Slick Talk: The Hospitality Podcast
By Wil Slickers
Welcome to Slick Talk
Slick Talk: The Hospitality PodcastMar 22, 2021
Recap of The LiveRez Partner Conference with Amber Knight
This is a special bonus episode to feature and recap the LiveRez Partner Conference that was happening in Boise, Idaho this week!
In this episode, you will hear from Amber Knight who is the GM of LiveRez and we cover her career and personal story and then, of course, the story and evolution of LiveRez. I was honored to be the Emcee of the Partner Conference and to meet the LiveRez team & partners!
To learn more about LiveRez and who they are, check out these links!
Website: https://www.liverez.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiveRezSoftware
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liverezsoftware/
Sharing The Journey with Jesse DePinto
Jesse is a growth-oriented serial entrepreneur with a passion for Product, UX, and Technology. Jesse is the Chief Product Officer and Co-founder of Frontdesk, a leading tech-enabled urban short-term rental brand. Today, Frontdesk operates in 35 cities with over 250 talented employees. Jesse is a champion for all-things growth at Frontdesk, which includes leading the technology, sales, and marketing teams, while also nurturing key strategic relationships for the company. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UW-Milwaukee.
Jesse is a proud husband and father of three boys, and a complete nerd at heart.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at NoiseAware! NoiseAware is the only 100% privacy-safe noise monitoring solution so get with NoiseAware so you don’t waste any time while you grow your professional and amazing business! Use SLICKTALK20 to get 20% off your noise devices with NoiseAware!
Smart locks, Smart thermostats, automation, and a solution for any hotel and vacation rental company.
Our show partners at Operto are the leading solution for operators to enhance their operations by integrating with your property management software and making sure all smart devices create a contactless guest experience while streamlining operations. Check them out on their website, send me a message, or just let them know Wil sent you and you’ll be in great hands!
This episode is also sponsored by Jetstream! Jetstream is a full-service hospitality solution with a powerful team behind it! To learn more about Jetstream, just click this link!
In this episode, we explore:
03:20 - Guest Background
06:57 - Technology and automation is the key to solve complex operations
08:16 - Creating guest experience during Covid
10:24 - Challenges in the business
18:04 - Finding a great leader
19:28 - Managing the internal culture
24:27 - Not all things need to be automated
27:34 - Celebrating victories as the founder
31:39 - The biggest impact of Covid
33:58 - Hiring Skillsets vs Mindsets
41:32 - Scaling a large network of professionally managed tech-enabled apartments
43:02 - Managing the quality
48:23 - Connect with the guest
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://www.stayfrontdesk.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stayfrontdesk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stayfrontdesk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frontdeskinc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stayfrontdesk/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Mid Roll Ad - 24:40
Growing a Global Marketplace with Reside Worldwide
Lee Curtis, CCHP, co-founded RESIDE Worldwide, Inc. in November 2017. Lee and his partners believe that the traditional corporate housing industry is in a state of evolution and is being driven by the acceleration of interest in alternative housing globally. RESIDE’s core purpose is to transform the way that extended stay travel is purchased with a focus on delivering global travel solutions for enterprise companies with global needs.
Mr. Curtis is active in the corporate housing industry, having served on the Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA) board of directors from 2003-2008 and then again from 2015-present. From 2004-2007 he additionally served as Vice President and Chairman and again as Chairman from 2019 through 2021. His companies have won over 13 Tower of Excellence awards for Company of the Year, Marketing Campaigns of the year, and various other accolades from the association. He is also the recipient of CHPA’s “Provider Member of the Year – Individual” award. In June of 2020, Lee was awarded the “CEO Excellence Award for Innovation” from CEO Magazine for innovation in global furnished accommodations. In February 2021, Mr. Curtis was awarded the CHPA’s Industry Impact Award. Formerly known as the Lifetime Achievement Award, this award is given to an individual that has made significant and lasting contributions to the industry.
As a property manager, business owner, and entrepreneur, you already have so much to do in a 24 hour time period. Don’t let the worry of your property being damaged and focus back on growing your business with Safely! Safely is a proud sponsor and I love that I can use them for my business to ensure my properties are safe, protected and my homeowners know that I think of their asset as my asset too! Go to Safely.com and sign up today and let them know Wil sent you!
Smart locks, Smart thermostats, automation, and a solution for any hotel and vacation rental company.
Our show partners at Operto are the leading solution for operators to enhance their operations by integrating with your property management software and making sure all smart devices create a contactless guest experience while streamlining operations. Check them out on their website, send me a message, or just let them know Wil sent you and you’ll be in great hands!
This episode is also sponsored by Jetstream! Jetstream is a full-service hospitality solution with a powerful team behind it! To learn more about Jetstream, just click this link!
In this episode, we explore:
03:10 - Guest Background
06:12 - What was the pull for hospitality
17:02 - How ROTC refine your leadership ability
24:39 - Different offerings of RESIDE company
31:09 - How RESIDE company deals with Covid
35:18 - Goal for RESIDE in the 360 Platform
40:03 - Tools and Systems that allows you to aggregate expenses
44:49 - Evolution of RESIDE - corporate housing
49:24 - Evolution of Business travel
51:59 - What’s next for RESIDE
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://staywithreside.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-curtis-cchp-17196210/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Trust & Safety In Hospitality with Ela Mezhiborsky
Autohost CPO and co-founder, Ela Mezhiborsky, handles the intersection of customer success and product development, setting priorities and driving the product roadmap based on client feedback. Before transitioning to SaaS, her career involved working in risk management, running her own digital marketing agency, and managing a successful short-term rental business in Toronto. In fact, it was her experience in the short-term rental industry that exposed her and her co-founders to the massive security void plaguing property managers. It’s the reason they built Autohost.
This episode is in honor of Anton who was also a co-founder of Autohost and unexpectedly passed away a little over a year ago today. Please go listen to Antons previous episode that came out exactly one year ago today, September 30th.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at NoiseAware! NoiseAware is the only 100% privacy-safe noise monitoring solution so get with NoiseAware so you don’t waste any time while you grow your professional and amazing business! Use SLICKTALK20 to get 20% off your noise devices with NoiseAware!
Smart locks, Smart thermostats, automation, and a solution for any hotel and vacation rental company.
Our show partners at Operto are the leading solution for operators to enhance their operations by integrating with your property management software and making sure all smart devices create a contactless guest experience while streamlining operations. Check them out on their website, send me a message, or just let them know Wil sent you and you’ll be in great hands!
This episode is also sponsored by Jetstream! Jetstream is a full-service hospitality solution with a powerful team behind it! To learn more about Jetstream, just click this link!
In this episode, we explore:
04:28 - Ela’s story
11:44 - Preventing fraudulent reservation
16:28 - Importance of KYC (Know your client)
18:56 - Why do we need to screen the guest
21:20 - Maintaining the accuracy of the guest screening
25:33 - Factors in making an assessment
28:11 - Biggest Red Flag indicator
31:52 - Better safe than sorry strategy
36:12 - Best payment processing - Stripe
40:34 - Creating a virtual check-in
47:27 - Trust & Safety In Hospitality
51:32 - Connect with Ela
Connecting with the Guest:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elamezhiborsky/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
What’s With The Noise In Short Term Rentals with Michael Goldin
Michael is the head of business development for NoiseAware and has been a part of the short term rental community since 2015. He is a 2x Phocuswright 35 under 35 leader who is committed to bettering the short term rental industry. Michael's role is focused on collaboration with the OTA's, partnering with cities for sensible regulation, developing key industry partnerships and leading the charge into new segments of hospitality like flexible rentals. On a personal side, he is obsessed with travel, volleyball, and the dad of a 2 year old boy!
This episode is sponsored by Hostfully & Operto! Running a great property management company means you need a great property management platform and the ability to give automated access to your guests so you don’t waste your time doing things manually all the time! Upgrade your techstack and get this dynamic duo to power your business!
This episode is also sponsored by Jetstream! Jetstream is a full-service hospitality solution with a powerful team behind it! To learn more about Jetstream, just click this link!
In this episode, we explore:
04:27 - Things happening since Covid-19
09:46 - Why does this kind of host have to be kicked-off
12:41 - Flexible Rentals
15:26 - Does workforce housing stay until 2022?
17:54 - Labor shortage in the hotel industry
21:16 - Importance of the guest experience
26:31 - How NoiseAware is solving the noise issue
29:24 - What’s new with NoiseAware?
Connecting with the Guest:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgoldin1/
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/goldin1
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
#ShortTermRentals #HospitalityIndustry #Partnerships
Learning More About The Annex Hotel with Ryan Killeen
Ryan Killeen’s hospitality career officially began after participating in the hotel management program at Vancouver Community College. While in school, Ryan started cleaning bathrooms and making beds with the housekeeping team at the Fairmont Pacific Rim — considered Vancouver’s definitive luxury hotel. He was climbing the ladder at a healthy pace and was presented with an opportunity to join the opening team in Dubai at Fairmont the Palm. Without processing what this meant, Ryan said yes. Living in Dubai, working with 52 different nationalities, and leading the guest services team was the most eye-opening experience of my life. For Ryan and fellow North Americans, it was an opportunity to gain valuable work experience and open the floodgates to new opportunities back home. For others, it was an opportunity to provide for their families and give their children a future.
After returning to North America, Ryan took on progressive roles in Vancouver, Calgary, Boston that included sales, business development, leadership, and operations for Sonder, a ‘Hometel’ company bringing together the authenticity of peer-to-peer home rental plus the dependable, elevated services of a hotel. Currently, Ryan operates the Annex Hotel in Toronto as GM.
As a property manager, business owner, and entrepreneur, you already have so much to do in a 24 hour time period. Don’t let the worry of your property being damaged and focus back on growing your business with Safely! Safely is a proud sponsor and I love that I can use them for my business to ensure my properties are safe, protected and my homeowners know that I think of their asset as my asset too! Go to Safely.com and sign up today and let them know Wil sent you!
Smart locks, Smart thermostats, automation, and a solution for any hotel and vacation rental company.
Our show partners at Operto are the leading solution for operators to enhance their operations by integrating with your property management software and making sure all smart devices create a contactless guest experience while streamlining operations. Check them out on their website, send me a message or just let them know Wil sent you and you’ll be in great hands!
This episode is also sponsored by Jetstream! Jetstream is a full-service hospitality solution with a powerful team behind it! To learn more about Jetstream, just click this link!
In this episode, we explore:
02:52 - Background of the Guest
06:47 - Disadvantages of having an overcomplicated system
08:07 - Using Technology vs Old school way
09:35 - Technology role in the hospitality industry
13:00 - Shifting to Sonder and Airbnb
15:56 - What is it like to be an established company?
19:32 - What is Annex?
23:15 - Adopting Technology - from traditional to high-tech hotel
26:19 - Consolidating Tech hacks
29:29 - Prediction when shifting to high-end vacation rentals
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://theannex.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankkilleen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annexhotels/?hl=en
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Building A Brand From Top To Bottom with Alex Husner, Condo-World
Alex has led the strategic marketing and business development efforts for Condo-World since 2009. She manages a team that has grown the company from a local vacation rental business into a nationally recognized condo marketing and technology enterprise. Alex has a passion for developing strategies that drive sales overnight and brand over time, connecting all aspects of digital, social and traditional marketing to keep Condo-World at the forefront of their highly competitive market.
This episode is sponsored by Hostfully! Hostfully is an industry-leading software company that provides property managers and hoteliers with a property management platform and amazing digital custom guidebooks that will make your guests' experience with you 10X better! Use SLICKTALK20 to get $100 off of their property management platform and two months free of their premium digital guidebooks!
As a property manager, business owner, and entrepreneur, you already have so much to do in a 24 hour time period. Don’t let the worry of your property being damaged and focus back on growing your business with Safely! Safely is a proud sponsor and I love that I can use them for my business to ensure my properties are safe, protected and my homeowners know that I think of their asset as my asset too! Go to Safely.com and sign up today and let them know Wil sent you!
In this episode, we explore:
04:23 - Alex and Condo-World Background
08:36 - Key to Success
13:16 - Importance of Marketing
19:10 - Steps for Branding package
22:32 - Technology Program
29:02 - Making successful partnerships
32:40 - Software Connectivity Piece
36:55 - Finding Gaps to fill
39:19 - What’s next for Condo-World?
Connecting with the Guest:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-o-husner-%F0%9F%8C%8E-1844306/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.o.husner
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Mid Roll Ad - 20:53
The Best Ways To Grow Your STR Inventory
Brooke Pfautz is one of the industry's foremost experts in growing vacation rental inventory. He got his start in the industry 14 years ago when he founded Vantage Resort Realty in Ocean City, MD and took an idea on a napkin to more than 500 properties in just five years. After a successful exit, he went on to grow inventory for other major vacation rental brands as a Chief Business Development Officer in multiple destinations. Most recently, as an executive at a leading vacation rental software company, he saw first-hand through MasterMind groups that he launched and facilitated what worked and what didn’t for the 20 largest and most successful companies in the country. Today, Brooke leads Vintory, the 1st and only CRM & Sales and Marketing automation platform designed exclusively for Vacation Rental Managers to grow their inventory. At Vintory, a team of over 50 growth experts are laser focused on one thing: helping VRMs hit or exceed their growth goals.
This episode is sponsored by Hostfully & Operto! Running a great property management company means you need a great property management platform and the ability to give automated access to your guests so you don’t waste your time doing things manually all the time! Upgrade your tech-stack and get this dynamic duo to power your business!
This episode is also sponsored by Jetstream! Jetstream is a full-service hospitality solution with a powerful team behind it! To learn more about Jetstream, just click this link!
In this episode, we explore:
03:46 - Brookes Background
08:46 - Finding more qualified properties
09:48 - Good vs Bad Mailing Campaign
11:26 - Increasing bookings and reservations
15:23 - Top 5 Hacks for Vacation Rental Manager
19:51 - Why do we need data scientists?
26:05 - How will you know if the data is useful?
33:36 - Direct Mail
37:53 - What makes people not throw direct mails
40:38 - Custom Audiences
42:39 - What is IP targeting?
45:26 - Direct Mail Retargeting
49:01 - Determining the Value of a proper portfolio
Connecting with the Guest:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vintoryhq/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vintory
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vintoryHQ
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Mid Roll Ad - 24:34
Getting Back Into Guest Experience & Storytelling
Samantha Hardcastle, founder of The Storied Experience and Amore Social, brings a decade of marketing strategy & storytelling to hospitality properties and destinations worldwide. Her passion-driven mission is to transform the way we travel and infuse each moment with more meaning, purpose, and magic.
After a not-so-pleasant hotel stay a few years back, Samantha started her journey of exploring guest experience design with Cornell in 2018. Her creative marketing background, immense curiosity about other cultures, and empathetic understanding of today’s traveler serve her as she seeks to help hospitality hosts elevate their guest experience and stand out.
Samantha’s vision is to combine her unique perspective on storytelling with aesthetic & emotional intelligence, positive design & psychology, wellbeing, and human behavior to build out programming and spaces for properties that are enriching and personality-packed. Her online course, the Spark 5-Star Success Pathway, dives deep into her years of research and strategies. Use code to SLICKTALK get 20% off.
As a property manager, business owner, and entrepreneur, you already have so much to do in a 24 hour time period. Don’t let the worry of your property being damaged and focus back on growing your business with Safely! Safely is a proud sponsor and I love that I can use them for my business to ensure my properties are safe, protected and my homeowners know that I think of their asset as my asset too! Go to Safely.com and sign up today and let them know Wil sent you!
Our show partners at Operto are the leading solution for operators to enhance their operations by integrating with your property management software and making sure all smart devices create a contactless guest experience while streamlining operations. Check them out on their website, send me a message or just let them know Wil sent you and you’ll be in great hands!
This episode is also sponsored by Jetstream! Jetstream is a full service hospitality solution with a powerful team behind it! To learn more about Jetstream, just click this link!
In this episode, we explore:
02:10 - Background of the guest
06:13 - Creating Real Expectations with the guest
08:47 - Areas of Inspirations
11:42 - How Covid affects Marketing
15:59 - Relying on Positive Psychology and positive designs
21:14 - Guest’s Experiences
25:07 - Storytelling
30:25 - Importance of knowing your values and personality
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: http://thestoriedexperience.com/
Website: http://fivestarpathway.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthahardcastle_/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skhardcastle/
Email: hello@thestoriedexperience.com
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Mid Roll Ad - 18:32
What It Really Takes To Operate A Safe Vacation Rental with Justin Ford
Justin Ford is the Director of Safety & Certification Programs at Breezeway; where he is helping property managers and owners maintain the safety of short-term rental properties. An international short-term term rental safety expert, Justin was the first to elevate awareness of safety in short-term rentals back in 2013.
Prior to Breezeway, Justin co-founded On the Water in Maine in 2006 and grew the company into the highest-grossing vacation rental company in New England. A former member of the US Coast Guard and a firefighter, Justin travels worldwide to share his industry expertise on short-term rental safety.
Risk is something we can’t avoid and you know this! But… you can sure minimize your risk when it comes to putting things in place like NoiseAware & Safely.com! Safely have you, your guests, and your homeowner covered if anything goes wrong or gets damaged and guess what!? By having a NoiseAware device in your homes, you’ll have everything you need in order to have peace of mind!
This episode is also sponsored by our friends at Breezeway! Check out this link to learn more!
In this episode, we explore:
03:25 - Background of the guest
06:24 - Convincing the waterfront owners
09:49 - Safety Training Course
13:48 - Challenges of creating the course
16:24 - Top Claims in Insurance Company
20:31 - Successful ways to overcome incidents
24:12 - What is Safety Training Course
30:28 - Marketing Tricks
35:54 - Breezeway’s Mission
40:06 - Why Rentals are not considered safe
Connecting with the Guest:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shorttermrentalsafety
Website: https://www.breezeway.io/safety-app
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
From A Property To A Podcast with Sarah & Annette from Thanks For Visiting Podcast
Thanks for Visiting has always been about short-term rentals. Annette and Sarah met at a Columbus, Ohio City Council Meeting fighting for their right to host homes on Airbnb. The two shared a belief that the short-term rental industry needs hosts to be more hospitable. Every resource they'd come across in growing their own businesses was purely profit driven - and "heads in beds" just isn't their style.
We had to figure out a lot of stuff on our own and now we want to give you the behind-the-scenes look we tried to find when we started. Thanks for Visiting is like Hospitality Prep School for the Airbnb stager or host. You'll find resources to help you host with heart and improve your processes and systems.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at NoiseAware! NoiseAware is the only 100% privacy safe noise monitoring solution so get with NoiseAware so you don’t waste any time while you grow your professional and amazing business! Use SLICKTALK20 to get 20% off your noise devices with NoiseAware!
Hostfully is an industry leading software company that provides property managers and hoteliers with a property management platform and amazing digital custom guidebooks that will make your guests' experience with you 10X better! Use SLICKTALK20 to get $100 off of their property management platform and two months free of their premium digital guidebooks!
This episode is also sponsored by our friends at Breezeway! Check out this link to learn more!
In this episode, we explore:
03:04 - Background of the guests
12:08 - Power of Podcasting
17:55 - How to operate in a high standards
19:07 - Complete Transparency to everyone
23:54 - STR Regulations
27:48 - Finding good resources
30:50 - Balancing media side of the business and the vacation rental business
37:14 - Why we need to continue growing and build something
38:50 - Females are the biggest users in Airbnb platforms
41:03 - Enjoying the Process
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: www.thanksforvisiting.me
Instagram: @thanksforvisiting
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Mid Roll Ad - 21:22
Building a Business That Maintains a High Level of Quality
Maeva is the founder of Flying Cat Marketing, a content-led SEO agency for SaaS companies in hypergrowth. She's helped VC-backed tech companies like Operto, Avantio, tye, and others scale their organic user acquisition with seamless content operations and world-class, revenue-generating content.
This episode is sponsored by NoiseAware & Operto! Running a great property management company means you need a great property noise sensor and the ability to give automated access to your guests so you don’t waste your time doing things manually all the time! Upgrade your tech stack and get this dynamic duo to power your business!
This episode is also sponsored by our friends at Jetstream! Check out this link to learn more!
In this episode, we explore:
03:31 - Maeva’s Background
11:24 - Letting go of control
15:35 - Optimizing your time and energy
21:10 - Financial Ambitious Goals
23:36 - Are you charging more or less?
25:19 - Point of view when it comes to technology
30:38 - Why Hoteliers keep everything tight
34:50 - Providing better value to the guests
37:17 - Scaling the services
40:12 - Using LinkedIn to Grow your Brand
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://flyingcatmarketing.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maevaeverywhere?originalSubdomain=es
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flyingcatmarketing/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Mid Roll Ad - 22:14
Here We Are Series, Episode 1
Daniel Cruz and I are back to talk about entrepreneurship and the impact it's had in our lives and the lessons and values we are getting from our recent journey!
We will be bringing on other founders in the industry and we plan to make sure that we are 100% vulnerable and open during these recordings!
Slick Talk Sponsors:
It's Our Generation's Turn To Utilize What's Right In Front Of Us
Chloe Cohen is the CEO of BRIQ, a Real Estate Investor, and the Founder of Real Deals by Chloe. She is an empathy-driven entrepreneur focused on helping others self-empower by approaching life from a balanced perspective-mind, body, and soul. She is a real estate investor and prop-tech advisor at BRIQ, a tech-focused Real Estate Estate Marketing Agency, in New York City.
Join us today to learn more about how to utilize what’s right in front of us with Chloe Cohen.
This episode is sponsored by Hostfully & Operto! Running a great property management company means you need a great property management platform and the ability to give automated access to your guests so you don’t waste your time doing things manually all the time! Upgrade your tech stack and get this dynamic duo to power your business!
This episode is also sponsored by our friends at Jetstream! Check out this link to learn more!
In this episode, we explore:
02:18 - Chloe’s Background
04:55 - Best software or technology
07:55 - Different periods that we go through
09:08 - Niche Marketing
10:01 - Overabundance of staff
15:50 - Is there a universal technology?
20:18 - Flexible Living
22:13 - Variation of Personality types
26:37 - How will we know if it’s scalable?
33:12 - Knowing which route to take in investing
Connecting with the Guest:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realdealsbychloe/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloecohen/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RealDealsbyChloe
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Going Public, Travel News, and Everything In Between on Good Morning Hospitality
After Airbnb became a publicly traded company, we (and many others) predicted this would have a chain reaction with many others trying (and succeeding) to go public as well!
In today's episode, we will cover the news of Vacasa's recent announcement to go public with a 4.5 Billion dollar evaluation!
Thank you ShortTermRentalz for this article: https://shorttermrentalz.com/news/vac...
Startup of the week is: https://www.getwebee.com/
This episode is sponsored by Breezeway! To learn more about our friends there, you'll want to check out this episode and go to www.breezeway.io/gmh
BONUS EPISODE! Created By Hosts For Hosts with Daniel Cruz, CEO & Founder of washbnb
I loved having Daniel Cruz, CEO & Founder of washbnb, on the show so much, and with all of their exciting news as a company, I just had to have him on for a "late-night recording session" to hear it all!
Tune in to hear how washbnb is doing from the recent crowdfunding campaign to being accepted and in week two of Techstars!
If you haven't heard Daniel's first episode on Slick Talk, you NEED to go listen to it now because it was that good!
👇
https://www.slicktalkthepodcast.com/podcast/episode/3b77f51d/created-by-hosts-for-hosts
Listen until the end to hear a little announcement from Daniel & me as well!
This Is A Journey with Luca Zambello, CEO of Jurny
Luca Zambello is the co-founder and CEO of Jurny, a hospitality tech company pioneering the next generation of tech-first, on-demand accommodations. A born entrepreneur, Luca launched one of the first professionally operated Airbnb vacation rental companies in 2012, quickly earning the Superhost status that he still holds today. Following that success, he realized there was a need for a more streamlined, on-demand hospitality experience for both guests and operators. Partnering with David Phillips in 2017, he co-founded Jurny and has led the company to triple-digit growth with more than 570 units under management across ten markets.
The company is a leader in hospitality technology and automation allowing it to manage and operate some of the top-performing hotels and multi-family buildings in the industry. As an expert within the hospitality industry, Luca has been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Entrepreneur and other major industry publications. His mission continues to be modernizing hospitality and creating solutions that cater to the heightened expectations of today's traveler.
Smart locks, Smart thermostats, automation, and a solution for any hotel and vacation rental company.
Our show partners at Operto are the leading solution for operators to enhance their operations by integrating with your property management software and making sure all smart devices create a contactless guest experience while streamlining operations. Check them out on their website, send me a message or just let them know Wil sent you and you’ll be in great hands!
As a property manager, business owner, and entrepreneur, you already have so much to do in a 24 hour time period. Don’t let the worry of your property being damaged and focus back on growing your business with Safely! Safely is a proud sponsor and I love that I can use them for my business to ensure my properties are safe, protected and my homeowners know that I think of their asset as my asset too! Go to Safely.com and sign up today and let them know Wil sent you!
In this episode, we explore:
02:58 - Luca’s Background
04:12 - Things need to consider when managing Airbnbs
05:35 - What makes Jurny different from others
09:47 - Offering full management service
10:51 - Making Guest feel at home
17:56 - Eliminating human interaction
21:18 - Why some guest don’t need human interaction
25:47 - Roadmap for Jurny
29:37 - Key things when leading a team
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: www.jurny.com,
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urjurny,
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jurny-115358886519014,
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jurny
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Mid Roll Ad - 15:34
Making your guest feel at home 10:51 - 12:25
Operating Differently In Multi-Family Buildings
Mickey Kropf is the Co-Founder and CEO of Vector Travel, Inc, a tech-enabled, full-service, rental housing hospitality company. Prior to Vector Travel, Mickey co-founded and led growth at Rented.com, a short-term rental marketplace connecting owners with short-term rental management companies. Mickey has a background in commercial real estate development and finance.
Enjoy 15% off by using SlickTalk on the checkout page with Vector Travel. For those who are apartment owners, you get one month free, and if you mention the podcast, you’ll get a one-month management fee for free too!
Risk is something we can’t avoid and you know this! But… you can sure minimize your risk when it comes to putting things in place like NoiseAware & Safely.com! Safely have you, your guests, and your homeowner covered if anything goes wrong or gets damaged and guess what!? By having a NoiseAware device in your home, you’ll have everything you need in order to have peace of mind!
We also want to say thank you to Breezeway for sponsoring this episode! To learn more about Breezeway, go to www.breezeway.io/slick
In this episode, we explore:
02:58 - Mickeys Background
05:55 - Revenue share model vs master lease model
09:27 - Why mess with the model that’s not broken
11:47 - Iceberg Analogy
14:57 - Dealing with multi-billion dollar corporation clients
16:42 - Control Access to the Building
20:43 - Tracking the Inventory for multifamily side
23:10 - Positive Challenges that help grow the business
26:51 - The best clients are the existing clients
28:55 - Handling the business operations
31:36 - Contracts with the clients
Connecting with the Guest:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/vectortravel
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
It's No Longer Just A "Room" with Richard Valtr, Founder of Mews
The Founder of Mews, Richard Valtr, is a hotelier with a serious passion for technology and service. His mission is to transform an entire industry with cloud solutions that make hospitality more rewarding for everyone.
This episode is a deep dive into his thoughts and opinions on how the hotel industry (hospitality) built products (tech) the wrong way that does a disservice to our guests and industry, the Original Sin as Richard likes to call it, we’ve looked at it all wrong.
Risk is something we can’t avoid and you know this! But… you can sure minimize your risk when it comes to putting things in place like NoiseAware & Safely.com! Safely have you, your guests, and your homeowner covered if anything goes wrong or gets damaged and guess what!? By having a NoiseAware device in your homes, you’ll have everything you need in order to have peace of mind!
In this episode, we explore:
03:27 - Richard Valtr Background
10:20 - Giving Value Added Services to Your Guests
17:40 - Knowing the Right Guest That Will Match Your Property
20:27 - The Original Sin of Hospitality
22:43 - The Creation of Mews
31:34 - Add on Services We Can Offer to the Guests
39:59 - Revenue Per Guest
42:25 - Making Sure to Meet the Guests Satisfaction
46:41 - Challenges In the Hospitality Industry
54:41 - Mews In The Next Few Years
Connecting with the Guest:
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Bringing The Experience To Life In Hotels with Jon Weitz
Jonathan Weitz is the founder and president of Avocet Hospitality Group. In 2006, Weitz and his wife Lisa founded Avocet Hospitality Group via the acquisition of Islands West Real Estate, a small vacation rental business of Folly Beach, South Carolina. Over dinner with friends, the ultimate vision of Avocet Hospitality was born - to identify boutique properties that needed renovations and repositioning and to create unique guest experiences that are more than just hotel stays.
Fifteen years later, the Avocet Hospitality Group now includes award-winning The Vendue Arts Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, historic The Read House in Chattanooga, Tennessee, oceanfront Tides Folly Beach, South Carolina, and St. Barth Exclusives, Saint-Barthélemy, Antilles, French West Indies.
Weitz began his hospitality career leading development and as general counsel for Kiawah Island Golf Resort helping to entitle and build the Sanctuary Hotel at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. During his tenure, he also worked with ownership to acquire and completely restore the historic Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, and oversaw the planning, design, and construction of both The Ocean Course Clubhouse and The Turtle Point Clubhouse. These experiences molded Weitz’ passion and drive for creating his own company.
Weitz is an alumnus of Clemson University and the University of South Carolina School of Law. A resident of Charleston, South Carolina, Weitz has served on the Board of Governors for the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and a member of the Board of Trustees at Porter-Gaud Schools. In addition, he is active with charities and the arts and enjoys traveling. He and his wife Lisa have two children, Jessica, and Jonathan.
This episode is sponsored by Hostfully & Operto! Running a great property management company means you need a great property management platform and the ability to give automated access to your guests so you don’t waste your time doing things manually all the time! Upgrade your tech stack and get this dynamic duo to power your business!
In this episode, we explore:
02:41 - Johns Background
05:28 - Owning and Operating Hotels
12:12 - Understanding what you could and could not control
18:50 - Managing the property
23:32 - Importance of Technology
28:25 - Implementing good culture to the guests
36:07 - CornerStone of Culture
38:51 - Magic Money Program
42:59 - Key factor when looking into a new destination
Connecting with the Guest:
https://www.avocethospitality.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-jon-weitz-718242139/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/avocet-hospitality-group/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Growing A Franchise Vacation Rental Company
Michael Friedman: Director of Sales and Expansion SkyRun Vacation Rentals
Michael has over 30 years of hospitality, vacation rental, real estate, and travel and tourism experience. He has created, led, and implemented successful sales, sales training and development programs that increase revenue, market growth, and expansion. His programs have grown businesses by 40% to 1000%. He is a growth-oriented sales professional with leadership skills at both the franchise and sales level.
As a thought leader, Michael provides industry expertise in vacation rental outbound sales, network growth, sales funnels, and marketing plan development and execution. He is also the Co-Founder of Vacation Rental University (VRU), an online academy that educates, trains and supports the VR industry. VRU was founded to fill the massive void in education and training in a fragmented industry. Michael has a passion for developing others and has consulted with individuals as an executive coach and mentor.
Michael resides in Charleston, SC, where he enjoys playing golf, walking on the beach, and dining at many world class restaurants. He’s an avid college and professional football fan, and devoted father of two grown sons who reside in Madison, Wisconsin (his home state).
This episode is sponsored by Hostfully & Operto! Running a great property management company means you need a great property management platform and the ability to give automated access to your guests so you don’t waste your time doing things manually all the time! Upgrade your techstack and get this dynamic duo to power your business!
In this episode, we explore:
02:39 - Michaels Background
06:46 - Running the backend operations
10:54 - Understanding the market and its needs
13:54 - Skyrun common theme
19:34 - Learning management platform - VRU
22:47 - Capturing Guest Information
26:53 - Remarketing your past guest
29:20 - Tools used in communicating guest
32:37 - Leveraging your business
36:51 - Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management
Connecting with the Guest:
Email: michaelf@skyrun.com
Website: https://www.skyrun.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skyrun/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Being ICONIC!
Calvin is the Chief Experience Officer and Iconicity Enthusiast for ICONIC Presentations, LLC. Calvin specializes in delivering high-energy, customized keynote presentations for organizations that desire to reach or maintain ICONIC status. Calvin focuses on delivering the perfect blend of business concepts, story-telling and music themes to bring home an impactful message that touches both the heads and hearts of his audiences.
Calvin designed a practical and systematic technique called The ICONIC Framework™ to help organizations achieve and maintain iconic status in the eyes of their customers. Calvin is also host of The ICONIC Mindset podcast where he and his co-host John Avola share the secrets behind what it takes to make your business, idea or movement iconic.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at NoiseAware & Operto! NoiseAware is the only 100% privacy safe noise monitoring solution so get with NoiseAware so you don’t waste any time while you grow your professional and amazing business! Use SLICKTALK20 to get 20% off your noise devices with NoiseAware!
Our show partners at Operto are the leading solution for operators to enhance their operations by integrating with your property management software and making sure all smart devices create a contactless guest experience while streamlining operations. Check them out on their website, send me a message or just let them know Wil sent you and you’ll be in great hands!
In this episode, we explore:
03:22 - Background of the guest
05:29 - Homewood Suites Creation
09:03 - Lodging Options
13:32 - Becoming an entrepreneur and creating iconic presentations
18:51 - Importance of being authentic
25:04 - Knowledge vs Passion
28:23 - Pragmatic Optimism
34:25 - Being consistent
46:37 - What is inimitability?
Connecting with the Guest:
www.iconicpresentations.net
https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvinstovall/
https://twitter.com/ICONICSPEAKER
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Hospitality Is Freedom
With 15 years of experience in fast growing tech-startups, Marcus has successfully built up a leading PMS and Channel Manager for vacation rentals from scratch. During this journey, he has gained substantial knowledge about two-sided marketplaces, VC funding, growing companies and more importantly getting more bookings!
Join us and know how to successfully build a leading PMS and Channel Manager for vacation rentals from scratch.
Risk is something we can’t avoid and you know this! But… you can sure minimize your risk when it comes to putting things in place like NoiseAware & Safely.com! Safely have you, your guests, and your homeowner covered if anything goes wrong or gets damaged and guess what!? By having a NoiseAware device in your homes, you’ll have everything you need in order to have peace of mind!
In this episode, we explore:
03:46 - Background of the guest
06:23 - Creation of Hostaway
08:47 - Creating Game 53
11:47 - What is Game 53 look like
14:32 - Is creating a PMS beneficial?
17:54 - Big changes prior to Covid-19
24:18 - Consolidation of Tech
32:09 - Gap between hotels and vacation rentals
35:35 - Importance of guest’s experience
40:07 - Development side of Hostaway
44:17 - Travel Destinations
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: www.hostaway.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketingmarcus
Email: marcus@hostaway.com
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
The Role Technology Plays In The Short-Term Rental Industry
As the Chief Executive Officer, Emir is in charge of Rabbu’s growth and visionary efforts. Being a natural entrepreneur and follower of Real Estate, Emir turned a spare bedroom above his detached garage into the genesis for a new asset class within Real Estate and into an opportunity for investors to create more value while de-risking their portfolio through Rabbu.
Prior to founding Rabbu, Emir was a Senior Product Manager at NBC Sports which he joined as part of the acquisition of KYCK. Emir joined KYCK as a free intern, after failing to find satisfaction as a Civil Engineer, and eventually worked his way up to be the Vice President of Operations when it was acquired by NBC Sports.
Emir was originally born in Bosnia and Herzegovina (formerly Yugoslavia) and was forced to flee there when a civil war broke out. After spending 6 years in Germany, Emir moved to the United States at the age of 12. Having survived civil war and beaten cancer, Emir is conditioned to beat adversity and not to take any situation and opportunity for granted.
Join us today to know the role of technology in the short-term rental industry.
Risk is something we can’t avoid and you know this! But… you can sure minimize your risk when it comes to putting things in place like NoiseAware & Safely.com! Safely has you, your guests, and your homeowner covered if anything goes wrong or gets damaged and guess what!? By having a NoiseAware device in your homes, you’ll have everything you need in order to have peace of mind!
In this episode, we explore:
04:09 - Background of the guest
12:23 - Creation of Rabbu
13:36 - Controlling the access to the property
17:04 - Building a Technology Platform
22:14 - Why specialization is important
26:17 - Most challenging things when building a platform
31:06 - Keeping up with all the changes
35:56 - Managing Crossovers
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://rabbu.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emirdukic/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
How Hybrid Events Are Here To Stay
Andy McNeill is a travel and hospitality entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in his profession. He is the CEO and founder of American Meetings, Inc., an industry-leading meetings and events agency that produces thousands of live and virtual meetings annually for Fortune 500 clients. He is also the co-host of the Destination Everywhere Podcast, a top travel, and hospitality podcast that highlights bucket-list destinations, luxury hotels, local cuisine, and must-do activities. Andy is a significant voice in the hospitality, meeting, and travel industries.
Join us today and learn more about American Meetings services and The Destination Everywhere Podcast.
This episode is sponsored by Hostfully! Hostfully is an industry-leading software company that provides property managers and hoteliers with a property management platform and amazing digital custom guidebooks that will make your guests' experience with you 10X better! Use SLICKTALK20 to get $100 off of their property management platform and two months free of their premium digital guidebooks!
In this episode, we explore:
02:50 - Background of the guest
04:10 - How American Meetings Inc. started?
07:20 - Virtual Events
09:48 - What are Hybrid Events?
12:52 - Destination Everywhere Podcast
16:55 - Biggest Key Takeaways in the Podcast
19:51 - What are “4 Seasons” Experience
23:49 - Futuristic Hotel Concept
25:15 - Flexible Lodging
27:57 - Finding Ways to Innovate the Business Operation
Quotes from the episode
“Business is important but experience is first.”
Connecting with the Guest:
Instagram -
@atmcneill
@americanmeetingsinc
@destinationeverywherepodcast
Facebook -
@americanmeetings
@destinationeverywherepodcast
https://www.facebook.com/andy.mcneill
LinkedIn -
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-mcneill
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ami-global-meetings-solutions-inc.
Twitter -
@amermeetings
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
The Ability To Serve People
Noble Crawford III shares his best practices for actively prospecting and generating direct bookings, both B2C and B2B. He dives deep into understanding buyer personas and how critical they are to increasing bookings and growing revenue.
Join us today as he shares different strategies and knowledge to grow your business.
This episode is sponsored by Hostfully! Hostfully is an industry leading software company that provides property managers and hoteliers with a property management platform and amazing digital custom guidebooks that will make your guests experience with you 10X better! Use SLICKTALK20 to get $100 off of their property management platform and two months free of their premium digital guidebooks!
In this episode, we explore:
03:02 - Background of Noble Crawford
07:22 - Business Structure
12:09 - Dealing cancelled bookings
16:18 - Managing the system’s backend
19:22 - Relationship with insurance company
21:48 - Negotiating market rate
26:10 - Getting the unit to be booked
Connecting with the Guest:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noble.crawford.3/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noblecrawford/
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/noblecrawford?_rdc=1&_rdr
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Fighting For Your Business
In this episode, Theron Lewis shares his story of how he has liberated nearly 1 million people from Airbnb and STR bans. He went from almost losing his business in Detroit due to an STR ban to getting the ban pulled, being at the table with the City Council, and growing his business to the 7 figure level due to advocacy.
Theron will be sharing some ideas on how to stop/prevent a ban and how to grow your business massively from Advocacy.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at NoiseAware & Safely! Risk is something we can’t avoid and you know this! But… you can sure minimize your risk when it comes to putting things in place like NoiseAware & Safely.com! Safely has you, your guests, and your homeowner covered if anything goes wrong or gets damaged, and guess what!? By having a NoiseAware device in your home, you’ll have everything you need in order to have peace of mind that it all goes right!
In this episode, we explore:
04:16 - Background of Theron Lewis
09:32 - First action to take when fighting for your business
16:25 - The “Suck” Phase
20:36 - Getting people to come together
27:58 - The Middle Phase
30:02 - Importance of starting a Facebook Ads
37:10 - 3 Things to avoid losing your business
47:02 - Mission in helping people protect their short term rentals
52:16 - Where can people give back in different ways
Connecting with the Guest:
Email: theron@sharingdetriot.org
Clubhouse: @theronl
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Influencing From The Inside Out
In today’s episode, let us welcome Wendy Jae and David Tucker from Travelers Book Direct and learn the different strategies that will empower you to create direct relationships with your guests, upgrade how you operate, and master the strategies and tactics you need to tap into your full potential. Learn the foundations and fundamentals of attracting visitors as a Destination Influencer (Destinationaire!) and convert them into guests that book directly on your platform.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at Safely & NoiseAware! If you’re a professional property manager then you need to get both Safely & NoiseAware in your tool belt so you can focus on operating and growing your business. Go to Safely.com and let them know Wil sent you and use SLICKTALK20 to get 20% off your noise devices with NoiseAware!
In this episode, we explore:
04:16 - Background of David & Wendy
09:58 - Creating systems and Direct Relationships
11:45 - Destination Influencing Concept
16:32 - Beginning and Results of Destination Influencing Concept
23:00 - Personalize Marketing Strategies
24:13 - 3 Things an Influencer Needs
28:10 - Creating Partnerships and Relationships
34:28 - Creating personal Video messages for the guests
39:16 - Success stories as a destination influencer
44:47 - Creating content for YouTube
Quotes:
“I learned two important things that day. One was no matter what you’re up against, you have to create a system. If you don’t have a system, you’re lost. And the second thing was direct relationships are always the most valuable.” - David
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://www.ilukamedia.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqzPgsckRjkqcXkRDM_LVgA
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/ilukamediamarketing/?_rdc=1&_rdr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilukamedia/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/iluka-media/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://linktr.ee/Slicktalk
Locale: Tech-Enabled Hospitality
This week, we are joined by Nitesh Gandhi, founder of Locale, a company that’s dedicated to bridging the gap between home and hotels, offering thoughtfully furnished, upscale apartments for short and extended stays.
Nitesh previously worked as an asset manager of large-scale, branded hotel projects across the US. He was also a management consultant at a top-tier boutique firm with experience leading multiple engagements throughout the US and Europe. He has since launched operations for two hospitality startups.
This episode is sponsored by my friends at Hostfully! Use my code SLICKTALK20 to get $100 off their property management platform or two months free of their digital guidebooks!
In this episode, we explore:
02:37 - Background of Locale
05:14 - Transitioning from hotel to short term rentals
11:22 - Transitioning from asset manager to Airbnb host
14:24 - Creating brand consistency
18:15 - Managing hotels during Covid
23:38 - Investing in the right technology
29:18 - Key takeaways from the episode
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://locale.com/
Email: hello@locale.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ngandhi/
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://bit.ly/3uCsm6H
Created By Hosts For Hosts
In this episode, Washbnb CEO Daniel Cruz talks about the incredible story of how the company started, and what it took for them to get to where they are today. Being a host himself, Washbnb was founded after he saw the great need for laundry service in the rental industry.
Daniel Cruz and the Washbnb team are dedicated to providing the best level of hospitality to their clients. Washbnb prides itself on being a company that is created by hosts, for hosts.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at Safely & NoiseAware! If you’re a professional property manager then you need to get both Safely & NoiseAware in your tool belt so you can focus on operating and growing your business. Go to Safely.com and let them know Wil sent you and use SLICKTALK20 to get 20% off your noise devices with NoiseAware!
In this episode, we explore:
03:37 - Getting into Airbnb
10:20 - When the side hustle turns into a full-time job
17:41 - The beginning of Washbnb
20:52 - Pushing through setbacks
24:55 - The high demand for laundry services in rentals
27:46 - The company’s values
31:27 - What hospitality really means
33:36 - The white linen analogy
39:23 - Washbnb after a year
45:36 - Marketing through Clubhouse
Be a part of their journey! Invest in Washbnb:
https://wefunder.com/washbnb
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://www.washbnb.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/washbnb
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/washbnb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/washbnb/
Email: info@washbnb.com
Daniel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatdjc/
Daniel’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanielJCruz
Clubhouse: danieljcruz
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://linktr.ee/Slicktalk
Serving Those Who Serve
Anthony Gantt is the founder and CEO of At Ease Rentals, a corporation dedicated to connecting vacation rental hosts to federal and military members and military families during official travel, liberty, and leave.
In this episode, he talks about how At Ease came to be, the company’s vision, and how they’re making it happen. Joining Anthony is Mateo Bradford who has been a trusted advisor with At Ease since the beginning of it all and brings a wealth of experience and industry knowledge.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at Safely! If you’re a professional property manager then you need to get Safely in your tool belt so you can focus on operating and growing your business. Go to Safely.com and let them know Wil sent you!
In this episode, we explore:
03:50 - Background of Anthony Gantt, founder of At Ease
10:16 - At Ease company was the solution
15:41 - Returning Receipts and Vouchers
21:25 - What is At Ease
24:30 - Pricing structure for At Ease
24:57 - Getting an Inventory from PMS
33:37 - Privacy Aspect
37:27 - Tasks at hand for At Ease
Connecting with the Guest:
Twitter https://twitter.com/At_Ease_Rentals
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ATEASERentals/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/40730274
Instagram https://instagram.com/stories/at_ease_rentals/
Website https://pcsatease.com
Email info@pcsatease.com
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://linktr.ee/Slicktalk
Simplifying Revenue Management in Short-Term Rentals
On today’s episode, we are joined by Tim From Buoy, Co-Founder/Head of Product at Buoy, a dynamic pricing platform for vacation rentals. Prior to founding the company he was an independent revenue manager, and spent 2016-2018 with Oasis Collections.
This episode is sponsored by my friends at Hostfully! Use my code SLICKTALK20 and get $100 off their property management platform or two months free of their premium digital guidebooks!
In this episode, we explore:
02:37 - Background of Tim Speicher + How he started Airbnb hosting
05:39 - What is Buoy?
08:26 - How to determine your booking rate?
10:41 - Implementing better revenue strategies
14:21 - Why was Buoy created?
18:22 - How Buoy can help with dynamic pricing suggestions
19:22 - Construal Distance - bridging the gap between abstract and concrete idea
22:28 - Complete aggregated data vs Non-aggregated data
29:12 - Buoy’s company goal
Connecting with the Guest:
Website: https://buoy.us/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyspeicher/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buoy.us/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tim_speicher?lang=en
Slick Talk Website & Socials: https://linktr.ee/Slicktalk
The Power of Niche Booking Sites
This week, we are joined by Nancy McAleer, Co-Founder of FLARBO.
After several years of frustration with the major OTAs, Nancy co-founded Florida Rental By Owners, a no booking fee website "Built By Owners For Vacation Rental Owners". Giving full control back to the short-term rental host, homeowner, and property manager. Dedicated to the Book Direct movement, FLARBO is a sustainable, viable, trusted partner for the niche Florida rental market in the United States.
In this episode, we explore:
2:51 - Background of Nancy McAleer + How It All Started
7:12 - The biggest lessons learned in co-founding a business
9:31 - Transitioning from OTAs(Online Travel Agency) to Direct Booking
10:13 - The value of software integration and automation in a business
13:33 - The difference between mainstream OTA and Flarbo
19:56 - What does it take to build a listing site like Flarbo?
23:15 - How to identify and avoid booking scams
25:40 - Thriving amidst the pandemic
32:37 - How the Flarbo business model could be effective for other markets
38:36 - Best Practices for hosting rentals
Check out Flarbo’s Annual Report for 2020 to see how they withstood the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and how their data can help maximize dollar per transaction (DPT), rental ratios, and ROI for hosts.
This episode is sponsored by my friends at Hostfully! Use my code SLICKTALK20 to get $100 off their property management platform or two months free of their digital guidebooks!
Mentioned in this episode
Website: https://www.floridarentalbyowners.com/
Email: nancy@floridarentalbyowners.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-mcaleer-6672a41a/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floridarentalbyowners/
How to Boost Owner Acquisition & Retention - Breezeways Elevate Summit
In March, the Breezeway Elevate Operations Summit virtual panel welcomed leading management companies and invited them to speak about how to succeed through strong business relationships.
The panel covered best practices for delivering (and maintaining) hospitality-like owner services and how they’ll foster more trustworthy owner relationships, increase client retention and boost referrals. It featured Jon Eskin of BHHS Colorado Properties and Brittany Blackman of Breathe Easy Rentals.
Mentioned in this episode:
Special Guest: David Meltzer
David Meltzer is the Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing and formerly served as CEO of the renowned Leigh (“Lee”) Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, which was the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire.
His life’s mission is to empower OVER 1 BILLION people to be happy! This simple yet powerful mission has led him on an incredible journey to provide one thing…VALUE. In all his content, and communication that’s exactly what you’ll receive. As part of that mission, for the past 20 years, he’s been providing free weekly training to empower others to be happy.
David and I have been connected the last few weeks and it's been an honor to receive some one-on-one mentorship and be involved with another like-minded community of entrepreneurs.
Mentioned in this episode:
Davids Texting Community - (949) 298-2905
Guest Experience, Operations, Asset Management, & Preventative Maintenance with PointCentral
PointCentral provides Smart Home solutions that enable vacation rental and residential property managers to remotely control energy and access to ALL their properties from their desktop or mobile device.
Sean Miller, the President of PointCentral joins me to talk about more than just Smart Home automation but the three key value adds that solutions like PointCentral can bring to property managers in order to better serve the property owners and maintain quality control when properties aren't occupied!
Mentioned in this episode:
Travel Agent or Travel Coach? Let's Learn The Difference
Sahara Rose De Vore is a Wellness Travel Coach and Consultant and the Founder of The Travel Coach Network. Sahara spent a decade traveling to over 84 countries before founding her businesses. Her mission is to educate companies on the wellness benefits of travel. Sahara is a published author, global speaker, and has been seen in over 70 media outlets including Forbes and Business Insider for her expertise.
I first met Sahara on a series called Discover Hospitality and we stayed connected since! When I first heard about her business and how she started it, the podcaster in me had to know more!
Mentioned in this episode:
Toby Friesen: Building Experiences!
I connected with Toby late last year during the launch of the Destinationaire Awards and I fell in love with his companies Instagram because of the beautiful properties and high attention to detail!
Toby is a dreamer and an experience builder and it shows in his work! In this episode, you'll hear about the challenges but then you'll hear about the beautiful moments that he is able to make by going above and beyond and creating a destination! When you're in a beautiful beach town and your guests rarely go to the beach and spend most of their time at the property, you must be doing something right.
This episode is part of the Hostfully Highlight Series and I couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to share the awesome stories of property managers like Toby!
Mentioned in this episode:
Hostfully Website - Use my code SLICKTALK20 for $100 off and much more with their digital guidebooks!
Creating Award Winning Hotel Teams!
Rowledge Associates was founded by Adam Rowledge following a successful career in the hospitality industry, during which he established a reputation for achieving operational excellence and commercial success by taking an employee-centric approach to business.
Named Independent Hotelier of the Year by the Independent Hotel Show Awards in 2018, Adam has also been awarded British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame Young Manager of the Year in 2017 and an Acorn Award in 2012. These awards were recognition of his leadership which led to further prestigious awards for his team and individual colleagues.
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Sarah Dandashy: The Best Traits of A Great Concierge
Sarah Dandashy is recognized as one of the leading concierges in the world. People seek her out for her travel tips, advice, and knowledge of trends from the “frontlines of travel.”
Award-winning, she was named “Best Young Concierge” by Les Clefs d’Or International, making her the Miss Universe equivalent of the concierge profession.
She has worked at some of the most prestigious hotels, including The London West Hollywood, Four Seasons Washington DC, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, and The Peninsula Beverly Hills.
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Michael Driedger: Air quality is more important than we recognize!
Michael Driedger is the Co-Founder of Operto and CEO of Airsset Technologies. If you're a consistent listener of the show you would have heard his previous episode when he joined me to talk about Operto and how it's changing the game for short-term rental managers and hotels.
In this episode, we catch up with Michael about what he's been up to since stepping into a new role and helping solve issues surrounding air quality. I really enjoy my conversations with Michael so get ready for us to uncover a lot in this episode!
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Sponsored by Hostfully! Uses SLICKTALK20 to get an exclusive discount!
Jetstream: Revolutionizing What’s Possible in Short-Term Rental Marketing
Mike Liverton is a serial entrepreneur with two decades of experience and a proven track record in creating strong organizational cultures with guest-centric values enabling sustainable and scalable business growth.
Born and raised in England, He moved to Canada in 2006. He quickly became involved in the short-term rental property market and realized that the fragmented nature of the market and legacy software platforms provided a significant opportunity to revolutionize technology and services in the property management and distribution vertical.
Emmanuel Lavoie is an engineer, entrepreneur, and investor with 15 years of experience in the management of business and technical projects. As COO at Jetstream Hospitality Solutions, he focuses on maximizing business growth and driving innovation.
In 2012 Leavetown.com was launched and in 2017 their market-leading technology and full-service solution was branded Jetstream. They have grown globally with offices and teams in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and now full circle, they also have offices in the UK.
This episode was a blast to record! They've got a really cool story of having bought Jetstream back from Red Awning at the beginning of the Pandemic and are now 100% employee-owned and I am glad to be one of the firsts to capture it!
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UrHip: Hostfully Highlight Series
UrHip provides the best fully furnished, short-term rentals in Philadelphia! In this episode featuring Steve Patterson, the founder, we discuss more ways that businesses have been impacted by COVID19 and what the key strategies were for Steve and his team in order for them to still be here today!
Thank you Hostfully for connecting me to the operators that are making a difference in our industry and allowing me to share their stories!
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Hostfully is a podcast Headline Sponsor - Use my code SLICKTALK20 for access to beautiful digital guidebooks and their property management platform!
Tom Smyth: Dream Luxury Serviced Apartment & Grant Cardone Mentor Licensee
Tom Smyth - the owner of Dream Luxury Serviced Apartments, multiple construction companies, author & 10x coach, speaker & mentor with the Grant Cardone Licensee Program! This man has accomplished so much and overcome many challenges in his life.
This episode is great for entrepreneurs who want to hear from someone who has never given up and is building a legacy.
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Sheheryar Javaid: Self Development Skills As a Young Hotelier
The more and more I have connected with Sheheryar on LinkedIn & in the recording of this podcast, the more I get inspired and excited for the future of the next generation of hospitality. Sheheryar is a great example of overcoming the odds and pushing yourself to grow in the industry you love. He and I have similar experiences, outlooks, and backgrounds in our careers. I hope this episode inspires you the way Sheheryar has inspired me!
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Mount Locks: Unlocking Micro-mobility in Hospitality
Madi Rifkin is the CEO and founder of Mount Locks, a micro-fleet and technology made for hospitality providers in the hotel and short-term rental industry.
Hear her story as she started out as a young entrepreneur at the age of 12 and how it lead her to "unlocking" her passion for solving problems, building teams, and re-thinking the way businesses can create new and remarkable experiences.
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Vered Raviv Schwarz: President & COO of Guesty
Vered Raviv Schwarz is President & COO of property management platform Guesty, where she brings nearly 20 years of experience in global operations to overseeing teams including Customer Experience, Finance, Operations, Legal, HR, Customer Success, Data & Analytics, and Strategic Partnerships. Prior to Guesty, Vered was COO of Fiverr where she grew the company from 40 employees to over 400 in her six-year tenure. In her free time, she serves on the advisory boards of several startups and participates in mentorship programs focused on female entrepreneurship.
In this episode, Vered and I discuss her background and what she's learned from her previous adventure at Fiverr, and how it carries over to her new position at Guesty. We also uncover their findings from their industry report that surveyed 500+ professionals in hospitality on the state of confidence in the short-term rental ecosystem.
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Nick Halverson: Managing Vacation Rentals in Costa Rica!
When you think you've heard it all, you get amazing stories like Nick's. Constantly having to be on their toes because the market they operate in is completely different from what we normally see... the tropics have plenty of beauty but plenty of challenges to overcome.
In this episode of the Hostfully Highlight Series, you'll hear how Nick Halverson, Founder of Osa Property Management in Costa Rica, explains how he and his team have handled their business during COVID and how they improved their operations during the early days of the pandemic when we had more downtime to figure out how we were going to recover for the long term.
Thank you Hostfully for connecting me to the operators that are making a difference in our industry and allowing me to share their stories!
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Hostfully is the podcasts Headline Sponsor - Use my code SLICKTALK20 for access to beautiful digital guidebooks and their property management platform!
Osa Property Management Website
The Mind of a "Non-Traditional Revenue Manager"
Christoph Hutter is the brains and creative behind the term "non-traditional revenue manager" and you'll hear why. Tune in to hear his story and passion for hotels, revenue management, and strategy execution.
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Kyle Allison: Younger Generations Contributions to Hospitality
Kyle Allison has actually been someone I have paid attention to in hospitality & media since I actually started doing Slick Talk as a young hotel manager out on the Oregon coast!
In this episode, we dive into his extensive background in the hotel space and what he has been able to accomplish at such a young age! For our next generation of hospitality professionals, this is a message and podcast for you!
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