Welcome to Behind the Stays — a podcast that shares the stories behind your favorite boutique hotels, short-term rentals, and hospitality brands and the hosts, operators, and entrepreneurs who’ve brought them to life. Every Tuesday and Friday you’ll meet the military veterans, retired flight attendants, tech entrepreneurs, school teachers, single moms, hoteliers, and real estate investors who are all, in their unique ways, shaping the future of travel and hospitality. Discover how these visionaries — from all over the world — have built stunning landscape hotels in the mountains, designed bohemian bungalows on the beach, erected eclectic off-grid and nature-immersed escapes, and so much more. Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world’s top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more. Behind the States is hosted by Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance.
Episodes
Tuesday May 14, 2024
Tuesday May 14, 2024
Mike Hicks, the founder of Wander Chatt, a collection of unique stays across Chattanooga, TN and beyond.
Mike started his entrepreneurial journey at just 19 years old after dropping out of college to learn how to work for himself.
Mike got a job with a real estate developer helping to clear lots and doing an array of labor-intensive construction tasks. Mike worked long hard days for this developer but after work Mike and the rest of the crew would be invited out to go fishing.
And it was during these moments that he started asking questions…how do you determine a good deal? What should you look for when purchasing a lot? Etc.
In this conversation Mike and I discuss:
- How he bought his first house as a 19 year old
- Why he moved into short-term rentals after nearly two decades of buying, renovating, and renting traditional long-term rentals
- Why he pivoted away from traditional vacation rentals and went all in on unique stays when founding Wander Chatt
- How he “interviews the land” before buying a lot
- His thoughts on the biggest opportunities for hospitality entrepreneurs today
- And so much more
Follow Wander Chatt on Instagram
Connect with Mike on Instagram
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.
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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.
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