Get Paid For Your Pad | Airbnb Hosting | Vacation Rentals | Apartment Sharing

Every short-term rental property is unique, and each guest values different property features when looking to book. Add to that travel trends are shifting quite dramatically right now, and it can be a gamble to rely on the data alone to set your pricing.So how can you use the data to increase your revenue without increasing your risk? John An is the Founder & CEO of TechTape, the Founder & President of Ohana Stay, and a short-term rental industry expert who consistently brings in returns at 20% to 50% above market. He's also written a chapter in the soon-to-be-released, The Book Direct Blueprint.On this edition of Get Paid for Your Pad, John walks us through his 3-step approach listeners can use to increase their Airbnb revenue.We discuss how to align your risk tolerance with your pricing strategy and nightly rate to achieve your goal occupancy level.Listen in as John shares his hands-on approach to combining data with human skill to increase your Airbnb revenue by as much as 15-30%.Topics Covere

We wish every stay would be perfect and every guest would check out ready to leave a 5-star review and secure their next stay. But this is the real world, and every host will eventually face a problem with a guest's stay. From a piece of equipment breaking down to another guest making it impossible for everyone to enjoy their stay, challenging situations come up that no one wants to have to deal with.But there are some secrets to navigating them that will make everyone involved feel supported. So how do you solve guest challenges when they come up, so everyone enjoys their stay? On this edition of STR Conversations, Eric and I sit down to discuss the event that happened at Freewyld this weekend, what it taught us, and the systems we're putting in place to handle these types of situations like this in the future. We’ll walk you through our 6-step process to deal with challenges that come up with guests while they are staying at your property while communicating with them in a way that

These days safety, security, and ID protection are paramount to everyone. That becomes even more important when booking the properties you've worked so hard to create or when you're in charge of someone else's investment.Risk management has become vitally important in the short-term rental industry.Leo Walton is the Co-Founder of Superhog, a company that enables a growing ecosystem of hosts, operators, and guests a safer booking experience. By providing a tech-based AI-supported toolkit, Superhog increases booking confidence by quickly confirming the identity of guests, protecting against fraud, damage, and crime, and providing unmatched protection in the STR industry.On this edition of Get Paid for Your Pad, I talk with Leo about why it's vital to screen your guests and the quick and straightforward guardrails STR hosts can put into place in the booking process to establish risk management for both hosts and guests.We discuss the types of protection Superhog provides, how the process works for hosts and gues

Airbnb wears two hats in their business, catering to the guests on one side while trying to remain fair and inclusive to the hosts on the other.Often, they lean towards updates that are more geared towards guests, and the hosts have taken notice, and many have spoken out.And Airbnb has responded with the 2022 Winter Release by focusing the updates on making it easier to become a host and stay a host on Airbnb by offering one-on-one guidance from a Superhost and more ways to get your listings seen, and your money faster.On this edition of STR Conversations, Eric and I walk you through each of the updates in the Winter Release, including the upgraded top-to bottom protection for every host on Airbnb through AirCover.We’ll share the six new listing categories offering more ways for your listings to stand out, and how new listings will now be featured and for how long. Plus, we’ll take a look at the new retaliatory review protection for hosts and the fast pay option and fees.Listen in as we share our opinion of w

The internet is vast, with more and more social channels popping up and more people jumping into the short-term rental space. Getting the right eyes on your Airbnb properties for more bookings can take time and effort. So how can you get your properties to stand out in the field? By becoming the #1 expert in your market. Dave Cordner is the owner of Central Belfast Apartments in Ireland. Dave got his start in the Short-Term rental space back in 2007, working with his parents. He purchased his own property in 2014 and has grown to over 60 properties. Dave has become an expert in his market by sharing great content through his blog and videos and coaching others in the short-term rental space. You can find his content on his blog, TikTok, and his YouTube channel. On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Dave joins me to discuss how he's used his passion for Belfast tourism to become the go-to expert in his market. He'll walk us through how providing his guests with a more exciting

"Hospitality is really about execution," — Sean Breuner There are 23,000 short-term rental companies in the US. But the industry remains fragmented due to how challenging it is to build a scalable, national platform that can deliver a high-level yet standardized experience at every property, to every guest, every time. AvantStay has scaled its hospitality brand to 1500+ units in less than 5 years.​​Sean Breuner is the Founder & CEO at AvantStay. AvantStay is the largest STR brand in the US. With over 1500 properties in over 100 cities, AvantStay delivers a highly curated experience customized to guests' needs, using a proprietary tech suite to power bookings, seamlessly operationalize in-field and remote management, and activate authentic and elevated consumer touchpoints. On this edition of STR Conversations, Eric and I talk with Sean about his vision to build a brand that takes the luxury of the hotel experience into the short-term rental space. We discuss how AvantStay is leveraging

There are advantages to hosting corporate travelers in your short-term rentals. You get high-quality guests. You can offer a number of upsells. And capitalize on referrals and repeat business. But you may have to level up your game in order to attract these high-paying corporate clients. So, what amenities do you need to offer business travelers? What level of service do they expect? And how do you market your Airbnbs to the corporate travel niche? Robertin Nunez is the STR corporate travel specialist behind LivingQuarters.net, a platform that connects short-term rental hosts with business travelers. With headquarters in Philadelphia and Miami, Robertin owns 100 in-house units and operates 3,200 listings in 12 cities around the world. On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Robertin joins me to explore what Airbnb hosts can do to attract business travelers and explain how to build relationships with the corporate departments that book travel for employees. Robertin describes cr

Sometimes when a customer goes to make a booking on Airbnb, the daily rate seems reasonable, but when they go to checkout, the price, including the fees, is almost double.  Or a guest arrives at their perfect rental only to discover a list of checkout instructions so long it feels like their stay has now become a working vacation. Airbnb started as an affordable alternative to hotels, but with so many guests venting on social media about the above concerns it looked like they were drifting away from that concept. This didn't go unnoticed by Brian Chesky. He took to Twitter last week to announce new changes to the Airbnb platform in December for more transparency and accessibility in these more challenging economic times. On this edition of STR Conversations, I'm breaking down the 4 new changes coming to the platform based on Brian Chesky's Twitter announcement and what hosts need to know to remain seen and stay competitive when these changes roll out next month. Listen in as I wa

When David Bergmann joined our Legends X program in April 2021, he was a hectic host with 25 units and a dream to quit his full-time job.18 months later, David manages a portfolio of 110 STR units and a neighborhood laundromat!How did David scale his Airbnb business so quickly? And what did he learn along the way?David is Cofounder of Heartwood Furnished Homes, a short-term rental management company out of Columbia, South Carolina.On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, David joins me to explain how a solar eclipse inspired him to become an Airbnb host and why he started managing units for other STR investors.David shares what he’s learned about hiring team members before you need them, adjusting systems that aren’t working and saying NO to clients who aren’t a good fit.Listen in to understand why David bought a laundromat to support his STR business and learn how to save money by washing linens in-house as you scale.Topics CoveredHow a solar eclipse inspired David to become an Airbnb hostHow David and his

When working in the STR space, buying new properties to increase your bottom line is not always possible or probable. And sometimes, it's not even necessary. Sometimes increasing your revenue is as simple as renovating your current properties to attract your ideal guest avatar and maximize occupancy. So, how can you determine which renovations actually pay off, what to skip, and come up with a realistic budget for your project? On this edition of STR Conversations, Eric and I are breaking down how we are planning to do basic renovations to our current cabins at what's currently known as Strawberry Creek Village to begin transitioning them to fit our brand. Listen in as we share details about the current status of the Schoolhouse and the Daydreamers' Den and the types of renovations each of those properties needs to help us achieve $150K more a year in revenue. We'll share our philosophy for coming up with our vision, and the research we did to create a renovation budget that mini

If you want to create a big brand identity as a small operator, you need to dig in and determine who you are and exactly who you want to serve.So how can you niche down and get specific about your guest avatar?One way is to determine a need you have that isn't being served and then fill that. That's what my guest today did.Rose Tipka of Your Family's Place offers multi-generational spaces designed to provide their guests with stress-free, nostalgic family vacations. Rose and her family launched their business after discovering how difficult it was to find the perfect getaway for their own large family. They currently operate 3 properties, including Mount Pleasant Lodge, designed to offer guests of all ages a chance to reconnect and experience that summer camp feeling you had as a kid. On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Rose joins me to share the story of her husband's bold move while she was pregnant with their fifth child that helped them pivot into an industry they are passionate about, and laun

In the Legends X program, Eric and I coach people on how to get from Hectic Host to Short-Term Rental Legend. But we also happen to be students, applying the system we teach to the new Airbnb business we’re building—a hospitality brand known as Freewyld. So, where are WE on the journey from Hectic Host to STR Legend? And what does our signature VOS system look like in practice? On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Eric and I give you an honest look behind the scenes of Freewyld, sharing the progress we’ve made in each of the three pillars—vision, operations and scale. We discuss the power in putting your brand vision and core values on paper and describe how automating our processes took us out of the day-to-day operations of Freewyld very quickly. Listen in for insight on building out a short-term rental team and find out why we’re dialing in our vision and operations before we focus on scaling Freewyld. Topics CoveredWhy we were able to move from Hectic Host to Rising Sta

When you own an STR business, there will always be issues. Someone will lose their key, someone will clog the toilet, a piece of furniture will break, and then there’s the money issue.Patrick Spanfelner was struggling with all those issues and more, all while parenting a one-year-old and a three-year-old with just one unit. He was the epitome of a hectic host. But all that changed. He's now successfully managing 39 units, including one of mine in Cali, Columbia.So, how'd he go from a hectic host barely hanging on to a successful host who seems to hardly work?Patrick Spanfelner has been living and investing in STR real estate in Colombia for over seven years. His current portfolio includes over 33 units. You can find his units at EXSTR Apartments and learn more about visiting, living, and investing in Cali and Colombia on his blog, The Cali Adventurer.On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Patrick joins me to discuss how learning to automate and develop systems helped him to scale to 39 units.Listen in as P

"The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do," Steve Jobs Often in the busyness of working on our businesses each day, our brains try to drive us to focus on the tasks we can focus on today to get a result. So, we dig into those tasks that require a lot of physical and mental work. And, at the end of the day, we feel accomplished—and we are.  But we want more! We dream of creating a globally recognized brand, building community, and bringing something unique to the marketplace—all while creating a memorable customer experience. Yet we can’t make any significant traction on our dream for our STR business when we're stuck putting out fires and moving the needle at a snail's pace. So, how can you adopt a higher-level vision, attract the right people into your story, and scale at a different level, ultimately building something bigger than you ever envisioned? On this edition of STR Conversations, Eric and I share an update on our vision

“Earn dollars, spend pesos, that’s a very attractive proposition these days,” Patrick SpanfelnerJust 4 hours away from Miami, Cali is the 3rd largest city in Colombia. With an amazing climate year-round, exceptional nightlife, and entertainment, it's the go-to place to live a high quality of life at a low cost. For investors, Colombia doesn't have any restrictions on foreign ownership. There's a great pool of inexpensive contractors, architects, and so forth, and affordable service. Add to that the possibility of a 10% profit after costs and the luxury of soaking up the tropical sun and investing in the emerging Latin market sounds like a great opportunity. But investing in Colombia or any Latin foreign country can also have some big drawbacks. So, how can you take advantage of the short-term rental investment opportunities in Colombia without the risks? Patrick Spanfelner has been living and investing in STR real estate in Colombia for over seven years. His current portfolio includes over

If you’re an Airbnb host with a small number of units, you may not think branding is all that important. But if you want to grow your STR business and enjoy long-term success, it’s never too soon to upgrade from host to hospitality brand. On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Eric and I sit down to discuss why it’s so important for STR hosts to build a hospitality brand and how branding is born out of the vision of what you want to create. We walk you through the three key elements of a hospitality brand, weighing in on how branding informs every decision you make—down to the soap and toilet paper you choose for your STRs. Listen in to understand why a hospitality brand is so much more than a logo and learn how to take the first steps in branding your Airbnb business! Topics CoveredWhy we hired a creative director for Freewyld and what the role entailsThe 3 key elements of a hospitality brand—visuals, language and productThe power of thinking BIG and sharing the idea behind your

Do you dream of growing your short-term rental portfolio to tens or even hundreds of units? Yes, a successful host can invest their profits in buying additional STRs. But it doesn’t take long to run out of your own money. So, what if you could use other people’s money to purchase more vacation rentals? How does it work to fundraise capital from investors for your STR business? Daniel Kalenov is Chief Investment Officer at Diversus, a boutique private equity firm that invests in luxury hospitality and affordable housing. Since 1999, Daniel has analyzed, purchased, repositioned and managed income-producing real estate assets, and he has an MBA from Harvard Business School. On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Daniel joins me to explain how his mother’s experience with the stock market inspired his interest in real estate investing and why he made the shift from single-family rentals to the STR industry. Daniel shares his best advice for hosts who want to grow their portfolio throug

Are you a problem solver who understands everything from products to systems and people to profit?Have you built a STR business with over 100 listings?Have you ever thought of becoming a coach?If so and you want to find out how you can get started impacting people’s lives and businesses, this episode is for you.Teaching something to another person or helping them get started in your space elevates both of you and enables you to become a better CEO and business owner.And the benefits don’t stop there. Sharing your knowledge while working with influential people that are in the same business as you are while trying to solve the same problems and achieve similar goals is priceless.On this edition of STR Conversations, Eric and I share a new opportunity to join our Overnight Success Team as a coach.We share what we are looking for in coaches, the requirements to join our team, and the #1 criteria we are looking for in an Overnight Success Team Coach.Listen in as we share our insight into how great coaching trickl

Imagine seeing your short-term rental on the big screen! Production companies rent properties all over the world and pay a premium to film in those spaces.But you won’t find film crews on Airbnb. So, how do you tap into this opportunity?Laura Wegner is Founder of The Suite Life Whistler, a STR company out of Vancouver, British Columbia. She is also a former professional actor and advocate for the film industry with expertise in hosting production crews in her short-term rentals.On this episode of Get Paid for Your Pad, Laura joins me to explain how to list your property with the local film commission and share her standard operating procedure for vetting a production company.Laura discusses how her daily rate for a film crew compares to what she charges on Airbnb and describes how a crew might change your space to accommodate the script.Listen in for insight on designing your space to attract the interest of a location manager and learn how to leverage the film industry to fill your Airbnbs.Topics CoveredHow

The number of day-to-day decisions you must make when running a business can be insurmountable. It's easy to let the creative team connection fall by the wayside. And let's be honest, ZOOM meetings aren't the same as carving out time away from the distractions of the office with the key players of your team somewhere new where the creative juices can flow. We've just returned from our team quarterly off-site, and today we're sharing our biggest takeaways from that experience with our listeners. On this episode of STR Conversations, Eric and I are walking you through the BIG benefits of shutting off technology and being 100% present with your key team members. We'll share why time away from the day-to-day is vital to solving the biggest challenges in your business—no matter what size your organization is.  Listen in for a breakdown of what precisely an off-site is and a behind-the-scenes look at our Q3 off-site for Freewyld and Overnight Success. We’ll offer you expert insight int