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 Sep 12, 2023
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
Meet Eric Carrico — founder of the The Woodford Hotel, a boutique invisible service hotel in Versailles, Kentucky.
Eric is a civil and environmental engineer by trade and has spent his career solving complex civil engineering problems for some of the largest heavy industrial earthwork construction projects in the country.
After the housing crisis in 2008, Eric had the opportunity to buy a couple of properties and start his real estate investing journey. Eric’s investment journey was quite traditional until this little known start-up at the time, which we now all know as Airbnb, began expanding into the south east and the midwest.
Eric being the early adopter that he is, decided to test it out…and, well, that would ultimately lead him to grow a meaningful portfolio of STRs in the great Louisville area which he’d then wind up parlaying into an experiential boutique hotel for Bourbon aficionados.
Tune in to hear the dynamic story of the unique approach Eric took to launching this boutique hotel and why he believes other hospitality entrepreneurs should get bullish on hospitality offerings catered to niche audiences.
Follow Eric on Twitter
Follow Eric on Instagram
Follow The Woodford Hotel on Instagram
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Meet Dennis Goedheid, founder and CEO of Casiola — one of the hottest vacation rental management companies in the short-term rental space.
Dennis is no stranger to entrepreneurship — he started and sold two companies in his native Belgium before moving to Silicon Valley to find inspiration for his next big thing.
And while he couldn’t have known it at the time, that next big thing would be a vacation rental management company based in Orlando, Florida that is helping to write the book, in real time, on how to build such an exceptional hospitality brand that short-term rental managers from around the world want to franchise.
In this episode, Dennis and I discuss:
- Why Casiola builds their own software in-house
- Why Casiola is quick to grow regionally, but slow to grow nationally
- Why he’s bullish on franchising in the STR and vacation rental spaces
- The entrepreneurial opportunities he sees for founders in the hospitality industry
Connect with Dennis on LinkedIn
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.
Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!
Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way!
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
Meet Zach in Person!
Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCONon SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event.
Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event. You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.
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 Sep 01, 2023
Friday Sep 01, 2023
Meet Justin Hauge, Co-Founder and CEO of Storied Collection — a collection of castles and historical stays across the UK and Ireland.
While Storied Collection is Justin’s first rodeo as a founder, it’s not his first rodeo working in startups.
Back in 2009, Justin was hired as the 13th team employee at a little start up that had just graduated from the most prestigious of startup accelerators, Y Combinator.
And, yes, you guessed it — that startup was Airbnb.
In this riveting and insightful conversation, Justin talks about the 10+ years he spent working at Airbnb and how he helped build the company into the memorable brand that it is today.
Justin also shares:
- The story behind the founding of his new company Storied Collection, from a slightly different perspective than what his co-founder, Michael Goldin shared a few weeks ago on this very podcast
- His ideas for the opportunities he sees to build great companies in the hospitality tech space
- His thoughts on memberships and loyalty programs in STRs
- Some spicy takes on the future of travel and hospitality as a whole.
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
Meet Zach in Person!
Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCONon SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event.
Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event. You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.
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 Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
In this special podcast episode, Zach Busekrus, host of the Behind the Stays podcast and co-founder of Sponstayneous shares the stories behind the inception of both brands.
- Uncover the story of how Zach and his wife broke their lease in Washington D.C. in the fall of 2020 to live full-time on Airbnb
- Discover how Sam Parr, Founder of The Hustle and host of the My First Million podcast, played a role in Sponstayneous' early growth
- Hear how Guy Raz from NPR's How I Built This inspired Zach to start Behind the Stays
- And get a behind-the-scenes look at what Zach and the team at Sponstayneous are building (and why they're building it!)
Reach out to Zach with questions, comments, and ideas at zach@sponstayneous.com
Join the Sponstayneous Host Partner Program
Meet Zach in Person!
Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite Zach to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and he can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event.
Zach would love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event. You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.
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 Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Meet Daniel Johnson, founder of Deacon Stays — a collection of curated stays near Wake Forest University.
Daniel has always been interested in real estate and investing and started his hosting as many do in the Airbnb arbitrage arena back in 2018.
He thoroughly enjoyed the experience of hosting and was impressed by the returns STRs could generate compared to other real estate investments (Daniel is also a financial advisor that specializes in working with real estate investors).
In this episode, Daniel and I discuss:
- The surprising pros about building a collection of STRs near a college campus
- How to build a brand for your STR business ON the Airbnb platform
- His thoughts on REITs and other more passive investment opportunities in STR funs
- And how he’d approach buying right now amidst a more challenging market
Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn
This episode is brought to you by OwnerRez — the property management software most-loved by professional vacation rental mangers.
If you’re in the market for a better platform to help you manage your STR portfolio, OwnerRez is offering Behind the Stays listeners 30% off the first 3 months…all you gotta to is mention Behind the Stays when talking to a team member at OwnerRez!
Also, in about 15 minutes from now, you’ll get to hear an exclusive chat I had with Tyann Marcink, an industry leader who LOVES OwnerRez. So head on over to ownerreservations.com and give OwnerRez a good lookover!
I want to meet you all in person!
Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event.
I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event. You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.
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 Aug 22, 2023
Tuesday Aug 22, 2023
Meet Sébastien Long, founder of Lodgeur — a furnished living, on-demand product that gives traveling professionals and digital nomads the service and consistency of a hotel with the spaciousness and function of a stylish home.
While Sébastien has spent the better part of his professional career working big corporate jobs he actually grew up immersed in hospitality entrepreneurship — his parents owned and operated a vacation resort on the island of Corsica, just off the coast of France.
After traveling around the world working in banking for HSBC, in 2017 Sébastien was recruited to help launch Sonder in the UK. He got a front row seat to the big opportunities and big challenges of launching and scaling a consumer-facing property-management brand.
Tune in to hear the exciting story of the series of events that led him to write his master’s thesis on hospitality interior design at Cambridge, leave the UK and move to Houston, Texas, and how he built and scaled Lodgeur.
This episode is brought to you by OwnerRez — the property management software most-loved by professional vacation rental mangers.
If you’re in the market for a better platform to help you manage your STR portfolio, OwnerRez is offering Behind the Stays listeners 30% off the first 3 months…all you gotta to is mention Behind the Stays when talking to a team member at OwnerRez!
Also, in about 15 minutes from now, you’ll get to hear an exclusive chat I had with Tyann Marcink, an industry leader who LOVES OwnerRez. So head on over to ownerreservations.com and give OwnerRez a good lookover!
I want to meet you all in person!
Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event.
I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event. You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.
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 Aug 16, 2023
Wednesday Aug 16, 2023
Meet Taylor Jones, Head of Acquisition at Techvestor, one of my favorite STR thought leaders to follow on social media, and a good friend of the Behind the Stays podcast.
After losing his sales job during COVID, Taylor spent hundreds of hours watching YouTube videos to learn all that he could about short-term rental real estate investing and the growing trend of experiential hospitality.
Today, he leads acquisitions at Techvestor, and in our chat, Taylor talks about everything he and his team have learned while building a portfolio of over 100 Airbnbs over the last 17 months.
Techvestor focuses on transforming run-of-the-mill single-family homes into unique, curated short-term rentals and Taylor shares the success they’ve found in sticking to and being bullish about this model.
Learn more about Techvestor here.
This episode is brought to you by OwnerRez — the property management software most-loved by professional vacation rental mangers.
If you’re in the market for a better platform to help you manage your STR portfolio, OwnerRez is offering Behind the Stays listeners 30% off the first 3 months…all you gotta to is mention Behind the Stays when talking to a team member at OwnerRez!
Also, in about 15 minutes from now, you’ll get to hear an exclusive chat I had with Tyann Marcink, an industry leader who LOVES OwnerRez. So head on over to ownerreservations.com and give OwnerRez a good lookover!
I want to meet you all in person!
Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event.
I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event. You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.
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 Aug 11, 2023
Friday Aug 11, 2023
Meet Michael Goldin, Co-Founder of the Storied Collection — an exclusive collection of historic estates, castles and other unique residences-turned-accommodations, situated across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Michael and his wife were searching for a much needed vacation as covid rules across the world began to subside.
They dreamed of staying in a beautiful castle, but the search was rather difficult and the historic properties were particularly hard to find.
After hours and hours of research, Michael finally found the perfect property… a property his family lineage could actually be traced to! The decision to book that property was a no brainer.
Tune into how this experiential feeling at the intersection of exploration and history led him to find co-founders to start Storied, a collection of the most richly historic and enjoyable places to stay in the world.
Michael is also one of the hosts of Good Morning Hospitality — stream the weekly morning show here or wherever you get your podcasts.
I want to meet you all in person!
Annette and Sarah from Thanks for Visiting were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event.
I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event. You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.
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 Aug 08, 2023
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
Meet Annette Grant and Sarah Karakain from Thanks for Visiting — one of the most popular, if not THE most popular short-term rental podcasts out there.
Sarah is an actress by trade and was hustling on Broadway when Airbnb first became available in NYC. She somehow convinced her husband to let her list their basement on Airbnb and, well, it wasn’t long before Sarah traded securing auditions for home acquisitions that she’d transform into short-term rentals.
Annette is an entrepreneur by trade who has helped launch and scale multi-million dollar businesses in and around Columbus, Ohio. Today, she partners with real estate investors to help them launch and scale their short-term rental portfolios.
In the episode you’ll hear the story of how Sarah and Annette met, the founding story of Thanks for Visiting, their thoughts on building a brand, and everything you can expect from their event TFVCON happening in Columbus, Ohio Sept 24th - 26th.
Annette and Sarah were kind enough to invite me to come speak at TFVCON on SEO Strategy for STR Hosts and I can’t wait to participate in this dynamic event.
I’d love to meet all you listeners in PERSON…so please consider coming to the event. You can use the discount code “BTS” as in “Behind the Stays” at checkout for $150 off any ticket level.
Friday Aug 04, 2023
Friday Aug 04, 2023
Today you'll re-meet Emily Padan, Ben Wolff, and Isaac French, founders of Hinter, Onera, and Live Oak Lake respectively — all three of these fine people were gracious enough to come BACK onto Behind the Stays.
In this first-of-its-kind panel podcast, this dynamic trio shares their experiences of working with hundreds of influencers and creators to promote their hospitality brands.
You’ll learn what they think does and doesn’t work when collaborating with influencers, how they structure their agreements and partnerships with folks, what they think about free night stays and giveaways, the gaps they see in the Airbnb creator space, and so much more…
Connect with Emily Padan on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn
Connect with Isaac French on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn
Connect with Ben Wolff on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Minoan.
Minoan provides hosts with a one-stop-shop to get hundreds of discounts on the world’s leading brands, and a system where you can manage all of the ordering, tracking, returns, etc. in one place. Saving you time and money!
Create your free account here and be sure to tell the team that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you their way!
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.