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237. 5 Quick Tips for Leveling Up Your Listing · Thanks For Visiting

• 0:00
  Sarah: Hello, welcome back for the great episode.
• 0:02
  My name is Sarah Karakaian.
• 0:03
  Annette: I am Annette Grant, and together we are--
• 0:05
  Both Sarah and Annette: Thanks for Visiting.
• 0:06
  Sarah: All right.
• 0:07
  We're going to kick off this show by sharing some awesome listeners
• 0:11
  short-term rentals, but we're going to do it a little differently today.
• 0:13
  Right, Annette?
• 0:14
  Annette: Yes.
• 0:14
  Our STRShareSunday, we're having a little bit of a remix this week,
• 0:18
  but we're really excited about it.
• 0:20
  What we want to do is first share @levelupyourlisting.
• 0:24
  Again, that's @levelupyourlisting.
• 0:26
  And this whole episode is a recap of the event that we just attended
• 0:30
  in Scottsdale with all of the guests that are on the show today.
• 0:35
  They are remote guests.
• 0:36
  They are calling in, but we want to share this event.
• 0:39
  And the two lovely ladies, Natalie Palmer and Tatiana Taylor Tate,
• 0:43
  they just crushed this live event.
• 0:46
  The word on the street is it will be back in 2024.
• 0:49
  So be on the lookout, but please give them a follow @levelupyourlisting.
• 0:53
  And we are going to get onto this episode.
• 0:55
  What it is, every guest on the show today, they are going to share
• 0:59
  their big takeaway from this event.
• 1:02
  And each one of our guests, they are going to share their Instagram handle.
• 1:06
  So please give them a follow.
• 1:08
  So we are going to do a multitude of sharing today.
• 1:11
  Sarah, who's up first?
• 1:13
  Sarah: Yeah.
• 1:13
  Okay.
• 1:13
  So up first we have Amber.
• 1:18
  Amber: Hi, this is Amber, co-owner of Big Buckle Mountain Homes, where we host
• 1:22
  and co-host vacation homes in Colorado.
• 1:25
  We took home many great tips and tricks on incorporating social media into our homes.
• 1:29
  One of the best tips was to link any instructional or informational
• 1:33
  clips in the home to our Instagram.
• 1:35
  For example, we have a 22nd clip on how to operate the fire pit,
• 1:39
  open and close the hot tub, or put together the ping pong table.
• 1:43
  We're going to move these to our Instagram account so that when guests scan the code
• 1:46
  to watch the video, they're taken to our Instagram and it encourages them to be
• 1:50
  familiar with and tag Big Buckle Mountain Homes and their vacation postings.
• 1:55
  As we grow our business, we're striving to become more
• 1:57
  organized in our business week.
• 1:59
  Currently, we feel the pressure to create social media content daily.
• 2:03
  One of the tips we took away from the conference was later.com.
• 2:07
  This is a platform that will allow you to create numerous social media
• 2:11
  posts or content and schedule them to be delivered on future dates.
• 2:14
  I believe this will help us schedule one moment during the week to sit down
• 2:18
  and focus on social media creation.
• 2:20
  Thirdly, we were able to connect with representatives of many of
• 2:23
  the platforms we currently use.
• 2:25
  This opened doors for us to connect on social media through our
• 2:28
  Instagram and Facebook, and discuss opportunities for mutual media sharing
• 2:33
  when we highlight their products.
• 2:35
  Overall, the conference was a great way to connect and build relationships
• 2:37
  with other short-term vacation hosts.
• 2:40
  Sarah: I love all the takeaways that Amber shared with us.
• 2:45
  One tip that I want to just elaborate on is that first one, taking you back to
• 2:48
  Instagram to have them engage with you.
• 2:51
  One step further, if you have a direct booking website where you could also
• 2:55
  grab their email address and maybe a special offer if they're the first
• 2:59
  time that they're arriving to your website and having your videos live
• 3:02
  there would also be a really good tip.
• 3:05
  Annette: We should have done this at the intro, but listeners, the reason we chose
• 3:09
  these specific voices to let us know their largest takeaway from the event is
• 3:14
  they are members of our Hosting Business Mastery membership, and we got to connect
• 3:19
  with them in person over the three days.
• 3:22
  So there were lots of learning, obviously nightly meetups
• 3:25
  after to discuss all the things.
• 3:27
  But we had such a great conversation on the final evening of the event
• 3:32
  that we were like, wait a second.
• 3:33
  Sarah and I like to do recaps of live events that we go to, and we're like,
• 3:36
  they had so many great takeaways.
• 3:38
  We're like, we want to have you on the show and share your takeaways
• 3:41
  with all of the listeners.
• 3:42
  So I just wanted to give a little bit of background on why these lovely ladies are
• 3:46
  the ones telling, um, their takeaways.
• 3:48
  Because there were hundreds of women at the conference and I'm sure they,
• 3:51
  I mean, we could have episodes for weeks, about the takeaways, but that's
• 3:55
  why we specifically chose these women.
• 3:57
  Sarah: Okay, next up we have Tanya.
• 3:59
  Annette: And Tanya was a huge help on our live event.
• 4:01
  So I just want to give her an extra shout out here because she was
• 4:05
  very, very important in the live event that Sarah and I conducted.
• 4:08
  Tanya's Instagram is @YYHMinnesota.
• 4:13
  Again, that's YYHMinnesota, and we will have links to all the ladies'
• 4:17
  Instagram in the show notes.
• 4:19
  Sarah: It stands for.
• 4:19
  Yay, you're here, which I thought is so cute.
• 4:22
  All right, here's Tanya and her take.
• 4:24
  Tanya: Hi, I'm Tanya Rooney.
• 4:26
  My Instagram handle is Tanya Rooney MN.
• 4:30
  I'm in Hosting Business Mastery Method Mastermind.
• 4:34
  And I think the biggest takeaway that I had was how much design
• 4:37
  matters in your short term rentals and that it actually can drive up
• 4:41
  some of the ADR that you have.
• 4:44
  So I think the biggest thing that I took away is just that I can actually
• 4:48
  do some work on my rentals and make them-- like there's actually one that I
• 4:53
  really want to revamp because it was the first one I ever did and it's just kind
• 4:57
  of average and I think I need to work on making it better than my own home.
• 5:02
  So that was one big takeaway was that people book short-term rentals
• 5:06
  because they want to be at a place that's better than their own home.
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  So my biggest action item is I'm revamping one.
• 5:13
  I took measurements of every bedroom and a living room and a hallway, and we're
• 5:19
  going to add in some cool wow factors.
• 5:22
  I'm going to redo a living room and then make sure that the decor get revamped
• 5:26
  in a couple of the bedrooms, like it's a five bedroom, three bathhouse.
• 5:30
  Sarah: Yeah, Tanya.
• 5:31
  And then hopefully everyone knows too, obviously we are partnered with
• 5:35
  Minoan and we use them, love them.
• 5:37
  And I know Tanya will be shopping through Minoan to make sure that she
• 5:41
  can get tons and tons of discounts on those revamps that she's not paying
• 5:45
  retail for all of those wow factors she plans on putting in her home.
• 5:48
  Annette: And the one thing that I love that Tanya pointed out was
• 5:51
  like, hey, this was my first one.
• 5:53
  What happens is you get going, you get started, you get those
• 5:55
  bookings, and it's hard to close your calendar down because it's revenue.
• 6:00
  But I love that she has the foresight like, hey, I might have to slow down to
• 6:06
  speed up here and make an investment.
• 6:07
  But her average daily rate, like she's going to make more
• 6:10
  money by making these changes.
• 6:12
  And I love that she's excited.
• 6:14
  I mean, obviously she's taking action already.
• 6:16
  I think we've been home for like four days, so good job, Tanya, there.
• 6:19
  But I know you're out there listeners, the ones that are like, yeah, I really
• 6:23
  should fix that or replace that.
• 6:27
  This is your sign.
• 6:28
  This is your sign to make that reinvestment.
• 6:30
  It will pay off.
• 6:31
  AD MARKER
• 6:32
  All right, next up we have Chelsea.
• 6:35
  Chelsea: You can follow my instagram @thedigs.co.
• 6:40
  Also on Facebook at digs co vacation rentals.
• 6:44
  My biggest takeaway was actually the keynote speaker at the very end of
• 6:48
  the summit, who was April Brown from the Netflix series Motel makeover.
• 6:54
  We actually loved watching that show, and it was great to see her in person
• 6:58
  and talk about her experience, growing her motel business and being motelier.
• 7:04
  She kept repeating a phrase, which is not a foreign concept to me, but as
• 7:08
  we're growing our business and making sure that we're maximizing our efforts,
• 7:13
  her phrase delegate or automate.
• 7:15
  What are you delegating?
• 7:16
  What are you automating was a big one for me.
• 7:19
  I've delegated a lot as we've been growing, but I think it was nice to hear
• 7:23
  no matter what scale you are, no matter how big your operation is, you still
• 7:26
  have to have those things come into play.
• 7:29
  And I've actually implemented this already.
• 7:31
  I've delegated our newest employee who is taking over all of our safety inspections.
• 7:36
  Great to see you guys.
• 7:37
  See you soon in Nashville.
• 7:39
  Sarah: Thank you so much, Chelsea.
• 7:41
  We love that takeaway.
• 7:43
  We also give you permission.
• 7:45
  There are so many moving parts and pieces in running a short-term rental.
• 7:49
  And if you ever feel overwhelmed, take a deep breath.
• 7:54
  Write the things down that you're doing in your business.
• 7:57
  Take a log first for a little while and then you can look at it.
• 8:00
  We call it a brain dump, and you can look at it and see is there anything
• 8:03
  there that you can automate without losing those personal touches.
• 8:08
  Is there anything that you can delegate and maybe provide someone with some extra
• 8:12
  money in their life and free up some time for you to just have some more head space?
• 8:16
  So I just take myself back to what you just feel like everything's
• 8:21
  just caving in around you because there's so many spinning plates and
• 8:24
  you're like, how do I start taking control over this a little bit?
• 8:28
  And for me it was brain dumping and seeing it all on paper and
• 8:31
  then taking it kind of one by one.
• 8:33
  Annette: That phrase is very popular and there's sometimes
• 8:36
  a third word attached to it.
• 8:38
  So automate, delegate.
• 8:40
  The word I like the best that people add on is eliminate.
• 8:43
  Also sometimes, there's things you can also just eliminate them from your list.
• 8:47
  If they've been on there forever and there's something that's really
• 8:50
  not necessary and it's bothering you and adding more to your plate, you
• 8:54
  can eliminate it for a little while until it's time to bring it back on.
• 8:57
  Sarah: Yeah.
• 8:57
  Annette: All right.
• 8:58
  Last up.
• 8:58
  We have Ms.
• 9:00
  Stacy Race.
• 9:02
  Stacy: Hi, I am Stacy Perretti Race.
• 9:05
  And my properties are just outside of New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 9:09
  I absolutely loved the conference, um, and what I learned there.
• 9:13
  I will have to say, although it wasn't the sexiest of sessions, uh,
• 9:17
  the two key takeaways that I had.
• 9:21
  The first from Proper Insurance, finding out that my umbrella policy
• 9:25
  does not cover me liability-wise if it's a business activity.
• 9:29
  And then I learned a lot about deductions in the tax session that I need to speak
• 9:34
  with my CPAs about because I think I'm missing out on some deductions
• 9:39
  that are, uh, applicable to my.
• 9:41
  Other than that, I just love the whole atmosphere of it all
• 9:44
  that it was geared toward women.
• 9:46
  And the cherry on top was being able to spend some great time with
• 9:51
  three of my best friends in this business that I met through HBMM.
• 9:54
  And I want to thank you guys for connecting all of us as you do.
• 9:59
  We've formed a great friendship and community just from being in this business
• 10:03
  and learning from you guys together.
• 10:05
  If anyone would like to check out my properties, my Instagram handles are
• 10:09
  Sleepy Lagoon LA and LaCroix Covington.
• 10:14
  That's L-A_C-R-O-I-X Covington.
• 10:18
  Thanks so much, guys.
• 10:19
  Sarah: She's got beautiful properties.
• 10:21
  Annette: Yes.
• 10:21
  Stacy's crushing it.
• 10:23
  And obviously, stacy just brought up two really important things.
• 10:26
  We will circle back on specifically if we can get proper on to
• 10:31
  discuss what Stacy is mentioning.
• 10:34
  But until that time, if you want to reach out to Proper, we will
• 10:37
  put their link in the show notes.
• 10:39
  If what Stacy just said about her personal umbrella policy and her property being
• 10:45
  separate, that's a business, and then her personal liability, I am sure that Proper,
• 10:49
  if you want to discuss some things like that, if you want to reach out to them,
• 10:53
  get a quote from them, make sure that you are doing apples to apples comparison.
• 10:57
  Huge red flag right now.
• 10:59
  If you don't have short-term rental insurance, then we really want
• 11:02
  you to reach out to Proper today.
• 11:03
  But, Stacy, thanks for bringing that up.
• 11:05
  And then what she mentioned about her tax person, please let your tax person
• 11:09
  know exactly what you're doing with your property and also what you plan to
• 11:13
  do with your portfolio in the future.
• 11:15
  You can't just keep them siloed in what you're doing today.
• 11:17
  Let them know the whole future of your grand plans with your
• 11:21
  whole short-term rental portfolio.
• 11:23
  But Sarah, let's talk about our takeaways.
• 11:25
  Sarah: Yeah.
• 11:26
  My takeaways is, someone said this too at the conference, I think
• 11:30
  it was Tatiana, one of the hosts.
• 11:32
  And she reminded all of us at the conferences or anything that you do,
• 11:36
  it's what you decide to take from it.
• 11:38
  You can show up, and that's really half the battle.
• 11:41
  You then have to make the most of that situation.
• 11:45
  And I really love that because Annette encouraged me when we
• 11:47
  go someplace, we set intentions.
• 11:49
  What do we want to get out of this experience?
• 11:50
  Because you could show up and never go to any of the sessions, or we go to
• 11:54
  sessions, but not really be checked in.
• 11:56
  And so anything you do that you decide to give at your time, show up with intention.
• 12:01
  And for me, it was just these little reminders of how
• 12:05
  important it is to revisit my operational systems and processes.
• 12:10
  I did love the tax discussion because we're in this for, yes, because
• 12:15
  we love hosting and hospitality, but what a great benefit that we
• 12:19
  get to do it through real estate.
• 12:21
  And uh, she had some really great reminders there.
• 12:23
  So we'll definitely have some more tax discussions this year,
• 12:26
  Annette, I think, on the show.
• 12:27
  Annette: Yeah.
• 12:28
  Speaking of taxes and live events, if you're running your hosting business
• 12:31
  like a business to go to these summits, these are tax write-offs.
• 12:34
  You can write off this travel.
• 12:36
  So please, that is a huge reason you want to open up that LLC, you
• 12:40
  want to open up that points credit card for your hosting business.
• 12:44
  So that's something obviously the tax representative there was
• 12:47
  chatting about as like, let's make sure that you're separating your
• 12:50
  personal and your business, so you can write these things off.
• 12:53
  Because some people had booked their hotel, they booked their flight on
• 12:55
  their personal and it gets muddy.
• 12:57
  You don't want to do that.
• 12:58
  And I think for us, everyone there was like really taking their business
• 13:02
  seriously, which was so exciting.
• 13:04
  A lot of people were transitioning from maybe hosting part-time to full-time.
• 13:08
  A lot of people wanting to get into co-hosting.
• 13:10
  But it just reminded Sarah and I that like getting out, getting to
• 13:15
  live events, connecting with the hosting community is really important.
• 13:18
  It got us fired up.
• 13:20
  We are in the works right now of bringing our live event back this year,
• 13:24
  so please be on the lookout for that.
• 13:27
  But try to put something on your calendar where you can connect with other hosts.
• 13:31
  The hosting community is really important.
• 13:34
  It's important that we get out, we meet fellow hosts and not only uplevel your
• 13:39
  own listing, but it'll help uplevel the whole entire hosting community.
• 13:42
  Sarah: With that, I am Sarah Karakaian.
• 13:44
  Annette: I am Annette Grant, and together we are--
• 13:46
  Both Sarah and Annette: Thanks for Visiting.
• 13:47
  Sarah: We'll talk to you next time.