Hello, welcome back to another great episode. My name is Sarah Karakaian.

I'm Annette Grant, and together we are. Thanks for Visiting.

Thanks for let's start this episode like we do every week, and that is featuring one of you, our incredible listeners who's going over to strshare.com, entering in your information about your short-term rental. So we can share you here on the podcast and on our Instagram account each and every Sunday. Annette, who are we sharing this week?

This week we are sharing at @goodspeed_getaways. Again, that's @goodspeed_getaways. And a couple of things I want to specifically call out that I'm really enjoyed on their Instagram is, number one, they have their phone number. That, to me, in their bio, uh, it just exudes a ton amount of trust with me out of the gate. Like, Hey, their phone number's there. They're not holding anything back. Um, I could call them right now if I had questions, so. I'd say 90% of the people aren't gonna call you, but it increases your, uh, trust immensely. The other thing I want everybody to check out that I think this host has crushed it on is the way that they have done their bunk beds. Now this property sleeps up to 19 and they say specifically they're good for girls trips, family reunions, and corporate retreats. And I want you to check out the design of their bunk beds. They are not traditional at all, and they have like queen beds on the bottom that aren't a bunk in any way, shape or form. And then a bunk that goes over the queen, um, that's like a twin or a full, and the way that they've built in the stairs I've seen built-in bunks before, but the way that they've done 'em, just really, again, those girls trips, family reunion, it's, it's much more inviting in that bottom bunk to have like a queen bed. Um, and then just the one on top. So I encourage everyone, if you're thinking about doing some custom bunks, please check out their account and see the way that they have done those beds. I think it's, um, next level.

Amazing.

Speaking of next level, tell us about our guest today. Sarah.

I'm excited to interview Taylor Gates, who is a hospitality entrepreneur and visionary behind multiple successful ventures, including two luxury property management companies. One of them focuses on short-term stays, the other one focuses on long-term stays and executive stays. He is even started his own laundromat and housekeeping services. This man can't get enough of serving through hospitality. And that is really his guiding star is serving through hospitality. And you know, Annette and I love a guy who can talk bedsheets to us, who can talk mattresses and caring about that overnight stay. And that is exactly who Taylor is. One of my favorite moments in today's conversation was when he talked about what it took to hire a really good cleaning partner, cleaning team, because I think a lot of us struggle with that. And when he works with his cleaners, he really gets into their mind, really understands their day. So I think you're really gonna enjoy that part of the conversation as well. Taylor, welcome to the show. We are so excited to have you. How did you get into all this take, take us back to pre hospitality, Taylor, what were you doing and what was the catalyst to get into hospitality?

Great question. Um. I, I did have a, a little bit of a hospitality background in my family, mainly, mainly in the steakhouse industry in Atlanta. Uh, we have a, a restaurant there that's been there for like 47 years called Bone Steakhouse. Um, and we, I, I, I kind of grew up mainly from my aunt and uncle, um, who always inspired me to like, Hey, when you enter that door, you're there to serve other people. And it kind of always, um, you know, it gave me, it made me feel really good, you know, kind of, uh, seeing that ethos but also actually. Putting it into, uh, ritual every day with a group of other people who are there just to like, serve others and really make 'em happy, right? Like create core memories. And there's something about that that kind of just got me high, honestly. I was like, this is so cool. Um, so from that, uh, I wanted to actually be in, into music and events and kind of do it in that regard. So I went to college, uh, of Charleston, uh, got a degree in arts management. Um, and then, uh, during senior year of college, actually one of my neighbors, um. He was in the Air Force and, uh, you know, he was, you know, going on mission for four months at a time. And I was like, Hey man, I found this website called, uh, airbed and Breakfast. Uh, it's like Airbnb and no one in Charleston even, uh, knew what that was. And probably most people didn't even the country know what it was. Uh, and, and it was the first account, and I was, I, I put up, uh, I basically ran out individual bedrooms in his house and like aired in the, uh, in the living room and between classes I was cleaning them, taking 'em on a golf cart, cruising around Charleston, giving them tours, like my own little, like local tour. Uh, and just really like, you know, I, I, I just loved it. It was great. It was just so cool to meet new people and like just see smiles on their faces and kinda just feel like every day I was doing something that mattered in small ways. So, but from there I, uh, you know, started getting a party management and it grew. But, um, my background kind of came, I think wholeheartedly from just like really wanting to serve others. So. Yeah.

And Bones Steakhouse. It's still open today.

It is, yes.

Holy smokes. Well, and we need to come down for the 50th. It's close. We'll come to the 50th. What? I wanna go back, it sounds like you were doing an Airbnb experience before Airbnb experiences. Let's dig in though when you were, 'cause essentially you were co-hosting. What, what was the most eyeopening about putting the, the property on Airbnb could, was there a like light bulb moment that you were like, wait, this could actually be the thing that I do instead of the arts management? Like, was there a, was there a distinct moment that you like that saw the aha or the light bulb?

Yeah. Um. You know, I, I, first off in, in like that six to eight months, I made this guy more than he was making working in the military.

So hold up, hold up

Yeah.

Just by the room,

Just by the rooms that he had in his house. He had three bedrooms. Okay. Um, and, uh, we were bringing in about, um, a little over 110, I think a year, um, just off of kind of doing the individual rooms, 99% occupancy. And I think this was just at like month eight. Uh, and then from there, uh, a buddy of mine's family had a bed and breakfast. First off, Charleston's small town. So like, if you do really good, you don't really need marketing. Like word of mouth is just amazing. Spreads a like a wildfire. So, um, so, you know, I, I go with them. They're saying, Hey, I got, we got this little bed and breakfast. Been operating it for like a long time. We'd love to see, you know, what you could do with it. And then got on there and doubled their revenue and then took on another bed and breakfast down the street and so just like every, uh, it kind of started and then every year I was bringing on from there about, you know, 50 to 80 properties, um, really quickly. Uh, so it kind of like honestly started as like, this would be a cool side thing to do. And then I even started bringing my own house out and then leaving on the weekends. Like, just to kind of like, you know, and going say at a buddy's house, uh, and just to try to like, you know, get, get things going. Um, but it really just started as more of like a, uh, you know, I'm about to graduate college and I know how I, I think I can do this well. Uh, and then from there it just turned into, whoa, the bar's so low in this industry that I think I have an opportunity here to like raise it. And that got me excited. I think so.

So what year was that approximately where you really were getting into leveraging Airbnb? 2012. 2012. Yep.

That was the same year I did too.

Cool.

And to be like just for some transparency here. You know, you're like, Hey, this bed and breakfast asked me to take them on. Not to like minimize what you were doing, but is the first thing you really did just put them on the Airbnb platform? Was that your, like magic in the beginning of just introducing people that there was another way to list their property?

Yeah, definitely. That and VRBO, um, but then also like, you know, proper photography. Um I, I always approach things with a little bit of an like an interior design mentality, like, you know, symmetry and uh, like make sure, like why do we have a full bed when we can fit a queen or a king? Right?

Right.

Like, just kind of really basic stuff. It's like, wow. And then, and the conversions go up. 'cause you're just sort like, what, uh, holistically do these people want? What, what would I want my family to experience? Right. And I think that's actually a lot of what I've learned in this is like everybody really quickly forgets to be on the other side as like a guest, right? Mm-hmm. And then they're just like, they're constantly stuck on the host mode because there's so much going on. So when I started doing that, it started really opening up my eyes, I think more, more, more, uh, you know, like the benefits I could have from that, if that makes sense.

Okay. You, you flippantly said 50 to 80 properties. Okay. That's a, let's slow down. Like how are you actually bringing on 50 to 80? It's not you, it's like, has to be a team. That's a lot of people, like, that's a lot of properties in a short amount of time. Like how do you even know that you are giving the guests a good experience still in bringing that many, you know, units on are and are they all full homes?

Yeah, some are apartments. Um, Charleston was broken up, um, where like single family homes returned to, to, uh, duplexes for college rentals. And then there's a certain area in Charleston where, uh, short-term rentals became, were okay to do. Uh, and I was a part of that whole ordinance thing and helped, you know, really fight for that. Actually solo along with like, uh, Uber and, uh, Lyft, while they were doing, uh, coining like drinking and driving, I was saying, well, we're better for local businesses and stuff like that. Anyways, um. But, uh, yeah, I mean, growing, um, I had to manage. Homeowner onboarding, which we all know is, can be the most difficult part, part of getting anything started because every homeowner's expectations are different. You know, when you start off, you're kind of like just jack of all trades like you are in any business. Um, but yeah, I was doing inspections, cleaning, onboarding, guest experience, uh, you know, late night calls, uh, reservations, dynamic pricing. Uh, did all of that, brought on a, um, a business partner. And then, uh, slowly a couple months later, brought on a third business partner and then we all started tackling different elements of it. Um, but really the best, you know, I think business owners have empathy for every position, you know, in, in the business as a skill, right? So it's like, in the beginning we were hosts, but we were only good, you know, I would say like property only, a good property management company. 'cause we understand what it's like to be an inspector. We've cleaned, we've done, you know. Uh, you know, um, hospital, you know, folding, uh, for, for the beds. We understand like every single little detail that matters. Um, what I found that was so crucial to me though, just to create an experience that have quality control is so we're, we're, our company is called Stay Duvet. And the reason why we called it duvet was when you go to a hotel, you don't know if the duvet is clean, right? You're like, is that clean? It's always like that funny thing, right?

You just like tapped into the deepest depths of Sarah's soul that you had no idea.

And I'm just like, I'm like, for me, I'm not even kidding y'all, like, you know, hosting, uh, Airbnbs for so long, I was always like, I don't think this bed's clean, first off. 'cause it's not white because I can't, can't be properly cleaned if it isn't so like it, I've always kind of was grossed out by it, right? So for me, I was like, if I can just create like a hundred percent cotton, like 400 thread count, really awesome. Um. Bedding experience and have just like, you know, you can't, you can't clean a whole bed in like one residential washer. It doesn't even fit. It's like compressed so intensely that the, that the soaps and stuff can't really get around. So I, I got so into like, I can't over promise these guests that I'm providing this luxury experience and having these owners invest in that with me if I can't deliver that. Right. So that was like, I, I would say one of my biggest fears was people coming in being like, oh, I'm staying at a motel. I want 'em to feel like they're staying like a Four Seasons, you know, like at a house. You know? So our whole thing with duvet was we have a clean duvet guarantee and uh, you know, we bring the hotel experience to the home. And I think a lot of people like that because as we know, um, during Covid, you know, a lot, a lot of the people were moving from hotels into homes and trying them out. And that was our golden opportunity in the industry that if we did it right, we would take a lot of those hotel, uh, customers and make them home customers for life. And whether we did that right or not, but that, that was the, the moment, right? So we were prepared before Covid to have this and we saw just a huge amount of, uh, feedback coming to us saying, man, like y'all, I'm sleeping in a bed, that someone was more comfortable in my own bed, you know, what's this about? And for us, we knew that. Whatever happens every day. As long as someone gets a nice, like rest or a good night's sleep, everything else can be a little bit more manageable. Right? So, so that's kind of why we, we did that. And that was, I, I would say my biggest core focus. And then I started kind of, uh, working backwards where I would go back through the onboarding checklist. I. Work with owners on ways to maximize their property by focusing on the actual product, they're, they're giving their guests, right? Like talking about the, the beds. And does this living room properly sit comfortably when it sleeps? Does it dine comfortably when it sleeps? Like, what are we really doing here? Right? Are we just trying to throw people in and make money? And I think over time I'm very blessed 'cause our, our homeowners actually really. Followed, um, that vision and really invested in it. And I know that can be really hard for people. Um, but when you get a homeowner like that, that cares. That's your key to success because obviously we don't own this product, right? So because of that being the hardest part. If you can own your product, like, and a lot of people on the show I think are more hosts, that's amazing. 'cause you can control what that is. You can get those tax write offs from at the end of the year. Right? So it's so important to like reinvest back into that product so you can continue to have a good experience. And I would say for property managers out there, we all know that is the hardest part of this industry, uh, in order to have that. So,

So what year did Stay Duvet start?

So Stay Duvet technically started in 2015.

2015.

Um, yeah, so in the beginning it was a crawl, and then 2015, it just became that bonkers, like every year bringing on almost too much.

Amazing. That's how, that's how most, uh, businesses get started, right? You're like crawling and then all of a sudden it's like chaos. Okay. At what point did you get obsessed with the bed and the, and the, and the bedding and the laundry process?

Oh, man. Day one. Um,

Day one.

Yeah. It, it, it just, for me, I'm that weird person who just like every house or hotel I do, the first thing I do is I pull back.

No, I love it. You don't even know.

Yeah, yeah. Well, how do you,

I'm gonna ask, I'm gonna, this is a touchy subject. This is, well, it's controversial. How do you feel about triple sheeting?

Ooh, triple shooting. So we do the bedbug cover mat, uh, waterproof mattress pad with actual, uh, um, pillow top layer so that it, it feels cushy and not like that plastic you like, feels like you're sleeping on a water bottle. And then we do pillow protectors that also are, uh, a, uh, um, a waterproof like satine cotton mix, uh, formula. And then we do, uh, then we do the, uh, we actually do fitted. And then we do, uh, a, a flat. So we, we actually have our own proprietary blend of linen that we created. Like, it's like branded, you know, Stay Duvet, and, and for me, like I, we, like, we like color the threads. We know like greens, queen reds, you know, uh, king and blues twin, you know, say this sort of stuff. So we were able to kinda like do all that. Um, but what really, uh, was a, a game changer for us is we create our own commercial laundry facility. So, um. When we did that, uh, it, it allowed us to have, make sure all of our linens go through a five sub cleaning process. So like guaranteed perfectly clean sheets, like no matter what every time, like I'm not even, we haven't been called back for a sheet issue in three years.

Can you, so, because a lot of our listeners are owner operators.

Yep.

Can you give them tips on laundering their beds?

Like definitely.

Walk us through it. Like, so what if they have only residential washer and dryers to use? Is there a residential washer and dryer brand that you like? And if not, you can just skip that question. But what process could they go through? That's kind of like the at home version of the Stay Duvet bed.

Yeah. So it's really important that you clean, you know, everything, right? Let's, let's really give this guest like clean experience just like you would want for you yourself. So always think about that, right? Um, I. You know, I recommend definitely, you know, detergent, uh, bleach, degreaser, all that stuff. Um, in a residential washer, you're gonna have to do. You, you can do a fitted, a flat four pillowcase and a duvet cover. That's it. You can't throw the towels in. It will not actually come out clean. Um, you really do need to let some things soak. Um, you know, people obviously, you know, cut their leg or get like a bug bite and they start itching it, and then it goes in the bed and there's blood, right? And so it's just like, there are things that just, we're all people, right? So we have, you have to kind of actually inspect those sheets. Now, I would recommend as a host to actually find a local. Uh, commercial laundry, laundry group. I would say $15 to $18 per bed is what you should see as sort of a industry norm to look for.

Okay.

But I know that can kind of add up if you have like a four bedroom, but just kind of know, like, you have to ask yourself, do I want those late night calls? Do I want more, more reviews? Um, and overall, like if you talk to your housekeeper, we found, I asked all of our housekeeping teams. We used to work with eight and now we, you know, brought everything in house. We work with one, but, um. It, you know, it, it's, it's crazy. They, uh, they all told me they would take 30, 40% less pay if they didn't have to do linens. And I was like,

Whoa

interesting. Because we were finding,

They hate that much.

Yeah. So this is what we were finding is that, um, people would actually take, you know, we have two parts, two sets they would take apart and they would take it home. And so they, they're working all day. And, you know, housekeeping's hard. It's so hard. And, and all the houses are so different. And if you have one or two homes, you know, on this channel, awesome. You know, you're, you know how long it takes 'em to learn like that home. So now think if they have other clients too, right? And, and it's sort of hard to repeat the process, so. What we found so important, right? You gotta pay them. Well, it's the most important piece. Like if you have a good, clean home, everything else, you can kind of manage more with the guests. Right? But if it's just immediately not a good first impression of the cleanliness, it just feels like everything else is just, you know, half-assed too. So for, for that, um, you know, what we did is we told 'em, Hey, listen, if we can actually save you time on linens and you have exactly the, what you need clean and um, and you know, you just drop off the dirty here and, you know, we, we do the cleaning, so for them, like they would, you know, work with the laundry facility and they'd have like a, probably a drop off in the back of the facility or the front and they'd say, Hey, I'm, you know, blank and I'm just dropping 'em off. Um, you know. You're gonna find that they can actually clean more homes in the day so they can find kind of their margin in that regard. Have not take all their stuff back home. You start losing and mix, matching all your linens. All of a sudden, like you got someone else's linens and you're like, wait, I don't want microfiber mixed with cotton. That feels weird when you're sleeping on it, right? So it, it's really important that you have like tote bags that you, uh, label it in and out for this like cleaning company or, um, sorry, a, uh, commercial laundry, um, and just, you know, let 'em know like, Hey, I'm gonna be doing a lot of business. I'm probably doing turnover once or twice a week. Like, you know, what's your best price you can give me? Um, and those that housekeeper you work with, they will find that they have more time with their family at home. Because what they're doing is they're coming home and washing all night. So they're doing like, it's like basically just 24/7 working sort of. And you know, when these people have time with their families, not that that builds this, like this loyalty to you, right? Because they, they, they love their, their job. So if you can be one of those hosts that does that, which is your first few properties, you'll actually probably also get a housekeeper to even promote you for another property down the road and start wanting to manage for 'em, so.

So are you, you are washing the duvets every single, like it's going to the commercial facility. And how is that, how is that wear and tear on the duvets though? And just on your sheets, the commercial is the commercial less wear and tear.

Good question. You know, um, obviously higher bedroom count, you're gonna have less turnover. Uh, lower bedroom count, you're gonna have more turnover. So we always, uh, we, we have a, um. We always say about every two years you replenish your linens. Um, now of course, again, you know, you could go further than that of course, but, um, there linens do lose like a, a, a softness to them. Like over time, uh, fibers start to, uh, spread and, and not be as close and stuff like that. So, it comes down to like, it's the same question. It's like, do you know, do you buy like a standard textile package or do you go and get like a a, a frette? Obviously frette is ridiculous. Like it's gonna be insanely expensive. May waterfront property you're charging a lot at night and you want that advertising for that linen great. But you know, it all comes down to the higher thread count. It'll last longer through more cycles usually is the case. Um, and what I've found is that, um, you know, when you're, when you're washing these linens and stuff like that, like. Don't, like, don't overly treat them, if that makes sense. So just kind of do like, like do a repetitive process. But with the commercial groups, they'll throw them in and those washers and dryers have a little bit more room to move. So everything actually, um, uh, gets cleaned more appropriately. And it's not like, it's not like things rubbing up against each other as much. So for us, we have found that just, you know. If you're paying a little more, I bet the lens actually will last longer, quite frankly, uh, than if you did it in your residential washer.

I think my last bed question, do you have a favorite mattress?

Oh, man. I've tried so many. It's crazy. I, I, here's what I found. So I did study on this, like 80 something percent of people are used to innerspring and like 20% are used to like memory foam. So hybrid is a hundred. I, I make all of our owners get hybrid because it just makes sense, right? Yeah. Why not? Um, we get 50% off Helix, so of course we just like push that. Uh, we used to, Dream Cloud is another one. Uh, there's a few others, but, um, I would also say though, if you look locally in your, uh, in your area, there might be a bed manufacturer and you can get like amazing, like, like some of these people actually are willing to like, you know, sell locally and you're supporting local business, which I think is really important too. So I'll, I'll look at that. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. So you are starting stage of a, in 2015. And then your commercial laundry service, it's called fluffy.

Fluffy, yeah.

And Fluffy offers not only laundry services, but housekeeping services as well. Correct?

Correct.

Yeah. So if anyone out there is listening and they're dreaming about their short-term rental empire, at what point did you start Fluffy after Stay Duvet?

Um, um, I don't think it really makes sense to do it until you get to about. 150 properties, um, 'cause of scale. Um, you're gonna be investing, um, at about 150 properties. You're gonna be buying two washers and three dryers. Probably each of those are gonna arrange around 20 to $30,000. And then usually be around, usually like a Wasco mat is a pretty normal brand people use, or Electrolux. Um, those um. That, that, yeah. That's kind of when you, you ask yourself that question. Honestly, any sooner is way too soon. I would say probably the sweet spot's 200. Um, but a lot of people out there I know because it takes time to drive from one property to another to properly inspect are leveraging their housekeeping, right?

Yeah.

So if you're one of those people really leveraging housekeeping, you need to empower them and make, one of your focuses needs to be, how can I make their day easier, as much as possible. Like think about them, like make it so that they're basically like your, your team, your employees in the sense, and, and that you need a, a good leader is going to like, ensure that they're best prepared to be the most successful. So, um, I would, I would definitely like consider, like what I said before with the commercial laundry, like, you know, do that, but bringing it in house, 150 to 200 is when you do that. And then your margin, um. Uh, instead of putting it in your pocket, just hear me on this. Instead of putting that margin in your pocket, put it back in your housekeepers, like a good bit of it really reinvest in them. Reinvest in your guest experience and you'll find more reviews and less, uh, callbacks and everything will get a little easier for you that you're kind of buying that back, you know? So I know a lot of times people when they get like, you know, the option for margin, they like to pocket it. Our rule has always been reinvest it back in, you know, so that we can be better, right? Um, so that's what I would do at that moment. Uh, if you get to that opportunity,

where do you find, where, where did you, and where do you now find your housekeepers.

Um, so all of our housekeepers are in like the, uh, surrounding Charleston area. Most of them drive 30 to 40 minutes. Um,

Wow.

So like Somerville area, um, Goose Creek area. Um, but we have a laundry facility on the upper neck in North Charleston. So from there you can like, go to every you know, spot we manage, you know, we manage everywhere from downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant, to, uh, Iowa Palms, Folly Beach, Kiawah, Seabrook, North Charleston. So we have a lot of, um, areas and that one spot, believe it or not, has just amazing highway systems to all those places directly. So,

but when you're, when you're finding a cleaner Taylor, and they've answered an ad or, or something where you, you're now connected, what is your secret sauce to finding someone who is aligned with your values at your company and will be able to find longevity a, a longer relationship? Are there questions that you ask? Is it, is it, is it okay? The initial interview and then like a, a trial training session of 30? Like what, what's your secret sauce to finding good partnership with, with housekeepers?

Yeah. Good question, man. Um. So Lazaro my partner, he definitely does more of the interviewing now, but I remember when I was doing it, uh, with him in the beginning. Um, what we always said was, um. You know, we, we, we have our own, like PMS, so we created like a task management system in there ourselves. And in that, what we did was, um, we ensured that in the automation, these, like, you know, pictures of the property, but they can also see like, here's the special instructions for like the homeowner that they request and all that stuff. And so what we would do is we would say, Hey, you know, how many properties do you think you can do in a day? Um, and 'cause if they say like, oh eight or 10, I'm like, yeah, right. That's not realistic. Right. So kinda asking these like, you know, what, what is the expectation? Uh, and then we, we always say, Hey, do you know we're, we're handling the linens for you? And they're like, oh, I could do 15 now. And we're like, no way. Um, but, but uh, you know, the reality is putting them out there. Um, you know, we ask of course, their experience, uh, have they done quick turnover. Are they able to turn a property from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM How, you know, how many in that period on a day, um, are they, like, who's on their team? A lot of times housekeeping, like there's always like one or two, maybe three people. We actually do teams of three everywhere. Um. So it kind of creates comradery, but then people are really good at like the same thing. Like one person's really good at like, you know, handling, uh, Terry and, and, and making the beds and, and like the final touches with the amenities. And one person's doing all like the kitchens and bathrooms, other person's doing, like all the softer stuff, you know, the living room, the dens, and then outdoor spaces too. So for us it's like for, you know, what are you good at? Then, after 30 days, I'd say we, um, we go through the guest reviews of what the housekeeping is. We're able to pull that up in our PMS so we can see, uh, you know, what everybody's saying. If housekeeping's five stars all across, uh, and our inspectors say, Hey, yeah, everything looks great, then, then we're fine. Right? We're, we're doing great. Um, but from there we do have housekeeping checklists for them. Uh, we have pre-arrival inspection and turnover checklist. So, that housekeeping checklist goes between those two, right? We can't do the full thing in a turnover, but we wanna make sure we cover the essential stuff that the guests touch, see, and or, you know, feel. Um, so you know, that that's, that's, um, that's how we do it. Checklists, uh, you know, mainly an interview, but really we, we do a trial period.

And that's the, that's the game changer. What do you see? You, you're in a lot of houses, you're with a, talking to a lot of guests. What is a basic mistake that you still see hosts just making that we can remedy asap. That's like, just that we need to fix now and that's easy to fix.

So something that I think that like, like speaking for the guests, what homeowners could do mm-hmm. To be better about,

Yep. Yep.

Um. I mean, you know, I, I think homeowners need to stay in their properties more. I think they need to focus of being a home, not a house. I think even a kitchen makes sense. Uh, and everything feels, again, that home to house thing. I always tell owners, I say. You know, we like to manage homes on houses and what does that mean? I'm like, well, do you, are you gonna like stay in it and share it with your family? And they're like, yeah, probably once or twice a year. I'm like, perfect. So let's set it up that way. Right? Like, we're about to host your whole family. You know, it might be grandma's last, you know, Christmas. Like how are you gonna make it look? Let's do that. Right. Um, I think it's so important for and I wanna say something too, I know homeowners can seem like a pain, but the ones that actually are, uh, are giving you feedback and are like criticizing little things when they come back. You want those people, they actually are, that's what a partner does. A partner gives you good, honest feedback, right? So I wanted to kind of say that, um, uh, I would say for guests like. Going back to, uh, Sarah's thing too. It's like I, you know, clean bed. If you start with a good clean bed and you know that you can keep that going, everything else is a little bit easy to repair in, in the moment with a guest. It really is. It's crazy. Um, so I would just say, um, you know, make sure that the. Uh, the, the, the house feels like a home, uh, is, would be my answer. And because I, I, I could talk for an hour about this, so, yeah.

Well, what's a simple, okay, but let's talk a little bit more about it. But you say make a house a home, but what is something again, like today you feel like hosts are missing out on that home aspect? Like, what's something that you see repeated again and again as a, as a, a misstep?

Yeah. So when you're onboarding a property, um, you, you want to be, uh. Really detailed, right? Like you need to make sure you know every, the serial number of every appliance, you need to know where everything's located. The breaker box, like, I mean, you have the photos of every single thing about that property, right? Because all the properties are unique, right? That's what makes this industry so difficult. As everything's decentralized. Everything's not the same, like managing hotel rooms. I mean, managing hotel rooms is so easy compared to this. So, you know, you're, you're, you're needing to make sure that everything works. Now, can you stay in the property? You can ask the owner. Most, most managers are afraid to ask that question. I think it's actually a good thing for an owner to allow the manager to experience the property if they have time or someone on their team. Um, but you need to check like everything, you know, you don't want that f those first five reviews to turn on your, your placement on Airbnb, right? So, uh, you know, quick, um, conversion to great, great guest reviews and how often those reviews are being written is what gets you, I think, that guest favorite tag, right? So, um, we want to make sure that. You're not missing any, any of that. Um, I would also say that in the onboarding, you know, these guests like. When you're, when you're putting together the property, don't just make it, like, add stuff in there, like a guest itinerary, uh, you know, really basic constructions on how to access things around the, around, you know, the area. Um, but what you really wanna focus on doing is making people feel like from the day they book to when they're leaving, that they're not booking a house, a a house. They're booking a home that comes with an ex, a locals experience, right? So, so you need to make sure that when they're in your home. Or even owner's home that you're hosting them with, with this like, just really awesome like, idea of really honestly keeping them out of the house almost. Like just have the home be, be their base. Um, and I think, you know. When you're, when you're managing these properties, you're doing preventative maintenance. You have to be proactive about that. So if you have a PMS, like going through and doing auto tasks or repeat tasks to make sure, like the air filter is getting replaced every once in a while, um, you know, you're, you're checking wifi speeds during inspection. Um, all those details. I've got checklists on, checklists on, and I've had to change them over time for different things, but, um, it's just really important for you to be thorough. Do not rush a property to go live. I, that is the biggest mistake I think we have made multiple times is the owner's like, I wanna be live yesterday. Like, okay. But like the second we go live is when it's showtime. We gotta really make sure we're getting, you know. Some good viewership and bookings here. Do not launch a property without the right photos. Like just wait for the good photos and then launch the property. Um, and I would say in the like, you know. Check in instructions, check out instructions. You're like, oh, we'll get to that later. I guarantee you that you'll forget. And then about five to 10 guest days will happen with really key things that now you're manually having to answer for them. So just be really thoughtful. Have a really, um, really good, uh, uh, onboarding checklist. And, uh, you know, ask those first five guests. Call them. Don't just message them. Call them and say, Hey. Really love to hear some honest feedback from you because people, um, are, are not getting that direct, uh, direct human, uh, conversation anymore. Everything always seems like it's in text and automation, so the more you do that, they're more surprised and they'll be real with you. And then you can, you can prevent like a really angry, upset guest. You're just having a bad day and need somebody to punch, right? Like, you can get ahead of that by, by being proactive.

Well, you worked in restaurants before Taylor. It's a lot of brick and mortar and in restaurants. We have friends and family. And I also dislike when short-term rental hosts use their paying guests as an opportunity to do a friends and family event by letting them figure out the kinks to a new property and a new, and I just don't think that's fair. Even if you're offering discounted pricing, they don't, they don't see it that way. You know, like they're still paying for a stay in experience. And so that's why I agree with you, the, you as the owner. Should stay in your property before it goes live, or if you're a co-host property manager, to figure out those kinks and to make it show ready from day one because like you said, game on. I want to talk to you though, Taylor, selfishly about your time management skills, because what I see everyone, and we went over it in the intro, but Taylor's got, you know, you've got. All your, you're, you're, you've got a short-term rental property management company. You have a long-term and executive property management company. You have a PMS system that you built. You have Fluffy, and then now you're, you have houseboats.

Mm-hmm.

You started 10 years ago. What, what? How. How, what, why, like, and that, and if you could share with me, is it, is it partners? Is it bringing, are, do you have a, a smaller piece of the pie in order to do all these things? It, what is it? How are you doing it?

Great question. Yeah. Um, yeah. All of them I have partners on except the, um, the executive rental business. Um, it's, so, it, it, you know, it, this is hospitality. It's 24/7. Um. And, and so good partners is everything. You know, when you're low, they can hopefully bring you up and vice versa. So I, I highly recommend people considering a good partnership. Um, I, time management is hard. I'm one of those people who wakes up every day and my mind moves a million miles an hour and I can't seem to slow it down. So, um, you know, I, I, I, um, but, but I'm motivated. Maybe with a people pleasing element, but I'm motivated because I don't wanna let people down. Like I, the amount of anxiety I'll put on myself of like, me just thinking like, is this the, the last vacation they'll have with grandma? You know, and I, I've, I've, I can't, I could share hundreds of stories with crazy things that have happened, um, that we've had happened, but also. Really, really like beautiful things that, you know, I, I, my team needs to hear so that they have, they, you know, they serve with purpose. Right. Um, I'm very, very blessed, uh, when, whenever we've brought on, uh, a lot of our team members. Um, they all really care about their reputation. They all really care about doing a great job and hosting these guests and giving, and building core memories. They, they don't wake up to be like, oh, I, I just, you know, what am I gonna make today? And like, what, what time is it? Um, our team walks comes in and leaves and we are a family like we really are. Um, we've always empowered our team to. Not feel silent, like, I wanna hear everybody's opinion. I wanna have one-on-ones with every team member at the end of the, at the end of the year and be like, Hey, you know, would you wanna switch positions? What do you like, what do you don't like? Um, I, I, I just really, really care about everybody waking up and wanting to, you know, just serve, again, serve a purpose. It, it's just like when you have that, it kind of, you can take on more and then, and then, because, you know, everybody's gonna cover that corner, you know? Um. It gets exhausting. Something I wanna say here too is when you, uh, even with just hosting a couple properties, um, if you're one of those people that has really high emotional intelligence, empathy, you're gonna be thinking constantly about these things. And that's, that's normal. And I want you to know it doesn't, don't, you don't, don't feel alone. When you feel like you're kind of in your own craziness of like overthinking things, um, no one's gonna understand it. As much as you because it's something that you put together or something you promised a homeowner, how it's gonna be something you're putting out in the world. You're telling guests how, how they're gonna experience it. You, you, you're, if, if you are like concerned, that's awesome. That is, that is how you should be. A good hospitality or a good host is, um, it is like thinking constantly about their customers, you know, and wants to be there for them. So I, again, I'm just so blessed to have people that care about the product, the experience, I have this thing called peer system. So obviously you have your product, your experience, then your employees, and then your reputation and that you build them in that order. And then from when you get to the bottom, you go back up and then you go back down and, and you know, something. We've really, that's been a game changer for us. We have another, uh, acronym, uh, called ACT. So we say, you know, apologize, you know, say you're sorry and mean it 'cause that usually brings people, uh, it disarms them and they clarify, you know, showing that you understand you, you hear them like there's an issue. 'cause. To be honest, most of the time it's not really that big of a problem, but to them it is. Right? So you want to validate that and show love to them as a person, right? And try to do that in person too. Don't do it behind text messages. And if you are, use those emojis 'cause people will think things differently.

The emoji.

Yeah. And then taking action, you know, it's like, uh, like that's the most important thing, right? So many people talk and then they don't follow up, right? So, so having a good system, having a good team that holds each other accountable. Uh, I always use this analogy like we're, we are a, we are on a boat together, you know, and we're all rowing this boat. Now I'm a coxswain, which is the person who's the front of the boat telling people to row. But I used to be a rower on that boat, and it used to be a lot smaller of a boat. So I need to remember, you know, I'm respo, I'm responsible for these people, but they're also responsible for each other. And it's not about me. And it's not about them. It's about the boat. And if we all focus on that, then we as together will be the best boat in the water, right? And we can make magical things happen. So that's how I really, um, lead. Um. With, with my, my, my teams. And, uh, I'm just so again, blessed to have people that really fundamentally believe in.

but how does your team, I'm gonna play like devil's advocate of being a team member, how being on one of these teams do, I know you're all in when you have like five businesses. Like, why, how do I know that you care about this boat as much as you care about the other boat in the fleet? You know, when you're kind of in, in different, wearing different hats for different organizations.

Yeah, so we actually have, uh, soiree as we call 'em, like twice a year. Uh, we have a spring and like a, a fall, and then we have a holiday party, and then we do monthly gatherings and we bring everybody together. We bring the vendors, like we have one guy who we pay, uh. Actually him, his wife. We pay them every two weeks to walk up and down our streets in downtown Charleston where most of our rentals are, and pick up all the trash in the neighborhood. Right. And they're our street cleaning trash valet. Um, and those guys come, you know, and, and, and like our, our, our landscapers and all that, and all these different businesses, they're all doing their stuff. But it makes you realize how important like everybody is in, in the system. Right. And I think, like they all feel they're a part of a, a community. 'cause in Charleston, again, it's not a big city. It's not smallest, but it's somewhere kind of in the middle and you, you run into people all the time, right? It's like you could be here for a year. You're like, whoa. Like I'm running to someone I just met all the time. And so there's some sense of like. You know, people when they see like that, I'm working on these multiple businesses, I've tied 'em all together. They are kind of all verticals for the most part, right? Mm-hmm. The houseboats are, are managed by Stay Duvet, you know, if the long term savings happen, it goes to duvet homes. Short stay needs to happen, it goes to Stay Duvet, uh, feather pm Uh, as our PMS, we, we built that and it helps like really manage everything for our housekeeping teams and, and our vendors and our, um, and internal, um, company. So it all, they are all verticals that compliment one each other, uh, one another. Um, but I think also the team, like if you're just kinda stagnant in the same thing all the time, like the team wants to see like, like a good team wants ch a little bit of challenge. You know, every day will be a little different, uh, growth opportunities. And if they see like, you know, there's like, you know, different directions it's going, they're like, oh, you know, there's op there'll be future opportunities for me to kind of like, you know, venture out too in the same company, sort of.

I love that. What is next for you then? Is there, is it more of the same or are there new ventures on the horizon? What's going on with with your empire?

Yeah, you know, um, uh, one of my friends actually, um, you know, found you all and I was like, you know, these, these people really like, I think care like about the, the industry. Like they actually, I think they actually care, like they care about, and I'm like, you know, we need more of that. Because I think that right now. Let, let me back up. I really care holistically about this industry because I think it's a bunch of people in hospitality that actually want to do a good job. When I go to the conferences, I feel like I'm making friends left and right, you know, and, and genuinely, you know, um, and I just want to help this industry create quality control standards. I believe that the fact that really is no Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton of Vacation Rentals is because again, you know, all the properties are, are not created equal, but at the same time. Just these hosts and people aren't empowered to, like, people are thinking of this as like property management, passive income, but that's for the homeowner, you know, if you're, if you're managing someone's house, uh, it really, you need to think of it like a, like you're running a hospitality company really. So, um. I really want to come in and, and really help, uh, just reframe that. And I really wanted us to stop losing guests to hotels. Honestly. That's another thing. I think it's important. I also fought, again for that 2018 ordinance in Charleston. Charleston would not have short-term rentals at all had I not done that because it was, I was solo alone in there. And it was like by far the most scariest and freakiest part of my entire, I had the worst sleep ever because there other people were making decisions for me when I am. You know, loving thy neighbor, making sure trash, parking and noise are never any issues. Um, and so I've been building out, like with a lot of anxiety. I feel like all these like proactive measures and now I just feel like a lot of people out there could really, um. Use that. You know, if they come, come across y'all and they see how many episodes you have, they could really go through like a catalog of just so many cool things to like learn. And I think that's so like, and you guys do a great job of, of, of putting it in like a, a almost like from a UI perspective, it's easy to, to go through and, and, and, and catalog. So, you know, we need more of that. And first off, thank you all for, for, for being a platform for hosts like this because this is how we will all, you know, rise together and, and you know, vacation rentals and bread and breakfast. By the way, most of that money stays in our cities and communities. Hotels. You go state of the Marriott, whatever the net profit is of that, it's going out of the city instantly. So if you are dealing with an or with a local municipality, and again, I'm, you know, um, ha ha, happy to talk to you. I would love to, to be your therapist through that because I have actually, I have gone through a lot of. Of, of it. And, um, I've even helped write ordinances for other local municipalities. Um, and through it I found that it all comes from just a couple bad eggs, a couple bad hosts. And what you need to do is turn it around and let them know that actually what we're doing is best for local businesses. Let me, let me show you how our, our guest check averages are higher and how we're actually like helping these local businesses more than, you know, the, these, these, uh, commercial hotels. So, um, just know that, um. You know, I'm, I'm, I'm, I wanna be a resource. I just wanna be a resource for everybody. Like all this 10 years of just absolute insanity. I want to, I'm trying right now kind of freshly to help get it out there. Um, and, you know, y'all are kind of a, a first step for me on that. Um, but I, I want, I really like. Not to bring up like our, our software, but we did build a soft, a software called Feather. And when I was building it, I was like, here's my goal. Guess good guest experience and homeowner retention. Those are very key KPIs. Right? So four point a guest experience, five and a half year homeowner retention. That was, that's, that's great to have. Right. But I wanted to make sure that, you know. We, for us, had a proper system to actually meet these important goals. And so for you, whether we're using any system, you know, it's important for you to challenge yourself. Is it the system I'm using or is it more of like how I'm going about using the system? Right. Most people don't even use, like 80% of any system they buy, they sign up for. Right? Like they don't even know what they're doing. Right. So for us, like. Like with Feather, like we're, uh, you know, we're a privately owned thing and we're, we're, I'm like, guys, let's like use this to like, bring on other cool, uh, you know, hosts like us that really wanna make an impact. And then we can create this cool, like, community through a tool. So we, we are launching that, uh, featherpms.com, but it's like. I am, I, I just wanna be very clear, my main goals are just to help hosts and property managers be more successful so that this industry, everyone looks back and goes, that's the best form of accommodations we could have in our community.

You know, you're, you're involved in an educational sector in your community too. Do you wanna share a little bit about that?

Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, uh, definitely. So, uh, just a couple weeks ago, um, so I'm a College of Charleston alum. Um, the. So, you know, hospitality, uh, colleges, there's a few that are known to be, you know, the best at Cornell. Um, Auburn's got a new one for, um, lodging and events, um, and food and bev. But, you know, we, um, college of Charleston has an amazing hospitality, uh, you know, background landscape. I mean, it's perfect, so, you know. I'm really honored. Uh, but we basically put together this group of, uh, a council of people who are very experienced in hospitality to get together and help these kids learn like what, what it's, you know, what really matters. And what we're finding is that one of the. The most interesting thesis is most of these kids are like worried about artificial intelligence and how it's going to replace their jobs. Like, should I even go to college? You know that, that's a big question out there. Hospitality might be the one, like most safest industry because people wholeheartedly will always want to be served by others. Right? It is what, like there's something extra special about that, right? So as AI continues to you know, you know, expand, people are going to be more starved for human interaction, right? So remember that, like automate what you can, like, it makes sense, but really, really challenge yourself and your team to be really interactive, personally with people. Um, so what we wanna do with this, uh, this college is service excellence, you know, through like, you know, human interaction. Um, so what that means is, you know, whether it's a, you know, a restaurant or, uh, you know, a vacation rental or a hotel or, or you know, an an event space. You know, let's be honest, if you have good, uh, core fundamentals for like being a good person to other people, like good customer service, right? Like you're going to be a great business, you'll work everything else out, right? People will give you that, uh, they'll give you that leniency a little bit more. 'cause they know that you're, you mean well, right? And so I think just a lot of these kids I'm noticing are just like really, really anxious about what they're gonna do. And I just want them to know that like, this is an industry that. It might not pay the most, but it is so much. I bet you on your deathbed, it feels so much more rewarding to spend a life serving others than just taking. Right. So just like it's really reframing, like why? Right. And a lot of these, I think a lot of people, um, you'll get these really, uh, you get GPA and you're like, in hospitality, like GPA is cool. It's not like, I don't really need GPA, I need like EQ. Can we do like emotional intelligence exams? I, I don't know. Like, can we make sure these kids are, uh, confident to do an interview with somebody? Right. So, um. But yeah, it's, it's really awesome. We're just trying to, we're trying to like, you know, change the, uh, education, educational, uh, framework and I think a lot of colleges, a lot of places are gonna have to do that. So I'm really excited that College of Charleston here is trying to be, uh, top five best hospitality, uh, universities in over the next five years. That's their goal, so we'll see.

I love that.

So, Taylor, if anyone wants to reach out to you for, um, just more learning or, or find out more about your, the businesses, um, what's the best way for them to connect with you?

Yeah. Um, so, uh, reach out to me, um, probably right now 'cause we're using feathers also, like I'm, I'm on the consulting side for Feather, so once you've onboarded, like if you decide to, and even if you don't, but I, I'll talk to you regardless because I really wanna help you. Uh, taylor@featherpms.com, uh, would be the best email to reach me because that's where I'm, I'm really building that foundation, uh, and doing like, you know, like you can book me for uh, some classes and stuff like that, or consulting. Um, I am building it out, uh, and I've been working on it. And just again, my, my goal, um, I, I'd love to hear from some of y'all because I, you can help me get better at it and I wanna just really learn what your goals are like, like is your goal to get more homeowners? Is your goal to improve your guest experience? Is your goal to, uh, love, make everybody in your communities love you. I I want to know what your, your true, big goals are. And I, I can tell you, I could give multiple ways, uh, in a good framework of how we can get you there. Uh, no matter what you're using, you're doing, um, it, it, it's possible. I think 95%, I would probably say even more of. Um, of all things can be like repeated in this industry and done the same way, the right way in all markets. Like I know in Cape Cod, you know, you go arrive to a property and you have to make your sheets. Well, I don't know why anyone started doing that as like a standard there, but that's standard in Cape Cod. Uh, but you know, that's that 5% weird thing that like, you know, each market's different. Uh, but the other 95% I'm pretty sure I could help coach with. So.

Amazing. Well thank you so much for your time today, Taylor. With that I am Sarah Karakaian. I'm Annette Grant,

and together we are, Thanks for Visiting.