we’ve figured out how to do it successfully.
Both the sharing economy and luxury markets are exploding right now and Omnifique is at the perfect axis that serves these fast-growing movements.
WHAT WAS THE CATALYST FOR THE CREATION OF OMNIFIQUE?
After more than a decade in corporate Marketing and Advertising I was ready for something new. So in 2016 to keep me busy while I decided what to pursue next, I started managing my friends and family’s homes on Airbnb. Taking the same professional approach as I would for every marketing project:
- Backend – professional photography, copywriting, research, general management including guest screening and hiring the best to fulfill this
- Frontend – storing all homeowner’s personal belongings so it feels like a 5-star hotel for our guests, including bringing all our own linens plus guest service while guests are in town
Immediately, I was successful in making so much money for homeowners while they vacationed and traveled for business. Very quickly thereafter, I realized this service didn’t exist and saw a market gap creating the company that’s now expanding worldwide.
Fast forward to TODAY, Omnifique has completely reframed the vacation rental industry by pioneering the asset management and concierge world.
We began in Boulder (where we’ll always have our headquarters as Kate was born and raised here) and have since expanded to Aspen, Hawaii, Sun Valley and are going to 5 more regions by the end of 2019 (Scottsdale, Hamptons, Santa Fe, Sonoma, San Fran).
FROM A POTENTIAL GUEST’S PERSPECTIVE, HOW IS OMNIFIQUE DIFFERENT FROM AIRBNB?
Why: “no surprises” … we’re different than individual homeowners due to the sheer fact that the guest has a guaranteed, consistent experience that would not be available to them otherwise.
We actually use Airbnb as a booking platform as well as VRBO, Expedia and over 100 more. Airbnb is not our competition but one of the websites we use for sales. Guests can find our properties on all booking platforms.
Why guests book with us over the exact same house next door managed by a homeowner is because of all our additional services, including:
- 5-star everything
- Sparkling clean guarantee
- White hotel quality linens (not homeowner linens)
- Luxury toiletries
- Hotel-esk state (removed homeowner belongings, including family photos, kitchen junk drawer, hidden clothes, pantry items and literally anything that can be deemed “personal”)
- Experience planner
- Concierge services
- 24/7 on-call services for any needs
- Welcome basket with local goodies
- And more!
WHAT IF A HOMEOWNER WANTS TO AIRBNB THEMSELVES?
More power to them!! What we do is extremely complex and challenging – there’s much more than meets the eye to be successful in this new and ever changing, Wild West-esk industry.
We bring in so much clientele in addition to “Airbnb” because we have an entire sales department, marketing budget, partnerships, and… well I can’t give away all our secrets 😉
I highly believe in hiring the right person for the job. I’m not going to ask my neighbor to file my taxes or a friend to perform a medical procedure. This is the same. Most Boulder properties are well over $1,000,000 – let the professionals do their job.
But, if a homeowner wants to give it a try – why not?
HOW DOES OMNIFIQUE SELECT PROPERTIES AND HOMES TO INCLUDE IN ITS PORTFOLIO?
Think Architectural Digest. We only represent luxury properties and we really like to see a home with:
- Stylish decor
- Killer location
- Unique aspects
- Pools are a big bonus
- 5-star amenities from the kitchen to outdoor
Also, importantly, homeowners that view this as a partnership and business relationship.
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR COMPANY’S NAME?
Omnific means “all doing and all creating” in Latin. We Do.It.All and truly make magic happen, so it was a perfect fit! And we changed the spelling to give it a French spin.
HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY INTERESTING OR NEW TRAVEL TRENDS FROM LARGE GROUPS? WHAT DO THEY TEND TO DESIRE OR NEED THE MOST HELP WITH DURING A VISIT?
We are hosting more and more corporate getaways. Everything from C-level retreats to off-site weeklong meetings to experiential vacations (seriously, nobody wants to have a meeting under fluorescent lighting!) and we provide them with anything and everything they need from whiteboards to cables to a private chef and more! Plus, many of our corporate guests really enjoy the discretion and privacy our homes offer. Research backs up this trend too.
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE SERVICE THAT OMNIFIQUE PROVIDES?
Twofold:
- Homeowners: Generating an additional income revenue stream, completely worry-free. They’re getting paid to go on vacation! What more could someone ask for?!
- Guests: Unparalleled experience by having our Guest Experience Specialist plan their entire trip including “locals only” recommendations, restaurant partnerships with exclusive offerings, and anything they could ever want or desire.
ARE THERE ANY SERVICES THAT OMNIFIQUE DOES NOT YET PROVIDE BUT RECOGNIZES A NEED FOR AND WILL INCLUDE IN THE FUTURE?
Nope. We Do.It.All for both our homeowners and our guests 🙂
DO YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER NOTES YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
We are pioneering this new industry and are the only “vacation rental” company that represents lived-in properties. Why? What we do is logistically extremely challenging – we transform a family home into a 5-star “hotel” in less than a day. The homeowner vacates the property at 8:00am and the guest arrives at 3:00pm. We have a fantastic large operations team to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. We provide an amazing experience for the guests then do it all in reverse to get the property ready for the homeowner. Basically the homeowner would never know anyone ever rented their house. They go on vacation, leave the house messy/as is and come back to a sparkling clean home.
We do not take a homeowner commission. We pay the homeowners the EXACT SAME amount as they would make doing it themselves. So if a similar property rents for $1,000/night – we offer our homeowner $1,000/night. We then sell our all-inclusive package to the guest and that is where we’re able to make a profit. No commissions, percentages or fees for the homeowner.
So, enjoy. We make it happen!