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- Founder, VRMB
From last week's discussion about marketing the word "boutique" (which has evolved like a beautiful living document 🌱) I was inspired to share a lesson I learned from a $795/hour copywriter.
Tell ‘Em What You’re Going To Tell ‘Em
Next, Tell ‘Em
Next, Tell ‘Em What You Told ‘Em
OK so this isn't the exact lesson (it's famous advice for public speaking presenters) BUT it communicates the lesson from the...
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Latest reply by - Karla
I wonder if it's part of this concept that relates to the ubiquitous emails I get wanting to redo, refresh and re-polish my website or engage in google analytics at a great cost...
- Founder, VRMB
Hello community members based on your feedback from previous demos, @Terry and I invited @BobG to demo Cleanyst: www.cleanyst.com
What is it? In my words, it's an eco-conscious system that allows you to make your own consumables (soap, shampoo, dish soap...etc). Both Terry and I are getting a kit to test it out. Will update this thread with our feedback.
0:22 Explanation
7:28 Demonstration
19:37 Q&A
You can...
- Founder, VRMB
Ever since I moved to Miami and started swimming in the ocean each morning with my crew of completely random but equally inspiring swim buddies (photo attached) I joined in on the unspoken practice of being grateful.
There's no fee and no rules joining this swim group. Show up whenever you want, swim with the group however far you want, however fast you want.
But at the beginning just as we're all in the water...
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Latest reply by
- Karla
@Matt Landau I was so moved by your last mailer of 2021 and your essay about your experience on St. John that it made me cry, memories of what happened to people after those two back to back cat 5 hurricanes came flooding back.
I...
- Founder, VRMB
In this episode we unpack Dana's final takeaway of the season, that professional operators have a huge chance to differentiate themselves from the casual Airbnbers that often come to the table with us. And that strict and complicated laws may end up stifling the path to professionalism.
Ryan Dame of Casago joins to give us the perspective of a large manager dealing with regulatory issues across the country...
- Founder, VRMB
In my 2022 Predictions Piece, I explain how big money and roll-ups will fuel the one-of-a-kind or Limited Edition players in the vacation rental industry. Said another way, the small businesses that accelerate in the direction of family/local/specialized/surprises will not just enjoy new-found demand -- the sector's tailwinds will satisfy their wildest business dreams.
Here's a prime example: I visited Mike...
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Latest reply by - Katie Bien
We require a contract, but like many here, we do have an "out" for either party. While the relationship with owners is very much a partnership, we...
- Founder, VRMB
In this episode we talk with Davide Proserpio, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. David studies problems related to digital markets and has spent years analyzing the sharing economy.
It all started with a research paper showing a positive correlation between Airbnb and housing rent and prices: a paper that was used by plenty of anti-STR...
This post is about newsletters: the single best way to stay in touch with former guests, generate new referrals, and keep your business brain sharpened and focused.
I am something of a newsletter nerd. I sign up to receive newsletters (and assess them), I've spent every week for the last 5 years sending out VRMB's weekly newsletter, and prior to that, I spent a solid 5 years sending out one for my vacation...
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Latest reply by
- Matt Landau
Some added thoughts...
Commit: if you don't commit to sending out emails to former guests regularly, when you do actually send them out, it will appear too isolated and needy. Email marketing is...
- Founder, VRMB
In this episode Pam Knudsen, Senior Director of Compliance Services at Avalara, gives us perspective on advocacy efforts across the country through the lens of lodging tax data.
We've been hearing a lot this season about outright bans and a curious reluctance by cities to take the economic impact of vacation rentals into account when creating regulation.
Pam shares a more nuanced, hopeful outlook as well as...
- Efficiency Manager, VRMB
VRMB in collaboration with the VRMB faculty unearthed nine fundamental principles beneath the surface of the most successful vacation rental businesses over time, and throughout the world. These nine principles build a force field around your business.
You can download the...
- Founder, VRMB
In this episode we take a deeper look at statewide preemption with Tiffany Edwards of the VRMA Advocacy Fund and Right to Rent. We're very much about local community interaction on this podcast and nothing in this episode changes that, but sometimes going to a higher power might be the only tool left to save your business.
Tiffany helps us understand the nuance of these issues, where they've worked, and how...
Hello community members, I'm sharing with you my big trend for independent owners and managers in 2022, along with links to all mentioned resources below.
Please use the thread below to share any trends you believe are worth doubling down on...
Resources Mentioned:
Vacasa has gone public [Skift]
Matt Roberts on Unlocked
Carl Shepherd on Unlocked
The Agile Approach PDF
Keystone Awards (software suggestions)...
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Latest reply by - JanS
In Vacasa's quest for more more more properties, they are going to run smack into the regulatory issues we are all struggling with. I'm waiting to see what they will do. Will they join the fray and make a positive difference?
- Founder, VRMB
In this episode we dive into a case study on Santa Barbara and Theo Kracke, the man who sued his hometown and won. We dedicate a lot of time on this podcast to finding compromise and working with local government, but in the face of outright bans it doesn't always work. Theo's solution took a great deal of time, energy and resources, but his victory has ripple effects for vacation rental regulation across...
- Founder, VRMB
Crowdsourcing means collecting information from other vacation rental people. It allows you to save time and money while tapping into lessons from owners and managers with different skills or perspectives from all over the world.
Crowdsourcing works best at early, pivotal stages of your vacation rental growth: believe it or not, many other VR pros have been through that challenge before. They may even have a...
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Latest reply by - AshleyK
Hi Ashley, I'm happy to share my pack with you and let you know how I do this.
I would be so grateful for anything you can...
- Founder, VRMB
Trial and error 'metabolism' is one of the most popular ways to build vacation rental muscle.
But once you've reached a sweet spot, trial and error metabolism tends to slow: either because you've build a seamless machine OR you've lost motivation for growth.
One way to mix things up is to adopt the mentality that "everything is a test."
"Everything is a test" gives us the confidence to try a myriad of mini...
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Latest reply by
- Matt Landau
Reference Discussion (for anyone who wants to learn more about QR codes): https://community.vrmb.com/threads/qr-code-for-marketing.6301/
- Founder, VRMB
In vacation rentals we talk about listing sites.In the restaurant world, it's delivery apps like Grubhub, Door Dash, and Post Mates. These tech companies have taken a sizable bite out of restaurant economic models and margins -- especially in the wake of the pandemic as demand for delivery surges.
To discourage the use of delivery apps (aka. "book direct") Domino's Pizza got creative. Domino's franchisees (in...
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Latest reply by - RuthM
Just seeing this now. WOW. What a powerful choice for an advertisement. Makes you want to order Domino's, right? Doing the right thing in...
- Founder, VRMB
In this episode we dive into a Denver case study with Erica Rogers, an assistant City Attorney for the city of Denver, who is able to share some powerful parallels with other emerging industries such as marijuana and electric scooters.
We discuss what regulation and enforcement look like from the government's perspective, and Dana provides context from the host side as she was on the front lines of countering...
- Koloa Kai
The vacation rental (VR) industry is undergoing a renaissance as the COVID-19 pandemic transitions out of its position of global dominance. Our industry has received an enormous amount of press in the past few years—some good and some bad—all of it culminating in increased awareness of what our industry offers.
The term “renaissance” is used deliberately here. Some refer to our industry as “new” or “young,” but...
- Founder, VRMB
In this episode we dig into the issues and possibilities involved with zoning laws as they pertain to short term rentals. We're joined again by Jarret Skorup of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and by Alex Haler, a host that stopped renting in Denver due to harsh regulations and has since joined his local planning commission in Leadville, CO.
By engaging with policy at the planning commission level...
This guest post is by Inner Circle leader James Olin, CEO of C2G Advisors LLC, who has been involved in M&A activities in vacation rental industry since 1992. He is the only person to be CEO of both the nation’s largest privately owned vacation rental company (Abbott...
- Owner & Hostess
The short term rental industry has exploded over the past decade. This post examines the deep shifts in real estate, technology, and labor that have forged a new definition of "mixed-use" and opens the discussion with insight into the direction it’s heading next.
Part 1. The...
- Founder, VRMB
Permission to Prune
IDEA: Tree pruning means selectively removing injured, dead, or infected parts of the tree in order to improve the tree’s structure, and promoting new, healthy growth. Vacation rental businesses can prune too by selectively removing parts of the business that are weighing us down and impeding our goals.
ACTION: Prune parts of your business that may be restricting your growth. Some examples...
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Latest reply by - StacyW
We are removing our property service homes as we no longer have the band width to take care of them for the peanuts we are...
This post is designed to inspire Property Managers everywhere to run best-in-class, functional and profitable businesses, while staying healthy, happy, and free. And we think it's more salient today than ever before.
The biggest lessons from 3 years of explosive growth...
Most owners and managers respond to the same inquiries and questions frequently. And the more advanced folks use automation such as canned messages and auto-responders.
But very rarely do we realize that not all guests are equal, and that responding in the same way to...
- Founder, VRMB
In this episode we discuss the case for stronger vacation rental regulation with Jessica Black of Moms Against STRs. We also get perspective on these arguments from our industry experts and talk about the troubles with 'character of the neighborhood' kinds of conversations when trying to enact fair public policy.
We'll also hear from Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and begin to look...
No matter how much we plan, prepare, maintain, improve, innovate or do, we can’t control everything.
Construction noise, power outages, severe weather, medical emergencies, road closures, and land crab migrations through the shower can spoil our guests’ vacations—yet are...
- Founder, VRMB
This episode is about the non-host, non-manager professionals that are critical to the pursuit of fair regulation for our industry.
We're talking about lobbyists and government affairs folks, here.
You've probably heard about lobbyists in national politics, and most likely it wasn't always in a positive light. It turns out, though, that the most effective way of engaging all stakeholders and crafting...
- Founder, VRMB
Welcome to Season Two of the How to Save Your Vacation Rental Show! In this season we will focus on Fair Regulation: what defines it, why we need to be proactive about it, how to engage with stakeholders on all sides and how to get it written into law. Along the way, we'll be diving into case studies and talking with experts from both inside and outside the vacation rental industry.
Sarah Bradford of...
- Founder, VRMB
Niches are the next big thing in vacation rentals.
They are the essence of Theory of Limited Edition: that if you do the things only/inimitably YOU, that no bigger/richer company can ever compete.
Special interest and geographic niches possess significant profit: they are not scalable: and they tend to be more intimate than the big box managers... therefore less hazardous to communities.
If you are an...
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Latest reply by - DMartinez
A surprising spike in a keyword search bump was noticed today for my website -with thanks to a blog post I wrote a while ago about a potential...
- Founder, VRMB
Season Two of the How to Save Your Vacation Rental Show will focus on Fair Regulation...what defines it, why we need to be proactive about it, how to engage with stakeholders on all sides and how to get it written into law. Along the way, we'll be diving into case studies and talking with experts from both inside and outside the vacation rental industry. Episode 1 drops November 2nd.
This season is brought to...
- Founder, VRMB
IDEA: I recently learned the word “strip mining” which destroys landscapes when trees, plants, topsoil are cleared. This leads to erosion when the rain washes away the loose soil until the foundation is gone. OK, I didn’t only just learn the word (I’d heard it before).
But only recently did I learn it as a metaphor for what can happen to our ecosystem if we don’t work together to protect and preserve our trees...
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Latest reply by - Debi
At Host2Host we were just developing a monthly Host Tea program when the pandemic descended upon us. The intention was to have a different member host a tea at their property. We wanted to gather, share our enthusiasm for hosting and introduce potential new members to our...
Welcome to VRMB!
I’m Matt Landau, the founder of this forum. It was created in 2016 when a group of us wanted a safe space to discuss our growing STR businesses.
Today, you can join our community of 1,000+ creative, thoughtful, and generous members who believe in a better future.
Spotlight
Discover "Unlocked: The Intermission" - a captivating 6-part podcast series featuring the individuals who have shaped Matt Landau's horseradish in the past 6 months.