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Let's face the truth - everyone exits at some point. Those that plan for it, do much better.

Your business should always be "For Sale" or ready for an exit. Not necessarily because you actually want to sell, but because when you treat your business as if it were "For Sale" you have the incentive and focus to make sure it's running efficiently and profitably. But more than that, a well-designed exit strategy is just good business strategy as it is a guidepost for effective decision-making in your business.

Making sure your business practices are in place, your operations are as efficient as possible, and that you have a written roadmap for success, including your exit strategy, is how you strengthen your business, TODAY. 

Our expert guest today, Simon Lehmann specializes in structuring and restructuring businesses and helping entrepreneurs plan for the future. Simon and I get into a wide-ranging conversation on how to build an exit strategy that you’ll be ready for well in advance. Simon also gives practical advice on what it takes to build a solid STR business and the impact of technology automation.

Chapters

00:00 How to exit from an accommodation or short term rental business in 2022

01:24 Intro and background to Simon and his business.

03:58 How to build a short-term rental business, for it to be viable and profitable.

05:47 What are the cost drivers of your business?

08:37 How to measure the profitability of your investments.

09:47 Why we shouldn't adopt revenue management practices from airlines.

17:58 Building a strong risk profile for the arbitrage model.

18:35 How the war in Ukraine will affect our market.

22:34 Factors to consider when choosing your tech stack.

26:04 Understanding who you serve and why you serve them.

31:45 How to grow into several markets at the same time.

33:24 Factors to consider when expanding into multiple locations

33:33 Why expansion is not always a good thing.

36:00 How to build an exit strategy.

39:48 What are the value drivers for a future buyer?

42:19 Is there value to an investor when using OTAs?

44:15 The best exit strategy is a solidly built company.

Contact Info

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-lehmann-8375753b/

Website: https://ajlatelier.com/

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ACCOMMODATION OWNERS AND MANAGER FREE RESOURCES!

Connect with Bart Sobies: https://www.ibooked.online/bart/

The Accommodation Show:  https://www.theaccommodationshow.com

The Accommodation Owners and Managers Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2NM3dTl​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Disclaimer: *All content on this YouTube channel, Podcast or post reflects my own opinions and should NOT be taken as legal advice, financial advice or investment advice. Please seek out guidance of professionally trained and licensed individuals before making any decisions. Some links in the description may be affiliate links.

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Technology is at the forefront of everything we do. Whether that’s paying for a purchase in the supermarket, connecting with a loved one on the other side of the world, or simply kicking back to watch a new Netflix series. There is no denying the major role that technology plays in our daily lives.  

Coming in hot from Canada, our guest today, Steve Davis, CEO of Operto, brings us 20+ years of progressive management experience, with expertise in strategic planning, marketing, and sales execution of consumer and technology products. We discuss the ways hosts can elevate guest experience through the use of tech operating systems like Operto and the most common property automation devices, including smart locks, sensors, cameras, digital locks, voice assistants, and where the short-term rental industry is heading as a whole.

I hope you find this episode as insightful as I did.

Chapters

00:00 Scaling your accommodation business with Technology & Automation

01:01 Intro and background to Operto CEO - Steve Davis.

03:15 What Operto does and Operto’s property automation tools.

04:54 Which are the easiest automation tools to implement for beginners.

06:58 The benefits of using digital locks

09:15 How Operto integrates monitoring technology (think temperature and noise)

12:45 How technology and artificial intelligence is shaping the guest and operator experience.

17:05 How tech can improve communication between guests and owner-operator.

19:33 How IoT tech is making up for staffing shortages.

23:11 Operto’s contactless check-ins and checkouts.

30:04 How technology can fit into your Short Term Rental.

Contact Info

https://www.operto.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedavis12/

THE DEAL; 

Whilst stocks last; Steve Davis says he would like to offer: "a free Netatmo sensor for every new door/property we sign up on an annual contract."

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Hit that subscribe button!    This also keeps us going and creating more useful content for free!

ACCOMMODATION OWNERS AND MANAGER FREE RESOURCES!  

Connect with Bart: https://www.ibooked.online/bart/

The Accommodation Show:  https://www.theaccommodationshow.com

The Accommodation Owners and Managers Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2NM3dTl​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Join the mailing list with all the accommodation secrets: https://bit.ly/3aKBf3X​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Need more direct bookings? We get results! https://www.ibooked.online​​​​​​​​​​​

#ibookedonline​​​​​ #bookdirect​​​​​ #airbnb​​

Disclaimer: Please refer to relevant websites for latest, up to date, information with all facts, figures and terms and conditions. Information as accurate as we could get it at time of publishing. No information provided should be considered as advice and you should consider your own personal circumstances and consult a relevant professional.  

Affiliate Disclaimer: 

This blog, podcast & youtube channel; will occasionally contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission on a purchase without additional cost to you, if you buy something through my links. 

The purpose of this show is to educate viewers, and share everything I know about improving your accommodation, STR and AirBNB business. I do believe in the products and services that we link to and that you may benefit from them. 

If you do purchase through my affiliate links; I want to thank you for your support. 

Don’t forget to subscribe! 

Welcome folks to another value add episode of The Accommodation Show!

One of the biggest opportunities you have as an accommodation owner, is to have a good command over your pricing strategy. Having a great revenue management strategy can quite often get overlooked, or even if you have a dedicated revenue manager on your team, there is always opportunity to learn and do things differently. 

On this episode of The Accommodation Show, Heather Richer joins me to share her top revenue management secrets for hosts. She walks us through the fundamentals of revenue management, the best resources you can use to identify change in demand based on the day-of-the week, seasonaly, looking at local events in our area, implementing better revenue management strategies and how to maximize your profits through dynamic pricing. 

Heather Richer is a seasoned revenue optimization veteran. She is currently a partner at Richer Logic Consulting and Board Member of the Association for Short-Term Rental Homeowners (ASTRHO), and also sits on the HSMAI Revenue Management Advisory Board. She served as CMO of RedAwning most recently, and prior to that, she served as VP, Revenue and Distribution at Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. 

With a background in the hotel and short-term rental space, Heather has a broad perspective of the lodging industry and experience with revenue management across hotels, resorts, restaurants, and short-term rentals. 

Having been involved with other organizations such as AHLA, HEDNA, and VRMA, Heather sees the value in education and the importance of advancing revenue management and the overall short-term and vacation rental industry. Richer holds her Masters in Tourism Administration from George Washington University and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.

This is a great conversation, where we put the crystal ball away revenue management is a science, not a guessing game.  

Thanks for listening

00:00 Simplifying Revenue Management with Heather Richer

01:30 Introduction to Heather Richer 

02:35 What got Heather into revenue management

03:43 What is revenue management and why is it important?

05:00 Fundamentals of revenue management 

06:01 Revenue Management tools

08:49 How data can help you with forecasting

09:35 Where to find resources for forecasting

10:45 Which levers determine your pricing strategy

13:41 How to price yourself in line with the market

14:20 Revenue management for newbies, where to start?

22:11 What hosts can be doing now to prepare for the next 30 - 90 days 

26:08 What is Revenue Culture and why is it important?

Contact Info

https://www.richerlogic.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-richer

https://www.instagram.com/heatherricher/?hl=en

 ---- 

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The Accommodation Show:  https://www.theaccommodationshow.com

The Accommodation Owners and Managers Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2NM3dTl

Join the mailing list with all the accommodation secrets: https://bit.ly/3aKBf3X

Need more direct bookings? We get results! https://www.ibooked.online

Love our content? Check out these other legends; Sean Rakidzich, Alexia Write, Mark Simpson, Chris Choi, Chi Tai, Tai Lopez, Jorge Contreras and Brian Page. They are doing great things in the industry. If you are a follower of theirs make sure you contact us for exclusive discounts for Direct Booking Websites. 

#ibookedonline #bookdirect #airbnb

Disclaimer: Please refer to relevant websites for latest, up to d

Travelling nomads have been around for a long time, but there was never a dedicated Visa that let you do this - now countries are embracing the trend; 

“With the recently introduced Startup Act, foreigners will be able to live and work in Spain for six to 12 months without needing an official work visa, as long as they make at least 80% of their income working for non-Spanish companies, The Independent reports. 

Up to two extensions would be allowed, meaning remote workers could potentially stay in Spain for up to three years, without the right to residency. If approved, this new visa would apply to foreign nationals from non-European Union countries.”

Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to travel all around the world, stay at luxury accommodations and still be able to work?

In todays episode, not only are we meeting a traveling nomad, we are meeting a traveling nomad who has a great business in the accommodation industry. Today I will be talking to Moriya Rockman who’s been hosting high-end guests with high-end luxury.

Want to get the best accommodation marketing tips before everyone else?

Hit that subscribe button!    This also keeps us going and creating more useful content for free!

ACCOMMODATION OWNERS AND MANAGER FREE RESOURCES!  

Connect with Bart: https://www.ibooked.online/bart/

The Accommodation Show:  https://www.theaccommodationshow.com

The Accommodation Owners and Managers Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2NM3dTl​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Join the mailing list with all the accommodation secrets: https://bit.ly/3aKBf3X​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Need more direct bookings? We get results! https://www.ibooked.online​​​​​​​​​​​

#ibookedonline​​​​​ #bookdirect​​​​​ #airbnb​​

Disclaimer: Please refer to relevant websites for latest, up to date, information with all facts, figures and terms and conditions. Information as accurate as we could get it at time of publishing. No information provided should be considered as advice and you should consider your own personal circumstances and consult a relevant professional.  

Affiliate Disclaimer: 

This blog, podcast & youtube channel; will occasionally contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission on a purchase without additional cost to you, if you buy something through my links. 

The purpose of this show is to educate viewers, and share everything I know about improving your accommodation, STR and AirBNB business. I do believe in the products and services that we link to and that you may benefit from them. 

If you do purchase through my affiliate links; I want to thank you for your support. 

If a photo is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth at least a million. But if you don't have the following, then you don't have the views. This is why you should consider pairing with an influencer to spread the wings of your brand. The booming popularity of social media has allowed us to connect with customers like never before. Now, consumers can simply log onto their social media apps and discover a slew of personal recommendations of their favourite celebrities and influencers on where to take their next vacation. 

In this podcast, we’re going to delve deeper into the value of influencer marketing, ground rules, why it works so well, and discuss Gonthong’s experience of how she used influencer marketing to grow their brand awareness, increase customer loyalty and drive direct bookings.

00:00  How to grow your hospitality business with influencers

00:59 How do you find good influencers

04:15 How do you know which influencer is right for your brand

04:53 Why use influencers for marketing

06:41 How to Encourage Better Deliverables From Influencers

08:50 Using influencers to define your audience and increase awareness

10:34 What do you pay influencers

10:47 Re-using influencer content

12:16 Giving influencers freedom to be creative

14:42 Building discussion and engagement on social media after an influencer post

16:40 Preparing your staff and busines for influencers

Contact Info

https://www.khaosokaccommodation.com/

https://www.khaosokecoresort.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ourjunglehouse

https://www.facebook.com/ourjunglecamp

---- 

Want to get the best accommodation marketing tips before everyone else?

Hit that subscribe button!

Connect with Bart: https://www.ibooked.online/bart/

The Accommodation Show:  https://www.theaccommodationshow.com

The Accommodation Owners and Managers Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2NM3dTl

Join the mailing list with all the accommodation secrets: https://bit.ly/3aKBf3X

Need more direct bookings? We get results! https://www.ibooked.online

Love our content? Check out these other legends; Sean Rakidzich, Alexia Write, Mark Simpson, Chris Choi, Chi Tai, Tai Lopez, Jorge Contreras and Brian Page. They are doing great things in the industry. If you are a follower of theirs make sure you contact us for exclusive discounts for Direct Booking Websites. 

#ibookedonline

Disclaimer: Please refer to relevant websites for latest, up to date, information with all facts, figures and terms and conditions. Information as accurate as we could get it at time of publishing. No information provided should be considered as advice and you should consider your own personal circumstances and consult a relevant professional.  

Affiliate Disclaimer: 

This blog, podcast & youtube channel; will occasionally contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission on a purchase without additional cost to you, if you buy something through my links. 

The purpose of this show is to educate viewers, and share everything I know about improving your accommodation, STR and AirBNB business. I do believe in the products and services that we link to and that you may benefit from them. 

If you do purchase through my affiliate links; I want to thank you for your support.

Good morning accommodation owners and managers, 

I absolutely love unique experiences, those once in a lifetime opportunities that expand your mind and soul. I think of the moments that have impacted me, and many were created whilst travelling and appreciating the wonders of the world. I was incredibly lucky, to talk to a top operator from Thailand who heads up Our Jungle Camp and Our Jungle House. They offer some of the most unique and beautiful accommodation in the world. 

But like all of us - Covid has dramatically affected the way they run their business. Adversity tends to breed ingenuity and genius. More often than not, smart and capable individuals will find a way to use their hardships as fuel to build something better. 

Our guest today did just that. 

In this week's episode, we're joined by Gonthong Lourdesamy all the way from Thailand, to discuss how she shifted the businesses focus from international tourists to the domestic market amid pandemic flight restrictions. We talk about the many changes she had to make to cater to the staycation markets as well the valuable lessons from her triumphs.

Gonthong is a lifelong marketing and tourism professional, she has her roots in Environmental Education which started around 25 years ago as a tourist guide to students, teachers, and the general public who visited Thailand wanting to learn about its rich culture and variety of resident wildlife in Chao Phraya River. Through that experience, she moved to Malaysia with The Social Enterprise, where she ran a 10-year program of Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Award, based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria standards.

Three years ago, Gonthong returned to Thailand to manage the 40-year-old “Our Jungle House” and her 5-year-old sister, “Our Jungle Camp”, in Khao Sok National Park in Thailand, a hotbed of incredible biodiversity that is famous for its dense virgin forests, beautiful limestone hills, and serene jungle rivers. Both are jungle destinations that attract adventure travel enthusiasts all year round, boasting 60+ staff and 40+ accommodation. Their jungle destinations are renowned for their treehouses and bungalows that blend into the surroundings, so you can enjoy the luxury of nature.

This episode punches above its weight, not just for the golden tips of appealing to the local market but thinking out of the box when dealing with the many challenges in our industry.

Notes

00:00 Running accommodation in the jungle of Thailand - moving from an international business to a local one (Part 1)

01:35 Intro and background

02:29 What is the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria?

03:50 How Our Jungle Camp has met the GSTC standards

04:46 What is Our Jungle Camp experience

05:26 Day to day operations of Our Jungle Camp and Our Jungle House

06:47 Guest experience at Our Jungle Camp and Our Jungle House

08:46 Changing from International guests to local guests

12:51 Marketing strategies to court your local market

17:49 Challenges of selling to a local market

20:17 Becoming your local expert 

20:50 Experimenting with different marketing strategies

23:54 Meeting your guest at their platform of choice

25:30 How quickly do you need to respond to guests

27:31 Making a sale using messaging apps

Contact Info

https://www.khaosokecoresort.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ourjunglehouse

https://www.facebook.com/ourjunglecamp

---- 

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So what can we expect from 2022 in STR? What trends will shape the industry? What challenges will property managers face, and what technology will be crucial to success? 

To get the scoop on all the 2022 trends, I interviewed the founder of Rental Scale-Up Thibault Masson and asked him to share his predictions for the New Year and beyond. 

Thibault brings a wealth of experience from a decade-plus of property management. He has launched and managed villas and apartments in Paris (France), Bali (Indonesia), and St. Barths (the Caribbean).

As a vacation rental tech marketer, he worked at companies such as Booking.com and as a consultant for several industry vendors, leading several innovative projects to create new tools and news services for short-term rental operators, vacation rental managers, and individual hosts. As a vacation rental industry analyst, he has founded Rental Scale-Up, one of the leading industry news and analysis website.

Even if this weren’t actually my podcast, I’d tell you this episode is a must-listen. If you haven’t done so already, it may be a great time to sit down alone, with your partner, or with other fellow investors to come up with a rock-solid game plan for this year, with special consideration to these trends..

Here's to another year passing, and to this year being full of possibility. Cheers to a beautiful new year, fam.

Chapters 

00:00 Vacation rental travel trends for 2022 and beyond with Thibault Masson

01:23 Intro and background

02:19 Video content and why its important 

03:00 How Thibault ended up in the vacation rental industry

05:37 Rental Scale-Up and how it started

06:45 Getting into the top trends for 2022

13:10 How fast will things change in 2022

14:01 Future booking trends

21:01 Trends on conversion and cancellation policies 

28:12 Environmental trends and what OTA filters mean

35:12 How regulation is changing

38:31 Making sustainability a part of your KPI

Contact Info

Website: https://www.rentalscaleup.com/ 

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmasson/

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Want to get the best accommodation marketing tips before everyone else?

Hit that subscribe button!

Connect with Bart: https://www.ibooked.online/bart/

The Accommodation Show:  https://www.theaccommodationshow.com

The Accommodation Owners and Managers Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2NM3dTl​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Join the mailing list with all the accommodation secrets: https://bit.ly/3aKBf3X​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Need more direct bookings? We get results! https://www.ibooked.online​​​​​​​​​​​

Love our content? Check out these other legends; Sean Rakidzich, Alexia Write, Mark Simpson, Chris Choi, Chi Tai, Tai Lopez, Jorge Contreras and Brian Page. They are doing great things in the industry. If you are a follower of theirs make sure you contact us for exclusive discounts for Direct Booking Websites. 

#ibookedonline​​​​​ #bookdirect​​​​​ #airbnb​​

Imagine being able to chose some of the best locations in the world with no downpayment on the land for your accommodation/STR business!

Putting together the top travel trends for the year for you to watch is one of my favourite things to do! The team and I spend a considerable amount of time looking at what happened in 2021 and predict what is coming up in the next 12 months. 

We had about 50 different things for you to look out for, but we selected the top 10 which we think will impact you the most. 

What did we miss?

Chapters:

00:00 TOP TRAVEL TRENDS FOR 2022!

00:35 LOCAL TRAVEL

01:40 MONEY MONEY MONEY 

02:15 INFLATION

03:03 UNIQUE EXPERIENCES

04:21 CROSS-SELLS & UPSELLS

05:30 SOCIAL MEDIA & VIDEO

06:50 LAST MINUTE BOOKINGS

07:22 ECO ECO ECO

10:49 QR CODES

10:49 LABOUR SHORTAGES

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Want to get the best accommodation marketing tips before everyone else?

Hit that subscribe button!    This also keeps us going and creating more useful content for free!

Things that will help you;    The Accommodation show:  https://www.theaccommodationshow.com

The Accommodation Owners and Managers Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2NM3dTl​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Join the mailing list with all the accommodation secrets: https://bit.ly/3aKBf3X​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Need more direct bookings - reach out to us here: https://www.ibooked.online​​​​​​​​​​​

Disclaimer: Please refer to relevant websites for latest, up to date, information with all facts, figures and terms and conditions. Information as accurate as we could get it at time of publishing.

#ibookedonline​​​​​ #bookdirect​​​​​ #airbnb​​

This was such a profoundly stimulating conversation - and I hope it blows your mind as much as it did mine.

The hotel industry has faced a big shake up since the outbreak of Covid-19. Nearly overnight, most hotels went from “no vacancy” to “high vacancy”.  Repeated opening and closing of borders, sudden lockdowns, new Covid variations has forced us to reimagine our offerings as we try to generate cash flow. 

So what can we learn from the steps that some of the best and largest hotels in NZ have taken to survive? How have hotels coped during this time?

We look at how COVID-19 has impacted the hotel industry and how you can position yourself in 2022 to survive, revive and thrive even in what has been for most a difficult 2 years. 

Notes

00:00 How hotels are reinventing themselves post pandemic with Les Morgan

00:56 Intro to Les and Hind Management

02:21 How the pandemic has affected Hind Management

03:59 How we have adapted post-pandemic

08:23 Coping with staff shortages

11:30 How far ahead to plan for uncertainties 

15:00 Finding data to maneuver Covid restrictions and lockdowns

16:17 How can you be more efficient to make up for staff shortages and lack of international travel

21:30 The accelerated role of technology in the pandemic 

29:28 Opportunities for hosts in the Workcation market

32:45 Remote working facilities

34:05 Protecting your business against inflation

40:15 Ancillary services

Show Links: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/les-morga...

https://www.sudimahotels.com/

https://www.hindmanagement.com/

----- 

Want to get the best accommodation marketing tips before everyone else?

Hit that subscribe button!    This also keeps us going and creating more useful content for free!

Things that will help you;    The Accommodation show:  https://www.theaccommodationshow.com

The Accommodation Owners and Managers Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/2NM3dTl​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Join the mailing list with all the accommodation secrets: https://bit.ly/3aKBf3X​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Need more direct bookings - reach out to us here: https://www.ibooked.online​​​​​​​​​​​

Disclaimer: Please refer to relevant websites for latest, up to date, information with all facts, figures and terms and conditions. Information as accurate as we could get it at time of publishing.

#ibookedonline​​​​​ #bookdirect​​​​​ #airbnb​​