Millennial Investing - The Investor’s Podcast Network

MI288: Experiencing Unique Stays w/ Ben Wolff

Aug 28, 2023

54:57

Snipd AI

Ben Wolff, Co-founder of a $65 million fund in experiential hospitality real estate, discusses his strategy of building a diverse 'unique stays' portfolio. He talks about his experience in the Airbnb/STR market, handling the pandemic fallout, finding land for development, raising money, and building a direct booking engine. Ben shares his thoughts on career decisions, influential books/people, and team building. He also gives insights into his new project in Texas and shares what an average day looks like for him.

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Offering unique and experiential accommodations is a growing trend in the Airbnb market.

Building a successful team of A-players is crucial for the success of a unique stays portfolio.

Utilizing social media, particularly Instagram, can be an effective way to generate direct bookings and increase revenue.

Deep dives

Building a Unique Stays Portfolio

The podcast episode discusses the strategy of building a unique stays portfolio in the Airbnb short-term rental market. The speaker emphasizes the importance of offering travelers a unique and experiential accommodation that goes beyond traditional hotel chains. The focus is on creating stays that inspire and connect guests to the local vibe, with high design architecture, Instagrammable features, and tech enablement. The speaker shares examples of unique units, such as treehouses, safari tents, and container homes, and highlights the importance of considering factors like ease of management, operational challenges, and cost in the development process. The episode also touches on raising funds, locating suitable properties, and collaborating with architects and designers.

Introduction

2min

Exploring Unique Stays and Investing in Real Estate

14min

Presenting the Vision and Collaborating on Unique Properties

7min

Unique Stays and Social Media Marketing

12min

Early Influences and Unique Stays

7min

Property Development Enthusiasm

15min

Wrapping Up with Discussion on Social Media and Advertising Another Podcast

2min

Patrick Donley (@JPatrickDonley) sits down with Ben Wolff to discuss his strategy of building a “unique stays” portfolio. You’ll also hear about how Ben first got involved in the Airbnb/STR market, how he went about his first unique stay development, how he thinks about taking on risk and making entrepreneurial moves, and how he is building his team at Onera.

Ben co-founded a fund overseeing $65 million in experiential hospitality real estate, featuring treehouses, safari tents, and container homes. He's the CEO of StayOasi, an experiential hospitality management firm, and played a key role in developing StayOasi properties like Onera and Spirit of Sophia.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro

02:10 - Why Ben feels “unique stays” are the way of the future.

03:43 - How Ben first got involved in the Airbnb STR market.

06:02 - How he handled the fallout from the pandemic.

08:59 - How he went about finding land for his first development.

14:34 - Ben’s strategy has been for raising money for his projects.

16:20 - How they went about finding great designs for the treehouses.

27:00 - How Ben went about building a direct booking engine through social media.

32:43 - How Ben thinks about making career decisions.

35:35 - What the books and people that have influenced his entrepreneurial career have been.

39:09 - How he has gone about building the team at Onera.

45:19 - What his new project in Texas is going to look like.

53:14 - What an average day looks like for Ben.

54:36 - Why Ben and his team are increasingly focused on content creation.

57:07 - Why he feels the higher-end unique stays market has much more room to grow.

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Kyle and the other community members.
Sign up for TIP’s free newsletter, We Study Markets.
The Everything Guide to House Hacking by Robert Leonard.
Related episode: Listen to REI135: Unique Multi-Unit Airbnb/STR w/ Isaac French, or watch the video.
Related episode: Listen to REI192: Building an Empire w/ Nick Huber, or watch the video.
Related episode: Listen to REI170: Transforming Spaces w/ Antonia Botero, or watch the video.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Stayonera.com to book.
Onera’s Instagram.

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SPONSORS

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Connect with Patrick: Twitter

Connect with Ben: Instagram | Website

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