Thanks For Visiting

As owner and co-founder of a European rental management company overseeing 900+ properties, Richard Vaughton has significant experience in short-term rentals and property management. He’s also got some surprising takes on where our industry is headed in the near and long term future. Uniquely plugged into the industry, and endlessly experienced with real-life work in our world (hello, cleaning toi...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Betsy asks: I wanted to talk about damage waivers using companies like Waivo. I'm using Waivo specifically and encountering some significant challenges. I quickly learned that the generous linen coverage that I thought Waivo provided w...

We’re making progress on our Hocking Hills glamping project with cabin demo, prefab purchases, and creative financing. Check in for an honest, relatable recollection of the development process from two eager investors knee deep in a long term legacy build. First, we take you behind the scenes on Day 1 of cabin demo, a delightfully quick process with some fun creative questions to answer (roll-away...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Elaine asks: We get a lot of couples that stay at our romantic gazebo cottage. I had a guest that reached out to me who wanted to know if we have any add-on packages to help celebrate an anniversary. Unfortunately, I did not, but I wou...

Today’s expert guest is Ellyn Vollmer. She’s got a wild pain-to-purpose story that many hosts will find eerily familiar. She and her husband Devin live in Pittsburgh, PA and recently launched their first STR property in Oceanside, CA after a long and winding road filled with false starts and regulatory red tape. We talk all about how their six-month plan turned into a two-year (and more!) ordeal t...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Brandy asks: We host on a 10-acre property. We also live on this 10-acre property. But we continue to have guests that will break our terms and conditions, even though it is stated very plainly that we do not allow parties or gathering...

Today’s expert guest is Lisa Roads, a seasoned short-term rental professional, whose journey began as a property investor in her early twenties. As Lisa continued to grow her property portfolio, she recognised the potential for early adoption in an emerging market in Cyprus. This investment move created the opportunity to start her second business venture, providing a fully managed service for han...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Melissa asks: I am going to be a new host, and I have a question about bed frames and headboards. I have a couple headboards that are upholstered. What are your thoughts about using those and cleaning those instead of buying new headbo...

In today’s solo (duo?) episode, we unpack an expansive recent experience we shared in England, learning about this amazing industry. From an STR business retreat hosted in a towering castle, complete with moat, to the Short Stay Summit 2024 in London – we’ve come home with a wider and more full picture of what hosts are doing and seeing around the world. Our journey begins at Middleton Castle, whe...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Patrick asks: It's Patrick with Farmhouse805 on the beautiful central coast of California. I have a big question for you… We've been having a lot of success with our STR. We've got a nice patio with a gas fire pit and a commercial grad...

Today’s expert guest is Colleen Chrien, a hyper-engaged member of our Hosting Business Mastery Method , mom of four young kids, and owner of Picket Fence Properties and Fully Furnished Charleston where she manages a portfolio of 38 long-term rentals and 21 furnished rentals – a mix between short, mid, and long term listings. We learn all about how she launched her business and landed in Charleston...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Becky asks: I have an ADT security system and my control panel has a little camera on it. It takes a picture of the person who is setting or disabling the alarm. Nobody ever sets the alarm in the Airbnb, but it is in the hallway. I was...

Today’s expert guest is the ultra-informed researcher and short-term rental historian, Brumby McLeod, Ph. D., an associate professor at the College of Charleston, School of Business in the Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management. He is also a research fellow with the Office of Tourism Analysis and the Riley Center for Livable Communities. The focus of his research is in overnight accomm...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Taylor asks: Can you please break down the Airbnb summer release for us? What do we need to know? Thank you so much. Can't wait to hear your response. (00:01:13) What’s New with the Airbnb Summer Update? (00:01:32) NEW Airbnb Icons: Sa...

Welcome back to this dedicated series on the acquisition, set-up, and launch of our brand new Hocking Hills vacation rental project. In this episode, we update listeners on the actions we’ve taken since signing the deal, hard decisions we’ve already made, and what’s coming up next. Golden nuggets include how Sarah has leveraged artificial intelligence to create temporary branding for the property,...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Angela asks: One of my properties has a 60% direct booking rate. I'm trying to figure out the best way to adjust my pricing so that my net earnings on a direct booking is slightly higher than when guests book through a third-party plat...

Welcome back to the officially unofficial Money Making May, where we have a full month’s worth of content all around pricing profitable properties with PriceLabs ! Today’s expert guest is our very own Chief Operating Officer, Colleen Prochaska! Colleen brings over ten years of hospitality experience as a hotel General Manager for Marriott and Hilton brands to Thanks for Visiting. Her passion lies...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Samantha asks: What's your take on grills at a short-term rental? I always wanted to stay away because I'm terrified someone will burn down our brand new houses. But we recently had an upcoming guest ask if we had a grill, and they wer...

Today it’s time to get serious – as serious as a catastrophic house fire. With no exaggeration, it is essential that any short-term rental host, or aspiring host, listen into this entire episode. This week’s expert guest is Nicholas Libertin. He and his wife live in the Cleveland area and host a vacation rental in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His area of expertise, unfortunately, lies in his experien...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. A listener asks: I already use dynamic pricing strategies in my business right now. I see that Airbnb is making some changes to their fees. The host fee for me is going up from 3% to 15% and the guest is paying nothing. With that in mi...

Welcome to the officially unofficial Money Making May, where we have a full month’s worth of content all around pricing profitable properties with PriceLabs ! Today’s expert guest is Michael Lacalle, a teacher, husband, and father of two who stumbled into house hacking as a means to afford living on the Central Coast of California. From there, he got the real estate bug and now owns five short-ter...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Russell asks: Hosts are seeing so much out there right now about cameras and Airbnb. I have one on my front porch. Is this still okay? Can you guys cut through all the noise and tell us exactly what we need to know about the cameras? C...

This week’s expert guest is Kristie Wolfe, creative off-grid builder and short-term rental superstar. With her one-of-a-kind projects, her focus is on creating unforgettable guest experiences, not just accommodations. Kristie is not only the builder in her business, she is also the designer, and she crafts some of Airbnb's most sought-after wishlist stays. She has several tree houses, a hobbit hol...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between. Kendra asks: We purchased a property, my husband's pipe dream, in western Wisconsin on the trout streams where he grew up fishing. We launched it on Airbnb and VRBO in March. It's called the Trimbelle Cottage and we've had good success...

Today’s expert guests are Austin and Karlee Phippen, operators of an expanding portfolio of hospitality brands and businesses in scenic Northern New Mexico. Starting in just 2019, they’ve already built an empire in Chama – from boutique hotel rooms, a 16-room motel, a dozen co-hosted properties, and a sprawling ranch wedding venue. With Austin’s background in construction, and Karlee’s formal educ...