Advanced Search

We have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions that pertain to owners. Please browse through this FAQ to help you answer questions you might have about Surf to Ski Retreats.

If you have a question not answered here, please contact us and we'll be happy to expand this FAQ for all our members!

Creating A New Listing
 How long does it take to create a new listing?
 How quickly will my listing be viewable by the general public?
 How do I request a new city be added to the website?
 The currency I accept is not listed, how can it be added?
 Can I add my own rental website URL to my listing?
 How many photos can I add to my listing?
 What photo (file) types do you accept?
 Do you charge to scan and upload pictures?
 How much text can I add to my listing?
 What are the prices for your products and services?
 Are there any hidden costs or fees?
 Can I include more than one property per listing?

Products, Promotions & Discounts
 What products and services do you offer?
 Is there a referral program?
 How can I add my retreat to the Featured Retreats section?
 How can I buy advertisement space?
 Do you offer discounts for multiple listings?
 How do your prices compare to other sites?
 Can I purchase a product that runs longer than the Basic Listing product?
 What is your refund policy?
 Do you have a guarantee policy?

Account Management
 Can I make changes to my listings online 24/7?
 What is the availability calendar?
 How do I update my availability calendar?
 Can I customize my calendar?
 The email I sent to a vacationer bounced back to me, what can I do?
 A retreat review was written by someone who did not stay at my property. What can I do?
 My listing has been copied by someone else, what can I do?
 I can't add or delete photos, what do I do?
 What restrictions do you have for rental pictures?
 How do I make a payment?
 What forms of payment do you accept?
 My local area map does not show correctly, what can I do?
 Can I change my listing to advertise a different property?
 How do I transfer a listing?
 How can I disable/re-enable my listing?
 Can I convert a vacationer message into an online reservation entry?
 What reports do you offer?

Spam
 What is spam?
 How am I protected from spam?
 How can I report a message as spam?

Profile Management
 How do I change my user name or email address?
 I can't register, why?

General
 What do I do if I forget my user name or password?
 What measures are in place to protect my personal information?
 How are the listings sorted?
 Does Surf to Ski Retreats handle reservation bookings?
 What do I need to know about lodging taxes in my local area?

Q: How long does it take to create a new listing?
A: A few short minutes. We have developed a short form that is intuitive and collects all the basic information to get your vacation rental listed and active. Once your listing is created, you can manage it from your Management Center and update all the detailed information at any time.

Q: How quickly will my listing be viewable by the general public?
A: Immediately. There is no approval process or waiting for us to upload pictures, or any content. You're in control of your listing. Once you complete the Basic Information page, it will be activated. You can then add more detailed information including pictures, rates, policies and more.

Q: How do I request a new city be added to the website?
A: Contact us and we will add it to the database. Please tell us the Country, State/Province and City name. We'll let you know once it has been added and you can then edit your geographic location to the new city. You can edit/change your geographic location at any time.

Q: The currency I accept is not listed, how can it be added?
A: Contact us and we will add it to the database. We have selected the most widely used currencies and that list will grow as our Owner base grows around the world.

Q: Can I add my own rental website URL to my listing?
A: Yes! We do not charge for this service. It's free for all Owners. You can add your website URL by visiting the Detailed Information page when managing your listing. We reserve the right to remove any URL that links to an inappropriate website.

Q: How many photos can I add to my listing?
A: UNLIMITED! Unlike other websites, we do not charge you for extra pictures, or text!

Q: What photo (file) types do you accept?
A: You may upload GIF or JPG files. Files must be less than 2 MB in size. Each file must also have a unique name - you can not upload the same file name twice.

Q: Do you charge to scan and upload pictures?
A: No. This service is included in the price of having Surf to Ski Retreats manually create your listing for you. However, if you need us to scan the pictures for an existing listing, please contact us before sending us the images.

Q: How much text can I add to my listing?
A: UNLIMITED! Some fields do have a length restriction, due to website layout and architecture, but the most important fields are unlimited.

Q: What are the prices for your products and services?
A: Please visit our products page for the latest products and prices.

Q: Are there any hidden costs or fees?
A: No. We do not believe in charging you extra for things you don't need or want. All that is required for you to list your vacation rental is a Basic Listing product. All our products, services and prices are listed on our products page.

Q: Can I include more than one property per listing?
A: No. We encourage you to create a unique listing for each vacation rental you have. We enforce this policy because we want you to maximize your revenue and vacationers may be confused if they see mixed messages in a listing when it describes two different properties. The only exception is for multi-room properties such as B&B's, hotels, motels and inns.

Q: What products and services do you offer?
A: We have a wide variety of products to help you market your vacation rental depending on its location, activities or to allow you to reach out to vacationers who search a certain way. Please visit our products page for the latest products and prices.

Q: Is there a referral program?
A: YES! You can earn 3 free months of Basic Listing for one of your listings for every owner you bring to Surf to Ski Retreats. There is no limit to the number of referrals you can earn! Read the full referral program details.

Q: How can I add my retreat to the Featured Retreats section?
A: Participation in the Featured Retreats section is achieved by purchasing this product. Learn more about this product.

Q: How can I buy advertisement space?
A: If you are an Owner, you can purchase this product for one of you listings via your Management Center. If you wish to purchase a general ad, please contact us and we'll work out the details with you. Learn more about our advertising products.

Q: Do you offer discounts for multiple listings?
A: YES! If you're an owner/manager/agent that wishes to list more than one vacation rental, we offer an automatic discount for your second, or more, listing. Learn more about this program.

Q: How do your prices compare to other sites?
A: We are extremely competitive and believe you should get more for you dollar, and it should cost less! Our prices are below the industry average, but we don't skimp on service. You will get professional and prompt customer support with Surf to Ski Retreats. Learn more about our prices and how we compare to the competition.

Q: Can I purchase a product that runs longer than the Basic Listing product?
A: No. The end date of any other product you wish to buy can not exceed the end date of your Basic Listing. We offer many durations and you can select a shorter product duration, or extend your Basic Listing and buy that longer running product.

Q: What is your refund policy?
A: Please visit our refund page to learn more about obtaining a refund.

Q: Do you have a guarantee policy?
A: YES! We believe so strongly in this business and industry that we can offer you a guarantee. Learn more.

Q: Can I make changes to my listings online 24/7?
A: YES! You can access your account 24/7 and manage your listings, profile, billing, run reports and more!

Q: What is the availability calendar?
A: This calendar is generated based on the reservations you have listed with Surf to Ski Retreats. The calendar will show check-in/check-out dates, any special discounted dates or if the retreat is unavailable. It is important to keep your reservations up to date so the calendar shows the correct dates it is available. Your reservation details are not shown to vacationers, only the dates the retreat is booked.

Q: How do I update my availability calendar?
A: Log into your account then manage one of your listings. Each listing has it's own calendar. By updating/managing your reservations you are automatically updating the availability calendar.

Q: Can I customize my calendar?
A: To keep our site consitent you are not able to change the layout or color scheme of the calendar. Every listing has its own calendar and each calendar is unique.

Q: The email I sent to a vacationer bounced back to me, what can I do?
A: Sometimes an incorrect email is enter because of user error. If they included a phone number, call them. If you feel you were sent a spam message from a fictitious email, please contact us and we'll block the email address and IP address so other owners are not troubled by the same person.

Q: A retreat review was written by someone who did not stay at my property. What can I do?
A: Please contact us immediately and we will investigate the issue. While under investigation the review will be suspended.

Q: My listing has been copied by someone else, what can I do?
A: If your content has been copied by another Surf to Ski Retreats owner, please contact us. Unfortunately this does happen sometimes and we encourage all our owners to write their own listing content. This way you are not confusing potential renters.

Q: I can't add or delete photos, what do I do?
A: Please contact us and we'll assist you.

Q: What restrictions do you have for rental pictures?
A: You have the ability to upload your own images and have them instantly published. There is no approval needed. However, there are a few rules regarding the images you upload. All images must be either a jpg or gif file format and no larger than 2 MB. Images must be related to your vacation rental and can not be considered obscene or inappropriate for a family friendly website. Images must also be free of any watermarks or logos, even if you are the owner of the image. Surf to Ski Retreats reserves the right to delete, or ask you to delete, images deemed not appropriate for this website. If you have nay questions about our vacation rental image policy, please contact us.

Q: How do I make a payment?
A: Make sure you are logged in and from your Management Center you can access the Billing and Invoice system. From there you can view any unpaid products or services. If you have a product that extends past your Basic Listing, you'll need to correct that before you can proceed to pay.

Q: What forms of payment do you accept?
A: You can pay online with your credit card, or via mail with a US dollar money order or check draw from a US bank. We encourage everyone to pay online because your products will be immediately activated. If paying by mail, you do not qualify for any promotions and your products will not be activated until your payment has cleared the bank. Our online payment system is secure and safe to use.

Q: My local area map does not show correctly, what can I do?
A: We use Google maps to generate the local are map seen on the listing page. Some browser versions do not support this feature. To ensure that everyone can see the location of your rental, upload your own map.

Q: Can I change my listing to advertise a different property?
A: Yes. If you sell your property and buy another, you can edit the listing to reflect the new property. You can not advertise more than one property per listing.

Q: How do I transfer a listing?
A: Contact us if you need to transfer your listing to another owner. There is a small fee as described on our products page.

Q: How can I disable/re-enable my listing?
A: Should you wish to remove your listing from the general public's view, you can do so in your Management Center. Each listing has its own "Deactive/Re-activate" button. If you deactivate your listing you will not receive any additional listing time.

Q: Can I convert a vacationer message into an online reservation entry?
A: YES! When reading the message in your Message Center, you can click a link that will automatically populate the new reservation page where you can change any of the inofmration before saving it. All that is required to make a reservation entry are the check-in and check-out dates.

Q: What reports do you offer?
A: We know you want to monitor the success of your listing and generate as much revenue as possible so we have created a number of free reports for you to use:
     Number of Page Views
     Number of Inquiries Received
     Number of Email a Friend Actions
     Number of Print Details Actions
     Number of Add to My Favorites Actions
     Past Invoices
     Reservations & Revenue
     Specialty Reports for Each Advertising Product
If you need a different or new report, tell us and we'll add it for all owners!

Q: What is spam?
A: Spam is a message you received that is a copy sent to many people, or a message you would not normally accept.

Q: How am I protected from spam?
A: Our online forms are powered by anti-spam filters that help block unwanted messages.

Q: How can I report a message as spam?
A: If you receive a message you consider to be spam, please select the SPAM link next to the message and it will be added to our filter. You may also contact us and we'll help you deal with the spam you're receiving.

Q: How do I change my user name or email address?
A: Make sure you log into your account and within the Management Center you can update your profile. From there, you'll be able to change any thing you want about your personal or billing information, including your user name or email. Please note: Each user has a unique user name and email. You can not set either to one that is being used by another member.

Q: I can't register, why?
A: Make sure the user name and email you're using is unique as you can not use a user name or email from another member. If you need any assistance registering, please contact us and we'll help you.

Q: What do I do if I forget my user name or password?
A: Visit the forgotten password page. Enter either your user name or email and you'll be able to answer your security question. If you can't remember your user name, please refer to your welcome email we sent you when you registered. It will be in there. If you still require assistance, please contact us and we'll be happy to assist you.

Q: What measures are in place to protect my personal information?
A: We take security very seriously. We have developed a number of electronic, physical and managerial protocols to protect your information.

Q: How are the listings sorted?
A: We have developed very powerful algorithms that sort listings based on wide variety of criteria. These sorting algorithms change on a weekly basis so that the list changes and gives each listing an equal opportunity to be shown at the top of the list. Unlike other website that charge you more to be placed at the top, we offer you the option to purchase specialized products that will allow vacationers to find your listing through logical searches.

Q: Does Surf to Ski Retreats handle reservation bookings?
A: No. Reservation booking is handled by owners. We do not charge a booking fee, nor are we involved in any capacity other than allowing vacationers to contact owners to make an inquiry.

Q:What do I need to know about lodging taxes in my local area?
A: We recommend you speak to a tax accountant in your area. Every location is different and you should contact a tax specialist that can help you understand what local taxes you may be responsible for.