Most owners judge a virtual assistant by whether the inbox got quieter. Clay Stagg had a blunter measure. Sixty days into working with his VRA virtual assistant, asked whether she had made a difference, he answered with arithmetic:
“Definitely. I would say honestly, she’s already paid for her first year of work.”
— Clay Stagg, River Road Reservations
River Road Reservations rents vacation properties along the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, Texas — a seasonal business where the booking, the turnover and the marketing all have to happen while the owner is doing everything else.
“She’s very precise and eager to learn.”
What She Built in Two Months
The work wasn’t what people usually picture when they hear “virtual assistant.” Asked what she had taken on, Clay listed things a rental business normally pays three different vendors for:
“She created a website. She’s created social media sites. And she is learning QuickBooks to help keep track of it all as well.”
— Clay Stagg
A website, a social presence, and the books — inside the first sixty days, from one assistant working the hours he set.
“I’m Getting Her to Use New Software”
The detail that matters most for any owner weighing this is how Clay described the ramp: “She’s very precise and, I guess, eager to learn. I’m getting her to use new software.”
That is the arrangement working as intended. VRA assistants are trained on transferable fundamentals rather than one vendor’s product, and VRA guarantees an assistant reaches 90% proficiency in a client’s systems within 5 business days of starting with them. QuickBooks wasn’t a prerequisite for the match; it was something the business needed, so the assistant learned it.
It is also why the check-ins exist. VRA checks in at 14, 30, 60 and 90 days, and when one surfaces a skill the business needs, the assistant is trained in it rather than swapped out for someone new who would have to learn the business from scratch.
How this works: VRA virtual assistants provide administrative, marketing, and customer support under the direction of the client. They do not provide legal, financial, or other advice requiring professional licensure. Access and permissions are determined by the client and are subject to the client’s own security, confidentiality, and compliance procedures.
The Math Behind “Paid for Her First Year”
VRA pricing is flat and published: $1,500 a month for a full-time assistant, $800 a month for part-time, with no hidden fees and no upcharge for industry specialization, subject to applicable agreement terms. Set that against what a rental operator would otherwise spend on a website build, a social media manager and bookkeeping help, and Clay’s arithmetic stops sounding like enthusiasm and starts sounding like accounting.
The point isn’t that every assistant pays for a year inside sixty days. It’s that the work an assistant takes on tends to be work the owner was either paying someone else for, or not doing at all.
Wondering what your first 60 days would look like? Take our two-minute Needs Assessment or schedule a consult.
What This Means for Your Rental Business
Vacation rentals, resorts and venues run on responsiveness — the inquiry answered in minutes, the turnover scheduled between stays, the review that gets a reply. A VRA assistant covers that administrative layer during your business hours, and, as Clay found, often the projects that have been sitting on the list for a year.
See what a VRA virtual assistant could take off your plate.