Behind the Stays

Meet Connor Gross — an entrepreneur in his mid-twenties who is currently focused on building a portfolio of self-storage units across the state of Texas. Connor graduated from Northeastern University in 2020.  As a part of a co-op program at Northeastern, he was able to spend a semester building his first start-up, Cardly, with his co-founder Giovanni, which was a snazzy looking credit card holder that attaches to the back of your iPhone. After selling the start-up in early 2020, Connor began learning about real estate investing.  While the idea of investing in a short-term rental was attractive, in Connor’s mind, being responsible for a place where folks actually lived or vacationed was a bit too much of a headache.  So, he decided to start with self-storage.  Tune in to an energetic, idea-producing conversation where Connor and I discuss: How he convinced the host of a luxury Airbnb villa in Bali to let him stay in their home for free How he founded, built, and sold his first e-commerce company Why you’re never too young or too old to start your entrepreneurial journey Connor’s hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality after living out of a suitcase for 2 years and traveling to more than 30 countries.  This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts(as in, Behind the Stays).   If you liked this episode, you're going to love some of our other recent conversations:   How She Built an Insta-Famous Airbnb — The Story Behind the Cozy Rock Cabin.   She Left Her Law Career to Become a Hospitality Entrepreneur — Meet the Creator of Field and Lake   How They’re Building Canada’s Premier Luxury Treehouse Company   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In just a moment, you’ll meet Natalie Palmer — an Airbnb Ambassador, a 17x superhost, and the creator and host of the popular No Vacancy podcast.  Natalie was never really sure what she wanted to do when she “grew up”...but she was always quick to say “yes” when opportunities to step outside of her comfort-zone surfaced.  So, after spending a couple of months learning about short-term rental investing and hosting, Natalie asked her parents if she could try her hand out at turning their family’s vacation home in the mountains into an Airbnb. While skeptical, they agreed to give her a shot…and within one ski season, they had made enough to pay the mortgage on the home for the entire year! This early win inspired Natalie to further immerse herself in learning everything she could about how to deliver an exceptional guest experience while also growing a profitable business.  Natalie and I discuss the power of networking and why more hosts should participate in STR industry events, frameworks for how to structure your time as a hospitality entrepreneur, and why she’s throwing a women’s only STR hospitality event in Scottsdale, Arizona called the “Level Up Your Listing Summit.”   You’ll learn more about this event towards the end of the interview but I want to highly encourage all the ladies tuning into today’s chat to check out Natalie’s event.  Natalie is also giving all Behind the Stays listeners a 10% discount when they use the code BTS10 at check out.  Learn more about the Level Up Your Listing Summit here.  Follow Natalie on Instagram Stream the No Vacancy Podcast  This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts(as in, Behind the Stays).   If you liked this episode, you're going to love some of our other recent conversations:   How She Built an Insta-Famous Airbnb — The Story Behind the Cozy Rock Cabin.   She Left Her Law Career to Become a Hospitality Entrepreneur — Meet the Creator of Field and Lake   From Serving in Afghanistan to Hosting on Airbnb: Meet the Founders of Seasons‘ Yield Farm   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Alexis and Skeeter — the creators of The Kingdom A-Frame, a quintessential New England escape in Burke, Vermont.  Alexis and Skeeter love mountain biking and have traveled to Northeastern Vermont to traverse the Kingdom Trails for years!  These trails are known as the crown jewel of East Coast mountain biking. Alexis and Skeeter have three dogs and struggled to find an Airbnb that both allowed dogs and offered an inspirational aesthetic.  After doing some back-of-the-napkin math, the couple realized that, given the frequency of their travels to Burke, they might actually be better off buying a place then continuing to book stays on Airbnb.  Tune in to hear the fun story of: How Alexis and Skeeter found and refurbished The Kingdom A-Frame How an instagram post landed their A-Frame in Vogue How they’ve balanced increasing their nightly rate (as their insta-fame has grown) with their original mission of creating a beautiful, accessible, and unique escape for all Follow The Kingdom A-Frame on Instagram Book Your Stay at The Kingdom A-Frame This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   If you liked this episode, you're going to love some of our other recent conversations:   How She Built an Insta-Famous Airbnb — The Story Behind the Cozy Rock Cabin.   She Left Her Law Career to Become a Hospitality Entrepreneur — Meet the Creator of Field and Lake   From Serving in Afghanistan to Hosting on Airbnb: Meet the Founders of Seasons‘ Yield Farm   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Damian Sheridan, founder of The Book Direct and Scale Rentals Shows — a couple of the leading events for short-term rental hosts and property managers interested in building their direct booking strategies. Growing up, Damian wanted to be a professional footballer…but, he quickly learned that in addition to passion for the game, you needed the skill as well! Years later while working at a travel agency, Damian developed an affinity for Search Engine Optimization — also known as SEO.  The idea that, with the right set of strategies and tactics,  you could rank #1 on Google for a term like “best vacation rentals in Miami” fascinated him…and before too long he became something of an expert in SEO! Tune in to hear the motivational story of how Damian parlayed his SEO skills into a full-time gig and what inspired him to build a collection of niche, in-person events for hosts and operators interested in growing their direct bookings.  Connect with Damian on LinkedIn Learn More the Book Direct Show  Learn More about the Scale Rentals Show Rate and Review this Episode on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to Sponstayneous This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Janice Smith, the creator of the Cozy Rock Cabin (@cozyrockcabin), a 750 square-foot cabin on 3 acres of wooded land in Freeport, Maine. Janice has always had a knack for project management — and this skill has served her well as she led an ed-tech startup, launched her own video production agency, and brought not one, not two, but three cozy Airbnbs to life.  Now Janice has used instagram to promote all of her homes, but one in particular, the Cozy Rock Cabin, has become what some might call “insta-famous” having garnered over 70k followers.  Tune in to hear the moving story of why Janice wanted an Airbnb in Freeport, how she DM’d the creator of The Raven House — one of the OG insta-worthy cabins — and convinced him to help her develop the plans of her own cabin, and her theory on why Jimmy Kimmel follows the Cozy Rock Cabin on Instagram. Book Your Stay at the Cozy Rock Cabin Follow the Cozy Rock Cabin on Instagram Rate and Review this Episode on Apple Podcasts  Subscribe to Sponstayneous This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts(as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Sara Roitman,  the creator of Field and Lake, a new collective of boutique vacation rentals on the shores of Lake Michigan. Sara is an attorney by trade and lives in Chicago with her beautiful family.  A few years back, Sara and her husband had purchased a vacation home on Lake Michigan so that they could escape from the city with the kids for long weekends and a couple of weeks each summer. When COVID hit, the home next door to their lake house became available…and, upon hearing this news, a bold idea began to form, and ultimately take residence, in Sara’s mind. And that idea?  Well, it was to buy this home, launch a hospitality brand, build a portfolio of beautiful yet casual escapes, oh — and leave her job! Tune into the fun and inspiring story of how Sara ideated, planned out, and ultimately launched Field and Lake. Follow Field and Lake on Instagram Book a Stay at Field and Lake This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Ethan Abitz — one of the OG Airbnb Instagram Influencers. Ethan first started using Instagram in high school to promote an apparel line he started. This was when Instagram let you upload a photo and select from just a handful of filters before posting your shot — no stories, reels, etc. In college, Ethan thought he wanted to work on Wall Street. He was interested in finance and investing and was always good at spotting opportunities.  But around this time, Ethan began to further explore his creative abilities — especially in the context of photography. And he soon realized that his love of capturing moments and telling the stories behind them outweighed whatever affinity he had for buying low, and selling high.  Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Ethan pursued his love for adventure and photography and grew his following to hundreds of thousands across Instagram and TikTok. Follow Ethan on Instagram Follow Ethan on TikTok This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.    Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Spenser and Marcy Kernea, the creators of the Retreat at Fall Branch Falls, a pristinely crafted escape in Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.  Spenser has always been a big dreamer.  And while Marcy is fond of big ideas herself, she often has to counterbalance Spenser’s idealism with just a smidge of realism. Spenser once had this grand idea of opening up an authentic Italian gelateria in Tennessee, and Marcy had to remind him that he didn’t know the first thing about making ice cream or running a restaurant! So, after Spenser’s dream of becoming the Guy Fieri of gelato were tabled, he and Marcy began discussing a dream they both shared — and that was to be able to create welcoming spaces where people of all backgrounds might feel at home.  Tune in to hear the somewhat miraculous story of how Spenser and Marcy found the perfect piece of land, created a magical Airbnb on that land, and grew their Tiny Houses’ following to over 30k across Instagram and TikTok. Book your stay at the Retreat at Falls Branch Follow the Retreat at Falls Branch on Instagram Follow the Retreat at Falls Branch on TikTok This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.  Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

In just a moment you’ll meet Jamie Lane, Vice President of Research at AirDNA. After spending a decade at CBRE, one of the country’s largest American commercial real estate services and investment firm, Jamie was itching for a change…   He had always loved the hospitality space, and the short-term rental space in particular, so when he got a call from Scott Shatford the founder of AirDNA about joining the team, Jamie couldn’t say no.   Tune in to hear Jamie’s thoughts on:  How savvy STR hosts should be using pricing strategies to increase their occupancy rates How STR hosts should balance OTAs and the building of their own brands As well as his hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality Learn More about AirDNA  Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn Stream Jamie's podcast, STR Data Lab This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.  Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts(as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Emir Dukic, founder and CEO of Rabbu. Rabbu helps investors find and manage short-term rentals.   Emir started working in tech via a cold email.  He reached out to the founder of Kick, which was a social network dedicated to talking about all things soccer, asking if he could help the company grow in any way. He started volunteering for the company, was eventually hired, and then worked his way up into a leading operations role before the company was acquired by NBC. Tune in to hear the fun story of how Emir got into the STR game as a host and how that experience inspired him to found Rabbu.  Follow Emir on Twitter Learn more about Rabbu This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.  Touch Stay enables hosts to build beautiful, digital guidebooks in a matter of minutes…   And enhances the guest experience by packaging your recommendations for coffee, wine bars, artisan bakeries, and Michelin star restaurants in a single online location.    Guests can access everything through a simple link — and yes, it works WITHOUT a wifi connection.    Touch Stay allows you to customize your guidebook to match your brand — pick the colors, fonts, and images that best align with your STR.  Learn more about a plethora of other features they have, and start your free trail at touchstay.com/bts (as in, Behind the Stays).   About the Show Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.     You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com.  Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.