The STR Growth Show

I sat down with Kory Rankine, founder of Escape Lux in Miami, to break down how he built a selective portfolio of upscale and ultra-luxury STRs through high-touch, experience-driven hospitality.Kory shares how he entered the industry through concierge services, landed early luxury bookings by pairing homes with yachts, chefs, cars, and chauffeurs, and built a business around matching the right guests with the right properties.We discuss Miami’s evolving STR regulations, why compliance is critical, how B2B referrals drive growth, and why Kory moved beyond the overused “luxury” label to focus on creating memorable escape experiences.We also dive into AI, underwriting, due diligence, and Kory’s plans to scale strategically and eventually acquire assets.If you’re building a luxury STR management company or looking to create a differentiated hospitality brand, this episode is for you.Connect with me....Podcast: YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Kory Rankine at https://escapelux.com/

I sat down with Kyle Miklasz to break down how he built highly profitable “super properties” in overlooked, drive-to Midwest markets by turning barns and warehouses into destination short-term rentals.Kyle shares how he went from corporate sales to STRs, found his first barn for $775K, invested roughly $250K into the property, and turned an AirDNA projection of $35K into nearly 10x that revenue. We also discuss how a $2.1M refinance helped him scale to 15 locations.We dive into the strategy behind his amenity-heavy properties, how social media now drives 40–50% of revenue, growing direct bookings to 35%, and why Kyle designs properties to be the reason guests travel in the first place.We also break down his approach to underwriting without traditional comps, scaling with capital, building the Wild Warehouse brand, managing insurance and risk, and continuously refreshing properties to keep them relevant and shareable.If you’re looking to build unique, high-revenue STRs outside traditional vacation markets, this episode is packed with strategies you can apply.Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Kyle Miklasz on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kylemiklasz/

Lucas Piper went from earning $30,000 a year as a social worker to building Five Star VHR, a luxury short-term rental management company with roughly 70 properties in Austin generating about $9M in booked revenue.In this episode, Lucas shares how he started by renting out his own home, scaled through rental arbitrage, survived COVID and partnership mistakes, and eventually went all-in on property management.We break down how he used Facebook groups, meetups, networking, and free education to build a reputation that helped him win luxury management contracts and grow through referrals. Lucas also shares his approach to owner retention, competing on value instead of fees, building strong local teams, and fixing financial and bookkeeping challenges.Finally, we discuss what’s next for Five Star VHR, including mergers and partnerships, growing to 85–100 high-quality properties, and using AI to improve the guest experience.Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Lucas Piper on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fivestarvhr/

I sit down with Cameron and Jeremy to break down how they acquired a 46-year-old Lake Tahoe property management company, growing from 10–15 homes to nearly 140 in a single deal.We discuss how they built their partnership, navigated messy financials and non-assignable contracts, used a Quality of Earnings professional, and valued the business based on its management contracts rather than traditional EBITDA.We also dive into what happened after closing from improving revenue management and listings to automating guest communication, rebuilding maintenance workflows, hiring key team members, and implementing EOS.Cameron and Jeremy share the realities of acquiring a legacy STR management company and their plan to strengthen operations, regain Superhost status, and scale toward $30 million in annual gross bookings.Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Jeremy & Cameron:Cameron on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameron.masters_/Cameron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronemasters/Jeremy's email: [email protected]

How do you scale a short-term rental management company without becoming another bloated, generic property manager?In this episode of The STR Growth Show, Alex Bykov shares how he and his wife, Natalie, grew their Lake Arrowhead short-term rental management business from just 5 properties to 37 units, with 50 in their sights.Alex breaks down how they’ve carved out a middle ground between self-management and the large national property management companies by going deep on what matters locally: operations, reliable vendors, guest experience, regulations, and technology.But where things get especially interesting is how Alex is using AI and custom-built software to run the business more efficiently.With a background in web development, Alex started using Claude AI, APIs, MCP integrations, and automation to build internal tools specifically around the problems his property management company faces.If you run a short-term rental management company, this episode is a practical look at where the industry is heading: smaller teams using AI, automation, and custom technology to operate like much larger companies.Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Alex Bykov on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/bykovalex/

AI search is changing how guests find places to stay and most STR operators aren't ready for it.We sit down with Jason Cincotta, CEO of Kismet, to break down how tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews are reshaping guest discovery. Jason brings a hotel development background to the conversation and explains why Kismet is now building infrastructure for short-term rentals, starting with the three things AI needs to recommend and book a property: visibility, operability, and bookability.We run a live search for boutique hotels in Sarasota to see exactly how AI ranks results, and what it's actually pulling from ratings, reviews, location data, and structured property content. The gap between operators who show up and those who don't comes down to whether their properties are machine-readable.If you're relying on OTAs to handle discovery, this episode is a wake-up call.Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Jason Cincotta via email [email protected] or kismet.travel to book a demo.

I sat down with James Varley, CEO of Host Planet, to break down STR education and how to actually make money hosting around mega-events like the World Cup.James spent nearly 10 years in corporate communications for Qatar's 2022 World Cup before buying UK holiday lets and noticing a massive gap in quality STR education. That gap became Host Planet.We dig into the real demand picture: pricing comes in waves, depends on which teams play in your market, and concentrates in the group stage. Stay nimble, manage your minimum stays, and ditch the "riches all month" fantasy.Plus, what Host Planet has coming next, including a potential US expansion.Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with James Varley on:Email:  [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/Website:  hostplanet.club

Dr. Zak Ali joins the show to break down what modern revenue management really looks like in the short-term rental industry and why it's far more than just setting prices in software.With over 20 years of experience across airlines, hotels, vacation rentals, and hospitality technology, Dr. Zak shares lessons from leading revenue management for 110,000+ units at Awaze and consulting with operators around the world. We dive into the metrics that actually matter, how to price unique properties, why most operators focus on the wrong data, and how AI is changing (but not replacing) revenue management.If you're a property manager, vacation rental operator, or hospitality professional looking to increase revenue, improve forecasting, and stay ahead of market trends, this episode is packed with actionable insights.Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Dr. Zak on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/zak-a-056b2714/

In this episode, we sit down with Mariam of Lume Stays and Natalie Bykov of The Orange Cabins, two powerhouse co-hosts and full-time moms who built thriving short-term rental businesses from the ground up. They share what it actually took to scale from a few properties with no software to 40 units and beyond.We get into the real operational stuff: when to hire your first VA, how to structure shifts, what a boots-on-the-ground person actually does, and how to know when your ops manager is maxed out. Mariam breaks down her referral incentive strategy with vendors and how dominating Desert Hot Springs gave her a natural path into Palm Springs. Natalie shares how a single viral video drove millions of views and turned social media into her biggest lead source. At the same time, she and her husband Alex, run active outbound sales calls to grow their Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear portfolio.We also talk about working with spouses, letting go of guest messaging, and why they both believe hospitality still needs a human touch. Connect with me....YouTube Channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@patrykswietekInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/patryk_swietek/Facebook Group: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/strnation/Connect with Mariam & Natalie on:Mariam: https://www.instagram.com/mariam.av_/Natalie: https://www.instagram.com/nataliebykov/Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/confessionsofahost/

Chris Petzy, co-owner and CEO of Seacoast 2 Summit Vacation Rentals and STR coach, shares his journey scaling to 120+ properties. He discusses shifting from operator to CEO and building leadership roles. Topics include hiring strategies, pod-style hyperlocal operations, balancing VAs with stateside staff, onboarding and maintenance workflows, and preserving family time while growing.