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As 2020 heads to a close, we want to round up our top 5 most listened to episodes of the year and explain why we think they’re getting so much attention. If you’ve never heard them before, or even if you’ve heard them once, this is a great time to listen to them and let them sink in. Resources: Visit breezeway.io/safety-certifications and use coupon code TFV50 for 50% off your safety certification...

When you can learn from someone with a history of experience in hospitality, you take it! Simon DeSwaan is a Superhost who has spent 15 years working for Four Seasons hotels and resorts, and now works from home as an executive recruiter in the hospitality industry. He enjoys hosting his own short-term rental as a way to interact with people from all over the world. From his extensive experience wo...

What do you do if you have everything you need to start your own management company, but all you’re really lacking is the confidence to move forward? Katie Raboy is the owner and manager of The Cabin Collection, an exclusive collection of high-end cabins in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. She began self-managing her own cabin, California Dreaming, in March of 2020, and recently grew her business into The Ca...

Tori and Seth Bolt are the Superhosts behind Bolt Farm Treehouse , the #1 Airbnb in South Carolina. They are dedicated to creating inspiring luxury nature retreats that help travelers reconnect and experience transformative travel, and they have some incredible tips. They’ve welcomed more than 2,000 guests from 25 countries, earning them over half a million dollars and garnering them over 650 five...

Sometimes it takes a near-death experience to make you realize you’re not doing what you are meant to do. Kate Buhler is a consultant and trainer for luxury sales and service. She has over 25 years experience in hospitality, retail management, and cross-cultural sales. Lately, she’s been working with clients to stay ahead of the trends and competition by keeping current on each “next normal” in th...

Tricia at @lakesuperiorvacations asked us a question about house rules and what a host should include on their list of rules. If you’re like us, you may have an adverse reaction to the word “rules,” but they are imperative to your short-term rental, and it’s important that your guest knows what they are. It helps everybody! So, let’s talk about creating rules for your space and how to communicate...

Robert Abasolo is a tiny home builder, “glampsite owner,” and Airbnb Superhost. Passionate about sharing his knowledge, he started a Youtube channel at the beginning of 2020 and was recently named Youtube's Creator on the Rise. Rob consults on how to build tiny homes around the country and how to set-up glamp listings on Airbnb. In this conversation, he shares how he made the leap into the world o...

In the rental industry, we all REALLY depend on our turnover teams. They’re an essential part of making sure business runs smoothly and that our guests are happy. So what do you do if you notice room for improvement, but don’t want to come across as rude or obsessive? This is not about your demands as the host, it’s about giving the guest the best experience possible. Keep in mind, no one is going...

Never stop experimenting — that’s the theme of this conversation with the people behind POP Rentals. Sarah Nie is a professional vacation rental manager and director of guest experiences at POP Rentals, a company she founded in 2011 and will soon be operating with Karen Gleason of POP Realty Group. Their team helps anyone buy, sell, or rent in western North Carolina. With Sarah’s expertise in tech...

The turnover process is the foundation of a thriving rental business. If you’re not ready for that next guest, they are going to let you know. One role we haven’t discussed before is that of the inspector. Whether you’re doing your research before you start renting, you’re just starting, you’re feeling hosting fatigue, or you’re a seasoned renter with hundreds of units, this information will be re...

We are in the process of launching our Stage to Rent Academy course for anyone who wants to create a living furnishing and designing short-term rentals. So, we wanted to go over some of the questions we have received during our webinars! Regardless of whether you’re a designer, stager, owner, or host, these questions and our answers will add value to your business and get your wheels turning. Reso...

Ready for a healthy dose of practical pricing education? Meg Park has been working in the vacation rental industry since 2007. She answered an online employment ad for a vacation rental company in Hilton Head Island and got a job working in the key office, and since then, vacation rentals have become her passion. She has an undergraduate degree in marketing, so she quickly moved onto marketing coo...

Is your short term rental fit for stardom? Levi Kelly is a YouTuber with over 150k subscribers—which he gained in just one year—with some videos reaching millions of views! He specializes with touring unique Airbnbs from all over the world, such as tiny homes, container homes, tree houses, and more. He also has a show with the Design Network called Tiny BNB. He’s visited over 70 unique Airbnbs and...

You may have entered this business with short-term rentals in mind, but there are SO many ways to make money off of your property. Why limit yourself to just one? In our last episode with Brett and Ashley Nobles, we talked all about location rentals, and we want to revisit the topic a bit. If you are just charging your nightly rate for a location rental, you are leaving a lot of money on the table...

We want you to make money in all sorts of different ways—and that can mean more than just nightly stays! Our guests Ashley and Bretty Nobles are going to introduce you to a great way to diversify your rental business: hourly location rentals. They are a husband and wife duo who, in just five years, have hosted more than 800 bookings over their short-term rental and location rental businesses. They...

Naturally, every host is concerned with starting and running their listings. But what do you do to efficiently—and ethically—close down a listing without all the overwhelm? Tracey Northcott has been an Airbnb Superhost for nearly a decade and a guest experience specialist consultant for the last two years. She’s a writer, a speaker, a mentor, and she lives in Tokyo, Japan. She’s had to really look...

Is there something you know now that you wish you had known months or years ago that would have made you much more money? Well, why not learn from the paths of others who have done this work? We may not be able to turn back time, but we can pass on that knowledge to help others speed up their journey! Enter Ashley Wilson. Ashley’s blog is At Home with Ashley , where she writes about home decor, DI...

From planes to trains to automobiles, the Smith family has turned their one-of-a-kind getaway into a family business. A rusted, empty World War 2 train car sitting on the edge of the family’s property sparked the pursuit of a dream to share their creative visions and host unforgettable getaways—which expanded into three truly unique spaces. One of the truly impressive aspects of the Smith Family B...

Whether you are on the management side of a short term rental or you have your own short term rental and hope to hire a manager someday, understanding rental management agreement contracts is essential. We’re going to discuss five often overlooked points of a management agreement that apply equally to both owners and managers. While no two businesses are the same in this industry, it’s important t...

We’re getting down and dirty with cleaning with Jill Mason, the founder and CEO of VRScheduler.com . She’s been working with property managers and cleaning companies for over four years to make them more efficient and accurate, and she’s recently pivoted into staff training with her new cleaning certification program. We have always highly recommended showing proof of the hard work you put in, and...

We’re always looking for great ways to elevate our guest experience, and one easy way to do that (and make more money!) is by offering concierge services. Meghan Alfonso is the CEO and founder of GAT, otherwise known as Girl (or Guy) About Town, a concierge company in Arizona. We talk about what concierge services you could offer, how to handle setbacks in this line of work, reaching out to local...

What if you could simplify the way you run your short-term rental business? Margot Schmorak is the CEO and co-founder of Hostfully, a property management software company that services thousands of properties worldwide and helps you do just that. Hostfully helps to automate guest communications, distribution across multiple platforms, and integrates with other companies in the vacation rental spac...

Are you interested in hopping into the rental world full time but unsure of where to start or how the numbers will shake out? The world of co-hosting is an amazing place to start, especially if you are interested in the short-term rental or vacation property world. Your income can be whatever you make it. We’re going to dive into the exact numbers and hours invested into a property and outline how...

When people talk about starting a new business, one topic that doesn’t get enough attention is choosing your customers — but this is imperative to running a successful business. Co-hosting is one of the biggest opportunities out there for building a business, and you can start making money right away, but your success depends greatly on which hosting clients you choose to work with.  Every pr...

Things are opening back up in the US! While we all take a moment for a collective sigh of relief, remember that COVID-19 hasn’t gone anywhere just yet. How can you prepare yourselves for a second wave and potential future stay-at-home orders? To talk about that we have returning guest Steve Trover. He’s been in the vacation rental industry for over 20 years, so we lean on him and his expertise in...