The information on this page will help you become more familiar with vacation home lodging in the Boothbay Harbor Region, Mid Coast Maine and selected inland lakes, answer many of your questions and is the first step in deciding if vacation rentals are right for you and your property!

In business since 1993, Cottage Connection of Maine is dedicated to taking the worry out of vacation home renting for both the property owner and the vacationer. We want to meet the needs of the guests and exceed their expectations so that they will come back to your home and our area year after year. As members of the Better Business Bureau, we demonstrate honesty and reliability; as members of the national Vacation Rental Managers Association, we have access to the most current information in our industry. We support our small town communities as members of the Boothbay Chamber of Commerce, the Boothbay Harbor Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Mid Coast Chamber of Commerce.

We started with 15 properties in 1993 and now offer between 125 and 150 properties each season. Our homes range from camps to castles, from seasonal cottages to year round homes, from brand-new to rustic, and from remote to local. We currently offer homes in all the towns on the Boothbay peninsula, Edgecomb, Wiscasset, Westport Island, Bath, West Bath, Phippsburg, Waldoboro, Damariscotta, and Newcastle with new properties in more towns being added all the time. We also have lake front properties in the Augusta area (Wayne, Maine) and a log cabin in Vermont (near Killington Mtn).

How Can We Help You Rent Your Property?

We offer many services to the property owners in our program. For the past 15 years we have been working with hundreds of property owners to help them prepare their homes for vacationers to enjoy. We know what makes a vacation home desirable and how to price your home to be competitive and attract the best vacationers. We are here to help. We have developed a formula during the past 10 years that helps us determine the best price for your house in the vacation rental market.

We offer varying levels of property management to our owners who live away.

Testimonial Quotes:

WHAT OUR PROPERTY OWNERS SAY:

“I really feel that our cottage gets better care than if we were trying to do it ourselves. You see what needs to be done and you know how to get it done, while being cost conscious at the same time.” Kathryn I.

“Other companies say they will try. You say you will try and you deliver…”

Louise S.

“After 3 years of utilizing your services for the rental of our property, we want to express to you our gratitude for another year “well done”. Your guidance of us in our efforts to make our property more attractive to potential renters has resulted in financial gain for both you and for us. Our follow through with your many suggestions provided us with a 100% increase in our rental activity since the first year of rental. We have made improvements in the property that were not expensive but did take some energy on our part. It was truly worth it as we now are enjoying a productive rental season. We hope that you will continue to think creatively so that both you and we can benefit from our arrangement.” Alice and Andy M. “Being a cottage owner and working for CCM was a real eye opener. I had no idea how much work goes on behind the scenes, before, during and after your clients plan their vacations. From helping a renter find a cottage that best suites their needs and wants, to all the equipment maintenance and small repairs, and all the cleaning that gets done, it is more work than I could have imagined. I now know that I would not rent our cottage to strangers without the knowledge and support from the CCM staff. You dedicated employees go the extra mile to meet or exceed customer expectations.” J. Frazer

WHAT OUR GUESTS HAVE TO SAY:

“Memories of our stay at the cottage will never fade. Your staff tended to every last detail. It was great. “

John and Mary M. (Sea Hut)

“I just wanted to let you know again how much we appreciated and valued our week at Newagen Cove Cottage. Everything was, in a word, perfect (which is not a word I use lightly). Beginning with the website which was easy to navigate and which accurately depicted the remarkable array of cottages you offer to the warm, competent and accommodating staff who patiently answered all our questions….And a return to Maine, through the kindness of Cottage Connection, will be what keeps us going through the coming year.”

Felice K. (Newagen Cove)

“What a wonderful vacation! Your service makes everything so easy that makes it a vacation. I really liked the combination of professionalism with a personal local touch.”

Guest Survey (Stone Cottage)

“I really want to thank you again for the high level of service you have provided. I am a hospital president in a small community hospital, so I really appreciate it when GREAT customer service is being provided.”

Bill C (Island View)

What The Guests Are Looking for In A Vacation Home:

For the past 15 years, we have been receiving inquiries from all over the United States and beyond from people looking for the perfect “Maine Vacation Experience”. Many of these people vacationed here as children with their parents and now want to recreate those wonderful memories with their own children. There is something about Maine that is special. We know this; we live here for that reason. We love it here. Can we describe what makes Maine so special????? Perhaps, but what really counts is what do our Guests think makes Maine so special. What is that “Maine Mystic”?

• The first thing many of them want when they look at our area of Maine is to be ON THE OCEAN! Our most desirable properties are on the ocean with access to the water. They want to be able to bring a boat or kayak and go fishing off their dock and just relax looking and smelling and hearing the sounds of life on the sea.

• They want is plenty of activities for their friends and family to enjoy while here. Tops among these things, are EATING LOBSTER, GOING BOATING AND FISHING, MAKING FUN OF THE MAINE ACCENTS WE ALL HAVE, GETTING A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE IN THE MORNING AND HAVING TIME TO ENJOY IT! They want a nice home where family and friends can be together and get reacquainted. Family reunions are prevalent.

• Our Guests want a vacation home that has all the amenities that they have at home. They don’t really want to be inconvenienced too much. Nobody wants to go without the news, TV for the kids, a dishwasher and a washer/dryer. These are all must haves for many people. Having multiple bathrooms is also very important and as we know, very hard to find in the older cottages that sit at water’s edge.

• Next on their list is access to a beach or an easy way for the children to enjoy the water. People that come here are used to properties in other parts of the country that are on different types of water and offer vacationing experiences year round. Because they have vacationed in North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Hawaii, and the like, they have expectations of what a vacation home should have and how it should be equipped. The most important thing to a vacationer is cleanliness. Comfortable beds and adequate bathrooms are next. They have an expectation that our homes will look like those homes found in Coastal Living and Down East magazines.

• Finally, we want to mention Pets. Today, more and more people are traveling with their pets. The statistics are staggering. 7 out of 10 inquiries we receive are from people who want to bring their 4 legged family members with them. These animals are pampered and loved by their owners. They are well fed and well taken care of. They do no have fleas and they do not do any damage to the properties. We have a very strict pet policy that helps us learn about the pet coming to your home and that guarantees the pet will not have fleas. We urge you to consider permitting pets in your home. Ask our Reservation specialists for more details about this important part of our program.

What Makes A Property A Good Vacation Rental????

1) Waterfront: First, the vast majority of our guests are looking for a waterfront home. Furthermore, since our largest market is family and friends traveling together, we also find that most of them want something with easy water access or a beach area, where everyone can sit, swim and enjoy the water. A dock and float is a great addition as many guests have or like to rent a motorboat, canoes and kayaks. We find that many guests prefer “open ocean” where they have a seemingly endless body of water to look at and explore. Many people do not mind being on a smaller body of water as long as it is a waterfront property, and it is safer for families with small children. Properties with waterfront, but with water access through an association can be very desirable as well.

2) Privacy: Most vacationers are coming to this area to “get away from it all,” and are looking for peace and quiet. Therefore, privacy is the second most important feature of a vacation home. We get numerous questions about the closeness of the nearest neighbor? Can you see any other homes from the property itself or the water? Is there protection from the woods and trees?

More About Our Company Services:

Our reservations and front desk services are available year round to maximize phone and internet coverage and to attend to the needs of our guests and owners.

We are committed to offering the highest cleanliness standards in the industry. Our housekeeping staff is trained, insured and bonded. Unlike many other companies we bear the extra cost of employing our housekeeping staff. We choose to employ them so that we can teach them the important differences between ordinary housekeeping and “hospitality” housekeeping. There is no cost to you for our housekeeping and inspection services performed prior to and after each Guest. We also provide you with a complimentary preseason inspection to inventory your standard equipment and ensure that your cottage is clean and ready for the season. Your property will need to have a deep clean performed annually, and we offer this service at competitive rates or can provide you with a detailed deep cleaning (spring cleaning) checklist, if you prefer to perform your own spring cleaning. We also offer a full Linen service. We have a laundry room and employ several people to do nothing but laundry during the season.

Our maintenance team is available 24 hours a day to attend to your needs and protect your property both year round and during Guest occupancy. We offer our services to you to open and close your cottage, general repairs and maintenance, cleaning for you and your relatives and friends, lawn and yard care, snow removal, and house inspections in the winter season. To protect your property and minimize your expenses, we provide a free preventative maintenance inspection prior to the start of the season. There is an optional maintenance program that will cover most Guest service calls throughout the year, and if you are interested in this program we can provide you with details. Our business is vacation rentals. It’s our chosen profession and we are confident that we can provide you with the advice and quality service you are seeking. We can be reached toll-free at 1-800-823-9501, or via email at: rentME@cottageconnection.com.