Get Paid For Your Pad | Airbnb Hosting | Vacation Rentals | STR Revenue Management

"Hospitality is really about execution," — Sean Breuner   There are 23,000 short-term rental companies in the US. But the industry remains fragmented due to how challenging it is to build a scalable, national platform that can deliver a high-level yet standardized experience at every property, to every guest, every time.   AvantStay has scaled its hospitality brand to 1500+ units in less...

There are advantages to hosting corporate travelers in your short-term rentals. You get high-quality guests. You can offer a number of upsells. And capitalize on referrals and repeat business.   But you may have to level up your game in order to attract these high-paying corporate clients.   So, what amenities do you need to offer business travelers? What level of service do they expect?...

Sometimes when a customer goes to make a booking on Airbnb, the daily rate seems reasonable, but when they go to checkout, the price, including the fees, is almost double.    Or a guest arrives at their perfect rental only to discover a list of checkout instructions so long it feels like their stay has now become a working vacation.   Airbnb started as an affordable alternative to h...

When David Bergmann joined our Legends X program in April 2021, he was a hectic host with 25 units and a dream to quit his full-time job. 18 months later, David manages a portfolio of 110 STR units and a neighborhood laundromat! How did David scale his Airbnb business so quickly? And what did he learn along the way? David is Cofounder of Heartwood Furnished Homes , a short-term rental management c...

When working in the STR space, buying new properties to increase your bottom line is not always possible or probable.   And sometimes, it's not even necessary.   Sometimes increasing your revenue is as simple as renovating your current properties to attract your ideal guest avatar and maximize occupancy.   So, how can you determine which renovations actually pay off, what to skip, a...

If you want to create a big brand identity as a small operator, you need to dig in and determine who you are and exactly who you want to serve. So how can you niche down and get specific about your guest avatar? One way is to determine a need you have that isn't being served and then fill that. That's what my guest today did. Rose Tipka of Your Family's Place offers multi-generational spaces desig...

In the Legends X program, Eric and I coach people on how to get from Hectic Host to Short-Term Rental Legend.   But we also happen to be students, applying the system we teach to the new Airbnb business we’re building—a hospitality brand known as Freewyld.   So, where are WE on the journey from Hectic Host to STR Legend? And what does our signature VOS system look like in practice? &nbsp...

When you own an STR business, there will always be issues. Someone will lose their key, someone will clog the toilet, a piece of furniture will break, and then there’s the money issue. Patrick Spanfelner was struggling with all those issues and more, all while parenting a one-year-old and a three-year-old with just one unit. He was the epitome of a hectic host. But all that changed. He's now succe...

"The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do," Steve Jobs   Often in the busyness of working on our businesses each day, our brains try to drive us to focus on the tasks we can focus on today to get a result. So, we dig into those tasks that require a lot of physical and mental work. And, at the end of the day, we feel accomplished—and we are.&nbs...

“Earn dollars, spend pesos, that’s a very attractive proposition these days,” Patrick Spanfelner Just 4 hours away from Miami, Cali is the 3rd largest city in Colombia. With an amazing climate year-round, exceptional nightlife, and entertainment, it's the go-to place to live a high quality of life at a low cost.   For investors, Colombia doesn't have any restrictions on foreign ownership. The...

If you’re an Airbnb host with a small number of units, you may not think branding is all that important.   But if you want to grow your STR business and enjoy long-term success, it’s never too soon to upgrade from host to hospitality brand.   On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Eric and I sit down to discuss why it’s so important for STR hosts to build a hospitality brand and how b...

Do you dream of growing your short-term rental portfolio to tens or even hundreds of units?   Yes, a successful host can invest their profits in buying additional STRs. But it doesn’t take long to run out of your own money.   So, what if you could use other people’s money to purchase more vacation rentals? How does it work to fundraise capital from investors for your STR business?  ...

Are you a problem solver who understands everything from products to systems and people to profit? Have you built a STR business with over 100 listings? Have you ever thought of becoming a coach? If so and you want to find out how you can get started impacting people’s lives and businesses, this episode is for you. Teaching something to another person or helping them get started in your space elev...

Imagine seeing your short-term rental on the big screen! Production companies rent properties all over the world and pay a premium to film in those spaces. But you won’t find film crews on Airbnb. So, how do you tap into this opportunity? Laura Wegner is Founder of The Suite Life Whistler , a STR company out of Vancouver, British Columbia. She is also a former professional actor and advocate for t...

The number of day-to-day decisions you must make when running a business can be insurmountable. It's easy to let the creative team connection fall by the wayside.   And let's be honest, ZOOM meetings aren't the same as carving out time away from the distractions of the office with the key players of your team somewhere new where the creative juices can flow.   We've just returned from ou...

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and bachelorette weekends are an expanding short-term rental niche where you can charge premium rates and make bank.   But they can also come with some very BIG drawbacks.   So, how can you set the right expectations from the start so you can tap into the lucrative ‘girls trip’ market without ending up with noise complaints and destroyed property?   STR...

Fueled by the increasing demand for rentals for digital nomads and the uptick in regulations by cities on short-term rentals, medium-term stays are now the fastest-growing category on the Airbnb platform. So, how can we jump into the medium-term market and get all the benefits of investing in Airbnbs without the hassle of turnover or the risk of changing city regulations? Zeona McIntyre has been a...

Every day for an STR entrepreneur is filled with numerous tasks, some of which consume the time you could spend growing your business using your unique skills.   If only you could get the low-level projects off your plate, freeing up your time to focus on taking your business to the next level.   You can if you hire a virtual assistant (VA).   It's easy to hire a VA. But it's not al...

Right now, many property owners and managers are looking into ways to expand their bookings for the slow season ahead.   So, how can we monetize our rental spaces outside of Airbnb and expand our bottom lines?   Jackie Nedin is the CEO of PHX STAYS , specializing in Arizona vacation rentals and boutique style management with properties in Chandler, Phoenix, Gilbert, Tempe, Mesa, Queen Cr...

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." — Steve Jobs   Every single human has the same number of hours in a day.   But high-achieving enterprising individuals such as Kevin Hart, Elon Musk, and Tim Kennedy seem to make better use of their time, exploring what's next while investing in the now to make the impossible possible.   So, wh...

"Even though 99% of retail happens on screens or shelves, those aren't where the real moments are. The real moments are in native settings."— Marc Hostovsky   Thousands of advertising dollars are spent on Facebook, Google, and Instagram pop-ups and influencers to create meaningful moments with products. However, all of it still misses the mark on the end-user experience.   Hosts have a l...

The STR industry is changing. With more investors, bigger companies, and new laws cropping up daily investors (like us) are asking what the best way is to scale?   For us, the answer is turning our focus to buying properties you can legally run as short-term rentals forever.   The biggest opportunity in our industry right now is acquiring old vacation rental communities to convert into m...

Online Travel Agencies (OTA) spend millions in marketing and advertising to drive online searches to their websites.   A great thing for STR hosts. Or is it?   It’s dangerous to have all your STR hosting business on a site you don’t own.   But it can be just as risky to go 100% in direct bookings.   So how can you be sure you have a healthy mix of OTA and direct bookings? And h...

In this influencer-fueled world, we are constantly told that we must hit certain milestones to be a 'real business.'   But the truth is, out of the 28 million companies in the United States, only 4% ever reach $1 million in revenue. And from there, only about 1 in 10 makes it to $10 million in revenue.   Scaling requires an intentional focus on the "four major decision areas every compan...

"In the summer of 2014, we were in Vegas, trying to figure out how to sell more books, so we decided to start a podcast. We bought a mic and messaged a host we knew to interview for Episode 1."—Jasper Ribbers   That impulsive decision led to the long running Get Paid For Your Pad podcast, with over 1.3 million downloads.   Today we are celebrating a milestone—the 500th episode!   On...