Behind the Stays

In just a moment you’ll meet Michaela Carozza, the creator and host of one of Carmel Valley’s top-rated Airbnbs.  Michaela had been in the market for a property in Carmel Valley for many years.  She loved the diversity of beauty that the central California coast offered, but needed to find a place with both a main house and a second property that she could use as a rental for some supplementary in...

In just a moment you’ll meet Alla and Garrett Hohn — the creators of The Hohnstead, which is a mini-glamping resort featuring a collection of tiny cabins about 20 minutes from Missoula, Montana. Garrett’s father had always dreamed of buying a plot of land that the whole extended family could enjoy, so when he stumbled upon over 100 acres of untouched Montana forest for sale, he knew it was time to...

In just a moment, you’ll meet Andrew and Bianca — founders of the Serenity Hill Group, a growing collection of luxury Airbnb escapes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Andrew and Bianca live in Boston, and while they love all that the city has to offer, their hearts have always found peace in the mountains.   Andrew grew up hiking, skiing, and vacationing in the White Mountains and dreamed...

In just a moment you’ll meet Louisa Conrad, Co-Founder of Big Picture Farm.  Big Picture Farm is a Vermont farmstead goat dairy and confectionery whose award-winning caramels have won over a dozen national awards...and while these candies are undeniably decadent, there is more to Big Picture than just the goat dairy…   After leaving their careers in academia, Louisa and her husband Lucas founded t...

In just a moment you’ll meet Maris LeBlanc and JR Amantea, the creators of The Little House of Essex — a chic cottage near the Connecticut River in the most quintessential of quintessential New England towns.   Maris has spent her career in real estate — mostly brokering luxury, waterfront homes along the Connecticut Shoreline. When she met her now husband, JR, he was living in New York working in...

In just a moment you’ll meet Laura Gentry and Carollani Sandberg — the creators of The Sagecliff Satori, a luxurious Airbnb cabin in Quincy, Washington.  Laura and Carollani are what you might call “experience optimizers”.  They love to travel, try new restaurants, and explore off the beaten paths, but can’t help but do so with a critical eye.  They often ask each other, “what would you do differe...

On this episode of Behind the Stays, you’ll meet Eli Clark and Alexa Lang from Clark Family Silos .    Eli grew up on a farm in Kalispell, Montana (about 30 minutes outside of Whitefish in the North-Western part of the state). After studying design in college, he moved to Carlsbad, California to work at a design firm where he got the opportunity to work on a couple of Addidas’ leading product line...

In a minute, you’ll meet Valerie Malone — Creator and Founder of Quill Decor , a design consultancy that specializes in short-term rentals.   Valerie studied interior design at Auburn University, but always had a knack for entrepreneurship. After running a successful Airbnb out of her basement in Bloomington, Indiana, Valerie fell in love with the Airbnb community and felt a calling of sorts to ma...

The idea was born on a road trip from Waco, Texas to Ferndale, California.    Merritt Brodt and her daughter, Callie Alexandre, had gone to the Lone Star State to source antiques for their artisan shop, The Farmer’s Daughter, in downtown Ferndale.    Callie, whose husband's married family owns and operates Alexandre Farms (one of the few organic dairies to produce A2/A2 milk AND secure coveted she...

They met at a Starbucks.  Amber was working as a barista and Tyler had just moved from Utah to Tennessee.  They didn't know it at the time, but just a few years later they would not only be life partners but business partners as well. The story behind the vision and building of the Little River Tiny House — one of the highest-rated Airbnbs in all of Tennessee — is nothing short of a miracle. Amber...

Meet Katie Denton — a mother of three small children and a lifelong lover of travel and fine hospitality.  On this episode of Behind the Stays, Katie shares the origin story of Bees Nees Getaways — a boutique rental home collection she founded with a focus on unique and dreamy experiences in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Northern Neck of Virginia — and explains her vision and process f...

Suzie has spent most of her life working at the intersection of travel and customer service.  She traveled the world as a flight attendant for many years, before deciding to become a full-time Airbnb host. But there's so much more to her story... My wife and I stayed at this impeccably clean and serene cottage on Suzie and Neal’s stunning property for two weeks and instantly fell in love with this...

When they purchased their home in 2016, the Smith family had no idea what adventures lay ahead. On the far edge of their property sat an empty WWII train and a historic aircraft hangar... Fast forward just a couple of years, and these historic spaces have been transformed into gorgeous stays. Tune in for an exciting story of how the Smith family went from managing one to managing three Airbnbs, wi...

On this epsiode of Behind the Stays, Zach interviews Kristen Bishop — a real estate professional who purchased the historic guest on the Filene family's estate that would become " Camp Adelaide ." The Filene family owned and operated "Filene's Basement", also called The Basement, which was a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores that was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 whe...

Welcome to Behind the Stays — a podcast that shares the stories behind your favorite Airbnbs and the hosts who’ve made them memorable.