Frequently asked questions

ZERO.

All listings are free for owners and you never pay us any commissions.  We make any payments to owners first (to cover cleaning fees, taxes, and any rent that is due to you) and then the remaining amount is the charitable contribution.

You bet. Geronimo is perfect for you.

If you have ever donated (or considered donating) some time at your rental to support a silent auction,  you'll LOVE Geronimo.  Geronimo gives you far more control because you set the exact dates, and you set the price that the renter needs to pay to book your place, and you keep half the rent (optional)!

Big advantages vs "old school" silent auctions: 1) No more haggling over blackout dates with winning bidders,  2) No more crazy low winning bids!

Tip- Watch our owner video.

Post your property and then ask the charity event organizer to use your property at their event and promote it to their donors.   We'll give them an admin account and create all the promotional materials for them.  It's all automated!

When you get a request for a donation for a silent auction event, here's a sample answer:

"We have posted four weeks at this property to Geronimo.com for use by charities.  Please go to our listing (http://www.geronimo.com/xxxxx) and print out a PDF flyer to promote one of the weeks (greatly discounted - 40% off!)  then promote our donation before and during your event.  We're moving our charitable donations onto the Geronimo platform so that we can maximize the benefit to the non profits and have more control of donated dates and rental rates. You should contact Geronimo.com (Charity Helpers, LLC) about getting them to create a private label site and give you full access as an "admin" so you can use our vacation at your next auction event!     Visit http://www.OneSpareWeek.com to get started!"

We recommend that you:

• Create a nice listing. Upload several photos and list all features
• Post a spare week or two now and offer an attractive rate
• Add "last minute" cancellations later based on availability
• Promote your listing to your regular renters and to friends and neighbors
• "Like" us on facebook and share us with your facebook friends
• Use Geronimo to handle silent auction requests and print PDF flyers for event organizers

Following the renter's successful stay at your property, we'll send you a check that covers any rent due to you along with any taxes, cleaning fees or other fees that you specify when you list your property.  For international owners, we'll make electronic payment through Paypal.

 Automated secure payments to non-profits are sent following the rental as well.  These automated payments are done through JustGive.org.

As an owner, you are in full control of dates available, the rates and the donation.  You decide if you want to donate ALL or donate HALF of the rent. The system gives you maximum flexibility.  

Example 1 (50%):
Your home rents for $300/ night or $1,800/ week.  Your cleaning fees are $200 and tax is 10%.  You told us (in your settings) that you want to donate half the rent.  A renter rents a week at your house and the total price that the renter pays is ($1,800+$200+$180) = $2,180.  Since you chose to donate half the rent, you'll receive $900+$200+$180 = $1,280 and the gross donation will be $900 (all handled automatically)

Summary : Total paid by renter = $2180,  Total received by you = $1,280.  
You'll receive a check with a detailed report after the vacation is completed.

Example 2 (100%)  You are feeling particularly generous about a specific cause:

You told us (in your settings) that you want to donate all of the rent (you are particularly fond of a specific charity or want to donate all for a specific period).  A renter rents a week at your house and the total price that the renter pays is ($1,800+$200+$180) = $2,180.  Since you chose to donate all the rent, you'll receive $200+$180 = $380 and the gross donation will be $1800 (all handled automatically)

Summary : Total paid by renter = $2180,  Total received by you = $380.  
You'll receive a check with a detailed report after the vacation is completed.

Definitely. Create your free listing now.  When your listing is complete, you will see an easy way to “turn over” the listing to your manager.  It is important to note (and tell your manager) that we pay all of the management company fees (before we make the donation) on every Geronimo rental to ensure that the manager has plenty of motivation to help you rent weeks on Geronimo.

Example: You donate a $2,000 week at your vacation rental. You indicate that you have a property manager that receives 25% of your rent. we'll send $500 (along with any money due to you and a detailed report) to your management company after the renters complete their stay. The remainder of the rent will be donated charitably per your donation settings  This way we ensure that your manager is paid FIRST.  Property managers LOVE Geronimo.

No.  There is no written contract for owners.  However, when you create a listing, you'll be asked to agree to our terms and conditions, and these terms and conditions spell out your relationship with Charity Helpers LLC and detail how we'll help you convert a spare week at your vacation rental into a big donation.  You will also be provided with a standard short term rental agreement between you and the renter. We provide you with several options for donation settings. 

Yes.  When you list your property, you have the option of entering an amount (up to $300) to cover your cleaning fees, and we'll charge the renter that amount.  We'll send this amount to you (or your property manager if applicable) by check or electronic Paypal payment after the renter completes the vacation.

You (the owner) are in full control of where the donation goes.  You have two basic decisions to make. 

1. How much do you want to donate (half or all)?
2. Where should the donation go?

When you decide 2) where the donation goes, you have a few options.  Namely:

• 100% of the donation goes to your favorite non-profit
• 75% goes to your non profit, 25% to the renter's non-profit
• 100% goes to the renter's non-profit

If you like Geronimo, please "like" us and "share us" on our facebook fan page. Tweet about us, send emails to friends, send the URL of your listing to people that have rented in the past, and if you know leaders of non-profits, encourage them to contact us to learn more.

Tell your friends at the next cocktail party.  Sit on a Geronimo beach towel on your next vacation. 

Click here for a bunch of great ideas.

We'd suggest that you consult with your tax advisor, but we located an unfortunate IRS ruling specifically geared to target donations of time at vacation rentals. In Revenue Ruling 89-51, the IRS ruled that the right to use a vacation home for one week, donated by the owner of the home to a charitable fundraising auction and sold for fair rental value, constitutes the "right to use property” and is not a deductible contribution.

The theory is that allowing the use of an otherwise vacant property does not result in a direct, incremental cost to the owner.  Also consider the example where you rented your vacation rental home and donated the proceeds to charity;  You would need to show the REVENUE that you received for the rental and then deduct the DONATION, so it would effectively cancel out.  Without showing any "phantom" revenue, a tax deduction is not allowed.

Please review our more detailed Tax Deduction Implications page here, and again, consult your tax advisor for his / her guidance.

Yes. When you list your property on Geronimo,  it's easy to specify the amount of your damage deposit, or damage waiver.  The damage deposit is released back to the renter AFTER you check things out to confirm that there is no damage. You may also make a partial claim against the deposit if there is any sort of problem.

The damage deposit is automatically refunded back to the renter 10 days after their stay if you take no action.

Alternatively, if you specify a damage waiver (not deposit) if you handle things that way. If so, we'll collect that for you and send it to you within your payment.

We have a whole page dedicated to this topic.  See all details and tax implications here.  Always a good idea to consult your tax advisor.

Internal Revenue Code Section 280A governs rules on the deductibility of expenses related to a second home.  Section 280A dictates that if a vacation home owner occupies the home for more than the greater of a) 14 days or b) 10% of the number of days that the property is rented for fair value, then the expenses related to the home are personal in nature and non-deductible.  

So,  if an owner  rents a second home for 30 days a year, then the owner can can stay in the home for 14 days and preserve deductibility, and if they rent the home for 200 days a year, then the owner can stay in the home for 20 days and preserve deductibility.  If expenses are limited due to excess personal use, then expenses are prorated based on the days used personally.  Mortgage interest and real estate taxes are deductible anyway, so these expenses are not affected by the proration rule.  

We are all about being fair to vacationers and to owners and non-profits. Our policy discourages vacationers from renting before they are 100% sure, and it provides a way for renters to recoup a portion of the rent that depends on how much time remains prior to the rental.  Renters may request a refund for any reason.  Please note that as an owner, you will not receive your 50% if the renter cancels his/her reservation.  The amount remaining after refunding the renter will go to charity.

AT LEAST 45 DAYS IN ADVANCE - Renter cancels at least 45 days before your first night, then renter receives 75% of the rent back. (The rest will go to the non-profit)

14-44 DAYS IN ADVANCE - Renter cancels 14-44 days before your first night, and renter receives 50% of the rent back. (The rest will go to the non-profit)

NO REFUNDS INSIDE 13 DAYS BEFORE YOUR FIRST NIGHT'S STAY

You are in full control. We want to show your property to as many potential renters as makes sense given your donation settings. You have three options within your donation settings. Namely:

1. If you choose: "I want my rental property donation to benefit a single non-profit.", Then your property listing will be promoted and visible only to renters that support the non-profit you select. Your listing will appear on the overall Geronimo.com site as well as on the private label site that we provide for your selected non-profit.
    
2. If you choose: "I'll choose a charity that will be the primary recipient of my donation and allow the vacationer to control 25%", Then your property listing will be promoted and visible to all renters no matter which non-profit they want to help (since a portion goes to their favorite).
    
3. If you choose: "I don't want to choose a charity. Allow the vacationer to control 100% of the donation" (often used by owners who want to collect 50% of the rental proceeds), Then your property listing will be promoted and visible to all renters no matter which non-profit they want to help.

Supporters of over a million non-profits can easily promote your property by simply sending out a link to promote a vacation at your property.  We have also built hundreds of private label websites for non-profit groups such as Susan Komen Foundation and Press On to Cure Childhood Cancer.   These non-profits are promoting their fundraising websites to their donors.  Your listing will automatically appear on all of these websites and (new) the non-profits can use a vacation at your home in a silent auction event.  You can easily set your silent auction settings (on/off, minimum bid) within your property's settings.

We do national advertising.  In particular, we are running national radio spots on CNBC, Fox Talk, MSNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg and many more. We are also running pay per click ads (google and facebook) and doing a lot of local grass roots promotions within key vacation destinations.  You may even see the Geronimo logo on a beach towel!

On our homepage, we feature certain properties that we think are of particular interest and each time you donate a period of time, your listing will appear at the TOP of our browse listings page. 

We hope that you will also get active helping us spreading the word about Geronimo!

Reach an entirely new group of potential renters!    We have over a million non profits in our database and we've built private label websites for hundreds of these non profits.  Some or all of these private label sites feature your property depending on your donation settings.

Your home is marketed to supporters of all non-profits in our system. For example, if a renter goes to our site and searches specifically for homes that will help his/her favorite non-profit, your rental will be promoted, since you're allowing the renter to decide where the rental proceeds will go.  Many vacation home owners use this option to book last minute cancelations and off season weeks and to build their base of "regular" renters... all at the same time!

Through Geronimo.com and our growiing network of private label OneSpareWeek sites, renters find a vacation that is priced right and benefits their favorite cause.  Who wouldn't jump at that?  This is a powerful promotional tool.

Yes.  Please encourage the Executive Director of your favorite non-profit leader to spend 15 minutes on OneSpareWeek.com,  we'll gather the necessary items that we'll use to build them a private label site.  

The non-profit will be assigned a unique URL (eg- yournonprofit.OneSpareWeek.com)... as part of our growing network of private label sites.  We'll provide them with a fully functional fundraising site within 48 hours of submission of their information.

In addition, their admin account will give them access to your property and others to use at their next silent auction fundraising event.  Again, we automate everything for them and give them all the tools to promote your listing.

Yes, we will offer “closed listings” that are only visible to supporters of a single cause. For example, as an owner, you may want to post a house that is ONLY available for rent by other families at your child's school. Geronimo will make this possible by providing you with a privacy code that must be entered by potential renters.  Currently these listings are ONLY available to those renters searching for the same non profit (part of your local donor community).

You can see all of the instructions for "whitelisting" our domain and for specific geronimo email addresses here

Yes, working with our partner JustGive.org, we will ensure that your donation makes it to any valid non-profit that wish to help.  You may suggest a new non- profit by contacting us at any time.

1) Make sure it is "rentable" (good availability at a good rate). We feature listings that we believe to be attractive to charitably minded renters that are looking for a good value.  We're not talking about bargain basement, but a discount of at least 25% off your regular rate makes it more attractive to potential renters.

2) Promote Geronimo!  We also reward owners and managers that go the extra mile by promoting Geronimo (decals, facebook, twitter, email blasts, website link, etc).  Once you have your listing(s) completed and approved, be sure to like us on facebook and then post a nice message to your facebook wall such as:

"I just posted my vacation rental to @Geronimo Vacation Rentals for Charity .  You can see my listing at http://www.Geronimo.com/XXXXX.  I am excited about the Geronimo program and hope you'll rent my property and help your favorite cause!" 

Note that once you "like" us, you'll be able to use the "@" sign to tag us in your post and your post will appear on our wall as well!

During the rental process, you'll be asked to agree to our terms and conditions. These terms and conditions spell out your relationship with the property owner, with CharityHelpers LLC, and how we'll convert your vacation rental into a donation to your favorite non-profit.

Once you have booked your vacation, you will receive a confirmation email with contact information for the Owner/Manager of your rental.  You may contact them directly to arrange for a key pickup and to receive any additional information about your vacation rental.

Additionally, the Owner/Manager contact information is listed on this site in multiple places when you log in.  On the Your Acount page, you'll see your recent rentals with the contact info listed (email and phone), as well as on the Your Rentals page.

Geronimo.com can not answer questions about keys, etc, however if you are unable to reach the Owner/Manager, please let us know and we'll be sure to help you contact them.

You simply browse vacations, find one and book it. You can select a favorite charity (that will benefit) if the owner asks you to choose one. If you do'nt see a perfect vacation for your schedule, click the "request donation" link to request donations from owners that have not posted when you'd like to go on vacation. Once you find the vacation that is perfect for you, book it and you'll receive complete details on who to contact to get keys and all other relevant information. Go on vacation, have fun and be charitable... it's that simple.

Our goal is to be fair to vacationers and to owners and non-profits. Our policy discourages vacationers from renting before they are 100% sure, and it provides a way for renters to recoup a portion of the rent that depends on how much time remains prior to the rental. Renters may request a refund for any reason. If you cancel:

AT LEAST 45 DAYS IN ADVANCE, you'll receive 75% of the rent back.

14-44 DAYS IN ADVANCE, you'll receive 50% of the rent back.

NO REFUNDS INSIDE 13 DAYS BEFORE YOUR FIRST NIGHT'S STAY

Any forfeited rent as the result of a cancellation will be divided between the owner/manager and charity per the donation settings for the selected period.

We hope that you'll like our idea enough to tell others you know about Geronimo. We greatly appreciate it when you:

• Click on our “like” links or “recommends”links to help promote us to your facebook friends
• Use a twitter account to tweet about Geronimo.com, follow us
• If you know leaders of non-profits, encourage them to contact us to learn more.
• Tell your friends at the next cocktail party.
• Put a Geronimo decal on your vehicle
• If you know business owners, encourage them to become a promotional partner. 

Get creative and we can get the word out fast!

You can see all of the instructions for whitelisting our domain and for specific geronimo email addresses here

Yes.. for sure!   Create your account by entering in your non profit information and giving us the building blocks of a OneSpareWeek website and we'll give you access to choose from $MILLIONS in donated vacations.   

Get started- go to OneSpareWeek.com and enter your non profit information (we'll use this to build you a full admin area and promotional fundraising website).

Good news!

• We have already gathered $Millions in vacations that can help your non profit.
• We help you with easy ways to promote your OneSpareWeek.com website including a predesigned flyer. 
• You don't have to do any regular maintenance on your website  

...so we estimate that this program will take no more than 1.5 hours / month (primarily just promoting your OneSpareWeek website).

We have created a special "self service" website that lets you build your own private label vacation rental fundriasing site.

Visit OneSpareWeek.com to create your site.   

Your non-profit will have its own unique web address (eg-  http://komenatl.onespareweek.com) that you can promote to your donors. Your OneSpareWeek website will include $ Millions in donated vacations that your supporters can book to raise money for your non-profit.  

We do all the work gathering inventory, building your site and ensuring that you receive your donations. You simply promote your private label site. Simple as that.   Your OneSpareWeek website will become your most efficient fundraiser.

We have a simple one page agreement that simply confirms that you plan to promote your private label OneSpareWeek.com website.  From time to time, we'll send you tips and suggestions for optimizing your results and we'll ask you to provide your feedback.  

You'll log in with your have a email address and password to a special non-profit administator area so you can view/ edit your non-profit details and make any changes to your photos, links, description, video, etc etc.

Yes and we encourage it.  With your password controled non-profit interface, you can easily add and promote partners and special incentives that encourage owners to add property listings and vacationers to rent properties that support your cause. 

For example, if a local restaurant gives you 10 free dinners for two, you may offer a free dinner for two to all vacationers that book a property on your site ("while supplies last").  Your local business partner is automatically promoted to all of your supporters and should be quite pleased with the exposure he/she receives. 

There are many things you can do to increase the effectiveness of  your  OneSpareWeek website.  We have summarized some of these best practices here.

Essentially, if you can get the word out to your donors, you should do very well with a OneSpareWeek website.  Suggestions for promotion include:

• Like our facebook page and post on your wall about your OneSpareWeek site and specific properties
• Print a promotional flyer (we provide this automatically in your admin area free of charge) and distribute it
• e-mails to donors, newsletters
• Tweet about us on twitter
• While we have $ Millions in vacations already waiting for your donors, it never hurts to ask supporters to donate a spare week

Shortly after the renters' vacation(s), you'll receive a check in the mail for the amount that is due to you. 

Automated payments to non-profits go out shortly after the vacation and will sent by a donor directed third party (JustGive.org). We will also provide you with detailed reports showing the name of the renter, the owner, etc. 

Note: You will not be required to send out any gift letters after receiving the donation through JustGive.org.

With the goal of covering our costs, Geronimo collects receives 20 percent of each donation.  Our costs include merchant fees (on the initial rental amount), website design, hosting, marketing and promotion, and staff.  Since the donation is taken out after the management company and owner receive their $$ in most cases, the actual fee varies (from a low of 6% to a high of 18%) of the total rent paid by renter and is based on the donation preferences that are set by the property owner when the time is donated. We are very proud to be one of the most efficient fund raising solutions for non-profits.

You should follow the instructions listed by your email provider for "whitelisting" Geronimo. This will ensure that our emails are not blocked or re-routed to your junk folder.   You can see all of the instructions for whitelisting our domain and for whitelisting specific geronimo email addresses here

Can we ever!  In fact some property managers have a new response to silent auction inquiries:

YOUR NEW RESPONSE TO SILENT AUCTION REQUESTS:   "I do all of that (charitable giving) on Geronimo.com now.  My owners have selected specific weeks and rates and in some cases specific charities that they want to help. You can go to Geronmo.com to 'claim' any of the vacations that I post for charities. Geronimo will even create promotional flyers for you and allow you to book the vacation right at your event!"  

We make it easy for you to

1) support existing silent (and live) auctions that you already support by giving the charity manager and easy way to print flyers, book the week and get you the $$$ as well as cover all owner costs and get the owner 50% of the rent (if you like).

2) promote your properties at countless other silent auctions.  Post off season weeks at reasonable rates and we handle the rest.  Log in and set your minimum bids now.

In addition, Geronimo is a great way for you to use a promotional week that might be given to you by each of your owners. You get the benefit of the tremendous exposure , the promotion of your company, and you're paid your commission when the property rents! Your listings are automatically promoted to well to do donors of charites all over the US (a list that grows every day).  In essence, we can become your charitable arm and put extra money in your pocket too.

Probably!   We are fully integrated with many PMS solutions as well as with the RAZOR-Cloud (switch) solution.  If you use Barefoot or Instant Software or Razor, we can easily import and promote your properties for you.  Setup is very easy.

We will feature property managers that are very active on our site and those that raise the most money for charity. Your logo, a paragraph and a link to your website will appear on every listing that you post on Geronimo. We also feature select listings on our homepage.  We have many new features coming out to focus on our property manager partners including complete software integration so that you can "set it and forget it" (never need to manage donations.. it's automated!).

Zero.  Free listings and no commissions to pay us.  You and your owners make some extra $$$ as well.

Yes. You receive your full commission payment immediately after traveler has checked out. At time of booking, we will send you a booking confirmation stating that we have received full payment. We mail you a check (with full details) as soon as the renter checks out. We will automatically collect the necessary payments to cover the damage deposit and cleaning as well (per the preferences in the listing that you set up).  Since a lot of our bookings are for last minute inventory this is the best way to facilitate payments.

We provide you with a login. Our simple property manager interface allows you to manage all of your Geronimo listings, create new listings and easily manage donations  We are also integrating with many software platforms (examples - Barefoot, Instant Software, VRM, Live Rez, etc) and we have developed a complete "set it and forget it" inteface so you never need to log in and manage donations.  It's all automated based on your preferences!

Many charities are already promoting all of the homes (with available donated weeks) to their donors and advocates through their existing channels and through white label websites that we create for them. In addition, we promote the Geronimo brand through paid advertising (national radio and google PPC) and our facebook fans help to spread the word about all new listings.   We also feature listings of particular interest on our homepage.  Your listings will include your logo, a paragraph about your management company and a link to your own website.  Listings are free.

We have over a million charities in our database ranging from small PTA organizations to huge groups like The Amercian Cancer Society, the Red Cross and Susan Komen Foundation.  Any of the non-profits in our database can benefit from this program (all based on your selection/ preferences).

Go to our homepage and type in any 501(c)3 and you see a sampling or click "search" to do an advanced search by state.  You (and the owner) are in full control of donation preferences.  You can restrict the benefit to one non-profit or make it available to many.  In any case, you retain full control.  We are also able to add new non-profits with a valid 501c3 status as well as non-profits based in other countries.

Yes. You (and the owner)  are in full control with Geronimo!   Let the renter choose the charity or select a specific charity.. up to you. 

We are all about being fair. Our policy discourages vacationers from renting before they are 100% sure, and it provides a way for renters to recoup a portion of the rent based on how far in advance they cancel. Renters may request a refund for any reason. You will receive an email notice if a reservation is cancelled and it will show up on your admin interface as such.

Yes. We feature homes that we believe are highly desirable because they have good availability at attractive rates. We also feature attractive deals on our browse listings page.  We always list the property that has had the most recent donation made at the top of our Browse Listings page so each time you make a donation, your listing moves to the top!  We'll also promote your properties in our newsletters to our database of renters.

"What's not to like?" - You will fill vacant time at your properties and generate revenue (for you and for your owners) while helping charities raise money, while you receive your full commission on every reservation.

It's risk-free and it'll help fill in the gaps in your rental calendar. If you have last minute availability throughout the year or weeks that sit vacant in the shoulder season and off-season, then Geronimo is perfect...and you're helping charities. It's a win-win.

You can see all of the instructions for whitelisting our domain and for specific geronimo email addresses here

If you use property management software (like Barefoot or Instant Software) chances are we can have you up and running in less than 15 minutes.

We can import your properties directly and  turn on a automated filters to control the inventory that we display to renters.  We tend to focus on last minute availability and on shoulder/off season.  We handle everything and our software is top notch.  

If you don't use property management software, then creating a listing takes as little as 10 minutes and we give you all the tools to donate a spare week anytime you like.  Geronimo is automated, convenient and reliable.

If you use property management software like Barefoot and Instant Software, we'll automatically update our site with any changes you make at your end.  If you do not use an integrated solution, then you can easily log into your Geronimo account and manage your listings.