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
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Monday Mar 06, 2023
Welcome to Marketing Mondays — a new, weekly segment on the Behind the Stays podcast that covers specific marketing strategies and tactics that Airbnb hosts and hospitality entrepreneurs can immediately use to promote their stays.
On this third episode Zach covers all things Email A/B testing!
Email A/B tests are incredibly important...yet many Airbnb hosts and hospitality entrepreneurs fail to conduct them regularly.
I did a recent poll with some of the hosts in the space whose brands I respect the most and asked if they’ve run A/B tests to their email lists and 95% of them said no!
Testing is INCREDIBLY important if you want to grow as a hospitality marketer — and, as far as I’m concerned, if you’re collecting guest emails to increase your direct bookings or to communicate with them after their stay, you are, in fact, a hospitality marketer.
Now the reason folks don’t A/B test their emails typically comes down to time…
Well folks, I’ve got some great news for you! I've taken the time to come up with 10 different email A/B tests that you can (and should) test out.
These are fun! And pretty creative(ish) — if we do say so ourselves. If you use any of them, be sure to let us know which version won!
Let us know what you think about this new segment by sending us a DM on Instagram @sponstayneous, shooting our founder a DM on Twitter, or sending him an email at zach@sponstayneous.com .
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 03, 2023
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Meet Jeff Iloulian — Founder and CEO of HostGPO, a buying group for the short term rental industry.
After graduating with a degree in Economics from Columbia, Jeff thought he wanted to be an attorney, so went to Law School.
But after practicing law for a few years, Jeff was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug so he founded a real estate and technology investment company called Winthorpe Valentine which grew to manage over 250 short-term rentals.
Managing more than 250 properties meant that Jeff spent a lot of time buying furniture and other furnishings for his homes. While the homes he managed certainly varied in style and size, Jeff often found himself buying 100 of the same broom or 50 of the same bookshelf all at retail price.
And that’s when the idea, which would eventually become HostGPO was born. Tune in to hear the story of how Jeff founded HostGPO and scaled it to be the largest buying group of short-term rental hosts in the country.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts...
Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor? You can email them here or DM them on social media here!
While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.
Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels.
Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion.
Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.
And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios.
So here’s the deal. If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you.
The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.
Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!
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 Feb 28, 2023
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Meet Devon Loerop, the creator of The Pacific Bin — a luxurious escape made of 5 shipping containers, just an hour outside of Seattle.
Devon grew up in the midwest but was born with a New York City mindset — from the time he was young, he hustled hard, and enjoyed proving people wrong when they said “he couldn’t, shouldn’t, or wouldn’t” do something.
Devon is a mechanical engineer by trade, but after being bored out of his mind during his first job after college, he decided to try his hand as a creative and became obsessed with photography and videography. And, while he didn’t know it at the time, this decision would quite literally change the course of his life.
Tune in to hear the story of how Devon:
- Left the Chicago suburbs and moved to Seattle on a whim
- Invested his entire life savings into Tesla stock at the perfect moment
- Learned how to weld so that he could build a unique Airbnb by himself
- Spent $500,000 building a one-of-a-kind, category-re-defining container home in the Cascade Mountains of Washington
- Grew an Instagram following from 0 to 750k in one year
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts...
Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor? You can email them here or DM them on social media here!
While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.
Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels.
Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion.
Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.
And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios.
So here’s the deal. If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you.
The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.
Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!
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 Feb 24, 2023
Friday Feb 24, 2023
Meet Michael Romanowicz, the founder and CEO of DEN Outdoors.
Mike is a software designer by trade, but has always had a love for the natural world.
So, when he wasn’t busy leading the product team at Conductor, which was a content marketing platform owned by WeWork, Mike was tinkering with some designs for a minimalist, beautiful cabin he could build in the woods one day.
After sharing his designs with some buddies and seeing their positive reactions he thought that there might be an opportunity to sell these plans to others.
And, well, an opportunity there sure was. Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how:
- How Mike bootstrapped DEN Outdoors to seven figures of revenue
- How Instagram fueled DEN’s growth and inspired Mike to leave his day job
- How he landed Jimmy Kimmel as an Angel Investor
- And the exciting new offerings DEN is building for the next generation of builders and hospitality entrepreneurs.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty for Hosts...
Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor? You can email them here or DM them on social media here!
While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.
Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels.
Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion.
Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.
And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios.
So here’s the deal. If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you.
The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.
Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!
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 Feb 21, 2023
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Meet Chase Charifa, the creator of the Lightfoot Cabin — a cozy, unique escape nestled in the foothills of Big Bear Mountain in Southern California.
A few years ago, Chase and his wife April started a production studio as a side hustle.
The couple regretted not having a videographer at their wedding and this inspired them to start their own studio to shoot weddings and events.
In doing research for how to bring their studio to life, they stumbled upon Levi Kelly’s Airbnb tours. Levi Kelly is one of the OG Airbnb influencers and has amassed over 80 million views on his YouTube channel.
Chase and April were so inspired by his videos that they decided to create their own unique stay. Tune into hear the exciting story of how Chase and April:
- Transformed a run-of-the-mill cabin into a Dwell and Condé Nast featured, multi-sensory, truly unique stay
- Bought and sold Teslas to help grow their short-term rental portfolio
- Acquire more traditional rentals to help them fund unique ones
- Created a secret experience that guests LOVE that’s not noted on their Airbnb listing
Book a Stay at Lightfoot Cabin
Follow the Lightfoot Cabin on Instagram
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty...
Will you send them a quick message thanking them for being a sponsor? You can email them here or DM them on social media here!
While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.
Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels.
Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion.
Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.
And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios.
So here’s the deal. If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you.
The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.
Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!
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.
Monday Feb 20, 2023
Monday Feb 20, 2023
Welcome to another Marketing Mondays on the Behind the Stays podcast feed!
In this episode we chat ALL about SEO and how Airbnb hosts can leverage the power of great keyword research to increase their organic rankings on Google.
In today's lesson we share a lot of screenshots and data...so...you MAY wish to WATCH this episode on YouTube, which you can do here: Stream Marketing Mondays on YouTube.
In this 30-minute power episode you'll learn:
- How to find and target keywords that align with your short-term rental brand
- How to out-optimize pages ranking higher than yours
- How to splice your target keywords into headers on your website
We also use Field & Lake as a case study during this episode...discover the incredible brand their founder, Sara Roitman, is creating by visiting their website, following them on Instagram, or booking one of their stays below:
Subscribe to Behind the Stays wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to Sponstayneous to get the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Wednesday Feb 15, 2023
Meet Brooke Pfautz, founder and CEO of Vintory — a sales and marketing platform exclusively dedicated to helping professional vacation rental managers and short-term rental entrepreneurs grow their inventory.
Brooke built one of the largest mortgage banking firms in the DC Metro Area, but when the financial crisis of 2008 hit, Brooke began to reconsider what it was he wanted to do with his life.
After a serendipitous conversation with an investor-friend of his, Brooke decided that building a premier, boutique vacation rental company would serve as an exciting next chapter in his professional journey, so he founded “Vantage Resort Realty” and grew his company from 0 to 500 properties under management in just 5 years.
Tune in to hear the motivating story of:
- How Brooke grew his company from zero-to-one
- How he was one of the first management companies to use VRBO
- What it was like in the Vacation Rental Management world when Airbnb first came onto the scene
- And how we came across the idea that would ultimately lead him to found the first-ever marketing and sales platform designed to help hospitality entrepreneurs and real estate investors grow their portfolios.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Guesty.
Will you do us a favor and thank Gusty for being a Behind the Stays sponsor by DM'ing them on Social Media or writing them a quick email?
While there are many property management softwares on the market, I always encourage our listeners to check out Guesty For Hosts.
Guesty's channel manager centralizes reservations across Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to stay on top of your listings without having to hop back and forth between channels.
Guesty’s automation tools enable you to connect with guests in a meaningful, creative, and instant fashion.
Guesty’s new and improved Website Builder allows you to create your own branded booking website in just minutes…allowing you to grow your brand and increase your direct bookings.
And finally, Guesty is positioned well to grow with you. As your business grows, you can grow with Guesty For Pros, unlocking new features and offerings designed for larger portfolios.
So here’s the deal. If you’re an. STR host without a PMS system or a host looking at exploring a new one, I’ve got a treat for you.
The team at Guesty is giving Behind the Stays listeners and Sponstayneous subscribers $20 off an annual or monthly plan of Guesty For Hosts when they use the discount code “SPONSTAYNEOUS” when signing up for a free 14 day trial - no credit card, set up fee, or commitment required — and cancel anytime if you don't love it.
Guesty For Hosts — they’re the bestie of top-rated STR super hosts!
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.
Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
- Why you should build a website for your Airbnb even if you don't have a direct booking site
- How to start ranking
- The CMSes that Airbnb hosts should consider building their websites on
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Meet Levi Kelly — a creator whose cabin tour videos have garnered nearly 80 millions views on YouTube.
Growing up, Levi used to goof around and shoot funny videos with his buddies and then edit them on the iMovie app on his phone. In high school he realized that shooting and editing video was more than just a hobby of his…it felt like something he was destined to do.
After successfully landing a few freelance clients in college, Levi came to the realization that he didn’t like paying tuition to be taught something he already knew how to do…so he dropped out of school to pursue video full time. And it was around this time where he posted his first tour of a tiny home on his YouTube channel.
Well Jaden Smith, Will Smith’s son, happened to see this video and share it on Twitter…and, well, it went viral. Tune in to hear the story behind how Levi used his love of storytelling to produce video tours of the world’s most incredible Airbnbs.
Watch Levi's Videos on YouTube
This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA.
I receive questions ALL the time from listeners who want to get started in STR investing and or who want to scale their portfolio on what resources I recommend they tap into.
Here are three reasons I always recommend an AirDNA subscription:
1. AirDNA offers the most accurate data platform in the industry and is trusted by small- and large-scale investors across the globe.
2. Their easy-to-use tools unlock access to millions of data points on any property, anywhere, so you can start your journey to financial freedom with confidence.
3. You can even enter any address in the world to find out how much it’d earn as a vacation rental — how cool is that?
If you’re interested in getting into the STR game or taking your game a bit more seriously, I’ve got some exciting news for you.
AirDNA is giving Behind the Stays listeners 20% off their first 3 months of any MarketMinder subscription or an additional 20% off any annual MarketMinder subscription.
Use the discount code BTS20 at checkout!
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 Feb 07, 2023
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
Meet Whitney and Andrew Bradberry, the creators of the Front Range A-Frame in Bailey, Colorado, just an hour outside of Denver.
Whitney is a freelancer marketer by trade, and her husband Andrew is a firefighter paramedic.
Given their non-traditional jobs, the couple has always enjoyed tinkering on creative projects together.
Whitney’s father loved Colorado and it’s because of him that she fell in love with the mountains. So, when he passed away unexpectedly after a battle with cancer, the couple thought it would be fitting to honor his legacy by creating a space for others to enjoy in a place that meant so much to him.
In this episode of Behind the Stays Whitney and Andrew discuss:
- The best YouTube channels to tap into for DIY projects
- The affordable design decisions they made that landed them a feature by HGTV
- How to build a simple, but website for your Airbnb that aligns with the brand strategy of your home
This episode is brought to you by Guest Guru.
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.