Shampoo and Booze

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg After being on the road (and staying in Airbnbs) for about a month, we're finally home. Today we talk about what it's like handing off our rental to a hired friend. Sometimes it's cake, sometimes it's not- for all parties. But for the most part, it's been wonderful. Airbnb announced the ability for third parties, ie travel agents or managers, to book on behalf of clients. Check out their Business Travel Program. We also recently got an email about Smart Pricing, which might not work for us, but it could very well work for you. Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg We've been on the road for work and fun for the last two weeks. Our first stop was beautiful Bellingham, Washington where we stayed in a basement (bachelor style) apartment of a very nice family. Next we drove about 400 miles to Bend, Oregon to immerse ourselves in some Northwestern hipster-ism, complete with bespoke coffee and beer at every corner.  We thoroughly enjoy being Airbnb and guests, rather than hosts, every once in a while. Back home, our friend is successfully running our Farmhouse, checking people in and cleaning. Thank goodness for people you can trust! Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg We had an interesting week of farmhouse adventures. While Ryanne was busy promoting the house at a wedding show, Jay was cleaning the whole thing and checking people in (and literally putting out fires with chaotic guests, [they were very confused about this]). Also, the roof on the river house renovation is done. We made the final payment and did the final walk through this week. Feels good to get that done and paid. It's a real beauty! Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg As springtime springs and summer approaches, we remember how important the outside areas of our house are for attracting guests. Creating and maintaining the land can be time consuming and pricey, but when you hear from your guests about how much fun they had exploring the woods and the stream, that makes it all worth it. Plus it's cheaper than a pool! Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg Springtime is officially here. That means Jay gets to cut fresh flowers and put them on the table at the farmhouse. It looks nice and it's free! We talk about how we run our businesses like a Mom and Pop general store. All hands on deck, all of the time. We have a feeling that more urban rentals are becoming less like this. Though there are a lot of country rentals around here that are just as hands off, even by the management companies. We have successfully booked 4th of July weekend for a premium, so that feels great. Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg We're getting into the springtime busy season at the Farmhouse rental and things are going well considering some stained linens and BBQ crust on the oven. We like to think of those things as regular renter use, not fee-worthy behavior. The river house roof is almost done, the chimney is done, and we're watching every episode of the British TV show, Grand Designs, so we know we're not the only ones taking on big projects like this. Interesting article about hotels trying to woo the Airbnb market with 'micro-tels'. We've stayed at Pod39 about 3 times and loved it. Guess they're doing it right. Check out some more house progress photos below. --Our new official Farmhouse sign. --Different views of the rear of the River House where we tore off the junky deck to better complete the roof. --And a series of progress photos of the chimney as it was being bricked up. Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg Molly has a super popular rental in the hip neighborhood of Silverlake in LA. She's basically booked every night of the month. And we know why, her place is so cool! Check it out. We love talking to other hosts in far off (from us) locations because it lets us compare and contrast our experiences. Something we all seem to have in common- wanting our time and independence from an office job. Molly is pretty much there, with plans to buy another place in SoCal to expand her Airbnb business. We can't wait to check in with her a year from now to see how it's all going. Thanks Molly! (P.S. These are the Kwikset electronic locks Jay was thinking of. We do have these beautiful Schlage door handles though.) Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg Work is moving along on the new rental house. The roof is almost done, the chimney is getting bricked and we're excited about how everything is looking. Check out the photos below of the progress. We've also been binge watching Grand Designs, a British documentary series about people building or renovating their own homes. It's great to see other people going through the same processes we go through on houses. We're not alone! Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg This week, we had the flu. Despite that, the business must go on! We had our renters self check-in, using our very helpful electronic locks and they had a great time even though we could not meet them. Getting notes like the one you see above is why we do this. To provide a fancy, cozy, quiet, get away for people who want to hang out in the country. They loved it so much, they booked the house for Memorial Day weekend. Sadly, they only booked 2 nights out of 3 for that weekend. But that really spurred Ryanne into action to change both Airbnb and HomeAway's holiday weekends to require 3 night minimums. Here is tutorial on how to do it for Airbnb (they don't make it easy to find). Here is a link so you can binge watch Grand Designs, a British documentary series about people building or renovating their own homes. Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!

iTunes   YouTube   Download .mp3  Download .ogg Ryanne attended our chamber of commerce wedding forum this week to network with other wedding service providers. It's got us thinking of becoming a wedding venue, but we are extremely hesitant. Our brick mason contractor came over to look at a couple things, at the same time he started giving us some great ideas for the house. We just bought this book to check out, we heard about it in one of our town's newsletters- Your Town: A Destination: The 25 Immutable Rules of Successful Tourism. Interesting! Thinking of becoming an Airbnb host or guest? Use our referral code and get $20 off your next stay or $80 credit if you become a host!