01
Design that pays for itself
We style homes to photograph well and review well, because the listing photo is the entire sales pitch. Sourcing, layout, and the two or three details guests actually post about.
Own the shoreline.
We'll handle the rest.
Boutique short-term rental co-hosting for West Michigan. Design-led, data-priced, and run by people who actually answer the phone.
5.0
Average guest rating
8 min
Average response time
+21%
Revenue lift vs. self-managed
The premise
Most rentals leave money on the table.
Not because the home isn't good. Because the listing is doing it a disservice. Most short-term rentals underperform for three reasons, and none of them are the house.
Priced in January, forgotten by June.
Demand on the lakeshore swings week to week: Tulip Time, Coast Guard Festival, a hot July, a quiet Tuesday. A rate you set once a year is wrong most of the year.
Furnished for the owner, not the guest.
Guests book with their eyes. A home decorated for how you live is different from a home designed for how a listing photographs and a review reads.
Weekends spent on turnovers.
Self-managing means your Saturday is laundry, restocking, and a frantic cleaner text. The income stops being passive the moment you start chasing it.
What we do
Four things. Done properly.
Most companies do one of these well. We built Open Water around doing all four, because they compound: a well-designed home earns better rates, better rates attract better guests, and better guests leave better reviews.
02
Pricing that moves daily
Rates adjusted every day against local demand, events, weather, and lead time. Not a spreadsheet you update twice a year.
03
Hospitality, not ticketing
Guest messages answered by a person, fast, at any hour. Screening on the front end so problems don't get booked in the first place.
04
Ownership without the operations
Cleaning, linens, restocking, maintenance, inspections, damage documentation, tax guidance, and a clear monthly performance report. The home runs whether you're in town or out of state.
Want the deep dive? See everything that's included.
The payoff
You bought a lakeshore home, not a second job.
The messages, the cleaners, the midnight problems: that work is ours now. What owners get back is the part they wanted in the first place.
Sleep through it
Guest issues route to us at 2 p.m. and 2 a.m. Your phone stays quiet, and your reviews don't suffer for it.
Travel freely
Live wherever you live. Your home gets cleaned, checked on, priced, and reported on whether you're across the state or across the country.
Get weekends back
No turnover laundry, no restocking runs, no guest texts during dinner. Saturday is yours again.
Income that shows up
Payouts land in your account directly from the platform, and the monthly report tells you what came in, what went out, and why.
The process
From first call to fully booked, in six steps.
Consultation
A free 20-minute call. We learn about your home, your goals, and how hands-off you want to be. No pitch, no pressure. If we're not a fit, we'll say so.
Market + revenue analysis
We pull real comparable data for your street and your season, and tell you honestly what the home can gross, and what it will take to get there.
Design plan and sourcing
A room-by-room plan tuned to what photographs and what survives a season of guests. We source, receive, and install. You approve the budget before anything ships.
Photography and listing build
Professional photos, copy written like a boutique hotel, and listing SEO tuned to how guests actually search the lakeshore.
Launch
We go live on Airbnb and VRBO at once, on your account, under your name, with opening pricing set to build momentum and early reviews.
Optimize and report
Rates move daily. You get a plain-English performance report every month: what came in, what went out, and why.
What's included
Everything, itemized.
One service fee covers the whole list. No à-la-carte add-ons, no "premium tiers," no line items you have to decode. If the home needs it to run well, it's in here.
Get your revenue projection- Professional photography & styling
- Listing creation and SEO
- Dynamic daily pricing
- Guest screening
- 24/7 guest communication
- Turnover coordination
- Restocking & supplies
- Preventative + emergency maintenance
- Damage documentation & claim support
- Permit & lodging-tax guidance
- Owner portal with real-time reporting
- Direct platform payouts to you
- Monthly performance reporting
Let's be honest
The three things every owner asks us.
"What about damage?"
Fair question. It's the first one everyone asks. Every booking is screened before it's confirmed, every stay is covered by damage protection, and every turnover includes a documented photo inspection. If something does happen, we document it, prepare the claim, and walk it through with you. You're the host of record, but you'll never handle it alone. In our experience, the guests who break things book through hosts who don't screen. We screen.
"I don't want 2 a.m. phone calls."
You won't get them. We will. Guest messaging runs around the clock, and anything urgent routes to our team first. A locked-out guest at midnight is our problem, not yours. If something genuinely needs your input, you'll hear about it in the morning, usually with the fix already scheduled.
"It's my home, not a hotel."
It stays your home. Block your own dates whenever you want. The calendar is yours first. We design around the pieces you love rather than erasing them, your personal storage stays locked and untouched, and the place is staged, not sterilized. The goal is a home that hosts well, not a unit that happens to have your name on the deed.
Get started
Tell us about your place.
A free 20-minute call and a written revenue projection based on real comparable homes. Real numbers, no pitch. Send the form, or book a time directly.