Behind the Stays

Meet Chad Ludeman, Co-Founder of Post Green Homes and Lokal Hotel. Chad moved around a lot as a kid, but spent high school in upstate New York.  He’s an engineer by trade, but an entrepreneur at heart. Courtney, Chad’s wife and business partner, was Chad’s most critical sounding board — she shot down most of his business ideas until he started talking about real estate. There was one idea, in particular, that Chad and Courtney both agreed was worth pursuing and that was to build a 1,000 square foot house for $100k.  This project was the birth of the couple’s first business, Post Green Homes. And while they learned a lot through this venture, they realized that their hearts were really in the hospitality space.  And it was this realization that ultimately led them to found Lokal Hotel —  a collection of design driven boutique luxury hotels.  Tune in to hear the exciting story of how Chad and Courtney built their brand and their first three hotels.  Book your stay at a Lokal Hotel Follow Chad on Twitter Follow Lokal Hotel on Instagram  This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue.   If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to www.sponstayneous.com   

Meet Dylan Petrich — Co-Founder of Wilder Ways,  a Texas-based hotel brand and management company.​ Dylan was born in Paris but grew up in London. After graduating from university he went to work in finance and split his time between London and New York. While finance was fascinating, Dylan grew tired of just looking at numbers — he wanted to get into the game of business and be an operator. So, when an opportunity presented itself to move into the hospitality space by joining a new startup, The Guild, Dylan took it. After a couple of years of learning a lot about hospitality, real estate, and startups the entrepreneurship bug bit Dylan…and he wondered what it would look like to start his OWN hospitality brand and business. Tune in to hear the exciting story of how Dylan built Wilder Ways.  This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue.   If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to www.sponstayneous.com   

Meet Conrad O'Connell (@conradoconnell), Founder and CEO at BuildUp Bookings, a digital marketing agency that helps STR hosts increase direct bookings & build their brands. Conrad was working at a marketing agency after college.  This agency onboarded a new client in the boutique hotel space and Conrad was assigned to the account. Pretty instantly, Conrad fell in love with the hospitality space — so much so that he wound up leaving the agency to start a firm of his own. Tune in to hear Conrad share new ideas for how to market STRs, an overview of the most common marketing mistakes that STR hosts make, and how to know if/when it might be time to move off of Airbnb. This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue.   If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to www.sponstayneous.com

Meet Debbie Todd, creator of The Woodlands at Hocking Hill. Debbie is a physical therapist and mother of three by day, and an STR host by night.  Debbie and her husband Jeff were looking for a vacation home that they could get away to a couple of weekends a month.  The idea of renting it out wasn’t totally off the table, but certainly wasn’t a priority. Then one weekend, in the spring of 2020, the family decided to list the property on Airbnb.  And, well, it instantly took off…so much so, in fact, that the Todd family was rarely able to stay there!  This traction inspired Debbie and Jeff to start searching for another home in Hocking Hills. Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Debbie and Jeff found the property which they’d transform into the Woodlands Lodge and how they’ve designed their budding STR business to give back to the community.  Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Debbie.  Book The Woodlands at Hocking Hills. This week's episode is brought to you by Wander. In every marketplace, there are the Davids and Goliaths.     While it’s hard to fathom now, Amazon was a David when Borders and Barnes and Noble were the bookstore Goliaths.     And don’t forget that Apple was a David when Xerox, IBM, and Motorola were consumer technology Goliaths.    Today, I want to introduce you to the David of short-term-rental platforms — a company called Wander.   Whether you’re embarking on a family vacation, planning a getaway with friends, yearning for a workcation, or organizing a company offsite, there is a Wander for every occasion.    Wanders aren't vacation homes, they're better. Inspiring views, modern workstations, restful beds, hotel-grade cleaning and 24/7 concierge service are just a few of the guarantees that come when you stay with Wander.  Wander is in search of high-end vacation homes in incredible locations around the US (think national parks, beaches, mountains…) with proven annual revenue. If you are a short-term rental owner looking to sell your property to someone who will appreciate what you’ve  built, send the Wander team an email with all the important deets (like monthly rev, monthly expenses, yada yada) to hello@wander.com.   If Wander makes an offer, you can count on it being all cash, quick and hassle-free.    So if you’ve been thinking of selling, even remotely, why not start a conversation with our friends at Wander? Send them an email at hello@wander.com.    Behind the Stays is brought to you each 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

Meet Madison Rifikin — Founder and CEO of Mount, a platform designed to help short term rental hosts upsell their guests.  Madison has always been a tinkerer. In 5th grade, she had the opportunity to enroll in an innovation program…and she was pretty much hooked on building things after that. One of the first products she built was a smart bike lock, which she’d go on to sell to some of the most well-known scooter brands in the industry.  Tune in to hear the fantastic story of how selling locks to the Bird’s and Lime’s of the world led to Madison building a platform for STR hosts to turn just about anything into a rentable amenity.  Learn more about Mount by visiting their website.  Connect with Madison on LinkedIn This week's episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by Ping — the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available.  Ping is a simple widget that lives on your website (or direct booking site) and allows your fans and followers to sign up to be notified if their preferred dates become available.   Here’s how it works.  Jimmy sees that you’re booked the whole month of October, but he wants to be notified if any 3-night window in the month becomes available. Jen is a returning guest and wants to be notified if any week in June, July, or August becomes available.  In a matter of seconds, Jimmy and Jen fill out the simple form and will be Pinged if their requested dates become available.  And as a host, you will immediately get pinged via email with Jimmy and Jen’s contact information and requested dates enabling you to build up your own database of guest email addresses. Ping — it's what the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up for free at www.bnbping.com Behind the Stays is brought to you each 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

Meet Jack Buck — a hospitality entrepreneur working on his first luxe vacation rental concepts in Sedona, New Orleans, and The Boulders in Arizona. Buck fell in love with travel after taking a motorcycle trip across Vietnam a few years ago. The beauty and adventure the country offered, coupled with the community he found while traveling, inspired him to work on projects in and the travel industry.  Discover his thoughts on the democratizing of hospitality brand building, why he thinks the future of travel will be communal, and how he’s designing highly-experiential stays for the next generation of travelers. Follow Buck on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/buckshotio  This week's episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by Ping — the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available.  Ping is a simple widget that lives on your website (or direct booking site) and allows your fans and followers to sign up to be notified if their preferred dates become available.   Here’s how it works.  Jimmy sees that you’re booked the whole month of October, but he wants to be notified if any 3-night window in the month becomes available. Jen is a returning guest and wants to be notified if any week in June, July, or August becomes available.  In a matter of seconds, Jimmy and Jen fill out the simple form and will be Pinged if their requested dates become available.  And as a host, you will immediately get pinged via email with Jimmy and Jen’s contact information and requested dates enabling you to build up your own database of guest email addresses. Ping — it's what the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up for free at www.bnbping.com Behind the Stays is brought to you each 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

In just a moment, you’ll meet Justine Palefsky, co-founder of Kindred — a members-only community for home swapping. Growing up, Justine loved to read, ideate, and create. Her parents originally moved to San Francisco to follow the Grateful Dead and encouraged Justine to dream big and take bold risks even if others didn’t quite get it. Justine has always loved to travel.  When COVID hit, Justine, like many folks, started dreaming about what it would look like to live in different cities throughout the year.  She started looking into buying short term rentals in markets like Tahoe, but soon realized that, for her, it was less about owning real estate, and more about having the ability to live and work in different locations throughout the year. And it was this revelation that sparked the initial idea which would become Kindred.  Follow Justine on Twitter here. Learn more about Kindred by visiting their website.  This week's episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by Ping — the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available.  Ping is a simple widget that lives on your website (or direct booking site) and allows your fans and followers to sign up to be notified if their preferred dates become available.   Here’s how it works.  Jimmy sees that you’re booked the whole month of October, but he wants to be notified if any 3-night window in the month becomes available. Jen is a returning guest and wants to be notified if any week in June, July, or August becomes available.  In a matter of seconds, Jimmy and Jen fill out the simple form and will be Pinged if their requested dates become available.  And as a host, you will immediately get pinged via email with Jimmy and Jen’s contact information and requested dates enabling you to build up your own database of guest email addresses. Ping — it's what the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings. Sign up for free at www.bnbping.com Behind the Stays is brought to you each 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

Meet Jami Jenkins — the creator of The Carpenter’s Cabin — a top-rated, luxe cabin stay in Southeastern Ohio's Scenic Wonderland - Hocking Hills.   Jami has always had a knack for the creative. She remembers drawing up floor plans of beach cottages in elementary school and building furniture for her Barbies.    A graphic designer and event planner by trade, Jami loves using design as a way to communicate the story behind a space, an idea, or an experience.    So, when it was time to build the first cabin on the 32 acre plot that Jami and her husband Scott had purchased, Jami knew she wanted an eco-friendly escape that was truly special — that had a soul if you will.    And that’s when the idea of building a space to honor the memory and legacy of her father, a lifelong carpenter, was sparked.  Book your stay at The Carpenter's Cabin Follow The Carpenter's Cabin on Instagram   This week's episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by Ping — the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.   Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available.    Ping is a simple widget that lives on your website (or direct booking site) and allows your fans and followers to sign up to be notified if their preferred dates become available.    Here’s how it works.    Jimmy sees that you’re booked the whole month of October, but he wants to be notified if any 3-night window in the month becomes available.   Jen is a returning guest and wants to be notified if any week in June, July, or August becomes available.    In a matter of seconds, Jimmy and Jen fill out the simple form and will be Pinged if their requested dates become available.    And as a host, you will immediately get pinged via email with Jimmy and Jen’s contact information and requested dates enabling you to build up your own database of guest email addresses.   Ping — it's what the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.   Sign up for free at www.bnbping.com  

Meet Jeff Wilson, the founder and CEO of Jupe.    Jeff is a serial entrepreneur in the real estate technology industry.  If you were to have asked Jeff as a child what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would have either said a “garbage man”, “a doctor”, or “a builder of solar-powered cars” — so, yes, his interests have always been quite varied.   Before founding Jupe, Jeff founded the award-winning micro housing company Kasita, which was named one of Inc’s 25 most disruptive companies in the World (alongside the likes of SoFi and Hyperloop).    Jeff is also known as ‘Professor Dumpster.’  He lived in a 33 sq. ft. modified trash dumpster for a year as part of a minimalist living and housing experiment during his time as a professor in the University of Texas System.   In this interview, you’ll learn how Jeff sees the world, why he’s so passionate about using Jupe as a vehicle to make offgrid living accessible and enjoyable, and how STR hosts can join the Jupe platform and design unforgettable, soul-enriching experiences for their guests by placing a Jupe on their property.    Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Jeff Wilson.  Learn more about Jupe Stay in a Jupe Follow Jupe on Twitter Follow Jupe on Instagram Connect with Jeff on Twitter This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.  Guesty For Hosts allows short-term rental hosts to manage listings from Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com in one calendar and send a series of automated messages before, during, and after their stay.   The platform also has features that help you manage cleanings, build a custom booking website, and so much more.   Start your 14 day free trial today — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   While getting started, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year."   Behind the Stays is brought to you each 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   

In just a moment, you’ll meet Billy Chu — owner of The Blue Bungalow, a chic escape in Palm Springs, California.    Billy and his wife Becky are both doctors who live in Los Angeles and parents to young twin girls.    A couple of years ago, Billy and Becky joined an online community of medical professionals who invest in real estate in order to learn more from their peers about the industry.   In early 2021 they stepped into the longer-term rental game by  purchasing  a couple small multifamily properties.   But the couple really wanted to try their hand at short term rentals and had been eyeing properties in Palm Springs.   Here was the problem — getting into the short term rental game in the fall of 2021 when the real estate market was going bananas seemed all but impossible.    But after consuming dozens of hours worth of STR podcasts, losing out on multiple bids, and almost throwing in the towel, they discovered the home which they now call theirs.   Tune in to hear the story behind how Billy and Becky bought a 4 bed, 3 bath property 5 minutes from downtown Palm Springs and transformed it into The Blue Bungalow.    Book your stay at The Blue Bungalow  Book your stay at The Salty Saguaro    This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.  Guesty For Hosts allows short-term rental hosts to manage listings from Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com in one calendar and send a series of automated messages before, during, and after their stay.   The platform also has features that help you manage cleanings, build a custom booking website, and so much more.   Start your 14 day free trial today — no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.   While getting started, use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” for 20% off of your first year."   Behind the Stays is brought to you each 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