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
6 days ago
6 days ago
In today’s episode of Behind the Stays, we’re diving into one of the biggest mysteries plaguing modern hospitality entrepreneurs — how do you take all that beautiful, buzzworthy content that’s racking up views on Instagram and actually turn it into real bookings?
My guest today is Dustin Baker, the quietly brilliant force behind Hidden Gem Media — a performance-driven marketing agency that’s helping some of the most design-forward vacation rental and boutique hotel brands in the world unlock direct booking revenue from their social media presence.
Now, I don’t say this lightly — within the last week alone, two different people in the space told me, “Zach, you need to talk to Dustin.” So we got him on the mic fast.
In this conversation, we talk about the difference between content that looks great and content that converts, why creators (not influencers) are the most underutilized asset in the industry, how Dustin and his team are proving ROI on social in a way most operators didn’t think was possible, and why the real power play in 2025 might just be an email list, not a viral reel.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens after someone likes, saves, or shares your content — and how to turn that attention into actual revenue — this episode is for you.
Learn more about Hidden Gem Media
Connect with Dustin on LinkedIn
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.
Your host is Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. If you are a hospitality entrepreneur who has a stay, or a collection of stays with soul, we’d love for you to apply to join our Alliance at journey.com/alliance.
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