Latest / Thanks For Visiting / 271. Taking Calculated Risks in the STR Industry with Our Chief Operations Officer

Transcript

271. Taking Calculated Risks in the STR Industry with Our Chief Operations Officer · Thanks For Visiting

0:00
INTRO
0:00
Hello, listeners, welcome back for another great episode.
0:02
My name is Sarah Karakaian.
0:04
I'm Annette Grant.
0:05
And together we're--
0:06
Thanks for Visiting.
0:07
Let's start this episode like we do every week, and that is sharing one of you, our
0:10
amazing, dedicated listeners, who's using our hashtag on Instagram, #STRShareSunday.
0:16
On Sunday, we'll share you on our Instagram channel, and we'll share
0:20
you also here on the podcast.
0:22
Annette, who are we sharing this week?
0:24
This week we're sharing @thevermontaframe.
0:28
Again, that's @thevermontaframe, and it is hosted by Monique and Jason.
0:34
And I just want to give a little shout out because we have our live event
0:37
coming up, and I had the pleasure, Sarah also had the pleasure of
0:42
meeting Monique live and in person at a short-term rental event recently.
0:47
So if you haven't got your ticket, buy your ticket so you can meet all
0:50
the hosts from all over the country.
0:52
But let's talk about their A-frame.
0:54
One thing that I love about, just in general, their feed is there are so many
1:02
photos of people enjoying the space.
1:06
I think sometimes we have all these photos that we took during the photo shoots of
1:10
getting the listing up and running, but really being able to envision yourself
1:15
in the space is really, really important.
1:18
And I think that they've done an amazing job of not only showing
1:21
people in the property, but also the landscapes around the property.
1:26
So inside, outside, enjoying everything that the property has to offer.
1:31
Some cool things too.
1:32
They are pet friendly, so there are a lot of pets throughout the photos, which,
1:37
if you're a dog lover, you're like, yes, I definitely want to take my pup there.
1:41
One thing we want to note, they offer dog shampoo.
1:45
So pet shampoo.
1:46
If you take your pup on the hike with you, you can wash them down after.
1:49
And then a lot of exterior photos because it is an A-frame.
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I feel like there's a lot of people that that's an exciting thing for
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them to do is stay in the A-frame.
1:58
And so she's just done a great job of doing a lot of carousel pics, reels,
2:03
and then also just video of everything.
2:06
So I love it.
2:07
I want to stay.
2:08
And by the way, I love the exterior color of The Vermount.
2:11
It's so precious.
2:13
It's so cute.
2:13
Check it out.
2:14
Give them the love.
2:15
Also, the other thing I want to highlight is their highlights.
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There are so many of them, and they've got it dialed in there, so I can go and
2:23
check out all the things in their area.
2:27
Well done.
2:27
Check them out.
2:29
I'm 19 times super host and premier host.
2:32
Crushing it.
2:33
Thank you.
2:34
All right.
2:34
We're going to have a special episode today.
2:37
We've been told by many of you listening, by our coaches, by our members in our
2:42
membership that y'all are curious about behind the scenes of Thanks for Visiting.
2:47
Not just behind the scenes of our business for our property management, but also
2:52
what we do for Thanks for Visiting.
2:54
What is a day in a life like?
2:55
Well, we recently hired our first full-time employee.
3:01
Her name is Colleen Prochaska.
3:03
She worked on our property management side for the past year and a half.
3:07
We have absolutely been stunned by how much this woman can
3:13
handle, how much creativity she has, how much patience she has.
3:16
And Annette and I just kept saying it'd be so great to have Colleen on the team.
3:21
And so because of all your support of Thanks for Visiting, we are
3:24
able to do that and bring her on as our officer of operations.
3:28
And so she is really just managing the day-to-day of Thanks for Visiting and
3:31
all the content creation we're doing.
3:34
And so we're going to ask Colleen what it's like because we asked her to leave
3:37
her full-time job at a Hilton hotel.
3:41
Who did we think we were?
3:43
Let's find out.
3:44
INTERVIEW
3:44
All right, Colleen Prochaska, welcome to the show.
3:48
Thank you.
3:49
Thank you so much.
3:51
All right, Sarah, I'm going to have you do a small bio for Colleen, and then
3:55
we're going to let her take it away.
3:56
Well, from my perspective, let me tell you what happened when I met
3:59
Colleen, and it'll include her bio.
4:02
And then Colleen, if you can fill in the blanks there.
4:05
But it was summer of 2021, and I get an email with a resume attached
4:11
from this woman, and it has that she is currently a hotel general
4:17
manager, and I'm like, what is this?
4:19
I have some color in the story here.
4:22
Sarah literally is like, Annette, I think I'm getting pranked.
4:25
I think I'm getting pranked right now.
4:26
Someone is sending me a resume that is too good to be true.
4:29
I'm totally getting punked.
4:30
And I'm like, no.
4:32
First of all, I don't think people sit around with fake resumes for--
4:35
well, maybe they do, but that's my feedback for the litle part of the--
4:37
That is very true.
4:37
And truly, Colleen, I was very close to just archiving your email because
4:43
I was looking for an inspector, and I almost archived your email.
4:49
But I did read her resume, and she had a storied history in both Hilton and
4:54
Marriott brands as a general manager in the sales department as well, I believe.
5:00
And we hopped in a call, and I remember trying to take the interview seriously,
5:06
but I couldn't help but ask her like, why are you applying for this job?
5:12
Because it was so part-time and very entry level.
5:16
So with that, Colleen, why don't you share with us-- take us
5:21
beyond, previous to that point.
5:24
Share with us your storied history in hospitality, why hospitality.
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And then take us all the way up to that moment that you decided to apply to
5:30
work at our property management company.
5:34
Absolutely.
5:34
I don't have a thing that I can point to as far as working in hotels.
5:37
I've wanted to work in a hotel my entire life.
5:39
So since I was a little kid, we check into hotels, I'm exploring them.
5:42
I want to look everywhere, go behind the front desk, know every
5:45
single thing that's going on.
5:46
So started working literally at the front desk of a hotel.
5:50
I went to school for just a broad business management, started working
5:53
at the front desk of the hotel.
5:55
Started loving those opportunities to make a guest super happy.
5:58
Those connections are really what-- it was just exciting that you can make a
6:03
call that'll change someone's entire stay.
6:05
Um, I was looking at the sales team, and their schedule was
6:07
a little nicer, and they could move a little bit more mountains.
6:11
And I was like, wait, now, I want to work on the sales team.
6:13
So then I started lobbying, give me all your admin work.
6:18
I'll do whatever.
6:18
Until I earned a spot on the sales team, which was awesome.
6:22
And then from there it's like, yeah, being a sales admin's fun, but a
6:25
director of sales is super cool.
6:27
They get to go out for lunches.
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They're going to need to buy people special gifts.
6:31
This is so awesome.
6:32
So I became a director of sales.
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And it's awesome.
6:35
And there's always that spot in my heart for sales, but when you're looking at
6:39
the GM seat, you're like, wait a second.
6:40
That person is deciding everything.
6:43
They are making every decision for the hotel.
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And I liked that it started and stopped with them.
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And I could see the GMs that I had make a decision, and I could see what
6:53
that decision did for the business.
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So I was like, no, I want that job.
6:58
So I told my GM, hey, I want to be the GM of this hotel when you move on.
7:02
How is that going to happen?
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So then I started that process, and I actually became the GM of the hotel where
7:08
I was originally a front desk agent.
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So pretty cool.
7:11
Then I moved around with hotel.
7:14
So I've been a hotel GM for 10 years total.
7:16
I found you, Sarah, on Instagram, um, with one of your properties that
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was viral, and I started actually following that property, and then found
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your guys' Instagram and found you.
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Obviously, fangirled nonstop.
7:30
And I was like, I want to be these people.
7:32
This is so cool.
7:33
I had an interest in short-term rentals, and I thought that it was
7:36
almost like a way that you could marry hospitality, which I was obsessed with,
7:39
but actually be your own business.
7:41
So yeah, you had posted basically a job for that type of work.
7:45
And I was like, let me just toss it out there and see, um, if I could, number
7:49
one, manage both, but then number two, if she'd even have a conversation
7:52
with me, thinking if I could at least chat with you about something, maybe
7:55
there'd be a spot for me in your world.
7:58
And I actually interviewed with you, I don't know if you
8:00
remember, inside a guest room.
8:01
I took my laptop into a guest room.
8:03
Oh yes, I do remember that.
8:05
Yes.
8:05
And the lighting was terrible.
8:07
And I'm like, don't think I'm horrible employee, but I'm here, $800 a week.
8:11
So this is basically my home.
8:13
So yeah, that's how I ended where I ended up where I am with you.
8:17
Well, and let's take the listeners even further, because listeners,
8:19
we want you to understand why this episode would be of value to you.
8:23
And it goes beyond just putting something out there and going after it because I
8:29
think that's one of Colleen's most awesome things about her, is she just puts it
8:35
out there and then goes and gets it.
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So first of all, I actually ended up hiring someone else
8:39
for the job, to be honest with everyone, and Colleen knows this.
8:41
I offered the job to someone else who had, I thought, more bandwidth to
8:46
give me Monday through Friday, 9-5.
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I was nervous that she was running an entire hotel, and I wanted to make sure
8:52
I had someone to focus on our rentals, but I couldn't help but be curious about
8:57
why Colleen would want to work with me.
9:00
And so I remember giving you maybe a shift, Colleen, isn't that-- an
9:03
evening shift in guest services.
9:06
So that person that I hired full-time, she actually ended up moving on to another
9:10
opportunity and Colleen stepped into the 9-5 role because I saw that Colleen
9:15
could juggle a lot of responsibilities.
9:17
She was fantastic with the guests.
9:20
And then Annette and I met with Colleen because we're building
9:23
out a new product within Thanks for Visiting for beginning hosts.
9:28
And I said, Annette, we have to involve Colleen in this because she
9:31
is truly guest-facing, really using all the channels, and our property
9:36
management software, and all the things more often than I am these days.
9:39
Let's get Colleen involved.
9:40
And so Annette and I went to Cincinnati.
9:43
We like to immerse ourselves in a beautiful space.
9:46
We went to a beautiful hotel, invited Colleen for the day, and
9:48
we really got to work on creating this new product, which we will be
9:52
launching hopefully later this year.
9:55
But in that day, I could just tell there was a lot of great synergy
9:58
between Annette, Colleen, and myself.
10:00
And long story short, I hopped on a Zoom call with Colleen late at
10:04
night, like we often do, and I asked her, I was like, what would it take
10:07
for you to leave your really comfy corporate job and come work with
10:11
Annette and me at Thanks for Visiting?
10:13
And so, Colleen, when we asked you that, what was going through your mind?
10:18
So many things.
10:19
I don't know if you remember, I'm very rarely speechless.
10:21
I have something to say all the time, and I don't think I said anything for five
10:24
minutes, and I was just standing there.
10:26
I was shocked but excited.
10:30
It's funny because going back, initially when you said that I probably
10:35
didn't have the bandwidth, at that time in my life, I probably didn't.
10:39
So it ended up working out the way that it did.
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I was running an incredibly busy hotel at the time.
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I think I would've figured it out, but I have no idea how I
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would've juggled all of that.
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So then obviously our relationship grew as that position grew.
10:52
And I don't know if you remember, one of the first things that I
10:54
asked was, could I still work for the property management side?
10:58
Because I love talking to guests so much, and I love that side of it, and
11:02
I didn't want to miss out on that.
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But as far as what was going on in my mind, I was pumped out of my mind
11:09
to be a part of Thanks for Visiting.
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So I was like, it's an almighty yes, I think is what I said.
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Awesome.
11:19
Obviously, let the listeners know a little bit, Colleen.
11:22
There is so much synergy between hotels and short-term rentals.
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With all of your years in the hotel and now a few years in short-term
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rentals, give us some behind the scenes.
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What are some of the blaring differences?
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This is completely different and is night and day, and it
11:45
never crosses the line there.
11:47
What are some of the things that stick out to you being on--
11:50
Night and day differences are going to be your staff size, of course,
11:55
and also the concept of shifts.
11:58
So I was just talking to somebody about this the other day.
12:00
In the short-term rental world, you have to be so on your game and so dialed in
12:05
because it's just you, where if at 10 o'clock at night the guests arrives at a
12:10
hotel and their TV doesn't work, number one, I have a maintenance guy that's on
12:14
staff, so I can just run up and fix it.
12:15
Number two, I've got 200 other guest rooms I can choose from just to pop them into.
12:21
It's so funny because in short-term rentals, the expectation is still there
12:25
of top of tier hospitality, but you don't have that support system to make
12:33
mountains move like you do at hotels.
12:35
So you really have to make sure that you are very proactive in the short-term
12:40
rental world, where hotels, I hate to say this, they are proactive, but
12:44
we don't check 150 TVs and 150 guest rooms every single day, where at a
12:49
short-term rental, no, you probably do.
12:51
You probably check every TV at your space, every turn.
12:54
So that was a huge, huge difference.
12:57
Another difference I would say is maybe the-- at a Hilton, yes, there's
13:03
different brands of Hiltons or whatever, but the system is pretty cookie cutter,
13:06
where at a short-term rental, you may have to talk to a guest 3, 4, 5 times
13:10
throughout their experience because they want to know how something works,
13:14
or where a restaurant is, or whatever.
13:16
It really feels more like you truly are hosting somebody in
13:20
the short-term rental world.
13:22
At a hotel, it definitely feels a little bit more transactional.
13:25
So how much a guest talks to you, which is awesome, in the short-term
13:30
rental world, it's so different from hotels, um, where it's just
13:32
very black and white, I would say.
13:35
What do you feel about a guest's understanding pricing, and dynamic
13:43
pricing, and fees, the difference between hotels and short-term rentals?
13:48
That's such a good question.
13:50
I would say that guests do probably not understand the difference in the sense
13:58
that a hotel's pricing, the price that it is, somewhere in there, all of those fees
14:03
are in the same sauce in a hotel where it's just not cut out and listed the way
14:08
that it is in a short-term rental world.
14:10
There might be more questioning of fees and things like that in the
14:14
Airbnb world as well as-- in a hotel, well, they'll just pull out their
14:19
app with all these different OTAs and all these different channels.
14:22
Or they'll book a hotel tonight somewhere else for cheaper, or do
14:25
whatever they're going to do and just-- there's so many other options.
14:29
So as far as marketing yourself or pricing yourself appropriately, it's so much more
14:34
important to me in the short-term rental world because the options are different.
14:40
You know what I'm saying?
14:40
So as far as your super house status, and your ratings, and all those
14:44
things, all of that goes into account in your pricing, I would say, in the
14:48
short-term rental world, where in a hotel, it's more set and forget.
14:53
Ifthe guest doesn't like it-- and also the guest will haggle with
14:56
you at the front desk anyway, so it's like-- you know what I mean?
14:59
You have your system, and you roll with it, and you're comfortable with it.
15:02
It's not as dire.
15:03
Going back to Colleen in 2021 when you were working that one shift and we
15:08
started training you in terms of making sure-- while you had less experience.
15:14
Our listeners are no stranger to me admitting that I'm a control freak,
15:17
but what would you say to someone who's listening right now, who's also new
15:21
themselves in the short-term rental world, what surprised you as you were
15:25
learning about short-term rentals that you wish you knew before you started
15:30
training, before you got started?
15:32
What did I wish I knew before?
15:35
This is a good question too.
15:37
My approach to it is going to be so much different because I do come
15:40
from a hotel hospitality standpoint.
15:42
So I remember my first shift, Sarah, because I remember you said, oh,
15:46
watch a couple shifts, see the flow of how we respond or whatever.
15:50
And I remember the first booking request that came in,
15:53
which we have instant book on.
15:54
So booking request is here, we got to figure out can this
15:57
guest stay with us or not.
15:58
It was this intense experience of reading their reviews, and where are they coming
16:03
from, and why are they coming to town?
16:05
At a hotel, you would never ask anybody any of those.
16:07
I would never ask somebody checking in to a hotel, why are you coming to town?
16:11
Never.
16:12
So I remember getting that booking request, and I was hanging out
16:15
with somebody, and I remember saying, I'm going to accept it.
16:18
And when I finally hit accept, I was on pins and needles.
16:21
Like, was that a good accepting?
16:23
Was it not?
16:23
Of course, now I realize that's awesome.
16:26
That's life all day long.
16:27
You're getting book requests or whatever.
16:28
But the whole concept of that, in a short-term rental world, you're asking
16:33
the host and the person you're hosting, are you guys a good fit for each other?
16:37
In a hotel, it's like, just hook them, book them.
16:40
Heads and beds.
16:41
So yeah.
16:42
Yeah.
16:42
What do you think about that, Colleen?
16:43
Do you think we're too into the whole matching process in short-term rentals
16:47
because of the sensationalism of media, and parties, and short-term rentals,
16:52
and that sort of thing, or do you think in your experience now, two years down
16:55
the road, that it's a good thing and that it's a good practice to have?
17:01
I think it is the absolute correct practice to have, the matching, because
17:06
it truly-- people who are staying in an Airbnb do want a specific experience.
17:11
They are booking for a specific reason, and they are usually wanting a home that
17:17
has charm, or specific coffee setups.
17:21
The number of people that will write ahead of time to just check which coffee
17:25
makers you have and what options you have, from a hotel standpoint, it's crazy.
17:31
You offer them drip coffee and tell them to have a nice day, but
17:34
these people want to know, is this going to work for me, for my needs?
17:38
And I think that if you think about it from a hospitality standpoint, you
17:42
do want to make sure you're matched up appropriately because the last thing you
17:46
would ever want is for someone to come to your space and it not be perfect for them.
17:49
And that's okay if it's not.
17:50
You know what I mean?
17:51
We ran out and got a coffee maker, somebody who just wanted drip
17:54
coffee the other day, so we're--
17:56
That's right.
17:57
We're cool hosts too.
17:58
We offered Keurigs, and French presses, and a Chemex, and this
18:01
guest just wanted a drip, Mr.
18:03
Coffee, so we went out and got it.
18:04
I'm here for that though.
18:05
Got to keep it easy.
18:07
Easy breezy.
18:08
Easy breezy.
18:09
We've stayed a lot of places, and I yell, I'm like, this has too.
18:12
I just want to coffee pot.
18:14
Make it easy for me.
18:15
I'm like the grandma, which I love grandmas.
18:17
So if there's grandmas out there, I'm with you on this.
18:20
Yes.
18:21
Colleen, let's--
18:22
If that's their version of home.
18:23
Yes.
18:23
Their version of home.
18:24
Yeah.
18:25
There you go.Boom.
18:27
That is a quote.
18:28
I love that.
18:29
Put it on t-shirt.
18:31
Let's do it.
18:32
I want to talk about one of the places that I think that you especially shine.
18:38
There's two things that are almost like second nature to you, Colleen,
18:43
which one is just the answer is yes, for the guest, taking care of the
18:48
guest no matter what and fix the-- it's, yes, let's just figure it out.
18:55
Do you think that is specifically from hotels and hospitality, or is that
18:59
mixed in with a little bit of just you and your style of hospitality?
19:03
Because I ran into some general managers at restaurants, at hotels,
19:07
and I don't think it's second nature to them to be solution-based
19:10
and, yes, let's figure it out.
19:13
Have you always been like that since the start of your career, or is that something
19:16
learned over time of like, let's lead with yes and figure this out for the guest?
19:21
I would say that in general, in my personal passion in life, yes, I love
19:26
being able to make someone happy and being able to do something for someone.
19:29
With that said, I've had tons of very great leaders in my life, and also bad
19:34
leaders that you learn from as well.
19:36
And when you are in a driver's seat, even as a front desk agent and you feel
19:41
empowered to do something, somebody's having a unfortunate experience,
19:45
and you can order them a pizza, and you can watch that day change, for
19:50
me personally, I don't know how it wouldn't fill you up and why you
19:53
wouldn't just become solution-based.
19:55
So if they're not that way, they should try it out because it's fine on that side.
19:59
And also, as I've grown in my career, you can see the revenue
20:03
benefit of being solution-based.
20:04
You can see the review benefit.
20:06
So obviously, it helps every plate that you have.
20:10
But just being a kind person is really where the solution-based thing comes from.
20:15
You segued for me.
20:16
You didn't even know this.
20:18
That was going to be my second strong suit of yours especially, is being able to
20:21
zoom out and holistically look at revenue.
20:26
Let's talk about your expertise in that, what you've brought to stay while
20:31
hosting-- I think that you just shine in that, and I believe a lot of that is you
20:38
being responsible for the bottom line at a lot of the hotels that you've worked at.
20:43
Walk us through how you've taken your revenue management from a
20:47
hotel and now really made that your shining spot in short-term rentals.
20:51
I think that our listeners, that's one thing I really
20:54
want them to learn from you.
20:55
I mean, that is a skillset.
20:57
People in hotels, that's their full-time job, is revenue management.
21:01
And us as hosts are required to be the designer, the guest services,
21:06
the inspector, the cleaner, the maintenance, and the revenue manager.
21:10
So how can you help our listeners learn from your storied
21:15
career in revenue management?
21:16
How can you help them today with how you're using that in the business?
21:19
The gist of it is that revenue cures any mistake that's made.
21:24
So the leaner that you are from a-- and this is true in hotels, but true in any
21:30
facet of your life, the more money that you have, the better everything goes.
21:35
So when you're running a hotel and you have all these expenses and you have
21:40
this and this and this, yes, you can keep cutting and cutting and cutting, but
21:43
at some point, I'm like, wait a second.
21:45
If we increase our rate or we increase our occupancy, one of the two, or both,
21:50
if you're feeling really froggy, then everything just gets better from there.
21:54
So where I spent most of my career, yes, we had a full-time revenue manager
21:58
dedicated to our property, but the GM had the final say in what we were going to do.
22:03
Revenue management, I know no one wants to hear this, it is an educated guess.
22:06
If I had a crystal ball, that'd be [Inaudible], but that's not the case.
22:08
You have to look at trends.
22:09
You have to look at history.
22:11
You have to make a call, and you have to be willing to take some
22:14
risk in order to see what sticks.
22:18
As Sarah says, throw it on the wall and see what sticks.
22:20
We're taking a risk right now in our property management business with weekend
22:25
rates, and there's some weekends where you're so excited by Wednesday, and then
22:30
like right now, we have a property that is vacant this weekend, and I'm sweating.
22:34
So that's the way it goes.
22:36
But ultimately, I guess my advice would be that, yes, you understand that it's
22:41
not a perfect science, but you can perfect it in that you can keep good records.
22:48
You can check in often.
22:50
You can know where all of your properties are standing rate wise.
22:52
You can know what your occupancy looks like.
22:55
You need to look at your booking windows.
22:57
And all those things all feel very heavy and intimidating, but it's not.
23:01
It's just a matter of spending some time.
23:02
Just like you spend time practicing your towel fold, you spend time
23:06
learning your booking window.
23:08
It's all the same.
23:09
It's just a different flow.
23:10
And I think so many people are like, oh, but I'm just not wired that way.
23:13
Well, nobody is.
23:14
It is just practice.
23:15
That's it.
23:16
And then you just-- I will say, I do have a knack for forecasting.
23:21
I don't know why that is.
23:22
That's probably just--
23:23
Well, you have a lot of reps in.
23:24
You have a lot of reps in.
23:25
Yeah, that's a good point.
23:28
Yeah.
23:28
Let's share, though, data over drama.
23:31
What was it?
23:33
Two or three weeks ago, you were sweating out a property that you felt,
23:38
when we're using the key terms, you really felt like revenue was down.
23:42
Correct?
23:42
Yes.
23:43
I was positive revenue was off.
23:45
So Colleen was absolutely positive revenue was down, feeling it
23:49
in her gut, like, this sucks.
23:52
This is terrible.
23:53
Why is revenue down?
23:55
But let's talk to our listeners about what happened when we researched
23:58
the actual numbers and how they can use that to help them too.
24:02
Talk through that exact property.
24:04
Yeah, so that exact property, and this is not one that-- which I
24:08
give all the properties the utmost respect, but this one isn't owned
24:11
by the property management company.
24:12
So there always feels that extra layer of responsibility because you're
24:16
reporting to an owner in this case.
24:18
So I was already on pins and needles.
24:20
And April was such a great month.
24:23
Occupancy, in my opinion, for April for our market was through the roof.
24:26
It was 74% occupancy.
24:28
I remember it.
24:28
And it felt like every single day we had a booking.
24:31
Then May hits, and I had started a new strategy with pricing because I
24:35
thought 74% occupancy is great, but we probably-- this is a bigger house.
24:42
It's a expensive turn.
24:44
I just thought we could probably get more money and sell it as a bigger house and
24:48
do less turns, and I just was-- whatever.
24:50
So I tried to push this rate, and I felt like occupancy
24:54
was flushed down the toilet.
24:56
I was like, what is going on here?
24:58
It's hard when you make a call like that on a bigger house.
25:03
There wasn't a lot of triage I could do at that point.
25:05
Well, numbers run, and I was right.
25:08
The occupancy was down.
25:09
We were at 50% occupancy compared to 74 the month before.
25:12
So significantly less people, but we had actually made almost four grand more than
25:19
the previous month because of the rate.
25:22
So it was crazy.
25:24
That is crazy.
25:26
That is where the numbers-- I know that we're so conditioned
25:31
when we see things online.
25:33
I'm at 90% occupancy, 98% occupancy.
25:36
And it's like, wait a second.
25:37
Is that that cool?
25:39
You have an actual month that was at 50% and you were up $4,000?
25:46
I would rather take that $4,000 than the 24% more occupancy.
25:51
So volume is vanity.
25:54
Profit is sanity.
25:55
So knowing your numbers and staying in your lane when it comes to
26:00
your spreadsheet, your numbers is really, really important.
26:03
You don't know what anybody else's expenses are.
26:05
You don't know what their overall revenue is, and so it is hard to
26:09
put blinders on, but you have to.
26:11
Because if Colleen was just sitting here in a normal conversation saying,
26:14
oh my gosh, our occupancy's only at 50%, it's down 24%, we would immediately
26:19
think revenue was down significantly, and it was the exact opposite.
26:23
So I just want to applaud that of like, okay, yes, you
26:26
were sweating it for a second.
26:28
You mentioned something there too.
26:29
You pushed the rate.
26:31
When you pushed the rate, and you increased the rate, that experiment
26:35
that you ran, was it a percentage?
26:38
I know you said sometimes you've just to work on it and take some risks.
26:43
What was your calculated risk there?
26:46
So I had made a decision that I was going to increase rates at every property
26:51
in our area by 20% on the weekend.
26:54
And the reason for that is because we are sold out every single weekend.
26:58
And old GM hotel, somebody's both seen, oh, my property
27:04
ran 94% occupancy last month.
27:07
Age old thing.
27:08
Okay, well, you need to increase your rate.
27:10
Nobody should be running 94% occupancy.
27:12
That's crazy.
27:13
Well, I was thinking to myself, when I'm doing these dance parties, because we're
27:16
sold out on the weekend, like, hello, we need to be pushing the rate higher.
27:19
So I increased the rate by 20%.
27:22
Well, we were still full.
27:23
So I was like, wait a second.
27:26
Let me try.
27:27
So I bumped it to 25% for May, which, again, it's risky, but it was calculated.
27:34
We knew of some events that were going on in the city.
27:36
It wasn't just waving a wand.
27:39
You still have to be logical about it.
27:41
So we increased by 25% of the 20% increase.
27:46
So just an additional bump.
27:48
And yeah, it worked.
27:50
And I actually compared it with some other software, and we killed
27:54
it for May, so it was just awesome.
27:56
Yeah, our Q2 was fantastic.
27:58
Wait, I think you just told me you were nervous about this weekend.
28:03
Was this the first one weekend night?
28:05
Colleen, she always sends me just offhanded comments.
28:08
She's like, also don't fire me because we're not booked.
28:11
Doomsday.
28:11
No, I know.
28:13
Don't fire me.
28:14
No.
28:14
I actually think most hosts out there, if we could get everyone raising
28:18
their hands right now, if you have open weekends, you are freaking out.
28:22
Like, wait a second, what's wrong with me?
28:24
Why am I not booked?
28:25
So the last thing I want to talk about pricing and occupancy with you, Colleen,
28:29
because I do think it's also one of your sweet spots, is what do you do
28:33
when you know you've pushed the rates?
28:35
I know there's some discounting, there's some specials, there's
28:37
some stuff that you do also to make the listing more approachable.
28:42
So what are some of those tactics that you use also?
28:46
So you can always run a promotion on Airbnb, which will highlight your listing.
28:51
It'll slash the pricing.
28:52
And one thing that I think people get tripped up on with that is that it's
28:57
like just taking the rate down, but it takes a percentage of your ADR, so you're
29:02
not-- I don't want to spoil anything, but it's not a true-- when people see
29:07
that, it's not a true 25% off your rate.
29:10
That's not real.
29:11
It's off of your average rate.
29:12
So I think people are sometimes afraid to use that feature because they don't
29:17
fully understand what's going on.
29:18
The other thing is-- I do this sometimes where I'm like, don't fire me.
29:24
I do this sometimes, is adjust our minimum requirements because
29:29
sometimes the minimum, say, won't necessarily make sense.
29:32
This week in particular, if you're in a beach town, you're
29:35
probably killing it this week with the 4th of July being midweek.
29:37
But for our market, and I've made note of this because 4th of July
29:42
is on a Tuesday, which means it's going to be on a Wednesday next year.
29:44
This is going to be the same thing next year.
29:45
We need to probably plan better.
29:47
You might want to shift some of your items where that might link up better
29:51
with what people's time off will be.
29:53
So this is going to be a soft weekend for us because nobody's
29:57
doing anything this weekend.
29:58
They probably took Monday, Wednesday.
30:00
So nobody's doing anything this weekend.
30:02
ButI also give Colleen credit too.
30:04
Our guests aren't doing anything, but then Colleen immediately switches
30:07
her operational brain, and she's already giving our cleaning team the
30:11
go ahead to go a little deeper, spend a little more time with our turns.
30:18
Same with our inspectors.
30:19
How can we love up on our guests?
30:22
The way your brain works, Colleen, it's not even just 10 steps ahead.
30:27
It's just like 10 steps to the left and right, and that is awesome, especially
30:33
where I need someone who can help me think in every single direction.
30:39
You do that.
30:40
Is that learned, or is that just a skillset you've had your whole life?
30:45
Another good question.
30:46
I probably had some skillset like that, but you worked in a hotel, Sarah, so
30:51
you know you got time to lean, you got time to clean, all that stuff
30:55
of people are always in your face.
30:58
At a hotel, you're open 365 days a year.
31:01
Same as you.
31:02
So we have to get it in where we can.
31:04
So if we have a slow period, then yeah, let's polish some glasses.
31:08
As I told the ladies today, let's high dust, because we're not
31:13
churning and burning right now.
31:14
So let's make sure that when this space is rented, that it's perfect
31:18
for the guests because we have the opportunity to take a breath.
31:20
Wait, you just taught me something.
31:22
I mean, I can understand what high dust is, but is that
31:25
a hotel term, to high dust?
31:28
Yeah.
31:29
Yes.
31:29
Get up high.
31:31
Listen, anytime you're at a hotel, I mean, don't but get
31:34
up on the bed and go likethis.
31:35
I'm not getting on chairs looking for high dust.
31:38
Yes.
31:38
Well, somebody is.
31:40
They'll bring it to you in their hands.
31:42
So yes, it's best just to get up there, high dust, edge your corners, baseboards.
31:49
Yes.
31:49
Baseboards are my love language.
31:50
Get in there.
31:51
Yeah.
31:51
AD BREAK
31:52
We've been told, Colleen, by a lot of our HBMM members, so that is our Thanks for
31:58
Visiting mastermind membership, and by listeners, what have you, Annette and I
32:03
are truly perplexed every time of like, people want to know more behind the scenes
32:08
of Thanks for Visiting, not as it relates to our rentals or to our short-term rental
32:13
strategy education, but truly behind the scenes with our personal lives, or
32:18
behind the scenes of Thanks for Visiting.
32:20
So you've now been with us for several months, plus you had a behind
32:25
the scenes view when you were just the product management company.
32:29
What was most shocking to you when you got a behind-the-scenes peak into
32:34
Thanks for Visiting, the education and the edutainment that Annette and I do?
32:39
What was most shocking for you?
32:41
Most shocking, I don't know if you guys remember my first, I came up
32:45
for a soft day, and it was you guys filming a podcast, sitting in a room
32:51
watching you guys truly just sit here and have a conversation about-- you
32:55
are certainly educating the masses but also doing this in real life.
32:59
So take the Hosting Hotline for example, someone calls in, they ask a question,
33:03
and then you two really volley it back and forth on what really is the best thing to
33:10
offer this guest, or the best solution.
33:11
And just watching it happen in real time is so cool.
33:16
I know you guys probably don't get it, but from a fan girl
33:18
standpoint, you're like, so this is how the magic happens right here?
33:21
You guys just bounce back and forth on what's the best sheet?
33:23
That's socool.
33:24
It's very magical.
33:26
It's magical.
33:30
Yeah.
33:30
And then also getting more inside your actual membership and the
33:36
resources in there, as far-- I tell it to people all the time.
33:39
If you could imagine going into a group that has truly this many like-minded,
33:46
intelligent people that are driven, I mean, you don't get those types of
33:50
opportunities to be in a room with people like that very often that are walking
33:55
your same walk, talking your same talk.
33:58
That's pretty unique, and I think it's special.
34:01
So you can go in there, and I am in that Facebook group, and I
34:04
learn something every single day.
34:06
And I think that as far as what is most surprising and impressive that
34:11
you guys have been able to find, create this community of actual, intelligent,
34:16
excited hosts, it's just cool.
34:18
I'm just thrilled to be a part of it.
34:20
Yeah.
34:20
And I want to say something too about that, listeners.
34:23
Whether it's inside our community, or coming to our live event, if
34:27
you have not connected with other hosts, please find somebody.
34:33
I know Airbnb has a ton of local community groups that you can become a part of.
34:39
You might have a meetup in your town.
34:40
Rent Responsibly has meetups.
34:43
Obviously, the revenue is amazing, hosting the guests, but that has been one of
34:46
the greatest gifts, is to connect with all of the hosts across the country that
34:50
are, like Colleen just said, amazing.
34:54
Their properties are amazing.
34:55
The product that they supply the guests is amazing.
34:58
And more importantly, they are amazing, amazing humans.
35:02
Sarah and I, every day, we consider ourselves so lucky that we get to
35:07
connect with them inside of our group and lead them, and then they lead us also.
35:10
But yeah, I think what you just said too, Colleen, is that there is
35:15
something to learn every single day.
35:18
Like, what in the world?
35:19
If you think you have it all figured out, you do not, because--
35:22
that's the one thing I love about the members in our membership.
35:25
They will be very, very honest with us that like, yeah, I thought I already
35:29
knew everything, but then I joined, and I realized I didn't know anything.
35:32
And so I also want to offer that, that things change every day, and
35:36
there's so much more to learn because so many hosts have so many like
35:38
amazing things that they are doing.
35:40
A lot of creativity in there.
35:42
Colleen, what are you most excited about when it comes to Thanks for
35:46
Visiting, knowing what our initiatives are and what we want to do with
35:49
the brand and the communities?
35:50
What are you most looking forward to in the next six months to a
35:53
year with Thanks for Visiting?
35:56
Well, certainly, I cannot wait for the live event in September, Columbus.
36:01
So I'm excited for that.
36:02
I'm excited to meet a bunch of people in person that we're chatting
36:05
with and emailing with every day.
36:07
And then as far as big picture for Thanks for Visiting, I think I'm most excited
36:11
for all of the different hosts that Thanks for Visiting is going to be able to serve
36:14
with the products that they're providing.
36:17
In Thanks for Visiting, there is something for everybody, no matter which stage
36:23
of their journey they're in, to be able to continue to serve, and ultimately,
36:30
this company is still very much so in it on the property management side.
36:35
So they will continue to be able to keep serving.
36:37
It's education that will just grow and grow and grow and flourish.
36:40
It's exciting to be a part of something that is serving so many and can pivot to
36:46
serve more as they need to which is cool.
36:51
Love it.
36:52
How are you feeling now that you're two, three months outside
36:55
of being a GM, which is your entire career, was working in a hotel?
36:59
You mentioned $800 a week.
37:01
Annette and I, we work really hard, and when we do-- listeners,
37:05
we do ping Colleen at night and on the weekends if we need to.
37:09
We do try to respect her time, but share with us, and be
37:12
completely honest, Colleen.
37:14
We promise we won't do anything after the record button is pressed, but be
37:19
honest about that change in your career.
37:21
When you said your whole life, you wanted to be a general manager,
37:23
and now you're essentially with an online company that's a startup.
37:26
Verysmall.
37:26
And you're working from home.
37:28
No front desk.
37:28
No front desk.
37:30
And you're still juggling the short-term rental side, the management side, and the
37:37
content creation side, and our membership.
37:40
You really take care of our members inside of our membership.
37:42
What is that like?
37:43
It's an adjustment.
37:46
I will say that I have had seasons of being a GM where you're so--
37:51
it's all the same cliche stuff.
37:53
It's the beginning of the year, you're going to crush every goal, your IFO is
37:57
going to be through the roof, you're going to have the best service and all--
38:00
I don't even-- what's IFO?
38:03
Income from operations.
38:05
Your bottom line.
38:06
I'm like UFO?
38:06
Stuff you put in the bank.
38:07
I don't knowwhat IFO is.
38:09
The majority of my career was with the same company.
38:11
And they are very IFO-driven, and they are very service-driven, and scores.
38:17
They developed me into what I am.
38:19
But anyways, at a hotel, as much as it sucked sometimes,
38:24
you weren't really in control of your day, it was always exciting.
38:27
And there was a ton of human contact.
38:30
So you talk to people all day long.
38:33
As a matter of fact, you'd get in your car, and you would drive home in silence.
38:35
You wouldn't even turn the radio on because you're so done talking to people.
38:38
So I was worried that, would I get lonely?
38:42
Would I get bored?
38:43
Would I get whatever?
38:44
But what I'm finding is that I'm actually incredibly passionate about this work,
38:49
which is-- I guess I'd have to answer this question like in nine months because I'm
38:52
still in out of body right now of how my--
38:55
I love what I'm doing right now.
38:57
I also do something new every single day.
39:01
Obviously, you guys are just two people.
39:03
I know sometimes you guys make up names, and we're at a water cooler or
39:06
whatever, but in general, the team that I get to work with every day is awesome.
39:10
And on top of that, it's such a different community as far as-- in the group or
39:17
other people that I'm, communicating with, it's just such a different type
39:20
of person that I'm talking to every day.
39:22
So I would say that side of the tank is still full.
39:26
But yeah, no, there's times where an ex-employee or somebody I used
39:29
to work with will text me some drama, and I'm like, give it.
39:32
Give me every drop.
39:33
Don't leave anything out.
39:35
Whatever.
39:36
Um, but yeah, I'm very fulfilled where I am right now, though.
39:39
No, actually, I think that's good point To talk to hosts about, because
39:43
I know a lot of hosts, their goal is to become a full-time host and grow
39:47
their portfolio and potentially quit.
39:50
If they do have a full-time job, quit that full-time job.
39:52
That was a huge transition for me when I went from going to an office every
39:56
day to just my short-term rentals.
39:58
I think that's probably why I linked arms with Sarah and have not let her go.
40:03
So hosts, again, it is going to be a transition for you because going
40:08
to the office, maybe having that corporate salary, having those certain
40:12
things that you've been doing for so long, it is going to rock your boat.
40:16
And again, I think that's why, again, Sarah and I have linked arms and
40:20
then created even more of a bigger community because we're like, oh
40:23
my gosh, there's other hosts that are out there that are lonely.
40:26
And I do just want to bring that up of like, if you're doing real estate
40:29
investing, it's a different lifestyle.
40:31
Hosting is a different lifestyle, and we would not be good podcast hosts or
40:35
good leaders if we weren't honest with listeners that this dream that you
40:39
might have to only be a real estate investor, to only be a host, it is going
40:43
to come with its own set of challenges.
40:45
It's going to come with you being the CEO and having to maybe do all the jobs or
40:51
choose your team that will do the jobs.
40:53
But there is definitely a transition in all of it, because also hosting
40:58
is a choose your own adventure.
41:00
So that can be fun, but it is a rollercoaster of like,
41:03
do I know what I'm doing?
41:04
Do I not know what I'm doing?
41:05
What is the income going to be?
41:06
What is the seasonality?
41:07
So there is definitely some risk involved and some major life changes, whether
41:12
you're coming to work with us, Colleen, or a host out there is choosing to
41:16
go all in on their hosting business.
41:18
We just need to let you know that it's going to be a big
41:22
change, but we are here for you.
41:23
Obviously, you can listen to us all the time.
41:25
You can watch our YouTube.
41:26
You can join us in our membership.
41:27
But that is why Sarah and I do what we do also, because we want to be
41:31
there for you on your hosting journey.
41:33
And I want to ask you, Colleen-- I mean, I myself am a go-getter.
41:37
If I say I'm going to do something, I pretty much dig my heels in, and I do it.
41:41
Even if I end up hating it halfway through, I'm like, no.
41:43
Said I'm going to do it.
41:43
Got to finish this.
41:45
So any host out there right now, or someone who wants to host but maybe
41:49
isn't quite ready to buy a property and they still want to be in this
41:52
industry, what advice do you have for them on how to reach out to a company
41:56
or to a human who they're admiring or who they want to do what they're doing?
42:01
What advice do you have for them to just take that first step, send out
42:04
that resume, pitch them your pitch?
42:07
What do you have to say to that host out there or someone who's
42:10
interested in the industry?
42:12
I would just remind that person that what you're selling is
42:15
yourself and what you have to offer.
42:17
The most anybody can ever tell you is no.
42:20
Some people might say it nice than other, but ultimately,
42:24
you have to shoot your shot.
42:25
Nobody is going to knock on your door at your house and say, hey,
42:30
you want to be a whatever, for me?
42:32
The only other thing I would recommend is, and I'm sure if any of my family
42:36
members listen to this, they'll roll their eyes because they agree,
42:39
but never stop talking about it.
42:40
I never stop talking about-- in that case, I told everybody my
42:46
master plan to be Sarah Karakaian's right hand, whatever she needs.
42:53
From the day I sent that email, that was my plan, and I was
42:57
never going to let it go.
42:58
Then when I decided, oh, I want to buy a property, every person I know
43:04
knows that I want to get a property.
43:05
I never stop talking about it.
43:07
So I would advise people the same thing.
43:09
Yeah.
43:09
Let's tell people too, your grand plan, your whole reaching out to Sarah
43:15
to help with inspecting, to helping Thanks for Visiting, let's tell
43:19
everybody your overarching goal here is to buy short-term rental properties.
43:25
I mean, you're a homeowner now for you and your boys, but
43:28
that is the grand plan for you.
43:30
That is why you are educating yourself.
43:32
And that's also what I think is super admirable, is you're not just like, hey,
43:36
I need to go all the way in, and find this property, and buy it, and do the thing.
43:38
You're like, wait, what's the next step that I can take in that dream?
43:43
So I think if you could share that a little bit too with the listeners,
43:45
what is your dream there on the short-term rental ownership side?
43:50
Dream, dream, dream is run property in our favorite vacation destination.
43:55
So that would be like, you've made it.
43:57
And then, yes, similar to the revenue management, uh,
44:01
there's risk in everything, but I'm about calculated risks.
44:03
So when Sarah said, hey, I don't know if you'd want to do guest
44:07
messaging once a week, I thought to myself, no, this will teach me what
44:10
to expect if I was ever doing this.
44:12
And then, hey, what about revenue management?
44:15
What do you think about our pricing or whatever?
44:17
Okay.
44:17
Well, I would love to know how that works in the short-term rental.
44:20
So I was thrilled that I got to basically get real time training so that when I'm
44:26
ready to rock, I'm truly ready to rock.
44:28
And it doesn't feel like a risk when you finally do it because
44:31
you have all your ducks in a row and you know what to expect.
44:34
Not saying that you couldn't buy a property and figure it out, but why do
44:38
that when you have the ability to have community to help you along the way?
44:41
I love that because so many people can preach just like, buy the property, and
44:45
some people put themselves in a situation that maybe they're not ready for, which
44:48
I'm all here for pushing yourself, and I'm here for getting out of your
44:51
comfort zone, but I love that you took the path that was best for you, Colleen.
44:55
I saw this quote, and that's sick of me saying it, but it really stuck out
44:59
to me, of, if someone invites you on a rocket ship, or offers you a seat
45:03
on a rocket ship, don't really care about what seat you're sitting in.
45:07
Just get on the rocket ship.
45:09
Now, I don't have a crystal ball, and neither does Annette.
45:12
We have some plans about where Thanks for Visiting's going, and where our property
45:15
management company's going, and all that good stuff, but Colleen, what I love
45:18
about you is your list-- we had that talk too about when we asked you what
45:21
it would take to leave your hotel job.
45:22
Obviously, Marriott and Hilton have a much more predictable
45:27
future, potentially, than Annette and I do, and Thanks for Visiting.
45:31
And so you really just said, get me on this rocket ship.
45:34
Let me help you fuel it.
45:35
Let me help you drive it at certain times.
45:38
And that can be so scary.
45:40
But my goodness, the rewards are ridiculous, especially
45:44
where we want to take this.
45:46
And so I just admire you for that.
45:49
You've got two young children, and Annette and I don't take knowing that lightly
45:53
when we invited you onto our rocket ship.
45:56
So any listener out there who is considering a calculated risk, as Colleen
46:01
said, to really consider it because, Colleen, what is the alternative?
46:04
Let's say this doesn't work out.
46:05
Let's say in six months, this isn't your jam, and you miss
46:09
the front desk, and you miss--
46:10
I mean, I think probably go on Indeed right now and get 55 jobs.
46:14
Right.
46:15
Well, that's what you guys said to me.
46:18
You said that to me, Sarah.
46:19
You said, hey, if you don't like it, or it doesn't work,
46:22
just go get a job at a hotel.
46:23
And the way that you said it, I was like, I will not go get a job at a hotel.
46:27
Yeah.
46:28
We just said some really-- I laugh, like, Indeed, ha ha ha, like it's
46:32
not-- yeah, we don't take it lightly, but that's the alternative too.
46:35
I think sometimes we get so-- I do this.
46:37
I don't want to turn the chapter, and sometimes a chapter needs to
46:42
end, and you need to start a new one.
46:43
It's like a book doesn't have the same freaking chapter the whole way through.
46:47
Sometimes you got to start a new one, end one, start a new one, end one.
46:50
It's like if you don't ever start a new chapter, you never know
46:53
what's going to be written in that.
46:55
So this one's going to be a really long chapter, Colleen, so be ready.
46:59
It's going to be a good chapter.
47:00
Yeah.
47:00
Both of you.
47:01
I'm like, no, we're not ending chapters anytime soon.
47:04
We can have volumes or whatever you call it.
47:06
Trilogies.
47:07
Trilogies.
47:08
I don't read--
47:08
Harry Potter.
47:10
I don't know.
47:10
Whatever.
47:11
Fun books.
47:12
All right.
47:12
Well, listeners, be prepared.
47:16
You're going to see Colleen.
47:18
You're going to hear from her on the show.
47:19
You're going to see her in the content that we produce.
47:23
If you have questions for her, reach out to us.
47:26
We're happy to answer those.
47:27
But really we just wanted to give you some visibility of our growing team.
47:31
And the reason we're growing our team too is we want to serve you the
47:34
best that we can, and we need help.
47:37
So, um, Colleen is here to help us in our mission to uplevel
47:41
what it means to be a host.
47:41
Well, I also just want to kick it back to you.
47:43
The reason Colleen is here, and the reason we, Annette and I, and Colleen now, can
47:48
dream is because you tune in every week, because you leave us five-star reviews.
47:52
Yeah.
47:52
Leave us a review.
47:53
Please.
47:53
Begging.
47:53
Because you engage with us on YouTube, and Instagram, and therefore, we can
47:57
attract really awesome guests, and awesome sponsors, and you come to our conference.
48:01
So it's that same economy that we have in the short-term rental world where
48:04
we all have to be great hosts so guests can really trust staying with us.
48:09
Same with Thanks for Visiting and the content.
48:11
Just thank you for tuning in with us.
48:13
It is not lost on us.
48:15
It is all tracked too.
48:16
So we can say, see, people like this content.
48:18
So if you want to be a part of our content creation, um, you can always
48:22
reach out to us at thanksforvisiting.me.
48:24
You can DM us.
48:25
We have workshops.
48:26
We've got our live conference coming up.
48:28
Be a part of Thanks for Visiting.
48:29
It is so much more than Annette and myself.
48:31
It is now Colleen, and her boys, and our coaches, and our members.
48:34
It is this growing, awesome, breathing thing that is all rooted
48:39
in leveling up what it means to be a host, and we thank you so much
48:43
for allowing us to do our thing.
48:46
With that, I'm Sarah Karakaian.
48:48
I'm Annette Grant.
48:49
And together we're--
48:50
Thanks for Visiting.
48:51
We'll talk to you next time.