STR Data Lab: Are Two Bed Two Bath Condos a Gold Mine?

From the Podcast: Welcome to the latest episode of the STR Data Lab! Our guest today is John, CEO and founder of Ohana Stay and Tech Tape. In this episode, John shares his insights and experiences on entrepreneurship, technology, and more. As a Cornell graduate, John also shares his experiences with guest lecturing at the university’s hospitality school. We also dive into John’s experience owning a property in Waikiki during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for an engaging discussion on the travel industry and how technology is transforming it.

Original source: watch on YouTube

Transcript

0:00
It seems like you’re a busy guy with a whole lot of different things. And not just not just one business too, and and a lot of other
0:08
a lot of other things going on. I consider working smart and not hard, so I am very focused
0:15
on kind of the revenue that each one brings in my bread and butter, two bedroom, two bath condo properties generally.
0:23
GROSS About $200,000 per year. Are you guys back to pre-COVID performance levels now?
0:28
We are. And we’re not.
0:45
Hello and welcome to the latest episode of the STR Data Lab. I’m here with our next guest, John,
Welcome
0:53
on with the CEO and founder of Ohana. Stay in tech tape.
0:59
John, welcome to the podcast. Thanks, Jamie. Thanks for having me on. I’m so excited to be on your show and
1:06
just share lots of different things I work on. Yeah, it seems like you’re a busy guy with a whole lot of
1:16
different things. And not just not just one business too, and, and a lot of other a lot of other things going on.
1:24
In my mind, they’re all related, so it doesn’t feel like multiple things. But yes, sometimes I have to segment what I’m working on.
1:32
So Ohana stay, which is my short term rental business I founded.
1:38
I grew that out in Hawaii and my wife is actually taking over the day to day operation of that.
1:45
A lot of the technology that I use to run Ohana stay is what tech tape is doing.
1:51
And then the other thing that you’re saying, I’m busy. I’m trying to fight some regulations out in Honolulu, Hawaii. So
1:59
that keeps her busy. So, yeah, maybe and we can start with some background.
Background
2:05
I was excited when I was looking at your profile to see that. Yeah. You went to Cornell?
2:11
I just took my first trip up to Ithaca last fall
2:16
and guest lectured for a class in the hospitality school,
2:21
giving them a deep dive into the short term rental industry. And broadly, my experience with Cornell is
2:29
and the hotel school there and the sort of great work they do there. But maybe I can talk us through how did you go from an architect
2:39
texture degree to building a portfolio of vacation rentals? Again, it’s all interrelated.
2:46
It’s a progression. But basically I’m then I’m in my late sixth or seventh career right now.
2:53
So when I was younger, I dedicated myself to becoming an architect.
2:58
So I didn’t look at any other profession, nothing else. You know, all summer schools, I went to architecture,
3:04
summer school to, you know, focus on that. And so initially I worked as an architect.
3:12
And then as I was working, I got very interested in sustainability and environmental architecture.
3:19
So I went back to school focusing on that, got some, spent a lot of time doing that.
3:28
Then I worked as a consultant in the building building industry, helping
3:34
people make sustainable buildings, energy efficient buildings. While I was working as a consultant,
3:41
I worked with some incredible developers, real estate developers who not only were making money
3:46
for their company but weren’t giving back to the community and adding value to the people who are buying the properties that they were building.
3:54
And so I said, When I grow up, I want to be a developer. And so I stopped my corporate job
4:01
and then started a real estate company and started developing single family homes, wound up single family homes.
4:08
And when you’re developing, it’s a negative cash flow business until you sell.
4:13
And so I looked for a real estate related business where there was positive cash flow, and that’s how I got into the short
4:21
term rental business. Hawaii. The reason why I chose Hawaii is one that’s a great vacation destination,
4:31
but two, it’s very interesting because it’s obviously part of the United States,
4:37
but it’s an international real estate market, whether it’s for sale or for guests and so I really liked the fact that if the U.S.
4:46
had an economic downturn, other countries, China, Japan and Australia would come in to offer and the economic downturn.
4:55
And so that was why I selected Hawaii as the slide market.
5:00
So it’s not at all like there’s a line to, you know, to the story. But yeah, if you go from point A to point B, it doesn’t make much sense.
5:09
So is Hawaii the market where you were developing homes as well, or just where you looked to manage them?
5:16
No, that’s not where I was developing homes. I was developing homes in New Jersey
5:22
and again during that time. So I was very fortunate. As I was growing up, we had a family friend
5:31
who had some properties on Honolulu, and so we were able to go to Hawaii many times, you know, for vacation.
5:40
And because of that, I felt very comfortable with the market, even though it was 5000 miles away.
5:46
And so, yeah, so then I jumped in and it was really hard to find good management
5:52
people who would manage it the way I wanted it. So little by little I took over revenue management, I took over,
5:58
I guess communication, I took over managing the cleaners and pretty soon I was just trying everything and I kind of fell into into the business.
6:08
So how many properties you have out there right now? There are just ten properties, so it’s not a huge portfolio.
6:17
But what I like to do is I consider working smart and not hard.
6:23
So I am very focused on kind of the revenue that each one brings in.
6:28
And so my bread and butter, two bedroom, two bath condo properties generally.
6:35
GROSS About $200,000 per year. And so that’s
6:41
I kind of try to focus on that and have a smaller portfolio and just kind of grow organically with that type of portfolio.
6:50
And so do you own the properties or are you just managing them? I own some of them and I co-host
6:57
for, you know, for some other folks as well. Okay. And and who are you?
Covid19 Impact
7:03
You mentioned the sort of multiple demand drivers and loving that and as a as a thesis for a market.
7:11
But I think as most people know, Hawaii was impacted maybe more than most
7:16
destinations because of the sort of COVID 19 restrictions. I’m not allowing people to travel to the island. So.
7:26
And how did your properties fare over the past few years? Well, the COVID, I mean,
7:33
literally everyone says, you know, March, you know, everything stopped literally like the faucet just completely stopped March.
7:40
You know, people couldn’t fly in unless they were, you know, doctors, nurses.
7:49
The name of the game for me during COVID was survive. Surviving is Thriving is kind of just
7:55
that’s all I thought about. I never knew much about mid term rentals
8:02
at that point. A friend of mine, Anton from Idaho, he’s not with us anymore. But she jumped on a call with me right after COVID hit
8:11
and he gave me some pointers on how to screen guests. You know, not necessarily technology, just kind of the fundamental tools.
8:18
And so using that, I was really fortunate and aligning with
8:25
a doctor staffing agency. So they were flying in specialists and hospital administrators
8:32
to help with the COVID COVID relief effort. And so I probably stayed
8:38
at around 50 to 60% occupancy throughout COVID very, very low, you know, low rates by the property stayed occupied,
8:48
which was actually more important than that, just sitting empty. And because it was through a staffing agency,
8:54
the likelihood of squatters or, you know, problems were very low.
9:01
And so, you know, I was very fortunate that I was able to kind of make that path work.
9:08
And so about a year and a half was literally just doing that. And then first quarter of 2021
9:17
is when I started to see some glimmer of hope with things starting to recover.
9:24
Yeah. So a glint, glimmer of hope back in 2021. Are you guys back to pre-COVID performance levels now?
9:32
We are and we’re not. So we are. And the in the sense that overall financial performance
9:42
2022 was actually better than 2019. So financially 2022 was really good.
9:50
The reason why I say we’re not is just the market patterns, the booking patterns.
9:57
Everything is completely upside down. So it’s a lot more staying on top of what’s going on and responding
10:05
and reacting as opposed to like knowing, you know, what what I anticipate to happen.
10:12
So one example of that is international travel hasn’t really picked picked up yet.
10:19
Some are coming, but it hasn’t. And then Waikiki, where I’m located, international travelers were
10:25
what made the spring the shoulder seasons you know solid bookings. So right now I’m having the ups and downs and you know the last minute bookings
10:33
that I’m not accustomed to. Yeah. And and we put out some research on that in markets like Wahu
10:42
and it’s an almost 50% of demand comes from international guests.
10:48
And definitely a theme of what we’re expecting is and Asian travelers
10:53
especially with the return of China to the sort of international trying to market our travel market, could be an a big tailwind for 2023.
11:03
Is that part of your expectation of the year ahead? I keep close
11:09
tabs on it because that will be another series of pent up demand, you know, similar to what we saw from the United States.
11:16
So I’m hoping that that trend, when that does open up, will buffer
11:23
some of the economic you know, a downturn this year that we’re having in our industry right now.
Other Trends
11:31
So so you said and maybe some differing trends on lead times
11:37
on an international travel not fully back. And I’m assuming a lot of those type of guests book much further out
11:44
in advance, which gives you that sort of confidence and in how you’re going to price those sort of short term bookings if you need to fill in.
11:52
Are there any sort of other broad trends you’re seeing in the data today? Well, just like you said, the
12:00
the booking window has compressed dramatically and not only in Hawaii. So, you know, I provide revenue management services and lots of different
12:09
while multiple markets Australia, Texas, New Jersey, Arizona
12:15
and in different ways but all these markets seem to have like way, you know, tighter tighter booking windows are
12:26
but that tighter booking window does not necessarily equate to discounted prices.
12:33
And so it’s kind of odd because usually it’s like, you know, last minute you give discounts and you get to filled up.
12:39
But sometimes people just want that, you know, want to stay. And so they’re willing to pay market rate
12:45
or maybe even slightly higher than market rate. And again that’s where our constant
12:50
monitoring of what’s going on, as opposed to relying on historic data, is kind of where I’m seeing how to stay ahead of the game,
13:00
at least right now. Yeah.
13:05
So staying ahead of game, like what what is your sort of near-term long term mid-term strategy?
Midterm Strategy
13:13
Is it and are you looking to expand the vacation rental
13:19
industry and your vacation rental business is your and you said your your wife is going to be taking it over Is
13:26
or is it more maintain what what what is the outlook there for you. Yeah. So
13:34
we despite the regulation and you know things that are going on in Hawaii,
13:40
I still really like the Hawaiian market and I have actually looked up
13:46
all the zoning requirements in 2016 when I started as a short term rentals.
13:52
So in Hawaii. And so all my properties are in areas that are legally zoned,
13:57
even though they’re trying to take that Hawaii right now. So for the short term rental business,
14:04
we have made a conscious decision to stay focused on one market. I think building out a team that really operates
14:12
the way I want them to operate has been a lot of work and I don’t want to try to repeat that elsewhere.
14:18
I know other people do it all the time. I’m just, you know, that this is just my decision. But
14:25
the reason why I I’m focusing my efforts on tech too,
14:30
is there are lots of processes and things that I’ve noticed
14:36
that not only I’ve run into, but other people run into the same problem over and over again. And so I’m trying to grow that aspect of the business to,
14:46
you know, kind of help the industry, hopefully with what I’ve learned and also to grow, you know, go my business.
14:54
So before we dive into tech tape, which I do want to do and you mentioned regulation
15:01
and that’s an obviously been one of the top concern for our industry.
15:08
And what are you seeing in Hawaii and where do you think it’s going?
15:13
You said and maybe even trying to fight some of the regulation and what’s going on on the ground there.
15:20
Yeah, Let me talk about Hawaii and the kind of general trends that I’m seeing across the country.
15:26
So in Hawaii, especially on Oahu, which that’s the market that I’m most familiar with now,
15:35
there is a concerted effort to essentially squeeze out all of the short term rentals and essentially leave hotels as the only, only option.
15:44
But like the legislation is very clear on that.
15:49
And so there had been long standing regulation or rules.
15:55
That’s how I was able to look up zoning when I was initially looking at the Hawaii. But they’re trying to switch change all that around.
16:02
So, you know, hotels get one one tier of benefits
16:07
and then we’re kind of squeezed out a little bit at a time.
16:13
So recently there was a bill that became ordinance that
16:20
for to put in very simple terms, 90 days was considered the minimum length of stay for short
16:28
term rental and and it excluded certain resort zones. But across the island
16:35
they passed it. But fortunately there was a lawsuit against the city and county. And so right now there’s an injunction.
16:41
So that 30 day minimum can still be operated all across the island.
16:47
Now, at the state level, they’re trying to, you know, throw a lot of these regulations.
16:54
One says 25% occupancy tax only for short term rentals, but now for not for hotels.
17:02
You know, a lot of rules are being thrown our way. And fortunately, because of the previous bill, we were able to organize
17:11
and kind of build a network so that we can collaborate. And so right now there are several bills at the state level
17:20
that actually after this call, I’m going to be getting on a call with a lot of the stakeholders,
17:26
and we’re just trying to make sure that we’re acting in unison and not, you know, each island acting on its own and inadvertently Haman
17:34
hung in one another. So that’s that’s the landscape there.
17:39
I like I said, I still think Hawaii is a good market, but it’s the challenge and market to
17:46
to navigate just the big picture. The way I see regulation right now is it’s kind of like a pendulum swinging.
17:56
For too long it was a free for all. There was no regulation. People were doing whatever they wanted.
18:01
And so now we’re kind of on the other swing where regulators have figured out like, okay, like we have to do this length of stay
18:09
and they’re going extreme to one end. And I think right now it’s kind of, you know, we’re in the process of finding that equilibrium,
18:18
but it’s a painful process as the pendulum is swinging. So. And what would your advice be
Advice for Investors
18:27
to investors looking at markets and trying to get an understanding of regulation?
18:32
And generally, I’ve heard it talk with investors, a lot of they want to find markets
18:40
with maybe impending regulation or regulation where certain types of uses are are in place, where they can get
18:47
a license, operate in a lot of ways like you did, where maybe restricts
18:52
future investment and you can sort of and maybe have a a advantage
19:00
by getting in that market early. But then then maybe there’s the opposite of
19:06
and you’re in this market now you’ve got major investment and now you may get regulated out of business.
19:13
So how should people be thinking about it and what are ways that they can do to and maybe prevent and what you’re saying?
19:21
Yeah. So I definitely agree.
Competitive Advantage
19:27
I, I feel like I have a competitive advantage on the level right now because I already have properties that, you know, should remain legal
19:36
and it has created a barrier to entry in that market. So there’s definitely that.
19:43
The problem is the rules of the game can change even though there are established regulations.
19:50
That’s that’s what I’m dealing with right now.
19:56
It markets I would say like in Arizona and Texas. I think what we’re seeing right now is
20:02
where it was previously, you know, not regulated very, very well
20:09
in those markets. Also, like there’s so much, so much supply now that those you know, those markets have suffered.
20:17
Sorry for my dog. That’s what I would say.
20:22
If you’re going in as one, be active in your advocacy effort in that market.
20:31
Right. Just from day one, considered part of the cost of doing business
20:37
if you need to. I’ve been going around contribute to the VR Advocacy Fund because that’s kind of the umbrella organization that can potentially help.
20:45
But there’s always local alliances. Get to know your politicians, right?
20:51
If you’re not going to be living there, find a friend who you know who lives there. But like
20:56
the more you are in contact with the people who are making decisions because they think it’s a very simple, simple issue.
21:05
And then once we start explaining to them that, you know, there’s this nuance and there’s that nuance, that’s when the politicians actually start to understand.
21:13
So I think you just have to get involved in the advocacy effort from day one.
Getting Involved
21:21
And do you find that once sort of the politicians start understanding the sort of nuance behind it
21:29
and all the investment money coming in the tourism dollars being spent, the sort of
21:37
and a lot of the good things that the short term rental industry sort of brings to these local areas, that they’re their swayed or is it
21:47
is it an uphill battle? It’s an uphill battle
21:52
now, some and you know, I’m very jaded, but,
21:58
you know, some pitch some politicians and I have an example right now they understand the nuance and like they’ve kind of shifted their focus.
22:06
Right. So on on one of the state bills, some of our members have been, you know,
22:13
cussing the issue with the representative that introduced the bill. And she she has done a 180.
22:22
He didn’t realize how much negative impact it would have on the local public. You know, local residents
22:29
at the same time, I feel that many times these are these bills,
22:35
the decision is made before they’re even introduced. You know, there is influence
22:40
from other industries, not the travel industries. So it feels like sometimes they’re already like decided upon
22:48
and they’re just going through the process so that it looks like a public process.
22:53
So the other thing that I will say is get involved in advocacy early on, but during that advocacy time,
23:01
build the capacity to fundraise so that, you know, should you need to get a lobbyist
23:07
or should you need to, you know, bring on a legal action if something, you know, passes, you’re kind of ready at that point.
23:15
And that’s one of the things that we messed up on arrival level. We thought our advocacy was enough and what’s a pass was just like,
23:24
you know, what do you do? Fortunately, another group stepped in and sued the city and county,
23:29
and that’s what’s kind of kept everything at bay.
Tech Tape
23:35
Well, sounds like you’re part of a good effort going on there and and look forward to and seeing the results of that.
23:45
Well, let’s jump in to tech, Tate, because that is and you says your your your new focus today so
23:53
and what tell us about about the company and what you’re trying to solve for there.
24:00
Yeah so all the services that it provides it comes out of all the issues
24:06
that all the pain points that I have run into in my short term rental company. But then I’ve noticed
24:14
my colleagues in the industry run into the same thing and everyone thinks that they’re running into the same, you know, issue over and over again.
24:21
So the first we provide revenue management services
24:27
and that’s just something that people spend a lot of time on and no one knows what the right price is.
24:33
Right. And so it’s a lot of guessing. And I’ve kind of systematized the process by which you find
24:41
what that race price should be given, you know, any point in time in the future. And so that’s essentially designed
24:49
to help them make a lot more money but save a lot of time. Right. So that’s really what the revenue management services,
24:58
the other other services we build, some might customize workflows that don’t exist in your context.
25:07
That right. So what I changed
25:12
CPMs is more than 15 times in my journey, and that’s because I was always searching for,
25:19
you know, there’s got to be a solution that works the way I need it. And what I’ve come to realize and I validated it
25:26
speaking with lots of other operators because there’s no short term rental school, right?
25:34
Everyone builds their business. You know how they built their business. And the tech providers cannot anticipate how you’re operating.
25:44
And so even if a feature is there, it might not be implemented the way of what’s for your business.
25:50
Right? And so the then people go and search and try to find another PMC or another solution.
25:56
And so if 80% of your tech stack is working for you, but you have like two or three or four real pain points,
26:03
and if you could just address those things, I’m like, that’s your text that would be working. And then tech type can build out those workflows and maintain it for you
26:12
so that it’s almost like having that feature set in your business. So it sounds
Revenue Management
26:18
like you’re taking a lot of the existing technology out there. So whether it’s in the major revenue management companies
26:27
and like Price Labs, Wheelhouse, BUI the like
26:32
the existing key and these systems that people are already implementing today
26:38
and you’re going to either run the revenue management for them or help them sort of
26:45
and do the integrations, do the and little additions, ones that sort of really
26:52
make it work for them and and make it work within their business. All right. Yes, that’s actually a perfect summary.
27:01
The name tech tape is a play on duct tape. So I have no like, pretense that this is some like,
27:08
you know, we find the really like, you know, it works.
27:13
But as I leverage what other people are way smarter than myself have already built and then try to make that work for your business.
27:22
That’s great. So I expect so. I assume that and since you’re in each of these tools
27:32
on a day to day basis, you’re having a good sense of
27:37
and the different strategies out there for for managing and for revenue management.
27:44
So how these dynamic pricing tools work. So how and given that we’re in a very dynamic environment
27:54
today, we’ve got like half the markets out there with or occupancies are increasing half are declining.
28:00
And how are you thinking about revenue management strategy just in general today?
28:08
My approach and strategy, it’s coming in handy now, but it’s actually the same way
28:15
that I’ve been operating, which is really finding what the market will bear, what the people who are booking,
28:24
what what’s that like sweet spot that they’re willing to book not too long.
28:29
So you’re not giving it away and not too high so that you’re staying empty. Right. And that approach.
28:35
So basically in very simplistic terms, the price and length of stay order lovers
28:41
and then the occupancy is kind of the result that you see to, to calibrate what what you want to do right.
28:49
And that and you do that over multiple periods of time, not just 30 months, 30 days, but 69.
28:56
The, you know, and it’s actually been I’ve
29:02
since fall I’ve had some clients where their occupancy just like plummeted and they’re like, I don’t know what’s going on.
29:09
And I started working with them. And within about a 2 to 3 week period, I was able to get their occupancy
29:16
back to something, you know, that a business can operate under. And so, yeah, the the strategy is really not what the market is doing.
29:26
So I’m sorry to say, is not the data that transparent or our DNA is saying that this is the number, you know, this is what the ADR is,
29:35
because that’s just the average of what what happened. Right. And so that’s really good for benchmarking after the fact.
29:42
But as you’re looking forward, I actually have instances where I told Tim Speicher from Bali,
29:50
his graph really like showed me where I was performing rate. And in this instance I was to x the 90th percentile
29:56
in the market according to his data. But I was like, if I was looking at this, I would have been happy at 20% higher than the market, right?
30:05
So like the data can really like hands hamstring you because you’re like, Oh, I can’t push him further than that, right?
30:12
So there’s kind of a balance on how you use the data.
30:18
Yeah. So and it sounds like you’re well outperforming your,
30:23
your market, your comp set. And on a typical revenue, is it because you’re sort of in
Booking Strategy
30:33
and holding out and getting those last minute bookers and you’re able to sort of keep your rates high
30:38
or are you getting the right bookings further out in advance? Like and help me think through like what what is that
30:46
strategy that you’re implementing? So the strategy depends on the client, right?
30:52
There are some clients. It’s a combination of what their preference and their risk tolerance is.
30:58
This is what I believe will work in the market. So but a big part of my strategy
31:05
is having won a one year open calendar because then different people book,
31:13
but different people find different value based on how far out things are.
31:18
And then that right person is shifting as you’re getting closer and closer and closer.
31:24
So I really like to have like a full year to work with and use the pace and the length of stay as lovers
31:32
to protect the calendar, but get that kind of booking
31:37
and then it shifts again when it gets to the midterm, and then it shifts again when it gets the short term.
31:43
And by combining all all of the above at the end of the year, you should be well above,
31:50
you know, someone who always plays the last man standing or someone who always, you know, is looking for the far out booking.
31:56
Yeah. So. Well, what do you think an audience is mostly like
Key Data Points
32:03
and hosts or owners with 1 to 10 properties? Like what are the key data points that they’re look, they should be looking at
32:10
What are you looking at on a regular basis when sort of forming your strategy?
32:16
So for me, occupancy and pacing are the two, you know,
32:23
two key things that I’m really focused on and I’m focused
32:31
much more on the trends that I’m seeing, you know, as a going up is going down
32:36
the how fast you know, how far how fast is it getting booked. So it’s the trends that are important.
32:44
And I, I always find the actual data point to be less important.
32:50
And I think a lot of people look at that data point, right, and say, okay, this might get as a $250 ADR market.
32:58
This is a, you know, 150 and that a
33:04
I’ll call the dive into second because the short term rental market is a immature market, right?
33:11
It’s a lot of individuals kind of all guessing if this is a hotel, it makes perfect sense
33:18
to look at the data point and say, okay, this is a $22 market. And then based off of it, but because it’s kind of a free for all right.
33:25
Now, I think the the data point is meaningful for benchmarking purposes,
33:31
but it’s really the trends that that you really should be focusing on more like looking ahead. Yeah.
Health of the Industry
33:38
So so given that you’re looking at the trends in all these markets like are you feeling good about the health of the industry right now or
33:45
and what’s your sense of of where we’re at?
33:51
I am cautiously optimistic right now. Again, things have shifted quite dramatically.
33:58
So if you continue to do exactly what you did in 2020 to 2021, you’re probably not going to do very well.
34:04
And I think that’s those are the folks who are saying occupancy is going down.
34:09
But what I am seeing is if you are adjusting to the new, new trends that are happening,
34:18
yes, maybe you’re at a slightly lower, but then you make up for it in occupancy.
34:23
Right. And I’m not saying that’s a general rule that always happens. But like through the multiple markets,
34:31
you know, I’ve been able to accomplish like 25, 30% above market
34:39
by, you know, the ADR being just us a tad lower than what what my client was normally comfortable with
34:46
and then being able to push up the occupancy. So I think the demand is still there. I think you just have to be much more nimble than you had been in the past.
What to expect in 2021
34:56
That’s great. So wrapping up now
35:01
and you maybe hinted about some of the things you were expecting for the year ahead, but if we came back a year from now, what do you
35:10
what do you think is the big, big headline for the industry over this next year that’s going to play out?
35:20
One, I think our industry is maturing really fast right now and it’s really exciting to be part of the industry as it’s maturing.
35:28
So I think it’s going to be much more stabilized. You know how I told you pricing is all over the place?
35:34
I think there’s going to be more rules of engagement that people start latching onto, which means and you know, the variable variance is going to be much tighter.
35:46
So I think then the story is going to be much more mature. And then the other aspect is
35:53
our industry is highly fragmented and I know a lot of people talk about consolidation,
36:00
but I actually think with efforts like tuck tape, but what other people are doing, like Enzo Connect and you know, other folks
36:08
that there’s going to be kind of a fragmentation of there’s a lot of things, but you’re able to kind of make it work so that it’s not just one consolidated
36:16
in a monolith, that that’s the only choice, but you actually have a lot of choice. But they kind of start to work together.
36:24
And and I talk with people all the time and the and I’m sort of worried
36:30
about the complexity of running a short terminal. And then you talk through all the technology that’s out there today
36:37
that can help you automate that, help you sort of run the business pretty efficiently.
36:43
And then you combine that with a tech tape that it makes it where you don’t have to be part of a big conglomerate.
36:51
Use a large property manager that you can and begin to really piece it together and do it yourself.
36:57
Do you agree? That’s exactly you know, I, I let’s see
37:04
the last thing that I would want is for there to be just like a microsoft and Google within the short term rental industry, right.
37:11
Like that. Diversity is really what makes us such a vibrant marketplace.
37:17
And there’s so much entrepreneurship in this industry that people are coming up with solutions all the time and if you consolidate,
37:26
you start, you know, how that starts ending. And so, you know, part of tech tape is trying to make sure
37:33
that you can use the best tool for your business without having to, you know, go go to Microsoft.
37:41
And that said, do you worry that our distribution systems are so much
37:46
so reliant on and Booking.com, Airbnb and Vermont? Yes.
37:54
But then there are also a lot of very credible
38:00
not just efforts, but like processes that people have created. And Marc Simpson from Bruce Lee there, Damian Sheridan
38:09
on Book Direct that I’m hopeful we’re not going to get away from Airbnb.
38:16
I mean, like it’s not going to happen, right. But a little less of reliance on the old chairs,
38:22
a little more self-reliance on your own booking website. I think that is going to happen.
38:30
Well, I agree. So and maybe we’ll wrap it up on that note.
38:40
And for listeners that don’t know Mark Simpson, definitely look him up. The book direct show with Damian
38:47
and great conference, great movement going there John
38:53
if people want to reach out and find you, what what’s what’s the best spot for them to to do that.
39:00
So I’m pretty active on LinkedIn. And so if you look if you search John on or
39:07
to tap on LinkedIn, you should be able to find me. You can also email me at John Jay H and Dot
39:14
and at get tech tip g t to to ecom
39:22
and that’s the best way to reach me. Well great and again thanks for joining and for all listeners
39:29
please reach out to John if you think he might be able to help you
39:35
sort of reach that next level in your short term rental business. John, thanks.
39:41
Thank you, Jeremy. This was a lot of fun.