Hosting Your Home - Airbnb Host Stories

Synta Keeling is an Airbnb superhost and lawyer living in Washington DC. Debi interviewed her two days after the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol.  Synta was previously interviewed in 2016 by the NPR podcast "Hidden Brain" for an #AirbnbWhileBlack episode that dealt with bias with Airbnb hosts and guests. Synta lives in the Capitol View neighborhood which is almost completely African-American. She is a black Filipino woman herself and has a lot of insight into fear that many people feel. Synta explains that she bought her house and was facing a stigma of living on the poor side of the Anacostia river in  Washington, DC.  She couldn't find a roommate.  Some friends recommended Airbnb, with guests being from out of town who didn’t have the built in stigma about her neighborhood.  Synta describes DC as majority-minority.  People would tell her that no tourists would want to be in her neighborhood because of its location. When Airbnb started to grow, hosts began to make a lot of money and more hosts want

UPDATE!  July, 2021: Anthony just won a $100,000 entrepreneur award! Anthony Gantt and the birth of At Ease Rentals:  Anthony is a smart Marine Corps officer  who saw an opportunity and jumped on it. He was changing duty stations (in military terms, “PCS” or permanent change of station) and when he turned in his reimbursement request, it was denied.  Why? He had stayed in an Airbnb instead of a hotel.  Anthony had made several PCSs before and never had a reimbursement be denied, and this really burned him up.  So he began the process of getting the rules changed.  We hope you will find this interview along with interviews with   Kevin Rhea and CL Reed to be educational.  He began the paperbound process of changing government regulations and had a breakthrough.  After a surprising meeting with some government travel officials, he notified the military that he was going to work on a platform that would be an OTA (online travel agency, like Airbnb) for the military.  This platform would be one that meets all the

C L Reed is one of the many hosts of color and an entrepreneur who has expanded from her first room rental to now hosting her own 3 properties and co-hosting several other Airbnbs.  She shares with Debi how she initially got started via her daughter's prodding.  C L discovered that her home was exactly in the right spot for skydivers, and she has hosted skydivers from all over the world.  She found her niche and works it with professional skill! C L expanded into Facebook, which is how Debi and C L met.  See the Links at the end of the show notes to join her Facebook groups.  She also published a book: "Short term rental success stories from the edge", also at the end of the show notes. CL offers that as a Black host, she has not experienced overt prejudice.  Her photo is on her Airbnb profile and she believes that if a guest has any issues with her race, they would self-filter and simply not choose her listing.  When it comes to traveling, CL pointed out how vulnerable a woman traveling alone can be, and tha

Debi Hertert of HostingYourHome interviews Kevin Rhea ("Krhea") of Portland, Oregon, a fellow member of Host2Host. Debi reached out to Krhea because he is one of the few hosts of color in the Portland area, and he is kind, candid, and willing to teach. Debi is starting this series on Hosts of Color to further her own and her listeners' understanding of the issues involved. Krhea  claims title to being the proud father to a wonderful daughter, lucky husband to an incredible entrepreneur wife, cyclist and founder of Portland Velo Cycling Club, photographer, real estate investor and 20+yr resident of Portland, OR. Krhea says his wife is an impassioned traveler who has used Airbnb and VRBO a lot.  In his previous career of performance shoe designer, Krhea traveled over 200,000 miles a year but always used hotels. A couple of years ago he and his wife visited a Seattle Airbnb and had a great experience.  She had been encouraging Krhea for some time to consider having an Airbnb in their home, and with some "negotia

The pandemic and short term rentals in Oregon. In mid March, 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic began impacting short term rental reservations in Oregon.  Airbnb saw its global reservations drop like a rock. For three months, the pandemic has basically eliminated the STR market.  Debi and Rob Hertert of Hosting Your Home use this episode to talk about how the pandemic is affecting them personally and other hosts they know. Debi and Rob are very concerned about the small towns on the Oregon coast.  The  towns are desperate for money but cannot sacrifice the health of their citizens.  Visitors can partially mitigate this conflict by spending most of their time at the vacation rental or outdoors.  They can wear masks and distance themselves when patronizing businesses. When hosts look at their Airbnb income reports, they look at graphs that have mostly dropped to zero.  Those who depend on the hosting income are in a very difficult position.  The more debt on the home(s) the worse the problem. And in the pandemic en

We had an AWESOME photo shoot in Portland, Oregon directed by FabStayz founder Robert Geller, featuring airline flight attendant Danny Lee Cabrero as drag queen “Liquor Mini”, named after the little booze bottles on planes. It could not have been more fun! Robert was working on a publicity campaign for FabStayz and wanted it to be fun and attention getting. It worked! Danny visited 10 locations dressed in flight attendant drag, and photographer Carlos Camarena caught it all. The greater Portland area, with its supportive trade organization Host2Host, is the principal launch city for FabStayz. The PR campaign is soon to be released! Some highlights of the day: Michelle Boyle’s Tiny House Village in Sherwood, where Danny was definitely larger than life. Nectar, a friendly marijuana dispensary Blue Star Donut shop in Multnomah Village, where Danny’s blue dress was a color match and the donuts were delicious Danny doesn’t drink but still made a splash at the Sasquatch Brew Pub in Hillsdale Olympia Provisions Melt

What company comes to an author’s mind after writing bestsellers about Starbucks, Zappos, Mercedes and Ritz-Carlton?  Airbnb! Joseph Michelli became highly interested in the company and authored a book "The Airbnb Way".  Joseph identifies the ways in which Airbnb engages with customers and builds brand loyalty.  He includes both the view from inside the company and the view from the individual hosts who provide hospitality to millions of travelers each year. “The Airbnb Way” is a unique publication that is overdue - few businesses have been as disruptive as Airbnb and much of their positive impact has been under-reported. Debi Hertert met Joseph virtually in 2018 as Joseph began work on his book.  She introduced him to many highly experienced Airbnb hosts, some of whom are included in “The Airbnb Way”.  Joseph reciprocated a year later, when the book was finished, by coming to Portland as the featured speaker at the Host2Host event “HostFest 2019”. In addition to being an author, Joseph is a TEDx speaker.  A

Short Term Rental (STR) advocacy Short Term Rental (STR) advocacy is difficult and time-consuming. But if you want STR regulation that is informed and fair, you need to work.  It's very easy for local government to spring into an over-regulated model, being saturated with negative news, so be proactive!  There is no single regulatory model that works for every municipality or jurisdiction, nor is there a single model that all STR hosts will embrace.  A city like Lake Oswego is completely different than a vacation destination resort area. The "Social Model" In his work in STR advocacy, Mark distinguishes between what he calls "social model" listings and "business model" listings.  He used this language to help commissioners understand:   He explained it as the difference between having the owner living in the home, earning money to offset taxes and maintenance, versus the owner being absent and expecting high returns.  Lake Oswego opposition to STRs had two big concerns.  First was the impact on long-term hous

Debi Hertert of the Hosting Your Home podcast talks with FabStayz LGBTQ Listing Site founder Robert Geller, about his exciting, new STR platform. Robert has 10 years of experience with his gay travel company "Outings and Adventures".  Through his personal Airbnb hosting experience and Airbnb travel, he saw a real need for a travel platform that would be respectful and safe specifically for LGBTQ travelers.  He's inviting hosts to register, with the agreement that those hosts will be allies of LGBTQ travelers and make them feel welcome.  Robert listed some impressive statistics for the volume of LGBTQ travel that are included below in the show notes. Robert expects the platform to be fully launched by June, 2019 in time for Gay Pride and the large amount of travel that goes with it.  Hosts are invited to register at FabStayz.com during the beta version. FabStayz has a process for incorporating  Airbnb listings into the FabStayz platform.  Hosts pay a subscription price to FabStayz to be listed and attract book

Debi Hertert talks with her friend and colleague Tyann Marcink about how Tyann got started in the vacation rental hospitality business, and the many hats that Tyann wears.  The two spoke in October, 2018 when Tyann participated in the Host2Host Vendor Fair in Portland, Oregon.  So listeners will find a wealth of information about vacation rentals, coming from a person who has now spent 10 years in the business and who teaches it in  bootcamp workshops.  Tyann is also the Community Ambassador for  the TouchStay Digital Guidebook product for short-term rentals.  Right after this interview, Tyann Marcink spoke at the international Vacation Rental Management Association on the Guest Experience, because it's a passion for her and she knows what she's talking about!   1:45 Welcome Tyann!  – She talks about being from a large midwest family and says she began writing a historical romance novel about the family moving from Germany in 1860. One of her brothers just moved into the 1872 rock house built in Missouri – he

Debi and Rob stay with brand-new Airbnb hosts in Bisbee, Arizona, with the border of Mexico within sight. It was a delightful visit and great to see new hosts being instantly successful.

Download Episode! Airbnb Hosts love what we do - the hospitality, meeting travelers, interacting with happy people, and showing off our places.  There are problems, ranging from rude guests, messes, animals, noise etc.  But physical safety isn't a common part of the experience. This episode addresses two incidents around the same time in Portland involving guns.  No one was physically hurt, but this is a good lesson about people who don't see guns as part of their world, and people who don't see the world without guns.   0:00 – 4:00 Introduction and discussion about the upcoming Host2Host.org Vendor Fair in Portland, October 20, 2018. 4:00-8:40 Dan Cohen has been a host for 2 years in the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Portland and instantly found he liked hosting.  Dan has two listings that are short-term rentals. He enjoys the communications with travelers and providing hospitality.  Wife Jacki, with Dan cater to people who are visiting children and grandchildren as well as those visiting Portland. They mostly

Download Episode! Kati and Brian Greene are two long-time travelers who produced an eBook of interviews with vacation rental industry “thinkers and do’ers”. Now, they have created a structured video course, teaching smart phone photography to vacation rental owners. There are good reasons to use professional photographers, but there are also good reasons to learn to take our own pictures to manage property updates and pictures of surrounding neighborhoods. Those pictures have to be good enough to blend in with the other professional pictures on our listings. And, it turns out, they can! 0-3:30 Debi describes how she met Kati and Brian, through a book interview. 3:30 – 9:00 The two are living in New Zealand but also Italy and France – they try to find longer term vacation rentals to base out of. They called themselves Superguests before Airbnb did, and are really into the guest experience. Their company, “overlooked2overbooked.com” provides photography training so that hosts can learn to do their own photograp

Download Episode! Kim Boaz is the owner of Back to Basics Bookkeeping in Portland, Oregon.  Debi Hertert from the podcast “Hosting Your Home” talks with Kim in this short, upbeat interview.  Many short-term rental owners who use Airbnb, VRBO, or their own website don’t consider their businesses to be large enough to warrant professional bookkeeping or CPA support.  Listeners who frequent Facebook groups such as the Portland Area Airbnb Hosts know that questions constantly arise about occupancy taxes, income taxes, which IRS schedule to use, what are legitimate expenses etc.  And people try to answer them as best they can, but if you are not sure about what you’re doing, a professional bookkeeper and CPA combination might be the answer.  Kim has 20 years of bookkeeping experience, and has five short-term rental clients at the moment.  She is also a business member of Host2Host, the nonprofit association with the goal of being “By Hosts, For Hosts”.   0:00-2:00 Debi introduces Kim, and then goes into a series o

Download Episode! Matt Landau         To many hundreds of independent vacation rental owners and VR managers, Matt Landau is the guru of the vacation rental market.  He translated his remarkable experience in Panama into a valuable VR knowledge base that continues to expand within the large, virtual community that he has created.  Matt’s experience, his sense for kind and appreciative personal relations, and his drive for professionalism make him a natural leader for other VR entrepreneurs.  Matt talks with Debi about his background, creation of his VR community Inner Circle, and why he involved gang members in his vacation rental business.  It was a triumph of conversion from a severe, dangerous  humanitarian loss into a unique asset. Debi finds out how Matt found Costa Rica, Panama, New Orleans, how he got his start, what his mistakes have been.  Despite Matt’s experiences and position at the center of the Inner Circle, he is a humble, genuine person who earns people’s trust honestly. Debi Hertert encourage

Download Episode! Mark Sheel is a Google Android developer and Airbnb host in Colorado.  He has long used Meetup.com to organize his large developer group in Denver, and leveraged that experience to create a 500-member   Colorado Airbnb Hosts Meetup. Debi and Mark have been exchanging info and tips for the past couple of years.  Colorado is an exceedingly desirable tourist destination, so it’s no wonder that there is a high interest in Mark’s group in Denver.  This discussion can provide listeners with some ideas of how they might organize groups in their own areas.  The show notes cover much of the conversation.  Airbnb, if you’re reading, Mark wants you to listen to the very end (57:30) or check the show notes to learn Mark’s pet peeve about your calendar software! Links are included at the end of the show notes. 0:00 Debi updates us about Host2Host the Oregon trade association by hosts, for hosts. 3:00 Debi talks about how she and Mark met, and introduces Mark. 4:30 How Mark got started renting on Airbnb a

Here is a fun, short talk from just Debi, about the new Host2Host association.  It is a natural outgrowth of the Portland, Oregon community of hosts and the result of three years of community building through the 41 monthly Meetups Debi has organized, and the great success of the Portland Area Hosts Facebook group.  Debi mentions in her talk that Portland has been told by Airbnb that we have the highest per-capita ratio of Superhosts in the world.  It certainly could be that our community, which tries harder to support than compete, is better for all the communication and has learned to be even better hosts. Moving to a non-profit trade association allows us to afford a website and some other recurring costs, and do an even better job serving the educational and business connection needs of our community. A complete transcript is below, followed by some web links.  If they don't show in your podcast show notes, please go to hostingyourhome.com and read them there! Transcript  [0:34] Welcome to Hosting Your Ho

Download Episode! Come to Italy and listen to Debi Hertert talk with Bob Garner about his beautiful, 6-apartment vacation rental in Le Marche, Italy.  Dubbed “Casal dei Fichi”,  12 years ago this building was an ancient farmhouse where the family once lived on the second floor to make use of the heat rising from the animals living on the bottom floor.  From this humble origin,  Bob and his partner Ian created a hospitality work of art.  They transformed the farmhouse into modern, spacious apartments with gorgeous views and amenities.  A swimming pool and olive grove are on the property and every evening, Bob bounds up the stairs (if you are in an upstairs apartment) and knocks on your door to check with you about your day and what you might want to do tomorrow.  There are countless villages, farms, wineries, castles, monasteries, and restaurants just waiting for you!   In this discussion between two friends and colleagues, you will hear about Matt Landau, the “guru” of the Inner Circle, a collection of like-m

[0:45] In September, 2017, Debi and Rob visited Italy: Debi wanted to attend the Vacation Rental World Summit conference in Florence, and it was hard to convince Rob to join her. They visited Rome, the province of Le Marche, then Florence, Siena, and Pistoia. They mostly used Airbnb listings, as they typically do while traveling.  Sara’s house in Civitanova, Le Marche, was one of the five. They spent one night there, on the Adriatic coast, and met Sara Anselmi, an architect and Airbnb host.  As often happens, there was a sweet connection, this time with Sara and her husband Luca.  The four (five including Sara’s rescue dog) shared a delicious lunch.  They ate at a restaurant favored by Sara because the chef, named “Italia”, makes the food just like Sara’s mother did.  They met as strangers and left as friends. **This interview took place in Civitanova, Le Marche, Italy.  Sara and Luca live in Rome, and also have an apartment in Tuscany, which comes up in the interview.  Sara refers to her Civitanova house jus

Every short-term rental needs a guest guidebook.  But what used to be a dog-eared, 3-ring binder can now become a spectacular, highly useful web-based product, accessible on a phone.  David Jacoby, Airbnb Superhost and co-founder of Hostfully, traveled to Portland to meet with Debi Hertert and "Home Share PDX" Meetup group to talk about his product.  Before the Meetup, Debi interviewed David for the Hosting Your Home podcast. [0:01:34] Debi asked how David got started with Hostfully, and it turns out that Before Children, he and his wife went on a year-long, around the world journey, staying in 27 countries and 37 homes.  It was 2010, so Airbnb had barely started, and none of their stays was in an actual Airbnb.  Much of their trip was done via the couch surfing site.  Deb asked if those were really couches… [0:05:39] After the trip, David and his wife moved to San Francisco and bought a single-family home and remodeled it for a mother-in-law apartment for their family.  They started renting the space out w