Job Description

Who We Are:   

Equity Estates is an investment fund that owns and manages a portfolio of exceptional homes around the world. Our investors travel and enjoy these residences and benefit from any capital appreciation over the lifetime of their investment. 

Job Summary:  

The Associate, Trip Planning & Experience / NY Local Host and Property Manager is a key player on the Equity Estates Team – responsible for helping investors plan memorable vacations, attending to investors staying in our three New York City properties and proactively managing these properties to ensure the right care & maintenance for these residences. 

The employee will conduct meet and greets, stock groceries, supervise housekeepers, and ensure overall care & maintenance of the residences. It will be necessary to develop rapport and maintain relationships with the building and staff to adhere to HOA and building sensitivities. The employee will be responsible for anticipating our investors needs to provide consistently quality experiences to our investors. 

Trip Planning & Experience:  

Core  

• Manage trips for multiple vacation residences, including, but not limited to, itinerary development, travel planning, and specific vacation related needs. 
• Anticipate needs and fulfill them seamlessly. 
• Develop rapport and build relationships with those whose trips you plan, and likewise, with service providers who deliver services and activities in each destination. 
• Travel to domestic and international locations. Expect travel to be 5-10% as you help set up homes to standards or visit destinations to inspect. 
• Other duties that could be assigned and/or changed at any time. 

Research & Development  

• Research and recommend exciting activities possibly not generally known to the public, including off-season travel activities. As well as continued research on destination activities to find new attractions and restaurant recommendations. 
• Create and maintain a list of top picks and recommendations for each destination. 
• Develop relationships with a variety of vendors to secure preferred vendor contacts for our guests. 
• Site visits to the destination to confirm existing vendors, and source new relationships and options to always be presenting the latest and greatest. 
• Maintain updated destination planning information in Voyager on a consistent basis. 
• Develop sample itineraries for examples of wow trips 

Trip Booking  

• Provide booking confirmation to guests to begin the trip planning process. 
• Lead trip planning phone calls with guests to ensure a seamless planning experience. 
• Answer questions from guests about each property/destination and make recommendations on must see/must do activities. 

Planning & Coordination   

• Use all available resources to research destinations, offer suggestions to guests, and build exciting itineraries. 
• Make and confirm travel logistics, dining, activity and adventure reservations, spa reservations, golf tee times, along with VIP experiences. 
• Coordinate pre-arrival grocery shopping lists for stocking of the refrigerator and bar. 
• Manage ground transportation needs and be knowledgeable on car rentals and airline reservations. 
• Determine housekeeping frequency with Investor. 
• Proactively think about what’s needed to support a family’s experience while on a vacation including arranging for babysitting, children’s activities, and other family needs. 
• Coordinate reservations using Voyager and input reservations into Salesforce to generate final trip itinerary. 
• Send a full itinerary prior to each trip in accordance with planning guidelines. 
• Coordinate with local support to ensure all trip details are taken care of and prepared for the guests’ arrival. 
• Assist with creating welcome gift ideas for guests’ first trips. 
• Maintain fluency in all of the reservation systems’ functionality. 

Trip Management  

• Maintain and update resources utilized to support Trip lifecycle management 
• Confirm with local support for each arrival: consumables are stocked, grocery list received/purchased/stocked in the home for arrival, any welcome gift ready for arrival, arrival checklist has been prepared/completed, local host is confirmed for either in-person or virtual arrival tour, and housekeeping has been arranged accordingly for the stay. 
• Set expectations early on anything that the guest may need to be aware of. 
• Check in with the guests the day after arrival to ensure all is good and nothing is needed. 
• Monitor and ensure that all guests adhere to Equity Estates’ rules and regulations regarding max. occupancy, pets, smoking and age restrictions. 
• Respond quickly to any emergencies that occur during and outside of normal business hours. 
• Act as “traffic controller” for each destination, knowing which guests are in residence at all times. 
• Coordinate prospect tours and trips when requested to assist the Investor Relations team. 

Trip Closeout  

• Track and reconcile reimbursable expenses for each planned trip in a timely manner and ensure trips are closed out within appropriate timing. 
• Coordinate follow-up from post-trip surveys to ensure we are receiving the guest’s feedback.
• Handle any assigned cases resulting from a trip survey 

Local Host  

• Purchase pre-arrival groceries from the list 
• Ensure quality housekeeping services during daily, turn cleans and deep cleans 
• Conduct pre-arrival checks to make sure housekeeping is complete and home is spotless, pre-arrival groceries have been stocked, and all EE consumable items have been replenished. This includes setting the house to “welcome standards” as defined by Equity Estates. 
• Meet & Greet investors at the residence for the arrival. 
• Provide a welcome tour to familiarize Investors and guests with the nuances of the home. 
• Check-in with Investors once during their stay and remain available to them by mobile phone between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm to answer any questions and provide concierge services as needed. Respond to any requests during this time within 2 hours. 
• Provide concierge expertise and in-residence support to serve as main point of contact to assist with scheduling dinners or other activities, changing/cancelling activities, providing additional recommendations, etc. Ensuring all changes are updated to the Investors itinerary. 
• Contact the Member the night before departure to see if they need assistance departing the home by 10:00 am and provide a fond farewell. 
• Provide occasional support for Investors as requested during their stay. 
• Conduct detailed post-trip review to check for any items left behind or any damage caused by the prior Member. 
• Proactively maintain home inventory and consumable items to company standards. Replenish/shop any consumables needed to keep all items in stock. 
• Monitor and ensure that all guests adhere to Equity Estates’ rules and regulations regarding max. occupancy, pet prohibition, non- smoking, etc. 
• Respond quickly to any emergencies that occur during and outside of normal business hours. 
• Coordinate prospect tours and trips when requested to assist the Investor Relations team. 
• Receive and deliver all package and luggage shipments. 
• Periodic meetings to review current state, projects and other matters with Equity Estates employees. 

Property Management Services:

• Coordinate any property management needs, ranging from replacing lightbulbs, to overseeing the water filter maintenance, while remaining in lockstep with the building super and maintenance team to ensure all issues are addressed. 
• Weekly check of interior critical systems: Heating/cooling, plumbing, electricity to ensure they are in excellent working order throughout the home. 
• Coordinate all service vendors (plumbing, HVAC, Electric, etc.) in cooperation with the Residential Maintenance Manager and building super and confirm completion of recurring maintenance tasks. 
• Promptly support any information requests from Equity Estates employees. 

Experience:  

• Proven success delivering high-level customer service.
• Experience in creating and planning memorable vacation experiences for yourself and others.
• Solid understanding of home care and comfortable managing multiple vendors and stakeholders 
• Very good written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint), CRMs such as Salesforce and project management tools like Asana.
• Demonstrated ability to work on a team, cooperatively solve problems, manage changes with a positive attitude, and listen well.
• Ability to work flexible hours to accommodate clients and destination needs in different time zones. 
• Lives in New York City and has the ability to get to all residences within 30-45 minutes. 

Preferred Qualifications:   

• Hospitality or Travel Planning certification or degree a plus.
• Bachelors Degree from an accredited college or university.
• 3+ years of extraordinary customer service experience with a concierge, travel, vacation, hospitality, or customer service-related company.
• Proven ability to prioritize well and communicate clearly across all levels of the organization to both internal and external customers.
• Experience in problem solving and issue resolution.
• Expert knowledge in a vast array of vacation travel nuances and destinations.
• Ability to unpack and lift boxes up to 50 lbs.
• Very Good to Excellent credit. A report will be required.
• Fluency in English (Spanish, Italian, or French is a plus) 
• Valid passport (or appropriate documents and visa) to visit international properties. 

Benefits:  

• Compensation package commensurate with experience and proven track record. The salary range for this position is $50,000 to $65,000, based on prior experience 
• Eligible for discretionary quarterly bonuses 
• Health, vision, and dental insurance available. The company covers up to 90% of individual medical benefits costs.
• 401(K) with a 3% company contribution 
• Annual vacation and personal days
• Ability to earn luxury travel based on tenure

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