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 Jan 24, 2023
Tuesday Jan 24, 2023
Meet Tiffany Lund — the creator of The Havarti Haus, an accessible, Scandinavian-style retreat in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, opening in late 2023.
Tiffany and her family love to go on adventures — the outdoors has always been a place of restoration and reinvigoration for them.
Tiffany and her husband Jim have an incredible son named Morty. Morty, like his parents, loves the outdoors. He also loves the Boston Celtics and the Red Sox. Unlike his parents however, Morty has Cerebral palsy.
If you’ve ever traveled with a wheelchair, you may know how difficult it can be to find a place to stay - somewhere you can get through the door without having to traverse up steps or somewhere you can actually take a shower without jerry-rigging something or settling for a sponge bath.
Tiffany and Jim believe a place can be accessible and universally appealing to everyone. That is their dream. And they are watching it come to life with the building of Havarti Haus.
Tune in to the inspiring story of how Tiffany is using universal design concepts to drive the design decisions to simplify the travel experience for the mobility impaired.
Follow the Havarti Haus on Instagram
Discover the Havarti Haus' Website
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!
Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better!
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 Jan 20, 2023
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Meet Mike Iannetta, better known as Mike Will Travel, a YouTube creator and hospitality marketing specialist.
Mike started his first business at the age of 17. He raised $5,000 on Kickstarter to start what he thought would be the next big board shorts brand.
Now, the clothing line didn’t quite pan out, but it solidified for Mike that he wanted to spend his career starting and running his own businesses.
When Mike was in college, he studied abroad in Europe…and after traveling to a dozen countries over his four months abroad, he came back to the states convinced he had to find a way to travel as close to full time as possible.
So, Mike bought a camera and started messing around with shooting video. And, while he didn’t know the difference between shooting in 720, 1080, and 4k at the time, in just a few months, Mike would be traveling around the globe documenting his stays at some of the world’s most remarkable hotels and Airbnbs.
Tune in to hear the story of how Mike started his YouTube channel, how he generated his first 10 million views, and how he’s helped Airbnb hosts generate millions of new fans and followers for their homes on Instagram.
Subscribe to Mike's YouTube Channel
This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Host Co.
The Host Co. enables short-term rental host to build their own storefronts and offer amenities like late night snacks, massages, fresh flowers, grocery delivery, in-home shopping and much more.
The Host Co. makes it easy for guest to augment their stay with the products and services they need and makes it easy for STR hosts to make up to an additional $10k in ancillary revenue on each rental.
Hosts keep 93% of all sales and The Host Co. takes care of guest receipts, sales tax and payouts to you and vendors.
Create your free store today by visiting TheHost.co and be sure to tell the team their that you heard about them from Behind the Stays!
And, for a limited time, Behind the Stays listeners will get $30 back on their first sale when you use the discount code BTS30 at check out!
Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better!
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 Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Meet John Andrew Entwistle, Founder and CEO of Wander, one of the most exciting startups in the travel and hospitality space today.
John Andrew had a non-traditional schooling experience. He started and ran a game server company when he was just 13 years old, so focusing on homework wasn’t a high priority.
In high school, John Andrew and his father agreed that an online option would be best for him as it’d allow him the opportunity to continue to pursue his projects and build companies.
In this episode of Behind the Stays, John Andrew talks about:
-being raised by a single dad
- how he started and grew his second company Coder
- what it was like being a Thiel Fellow
- and, of course, the past, present and future of Wander — a company on a missions to verticalize the 100B+ short-term rental industry with a network of smart vacation homes in inspiring places that guests can control from their phones.
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!
Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better!
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 Jan 13, 2023
Friday Jan 13, 2023
Meet Ty and Mary, the creators of The Northwoods A-Frame and Tiny Cabins near Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota.
Ty and Mary both have demanding jobs – Ty is an architect and Mary a nurse. So, in October 2020, after months of lockdown, the couple was in dire need of a getaway.
Mary had been following an A-Frame on Instagram for a few months and decided to plan their getaway around when the home had availability.
Upon their arrival, Ty and Mary were met with such a deep peace that they began dreaming about what it would take to create something of their own so that they might share this serenity with others.
Tune in to hear how Ty and Mary designed, built, and branded an A-Frame and a couple of Tiny Cabins that they call Northwoods.
Follow Northwoods on Instagram
This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Host Co.
The Host Co. enables short-term rental host to build their own storefronts and offer amenities like late night snacks, massages, fresh flowers, grocery delivery, in-home shopping and much more.
The Host Co. makes it easy for guest to augment their stay with the products and services they need and makes it easy for STR hosts to make up to an additional $10k in ancillary revenue on each rental.
Hosts keep 93% of all sales and The Host Co. takes care of guest receipts, sales tax and payouts to you and vendors.
Create your free store today by visiting TheHost.co and be sure to tell the team their that you heard about them from Behind the Stays!
And, for a limited time, Behind the Stays listeners will get $30 back on their first sale when you use the discount code BTS30 at check out!
Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better!
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 Jan 10, 2023
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Meet Addie Wales, the creator of The Ely Cabin Collective — a boutique collection of Airbnbs near The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.
Growing up, Addie always wanted to be an entrepreneur. She remembers pitching her first business to her dad as a 10 year old which was for an ice cream shop where the roof of the shop was shaped like an ice cream cone!
In the fall of 2020, Addie got a call from her uncle about a 40 acre plot of land that was for sale which included a charming, but quite dilapidated, log cabin.
Addie and her husband Ben made the 4-hour drive from the Twin Cities to explore the opportunity further and, while they didn’t know it at the time, this trip up north would be the start of a remarkable adventure.
Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Addie transformed that dilapidated cabin into the Ely Log Cabin and how this renovation inspired the launch of The Ely Cabin Collective.
Book a Stay at The Ely Cabin Collective
Follow The Ely Cabin Collective on Instagram
Follow The Ely Log Cabin on Instagram
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!
Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better!
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 Jan 06, 2023
Friday Jan 06, 2023
Meet Justin and Shaun — the creators of The Chal-A Frame, a beautifully curated escape nestled between the Stratton and Mt. Snow ski areas in Vermont.
Justin and Shaun are both architects. They were roommates in college and have been close friends ever since.
One day while hanging out with the rest of their crew, Justin and Shaun got really excited about the possibility of having a place in the mountains where they could host their friends and families on long-weekends.
Justin began scrolling through Zillow listings every night looking for plots of land in Vermont that might work for the guys to build their dream getaway on.
Tune in to hear the fun story of how Justin and Shaun found their land, how they collaborated on designing the A-Frame, what they did when they had to fire their builder halfway through the project, and the role Instagram has played in helping them book their first guests.
Alright, without further ado, get ready to meet Justin and Shaun.
Follow The Chat-A Frame on Instagram
This episode is brought to you by our friends at The Host Co.
The Host Co. enables short-term rental host to build their own storefronts and offer amenities like late night snacks, massages, fresh flowers, grocery delivery, in-home shopping and much more.
The Host Co. makes it easy for guest to augment their stay with the products and services they need and makes it easy for STR hosts to make up to an additional $10k in ancillary revenue on each rental.
Hosts keep 93% of all sales and The Host Co. takes care of guest receipts, sales tax and payouts to you and vendors.
Create your free store today by visiting TheHost.co and be sure to tell the team their that you heard about them from Behind the Stays!
And, for a limited time, Behind the Stays listeners will get $30 back on their first sale when you use the discount code BTS30 at check out!
Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better!
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 Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
About the Episode:
Meet Melissa Hessney Masters — the founder of Tanglebloom and the creator of the Tanglebloom Cabin.
Melissa has always been creative.
Growing up in the fingerlakes region of New York, she found herself mesmerized by natural beauty — whether it be wildflowers or waterfalls, Melissa was transfixed by the innate purity of the natural world.
She started her first business when she was in high school, selling hand-sewn clothes on the internet and in the parking lots of Phish concerts.
And while she couldn’t have guessed it then, this was the first stepping stone in her journey to become a flower farmer and short-term-rental entrepreneur.
Tune in to hear the enthralling story of how Melissa brought her wedding and event flower business, Tanglebloom, as well as Vermont’s most wish-listed Airbnb, to life.
Book a Stay at the Tanglebloom Cabin
Follow the Tanglebloom Cabin on Instagram
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!
Behind the Stays Subscriber Survey — please take 5 minutes to complete this survey so that we know how we can make the show even better!
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 Dec 27, 2022
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Meet Connor Gross — an entrepreneur in his mid-twenties who is currently focused on building a portfolio of self-storage units across the state of Texas.
Connor graduated from Northeastern University in 2020. As a part of a co-op program at Northeastern, he was able to spend a semester building his first start-up, Cardly, with his co-founder Giovanni, which was a snazzy looking credit card holder that attaches to the back of your iPhone.
After selling the start-up in early 2020, Connor began learning about real estate investing. While the idea of investing in a short-term rental was attractive, in Connor’s mind, being responsible for a place where folks actually lived or vacationed was a bit too much of a headache. So, he decided to start with self-storage.
Tune in to an energetic, idea-producing conversation where Connor and I discuss:
- How he convinced the host of a luxury Airbnb villa in Bali to let him stay in their home for free
- How he founded, built, and sold his first e-commerce company
- Why you’re never too young or too old to start your entrepreneurial journey
- Connor’s hot takes on the future of travel and hospitality after living out of a suitcase for 2 years and traveling to more than 30 countries.
This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.
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 Dec 20, 2022
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
In just a moment, you’ll meet Natalie Palmer — an Airbnb Ambassador, a 17x superhost, and the creator and host of the popular No Vacancy podcast.
Natalie was never really sure what she wanted to do when she “grew up”...but she was always quick to say “yes” when opportunities to step outside of her comfort-zone surfaced.
So, after spending a couple of months learning about short-term rental investing and hosting, Natalie asked her parents if she could try her hand out at turning their family’s vacation home in the mountains into an Airbnb.
While skeptical, they agreed to give her a shot…and within one ski season, they had made enough to pay the mortgage on the home for the entire year!
This early win inspired Natalie to further immerse herself in learning everything she could about how to deliver an exceptional guest experience while also growing a profitable business.
Natalie and I discuss the power of networking and why more hosts should participate in STR industry events, frameworks for how to structure your time as a hospitality entrepreneur, and why she’s throwing a women’s only STR hospitality event in Scottsdale, Arizona called the “Level Up Your Listing Summit.”
You’ll learn more about this event towards the end of the interview but I want to highly encourage all the ladies tuning into today’s chat to check out Natalie’s event.
Natalie is also giving all Behind the Stays listeners a 10% discount when they use the code BTS10 at check out. Learn more about the Level Up Your Listing Summit here.
This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.
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 Dec 13, 2022
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
Meet Alexis and Skeeter — the creators of The Kingdom A-Frame, a quintessential New England escape in Burke, Vermont.
Alexis and Skeeter love mountain biking and have traveled to Northeastern Vermont to traverse the Kingdom Trails for years! These trails are known as the crown jewel of East Coast mountain biking.
Alexis and Skeeter have three dogs and struggled to find an Airbnb that both allowed dogs and offered an inspirational aesthetic.
After doing some back-of-the-napkin math, the couple realized that, given the frequency of their travels to Burke, they might actually be better off buying a place then continuing to book stays on Airbnb.
Tune in to hear the fun story of:
- How Alexis and Skeeter found and refurbished The Kingdom A-Frame
- How an instagram post landed their A-Frame in Vogue
- How they’ve balanced increasing their nightly rate (as their insta-fame has grown) with their original mission of creating a beautiful, accessible, and unique escape for all
Follow The Kingdom A-Frame on Instagram
Book Your Stay at The Kingdom A-Frame
This episode of Behind the Stays is brought to you by our friends at Touch Stay.
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.