Vacation Rental Success

In this special episode of the podcast, we’re diving into a topic that’s not only close to our hearts, but poised to transform the vacation rental property management industry: the THRIVE Training System. Designed to elevate business performance by aligning team culture with the core values of Trust, Hospitality, Responsibility, and a Vibrant Environment, THRIVE promises to reshape how property management companies operate and engage with their key stakeholders: guests, owners, community, and their team.   Register to attend an information session to get your questions answered about THRIVE: https://thrive.vacationrentalformula.com/thrive-live-webinar ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS553

A recent SNL skit highlighted the phenomenon termed ‘airspace’ in a 2020 Financial Times article.  The generic blend of white walls, grey upholstery, IKEA furniture and HomeGoods artwork, commonly found in Airbnbs across the world, is getting some bad (and funny) press. Interior designer Jessica Duce is the face of the other side of the ‘Airbnb Design’ business.  As a professional designer, who has developed a passion for creating vacation rentals that inspire attention from guests, yet also address sustainability, safety, and community respect, she is not alone in this quest.   In April, hundreds of respected and seasoned professionals will attend the second Vacation Rental Design Summit in High Point, North Carolina, where they will hear from vacation rental experts such as Tyann Marcink Hammond of Touch Stay, and Justin Ford from Breezeway. They are there to learn why this category is growing as an important part of the design world.  Property managers and home owners will also be there to pick up tips on

During our SSTIR Crazy Month Rolf Blizzard from Atlantic Realty in the Outer Banks said… “If you don’t have regulations in place, or are not currently dealing with regulation issues, know that it is coming to your location”. For many property managers and owners in British Columbia, the announcement of new rules limiting short-term rentals to primary residences and in communities under 10K people, came as a surprise and had them scrambling to organize a response. The Property Rights BC Association was formed in October 2023 to advocate for property rights in reaction to the BC Government’s Bill 35 which became the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act on 26th October, 2023.  Orion Rodgers, the Owner & Operations Manager at Coast & Host Vacation Rentals is the spokesperson and he joins Heather on this episode alongside Jayne McCaw of Jayne’s Luxury Rentals in Ontario, and the organizer of April’s CanStays Rental Alliance Conference in Banff, Catherine Ratcliffe. This conversation explores how to take ac

Successful companies in the vacation rental business have defined their core values and strive to shape their culture and guide their decision-making processes by them. In this episode, first in a series of interviews with property managers of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Deb Furlong of Beach Getaways, talks about the crucial role of their core values and how they are integrated into every aspect of the business. From interactions with owners and guests to team meetings and vendor relationships, Deb emphasizes the significance of trustworthiness, empathy, and servant leadership in fostering a positive work environment and building lasting relationships with stakeholders. We need your help to prevent STR bans and unreasonable regulations!!! In an effort to make our voices heard and start the conversation with top level decision makers the CanStays Rental Alliance Conference is happening April 20-22 in Banff Alberta. We need you to attend, we need you the share this message, we need you to get involved. Us

We’ve just wrapped up SSTIR Crazy Month after 5-weeks of focusing on the core elements of our business that tend to be sidelined in conferences and summits.  For the month of February, we talked about Safety, Sustainability, Trust, Insurance and Regulations, with podcast episodes, expert panels, blog posts and social media content. In this episode, Heather and Mike - co-founders of the Vacation Rental Formula Business School - review the month, pulling out the best bits and key takeaways from each week, and sharing some of the highlights from our expert contributors. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________   We need your help to prevent STR bans and unreasonable regulations!!! In an effort to make our voices heard and start the conversation with top level decision makers the CanStays Rental Alliance Conference is happening April 20-22 in Banff Alberta. We need you to attend, we need you the share this message, we need you to get involved. Use

Do people really think about their impact on the environment when they go on vacation? Do they actively seek out locations and properties that clearly state their sustainability features?   Reports and statistics are telling us that Gen Z is the most enlightened generation when it comes to responsible tourism, and we should be hooking into that and making it a part of our marketing and operational strategies for the future. In today’s episode I am joined by Marc Ribail, the co-founder and Head of Sustainability at Inspired Living Solutions, and founder of QALIA, a sustainability certificate program for the luxury market. This episode is a part of  SSTIR Crazy Month which is sponsored by Proper Insurance‍ Proper Insurance is committed to providing short-term rental owners with a comprehensive insurance solution. Call Proper Insurance today at 1-888-631-6680 Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS548

If you don’t already have local or state legislation in place to regulate your short-term rental business, it’s either in progress or it’s coming, because it’s not a matter of if your area gets regulated for short-term rentals. It’s when. This is the message Rolf Blizzard wants everyone to heed and why you need to be laser focused on your current regulations, or well-prepared for what is in store for you in the future. The recent outright ban on short-term rentals in the province of British Columbia has galvanized managers and owners and brought them together in coalitions to lobby their government representatives.  But is this too late? In this episode Rolf shares what he calls the "Seven Cs of Advocacy," and breaks down the ways in which stakeholders, i.e. owners and property managers, can set themselves up for greater advocacy success by getting ahead of potential regulatory action. This episode is a part of  SSTIR Crazy Month which is sponsored by Proper Insurance‍ Proper Insurance is committed to provid

Insurance often takes a back seat in conversations about building a successful short-term rental property management business, but it has such critical importance, we have to pay more attention to it. When we do discuss it, it’s often to complain about the rising cost of premiums, but if it takes a lawsuit, or catastrophic damage to bring it front of mind and to realize its value, it may be too late. In this episode, we are focusing on every type of insurance including liability coverage, damage waiver products, and travel insurance. Nick Massey from Proper Insurance joins Heather to talk about the things you need to know in order to safeguard your business against unforeseen incidents.  This is an important conversation and one that could protect you from so many risks. This episode is a part of  SSTIR Crazy Month which is sponsored by Proper Insurance‍ Proper Insurance is committed to providing short-term rental owners with a comprehensive insurance solution. Call Proper Insurance today at 1-888-631-6680

Trust is at the core of everything we do in this business, and there’s no-one better to talk about this than Chris Maughan of I-PRAC.  He has been studying trust for more than 25 years and in this episode shines a spotlight on its paramount importance in building relationships with guests, reducing uncertainty, and shaping confidence. Airbnb says they ‘want to build the world’s most trusted community’.  They underscore this by assuring potential guests they will  ‘dedicate a knowledgeable and experienced team to monitor any suspicious activity in our marketplace’. Yet, they are just what they call themselves - a marketplace - and with more people seeking out direct book options to save money on service fees, it is on the operators to deliver a haven of trust in their online presence. The conversation explores ways that hosts and property managers can instill trust-building elements, like trust pages, transparent listings, and reduce uncertainty in all their communication.   This episode is a part of  SSTIR C

Do we need to know our guests?  They book, pay, arrive, stay a while, leave, and we hope that all will go well, the property will be respected and there won’t be a charge-back.  That is not always the case though, and while we can expect most of our guests to be great, there will always be a few that cause issues…and unfortunately, they can be the costliest ones. Guest screening used to be easy in the ‘way back when’ days when we didn’t care as much about protecting personal information. Now that people are rightly reluctant to release too many personal details, it’s challenging to be confident who is renting our homes. And when trust and safety is at the forefront of our minds, we need to have a solution to guest screening. In this episode, Leo Walton from Superhog talks about the need to balance guest-centric communication with efficient screening procedures. The conversation also delves into the role of guest screening in damage prevention, identifying fraud, and combating fraudulent chargebacks. This epis

This episode is sponsored by Minut. You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >> https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business! Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow. Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time: Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS543

This episode is sponsored by Minut. You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >> https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business! Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow. Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time: Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS542

This episode is sponsored by Minut. You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >> https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business! Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow. Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time: Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS541

This episode is sponsored by Minut. You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >> https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ At the close of every summer season in our 20-year tenure as custodians of our property management company, we met with our team and reviewed the ups and downs of the year. There were serious moments when we looked at what we might have done better, and how those experiences would impact strategies for the next year.  We reflected on the crazy things that happened - the guests who arrived a week early or forgot when they had to leave. The wildlife that turned up to throw a perfectly good vacation into a tailspin; and the increasingly demanding and easily offended guests. Like many owners and property managers in this business we invariably finished our trip down the season’s memory lane with the vow to write a book. We haven’t done t

This episode is sponsored by Minut. You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >> https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business! Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow. Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time: Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS539

This episode is sponsored by Minut. You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >> https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business! Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow. Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time: Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS538

This episode is sponsored by Minut. You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >> https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business! Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow. Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time: Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS537

This episode is sponsored by The Vacation Rental Formula Business School. Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/business-school/ Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:  https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS536

This episode is sponsored by The Vacation Rental Formula Business SchoolCan you hands on the year's biggest course sales Get all our courses in Buy One, Get One Bundles Don't Miss Out >> Get Your Course Offers Here Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult   Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/   Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS535  

This episode is sponsored by The Vacation Rental Formula Business SchoolCan you hands on the year's biggest course sales Get all our courses in Buy One, Get One Bundles Don't Miss Out >> Get Your Course Offers Here Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult   Discover more about the VRF B-School: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/   Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here: https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS534