Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / How to Prepare Your Short-Term Rental for the FIFA World Cup

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How to Prepare Your Short-Term Rental for the FIFA World Cup · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

0:00
Welcome to Turnover Tactics, the brand new six part series from
0:04
House Planets and Turno. If the time between guest stays
0:08
feels like a chaotic scramble, you are not alone.
0:11
Turnover is often the biggest bottleneck in any short term
0:15
rental business. It's where reviews are won or
0:17
lost, and where profit either flows.
0:20
Or. Leaks away.
0:22
Over the next 6 episodes, we're giving you the complete
0:24
professional blueprint for mastering this critical phase of
0:28
operations. We'll show you how to automate
0:31
your scheduling, guarantee quality control, and build a
0:34
reliable team so you can scale your business without the
0:38
stress. In this first episode, with the
0:40
FIFA World Cup 2026 on the horizon, we're diving into a
0:44
master class in preparing for major events.
0:47
Our special guests Chris Rule from Turno and Airbnb Ambassador
0:52
Caitlin Almeida, will talk listing optimization, rapid
0:55
back-to-back turnovers and how to handle high demand.
0:59
During peak. Periods If you want to set
1:01
yourself up for success, this is an episode not to be missed.
1:06
Turnover Tactics is brought to you in collaboration with Turno,
1:09
the all in one cleaning and turnover management platform
1:13
built specifically for short term rental hosts.
1:15
If you've ever scrambled to find a reliable cleaner or wasted
1:19
hours managing schedules, Turno changes everything.
1:23
With their Global Cleaner Marketplace, automated
1:26
scheduling, and real time updates, you'll never stress
1:29
about turnovers again. Whether you manage one property
1:32
or 100, Turno helps you stay guest ready effortlessly.
1:37
Simply click the link in the show notes to get started.
1:39
It's time you let Turno take over.
1:47
Welcome to the first episode of Turnover Tactics.
1:50
Today our title is hosting the Moment, a master class in
1:54
preparing for major events, and with us to discuss this
1:58
important topic are Chris Ruhl, The Vice.
2:00
President of customer experience at Turno and Caitlin Almeida,
2:05
who was a host, advisor and Airbnb ambassador.
2:08
Kate, Chris, how's it going? Hey, going well.
2:11
Hi, how you? Doing going really well.
2:14
Fantastic. OK then major events and
2:18
actually Chris, recently we were at the hosting crash course in
2:22
Kansas City. So this is very much at the
2:24
front of people's minds. With the FIFA World Cup heading
2:27
to the States, Canada and Mexico in the summer of 2026.
2:32
We know that high occupancy events often mean rapid
2:37
back-to-back bookings. So how can hosts deal with the
2:41
operational challenges that this represents?
2:45
Yeah, You know, I, I think it starts with, I think it starts
2:48
with the the, the software, right?
2:50
There's like a table sticks moment that's like, how do you
2:52
actually operate a turnover, right.
2:54
And there's a lot of different, you know, options out there.
2:56
You know, property management systems offer these things.
2:59
Obviously turn out is, is one of those options.
3:02
But I think when you think about what you know, when you're
3:04
looking for that software, you really need to to make sure
3:07
that, you know, does it have things like, you know, checklist
3:10
that you can make sure that there's consistency around?
3:12
Does it have things like, you know, problem reporting and
3:15
inventory and isn't supported right?
3:18
Do you have some level of like customer support that's there
3:21
24/7 or, or, or, you know, just making sure that you have the
3:25
support you need? I think beyond that, there's
3:27
some really, I mean, and those things are table sticks, right?
3:29
Like you have to have that stuff to be able to do this really
3:32
well. And they're relatively
3:34
inexpensive, right? Like, so there's nothing, you
3:36
know, it's not like this is like, oh wow, that seems like
3:38
it's going to cost me a lot. It actually isn't all that much
3:41
to be able to have that sort of table stakes level of
3:43
operations. I think it gets into to do this
3:46
really well. It starts getting into the other
3:48
things like, you know, when you have a customer or your guest is
3:52
checking out, do you have functionality inside of a
3:55
software that lets you know when that guest is checking out so
3:58
that you can get a cleaner into the property earlier, maybe so
4:01
that you can have that turnover for same day?
4:03
Does that software let cleaners know there's a same day turnover
4:06
and when that next guest is coming in and, and, and you
4:10
know, at the end of it, like what happens if there is a last
4:13
minute cancellation of a of a cleaner, right?
4:16
Like you have this really great trusted network, but how do you
4:18
know how to get somebody into a property?
4:21
And I think that's, that's one of the areas that, you know,
4:23
just where Turno actually shines the most is being able to tap
4:28
into a network of trusted cleaners, not having to go to
4:30
like Google or Facebook marketplace and be really under
4:32
the gun. In fact, all of our marketplace
4:35
cleaners are protected by our Turno cleaner Guarantee, which
4:38
means if there is a no show or last minute cancellation, our
4:41
team springs into action and actually finds you a cleaner on
4:43
our behalf and we'll pay the difference between the cleaning
4:45
fees if needed. So I think those are the things
4:48
that like can get you over the top to like really make sure
4:52
that that stress of the turnover is is not there or is as as
4:56
minimal as possible as as as a as a host.
5:00
I mean, one thing I like about that method is that you've got a
5:04
load of backups there if you need it, because there are so
5:08
many people out there. And I've been in this position
5:10
myself as a host where you have a cleaner and if that person
5:14
lets you down, you're in trouble.
5:16
So I mean, how important is it to have a backup?
5:18
And also talk to me about the importance of having systems for
5:22
your turnovers and systems that your cleaners understand.
5:26
Yeah, absolutely right. I think like having backups is,
5:30
is very important, right? I mean, and at the end of the
5:32
day, one of the things that's that that is most important in
5:34
this sort of relationship you have with your your cleaning
5:37
teams and and your really your entire contractor team, that
5:40
that's sort of your boots on the ground is the trust factor,
5:42
right? How do you know who to trust,
5:45
right? It's not that hard to get
5:46
somebody to go in and clean A and and Airbnb.
5:49
It's it's there's all sorts of places you can do that, But how
5:52
do you, how do you understand that trust and how can you build
5:55
that trust? I think that's one thing that
5:57
like turnover try tries to do a lot, which is bring in reviews
6:03
for contractors from hosts, but also bring it in from, you know,
6:07
all of the OTAs and guest reviews and things along those
6:10
lines. So you can actually see a much
6:12
more robust picture of how this cleaner does cleaning short term
6:18
rentals, right, not just houses, not just because we know that's
6:22
a different, it's a different clean, right and there's
6:24
different expectations. And so having that backup is is
6:28
really important. I think like having to back up
6:31
beyond the backup, right? It it's one thing to have two
6:34
people on your team, but you know, all of a sudden Kansas
6:37
City's going, you know, to as an example, is going to have an
6:41
influx in short term rentals for a week, right, Because people
6:45
are going to be like, I'm going to go travel and stay with my,
6:48
you know, my, my in laws for a week and rent out my house.
6:52
And now the cleaning pool is going to become much more
6:54
shrinked. And so you know, your trusted
6:57
cleaner or your ability to go out and potentially find
6:59
additional cleaners in the moment may be Hanford by the
7:02
fact that the supply in that area is going to be constrained
7:05
by much more because of a very large event.
7:08
And so how do you lean on actual systems and actual products like
7:13
Turno, who has, you know, hundreds of thousands of
7:16
contractors within our network at any given time and has the
7:19
support to be able to do that, right?
7:21
The software stuff is really important, right?
7:23
Checklists and, and inventory and all those things.
7:27
But those are all table stakes. And you're going to find that
7:28
there are a lot of solutions that we'll be able to handle a
7:31
lot of those things. And if you have trusted cleaners
7:34
and you have multiple, you know, trusted cleaners, then those
7:37
solutions are probably going to be awesome for you, right?
7:40
But if you need, even if you have those trusted cleaners, you
7:42
can still bring them into a platform like Turno, leverage
7:46
those existing cleaners. And then when you need that
7:49
additional layer of, you know, sort of that less than 5% of the
7:52
time when it happens, you have the option to very quickly
7:55
engage with a much larger pool, very trusted, vetted, background
8:00
checked, reviewed cleaners to be able to tap into.
8:04
I like the idea of having lots of cleaners on speed dial that
8:08
that sounds great to me, Caitlin.
8:11
Then let's talk about mega events and preparing for major
8:15
events. Obviously, we've got the World
8:18
Cup happening in the middle of 2026 across the US, Canada and
8:21
Mexico. So all those 16 host cities are
8:24
going to have a lot of matches when there's a massive amount of
8:27
demand. So when a host identifies a
8:31
major event happening in their region, what are the most
8:34
effective listing optimization changes that they should make
8:38
beyond just maybe doubling the price?
8:41
Yeah, that's a really, really good question.
8:45
And I would say some of the main things to think about are
8:49
updating your title and your descriptions.
8:52
Things like walk to stadium, you know, the stadium are perfect
8:56
for FIFA fans or near Convention Center, you know, if it's an
9:00
event there really calling that out.
9:04
And before that knowing your guest avatar, like specifically
9:08
knowing that that's who you want to target and then targeting
9:12
exactly that within your listing and marketing towards that.
9:15
So helping guests like self identify so great for groups are
9:20
ideal for families and pay special attention.
9:25
And this is specifically for Airbnb.
9:27
But the first 32 characters in a listings title because keep in
9:33
mind that not everyone books a space on a laptop.
9:38
For example, some people are doing it through their mobile
9:40
device and that is all they see. So those first few words are the
9:46
most important. Make sure that you're not being
9:49
repetitive, calling out things that are going to be listed just
9:52
below the title, for example. But try to focus on location,
9:57
amenities and design. So instead of like condo in
10:04
Cleveland, you know 2 minutes walk to X place or you know
10:15
again, perfect for couples or FIFA fans.
10:19
Use verbs in your description too.
10:22
It helps people really kind of picture in their heads what the
10:25
experience is going to be like. Also pay special attention to
10:30
your photos. Of course these are always
10:32
important. If you don't have pro photos
10:33
yet, please get them because people are very visual creatures
10:37
and professional photography just makes listings perform
10:41
better in every way all the time.
10:45
There's actually an Airbnb professional photography
10:47
program, so if you already have a live listing there, you can
10:51
sign up and schedule 1 to come out.
10:53
And the nice thing about that is you don't have to pay upfront.
10:55
You can pay with future bookings, which is great, but
10:59
pay special attention to the top five photos.
11:01
Specifically. The very first photo should be
11:03
your hero shot, right? The one that is just like the
11:07
best shot of your property, but make sure you're showing things
11:11
like a fully equipped kitchen, nice and and clean and has all
11:15
the things that you need to prepare a meal.
11:18
A large refrigerator for all those snacks, maybe flexible
11:22
sleeping options. The live, the large living space
11:27
for you and your buddies to get together and you know, show the
11:29
TV. If anyone you know is staying
11:31
home for a day but still wants to catch the game, make sure
11:35
that you are showing the ample parking.
11:39
Make sure that the exterior of the front of the house is shown.
11:42
I would always try to put a photo of that in your top five
11:45
and specifically making sure that you can see a little
11:49
electronic lock in there that helps people know that they can
11:52
check in seamlessly on their own.
11:55
Another little thing that I've always done is I make sure
11:58
there's a plant in every first photo of every listing that I
12:02
have or show somewhat of the outdoor space.
12:07
Biophilia is a thing and whether people are aware of it or not,
12:11
they are attracted to greenery and it makes them feel more
12:13
comfortable. So that's just a little like
12:16
trick that I've always done. And then to to boost your
12:20
visibility on Airbnb specifically, you know, Airbnb
12:25
does reward active host. So making sure you do go in and
12:29
tinker with your listing. I try to go in at least once a
12:33
week and just move photos around or change the words a little
12:36
bit. That really helps you stay up
12:40
higher in search results. Of course, there's many parts of
12:42
the search algorithm, but that's something that certainly does
12:45
help along with responding in a timely manner.
12:48
Of course, turning on instant booking if you're comfortable
12:51
with that. And then finally, just
12:54
tightening up your amenities list.
12:55
So make sure that the Wi-Fi is amazing and fast, have a little
12:59
coffee set up, have extra chargers, maybe extra towels and
13:04
blankets, blackout curtains, things like that are going to,
13:09
you know, really make people feel comfortable and want to
13:12
book your space. Fantastic.
13:14
Yeah. I mean, I don't think we can
13:16
underestimate the importance of photos, you know, getting them
13:19
right, making sure that they're bright, taken by professional.
13:23
Don't just do this on your phone and upload them and they're
13:26
grainy and dark and bad angles because you don't really know
13:29
what you're doing. Use a professional.
13:31
We cannot stress that highly enough.
13:34
We mentioned it a little bit before there, Caitlin, but also
13:37
with the price, especially when it's a mega event and demand is
13:41
expected to be a lot higher, how can you make sure that you're
13:45
charging the right rate and you're not underselling yourself
13:48
or maybe charging too much? Yeah, absolutely.
13:51
I think this is a fantastic opportunity, if you have not
13:55
done so already, to take advantage of a free trial on
13:59
something like Price Labs or Beyond pricing or Wheelhouse and
14:03
really get to know the, you know, the competitive listings
14:06
in your area and see what they're charging.
14:09
They all, I think they all offer a free trial period.
14:13
And even if you want to do continue with them, it's really
14:15
not that expensive. It's fantastic software to have,
14:18
especially if you have multiple listings, but that could be a
14:21
great place to start. And a lot of them also have
14:24
representatives that will do free phone calls, like
14:26
one-on-one with you and you can ask like what should I be
14:29
charging for FIFA weekend? You know, what are we seeing?
14:32
And they'll take you to the map and show you.
14:34
And what's nice about that is it's not just Airbnb data, it's
14:40
usually also Verbo and booking.com.
14:43
So just like a much larger data set to look at.
14:47
And of course, you know, you want to use tiered pricing, the
14:50
peak nights you want to be the highest rates.
14:53
Of course, the shoulder nights, maybe a little bit lower, but
14:57
still at a premium, encourage longer stays.
15:00
I even if you do normally allow A1 night minimum, I would say at
15:05
least a two or three night minimum for those big game
15:08
weeks. And you want to avoid day of
15:13
event check insurance if at all possible.
15:16
So try to get them to check in at least a day prior and make
15:19
sure that they're staying at least a couple days.
15:23
And you know, that just kind of reduces the chaos and it
15:29
protects your cleaners and just ensures quality and charge
15:34
appropriately for any add-ons that you have.
15:36
So if you are allowing pets, for example, make sure that you have
15:40
that pet fee set up. If you charge for like extra
15:43
guests, if you're able to set up extra beds, for example, make
15:46
sure that's all set up so that it's all automated through your
15:49
platform of choice. When people do want to book,
15:52
it's super frustrating as a traveler to request a place to
15:57
stay and you see one price and then you know, then the host get
16:01
gets back to you and they're like, no, it's going to be this
16:03
much and this much more for all these extra things.
16:06
Like that's super frustrating. So just be really, really clear
16:09
about all of that and just prepared.
16:12
Just be proactive. Maybe something extra you want
16:15
to do for these huge events is offer like a stocked fridge for
16:19
people to come into the house and have all their snacks
16:21
already in the fridge and all their drinks so that they are
16:24
just ready to go. But yeah, I think, you know,
16:30
just opening up those dates as soon as possible.
16:32
These fans are like, soccer is the biggest sport in the world
16:37
and this is like so massive. We cannot, like, stress this
16:40
enough. So they are booking up already
16:43
fast, so just make sure you're familiar with those comps price
16:49
high at the beginning. You could always go lower if you
16:51
need to and just be prepared for any of those like extra, you
16:59
know, stay little things that you want to might offer to them
17:04
that might be able to bring you in some extra income.
17:09
Absolutely, yeah, the, the upsells always help to to get
17:12
the bit of extra revenue in. And yes, the World Cup is
17:14
massive. And if you're in the States and
17:17
maybe you're concentrating most of your time on the NFL and
17:20
baseball and hockey and all the rest of it, imagine that
17:23
basically every game in a FIFA World Cup basically gets the
17:27
same viewing audience as a Super Bowl.
17:29
That's pretty much what it's like worldwide.
17:31
And I know that might be hard to comprehend, but but that is the
17:34
truth. So Chris, and let's talk a
17:36
little bit then about the operations here and getting the
17:40
turnovers right. So how can hosts use a platform
17:45
like Turno to build in the necessary buffer time and the
17:49
accountability with their cleaning teams to ensure that
17:53
you're quickly dealing with those turnovers, but you're
17:57
making sure that you're adhering to those five star standards?
18:00
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think it starts
18:04
with, it starts with integrations, right?
18:06
Like making sure that, you know, we you have strong inputs from
18:12
where those bookings are coming from, right.
18:13
We need to know when people are checking in, when people are
18:16
checking out, make sure that it's accurate, make sure it's
18:18
real time, make sure it's supported, right.
18:21
So as an example, turnover has well over 50 integrations.
18:24
We've been, you know, maintaining for, you know,
18:26
multiple years with all of the major PO, you know, you know,
18:30
property management systems as well as all the major online
18:32
travel agencies like BRBO and Airbnb and Booking.
18:36
So you know, those are the types of things that are just again,
18:39
they become table stakes, right? You don't, you don't realize
18:43
that it's a problem unless it is a problem.
18:44
And then once that is a problem, it's a very big problem because
18:47
if you have an incorrect data that you're giving your cleaning
18:50
teams around when turnovers are happening, you're gonna fail.
18:55
Like it just is, that's just, it's table stakes, right?
18:57
And then I think it gets into the, it gets, it really gets
19:00
into the quality, right? I mean, you know, you have, you
19:03
have really robust opportunity to do photo checklists and
19:06
things and making sure that things look exactly as you want
19:08
them to, right? We, we sort of call it the
19:11
unwrapping of the, of the gift, right?
19:12
You talked about high, how important photos are, right?
19:16
Those photos better look like, the better look like the actual
19:20
thing when you open that door. And so making sure that your
19:24
cleaning team understands those standards, using an operational
19:28
software to communicate that to them in real time while they're
19:33
going through the cleaning, doing these checklists, making
19:35
sure that it looks exactly as your listing does, so that those
19:38
guests are wowed when they open the door and not disappointed.
19:42
And then I think the, the, you know, the last thing is it
19:45
really does get into, you know, how do you, especially for newer
19:49
hosts, right, right. And even existing hosts, right?
19:51
We talked about the emergency side of, of like when something
19:55
goes wrong, like how do you, how do you go find these?
19:57
But like for newer hosts who are jumping into the market, they
20:00
tend to immediately go, OK, well, I guess I just need to
20:02
like Google, you know, cleaning people or go to Facebook
20:06
Marketplace, right? Which is something inherently
20:08
wrong with that. But you start to realize that
20:11
there are drawbacks in terms of. You know, are they vetted?
20:15
Are they background checked? Like how do you know what the
20:17
quality is, right that you're going to know what the quality
20:19
is after that first clean? And at that point it could be
20:22
too late, right? Like, you know, one, one star
20:24
review or one three star review even is is enough to really hurt
20:28
you in in how you show up in listings.
20:31
And so how can you sort of prevent that as best you can by
20:36
leveraging more trusted sources to understand who you're
20:41
bringing in to, to do this? I mean, the, the number one
20:44
thing that when we talk to to newer hosts especially is trust,
20:48
right? Like, how do I find a good
20:51
reliable cleaner? Like that is the thing.
20:54
And you know, for all the benefits that like Facebook
20:58
marketplace has, it's not designed to help you find a good
21:01
reliable cleaner for a short term rental, right?
21:03
It is a very large, you know, open-ended marketplace.
21:08
You know, something like Terno's marketplace is much more pointed
21:11
at finding that good, reliable cleaner.
21:13
And you know, in fact, it actually, you know, we actually
21:16
sort of there, there's a lot of accountability that's that
21:19
happens within that's very similar to you as a host showing
21:21
up really well in your, in your, in your area, across other hosts
21:26
and across other properties. The same thing happens with the
21:29
marketplace that Terno has, which is five star reviews,
21:32
reliability on for ongoing connections.
21:35
Those are the types of things that get rewarded.
21:37
Those are the types of things that are transparent to hosts,
21:40
which allow them to make really solid decisions on continuing to
21:43
work with trusted cleaners. If you if you're not a great
21:46
trusted cleaner, you're not going to get the bookings right,
21:48
very similar to what Airbnb is. If your property doesn't look
21:50
like it looks and you get poor reviews, you're going to
21:52
continue to get pushed down that list.
21:54
So that competition breeds excellence.
21:58
I've said time and time again on on many podcasts, your cleaner
22:02
is your VIP for your short term rental business.
22:05
You you just cannot compromise on cleaning.
22:07
As you said there, a one star review can can ruin you.
22:11
I mean, A1 star review could get you kicked off Airbnb and then
22:14
you're in real trouble. So yeah, you cannot compromise
22:18
with cleaning. Chris for for a host who is.
22:21
Is new to professional turnover software and I imagine there
22:25
will be a lot of hosts out there who maybe they've just worked
22:28
with the cleaner who who lives down the road for years and
22:31
years and years and they've never really thought of using
22:33
something like this. What do you think of the two
22:35
Turno features that become non negotiable for success during a
22:40
major events period? Yeah, I think, I think it starts
22:44
with the reliability, right. That that's, that's both
22:47
integrations, that's, you know, that's the, how long has that
22:51
system been been doing these operational things, right?
22:55
Is it specifically built for a short term rental turnover,
22:58
right? Like there's a lot of project
23:00
management software out there that you can probably get 80% of
23:03
the way there for. But is it communicating the
23:06
things that it needs to, for that cleaner to do the project
23:10
without you having to do a bunch of manual intervention to
23:13
remember to say, oh, that, that, you know, that customer had a
23:16
pet, right? Like is that information coming
23:19
through the, you know, the property management systems
23:22
coming through the, the online travel agency bookings?
23:24
So that that way the cleaner is very prepared to be able to do
23:27
what they need. So having that reliability and
23:31
those really robust integrations is, is, is really key, right?
23:36
I mean, internal handles, you know, hundreds of thousands of
23:38
projects every single month through the, through the,
23:40
through the, the platform, right?
23:42
Like this is not a small thing. Like the software just works and
23:47
it's backed up by 24/7 support. You need that kind of
23:51
reliability. And then I think the second
23:52
thing is, you know, utilizing features that that really like
23:57
that can communicate well with your with your cleaning team,
24:00
right? Even if it is somebody that's
24:02
very familiar with it, right? Like there are little things
24:04
that you want to communicate to, whether that's checklist,
24:07
whether that's, you know, chatting with those people, you
24:09
know, making sure that those cleaners can also communicate
24:12
back to you, right? Instead of just sending a text
24:14
message that they said, hey, by the way, you know, the toilet,
24:17
it was running and I don't know what's going on with it.
24:19
Like you may need to fix it. And all the sudden it's a text
24:21
message that gets lost in the, you know, the day-to-day of your
24:25
of your very active busy life, you know, is it in a system of
24:28
record that you know, is like in your face saying, Hey, you still
24:32
have this problem, you need to go fix it so that that's
24:34
available for your next guest. So making sure that there's that
24:37
system of record that both sides can two way communicate with
24:41
that documents everything as it goes so that there's
24:44
accountability on both ends and things just don't get through
24:47
the you know what, that's how you get 5 star reviews.
24:49
It's not, it's not the, you know, it's, it's not the, the,
24:52
the beautiful, like, you know, sheets and all the stuff.
24:55
Those were all a big part of it. It's when something goes wrong,
24:58
how do you respond to it or how do you proactively prevent it
25:01
from becoming a larger problem? That's what gets true if I start
25:04
reviews. So.
25:05
Yeah, definitely. And and also I think, you know,
25:06
for the sustainability of your business as well, getting on top
25:09
of those maintenance issues. Because I, I've spoken to house
25:12
and property managers in the past and they're like, they know
25:14
there's a problem. They just put it off, put it
25:16
off, put it off, and then eventually it bites them in the
25:19
backside. So.
25:21
So Caitlin, how can hosts elevate the guest experience
25:25
during major events? What do you think the small
25:28
surprise and delight touches can make a stay more memorable and.
25:33
And help you to stand out from the competition.
25:36
I love that question. And I immediately think of this
25:40
Instagram video by Alex Tran as the Instagram handle.
25:46
But this guy, it went viral because he had a space that was
25:50
very close to the arena for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
25:55
And he made just the best experience for his guest.
25:59
And it wasn't even like super costly or anything, but he had
26:03
this little like fun game for them and little Taylor Swift
26:08
like questions on little cards throughout the house.
26:12
And then they could put them all together and get this this cool
26:15
picture. But he just made a really,
26:18
really fun, unique experience that was so specific to that
26:22
particular event that was coming to town.
26:26
I think, you know, first impressions matter obviously a
26:31
lot. You know, having those those
26:34
little handwritten welcome notes or just little goodies for your
26:39
guests, extra towels, extra blankets, maybe ponchos in case
26:43
it rains or blankets that can go outside for outdoor events,
26:47
having bottled water and little snacks.
26:50
I partner here in Richmond, VA with a local snack company and
26:56
they, I buy snacks in bulk from them and they cover all the
27:01
allergies. So like being aware of that too.
27:04
But those are always great because I just have my cleaner
27:06
pick out one or two of those to go on a little welcome basket
27:10
for any new guests that's coming in.
27:14
But lighting matters like kind of going to interior design a
27:19
little bit, making sure that your your guests know where your
27:24
space is. The entrance is very well lit.
27:27
This is exactly where I'm supposed to be.
27:30
As soon as they get in the entryway, it's styled nice.
27:33
Maybe some music playing. It kind of sets the entire tone
27:38
for this day, like those first few moments of entering the
27:42
space, curating a local guidebook, which is something
27:49
that you should do regardless. But you know, your guests want
27:53
to live like a local during their time there.
27:56
So giving them that local insight, you know, different
28:01
coffee cafes close by or late night spots to get pizza, you
28:05
know, or whatever your favorite things are in that area, let
28:09
them know about it and support those local businesses in your
28:13
area. Let's see, making just making
28:17
sure that everything is really intuitive, that they know where
28:21
the trash cans are, that things are labeled like the light
28:24
switches. I always have a house manual
28:28
that kind of explains where everything is and how to use
28:31
things. I'm also a big fan of using QR
28:34
codes, like if some things might might be a little quirky to
28:37
figure out. For example, I have like a gas
28:40
fireplace in one of my spaces. And if you've never turned it on
28:43
before, it can be a little challenging to figure out.
28:46
And so I have a little QR code that's right next to it.
28:49
People can scan it and that pops a video of me like, hey, it's
28:52
Kate. Let me show you how to do this.
28:54
I don't know about you guys, but a lot of people, like I said
28:57
earlier, are very visual creatures.
28:59
And like, I could read instructions all day long and
29:02
it's going to take me forever. But the second I watch a YouTube
29:04
video, it's like, Oh yeah, that's so easy, you know?
29:07
So just making sure things are like really, really easy and
29:10
intuitive for people and just creating a really beautiful
29:15
experience. I, I only have, I only manage my
29:21
own properties at this point. So I only have 4 listings, but
29:25
so it's easier for me to do these things.
29:27
But it really, really makes a huge difference.
29:28
And it's something that people talk about a lot in the reviews
29:33
is just like the little, just the little touches.
29:36
So like having a personalized postcard, like I said, having
29:40
dog treats if the dog is coming with them, having a dog bed.
29:43
I, I really cater to like I have all dog friendly spaces.
29:47
So people love that. It's like they're babies, you
29:50
know, or like if you, if you're trying to get families, you
29:53
know, having a pack and play for the kiddos or games, little
29:57
things like that can go a very long way.
30:01
Even something as simple as like a $5 gift card to the Coffee
30:05
Cafe across the street. People love that.
30:08
And what happens is they'll go there, they'll spend that $5 and
30:12
they'll often end up spending more at that local place and,
30:16
you know, supporting that local business.
30:18
And it was just like a little touch that that you gave to
30:21
them. And they'll remember that, you
30:22
know, it's, it's all about how you make them feel.
30:25
Definitely, yeah, the little things make a big difference and
30:27
I'm somebody who's just put a load of QR codes in my places as
30:30
well. Big fan of QR codes and then
30:34
other things as well, like for the World Cup, and we talked
30:36
about this at the the hosting crash course event, Chris, where
30:40
we were there, You know, things like having the match schedule,
30:42
having that poster, maybe having some merchandise in your
30:46
property, some flags, some face paints and.
30:49
And also remember as well, like you said there, Caitlin, your
30:53
guests want to live like a local.
30:55
They want to, you know, if they're coming to America, they
30:57
might be coming for the first time or Canada or Mexico.
30:59
If they're in the US, they want to, maybe they'll want to buy a
31:02
cowboy hat or they want to go and experience the best burger
31:06
or whatever it might be, you know, point them in the right
31:08
direction of where they can go and experience true Americana.
31:12
And then another thing we mentioned as well was I think
31:15
MLB's or baseball games won't be going on on the same night as
31:19
FIFA World Cup matches in host cities to direct your guests to
31:23
say, hey, you're in town, you're in the US, you've got to go see
31:26
a baseball game as well. If you like football, soccer,
31:29
it's likely you're going to like a lot of sports.
31:31
So, so go and see the baseball too.
31:34
Caitlin, how can hosts design or set up their space, especially
31:41
if they want to support high traffic, high usage stays during
31:45
major events? They might be like back-to-back
31:47
for 30 or 40 nights or something.
31:49
Yeah, for sure. When you're putting your space
31:51
together, of course choose durable materials like
31:55
performance fabrics. For example, check out Minoan if
32:00
you haven't yet. I don't know if that's in in
32:03
Europe yet, but it's really popular in the US and they
32:07
specifically help find really great deals for short term
32:11
rental hose and you can click filters to see like performance
32:15
grade items, which is really wonderful.
32:20
Stain resistant rugs, of course. I always like to get rugs that
32:24
have that are not white of course and have a bit of texture
32:29
to them and ones that are really easy to clean.
32:33
Of course washable throws and linen like linens.
32:39
OK this is like a whole conversation but linen material.
32:43
I would suggest cotton. 100% cotton all the way.
32:46
I feel like it's easy to get little stains out.
32:51
I like the triple sheet method which is going to be helpful for
32:56
your cleaner. If you haven't looked that up,
32:57
YouTube it triple sheet method. It makes everyone's life a lot
33:00
easier having, of course, uncluttered surfaces, having
33:07
hooks for jackets and, you know, for bath towels and they get out
33:11
of the shower. You know, just thinking about
33:13
those little things. If you haven't already, stay at
33:16
your space for a night and see what it's like to actually
33:19
experience that overnight. Because I promise you, like
33:22
there will be things that you notice.
33:25
Like this just happened to me. I stayed in one of my guest
33:27
houses a couple nights ago and I noticed that the smoke detector
33:31
blinked really, really bright in the primary bedroom like every 5
33:36
minutes. And that might be not annoying
33:39
to some people, but to me that was like, Oh my God, that is so
33:41
annoying. So I actually put like a little
33:43
piece of tape over that. But just little things like
33:46
that. You want to, you know, just make
33:49
it a very comfortable stay for your guests, making sure that
33:52
there's flexible sleeping options.
33:54
I'm a huge fan of sofa beds, for example, or like coffee tables
34:00
that can also double as a workspace that, you know, you
34:03
can pull up to make a little desk.
34:05
I love like those types of furniture items that have
34:09
multiple uses plants. Like we said, even if they're
34:13
faux, it still makes a difference.
34:16
People love a greenery and what else?
34:21
Having really good lighting, layer lighting, making sure you
34:25
have full length mirrors so people can see themselves when
34:28
they're getting ready and and lighting on the on the sides,
34:32
not just lighting from the top in rooms.
34:36
It's going to just look so much better, especially when you're
34:39
doing makeup when you have lights, you know, right at face
34:43
at your face instead of only from up here.
34:47
Warm ambient lighting always makes the space cozier.
34:52
I could design is my favorite part of helping new hosts that I
34:56
could go on and on about design. Please do connect if you want to
35:00
chat more about that. But yeah, it's it's very, very
35:05
important. So many great tips there.
35:07
I love the stay at your place. I think, you know, whenever I've
35:10
stayed at one of my places in the past, I always end up buying
35:13
something new for the kitchen because there's always a utensil
35:16
here that I've I've forgotten or lost or, or somebody's taking it
35:19
or something. So, yeah, that's, that's a great
35:21
tip. And full length mirrors, too.
35:23
Remember your guests. They're probably going out to
35:24
dinner each night. They're going to want to see how
35:26
they look. It's one of the cheapest and
35:28
most effective ways you can make sure that you're helping your
35:31
guests. Without curtains too, and like
35:34
curtains that go from the ceiling to the floor.
35:37
That's something I see a lot is people who only buy curtains
35:40
that just barely cover, like the window itself.
35:43
But it's going to totally transform a room.
35:45
If you buy longer curtains that go from the ceiling to the floor
35:49
and that are black out. It makes a huge difference.
35:52
Yeah. Remember we're selling sleep.
35:53
So yeah, think about that. The good, the good mattress and
35:56
all the sheets as well. Chris, we we have to speak about
35:59
something else which is really, really important in the short
36:02
term, world reviews. Let's talk about the post event
36:06
review cycle then. How can host set expectations
36:10
before the state to ensure they secure those critical five star
36:16
ratings even when it's a high stress turnover period?
36:21
Yeah. I mean, we've talked a lot
36:22
about, about this stuff, but like reviews are all about the
36:27
how you prepare, right? How are you proactive, right?
36:30
It's, it's, how Are you ready to go for this stuff?
36:33
I, I love, I love what Caitlin was talking about, right?
36:35
Which is like all of the little touches, like you want those
36:38
touches to shine, right? Which means you need to make
36:41
sure that you nail all of the stuff that's the, the, the
36:45
typical stuff, right, table stakes stuff.
36:47
So, you know, do all of the things that you need to to make
36:50
sure that you're not getting dinged for something that's
36:54
super easy to control, like cleanliness, You know, like a, a
36:59
toilet that wasn't wiped down, right, Like a toilet that's
37:02
running right. Like and and like those are the
37:05
things when those problems are reported either by previous
37:09
guests, current guests, like you need to spring into action
37:11
because it will not only impact their five star review, it'll
37:15
impact your future five star reviews, right?
37:16
When people are telling you you're missing a utensil, for
37:19
example, go get that utensil as fast as possible, right?
37:23
You just never know the next guest that's going to be really
37:26
annoyed by that, right? And so, and spoiler alert,
37:30
coming soon, hopefully by the end of this, this by the end of
37:33
this month was launching our maintenance marketplace as well.
37:38
And so you will be able to find there's already over 5000
37:41
handymen and things on the network.
37:44
And so you will be able to find not just a great cleaner, but if
37:48
there is a problem reported or anything along those lines,
37:50
you'll also be able to find those trusted handy pros to come
37:54
in and, and help you with some of those odd jobs that you know
37:57
you may not be equipped or, or in the area to actually do.
38:00
So again, adding to the trust factor of of finding great
38:03
people to proactively get those five star reviews so that all of
38:08
those awesome amenities like Caitlin just talked about can
38:11
really shine. Fantastic and yeah, brilliant
38:15
news about the the maintenance marketplace there something that
38:19
has house we all need from time to time.
38:21
I think I've got plumbers on speed dial, which I never really
38:25
never really wanted to have plumbers on speed dial when when
38:28
you start hosting this, these things happen.
38:30
Finally, then Caitlin, what are your top tips for communicating
38:35
expectations and minimizing property risk when you're
38:40
hosting event travellers? And, and I guess when, when
38:43
we're talking about risk here, we're thinking about those maybe
38:45
rowdy England fans who were coming over and they all want to
38:48
be on on, on the Bud, the Bud Light at all hours of the day.
38:53
Yeah, totally. Yeah, I think it's just setting
38:56
expectations early and clearly and repeating, just reinforcing
39:02
the rules throughout the whole booking process.
39:05
So making sure your rules are super clear within your listing,
39:10
in your pre booking message, if you're doing instant booking on
39:14
Airbnb, for example, you can set up a pre booking message and any
39:18
really important rules you can reiterate in there or you can
39:21
ask you know, questions in there.
39:24
Like what brings you to town? Like please keep in mind that
39:27
the Max occupancy is 6. Like please Add all guests to
39:31
the official reservation. Are there any dogs coming with
39:35
you? Are there any kids coming with
39:36
you? I would like to ask a few good
39:40
questions because not only does it, it help me like reiterate
39:45
those rules, but also it helps me like personalize the
39:47
experience for those guests too. It's, you know, it's not about
39:52
like policing them. It's just more about like making
39:56
sure that everyone, including your neighbors, is having a good
39:58
time and also identifying any red flags while feeling natural
40:04
in your conversation. So always keeping the language
40:08
very friendly and confident and consistent.
40:12
Of course, you know, if if they don't have any reviews yet,
40:17
making sure you say, hey, is this your first time using the
40:20
platform? Like what an honor it is that
40:22
you are wanting to book my place and making sure that they do
40:25
respond. I think that's like one of the
40:27
biggest red flags is no response or like bad communication.
40:32
I feel like that's that's a huge communication is everything,
40:35
right? So the way that people respond
40:38
to your questions and your messages will probably be a good
40:43
indicator of how they're going to be treating your space.
40:48
And just clarifying like the three biggest issues, which
40:52
would be probably parking, extra gas noise, you know?
40:56
So again, having very clear instructions.
40:59
Hey, quiet time is between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM.
41:04
Maybe again, offering local recommendations like, hey, if
41:09
you guys are looking for a good pizza spot, like after the game
41:12
when it's going to be really late or like a good club to go
41:15
to, here you go. Like try to get them to do that
41:18
outside of the house after the game, get ready elsewhere and
41:21
then just come back to sleep. Of course, using tech ethically.
41:26
So if you have noise monitors or exterior cameras, just making
41:31
sure you disclose that. And again, that that will help
41:34
keep things at Bay. And then you know, just again,
41:42
you're guiding, you're not policing.
41:44
I think that's like kind of the take away here is guide them to
41:47
to do things like if they do want to be rowdy, great.
41:51
Just don't do that in the home, you know?
41:55
So guiding, not policing. I like it.
41:57
Yeah. If you want to be rowdy, save it
41:59
for the stadium, save it for, save it, save, save it for, save
42:02
it for the bars. Yeah, I I like it.
42:05
Just before we go then Chris, if people are keen to find out more
42:08
about Turno, where should they go?
42:11
Yeah, honestly, just www.turno.com, there's all sorts
42:14
of things you can launch right into a free free trial.
42:18
You can launch right into a free cleaner search for your area.
42:23
I always get the question of like, oh, is there any cleaners
42:25
in my area? And then we go and launch and
42:26
it's like, oh, there's 700 in your in your area, right.
42:29
So like you're not gonna have to worry about supply both, both
42:32
locally in the US as well as internationally.
42:35
So just go there. We we have an entire onboarding
42:40
training activation team that will reach out to you once you
42:43
start, once you kick off your trials to walk you through
42:46
everything you need, get you connected, give you a bunch of
42:48
advice on on how to be successful on, on Turno as well
42:51
as honestly just successful within, you know, your entire
42:55
turnover process. So yeah, just head to
42:57
turnover.com. Superb.
42:59
We'll put all those details in the show notes.
43:01
And yes, Turno is everywhere, even in the north of England.
43:04
I found a cleaner on Turno just a few weeks ago and he's doing a
43:08
brilliant job so far, so I can speak with experience there.
43:12
Caitlin, tell us, where can people find out more about your
43:15
hosting resources? Specifically about the plants,
43:17
of course. Yes, you can learn all about me
43:22
and my services at Host with kate.com and I do have a couple
43:26
of design packages if you are interested in that.
43:31
Check it out. We'll put all these details and
43:33
links in the show notes. Chris, Caitlin, it's been a real
43:37
pleasure. Thank you for joining us on the
43:39
first episode of Turnover Tactics.
43:42
Thanks for having us. Thanks James.
43:44
Really appreciate it. That wraps up the very first
43:46
turnover tactics. Huge thanks to Chris Rule and
43:49
Caitlin Almeida for joining us. And if you're ready to stop the
43:52
chaos and start treating your operations like a profit centre,
43:56
get in touch with Turno, the all in
44:11
Whether you manage one property or 100, Turno helps you stay
44:14
guest ready effortlessly. Visit turno.com for further
44:18
details. Or.
44:18
Click the link in the show notes to get started.
44:21
It's time to let Turno take over.
44:24
And remember. For more vacation rental
44:26
education, head to Houseplanet dot Club, where you can sign up
44:30
for our newsletter, listen to our podcasts, and download a
44:33
suite of ebooks for hosts and property managers.
44:36
Thanks for tuning in to the first Turnover tactics.
44:39
Until next time, happy hosting.