Thanks For Visiting

Latest Episodes:

252. Hosting Hotline: Marketing Your Airbnb: Instagram 101 May 09, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between.

Pam asks:

We’re new in our hosting journey and need to start marketing. What kind of content should we be posting on our Instagram page?

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah & Annette, visit Speakpipe.com/ThanksforvisitingAMA

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

251. Behind The Scenes Of A Large-Scale Property Management Company May 04, 2023

Show notes

Today we’re giving you an insider's view of a rockstar manager who is running a ton of rentals and has so much valuable experience and data to share. Whether you’re managing your own property, looking to partner with a management company or simply want to learn more about how it all works behind the scenes, today’s guest, Meaghan Moylan, is the perfect person to learn from when it comes to customer satisfaction and operational excellence.

An industry leader with 8+ years of experience in the STR space, Meaghan leads a team of passionate and entrepreneurial-minded professionals at The Outpost Group, a private investment office based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The company's portfolio includes Outpost, Snake River Roasting Company, Terrain Landscaping and Snow Removal, O2 Cleaning, and Provisions Catering. Prior to her role with The Outpost Group, Meaghan held several leadership roles at 360 Blue, one of the largest luxury vacation rental businesses in the US. During her tenure with the company, Meaghan also assisted in the development of Key Data, a short-term rental data and benchmarking platform.

In this episode we talk about what it was like to be a reservationist at a large vacation rental company and how the property management business has evolved. She shares advice for working through rate change mistakes and fixing those inevitable errors. She explains the benefits of having laborers work for you in house versus contracting out, why it’s so important to be able to unlearn and adapt to evolving industries, how to set and evaluate KPIs for different sides of your business, what situations warrant a refund, and how to provide an exceptional customer experience. She also provides insight into what she’s learned post-COVID, what the current landscape is for vacation rental management, how to communicate effectively and honestly with the property owners, and what to think through if you’re thinking about bringing on a property manager.

Resources:

LinkedIn: Meaghan Moylan
Website: outpostjh.com
#STRShareSunday: @sunsetinnvt

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

Breezeway | Go to breezeway.io/tfv to claim your free implementation when you start a Breezeway account.

Minoan | Minoan helps short-term rentals and boutique hotels enhance their appeal with their customizable, curated retail platform.

Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!

250. Hosting Hotline: How To Hire Inspectors For Your Airbnb May 02, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between.

Greer asks:

I'm looking to hire inspectors to help with the cleaning process and get some work off of my plate so I can focus on growing my business. What advice do you have on hiring: should they be employees or contractors? Should we pay hourly or per turnover? Should we charge different rates for different properties?

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah & Annette, visit Speakpipe.com/ThanksforvisitingAMA

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

249. Maximizing Revenue: Insights on Dynamic Pricing Strategies with Andrew Kitchell Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

We are so excited today to have Andrew Kitchell, the CEO and founder of Wheelhouse, a revenue management platform that serves leading professional operators in short-term rental, vacation rental, corporate rental & boutique hotel spaces on the podcast today. Andrew has 10 years of experience in the accommodations space, having built multiple technology and operating companies. Prior to Wheelhouse, Andrew was the founder & CEO at Beyond Pricing, the first data-driven pricing engine for the STR/VR space. Additionally, Andrew founded Lyric, a network of tech-enabled rentals designed for the modern business traveler that developed properties in 14 US markets. Collectively, Andrew has raised $100mm from investors such as Airbnb, NEA, FifthWall, Highgate, Certares, Tishman Speier, Barry Sternlicht, and other property/technology investors.

In this episode we talk about Andrew’s first job in hospitality, what he loves about the industry, how he came to host his first guest on Airbnb in San Francisco, and the celebrity guest he hosted. He shares how he started and scaled his first businesses in the short term rental industry through arbitrage, why he decided to shut down his business during COVID and shares the pain points and learnings from that experience.

Andrew gives his advice for how homeowners and hosts can look at revenue management data to come up with the correct pricing strategy and when this comes into play. He shares what to look for in a property management software, the benefits of implementing a dynamic pricing software and some ideas for how you can A/B test your property listings to increase revenue. Remember that as business owners, it’s important to try new strategies to see what will really move the needle in your business, and rely on data to help you make your decisions. We found this conversation to be so helpful, and hope you can take something from this episode and apply it to your property!

Resources:

LinkedIn: Andrew Kitchell
Instagram: @andrewkitchell
#STRShareSunday: @vtstays
Quora: Andrew Kitchell
Checkout Wheelhouse and use code TFV to get 50% off the first two months: https://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=TFV
Wheelhouse: Checkout Andrew's Brian Chesky video
1 hour Revenue Management How-To Video
235. Permission to Pivot Your Airbnb Listing

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

Minoan | Minoan helps short-term rentals and boutique hotels enhance their appeal with their customizable, curated retail platform.

Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!

Breezeway | Go to breezeway.io/tfv to claim your free implementation when you start a Breezeway account.

248. Hosting Hotline: Parent-Child Listings for Neighboring Properties Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between.

Blue Sky Villas asks:

What do you recommend for a parent-child listing strategy if my neighbor wants us to manage their rental property along with our own?

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah & Annette, visit Speakpipe.com/ThanksforvisitingAMA

Resources:

Minoan Experience: minoanexperience.com/join-us

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

247. The Ultimate Airbnb Spring Safety Guide with Justin Ford Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

We’re getting summer ready with our safety captain, Justin Ford. He's an international safety expert who works at Breezeway and he has an undying passion to make short-term rentals safer, which is good for you, the owner, the guest and our industry.

After 13 years in the vacation rental industry as a Property Manager, 15 years as a firefighter and four years in the US Coast Guard, Justin combined his experiences to create a niche within the short-term rental industry that did not exist in 2013; short-term rental safety. In 2014, Justin created the first vacation rental safety checklist for the vacation rental industry, and in 2017 Justin created Dwell Safe®, a certification program devoted to the safety of vacation rentals, which he sold to Breezeway® in 2019.

In this episode we talk about some recent accidents in rental properties that remind us of how important it is to be legally up to code in all properties, and have the right equipment, technology and instructions to keep our guests safe. We’re talking fire safety for grills and firepits, legal egress for windows, gas leaks, pool and hot tub safety and more. Justin shares common mistakes he sees in short term rental properties, offers quick and inexpensive solutions, and his spring cleaning checklist you can use today to make sure your property is up to date and ready for summer fun.

Here is our amazon shop to find all the items Justin recommends in this episode:

https://www.amazon.com/shop/thanksforvisiting_

Resources:

Website: Justin Ford
LinkedIn: Justin Ford
Blog: Breezeway Blog
Facebook: Short Term Rental Safety
#STRShareSunday: @Chalets_Hygge
Gas leak detectors: First Alert
Grill: Blackstone
Previous episodes with Justin:
120. Make Deck Safety a Priority with Justin Ford
159. Back to Basics: Fire Alarm 101 with Justin Ford

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Minoan | Minoan helps short-term rentals and boutique hotels enhance their appeal with their customizable, curated retail platform.

Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

Breezeway | Go to breezeway.io/tfv to claim your free implementation when you start a Breezeway account.

246. Hosting Hotline: The Power of Education in the Airbnb Industry Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between.

Today’s Question:

As someone just getting started in short-term rentals, can you tell us a bit more about how you two started hosting? Where’d you start; do you co-host; how long have you been doing it; and where do you see the industry going?

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah & Annette, visit Speakpipe.com/ThanksforvisitingAMA

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

245. Investing Abroad: A Guide to International Short-Term Rental Properties Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Have you ever thought about investing in an international short term rental property? We've thought about investing in a property in Mexico, but since we’re unfamiliar with the culture and market, it’s intimidating to know where to start. So, we thought we would bring in one of our hosting Business Mastery members, Julie Ramsay, to tell her incredible journey of going from backpacking in Australia to owning in Costa Rica while calling Canada home.

In 2019, Julie and her family sold almost everything they owned, including the house, downsized into a townhouse, and made their "someday" dreams come true when they moved to the southern pacific jungles of Costa Rica. They found the perfect one-bedroom apartment with a private rooftop deck, located on a long stretch of quiet beach, in the small village of Esterillos Oeste and two months later, Rocamar Cinco was launched on Airbnb. Within 6 months, Julie had achieved Superhost status. She loves creating a comfortable space for her guests, exceeding their expectations, and allowing them to relax and enjoy their stay the moment they arrive.

We talk about how Julie and her family made these big life decisions to move abroad (with a teenager), the differences in the housing markets in the US, Canada and Costa Rica, and how Julie used the sale of their main home in Canada to fund three short-term rental properties. We also get insight from Julie about what she’s learned being an international host, and cultural differences to be aware of when working with international laborers. She also shares how they’re doing financially from these investments, and the exact changes she made that made the biggest impact on revenue at her property. We hope this conversation inspires you to consider expanding your short term rental boundaries!

Resources:

AirBnB: airbnb.com/h/rocamarcinco
VRBO: vrbo.com
Booking.com: booking.com/hotel/cr/beach-getaway-ocean-view-private-rooftop-deck
#STRShareSunday: @meetme_atmango

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

Breezeway | Go to breezeway.io/tfv to claim your free implementation when you start a Breezeway account.

Minoan | Minoan helps short-term rentals and boutique hotels enhance their appeal with their customizable, curated retail platform.

Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!

244. Hosting Hotline: Live in Your Own Airbnb Like a Pro Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between.

Paul asks:

My Toronto Airbnb cottage has a living space on the basement level, which can be rented separately from the 3-bedroom cottage above. What is the proper host etiquette if I decide to stay in the basement unit while the cottage is being rented to guests?

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah & Annette, visit Speakpipe.com/ThanksforvisitingAMA

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Noise Aware

Monitor your property's noise levels and keep guest noise – and neighbor noise complaints – under control. Use code 'TFVNA20' for 20% and a FREE sensor, at noiseaware.com.

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

243. Bug Off: Tips for Preventing & Dealing with Bed Bugs Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

If you’ve ever been a victim of this unfortunate infestation, you know it's both unpredictable and something you definitely want to avoid. No one wants to deal with this problem on your property, but it can happen to anyone. It has nothing to do with how clean you are or how well vetted your guests are, bed bugs are something many of us will come across at some point or another. Someone from our Business Mastery membership recently asked us how to handle this issue, so we’re sharing our tips for preventing this infestation and what to do if it happens to you.