Thanks For Visiting

We are big fans of checklists here at Thanks For Visiting. What better way to ensure that the basics always get handled consistently? In this episode, we share an inspector checklist detailing everything you need to do after the cleaning team does their work.  Trust, but verify. That’s what we always say! Cleaning teams don’t have it easy. When they come into a property, their job is to turn...

Nearly every travel destination is going to experience off seasons at certain times of the year (if you don’t, let us just say — lucky you!). During lean times, it’s essential that you take booking into your own hands, rather than relying on OTAs to bring new guests in. You want to be connecting with the community and becoming a part of it. We call our method of bringing in guests directly our Sal...

Elise Armitage had the good job and a fancy title at a big brand. Her future was laid out in clear steps, but something was missing. It took taking a month from her day job at Google to convince her to dive head first into her side hustle, What The Fab, a start-up fashion and beauty blog that’s grown into a full-on travel and lifestyle brand. She walks us through the steps she took on her way to l...

Not long ago, we announced that the two of us were partnering for our first joint real estate deal. Picking up on that conversation, we wanted to let you know how everything is going so far, what progress has been made, how we structured the deal, and what level of investment we each brought to the table. We’re excited to continue updating you on these important developments and provide an inside...

Following up on last week’s episode covering the basic steps you can take as a host to make sure you have all the simple things dialed in, we look at ways to step back and reconsider your guest experience. The customer is always right, after all. We’ve stayed at at least twenty hotels and short-term rentals over the past year and we always come away with new takeaways each time. Today, we share th...

Even if you’ve been renting and managing for years, we all need to go back to the basics from time to time. What better time than a new year? In this episode, we share seven things you can do, that you probably haven’t been thinking about, to make sure you’re starting off the year on solid footing, literally and figuratively. Resources: Visit thanksforvisiting.me/workshop to watch our Hosting Busi...

Stacey St. John is a boss babe who was bitten by the STR bug and never looked back. While working for a global consulting firm, she fell into the real estate game by accident. After a few short months of renting out that “accidental” investment, Stacey quickly realized that she had an appreciating asset on her hands, all while someone else paid her mortgage, grew her bank account, and earned her t...

We’ve reached the end of the year! 2021 felt like we were finding our way again, but we have high hopes for 2022. As a way of looking back over how far we’ve come during the past 365 days, we want to run down the top 10 episodes from the year to give us a better idea of what you want to hear more of and share what you should go back and listen to if you missed it the first time around.  These...

Managing vacation properties is hard work. Anticipating the needs of guests, taking care of things as issues arise, planning proactive and preventative work, there’s a lot to think about – even more so when you’re operating business from afar.  In this episode, we hear from a successful industry pro living in North America and operating in Europe to learn how she keeps everything in order. Li...

Rental Women’s Summit. It was impossible to see everything there was to see, so we enlisted the help of our Hosting Business Mastery Method members to divide and conquer! In this episode, we share our biggest takeaways from the event. A massive thank you to each and every one of our Hosting Business Mastery Method members: @lacroixcovington @levinaia_estates @gogorgegetaways @aboveandabodeco @velk...

Stacey Rase is a Superhost from the New Orleans area who has found her passion in offering specialty stays at her short-term rentals. After raising four children, she is now an empty nester. She took on her first property three years ago on a gut feeling and has treated it like her fifth child! She's found a niche in the industry by catering to brides and bridal parties, helping to make their spec...

In your short-term rental business, Airbnb is one of the biggest and best tools out there to get your spaces booked and busy. But as a small business owner, big platform updates can sneak past you, leaving you open for issues down the line. Don’t worry, we’ve got you, boo. Today, we take a deep dive into all of the recent Airbnb updates to keep you in the know and on top of your game. Resources: S...

We’re continuing to bring our favorite speakers from the VRMA onto the show! This time, we’re joined by the wonderful Dana Lubner. As Head of Leadership Development at Rent Responsibly, Dana works closely with alliance leadership teams to build united voices at the local level. She also serves on Denver’s short-term rental advisory committee alongside members of the city council.  In Fall of...

We are all about starting fast without overthinking things. You don’t have to have everything dialed in and figured out before you dive into your first short-term rental property. But one thing you should have some idea of at the very beginning, is the end. That is, what do you do with that property once your STR journey is over? You never know where life is going to take you, so it’s smart to hav...

You can learn a lot from professional hosts, but what about a professional guest? In this episode, we reverse engineer what pulls at a potential guest’s heart strings when making a booking, and compare what we find to things we think or assume are their priorities. When COVID-19 hit, Zach Busekrus and his wife Gabby decided to break out of their 750-square foot apartment in Washington, DC and beta...

Continuing a series of interviews featuring our favorite speakers from the 2021 Vacation Rental Managers Association International Conference in San Antonio, Texas, we sit down with Angie Leong, owner and CEO of Coconut Condos, a vacation rental management company founded in 2011 on the beautiful island of Maui.  We talk about recognizing the tipping point between running things part-time on...

Heather Richer is a revenue management and distribution expert with over a decade of experience. She and her team have done revenue management for hotels, resorts, casinos, restaurants, and have been focusing on short-term rentals for the last 3+ years. We'll discuss the fundamentals of revenue management for short-term rentals. Even if you don’t feel like a revenue expert, it's critical to unders...

We’re still reeling from our first in-person conference post COVID. It was great to spend time among so many great and like-minded people at the Vacation Rental Managers Association International Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Listen for a rundown of our time there, from tips on how to get what you want out of people more effectively to how to handle negative reviews. Resources: Rent Responsibl...

Running multiple rental properties can be stressful… but managing them across multiple states? It’s still totally doable! Victoria is a Superhost who has been at it for over a year in her home city of Columbus, Ohio, and she and her husband recently expanded their hosting business to Nashville, Tennessee. Hosting has allowed her to blend her passion for real estate, hospitality, project management...

The number one thing that communicates to your potential guests and turns them to booked guests is effective photography. Kati and Brian Greene are “Superguests” who, after searching thousands of listings around the world, utilized that experience to create a service that optimizes listings to magnetize guests. They share tips you can use right away to boost the impression your property makes to p...

What can you do when your gut is sending you warning signs about a guest booking? While you don’t want to be individually vetting guests, you do want to make sure that they’re a good fit for your properties – especially if you have specific rules, guidelines, or qualifications. Airbnb is on your side when it comes to making sure guests stay honest. We’re going to outline some of the things Airbnb...

Moira Sedgwick is the James Beard Awards Director and founder of A Chalet Collective, a short term rental design, remote management, and consulting business. In this episode, listeners will hear about the convergence of hospitality and design. We will dive into why it's important to create a unique, elevated experience and how to level up the vibe when creating your space. Resources: The Lost Cabi...

We all want to run a good business, but many of us want to do good in the world as well. Chelsea Dunckley of Digs Co. joins us as we explore how offering up your vacation rental in various philanthropic ways can create a cascade of positive ripple effects within your community, your town, your family, and your business. Resources: digs-co.com Instagram: @thedigs.co Visit thanksforvisiting.me/works...

Dan Ferretti has spent most of his life acting, singing, and pursuing a career in theater. He supplements this unstable career choice by managing a rooftop baseball club at Wrigley Field in his hometown of Chicago, as well as working as a standardized patient at Rush University Medical College and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dan is also a Superhost of his vacation condo in...

Last week we talked about how to find a property manager that’s a good fit for you. But what if you’re on the management side, you take a job and, down the line, you realize the property doesn’t align well with your brand? Whether you're co-hosting, you’re looking to bring a property into your portfolio, or you’re stop-and-go on getting started, we’re going to help you listen to that inner voice –...