About Baylake

The founder

Dana

Baylake is run by an owner, not an agency. Dana has 15+ years operating short-term, commercial, and residential property — and, more to the point, owns and operates the two Sturgeon Bay cottages whose five-season numbers are published on the proof page. Every playbook in the Baylake system was written for those properties first, with the mortgage on the line when it failed.

That's also why the book is small on purpose: Dana personally visits every candidate property, runs every business review, and owns every owner relationship. The 22% buys the operator, not a call center.

"My job is to do such a great job that you don't want to fire me. No lock-in contracts — you own your accounts, you can cancel, and you stay because the results are visible in every monthly statement."

Adirondack chairs circled around the fire pit at the water's edge at one of Baylake's cottages

The architecture

One company. Two brands. Two doors in.

	Baylake Vacation Rentals	StayReady™
What it is	Premium cohosting: marketing, revenue, hospitality, guest experience	STR maintenance & readiness: inspections, routine fixes, seasonal upkeep
Sold as	22% + $299/mo full-service cohosting	Standalone monthly subscriptions for self-managing owners
Relationship	Every Baylake property includes StayReady — "Powered by StayReady"	StayReady clients become the warm pipeline for Baylake when they tire of self-managing
Ideal client	High-value and waterfront properties, hands-off owners	Self-managing owners at any revenue level

If full-service isn't the right fit for your property, StayReady standalone usually is — and several cohosting clients started exactly that way. Ask about a subscription →

Why owners choose Baylake

Seven differentiators

We're owners in this market

Owners and investors ourselves, with 15+ years operating property. We know what owners need and the revenue they expect — because we have the same expectations of our own properties, twenty minutes away.

We get guests

A fully digital guest experience from booking through guidebook to door code — with a real person never more than a call away. Hospitality systems tuned to produce 5-star reviews, not just completed stays.

The Property of One

Baylake's application of BCG's segment-of-one thinking to vacation rentals: each home individually branded, positioned, and marketed — its own identity, direct booking site, and competitive set. The full idea →

Ownership, made repeatable

The Baylake Vacation Rental System: documented playbooks for marketing, revenue, listings, operations, cleaning, and guest communication — the owner's standard, written down so it scales without diluting.

Business reviews

Periodic per-property reviews with financials, benchmarks, and specific recommendations — and owner contact 2–3 times a month, not a quarterly statement and silence.

Always-on marketing

Listings re-optimized ahead of every season and micro-season; year-round properties promoted continuously; the property's own email list growing with every stay.

A complete profitability system

Not marketing alone, or pricing alone, or maintenance alone — the entire system that leads to profitable properties, with the maintenance layer in-house. Powered by StayReady.

Below the line

Trade discounts

Through trade programs, Baylake owners get 20%+ off furnishing brands popular in premium cottages — Casper, Polywood, Outer, Purple, and more — making business-review recommendations immediately cheaper to act on.

Door County peninsula map with short-term rental price dots

Structure & service area

The fine print, in plain language

Legal structure: Baylake Vacation Rentals LLC operates as a hospitality and marketing agent — the industry-standard cohost structure. The client owns the OTA accounts and guest relationships, executes no leases through us, and receives all guest funds directly from the platforms. Baylake never holds or escrows guest money and invoices its fees monthly.

Service area: based in Sturgeon Bay, serving quality properties within about 30 minutes — Sturgeon Bay, the bayside villages, and the quiet side of the peninsula. Close enough that quarterly inspections, same-day guest response, and personal walk-throughs are real, not aspirational.

Compliance: Wisconsin Tourist Rooming House licensing, Door County Tourism Zone permits and room tax, and municipal STR permits are tracked and managed for every property — a regulatory burden turned into part of the service.