Blue Heron Vacations has been welcoming guests to the Turks and Caicos Islands since 2020, offering both affordable and luxury villas on the island of Providenciales. Locally owned and operated by Claudius Williams and his team, the company manages 25 properties and focuses on delivering a truly authentic TCI experience.
Can you tell us a little bit about your history?
Blue Heron Vacations was started in 2020, and we have been using OwnerRez since our inception. The company is a locally owned and operated property management company with 25 individual villas under management. We specialize in both affordable and luxury properties on the island of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
What is your background?
I have a background in banking, accounting, and finance. I started property management and vacation villa management in 2007.
Were you always in VR or property management, or is this a 2nd/3rd career?
This is technically my 3rd career. Prior to working in property management, I worked in private offshore banking.
Are you from the geographical area where your properties are located, or did you move there later?
I am from the Turks and Caicos Islands. I grew up in North Caicos, which is another island in the chain, but I am currently living and working in Providenciales.
What do you love the most about the vacation rental business?
My favorite part of the vacation rental business is the people. We have a great team and an amazing group of villa owners. Our guests tend to be experienced travelers, and the Turks and Caicos Islands have a lot to love. It's exciting to be part of building a uniquely TCI (Turks and Caicos Islands) vacation experience for our guests.
What do you dislike the most about it?
Not so much a dislike, but more of a challenge is navigating the ever changing political and legal changes around renting short term villas. Although I understand the reason for our, and other's, regulatory framework around Villa Rentals, it can definitely be frustrating managing that in addition to owners and travelers expectations.
How do you use OwnerRez to manage your business?
For Blue Heron Vacations, OwnerRez is at the core of our business. We use it as follows:
- As a central reservation calendar
- The integration with QuickBooks is valuable for us
- As an owner portal
- To streamline management of information on our website via WordPress plugins
- To push information to Airbnb and Vrbo via API integrations
- To manage multiple owner calendars
What is the most useful feature OwnerRez offers?
It's difficult to pull out one particular feature because it is all intended to work together. That being said, for us everything starts and ends with the global calendar and its functionality.
Rooted in the beauty of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Claudius has built Blue Heron Vacations into a trusted name in villa management. With OwnerRez as the backbone of his business, we look forward to seeing his continued success in creating unforgettable stays and building a uniquely TCI vacation experience for guests from around the world.
