Have you seen the Central Oregon movie?

If you have been to the movies in the last year hopefully you have seen this "preview" of Central Oregon before the movie starts. These "previews" are being shown in movie theaters across the state of Oregon. A wonderful ad created by the Central Oregon Visitors Association (COVA) to attract visitors to Central Oregon. 70% of the Transient Lodging Tax (7% Deschutes County) that we charge guests goes to fund the marketing efforts of COVA

Click on the link to watch the short "previews." They really are quite extraordinary.

http://visitcentraloregon.com/central-oregon-commercials.html

Mosquito Problem in Sunriver

Vector Control informed SROA that a giant hatch of mosquitoes occurred over the last couple of days. They sprayed in Sunriver July 27th and will start spraying again July 28th once it cools down to the temperatures where the spray is most effective. They try to avoid spraying on the weekends due to number of people using all the facilities and the number of “complaints” we get about spraying when people are trying to enjoy evening time on their decks, bike paths, etc.

We have received more calls today (July 28th), 30+, than in any other year in the last 15 years. It's not just one area in Sunriver, but everywhere that is affected.

Ariel spraying of the entire property is not an option; however they do helicopter spraying along the river bank. This was done last week.

The DEQ and EPA dictate what can and can't be sprayed so using something "stronger" is not an option.

The number of mosquitoes increases every time more water is released out of Wickiup into the Deschutes as it creates more standing water in marshy areas etc.

The Bulletin has run 3 different articles about how our wet start to the summer that actually broke some rainfall records, has in turn produced the little buggers in record numbers and thus we are going to have an above-average mosquito season. It's all related to water and hot weather and the fact that we live in prime mosquito habitat and July is typically the worst month for mosquitoes.

If you live by the river, have a pond or live near the golf course ponds it is no doubt going to be worse.

We could spray 24/7 and not get rid of them all. Remember that directly across the river are many acres of Forest Service land that receive no spraying at all.

Vector control is doing everything they can and will continue to do so, but we are going to have issues this summer. Please encourage people you talk with to make sure they don't have standing water anywhere, change water in bird baths daily and I suggest getting a big bottle of deet before the stores all run out!!

Written by SROA.

Deschutes County on David Letterman

You have got to watch this YouTube clip of "The Late Show with David Letterman." This is an interview with TV/Film Actor Riann Wilson ("Dwight" The Office). Wilson owns a home in Deschutes county and highlights the area and its beauty as "God's Country", as well as the efficiency of the Deschutes County Sheriiffs Department. What great publicity for Central Oregon.

Bennington Marketing Efforts

Now more than ever we appreciate the need for effective marketing. In May we completed a website update that allows us to track the effectiveness of each of our marketing efforts. We have also hired an internet marketing firm, Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc., based out of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Blizzard has extensive experience marketing vacation rentals and we are working with them on a long-term, multi-year project to increase our presence on the web. Bennington Properties currently leads much of the industry in online bookings, but we can not rest in our success. We must act now to ensure we keep up with the ever changing web.

http://www.blizzardinternet.com/

Here are some examples of some of the marketing efforts we are doing this summer:

Music Festival Ad

Sunriver Scene Ad - running all summer!

Summer Postcard Campaign - sent to all past summer guests

Summer Ad Campaign

Facebook Ad

If you are on Facebook you know that this is all the ad space companies are given. A very modest size, but because of the popularity of Facbook - amazingly effective.

- Robert W. Bennington

Operations Manager

robert@benningtonproperties.com

Highway 97 Construction Update

ODOT crews are continuing work on the additional two lanes that extend from the Century Dr / Highway 97 interchange to the Lava Lands Visitor Center. They have completed clearing all of the trees and under brush and have begun construction of the wildlife underpasses. Oregon Department of Transportation will be closing the Cottonwood entrance periodically throughout the construction.

Looking south bound from the Lava Caves entrance.

Sunriver Village is Coming Down!!!

The Sunriver Village Mall has a very different look these days. Building 11 (where Ridgepine used to be) is gone and deconstruction crews are slowly taking apart building 3 (where Bella Cucina used to be). It is great to see some movement (Finally!!!) with revitalizing the Sunriver Village. Thank you Re-Discover Sunriver for keeping up with your promises.

Sunriver Village Demolition Plans

Building 11 - Gone!

Building 3 is slowly being decontructed to recycle as many parts as possible.

A great time to renovate!!!!

The New and Improved 5 Lynx! Some of the properties in our rental pool are in their original condition and starting to show signs of aging. Sometimes selling the home isn't the best option. In many cases, we have owners with sentimental attachments who opt to renovate their vacation rental instead of sell. This is one owner's recent experience with doing a major remodel.

5 Lynx Transformation

Written by Mindy and Gary Alton (owner's of 5 Lynx Lane)

My family has made some great memories while staying at 5 Lynx over the last 10 years, so when the opportunity to buy the house became an option in the summer of 2008 we were excited and jumped at the opportunity! 5 Lynx was built in the early 1970's and her age was starting to show. The house had a great foundation, but there were a few cosmetic things that were holding it back and keeping it stuck in the 1970's, the interior lighting coupled with the dark woodwork paneling being the biggest issue. We knew with a few small changes that we could bring 5 Lynx into the 21st century! We bought the house both for personal use and as a rental property. We knew that if we were to increase our rental potential that we had to do some up-grades, both inside and outside of the house. We chose to start with the homes interior first. We hired a local general contractor to supervise and oversee the many, many projects that needed to be done. The only thing that wasn't updated in the house was the carpet, everything else was updated including the walls and ceiling being retextured, new appliances, new lighting, new granite tile counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms, new tile flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms, new windows through out, new doors and new millwork, even the toilets are new!

The projects started in November 2008, over the Thanksgiving holiday we were able to pick and choose paint colors, tile, granite and appliances. When we came back a month later what a Christmas surprise it was to find new appliances, counter tops, tile flooring, the new can lighting and a new wood burning stove surrounded by beautiful new tile. Those things were great, but for us the biggest improvement was removing a pony wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. Now there is just one great big space!

The biggest transformations happened between New Year's and Spring Break. Stepping into 5 Lynx for the first time at the end of March was like stepping into a brand new home, as almost everything was new! The walls and ceilings were retextured and all of the cabinets had been painted. There were brand new windows through out the house and the old metal blinds were gone. We spent most of the week buying new furniture, new televisions and hanging draperies and artwork. It's a good thing that 5 Lynx is only a short walk to Sunriver Mall, my daughter and I would take our dog on a walk to the mall and on more than one occasion we carried back a new treasure to decorate our "new" home!

Now you might think that it is time for us to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor and we plan to, but we also plan to tackle the outside of the house and make it just a beautiful as the inside! We had planned on spending around $42,000 on the remodel, but of course once we got into the process it became evident that more needed to be done than we first anticipated like purchasing a new wood-burning stove, replacing the chimney, powder coating fixtures and other odds and ends. While the final project came in higher than expected, we are confident with all of the up-grades that our rental potential has greatly increased. For now we look forward to making many more happy memories at 5 Lynx and sharing our home with our friends and family, we hope our renters enjoy our home-away-from home as much as we do.

- Article written by Mindy and Gary Alton (owner's of 5 Lynx Lane)

If you are interested in discussing ways to upgrade your vacation home, contact Deb Nikita for a personal evaluation and referrals to local, qualified contractors.

Deb Nikita

Bennington Properties, LLC.

Sunriver, Oregon

(800)231-8570

http://www.benningtonproperties.com/

deb@benningtonproperties.com