Get Paid For Your Pad | Airbnb Hosting | Vacation Rentals | STR Revenue Management

To scale a short-term rental business, you need more properties. And the best way to expand your portfolio is to build relationships with the right people. People who can help you find new units to manage. So, who should STR operators be connecting with? And how do we go about building those relationships?

Liam Carolan is the short-term rental expert behind Ginger & Gold, a property management company out of Norwich in England’s Norfolk County. Liam started hosting on Airbnb in January of 2019, and today, he and his partner have a 10-unit portfolio of master lease and management properties. Liam is also a member of our Legends X community.

On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Liam joins me to explain how he builds rapport with letting agents, challenging STR operators to get out of our comfort zone and provide value before we go for the ask. He explores who to build relationships with as you scale and how to build trust by considering what’s important to the other person and following up on what you say you’re going to do. Listen in for Liam’s insight on being clear about what you want and learn how to leverage relationships to find new properties and scale your STR business!

How Liam got into short-term rentals

• Wanted to spend more time with son
• Found mentor doing master leasing

How Liam builds rapport with letting agents

• Drop into office multiple times
• Explain how you can help them

Who to build relationships with as you scale 

• Letting agents
• Local property networking groups
• Other local STR operators

How to build trust in a business relationship

• Follow up on what you say you’ll do
• Demonstrate competence
• Put yourself in their mindset
• Lean on transferable skills
• Tell stories, real world examples

The value in being clear about what you want

• Easier for letting agent to help you
• Create preferred investment area map 

Why Liam joined the Legends X program

• Help with focus
• Strategies to scale up business

What Liam has learned in Legends X

• Leverage values to make decisions
• Build detailed playbook of processes
• Power of bold brand promise

Ginger & Gold

Liam on LinkedIn 

Google My Maps

Mark Simpson

Julie George

Legends X

Get Paid for Your Pad on YouTube

Email [email protected] 

Hostfully [Discount Code PAD]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you manage one or two properties on Airbnb, it’s fairly easy to keep track of your communications with cleaners and maintenance personnel. But as you grow a STR business, it gets more and more challenging to oversee quality control and keep up with routine maintenance on multiple listings. So, what can you do to streamline your cleaning and maintenance processes and maintain a high-quality guest experience—no matter how many properties you manage?

Jeremy Gall serves as CEO of Breezeway, the leading property care and operations platform for short-term rentals. The Breezeway software helps coordinate, communicate and verify detailed work, supporting STR hosts in delivering the best possible guest experience across a portfolio of properties. Jeremy got his start in the STR space in 2006 as the cofounder of vacation rental marketplace FlipKey before shifting his focus to management and founding Breezeway in 2016.

On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Jeremy joins me to explain how Breezeway helps hosts scale a STR business, facilitating communication with cleaners and other service personnel and automating as much of the turnover process as possible. We explore the role cleaning and maintenance staff play in helping us build a brand and tailor the guest experience as we grow. Listen in to understand how the Breezeway guest messaging product works and learn how Jeremy’s software is tailored specifically to YOUR vacation rental business.

What inspired Jeremy to build Breezeway

• Host needs around property maintenance
• Higher guest expectations for experience

How a STR cleaner’s job goes beyond cleaning

• Support host in delivering guest experience 
• Manage inventory, identify maintenance issues

How Breezeway helps hosts scale a STR business

• Smart technology to manage cleaning schedule
• Plan recurring maintenance, quality control
• Automate as much of turnover as possible
• Coordinate with all external service providers

Jeremy’s insight on how the Breezeway system works

• Connect with main marketing channel or PMS
• Set up workflows (tailored to your business)
• Deploy with existing service providers

How the Breezeway messaging product functions

• Text guests shortly after arrival 
• Offer guests concierge service

Communicating with service personnel on Breezeway

• Create task in system, sends auto alert
• Service personnel provides feedback

Breezeway

Email [email protected] 

STR Profit Academy

Legends X

Get Paid for Your Pad on YouTube

Email [email protected] 

Hostfully [Discount Code PAD]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are two ways to get more direct bookings: You can either find new customers or get current customers to return. And when you try to recruit brand new guests, you’re competing with the marketing budgets of well-known OTAs like Airbnb. But past guests are much easier to market to and sending an email is free. The question is, what’s the best way to collect our guests’ email addresses?

Arthur Colker is the Founder and CEO at StayFi, the premiere provider of Wi-Fi marketing services for vacation rentals. Founded in 2018, StayFi is on a mission to help short-term rental managers seamlessly collect guest information, build brand awareness and drive more direct bookings. Arthur also serves as the editor-in-chief of  VRM Insider, a content platform for the vacation rental business.

On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Arthur joins me to explain why it’s important to collect guest emails and describes how StayFi can help us build a stable of return customers. He offers suggestions for content to send during and after a guest’s stay, challenging us to provide value and keep customers engaged with our brand. Listen in for insight on how StayFi impacts the guest experience and learn how YOU can benefit from using Arthur’s Wi-Fi marketing tool.

What StayFi does for vacation rental operators

• Wi-Fi marketing tool built for STR
• Collects emails when log in to internet

Why it’s important to collect guest emails

• Build brand separate from OTA
• Efficient way to do rebooking business

Arthur’s strategies for marketing to prior guests

• Traditional newsletter or 1:1 emails
• Targeted digital advertising

What content to send during a guest’s stay

• Welcome email and link to house guide
• Suggested restaurants, local activities

What content to send after a guest’s stay

• Offers to book again with discount
• Intro to multiple properties
• Upcoming events in area
• Personalized 1:1 peer text email

Why most guests don’t mind using StayFi

• Login common in airports and hotels
• Promos in exchange for email address

How hosts benefit from using StayFi

• Collect ALL guest emails
• Automated and efficient
• Guest agrees to terms of service
• Intro guests to STR brand
• See status of Wi-Fi networks
• Occupancy alerting
• Consolidate internet subscription

How hosts can start using StayFi

• Plug device into home Wi-Fi router
• Instruct guests to join network

StayFi [Promo Code PAD]

Arthur on LinkedIn

MailChimp

RueBaRue

Hostfully

Touch Stay

STR Profit Academy

Legends X

Get Paid for Your Pad on YouTube

Email [email protected] 

Hostfully [Discount Code PAD]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Travel is back in a big way, and people are hungry for unique experiences. And Wil Slickers contends that you can differentiate your short-term rental brand and attract guests through destination creation. But how do you take an average apartment or single family home and transform it into a destination?

Wil is the Hospitality Expert and Destinationaire behind Slick Talk: The Hospitality Podcast, a show dedicated to all things hotels, hospitality and business. He is also the Cofounder of Recreation Rentals, a new boutique STR management company based in Seattle and a member of our elite Legends X short-term rental business accelerator.

On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Wil joins me to explain what he means by destination creation, discussing what he does to make a property so special that the guest doesn’t have to leave. He offers advice on turning a regular apartment or home into a destination, challenging you to tap into your local community and build amenities around your ideal guest. Listen in for Wil’s insight on designing themed STR units learn how to build a thriving vacation rental management business by making your property a destination.

Wil’s background in hospitality and vacation rental management

• Fell in love with hospitality working for Marriott
• Shift to boutique hotel, became youngest GM in area
• Quit day job in 2019 for vacation rental management

What Wil means by the term ‘destination creation’

• Make property so special guest doesn’t have to leave
• Hone into uniqueness of property and/or brand

How to turn a regular apartment or home into a destination

• Tap into community, support small businesses in area
• Tell story with amenities made locally

How to turn your space into a destination for your ideal guest

• Cater listing to type of traveler you want to attract
• Think about guest needs (e.g.: standing desk, Wi-Fi)

Wil’s insight on designing themed units for your STR guests

• Can be expensive to create up front
• Incredible ROI, earn up to 3X that of competitors

Wil’s top lessons learned from hosting a hospitality podcast

• Guests became most valuable resource
• Stay in contact and build community

Wil’s top advice for aspiring STR business owners

1.     It’s not just about making money

2.     Be willing to learn technology

3.     Tap into your local community

Connect with Wil

Slick Talk the Podcast

Slick Talk on LinkedIn

Slick Talk on Instagram

Slick Talk on Facebook

CNBC Interview with Brian Chesky

How to Market to the Work-From-Home Traveler on GPFYP EP349

Loma Homes

Legends X

Get Paid for Your Pad on YouTube

Email [email protected]

Hostfully [Discount Code PAD]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you see other short-term rental hosts as competitors or potential collaborators? It may seem counterintuitive, but connecting with other STR entrepreneurs for support can lead to opportunities for partnerships and additional income streams. And it’s that kind of abundance mentality that helped today’s guest scale from 8 to 50 units in less than a year.

Aaron Kirkham is the Founder of Kirkham Kastles, a short-term rental management company based in Park City, Utah. He operates 50 properties in Washington, Idaho and Utah, leveraging a background in marketing and hospitality to scale his STR business despite a global pandemic. Aaron is also the creator of several STR service companies, including Rubbish Rollers and Vacation Rentals Cleaning.

On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Aaron joins me to explain how he grew from 8 to 50 units in 2020, discussing why travelers are drawn to the area and what new challenges he is facing as he scales. He shares his unique approach to solving problems in his business, describing how he collaborates with fellow STR operators and what companies he has started to support other hosts. Listen in for Aaron’s insight on managing your time as a ‘hectic host’ and get his top tips for managing units in other states.

How Aaron grew from 8 to 50 units in less than a year

• High demand in conservative area despite pandemic
• Show owners profit potential vs. long-term rental

Why travelers are attracted to Utah, Idaho and Washington

• World-class ski resorts in winter
• Convention centers and Silicon Slopes

What Aaron does to connect with other STR operators

• Start open Facebook group for help and referrals
• Mastermind group to share processes, collaborate

Aaron’s approach to solving problems in his business

• Find solution for selves, be resource for others
• Leverage solution to generate new income stream

What companies Aaron has started to support other hosts

• Rubbish Rollers (trash to curb service)
• Vacation Rentals Cleaning

Aaron’s insight on how to handle snow removal as a STR host

• Landscaping companies transition to snow removal
• Outsource to cleaner or kid in neighborhood

The new challenges Aaron is facing as he scales his business

• Finding great team members, service providers
• Giving up element of control

Aaron’s advice on managing your time as a ‘hectic host’

• Let clients go when low return on time invested
• Charge what you’re worth to make more doing less

How Aaron manages units in three different states

• Network in new location, join local groups on social
• Have go-to person in place plus backup options

Kirkham Kastles

Rubbish Rollers

Vacation Rentals Cleaning

Email [email protected]

Call (208) 252-4123

Alta Ski Area

Brighton Resort

Solitude Mountain Resort

Visit Ski City

Ski Resorts in Park City

Silicon Slopes

Dinosaur National Monument

STR Profit Academy

Legends X

Get Paid for Your Pad on YouTube

Email [email protected]

Hostfully [Discount Code PAD]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even if you take every possible precaution, there’s still a chance that an Airbnb guest could get hurt on your property and sue you for negligence. That’s exactly what happened to Tamara Swager. So, how did she navigate such a stressful time? And what steps can you take to protect yourself should something similar happen to you?

Tamara is the Founder of Swag Hospitality, a short-term rental business out of Los Angeles County, California. She manages six properties, most of which are located in STR-friendly Long Beach, a perfect spot for travelers visiting attractions like Hollywood, Disney and Venice Beach. Tamara is also an Airbnb Plus host and active member of our STR Profit Academy.

On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Tamara joins me to share her unsettling experience with being sued by an Airbnb guest. She describes the incident that led to the lawsuit and walks us through the three-year process of providing information to counter the guest’s claims. Listen in for Tamara’s feedback on how Airbnb handled the situation and find out what you can do to protect yourself from litigation and prove that you’re a responsible short-term rental host.

Why Tamara is crushing it right now

• Disney reopening, moving into COVID orange tier
• STR-friendly regulations finalized in Long Beach

The incident that led to Tamara being sued

• Guest fell on last step walking to car at night
• Driven to medical facility by husband

What happened after Tamara contacted Airbnb

• Crawford & Company came out to take photos
• Served papers 18 months into process
• Airbnb assigned counsel on her behalf
• Provided information to counter accusations
• Case resolved after 3 nerve-wracking years

What Tamara has done to prevent future incidents

• Already had integrated lighting on every step
• Added reflective caution tape

Tamara’s feedback on how Airbnb handled the situation

• Frustrating not to have point of contact
• Attorney assigned to case very responsive
• Case settled by Airbnb (didn’t use STR insurance)

The lessons Tamara learned from being sued by a guest

• Limit personal liability by setting up LLC
• Respond only after processing emotions
• Have security cameras where legal to do so

How to demonstrate that you’re a responsible host

• Use devices like NoiseAware and FreshAir
• Security features like Nest Cam, smart locks

Tamara’s advice on securing short-term rental insurance

• Do apples-to-apples comparison of policies
• Work with homeowners to choose best option

Swag Hospitality

Swag on Airbnb

STR Profit Academy

Airbnb Plus

Crawford & Company

WeGoLook

Airbnb Host Protection Insurance

NoiseAware

Party Squasher

FreshAir

Nest Cam

Proper Insurance

CBIZ Vacation Rental Insurance

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD

USAA STR Insurance

Julie George

Legends X

Business Network International

Get Paid for Your Pad on YouTube

Email [email protected]

Hostfully [Discount Code PAD]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.