Thanks For Visiting

Latest Episodes:

153. Creating a Time-Traveling Summer Camp Destination with Tereasa Surratt Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

Finding ways to stand out in the rental industry is key. What better way to stand out than running a massive summer camp out of a historical 1920s speakeasy? Tereasa Surratt is a creative director in Chicago who rescued a century-old 25-acre summer camp that she then renovated with her husband.

She shares how they balance running the, now, 60-person capacity Airbnb summer camp while juggling day jobs in marketing, the benefits of putting passion ahead of profit, and the virtuous cycle of shining a spotlight on your competitors.

Resources:

wandawega.com
How to Host with Camp Wandawega
Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @faroutcottage

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

152. Pets & Your Rental Property: What You Need to Know with Heather Kazmark Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

One topic we hear again and again when it comes to short-term rentals: What do we do about pets? Today’s guest is an expert when it comes to incorporating pets into rental properties.

Heather Kazmark is a co-host that works alongside her family at Kradel's Kabins and loves animals and nature. In this episode, listeners will hear all about how to decide whether to list your property as pet-friendly or not, what dog owners appreciate most at these rentals, and what your obligations are to the ADA and FHA in this context.

Resources:

kradelskabins.com
Instagram: @kradelskabins
Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @staywithsebrell

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

151. How to Build a Foolproof Inspection Checklist Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

We are big fans of checklists here at Thanks For Visiting. What better way to ensure that the basics always get handled consistently? In this episode, we share an inspector checklist detailing everything you need to do after the cleaning team does their work.

Trust, but verify. That’s what we always say! Cleaning teams don’t have it easy. When they come into a property, their job is to turn things from upside down to rightside up. Occasionally, that might mean missing the forest for the trees, understandably! There are also maintenance tasks that we want to be more preventative about rather than reactive.

Even if you’re doing the cleaning yourself, it’s important to put on your inspector hat. We know, it’s exhausting to try and remember everything you need to check, but that’s exactly where checklists come in handy!

Resources:

Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @getawayupstate

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

150. Breaking Down Our Sales Blitz Strategy Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

Nearly every travel destination is going to experience off seasons at certain times of the year (if you don’t, let us just say — lucky you!). During lean times, it’s essential that you take booking into your own hands, rather than relying on OTAs to bring new guests in. You want to be connecting with the community and becoming a part of it. We call our method of bringing in guests directly our Sales Blitz method, and we’re going to teach it to you today.

Resources:

https://stayawhilehostingco.com/business
Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @thewinonahouse

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

149. Working With Influencers To Showcase Your STR Listing with Elise Armitage Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

Elise Armitage had the good job and a fancy title at a big brand. Her future was laid out in clear steps, but something was missing. It took taking a month from her day job at Google to convince her to dive head first into her side hustle, What The Fab, a start-up fashion and beauty blog that’s grown into a full-on travel and lifestyle brand.

She walks us through the steps she took on her way to leaving her day job (Hint: six months of extensive planning) before we tackle a subject that’s growing more complex by the day: STRs and social media influencers. What’s appropriate? What’s fair? Who pays whom? All that good stuff.

Elise’s story mirrors that of so many hosts, swapping out her blog for STR properties. We obsess and nurture them in our spare time, nights, weekends, and daydreams. But when is the right time to go all in? We hope this conversation helps open your eyes to what might be possible if you did the work and invested yourself, full-time, in a keystone listing, a group of properties, a brand, or any other passion project.

Resources:

Best Sedona Airbnbs for an Incredible Sedona, AZ Vacation
What The Fab: website
Instagram: @wtfab
Linkedin: Elise Armitage
Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @lakeviewlanding

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

148. Behind the Scenes on Our First Real Estate Deal Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

Not long ago, we announced that the two of us were partnering for our first joint real estate deal. Picking up on that conversation, we wanted to let you know how everything is going so far, what progress has been made, how we structured the deal, and what level of investment we each brought to the table. We’re excited to continue updating you on these important developments and provide an inside look at first-time real estate owners figuring it all out as they go.

Resources:

Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @island_in_this_dream

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

147. Back to the Basics: Refocusing on Guest Experience Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

Following up on last week’s episode covering the basic steps you can take as a host to make sure you have all the simple things dialed in, we look at ways to step back and reconsider your guest experience. The customer is always right, after all.

We’ve stayed at at least twenty hotels and short-term rentals over the past year and we always come away with new takeaways each time. Today, we share those insights with you. Most of them are simple, immediately actionable, and affordable to implement. Let’s not overthink it!

Resources:

BOTHSTAR Keypad Door Knob
Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @pines.edge

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

146. Back to the Basics: 7 Things to Review in the New Year Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

Even if you’ve been renting and managing for years, we all need to go back to the basics from time to time. What better time than a new year? In this episode, we share seven things you can do, that you probably haven’t been thinking about, to make sure you’re starting off the year on solid footing, literally and figuratively.

Resources:

Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @lasterrazaspr

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

145. Real Estate Investing & the Power of Communities with Stacey St. John Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

Stacey St. John is a boss babe who was bitten by the STR bug and never looked back. While working for a global consulting firm, she fell into the real estate game by accident. After a few short months of renting out that “accidental” investment, Stacey quickly realized that she had an appreciating asset on her hands, all while someone else paid her mortgage, grew her bank account, and earned her tax benefits.

Now, she is passionate about helping other women turn their real estate goals into successful businesses without having to sacrifice their family, free time, or sanity. We talk about building communities and partnerships with people you know and trust, sharing information, and how we can build up the short-term rental community as a whole.

Resources:

Facebook Group: Female Short-Term Rental Investors
thanksforvisiting.me/summit2022
Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Business Mastery Method workshop!
#STRShareSunday: @sanbis_retreats

Thanks for Visiting is a production of Crate Media

Mentioned in this episode:

Make More Money This Year | Join our LIVE Workshop!

144. Our Best Episodes of 2021 Dec 30, 2021

Show notes

We’ve reached the end of the year! 2021 felt like we were finding our way again, but we have high hopes for 2022. As a way of looking back over how far we’ve come during the past 365 days, we want to run down the top 10 episodes from the year to give us a better idea of what you want to hear more of and share what you should go back and listen to if you missed it the first time around.

These are the 10 episodes that received the most traffic in 2021:

10. 1. Your First Investments in Starting an Airbnb 101

9. 121. Hiring a Team That Works with You with Taylor Arbaugh

8. 123. Our Mistakes Making Property Offers and How to Avoid Them

7. 100. Hospitality Tips from an Airbnb Legend with Chip Conley

6. 122. Going All In on Short-Term Rentals with A-Frame Ranch Owner Callie Withce

5. 118. Hidden Expenses of Your Airbnb

4. 124. Buying Land & Property Using Creative Financing Options with Mike Hicks

3. 117. Start Boosting your direct Bookings Today with Mark Simpson

2. 130. Elevating Your STR with High Vibe Design with Moria Sedgwick

1. 99. Leveraging Passive Income for Financial & Time Freedom with Amanda Williams

Resources: