In this episode, we're thrilled to have Sage Nathan, a seasoned hospitality enthusiast and key player at Minoan, as our guest. Sage is a self-proclaimed “boutique geek” with a passion for hospitality. Sage started her career in eCommerce and retail and spent over two years as an omni-channel buyer at Jet.com (later acquired by Walmart in 2016 for $3.3B) where she worked alongside Minoan’s founder, Marc. She then left Jet.com/WMT and joined Minoan in 2020. 

Minoan, a platform we faithfully use for our short-term rentals, allows hosts to furnish their spaces with high-quality items from over 160 brands, all at amazing discounts. Minoan takes on the “unsexy” sides of ordering like tracking, customer service, etc. so hosts can focus on what they do best – hosting! And the best part is, it's completely free to use! 

In this episode Sage will be sharing insights on how to maximize the capabilities of Minoan and new features on the platform,...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between.

Nicole asks:

There is construction going on right near our two short-term rentals. What do you recommend we do to ensure guests continue to have a great stay even through the construction projects?

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah and Annette, visit Speakpipe.com/ThanksforvisitingAMA

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

It’s time for #strsharesunday! Today we are sharing The Brooklyn Inn

Melinda and Matilda host Mountain Lake Bungalows and they're back at it again with their new property: @thebrooklyninn where they are doing mid-term rentals.

NYC has different rules and regulations around short-term rentals, so... mid-term rentals it is! And the Brooklyn Inn is GORGEOUS.

Melinda and Matilda are both from Sweden and do PR for Visit Sweden (huge account!) while also hosting their own properties here in the US, where they can bring that same hospitalist and guest-centered goals to their properties.

If you're in a spot where maybe your town is considering different rules and regulations around short-term rentals, don't count yourself out.

Maybe you have a slower season or maybe you have a busier time in your life, or maybe you need to press pause on the fast action, short-term rentals. Check them out to see how they are welcoming guests in their mid-term rental, and look to them for inspiration!

We are thrilled to welcome former lawyer turned hotelier, Diya Liu, to the podcast. Diya is a true powerhouse in the real estate and hospitality industry. Drawing from her academic background in chemical engineering and biochemistry, she pursued a legal career in patent litigation. However, her incredible success in reaching $200,000 net rental income with short-term rentals led her to make the courageous decision to quit her job and fully immerse herself in the world of real estate investing. With her extensive portfolio, she owns four boutique hotels and around a dozen short-term rentals across the USA. As if that wasn't impressive enough, Diya is also the CEO of Welcome Capital, a remarkable $10 million STR and hotel fund. 

What sets Diya apart is her ability to leverage her legal background to teach others not only how to achieve financial independence through short-term rentals but also advanced techniques such as off-market acquisitions, creative financing with zero down...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between.

Ashley asks:

How can we be sure that a single bad review doesn’t highly impact our bookings?

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah and Annette, visit Speakpipe.com/ThanksforvisitingAMA

Resources:

• IntelliHost: Use code TFV20 - Intellihost measures your search performance on Airbnb against your competition and provides data driven recommendations to book more revenue.
• Rankbreeze: Optimize your Airbnb rankings and search visibility. Start improving your Airbnb rankings immediately with the SEO tool. Gain rankings, improve your revenue, and defend your listing against competitors.

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

It’s time for #strsharesunday! Today we are sharing Vermont A-Frame

This gorgeous A-Frame is hosted by Monique and Jason, and we had the pleasure of meting Monique at a short-term rental event recently! So if you want to meet and network with other hosts from all over the country, don't forget to buy your ticket to TFV Con!

But we digress... let's talk about this A-frame.

One thing that we love about their feed is that there are so many photos of people enjoying the space. Sometimes, we have all these photos that we took during the photo shoots of getting the listing up and running, but being able to envision yourself in the space is really, really important. Monique and Jason have done an amazing job of not only showing people in the property, but also the landscapes around the property.

They are pet friendly, so there are a lot of pets throughout the photos. (dog lovers... don't you want to bring your pup there?) They also offer dog shampoo! If you take your pup on the hike...

In this special episode, we wanted to give you an inside look at what goes on behind the scenes at Thanks for Visiting. We've received countless inquiries from our listeners, coaches, and members who are curious about not only our property management operations but also how we run Thanks for Visiting itself. That's why we're thrilled to introduce our newest team member, Colleen Prochaska, who recently joined us as our Chief Operations Officer. Colleen brings an impressive background in hospitality, with over 10 years of experience as a hotel General Manager for top brands like Marriott and Hilton. We were blown away by her accomplishments, including earning guest satisfaction accolades and delivering financial successes in her previous roles. We couldn't help but think how incredible it would be to have Colleen on our team, and thanks to the support of all of you, we were able to make it happen.

As our Officer of Operations, Colleen is responsible for managing the day-to-day...

Welcome back to the Hosting Hotline! This is an Ask Me Anything where each week we’ll answer your questions on Airbnb, STRs, real estate, and everything in between.

Suzanne asks:

I’m building a luxury short-term rental that sleeps 16 people. What tips do you have to make sure the entire space – not just the bedrooms – are ready for big groups of guests?

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. To hear your voice on the show and send a question to Sarah and Annette, visit Speakpipe.com/ThanksforvisitingAMA

Resources:

• Use code TFV20 at IntelliHost.co

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.

It’s time for #strsharesunday! Today we are sharing Motojave 1953

Here are a few things that we LOVE about this incredible space:

1. They have what we call a "brag bar." When you go to their Airbnb listing, you can see where they've added a section to show what they've been featured in, awards they've won, designed by, etc. This lets potential guests know that they were featured in as best wedding venue in Joshua Tree in January of 2023 and shows all the awards they've won!

You'll see this a lot on websites where they'll say, featured in X, Y, Z magazine or on this television show. Put it in your Airbnb listing!

2. They offer free EV charging! We really think this is going to become more and more important as we roll into the future. So, if you are looking for a way to potentially stand out in a sea of listings and you know that someone might be traveling to your home with an electric car, that might be the reason they choose you!

Let's say these people are coming from LA to...

We have heard from you all that you would like a little bit more behind the scenes of what Annette and I get ourselves into, so we’re sharing about our current journey buying 175 acres of land out in Ohio. In this episode, we're going to go over the who, what, when, where, and why of this exciting new project. We share who we are collaborating with for this project and why we believe it’s a good partnership. We talk about our plan for the structures on the land, and how long it has taken us to find the right property. We also get into why we’ve chosen central Ohio as where we are investing in real estate, and the long list of “whys” we’re so excited about this next challenge.

Resources:

• BiggerPockets Podcast: biggerpockets.com
• #STRShareSunday: @motojave1953

Thanks for Visiting is produced by Crate Media.