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 Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
In just a moment you’ll meet Antonio Bafia, a 23-year-old entrepreneur who dropped out of college to pursue his dream of building hospitality businesses.
Growing up, Antonio was a competitive hockey player — he dreamed of one day playing in the NHL. And while that dream never came to fruition, the discipline he learned playing hockey equipped him wonderfully for the exciting and taxing journey of being an entrepreneur.
In this episode, Antonio and I discuss:
- how he built a portfolio of short-term rentals across the country in partnership with his dad
- why he’s so bullish on finding and then sticking to a niche
- why he believes that service is the next frontier of true competitiveness in the space
- his dreams over the next few years
- and so much more
Alright friends, without further ado, get ready to meet Antonio.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.
Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts.
Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you.
Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property.
Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning.
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
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.
Friday Mar 29, 2024
Friday Mar 29, 2024
Meet Bella Linchenko, a muralist, STR investor, and creative finance community builder.
Growing up, Bella wanted to be a dog groomer…or an olympic gymnast…or both.
And while neither of those dreams panned out, she does get to apply her love of art, form, and problem solving to the work she gets to do each day.
In this conversation Bella and I discuss:
How murals can elevate the value of your STR
Why Bella started a creative financing community for women real estate investors
What she’s learned from house hacking
How she’s underwriting deals today
and so much more
Alright friends, without further ado, get ready to meet Bella.
Connect with Bella on Instagram
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Hostfully.
Hostfully Digital Guidebooks are the easiest way to help your guests get to know your property and discover just how special the community that surrounds it is.
Hostfully Guidebooks give you a dynamic place to store every bit of information you might want your guests to have — from the wifi password to how to work the hot tub to where to take the best selfies at golden hour.
Hostfully empowers you with easy-to-use tools that help you feature a totally curated list of your favorite eateries, pubs, hiking trails, and more — OR Hostfully can automatically create a list of experiences through their Guidebook Wizard if you’ve got dozens of properties and just can’t afford to curate a custom set of recommendations for each one.
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
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Howdy friends! In this episode Zach sits down with Ben Wolff, Co-Founder of Onera and Oasi — two of the most innovative brands in the experiential hospitality space.
Ben Wolff is an incredible entrepreneur who has built some of the world's most unique and social-media-famous Airbnbs — if you haven't checked at his work, it's time to change that.
In this episode, Ben announces his latest project, Oasi Hill Country, a $39 million luxury landscape resort that he's building in the Texas Hill Country.
Ben shares:
- Why he's building Oasi Hill Country
- Why he's building the resort in public
- How he's fundraising for the project on social media
- Lessons he's learned about building next-generation stays
- And so much more
Learn more about the project here
This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA
Want to see if a Treehouse resort in Dubai pencils? You can do so in AirDNA.
Want to buy land in Ontario to build a Glamping resort? AirDNA will show you how other, comparable products are performing in the region.
Or maybe you’ve already got your stay up and running and you want a better understanding of how your Airbnb compares to others in the market? You can connect your listing to AirDNA and get accurate nightly pricing recommendations based on real-world, real-time demand.
AirDNA is the key you need to unlock the insight behind what it’s going to take to bring those big dreams you have to life.
Pay just $25/month and access ANY market in the world — AirDNA is cheaper, faster, better, and stronger to use than ever before.
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.
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Friday Mar 22, 2024
One of the newest and hottest industry events, Level Up Your Listing, host by Natalie Palmer and Tatiana Taylor-Tait, just wrapped last week — and we wanted to know what people thought about the event!
In this episode, Zach sits down with Sage Nathan (Head of Partnerships at Minoan and a sponsor of the event), Tyann Marcink, an industry veteran and one of the most respected voices in vacation rental management, and Bella Linchenko, a designer and muralist who is new to short-term rental investing and made the decision to attend the event on a whim!
Hear what these ladies thought about the event — what was different, what they loved, what they think can be improved next time, and so much more.
Learn more about Level Up Your Listing
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.
Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts.
Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you.
Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property.
Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning.
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
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.
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
In this episode, Zach explores what Google Trends says about where to buy or build your next unique Airbnb.
Zach shares fascinating insight into how search behavior for unique stays like treehouses, container homes, yurts, and A-frames has changed over time and where these searches for unique stays are most and least popular.
You're not going to want to miss this one folks!
This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA
Want to see if a Treehouse resort in Dubai pencils? You can do so in AirDNA.
Want to buy land in Ontario to build a Glamping resort? AirDNA will show you how other, comparable products are performing in the region.
Or maybe you’ve already got your stay up and running and you want a better understanding of how your Airbnb compares to others in the market? You can connect your listing to AirDNA and get accurate nightly pricing recommendations based on real-world, real-time demand.
AirDNA is the key you need to unlock the insight behind what it’s going to take to bring those big dreams you have to life.
Pay just $25/month and access ANY market in the world — AirDNA is cheaper, faster, better, and stronger to use than ever before.
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.
Friday Mar 15, 2024
Friday Mar 15, 2024
Meet Elam King — founder and CEO of Kingly Vacation Renta;s, a collection of short-term rentals and soon to be motels located across Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Elam grew up in the Amish community and it was here that he learned the importance of discipline, hard work and craftsmanship.
After leaving the Amish community as a young adult, Elam began to learn everything he could about real estate investing.
Elam has a knack for dilapidated homes that others have looked over and being able to see how to transform a piece of crap into a piece of gold. This skillet has served him incredibly well as he’s grown his portfolio of short-term rentals from 5 to 10, to over 15 over the last few years.
Tune in to hear the story behind how Elam got into hospitality, the metrics he uses to determine whether or not a fixer upper can be renovated into something truly valuable, why he just bought a motel, and so much more more.
Connect with Elam:
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.
Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts.
Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you.
Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property.
Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning.
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
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.
Wednesday Mar 13, 2024
Wednesday Mar 13, 2024
Meet Fred Boothby, Founder of Enjoy Unique Stays, a collection of 100 short-term rentals across Chattanooga, Michigan, North Carolina, and North Georgia.
Fred was a banker — it seemed like a safe and stable way to build a nice life for his family. But there was something about the “safe way” that never felt quite right to Fred.
One day he got a call from a friend who was looking for someone to help scale a landscaping business in Central Florida.
And while he didn’t know it at the time, that call would change the trajectory of his entire life. Tune in to hear the story of how Fred scaled and sold this landscaping business and how it enabled him to pursue his dream of buying, building, and managing vacation rentals.
In this conversation Fred and I discuss:
- Whether or not his unique properties out perform his more traditional cabin stays
- The future of vacation rental communities and the opportunity that exists here for entrepreneurs
- The emergence of soft brands in the vacation rental space and what the value this provides to both guests and management companies
- Why he loves hospitality and hosts in his own home along with his 7 children
- And so much more
This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA
Want to see if a Treehouse resort in Dubai pencils? You can do so in AirDNA.
Want to buy land in Ontario to build a Glamping resort? AirDNA will show you how other, comparable products are performing in the region.
Or maybe you’ve already got your stay up and running and you want a better understanding of how your Airbnb compares to others in the market? You can connect your listing to AirDNA and get accurate nightly pricing recommendations based on real-world, real-time demand.
AirDNA is the key you need to unlock the insight behind what it’s going to take to bring those big dreams you have to life.
Pay just $25/month and access ANY market in the world — AirDNA is cheaper, faster, better, and stronger to use than ever before.
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.
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Meet Landon Wilkinson, Co-Founder of Hostshare — a new platform that enables short-term rental hosts to trade unbooked nights in exchange for free travel.
Growing up Landon wanted to be a spy — he went so far as to write a letter to the CIA asking them to recruit him …he even had a code name which you’ll hear about shortly!
And while Landon never wound up pursuing a career in espionage, the boldness he had as a child has followed him along his journey of becoming an entrepreneur.
In this episode, Landon shares:
- Where the idea of Hostshare first came from and why he believes a travel platform for Airbnb hosts is needed
- The specific rules and guard rails he and the team had to create to ensure the platform would be exciting for hosts that own mansions in Miami and also hosts that own condos in Detroit.
- How they plan on monetizing the platform
- And so much more.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.
Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts.
Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you.
Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property.
Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning.
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
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.
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
What’s up friends got a special episode for y’all today featuring my friend Hans Lorei one of the best if not THE BEST designer in the short-term rental space.
While I am a real sucker for the traditional, interview syle pod, I also know that sometimes you need content that is short, sweet, and super practical.
So, once or twice a month, I’ll be dropping episodes on the pod that are slightly more tactical.
Each of these episodes will featuring an industry expert andbe just 10-20 minutes in length.
In this episode, Hans and I discuss how he built an Instagram audience from 0 to 100k followers in just 101 days.
Hans shares why he started posting on Instagram, the content format and framework that helped him go viral, how his online audience has translated to opportunities offline, and so much more.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA
Want to see if a Treehouse resort in Dubai pencils? You can do so in AirDNA.
Want to buy land in Ontario to build a Glamping resort? AirDNA will show you how other, comparable products are performing in the region.
Or maybe you’ve already got your stay up and running and you want a better understanding of how your Airbnb compares to others in the market? You can connect your listing to AirDNA and get accurate nightly pricing recommendations based on real-world, real-time demand.
AirDNA is the key you need to unlock the insight behind what it’s going to take to bring those big dreams you have to life.
Pay just $25/month and access ANY market in the world — AirDNA is cheaper, faster, better, and stronger to use than ever before.
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.
Friday Mar 01, 2024
Friday Mar 01, 2024
Meet Matt Whitermore, a hospitality entrepreneur who buys, builds, and manages RV parks.
In this engaging conversation, Matt shares how he got started buying RV parks and why he believes there’s huge opportunity to disrupt and reimagine this category of travel and real estate investment.
Tune in to hear:
- The lessons Matt learned after buying his first RV park
- How he see experiential hospitality and RV parks intersecting in the near future
- Why camping is getting younger and cooler and the opportunity this presents for folks who want to build cool brands and businesses in the space
- And so much more
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno.
Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts.
Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you.
Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property.
Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning.
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
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.