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 Oct 15, 2024
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Meet Hillary Flur, the Co-Founder and Co-Visionary behind Folly, a collection of stunning off-grid retreats in the Mojave Desert and beyond that are redefining sustainable luxury travel.
Hillary didn’t start out in hospitality. She began her hospitality entrepreneurship journey by renting out a small, kitchen-less studio apartment on Airbnb—but what started as a side hustle quickly evolved into a portfolio of design-forward, off-grid getaways that blend architecture, nature, and luxury in a next-gen, outo-of-this-world sort of way.
In this conversation, we dive deep into Hillary’s journey—from surviving her first DIY build in Joshua Tree to creating expansive desert compounds that attract everyone from A-list celebrities to adventure-seeking travelers.
Tune in to hear:
- Where the idea of creating magical, architecturally stunning stays first came from
- The challenges of scaling unique stays like Folly’s and why they’re betting on pop-up locations next
- The genius behind Folly’s exclusive membership program and how it offers hyper-personalized stays for their guests
- Why Hillary believes AI will be pivotal in helping hoteliers and hospitality entrepreneurs hyper-personalize their guest experience at scale
- Hillary’s vision of having a Folly near every National Park
- And so much more
Alright friends, without further ado, get ready to meet Hillary.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Hostfully.
Upselling sounds great in theory, but how do you actually do it? How do you know what to offer, and how do you make it seamless for your guests?
Well, that’s where Hostfully’s latest eBook comes into play.
This isn’t just another generic guide; it’s a goldmine of insights drawn from real transaction data collected from June 2023 to June 2024. We’re talking about the most popular upsells that guests actually buy — from early check-ins to premium amenity access — and how these can significantly enhance your bottom line.
But here’s the best part: this eBook doesn’t just leave you with data; it gives you practical advice and checklists to help you start implementing these upsells right away. Whether you’re just getting started with a simple upsell or looking to expand your offerings, Hostfully has you covered.
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you by StayWatch — the internet's best resource for deals on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. You can subscribe, for free, at www.staywatch.ai
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, Co-founder of StayWatch, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee or on LinkedIn.
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