366. Hosting Hotline: Five-Star Patio Amenities to Differentiate Your Vacation Rental Listing

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, where our new friend, Humphrey Bowles of Superhog, expertly curated a thought leadership retreat for 17 of the space’s foremost voices and innovators. We talk about what exactly led us to getting an invite, what we saw and heard there, and the value in getting out of one’s usual workspace – both mentally and physically.From there, we recap our key takeaways from Short Stay Summit 2024, including cleaning questions heard round the world, hard sustainability truths, guest and property safety, and of course – the five-hundred pound gorilla in the room: artificial intelligence.(00:01:50) #STRShareSunday: @middletoncastle(00:07:09) Getting the Invite to Middleton Castle(00:17:11) Top Takeaways from Vacation Rental Leaders (00:21:14) Short Stay Summit in London 2024(00:25:02) Growing Role of AI in Vacation Rental IndustryResources:• Click here for full show notes• Visit superhog.com/thanks-for-visiting and book your FREE demo today!• #STRShareSunday: @middletoncastle• Video: Airbnb Guest Expectations: How to Set the Right Expectations• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Host Checklist | Grab our Airbnb Essentials Checklist and make stocking your Airbnb a breeze – we've got all your hosting needs covered!Hostfully | Go to https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/thanks-for-visiting/ and use TFV100 to get $100 off your subscription.Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!Superhog | Visit superhog.com/thanks-for-visiting and book your FREE demo today!

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 grade barbecue, but we just don't have the budget to do a swimming pool. And I'm not a big fan of the spas for the patio. We're thinking about adding a movie screen and maybe a digital projector that guests can use to watch movies outside. We’re just trying to figure out if that's something that would be attractive to guests. I would love to hear your feedback. We love everything about your show – keep it up! (00:01:40) Patrick Asks About an Outdoor Movie Projector (00:02:58) Building Out a Unique Vacation Rental Experience (00:05:31) Borrow Tips & Effective Ideas from Local Competitors Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah and Annette, submit your burning hosting questions at: hostinghotline.com.Resources:• Website: farmhouse805.com• Video: Airbnb Guest Expectations: How to Set the Right Expectations• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Host Checklist | Grab our Airbnb Essentials Checklist and make stocking your Airbnb a breeze – we've got all your hosting needs covered!Quiz | Take our quiz to reveal your hosting personality style!

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 as a long term hub of operations, detail a few pain points on her initial projects, and unpack mindset shifts inspired by challenging life events – how she’s shifted her business goals to align with her vision of the future. Make no mistake, what we have here today is a true superhero of hosting. Colleen’s a one-woman show, and gets super honest with us about the bottlenecks that she’s identified, from how she’s gone about adding to her team, to the brutal truth about the tidal wave of emerging tech in our industry — there’s no magic button to press!Her candidness about the journey is a fresh counter to social media’s insistence on impossible “passive income” and “set-it-and-forget-it” narratives. In this industry, we work! And we’re proud of it. We know you’ll be as inspired by Colleen’s story as we are.(00:01:23) #STRShareSunday: @dellcollective(00:03:46) Introducing HBMM VIP: Colleen Chrien(00:10:07) The Evolution of Fully Furnished Charleston(00:19:11) STR Hiring, Operations & Business Goals (00:27:36) Colleen’s Short-Term Rental Tech Stack TipsResources:• Click here for full show notes• Website: fullyfurnishedcharleston.com• Instagram: @fullyfurnishedcharleston• Instagram: @colleen_chrien• Check out Hospitable, PriceLabs, and Breezeway• Learn about our Hosting Business Mastermind• #STRShareSunday: @dellcollective• Video: Co Hosting for Airbnb - How to Know You're Ready• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Hostfully | Go to https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/thanks-for-visiting/ and use TFV100 to get $100 off your subscription.Superhog | Visit superhog.com/thanks-for-visiting and book your FREE demo today!IMN | Go to events.imn.org/strsummer and...

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 wondering… Does that count as a camera for Airbnb? If I put a sticker over it, would that work as not having a camera? (00:01:32) Question About Airbnb’s New No-Camera Policy(00:02:07) Out of Context: Is it an Interior Camera? (00:03:00) Call Your Insurance, Ask Airbnb & Ask Your Attorney Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah and Annette, submit your burning hosting questions at: hostinghotline.com.Resources:• Airbnb Summer 2024 Release for Hosts• Video: Airbnb Self Check In with Smart Locks - Hosts, You Need This!• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Host Checklist | Grab our Airbnb Essentials Checklist and make stocking your Airbnb a breeze – we've got all your hosting needs covered!Quiz | Take our quiz to reveal your hosting personality style!

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 accommodation with a primary focus on housing, short-term rentals, and tourism.Dr. McLeod walks us through the length of his career spent studying the many complex nuances of the vacation rental industry – from the offline family vacation homes of decades past, all the way to the explosion of digital hosting providers, and into the future.Going back to school, even just for one day, we pepper Dr. McLeod with questions about how Airbnb disrupted his research, whether or not the data tells a positive or negative story in vacation communities, which stakeholders are the most vocal in opposition to STR expansion, and so much more.A true academic, Brumby is so good at remaining neutral. He gets excited seeing everyone's point of views and then putting them together so he can create research and solutions for various aspects of the industry – whether it's small government, investors, hosts, or renters themselves.(00:01:24) #STRShareSunday: @lazy_pines_cabins(00:03:21) Back to School with Brumby McLeod, Ph.D.(00:17:51) Charting the Rise of STR Hosting Platforms(00:22:35) STR Impact: Building vs. Decimating Communities (00:27:02) Unpacking the Right to Bear Guests(00:35:50) How Hosts Can Best Advocate for the Vacation Rental Industry(00:39:39) Airbnbust? Brumby on the Future of Our IndustryResources:• Click here for full show notes• Gary Keller: https://a.co/d/hFPmcFZ• #STRShareSunday: @lazy_pines_cabins• Video: Airbnb Market Shift | Thrive as a Host• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!IMN | Go to events.imn.org/strsummer and use code: TFV for an exclusive 10% off your new registration.Hostfully | Go to https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/thanks-for-visiting/ and use TFV100 to get $100 off your subscription.Superhog | Visit superhog.com/thanks-for-visiting and book your FREE demo today!

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: Sadly, Mostly Marketing(00:04:35) Guest-Related Updates in Airbnb’s Summer Release(00:06:39) Host-Related Updates in Airbnb’s Summer ReleaseThanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah and Annette, submit your burning hosting questions at: hostinghotline.com.Resources:• Click here for full show notes• Airbnb: Summer Release 2024• Video: Airbnb Platform Updates: What They Mean for Hosts (2023)• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Host Checklist | Grab our Airbnb Essentials Checklist and make stocking your Airbnb a breeze – we've got all your hosting needs covered!Quiz | Take our quiz to reveal your hosting personality style!

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, early thoughts on how we might utilize existing structures (or not), and which critically important tasks we’ve already elected to outsource – two jobs you’ll be very surprised to see we’ve offloaded.Even before breaking ground, ideas are flying and challenges have mounted. That’s why it’s great to be supported by a team of like-minded experts – as we are – and why we’ve decided to share each and every step along the way with you, our amazing audience.(00:01:41) #STRShareSunday: @richhollowretreat(00:03:32) Recapping Our New Hocking Hills Cabin Project(00:08:53) Now What? Getting Started with Reporting & Planning(00:15:54) Planning the Plot: Surveying Existing Buildings & Utilities (00:22:12) Important Steps We’ve Already Outsourced & WhyResources:• Click here for full show notes• #STRShareSunday: @richhollowretreat• Video: How to Design Your First Airbnb - Essentials• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!Hostfully | Go to https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/thanks-for-visiting/ and use TFV100 to get $100 off your subscription.Host Checklist | Grab our Airbnb Essentials Checklist and make stocking your Airbnb a breeze – we've got all your hosting needs covered!IMN | Go to events.imn.org/strsummer and use code: TFV for an exclusive 10% off your new registration.

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 platform.Right now, if I get an Airbnb booking, I pay 3% commission to Airbnb. If I get a direct booking, I pay a 3% commission to Stripe in credit card fees. So I net the same either way, it's only the guest that saves money by booking directly. I know I can add a booking fee for direct bookings that would increase my bottom line, but I think a long list of fees is a turnoff for guests. I'm curious what's worked for you and what percentage do you add, if any, to your direct booking rate so that you're netting more?(00:02:03) How Can I Boost Bottom-Line Revenue via Direct Bookings?(00:03:39) Reframing the Inherent Value of Captured STR Customer Data(00:05:26) Leveraging PriceLabs Dynamic Pricing to Boost Revenue Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah and Annette, submit your burning hosting questions at: hostinghotline.com.Resources:• Click here for full show notes• Check out PriceLabs: Start your 30-day free trial• Angela's properties: lazypinesnm.com• Video: Dynamic Pricing Software for Airbnb & Short Term Rentals• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Quiz | Take our quiz to reveal your hosting personality style!Host Checklist | Grab our Airbnb Essentials Checklist and make stocking your Airbnb a breeze – we've got all your hosting needs covered!

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 in supporting guests' experiences and mentoring associates throughout her career. Her philosophy entails equipping the team with tools, providing clear communication, and ensuring success for all.She’s here today to walk us through a lightning-fast masterclass on revenue management for short-term rentals – highlighting the mind blowing features and money-making capability of our dynamic pricing partner, PriceLabs, along the way.PriceLabs helps you make more money than you would without it. It's a rare piece of operational software that brings with it an immediate ROI – the holy grail of any business investment, especially when you’re operating on a tight budget or just starting out.Come for the money-making tips, but stay as Sarah and Colleen air out some dirty laundry on a big mistake we made in Q1 of this year. We are, if nothing else, open and honest in our mission to make you more money on your STR journey!(00:01:21) #STRShareSunday: @trimbellecottage(00:03:15) Colleen’s Revenue Management Tips via PriceLabs(00:20:00) Bigger Picture: Monthly & Annual Pricing Adjustments (00:27:05) Practical Example of STR Revenue Management Concepts(00:33:12) We Made This STR Pricing Mistake So You Don’t Have ToResources:• Click here for full show notes• #STRShareSunday: @trimbellecottage• Check out PriceLabs: Start your 30-day free trial• Taking Calculated Risks in the STR Industry with Our Chief Operations Officer #271• Video: Dynamic Pricing Software for Airbnb & Short Term Rentals• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Host Checklist | Grab our Airbnb Essentials Checklist and make stocking your Airbnb a breeze – we've got all your hosting needs covered!Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!IMN | Go to events.imn.org/strsummer and use code: TFV for an exclusive 10% off your new registration.Hostfully | Go to https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/thanks-for-visiting/ and use TFV100 to get $100 off your subscription.

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 were pretty bummed out that we didn't offer that. Then, they asked us if we could provide one for them. Are we missing out on potential clients? Is it worth it? We would love your insight on this. (00:01:48) Intro to Grilling at Vacation Homes (Yes, You Need One)(00:03:10) BTS of Sarah’s Gulf Shores HGTV Experience (00:05:04) Recommendations for an Airbnb Grill Amenity (00:06:02) Safety First! How to Encourage Safe GrillingThanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah and Annette, submit your burning hosting questions at: hostinghotline.com.Resources:• Click here for full show notes• Check out Breezeway • HGTV: Sarah and Nick on Beach Flip• Video: How To Create An Airbnb Audit - Inspector Checklist• Airbnb Essentials Checklist: hostchecklist.comThanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.Mentioned in this episode:Host Checklist | Grab our Airbnb Essentials Checklist and make stocking your Airbnb a breeze – we've got all your hosting needs covered!Quiz | Take our quiz to reveal your hosting personality style!