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Jennifer and Jamey Ratcliff are an incredible couple — and an incredible couple of entrepreneurs in the Columbus area! They own a local restaurant, Arch & Eddie’s, and a local brewery, Sixth Sense, in addition to an adorable condo that they rent out using Airbnb.

But, with three businesses, Jennifer and Jamey are obviously really busy! That’s why they wanted to hire a co-host to turn their vacation getaway into a thriving Airbnb business, and they ultimately landed on Sarah. We get a lot of questions about what it means to be a co-host, so today we’re going to dig into what that partnership looks like, from both sides, and what Jennifer and Jamey were looking for when they were hiring.

Resources:

• Check out Jennifer & Jamey’s Airbnb: abnb.me/NJhrbZQbSW
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ohiobrewcouple
• Looking for a co-host? nestrs.com
• #STRShareSunday: @old_city_hosting

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When people start hosting short-term rentals, especially if they’re sharing their own home, they are usually worried about two things: damaged/stolen property and parties (which can lead to damaged or stolen property)!

Unfortunately, things do happen, although less than you might think, but there are things you can do as a host to minimize any costs associated with the damage and ensure your hosting status isn’t damaged itself. 

But, really, we do want to emphasize that this happens very, very rarely — so don’t let this fear be what stops you from jumping into the short-term rental game!

Resources:

• Want to open your own short-term rental? Then get your FREE copy of 7 Steps to Your First Guest at thanksforvisiting.me!
• Instagram: @thanksforvisiting_
• #STRShareSunday: @jointheranks

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There’s a question we get asked all the time: What the heck is a co-host?!

At its core, a co-host is just a joint host — which means the role is open for interpretation!

One of the reasons we think so many people find the idea of being a co-host so appealing is that it’s kind of a choose-your-own-adventure job, which means you’ll really have to sit down and talk to your partners to figure out what the arrangement looks like for you.

But we know that’s not necessarily an easy conversation, especially if it’s your first time, so today we’re going to share some examples of what co-hosting partnerships might look like.

Resources:

• Thanksforvisiting.me
• Want to open your own short-term rental? Then get your FREE copy of 7 Steps to Your First Guest at thanksforvisiting.me!
• #STRShareSunday: @tinycabinbythelake

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We met today’s guest, Kelly Rauch, at our most recent local Airbnb meetup — so, let that be a lesson to you: go to your local meetups, or if one doesn’t exist, start one. You can meet some really cool people there... and then, a week or two later, you might even be on their podcast!

Kelly is a marketing expert who just blew us away when she told us how she used social media to launch a new high-end rental in Mexico, and how she’s been getting repeat guests to up their occupancy rate and bring in more income. These are FREE tools that can completely transform your short-term rental business — so if you aren’t taking advantage of social media marketing yet, take good notes and get ready to blow up your business and brand!

Want to see what’s working for other people? Check out some of these popular Airbnb influencers: @flippinwendy, @thebeachlodge, @thegranvillebarn, @theboxhop.

Resources:

• Connect with Kelly...

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We often talk about strategies for hosts who are already in the game )how to welcome guests, how to set pricing, etc.), but we’ve missed an important step: getting the property you can use as an Airbnb! We also know that a lot of your are listening because you are still planning and working up the courage to open your first short-term rental — and the more you know, the less scary that becomes!

So we sat down with Gillian Luce, Senior Marketing Manager for Homes.com. She helps us understand some data that we can use to strategize our side hustle goals for 2020, plus some other things that homeowners need to know if they are considering using Airbnb (like how it can help you pay your mortgage).

Resources:

• Learn more at Homes.com
• Read: "How To Make Money With Airbnb – Best & Worst Cities"
• Read: “Side Hustles to Help Pay for Your Mortgage”
• Read: “Technology in Airbnbs”

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We host an Airbnb meetup here in Columbus, and at our most recent one, we heard about BJ Allmon, co-founder of InnTown Stays — and we knew we had to talk to him! Because BJ is staking a unique niche in the short-term industry, and he’s solving a big need at the same time: homes for people who are recovering from a disaster.

InnTown Stays is a service that makes it just as easy to lease a house as it is to vacation in one — and it was all born to help out a friend. It’s an incredible story and we’re excited to share it with you today, not just because it’s heartwarming but because it shows that there’s still so much opportunity in the short-term rental industry!

Resources:

• Learn more at www.inntownstays.com
• Stay in one of BJ’s Airbnbs: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/32366964?s=67&shared_item_type=1&virality_entry_point=1&sharer_id=8963103
• Check out Liberty Short House: ...

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Annette first stumbled into Cody Boyce’s office in their shared working space over a year ago because she is just a big WiFi network snoop, and she noticed that he was called “Podcast Master.” So, of course, she started yelling, “Podcast master! Podcast master!” out in the middle of the room. She found him — and it’s in no small part because of Cody and his team at Crate Media (formerly Podcast Masters) that this show exists today!

But that’s not why we brought Cody on the show today. We brought Cody onto the show because he and his wife recently started listing their home on Airbnb while they’re traveling for business, and Cody’s already automated this thing up — for free! So, we’re going to learn all about the Zapier automation that Cody is using to make his life easier and what it’s like when you’re listing your personal space.

Resources:

• Learn more at ...

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We met Marc Kade at a real estate investor meetup about a year ago — and, oh boy, this is the guy to talk to about all things lending! He’s a branch manager for PrimeLending and a real estate investor himself, and we brought him on because we know a lot of you want to know more about how to actually acquire the properties to use as short-term rentals.

Now, even if you’re not in the real estate investing game (or not yet), we urge you to stick with this episode. Marc is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to buying properties of any kind, even if it’s a personal home for you down the road, and he just might give you some new ideas you can use to expand a fledgling Airbnb business!

Resources:

• Learn more at www.hostfinancial.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marckade/

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We are so excited to share our conversation with Tiffany Caliva, host of The Beach Lodge in Hollywood, Airbnb Superhost, and one of our Instagram Super Heroes!

Tiffany tells us about her journey from new host to Superhost, how her account blew up on Insta (plus why an Instagram account is so vital for marketing your rental), all the work that went into transforming a beat down property into The Beach Lodge, and all the nitpicky details that you need to pay attention to if you want to blow up on Airbnb.

Resources:

• Learn more at www.hollywoodbeachlodge.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/thebeachlodge
• Watch: “How to go the Extra (S)mile”
• Read: “How to Host: Add Details Guests Love”
• The Venue Report

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Today we’re talking to a flippin’ Instagram celebratory in the real estate world, Wendy Doris, AKA @FlippinWendy!

Wendy started her entrepreneurial career in real estate as a house flipper in Cincinnati, and after about six years of flipping, she decided to start posting some of what she did onto Instagram. People started taking notice, and Wendy started getting requests to help with the renovation. Slowly, her business started to transform and grow into so much more than just flipping.

Today, Wendy considers herself an “Airbnb hoarder,” choosing to now keep the houses she fixes up so that she can share them with people from all over the world! But she also consults with people about their renovation, flipping, and Airbnb hosting woes.

Resources:

• Learn more at flippinwendy.design
• Instagram: @FlippinWendy
• Want to learn more about flipping houses? You can get Wendy’s ebook if you send her an email:...