92 - Ranking Higher on Airbnb: AI, Optimization & Revenue w/ Sam Hirst

In this episode of The Co-Host Bros Podcast, Matt Codd and Austin Spitzenberger sit down with Sam Hirst, a short-term rental marketing operator who helped scale some of the most viral themed vacation rentals in the country — and later grew STR tech platforms to tens of thousands of listings.

Sam started with Loma Homes, a company known for extreme themed vacation rentals near Disney that went viral and were featured in major publications like Forbes and Travel + Leisure. What began as an admin role turned into leading marketing during a period of explosive growth.

From there, Sam joined the founder to build Intellihost, an optimization platform helping STR owners rank higher on OTAs and increase revenue. As head of marketing and sales, he helped scale:

• 0 → 40,000+ listings on Intellihost
• A 7-figure revenue run rate
• Revenue IQ from 0 → 600+ users and 1,400+ properties under management
• A multi-person sales team with a repeatable calendar-filling system

In this episode, we cover:

• How extreme themed homes went viral near Disney
• Why having a remarkable product makes marketing easier
• How to rank higher on Airbnb and other OTAs
• The fusion of AI, listing optimization, and pricing strategy
• Building scalable sales systems in STR tech
• What most hosts misunderstand about marketing vs. product

This is a must-listen for STR operators who want to understand how marketing, optimization, and positioning actually drive revenue at scale.

👥 Follow the Hosts

Matt Codd

Instagram: @creativecodds

TikTok: @creativecodds

Facebook: @matt.codd.3

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-codd-9a3761375/

Austin Spitzenberger

Instagram: @austin_spitzz

TikTok: @austin_spitzz

Facebook: @austin.spitzenberger

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-spitzenberger-70481111b/

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