Exploring the Transition from Long-Term Rentals to Short-Term Rentals with Stacey St. John | Episode 25 | STR Data Lab™ by AirDNA

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How did you get into this crazy business?

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You're in the short term rental business.

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You're a tour de force, as I like to say.

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Do you know what it's like

when you discover

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something new and it's not just something

like you're excited about,

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but you discover something that you abs

frickin

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lutely love.

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Stacey St John.

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Hello, fabulous team. How are. You?

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So good.

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I am so excited to be here with you.

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And now I'm going to say.

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You're a fabulous female.

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Oh, well, thank you.

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Thank you.

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I take it, man, it's like, who knows?

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This is probably going to air on a

Thursday, but it's Monday morning for us.

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So you got to you got to talk about

being fabulous, right?

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Like right off the bat, like,

we are fabulous men.

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And it's okay to own that, right?

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100%, yes.

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Yeah, I

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like I just like my new mantra for

the years is like, step into your essence.

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Step into who you are. Like, I love that.

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Oh, yeah.

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Well, your own in it.

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Left and right, my friend.

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Look, chillin it for for.

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Folks who don't know.

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What how the cool how did.

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You get into this crazy business

you're in the short term rental business

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you're a tour de force.

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As I like to say.

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This, I. Need to I need an origin story.

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It's like Wolverine.

I need the origin story.

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I love this.

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I will try to keep this.

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As. Succinct as possible,

but I got into the short term

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rental industry really about three years

ago, back in 2020.

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Good timing.

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Thank you. In the heart of COVID.

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So I was

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previously investing in long term

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rentals and with, you know,

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in doing flip projects than I have

my real estate license here in Ohio.

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And long story short,

when eviction moratoriums started

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popping up due to COVID, my husband

and I decided that, hey,

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maybe buying another long term rental

isn't in our best interest, you know,

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because we might not have recourse

if our tenant doesn't pay.

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So we decided that

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for us,

we wanted to explore the world of short

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term rentals because very candidly,

someone would actually have to pay

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to get the keys. Right.

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Right, right.

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And we bought our first two properties

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in Myrtle Beach,

South Carolina, and realized, number one,

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we love the fact that we have

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vacation rentals at the beach.

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And number two, oh darn, we have to take

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tax deductible trips to the beach

to check.

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On our property.

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So and it's really snowballed from there.

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So we own ten short term rentals,

nine of which are at the beach.

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One is in Hocking Hills, Ohio,

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just about 2 hours away from where I live.

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And then we also

I have a boutique property management

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firm down in Myrtle Beach

and doing co-hosting here in Ohio.

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And it's

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definitely snowballed into something

that I could have never dreamed

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of a couple short years ago.

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That is

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so, yeah, that sounds like that,

as I like to say, escalated quickly.

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So you're like, What's this super town?

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Let's see what it's like.

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And then, okay. All right. All right.

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So talk to me

a little bit about scalability,

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because, yeah, like, how did you

how quickly did you go from property

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one to property to like,

what did it really truly domino?

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Are were you

kind of like slow and steady about that.

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Oh, it definitely dominated.

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We bought and rehabbed eight

beachfront properties in our first year.

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And. You are so much braver than me.

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Well, let's bring bravery. It was.

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It was so fun.

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I found that I absolutely loved it.

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And candidly,

I was doing this while working full time

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in the corporate world from, you know,

I live in Ohio,

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so we were rehabbing properties

10 hours away from where we live.

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So one might call me a little crazy,

actually.

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Yeah, well, I.

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Was going to

I yeah, I brave, brave and crazy.

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Same. Same.

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Okay. Yeah, but it was something.

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Do you know what it's like

when you discover something new?

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And it's not just something

like you're excited about,

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but you discover something that you abs

frickin lutely love.

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And that's what it was for me.

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I was just so fricking excited

about what we were doing.

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It never seemed like work.

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It never was scary to me.

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Oh, okay.

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Okay.

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Well, you not only are you

maybe just discouraged, crazy.

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Extremely.

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Brave,

but also I think that you you really hit

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a really important thread there, Right?

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Which is just like to me

and let me just explain that.

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I also I went to school for interior

design like it

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this is the stuff

that should excite me too.

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But there's a reason I'm obviously

not an interior designer anymore.

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I'm like, How in the heck

could you get excited about renovations?

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Oh my. God.

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Oh my gosh.

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But but talk to me a little bit about.

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Yeah, like, sort of what?

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What is it about it that you love?

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Like, it's because I'm sure it's

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not the headache of like,

what's the lead time on that lot for Kyle?

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Exactly.

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You know,

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for me, a couple of things excited me.

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Number one,

I knew I was forcing appreciation

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in this real estate,

so I knew it had a financial impact.

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Okay.

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From performing those renovations.

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Number two, strategically, I,

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I selected that particular market

for a few different reasons.

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And one of the reasons was because I knew

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that I wanted to rehab something.

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And number two,

there were so many opportunities

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to find super ugly properties.

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There.

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But the thing.

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That excited me was about creating a space

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that had the vibe

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of a relaxing place

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where someone would walk in the door

and go, Oh, this was so amazing.

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You know,

there was something that just let me up

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inside about that.

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And candidly, you know, when I was a kid,

I would vacation at the beach

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and those memories of my vacations

from when I was a little girl

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still stick with me today.

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And so for me, again,

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when I'm looking to decorate or stage

or furnish or rehab a property

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and I am no interior designer

by any stretch of the imagination,

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but it's like there is some underlying

satisfaction, like this is going to be

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a beautiful place where someone

makes memories for their family.

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And so I'm just I don't know.

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I find that so fun.

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I don't know why, but I do.

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I okay, There are so many good,

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like just nuggets, takeaways

that I think are so, so important

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and I think can translate into anyone's

sort of strategy for becoming

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short term rental investor

and post rental preneur.

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I think I'm always trying on the right

term.

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I'm like, What do we call ourselves

in this business?

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It's so hard to figure out.

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So the first thing was like one, like

sort of like, what were your motivations?

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Right?

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And it sounds like one of the motivations

absolutely was like profitability, right?

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So you were thinking, okay,

this is a place I know people will love to

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go. I know that I can actually get into

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this market, you know, buy something

that, you know, is affordable to me,

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and then I can help it

appreciate over time very nicely.

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And then secondly,

I love this sort of like head and heart

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component of it,

which was like you just were like,

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I know in my heart of hearts

that this is an experience

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that I want to deliver for people. Right?

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And so like

so it was also very people centric.

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You like

I have fond memories of the beach.

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I want to give other people

those fond memories.

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I think that's a really,

really important part.

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We talk a lot about that

actually on the podcast, and I like

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love to come up with a clever quip.

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So I always say like, put the host back

in like hospitality, right?

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Because it's like,

this is this is a business about people

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and about memories and about experiences.

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And if you kind of forget

that component of it,

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I think it's really hard to be successful,

honestly.

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Right.

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So, like,

I love that you had a visceral connection.

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You had an emotional connection

to your guests.

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Yeah.

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And, you know, one of my favorite things

to this

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day is to go into my properties

and look at the guest book,

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you know, see what people write

about their experiences there, because

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that makes it all worthwhile.

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Not not to say that the financial aspect

isn't rewarding

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and not to say that

the teams aren't rewarding,

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but when you read in a guest's words

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about the fond memories

they have from staying in your place,

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you know that those memories are going

to stay with them for a lifetime, right?

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And it gives me goosebumps

just talking about it

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because it's like so cool.

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So that no, it is incredibly cool.

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And like, yeah, you just

you've reframed a lot of things for me.

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Sometimes we get

we do get a lot of guests in the show

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that are a little bit more focused

on like the profitability and the numbers

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and the things like that.

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So I love that we're talking about

a totally different sort of motivation.

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Right.

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And I think and also, do you want

they can coexist, right?

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I mean, that's that's kind of that's

kind of the Holy Grail, I would say,

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which is like feeling like you're doing

something good, you're contributing

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to something positive for folks.

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And you're also, of course,

able to be profitable in doing it.

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I love that. Well, yeah.

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I mean,

you obviously struck a chord for me

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because I am just like dreaming

of taking my kids to the beach

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for the first time

because they've never been like,

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but I'm like Caribbean beach and like,

we are going,

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I just want you to play in the sand on

the beach, make a castle the whole nine.

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So I am a huge fan of the Caribbean,

even though

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my properties are not in the Caribbean.

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My first fun fact,

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my first trip to the Caribbean,

I actually won on Wheel of Fortune.

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I was.

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You know, it was.

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So fun, but I wanted Trip to Saint Croix.

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And it was. Magical.

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It was so beautiful.

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And it was at that point

I said to my husband,

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Why are we flying to Hawaii

and spending 14 hours traveling

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when we can spend 2 hours on an airplane

and be in the Caribbean?

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Because it is just as beautiful,

in my opinion.

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It's gorgeous. So, yeah.

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You got to take your kids to the beach.

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Okay.

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Yeah. Well, I'm going to trust me.

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We're going to I'm going to go

look at your properties

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and get us on that one, too, because

I want to stay at one of your places.

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I know I'm going to be treated well.

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So I coming back to that scalability

thing, one of the things that strikes

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me and

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it's interesting because I think there's

definitely a debate about this, right.

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Which is just like,

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again, do you go for a place that maybe

you have an emotional connection to?

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And like you were saying, you're like,

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oh, darn, I got to go down to Myrtle

Beach again right?

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Or do you go for a place

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that's just going to like,

look good and make sense by the numbers?

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But what I'm also hearing from you

is that like

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I'm guessing why you were able to scale

so quickly in one location is because

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once you got that

first house under your belt,

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you had your contractor,

you had your sources,

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you kind of knew what the vibe was

and you probably creating a brand

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in the process. Yeah, I absolutely.

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I think, number one,

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we very specifically

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chose to lean heavily into one market

because as we all know,

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it's not easy to find good people

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and by leaning in

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and choice, fully

leaning into a singular market,

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it was easier for us to really,

really build a team.

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That was what I

consider a best in class. And

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candidly,

sometimes it takes going through the folks

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who aren't best in class

to find the ones who are.

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And because we did choose

to lean heavily into that market,

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we could get economies of scale

where, you know, you've got an inspector,

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an inspector that can look at all

your properties.

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You've got a maintenance folks

who can do all of your properties

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instead of having to go to a singular

market here and find an inspector

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and a maintenance person and h-back

and plumbing and electric,

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I mean, the whole shebang. Right?

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So. Right.

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I was doing all this

while I was working full time.

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And so it also was just

a little bit easier

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to lean into that singular market,

quite candidly.

00:13:56:25 - 00:13:58:03

100%.

00:13:58:03 - 00:14:00:25

But I think that's that's

really smart, too, from my perspective.

00:14:00:26 - 00:14:04:19

I think the take away

there is like, you know, don't try to like

00:14:04:21 - 00:14:07:20

be a super human right, like,

be efficient, be smart.

00:14:07:27 - 00:14:09:28

It's like, set yourself up for success.

00:14:09:28 - 00:14:11:22

Amen to that. Yes.

00:14:11:22 - 00:14:13:26

Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

00:14:14:11 - 00:14:17:17

And also, you make me feel like a slacker

because I basically

00:14:17:17 - 00:14:19:14

am only holding down a full time

job right now.

00:14:19:14 - 00:14:24:12

But, well, again,

this maybe this call me crazy.

00:14:24:12 - 00:14:26:26

Piece comes back in. So.

00:14:26:26 - 00:14:29:17

Yeah. Don't You are totally not a slacker.

00:14:29:17 - 00:14:30:29

I can tell you that.

00:14:30:29 - 00:14:33:29

And I think you're doing amazing things so

00:14:35:05 - 00:14:35:20

well.

00:14:35:20 - 00:14:38:14

Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

00:14:38:14 - 00:14:40:15

I love so. So tell me, how.

00:14:40:15 - 00:14:41:26

So then what?

00:14:41:26 - 00:14:44:09

What possessed you

to get into the Ohio business?

00:14:44:09 - 00:14:44:25

What was sort of

00:14:44:25 - 00:14:46:26

what were the market conditions there

where you were like,

00:14:46:26 - 00:14:50:00

No, I think there's something there's

something happening in Ohio, I'm sure.

00:14:50:00 - 00:14:52:19

And so I love recruiting over here.

00:14:53:01 - 00:14:56:27

I was actually speaking

at the ACR Wealth Conference

00:14:57:10 - 00:15:03:15

last June

and the founder of another data company

00:15:03:16 - 00:15:08:13

had mentioned, hey,

you should look into Logan, Ohio.

00:15:08:13 - 00:15:12:02

It's right in your back yard. Stacey Yeah.

00:15:12:02 - 00:15:17:14

And so I thought, well, it's

not the beach, but let me look into this.

00:15:17:14 - 00:15:23:15

And sure enough, there were tremendous

opportunities in that market.

00:15:23:21 - 00:15:27:23

And it's in an area called Hocking Hills,

which is a

00:15:27:29 - 00:15:30:26

I would call a regional

vacation destination.

00:15:31:27 - 00:15:32:20

And every

00:15:32:20 - 00:15:35:19

time my family has personally tried

00:15:35:19 - 00:15:39:02

to go to Hocking Hills,

we can never find a place to stay.

00:15:39:27 - 00:15:41:26

And so.

00:15:41:26 - 00:15:45:03

You know, the creative juices

started flowing in my mind and thinking,

00:15:45:03 - 00:15:46:13

why hack this could.

00:15:46:13 - 00:15:49:19

We were finally ready to diversify.

00:15:49:19 - 00:15:54:03

We were actually looking to diversify

into a second market by this point.

00:15:54:18 - 00:15:58:14

And so by choosing a market,

00:15:58:14 - 00:16:01:23

that, number one, I had interest

00:16:01:23 - 00:16:07:06

in from a financial standpoint,

but number two, afforded us

00:16:07:06 - 00:16:11:22

opportune cities

to find someplace a bit closer.

00:16:11:22 - 00:16:14:27

So Hocking Hills is about 2 hours

instead of 10 hours.

00:16:15:17 - 00:16:18:28

You know, making that two hour trek

is nothing.

00:16:19:27 - 00:16:20:13

Yeah.

00:16:20:20 - 00:16:23:24

It's super duper easy

and I can get there in back in a day,

00:16:23:25 - 00:16:27:24

although I don't go very often.

00:16:27:24 - 00:16:32:06

But anyway, that's what kind of spurred me

on to that secondary market.

00:16:32:06 - 00:16:36:19

And we are just now beginning to replicate

00:16:36:19 - 00:16:39:28

what we did

in Myrtle Beach into that market as well.

00:16:41:09 - 00:16:43:17

Oh my goodness, this is so I love this.

00:16:43:27 - 00:16:47:11

Well, firstly, I love the data

helps inform that decision.

00:16:47:11 - 00:16:48:11

Right?

00:16:48:24 - 00:16:51:24

But I also think, again, this

like just a nice little balancing act.

00:16:52:00 - 00:16:55:05

So everyone is like,

yes, definitely look at the data

00:16:55:14 - 00:16:58:09

and then, you know,

validate it with some good hunches, right?

00:16:58:10 - 00:17:00:15

Like into your book, like your big clue,

there was like,

00:17:00:25 - 00:17:02:18

Oh, wait, we can never find a place.

00:17:02:18 - 00:17:07:08

Which means supply is definitely

not outpacing demand in Logan, Ohio.

00:17:07:20 - 00:17:09:20

And it's a little niche market.

00:17:10:09 - 00:17:11:02

It's so funny.

00:17:11:02 - 00:17:13:20

Yeah, I've talked to a couple other people

that have that sort of like again, like

00:17:13:28 - 00:17:17:11

you can just look in your own backyard

because in every state

00:17:17:11 - 00:17:22:03

there are these attractions, these these

destinations that people are going for.

00:17:22:03 - 00:17:24:25

And frankly,

lots of people want to just drive 2 hours

00:17:24:25 - 00:17:28:16

to go on vacation and not fly to,

you know, 2 hours or whatever.

00:17:28:17 - 00:17:29:07

Totally.

00:17:29:07 - 00:17:30:23

That's not what.

00:17:30:23 - 00:17:32:25

I'm so sorry to interrupt you.

00:17:32:25 - 00:17:33:19

One thing that

00:17:34:20 - 00:17:36:24

I also think is really important

00:17:37:18 - 00:17:43:07

to point out is understanding

why you're investing to begin with.

00:17:43:07 - 00:17:45:06

Number one.

00:17:45:06 - 00:17:48:27

And number two,

if you're investing with your spouse

00:17:48:28 - 00:17:54:29

or a partner sitting down and building out

a vision for what you want

00:17:55:04 - 00:18:01:01

from your investment portfolio

in five years is really important

00:18:01:09 - 00:18:06:07

because then once you have that,

then you can reverse engineer.

00:18:06:19 - 00:18:08:14

What that looks like.

00:18:08:14 - 00:18:10:28

A lot of people, I believe,

00:18:11:24 - 00:18:14:01

obviously

a lot of people fall into this, right?

00:18:14:01 - 00:18:18:02

They they have this rental

that becomes a short term rental,

00:18:18:04 - 00:18:22:21

but there's no reason why we can't then

if we're going to be in this industry,

00:18:22:21 - 00:18:27:21

sit down and really, really think about

what we want from this business.

00:18:28:01 - 00:18:33:16

And then once we establish what we want,

then we just build a plan to achieve that.

00:18:34:27 - 00:18:38:04

Yes, that's great life advice, period.

00:18:38:23 - 00:18:40:19

I yes, I think that that is so.

00:18:40:19 - 00:18:43:13

So I'm glad you bring that up

because, yeah,

00:18:43:25 - 00:18:47:06

we always like to jokingly because it did

seem, I think especially from the years

00:18:47:06 - 00:18:51:06

of 2020 to 2021, 2022,

that folks kind of like

00:18:51:06 - 00:18:54:28

they really some people were like,

oh, this can be a passive income, right?

00:18:54:28 - 00:18:57:19

Like I can just list

whatever property I have or I've got an 80

00:18:57:20 - 00:18:59:19

you or something like that.

00:18:59:19 - 00:19:02:19

And then what we were joking is like,

what do you, what do you do?

00:19:02:19 - 00:19:06:14

And you're like, Oops, I accidentally I'm

now like a host, like crap.

00:19:06:15 - 00:19:09:09

Like, I'm like, like

this is a lot more than I thought it was.

00:19:09:09 - 00:19:11:06

Right? Like, now what?

00:19:11:06 - 00:19:15:13

And so sitting down and thinking about,

like, what you really want to

00:19:15:13 - 00:19:18:26

achieve and I love this,

like really torturing the why,

00:19:18:27 - 00:19:20:26

why am I doing this right?

00:19:20:26 - 00:19:23:10

And again, like,

if it's just for the money,

00:19:23:10 - 00:19:26:07

that's one strategy

and that's a completely different strategy

00:19:26:07 - 00:19:28:27

than if you're sort of motivated,

you know, also by delivering it.

00:19:29:01 - 00:19:29:28

Absolutely.

00:19:29:28 - 00:19:35:06

And and you can look at that in general

across your investment portfolio,

00:19:35:06 - 00:19:39:01

but you can also look at that

from a singular property perspective of

00:19:39:10 - 00:19:43:19

and a very loving, very relevant for me.

00:19:43:23 - 00:19:47:13

We've got some great friends

who I always tell

00:19:47:13 - 00:19:51:22

people we've peer pressured

into buying real estate.

00:19:51:22 - 00:19:53:08

It's a great it's.

00:19:53:08 - 00:19:55:11

Not terrible, though.

Thank you, Fader Stacie.

00:19:56:20 - 00:19:58:14

But. So now they own

00:19:58:14 - 00:20:00:19

four beach condos and.

00:20:02:00 - 00:20:03:20

That's some good peer pressure.

00:20:03:20 - 00:20:05:01

I know, but we have a.

00:20:05:01 - 00:20:06:23

Blast doing it together.

00:20:06:23 - 00:20:11:04

But I share that

because there are husband and wife

00:20:11:04 - 00:20:15:09

and they're looking to acquire

another property and they're having

00:20:15:10 - 00:20:21:04

trouble finding the right property

because they're each wanting

00:20:21:04 - 00:20:25:06

to approach this next acquisition

for different reasons.

00:20:26:01 - 00:20:28:05

And again.

00:20:28:05 - 00:20:30:28

That's not relatable.

00:20:30:28 - 00:20:31:19

So I think.

00:20:31:19 - 00:20:35:19

Even when you look at it

from a micro perspective, why,

00:20:35:20 - 00:20:37:28

why are we looking to acquire this

property?

00:20:37:28 - 00:20:41:26

Is it because we want a place

for our family to enjoy

00:20:42:11 - 00:20:45:08

and we want it to just pay for itself

00:20:45:08 - 00:20:48:10

potentially or offset the cost. Of.

00:20:48:21 - 00:20:50:16

Right. You know, owning this property?

00:20:50:16 - 00:20:54:25

Or are we wanting to have an investment

00:20:54:25 - 00:20:58:13

first approach where, hey, it's going to

00:20:58:29 - 00:21:01:19

it's going to be a financial investment

for us

00:21:01:19 - 00:21:05:22

and oh, by the way, we get to enjoy it

a couple of times of the year.

00:21:05:27 - 00:21:09:08

Those are two very different conversations

when we're thinking

00:21:09:08 - 00:21:11:09

about acquiring a piece of real estate.

00:21:11:09 - 00:21:15:02

So I think you can look at that

from a macro perspective, but also on

00:21:15:02 - 00:21:19:12

the micro level, you can look at that

from each individual property.

00:21:19:12 - 00:21:20:13

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:21:20:13 - 00:21:25:10

You're making me think it's easier

to invest without as far as I can.

00:21:25:10 - 00:21:25:26

I do.

00:21:25:26 - 00:21:27:15

A different podcast from.

00:21:27:15 - 00:21:29:02

Right there because

00:21:30:16 - 00:21:31:25

we will go into that.

00:21:31:25 - 00:21:32:12

But I do.

00:21:32:12 - 00:21:35:12

I remember when my husband and I

bought our first property, it really was

00:21:35:12 - 00:21:38:11

like such a such a good eye

opening experience for us too,

00:21:38:20 - 00:21:41:13

because you can't have it all like you

can't.

00:21:41:22 - 00:21:44:26

Those are two very different strategies,

like they're just in conflict

00:21:44:26 - 00:21:45:28

with each other.

00:21:45:28 - 00:21:48:28

So you kind of have to pick a lane.

00:21:48:28 - 00:21:50:27

But again, you know,

you could do that with one property

00:21:50:27 - 00:21:52:25

and then the next property

pick the other lane.

00:21:52:25 - 00:21:57:11

In theory, what I would love to know,

sort of like I love that you were like,

00:21:57:11 - 00:22:00:19

we were at a point where we were ready

to diversify our portfolio.

00:22:00:28 - 00:22:02:15

What what was it?

00:22:02:15 - 00:22:03:24

What were sort of like the criteria

00:22:03:24 - 00:22:07:15

was in your mind where you were like,

No, I'm ready to diversify.

00:22:07:19 - 00:22:09:18

How did you know you were right? Sure.

00:22:09:18 - 00:22:14:02

Well, a couple of things

that really, really were important for us.

00:22:14:02 - 00:22:17:15

And my the way that I've set up

my business might be a little bit

00:22:17:15 - 00:22:22:17

different than most people's,

but I have a 24 seven concierge team

00:22:22:17 - 00:22:26:12

that takes care of all of my guest

bookings or inquiries,

00:22:26:29 - 00:22:29:27

you know, troubleshooting maintenance,

coordinating

00:22:29:27 - 00:22:33:26

with with getting cleaners that all the

00:22:34:02 - 00:22:37:23

all the fun stuff when it comes to the day

to day operations.

00:22:37:23 - 00:22:41:23

And I did that number one was one of

the reasons is again

00:22:41:23 - 00:22:43:07

I was working full time while.

00:22:43:07 - 00:22:45:09

I was building this. Business.

00:22:45:09 - 00:22:48:00

So as you might imagine,

00:22:48:12 - 00:22:51:07

the beach is a seasonal market, right?

00:22:51:07 - 00:22:56:04

So a lot of people love, love, love

to come to the beach in the summertime.

00:22:56:04 - 00:22:59:25

And we absolutely have people

that visit in the spring, in the fall,

00:23:00:04 - 00:23:05:27

however, that 80 hours are very different

in those shoulder seasons.

00:23:06:01 - 00:23:09:26

And then winter time is like crickets,

you know what I mean?

00:23:09:26 - 00:23:13:09

Like,

not many people want to come for a family

00:23:13:09 - 00:23:17:14

vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,

when it's 50 degrees outside.

00:23:17:26 - 00:23:22:24

So in the winter time, we tend to shift

to a mid term rental strategy.

00:23:22:24 - 00:23:26:20

Where will host snowbirds, you know,

for four, six, eight weeks at a time?

00:23:27:25 - 00:23:28:12

Well, as you might

00:23:28:12 - 00:23:33:11

imagine, regardless of whether people

are traveling to the beach or not,

00:23:33:28 - 00:23:37:11

we have fixed costs in our business.

00:23:37:11 - 00:23:38:02

Yeah.

00:23:38:19 - 00:23:43:16

And so we were looking to diversify

to help

00:23:44:19 - 00:23:47:19

obviously defray some of the

00:23:47:21 - 00:23:51:00

some of the slowness of the winter season.

00:23:51:13 - 00:23:54:00

And we were looking for another market,

00:23:54:00 - 00:23:58:12

which wasn't as seasonal

as with the highs and the lows.

00:23:58:13 - 00:23:59:14

Number one.

00:23:59:14 - 00:24:02:13

But number two, looking for a market

00:24:02:13 - 00:24:06:16

where the peak season was different

than the peak season at the beach.

00:24:06:16 - 00:24:12:12

So it would help us balance things out

from an income

00:24:12:12 - 00:24:14:21

and expense perspective.

00:24:16:10 - 00:24:17:23

That's fabulous. I love that.

00:24:17:23 - 00:24:20:08

Now that that makes

that makes a lot of good logical.

00:24:20:08 - 00:24:21:27

Sense to me.

00:24:21:27 - 00:24:24:29

Well, you know I love also. Yeah.

00:24:25:04 - 00:24:28:23

So, so, so, so smart.

00:24:28:23 - 00:24:31:27

The other thing

that I love about your approach,

00:24:32:08 - 00:24:35:28

which again, I think is super, super

important for anyone just starting out

00:24:35:28 - 00:24:39:22

like myself, is this idea of like

treating this as a business.

00:24:39:22 - 00:24:45:18

So even though you had a full time job,

right, you I'm guessing that part of maybe

00:24:45:18 - 00:24:49:21

what was on your five year vision board

was not having a full time corporate job.

00:24:51:05 - 00:24:54:18

You know, you could have

you could be right about that, Mariah.

00:24:54:18 - 00:24:56:03

Absolutely. Yes.

00:24:56:03 - 00:24:58:17

I was looking for an exit, for sure.

00:24:59:23 - 00:25:01:03

So but what.

00:25:01:03 - 00:25:04:28

Is probably was an advantage for you

is that having worked in that world,

00:25:05:01 - 00:25:09:01

you probably brought some did you bring

some of that sort of knowledge of like

00:25:09:16 - 00:25:13:14

be, you know, being a business leader,

being in in an actual business

00:25:13:14 - 00:25:15:20

where I'm sure there were things

that you were concerned about,

00:25:15:20 - 00:25:18:00

like what's my revenue

and what's my EPA done?

00:25:18:01 - 00:25:18:27

All right.

00:25:18:28 - 00:25:19:24

Absolutely.

00:25:19:24 - 00:25:24:07

I think it is so critically important,

in my opinion,

00:25:24:07 - 00:25:29:23

for anyone who is a short term

rental owner or operator

00:25:29:25 - 00:25:34:06

to understand

that you are a business leader,

00:25:35:04 - 00:25:37:15

You're not just the owner

00:25:37:15 - 00:25:40:20

of a property or a host with gas.

00:25:41:05 - 00:25:42:06

You are a,

00:25:43:10 - 00:25:45:29

you know, CEO of your business.

00:25:46:13 - 00:25:50:17

And I also think the business leader

00:25:50:17 - 00:25:54:09

mentality is very different

than a business owner mentality.

00:25:55:18 - 00:25:57:25

And so I, I just think

00:25:57:25 - 00:26:02:07

that, again,

I could be a little bit crazy about this,

00:26:02:07 - 00:26:06:00

but in in so many ways, it's easy

00:26:06:00 - 00:26:09:23

for people to do just enough to get by.

00:26:09:29 - 00:26:12:25

Even in a business setting,

right where it's.

00:26:13:07 - 00:26:15:05

Okay, I'm going, I'm.

00:26:15:05 - 00:26:18:13

I'm going to be fine

with making my numbers or I

00:26:18:18 - 00:26:20:19

you know, I'm not going to lose money.

00:26:20:19 - 00:26:22:12

I'm doing okay.

00:26:22:12 - 00:26:27:16

But when we think about ourselves

as business leaders, that number one puts

00:26:27:16 - 00:26:32:25

a different spin on even the way we think

about ourselves and our our day to day.

00:26:33:08 - 00:26:34:21

Number two.

00:26:34:21 - 00:26:37:09

Behaving as a business leader,

00:26:37:09 - 00:26:40:02

what do successful business leaders do?

00:26:40:14 - 00:26:41:19

Well, they do.

00:26:41:19 - 00:26:44:09

They make decisions based on data.

00:26:44:24 - 00:26:47:18

They don't make decisions on a whim.

00:26:47:18 - 00:26:51:07

Now, making swift decisions is oftentimes

00:26:51:07 - 00:26:54:08

really important as a business leader, but

00:26:55:09 - 00:26:57:03

it's also really important to

00:26:57:03 - 00:27:01:13

make data driven decisions

to be strategic in what we're doing.

00:27:01:26 - 00:27:04:11

So I think

00:27:04:13 - 00:27:07:19

for me, having the perspective

00:27:07:19 - 00:27:11:10

of number one, recognizing

00:27:11:10 - 00:27:16:04

that data is a really important

piece of this business has been critical.

00:27:16:04 - 00:27:21:03

But number two,

I was trained in my corporate life

00:27:21:21 - 00:27:25:13

in something called EOS, and it.

00:27:25:25 - 00:27:27:05

It's an.

00:27:27:05 - 00:27:30:10

An employee entrepreneurial system, right?

00:27:30:10 - 00:27:33:08

For four it's I think it's called

00:27:33:08 - 00:27:36:11

employee operational system.

00:27:36:11 - 00:27:41:09

But you think about the books

you've heard Traction and Rocket fuel.

00:27:41:09 - 00:27:45:09

It's all of the infrastructure.

00:27:45:09 - 00:27:45:19

Sure.

00:27:45:19 - 00:27:49:22

Of how to make a small business thrive.

00:27:50:07 - 00:27:55:26

And one of the things that's

really important is that your actions

00:27:55:26 - 00:28:01:28

in your business align with what you say

you want from your business, right?

00:28:01:28 - 00:28:04:10

So again, it's those five year goals.

00:28:04:10 - 00:28:08:24

Well, are we making day to day decisions

in our business

00:28:08:24 - 00:28:13:08

that align with what we want

five years from now or even this year?

00:28:13:24 - 00:28:19:01

So again, it's all about, in my mind,

taking that experience

00:28:19:01 - 00:28:20:14

from the corporate world

00:28:20:14 - 00:28:24:18

and actually applying it to my own short

term rental business.

00:28:24:18 - 00:28:26:04

So that's been super fun.

00:28:26:04 - 00:28:29:15

I mean, it's a creative way

for me to think about,

00:28:30:00 - 00:28:36:10

you know, being a real estate

rental preneur, something I love to sell.

00:28:36:14 - 00:28:38:25

I could get

I could talk about this stuff for days.

00:28:38:25 - 00:28:40:12

I don't want to bore your audience.

00:28:42:04 - 00:28:45:18

My. Highly on like highly unlikely

that you're boring anyone right now.

00:28:45:18 - 00:28:50:00

I think this is so great because again,

not everyone may have the advantage

00:28:50:00 - 00:28:50:09

of having

00:28:50:09 - 00:28:53:24

been in a corporate setting like you did,

but what is great is that, you know,

00:28:54:04 - 00:28:57:24

I always just draft off of other people's

like I'm like cheat off of other people's

00:28:57:24 - 00:28:58:19

homework, right?

00:28:58:19 - 00:29:01:24

Like you've been through it,

you know, and you're bringing

00:29:01:24 - 00:29:05:16

some really solid frameworks

to your process

00:29:05:22 - 00:29:09:05

that anyone, whether they were

in a corporate America or not, can adopt.

00:29:10:02 - 00:29:12:25

And so I love

I love this concept again, of sort of like

00:29:13:01 - 00:29:16:08

make sure that your actions

are matching your intention, right.

00:29:16:08 - 00:29:18:13

Or the impact matches its intention.

00:29:19:23 - 00:29:23:20

And and this idea of data,

I think one of the things that, you know,

00:29:23:20 - 00:29:27:07

we always encourage folks to do is like,

you know, like do a quarterly business

00:29:27:07 - 00:29:31:16

review of your of your properties,

even if you only have one

00:29:31:26 - 00:29:36:04

and like understand you know, exactly

how much is going into it, right.

00:29:36:04 - 00:29:39:13

How much you've invested into it

and what is the return on that investment.

00:29:39:13 - 00:29:41:26

Right. Even down to like,

okay, here's my ADR.

00:29:41:26 - 00:29:42:26

Great. Cool.

00:29:42:26 - 00:29:45:11

But like,

what does it cost me for it? Right.

00:29:45:11 - 00:29:46:01

Right.

00:29:46:01 - 00:29:50:06

Well, and to your point, not only doing

a quarterly business review,

00:29:50:06 - 00:29:53:27

but also looking at trends in the data

because.

00:29:54:15 - 00:29:55:12

It's very.

00:29:55:12 - 00:30:01:02

Easy to get caught up into, Well,

what does this metric really mean?

00:30:01:02 - 00:30:02:23

And it's.

00:30:02:23 - 00:30:08:10

I think, a bit difficult when we're

looking at a metric in a moment in time.

00:30:08:28 - 00:30:11:18

However, when we simply

00:30:11:18 - 00:30:14:24

track those metrics over time,

00:30:15:05 - 00:30:18:23

you can begin to see trends

00:30:18:23 - 00:30:22:24

emerging just naturally inorganically.

00:30:23:07 - 00:30:27:25

So establishing a best practice

of tracking data in your business

00:30:27:25 - 00:30:31:03

and simply throwing it on

to a spreadsheet, right.

00:30:31:19 - 00:30:34:20

And then coming back

and revisiting that spreadsheet

00:30:34:20 - 00:30:39:04

to look at seasonal trends or year

over year trends or

00:30:39:04 - 00:30:44:08

how is my ADR tracking this year

versus last year versus last season?

00:30:44:08 - 00:30:47:16

You know, again,

once you have the data, there's.

00:30:47:19 - 00:30:49:24

All kinds of fun. Stuff

you can do with it.

00:30:50:05 - 00:30:52:28

But the first step

is start tracking the data

00:30:54:01 - 00:30:54:25

right?

00:30:54:25 - 00:30:57:21

Right. Step one. One.

00:30:57:21 - 00:30:59:23

Yeah. And I think you're totally right.

00:30:59:23 - 00:31:02:16

And thank you, of course, for talking

about that on our data podcast.

00:31:02:27 - 00:31:05:11

I love that.

00:31:05:11 - 00:31:08:29

So the trends over time is what is really

important to us at air DNA too, right?

00:31:08:29 - 00:31:09:27

Because like,

00:31:10:08 - 00:31:13:28

yes, if you have data on your property,

it is going to be accurate like 100%.

00:31:13:28 - 00:31:14:28

You're going to know.

00:31:14:28 - 00:31:18:10

But generally speaking, when you're

looking at macro trends, right, you're

00:31:18:13 - 00:31:21:26

you're going for a certain level of error

that is acceptable, right?

00:31:21:26 - 00:31:23:18

Like that's

just sort of like data one on one.

00:31:23:18 - 00:31:26:25

But what you're really trying

to track in addition to the absolute

00:31:26:25 - 00:31:28:16

number is the trend over time.

00:31:28:16 - 00:31:30:18

And so have things changed.

00:31:30:18 - 00:31:32:19

And I love this idea of like year

over year. Right?

00:31:32:19 - 00:31:34:24

And it's particularly

because you have to kind of look

00:31:34:24 - 00:31:38:26

at like 2018, 2019, 20, 20 to 2020

where it's like,

00:31:38:26 - 00:31:42:01

whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

like we had experienced in this industry.

00:31:42:01 - 00:31:47:00

So much astronomical growth

both from demand but also from supply.

00:31:47:00 - 00:31:47:09

Right.

00:31:47:09 - 00:31:50:15

And the problem is, once people know

there's a good thing going on,

00:31:50:24 - 00:31:52:28

a lot of people hop on that. Yeah. Yeah.

00:31:54:22 - 00:31:55:29

So for us, you know,

00:31:55:29 - 00:31:59:04

the recommendation we always make is like,

just get one step ahead, right?

00:31:59:04 - 00:31:59:24

Because like,

00:31:59:24 - 00:32:02:19

like I always joke, I'm like, by the time

I'm ready to invest in the market,

00:32:02:19 - 00:32:04:18

like if I'm just looking at like,

the signs

00:32:04:18 - 00:32:06:21

and like reading the travel blogs

where it's too late.

00:32:06:23 - 00:32:10:04

Like either like if I go, if I'm

try to invest where I'm vacationing,

00:32:10:12 - 00:32:12:12

I've already missed the boat.

00:32:12:12 - 00:32:13:04

Let's

00:32:14:17 - 00:32:18:13

which is why, you know, like sort of the

riches are in the niches is what I like.

00:32:18:19 - 00:32:21:03

I love that. It's

00:32:21:07 - 00:32:22:17

so very, very interesting.

00:32:22:17 - 00:32:23:25

And then this idea, to your point,

00:32:23:25 - 00:32:26:20

I love this idea of like like, yes,

definitely looking at ADR over time,

00:32:26:28 - 00:32:29:22

but looking at like your booking window,

your booking lead times.

00:32:30:01 - 00:32:33:24

And then for us, what's so important

is to get out of your own echo chamber

00:32:34:04 - 00:32:37:24

and to look at your comparables

right at your competition

00:32:37:24 - 00:32:41:09

and say, okay,

like how what is their booking time?

00:32:41:14 - 00:32:44:23

What are their orders and how am I? Am I?

00:32:44:24 - 00:32:46:03

Am I leaving money on the table?

00:32:46:03 - 00:32:49:21

Did everything else get booked a lot

higher than I was pricing or did I?

00:32:49:21 - 00:32:50:24

Did I overpriced?

00:32:50:24 - 00:32:54:05

And now everyone else is booking under

and I'm just like now

00:32:54:05 - 00:32:55:10

not even getting the well.

00:32:55:10 - 00:32:59:21

And I think to

when you have those data trends and

00:32:59:27 - 00:33:04:20

and specific comparisons

with other properties in the market,

00:33:05:00 - 00:33:08:13

you can begin to have more strategic

thoughts and conversations

00:33:08:13 - 00:33:10:28

if you are managing other people's

properties.

00:33:11:10 - 00:33:14:03

So as. An example.

00:33:14:03 - 00:33:18:08

You know,

we do a shameless plug for air DNA here,

00:33:18:19 - 00:33:21:26

but we do have all of our properties

00:33:21:26 - 00:33:25:09

loaded and your system so that we can see

00:33:25:21 - 00:33:28:13

how our occupancy compares

00:33:28:13 - 00:33:31:01

with our comparables in our market.

00:33:31:13 - 00:33:36:04

How does our ADR look compared

to other properties in our market?

00:33:36:04 - 00:33:38:14

How does our again,

your booking lead time?

00:33:39:00 - 00:33:43:19

So for for me

as not only an owner of real estate

00:33:43:19 - 00:33:48:25

but also a licensed property manager where

I'm managing other people's properties,

00:33:49:29 - 00:33:51:21

if there are certain nuances

00:33:51:21 - 00:33:54:28

about that property that I know. Are.

00:33:55:26 - 00:33:58:13

Are holding that owner

00:33:58:13 - 00:34:01:02

back from achieving

what they want financially

00:34:01:12 - 00:34:06:00

by having data at our fingertips,

I can show them what I mean.

00:34:06:09 - 00:34:10:10

Hey, and I just again

had this very real conversation

00:34:10:10 - 00:34:12:10

with a property owner recently where

00:34:13:25 - 00:34:16:09

there are opportunities for her

00:34:16:09 - 00:34:19:03

to make her property,

00:34:19:09 - 00:34:24:01

I believe more beautiful

and more of an experience for her guests.

00:34:24:12 - 00:34:25:07

And it's sometimes.

00:34:25:07 - 00:34:31:05

Having, you know, it's more of a feeling

or a gut instinct.

00:34:31:05 - 00:34:32:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:34:32:00 - 00:34:37:24

By being able to show her this is how

your one bedroom property is performing.

00:34:38:15 - 00:34:43:13

These are five other one bedrooms

in our own portfolio

00:34:43:29 - 00:34:48:07

from which we have staged

and built this esthetic.

00:34:48:07 - 00:34:49:03

And guess what?

00:34:49:03 - 00:34:53:08

They're bringing in

30% more revenue every year.

00:34:54:08 - 00:34:56:06

How can I help you get there?

00:34:56:06 - 00:34:56:16

Right?

00:34:56:16 - 00:34:59:03

So then it shifts the conversation

00:35:00:05 - 00:35:04:04

and it allows you to bring solutions

to the table, if that makes sense.

00:35:05:04 - 00:35:06:14

It makes perfect sense.

00:35:06:14 - 00:35:06:27

I love that.

00:35:06:27 - 00:35:08:21

Yeah,

it takes the objectivity out of it, right?

00:35:08:21 - 00:35:12:12

It's not just like, Oh, Stacey's

telling me she wants me to invest 3000

00:35:12:12 - 00:35:14:09

or $10,000 into this property

00:35:14:09 - 00:35:16:22

because she thinks it needs

to look more beautiful, which,

00:35:16:23 - 00:35:19:01

you know, on surface level, you're like,

What's the value of that?

00:35:19:01 - 00:35:20:20

You're like,

Well, let me tell you what the value is.

00:35:20:20 - 00:35:22:24

It's that you're going to make 30%

more, right?

00:35:22:24 - 00:35:24:13

You're going to make that.

00:35:24:13 - 00:35:26:14

You're going to get

that return on investment.

00:35:26:23 - 00:35:30:27

And yeah, I mean, if you just if you don't

know who's listing right next to you.

00:35:31:00 - 00:35:31:25

Right. Right.

00:35:33:03 - 00:35:35:06

You can't

you can't really figure that out.

00:35:35:06 - 00:35:36:29

Oh, my goodness. Stacey, I love this.

00:35:36:29 - 00:35:44:12

I could talk to you all day as you now,

but I'm not going to torture you.

00:35:44:12 - 00:35:45:20

I just had Natalie Palmer.

00:35:45:20 - 00:35:49:00

On and we decided the slogan was like,

this podcast is not torture.

00:35:49:17 - 00:35:50:12

Okay, I am.

00:35:50:12 - 00:35:54:09

Glad that we are not torturing each other,

but I could talk to you all day too.

00:35:54:09 - 00:35:57:15

So there you go.

00:35:57:15 - 00:35:58:18

I love. It.

00:35:58:18 - 00:36:02:00

Well, I would love to play one quick

game with you that we play

00:36:02:00 - 00:36:03:00

with all of our guests.

00:36:03:00 - 00:36:06:11

And then, of course,

I want people to know more about how

00:36:06:11 - 00:36:08:18

they can get more of your wisdom

and your frameworks

00:36:08:18 - 00:36:11:01

and the way that you've sort of

built your business.

00:36:11:01 - 00:36:13:12

Again, guys,

draft off of Stacey's experience.

00:36:13:12 - 00:36:15:24

You don't have to do this alone.

You don't have to reinvent the wheel.

00:36:16:22 - 00:36:19:02

So, Stacey, the game is what?

00:36:19:26 - 00:36:23:20

And the first question is, Oh,

it sounds like you're going to games.

00:36:23:20 - 00:36:24:16

You've done Wheel of Fortune.

00:36:24:16 - 00:36:25:18

I'm not worried about you.

00:36:25:18 - 00:36:27:22

You've got this, You've got this.

00:36:27:23 - 00:36:31:13

Who, apart from yourself,

would you recommend folks

00:36:31:18 - 00:36:34:10

listen to you for inspiration or read?

00:36:35:09 - 00:36:38:22

Who else in this space

is sort of like offering some kernels of.

00:36:38:26 - 00:36:40:22

Advice folks might find useful?

00:36:40:22 - 00:36:42:24

Let me ask you the rules to this game.

00:36:42:24 - 00:36:45:13

Do I have to just share one person?

00:36:46:25 - 00:36:48:25

No. Firstly, there's no role.

00:36:48:25 - 00:36:51:13

I guess.

00:36:51:13 - 00:36:52:29

But I like that you ask the rules.

00:36:52:29 - 00:36:55:24

Just shows that you're a good game player.

00:36:55:24 - 00:36:56:10

I love it.

00:36:56:10 - 00:37:00:00

Okay,

so a couple of ideas that come to mind are

00:37:00:15 - 00:37:03:10

I love the thanks for visiting podcast.

00:37:03:10 - 00:37:05:17

So Sarah and Annette, they're just.

00:37:05:17 - 00:37:08:00

Not. Fabulous resources to folks.

00:37:08:00 - 00:37:10:26

And again,

I believe them to be in alignment

00:37:10:26 - 00:37:12:29

with what we've just talked about,

you know.

00:37:12:29 - 00:37:14:01

Having a good business.

00:37:14:01 - 00:37:16:26

Sense

but also having a heart at the same time.

00:37:16:26 - 00:37:19:17

So definitely. Sarah and Annette,

00:37:20:20 - 00:37:22:01

I think that

00:37:22:01 - 00:37:26:07

getting plugged into Hospitable hosts,

which are

00:37:27:08 - 00:37:30:29

now two books,

I was a coauthor on the first book.

00:37:30:29 - 00:37:34:10

They are getting ready

to release the second book this.

00:37:34:10 - 00:37:35:03

Month.

00:37:35:03 - 00:37:37:11

Or this spring, I should say.

00:37:38:03 - 00:37:40:19

And so by reading those books,

00:37:40:19 - 00:37:45:15

you actually have exposure to hosts

from all around the world

00:37:45:15 - 00:37:49:09

and what their nuggets

and helpful insights have been.

00:37:49:09 - 00:37:53:17

So it really just is a potpourri

of different people's experiences,

00:37:54:04 - 00:37:56:16

and I think that that's

a really good resource.

00:37:57:15 - 00:38:00:00

AM I allowed to shamelessly

plug my Facebook

00:38:00:00 - 00:38:03:16

group for any. Of the press?

00:38:03:16 - 00:38:05:28

But again, the rules. There's no rules.

You know.

00:38:05:28 - 00:38:07:25

I don't want to open too, you know.

00:38:07:25 - 00:38:13:03

But, you know, I've got a Facebook group

called Female Short Term Rental Investors.

00:38:13:03 - 00:38:16:19

And we have almost as of today,

00:38:16:20 - 00:38:20:11

just shy of 36,000 women

from all around the world

00:38:20:11 - 00:38:25:01

who eat, sleep, breathe and talk

short term rentals every day.

00:38:25:05 - 00:38:29:03

And so, ladies, if you are listening,

00:38:29:03 - 00:38:32:17

would love, love, love to welcome

you inside of there.

00:38:32:17 - 00:38:36:03

There are so many fabulous people

in this industry.

00:38:36:03 - 00:38:38:00

I feel like I'm doing.

00:38:38:00 - 00:38:38:23

A lot of people.

00:38:38:23 - 00:38:42:25

A disservice by not mentioning them,

but I think that

00:38:42:26 - 00:38:46:11

that's that that's also

one of the beauties of this industry is

00:38:46:11 - 00:38:50:14

that there are so many fabulous people

who are here to help you think about Julie

00:38:50:14 - 00:38:55:13

George and, you know, Tracy

Northcott and Valerie Malone.

00:38:55:13 - 00:38:57:29

I mean, there's so many fabulous women

00:38:58:04 - 00:39:01:14

and guys, sorry,

I'm talking about women here.

00:39:01:27 - 00:39:04:20

But you know. So many fabulous guys, too.

00:39:04:20 - 00:39:09:02

Bill, Faith, Mike SHOGREN, Mark Simpson,

so many great people.

00:39:09:02 - 00:39:12:29

So definitely get plugged in

to all those folks.

00:39:12:29 - 00:39:17:25

And the hospitable host books,

I think, can also be a fabulous resource.

00:39:17:25 - 00:39:19:14

That was a really long answer.

00:39:19:14 - 00:39:20:01

And I'm really.

00:39:20:01 - 00:39:21:20

Sorry. That's okay.

00:39:21:20 - 00:39:23:28

We're not going to penalize you for it.

There was no time.

00:39:24:08 - 00:39:27:03

I think there was a really good takeaway

in that as well, Stacey,

00:39:27:03 - 00:39:28:05

which is just like,

00:39:28:05 - 00:39:32:02

you know, there's a veritable smorgasbord,

as you would say, of options.

00:39:32:02 - 00:39:33:03

So you probably can find somebody

00:39:33:03 - 00:39:35:27

that resonates with your strategy,

find somebody that has,

00:39:36:07 - 00:39:39:16

you know, some pearls of wisdom,

and don't just listen to one person.

00:39:39:18 - 00:39:41:20

Get multiple people in there.

00:39:41:24 - 00:39:42:20

In fact,

00:39:42:20 - 00:39:46:25

anyone even just like to your point,

like just Joe Schmo and Jane shows

00:39:46:25 - 00:39:49:23

that are doing it on Facebook groups

and telling you what they think. And

00:39:51:06 - 00:39:51:24

I love that.

00:39:51:24 - 00:39:53:12

All right. Well, you.

Ready for your next topic?

00:39:53:12 - 00:39:57:01

So, all right,

00:39:57:19 - 00:40:02:28

this one is just what do you wish

you knew that you now know?

00:40:02:28 - 00:40:04:08

But when you first started,

00:40:04:08 - 00:40:06:22

what sort of like

do you wish that somebody had told you?

00:40:06:28 - 00:40:10:03

Now, since we're imparting advice

to other folks, I'm just getting started.

00:40:10:03 - 00:40:12:13

So I share this

00:40:13:17 - 00:40:16:16

that I am a recovering perfectionist.

00:40:17:26 - 00:40:19:01

Ooh, I like this.

00:40:19:01 - 00:40:20:28

I like where you're headed. Okay.

00:40:20:28 - 00:40:22:12

Okay. So what?

00:40:22:12 - 00:40:25:14

I wish I knew was that

00:40:26:01 - 00:40:28:26

am I allowed to cost, by the way?

00:40:28:26 - 00:40:30:02

Oh, yes.

00:40:30:02 - 00:40:30:25

I made

00:40:31:17 - 00:40:32:05

what I wish.

00:40:32:05 - 00:40:34:12

I knew was that shit was going to happen

00:40:35:13 - 00:40:38:08

and that. I.

00:40:38:08 - 00:40:40:19

Didn't need to get so stressed out

00:40:40:19 - 00:40:45:12

about said shit happening.

00:40:45:12 - 00:40:49:07

So I think those moments where

00:40:50:23 - 00:40:52:15

I'm going to say it again, shit happens.

00:40:52:15 - 00:40:56:13

I'm trying not to cuss,

but it's just it's one hour away.

00:40:56:26 - 00:40:58:23

That was like the nicest cuss word.

00:40:58:23 - 00:41:01:29

I mean, I was like, I should probably

bring that back into my lexicon.

00:41:01:29 - 00:41:05:12

I usually just go for the F-bomb.

00:41:05:12 - 00:41:11:13

I when at the beginning of my journey,

you know, since I am a perfectionist

00:41:11:13 - 00:41:15:16

or I, I'm trying, but I'm a recovering

perfectionist for recovery.

00:41:15:18 - 00:41:20:28

And I personally get so stressed out

when things went wrong.

00:41:21:10 - 00:41:23:18

And guess what? Again,

things are going to go wrong.

00:41:23:23 - 00:41:25:26

When you're new, you're going to mess up.

00:41:26:03 - 00:41:27:08

It's okay.

00:41:27:08 - 00:41:30:19

It's important to utilize and leverage

00:41:30:19 - 00:41:34:16

those methods as opportune

as I say, to fail forward.

00:41:34:24 - 00:41:37:18

So how do we resolve this issue and then

00:41:37:18 - 00:41:40:28

how do we build a process

so this issue doesn't happen again?

00:41:41:17 - 00:41:46:10

But when you're new again,

you know, it's it's not as clear.

00:41:46:22 - 00:41:51:28

So I found myself

getting extremely stressed out by

00:41:52:28 - 00:41:55:22

an air conditioner

that went out in the middle of the summer.

00:41:56:03 - 00:41:59:03

And could I have done a darn thing

about that,

00:41:59:25 - 00:42:02:29

you know, leading up to their no, no.

00:42:03:21 - 00:42:08:19

However, taking the emotion out of it

and understanding,

00:42:08:19 - 00:42:11:10

All right, here's the process for,

you know,

00:42:11:18 - 00:42:14:27

maintenance you know,

we have a process for calling maintenance.

00:42:14:27 - 00:42:18:07

If they check it out

and they can't fix it, then

00:42:18:07 - 00:42:23:03

we call the fact people again, building

that process was something was important.

00:42:23:13 - 00:42:24:12

But at the end of the day,

00:42:24:12 - 00:42:27:22

you want your guests

to have an amazing experience, Right?

00:42:28:04 - 00:42:29:24

And I'm

00:42:30:01 - 00:42:32:03

not letting that affect me past

00:42:32:03 - 00:42:36:08

family was something that I wish

I knew early on.

00:42:37:20 - 00:42:39:06

I love that advice.

00:42:39:06 - 00:42:42:03

Yeah, I think that's yeah,

you know, if you're not failing,

00:42:42:03 - 00:42:44:06

you're probably not learning

is what I always say, right.

00:42:44:06 - 00:42:47:02

Like and then

and then to that other point, right.

00:42:47:03 - 00:42:49:00

Like yeah, you can drive yourself crazy

00:42:49:00 - 00:42:51:13

if you're worried about like,

did I put enough coffee in the thing.

00:42:51:13 - 00:42:54:02

Did the is air conditioning

working? Is the pillow the right.

00:42:54:10 - 00:42:55:14

You know, thickness.

00:42:55:14 - 00:42:57:19

What's the right stop list. That's right.

00:42:57:23 - 00:42:58:14

Yeah. Yeah.

00:42:58:14 - 00:43:01:02

Like yeah. You're going to drive yourself

absolutely nuts.

00:43:01:02 - 00:43:02:17

So you have to kind of separate.

00:43:02:17 - 00:43:03:17

Okay, that was great.

00:43:03:17 - 00:43:06:02

Okay, good.

It's like, three times. I'm so sorry.

00:43:07:05 - 00:43:08:14

Well, it was the same words.

00:43:08:14 - 00:43:09:05

It doesn't. Care.

00:43:09:05 - 00:43:10:11

Like I'm.

00:43:10:11 - 00:43:12:00

Phrase. Is that how it rolls?

00:43:12:00 - 00:43:14:03

I love that under.

00:43:14:03 - 00:43:19:01

100% how it works in my house.

00:43:19:01 - 00:43:19:19

I love it.

00:43:19:19 - 00:43:19:26

All right.

00:43:19:26 - 00:43:25:00

Well, this is the last the last option,

which is if you were to go back in time

00:43:25:00 - 00:43:28:16

into your hot tub time machine,

where would you have invested?

00:43:29:15 - 00:43:30:15

Well.

00:43:31:05 - 00:43:35:11

I feel like I would have invested

in the same places where I did invest

00:43:35:11 - 00:43:41:04

because I did a lot of research prior

to selecting my markets.

00:43:41:23 - 00:43:43:20

And so

00:43:43:23 - 00:43:47:13

I feel really good about where we chosen

00:43:47:19 - 00:43:50:03

to have our our properties.

00:43:50:15 - 00:43:54:03

However, if money were no object.

00:43:55:03 - 00:43:57:13

And I like my question.

00:43:57:13 - 00:44:00:27

I was going to say,

if money were no object, I would have

00:44:00:27 - 00:44:04:14

a place in the Caribbean because again,

00:44:04:14 - 00:44:09:18

I love looking at that water.

00:44:09:18 - 00:44:13:27

The color of the water in the Caribbean

is something that I believe

00:44:13:27 - 00:44:15:13

everyone should experience.

00:44:15:13 - 00:44:19:09

It is so incredibly beautiful

and not something you can really describe

00:44:19:09 - 00:44:20:04

without seeing it.

00:44:20:04 - 00:44:26:02

So I would love to wake up

and look at that regularly.

00:44:26:02 - 00:44:29:09

Well, I'm going to put that on both of our

vision boards for the next five years.

00:44:29:09 - 00:44:33:23

Okay, Let's get that on the vision board

immediately.

00:44:33:23 - 00:44:36:12

And I think that's a great

I mean, hey, that is a great answer.

00:44:36:12 - 00:44:38:13

You're like, no, like, I did the homework.

00:44:38:25 - 00:44:42:17

I made sure that I was going to go into

a market that I was not going to regret.

00:44:42:17 - 00:44:44:17

And I don't feel like

I missed an opportunity.

00:44:45:05 - 00:44:46:18

That's fabulous.

00:44:46:18 - 00:44:50:29

Well, Stacy, if folks which I know

they will want to know more a get more

00:44:50:29 - 00:44:55:05

of the good Stacy St John methodology,

how should they get a hold of you?

00:44:55:05 - 00:44:56:25

Where is the place to find Stacy?

00:44:56:25 - 00:44:58:27

Say, John,

apart from the Caribbean. Or part of.

00:44:59:04 - 00:45:00:06

The Caribbean?

00:45:00:06 - 00:45:01:00

Well, the people.

00:45:01:00 - 00:45:04:26

At different places,

they can go directly to my website

00:45:04:26 - 00:45:07:08

which is Stacy St John dot com

00:45:07:25 - 00:45:13:02

and that is probably the

the easiest place to get me.

00:45:13:04 - 00:45:15:10

You can also find me on Facebook.

00:45:16:02 - 00:45:19:19

Ladies,

you are more than welcome to dive into

00:45:19:23 - 00:45:23:04

my Facebook group

called Female short term rental Investors.

00:45:23:04 - 00:45:24:27

I'm also on Instagram,

00:45:25:25 - 00:45:27:08

so I try I try

00:45:27:08 - 00:45:30:07

to be in as many places

as possible on LinkedIn,

00:45:30:07 - 00:45:33:12

but probably the easiest place to get me

is through my website.

00:45:33:12 - 00:45:36:01

Stacey St John dot com.

00:45:36:01 - 00:45:38:05

I love it

when it's a beautiful website, by the way.

00:45:38:26 - 00:45:41:04

I enjoyed going through it myself.

00:45:41:10 - 00:45:43:18

Thank.

00:45:43:18 - 00:45:45:10

It's been an absolute pleasure.

00:45:45:10 - 00:45:47:04

Thank you so much for joining me today.

00:45:47:04 - 00:45:49:13

So many good pearls of wisdom for anyone,

00:45:50:00 - 00:45:51:09

no matter where they are on their journey.

00:45:51:09 - 00:45:52:25

I think again,

like whether you're just trying

00:45:52:25 - 00:45:55:04

to get into one market,

figure out what you want to do there,

00:45:55:10 - 00:45:58:08

or if you're ready to diversify

and you're trying to like sort of hedge

00:45:58:08 - 00:46:01:14

those seasonality ebbs and flows.

00:46:01:14 - 00:46:03:13

Lots of great things from Stacey St John.

00:46:03:13 - 00:46:05:00

So thank you so much for. Thank you.