Meet Chris Stephenson, Vice President of Global Development at Marriott Homes & Villas. Chris has spent his career building new, innovative products and services across travel and hospitality.  In February of 2019, Chris was a part of the founding team of Marriott Homes & Villas and in charge of thinking through how best to bring Marriott’s vacation rental home product to life.  In this episode, Chris and I discuss: What it’s like incubating a new product offering within a legacy business Why Marriott Homes & Villas has had a different business model from Airbnb since Day 1 How Homes & Villas has grown from a couple of thousand listings to a couple hundred thousand listings in just the last couple of years How Bonvoy, Marriott’s loyalty program, has played a roll in accelerating usage of Homes & Villas And what the product roadmap for Homes & Villas looks like in 2024 and beyond This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.  Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts.  Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you.  Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property. Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Taylor Bates, the creator of The Afton House — a stunning, luxury home made for gathering and nestled in the heart of Virginia wine country. Growing up, Taylor wanted to be an architect or a Fortune 500 CEO — she’s always loved the intersection of marketing, design, and business. After working in a few marketing management and nonprofit leadership roles, Taylor wound up starting her own boutique interior design firm focusing on residential and commercial projects. And it was around this time when the idea of building a luxury short-term rental that was conducive to multi-family stays, first began to percolate. Tune in to here the story behind: How Taylor designed a truly unforgettable stay in Afton, Virginia  Her process for approaching a design project — the room she loves designing most and the room she loves designing least Getting approached by Wander about joining the Wander network, Wander’s new managed service option And so much more… Book The Afton House Follow The Afton House on Instagram  Connect with Taylor on Instagram  This episode is brought to you by Summer.  Summer takes the headache out of owning a vacation rental by taking care of sourcing, designing, furnishing and managing your home. What makes Summer especially unique is the pathway to ownership that they offer — think of this as an option to “try before you actually buy an Airbnb”  Here’s how Summer’s Gradual Ownership model works: You work with Summer to find the perfect vacation rental — one that’s in a market that you want to vacation to and also in a market that makes sense for a vacation rental. Summer guides you through the whole discernment process of where, when and what kind of home to buy. When you find the right home, put down a downpayment of 15+% but Summer buys the home for you and holds it for up to two years — during this time you can buy back the home from them any time you are ready or, after the two year period you can decide you DON’T want the home and get a full refund of your down payment. Also, Summer covers all of the closing costs and fees for the upfront purchase on the home, as well as furnishing and design. This means you pay far less out of pocket than you would if you bought the home yourself from day one. So if you’ve been looking for a way to beta test the whole Airbnb game, this is your sign. Go and chat with my new friends at Summer and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Scott McIntosh, Co-Founder of Back Forty Glamping, a luxurious glamping oasis on 26 acres of land in Meaford, Ontario.  Growing up, Scott wanted to be a farmer — he loved being outdoors and the notion that you could make a life from tilling fields and harvesting crops was incredibly attractive to him. And while Scott wound up pursuing a career as an educator instead, a few years ago he and his brother Ben had an idea which would enable Scott to trade the classroom for the great outdoors… And that idea?  Well, it was to build a glamping resort featuring luxury domes just 2 hours outside of Toronto, Canada.  Tune in to hear the story of how: Scott and the team worked through loads of red tape to get Back Forty Glamping approved by their local municipality  Why they decided on domes as their unique stay structure of choice What it actually cost to bring the first 5 domes to life Why investing in the right infrastructure and building the right product from the beginning is crucial for success. How they’re thinking about franchising the Back Forty Glamping brand And so much more Book a Stay at Back Forty Glamping Follow Back Forty Glamping on Instagram Connect with the Back Forty Team This episode is brought to you by our friends at Valcove Hospitality.  Valcove Hospitality enables you to have a dedicated assistant available 24/7 who can help with everything from email comms to responding to Karen — and they make this all possible at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee.  Whether you’re managing 10 properties or scaling up to 150, Valcove's experienced team is ready to help you streamline your operations. Say goodbye to the endless cycle of hiring and training staff, and say hello to seamless efficiency. With flexible partnership options tailored to your needs, Valcove offers 24/7 support, or a custom schedule that fits your business. And with a straightforward hourly rate of just $9.95/hour for your entire portfolio, you always know what to expect on your bill - no surprises, just dependable, transparent service. The team at Valcove is offering 'Behind the Stays' listeners, like you, an exclusive offer. Use the code BEHINDTHESTAYS50 to get 50% off your first month with Valcove Hospitality.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Dylan Barahona, General Manager at Canyon of the Eagles, a nature resort and preserve on 940 acres of land, located just 1.5 Hours from Austin, Texas. If you were to have asked Dylan at ten-years-old what he wanted to be when he grew up, he’d tell you either a professional baseball player or a chef.  And while neither of those dreams quite panned out, the latter, dream set him on path to pursue a career in hospitality, and, over the last decade, Dylan has become a highly-regarded and respect voice in outdoor hospitality.  In this episode, Dylan and I discuss: How he’s reimagining outdoor hospitality through the restoration of 970 acres of Texas Hill Country The importance of building an event strategy at your glamping resort  The future of fine dining in the glamping space The opportunities he sees for hospitality entrepreneurs in the space And so much more Learn more about Canyon of the Eagles Follow Canyon one the Eagles on Instagram Connect with Dylan on LinkedIn  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.  Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts.  Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you.  Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property. Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Antonio Gonzalez, President of ÖÖD House — the company behind the instagram famous mirror houses. Antonio is an engineer by trade, but always had a heart for entrepreneurship… So, when the opportunity to co-found Jupe along with past-podcast guest Jeff Wilson and take it through Y Combinator, the world’s most prestigious of startup accelerators, came about, he took it. Antonio learned SO much from the accelerator where the Airbnb founders also graduated from and had an incredible couple of years at Jupe before realizing that his heart was really in hospitality. Tune in to hear the story of how ÖÖD House, founded in Estonia, came to be, what their game plan for expanding in the US in 2024 and 2025 looks like, and the kind of hospitality entrepreneurs they are looking to partner with to make this happen. Learn more about ÖÖD House here. Connect with Antonio on LinkedIn here. This episode is brought to you by our friends at StayFi. StayFi is enables you to create a custom branded WiFi splash page for your short-term rental’s WiFi — similar to what you might experience when logging onto the WiFi network at your favorite coffee shop.  StayFi enables you to collect the contact info of every guest staying with you, not just the one who booked…because who doesn’t need the wifi?  So if you want a frictionless way to capture guest contact info and empower your direct booking strategy with more data, sign up for StayFi at StayFi.com and use the discount code “BTS” for 20% off of your first year… If you chat with the team there, be sure to tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way!  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Garett Brown, the visionary and creator behind Cameron Ranch Glamping, a collection of luxury glamping units on 11 acres just an hour outside of Houston, Texas.  Garrett is a professional music producer and traveling DJ who has always loved dabbling in real estate investing. When he wasn’t performing on stage or out on a tour, he’d find himself scrolling through listings dreaming of what it’d be like to build his own portfolio of homes.   He wanted to learn more about real estate so he decided to get his real estate license so he could get an inside look at how the industry actually works.  Tune in to hear the story behind how Garrett quickly swapped showing homes to others for building his own and the series of events that led him to fall in love with hospitality.  In this episode, Garett shares: The importance of considering both novelty and variety of structures when building a unique stay to increase virality and attract repeat guests. Why he believes you should determine the unit type you want to build and THEN go find the land (rather than the other way around) Why you shouldn’t overlook smaller content creators and influencers when marketing your stay And how the tragic loss of his brother inspires the work he does today Book a Stay at Cameron Ranch Follow Cameron Ranch on Instagram This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.  Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts.  Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you.  Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property. Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Brett Deas, a 19-year-old entrepreneur who owns and operates unique stay vacation rentals across the U.S. While his high school buddies were scrolling through TikTok before school and playing video games afterwards, Brett was binging Bigger Pockets podcasts to understand the world of real estate investing. After graduating from high school, Brett decided to try his hand at real estate investing and entrepreneurship before pursuing a college degree. And so far?  That  decision is paying off dividends.  In this episode, you’ll hear the story behind how Brett raised capital to both build new unique stays and buy existing ones. Brett shares tips on: What he’s learned about assessing the value of a unique stay  Why hospitality entrepreneurs might be better off buying a unique stay rather than building one from the ground up The importance of building a consumer-facing brand to help consolidate a portfolio of differentiated stays  How he thinks about investing in 2024 and 2025 And so much more Follow Brett on Twitter Connect with Brett on LinkedIn Book a Stay at The Hideaways This episode is brought to you by Summer.  Summer takes the headache out of owning a vacation rental by taking care of sourcing, designing, furnishing and managing your home. What makes Summer especially unique is the pathway to ownership that they offer — think of this as an option to “try before you actually buy an Airbnb”  Here’s how Summer’s Gradual Ownership model works: You work with Summer to find the perfect vacation rental — one that’s in a market that you want to vacation to and also in a market that makes sense for a vacation rental. Summer guides you through the whole discernment process of where, when and what kind of home to buy. When you find the right home, put down a downpayment of 15+% but Summer buys the home for you and holds it for up to two years — during this time you can buy back the home from them any time you are ready or, after the two year period you can decide you DON’T want the home and get a full refund of your down payment. Also, Summer covers all of the closing costs and fees for the upfront purchase on the home, as well as furnishing and design. This means you pay far less out of pocket than you would if you bought the home yourself from day one. So if you’ve been looking for a way to beta test the whole Airbnb game, this is your sign. Go and chat with my new friends at Summer and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way. Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Mollie Reese, the host of the popular Stay in Good Company podcast and an experienced community builder who has spent her career working with leading brands across the the food & beverage and events & hospitality industries. Having recently left the world of corporate burnout and the hustle and bustle of city-living behind for a slower way of life, Mollie set out to pursue personal passions in travel.  Throughout her journey, she is in search for authentic stories to share, curious about different cultural experiences, and inspired to curate a community who, like her, seeks to be in good company.  In this episode, Mollie and I discuss:  Lessons she learned while working for brands like Anheuser-Busch, True Food Kitchen, and a couple of startups in hospitality Mollie’s thoughts on how the next generation of travelers will discern where to go and where to stay Her hot takes on how the next generation of travelers thinks about loyalty programs The biggest opportunities she sees for folks to build successful brands and businesses in this space Stream Stay in Good Company Visit Mollie's Website This episode is brought to you by our friends at StayFi. StayFi is enables you to create a custom branded WiFi splash page for your short-term rental’s WiFi — similar to what you might experience when logging onto the WiFi network at your favorite coffee shop.  StayFi enables you to collect the contact info of every guest staying with you, not just the one who booked…because who doesn’t need the wifi?  So if you want a frictionless way to capture guest contact info and empower your direct booking strategy with more data, sign up for StayFi at StayFi.com and use the discount code “BTS” for 20% off of your first year… If you chat with the team there, be sure to tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way!  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Assaf Karmon, Co-founder & CEO of Turno — a marketplace that helps vacation rental hosts and property management companies simplify and automate cleaning. Assaf was born and raised in Israel and as a kid his dream was to be a professional soccer player. And while that dream never came to fruition, in part because Assaf spent most of his early sports career sitting on the bench, the determination, boldness, and focus he garnered as a child trying to level up his game, has enable him to become the entrepreneur he is today. In this episode, Assaf and I discuss:  The founding story of Turno The recipe for a successful working relationship with your cleaning team What separates the best cleaning teams from the rest of the pack His thoughts on working with one team in a market vs a multiple teams in the same market to reduce risk And the biggest opportunities he sees for entrepreneurs building new companies in the hospitality space Oh, and one last thing — Turno has graciously offered Behind the Stays listeners a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first turnover with them!  Simply go to turno.com/behindthestays to claim this offer before March 31st, 2024.  This episode is brought to yo buy our friends at Booklee. Booklee like a Linktree designed exclusively for Airbnb hosts and STR property managers.  If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you’re a hospitality entrepreneur that cares about building a brand for your Airbnb/STR business and that’s why many of you invest so much time into building your presence on Instagram. Knowing where to direct your Instagram followers to is always a challenge: Should you send them to your Airbnb listing directly to show off your incredible reviews?  Or to your direct booking site which is a little clunky to navigate on mobile but will save you 10-15% if your follower books direct?   Or maybe you’re testing out VRBO and Booking.com  Well, what’s amazing about Booklee is that you don’t have to decide.  Booklee allows you to create a stunning link-in-bio page that showcases everything about your property across all platforms. Booklee pulls in and aggregates your reviews across Airbnb, VRBO, and other OTAs, and invites guests to book via your direct booking site or their preferred OTA. Get 20% off your first year of Booklee when you reference Behind the Stays at checkout.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Jake and Leslie, the creators of the Lighthouse Cottage, an oceanfront escape in Cape May, New Jersey.  Jake and Leslie had always dreamed of owning a beach house, but acquiring a property in the competitive Cape May market seemed out of reach. That is until one day Leslie was scrolling on Zillow and noticed a new listing for a 100 year old property located right on the beach. The home clearly needed a lot of work but something about its character spoke to Leslie…and within hours she had called the realtor, packed the car, and paid the place a visit. And that visit?  Well, it’d end with Leslie calling Jake to convince him that this was the place they’d been searching for. Tune in to hear the story behind: How the couple renovated the home to dramatically improve its aestetic without losing the heart and soul of the property The pros and cons of DIY How they used design, photography, and Instagram to book the home out for the entire season in just 11 days What the future holds for the couple  And so much more Alright friends, without further ado, get ready to meet Jake and Leslie.  Follow The Lighthouse Cottage on Instagram Book your stay at The Lighthouse Cottage This episode is brought to you by Summer.  Summer takes the headache out of owning a vacation rental by taking care of sourcing, designing, furnishing and managing your home. What makes Summer especially unique is the pathway to ownership that they offer — think of this as an option to “try before you actually buy an Airbnb”  Here’s how Summer’s Gradual Ownership model works: You work with Summer to find the perfect vacation rental — one that’s in a market that you want to vacation to and also in a market that makes sense for a vacation rental. Summer guides you through the whole discernment process of where, when and what kind of home to buy. When you find the right home, put down a downpayment of 15+% but Summer buys the home for you and holds it for up to two years — during this time you can buy back the home from them any time you are ready or, after the two year period you can decide you DON’T want the home and get a full refund of your down payment. Also, Summer covers all of the closing costs and fees for the upfront purchase on the home, as well as furnishing and design. This means you pay far less out of pocket than you would if you bought the home yourself from day one. So if you’ve been looking for a way to beta test the whole Airbnb game, this is your sign. Go and chat with my new friends at Summer and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way. Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Rob Patterson, an incredible hospitality leader whose most recent post was as the CEO of Best Western in the United Kingdom. Rob grew up in a very remote town in the country of Australia. Growing up, Rob dreamed of becoming a professional footballer — so much so that when an opportunity to move to Sydney to pursue his dream came to fruition, he left home without thinking twice. And while he never wound up playing football professionally, Rob did stumble into another profession while living in the big city — and that profession, well, you guessed it folks, was working in hospitality.  In this episode you’ll discover: What Rob learned during his first hospitality job working in housekeeping at a Hilton  How dynamic pricing and the internet revolutionized the hospitality industry How Rob led Best Western through the pandemic and gained brand equity at a time when so many other hotel companies were struggling  Why he believes branding in the industry has lost its way and been driven more by investor needs than consumer needs and the opportunity for independent brands to stand out with clear, distinctive identities in light of this reality And so much more Alright friends, without further ado, get ready to meet Rob.  Connect with Rob on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you by our friends at StayFi. StayFi is enables you to create a custom branded WiFi splash page for your short-term rental’s WiFi — similar to what you might experience when logging onto the WiFi network at your favorite coffee shop.  StayFi enables you to collect the contact info of every guest staying with you, not just the one who booked…because who doesn’t need the wifi?  So if you want a frictionless way to capture guest contact info and empower your direct booking strategy with more data, sign up for StayFi at StayFi.com and use the discount code “BTS” for 20% off of your first year… If you chat with the team there, be sure to tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way!  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Amber and Charlie Pledge — the founders of Kabn Company, a new hospitality brand focused on creating luxurious, and sustainable nature-immersed escapes. Amber and Charlie have always loved to travel. The couple has been fortunate enough to live and work in major hubs of innovation like London, San Francisco, and Dubai.   And while Amber and Charlie both love working hard, climbing the corporate ladder just started to feel, well, a bit unfulfilling. Tune in to hear the story behind how this couple left their day jobs to go and build their first two escapes on the west coast of Scotland.   In this conversation we discuss: How their travels to Japan, India, and Africa all helped inspire the design of their first cabins The benefits of long-term leases when building your first site What Amber and Charlie learned about how to balance sustainability and luxury when building their cabins How they secured a MICHELIN-Star chef to offer incredible personalized dining experiences for their guests And so much more Book your stay at The Kabn Company Follow The Kabn Company on Instagram This episode is brought to you by Summer.  Summer takes the headache out of owning a vacation rental by taking care of sourcing, designing, furnishing and managing your home. What makes Summer especially unique is the pathway to ownership that they offer — think of this as an option to “try before you actually buy an Airbnb”  Here’s how Summer’s Gradual Ownership model works: You work with Summer to find the perfect vacation rental — one that’s in a market that you want to vacation to and also in a market that makes sense for a vacation rental. Summer guides you through the whole discernment process of where, when and what kind of home to buy. When you find the right home, put down a downpayment of 15+% but Summer buys the home for you and holds it for up to two years — during this time you can buy back the home from them any time you are ready or, after the two year period you can decide you DON’T want the home and get a full refund of your down payment. Also, Summer covers all of the closing costs and fees for the upfront purchase on the home, as well as furnishing and design. This means you pay far less out of pocket than you would if you bought the home yourself from day one. So if you’ve been looking for a way to beta test the whole Airbnb game, this is your sign. Go and chat with my new friends at Summer and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way. Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Steve Turk — a decorated professional who has spent over two decades working in luxury hospitality. Steve’s father was a susccessful attorney. From time to time, his dad would bring him along on work travel and Steve remembers being in total awe at the hotels he and his dad would stay in. There was something so magical about walking into an ordnately decorated hotel lobby and being greeted as if you were some kind of royalty that left a significant impression on Steve. As Steve began thinking about what he wanted to do with his life during his later high school years, he assumed he’d just become a lawyer like his dad was.  But there was an idea that Steve just couldn’t shake…this nagging that pulled at his heart.  And that nagging was a desire to work in hospitality. Tune in to hear the remarkable story of: How Steve worked his way up to executive roles at Loews, Nobu, Mandarin Oriental and other luxury hotel brands Why he wound up leaving these coveted roles to become a hospitality entrepreneur And why he’s now building a luxury micro resort focused on sustainability and agritourism in South Florida. Follow Steve on LinkedIn Listen to his podcast The Hospitality Mentor  This episode is brought to yo buy our friends at Booklee. Booklee like a Linktree designed exclusively for Airbnb hosts and STR property managers.  If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you’re a hospitality entrepreneur that cares about building a brand for your Airbnb/STR business and that’s why many of you invest so much time into building your presence on Instagram. Knowing where to direct your Instagram followers to is always a challenge: Should you send them to your Airbnb listing directly to show off your incredible reviews?  Or to your direct booking site which is a little clunky to navigate on mobile but will save you 10-15% if your follower books direct?   Or maybe you’re testing out VRBO and Booking.com  Well, what’s amazing about Booklee is that you don’t have to decide.  Booklee allows you to create a stunning link-in-bio page that showcases everything about your property across all platforms. Booklee pulls in and aggregates your reviews across Airbnb, VRBO, and other OTAs, and invites guests to book via your direct booking site or their preferred OTA. Get 20% off your first year of Booklee when you reference Behind the Stays at checkout.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Ashley and Andy — the creators of The Glass Treehouse, a stunning couple’s stay in Banner Elk, North Carolina close to downtown Boone.  Andy is a mechanic by trade.  After spending years working in the airline industry, he decided to open up his own auto body shop in Charlotte, North Carolina. While Ashely and Andy loved the benefits that came with owning a small business, the couple dreamed of one day leaving Charlotte to move to the mountains. One day while scrolling through Zillow, Andy stumbled upon a house that had been on the market for 3 years…and, while he couldn’t have known it at the time, this dilapidated home that had been passed over hundreds of times would one day become one of Airbnb’s most wish-listed stays in the entire United States. Follow The Glass Treehouse on Instagram Book a Stay at The Glass Treehouse This episode is brought to yo buy our friends at Booklee. Booklee like a Linktree designed exclusively for Airbnb hosts and STR property managers.  If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you’re a hospitality entrepreneur that cares about building a brand for your Airbnb/STR business and that’s why many of you invest so much time into building your presence on Instagram. Knowing where to direct your Instagram followers to is always a challenge: Should you send them to your Airbnb listing directly to show off your incredible reviews?  Or to your direct booking site which is a little clunky to navigate on mobile but will save you 10-15% if your follower books direct?   Or maybe you’re testing out VRBO and Booking.com  Well, what’s amazing about Booklee is that you don’t have to decide.  Booklee allows you to create a stunning link-in-bio page that showcases everything about your property across all platforms. Booklee pulls in and aggregates your reviews across Airbnb, VRBO, and other OTAs, and invites guests to book via your direct booking site or their preferred OTA. Get 20% off your first year of Booklee when you reference Behind the Stays at checkout.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

You've been asking what we've got planed for 2024 —  so here's a sneak peak! I'm calling this episode our "Winter Housekeeping" pod so if you’re just here for the guests I bring onto the show and don’t care too much about what we’re building at Sponstayneous or the community we’re cultivating through Behind the Stays, I am not offended, just ignore these episodes when they pop-up into your feed. But, if you ARE cheering us on and curious about what’s been happening behind the scenes of Behind the Stays, then lend me your ears for the next few minutes. We'll chat about: Hitting 1,000 subscribers to our YouTube Channel — if you haven't watched our videos, you can do so here.  A big update to Sponstayneous  StayWatch — Google Flight Alerts but for Airbnbs How hosts are using our Ping product to increase their nightly rates  The expansion of our host partner program I want to hear from YOU!  Send me an email at Zach@sponstayneous.com with your ideas on how we can take the show up a couple of notches in 2024!

Meet Jake Pontius — Co-Founder of Nook, a collection of North America’s most remarkable landscape hotels and outdoor accommodations.  After working as a business analyst at a timeshare company, Jake left the corporate world to pursue his passion of brewing craft beer and it was during this season of his life where he first fell in love with hospitality. Now while Jake fell in love with the industry while working in food and beverage, his family is no stranger to hospitality. Jake’s father, David, actually spent his career working in executive capacities at RCI, Hilton, and Bluegreen Vacations. In this episode, Jake and I discuss: Why he and Michael Goldin from Storied Collection and building Nook The value of building soft brands in hospitality  What his predictions on the future of experiential travel are Why he’s bullish on landscape hotels and outdoor accommodations  And so much more Connect with Jake on LinkedIn Learn more about Nook  This episode is brought to you by Summer.  Summer takes the headache out of owning a vacation rental by taking care of sourcing, designing, furnishing and managing your home. What makes Summer especially unique is the pathway to ownership that they offer — think of this as an option to “try before you actually buy an Airbnb”  Here’s how Summer’s Gradual Ownership model works: You work with Summer to find the perfect vacation rental — one that’s in a market that you want to vacation to and also in a market that makes sense for a vacation rental. Summer guides you through the whole discernment process of where, when and what kind of home to buy. When you find the right home, put down a downpayment of 15+% but Summer buys the home for you and holds it for up to two years — during this time you can buy back the home from them any time you are ready or, after the two year period you can decide you DON’T want the home and get a full refund of your down payment. Also, Summer covers all of the closing costs and fees for the upfront purchase on the home, as well as furnishing and design. This means you pay far less out of pocket than you would if you bought the home yourself from day one. So if you’ve been looking for a way to beta test the whole Airbnb game, this is your sign. Go and chat with my new friends at Summer and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Margot Schmorak, Co-Founder and CEO of Hostfully — one of the hospitality industry’s leading technology companies.  Margot started her career working in marketing at Apple during one of the company's most pivotal eras.  She remembers the launch of the very first iPhone quite vividly since she was the only person on the marketing team to NOT receive a phone since she was just an intern at the time. In this conversation, Margot and I discuss: The lessons she learned about marketing, startups, and company culture during her time at Apple Where the idea for Hostfully first came from How Hostfully grew from a digital guidebook to a full-fledged property management platform  How much money Hosttfully has raised so far Why she started a community for venture-backed founders who are also moms The gaps she seems in the hospitality tech space And so much more… Learn more about Hostfully here Listen to Margot's Episodes of The Pitch Podcast This episode is brought to you by Summer.  Summer takes the headache out of owning a vacation rental by taking care of sourcing, designing, furnishing and managing your home. What makes Summer especially unique is the pathway to ownership that they offer — think of this as an option to “try before you actually buy an Airbnb”  Here’s how Summer’s Gradual Ownership model works: You work with Summer to find the perfect vacation rental — one that’s in a market that you want to vacation to and also in a market that makes sense for a vacation rental. Summer guides you through the whole discernment process of where, when and what kind of home to buy. When you find the right home, put down a downpayment of 15+% but Summer buys the home for you and holds it for up to two years — during this time you can buy back the home from them any time you are ready or, after the two year period you can decide you DON’T want the home and get a full refund of your down payment. Also, Summer covers all of the closing costs and fees for the upfront purchase on the home, as well as furnishing and design. This means you pay far less out of pocket than you would if you bought the home yourself from day one. So if you’ve been looking for a way to beta test the whole Airbnb game, this is your sign. Go and chat with my new friends at Summer and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Welcome to Episode 3 of Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing — a special Behind the Stays podcast series brought to you in collaboration with my friend, Conrad O’Connell, Founder and CEO of BuildUp Bookings, one of the most respected marketing agencies for vacation rental managers and hospitality entrepreneurs. Conrad just published an incredible book “Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing” which serves as a strategic guide designed for vacation rental managers, hosts, and STR professionals eager to scale their business without becoming overly reliant on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com. Over the next three weeks, you’ll get a sneak peek into the frameworks, case studies, strategies and data that Conrad shares in his book. If you’d like to purchase the book, you can do so via the Amazon link below OR if you’d like a digital copy of the book Conrad is offering a free digital version to Behind the Stays listeners (you can find a link to download the book in the show notes below). Stream Episode 1 of Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing  Stream Episode 2 of Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing  Buy Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing on Amazon Download a free copy of Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing Connect with Conrad on LinkedIn Learn more about how BuildUp Bookings can help you scale your business Recent episodes you might enjoy: The Future of Vacation Rental Management Companies — Stories and Ideas from a Former VRMA President A Panel Discussion on the Future of Short-Term Rental Investing with Wander, Techvestor, and Arrived How They’re Building a New Hotel Brand from Scratch Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it’s the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Paul Kromidas, an industry trailblazer who transitioned from a strategic role at Airbnb to founding Summer, a company revolutionizing the vacation rental space.  This episode delves into Paul's insights on the shifting dynamics of property management and his innovative approach to vacation home ownership. Tune in as we explore: Paul's key learnings from his tenure at Airbnb and their influence on Summer's vision. The concept behind Summer: Empowering aspiring vacation home owners with a risk-free trial of property ownership. The unique 'gradual ownership' model: A gateway for hesitant investors to step into the vacation rental market. How Summer addresses the quality versus quantity debate in property management. The challenge of balancing brand consistency with local uniqueness in vacation rentals. The future of vacation rental management: Predictions and strategies from a seasoned insider. Learn more about Summer Connect with Paul on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you by Summer.  Summer takes the headache out of owning a vacation rental by taking care of sourcing, designing, furnishing and managing your home. What makes Summer especially unique is the pathway to ownership that they offer — think of this as an option to “try before you actually buy an Airbnb”  Here’s how Summer’s Gradual Ownership model works: You work with Summer to find the perfect vacation rental — one that’s in a market that you want to vacation to and also in a market that makes sense for a vacation rental. Summer guides you through the whole discernment process of where, when and what kind of home to buy. When you find the right home, put down a downpayment of 15+% but Summer buys the home for you and holds it for up to two years — during this time you can buy back the home from them any time you are ready or, after the two year period you can decide you DON’T want the home and get a full refund of your down payment. Also, Summer covers all of the closing costs and fees for the upfront purchase on the home, as well as furnishing and design. This means you pay far less out of pocket than you would if you bought the home yourself from day one. So if you’ve been looking for a way to beta test the whole Airbnb game, this is your sign. Go and chat with my new friends at Summer and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Welcome to Episode 2 of Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing — a special Behind the Stays podcast series brought to you in collaboration with my friend, Conrad O’Connell, Founder and CEO of BuildUp Bookings, one of the most respected marketing agencies for vacation rental managers and hospitality entrepreneurs. Conrad just published an incredible book "Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing" which serves as a strategic guide designed for vacation rental managers, hosts, and STR professionals eager to scale their business without becoming overly reliant on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com. Over the next three weeks, you’ll get a sneak peek into the frameworks, case studies, strategies and data that Conrad shares in his book. If you’d like to purchase the book, you can do so via the Amazon link below OR if you’d like a digital copy of the book Conrad is offering a free digital version to Behind the Stays listeners (you can find a link to download the book in the show notes below). Stream Episode 1 of Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing  Buy Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing on Amazon Download a free copy of Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing Connect with Conrad on LinkedIn Learn more about how BuildUp Bookings can help you scale your business Recent episodes you might enjoy: The Future of Vacation Rental Management Companies — Stories and Ideas from a Former VRMA President A Panel Discussion on the Future of Short-Term Rental Investing with Wander, Techvestor, and Arrived How They’re Building a New Hotel Brand from Scratch Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Tim Harper, an innovator who left the digital marketing world to create Bubble Retreats, a unique hospitality experience in Victoria, Australia.  This episode takes you through Tim's inspiring journey from a memorable stargazing night in France to becoming a winner in Airbnb's OMG campaign. In this conversation, Tim and I explore: Tim's transition from online marketing to hands-on entrepreneurship in the hospitality sector. The birth of Bubble Retreats: How a transparent tent in France sparked an innovative idea. Overcoming the challenges of building a unique property with no prior construction experience. The strategy behind choosing bubble structures for a standout guest experience. Winning Airbnb's prestigious OMG competition and the journey from concept to reality. Future plans for Bubble Retreats: Expansion, partnerships, and creating a sustainable business model. And so much more This episode is brought to you by Hostlabs — Say goodbye to the daily hassle of running your short-term rental business. Free up your time and watch your business thrive with Hostlabs. Learn more and qualify for an exclusive discount here.  Recent episodes you might enjoy: The Future of Vacation Rental Management Companies — Stories and Ideas from a Former VRMA President A Panel Discussion on the Future of Short-Term Rental Investing with Wander, Techvestor, and Arrived How They’re Building a New Hotel Brand from Scratch Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Jeremy Hill, Co-Founder and CEO of Arcana — a next generation nature resort complete with seasonally immersive science-based experiences that help guests feel nature’s true restorative powers. Jeremy was working in banking and had climbed the proverbial and prestigious corporate ladder for years.  But one day, as he was staring out the window of his beautiful corner office, the question “what the heck am I doing with my life?” assaulted his brain! While he couldn’t have known it at the time, this moment would be the beginning of a major career pivot…it was this moment that would ultimately lead Jeremy to leave the corporate world behind, jump into entrepreneurship, and set out on a mission to build a supernatural hospitality brand. In this conversation, Jeremy and I discuss: How to build a truly experiential and multi-sensory hospitality brand How Arcana is reimagining food and beverage for its guests in a truly innovative way How much money he raised to get Arcana’s first site off the ground And so much more Learn more about Arcana Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you by Minoan! Want to save 30-40% off West Elm purchase for your Airbnb?  Or hundreds off of instagram famous mattresses from Bear or Purple? Then you'll want to create your free account with our partner Minoan. Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money! Sign up and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. If you liked this episode, you might also like: 1. He’s An Accountant, Artist, and Airbnb Superhost — Meet Isaac French the Creator of Live Oak Lake 2. How to Build a Portfolio of 100 Single-Family Airbnbs and Transform Them into Unique Experiences Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Welcome to Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing — a special Behind the Stays podcast series brought to you in collaboration with my friend, Conrad O’Connell, Founder and CEO of BuildUp Bookings, one of the most respected marketing agencies for vacation rental managers and hospitality entrepreneurs. Conrad just published an incredible book "Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing" which serves as a strategic guide designed for vacation rental managers, hosts, and STR professionals eager to scale their business without becoming overly reliant on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Airbnb, Vrbo, or Booking.com. Over the next three weeks, you’ll get a sneak peek into the frameworks, case studies, strategies and data that Conrad shares in his book. If you’d like to purchase the book, you can do so via the Amazon link below OR if you’d like a digital copy of the book Conrad is offering a free digital version to Behind the Stays listeners (you can find a link to download the book in the show notes below). Buy Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing on Amazon Download a free copy of Mastering Vacation Rental Marketing Connect with Conrad on LinkedIn Learn more about how BuildUp Bookings can help you scale your business Recent episodes you might enjoy: The Future of Vacation Rental Management Companies — Stories and Ideas from a Former VRMA President A Panel Discussion on the Future of Short-Term Rental Investing with Wander, Techvestor, and Arrived How They’re Building a New Hotel Brand from Scratch Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Bill Faeth — one of the most popular and well-respected voices in the short-term rental industry. Bill Faeth has been involved in real estate for almost 25 years with both commercial and residential investing. In 2015, he switched the majority of his residential portfolio to short term rentals from long term after seeing an opportunity to increase profit and reduce risk. Bill currently has a multi-million dollar portfolio of short term rental properties primarily located in vacation rental markets with a focus on beach, lake, and mountain properties.  In addition to his own portfolio, he hosts the popular STR Unfiltered podcast and he’s the co-producer of STR WealthCon, one of the hottest industry events for vacation rental entrepreneurs. In this episode Bill and I discuss: The story behind how he traveled to golf tournaments with Tiger Woods How he built, scaled, and sold his first businesses How much money he makes off of his content vs. his portfolio How much money the STR Wealthcon makes and what the long term vision for the event is What he’s recently changed his mind about And so much more This episode is brought to you by Hostlabs — Say goodbye to the daily hassle of running your short-term rental business. Free up your time and watch your business thrive with Hostlabs. Learn more and qualify for an exclusive discount here.  Recent episodes you might enjoy: The Future of Vacation Rental Management Companies — Stories and Ideas from a Former VRMA President A Panel Discussion on the Future of Short-Term Rental Investing with Wander, Techvestor, and Arrived How They’re Building a New Hotel Brand from Scratch Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Max Gagliardi — founder of Mountain Fork Resort, a 140-acre waterfront development in Broken Bow, Oklahoma.  Max is an entrepreneur who builds businesses across energy, real estate, & technology — he has a knack for finding opportunities in places others are convinced no opportunity exists. After stumbling upon an incredible piece of land in Broken Bow, one of the hottest up and coming vacation destinations in the southeast, Max began dreaming about how he could build a next generation resort that would become a destination in and of itself. In this episode, Max and I discuss: What inspired him to start a hospitality brand  Some unpopular opinions he has about the current state of the short-term rental industry The biggest opportunities you see to build thriving businesses in the space And what’s he learned by hosting a popular entrepreneurship podcast called “Always Be Building”  Connect with Max on LinkedIn Follow Max on X/Twitter This episode is brought to you by Hostlabs — Say goodbye to the daily hassle of running your short-term rental business. Free up your time and watch your business thrive with Hostlabs. Learn more and qualify for an exclusive discount here.  Recent episodes you might enjoy: The Future of Vacation Rental Management Companies — Stories and Ideas from a Former VRMA President A Panel Discussion on the Future of Short-Term Rental Investing with Wander, Techvestor, and Arrived How They’re Building a New Hotel Brand from Scratch Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Brooke Pfautz, founder and CEO of Vintory, the only sales and marketing platform on the planet exclusively dedicated to helping professional vacation rental managers grow their inventory.   Brooke is one of the industry's most respected experts, so it was an honor to get him back on the podcast to discuss his new book, Vacation Rental Secrets, which is a collection of the short-term rental industry’s top experts disclosing their biggest mistakes and sharing their hard-earned wisdom. Brooke and I discuss some of the most meaningful lessons garnered from these interviews, some unpopular opinions he has about the current state of the industry, the opportunity he sees for entrepreneurs to build new businesses in and around hospitality, and some hot takes he has on the future of the industry. Connect with Brooke on LinkedIn Buy Brooke's book on Amazon Learn more about Vintory This episode is brought to you by Hostlabs — Say goodbye to the daily hassle of running your short-term rental business. Free up your time and watch your business thrive with Hostlabs. Learn more and qualify for an exclusive discount here.  Recent episodes you might enjoy: The Future of Vacation Rental Management Companies — Stories and Ideas from a Former VRMA President A Panel Discussion on the Future of Short-Term Rental Investing with Wander, Techvestor, and Arrived How They’re Building a New Hotel Brand from Scratch Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet David and Andy Heyman — the two brothers who brought one of the newest and most unique glamping sites in the Blue Ridge Mountains to life, which they call Glamp Blue Ridge. David has a background in finance and Andy is a graphic designer by trade. The guys had long dreamed of being able to work on a business venture of some kind together but the timing and the idea never seemed right… That is, of course, until the idea of building a collection of unique Airbnbs on an actual waterfall in Cherry Log, Georgia began to percolate.  David is the idea guy and Andy is the creative who brings the ideas to life.   The brothers purchased dozens of acres of land that will eventually be home to a number of unique units like treehouses, a-frames, and maybe even airplanes, but the first iteration of Glamp Blue Ridge is a collection of 7 massive domes that all have their own brand, character, and unique furnishings.  In this conversation we discuss: Lessons learned trying to build unique Airbnbs on-top-of a waterfall How they  generated over 100k followers on Instagram in their first few months Why they’re bullish on direct bookings  Why their occupancy rate is over 90% even as travel slows down a bit And so much more Visit Glamp Blue Ridge Follow Glamp Blue Ridge on Social Media This episode is brought to you by Hostlabs — Say goodbye to the daily hassle of running your short-term rental business. Free up your time and watch your business thrive with Hostlabs. Learn more and qualify for an exclusive discount here.  Recent episodes you might enjoy: How British Airways and an Airbnb in Istanbul Inspired Him to Build a Glamping Destination in the Catskills Forget Vacation Destinations — He Builds Collections of Branded Airbnbs Near College Campuses He Was Airbnb’s 13th Employee — And Here’s What He Thinks the Future of the Hospitality Industry Will Look Like Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Mike Harrington, a true legend among vacation rental managers.   Mike’s career in hospitality started by accident.  After graduating from business school, Mike received a call from a recruiter to join a vacation rental management company on Hatteras Island. He learned the ropes of the industry at this first gig, grew to love the art of the business, and eventually decided that what he really wanted was to own and operate his own vacation rental management company.  After working at one of the largest vacation rental managers in the Outer Banks, Mike decided to take the leap and founded Carolina Retreats, a vacation rental management firm that would grow to serve nearly 400 properties across the state of North Carolina.  Along the way he’d answer the call to serve his colleagues in the industry by becoming the president of VRMA, the largest professional trade association for vacation rental managers, and serving in that role for over 6 years.  While Mike had no intention of selling his business, in 2021 he got an offer from V Trips, one of the world’s most respected vacation rental management brands, that he just couldn’t refuse.  Tune in to hear the stories, lessons and insights Mike has garnered throughout his career and get an inside look at the company he’s building next. Connect with Mike on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you by Hostlabs — Say goodbye to the daily hassle of running your short-term rental business. Free up your time and watch your business thrive with Hostlabs. Learn more and qualify for an exclusive discount here.  Recent episodes you might enjoy: How British Airways and an Airbnb in Istanbul Inspired Him to Build a Glamping Destination in the Catskills Forget Vacation Destinations — He Builds Collections of Branded Airbnbs Near College Campuses He Was Airbnb’s 13th Employee — And Here’s What He Thinks the Future of the Hospitality Industry Will Look Like Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Josiah Mackenzie, Founder of Hospitality Daily — a community, podcast, and email newsletter that helps hospitality professionals stay informed and inspired in this ever-changing and dynamic industry.  Josiah has spent his entire career creating, innovating and building in Hospitality. He founded a company called Hospitality Marketing Strategies which went on to become the #1 hotel marketing website in the world. Josiah then spent several years working for hospitality tech companies leading go-to-market strategies and helping these start ups get off the ground, scale, and in some cases even get acquired.  In this conversation, Josiah and I discuss: What STR owners and operates can learn from some of the leading boutique hoteliers about brand building and marketing The most interesting insights he’s garnered from hosting a daily podcast  Why he’s bullish on building his brand and the Hospitality Daily community on LinkedIn The biggest opportunities he sees for hospitality entrepreneurs today And so much more This episode is brought to you by our friends at OptimizeMyBnB I’ve been trying to find someone who I think understands the platform and marketing strategy better than me that I can refer you all to… And I’m happy to say that I think I’ve found him. Meet Daniel Rusteen — he’s a former Airbnb employee, full-time digital nomad, and author of “Optimize Your BnB” which has sold over 50,000 copies by word-of-mouth alone. Daniel has lived on Airbnb for more than 2,500 nights and has helped hundreds of hosts via his consulting, his program, and his thought leadership, increase their listing’s rank on Airbnb. If you’re newer to the STR space, or if your listings are starting to drop in rank, I want to encourage you all to do one of two things — if not BOTH — of the following: Buy Daniel’s new book, “Profitable Properties: Airbnb Insider Secrets” — you can get it on Amazon for just $10 Join Daniel’s 9-week program and he’ll teach you everything you need to know about optimizing your STR for Airbnb, VRBO, Google Search, and beyond.  You can use the discount code BTS for 40% off the program between now and the end of the 2023 calendar year. Daniel will teach you what the top 1% of short-term rental owners and managers already know about how to fully optimize their STRs across OTAs and beyond.  Recent episodes you might enjoy: How British Airways and an Airbnb in Istanbul Inspired Him to Build a Glamping Destination in the Catskills Forget Vacation Destinations — He Builds Collections of Branded Airbnbs Near College Campuses He Was Airbnb’s 13th Employee — And Here’s What He Thinks the Future of the Hospitality Industry Will Look Like Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Tanner Cummings — Co-founder and Owner of Thin Spaces, a new hotel brand that’s building its first micro-resort called Cypress at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Jasper, Georgia.  Tanner has always loved finding issues and solving problems, which is why he spent most of his professional career working in quality assurance engineering for software companies like Calendly.  But in 2021, Tanner was bit by the entrepreneurial bug and decided to join the e-commerce start up his wife Melissa founded called, Cedar and Ink. And while the couple couldn’t have know it at the time, this venture would ultimately inspire them to dream bigger. Tune in to hear the exciting story of why Tanner and Melissa decided to go all in on building a brand new hotel brand and what their first project, Cypress, a remarkably intentional micro-resort with luxurious and unexpected amenities will look like when it launches next year.  Connect with Tanner on LinkedIn Follow Cypress on Instagram Follow Tanner on Instagram  This episode is brought to you by Minoan! Want to save 30-40% off West Elm purchase for your Airbnb?  Or hundreds off of instagram famous mattresses from Bear or Purple? Then you'll want to create your free account with our partner Minoan. Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money! Sign up and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. If you liked this episode, you might also like: 1. He’s An Accountant, Artist, and Airbnb Superhost — Meet Isaac French the Creator of Live Oak Lake 2. How to Build a Portfolio of 100 Single-Family Airbnbs and Transform Them into Unique Experiences Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet James Varley — Founder of the Holiday Cottage Handbook and Varley Media.  James has had an impressive career in media — taking jobs around the world to work in print, TV, radio, digital advertising and social media organizations large and small. For the last ten years, James was living in Qatar leading corporate communications for last year’s FIFA World Cup organizing committee — how cool is that? James first got into short-term rentals as he’d rent out his flat in London when traveling abroad for lengthy work assignments.  He was amazed by how much he loved the experience of hosting and by how lucrative this asset class could be. After the World Cup finished in Qatar, he saw a gap in the STR media space for practical, helpful content that would help property managers grow their businesses.  And, while he couldn’t have known it at the time, this observation would lead to the founding of a new platform for STR owners, operators, and media partners to connect, learn and grow. This episode is brought to you by our friends at OptimizeMyBnB I’ve been trying to find someone who I think understands the platform and marketing strategy better than me that I can refer you all to… And I’m happy to say that I think I’ve found him. Meet Daniel Rusteen — he’s a former Airbnb employee, full-time digital nomad, and author of “Optimize Your BnB” which has sold over 50,000 copies by word-of-mouth alone. Daniel has lived on Airbnb for more than 2,500 nights and has helped hundreds of hosts via his consulting, his program, and his thought leadership, increase their listing’s rank on Airbnb. If you’re newer to the STR space, or if your listings are starting to drop in rank, I want to encourage you all to do one of two things — if not BOTH — of the following: Buy Daniel’s new book, “Profitable Properties: Airbnb Insider Secrets” — you can get it on Amazon for just $10 Join Daniel’s 9-week program and he’ll teach you everything you need to know about optimizing your STR for Airbnb, VRBO, Google Search, and beyond.  You can use the discount code BTS for 40% off the program between now and the end of the 2023 calendar year. Daniel will teach you what the top 1% of short-term rental owners and managers already know about how to fully optimize their STRs across OTAs and beyond.  Recent episodes you might enjoy: How British Airways and an Airbnb in Istanbul Inspired Him to Build a Glamping Destination in the Catskills Forget Vacation Destinations — He Builds Collections of Branded Airbnbs Near College Campuses He Was Airbnb’s 13th Employee — And Here’s What He Thinks the Future of the Hospitality Industry Will Look Like Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet John Andrew Entwistle, Founder and CEO of Wander, Sief Khafagi, Co-Founder and CEO of Techvestor, and Cameron Wu, VP of Investments at Arrived. I invited these incredible gentlemen onto the podcast for a panel discussion on the future of fundraising, portfolio building, and passive investing in short-term rentals. I’ve been curious, as I’m sure many of you all have been, how these short-term rental funds, REITs, and other forms of fractional ownership of vacation rentals businesses are panning out, and thought I’d bring some of the finest folks in the arena to share their stories and insight with you all. In this vibrant chat you’ll learn: How these business overlap and how they are distinct How the strategies for each business have evolved given the changes we’ve seen in macro economic environments over the past year Why today’s consumers are ready for altgernative forms of real estate investment What exit strategies for each of these companies might look like And loads more Moderating discussions with such incredible people is always so hard — and while we didn’t get to half of the questions I had hoped to because of time, I believe there’s so much value to be garnered from this discussion around how the industry as a whole is evolving and what these entrepreneurs believe the future of travel, hospitality, and vacation rental investing, just might look like. Learn more about Wander Learn more about Techvestor Learn more about Arrived This episode is brought to you by Minoan! Want to save 30-40% off West Elm purchase for your Airbnb?  Or hundreds off of instagram famous mattresses from Bear or Purple? Then you'll want to create your free account with our partner Minoan. Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money! Sign up and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Like this episode?  Here are a few others you'll love: How to Build a Portfolio of 100 Single-Family Airbnbs and Transform Them into Unique Experiences How to Build a Franchise-Worthy Hospitality Brand — The Story of Casiola How AI Will Enable Hospitality Entrepreneurs to Scale Their Brands (and Portfolios) Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet John Sutton — Co-Founder and CEO of Mansion, a new fractional ownership offering for those looking to get into short-term rental investing without needing to own or operate an Airbnb. Before starting Mansion*, John was the Chief Digital Officer at Red Ventures — the parent company for brands like Lonely Planet, The Points Guy, Reviews.com, and many others, so it’s safe to say John knows his way around building and scaling brands at the intersection of travel, hospitality, and technology. In this conversation, John talks about: Mansion’s vision of making real estate investing more accessible and exciting — fun fact, you can own a piece of your own Mansion for as little as $9/share.  Some of the learnings he garnered while at Red Ventures about the future of travel and hospitality  How Mansion’s approach is different from that of Techvestor’s, Here,  or Wander who have similar offerings. And what he predicts will happen over the next 5-10 years as more of these branded, professionally managed STR funds continue to grow. Learn more about Mansion here Follow John Sutton on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you by Minoan! Want to save 30-40% off West Elm purchase for your Airbnb?  Or hundreds off of instagram famous mattresses from Bear or Purple? Then you'll want to create your free account with our partner Minoan. Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money! Sign up and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Like this episode?  Here are a few others you'll love: How to Build a Portfolio of 100 Single-Family Airbnbs and Transform Them into Unique Experiences How to Build a Franchise-Worthy Hospitality Brand — The Story of Casiola How AI Will Enable Hospitality Entrepreneurs to Scale Their Brands (and Portfolios) Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.   *The Issuer is conducting public offerings pursuant to Regulation A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, through this Website. The most current offering circular for Mansion Collection I is available here. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments such as those on the Mansion Group platform are speculative and involve substantial risks to consider before investing, outlined in the respective offering materials and including, but not limited to, illiquidity, lack of diversification and complete loss of capital. Key risks include, but are not limited to, limited operating history, limited diversification, risk of asset damage or theft and lack of voting rights. An investment in an offering constitutes only an investment in a particular series and not in the underlying asset(s). Investors should carefully review the risks located in the respective offering materials for a more comprehensive discussion of risk.

Meet Jake Tucker, founder of Roav — a collection of urban and luxury retreat STRs located in the Pacific Northwest Jake began co-hosting Airbnbs while in college as a side-hustle.  He had no experience in real estate or hospitality whatsoever, but after Googling "how to make a lot of money as a college kid", he stumbled upon the plethora of rental arbitrage content on YouTube and began to binge. When he graduated, all of his friends started getting real jobs and Jake felt pressured to do the same. But as he thought more and more about it, the idea of working for someone else seemed untenable to Jake… So, he decided to trust his gut and go all in on building his STR property management business.  And now, just a few years later, Roav is one of the largest short-term rental hosting companies in the Inland Northwest. Tune in to hear Jake share how he got started with his first few properties, how he navigated COVID, his tips for acquiring new property owners as customers, the pros and cons of managing both traditional STRs AND unique stays, and much more. Book your stay with Roav Follow Roav on Instagram  This episode is brought to you by our friends at OptimizeMyBnB I’ve been trying to find someone who I think understands the platform and marketing strategy better than me that I can refer you all to… And I’m happy to say that I think I’ve found him. Meet Daniel Rusteen — he’s a former Airbnb employee, full-time digital nomad, and author of “Optimize Your BnB” which has sold over 50,000 copies by word-of-mouth alone. Daniel has lived on Airbnb for more than 2,500 nights and has helped hundreds of hosts via his consulting, his program, and his thought leadership, increase their listing’s rank on Airbnb. If you’re newer to the STR space, or if your listings are starting to drop in rank, I want to encourage you all to do one of two things — if not BOTH — of the following: Buy Daniel’s new book, “Profitable Properties: Airbnb Insider Secrets” — you can get it on Amazon for just $10 Join Daniel’s 9-week program and he’ll teach you everything you need to know about optimizing your STR for Airbnb, VRBO, Google Search, and beyond.  You can use the discount code BTS for 40% off the program between now and the end of the 2023 calendar year. Daniel will teach you what the top 1% of short-term rental owners and managers already know about how to fully optimize their STRs across OTAs and beyond.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Want to save 30-40% off West Elm purchase for your Airbnb?  Or hundreds off of instagram famous mattresses from Bear or Purple? Then you'll want to create your free account with our partner Minoan. Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money! Sign up and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Meet Luca Zambello, Founder of Jurny, a tech company with the mission of bringing hospitality into the age of AI and Automation.  Luca was born and raised in Italy but moved to California to pursue his dreams of becoming a tech entrepreneur more than 15 years ago. Pretty soon after arriving in LA, he stumbled into real estate and quickly realized there was massive opportunity in the short-term rental management space as Airbnb was quickly gaining popularity. In the process of scaling his Airbnb management company to over 300 units, Luca had to change PMSes not once, not twice, but five different times!  Luca was convinced that there had to be a better way to build tooling and solutions that could grow with a property manager as their business and portfolio grew. So, he took a big risk, and left his successful management company to go all in on an idea he had for levaragin AI to create a One-Stop Shop Property Management solution to help short term rental hospitality entrepreneurs save copious amounts of time and money on operations so they can focus more time on growth.  Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how he started and scaled Jurny and how he predicts AI will enable the next generation of hospitality entrepreneurs to scale their brands, increase their revenue, and decrease their expenses in hugely significant ways. Have you signed up for Minoan yet? In this episode we feature a Minoan customer review from Alyson, the founder of SmartStays — discover what she loves most about Minoan and how Minoan has helped her save thousands of dollars setting up her short term rentals.  Create your totally free Minoan account here.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Want to save 30-40% off West Elm purchase for your Airbnb?  Or hundreds off of instagram famous mattresses from Bear or Purple? Then you'll want to create your free account with our partner Minoan. Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money! Sign up and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Meet Sief Khafagi, Co-Founder of Techvestor — one of the hottest new services that allows folks to passively invest in short-term rentals. Sief has spent his entire career working in tech, and helped scale one of Facebook’s largest engineering organizations from a couple hundred to thousands across the world. It was during his time at Facebook where he met his now Co-Founder Sabrina who owned a couple of Airbnbs.  Sief was shocked by how successful her short-term rentals were that he asked Sabrina if he could just give her money to go buy and operate his own STRs. And, while he couldn’t have known it at the time, this ask would be the seed of the idea which would ultimately blossom into Techvestor. Today, Techvestor owns and operates nearly 100 short-term rentals in some of the country’s most desirable vacation markets.  Tune in to hear: - the story of how Sief helped build Techvestor - why Techvestor is bullish on single-family homes - what their secret sauce to sourcing, designing, and launching STRs looks like - the opportunities he sees to build new tech and new businesses in the space, and his hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality.  Learn more about Techvestor here Have you signed up for Minoan yet? In this episode we feature a Minoan customer review from Alyson, the founder of SmartStays — discover what she loves most about Minoan and how Minoan has helped her save thousands of dollars setting up her short term rentals.  Create your totally free Minoan account here.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Want to save 30-40% off West Elm purchase for your Airbnb?  Or hundreds off of instagram famous mattresses from Bear or Purple? Then you'll want to create your free account with our partner Minoan. Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money! Sign up and tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way. Meet Catherine Morris, the creator of Edenwod — a 6-acre oasis in the North Carolina mountains just 45 minutes outside of Asheville.  Catherine is an accountant by trade and spent nearly two decades climbing the corporate ladder taking on big roles in both finance and human resources. And she loved the work she did. But, when COVID hit, and her 9-year-old son was stuck at home doing school virtually, Catherine realized that it might be time for her family to make a change. She and her husband had always loved hosting people for dinner, and the two of them had recently discussed extending their love of hospitality into other arenas when the pandemic hit. Once it became clear that life wasn’t going to return to normal anytime soon, Catherine decided to take an idea she had been noodling on, of creating a unique getaway for folks looking to reconnect with a loved one and nature, into reality. Tune in to hear the story of how Catherine found the perfect plot of land through cold calling, how she worked with a local architect to build a one-of-a-kind barn and treehouse, and how she hopes to fully replace her former salary with revenue from Edenwood over the next year. Book Your Stay at Edenwood Follow the Edenwood Treehouse on Sponstayneous  Follow the Edenwood Barn on Sponstayneous Follow Edenwood on Instagram Have you signed up for Minoan yet? In this episode we feature a Minoan customer review from Alyson, the founder of SmartStays — discover what she loves most about Minoan and how Minoan has helped her save thousands of dollars setting up her short term rentals.  Create your totally free Minoan account here.  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Jacob Mueller, Co-Founder and CEO of Renjoy — a next generation short-term rental management firm based in Colorado Springs. Growing up, Jacob never would’ve guessed he’d be an entrepreneur, he studied economics in college and thought he’d go into policy.  But during his senior year, Jacob had the opportunity to work on a school project as a part of his thesis that revolved around launching a business in rural Michigan — and while he couldn’t have known it at the time, this project would inspire him to leave his dreams of working in Washington DC to own and operate businesses.  After graduating, Jacob wound up getting really into coffee and bought a local chain of coffee shops in the Colorado Mountains. But after a couple of years of working in the restaurant businesses, Jacob desired a pivot — and so he began binging episodes of Bigger Pockets and learned as much as he could about real estate.  Tune in to hear the exciting story of how Jacob wound up going all in on real estate as he believes it’s one of the best ways to help people achieve financial freedom, and how this mission of his led him and two of his friends to start Renjoy and scale it to over 150 properties under management in just a couple of years. Discover Renjoy Follow Jacob on Twitter  Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com Meet Zach in Person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCONon SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Stephen Pellicano — a hospitality entrepreneur in the Catskills focused on building simple glamping structures with everything you need and nothing that you don’t! Stephen is a graphic designer by trade and fell in love with travel and hospitality after winning not one, but two free, round-trip tickets to Europe on British Airways as a part of a giveaway they were running back in the late 90s to promote the Concorde. This trip abroad would inspire Stephen to spend the next decade living, working, and traveling across Europe. It was during this time abroad where Stephen had his first encounter with Airbnb and while he couldn’t have known it at the time, this experience would ultimately inspire him to start a glamping hospitality business a decade later in the Catskill Mountains in New York. Follow Stephen on YouTube   Follow Stephen on Instagram   Elena's Cosmetics & Essential Oils Store   Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com Meet Zach in Person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCONon SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Eric Carrico — founder of the The Woodford Hotel, a boutique invisible service hotel in Versailles, Kentucky. Eric is a civil and environmental engineer by trade and has spent his career solving complex civil engineering problems for some of the largest heavy industrial earthwork construction projects in the country. After the housing crisis in 2008, Eric had the opportunity to buy a couple of properties and start his real estate investing journey. Eric’s investment journey was quite traditional until this little known start-up at the time, which we now all know as Airbnb, began expanding into the south east and the midwest. Eric being the early adopter that he is, decided to test it out…and, well, that would ultimately lead him to grow a meaningful portfolio of STRs in the great Louisville area which he’d then wind up parlaying into an experiential boutique hotel for Bourbon aficionados. Tune in to hear the dynamic story of the unique approach Eric took to launching this boutique hotel and why he believes other hospitality entrepreneurs should get bullish on hospitality offerings catered to niche audiences.  Follow Eric on Twitter Follow Eric on Instagram Follow The Woodford Hotel on Instagram Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com Meet Zach in Person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCONon SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Dennis Goedheid, founder and CEO of Casiola — one of the hottest vacation rental management companies in the short-term rental space. Dennis is no stranger to entrepreneurship — he started and sold two companies in his native Belgium before moving to Silicon Valley to find inspiration for his next big thing. And while he couldn’t have known it at the time, that next big thing would be a vacation rental management company based in Orlando, Florida that is helping to write the book, in real time,  on how to build such an exceptional hospitality brand that short-term rental managers from around the world want to franchise.  In this episode, Dennis and I discuss: Why Casiola builds their own software in-house Why Casiola is quick to grow regionally, but slow to grow nationally Why he’s bullish on franchising in the STR and vacation rental spaces The entrepreneurial opportunities he sees for founders in the hospitality industry Learn more about Casiola Connect with Dennis on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com Meet Zach in Person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCONon SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Justin Hauge, Co-Founder and CEO of Storied Collection — a collection of castles and historical stays across the UK and Ireland.  While Storied Collection is Justin’s first rodeo as a founder, it’s not his first rodeo working in startups. Back in 2009, Justin was hired as the 13th team employee at a little start up that had just graduated from the most prestigious of startup accelerators, Y Combinator. And, yes, you guessed it — that startup was Airbnb.  In this riveting and insightful conversation, Justin talks about the 10+ years he spent working at Airbnb and how he helped build the company into the memorable brand that it is today. Justin also shares: - The story behind the founding of his new company Storied Collection, from a slightly different perspective than what his co-founder, Michael Goldin shared a few weeks ago on this very podcast - His ideas for the opportunities he sees to build great companies in the hospitality tech space - His thoughts on memberships and loyalty programs in STRs - Some spicy takes on the future of travel and hospitality as a whole. Have you signed up for Ping yet? Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up today at bnbping.com Meet Zach in Person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCONon SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In this special podcast episode, Zach Busekrus, host of the Behind the Stays podcast and co-founder of Sponstayneous shares the stories behind the inception of both brands. - Uncover the story of how Zach and his wife broke their lease in Washington D.C. in the fall of 2020 to live full-time on Airbnb - Discover how Sam Parr, Founder of The Hustle and host of the My First Million podcast, played a role in Sponstayneous' early growth - Hear how Guy Raz from NPR's How I Built This inspired Zach to start Behind the Stays - And get a behind-the-scenes look at what Zach and the team at Sponstayneous are building (and why they're building it!) Reach out to Zach with questions, comments, and ideas at zach@sponstayneous.com  Subscribe to Sponstayneous Sign up for Ping  Join the Sponstayneous Host Partner Program  Meet Zach in Person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Daniel Johnson, founder of Deacon Stays — a collection of curated stays near Wake Forest University.  Daniel has always been interested in real estate and investing and started his hosting as many do in the Airbnb arbitrage arena back in 2018. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience of hosting and was impressed by the returns STRs could generate compared to other real estate investments (Daniel is also a financial advisor that specializes in working with real estate investors). In this episode, Daniel and I discuss:  The surprising pros about building a collection of STRs near a college campus How to build a brand for your STR business ON the Airbnb platform  His thoughts on REITs and other more passive investment opportunities in STR funs  And how he’d approach buying right now amidst a more challenging market Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn Book a Stay at Deacon Stays This episode is brought to you by OwnerRez — the property management software most-loved by professional vacation rental mangers. If you’re in the market for a better platform to help you manage your STR portfolio, OwnerRez is offering Behind the Stays listeners 30% off the first 3 months…all you gotta to is mention Behind the Stays when talking to a team member at OwnerRez!  Also, in about 15 minutes from now, you’ll get to hear an exclusive chat I had with Tyann Marcink, an industry leader who LOVES OwnerRez.  So head on over to ownerreservations.com and give OwnerRez a good lookover! I want to meet you all in person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Sébastien Long, founder of Lodgeur — a furnished living, on-demand product that gives traveling professionals and digital nomads the service and consistency of a hotel with the spaciousness and function of a stylish home. While Sébastien has spent the better part of his professional career working big corporate jobs he actually grew up immersed in hospitality entrepreneurship — his parents owned and operated a vacation resort on the island of Corsica, just off the coast of France.  After traveling around the world working in banking for HSBC, in 2017 Sébastien was recruited to help launch Sonder in the UK. He got a front row seat to the big opportunities and big challenges of launching and scaling a consumer-facing property-management brand.  Tune in to hear the exciting story of the series of events that led him to write his master’s thesis on hospitality interior design at Cambridge, leave the UK and move to Houston, Texas, and how he built and scaled Lodgeur. Connect with Seb on LinkedIn Book a Stay with Lodgeur This episode is brought to you by OwnerRez — the property management software most-loved by professional vacation rental mangers. If you’re in the market for a better platform to help you manage your STR portfolio, OwnerRez is offering Behind the Stays listeners 30% off the first 3 months…all you gotta to is mention Behind the Stays when talking to a team member at OwnerRez!  Also, in about 15 minutes from now, you’ll get to hear an exclusive chat I had with Tyann Marcink, an industry leader who LOVES OwnerRez.  So head on over to ownerreservations.com and give OwnerRez a good lookover! I want to meet you all in person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Taylor Jones, Head of Acquisition at Techvestor, one of my favorite STR thought leaders to follow on social media, and a good friend of the Behind the Stays podcast.  After losing his sales job during COVID, Taylor spent hundreds of hours watching YouTube videos to learn all that he could about short-term rental real estate investing and the growing trend of experiential hospitality.  Today, he leads acquisitions at Techvestor, and in our chat, Taylor talks about everything he and his team have learned while building a portfolio of over 100 Airbnbs over the last 17 months.  Techvestor focuses on transforming run-of-the-mill single-family homes into unique, curated short-term rentals and Taylor shares the success they’ve found in sticking to and being bullish about this model. Follow Taylor on Twitter Connect with him on LinkedIn Learn more about Techvestor here.  This episode is brought to you by OwnerRez — the property management software most-loved by professional vacation rental mangers. If you’re in the market for a better platform to help you manage your STR portfolio, OwnerRez is offering Behind the Stays listeners 30% off the first 3 months…all you gotta to is mention Behind the Stays when talking to a team member at OwnerRez!  Also, in about 15 minutes from now, you’ll get to hear an exclusive chat I had with Tyann Marcink, an industry leader who LOVES OwnerRez.  So head on over to ownerreservations.com and give OwnerRez a good lookover! I want to meet you all in person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Michael Goldin, Co-Founder of the Storied Collection — an exclusive collection of historic estates, castles and other unique residences-turned-accommodations, situated across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Michael and his wife were searching for a much needed vacation as covid rules across the world began to subside. They dreamed of staying in a beautiful castle, but the search was rather difficult and the historic properties were particularly hard to find. After hours and hours of research, Michael finally found the perfect property… a property his family lineage could actually be traced to! The decision to book that property was a no brainer.  Tune into how this experiential feeling at the intersection of exploration and history led him to find co-founders to start Storied, a collection of the most richly historic and enjoyable places to stay in the world. Michael is also one of the hosts of Good Morning Hospitality — stream the weekly morning show here or wherever you get your podcasts. I want to meet you all in person! Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Annette Grant and Sarah Karakain from Thanks for Visiting — one of the most popular, if not THE most popular short-term rental podcasts out there.  Sarah is an actress by trade and was hustling on Broadway when Airbnb first became available in NYC.  She somehow convinced her husband to let her list their basement on Airbnb and, well, it wasn’t long before Sarah traded securing auditions for home acquisitions that she’d transform into short-term rentals. Annette is an entrepreneur by trade who has helped launch and scale multi-million dollar businesses in and around Columbus, Ohio. Today, she partners with real estate investors to help them launch and scale their short-term rental portfolios.  In the episode you’ll hear the story of how Sarah and Annette met, the founding story of Thanks for Visiting,  their thoughts on building a brand, and everything you can expect from their event TFVCON happening in Columbus, Ohio Sept 24th - 26th.  Annette and Sarah were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event. I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event.  You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.  

Today you'll re-meet Emily Padan, Ben Wolff, and Isaac French, founders of Hinter, Onera, and Live Oak Lake respectively — all three of these fine people were gracious enough to come BACK onto Behind the Stays.  In this first-of-its-kind panel podcast, this dynamic trio shares their experiences of working with hundreds of influencers and creators to promote their hospitality brands. You’ll learn what they think does and doesn’t work when collaborating with influencers, how they structure their agreements and partnerships with folks, what they think about free night stays and giveaways, the gaps they see in the Airbnb creator space, and so much more… Connect with Emily Padan on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn Connect with Isaac French on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn Connect with  Ben Wolff on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! Meet Julia Rossi — a Shark Tank alum turned hospitality entrepreneur.  Julia has spent the better part of her career working in corporate sales and marketing for a myriad of SaaS companies.  Back in 2015, Julia had an idea for a fairly niche product…that product was NeatCheeks — flavored face wipes for children.  As a mom of young children, Julia knew how difficult it was to get kids to sit still while wiping their faces after a gooey snack, and that’s when the idea of NeatCheeks was born. After securing an investment for Barbara Corcoran and building the brand over the next couple of years, Julia wound up exiting from the business so she could pursue her other passions of design and hospitality.  In this episode, Julia shares the founding story of her design consultancy Grey Domain, how she brought McKenzie Corner, an intelligently designed and fully-shoppable Airbnb, to life, and   how Julia thinks STR hosts can leverage their spaces as more than just places to stay. Connect with Julia on Instagram Explore Grey Domain Book a Stay at McKenzie Corner About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Please give a quick thank you to our sponsor for today’s episode, OwnerRez — the most loved and trusted property management software by professional vacation rental managers on the market.  Some of my best friends in the industry swear by OwnerRez so I’d highly encourage you to check them out and be sure to tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way and they’ll give you an exclusive discount when you decide to purchase their software. Meet Kevin Reardon, founder of The Shore House Hotel — a beachside lifestyle retreat built from a mid-century motel in North Wildwood, NJ. Kevin grew up in a blue collar family.  His idea of “success” looked like working on Wall Street, become a doctor, or becoming a lawyer, so after graduating from undergrad, he decided to pursue law and wound up getting his JD from the University of Pennsylvania. After a couple of years working at a very prestigious firm, Kevin decided that what he really wanted to do was get into hospitality…becoming a hotelier was what he’d dream about on nights and weekends in-between very late nights at his firm’s office.  And then an opportunity to buy a fairly rundown motel on the Jersey shore presented itself.  And there was something about this particular motel that seemed to speak to Kevin…so, he raised a little bit of money from friends and family and decided to take the plunge. Tune in to hear the story of how Kevin build The Shore House Hotel, why he thinks STR owners and operators can make great hoteliers, and what his hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality look like. Follow The Shore House Hotel on Instagram About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Adam Norko, a former marine turned hospitality marketer extraordinaire. Adam has spent the last two decades working in sales and marketing for a number of hospitality brands — everything from the PropTech side of the house to leading growth at vacation rental and STR management companies. In this conversation, Adam and I talk about how marketing has evolved in the vacation rental industry, what shifts the smartest hosts are making right now to prepare for the next generation of guests, the opportunities that exist for entrepreneurs to build new brands and companies in the space, whether or not the future of hospitality is boutique, and so much more. Adam is a wicked smart, wonderfully dynamic, and humbly passionate guy — y’all are going to love this episode.  Oh, and before we dive in, I want to give a quick thank you to our sponsor for today’s episode, OwnerRez — the most loved and trusted property management software by professional vacation rental managers on the market.  Some of my best friends in the industry swear by OwnerRez so I’d highly encourage you to check them out and be sure to tell them that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way and they’ll give you an exclusive discount when you decide to purchase their software. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! Meet Samantha Pike, founder of The Hosting Societe — a private club for hosts who have mastered the art of experiential accommodations. Back in 2018, Samantha launched her first vacation rental in Ontario — she had poured so much love and intention into the space that when she opened her calendar it booked out for 6 months almost immediately.  Samantha was stunned by the response and began wondering whether she had scratched an itch that the next generations of guests had for highly-curated short-term stays.  Sam started posting about her approach to hosting on Instagram and, before she knew it, folks with a similar heart for elevated hospitality began asking her to swap ideas and connect to share stories.  And it really was these requests that got Sam thinking about what it might look like to design a space where these exceptional creators of some of the world’s most beloved stays could come together. Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Sam built The Hosting Societe and what she thinks the future of travel and hospitality just might look like…  Learn more about The Hosting Societe Connect with Samantha on Instagram  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Matt Landau, the founder of VRMB — a vacation rental marketing blog and community for the world’s most innovative vacation rental professionals.  When Matt was a senior at the University of Richmond, he stumbled upon an alumni magazine that wound up changing his life. On the cover of this magazine was an alum sitting in a hammock while on a beach in Costa Rica. While Matt had no idea what this guy did that enabled him to chillax in such a pristine aesthetic, he made up his mind then and there that he wanted to do whatever it was that this guy did. And as it turned out, this guy had started the top luxury travel agency in Costa Rica. So Matt decided to shoot his shot and ask this guy to get together for a coffee next time he was in town…and, to Matt’s pleasant surprise, he did.  This opportunity was Matt’s foray into travel and hospitality and, while he didn’t know it at the time, this job would enable him to buy his own vacation rental management agency and, eventually, build a prolific online platform and membership community that thousands of professional operators all around the world would one day come to learn from and be inspired by.  This episode is brought to you by OwnerRez — the smartest property management software for vacation rental hosts. You can get a 30% discount on your first 3 months by mentioning Behind the Stays after booking a call or requesting more information from their team. Learn more about OwnerRez here.  Connect with Matt on LinkedIn Learn more about the VRMB Community  Behind the Stays is brought to you by Sponstayneous — a carefully-curated newsletter that sends subscribers 150 of the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb twice a week. You can subscribe for free at www.sponstayneous.com. Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus (@zboozee) — Co-Founder of Sponstayneous. If you know of an Airbnb host you think we should have on the show, please reach out directly to Zach at zach@sponstayneous.com and he'd be happy to talk with them.

Meet Bunim Laskin, Founder and CEO of Swimply — the Airbnb for Pools. Bunim grew up in Israel and moved to the states with his family when he was 15 years old.  He is oldest of 12 children and the idea for Swimply came to him when he was looking for a way to entertain his younger siblings in the heat of a New Jersey summer.  His next door neighbor had a pool that she didn’t use much and Bunim asked her if his family could use the pool when she wasn’t using it they agreed to pay 25% of the pool’s annual costs…to his surprise, she agreed. Tune in to hear the remarkable story of how Bunim raised his first million dollars, wound up pitching Swimply on SharkTank, how he and the team navigated COVID, and what the next 12 months for the company will look like (hint: it includes being able to book more than just pools!).  This episode is brought to you by OwnerRez — the smartest property management software for vacation rental hosts. You can get a 30% discount on your first 3 months by mentioning Behind the Stays after booking a call or requesting more information from their team. Learn more about OwnerRez here.  Behind the Stays is brought to you by Sponstayneous — a carefully-curated newsletter that sends subscribers 150 of the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb twice a week. You can subscribe for free at www.sponstayneous.com. Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus (@zboozee) — Co-Founder of Sponstayneous. If you know of an Airbnb host you think we should have on the show, please reach out directly to Zach at zach@sponstayneous.com and he'd be happy to talk with them.  

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! Issac French, Creator of Live Oak Lake, joins Zach for a chat about his latest project — a Masterclass on Experiential Hospitality.  This 9-hour, 45-videos-course, is your complete guide to financing, designing, building, marketing, and automating a boutique hospitality experience. I’ve interviewed over 100 hospitality entrepreneurs on my podcast, Behind the Stays, and I’ve never met someone in this industry so committed to excellence in ALL he does. Isaac is humble, smart, and has zero tolerance for ‘just OK.’ What he’s built at Live Oak Lake is truly extraordinary and I for one can’t wait to see what he does next. A few decades ago, a young entrepreneur named Issy from Canada had a simple vision for creating exceptional experiences…that vision became Four Seasons. If I was a betting man, I’d bet that the creator of the “next generation” Four Seasons might come from Waco, Texas…and chances are his name will be Isaac. Sign up for the course here.  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! Meet Hector Hughes, Co-Founder of Unplugged — a collection of off-grid cabins around the UK designed and optimized for guests seeking a digital detox. Hector started his career working in sales at a start-up, but it wasn’t really his thing. So, he gave product management a try and, well, that wasn’t much better. So he was REALLY excited when he finally got the opportunity to join the growth team…but, as it turns out, that wasn’t really his thing either. So Hector did the only thing he could do…he went soul searching at a two-week silent retreat in the Himalayas.  Tune in to hear how that retreat inspired him and his now-Co-Founder Ben to build a hospitality business focused on helping young professionals from the city escape the matrix for a couple of days by locking up their phones, disconnecting from the internet, and booking a stay in an impeccably-designed tiny cabin nestled in nature.  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In this episode Zach shares some exciting new updates on what we're building at Sponstayneous and asks for feedback from listeners on how to improve Behind the Stays.  Got ideas for Zach?  Reach out to him direct at zach@sponstayneous.com or find him on Twitter @zboozee or on LinkedIn at @zacharybusekrus.  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Paul Waldschmidt, Co-Founder and CEO of OwnerRez — one of the industry’s most beloved property management platforms.  Paul is a software developer through and through.  He has always loved leveraging technology to solve problems.  So, when he and his business partner Chris began experiencing problems with their property manager on their recently purchased vacation rental in the Blue Ridge mountains, the technical duo saw an opportunity.  Tune in to hear the story of how Paul and Chris bootstrapped the creation of one of the most respected, loved, and powerful PMSes for STR owners and property managers.  In this episode, Paul and I discuss: The history of PMSes in the vacation rental space Why Airbnb invests tens of millions of dollars each year on UX/UI design  Why so many direct booking websites suck The opportunities that exist to build new software and tooling in the industry And much more. Finally, Paul and his team have generously offered a 30% discount for new customers for their first 3 months.  Just mention Behind the Stays after booking a call or requesting more information from their team. Learn more about OwnerRez here.  Behind the Stays is brought to you by Sponstayneous — a carefully-curated newsletter that sends subscribers 150 of the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb twice a week. You can subscribe for free at www.sponstayneous.com. Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus (@zboozee) — Co-Founder of Sponstayneous. If you know of an Airbnb host you think we should have on the show, please reach out directly to Zach at zach@sponstayneous.com and he'd be happy to talk with them.

This episode is brought to you by StayFi!  StayFi makes it easy to collect data from and market to every single person staying in your short-term rental. StayFi lets you create a custom branded WiFi splash page similar to what you might experience when logging onto the WiFi network at your favorite coffee shop.  This means you can collect the name, email address, and phone number  from every guest staying with you, not just the one who booked…because who doesn’t need to use the WiFi. Learn more about StayFi at StayFi.com and be sure to use the code “BTS” at checkout for 50% off your first 3 months. Meet Jessica Foster, the creator of Ironton Island — a collection of unique glamping stays in Ironton, Minnesota.  Jessica is a product designer by trade and has always had a love for the outdoors — something she and her husband Chad have in common. Jessica and Chad have always enjoyed working hard and dreaming about ways to create valuable assets that enable others to encounter the natural world in more meaningful ways. So, when the opportunity presented itself for the couple to begin designing and building unique, but affordable, Airbnb escapes, they jumped at it.  Tune in to hear the story of how Jessica and Chad have strategically acquired overlooked land, built simple but memorable unique stays  — with little-to-no financing —  and how they plan to take a more “bootstrapped” approach to building their collection of insta-worthy short-term rentals. Follow Ironton Island Follow Lazy Loon Properties  Learn more about StayFi Behind the Stays is brought to you by Sponstayneous — a carefully-curated newsletter that sends subscribers 150 of the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb twice a week. You can subscribe for free at www.sponstayneous.com. Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus (@zboozee) — Co-Founder of Sponstayneous. If you know of an Airbnb host you think we should have on the show, please reach out directly to Zach at zach@sponstayneous.com and he'd be happy to talk with them.

This episode is brought to you by StayFi!  StayFi makes it easy to collect data from and market to every single person staying in your short-term rental. StayFi lets you create a custom branded WiFi splash page similar to what you might experience when logging onto the WiFi network at your favorite coffee shop.  This means you can collect the name, email address, and phone number  from every guest staying with you, not just the one who booked…because who doesn’t need to use the WiFi. Learn more about StayFi at StayFi.com and be sure to use the code “BTS” at checkout for 50% off your first 3 months. Meet Mark Simpson — the founder and CEO of Boostly, the leading direct booking website builder for STR and vacation rental hosts.  Mark literally grew up immersed in the hospitality industry.  His family lived on a 200 acre farm in Scarborough, England where they ran a bed and breakfast and farm-to-table restaurant for folks around the UK looking for a relaxing getaway from the city. After a career as a football, or as we call it here in the states, soccer coach, Mark wound up returning to the farm to help usher the family business into the 21st Century.  And while he couldn’t have known it at the time, this move would wind up laying the groundwork for Mark to become one of the most trusted and inspirational voices in hospitality.  Tune in to hear the story of how Mark recognized a massive opportunity to help STR owners and operators build and scale their businesses, reduce their reliance on OTAs like Airbnb, and increase their portfolio’s revenue.  In this episode we talk about: How Tim Ferris’ 4-Hour Work Week inspired Mark’s entrepreneurial spirit Why he bought a billboard in Times Square with has face on it and the words “I’m the guy Airbnb doesn’t want you to know about” His content marketing playbook which has garnered him tens of thousands of followers across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram His hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality  Discover Boostly Follow Mark on Instagram  Learn more about StayFi Behind the Stays is brought to you by Sponstayneous — a carefully-curated newsletter that sends subscribers 150 of the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb twice a week. You can subscribe for free at www.sponstayneous.com. Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus (@zboozee) — Co-Founder of Sponstayneous. If you know of an Airbnb host you think we should have on the show, please reach out directly to Zach at zach@sponstayneous.com and he'd be happy to talk with them.

This episode is a special one!  Wil Slickers from Slick Talk invited our host, Zach Busekrus, to come and share his story on Wil's top-rated hospitality podcast.  Enjoy this rebroadcasted episode!  Be sure to subscribe to Wil's show here or wherever you get your podcast.  Behind the Stays is brought to you by Sponstayneous — a carefully-curated newsletter that sends subscribers 150 of the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb twice a week. You can subscribe for free at www.sponstayneous.com. Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus (@zboozee) — Co-Founder of Sponstayneous. If you know of an Airbnb host you think we should have on the show, please reach out directly to Zach at zach@sponstayneous.com and he'd be happy to talk with them.

This episode is brought to you by StayFi!  StayFi makes it easy to collect data from and market to every single person staying in your short-term rental. StayFi lets you create a custom branded WiFi splash page similar to what you might experience when logging onto the WiFi network at your favorite coffee shop.  This means you can collect the name, email address, and phone number  from every guest staying with you, not just the one who booked…because who doesn’t need to use the WiFi. Learn more about StayFi at StayFi.com and be sure to use the code “BTS” at checkout for 50% off your first 3 months. Meet Katie Cline, creator of Trout Landing in Lake George, New York.  While new to the STR space, Katie comes from a background of luxury hospitality PR, having worked for brands such as The Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, St. Regis, JW Marriott, Edition, and Le Méridien in both New York and London.  In this episode Katie and I discuss what STR hosts designing, building, and hosting luxury stays can learn from some of the most highly-regarded hospitality organizations in the world.  We chat about how the communication tone and style differs within Marriott's luxury collection, some of the most noteworthy experiences Katie had while working in PR, how she’s applying her learnings from luxe hospitality to the building of her own hospitality brand, and some lessons she thinks STR owners and operators can learn from luxury hotels. Book Your Stay at Trout Landing Behind the Stays is brought to you by Sponstayneous — a carefully-curated newsletter that sends subscribers 150 of the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb twice a week. You can subscribe for free at www.sponstayneous.com. Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus (@zboozee) — Co-Founder of Sponstayneous. If you know of an Airbnb host you think we should have on the show, please reach out directly to Zach at zach@sponstayneous.com and he'd be happy to talk with them.

So there’s been a LOT happening over the last couple of months and I wanted to give you all a quick update on some exciting happenings at Sponstayneous and Behind the Stays... Say hi to Minoan Sign up for Minoan Subscribe to Behind the Stays on YouTube Follow Behind the Stays on Instagram  Say hi to DEN Outdoors Join the Sponstayneous Host Partner Program Subscribe to Sponstayneous  Say hi to Uplisting  ’m going to call this episode and future episodes like it “housekeeping” so if you’re just here for the guests I bring onto the show and don’t care too much about what we’re building at Sponstayneous or the community we’re cultivating through Behind the Stays, I am not offended, just ignore these episodes when they pop-up into your feed. But, if you ARE cheering us on and curious about what’s been happening behind the scenes of Behind the Stays, then lend me your ears for the next few minutes On the agenda for today: New ways for y’all to stay connected to Behind the Stays A big update to Sponstayneous  How hosts are using our Ping product to increase their nightly rates  The expansion of our host partner program About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! Meet Hans Lorei —  Head of Design at Investmet.com and one of the most beloved designers in the short-term rental and boutique hospitality corners of the internet.  Hans was working at a bar in Nashville when he overheard a couple of real estate developers discussing a new luxury build they were working on nearby, and something about their conversation sparked inspiration in Hans.  He asked if he could come and check out their project and the duo said yes.  And while Hans couldn’t have known it at the time, this would prove to be a pivotal moment in his life and the first step in his journey to becoming a realtor, learning the ropes of development, and applying his creative talents to the hospitality space. In this conversation, Hans and I discuss: -  Why STR hosts should invest way more in design -  Why hosts should think about their yards as an extension of their homes -  How to ensure that every item you buy for your STR is aligned with your brand - And loads more. Get excited for a riveting and inspirational conversation with one of my favorite follows on Twitter. Follow Hans on Twitter Create your free Minoan account About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! Meet Jason and Monique — the founders of The Vermont A-Frame…one of the OG instagram famous A-Frames in New England.  Jason grew up vacationing in Vermont, but it wasn’t until he took Monique up from Jersey for a weekend that the couple realized how special this part of the country really was.  Soon after that trip, Jason and Monique began dreaming about how they might own a vacation home in the area that they could escape to on long weekends and perhaps rent out to others on occasion. Tune in to hear the story of how the couple found the perfect A-Frame (after visiting more than 20 others!) and transformed it into one of the most desirable vacation homes in the Green Mountain State. In this episode, I chat with Jason and Monique about: What it was like owning a unique stay back in 2017 and how their business has been impacted since the covid boom The best and worst experiences they’ve had with creators and influencers Why they often ignore their dynamic pricing tools in favor of attracting the core guest avatar And so much more. Book Your Stay at The Vermont A-Frame Follow The Vermont A-Frame on Instagram About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! Meet Nate Vietz, founder of Content House — one of the most exciting media agencies serving the short-term rental community.  After graduating from high school, Nate began working as a line cook.  He loved the creative outlet that cooking offered so much so that he wound up starting his own meal prepping business.  And then covid hit…and, overnight, Nate’s entire business model had to shift.  It was stressful to say the least, but it was this world-changing moment that inspired him to pause and think about what he really wanted to do in the next chapter of his life. Tune in to hear the story behind the opportunity Nate saw to help hospitality entrepreneurs build their brands on social media through a unique approach to content creation, social media strategy, and audience development. In this episode, Nate and I discuss: How he convinced internet-famous Airbnb personalities like Levi Kelly and Isaac French to work with him How he’s helped dozens of clients go viral on Instagram and TikTok The key to creating great content that doesn’t break the bank How to measure the value of your Airbnb’s following on social media  and much more Discover Content House Follow Nate on Instagram  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Episode: Meet Sani Djaya, the creator of Moonbase —  a next generation luxury campground designed to help make stargazing accessible to all. Sani is a product manager by trade.  After graduating from University of Maryland College Park, he traded the east coast for the west coast and has spent the last few years working for tech startups.  Sani has always loved the outdoors, so when he learned that his girlfriend had never been stargazing, he knew he had to change this reality as quickly as possible.  But there was one BIG problem…his girlfriend wasn’t thrilled about sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent on top of a mountain. And that’s when Sani had an idea…what if he could design a luxe camping experience that would enable you to stargaze to your heart's content AND get the best night of sleep you ever had…and, that’s when the idea for Moonbase was born. In this episode, Sani and I chat about: How he ran a Google Ads campaign to validate his idea Why he launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise some initial cash for Moonbase The story behind how he discovered Jupe and his thoughts on the benefits of pre-fab structures And how he plans to scale Moonbase over the next 12-24 months. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Download the full free report . Oh, and be sure to start your 14-day free trial of Uplisting at  at https://www.uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout.  Welcome to Episode 3 of a special 3-part podcast series on The State of the Short-Term Rental Industry brought to you by my friends at Uplisting — one of the most powerful property management systems on the market.  In this episode, Zach and Vinny (founder and CEO of Uplisting) chat about how to market your short-term rental portfolio in 2023 — and the approach different property managers take to promoting their listings.  About the series Airbnb hosts and short-term rental operators often work independently without much intel as to how their peers are marketing their properties, increasing their booking rates, and how much money folks are actually making from their portfolios.  In order to address this issue, the Uplisting team took it upon themselves to collect and analyze data from their own customers as well as hundreds of other STR owners and operators in the industry.  This special podcast series will unveil some of the more interesting findings from this report and equip you with insight into how your business compares to others.  Stream Episode 1 here  Stream Episode 2 here This episode and 3-part series is brought you to by Uplisting.  Whether you have a single property or hundreds of properties, Uplisting is designed to help you accelerate growth with incredible reliability, critical marketing automation and the most powerful direct booking engine on the market. Start your 14-day free trial at uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout — but act fast, because this offer expires on June 30th, 2023 at midnight! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Hayden Laverty, Founder of CHJ Development, a real-estate developer in Portland, Oregon focused on acquiring, designing, and constructing the city’s most significant short-term-rental residences. Hayden learned pretty early on in life that he wasn’t cut out for the traditional 9 - 5. After working at two internships during his junior and senior years of college at Intel and Price Water Cooper, Hayden realized that he loved working hard, pushing the envelope of convention, and didn’t have much patience for bureaucratic friction.  So, after graduating from Arizona State University, Hayden decided to shoot his shot by starting his own business. Follow Hayden on Twitter Connect with Hayden on LinkedIn In this episode of Behind the Stays, Hayden shares: 1. The story behind the opportunity he saw in the short-term rental real estate development and management game 2. How he’s scaled his business to over 200 units under management 3. Why he thinks OTAs like Airbnb should charge hots more 4. What he’s learned as a young entrepreneur about the importance of focus, grit, and differentiation. This episode is brought to you by DEN Outdoors. You’ve seen them all over Instagram… You may have also seen them in Dwell Magazine…. And if you love design, travel, and hospitality, chances are you’ve even dreamed about what it would be like to build your very own A-Frames, Cabins, or Barnhouse with their designs. DEN Outdoors began because its founders knew that building a cabin changes who you are, having a cabin changes how you live, and sharing a cabin changes how you engage with others. I’ve met so many incredible hosts in the short-term-rental community who have used DEN designs to build their bespoke escapes, many of whom have been guests on this podcast. And now, it brings me SO much joy to announce that we’ve partnered with DEN to bring you an exclusive discount on their digital design plans. By using the discount code SPONSTAY50 at checkout, you can get ANY of DEN’s digital plans for 50% off…that’s right…5-0. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Download the full free report . Oh, and be sure to start your 14-day free trial of Uplisting at  at https://www.uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout.  Welcome to Episode 2 of a special 3-part podcast series on The State of the Short-Term Rental Industry brought to you by my friends at Uplisting — one of the most powerful property management systems on the market.  In this episode, Zach and Vinny chat about how much money you can actually make from short-term rentals based on new data uncovered by the aforementioned report.  About the series Airbnb hosts and short-term rental operators often work independently without much intel as to how their peers are marketing their properties, increasing their booking rates, and how much money folks are actually making from their portfolios.  In order to address this issue, the Uplisting team took it upon themselves to collect and analyze data from their own customers as well as hundreds of other STR owners and operators in the industry.  This special podcast series will unveil some of the more interesting findings from this report and equip you with insight into how your business compares to others.  Stream Episode 1 here  This episode and 3-part series is brought you to by Uplisting.  Whether you have a single property or hundreds of properties, Uplisting is designed to help you accelerate growth with incredible reliability, critical marketing automation and the most powerful direct booking engine on the market. Start your 14-day free trial at uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout — but act fast, because this offer expires on June 30th, 2023 at midnight! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Robin Craigen, Co-Founder and CEO of Moving Mountains —a luxury collection of lodging properties in Steamboat Springs, Beaver Creek, Vail, and Breckenridge, Colorado. Robin began his hospitality entrepreneurship journey alongside his wife Heather at sea. Yes, you heard that right, the Craigens ran a luxury yacht charter business around the British Virgin Islands. And while sailing the stunning waters of the BVI was nothing short of a dream, Robin and Heather had higher aspirations. The couple moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and decided to open up a ski chalet business. And that business?  Well they called it Moving Mountains and today, they manage more than 200 properties across in Colorado’s most desirable ski towns. In this conversation, Robin shares: - His musings on the current state of the vacation rental industry - His thoughts on how to best leverage OTAs - How he’s scaled a team to manage 200+ properties with the kind of service and attention to detail of a 5-start resort - Why he thinks Moving Mountains generates so many returning guests - How he’s thinking about growing in other vacation destinations with his soon-to-be-launched sub-brands Moving Beaches and Moving Oceans.  Book your stay at a Moving Mountains property. Connect with Robin on LinkedIn.  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Download the full free report . Oh, and be sure to start your 14-day free trial of Uplisting at  at https://www.uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout.  Welcome to a special 3-part podcast series on The State of the Short-Term Rental Industry brought to you by my friends at Uplisting — one of the most powerful property management systems on the market.  Over the next three weeks, join Vinny Breslin, Co-Founder and CEO of Uplisitng, and yours truly, Zach Busekrus from Behind the Stays, as we unpack Uplisting’s latest trends report . Airbnb hosts and short-term rental operators often work independently without much intel as to how their peers are marketing their properties, increasing their booking rates, and how much money folks are actually making from their portfolios.  In order to address this issue, the Uplisting team took it upon themselves to collect and analyze data from their own customers as well as hundreds of other STR owners and operators in the industry.  This special podcast series will unveil some of the more interesting findings from this report and equip you with insight into how your business compares to others.  Uplisting invites you to download the full, free report via the link in the show notes below.  Alright folks, without further ado, grab a cup of coffee or your favorite evening cocktail and settle in for an informative and timely 3-part conversation.  This episode and 3-part series is brought you to by Uplisting.  Whether you have a single property or hundreds of properties, Uplisting is designed to help you accelerate growth with incredible reliability, critical marketing automation and the most powerful direct booking engine on the market. Start your 14-day free trial at uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout — but act fast, because this offer expires on June 30th, 2023 at midnight!  

Meer Eric Moeller, Founder + CEO of Freewyld — a curated collection of properties designed to inspire awe and bring people together launching this summer in Idyllwild, California. Eric is no stranger to hospitality entrepreneurship. He is the co-founder of Overnight Success which is the engine behind short-term rental educational brands like Legends X 90-Day STR Accelerator, STR Legends Mastermind, Get Paid For Your Pad, and the Airbnb Profit Club. Eric was also the co-founder and CEO of Koda Homes — a real estate investment, management and professional tenant company in San Diego.  In this lively conversation, Eric and I chat about the major opportunities that exist in the boutique hospitality space right now, why impeccable design is table stakes when it comes to short-term rentals today, the challenges of building membership programs as a highly-curated collection of stays, and much more.  Learn more about Freewyld Connect with Eric on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you by DEN Outdoors. You’ve seen them all over Instagram… You may have also seen them in Dwell Magazine…. And if you love design, travel, and hospitality, chances are you’ve even dreamed about what it would be like to build your very own A-Frames, Cabins, or Barnhouse with their designs. DEN Outdoors began because its founders knew that building a cabin changes who you are, having a cabin changes how you live, and sharing a cabin changes how you engage with others. I’ve met so many incredible hosts in the short-term-rental community who have used DEN designs to build their bespoke escapes, many of whom have been guests on this podcast. And now, it brings me SO much joy to announce that we’ve partnered with DEN to bring you an exclusive discount on their digital design plans. By using the discount code SPONSTAY50 at checkout, you can get ANY of DEN’s digital plans for 50% off…that’s right…5-0. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Amy Dourson from Red River Gorgeous, a collection of unique cabins, treehouses, and instagram-famous cliff houses in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge.  Growing up,  Amy wanted to be a doctor.  So, she spent a lot of her time studying as she was determined to go to medical school. But, after a series of adventurous and serendipitous events, Amy fell in love with carpentry and decided to exchange her dreams of becoming a doctor with a new dream to become a builder.  When Amy met her husband Aaron, his family owned a few cabins in the Nada Tunnel Road in the heart of the gorge. The business — if you could call it that — was hanging on by little more than a wing and a prayer.  As Amy saw it, the couple had two options — let the family business run its course or adopt a new vision of building a collection of unique stays that would introduce the world to the geological wonders of the Gorge that she had fallen in love with. The couple chose the latter.  Tune in to hear how Amy transformed a side-hustle family business into a thriving hospitality brand, how she’s strategically partnered with folks like Canopy Crew to build one-of-a-kind treehouses, how she’s built the right team to support the company’s growth, and her vision for the future of travel and hospitality. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Ben Wolff — Founder and Creator of Onera — a truly one-of-a-kind collection of unique escapes in the Texas Hill Country.  Ben is no stranger to hospitality entrepreneurship. Prior to starting Onera, Ben founded and grew ProTripper, a property management services platform, and Blink Hospitality, a data-driven, vacation rental company with hundreds of properties across the US.  But then something happened in early March 2020 that changed everything.  Ben was overseas celebrating the prior year’s successes with a team he had built in the Philippines when his phone began vibrating uncontrollably. Guests were canceling their stays as news broke that the WHO had announced that COVID-19 was now a pandemic.  And while COVID crushed Ben’s core business, which primarily focused on STRs in urban locations, it inspired him to think bigger, bolder, and more creatively than ever before.  Tune in to hear the story behind how this set of seemingly-doomsday day events led to the creation of an innovative hospitality company offering luxury, eco-focused, unique stays in beautiful, natural landscapes. Book a Stay at Onera Follow Onera on Instagram  Connect with Ben on LinkedIn Follow Ben on Twitter This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Chelsea Dunckley  — the Founder of Digs Co, a hospitality company that specializes in creating elevated vacation rentals in Central Washington and the Greater Phoenix area.  Chelsea and her husband Luke have always loved real estate.  After getting married, you’d often find the couple working on nights and weekends flipping homes while discussing the latest trends in design, real estate, and hospitality.  But it wasn’t until Chelsea received some unexpected news from the tech company she worked at that she and her entire unit were to be let go that she decided to try her hand at transforming Digs Co from a fun side hustle into her full time gig.  In this conversation, Chelsea and I discuss the power and importance of brand building, why Chelsea is so discerning about the properties she chooses to manage for clients within the context of the Digs Co. brand, how and why she’s structured her portfolio into thematic collections, and much more.  Book a Stay at Digs Co. Follow Digs Co. on Instagram This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In this special episode, Zach sits down with Amy from Allbelongco to discuss the viral story behind her missing painting.  One of Amy's recent Airbnb guests stole a painting and then REPLACED it with one of his own.  Amy posted about this on Instagram and TikTok...and it went viral! Tune into the riveting, somewhat unbelievable story behind this mystery unfolding (in real time) in Lynchburg, Virginia.  Follow Allbelongco on Instagram. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 

Meet Jacob Halverson, the General Manager of Mendocino Grove — a luxury glamping resort on 32 wooded acres in Mendocino County, California.  After studying hospitality management at Lakeland University, Jacob started his career as a front desk manager at Custer State Park Resort in South Dakota. Since then, he’s helped launch luxury boutique hotels, started his own hospitality consultancy, and, currently, serves as the General Manager at Mendocino Grove. In this lively conversation, Jacob and I discuss the massive opportunity that exists in the luxe camping space, how to increase revenue and profitability when you’ve reached the ceiling for your nightly rate, and the future of experiential travel. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Jenny Power, the creator of  The Cornerstone Cottage, a carefully restored historic home near Acadia National Park in Lamoine, Maine.  Jenny wasn’t looking for a vacation rental — and while she enjoys hosting at her home in Houston, Texas the idea of becoming a short-term-rental host wasn’t remotely on her mind. Jenny’s family are long-time Mainers and she grew up spending lots of time in The Pine Tree State.  And so when Jenny and her husband Allan visited Maine in the latter half of the pandemic, they were reminded just how magical this part of the world really is…and mere moments after this realization while on a walk down the street, they stumbled upon a For Sale sign on an impeccable waterfront property.  Tune in to hear the vibrant story of how Jenny and Allan acquired The Cornerstone Cottage, which had once been a part of a hotel that families like the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers used to stay in on their way to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, and carefully brought it into its next chapter of life. Follow The Cornerstone Cottage on Instagram This episode is brought to you by DEN Outdoors. You’ve seen them all over Instagram… You may have also seen them in Dwell Magazine…. And if you love design, travel, and hospitality, chances are you’ve even dreamed about what it would be like to build your very own A-Frames, Cabins, or Barnhouse with their designs. DEN Outdoors began because its founders knew that building a cabin changes who you are, having a cabin changes how you live, and sharing a cabin changes how you engage with others. I’ve met so many incredible hosts in the short-term-rental community who have used DEN designs to build their bespoke escapes, many of whom have been guests on this podcast. And now, it brings me SO much joy to announce that we’ve partnered with DEN to bring you an exclusive discount on their digital design plans. By using the discount code SPONSTAY50 at checkout, you can get ANY of DEN’s digital plans for 50% off…that’s right…5-0. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet John Stokinger — Co-Host of the No BS Short-Term Rental Podcast and the Director of Sales at Direct, a SaaS platform for short-term rental property and reservation management. In this wide-ranging conversation, John and I talk about his time at the popular start-up, Hopper, how to build better technology platforms for short-term rental hosts, the pros and cons of industry events, and the powerful network effects of podcasting.  Connect with John on LinkedIn Check out The No BS Short-Term Rental Podcast Learn more about Direct. This episode is brought to you by DEN Outdoors. You’ve seen them all over Instagram… You may have also seen them in Dwell Magazine…. And if you love design, travel, and hospitality, chances are you’ve even dreamed about what it would be like to build your very own A-Frames, Cabins, or Barnhouse with their designs. DEN Outdoors began because its founders knew that building a cabin changes who you are, having a cabin changes how you live, and sharing a cabin changes how you engage with others. I’ve met so many incredible hosts in the short-term-rental community who have used DEN designs to build their bespoke escapes, many of whom have been guests on this podcast. And now, it brings me SO much joy to announce that we’ve partnered with DEN to bring you an exclusive discount on their digital design plans. By using the discount code SPONSTAY50 at checkout, you can get ANY of DEN’s digital plans for 50% off…that’s right…5-0. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Travis Wilburn and Rebecca Lombardo — the founders of The 100 Collection, a curation of the best properties from trusted vacation rental brands on a mission to set the gold standard for hospitality. Travis has built and run companies in travel and hospitality for well over a decade. His working knowledge spans every level of his organizations, from operations to business development, to maintenance. And Rebecca is seasoned marketing executive with 15 years of experience developing brands and content for travel publications like Yahoo Travel and Orlando Magazine as well as several Fortune 100 companies.  In this episode, this dynamic duo unpack their vision for a new era and standard of hospitality for the short-term and vacation rental markets and discuss crucial topics like: How to build a loyalty program in the vacation rental market How to fight back against the market-share owned by OTAs like Airbnb How to grow a meaningful, consumer-facing hospitality brand  And much more Discover the 100 Collection  Connect with Travis and Rebecca on LinkedIn.  This episode is brought to you by DEN Outdoors. You’ve seen them all over Instagram… You may have also seen them in Dwell Magazine…. And if you love design, travel, and hospitality, chances are you’ve even dreamed about what it would be like to build your very own A-Frames, Cabins, or Barnhouse with their designs. DEN Outdoors began because its founders knew that building a cabin changes who you are, having a cabin changes how you live, and sharing a cabin changes how you engage with others. I’ve met so many incredible hosts in the short-term-rental community who have used DEN designs to build their bespoke escapes, many of whom have been guests on this podcast. And now, it brings me SO much joy to announce that we’ve partnered with DEN to bring you an exclusive discount on their digital design plans. By using the discount code SPONSTAY50 at checkout, you can get ANY of DEN’s digital plans for 50% off…that’s right…5-0. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In just a moment you’ll meet Doug Heestand, the owner of the Desert of Maine, a unique and intriguing roadside attraction located in Freeport, Maine.  In this podcast interview, Doug shares his journey of transforming the Desert of Maine from a simple tourist attraction to a thriving hospitality company. We explore the origins of the Desert of Maine, its unique geological features, and the challenges Doug faced when taking over the business. He shares how he implemented innovative strategies and creative ideas to rebrand the attraction and turn it into a destination that offers a range of exciting activities and experiences for visitors. Throughout the conversation, Doug emphasizes the importance of taking risks, embracing change, and following your passion when pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams.  Doug's inspiring story and valuable insights will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to pursue your own entrepreneurial dreams and make a positive impact on the world. Discover the Desert of Maine Book a Stay at the Desert of Maine Follow the Desert of Maine on Instagram  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Janice Stitzer, the creator of The Back Country A-Frame in Kremmling, Colorado.  One afternoon Janice was flipping through a Dwell magazine when she stumbled upon a piece about a new start-up called DEN, which was selling plans for some of the most beautiful cabins she had ever seen.   Janice was so impressed by the gorgeous  DEN designs, particularly their designs for A-Frames, that right then and there she decided it was time to put her dream of building a short-term-rental from the ground up to life.  In this podcast, Janice shares her journey of how she was first inspired to build an A-Frame Airbnb, the challenges she faced during the process and we delve deep into the topic of budgeting for a new A-Frame build and discuss the actual cost of building an A-Frame near Rocky Mountain National Park.  Follow the Back Country A-Frame on Instagram Stay at the Back Country A-Frame This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Andrew Kitchell, a hospitality and proptech entrepreneur currently leading the team at Wheelhouse — a technology platform that helps you manage your short-term rentals as professionally and efficiently as major hotels—from understanding performance to better nightly pricing. Andrew is no stranger to tech or hospitality…in fact, he was building companies in Silicon Valley while a then-small start-up “Air Bed and Breakfast” was working their way through Y Combinator, the most exclusive of startup accelerators in the world. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss: - The revenue management strategies that the best hospitality entrepreneurs use to scale their brand reach as well as their revenue and profitability -new business opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to build in the ever-dynamic industry of hospitality - and what the future of travel, workcations, and experiential stays just might look like. Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn here or on Twitter here.  Learn more about Wheelhouse here.  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Jen and Michael Penchansky, the creators of Casa Nevana, the first short-term rental in the couple’s newly founded portfolio, Nevana Properties.  Michael and Jen met while working in the fashion industry in New York City. Michael founded a software company in fashion tech and Jen was employee number one, so the couple know a thing or ten about how to work together.    Michael grew up going to Hunter, New York in the Catskills with his family and always had an appreciation for the reprieve the mountains offered from life in the city.    So, when Michael and Jen began dreaming about starting a boutique hospitality brand centered around building a collection of luxurious, but accessible, short-term rentals, the couple new that the first home in their collection just had to be in Hunter.    Tune in to hear the story of how Michael and Jen leveraged the local community to build their home in record time, the careful consideration that went into the founding of their hospitality brand, and what they have planned next.    Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Michael and Jen.    Book Your Stay at Casa Nevana    This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Wil Slickers — founder of Hospitality FM, the largest network of hospitality podcasts, and the co-founder of Recreation Rentals, a boutique collection of vacation rentals with luxury hotel-like operations. While working as a hotel manager in the pacific northwest, Wil stared a podcast called Slick Talk — a show that explores the dynamic nature of the hospitality industry — from short-term rentals and boutique hotels to Michelin star restaurants and five star resorts.    Now this show Wil started as a fun side project?  Well, a lot of people liked it…and before too long, Wil quick his job as a hotel manager and decided to build a niche media company dedicated to the professionals in the industry.    Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Wil founded and scaled Hospitality FM into the leading digital professional development space for hospitality entrepreneurs and what his hot takes on the future of the industry will look like.   This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Michael Albaum — a professional remote real estate investor, Airbnb superhost, and fellow podcaster. After getting an engineering degree and moving to the Bay Area, Michael stumbled upon a book that would forever shift his perspective on work and wealth…and that book was Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. In this episode of Behind the Stays, Michael shares candidly about how he’s been able to grow a portfolio of short-term and longer-term rentals that are mostly remote — as in, he doesn’t live in close proximity to his properties. Michael and I chat about: the pros and cons of using a property manager the importance of balancing perspectives and decisions from both an investment and hospitality lens the future of OTAs like Airbnb how to get a crash course on real estate investment on Twitter and much more. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Jonah Hanig, Founder and CEO of Rove — a premium portfolio of luxury Airbnbs designed for discerning travelers. Jonah grew up in the Chicago suburbs and always had a knack for tinkering with business ideas. After going to school in New York, Jonah decided to pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur and was fortunate enough to get accepted to Y Combinator — the most prestigious of start-up accelerators in the world.  Fun fact — Airbnb is a YC company! Soon after being accepted to YC covid hit…and, well, Jonah’s startup wasn’t immune to the disruption that all of us felt in those early days. But it wasn’t long before Jonah had another idea…and that idea was to offer a Ritz-Carlton-like experience within the context of a collection of highly-curated short-term rentals. Tune in to hear the story of: Where the idea for Rove came from  How Rove is building the Ritz-Carlton of STRs Why Rove is also building a Zillow for STR investors  How Rove has thought about differentiation in an increasingly-crowded marketplace This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Welcome to Marketing Mondays — a new, weekly segment on the Behind the Stays podcast that covers specific marketing strategies and tactics that Airbnb hosts and hospitality entrepreneurs can immediately use to promote their stays. On this third episode Zach covers all things Email A/B testing!  Email A/B tests are incredibly important...yet many Airbnb hosts and hospitality entrepreneurs fail to conduct them regularly. I did a recent poll with some of the hosts in the space whose brands I respect the most and asked if they’ve run A/B tests to their email lists and 95% of them said no! Testing is INCREDIBLY important if you want to grow as a hospitality marketer — and, as far as I’m concerned, if you’re collecting guest emails to increase your direct bookings or to communicate with them after their stay, you are, in fact, a hospitality marketer. Now the reason folks don’t A/B test their emails typically comes down to time… Well folks, I’ve got some great news for you! I've taken the time to come up with 10 different email A/B tests that you can (and should) test out.  These are fun!  And pretty creative(ish) — if we do say so ourselves. If you use any of them, be sure to let us know which version won! Let us know what you think about this new segment by sending us a DM on Instagram @sponstayneous, shooting our founder a DM on Twitter, or sending him an email at zach@sponstayneous.com .  Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb. You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Jeff Iloulian — Founder and CEO of HostGPO, a buying group for the short term rental industry. After graduating with a degree in Economics from Columbia, Jeff thought he wanted to be an attorney, so went to Law School. But after practicing law for a few years, Jeff was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug so he founded a real estate and technology investment company called Winthorpe Valentine which grew to manage over 250 short-term rentals. Managing more than 250 properties meant that Jeff spent a lot of time buying furniture and other furnishings for his homes. While the homes he managed certainly varied in style and size, Jeff often found himself buying 100 of the same broom or 50 of the same bookshelf all at retail price. And that’s when the idea, which would eventually become HostGPO was born.  Tune in to hear the story of how Jeff founded HostGPO and scaled it to be the largest buying group of short-term rental hosts in the country.  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Devon Loerop, the creator of The Pacific Bin — a luxurious escape made of 5 shipping containers, just an hour outside of Seattle. Devon grew up in the midwest but was born with a New York City mindset — from the time he was young, he hustled hard, and enjoyed proving people wrong when they said “he couldn’t, shouldn’t, or wouldn’t” do something. Devon is a mechanical engineer by trade, but after being bored out of his mind during his first job after college, he decided to try his hand as a creative and became obsessed with photography and videography.  And, while he didn’t know it at the time, this decision would quite literally change the course of his life.  Tune in to hear the story of how Devon: Left the Chicago suburbs and moved to Seattle on a whim Invested his entire life savings into Tesla stock at the perfect moment Learned how to weld so that he could build a unique Airbnb by himself Spent $500,000 building a one-of-a-kind, category-re-defining container home in the Cascade Mountains of Washington  Grew an Instagram following from 0 to 750k in one year This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Michael Romanowicz, the founder and CEO of DEN Outdoors.  Mike is a software designer by trade, but has always had a love for the natural world. So, when he wasn’t busy leading the product team at Conductor, which was a content marketing platform owned by WeWork, Mike was tinkering with some designs for a minimalist, beautiful cabin he could build in the woods one day. After sharing his designs with some buddies and seeing their positive reactions he thought that there might be an opportunity to sell these plans to others. And, well, an opportunity there sure was. Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how: How Mike bootstrapped DEN Outdoors to seven figures of revenue How Instagram fueled DEN’s growth and inspired Mike to leave his day job How he landed Jimmy Kimmel as an Angel Investor And the exciting new offerings DEN is building for the next generation of builders and hospitality entrepreneurs.  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Chase Charifa, the creator of the Lightfoot Cabin — a cozy, unique escape nestled in the foothills of Big Bear Mountain in Southern California.  A few years ago, Chase and his wife April started a production studio as a side hustle.  The couple regretted not having a videographer at their wedding and this inspired them to start their own studio to shoot weddings and events. In doing research for how to bring their studio to life, they stumbled upon Levi Kelly’s Airbnb tours.  Levi Kelly is one of the OG Airbnb influencers and has amassed over 80 million views on his YouTube channel.   Chase and April were so inspired by his videos that they decided to create their own unique stay.  Tune into hear the exciting story of how Chase and April: Transformed a run-of-the-mill cabin into a Dwell and Condé Nast featured, multi-sensory, truly unique stay Bought and sold Teslas to help grow their short-term rental portfolio Acquire more traditional rentals to help them fund unique ones Created a secret experience that guests LOVE that’s not noted on their Airbnb listing Book a Stay at Lightfoot Cabin Follow the Lightfoot Cabin on Instagram  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty... Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor?  You can email them here or DM them on social media here! While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Welcome to another Marketing Mondays on the Behind the Stays podcast feed! In this episode we chat ALL about SEO and how Airbnb hosts can leverage the power of great keyword research to increase their organic rankings on Google.  In today's lesson we share a lot of screenshots and data...so...you MAY wish to WATCH this episode on YouTube, which you can do here: Stream Marketing Mondays on YouTube.  In this 30-minute power episode you'll learn: How to find and target keywords that align with your short-term rental brand How to out-optimize pages ranking higher than yours How to splice your target keywords into headers on your website  We also use Field & Lake as a case study during this episode...discover the incredible brand their founder, Sara Roitman, is creating by visiting their website, following them on Instagram, or booking one of their stays below: Field & Lake Website Field & Lake Instagram Field & Lake Airbnb Listings Subscribe to Behind the Stays wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to Sponstayneous to get the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb. Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Brooke Pfautz, founder and CEO of Vintory — a sales and marketing platform exclusively dedicated to helping professional vacation rental managers and short-term rental entrepreneurs grow their inventory.  Brooke built one of the largest mortgage banking firms in the DC Metro Area, but when the financial crisis of 2008 hit, Brooke began to reconsider what it was he wanted to do with his life. After a serendipitous conversation with an investor-friend of his, Brooke decided that building a premier, boutique vacation rental company would serve as an exciting next chapter in his professional journey, so he founded “Vantage Resort Realty” and grew his company from 0 to 500 properties under management in just 5 years. Tune in to hear the motivating story of: How Brooke grew his company from zero-to-one How he was one of the first management companies to use VRBO What it was like in the Vacation Rental Management world when Airbnb first came onto the scene And how we came across the idea that would ultimately lead him to found the first-ever marketing and sales platform designed to help hospitality entrepreneurs and real estate investors grow their portfolios. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty. Will you do us a favor and thank Gusty for being a Behind the Stays sponsor by DM'ing them on Social Media or writing them a quick email? While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.  Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.  And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios. So here’s the deal.  If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required  — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!  About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Welcome to Marketing Mondays — a new, weekly segment on the Behind the Stays podcast that covers specific marketing strategies and tactics that Airbnb hosts and hospitality entrepreneurs can immediately use to promote their stays.    On this second episode of this new Behind the Stays segment, Zach covers: Why you should build a website for your Airbnb even if you don't have a direct booking site How to start ranking  The CMSes that Airbnb hosts should consider building their websites on Let us know what you think about this new segment by sending us a DM on Instagram @sponstayneous, shooting our founder a DM on Twitter, or sending him an email at zach@sponstayneous.com .   Before we dive in, I want to quickly plug a product my team and I recently moved out of beta, called Ping, because I think a lot of y’all tuning into this chat will get real value from it!   Ping is a simple plugin that lives on your website or direct booking site and integrates with you Airbnb calendar and notifies your fans and followers the minute there is a match between your home’s availability and their desired travel dates.   Ping was designed specifically for hosts with unique stays that typically have limited availability.   The insta stories y’all post about last minute cancellations is a great start, but what it you could also automatically Ping folks who’ve already expressed interest in the very dates that just opened up?!   And that’s exactly what Ping does. All prospective guest data collected in Ping is available to you and if you purchase a premium plan you can integrate Ping directly with you Mail Chimp or Constant Contact accounts!   Learn more at BnBping.com or shoot our founder Zach an email at zach@sponstayneous.com if you've got questions!   About the Show   Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb. You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.    Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Levi Kelly — a creator whose cabin tour videos have garnered nearly 80 millions views on YouTube. Growing up, Levi used to goof around and shoot funny videos with his buddies and then edit them on the iMovie app on his phone. In high school he realized that shooting and editing video was more than just a hobby of his…it felt like something he was destined to do. After successfully landing a few freelance clients in college, Levi came to the realization that he didn’t like paying tuition to be taught something he already knew how to do…so he dropped out of school to pursue video full time. And it was around this time where he posted his first tour of a tiny home on his YouTube channel. Well Jaden Smith, Will Smith’s son, happened to see this video and share it on Twitter…and, well, it went viral. Tune in to hear the story behind how Levi used his love of storytelling to produce video tours of the world’s most incredible Airbnbs. Watch Levi's Videos on YouTube Follow Levi on Instagram Explore Levi's website  This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA.  I receive questions ALL the time from listeners who want to get started in STR investing and or who want to scale their portfolio on what resources I recommend they tap into.  Here are three reasons I always recommend an AirDNA subscription: 1. AirDNA offers the most accurate data platform in the industry and is trusted by small- and large-scale investors across the globe. 2. Their easy-to-use tools unlock access to millions of data points on any property, anywhere, so you can start your journey to financial freedom with confidence. 3. You can even enter any address in the world to find out how much it’d earn as a vacation rental — how cool is that?  If you’re interested in getting into the STR game or taking your game a bit more seriously, I’ve got some exciting news for you.  AirDNA is giving Behind the Stays listeners 20% off their first 3 months of any MarketMinder subscription or an additional 20% off any annual MarketMinder subscription. Use the discount code BTS20 at checkout! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Whitney and Andrew Bradberry, the creators of the Front Range A-Frame in Bailey, Colorado, just an hour outside of Denver.  Whitney is a freelancer marketer by trade, and her husband Andrew is a firefighter paramedic.  Given their non-traditional jobs, the couple has always enjoyed tinkering on creative projects together. Whitney’s father loved Colorado and it’s because of him that she fell in love with the mountains. So, when he passed away unexpectedly after a battle with cancer, the couple thought it would be fitting to honor his legacy by creating a space for others to enjoy in a place that meant so much to him. In this episode of Behind the Stays Whitney and Andrew discuss: The best YouTube channels to tap into for DIY projects  The affordable design decisions they made that landed them a feature by HGTV How to build a simple, but website for your Airbnb that aligns with the brand strategy of your home This episode is brought to you by Guest Guru.  Everyone’s talking about ChatGPT, but there’s a new AI tool that just hit the market that short-term rental hosts should care more about.    Meet Guest Guru — the first, fully automated, AI-powered conversational tool for guest communications. Guest Guru integrates with your Airbnb or VRBO listing and automatically answers those questions like “what's the wifi password/", “where can I find the lockbox?”, and “can I bring my dog”, so you don’t have to.   But get this…it does so by matching the tone and communication style of your guest.  If they use emojis, Guest Guru will use emojis too.  If they are a four-exclamation-points-per-sentence kinda person, well, Guest Guru will match or beat their enthusiasm.   Now, you might be thinking this is to good to be true…or that Guest Guru can only answer BASIC questions…but that, friends, is where you’d be wrong.  Guest Guru learns with every message you exchange with a guest or prospective guest.   And once you answer a question like “what’s the best place near you to score all-you-can-eat breadsticks that isn’t Olive Garden?” once, Guest Guru will remember this query and be able to answer it, without pinging you, the next time one of your guests is a restaurant-chain hater.    Anytime Guest Guru doesn’t know the answer to something, you’ll immediately receive an email and/or SMS text inviting you to jump into the conversation.   Guest Guru is offering Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous Host Members their first property TOTALLY free when you sign up at GuestGuru.ai and mention that you heard about them from us.   Discover how AI can help alleviate you from answering the same dozen questions every guest asks so you can have more time to better your guest experience in other, more productive and rewarding ways.   Sign up at GuestGuru.ai.   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Welcome to Marketing Mondays — a new, weekly segment on the Behind the Stays podcast that covers specific marketing strategies and tactics that Airbnb hosts and hospitality entrepreneurs can immediately use to promote their stays.  On the first episode of this new Behind the Stays segment, Zach covers: Why you should work with creators A framework for how to discern who to work with and how to work with them How creators can help you increase direct bookings Ideas for how to partner with creators in unique ways Let us know what you think about this new segment by sending us a DM on Instagram @sponstayneous, shooting our founder a DM on Twitter, or sending him an email at zach@sponstayneous.com  Before we dive in, I want to quickly plug a product my team and I recently moved out of beta, called Ping, because I think a lot of y’all tuning into this chat will get real value from it! Ping is a simple plugin that lives on your website or direct booking site and integrates with you Airbnb calendar and notifies your fans and followers the minute there is a match between your home’s availability and their desired travel dates. Ping was designed specifically for hosts with unique stays that typically have limited availability. The insta stories y’all post about last minute cancellations is a great start, but what it you could also automatically Ping folks who’ve already expressed interest in the very dates that just opened up?! And that’s exactly what Ping does. All prospective guest data collected in Ping is available to you and if you purchase a premium plan you can integrate Ping directly with you Mail Chimp or Constant Contact accounts! Learn more at BnBping.com or shoot our founder Zach an email at zach@sponstayneous.com if you've got questions! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Emily South — the creator of The Appalachian A-Frame in Sugar Grove, North Carolina just 20 minutes outside of downtown Boone. Emily and her husband John are entrepreneurs.  Emily is a yoga instructor and John owns and runs a production studio. Given their non-traditional career paths, Emily and John don’t have some of the benefits one might expect from a 9-5 such as a 401k match or stock options.  As such, the couple has talked for years about what their retirement plan might look like and in 2019 they had finally agreed that a vacation home in the mountains would be a part of it. In this episode Emily talks about how they found their A-Frame, — despite realtors not wanting to work with them given their limited budget —, what they spent to acquire the home, and how they used credit card points to help fund the renovations.  Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Emily.  This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA.  I receive questions ALL the time from listeners who want to get started in STR investing and or who want to scale their portfolio on what resources I recommend they tap into.  Here are three reasons I always recommend an AirDNA subscription: 1. AirDNA offers the most accurate data platform in the industry and is trusted by small- and large-scale investors across the globe. 2. Their easy-to-use tools unlock access to millions of data points on any property, anywhere, so you can start your journey to financial freedom with confidence. 3. You can even enter any address in the world to find out how much it’d earn as a vacation rental — how cool is that?  If you’re interested in getting into the STR game or taking your game a bit more seriously, I’ve got some exciting news for you.  AirDNA is giving Behind the Stays listeners 20% off their first 3 months of any MarketMinder subscription or an additional 20% off any annual MarketMinder subscription. Use the discount code BTS20 at checkout! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Jamie Kraus, the creator of Chestnut Hill — a beautiful appointed home located 5 minutes from Main Street in Breckenridge, Colorado.  Jamie and her husband have three young adult sons and live in the great state of Texas.  Growing up, Jamie would vacation in the Colorado mountains with her family and dreamed of one day owning a home in Breckenridge. A few years ago, Jamie was diagnosed with breast cancer. After an arduous battle, she was, thankfully, able to survive the disease.  This life-altering event reminded Jamie that life is short — and that waiting to find her dream vacation until the timing just “felt right” was silly.  Afterall, would it ever really feel right? Tune in to hear the story behind how Jamie found her dream vacation home and, unexpectedly, a love for hospitality that inspired her to build an entire collection of escapes in one of the world’s most popular ski towns. In this episode, Zach and Jamie discuss: How to go from 0 - 4 properties in under 2 years How to prioritize guest experience as a point of differentiation  When building a short-term-rental in an incredibly crowded market IS a good decision This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA.  I receive questions ALL the time from listeners who want to get started in STR investing and or who want to scale their portfolio on what resources I recommend they tap into.  Here are three reasons I always recommend an AirDNA subscription: 1. AirDNA offers the most accurate data platform in the industry and is trusted by small- and large-scale investors across the globe. 2. Their easy-to-use tools unlock access to millions of data points on any property, anywhere, so you can start your journey to financial freedom with confidence. 3. You can even enter any address in the world to find out how much it’d earn as a vacation rental — how cool is that?  If you’re interested in getting into the STR game or taking your game a bit more seriously, I’ve got some exciting news for you.  AirDNA is giving Behind the Stays listeners 20% off their first 3 months of any MarketMinder subscription or an additional 20% off any annual MarketMinder subscription. Use the discount code BTS20 at checkout! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Chris Broomfield, the creator of Evergreen Cabins — one of Instagram’s favorite collections of luxurious cabin rentals in the Adirondacks. Growing up, Chris loved to tinker. At the age of 14 he started building picnic tables and bar stools with his next door neighbor that he’d sell to local patrons. It was at this young age that Chris realized he wanted to work for himself…that he wanted to be an entrepreneur.  Chris studied the art and science of building unique structures and has spent the better part of 25 years bringing absolutely stunning, terrifically memorable spaces to life. Tune in to hear the motivational story of how Chris channeled his love of designing memorable homes into Evergreen Cabins — a portfolio of top-rated, luxurious, impeccably unique short-term rentals in the Adirondacks. You can connect with Chris at:  Instagram - @Evergreen_Cabins Email - adirondackevergreencabins@gmail.com  Facebook - EvergreenCabinsRentals Linkedin - Evergreen Cabins, LLCWhatsApp - Evergreen Cabins This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Host Co. The Host Co. enables short-term rental host to build their own storefronts and offer amenities like late night snacks,  massages, fresh flowers, grocery delivery, in-home shopping and much more. The Host Co. makes it easy for guest to augment their stay with the products and services they need and makes it easy for STR hosts to make up to an additional $10k in ancillary revenue on each rental. Hosts keep 93% of all sales and The Host Co. takes care of guest receipts, sales tax and payouts to you and vendors. Create your free store today by visiting TheHost.co and be sure to tell the team their that you heard about them from Behind the Stays!  And, for a limited time, Behind the Stays listeners will get $30 back on their first sale when you use the discount code BTS30 at check out! Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Tiffany Lund — the creator of The Havarti Haus, an accessible, Scandinavian-style retreat in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, opening in late 2023. Tiffany and her family love to go on adventures — the outdoors has always been a place of restoration and reinvigoration for them. Tiffany and her husband Jim have an incredible son named Morty.  Morty, like his parents, loves the outdoors.  He also loves the Boston Celtics and the Red Sox.  Unlike his parents however, Morty has Cerebral palsy.  If you’ve ever traveled with a wheelchair, you may know how difficult it can be to find a place to stay - somewhere you can get through the door without having to traverse up steps or somewhere you can actually take a shower without jerry-rigging something or settling for a sponge bath.  Tiffany and Jim believe a place can be accessible and universally appealing to everyone.  That is their dream.  And they are watching it come to life with the building of Havarti Haus. Tune in to the inspiring story of how Tiffany is using universal design concepts to drive the design decisions to simplify the travel experience for the mobility impaired. Follow the Havarti Haus on Instagram Discover the Havarti Haus' Website This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA.  I receive questions ALL the time from listeners who want to get started in STR investing and or who want to scale their portfolio on what resources I recommend they tap into.  Here are three reasons I always recommend an AirDNA subscription: 1. AirDNA offers the most accurate data platform in the industry and is trusted by small- and large-scale investors across the globe. 2. Their easy-to-use tools unlock access to millions of data points on any property, anywhere, so you can start your journey to financial freedom with confidence. 3. You can even enter any address in the world to find out how much it’d earn as a vacation rental — how cool is that?  If you’re interested in getting into the STR game or taking your game a bit more seriously, I’ve got some exciting news for you.  AirDNA is giving Behind the Stays listeners 20% off their first 3 months of any MarketMinder subscription or an additional 20% off any annual MarketMinder subscription. Use the discount code BTS20 at checkout! Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Mike Iannetta, better known as Mike Will Travel, a YouTube creator and hospitality marketing specialist. Mike started his first business at the age of 17.  He raised $5,000 on Kickstarter to start what he thought would be the next big board shorts brand. Now, the clothing line didn’t quite pan out, but it solidified for Mike that he wanted to spend his career starting and running his own businesses.  When Mike was in college, he studied abroad in Europe…and after traveling to a dozen countries over his four months abroad, he came back to the states convinced he had to find a way to travel as close to full time as possible. So, Mike bought a camera and started messing around with shooting video. And, while he didn’t know the difference between shooting in 720, 1080, and 4k at the time, in just a few months, Mike would be traveling around the globe documenting his stays at some of the world’s most remarkable hotels and Airbnbs. Tune in to hear the story of how Mike started his YouTube channel, how he generated his first 10 million views, and how he’s helped Airbnb hosts generate millions of new fans and followers for their homes on Instagram. Subscribe to Mike's YouTube Channel Follow Mike on Instagram  Explore Mike's Website This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Host Co. The Host Co. enables short-term rental host to build their own storefronts and offer amenities like late night snacks,  massages, fresh flowers, grocery delivery, in-home shopping and much more. The Host Co. makes it easy for guest to augment their stay with the products and services they need and makes it easy for STR hosts to make up to an additional $10k in ancillary revenue on each rental. Hosts keep 93% of all sales and The Host Co. takes care of guest receipts, sales tax and payouts to you and vendors. Create your free store today by visiting TheHost.co and be sure to tell the team their that you heard about them from Behind the Stays!  And, for a limited time, Behind the Stays listeners will get $30 back on their first sale when you use the discount code BTS30 at check out! Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet John Andrew Entwistle, Founder and CEO of Wander, one of the most exciting startups in the travel and hospitality space today.  John Andrew had a non-traditional schooling experience.  He started and ran a game server company when he was just 13 years old, so focusing on homework wasn’t a high priority.  In high school, John Andrew and his father agreed that an online option would be best for him as it’d allow him the opportunity to continue to pursue his projects and build companies.  In this episode of Behind the Stays, John Andrew talks about: -being raised by a single dad - how he started and grew his second company Coder - what it was like being a Thiel Fellow - and, of course, the past, present and future of Wander — a company on a missions to verticalize the 100B+ short-term rental industry with a network of smart vacation homes in inspiring places that guests can control from their phones. Discover Wander Follow John Andrew on Twitter This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA.  I receive questions ALL the time from listeners who want to get started in STR investing and or who want to scale their portfolio on what resources I recommend they tap into.  Here are three reasons I always recommend an AirDNA subscription: 1. AirDNA offers the most accurate data platform in the industry and is trusted by small- and large-scale investors across the globe. 2. Their easy-to-use tools unlock access to millions of data points on any property, anywhere, so you can start your journey to financial freedom with confidence. 3. You can even enter any address in the world to find out how much it’d earn as a vacation rental — how cool is that?  If you’re interested in getting into the STR game or taking your game a bit more seriously, I’ve got some exciting news for you.  AirDNA is giving Behind the Stays listeners 20% off their first 3 months of any MarketMinder subscription or an additional 20% off any annual MarketMinder subscription. Use the discount code BTS20 at checkout! Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Ty and Mary, the creators of The Northwoods A-Frame and Tiny Cabins near Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota.  Ty and Mary both have demanding jobs – Ty is an architect and Mary a nurse. So, in October 2020, after months of lockdown, the couple was in dire need of a getaway. Mary had been following an A-Frame on Instagram for a few months and decided to plan their getaway around when the home had availability. Upon their arrival, Ty and Mary were met with such a deep peace that they began dreaming about what it would take to create something of their own so that they might share this serenity with others. Tune in to hear how Ty and Mary designed, built, and branded an A-Frame and a couple of Tiny Cabins that they call Northwoods.  Book Your Stay at Northwoods Follow Northwoods on Instagram This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Host Co. The Host Co. enables short-term rental host to build their own storefronts and offer amenities like late night snacks,  massages, fresh flowers, grocery delivery, in-home shopping and much more. The Host Co. makes it easy for guest to augment their stay with the products and services they need and makes it easy for STR hosts to make up to an additional $10k in ancillary revenue on each rental. Hosts keep 93% of all sales and The Host Co. takes care of guest receipts, sales tax and payouts to you and vendors. Create your free store today by visiting TheHost.co and be sure to tell the team their that you heard about them from Behind the Stays!  And, for a limited time, Behind the Stays listeners will get $30 back on their first sale when you use the discount code BTS30 at check out! Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Addie Wales, the creator of The Ely Cabin Collective — a boutique collection of Airbnbs near The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.  Growing up, Addie always wanted to be an entrepreneur. She remembers pitching her first business to her dad as a 10 year old which was for an ice cream shop where the roof of the shop was shaped like an ice cream cone!  In the fall of 2020, Addie got a call from her uncle about a 40 acre plot of land that was for sale which included a charming, but quite dilapidated, log cabin. Addie and her husband Ben made the 4-hour drive from the Twin Cities to explore the opportunity further and, while they didn’t know it at the time, this trip up north would be the start of a remarkable adventure. Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Addie transformed that dilapidated cabin into the Ely Log Cabin and how this renovation inspired the launch of The Ely Cabin Collective.  Book a Stay at The Ely Cabin Collective Follow The Ely Cabin Collective on Instagram  Follow The Ely Log Cabin on Instagram  This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA.  I receive questions ALL the time from listeners who want to get started in STR investing and or who want to scale their portfolio on what resources I recommend they tap into.  Here are three reasons I always recommend an AirDNA subscription: 1. AirDNA offers the most accurate data platform in the industry and is trusted by small- and large-scale investors across the globe. 2. Their easy-to-use tools unlock access to millions of data points on any property, anywhere, so you can start your journey to financial freedom with confidence. 3. You can even enter any address in the world to find out how much it’d earn as a vacation rental — how cool is that?  If you’re interested in getting into the STR game or taking your game a bit more seriously, I’ve got some exciting news for you.  AirDNA is giving Behind the Stays listeners 20% off their first 3 months of any MarketMinder subscription or an additional 20% off any annual MarketMinder subscription. Use the discount code BTS20 at checkout! Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Justin and Shaun — the creators of The Chal-A Frame, a beautifully curated escape nestled between the Stratton and Mt. Snow ski areas in Vermont. Justin and Shaun are both architects.  They were roommates in college and have been close friends ever since. One day while hanging out with the rest of their crew, Justin and Shaun got really excited about the possibility of having a place in the mountains where they could host their friends and families on long-weekends.  Justin began scrolling through Zillow listings every night looking for plots of land in Vermont that might work for the guys to build their dream getaway on. Tune in to hear the fun story of how Justin and Shaun found their land, how they collaborated on designing the A-Frame, what they did when they had to fire their builder halfway through the project, and the role Instagram has played in helping them book their first guests.  Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Justin and Shaun.  Stay at The Chal-A Frame Follow The Chat-A Frame on Instagram This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Host Co. The Host Co. enables short-term rental host to build their own storefronts and offer amenities like late night snacks,  massages, fresh flowers, grocery delivery, in-home shopping and much more. The Host Co. makes it easy for guest to augment their stay with the products and services they need and makes it easy for STR hosts to make up to an additional $10k in ancillary revenue on each rental. Hosts keep 93% of all sales and The Host Co. takes care of guest receipts, sales tax and payouts to you and vendors. Create your free store today by visiting TheHost.co and be sure to tell the team their that you heard about them from Behind the Stays!  And, for a limited time, Behind the Stays listeners will get $30 back on their first sale when you use the discount code BTS30 at check out! Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

About the Episode: Meet Melissa Hessney Masters — the founder of Tanglebloom and the creator of the Tanglebloom Cabin.  Melissa has always been creative.  Growing up in the fingerlakes region of New York,  she found herself mesmerized by natural beauty — whether it be wildflowers or waterfalls, Melissa was transfixed by the innate purity of the natural world.  She started her first business when she was in high school, selling hand-sewn clothes on the internet and in the parking lots of Phish concerts.  And while she couldn’t have guessed it then, this was the first stepping stone in her journey to become a flower farmer and short-term-rental entrepreneur.  Tune in to hear the enthralling story of how Melissa brought her wedding and event flower business, Tanglebloom, as well as Vermont’s most wish-listed Airbnb, to life.  Book a Stay at the Tanglebloom Cabin Follow the Tanglebloom Cabin on Instagram Follow Melissa on Instagram  This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA.  I receive questions ALL the time from listeners who want to get started in STR investing and or who want to scale their portfolio on what resources I recommend they tap into.  Here are three reasons I always recommend an AirDNA subscription: 1. AirDNA offers the most accurate data platform in the industry and is trusted by small- and large-scale investors across the globe. 2. Their easy-to-use tools unlock access to millions of data points on any property, anywhere, so you can start your journey to financial freedom with confidence. 3. You can even enter any address in the world to find out how much it’d earn as a vacation rental — how cool is that?  If you’re interested in getting into the STR game or taking your game a bit more seriously, I’ve got some exciting news for you.  AirDNA is giving Behind the Stays listeners 20% off their first 3 months of any MarketMinder subscription or an additional 20% off any annual MarketMinder subscription. Use the discount code BTS20 at checkout! Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Connor Gross — an entrepreneur in his mid-twenties who is currently focused on building a portfolio of self-storage units across the state of Texas. Connor graduated from Northeastern University in 2020.  As a part of a co-op program at Northeastern, he was able to spend a semester building his first start-up, Cardly, with his co-founder Giovanni, which was a snazzy looking credit card holder that attaches to the back of your iPhone. After selling the start-up in early 2020, Connor began learning about real estate investing.  While the idea of investing in a short-term rental was attractive, in Connor’s mind, being responsible for a place where folks actually lived or vacationed was a bit too much of a headache.  So, he decided to start with self-storage.  Tune in to an energetic, idea-producing conversation where Connor and I discuss: How he convinced the host of a luxury Airbnb villa in Bali to let him stay in their home for free How he founded, built, and sold his first e-commerce company Why you’re never too young or too old to start your entrepreneurial journey Connor’s hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality after living out of a suitcase for 2 years and traveling to more than 30 countries.  This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts(as in, Behind the Stays).   If you liked this episode, you're going to love some of our other recent conversations:   How She Built an Insta-Famous Airbnb — The Story Behind the Cozy Rock Cabin.   She Left Her Law Career to Become a Hospitality Entrepreneur — Meet the Creator of Field and Lake   How They’re Building Canada’s Premier Luxury Treehouse Company   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In just a moment, you’ll meet Natalie Palmer — an Airbnb Ambassador, a 17x superhost, and the creator and host of the popular No Vacancy podcast.  Natalie was never really sure what she wanted to do when she “grew up”...but she was always quick to say “yes” when opportunities to step outside of her comfort-zone surfaced.  So, after spending a couple of months learning about short-term rental investing and hosting, Natalie asked her parents if she could try her hand out at turning their family’s vacation home in the mountains into an Airbnb. While skeptical, they agreed to give her a shot…and within one ski season, they had made enough to pay the mortgage on the home for the entire year! This early win inspired Natalie to further immerse herself in learning everything she could about how to deliver an exceptional guest experience while also growing a profitable business.  Natalie and I discuss the power of networking and why more hosts should participate in STR industry events, frameworks for how to structure your time as a hospitality entrepreneur, and why she’s throwing a women’s only STR hospitality event in Scottsdale, Arizona called the “Level Up Your Listing Summit.”   You’ll learn more about this event towards the end of the interview but I want to highly encourage all the ladies tuning into today’s chat to check out Natalie’s event.  Natalie is also giving all Behind the Stays listeners a 10% discount when they use the code BTS10 at check out.  Learn more about the Level Up Your Listing Summit here.  Follow Natalie on Instagram Stream the No Vacancy Podcast  This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts(as in, Behind the Stays).   If you liked this episode, you're going to love some of our other recent conversations:   How She Built an Insta-Famous Airbnb — The Story Behind the Cozy Rock Cabin.   She Left Her Law Career to Become a Hospitality Entrepreneur — Meet the Creator of Field and Lake   From Serving in Afghanistan to Hosting on Airbnb: Meet the Founders of Seasons‘ Yield Farm   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Alexis and Skeeter — the creators of The Kingdom A-Frame, a quintessential New England escape in Burke, Vermont.  Alexis and Skeeter love mountain biking and have traveled to Northeastern Vermont to traverse the Kingdom Trails for years!  These trails are known as the crown jewel of East Coast mountain biking. Alexis and Skeeter have three dogs and struggled to find an Airbnb that both allowed dogs and offered an inspirational aesthetic.  After doing some back-of-the-napkin math, the couple realized that, given the frequency of their travels to Burke, they might actually be better off buying a place then continuing to book stays on Airbnb.  Tune in to hear the fun story of: How Alexis and Skeeter found and refurbished The Kingdom A-Frame How an instagram post landed their A-Frame in Vogue How they’ve balanced increasing their nightly rate (as their insta-fame has grown) with their original mission of creating a beautiful, accessible, and unique escape for all Follow The Kingdom A-Frame on Instagram Book Your Stay at The Kingdom A-Frame This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   If you liked this episode, you're going to love some of our other recent conversations:   How She Built an Insta-Famous Airbnb — The Story Behind the Cozy Rock Cabin.   She Left Her Law Career to Become a Hospitality Entrepreneur — Meet the Creator of Field and Lake   From Serving in Afghanistan to Hosting on Airbnb: Meet the Founders of Seasons‘ Yield Farm   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Damian Sheridan, founder of The Book Direct and Scale Rentals Shows — a couple of the leading events for short-term rental hosts and property managers interested in building their direct booking strategies. Growing up, Damian wanted to be a professional footballer…but, he quickly learned that in addition to passion for the game, you needed the skill as well! Years later while working at a travel agency, Damian developed an affinity for Search Engine Optimization — also known as SEO.  The idea that, with the right set of strategies and tactics,  you could rank #1 on Google for a term like “best vacation rentals in Miami” fascinated him…and before too long he became something of an expert in SEO! Tune in to hear the motivational story of how Damian parlayed his SEO skills into a full-time gig and what inspired him to build a collection of niche, in-person events for hosts and operators interested in growing their direct bookings.  Connect with Damian on LinkedIn Learn More the Book Direct Show  Learn More about the Scale Rentals Show Rate and Review this Episode on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to Sponstayneous This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Janice Smith, the creator of the Cozy Rock Cabin (@cozyrockcabin), a 750 square-foot cabin on 3 acres of wooded land in Freeport, Maine. Janice has always had a knack for project management — and this skill has served her well as she led an ed-tech startup, launched her own video production agency, and brought not one, not two, but three cozy Airbnbs to life.  Now Janice has used instagram to promote all of her homes, but one in particular, the Cozy Rock Cabin, has become what some might call “insta-famous” having garnered over 70k followers.  Tune in to hear the moving story of why Janice wanted an Airbnb in Freeport, how she DM’d the creator of The Raven House — one of the OG insta-worthy cabins — and convinced him to help her develop the plans of her own cabin, and her theory on why Jimmy Kimmel follows the Cozy Rock Cabin on Instagram. Book Your Stay at the Cozy Rock Cabin Follow the Cozy Rock Cabin on Instagram Rate and Review this Episode on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to Sponstayneous This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts(as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Sara Roitman,  the creator of Field and Lake, a new collective of boutique vacation rentals on the shores of Lake Michigan. Sara is an attorney by trade and lives in Chicago with her beautiful family.  A few years back, Sara and her husband had purchased a vacation home on Lake Michigan so that they could escape from the city with the kids for long weekends and a couple of weeks each summer. When COVID hit, the home next door to their lake house became available…and, upon hearing this news, a bold idea began to form, and ultimately take residence, in Sara’s mind. And that idea?  Well, it was to buy this home, launch a hospitality brand, build a portfolio of beautiful yet casual escapes, oh — and leave her job! Tune into the fun and inspiring story of how Sara ideated, planned out, and ultimately launched Field and Lake. Follow Field and Lake on Instagram Book a Stay at Field and Lake This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Ethan Abitz — one of the OG Airbnb Instagram Influencers. Ethan first started using Instagram in high school to promote an apparel line he started. This was when Instagram let you upload a photo and select from just a handful of filters before posting your shot — no stories, reels, etc. In college, Ethan thought he wanted to work on Wall Street. He was interested in finance and investing and was always good at spotting opportunities.  But around this time, Ethan began to further explore his creative abilities — especially in the context of photography. And he soon realized that his love of capturing moments and telling the stories behind them outweighed whatever affinity he had for buying low, and selling high.  Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Ethan pursued his love for adventure and photography and grew his following to hundreds of thousands across Instagram and TikTok. Follow Ethan on Instagram Follow Ethan on TikTok This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Spenser and Marcy Kernea, the creators of the Retreat at Fall Branch Falls, a pristinely crafted escape in Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.  Spenser has always been a big dreamer.  And while Marcy is fond of big ideas herself, she often has to counterbalance Spenser’s idealism with just a smidge of realism. Spenser once had this grand idea of opening up an authentic Italian gelateria in Tennessee, and Marcy had to remind him that he didn’t know the first thing about making ice cream or running a restaurant! So, after Spenser’s dream of becoming the Guy Fieri of gelato were tabled, he and Marcy began discussing a dream they both shared — and that was to be able to create welcoming spaces where people of all backgrounds might feel at home.  Tune in to hear the somewhat miraculous story of how Spenser and Marcy found the perfect piece of land, created a magical Airbnb on that land, and grew their Tiny Houses’ following to over 30k across Instagram and TikTok. Book your stay at the Retreat at Falls Branch Follow the Retreat at Falls Branch on Instagram Follow the Retreat at Falls Branch on TikTok This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.  Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In just a moment you’ll meet Jamie Lane, Vice President of Research at AirDNA. After spending a decade at CBRE, one of the country’s largest American commercial real estate services and investment firm, Jamie was itching for a change…   He had always loved the hospitality space, and the short-term rental space in particular, so when he got a call from Scott Shatford the founder of AirDNA about joining the team, Jamie couldn’t say no.   Tune in to hear Jamie’s thoughts on:  How savvy STR hosts should be using pricing strategies to increase their occupancy rates How STR hosts should balance OTAs and the building of their own brands As well as his hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality Learn More about AirDNA  Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn Stream Jamie's podcast, STR Data Lab This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.  Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts(as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Emir Dukic, founder and CEO of Rabbu. Rabbu helps investors find and manage short-term rentals.   Emir started working in tech via a cold email.  He reached out to the founder of Kick, which was a social network dedicated to talking about all things soccer, asking if he could help the company grow in any way. He started volunteering for the company, was eventually hired, and then worked his way up into a leading operations role before the company was acquired by NBC. Tune in to hear the fun story of how Emir got into the STR game as a host and how that experience inspired him to found Rabbu.  Follow Emir on Twitter Learn more about Rabbu This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.  Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In just a moment you’ll  meet Evan Dolgow, Head of Predictive Hospitality at Jarvis ML.  Jarvis ML was founded by the guys over at Google who built the machine learning platforms powering Google Ads and Payments.  Evan and his team have a vision of democratizing the data and technology that OTAs have and making these tools and insights accessible to short-term and vacation-rental hosts in order to increase direct bookings. Tune in to discover what short-term rental and vacation rental hosts can learn from the ecommerce space about building independent brands and moats. Learn more about Jarvis ML here Connect with Evan on LinkedIn This week's episode is brought to you by Guesty for Hosts.  One of the questions I get asked a lot from listeners is what they should look for in a PMS or Property Management System. Now, we’re lucky — there are a lot of great options in the market, which can’t be said for software platforms in all industries.  That said, I always encourage them to take a good look at Guesty for Hosts — and here’s why: 1. Guesty’s Channel Manager helps you centralize data across the major booking platforms and stay on top of all activity on your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo.  2. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to ensure you connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. You can make custom messages for a variety of situations, from a response to an initial inquiry to a post check-out follow up encouraging your guests to leave a review. 3. It includes a Website Builder feature that allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your listing’s brand value and increase your direct bookings.  4. And finally, Guesty just raised over $170 million dollars which means they got some serious cash to continue to seriously invest in their product!   So here’s the deal.  If you’re a STR host without a PMS system or a host looking to explore a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers 20% off of their first year when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” at checkout. Get started with a 14 day free trial today  — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it. Once your 14 day free trial is up, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year. Guesty for Hosts — it’s the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts.  Try Guesty for Hosts for Free. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Lauren and Cam Green, the founders of The Fort Treehouse Company — Canada’s premier luxury treehouse company. Cam and Lauren met at summer camp.  They were a part of the same friend group for more than 15 years before they started dating, but once they did, it was clear that they were a perfect match. Both Lauren and Cam are quite entrepreneurial.  Lauren tends to have the big ideas and Cam is incredible at finding ways to bring them to life.  While working on staff at the camp that he and Lauren met at, Cam discovered a sustainable treehouse design and build program in Vermont. And it was this moment where Cam first realized that what he really wanted to do was build beautiful escapes in the trees!  Tune in to hear the remarkable story of how Cam and Lauren brought their first treehouse to life and what the couple has planned next for The Fort Treehouse Co.  Learn more about The Fort Treehouse Co. Follow The Fort Treehouse Co. on Instagram  This week's episode is brought to you by Guesty for Hosts.  One of the questions I get asked a lot from listeners is what they should look for in a PMS or Property Management System. Now, we’re lucky — there are a lot of great options in the market, which can’t be said for software platforms in all industries.  That said, I always encourage them to take a good look at Guesty for Hosts — and here’s why: 1. Guesty’s Channel Manager helps you centralize data across the major booking platforms and stay on top of all activity on your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo.  2. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to ensure you connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. You can make custom messages for a variety of situations, from a response to an initial inquiry to a post check-out follow up encouraging your guests to leave a review. 3. It includes a Website Builder feature that allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your listing’s brand value and increase your direct bookings.  4. And finally, Guesty just raised over $170 million dollars which means they got some serious cash to continue to seriously invest in their product!   So here’s the deal.  If you’re a STR host without a PMS system or a host looking to explore a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers 20% off of their first year when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” at checkout. Get started with a 14 day free trial today  — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it. Once your 14 day free trial is up, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year. Guesty for Hosts — it’s the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts.  Try Guesty for Hosts for Free. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Ali Nichols — Co-Founder of Getaway. Getaway is on a mission to make vacation rental real estate accessible to the next generations  of investors and to reimagine travel memberships by allowing investors to stay in the premier homes they own.  Ali has been interested in real estate since she was a young child.  She’d come home on Sunday mornings after church and circle listings in the newspaper with open houses she wanted to visit.  After working for technology companies like Uber and Bungalow, Ali was bit by that entrepreneurial bug and began desiring to start her own company.  Tune in to hear the story behind where the idea of Getaway came from and what her goals are for the company over the next 12 months. Discover Getaway Connect with Ali on LinkedIn  This week's episode is brought to you by Guesty for Hosts.  One of the questions I get asked a lot from listeners is what they should look for in a PMS or Property Management System. Now, we’re lucky — there are a lot of great options in the market, which can’t be said for software platforms in all industries.  That said, I always encourage them to take a good look at Guesty for Hosts — and here’s why: 1. Guesty’s Channel Manager helps you centralize data across the major booking platforms and stay on top of all activity on your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo.  2. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to ensure you connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. You can make custom messages for a variety of situations, from a response to an initial inquiry to a post check-out follow up encouraging your guests to leave a review. 3. It includes a Website Builder feature that allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your listing’s brand value and increase your direct bookings.  4. And finally, Guesty just raised over $170 million dollars which means they got some serious cash to continue to seriously invest in their product!   So here’s the deal.  If you’re a STR host without a PMS system or a host looking to explore a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers 20% off of their first year when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” at checkout. Get started with a 14 day free trial today  — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it. Once your 14 day free trial is up, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year. Guesty for Hosts — it’s the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts.  Try Guesty for Hosts for Free. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Heather Davis, the creator of the Stone City Treehouse in Hardwick, Vermont. Heather grew up in New York but always had great affinity for the Green Mountain State — so much so that her only criteria for where to go to college was that it had to be in Vermont.  In 2012 Heather started renting her home on Airbnb in order to help pay the bills. Being a single mom with two teenagers in Vermont was not always easy! She had such a positive experience with the platform and the guests who stayed in her home that she started dreaming about how she might expand her business. And that’s when the idea for the Stone City Treehouse was born.  Tune in to hear the story behind how Heather built the Treehouse with a little help from the DIY Network’s The Treehouse Guys, and how she generated over 500 incredible reviews and 12k followers on Instagram.  Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Heather.  Book a Stay at the Stone City Treehouse Follow the Stone City Treehouse on Instagram  This week's episode is brought to you by Guesty for Hosts.  One of the questions I get asked a lot from listeners is what they should look for in a PMS or Property Management System. Now, we’re lucky — there are a lot of great options in the market, which can’t be said for software platforms in all industries.  That said, I always encourage them to take a good look at Guesty for Hosts — and here’s why: 1. Guesty’s Channel Manager helps you centralize data across the major booking platforms and stay on top of all activity on your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo.  2. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to ensure you connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. You can make custom messages for a variety of situations, from a response to an initial inquiry to a post check-out follow up encouraging your guests to leave a review. 3. It includes a Website Builder feature that allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your listing’s brand value and increase your direct bookings.  4. And finally, Guesty just raised over $170 million dollars which means they got some serious cash to continue to seriously invest in their product!   So here’s the deal.  If you’re a STR host without a PMS system or a host looking to explore a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers 20% off of their first year when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” at checkout. Get started with a 14 day free trial today  — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it. Once your 14 day free trial is up, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year. Guesty for Hosts — it’s the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts.  Try Guesty for Hosts for Free. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Daniel Rusteen.  Daniel is the self-proclaimed “world’s best at Airbnb.” And before you laugh or roll your eyes, he’s got a pretty solid case for why this title is fitting.  Daniel worked at Airbnb for several years, launched his own Airbnb property management business, is building his own collection of luxe Airbnbs, has a plethora of courses, tools, and resources he’s developed for Airbnb hosts AND has spent more than 2,000 nights staying at Airbnbs! So, yeah, the dude knows a thing or two about the Airbnb ecosystem. Tune into a riveting conversation on how to optimize your Airbnb business and what Daniel thinks the future of travel and hospitality will look like over the next few years. Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Daniel.  Visit Daniel's Website Book a stay at Daniel's Airbnb Follow Daniel on Twitter This week's episode is brought to you by Guesty for Hosts.  One of the questions I get asked a lot from listeners is what they should look for in a PMS or Property Management System. Now, we’re lucky — there are a lot of great options in the market, which can’t be said for software platforms in all industries.  That said, I always encourage them to take a good look at Guesty for Hosts — and here’s why: 1. Guesty’s Channel Manager helps you centralize data across the major booking platforms and stay on top of all activity on your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo.  2. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to ensure you connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. You can make custom messages for a variety of situations, from a response to an initial inquiry to a post check-out follow up encouraging your guests to leave a review. 3. It includes a Website Builder feature that allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your listing’s brand value and increase your direct bookings.  4. And finally, Guesty just raised over $170 million dollars which means they got some serious cash to continue to seriously invest in their product!   So here’s the deal.  If you’re a STR host without a PMS system or a host looking to explore a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers 20% off of their first year when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” at checkout. Get started with a 14 day free trial today  — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it. Once your 14 day free trial is up, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year. Guesty for Hosts — it’s the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts.  Try Guesty for Hosts for Free. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Meet Nate Ritter — founder of Room Steals, a travel membership that provides customers with incredible deals on hotel rooms. Nate is a technology executive who has started, bought, and sold companies and who has also consulted for companies like Microsoft and Land Rover. Fun fact — Nate also popularized the use of the hashtag on Twitter…pretty cool, huh?  In this episode, we talk about: Where the idea for Room Steals came from and how it compares to Expedia and other OTAs How to build a productized experience for your STR collection Hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality  What it’s like to live full time in an RV as a family of 5 Sign up for Room Steals Follow Nate on Twitter Get to Know More About Nate on His Website This week's episode is brought to you by Guesty for Hosts.  One of the questions I get asked a lot from listeners is what they should look for in a PMS or Property Management System. Now, we’re lucky — there are a lot of great options in the market, which can’t be said for software platforms in all industries.  That said, I always encourage them to take a good look at Guesty for Hosts — and here’s why: 1. Guesty’s Channel Manager helps you centralize data across the major booking platforms and stay on top of all activity on your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo.  2. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to ensure you connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. You can make custom messages for a variety of situations, from a response to an initial inquiry to a post check-out follow up encouraging your guests to leave a review. 3. It includes a Website Builder feature that allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your listing’s brand value and increase your direct bookings.  4. And finally, Guesty just raised over $170 million dollars which means they got some serious cash to continue to seriously invest in their product!   So here’s the deal.  If you’re a STR host without a PMS system or a host looking to explore a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers 20% off of their first year when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” at checkout. Get started with a 14 day free trial today  — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it. Once your 14 day free trial is up, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year. Guesty for Hosts — it’s the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts.  Try Guesty for Hosts for Free. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee. 

Meet Bryce Garcia.  Bryce works in sales for a SaaS company by day and is building his own collection of STRs by night. When Bryce’s mom found out he had bought a condo in Austin,  site unseen, during the middle of the pandemic, and planned to live in one room and rent out the other on Airbnb she thought he had gone NUTS. But when Bryce made enough money over one holiday weekend to pay his mortgage for the month, she told Bryce’s father, “maybe the kid is on to something.” In this episode, Bryce and I talk about: How to get into the game as a new STR investor The tech stack you need from 0 - 3 properties  How to use Twitter to grow your brand and business as an STR entrepreneur The best people to follow on Twitter for tips on STR investing and business building  And lots more. Follow Bryce on Twitter  This week's episode is brought to you by Guesty for Hosts.  One of the questions I get asked a lot from listeners is what they should look for in a PMS or Property Management System. Now, we’re lucky — there are a lot of great options in the market, which can’t be said for software platforms in all industries.  That said, I always encourage them to take a good look at Guesty for Hosts — and here’s why: 1. Guesty’s Channel Manager helps you centralize data across the major booking platforms and stay on top of all activity on your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo.  2. Guesty’s automation tools enable you to ensure you connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion. You can make custom messages for a variety of situations, from a response to an initial inquiry to a post check-out follow up encouraging your guests to leave a review. 3. It includes a Website Builder feature that allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your listing’s brand value and increase your direct bookings.  4. And finally, Guesty just raised over $170 million dollars which means they got some serious cash to continue to seriously invest in their product!   So here’s the deal.  If you’re a STR host without a PMS system or a host looking to explore a new one, I’ve got a treat for you. The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers 20% off of their first year when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” at checkout. Get started with a 14 day free trial today  — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it. Once your 14 day free trial is up, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year. Guesty for Hosts — it’s the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts.  Try Guesty for Hosts for Free. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee. 

Meet Jon Kreye — an award-winning Airbnb and VRBO photographer. Growing up, you’d often find Jon in the backyard snapping photos of trees, flowers, and wildlife — he has always been moved by the beauty nature offers.  Jon dreamed of being able to do photography full-time, but was sober to the fact that making it as a full-time photographer is super difficult. One day, while traveling in Minnesota, Jon posted photos of the cabin he was staying  at on Instagram — and while he didn’t know it at the time, this decision would change the course of his life forever. Tune in to hear the story of how the success of those first posts on Instagram inspired Jon to focus his photography business around the short term travel space. Follow Jon on Instagram.  This episode is brought to you by BuildUp Bookings.  SEO.  Paid Search. Email Marketing.   You know they are the marketing trifecta needed to build your brand and increase direct bookings to your properties...    But, outside of watching a couple of YouTube videos and listening to a few STR podcasts, you haven’t had the time to really understand how Google ranks content or what subject line and preview text combo are the best when sending an email to your list about last-minute availability.    If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you’re not just any run of the mill STR or vacation rental host — you’re an entrepreneur who wants to see their portfolio of homes and the brand that encompasses grow.    And this week’s podcast sponsor, BuildUp Bookings, can help you do just that.    BuildUp Bookings is the digital marketing team that some of the best players in the game use to scale their businesses.     I had their founder, Conrad O’Connell on Episode 44 of the podcast...and let me tell you — this guys know his stuff!  In just the last 12 months, BuildUp Bookingshas helped their clients earn over $48 million in direct bookings.   If 90% of your bookings are coming via the Airbnbs and VRBOs of the world, it might be time to audit and augment your direct booking strategy — and Conrad and his team have set up a special landing page for Behind the Stays listeners chock-full of free resources to help you do so.     Head on over to www.BuildUpBookings.com/BTS to learn more.  And be sure to request a free marketing strategy session with Conrad and tell him Zach from Behind the Stays sent you his way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee. 

In just a moment you’ll meet Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts —  an RV membership program that allows travelers to stay overnight at unique locations around the country including farms, wineries, breweries, and more. Joel is what you might call a creative hustler.  As a young teenager, you could either find him selling DVDs and books on eBay or out and about shooting video.   Joel loved capturing compelling video content.  So much so in fact, that he launched a business called VideoBlocks, which was a marketplace for stock video footage. He grew the company now known as StoryBlocks and sold it back in 2020 — but not before spending a year RVing around the country with his wife.  After taking some much deserved time off, Joel began looking for his next opportunity. And that’s when he stumbled upon Harvest Hosts. Tune in to hear the serendipitous story of how Joel discovered, bought, and scaled one of the travel industry’s most beloved brands.  Explore Harvest Hosts  Connect with Joel on Twitter or LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by BuildUp Bookings.  SEO.  Paid Search. Email Marketing.   You know they are the marketing trifecta needed to build your brand and increase direct bookings to your properties...    But, outside of watching a couple of YouTube videos and listening to a few STR podcasts, you haven’t had the time to really understand how Google ranks content or what subject line and preview text combo are the best when sending an email to your list about last-minute availability.    If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you’re not just any run of the mill STR or vacation rental host — you’re an entrepreneur who wants to see their portfolio of homes and the brand that encompasses grow.    And this week’s podcast sponsor, BuildUp Bookings, can help you do just that.    BuildUp Bookings is the digital marketing team that some of the best players in the game use to scale their businesses.     I had their founder, Conrad O’Connell on Episode 44 of the podcast...and let me tell you — this guys know his stuff!  In just the last 12 months, BuildUp Bookingshas helped their clients earn over $48 million in direct bookings.   If 90% of your bookings are coming via the Airbnbs and VRBOs of the world, it might be time to audit and augment your direct booking strategy — and Conrad and his team have set up a special landing page for Behind the Stays listeners chock-full of free resources to help you do so.     Head on over to www.BuildUpBookings.com/BTS to learn more.  And be sure to request a free marketing strategy session with Conrad and tell him Zach from Behind the Stays sent you his way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee. 

Meet Tyann Marcink  — the Queen of Guest Experience at Touch Stay, a digital guidebook platform for short-term and vacation rental hosts.  Tyann has a knack for charting her own path. She’s a resilient creative who owns 2 rental management brands and has been active in the vacation rental industry since 2007. Discover Tyann’s hot takes about the future of the hospitality industry, hear the story behind how she bought a bank and turned it into a vacation rental in the Ozarks, and learn about how she ventured off on her entrepreneurial journey after losing a college scholarship in this episode of Behind the Stays. Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Tyann.  You can learn more about Touch Stay here. Explore Tyann's Vacation Rentals here. Connect with Tyann on Twitter here.  This episode is brought to you by BuildUp Bookings.  SEO.  Paid Search. Email Marketing.   You know they are the marketing trifecta needed to build your brand and increase direct bookings to your properties...    But, outside of watching a couple of YouTube videos and listening to a few STR podcasts, you haven’t had the time to really understand how Google ranks content or what subject line and preview text combo are the best when sending an email to your list about last-minute availability.    If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you’re not just any run of the mill STR or vacation rental host — you’re an entrepreneur who wants to see their portfolio of homes and the brand that encompasses grow.    And this week’s podcast sponsor, BuildUp Bookings, can help you do just that.    BuildUp Bookings is the digital marketing team that some of the best players in the game use to scale their businesses.     I had their founder, Conrad O’Connell on Episode 44 of the podcast...and let me tell you — this guys know his stuff!  In just the last 12 months, BuildUp Bookings has helped their clients earn over $48 million in direct bookings.   If 90% of your bookings are coming via the Airbnbs and VRBOs of the world, it might be time to audit and augment your direct booking strategy — and Conrad and his team have set up a special landing page for Behind the Stays listeners chock-full of free resources to help you do so.     Head on over to www.BuildUpBookings.com/BTS to learn more.  And be sure to request a free marketing strategy session with Conrad and tell him Zach from Behind the Stays sent you his way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee. 

Meet Marcus Rader — Founder and CEO of Hostaway.  Marcus grew up in Finland.  He was quite a curious kid, but struggled to develop any lasting hobbies as he was easily distracted. After flying for the first time as a six year old, Marcus’ dream was to become a pilot.  Something about being at 30,000 feet was inspirational and invigorating.  Sadly, Marcus was diagnosed with epilepsy just a few years later. And while he didn’t understand much about the disease as a kid, his soul was crushed when he learned he’d never be able to be a pilot. Tune in to hear the inspirational story of how Marcus turned this moment of despair into the pursuit of greatness and how he ultimately built one of the most valuable all-in-one tools for vacation rental property managers on the market. Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Marcus.  This episode is brought to you by Build Up Bookings.  SEO.  Paid Search. Email Marketing.   You know they are the marketing trifecta needed to build your brand and increase direct bookings to your properties...    But, outside of watching a couple of YouTube videos and listening to a few STR podcasts, you haven’t had the time to really understand how Google ranks content or what subject line and preview text combo are the best when sending an email to your list about last-minute availability.    If you’re listening to this podcast, chances are you’re not just any run of the mill STR or vacation rental host — you’re an entrepreneur who wants to see their portfolio of homes and the brand that encompasses grow.    And this week’s podcast sponsor, Build Up Bookings, can help you do just that.    Build Up Bookings is the digital marketing team that some of the best players in the game use to scale their businesses.     I had their founder, Conrad O’Connell on Episode 44 of the podcast...and let me tell you — this guys know his stuff!  In just the last 12 months, Build Up Bookings has helped their clients earn over $48 million in direct bookings.   If 90% of your bookings are coming via the Airbnbs and VRBOs of the world, it might be time to audit and augment your direct booking strategy — and Conrad and his team have set up a special landing page for Behind the Stays listeners chock-full of free resources to help you do so.     Head on over to www.BuildUpBookings.com/BTS to learn more.  And be sure to request a free marketing strategy session with Conrad and tell him Zach from Behind the Stays sent you his way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com 

Meet Marc Hostovsky, Founder and CEO of Minoan —  a customizable, curated retail platform for short-term rental hosts.  Marc is a self-proclaimed boutique geek and is passionate about the future of retail.  After spending nearly 6 years working at Jet.com and then Walmart (acquired Jet.com), he quickly realized that the best product experiences don't happen on screens or shelves, they happen in real moments of use "in the wild".  Marc founded Minoan to help hosts: create, and capitalize on, rich moments in their homes save money on everything they need to buy  and spend a fraction of the time on the unsexy things that come along with ordering (tracking, routing, logistics, etc.) Tune in to discover the exciting story of the early days of Minoan and learn how you, as an STR host, can leverage Minoan for a current or future property. Explore the Minoan Experience Website Connect with Marc on LinkedIn Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com    This week's episode is brought to you by Mount. A few months ago, Gabby and I stayed at a quintessential beach cottage in San Diego.    The home was just 3/4 of a mile from the beach — perfect biking distance, right?   There was only one problem — the home didn’t come with bikes, and the nearest bike rental shop was fully committed throughout our stay.    We really wanted bikes — so much so that we asked our host if she knew anyone personally that we might be able to rent bikes from. Alas, she did not.    Today, I want to introduce you to a company who is solving for this very problem.  Meet Mount — a platform that enables STR hosts to transform their homes into full-fledged vacation experiences.    Mount let’s you rent just about anything to your guests — bikes, scooters, golf carts, kayaks, and even private chefs and masseuses!    With the simple scan of a QR code, guests can explore all of the rental amenities you have to offer. Guests can browse, book, and access anything you make available in a matter of seconds.    Mount makes it easy for guests to access anything additional they might need during their stay, and for STR hosts to increase their revenue per booking.    Oh, and if you don’t have a bike or scooter to rent, no problem — Mount can provide one for you.   Learn more about how you can earn more via your STR with Mount and get your first month free by emailing the Mount team at help@RentMount.com 

In just a moment you’ll meet Heather Bien and Adam Shapiro, the creators of Rosehill Cottage — a charming river house on the Rappahannock River in Virginia.  Heather works in marketing at a tech start-up by day and runs her lifestyle and travel blog by night, and Adam works for the federal government.   While the couple lives in Washington DC, they thoroughly enjoy weekend escapes from the city.  And it was on one of these weekend escapes that they fell in love with the charming Virginian towns along the Chesapeake Bay.  Tune in to hear the exciting story of how Heather and Adam found the perfect home in Locust Hill, Virginia and how they brought Rosehill Cottage to life.  Book Rosehill Cottage on Airbnb. Visit the Rosehill Cottage Website. Follow Rosehill Cottage on Instagram. Follow Heather Bien on Instagram. Discover Heather's Lifestyle Blog.  Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com    This week's episode is brought to you by Mount. A few months ago, Gabby and I stayed at a quintessential beach cottage in San Diego.    The home was just 3/4 of a mile from the beach — perfect biking distance, right?   There was only one problem — the home didn’t come with bikes, and the nearest bike rental shop was fully committed throughout our stay.    We really wanted bikes — so much so that we asked our host if she knew anyone personally that we might be able to rent bikes from. Alas, she did not.    Today, I want to introduce you to a company who is solving for this very problem.  Meet Mount — a platform that enables STR hosts to transform their homes into full-fledged vacation experiences.    Mount let’s you rent just about anything to your guests — bikes, scooters, golf carts, kayaks, and even private chefs and masseuses!    With the simple scan of a QR code, guests can explore all of the rental amenities you have to offer. Guests can browse, book, and access anything you make available in a matter of seconds.    Mount makes it easy for guests to access anything additional they might need during their stay, and for STR hosts to increase their revenue per booking.    Oh, and if you don’t have a bike or scooter to rent, no problem — Mount can provide one for you.   Learn more about how you can earn more via your STR with Mount and get your first month free by emailing the Mount team at help@RentMount.com 

In just a moment, you’ll meet Vinny Breslin, founder of Uplisting — one of the industry’s leading short-term rental software & channel manager platforms.  Vinny was born and raised in Ireland. If you were to stumble into his room as a young kid, you might find Vinny taking apart a computer or a radio. When he was 14 years old, he started building websites and was pleasantly surprised when he learned that people would pay him to do such. He went to school for civil engineering and after graduation started working for a SaaS startup building products and services for the travel industry.  And it was during this season in his life where he started thinking about starting his own company in the hospitality management space.  Tune in to hear the entertaining story of how Vinny Breslin brought Uplisting to life.  Explore Uplisting here. Follow Vinny on Twitter here.  Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com    This week's episode is brought to you by Mount. A few months ago, Gabby and I stayed at a quintessential beach cottage in San Diego.    The home was just 3/4 of a mile from the beach — perfect biking distance, right?   There was only one problem — the home didn’t come with bikes, and the nearest bike rental shop was fully committed throughout our stay.    We really wanted bikes — so much so that we asked our host if she knew anyone personally that we might be able to rent bikes from. Alas, she did not.    Today, I want to introduce you to a company who is solving for this very problem.  Meet Mount — a platform that enables STR hosts to transform their homes into full-fledged vacation experiences.    Mount let’s you rent just about anything to your guests — bikes, scooters, golf carts, kayaks, and even private chefs and masseuses!    With the simple scan of a QR code, guests can explore all of the rental amenities you have to offer. Guests can browse, book, and access anything you make available in a matter of seconds.    Mount makes it easy for guests to access anything additional they might need during their stay, and for STR hosts to increase their revenue per booking.    Oh, and if you don’t have a bike or scooter to rent, no problem — Mount can provide one for you.   Learn more about how you can earn more via your STR with Mount and get your first month free by emailing the Mount team at help@RentMount.com 

Meet Arthur Colker, Founder and CEO of StayFi.  Growing up, Arthur thought he wanted to be a politician.  He was intrigued by how power and influence could move society forward. After going to school in DC and interning on The Hill, Arthur realized that while he loved following politics, working in it wasn’t quite for him. And while he couldn’t have known it at the time, this realization was the first major stepping stone in his journey to becoming an entrepreneur and in founding StayFi — a wifi portal for short term rentals that allows hosts to capture crucial data from their guests.  Now you’re going to meet Arthur in JUST a second here, but, before you do so, I have a gift for you.  Arthur has offered listeners of Behind the Stays 50% off their first 3 months of StayFi. So, if you’re inspired by what Arthur and his team are building and want to leverage their tools to grow your STR business, head on over to StayFi.com and use the discount code BTS50 at check out for 50% off the first 3 months of your subscription. You can connect with Arthur on Twitter or learn more about StayFi here. Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com    This week's episode is brought to you by Mount. A few months ago, Gabby and I stayed at a quintessential beach cottage in San Diego.    The home was just 3/4 of a mile from the beach — perfect biking distance, right?   There was only one problem — the home didn’t come with bikes, and the nearest bike rental shop was fully committed throughout our stay.    We really wanted bikes — so much so that we asked our host if she knew anyone personally that we might be able to rent bikes from. Alas, she did not.    Today, I want to introduce you to a company who is solving for this very problem.  Meet Mount — a platform that enables STR hosts to transform their homes into full-fledged vacation experiences.    Mount let’s you rent just about anything to your guests — bikes, scooters, golf carts, kayaks, and even private chefs and masseuses!    With the simple scan of a QR code, guests can explore all of the rental amenities you have to offer. Guests can browse, book, and access anything you make available in a matter of seconds.    Mount makes it easy for guests to access anything additional they might need during their stay, and for STR hosts to increase their revenue per booking.    Oh, and if you don’t have a bike or scooter to rent, no problem — Mount can provide one for you.   Learn more about how you can earn more via your STR with Mount and get your first month free by emailing the Mount team at help@RentMount.com 

In just a moment you’ll meet Jason Neil — the creator of Golden Tiny Homes – a collection of minimalist short term rentals in Golden, British Columbia. Growing up, Jason liked working with his hands.  He always had an eye for making things better and this perspective ultimately led him to become a builder — like his father before him. Jason has also always loved the outdoors — in fact he spends half the year surfing in Mexico and the other half snowboarding in British Columbia. One summer while surfing in Baja, Jason’s buddies started talking about the emerging Cannabis industry and the business opportunities that surrounded it.  Tune in to hear the incredible story of how Jason built up a Cannabis business only to sell it and use the profits of his exit to start building Golden Tiny Homes. Alright, without further adieu, get ready to meet Jason.   This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue.   If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to www.sponstayneous.com   

Meet Chad Ludeman, Co-Founder of Post Green Homes and Lokal Hotel. Chad moved around a lot as a kid, but spent high school in upstate New York.  He’s an engineer by trade, but an entrepreneur at heart. Courtney, Chad’s wife and business partner, was Chad’s most critical sounding board — she shot down most of his business ideas until he started talking about real estate. There was one idea, in particular, that Chad and Courtney both agreed was worth pursuing and that was to build a 1,000 square foot house for $100k.  This project was the birth of the couple’s first business, Post Green Homes. And while they learned a lot through this venture, they realized that their hearts were really in the hospitality space.  And it was this realization that ultimately led them to found Lokal Hotel —  a collection of design driven boutique luxury hotels.  Tune in to hear the exciting story of how Chad and Courtney built their brand and their first three hotels.  Book your stay at a Lokal Hotel Follow Chad on Twitter Follow Lokal Hotel on Instagram  This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue.   If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to www.sponstayneous.com   

Meet Dylan Petrich — Co-Founder of Wilder Ways,  a Texas-based hotel brand and management company.​ Dylan was born in Paris but grew up in London. After graduating from university he went to work in finance and split his time between London and New York. While finance was fascinating, Dylan grew tired of just looking at numbers — he wanted to get into the game of business and be an operator. So, when an opportunity presented itself to move into the hospitality space by joining a new startup, The Guild, Dylan took it. After a couple of years of learning a lot about hospitality, real estate, and startups the entrepreneurship bug bit Dylan…and he wondered what it would look like to start his OWN hospitality brand and business. Tune in to hear the exciting story of how Dylan built Wilder Ways.  This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue.   If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to www.sponstayneous.com   

Meet Conrad O'Connell (@conradoconnell), Founder and CEO at BuildUp Bookings, a digital marketing agency that helps STR hosts increase direct bookings & build their brands. Conrad was working at a marketing agency after college.  This agency onboarded a new client in the boutique hotel space and Conrad was assigned to the account. Pretty instantly, Conrad fell in love with the hospitality space — so much so that he wound up leaving the agency to start a firm of his own. Tune in to hear Conrad share new ideas for how to market STRs, an overview of the most common marketing mistakes that STR hosts make, and how to know if/when it might be time to move off of Airbnb. This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue.   If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to www.sponstayneous.com 

Meet Debbie Todd, creator of The Woodlands at Hocking Hill. Debbie is a physical therapist and mother of three by day, and an STR host by night.  Debbie and her husband Jeff were looking for a vacation home that they could get away to a couple of weekends a month.  The idea of renting it out wasn’t totally off the table, but certainly wasn’t a priority. Then one weekend, in the spring of 2020, the family decided to list the property on Airbnb.  And, well, it instantly took off…so much so, in fact, that the Todd family was rarely able to stay there!  This traction inspired Debbie and Jeff to start searching for another home in Hocking Hills. Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Debbie and Jeff found the property which they’d transform into the Woodlands Lodge and how they’ve designed their budding STR business to give back to the community.  Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Debbie.  Book The Woodlands at Hocking Hills. This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue. If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to hello@wander.com.   If Wander makes an offer, you can count on it being all cash, quick and hassle-free.    So if you’ve been thinking of selling, even remotely, why not start a conversation with our friends at Wander? Send them an email at hello@wander.com.    Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com