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 May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
In just a moment, you will meet Katrina Kuhn and Kathy and Sayres Dudley — the dynamic trio who brought to life The Dwelling Place, a special, peaceful escape in Radford, Virginia.
Kathy was the 12th child in her family and was born on the land that would become Iron Heart Vineyard in Southwestern Virginia.
Kathy and Sayres met in college, married young, and have two sons.
Today, Kathy and Sayres run an executive recruiting firm that specializes in the real estate space, but that’s only half of their story.
The Dudleys have always had a heart for mission-driven entrepreneurship, and Kathy is the founder of four nonprofit charities and ministries, including Imani Bridges, an organization whose mission is to connect Christians from different denominations around the world to use their gifts, talents, and resources to become agents of transformation.
Tune in to hear the incredible story of how and why Kathy and Sayres felt compelled to purchase a home in Southwestern Virginia and with the help of their co-host Katrina, transform it into a serene escape for the world to enjoy.
Book your stay at The Dwelling Place
Purchase Kathy's book, Bridges: Transforming Communities Together
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
In just a moment you’ll meet Hillary and Jason DeMeo — the creators of the IROX ONE, a Scandinavian modern retreat in Asheville, North Carolina.
Hillary and Jason are serial entrepreneurs.
A few years ago, the couple left their respective day jobs to go all in on an idea they had dreamed about for years.
And that idea was to start We Are Curio — a creative studio built for explorers and innovators.
Hillary and Jason have consulted with incredible brands like Disney, NASA, the Orlando Magic, and Chick-fil-A within the context of We Are Curio, but the couple always dreamed of expanding their work into the hospitality space.
Tune in to hear the remarkable story of why this dynamic duo built the Irox Living brand and how they brought their first property, the IROX ONE to life.
Discover Irox Living's Website
Follow Irox Living on Instagram
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Saturday May 14, 2022
Saturday May 14, 2022
In just a moment, you’ll meet Megan and Darrin — the creators of the Lakeview Hilltop, a coastal-chic cottage on Claytor Lake in Radford, Virginia.
Originally from the California Bay Area, and a graphic designer by trade, Megan has always had an awareness of the role space plays in inspiring new ideas and perspectives.
Darrin, who grew up in the Southwestern Virginia area, had always dreamed of having a lake house. But with two young kids and demanding jobs the idea of acquiring a vacation home in this season of life seemed untenable.
But then COVID hit. And within a matter of months, a charming home that overlooked one of Virginia’s most beautiful, and somewhat undiscovered lakes became available.
Tune in to hear the story behind how Megan and Darrin acquired the home which they now call Lakeview Hilltop and brought it to life.
Book Your Stay at the Lakeview Hilltop
Follow Megan and Darrin on Instagram
Visit the Lakeview Hilltop Website
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
In just a moment you’ll meet Andrew Hunter — the creator of Airstream Island, a mid-century, tropical hideaway in Atlanta, Georgia.
Andrew is an actor. He will never forget the first time his mother took him to see Fiddler on the Roof. He was transfixed by the characters in the show, but more bewildered by the fact that you could make money pretending to be someone you weren’t!
Fast forward a couple of decades and Andrew is pursuing his acting dream by day and Instagram influencing at night to help pay the bills. But after he meets the love of his life — and proposes to her just two months later — Andrew realizes that in order to continue his acting dream, he’s going to need some supplemental income to support his family.
And that’s when the idea that would ultimately become Airstream Island was born.
Tune in to hear the story behind how Andrew transformed his backyard into a tropical escape and how he grew it to become one of Atlanta’s top-rated Airbnbs.
Book your stay at Airstream Island
Follow Airstream Island on Instagram
Follow Andrew Hunter on Instagram
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
In just a moment you’ll meet Ryan Killeen — General Manager of The Annex Hotel.
You might call Ryan a child of the hospitality industry. He grew up traveling the world with his mom who worked in the luxury hotel space, and had the privilege of encountering a diverse set of cultures and experiences all around the world.
Ryan studied hotel management in college, and while in school, he started cleaning bathrooms and making beds with the housekeeping team at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, which was considered Vancouver’s definitive luxury hotel.
His hard work paid off, and when an opportunity to join the opening team in Dubai at Fairmont the Palm arose, Ryan took it!
After a couple of years, Ryan became interested in the budding space of short-term rentals, so he took jobs at both Sonder and Airbnb.
But Ryan has always been entrepreneurial so when a new opportunity to join a hospitality start up came his way, he took it.
Tune in to hear the story behind The Annex — a new hospitality concept marrying the best of boutique hotels, Airbnb and cutting edge technology that Ryan and his team are developing.
Book Your Stay at The Annex Hotel Here.
Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn Here.
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
Wednesday Mar 30, 2022
Meet Margaret Shutze — the creator and owner of Flat Mountain Farm, a luxury escape and events venue in the Appalachian Mountains of Highlands, North Carolina.
Margaret has helped design some of the world’s most incredible luxury hotels working on projects for The Ritz Carlton, Belmond, Waldorf Astoria, and the Four Seasons.
And it was her love for design and hospitality that inspired her and her husband Chris to take a risk and build a couple of Airbnb’s and a micro-events venue on the 3 acre lot they lived on in Colorado.
To their surprise, it was a hit! So much so that they began to dream of something even bigger…
Tune in to hear the story behind how Margaret and Chris bought a magical, rustic, 28-acre plot of land and transformed it into a haven that they call Flat Mountain Farm.
Book your stay at Flat Mountain Farm
Follow Flat Mountain Farm on Instagram
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Meet Alex Breen, founder of BnB Buyer — a biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers a list of new Airbnb and other short term rentals that are for sale.
Alex grew up vacationing in short term rentals — in fact his family was an early adopter of VRBO.
One afternoon, while Alex was in Dublin, his parents were scouting out second homes around Lake Norman in North Carolina.
They stumbled upon an incredible home for sale and, after speaking with the realtor, discovered that the home was being used as a short term rental.
Knowing that there was a reputable history of bookings gave Alex’s family the confidence they needed to purchase the home. And it was this experience that sparked the idea for what would become BnB Buyer.
You can subscribe to BnB Buyer for free here.
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Saturday Mar 12, 2022
Saturday Mar 12, 2022
Meet Mike Belleme — the creator of The Nook, an obsessively handcrafted Airbnb just outside Asheville, NC.
Growing up, Mike loved to skateboard — at one point he even thought he might go pro.
But as he grew up, another craft he had dabbled in began to pique his interest even more.
And that craft was photography.
Mike’s incredible focus and unrelenting pursuit of perfection has landed him gigs with media companies like National Geographic, Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times.
And while his passion has been, and continues to be, storytelling through the medium of still images, Mike recognizes that photography has its limits when it comes to evoking emotion and changing perspectives.
And it was this recognition, in part, that inspired him to build a story in the form of a house, which became The Nook.
Tune in to hear how Mike and his wife Kristen created a tiny home where Japanese aesthetic intersects with Anthropologie-esque accents and where everything from your coffee mug to the tile in the bathroom is handmade by a local artist.
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Monday Feb 28, 2022
In just a moment you’ll meet Joshua Nunnally, the creator of The Shelltown Sanctuary in San Diego, California.
Joshua is an artist. Originally from Fresno, Joshua moved to San Diego to go to architectural school. A few years afterwards, in late January of 2020, he stumbled upon a home in southeast San Diego that seemed almost too good to be true.
When Joshua and his now husband bought the place, they had no intention of listing it on Airbnb. But after COVID hit, Joshua found himself with more time on his hands.
And with it, he decided to transform his home into an artistic oasis complete with original art pieces, pottery, and more than 25 live plants.
Once the rainforest master bathroom, speakeasy guest bathroom, and insta-worthy backyard space were all finished, Joshua knew this space was just too cool to not share with others.
Tune in to hear the story behind how Joshua brought The Shelltown Sanctuary to life.
Book you stay at The Shelltown Sanctuary
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
In just a moment you’ll meet Steven and Kylee Niederhauser, the founders of Arrivls, a boutique vacation rentals management company based in San Diego, California.
Steven and Kylee have always loved to travel. They are the kind of people that would rather book a last-minute weekend getaway than wine and dine at California’s latest Michelin star restaurant.
After traveling in Europe for four years, they decided to move to San Diego. They really wanted to live near Mission Beach but weren’t sure how to make it work financially…and that’s when the idea came to them.
What if they bought a duplex and rented half of the house out as an Airbnb?
And while they didn’t know it at the time, this idea would ultimately enable the couple to leave their jobs and build one of Southern California’s top-rated collections of short term rentals.
You can:
Check out the entire Arrivls collection on their website
Follow the Rockaway House on Instagram
Follow Arrivls on Instagram
This week's episode is brought to you Guesty for Hosts — the bestie of top-rated Airbnb hosts.