Behind the Stays

This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Episode: Meet Sani Djaya, the creator of Moonbase —  a next generation luxury campground designed to help make stargazing accessible to all. Sani is a product manager by trade.  After graduating from University of Maryland College Park, he traded the east coast for the west coast and has spent the last few years working for tech startups.  Sani has always loved the outdoors, so when he learned that his girlfriend had never been stargazing, he knew he had to change this reality as quickly as possible.  But there was one BIG problem…his girlfriend wasn’t thrilled about sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent on top of a mountain. And that’s when Sani had an idea…what if he could design a luxe camping experience that would enable you to stargaze to your heart's content AND get the best night of sleep you ever had…and, that’s when the idea for Moonbase was born. In this episode, Sani and I chat about: How he ran a Google Ads campaign to validate his idea Why he launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise some initial cash for Moonbase The story behind how he discovered Jupe and his thoughts on the benefits of pre-fab structures And how he plans to scale Moonbase over the next 12-24 months. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Download the full free report . Oh, and be sure to start your 14-day free trial of Uplisting at  at https://www.uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout.  Welcome to Episode 3 of a special 3-part podcast series on The State of the Short-Term Rental Industry brought to you by my friends at Uplisting — one of the most powerful property management systems on the market.  In this episode, Zach and Vinny (founder and CEO of Uplisting) chat about how to market your short-term rental portfolio in 2023 — and the approach different property managers take to promoting their listings.  About the series Airbnb hosts and short-term rental operators often work independently without much intel as to how their peers are marketing their properties, increasing their booking rates, and how much money folks are actually making from their portfolios.  In order to address this issue, the Uplisting team took it upon themselves to collect and analyze data from their own customers as well as hundreds of other STR owners and operators in the industry.  This special podcast series will unveil some of the more interesting findings from this report and equip you with insight into how your business compares to others.  Stream Episode 1 here  Stream Episode 2 here This episode and 3-part series is brought you to by Uplisting.  Whether you have a single property or hundreds of properties, Uplisting is designed to help you accelerate growth with incredible reliability, critical marketing automation and the most powerful direct booking engine on the market. Start your 14-day free trial at uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout — but act fast, because this offer expires on June 30th, 2023 at midnight! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Hayden Laverty, Founder of CHJ Development, a real-estate developer in Portland, Oregon focused on acquiring, designing, and constructing the city’s most significant short-term-rental residences. Hayden learned pretty early on in life that he wasn’t cut out for the traditional 9 - 5. After working at two internships during his junior and senior years of college at Intel and Price Water Cooper, Hayden realized that he loved working hard, pushing the envelope of convention, and didn’t have much patience for bureaucratic friction.  So, after graduating from Arizona State University, Hayden decided to shoot his shot by starting his own business. Follow Hayden on Twitter Connect with Hayden on LinkedIn In this episode of Behind the Stays, Hayden shares: 1. The story behind the opportunity he saw in the short-term rental real estate development and management game 2. How he’s scaled his business to over 200 units under management 3. Why he thinks OTAs like Airbnb should charge hots more 4. What he’s learned as a young entrepreneur about the importance of focus, grit, and differentiation. This episode is brought to you by DEN Outdoors. You’ve seen them all over Instagram… You may have also seen them in Dwell Magazine…. And if you love design, travel, and hospitality, chances are you’ve even dreamed about what it would be like to build your very own A-Frames, Cabins, or Barnhouse with their designs. DEN Outdoors began because its founders knew that building a cabin changes who you are, having a cabin changes how you live, and sharing a cabin changes how you engage with others. I’ve met so many incredible hosts in the short-term-rental community who have used DEN designs to build their bespoke escapes, many of whom have been guests on this podcast. And now, it brings me SO much joy to announce that we’ve partnered with DEN to bring you an exclusive discount on their digital design plans. By using the discount code SPONSTAY50 at checkout, you can get ANY of DEN’s digital plans for 50% off…that’s right…5-0. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.  

Download the full free report . Oh, and be sure to start your 14-day free trial of Uplisting at  at https://www.uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout.  Welcome to Episode 2 of a special 3-part podcast series on The State of the Short-Term Rental Industry brought to you by my friends at Uplisting — one of the most powerful property management systems on the market.  In this episode, Zach and Vinny chat about how much money you can actually make from short-term rentals based on new data uncovered by the aforementioned report.  About the series Airbnb hosts and short-term rental operators often work independently without much intel as to how their peers are marketing their properties, increasing their booking rates, and how much money folks are actually making from their portfolios.  In order to address this issue, the Uplisting team took it upon themselves to collect and analyze data from their own customers as well as hundreds of other STR owners and operators in the industry.  This special podcast series will unveil some of the more interesting findings from this report and equip you with insight into how your business compares to others.  Stream Episode 1 here  This episode and 3-part series is brought you to by Uplisting.  Whether you have a single property or hundreds of properties, Uplisting is designed to help you accelerate growth with incredible reliability, critical marketing automation and the most powerful direct booking engine on the market. Start your 14-day free trial at uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout — but act fast, because this offer expires on June 30th, 2023 at midnight! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Robin Craigen, Co-Founder and CEO of Moving Mountains —a luxury collection of lodging properties in Steamboat Springs, Beaver Creek, Vail, and Breckenridge, Colorado. Robin began his hospitality entrepreneurship journey alongside his wife Heather at sea. Yes, you heard that right, the Craigens ran a luxury yacht charter business around the British Virgin Islands. And while sailing the stunning waters of the BVI was nothing short of a dream, Robin and Heather had higher aspirations. The couple moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and decided to open up a ski chalet business. And that business?  Well they called it Moving Mountains and today, they manage more than 200 properties across in Colorado’s most desirable ski towns. In this conversation, Robin shares: - His musings on the current state of the vacation rental industry - His thoughts on how to best leverage OTAs - How he’s scaled a team to manage 200+ properties with the kind of service and attention to detail of a 5-start resort - Why he thinks Moving Mountains generates so many returning guests - How he’s thinking about growing in other vacation destinations with his soon-to-be-launched sub-brands Moving Beaches and Moving Oceans.  Book your stay at a Moving Mountains property. Connect with Robin on LinkedIn.  This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.   brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Download the full free report . Oh, and be sure to start your 14-day free trial of Uplisting at  at https://www.uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout.  Welcome to a special 3-part podcast series on The State of the Short-Term Rental Industry brought to you by my friends at Uplisting — one of the most powerful property management systems on the market.  Over the next three weeks, join Vinny Breslin, Co-Founder and CEO of Uplisitng, and yours truly, Zach Busekrus from Behind the Stays, as we unpack Uplisting’s latest trends report . Airbnb hosts and short-term rental operators often work independently without much intel as to how their peers are marketing their properties, increasing their booking rates, and how much money folks are actually making from their portfolios.  In order to address this issue, the Uplisting team took it upon themselves to collect and analyze data from their own customers as well as hundreds of other STR owners and operators in the industry.  This special podcast series will unveil some of the more interesting findings from this report and equip you with insight into how your business compares to others.  Uplisting invites you to download the full, free report via the link in the show notes below.  Alright folks, without further ado, grab a cup of coffee or your favorite evening cocktail and settle in for an informative and timely 3-part conversation.  This episode and 3-part series is brought you to by Uplisting.  Whether you have a single property or hundreds of properties, Uplisting is designed to help you accelerate growth with incredible reliability, critical marketing automation and the most powerful direct booking engine on the market. Start your 14-day free trial at uplisting.io/bts-podcast and, once you’ve fallen in love with all that this platform has to offer, get 20% off of your first year of Uplisting when you use the code BTS20 at checkout — but act fast, because this offer expires on June 30th, 2023 at midnight!  

Meer Eric Moeller, Founder + CEO of Freewyld — a curated collection of properties designed to inspire awe and bring people together launching this summer in Idyllwild, California. Eric is no stranger to hospitality entrepreneurship. He is the co-founder of Overnight Success which is the engine behind short-term rental educational brands like Legends X 90-Day STR Accelerator, STR Legends Mastermind, Get Paid For Your Pad, and the Airbnb Profit Club. Eric was also the co-founder and CEO of Koda Homes — a real estate investment, management and professional tenant company in San Diego.  In this lively conversation, Eric and I chat about the major opportunities that exist in the boutique hospitality space right now, why impeccable design is table stakes when it comes to short-term rentals today, the challenges of building membership programs as a highly-curated collection of stays, and much more.  Learn more about Freewyld Connect with Eric on LinkedIn This episode is brought to you by DEN Outdoors. You’ve seen them all over Instagram… You may have also seen them in Dwell Magazine…. And if you love design, travel, and hospitality, chances are you’ve even dreamed about what it would be like to build your very own A-Frames, Cabins, or Barnhouse with their designs. DEN Outdoors began because its founders knew that building a cabin changes who you are, having a cabin changes how you live, and sharing a cabin changes how you engage with others. I’ve met so many incredible hosts in the short-term-rental community who have used DEN designs to build their bespoke escapes, many of whom have been guests on this podcast. And now, it brings me SO much joy to announce that we’ve partnered with DEN to bring you an exclusive discount on their digital design plans. By using the discount code SPONSTAY50 at checkout, you can get ANY of DEN’s digital plans for 50% off…that’s right…5-0. About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Amy Dourson from Red River Gorgeous, a collection of unique cabins, treehouses, and instagram-famous cliff houses in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge.  Growing up,  Amy wanted to be a doctor.  So, she spent a lot of her time studying as she was determined to go to medical school. But, after a series of adventurous and serendipitous events, Amy fell in love with carpentry and decided to exchange her dreams of becoming a doctor with a new dream to become a builder.  When Amy met her husband Aaron, his family owned a few cabins in the Nada Tunnel Road in the heart of the gorge. The business — if you could call it that — was hanging on by little more than a wing and a prayer.  As Amy saw it, the couple had two options — let the family business run its course or adopt a new vision of building a collection of unique stays that would introduce the world to the geological wonders of the Gorge that she had fallen in love with. The couple chose the latter.  Tune in to hear how Amy transformed a side-hustle family business into a thriving hospitality brand, how she’s strategically partnered with folks like Canopy Crew to build one-of-a-kind treehouses, how she’s built the right team to support the company’s growth, and her vision for the future of travel and hospitality. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Ben Wolff — Founder and Creator of Onera — a truly one-of-a-kind collection of unique escapes in the Texas Hill Country.  Ben is no stranger to hospitality entrepreneurship. Prior to starting Onera, Ben founded and grew ProTripper, a property management services platform, and Blink Hospitality, a data-driven, vacation rental company with hundreds of properties across the US.  But then something happened in early March 2020 that changed everything.  Ben was overseas celebrating the prior year’s successes with a team he had built in the Philippines when his phone began vibrating uncontrollably. Guests were canceling their stays as news broke that the WHO had announced that COVID-19 was now a pandemic.  And while COVID crushed Ben’s core business, which primarily focused on STRs in urban locations, it inspired him to think bigger, bolder, and more creatively than ever before.  Tune in to hear the story behind how this set of seemingly-doomsday day events led to the creation of an innovative hospitality company offering luxury, eco-focused, unique stays in beautiful, natural landscapes. Book a Stay at Onera Follow Onera on Instagram  Connect with Ben on LinkedIn Follow Ben on Twitter This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Chelsea Dunckley  — the Founder of Digs Co, a hospitality company that specializes in creating elevated vacation rentals in Central Washington and the Greater Phoenix area.  Chelsea and her husband Luke have always loved real estate.  After getting married, you’d often find the couple working on nights and weekends flipping homes while discussing the latest trends in design, real estate, and hospitality.  But it wasn’t until Chelsea received some unexpected news from the tech company she worked at that she and her entire unit were to be let go that she decided to try her hand at transforming Digs Co from a fun side hustle into her full time gig.  In this conversation, Chelsea and I discuss the power and importance of brand building, why Chelsea is so discerning about the properties she chooses to manage for clients within the context of the Digs Co. brand, how and why she’s structured her portfolio into thematic collections, and much more.  Book a Stay at Digs Co. Follow Digs Co. on Instagram This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.  If you have more than one short-term-rental, chances are you use a system for your property management — something like Guesty or Uplisting.   Well, Minoan is a TOTALLY FREE system that hosts use for furnishing and refreshing their homes.   Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!  Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way! About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.