We are excited to feature and share the story of Mark & Antoinette Campbell, founders of Las Gaviotas Rentals. Starting with a single property in 2003, they’ve built a thriving vacation rental business in Baja California that now includes their grown children and allows them to give back to the local community.
Can you tell us a little bit about your history?
I grew up in San Diego, California. My parents took us camping along the beaches of Baja California, and I used to sneak down to Mexico to surf after school on weekdays and weekends in high school in the 80s, before there were cell phones. My wife, Antoinette, and I met at California State University, Fullerton, at the Catholic club on a trip to bring food and clothing to an orphanage in Baja. Later, while married and with our five children, we stayed at the complex, Las Gaviotas, where we eventually bought our first rental home. Surfing in front of the complex is well known among the Southern California surf community. I still surf whenever I am there.
What is your background?
My major was in International Business with a Minor in French Language and French Business Practices. I studied in Southern California and in France. Out of college, I worked three years for a Korean/Japanese Joint Venture on Guam as a Project Manager building the Hyatt Regency Guam. From there, three years of internal sales processing for a San Diego-based computer chip manufacturer. Then, I worked for 29 years with the US Department of Justice. Three of those years, our family lived in Managua, Nicaragua, working at the US Embassy.
Were you always in vacation rentals or property management, or is this a second or third career?
This is a fun side hustle for me that helps support a family of seven. I enjoy the creativity of website building and the joy of providing vacations to families while enjoying the homes ourselves.
What do you love most about the vacation rental business?
Guests of the vacation rental business are always happy to speak with you. They like discussing their vacation, family, plans, and experiences. It is almost always pure joy. If you provide a good product, rarely is there a difficult conversation. Our now-grown children work in the family business. One daughter creates social media content. Another is an interior decorator. And one of our sons helps manage our website, which is hosted through GoDaddy but uses the OwnerRez widgets.
What do you dislike the most about it?
Occasionally, in the busy season, in our case, July and August, things get hectic, and family time suffers.
How do you use OwnerRez to manage your business?
I cannot imagine life without OwnerRez. We own three properties that are automated with OwnerRez. Guests use the OwnerRez “Book Now” feature with credit card processing and the guest portal, making our job easy.
What is the most useful feature OwnerRez offers?
The OwnerRez feature we like most is the Availability Calendar. Our guests can search their desired weekend for homes that are available and glance at the names and size of homes. Guests can also do this by using the filter when conducting a search (dates, number of guests allowed, oceanfront vs oceanview, price, etc). The widgets that OwnerRez provides allow us to be creative with the WordPress website that we manage.
Mark and Antoinette have built a strong family business in Baja California by combining their love for the area with a passion for giving back. We look forward to seeing Las Gaviotas Rentals continue to grow!