Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / The STR Event Problem Nobody's Talking About

Transcript

The STR Event Problem Nobody's Talking About · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

0:00
There are threats, absolutely. There is legislation changes
0:03
happening regularly in every roadshow stop.
0:06
We do an advocacy session where we talk about here's the
0:09
challenges, here's what you're facing and here's how to get
0:12
involved. Just show up really is the
0:15
number one thing everybody says. $1000 tickets, VIP lanyards,
0:21
closed rooms and education that feels completely out of reach
0:25
for the people actually doing the work.
0:28
Today's guest believes short term rental education should be
0:31
accessible, regional and rooted in real world experience, not
0:35
locked behind eye watering price tags.
0:38
She's building something different.
0:40
Heidi Henrickson is the Executive Director of Our
0:43
Nation, a community LED events platform bringing hosts and
0:47
property managers together across the USA.
0:50
And just like House Planet, she believes the future of this
0:53
industry depends on collaboration, connection and
0:56
lowering the barriers to learning.
0:58
This is the House Planet podcast powered by House Fully.
1:07
Heidi, thank you for joining us on the Host Planet podcast.
1:10
There are events in our industry charging over $1000 a ticket,
1:16
and that's before flights, hotels, or time away from the
1:20
business are accounted for. Why do you think that model is a
1:23
bit out of touch with the reality that most hosts and
1:27
property managers are living? I think a lot of it's just the
1:31
way things have been done for quite some time.
1:33
Inflation's crept up, obviously hit our industry, and in a lot
1:38
of ways we're still the Wild West.
1:39
But we're also trying to grow up rapidly, kind of like a teenager
1:43
almost. And I feel like a lot of other
1:47
organizations are looking at different industries saying,
1:49
well, they can charge thousands of dollars for a ticket, but I'm
1:53
not sure if we're quite there yet because there's so many
1:55
people that don't yet come to our industry events, especially
1:58
our big annual conference. And so this by charging slightly
2:03
lower fees, I think you're, you're going to get and attract
2:05
the people that really need access to that and can can
2:08
afford to do so and be there. Now VR Nation, very much like
2:13
Host Planet, has taken a very different approach here, so
2:17
smaller, more regional events closer to where people are
2:22
actually operating. So why did you take the decision
2:26
to do this and why do you think this is so important in the STR
2:29
space? It kind of came out of it
2:32
evolved out of a necessity similar to who we are nation is
2:36
in fact. And I was actually with a
2:38
different Astro. The association for short term
2:42
rental homeowners is a different organization, nonprofit that I'd
2:45
Co founded back in 2020. And we were doing virtual Rd.
2:48
shows. So we were finding people needed
2:52
that connection. And so we tested the waters last
2:54
year. We found by putting on four of
2:56
these events in different parts of the country.
2:59
What do people think? Are they going to show up?
3:01
Are they craving this type of networking and connection in
3:04
person? And they were a huge success and
3:07
it really motivated us to look at the map and say where do we
3:10
need to go? Where has no one in this
3:12
industry gone in quite some time?
3:14
The big conferences tend to go to large cities.
3:16
So we chose very niche, more vacation rental, tourist
3:21
friendly but not giant cities to do these events in and really
3:26
try to reach the people so. We've just had our first
3:31
roadshow event in Cornwall, and it was a roundtable former, and
3:36
I think what people really loved was getting that interaction
3:41
with fellow industry professionals, sharing stories,
3:45
sharing lessons learned. And we tried very much to make
3:48
sure that it was collaborative rather than a salesy event where
3:52
you're kind of getting sold to and pitched to all the time.
3:57
Is that something that you're doing at VR Nation?
4:00
And just tell us like the value of having something which is
4:03
much more collaborative and educational.
4:06
I mean, let's be honest, nobody really likes the sales pitch.
4:10
So it is a delegate balance to try and figure out how to bring
4:15
the vendors of this industry and share these great tools and
4:19
resources and services that are out there with people that
4:21
haven't been able to find them yet, but not make it seem like a
4:24
sales pitch. So I think in many cases when
4:28
you have this just dynamic conversation and you provide
4:31
multiple different outlets for it, whether it's over a free
4:34
lunch or it's over a networking hour or it's an educational
4:38
session, it's it's really tricky to do.
4:41
And there was one thing we just did our first roadshow tour also
4:44
kind of somewhat at the same time, James, we had one of our
4:47
vendor sponsors stand up and instead of doing a 10 minute
4:51
presentation of his product and service offering, he sat up
4:55
there and told stories about his hosting business and his
4:58
challenges. And he has 10 properties.
5:01
So he can relate to somebody that has one or 50 potentially.
5:05
And he told some of the funniest stories and then said, oh, and
5:07
by the way, at the end, I work for Host Away.
5:10
Here's kind of what we do if you want to learn more, and I'm
5:13
happy to meet with you. And everybody in the room was
5:15
just rolling in laughter. And I thought that was such a
5:18
unique approach to really connect on a human level,
5:21
instead of it always being about just what you're selling. 100% I
5:25
mean, I think it's about selling without selling.
5:29
And we, we just had our event in Cornwall.
5:32
Robin Clifford was there from Gestie and I always kind of
5:35
named Chick Robin here. He's one of the most well known
5:38
speakers on the STR circuit. And whenever he's on stage, he
5:43
hardly mentions Gestie, who he works for.
5:45
He, he talks about the future of the industry, he talks about AI,
5:49
he talks about where things are going and what on earth the
5:53
world and, and, and the industry is going to look like in 50 or
5:55
100 years. And it's fascinating to get his
5:58
insight. And of course that leads to him
6:01
then later having those conversations with people
6:04
because he's, he's shared some fascinating insights on stage.
6:07
And again, it's that selling without selling.
6:09
It's sharing insights, something educational, helpful to the
6:13
audience. It's all about being, being
6:14
helpful, right? I mean, I'm interested to know
6:16
what's the, what's the feedback being from the attendees that
6:20
you've had on, on your roadshow? We sent out a survey to all
6:25
attendees and we actually received a lot of responses.
6:28
I was so happy with that, and almost all of them were five out
6:32
of five stars. They so appreciated us coming to
6:35
them, making it feasible to bring their whole team of
6:39
maintenance and cleaners and revenue managers to get educated
6:43
and to really feel connected in the industry because let's,
6:46
let's be honest, this could be from the employee side.
6:49
This can get kind of isolating when you aren't front and center
6:52
with the guests or going to events or so.
6:56
This is just such a great way for people to really invest into
6:59
their career path, this industry, get more involved and
7:02
meet other people to share those best practices and stories.
7:06
I think another thing that we focused on in Cornwall and we
7:09
will do throughout the roadshow is I think we know that the
7:12
short term rental industry doesn't always get the best
7:15
media, the guess, the best press, and we're quite a
7:19
disparate industry. Everybody's kind of like working
7:22
on their own thing. So how important do you think it
7:24
is for us to collaborate as an industry and really get out
7:27
there and tell our story and talk about the positives of
7:30
short term rentals? I think it's critical we we seem
7:34
to be at a a crucial point right now where there are threats.
7:38
Absolutely there is legislation changes happening regularly and
7:43
it and every roadshow stop. We do an advocacy session where
7:47
we talk about here's the challenges, here's what you're
7:51
facing and here's how to get involved.
7:54
Just show up really is the number one thing everybody says
7:57
is go to your council meetings, make sure they know your voice
8:01
and they've seen your face and that they know you care and that
8:04
we are uniting as an industry in a lot of ways to say this.
8:08
This is valuable and we don't want it to end.
8:11
We don't want it to go away. And here's all the value that we
8:13
are bringing through tax revenue and through employment and jobs.
8:17
So I think it's crucial. But the number one thing is
8:21
always just show up. It's easy to stay focused and in
8:25
your lane, but the collaboration piece there, there are
8:28
opportunities and outlets for it and we try to foster a lot of
8:31
that through some of our advisory boards Even so it's
8:35
it's definitely crucial. I think, yeah, I think what
8:38
really stands out in relation to VR Nation and Host Planet is
8:41
that we are both fake focused on education, accessibility.
8:47
I mean, one thing I noticed like when I set up this platform is
8:49
that it feels like the vast majority of the industry, and we
8:53
see this from the stats that come out of Airbnb, are people
8:56
with maybe one or two rentals. Yet it feels like maybe a lot of
9:01
events and a lot of companies are focused on massive kind of
9:05
enterprise level property managers.
9:08
How important is it to reach the kind of the nuts and bolts of
9:12
the industry, the people who have just got, you know, one or
9:15
two or a handful of rentals? Well, at least in the US, that's
9:19
the majority. I would say at least 70% of
9:22
vacation rentals in North America are those individual
9:26
hosts with just a handful of properties.
9:28
They typically self manage. And in many cases, those are
9:32
ones that need a lot of help to elevate and standardize.
9:36
And from what I've heard in our conversations, James, that's
9:39
kind of similar in the UK. So I think it's easy to get
9:43
focused on the big fish by wanting to go after a larger
9:46
property management company with whatever your focus or angle
9:49
might be. But the majority is definitely
9:52
those smaller hosts. That's where many of us got
9:55
started, myself included. Quick pause now before we
9:58
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for life. All right, back to the show.
10:43
I'm interested, Heidi, in terms of what the people who attend
10:47
your shows, what are they struggling with, with what's the
10:51
feedback, what do they really need help with in the current
10:54
landscape? I think in many cases they're
10:57
feeling just disconnected. We get a lot of first timers
11:00
that come to our events, especially the road shows, and
11:04
we host a new attendee welcome reception at our big annual
11:08
conference that'll be in late April this year.
11:12
So it's feeling connected, whether it's because they are
11:16
facing a permitting change or or some legislation updates or
11:19
maybe they're struggling with their staffing or how to
11:22
integrate more AI and efficiencies into their business
11:27
model. And that's what's great about
11:29
these events we're both putting on is you can kind of knock a
11:32
whole lot of it out in one quick day and come back with so many
11:36
actionable items that you can put into good use.
11:39
I remember when we first spoke and, and you made a really good
11:42
point actually, you said that a lot of people, if they've been
11:45
hosting for three, 4-5 years and it's been going pretty well,
11:49
they can be of the mindset, oh, I, I, I don't need any help.
11:53
So I guess from our point of view, what is the value of
11:57
coming to these events and to those people out there who have
12:00
been hosting for a while and think it's been going pretty
12:02
well, what can they get out of collaborating with their peers?
12:07
I think the biggest thing is how can you, how can you elevate
12:10
your business right the second you stop, you just stay in your
12:15
lane and complacency can maybe set in.
12:18
It's easy to do, but you can come to one of these events and
12:22
get inspired on a way to find a new revenue stream.
12:25
Or maybe it is really time to not have those really cheap
12:29
microfiber sheets in your unit any longer.
12:32
That's a good example. So you can learn from other
12:35
people what's working in the same exact market and that's
12:38
that competitive collaboration that's so fantastic and kind of
12:41
the the heart and soul of our industry is it's OK to have that
12:45
competitor and still share best practices.
12:48
Yeah, I think that's a really good point, isn't it?
12:50
We see this with a few property management businesses.
12:53
They don't necessarily want to talk to competitors, but I, I
12:59
think this can be a bit of a superpower.
13:01
I've I've seen the businesses that do engage regularly with
13:04
their competitors and they seem to just be better businesses.
13:09
I mean, what, what's, what's your experience?
13:11
What have you observed from from companies that that speak
13:14
regularly with their competitors?
13:16
I've experienced this first hand.
13:18
I in a kind of a prior life, I worked in the ski industry for
13:22
quite a few years. I did international sales for a
13:24
ski resort and instead of just selling my resort, I traveled
13:27
the world and sold all of the resorts in my entire town.
13:31
And that brought everybody to the town and we can all reap the
13:34
benefits. And I've kind of applied that
13:36
same philosophy to this industry, and I've seen so many
13:39
other people as well come together and realize we can
13:42
actually get ahead as one unit instead of individually.
13:46
So I think that spirit exists, it's alive and well, and we're
13:50
trying to help it grow. So tell us more about VR Nation.
13:55
What have you got planned for the rest of 2026 and how do you
14:00
plan to grow VR Nation? I think the biggest thing is
14:04
continuing to go to the people. So we've just finished six of
14:09
six of our roadshows, 6 out of 18 this year, and a six stop
14:12
tour. We literally all feel like a
14:15
whole new empathy for a musician band on tour.
14:20
And so we've got another tour coming up in May of another six
14:24
stops throughout Nashville, TN and into the Carolinas.
14:28
We've got our large annual conference to put on in late
14:31
April. And then we've got 6 standalone
14:34
roadshow stops to also pull through.
14:37
So it's a lot, But if it continues with the momentum
14:41
we're already building, we will be doing more next year.
14:44
And that planning is about to start happening.
14:46
So we're really excited and of course to learn from you guys
14:49
that host planet like what's working in the UK and what's
14:53
what's working for us, that same spirit of collaboration.
14:55
And there's a lot of people that bounce back and forth.
14:58
So there's there's plenty of room for us to help each other,
15:01
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16:19
for further details. Yeah.
16:21
And just tell us what, what are the biggest lessons learned that
16:24
you had from the recent six Stop roadshow?
16:27
Because I, I, I'm keen to learn from somebody who's like trying
16:31
to put on these, you know, really impactful events for STR
16:33
host and property managers. Think you've got it very smart
16:38
in doing one event and then taking a rest and then waiting a
16:43
few weeks probably in between doing the back to backs, while
16:48
very rewarding, was also very grueling.
16:51
It it was a lot to ask of everyone that was on the tour.
16:54
But I will say the relationships made on the tour between
16:58
property managers, between all the different sponsors and and
17:00
vendor partners that join us, even the educators, they will be
17:04
friends for for many, many years and they will continue to help
17:07
each other's businesses grow. So it's kind of it's tough to
17:12
say which is the better model. I think they both they can be
17:14
very complimentary. Definitely.
17:16
And another thing I'm keen to ask as well, like how did you
17:20
get people there? I mean, like a challenge for us
17:23
is, you know, promoting the events and we do a lot across
17:25
our channels. We talk about it on podcasts, in
17:28
newsletters and social media, Facebook ads, all that kind of
17:31
thing. But what did you find was the
17:32
most effective way of getting your message out there and
17:36
encouraging people to come along?
17:38
I think it's a combination of everything you just named,
17:40
including even some direct mail, working with partners, new
17:44
partners like working with Host Planet for example.
17:47
This is our first time really collaborating and I know we have
17:49
plans to do a lot more. So excited for that piece.
17:53
There's also a tremendous amount to be said for all of our
17:57
sponsors. They were willing to cross
17:59
promote through their customer lists, which meant let's get all
18:03
of the people here and show them new services they might not have
18:06
learned out learned about otherwise.
18:08
So there's a lot of value in that cross promotion or that
18:12
collaboration I mentioned. So it's helped tremendously.
18:17
Fantastic. If we Fast forward then a few
18:21
years, what do you hope people are saying about VR Nation?
18:24
What's the the long term vision? I think it's just to carry that
18:28
vibe forward of professionalism with the side of fun.
18:33
So our all of our events, we try to have a great time.
18:35
We bring in that networking piece where it can be a relaxed
18:39
and no pressure environment. Our conference, we have a lot of
18:42
really fun events that help bring people together, but you
18:46
kind of forget that you're at a conference sometimes.
18:49
So that's that's core. And the education piece is
18:53
really our biggest next initiative through VR Nation Pro
18:56
Academy. It's launching this year.
18:58
We've got these pillars of hosting excellence that we're
19:01
pushing to help really elevate the industry, making sure that
19:06
all units in North America are not only safe, but effective and
19:11
efficient. So I really see that continuing
19:14
to grow. While those modules all launched
19:17
this year, the content will continue to be updated as
19:20
technology changes. So for that part, I think we'll
19:23
continue to reinvest in the education piece as well.
19:26
And if we look long term for the industry generally, what does a
19:30
healthy, well supported STR industry look like to you?
19:35
I think it comes with chapters sort of following suit of the
19:40
hotel industry where you really start to bring right now we're a
19:45
national organization, but if we can continue to build pockets of
19:48
market leaders throughout the country to really help support
19:52
on a more local level, especially the US, we're
19:55
basically like Europe. We're a bunch of different
19:57
countries just broken up by states.
19:59
But just being in Florida compared to I'm a W coaster and
20:04
something as simple as how you call certain terminology can
20:10
change. Like it's a foreign language
20:12
practically. So having more of a local
20:14
presence. I think these roadshows and the
20:17
market leaders program that we're developing will help move
20:20
in that direction. And I have to think for you in
20:22
the UK, it's quite similar. What you who you talk to in
20:26
Brighton is going to be very different than the type of
20:28
events and people you speak with in Edinburgh, for example, so.
20:33
Yeah, very true. And you know, even in, you know,
20:36
pretty small island like ours, Wales has different rules to
20:39
Scotland. Scotland has got licensing,
20:41
nowhere else has licensing. Wales has different limits in
20:45
terms of like the number of days you have to be rented out for.
20:47
And there's all sorts of like local and regional regulation as
20:51
well. So yeah, it's it's a challenge.
20:52
And I think, you know, Cornwall being the first event, very
20:55
specific market down there and it's yeah, like you say,
20:58
completely right. It's going to be totally
21:00
different wherever we go across the country as well.
21:02
So, yeah, even even in a small place like ours, you know,
21:05
nowhere near the size of the States.
21:08
Just before we finish then, Heidi, we like to do some shout
21:10
outs on the show, especially to people who are joining us for
21:13
the first time. So what's your favorite brand in
21:17
the STR industry? Apart from VR Nation, of course.
21:22
Oh my gosh, that's I feel like I can't answer that.
21:25
Almost. There's, there's, there's so
21:29
many good ones and I'm I'm struggling to give a shout out.
21:32
They're all so incredible, to be honest.
21:36
But one of the ones that stands out to me right now.
21:37
I actually just met with a company called Why Hangry and
21:41
oddly, their founders based in the UK.
21:45
They're doing a lot of work over here moving their services into
21:48
the USI did a search recently recently in my hometown and was
21:52
able to find exactly what I was looking for from a private chef
21:55
perspective. I never would have thought I
21:57
could afford something like that with a 8 to 10 person get
22:01
together. And so that service really I
22:04
thought was pretty cool. I just learned about it recently
22:06
and I'll probably be using it in the near future.
22:08
Amazing. Yeah, actually.
22:10
So why Hangry City, who's one of the Co founders, she got in
22:15
touch with me before we were even called host planet and she
22:20
wanted to reach more people in the STR space.
22:22
And we ended up doing a series of dinners together.
22:24
And I like to think we we played a bit of a part in in helping
22:27
them get so many property management companies signed up.
22:30
So yeah, we have we have a close relationship with Why Hangry.
22:32
Great shout outs there. And then nextly, Heidi, is there
22:38
an individual in the STR space that you'd like to give a shout
22:41
out to and why? Let's see.
22:46
One of the first people that come to mind is actually a
22:51
really close friend of mine, and she's recently stepped up in a
22:54
way that I wouldn't be able to do my job without her.
22:58
Our president of our board of directors is Tara Lormer.
23:01
She owns Luxury getaways up in Northern Washington and due to
23:07
some shifts in our board of directors, some some family
23:11
challenges, she was recently moved into the president role
23:13
faster than anticipated. And she's risen to the role.
23:19
Like I can't even begin to tell you.
23:21
And again, I couldn't do my job without her.
23:22
She's incredibly supportive and yet she's still running a
23:26
property management company day in and day out.
23:28
It's a family run business so not sure how she does it all,
23:31
but she's definitely a rising star in the industry.
23:35
Fantastic, lovely shout out there.
23:37
Finally then your your biggest lesson learned from the road
23:41
shows so far. I guess it's it's not too many
23:44
back-to-back shows. I think you can try and plan for
23:48
everything, but you have to be prepared for anything because
23:52
the last thing I expected was to be driving across the Panhandle
23:56
of Florida in the snow. But that happened and we made
24:00
the most of it and it was one for the books.
24:05
Bring your shovel even if you go into Florida.
24:09
All right, Heidi, it's been a real pleasure.
24:11
Thanks for telling us all about VR Nation, and good luck for all
24:14
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