Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

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Get your free ticket for Your Air Success on Friday 8 November: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/yourairhost

Download The Ultimate Guide to Short-Term Rentals: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/e-book

Damian Sheridan, Co-Founder and Director of SCALE, is the special guest on today's show.

During the episode, Damian outlines what to expect at this year's SCALE UK, which will be held at The Oval cricket ground in London on 6-7 November.

Damian named Skift as his favourite brand and gave special shout-outs to Catherine Ratcliffe and Lorraine Woodward.

The episode includes sponsor mentions for HCH Financial Services, Your AirHost, Zeal, and Key Data.

4:30 Damian’s journey and the story of SCALE
5:55 What to expect at SCALE UK
6:52 Tackling regulation and legislation
8:24 Uniting the industry
10:07 STR businesses united
10:59 Other topics: AI, revenue management, direct bookings, and more
12:03 Who SCALE is for and where you can get a ticket: https://uk.scalerentals.show/
12:54 Key STR trends across the globe
14:41 Regional sentiment
16:53 SCALE’s growth plans
20:40 Favourite brand: Skirt
21:16 Individual shout-outs: Catherine Ratcliffe and Lorraine Woodward
22:54 No. 1 lesson learned: you can’t please everyone!

Links:

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/
Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/
Free ticket for Your Air Success on 8 November: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/yourairhost
New e-book: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/e-book
Property Management Masterclass podcast series: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/property-management-masterclass

Damian Sheridan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiansheridan/

SCALE UK: https://uk.scalerentals.show/

Mentions:

Skift: https://skift.com/

Catherine Ratcliffe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ratcliffecatherine/

Lorraine Woodward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorrainebwoodward/

Sponsor links:

HCH Financial Services: https://www.hchfs.com/ Call: 0333 1234 536 Email: [email protected]

Your AirHost: https://www.yourairhost.co.uk/

Zeal: https://gozeal.co.uk/services/industries/hch-furnished-holiday-lets/

Key Data: https://www.keydatadashboard.com/products/prodata?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=holiday_cottage_handbook

Enjoy the show? Please subscribe, rate, and review!

Email the show: [email protected].

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Welcome to HCH Bitesize – a new podcast series brought to you by Holiday Cottage Handbook and Hostfully!

This weekly show delves into various topics essential to the short-term rentals industry. Episodes feature expert guests from across the STR space who share their insights and practical advice. These industry leaders help listeners enhance their knowledge and build successful and sustainable property management businesses.

Today’s episode features Dale Smith, Founder and CEO of Host & Stay, outlining his top five tips to scale a property management business.

2:05 Tip 1: Prioritise marketing early in your journey 
6:46 Tip 2: Systems and processes 
9:12 Tip 3: Invest in staff ahead of the growth curve 
12:19 Tip 4: Keep services in-house if you can
14:20 Tip 5: Appoint somebody strong in your finance department
15:56 Host & Stay: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/_files/ugd/ccc922_537a705254d4437dbcb0558a26376ad2.pdf

Are you looking to streamline your operations and amaze your guests? Look no further than Hostfully! Try their top-rated property management software and award-winning digital guidebooks today. Join the thousands of satisfied property managers who trust Hostfully to grow their business: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/

Hostfully: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/

Dale Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalesmithpvl/

Host & Stay: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/_files/ugd/ccc922_537a705254d4437dbcb0558a26376ad2.pdf

Got a comment or interested in being a guest on the show? Email [email protected].

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Rudy Abrahami, Founder and CEO of both Maveriks and HolyGuest, is the special guest on today’s show.

During the episode, Rudy talks about scaling a property business, how to deliver a great guest experience, and what you need to do in order to drive direct bookings. He also talks STR trends, including daily rates and regulation.

Rudy named SCALE as his favourite brand and gave Richard Vaughton a special shout-out.

The episode includes sponsor mentions for HCH Financial Services, Your AirHost, Zeal, and Key Data.

3:36 Rudy’s journey in the short-term rentals world
6:12 How to scale a property management business 
9:32 It is critical to get your hands dirty
11:39 How to deliver a great guest experience 
14:58 How to maximise revenue 
17:51 Drive more direct bookings 
21:17 How to achieve great reviews 
24:14 It’s not rocket science, it’s hospitality! 
27:21 Maveriks: Giving tools to CEOs to grow their businesses 
34:03 STR trends, including daily rates and regulation
40:28 Favourite brand: SCALE 
41:21 Individual shout-out: Richard Vaughton 
42:22 It’s not personal and enjoy the journey

Links:

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/
Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/
Free ticket for Your Air Success on 8 November: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/yourairhost
New e-book: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/e-book
Property Management Masterclass podcast series: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/property-management-masterclass

Rudy Abrahami: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudy-abrahami-21622368/
Maveriks: https://www.maveriks.com/
HolyGuest: https://www.holyguest.com/

Sponsor links:

HCH Financial Services: https://www.hchfs.com/ Call: 0333 1234 536 Email: [email protected]

Your AirHost: https://www.yourairhost.co.uk/

Zeal: https://gozeal.co.uk/services/industries/hch-furnished-holiday-lets/

Key Data: https://www.keydatadashboard.com/products/prodata?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=holiday_cottage_handbook

Enjoy the show?

Please subscribe, rate, and review! 

Email the show: [email protected]

Send us a text

Welcome to HCH Bitesize – a new podcast series brought to you by Holiday Cottage Handbook and Hostfully!

This weekly show delves into various topics essential to the short-term rentals industry. Episodes feature expert guests from across the STR space who share their insights and practical advice. These industry leaders help listeners enhance their knowledge and build successful and sustainable property management businesses.

Today’s episode features Sally Henry, Vice President of Business Development at Key Data. During the show, Sally outlines the STR jargon every host needs to understand and shares her top tip for utilising data in order to build a successful property management business.

1:53 ADR (average daily rate)
2:57 Occupancy
4:40 RevPAR (revenue per available rental)
7:31 ALOS (average length of stay)
8:35 Booking window 
10:03 Take control of your own data
11:28 Understand supply in your area
12:44 Understand your performance against the market
13:42 Track your competitors
14:55 Understand the channels which are working for you
16:08 The importance of pricing
17:53 Find out more about Key Data: https://www.keydatadashboard.com/products/prodata?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=holiday_cottage_handbook

Are you looking to streamline your operations and amaze your guests? Look no further than Hostfully! Try their top-rated property management software and award-winning digital guidebooks today. Join the thousands of satisfied property managers who trust Hostfully to grow their business: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/

Hostfully: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/

Sally Henry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sally-henry-3516229/

Key Data: https://www.keydatadashboard.com/products/prodata?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=holiday_cottage_handbook

Got a comment or interested in being a guest on the show? Email [email protected].

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Andy Fenner, CEO, Short Term Accommodation Association, is the special guest on today’s show.

During the episode, Andy discusses lobbying efforts in relation to government proposals to abolish the furnished holiday lettings tax regime. He outlines the potential impact of the policy and calls on Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to pause the plans until the government has gathered important data about the industry, including the number of operators.

The episode includes sponsor mentions for HCH Financial Services, Your AirHost, Zeal, and Key Data.

3:40 Andy’s journey in the tourism industry: from Zambia to short-term rentals
7:10 The Short Term Accommodation Association
9:42 Furnished holiday lettings tax regime lobbying efforts
13:37 The potential impact of FHL tax changes
16:32 Airbnb/EY report about impact of short-term rentals in the UK
21:03 Andy’s message to the UK government: get the facts first
23:55 How people can support lobbying efforts
31:35 Favourite brand: holiday letting in general
32:28 Individual shout-outs: Diane Lloyd and Mike Ortegon (and all the STAA team)
34:48 No. 1 lesson learned: work together

Links:

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/
Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/
Free ticket for Your Air Success on 8 November: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/yourairhost
New e-book: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/e-book
Property Management Masterclass podcast series: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/property-management-masterclass

Andy Fenner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyfenner2024/
Short Term Accommodation Association: https://ukstaa.org/
Short Stay Summit 2025: https://ukstaa.org/blogs/staa-short-stay-summit/

Sponsor links:

HCH Financial Services: https://www.hchfs.com/ Call: 0333 1234 536 Email: [email protected]

Your AirHost: https://www.yourairhost.co.uk/

Zeal: https://gozeal.co.uk/services/industries/hch-furnished-holiday-lets/

Key Data: https://www.keydatadashboard.com/products/prodata?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=holiday_cottage_handbook

Enjoy the show?

Please subscribe, rate, and review! 

Email the show: [email protected]

Send us a text

Welcome to HCH Bitesize – a new podcast series brought to you by Holiday Cottage Handbook and Hostfully!

This weekly show delves into various topics essential to the short-term rentals industry. Episodes feature expert guests from across the STR space who share their insights and practical advice. These industry leaders help listeners enhance their knowledge and build successful and sustainable property management businesses.

Today’s episode features Fred Bassili, the Marketing Manager at Hostfully, discussing how a digital guidebook can supercharge your guest communication and help you to achieve better reviews.

1:49 What a digital guidebook is and how it can help your business 
5:26 Hosts may still want a ring binder – even with a digital guidebook
7:01 The content that goes in your digital guidebook
9:58 The upselling opportunities you can promote in your digital guidebook
12:55 How a digital guidebook can help you to achieve great reviews
16:02 How a digital guidebook can encourage direct bookings
17:11 The referral potential of digital guidebooks
18:55 Create a free digital guidebook with Hostfully: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1
 
Are you looking to streamline your operations and amaze your guests? Look no further than Hostfully! Try their top-rated property management software and award-winning digital guidebooks today. Join the thousands of satisfied property managers who trust Hostfully to grow their business: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/

Hostfully: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/

Fred Bassili: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-bassili/

Got a comment or interested in being a guest on the show? Email [email protected].

Send us a text

Moriya Rockman, Co-Founder of Smiling House Group, is the special guest on today’s show.

During the episode, Moriya discusses the launch of Villa Tracker – a new platform which is linking legacy travel businesses, such as travel agents and VIP clubs, with the short-term rentals industry.

Moriya also discusses how luxury properties can stand out, the amenities you need to appeal to a large number of guests, and which upselling opportunities to offer.

The episode includes sponsor mentions for HCH Financial Services, Your AirHost, Key Data, and Minut.

3:47 How the luxury short-term rentals sector is performing in 2024
6:01 Villa Tracker – a platform for legacy travel players
9:58 Targeting seven industries within legacy travel companies
14:41 It’s mostly for luxury properties 
16:29 Travel professionals: head to www.villatracker.com for further details 
18:38 Guesty users can push their properties to Villa Tracker now
19:49 Luxury property owners can list on Smiling House and be pushed to Villa Tracker
21:50 How luxury properties can stand out
24:35 The amenities luxury properties need to stand out
27: 05 The upselling opportunities for luxury rentals
33:16 Short-term rental trends
36:11 Regulation

Links:

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/
Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/
Free ticket for Your Air Success on 8 November: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/yourairhost
New e-book: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/e-book
Property Management Masterclass podcast series: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/property-management-masterclass

Moriya Rockman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moriya-rockman-a3467a13a/
Villa Tracker: https://villatracker.com/
Smiling House: https://smilinghouse.ch/
Triangle Luxury: https://triangle-luxury.com/

Sponsor links:

HCH Financial Services: https://www.hchfs.com/ Call: 0333 1234 536 Email: [email protected]

Your AirHost: https://www.yourairhost.co.uk/

Key Data: https://www.keydatadashboard.com/products/prodata?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=holiday_cottage_handbook

Minut: https://www.minut.com/?utm_campaign=holidaycottagehandbook&utm_source=partners

Enjoy the show?

Please subscribe, rate, and review! 

Email the show: [email protected]

Send us a text

Welcome to HCH Bitesize – a new podcast series brought to you by Holiday Cottage Handbook and Hostfully!

This weekly show delves into various topics essential to the short-term rentals industry. Episodes feature expert guests from across the STR space who share their insights and practical advice. These industry leaders help listeners enhance their knowledge and build successful and sustainable property management businesses.

Today’s episode features Katie Bessant from The Holiday Hive. During the show, Katie shares her top five social media marketing tips for short-term rental hosts and property managers.

1:45 Market the experience
3:01 Utilise the power of collaboration 
4:34 Video is powerful
6:07 Be social on social media!
7:28 Use CTAs
8:32 How engagement helps to grow your platform
9:49 The social media platforms hosts should be using
10:34 Quality or quantity?

Are you looking to streamline your operations and amaze your guests? Look no further than Hostfully! Try their top-rated property management software and award-winning digital guidebooks today. Join the thousands of satisfied property managers who trust Hostfully to grow their business: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/

Hostfully: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/

Katie Bessant: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-bessant/

The Holiday Hive: https://theholidayhive.com/

Got a comment or interested in being a guest on the show? Email [email protected].

Send us a text

Pierre-Camille Hamana, Founder and CEO of Hospitable, is the special guest on today’s show.

During the episode, Pierre-Camille outlines his story in the industry, the importance of understanding your target guest, and industry trends.

He also explains which type of hosts Hospitable caters for and how the platform can help you to run your short-term rental business on autopilot.

Pierre-Camille named PriceLabs as his favourite brand and gave special shout-outs to Pierre Becerril and Francois Gouelo.

The episode includes sponsor mentions for HCH Financial Services, Your AirHost, Key Data, and Minut.

5:00 A streak of happy accidents – from law to short-term rentals
9:56 Pierre-Camille’s hosting experience in the early days of Airbnb
13:24 Understanding your target guest 
14:02 Starting on Airbnb and growing from there 
15:42 Hospitable is built primarily for self-managers
19:46 The onboarding experience
22:31 How Hospitable can make your life easier
26:16 Head to hospitable.com for details. Solution available from $29 per month
31:18 How can a good host become a great host?
34:25 The industry trends you need to know, starting with AI
37:31 Small is beautiful in the STR world
40:16 Guest expectations
41:49 What the STR industry will look like in future
46:09 Favourite brand: PriceLabs
47:52 Individual shout-outs: Pierre Becerril and Francois Gouelo
50:27 No. 1 lesson learned: every six months my role changes

Links:

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/
Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/
Free ticket for Your Air Success on 8 November: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/yourairhost
New e-book: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/e-book
Property Management Masterclass podcast series: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/property-management-masterclass

Pierre-Camille Hamana: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pchamana/
Hospitable: https://hospitable.com/?utm_source=hchc&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=hch
Email: [email protected]

Mentions:

PriceLabs: https://pricelabs.co/
Pierre Becerril: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pbecerril/
Francois Gouelo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fgouelo/

Sponsor links:

HCH Financial Services: https://www.hchfs.com/ Call: 0333 1234 536 Email: [email protected]

Your AirHost: https://www.yourairhost.co.uk/

Key Data: https://www.keydatadashboard.com/products/prodata?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=holiday_cottage_handbook

Minut: https://www.minut.com/?utm_campaign=holidaycottagehandbook&utm_source=partners

Enjoy the show?

Please subscribe, rate, and review! 

Email the show: [email protected]

Send us a text

Welcome to HCH Bitesize – a new podcast series brought to you by Holiday Cottage Handbook and Hostfully!

This weekly show delves into various topics essential to the short-term rentals industry. Episodes feature expert guests from across the STR space who share their insights and practical advice. These industry leaders help listeners enhance their knowledge and build successful and sustainable property management businesses.

Today’s episode features Liam Carolan, Head of Customer Success at Boostly, sharing his top five tips for attracting direct bookings.

1:39 Why direct bookings are so important
2:50 You need your own direct booking website
5:15 Billboard your website 
7:27 Prioritise email marketing 
10:01 Drive direct bookings through social media 
14:16 Network to attract guests 

Are you looking to streamline your operations and amaze your guests? Look no further than Hostfully! Try their top-rated property management software and award-winning digital guidebooks today. Join the thousands of satisfied property managers who trust Hostfully to grow their business: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

Holiday Cottage Handbook: https://www.holidaycottagehandbook.com/

Hostfully: https://get.hostfully.com/46p7pafubra1

James Varley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/

Liam Carolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liamsacarolan/

Boostly: https://boostly.co.uk/

Got a comment or interested in being a guest on the show? Email [email protected].