Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / The One Thing Every Airbnb Host Gets Wrong

Transcript

The One Thing Every Airbnb Host Gets Wrong · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

• 0:00
  Welcome to the House Planet Playbook, your go to guide for
• 0:02
  mastering short term rentals. In this special series, we're
• 0:06
  sitting down with 30 of the world's top property managers to
• 0:09
  uncover what really drives success in the vacation rental
• 0:12
  industry. You'll hear their stories, learn
• 0:14
  the key lessons they've picked up along the way, and discover
• 0:17
  the game changing tech they use to deliver 5 star guest
• 0:21
  experiences. If you're serious about growing
• 0:23
  your STR business, you're in the right place.
• 0:27
  We've also developed an e-book featuring the stories of every
• 0:30
  manager in this series and you can download it for free.
• 0:33
  Head to host Planet dot Club to find out more.
• 0:36
  In today's episode we're chatting to Sabrina Kalnan from
• 0:39
  B&B Excellent. Stand by for a deep dive into Co
• 0:42
  hosting, revenue management and how to ensure your listing
• 0:46
  appears at the top of searches on Airbnb.
• 0:54
  This special series is brought to you by Host Planet and
• 0:56
  Hospitable, the smart AI powered property management software
• 1:00
  trusted by hosts worldwide. With Hospitable, you can
• 1:04
  automate guest messaging, sync calendars across platforms and
• 1:07
  manage your rentals with ease, all from one powerful, easy to
• 1:11
  use platform. If you're keen to run your short
• 1:14
  term rental on autopilot, try Hospitable today.
• 1:17
  Visit hospitable.com/host Planet to see how the platform can save
• 1:22
  you time, reduce stress, and maximize your earnings.
• 1:26
  Sabrina, thank you for being part of the House Planet
• 1:28
  Playbook. Let's start with you.
• 1:30
  What's the name of your company? Where are you located and how
• 1:33
  many rentals do you manage? Yeah.
• 1:36
  So the name of the company is B&B Excellent.
• 1:38
  I am located in Denver, Co and I Co host.
• 1:43
  I actually consider it Co hosting about 20 properties
• 1:45
  because we don't do your traditional full service
• 1:49
  property management. Actually what we focus on is we
• 1:52
  focus on search ranking optimization as well as revenue
• 1:56
  strategy. Superb.
• 1:58
  OK, so tell us, how did you get involved in the world of short
• 2:01
  term rentals? Yeah, it was kind of a crooked
• 2:04
  path to short term rental for me.
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  I actually started in the long term rental business about 10
• 2:10
  years ago. And 10 years ago short term
• 2:14
  rentals were like the new hot thing.
• 2:17
  So I was getting a bunch of questions from clients from
• 2:21
  referral partners about short term rental, whether or not they
• 2:25
  should do it. And I thought I need to get
• 2:28
  educated on this and get really good at this.
• 2:31
  And I actually started out by hosting my own property.
• 2:35
  I have a little guest house in the back of my home and we
• 2:37
  converted that property, remodeled it, converted it to a
• 2:41
  short term rental and it's kind of been history ever since.
• 2:46
  Superb. So tell us then about your Co
• 2:49
  hosting journey as well. How did that start and how did
• 2:52
  you scale to the point where you're now helping about 20
• 2:55
  properties run their operations? Yeah, yeah.
• 2:59
  So that that actually was also a little bit a little bit crooked
• 3:03
  of a journey. So from the long term property
• 3:07
  management company, as I mentioned that I started getting
• 3:12
  into short term rental right in the beginning of that company as
• 3:14
  well. So I started that company in
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  2014, started getting questions about short term rentals and air
• 3:23
  Airbnb's right away. And I actually started out
• 3:27
  educating in the space of short term rentals.
• 3:30
  I at the time I was seeing a lot of people jump into the market
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  not really knowing what they were doing and not really
• 3:37
  understanding the rules and regulations which were sort of
• 3:41
  rapidly changing in my area and of course everywhere.
• 3:46
  And I thought I have to stop people from making bad
• 3:51
  investments. I need to educate them so they
• 3:53
  know how to make good ones. And I actually took the approach
• 3:57
  of working with the real estate agents and teaching CE courses
• 4:02
  to help the real estate agents learn how to guide their clients
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  into purchasing and investing in short term rentals.
• 4:11
  And then from there it sort of grew naturally because I was a
• 4:15
  property manager. I started managing short term
• 4:19
  rentals and in in that at that time, I was managed managing
• 4:22
  them in the full capacity that you would consider, you know,
• 4:26
  just a traditional vacation rental manager.
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  And you know, I did that. I got really efficient at that.
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  I actually got to the point where I was doing about 40
• 4:38
  properties. It was me, myself and I and A
• 4:42
  quality control person and a cleaning team.
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  And I was still only working part time doing that, I would
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  say barely part time, maybe 20 hours a week or something like
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  that. And so I feel like I really
• 4:57
  learned the operations and efficiency side of things.
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  And as I did this, I got to understand that my background, I
• 5:05
  actually have a background in finance, investment banking
• 5:09
  first, particularly in mortgage-backed securities.
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  So real real estate backed securities and you know, bank
• 5:17
  real estate backed loans essentially is where my
• 5:20
  background comes in. So I have like a real head for
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  numbers and I kind of understood right away that revenue
• 5:27
  management is one of the keys to success along with sort of
• 5:32
  working all of those platform algorithms.
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  So a few years ago I made the shift into focusing specifically
• 5:38
  on that because I really felt like that was my special gift to
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  give to the the hosts that I work with.
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  So when a new host does get in touch and they're looking for
• 5:49
  advice at the start, what are the key bits of education that
• 5:52
  you share that you think is integral, that they get right
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  from day one? Yeah, I mean, from day one
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  getting set up for success is absolutely important.
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  So you do have to make that listing that is absolutely
• 6:05
  attractive to the guest where you know and and this is all
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  sort of like the advice that you hear everywhere, great design,
• 6:15
  great photos, great copy in your listing.
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  But then what happens is after your setup for success, there
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  are two pieces that are very important to sort of pulling the
• 6:26
  levers on how you are doing as a host.
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  You know, as far as the number of bookings you're getting, the
• 6:33
  amount of revenue that you're earning.
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  And #1 is actually being a great host, but not just being a great
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  host, being a host that works the system so that you are
• 6:45
  ranking high in the search results.
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  And then #2 which I think is the most ignored piece of things is
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  the revenue strategy that goes in behind it, because that is
• 6:56
  like you're the, the pieces that you can pull with revenue
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  strategy are I think are your most important levers.
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  And they're the things that you have the most control over.
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  So doing that revenue strategy as a whole, not just talking
• 7:12
  about pricing, increasing and decreasing prices, that's
• 7:16
  dynamic pricing. Revenue strategy encompasses,
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  you know, understanding the data dynamics stays a multitude of
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  other factors. So in terms of ranking on the
• 7:30
  first page and getting high up those search results, what's a a
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  tip or a hack that you can share with people?
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  Yeah. I mean a tip that I can share
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  with people is to, you know, on the hosting side is to respond
• 7:43
  very, very quickly to any guest inquiries.
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  Hospitable is brilliant for this because they can automate your
• 7:53
  first response back to the guests so that it happens within
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  seconds and Airbnb, Verbo, you know, Expedia, all all of the
• 8:03
  platforms they are watching and counting this and they want
• 8:06
  hosts that are reliable. So I think that's, you know, 11
• 8:10
  tip. It's not, you know, a respond
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  when I can respond within an hour.
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  But if you can find a way to use that technology to get you to
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  respond right away, that's that's just one key thing that
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  you can do. And something I think a lot of
• 8:23
  house and property managers perhaps struggle with early on,
• 8:25
  I know that I did, How do you get the revenue management right
• 8:29
  and make sure that you're charging the correct rates?
• 8:34
  Yeah, I think the first piece to that is really getting to your
• 8:37
  know your market. I think there's a lot of people
• 8:40
  out there who step into the business and they make a lot of
• 8:43
  assumptions about their market. You know, they they're like the
• 8:46
  tourists are coming for this. You know, I can rent to these
• 8:49
  type of people, my property is good for this.
• 8:52
  But making those assumptions is like an educated guess, whereas
• 8:56
  like if you can get to know the market data and there's, there
• 9:00
  are indicators, I would say there are key metrics that help
• 9:04
  you determine your pricing settings.
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  And those key metrics really are what are the average occupancy
• 9:10
  levels in your area? What is the average length of
• 9:13
  stay and what is your booking lead time?
• 9:17
  Those are your main 3 indicators that help you determine your
• 9:21
  settings. And then, you know, as things as
• 9:24
  you get more advanced, you're learning, you know, what's your
• 9:29
  7 day pick up, your 30 day pick up.
• 9:32
  But even going, let me step back farther, you know, that's
• 9:36
  getting into the nitty gritty of the numbers, but getting to know
• 9:38
  your market in that like, who are my tourists coming to the
• 9:42
  area? Why are they coming?
• 9:44
  How are they traveling here? What is important to them?
• 9:47
  Evaluating those guest reviews in your area, What amenities do
• 9:52
  they actually value? That is actually the first step
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  to really ranking high in those search results.
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  In terms of delivering a great guest experience, then what are
• 10:03
  your top tips? Yeah, my top tips, put yourself
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  in the guest's shoes. Always do everything you can to
• 10:12
  make that guest feel comfortable.
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  And, and what I mean by that is it's it's not the big things,
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  it's actually the little things. Make sure they have enough
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  coffee. Make sure there's enough seating
• 10:21
  in your home and make sure they step into the home and they're
• 10:25
  never confused. So you have a great guide or
• 10:29
  tips, a note by the TV that tells them how to operate it.
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  If you can prevent them feeling confused before they have to
• 10:36
  ask, they feel at home. And then the last thing I would
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  say is always air on the side of generosity as a host.
• 10:46
  Great tip. We've asked some property
• 10:49
  managers how they keep owners happy.
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  In your case, how do you keep the people that you're Co
• 10:54
  hosting with happy? Yeah, In my case it's constant
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  communication with the people that I'm Co hosting.
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  And we aren't just, you know, revenue managers or revenue
• 11:04
  strategists, we are their Co hosts.
• 11:07
  So we are helping them navigate hosting.
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  So for instance, if there's a difficult guest situation, I
• 11:13
  always know about it and I'm there to help them through that.
• 11:17
  So it's I think it's one of the things that helps us stand out.
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  You know, we're not just a tech company or a behind the scenes
• 11:25
  company, but we're really hands on work with our clients.
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  So we build a lot of trust that way.
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  And tell us about the situation in the area where you operate.
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  What are the main challenges and opportunities in relation to
• 11:39
  short term rentals? Yeah.
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  You know, I think the main challenges in the area that I
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  operate are that prices are very high here.
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  So it is very hard to be a profitable vacation rental host
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  even in the areas where the regulations are a little are are
• 12:00
  more friendly towards vacation rental properties.
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  It's just that prices are so high here that a lot of times
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  people are vacation rental hosts, but they're also hosts
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  because they love their property.
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  They like to stay there themselves because you're not
• 12:16
  going to cash flow off of most of the properties.
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  And in my whole state, there are opportunities for sure.
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  So I think that's one of the challenges.
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  And then what was the, I'm sorry, what was the other piece
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  of that question? And what are the main
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  opportunities? Yeah, I think the main
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  opportunities are really finding those pockets where you you can
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  be profitable as a host and where you can really stand out
• 12:42
  above and beyond other hosts. And what I mean by that is I
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  think a lot of people can fall into this amenities race, add,
• 12:53
  you know, add a simulated golf, you know, game or add, you know,
• 12:59
  a game room in your house. And I think don't forget about
• 13:03
  those creature comforts in a way to stand out, you know, stand
• 13:06
  out with great design, not gimmicks.
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  Stand out with great hospitality, not extra amenities
• 13:13
  that nobody ever asked for. We've just done this a little
• 13:17
  bit, but what are the unique parts of your business which
• 13:21
  really help you to stand out? Yeah.
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  I think the unique piece of my business is that I'm an
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  educator. And so with every host that I
• 13:31
  work with, I'm constantly educating them.
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  Not only do we do the search ranking and and revenue strategy
• 13:40
  for clients, but I also teach it.
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  So I host groups of people, I teach them from the very
• 13:47
  beginning and ongoing support how to do that for themselves.
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  You know, the clients that are looking to own maybe 345
• 13:56
  properties, maybe even they just own one.
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  And it's really important them to to them to maximize that
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  revenue. I teach them how to do that on
• 14:03
  their own without a property manager so that they can earn as
• 14:07
  much as possible and then go on to buy the next property.
• 14:12
  What are the biggest problems at the start of people's journey?
• 14:15
  What are the frequent questions you get asked right at the
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  start? Yeah, I think there's a lot of
• 14:21
  overwhelm for a lot of people right at the beginning, which is
• 14:24
  completely understandable because there's a lot of moving
• 14:27
  pieces. The the thing that I see, which
• 14:31
  is completely natural that people do focus on in the
• 14:33
  beginning is they're focusing on just the front end of the house.
• 14:38
  So what the home looks like, you know what, how many, how many
• 14:43
  towels they have, you know how to do the cleaning and then they
• 14:48
  sort of forget about the revenue strategy piece of it.
• 14:52
  That's an afterthought that comes in later.
• 14:55
  So I think that's the biggest mistake that I see.
• 14:57
  And I wouldn't necessarily call it a mistake because you do sort
• 15:00
  of go in that order, but you just can't forget about that
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  last piece of things. And what are the other common
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  errors that you see people making at the start of the
• 15:09
  journeys? Yeah.
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  You know, I think at the beginning besides just, you
• 15:15
  know, using pricing as an afterthought is holding off on
• 15:20
  those professional photos. Airbnb, Verbo in the 1st 30 or
• 15:26
  60 days of your listing, they're sort of creating an anchor and
• 15:31
  they're determining where you belong in the market.
• 15:34
  And if you're not putting your best foot forward, they sort of
• 15:38
  judge you to be mediocre from the beginning.
• 15:41
  And you, you never want to be mediocre from the beginning.
• 15:43
  You want to be at the top from the beginning and and then all
• 15:46
  you have to do is work to stay there versus working your way up
• 15:49
  later on. It is the number one thing to
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  get right at the start. Excellent photo.
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  Because if you don't, they are judging you.
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  The OTAs are judging you. Like.
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  Crazy. They know if they're
• 16:00
  professional and they know if they look good.
• 16:02
  And yeah. Yeah, it's it's the.
• 16:04
  Angles are off. Exactly, it's it's the it's the
• 16:07
  easiest thing to get right as well and and doesn't cost too
• 16:09
  much money. So what's been your biggest
• 16:13
  lesson learned since you started your STR journey?
• 16:17
  I think my biggest lesson learned is that hosts are all
• 16:20
  hosting for a different reason and meet hosts where they are.
• 16:27
  Make sure you understand their goals before you start working
• 16:31
  with them so that you can help them meet those goals.
• 16:34
  And what do you love most about hosting?
• 16:38
  Gosh, that's such a hard question.
• 16:40
  I, I just love that hosting is so dynamic.
• 16:43
  There's so many aspects to it. I get to dabble in the numbers
• 16:47
  side of things, but I also get to interact with people.
• 16:52
  I get to, you know, really take care of them and be hospitable
• 16:55
  as a host. And then there's the creative
• 16:57
  end of things, too, with the design and, you know,
• 17:01
  photography and the marketing and the copy and all of that.
• 17:04
  So I love all of it. Superb.
• 17:07
  OK then Sabrina, we've got a few more quick fire questions now.
• 17:11
  Which PMS do you use? So I use Hospitable.
• 17:15
  I've been using them since 2015. And how has it helped you run
• 17:21
  your business? I mean, I think honestly,
• 17:24
  Hospitable has been amazing to help run the business.
• 17:28
  I think I would have never been able to host 40 properties on my
• 17:32
  own without the automations that Hospitable provides.
• 17:36
  But you know, more importantly, as I've been hosting for a while
• 17:41
  now, you know, 10 years Hospitable allows hosts to put
• 17:45
  into place the practices that provide great hospitality but
• 17:52
  also help them rank higher in the search results.
• 17:56
  So it's just integral to being a great host.
• 18:02
  Which dynamic pricing tool do you use?
• 18:04
  I use Price Labs and I've been using them for many years as
• 18:08
  well. Superb.
• 18:10
  Great shout out for Price Labs. Which piece of tech couldn't you
• 18:13
  live without? I would say it's my phone.
• 18:15
  That thing goes with me everywhere.
• 18:17
  I can do business from anywhere because I have that phone.
• 18:21
  Ideally pets at your rental, yes or no?
• 18:25
  I think it depends on the situation.
• 18:29
  Same question for hot tubs, yes or no?
• 18:32
  I would say hot tubs are almost always a yes.
• 18:36
  Ideally a self check in or a personal welcome.
• 18:40
  I think self check in. Telephone call or AI response?
• 18:45
  I would say depends on the situation.
• 18:49
  There should always be a human looking at the AI response and
• 18:53
  then a phone call if necessary. And what's your most memorable
• 18:58
  hosting moment? Well, I can tell you that I've
• 19:01
  only had one lockout in the last 10 years.
• 19:06
  I missed it by 1/2 an hour. I missed the guest message where
• 19:09
  a keypad failed and I wasn't able to get them the lock box
• 19:12
  information with the backup. But I can tell you now that
• 19:15
  Hospitable would be able to solve that problem because they
• 19:19
  have automated backup messages that go out.
• 19:22
  There you go. OK then, so shout out time now.
• 19:26
  Is there an individual in the STR industry who's perhaps helps
• 19:30
  you on your journey that you'd like to give a shout out to?
• 19:32
  Yeah, I actually have a colleague that I used to work
• 19:35
  with, Scott Castro, and he really helped me learn the
• 19:40
  online logistics to Co hosting. So I have to give Scott a shout
• 19:44
  out and he's located in Florida. Great shout out for Scott.
• 19:48
  Final question then. Ultimate goal for your STR
• 19:51
  business. My ultimate goal is to help as
• 19:56
  many homeowners as possible maximize their revenue so that
• 20:00
  they can use that extra money to fulfill whatever dreams they may
• 20:05
  have, whether that be retirement, pursuing a different
• 20:09
  career, paying for their children's college.
• 20:12
  But. I mean, short term rental is
• 20:14
  just so much more than real estate and finance and rental
• 20:18
  properties. It's really the the hosts and
• 20:21
  the people behind it. Great way to finish Sabrina.
• 20:25
  It's been a real pleasure chatting.
• 20:26
  Thank you for being part of the Host Planet Playbook.
• 20:29
  Well, thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.
• 20:32
  All right, that's it for today's episode.
• 20:33
  My thanks to Sabrina for sharing her journey and for being part
• 20:37
  of the host Planet playbook. Remember, this series is brought
• 20:40
  to you in partnership with Hospitable, the all in one
• 20:43
  property management software designed to save you time and
• 20:46
  help your business thrive. Hospitable Ultimates your guest
• 20:50
  messaging, syncs your calendars across platforms, handles team
• 20:54
  tasks and so much more so you can focus on delivering a top
• 20:58
  notch guest experience or just get some of your time back.
• 21:02
  And here's the good news. Host Planet Playbook listeners
• 21:04
  get an exclusive 14 day free trial plus 25% off for the first
• 21:09
  three months. Head to hospitable.com/house
• 21:13
  Planet to claim your offer and start running your rentals on
• 21:17
  autopilot. For more free education for
• 21:19
  vacation rental hosts, head to House Planet dot Club where you
• 21:23
  can sign up for our newsletter, listen to our podcasts and
• 21:26
  download our suite of ebooks. Until next time, happy hosting.