The Realities of Operating in a Legacy Vacation Rental Market, with Tom Stewart of Resort Realty

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Welcome to Alex Connecticut, the real women of the teacher revives.

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With more than 35 years combined industry experience, Alex Peter and Anna Falcon have turned out to connect the dots between inspiration and opportunity.

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Join them as they highlight the real stories behind the people and brands that have built vacation rentals into the $100 billion industry it is today.

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And now, it's time to get real and have some fun with your host, Alex Deanne.

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We'll start the show in just a minute.

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But first, a word from our premier brand sponsor.

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My name is Allison, and I own Daily Vacation Rentals in Southern Maine with my mom.

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We have been business for a little over seven years, and we have been using Hostley for a little over four years.

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Before using Hostly, some challenges that we faced was a lack of synchronization.

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Channel distribution was a big one for us in making the switch as well, and the support that we felt from the other property management software.

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When we were comparing options, what really made Hostly stand out is we felt that they had a true impact for the industry and for the customer.

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It was everything that I was looking for just served to me almost on a silver platter.

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So when I was making another property management switch, it was almost instantaneous for me to know that hopefully was connected for us.

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Some features that are game changers for me, I think hopefully is their guidebooks.

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They're incredible.

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We also wanted to connect to our website, which shows our area guide, the pipeline, how we use our guest communication, right?

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And how we can see where the stages of development are at.

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And the unified inbox is actually helpful for us.

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My most favorite piece is really the channel distribution.

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It was good for us.

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And that really allowed us to up our network and up our online presence and be able to compete.

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Hopefully, it's allowed us to be operationally down because it has made our life easier.

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It actually allows us to continue to speak more homeowners or to seek new guest experiences or expand on the business itself more than being in the trajectory.

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Hopefully, it's improved our guest communication through their automation.

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Being able to set our templates and triggers, put it in there, check what you mean, and there it is.

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There wasn't much that was left for question.

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There wasn't things that we had to figure out.

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Everything was extremely black and white.

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And so when we made that adjustment, it was very natural for us.

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I would absolutely recommend hostly to others.

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I always recommend hostly to others because they're always continuing to grow.

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They care about their customers.

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They're expanding out their knowledge, they're giving out more tools, they're expanding out their channels, their distribution.

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It's just a continuous level up.

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It's a team for them and it's a team for us, and you can feel that throughout the entire start-to-finish process.

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Welcome to Alex and Annie, the Relovement of Vacation Rentals.

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I'm Alex and I'm Annie.

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And we're joined today by Tom Stewart, who is the COO of Resort Realty in the Outer Banks.

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Tom, it's so good to see you.

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It's so good to be seen and great to see you guys.

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Thanks for inviting me.

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I really appreciate it.

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Yeah.

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So tell us how the weather is in North Carolina.

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Alex and I were just talking off camera.

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Myrtle Beach is cold.

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Panama City Beach is cold.

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So what are the Outer Banks like?

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Uh it's very cold.

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It's beautiful blue skies, but the wind's blowing and it's it's a little chilly.

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I was hoping I could wear a nice logo short sleeve shirt, but that wasn't happening today.

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So well, we'll have you back again so you can wear a short sleeve shirt.

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Um before we get started, why don't you tell the audience a little bit about you and your journey in vacation rentals?

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It's probably similar to a lot of folks, you know.

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I I sort of backed into it, but um, you know, I came from a different, completely different industry, but tangential.

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I mean, it was related to it.

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Um, I was originally in the country club business for a long time and a big, a big club in in central North Carolina, had multiple golf courses and all that, and did that for a while, um, got out of the industry for a little bit, went into senior living.

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So I got into property management, sort of touched on that, a whole different sector.

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I learned some some great things in that in that industry, went back into clubs, uh, ended back in, ended up in uh Lafayette, Louisiana, believe it or not.

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Uh completely new territory for me, had a wonderful time, learned a lot.

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My family loved it.

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Uh it was a great experience.

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But at that juncture, I'd been thinking maybe it was time to do something a little bit different, and started looking around.

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It was during the last oil crisis, at least for the industry.

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There's always an oil crisis in Louisiana, and the economy had sort of taken a dip, and uh, I was looking around there, didn't see anything.

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And by chance, I ran across something that Sue Jones from HR for VR was working on.

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Uh Tyve Island.

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Um, it was uh Tyvee Vacation Rentals, and um they were looking for a GM.

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I think they were growing, and and uh I ended up visiting them and uh taking a position with them.

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And I spent uh probably a little bit over a year on Tyvee working with them, and they were great, great teachers to talk about two professionals and know the business backwards and forwards, and really gave me a crash course in the industry.

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We parted ways, and I ended up here in the Outer Banks, and I hadn't been here in 20 years.

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And I came up and talked to a guy named Stuart Pack at the time and uh took the job as a director and then became general manager, and then he departed, and then he left, and and I took the role of COO coincidentally about six months before COVID hit.

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So interesting time, but uh yeah, I mean I've I've been in hospitality for a while and I've been in property management.

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I've had a lot of experience in construction and and project management, that type of thing, first in the club business.

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So it was sort of a an adjacent industry, but a natural progression.

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And um, this is probably the fourth company that I've actively run, but it's also this I've had the second longest tenure.

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I think I've been here as of tomorrow nine years.

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Congratulations.

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Yeah, that's a run.

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Congratulations.

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So I I dare say, like if you were at um a club scenario, you know how to deal with owners.

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You know how to deal with picky people.

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Owners, uh, members, uh, their families, their kids, the spouses, uh, yeah, a lot of uh stakeholders and opinions and everything else.

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Yeah, yeah.

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A lot of a lot of people to please all the time.

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Not much different.

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I mean, you know, we're here, we've got our clients, you know, on the on the on the owner side, and then our uh customers and our guests or tenants, whatever you call them on the guest side.

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So, you know, you're you're getting it from all directions, but uh it keeps us exciting.

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I mean, there's never a dull moment.

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Um, always an opinion to be heard.

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Yeah, well, it's never dull.

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Wow.

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That's that's interesting.

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And you know, Tom, I've known you now for a couple years that actually have been working with resort royalty.

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And um, I I didn't realize, I knew your background for sure at Tybee, but I didn't know that you were in the in the country club and also assisted living space.

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So that's kind of interesting, interesting background.

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But I mean it all makes sense, right?

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And as Annie and I always say, you can't connect the dots until you're further ahead to look back.

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But those dots definitely connected for a reason, I would say, to get you where you are now.

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And you know, managing, you know, a thriving uh vacation rental company in the outer banks.

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But tell us a little bit about the outer banks and just kind of the climate of vacation rentals, because I think that's one thing I've I've learned in my time working with you.

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It is a very unique market.

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Yeah.

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It it's it's um it's got its own life, its own vibe.

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I mean, a lot of people call it the grand the granddaddy of the vacation rental market.

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I mean, there's some great names that came out of it.

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And and the uh this company, for example, has been here for 40 years, and it's not the oldest company.

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Um, there's a couple others that have been on the beach for a little bit longer.

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Um and there's been change.

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I mean, you know, you've noticed the Vicasa stuff and some other companies, I don't know, and that happens.

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But generally speaking, there's about a dozen large um vacation rental companies, um, well established.

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Um, there's a lot of vacation rental uh inventory.

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Um in our market, if you just look at from um, we just go up as far as Kerala, not Kerala, Kerala, and it's up in Kuratuck County.

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We're that whole band that goes all the way down to about Hatteras, it's about an 80-mile stretch.

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And on average, it's might be a mile or two miles wide.

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In some places, it's literally you could see the ocean over here and the sound over here, and you hear about that a lot when you go down to Hatteras.

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And and there's probably, you know, a dozen or so different villages and little towns and townships that stretch the whole the whole run.

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Some companies go up into the four-wheel drive area up in Karava, and some companies have properties down on Oakra Coke Island, which you can only access by ferry, either from the mainland or from Hatteras.

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We go from Kerala to Hatteras, and then we also go into the mainland and curry tuck a little bit with some of our long-term property management stuff.

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So we we we do a lot of driving and we do a lot of driving north and south, and occasionally you make a left and a right.

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Um if you go too far, you get wet.

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So but highly seasonal market during COVID, that changed.

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Um, but we saw more of you know, it's a bell curve, you know, we go spring and it goes up, peaks in July, and then starts to slow down into December.

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When you get a nor'easter out here in the winter, it's bitter, it's cold.

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I mean, if you really look at it, we are we are out in the Atlantic Ocean and Hatters in particular.

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We are as the my mover said to me when he brought the furniture from Savannah, he said, How many oceans I got across?

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For him, it was on his own, and it is a lot, several miles of water to get to get out of here.

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But it's a huge variety of inventory.

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I mean, we just within our portfolio, our largest home is is 20 bedrooms, and then we have one bedroom condos at the other end.

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Um, so we have a broad variety.

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We have ocean front, we have Corolla, we have Catarists, we've got what they call little beach boxes.

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They're like ranch houses, but they're up in the air on tilings, four bedrooms, five bedrooms, six bedrooms, pools, hot tubs, you know, soundside, it's oceanside.

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I mean, a huge, a huge mix of condos.

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Um, and you'll see that up and up and down um the entire outer banks.

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It's a wide variety.

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Some are bona fide second homes, some of them are in and out, some of them are strictly investment properties.

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Um, it's a very robust rental market, and uh like I said, it really peaks in the season, and it's very seasonal.

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And even more so now.

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I mean, it's busy now, but um it will get a spike for spring break, um, but then it'll kind of calm down.

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But that flywheels turning, and it'll just pick up speed and pick up speed, and we're just getting busier and busier.

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So six months of planning and prep, and then six months of, you know, it's our Super Bowl, and then we can we can take a break after that.

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So yeah, I think when I met you, I told you I mentioned um I grew up going to Hatteras every summer.

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That was where our family vacations.

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We stayed down at the Avon Pier, which I understand now is not there.

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Um, but it's interesting because I was um I'm young enough, or old young enough.

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I was young enough, I'm old enough that I remember when they moved the the uh lighthouse the first time.

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And so um just having seen that and now watching what's been like the buildup.

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And I've worked with some accounts here when I was in channel management, like along the coast there, and just there was nothing like in Frisco.

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There was just like hardly any homes.

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It was like, you know, those little bungalows, as you call we called them bungalows.

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That's what I was thinking of.

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Um, we my parents took us to a place like that every September when I was really, really little, and then we got family together.

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We would rent a house in the summer.

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Um, so a lot of stuff I know is changed there.

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But I'm really I'm really curious because I think that the Carolinas or especially the Outer Banks, they're being affected really, I would say on the leading edge of kind of like climate change, things that are happening and affecting erosion and you know, the more of the storms and and things of that nature.

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How do you, as a, as an operator, kind of for, I don't know, you can't really forecast that because it just it sort of happens.

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But I I know that there's areas, I think where Danthy is the big area that's had a lot of erosion and houses fall into the into the Atlantic.

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But as an operator, how do you think of that in in like the long term of the business?

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Well, there's there's two sides of that.

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Um, you know, I I talked to a uh scientist at the Coastal Research Um Institute here over there on Roanoke Island.

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And and so first off, what they wanted to make clear was it doesn't matter what you believe about climate change or not climate change.

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That can get very political and we just we go, well, let's put that aside.

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Um but they do say we have data going back to the 40s, and the water, mean high tide, is now this much higher than it was that long ago.

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So do with that what you will.

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So you need to plan ahead.

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And a lot of the towns have taken, you know, when you put in a permit to do new construction, what you could build on the ground in the past, you now have to have on pilings.

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Um, I'm building a home uh uh in Kildeville Hills for the company, and it's about four and a half feet off the ground.

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Something built 10 years ago is on the ground, and it changes the style at home and how you're gonna do it.

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Elevator access, handicap access, and all that type of thing.

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So it makes you think a little bit differently.

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We're really getting, and I'll just say this because it it bothers a lot of us here.

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Um I was at a meeting and and uh Doug Brindley and Tim Cafferty spoke up, and we're getting a lot of bad press about that type of thing with the with the climate and the weather and the changes and the storms.

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It it's primarily happening down in Hatteras and the area you mentioned, the Buxton Frisco Hatteras area.

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And it's tough.

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They're out there and they're getting hit.

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They're at that little peak where they're close to the Gulf Stream and they're getting hit from all angles, and it is a problem.

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Um, the rest of the outer banks, uh, we have intermittent flooding or some beach erosion, but nothing like you would see late night on YouTube videos or on or on the national news or the local news, but it is a problem.

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We have a home that everybody has seen, that we've rented for years.

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It's the very first home at the beach when you get to Rodanthi, which is the tip of Hatteras, what we call Hatteras, the whole thing.

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And and it's the black pearl.

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And it's been sitting out there for years now, and it's now abandoned and closed, and it's a shame because it's a beautiful home.

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You know, we would have guests who say, We love that house.

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We said, Why do you love it so much?

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It's like scary.

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And they said, Well, we can fish off the back deck.

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Oh bringing the fishing pole back into the living room.

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Someone can hunt up the fish, throw it in a frying pan, rebate me, and I can throw it back.

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And they wanted to come down no matter what.

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They said, We'll deal with it, we'll deal with it.

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We're like, no, no, no, the county, the town, everybody, it's unsafe.

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It's been condemned.

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We need to shut it down.

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But it is a shame.

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There are beautiful homes down there.

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We've had close to 20 of them go in, and this past winter in particular.

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So how many are in our program?

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It doesn't matter, but people are losing their property, and it's a shame.

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The state is taking it over as parkland.

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There's all this other political stuff going on.

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To answer your question, you have to be as prepared as possible.

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And down there, we have about 15% of our inventory is from Rhodanthi to Hatteras.

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And so we do deal with it.

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The biggest challenge is I may have somebody who lives in Frisco, but I've got a problem in Rhodanthi.

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They're down there, but they can't get from Hatteras to Autor because those roads suffer from overwater.

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Yeah.

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We've had parties show up and then they can't leave.

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Oh.

00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:21.120
But that also means that people can't get there, so they just stay an extra couple nights.

00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:23.679
And what can you do?

00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:26.159
I mean, I guess there's worse places to be, right?

00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:26.639
Yeah.

00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:32.480
But we have a dedicated team down there, and everybody who has homes down there, I mean, you'd be surprised.

00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:35.600
The folks from from that area in Hatteras are very resilient.

00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:41.600
I mean, they'll just look at you and go, yeah, it's getting a little salty, which means, you know, in our world, all that's breaking loose.

00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:43.919
But um, they deal with it, they cope with it.

00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:52.720
Um, and then I think a lot of people who tend to rent down there or own down there are acutely aware of what can happen.

00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:55.200
Um, and sometimes we have to move people out.

00:16:55.200 --> 00:17:03.200
We have to go to them and say, I'm sorry, this home, you're not gonna have access, the sand is piling up, you need to go, and and we work that out.

00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:06.319
Um, otherwise we just try and get back in as soon as we can.

00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:09.119
If anything's unsafe, we're not putting people in it.

00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:10.000
And nobody is.

00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:11.839
But it's it's a real challenge.

00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.799
And it's I think it's affected our bookings down there this year.

00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:27.200
We're we're seeing um if anything's dragging down our overall, you know, that nice and beautiful bell curve, it's had, or it's not because it isn't beautiful and a great place to be, and the fishing and the skateboarding and the surfing.

00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:30.240
I mean, that's barring on some of the best in the world.

00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:33.599
But people are concerned about sometimes, well, maybe I'll go there and I can't get back.

00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:35.839
Well, um, that could happen anywhere.

00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:42.240
And as we roll out of the springtime and into the season of the summer, that likelihood becomes less and less likely.

00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:53.839
But it's a challenge and we deal with it, and we're up at all hours of the night, and we're working with guests, and we're working the phones ahead of time if to let people know before they come down than maybe a delay.

00:17:53.839 --> 00:18:01.759
Um, but usually within a day or two, um, the bulldozers are they're clearing that thing and we're back open for business.

00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:10.079
But um uh it is nice that I've got people down there who really understand that and and have been in the industry a long time and know how to work through it.

00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:11.599
But it's a ch it's a challenge.

00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:13.599
Some guests find it exciting.

00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:18.480
That's a good perspective of them to have that, yeah.

00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:20.319
To be finding exciting.

00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:26.079
Uh I because I can only imagine, like, you know, going to outer banks if it's your first time on vacation.

00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:31.359
I mean, that that you know, you would never expect to even ask questions about a scenario like that happening.

00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:41.920
But um, and I think, you know, as you were telling the story there, it just made me think you guys have been around for you know 40 plus years, and then there's some other companies that have been around a long time there as well.

00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:46.720
And it's very clearly a market that you really need to know what you're doing.

00:18:46.720 --> 00:19:08.720
Like this isn't a market that you just go buy a quote unquote Airbnb and decide to put up for rent and and figure it out because I mean that's years of operational excellence, but also probably a lot of trial and error over the years of what works and doesn't work, not only just from how you're scheduling crews and how you're you know dealing with it, but how you're explaining it to guests and how the guest communication works.

00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:12.960
And, you know, what do you do if you if you have to delay them for X amount of time?

00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:16.079
How do you handle, you know, do you do discounts, things like that?

00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:18.960
I mean, that that only comes really with with experience.

00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.440
And you guys certainly have that by now.

00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:33.359
Well, and and you can have things as simple as, you know, sometimes the internet will go out and one of our people, uh, our one of our managers will get in his truck and start driving north until he can get a signal.

00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:33.920
Wow.

00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:39.279
And download everything he can and then take it back to the office and work manually from there.

00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:41.440
I mean, we're practically sending up smoke signals.

00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:42.559
That happens occasionally.

00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:44.319
Um the power goes out.

00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:52.480
They were building that beautiful bridge down there, the Bastinite Bridge, and they cut the main power feed to the thing for a whole week.

00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:54.799
There was no electricity, they have generators.

00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.839
Um, but it is, you know, it gets a little, a little dystopian.

00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:00.319
It can be fun, but um, you know what?

00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:01.599
It's a little scary.

00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:05.680
But uh, you know, we we got you know, we had people who said, I want to come regardless.

00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:08.160
And we had to be careful because of the water system.

00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:11.359
If you have no power, you don't have poppable water, you know, that type of thing.

00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:16.400
You can't run some of the septic systems have pumps, so you have to say no, we're sorry, we can't accommodate you.

00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:18.640
But um people were like, I'll bring a tent.

00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:22.559
I'm like, that's not how this works to merge.

00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.319
That's that's but but you guys bring up a great point.

00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:29.519
It is it is a challenge.

00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:37.119
Now, when the weather gets bad, it's not every part of the Hatteras from Rodanthi to Hatteras at the same time.

00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:44.400
It could be some areas or are having more trouble than others, and we might have to move people, and that and that happens on top of everything else.

00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:47.200
It um it can get very interesting very quickly.

00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:48.000
So yeah.

00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:54.640
I guess just having my mindset on where I used to vacation, I was just thinking about that because it it's like we deal with here in Panama City Beach.

00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:55.839
I think Myrtle Beach has some of it.

00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:05.759
It's like there's there's sections of the beach you just can't get through and you have to go around it, and then you throw in things like water, you know, running over roads, and that happens over to the west towards Pensacola a lot too.

00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:12.000
It just really, really those are things you can't operationally be prepared for, but you can have kind of a backup plan, I guess.

00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:13.920
Well, it's it's it really is.

00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:19.839
I mean, when we know it's coming, the biggest thing is I think it's the same thing in any situation, it's it's communication.

00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:23.119
And and here's a shout out to humans versus AI.

00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:23.839
Right.

00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:26.160
AI doesn't know how to handle that.

00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:32.319
You have to have a human element, you have to have people on the ground, you have to have somebody who's willing to pick up the phone and explain to folks.

00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:41.519
And generally speaking, our guests and our owners, if we can communicate with them and we can let them know what's happening, good or bad, it has to be both.

00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:44.480
It can't just be go silent if people are wondering.

00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:51.359
Um, generally speaking, you can get through that and make accommodations and maybe trips get cut short, or you have to get a vendor down.

00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:59.680
And we have, you know, labor issues down there, you can't afford to live, and if people are commuting from the mainland, it's all kinds of stuff that makes it uh makes it a challenge.

00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:07.440
But but part of that is what if you take all that away and what your family may have liked was the remoteness, the fact that you can get away.

00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:16.960
If you're looking to go, you know, uh golf cart and go-kart tracks and that type of stuff and mini golf, that's faderist and go out to eat every night.

00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:18.880
Nope, not that's not where you're going.

00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:21.359
You're gonna useboard surf.

00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:23.039
Yeah, it and I it's funny.

00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:24.400
When I was younger, I hated it.

00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:26.240
And I was like, why do you torture us this way?

00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:29.200
And now that I'm older, I'm like, oh, what I wouldn't have amazing.

00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:29.839
Yeah.

00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:30.640
Exactly.

00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:34.880
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:35.680
Safely.

00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:36.079
Safely.

00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:37.200
Yeah, well, yeah, of course.

00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:38.720
That goes without saying, yeah.

00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:43.759
Yeah, yeah, it's it's a beautiful, beautiful part of the outer banks, and the whole outer banks.

00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:52.240
It is but it's it's busy and uh that and that also in the in the whole climate of vacation rentals.

00:22:52.240 --> 00:23:03.039
I think, you know, when I I hear stories about other markets where we're talking about um uh regulation and and you know the industry is getting pinched by localities and that type of thing.

00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:16.400
Here, number one, because North Carolina has such a strong vacation rental uh program through the vacation rental act that that kind of laid a lot of stuff out for us in terms of everything from trust accounting to how you deal with tenants versus guests.

00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:18.640
Um that kind of kept some of that at bay.

00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:22.160
Maybe in some of the cities like Asheville, they're dealing with it a little bit differently.

00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:29.359
But this is a vacation rental tourist spot, and the industry is driven by that.

00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:30.799
There is no other industry.

00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:32.400
Everything supports that.

00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:36.960
Um, the banking, the insurance, the construction, um, the workforce.

00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:44.079
Um there are retirees, um, but generally speaking, uh, without the tourism industry, this would be a very different place.

00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:47.359
And I know some people would say, well, that's what I want, but that's not what it is.

00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:48.160
It's very vague.

00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:51.279
So we we it's one thing we don't have to deal with.

00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:55.680
I mean, we deal with like uh local ordinances and things we have to work with like that.

00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:59.680
And that makes sense, you know, stuff that keeps the homes elevated and safe and that type of stuff.

00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:05.119
Occupancy levels, we want to make sure we're all on septic, there's very little sewer capacity.

00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:18.400
But as far as municipalities or towns or cities coming in with a hammer and saying, no, or we're gonna make you go away, we're dealing with the weather and other issues, but we're we're not we're not necessarily dealing with that.

00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:29.920
I'm gonna say knock on the wood yet, but um there's a there's a pretty good relationship between the municipalities and the vacation rental industry um and how they support each other and and try to work together.

00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:33.680
So that that's that's a big plus for this area.

00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:34.799
Yeah, for sure.

00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:38.240
And we see that in most of the legacy markets, you know.

00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:56.319
It I think it's a lot of, I mean, I guess some of them are legacy too, but it seems like it's more the markets where you know vacation rental as a product is is newer and and the demand of the off-site rental, you know, individual homeowners coming onto the scene is really what is is ending up being more of an issue in a lot of cases.

00:24:56.319 --> 00:25:02.559
But I I would imagine the majority of the inventory uh on outer banks is professionally managed.

00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:04.799
Do you have any idea what the percentage is on that?

00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:07.440
You know, it's interesting because it's hard to say.

00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:20.799
Um, because resort realty, we have all of our inventory on Airbnb, uh, BRBO, Bonvoy, Booking.com, uh lively, Hopper, Savvy, all these other things.

00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:25.039
So when you go in and look into account, you know, you're you're kind of double dipping.

00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:29.759
Most of the Airbnb inventory is being professionally managed, although there's a big segment that isn't.

00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:40.079
There's a lot of independent operators, much smaller operators, but they're still, you know, professionally managed companies, a lot of uh folks who have accelerated dwelling units or own other property.

00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:42.480
Um, I don't know the answer to that.

00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:43.440
I honestly don't.

00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:49.680
I would say vast majority of the OTA, in my opinion, is managed by professionally as well as well.

00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:57.119
And and even with all that, our company is still 75% direct book um with all of that.

00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:03.200
And we do and we do good business with those OTAs, um, but most of our business is direct book still.

00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:04.240
Yeah.

00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:09.279
And so you guys, you're uh right around 600 properties, I believe.

00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:11.279
Right now, 621.

00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:13.359
621, okay, great.

00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:14.400
That's even better.

00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:18.319
I've been saying 600 for a long time now that's awesome.

00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:21.440
We've we've grown, grown a little bit every year.

00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:22.400
Yeah.

00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:24.480
Well, that that's what I wanted to ask you about.

00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:31.759
I had just done a LinkedIn post about this yesterday, and it's something that Annie and I hear all the time that we've got, you know, the industry has.

00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:39.759
There's a lot of newcomers that have started businesses around like post-COVID, basically, that um they've had the idea to start the business.

00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:50.240
And then once they started reading things and hearing podcasts, they realized, okay, I could build this and I could sell this portfolio in this business in, you know, less than 10 years and make a nice chunk of cash.

00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:57.119
And I think that's led to a lot of companies just really taking the growth at all costs mentality of it's just, you know, how many doors do you have?

00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:08.160
Like, I mean, that's like the key thing that they're looking at, but they're not looking at it from the perspective of an experienced operator like you are, that you're not trying to go out and get a hundred new properties, you know, every year.

00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:12.960
I mean, you guys have built up in a responsible manner over the years.

00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:14.319
But what are your thoughts on that?

00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:17.759
I mean, what's the difference between growth and scale from your perspective?

00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.240
Well, I mean, we have direct experience with that.

00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:24.559
Back in 2019, we purchased a company that had about 130 units.

00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:30.240
And I and I think that the owner of that company, you know, he wanted to build it up and then and then sell it.

00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:35.440
Um, and and we also, even back in 2017, and we had some attrition from that.

00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:39.359
In 2017, we Outer Banks are still coming out of the Great Recession.

00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:42.000
They said that it said it ended back in 2012.

00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:46.559
Well, the reality was it it really took a while for it to kind of roll out of this market.

00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:55.680
Um, and a lot of homes for a long time did not have a lot of um upgrades or preventative maintenance uh performed on them.

00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:57.839
And a lot of places were in pretty bad shape.

00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:08.319
So when we first really started to see an uptick, at least for resort realty, an uptick in the market for ourselves, you know, we had a lot of inventory that, you know, today we we probably wouldn't have taken.

00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:19.039
So over the years, and fortunately with COVID, fortunately, it is a fortunate, you know, a silver line and COVID, I suppose, was the outer banks absolutely just boomed and we were busy year-round.

00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:33.039
A lot of new owners, a lot of new owners who came in with cash, a lot of new owners who saw the great returns they were getting, a lot of owners reinvesting in the properties and bringing them up to current standards or or at least to standards that that were acceptable.

00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:42.799
Um so that was interesting because our our inventory sort of we had some issues with it, but it sort of took care of itself as people invested in the properties.

00:28:42.799 --> 00:29:02.079
Um, but today I think we follow the same kind of mantra that most companies do, especially at our size, is that we will not look at specific properties because they don't fit our our business model anymore, because they're more effort than they're worth, either to the owners or to us, um, or they're just too difficult to book because there's a glut of them.

00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:05.680
There's a certain size house in a certain location that's not worth taking.

00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:17.519
Um and I hate to say that because every home means something to that owner, but as far as as our portfolio goes, um, there was overbuilding in certain segments, and we don't really want to do that unless it's truly remarkable.

00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:24.880
So we we generally all all the bigger companies, most companies here, we are sort of competing for the same, you know, what's the expression?

00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:27.680
He or she with the most ocean fronts wins.

00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:29.279
Yeah, the crowd rules.

00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:31.359
And and so there is that.

00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:47.119
So we're a little bit more selective, but by doing so, that means we spend more time on productive homes with owners that are receptive to ideas, as opposed to doing battle with owners who aren't, and then spending with the old 8020 rule, you know, you spend 80% of your time with 20% of the issues.

00:29:47.119 --> 00:30:07.759
We're trying to move away from that so that our people can make quality decisions about quality homes and we can get our attrition rate down because no one wins when you're fighting a hundred battles to get a home that can't rent to rent, uh, including the bigger, nicer homes, because you're diverting your good, you're taking your great talent and saying, I need you to help me fix this.

00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:11.759
And they're not looking at those homes that have that great upside on them already.

00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:14.160
They need even more attention, if anything.

00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:21.200
So uh it's a it's a reallocation of resources and time and effort and saying, yes, we'll help the home that needs help.

00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:29.519
But generally speaking, if we have a solid portfolio, we can make all these quality decisions that will help everybody all at once.

00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:31.440
Um that's kind of a shift in thinking.

00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:40.079
And some of it was evolutionary, some of it was um just sort of hammering home the point over the last several years that this is how we're going to do it, um, and then doing it.

00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:48.079
You mentioned, um, you mentioned um we were talking about the the makeup of the island and and the whole outer banks, the lack of sewage systems.

00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:53.519
So I think would that be you don't have a you probably don't have a centralized laundry on the islands, right?

00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:55.680
You have to bring it in, or how do you handle laundry?

00:30:55.680 --> 00:30:59.440
Because I know that that is a challenge with some areas where they can't do commercial laundry.

00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:03.200
The third party market for laundry is huge here.

00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:10.079
Um I know some of our competitors, and and and I mentioned their names earlier, they have laundries and they're very successful with it.

00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:22.240
We looked at it and we had a small laundry for a while, but at this juncture, uh we we outsourced to a company that's in Elizabeth City and they have a massive facility with these million-dollar tunnels and machines.

00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:23.920
You know, we lease, we lease our linen.

00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:26.720
We're too big to do it in our in and of ourselves.

00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:36.000
I learned that in the country club business when I was went and visited the laundry we use just for the tablecloths and napkins and beach and pool towels in Raleigh.

00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:46.880
And I looked at it and I understood then that that is its it is its own industry with the same challenges, hardships, and successes that we have, but for there.

00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:57.039
And and for for us a resort, we said, I don't want to have to spend that much time in an industry that takes just as much time and energy as my industry.

00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:58.319
Let somebody else do that.

00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:03.119
It cost a little bit more, let them handle the logistics, let them deliver to the house.

00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:10.559
You make all the beds in every home for every reservation, um, and let them do that from beginning to end.

00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:13.759
And we'll put it together uh for when the guest arrives.

00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:16.160
But uh completely outsourced for us.

00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:18.400
Um uh we just had to.

00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:24.079
I had at one point 50-50, they did the laundry, they brought it to us, we packed it out, we delivered it.

00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:26.319
Um, I had four giant box trucks.

00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:34.720
Um, we were doing everything but washing it, and I finally said we're going to get out of the logistics business and just focus on customer care uh and guest care.

00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:38.319
Well, at least the markets change because we I remember having to pack up.

00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:47.759
We had more, uh, my parents' uh big old uh station wagon had more space for linens and towels than anything else we could bring because we had to always had to bring that.

00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:51.279
But I've always wondered how, you know, we I experienced that from the guest side.

00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:59.920
Um, and and I there's still some markets that you absolutely uh New Jersey is a market, you still have to bring your linens or you rent it from somebody, you know, it's like a whole different thing.

00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:05.440
But um, being able to provide that service is just is it's challenging in the best of circumstances.

00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:10.079
I mean, like you said, the laundry laundry is its whole ecosystem in its own.

00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:15.200
So I was just curious where that had come to because I do remember the the ringing of your own linen.

00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:22.400
So that was making your own bed, which seems we I did that with my family when my kids were little, I think somewhere in Emerald Isle.

00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:24.000
At one point, we went for our own linen.

00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:25.920
I think we even cleaned our own cottage.

00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:29.279
And my wife looked at me and said, Vacation, what vacation?

00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:30.480
And we never did that again.

00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:32.000
Exactly.

00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:33.759
We didn't think about it.

00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:34.640
We were trying to save money.

00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:36.799
It was just yeah, that was just the way it was, though, too.

00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:39.039
We'll be back in just a minute.

00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:41.359
But first, a word from our premier brand sponsor.

00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:42.799
My name is Sally Lockard.

00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:45.200
I'm the head of sales and marketing at Hoseva.

00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:49.200
We have been working with my BookingPal since about 2019.

00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:58.480
We manage about 6,000 properties over 16 countries over a myriad of services.

00:33:58.480 --> 00:34:03.519
At Hoseva, we have our own custom-built PMS where we build our own direct channel connections.

00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:07.680
The reason we decided to partner with BookingPow is because they were able to expand our reach.

00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:18.960
BookingPal really stays on top of making sure that all partners have easy API access to add on the channels, even for people like us who have our own channel connections.

00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:26.960
Implementing the integrations with My BookingPal have allowed our teams, you know, more time and more trust and less worry on our side, right?

00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:28.400
We know things are working.

00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:37.760
The reason Booking Power was a good strategic choice for our business was we specifically wanted to connect to some of the channels that they had access to that nobody else did.

00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:43.280
Having the exclusive ability to distribute to homes and hideaways by high has been a big plus for us.

00:34:43.280 --> 00:35:01.440
We are impressively growing in the independent hotel and multifamily sector where being able to attract those travelers that are used to staying in a hotel like a high and feeling safe with that kind of brand has been really increasing when it comes to um conversion and numbers for our revenue side for these type of properties.

00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:05.840
I would say booking pile as a partner is a really good loyal friendship, right?

00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:10.719
You know, we have a nice integration that's obviously deep rooted in tech, right?

00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:15.199
But the teams really speak well together and we have a direct contact if we need it.

00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:20.400
It really is important to us to have 24-7 customer support, and we really value that in our partners.

00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:23.280
I would definitely recommend my booking tiles to others.

00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:30.000
It has just helped us to continue to grow and be in front of as many travelers as possible.

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.960
And it's helped us to do that with ease and with partners that we feel like we can trust.

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00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:01.840
You know what's funny though?

00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:09.360
I was just I've told this story to people many times when I'm telling about the evolution of vacation rentals and how back in the day, I mean, that was very common.

00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:15.599
Honestly, I can guarantee you there's people listening to this episode that have not did not know that this was a thing.

00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:20.400
But back in the day, especially with the beach home rental companies, you had to bring your own linens.

00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:23.760
I mean, there there was no option to have them.

00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:30.159
And then at some point, you got the option that you could you could have your beds made, but that was for an additional fee.

00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:32.800
And I think there's still companies that that run it that way.

00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:42.079
But um, did you guys did resort realty start the way that it is now, or did you pivot that over the years of how that worked?

00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:43.280
Okay.

00:36:43.280 --> 00:36:46.639
So we had this thing, and we still do called owner-centric.

00:36:46.639 --> 00:36:51.599
And I think during the Great Recession, owner centric, and I know there's a whole story, and you know something about that.

00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:52.079
Yeah.

00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:57.760
But uh during that time, give give the owners all these options.

00:36:57.760 --> 00:37:08.719
So Resort gave these options like the owner can pay for the linen, the guests can pay for the linen, there will be no linen, there'll be linen provided, and we had all these things, and it was very complex and complicated.

00:37:08.719 --> 00:37:12.639
And from a housekeeping standpoint, we had to check well, do they get linen?

00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:14.000
Or where's the linen coming from?

00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:14.880
Are we making the beds?

00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:15.920
Are we not making the beds?

00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:16.880
Are we just providing the linen?

00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:17.920
Chaos, right?

00:37:17.920 --> 00:37:19.119
I mean, it sounds like chaos.

00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:26.159
So we made a decision, and this is owner-centric was so that the owners could control, you know, what their expenses were, what their net might be.

00:37:26.159 --> 00:37:27.679
And it was absolute chaos.

00:37:27.679 --> 00:37:30.000
So I said, enough of that.

00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:31.280
We're just gonna make the beds.

00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:33.360
And during COVID, that made sense.

00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:37.840
It was very confusing about who had linens and where they went and who got them and who didn't.

00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:47.440
So during COVID, we just said, well, we're just gonna stand astern, just make the beds and go all in on this, and we're gonna build it into our fee, and nobody's gonna worry about it.

00:37:47.440 --> 00:37:54.079
What it did was it cut down the number of phone calls by 15, 20, 30, 40 a night.

00:37:54.079 --> 00:37:57.760
Oh, I got the wrong linens because nobody could check because you didn't make the bed.

00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:04.480
If you make the bed, the queen fits the queen, the king fits the king, the trends fit the trends, and no question asked.

00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:10.559
You don't have to go get a tech after hours calls and driving all over the place and that type of thing.

00:38:10.559 --> 00:38:15.840
So we solved a logistics issue and customer service issue by just going ahead and making the beds.

00:38:15.840 --> 00:38:17.039
And that's why we did that.

00:38:17.039 --> 00:38:24.880
It drove our costs up, but at the end of the day, we were also looking at a reputation management management and going, we're getting all these complaints.

00:38:24.880 --> 00:38:27.840
We had a great time, but they didn't have our linens ready.

00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:30.239
Well, let's take that out of the equation.

00:38:30.239 --> 00:38:34.079
The linen, the beds were made, everything was set, everything's prepped.

00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:35.280
That's not the issue.

00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:37.119
You know, the water heater blew up.

00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:43.599
I, you know, that things can happen, that's different, but not having the right pillowcase, that's not an issue.

00:38:43.599 --> 00:38:47.519
So um we're we're working on satisfaction.

00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:49.039
That makes a lot of sense.

00:38:49.039 --> 00:38:57.360
And I'm sure your owners actually ended up appreciating it that it actually was an owner-centric decision that you made because you made life better for everybody.

00:38:57.360 --> 00:38:58.880
So yeah.

00:38:58.880 --> 00:39:06.400
And uh, one more question on the on the old days on this, because this is it's interesting just to hear from a company that's been around for a long time.

00:39:06.400 --> 00:39:12.800
But you currently now you you outsource your your linens, the whole for whole procedure.

00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:19.760
But at any point, do you think if you had thought about it, a company had thought about it years ago, that they would have started it sooner?

00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:28.320
Like it is part of the issue now because you're so far into it that to go and now you know get sheets for 600 properties is a massive financial undertaking.

00:39:28.320 --> 00:39:33.119
Like, do you think if they had thought about it in year five or ten, things would be different now?

00:39:33.599 --> 00:39:39.119
You know, I think, I think, I think this company was no different than than a lot of companies.

00:39:39.119 --> 00:39:45.440
You you do what's customary, you do what's expected, you do what's what your competition is doing.

00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:48.320
Um, I think you go, oh, these are the best practices.

00:39:48.320 --> 00:39:49.920
So that's what we're gonna do.

00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:54.559
Um, I'm not the first to say, let's make all the beds and and have that ready for the guests.

00:39:54.559 --> 00:39:55.360
I certainly am not.

00:39:55.360 --> 00:39:58.960
I mean, you have plenty of competition here on the beach that's been doing that for a while.

00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:04.559
Um, I do know there's still companies that don't, and they still have all these options so that there's you know freedom of choice.

00:40:04.559 --> 00:40:09.519
Um we choose, we choose to make the beds so that that you don't have to worry about it.

00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:11.519
But um yeah, I don't I don't know.

00:40:11.519 --> 00:40:12.320
That's a good question.

00:40:12.320 --> 00:40:13.840
I think there's an evolution of stuff.

00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:26.960
I think as as the industry matures and and matured, especially through the 80s and into the 90s, is this me talking to the some of the old timers and things like Verma and nowadays with podcasts, we're more aware of these other things.

00:40:26.960 --> 00:40:31.679
And I I don't think anybody would want to go back to that necessarily.

00:40:31.679 --> 00:40:38.639
Uh, and if I hear about some new way, maybe you know, drones will drop the linen in and to an isolated.

00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:41.440
It's gonna be a robot someday.

00:40:41.679 --> 00:40:47.280
Um, we'll we'll we'll figure that out and then we'll go we'll go to that next next process.00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:53.199


But you know, we're we're still humans staying in beds and enjoying the beach, and there's certain things that that you have to take care of.00:40:53.199 --> 00:40:55.280


So I think it's just was customary.00:40:55.280 --> 00:40:59.599


And somebody said, Well, I'm gonna one up you and do this, and and then it became part of the process.00:40:59.599 --> 00:41:01.280


And it also became part of the expectation.00:41:01.280 --> 00:41:06.880


When I go to a hotel, when I go to Marriott, you know, I don't walk in and go, Oh, now I've got to make my bed.00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:08.079


Exactly.00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:08.480


Yeah.00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:11.199


Who wants to do that for driving for 10 hours?00:41:11.519 --> 00:41:13.280


So I think it was coming.00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:15.679


It was gonna happen and it will continue to happen.00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:18.159


You know, you've been there, you said nine years now.00:41:18.159 --> 00:41:28.639


Um, like what other big operational shifts have you seen in your time that you maybe were doing when the proper you know, the company was smaller and you just started out versus what you're doing now?00:41:29.039 --> 00:41:30.719


Uh I think uh I will tell you this.00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:43.360


I didn't mention in my brief bio, my first job out of college, I worked for the Airlines and I worked with pricing departments at Delta and Air Canada for flights in and out of the United States to Central and South America.00:41:43.360 --> 00:41:53.440


And I worked for this company and we took the data and we sold it to or processed it and sent it out to Gemini and Apollo and Amadeus, the big res systems at the time.00:41:53.440 --> 00:41:55.440


I think they're still out there doing work.00:41:55.440 --> 00:41:57.920


And um, so I was in pricing.00:41:57.920 --> 00:42:03.360


I was working, you know, they changed the prices and we would update the prices and the fare rules and all this type of stuff.00:42:03.360 --> 00:42:07.199


Well, you know, X number of years later, I'm back in pricing again.00:42:07.519 --> 00:42:10.880


I was gonna say, you have the perfect background for what you know, right?00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:12.000


A little bit of everything.00:42:12.960 --> 00:42:18.400


And I even got into software development with that company, but that was, I mean, cubicles and all I wasn't into that.00:42:18.400 --> 00:42:18.800


So anyway.00:42:18.800 --> 00:42:21.440


But uh, yeah, I'm dating myself.00:42:21.440 --> 00:42:27.199


Um anyway, so so here, fast forward to a few years ago, we're doing dynamic pricing.00:42:27.199 --> 00:42:29.920


Obviously, that's that's a huge shift for us.00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:32.320


Um, we have a very specific way we do it.00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:39.679


We use a big, a big uh product that's out there, it ties in with with our PMS, and and we take it very seriously.00:42:39.679 --> 00:43:00.079


Every Thursday at noon, uh, myself, my general manager, Lisa for STR, uh Director of Marketing, Peter, Alex knows, um, our director of finance and revenue management, Jason, and Alicia, who's our systems manager, because she helps us on the back end with all the OTAs and length of stay and all this other stuff.00:43:00.079 --> 00:43:05.199


And and our consultant with the pricing company, uh, with the dynamic pricing group.00:43:05.199 --> 00:43:15.039


We all meet and we have an all-hands-on meeting and we look at everything and we we tear it down and we tear it apart and we come up with a coordinated marketing plan for the week.00:43:15.039 --> 00:43:27.519


We're looking forward, we look at what's lagging, we look at what social media, we look at what we need to talk about, we look at our email messaging, uh, we look at our pricing for specific units, we make adjustments, we come up with promotions, and then we put that into play.00:43:27.519 --> 00:43:30.800


And and it's a huge time.00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:35.360


It takes a lot, it takes six people out of commission for an hour plus the work that follows.00:43:35.360 --> 00:43:37.440


But we found that to be very successful.00:43:37.440 --> 00:43:39.360


We do not set it and forget it.00:43:39.360 --> 00:43:41.440


Um, we are actively engaged in it.00:43:41.440 --> 00:43:47.679


And in North Carolina, we have to redo the contracts every year, and the owners, technically by law, have to approve the pricing.00:43:47.679 --> 00:43:56.960


So we have a baseline and then we let dynamic pricing do its thing, and we adjust our tables and and our algorithms based on those conversations we have on a weekly basis.00:43:56.960 --> 00:43:59.679


But you know, we're we're now according to Key Data.00:43:59.679 --> 00:44:02.239


I'm pacing ahead of the market for the year by 3%.00:44:02.239 --> 00:44:04.480


So I'm going to take that as a win.00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:07.920


So maybe, maybe what we're doing is the answer.00:44:07.920 --> 00:44:08.639


Maybe it isn't.00:44:08.639 --> 00:44:11.599


But to answer your question, that is one big thing.00:44:11.599 --> 00:44:15.760


The second thing is, um, you know, and I think a lot of folks are doing dynamic pricing.00:44:15.760 --> 00:44:21.039


Um, the second big thing is, although I will say I know companies that aren't and are also very, very successful.00:44:21.039 --> 00:44:26.480


We looked at STR and said, you know, this is that curve, you know, slow, busy, slow.00:44:26.480 --> 00:44:28.079


What do we do in the offseason?00:44:28.079 --> 00:44:32.000


What are we doing to maintain cash flow throughout the year?00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:39.519


And um about three, four years ago, I partnered with a real estate company and just said, hey, let's have a partnership.00:44:39.519 --> 00:44:41.920


Let's keep talking to each other, refer people to each other.00:44:41.920 --> 00:44:44.719


We need to keep our pipeline of inventory open.00:44:44.719 --> 00:44:46.320


It's good to have these relationships.00:44:46.320 --> 00:44:52.800


Not that we don't have them with other real estate brokers, but let's just make this something special and talk to each other, first write a refusal kind of thing.00:44:52.800 --> 00:44:53.840


That evolved.00:44:53.840 --> 00:45:00.960


I eventually, through the company, we acquired this company and we brought over a team of three or four brokers.00:45:00.960 --> 00:45:07.920


And interestingly enough, a short-term, I mean a long-term rental program for commercial and residential.00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:18.400


Um, we've grown the commercial residential long term, interestingly, in the last year by 20%, and we've tripled, almost tripled two and a half times the number of brokers that we have.00:45:18.400 --> 00:45:23.360


So we're creating this pipeline and offering full service to our owners and our guests.00:45:23.360 --> 00:45:28.480


Some guests want to come down, live here for a year, then buy a house, but they vacationed with us.00:45:28.480 --> 00:45:45.679


So we're trying to figure out this this pipeline for the owner side and for the guest side, and then also make sure that we have better cash flow in the off season so that we because long-term rentals tend to rent, and then if you stay at X number of occupancy, that cash comes in evenly throughout the year.00:45:45.679 --> 00:46:02.320


So we now we went from a pure place short-term rental um back to added real estate back and then added this uh long-term commercial and residential component, which I will just say you cannot run out of your short-term vacation rental PMS.00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:05.679


So anybody who's like, oh, I'll just do this.00:46:05.679 --> 00:46:09.280


It's its own company, just like the Linden business.00:46:09.280 --> 00:46:14.000


I have a director and a team, and we handle it completely differently.00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:17.679


The the laws just by themselves are so different for tenants.00:46:17.679 --> 00:46:20.000


That's their home versus guests.00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.800


There's no expedited evictions in a long-term, in a long-term rental.00:46:24.800 --> 00:46:28.320


It's a you go to the magistrate's office and and and all that.00:46:28.320 --> 00:46:29.840


And that's just the tip of the iceberg.00:46:29.840 --> 00:46:40.719


So for us, those are the two big changes is how do we make the company more robust, offer more solutions, and then of course the dynamic pricing um has completely changed.00:46:40.719 --> 00:46:45.199


Now, you know, are we going to talk about AI um, you know, lurking?00:46:45.199 --> 00:46:46.639


Maybe it's on my shelf right there.00:46:47.119 --> 00:46:50.719


Yeah, sitting right there in the corner waiting to do that.00:46:51.199 --> 00:46:51.599


Yeah.00:46:51.599 --> 00:47:19.920


And and and um, I don't know if you want to have that discussion, but that's something, you know, that's at least inspired us to look at automating workflows and using products like, you know, um Zapier to go in there and take a look at what we do, especially with onboarding new clients and say, we've got all these 10 different things and we've got all these selections and build the spreadsheets and create the automation so that we're not manually doing this stuff and see if we don't have to hire more management level people and we can automate some of that work.00:47:19.920 --> 00:47:21.119


So we're actively doing that.00:47:21.119 --> 00:47:32.320


And I'm fortunate that I have a couple people here who understand uh uh process streets, another another product we're using and their AI assisted tools, um, but that's not necessarily AI.00:47:32.320 --> 00:47:39.519


Of course, everybody's using an AI product as a co-pilot uh for writing and getting ideas on a daily basis.00:47:39.519 --> 00:47:44.000


So that's three things that are kind of changing the way we do business.00:47:44.079 --> 00:47:52.559


Um well, and I mean onboarding, onboarding, especially for the type of properties that Resort Realty has, is a complex part of the business.00:47:52.559 --> 00:47:58.400


I mean, onboarding a 20-bedroom house is not a, you know, you sign the contract on Tuesday, they'll be up on Friday type of thing.00:47:58.400 --> 00:48:00.159


There's a lot that goes into it.00:48:00.159 --> 00:48:16.000


And I think that was actually one of the more fascinating things for me when I, you know, got into my own business and working with different management companies, seeing or remembering when I was at Condo World, it was pretty easy to onboard a condo, especially when it's in a building that we had 50 of them in.00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:18.960


I mean, we could really turn it, you know, turn it around very quickly.00:48:18.960 --> 00:48:27.360


But working in other markets like yours, where these are the houses and there's so much more to it, you really have to have a true onboarding flow.00:48:27.360 --> 00:48:33.679


And the whole team needs to know what their role is and when in the whole process their role comes in.00:48:33.679 --> 00:48:38.079


And I've seen companies try a variety of different tools to do it.00:48:38.079 --> 00:48:41.280


Um, I think I'm sure Zapier works for what you're looking at.00:48:41.280 --> 00:48:47.039


But I think at the heart of it, the most important part is having the knowledge and the experience of what it needs to look like.00:48:47.039 --> 00:49:00.320


And then it's just finding out the software that you're gonna use to execute on it and what's gonna make it the least, least amount of friction for the people so that it is you know timely as far as how it's uh bringing people in when they need to do something and then alerting the next person.00:49:00.320 --> 00:49:01.199


Now it's their turn.00:49:01.440 --> 00:49:01.679


Yeah.00:49:01.840 --> 00:49:04.239


I mean, on onboarding for us is a process.00:49:04.239 --> 00:49:10.000


Our our PMA in addendum is you know 12 to 20 pages, depending on bedroom count.00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:12.159


Uh, I can get pretty involved in all the selections.00:49:12.159 --> 00:49:22.159


I mean, we're doing deck inspections and elevator inspections and fire safety inspections and pest control and HVAC um tune-ups every every spring.00:49:22.159 --> 00:49:24.880


And those are all options and services we can provide.00:49:24.880 --> 00:49:27.599


Um, we have vacay gear as a company you've heard of.00:49:27.599 --> 00:49:30.800


We've got that as an option to provide, you know, vacation rail gear.00:49:30.800 --> 00:49:33.119


Plus, we have partnerships with other companies.00:49:33.119 --> 00:49:39.840


Um and and uh we do we do a pool and spa and carpet cleaning, you know, those are all things that people can select.00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:53.760


So somehow all that information uh from just one one one new client has to be collected and the photography and all that type of stuff and has to flow, and then it has to get to the people who are gonna create the work orders to make sure that this stuff happens and contact the vendors.00:49:53.760 --> 00:49:55.440


It's it's a process.00:49:55.440 --> 00:50:03.920


Um so we're we're looking at ways to try and streamline that and at least get the data to flow from from the contract to the people.00:50:03.920 --> 00:50:09.840


And we're still, you know, does our PMS have a system for automating the creation of work orders?00:50:09.840 --> 00:50:10.559


Uh, not yet.00:50:10.559 --> 00:50:13.119


I mean, and I'm not gonna unleash AI into our system.00:50:13.119 --> 00:50:14.800


I don't think they'd let us anyways.00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:23.599


But um our our long-term system has back end stuff that you can do through APIs where you can use some of that, those processes to help out there.00:50:23.599 --> 00:50:35.039


But um, but we're doing everything that we can with the tools that are out there to kind of expedite that process and then help the poor maintenance manager at the other end who goes, I got a 20-bedroom house, I gotta get all the stuff done.00:50:35.039 --> 00:50:42.000


You know, locks and signage, and you know, we've got to let the linen company know what the counts are so they can build their inventory.00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:46.960


Um, so anybody who wants to get into the business, yeah, it's it's exciting.00:50:47.920 --> 00:50:50.320


And I hear that come up a lot, actually.00:50:50.320 --> 00:50:55.679


I think there's a lot more managers now that are getting into um, if not long-term, but midterm rentals.00:50:55.679 --> 00:51:12.559


And we just had um Jeff Hurst on the show uh from Furnish Finder maybe a month or so ago, and we're talking to him about it that it's it's becoming more common, especially in markets where regulations are issues, that they're having to pivot this uh because of what's going on in their location.00:51:12.559 --> 00:51:16.239


But others, they're not having to do it, but they just see it as as an opportunity.00:51:16.239 --> 00:51:18.320


But um, not always the easiest.00:51:18.320 --> 00:51:28.800


And I think that's one of the complaints that most people have is that they do have to manage you know mid or long-term rentals in a separate platform, at least long-term for sure, but maybe mid in uh than their regular PMS.00:51:28.800 --> 00:51:36.800


And that's that's uh something that comes up, and people want something that can manage all of it in one, and I think it it's gonna be coming.00:51:37.360 --> 00:51:37.599


Yeah.00:51:37.599 --> 00:51:46.400


Well, I mean, there's uh the opportunities there, and I think short short-term vacation rental managers, we we have the knowledge um to kind of go in any of those directions.00:51:46.400 --> 00:51:51.840


Um, we have the baseline knowledge, and it's just sort of a little in eight, eight, I call it uh industry adjacent.00:51:51.840 --> 00:51:55.199


It's close enough, but as long as we recognize it it is different.00:51:55.199 --> 00:51:59.039


Um, and within our own SDR stuff, I mean the short stays.00:51:59.039 --> 00:52:08.159


Um back in the day, you know, when you were visiting here, Annie, I mean, it was week to week, and and they did not yeah, we had good luck trying to do anything different.00:52:08.159 --> 00:52:11.760


The answer was it's Saturday to Saturday, take it or leave it.00:52:11.760 --> 00:52:17.760


And nowadays we have arrive any day of the week and and um like the state pricing and certain homes offered.00:52:17.760 --> 00:52:22.960


Our larger homes generally do not, because that's seasonal five still carries through.00:52:22.960 --> 00:52:31.679


But our smaller homes were, and that's one of those owner-centric, you make the choice, you know, do you want it year-round, you want it in the off-season, you want to include September and May.00:52:31.679 --> 00:52:33.519


I mean, we have options there.00:52:33.519 --> 00:52:43.840


Um, but it's a great way to generate extra revenue and and fill weeks uh and create some more work, of course, because you still have to clean the house when you stay there three nights or a week.00:52:43.840 --> 00:52:54.480


But um, you know, looking looking at what's appealing to our guests, surprisingly, we thought that Airbnb would be a major source of short space.00:52:54.480 --> 00:52:55.840


They're not, they're weak.00:52:56.800 --> 00:52:57.199


That's great.00:52:57.199 --> 00:52:57.679


That's great.00:52:58.000 --> 00:53:01.679


The market seems to have a reputation for that, and that's fine with us.00:53:02.000 --> 00:53:07.519


Yeah, well, I think that the guest that it's the market trained the consumer to know what the market wanted.00:53:07.519 --> 00:53:13.679


So that was one of those situations I always tell people that you know, sometimes you have to be what the market wants you to be, not what you want the market to be.00:53:13.679 --> 00:53:15.679


And so you have to like be able to pivot.00:53:15.679 --> 00:53:21.280


But I think it's the some of these legacy markets, um, at New Jersey Shore, Martha's Vineyard, the Outer Banks.00:53:21.280 --> 00:53:24.880


I mean, those are ones are just it's tried and true, like, you know, for these larger homes.00:53:24.880 --> 00:53:26.239


But I also think it's interesting.00:53:26.239 --> 00:53:29.920


Um, I remember getting um we rented from midget reality.00:53:29.920 --> 00:53:31.840


I think they're still around, aren't they?00:53:31.840 --> 00:53:44.880


So we used to get I we it was always very exciting when we would get their catalog for the upcoming year and be able to, and my mom picked this, she booked the same house every year before we left, but always made it seem like we were getting a choice.00:53:44.880 --> 00:53:49.440


So we had to go through this whole book and look at all the look at all the houses and look at all the, but it was just so funny.00:53:49.440 --> 00:53:50.800


It's like that's the way it used to be.00:53:50.800 --> 00:53:56.320


You had to make all your decisions in December to get to the printer to get your books out in January to book up for the summer.00:53:56.320 --> 00:53:59.280


And there was no, there was no flexibility on that.00:53:59.280 --> 00:54:05.920


So it it, I mean, technology has certainly helped people, people pivot into all these, all these different spaces.00:54:05.920 --> 00:54:11.039


Curious um to find out, like, okay, so we talked about your operations and things that you've changed.00:54:11.039 --> 00:54:14.800


What do you think has changed the most with owners in that market?00:54:15.119 --> 00:54:26.639


So the biggest um noticeable change is the owners who came in in the peak of COVID and bought in 21, 22, and paid incredible prices.00:54:26.639 --> 00:54:29.599


And I don't mean incredible, like great value, played incredibly high prices.00:54:29.599 --> 00:54:31.039


Incredible high prices, yeah.00:54:31.039 --> 00:54:32.159


For homes.00:54:32.159 --> 00:54:38.159


And through 2025, if they were here from 21 or 22, had really good years.00:54:38.159 --> 00:54:48.719


And and you know, that old 10% kind of rule, it held true for a lot of homes or better, uh, as far as cap rating and returns, million-dollar home, hundred thousand dollars, you know, you're good to go.00:54:48.719 --> 00:54:55.679


Nowadays it's it's not that, you know, and we've had to go back and educate the owners and say, yes, you know, this is your first foray into real estate.00:54:55.679 --> 00:54:58.559


You need to understand that it's cyclical and things happen like this.00:54:58.559 --> 00:55:00.639


If you're in it for the long haul, yes.00:55:00.639 --> 00:55:04.880


And plus you get to use it and you get bragging rights for owning it or whatever.00:55:04.880 --> 00:55:06.320


Um, your family can come.00:55:06.320 --> 00:55:07.840


It put all that together.00:55:07.840 --> 00:55:10.639


Um, pure play investors understand that.00:55:10.639 --> 00:55:14.079


Folks who who made a they say, this is a great time to go ahead and do this.00:55:14.079 --> 00:55:18.159


The motivations were maybe a little bit different because of COVID, but the intent was the same.00:55:18.159 --> 00:55:21.599


Let's get a really nice vacation home, and by the way, it's gonna pay for itself.00:55:21.599 --> 00:55:26.079


Plus, we're gonna make some extra money and we're gonna build wealth through real estate and that type of thing.00:55:26.079 --> 00:55:35.920


And that's not that not that's not gonna continue to happen, but those those fantastic returns are are are not gonna be coming through to them and netting out.00:55:35.920 --> 00:55:46.000


Plus, to maintain that type of home that generates that types of cash, type of cash, you have to reinvest at a minimum one week's peak rate.00:55:46.000 --> 00:55:49.039


And we're not talking about put a new HVAC in or put a roof on.00:55:49.039 --> 00:55:57.039


I mean, when a guest shows up, we're talking about new furniture, a new kitchen, new, new, new pool table, or a new amenity or a hot tub or something.00:55:57.039 --> 00:55:59.440


Real investments that allow you to compete.00:55:59.440 --> 00:56:02.559


And unfortunately, maybe we need to do more education.00:56:02.559 --> 00:56:07.119


You know, the owners think, well, that's your job to market and brand it so it so it rents.00:56:07.119 --> 00:56:10.480


And we're like, well, yes, it is, but it's a it's a partnership.00:56:10.480 --> 00:56:15.440


And if you're not keeping up, um, we'll see the same thing that happened back during the Great Recession.00:56:15.440 --> 00:56:17.039


And and you will not get the rents.00:56:17.039 --> 00:56:18.159


The guests will not return.00:56:18.159 --> 00:56:20.880


The comments will be, it's looking a little tired.00:56:21.199 --> 00:56:24.320


So that's a huge, huge part of it.00:56:24.400 --> 00:56:26.239


It's educating and saying, hey, that was great.00:56:26.239 --> 00:56:29.360


I'm glad you made all that money and took all those trips to Aruba.00:56:29.360 --> 00:56:30.719


But you know, we need to be able to do that.00:56:30.719 --> 00:56:31.840


Yeah, you have to reinvest.00:56:31.840 --> 00:56:34.639


And we saw that too.00:56:34.639 --> 00:56:37.760


The tough one has been during COVID was the west side.00:56:37.760 --> 00:56:41.199


We have a two roads, north and south, beach road, and then the bypass.00:56:41.199 --> 00:56:44.000


On the other side of the bypass, it's more of residential areas.00:56:44.000 --> 00:56:47.599


They were a hotbed for um vacation rentals.00:56:47.599 --> 00:56:53.199


People bought homes that were normally owned by or rented by people who lived and worked here.00:56:53.199 --> 00:57:06.719


And they bought them, they overpaid, then they put another X number of tens of thousands of dollars in and furnished them and put that, you know, it was all white furniture, white cabinets, and that gray uh LVT, LVP tile.00:57:06.719 --> 00:57:09.119


And so now they all look alike.00:57:09.119 --> 00:57:11.199


And nobody wants them.00:57:11.199 --> 00:57:14.800


Nobody wants to rent them, no water view.00:57:14.800 --> 00:57:19.119


Um, and the problem is that they're coming to us now and saying, well, I can't do it in STR.00:57:19.119 --> 00:57:20.159


Can you put it in long term?00:57:20.159 --> 00:57:23.119


We say yes, but you're not going to get which you can't.00:57:23.280 --> 00:57:24.159


And get the same rate.00:57:24.239 --> 00:57:28.639


Yeah, anywhere close to the furnished people don't want furnished executive homes.00:57:28.639 --> 00:57:34.480


Uh there's there's but that happens, and I guess there'll be some shake out with with that.00:57:34.480 --> 00:57:38.000


But we've had some homes go from short term into our long term.00:57:38.000 --> 00:57:40.320


Um, and we've had to do some education on that front.00:57:40.320 --> 00:57:47.920


But to answer your question, the biggest one was I paid this, I was making this, now my home is not quite worth that.00:57:47.920 --> 00:57:50.159


Um, interest rates are high.00:57:50.159 --> 00:57:56.079


Um, and I'm not getting getting the gross uh revenues that I that I was accustomed to getting.00:57:56.079 --> 00:57:59.679


But that doesn't mean that that the OBX is a flop.00:57:59.679 --> 00:58:00.880


As a matter of fact, it's the opposite.00:58:00.880 --> 00:58:02.880


The OBX is still very successful.00:58:02.880 --> 00:58:06.880


It's just at the expectation level, big readjustment for some folks.00:58:07.199 --> 00:58:08.239


And isn't it interesting?00:58:08.239 --> 00:58:18.960


I mean, like we all talk about COVID and what happened all all the time, I feel like still, but it's hard to imagine that people don't remember like that was why things were the way that they were.00:58:18.960 --> 00:58:22.000


That it's like, you know, do I did you really think that was normal?00:58:22.000 --> 00:58:24.800


I mean, everything in your life was different at that time.00:58:24.800 --> 00:58:30.480


So, you know, that it for better or for worse, there are a lot of things that were different, and that was not gonna stay the same.00:58:30.480 --> 00:58:37.920


But it's like I hear that over and over that owners that are complaining because the rates aren't the same as they were in you know, 2020 to 21, 22.00:58:37.920 --> 00:58:41.840


You know, I think that's kind of when 23 things really started slowing down again.00:58:41.840 --> 00:58:43.280


But it's amazing.00:58:43.599 --> 00:58:43.840


Yeah.00:58:43.840 --> 00:58:49.199


And this market, it was pretty sticky through um July of 25.00:58:49.199 --> 00:58:54.320


Um, about middle of last year, because they still had that FOMO thing happening.00:58:54.320 --> 00:58:59.119


People couldn't get the home they wanted, 22, and they didn't get it 22, yeah, 22, they didn't get it 23.00:58:59.119 --> 00:59:00.960


Then in 24, there were some residuals.00:59:00.960 --> 00:59:03.920


Well, I still better book ahead because in 23 I couldn't get 20.00:59:03.920 --> 00:59:07.199


So in 25, we still saw people booking a year out.00:59:07.199 --> 00:59:11.760


Of course, you know, our dynamic pricing model is saying, you're a year out.00:59:11.760 --> 00:59:17.119


Not only are you gonna pay this, but we're gonna the system's gonna push you here.00:59:17.119 --> 00:59:22.960


Um, and that's and and and and that was great and it made sense, but it um it doesn't work that way now.00:59:22.960 --> 00:59:28.159


Now the system is saying, uh we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna adjust rates.00:59:28.159 --> 00:59:31.440


And we have we have um you know guardrails for that too.00:59:31.440 --> 00:59:34.639


But um yeah, it's it's a completely different paradigm.00:59:34.639 --> 00:59:39.280


Um on the real estate side, you know, it's the same, it's the same thing at play.00:59:39.280 --> 00:59:44.320


You know, the the people are putting their houses out there, but the but they're they're asking too much.00:59:44.320 --> 00:59:51.039


And then the homes sit out there and they don't sell, and then they've got to lower the prices and they've missed out on the opportunity to sell the property.00:59:51.039 --> 00:59:54.320


If you've bought or sold, you've heard that story from your broker, price it right.00:59:54.320 --> 00:59:58.079


And on the long-term stuff, well, I used to get $3,000 a month.00:59:58.079 --> 00:59:59.519


Well, you're not, no.01:00:00.159 --> 01:00:01.599


Yeah, yeah, that's not going to happen.01:00:01.840 --> 01:00:02.719


That's not happening.01:00:02.719 --> 01:00:06.719


Um, you know, they say, Well, I'm I'm I'm you know, I'm not making my payments.01:00:06.719 --> 01:00:13.280


You say, well, you know, you can get what we suggest, or you can get zero, you know, and that's the reality of it.01:00:13.440 --> 01:00:17.760


But realistic great risk, great reward.01:00:17.920 --> 01:00:20.000


It just uh sometimes takes time.01:00:20.000 --> 01:00:23.760


So yeah, it's an educational thing for sure.01:00:24.559 --> 01:00:30.480


Yeah, what a gosh, what a you've lived through a lot of it, but I I've got one one closing question, Tom.01:00:30.480 --> 01:00:38.159


If somebody was interested in in getting into vacation rentals and they were going to go in the operations field, what would be one piece of advice you'd give them?01:00:38.559 --> 01:00:43.840


As a guy with a liberal arts background, um, you can always learn the technical stuff.01:00:43.840 --> 01:00:48.079


So my answer to that is is don't go into it only knowing one thing.01:00:48.079 --> 01:00:51.119


Be willing to learn a lot and go in knowing a lot already.01:00:51.119 --> 01:01:03.679


And I'm not just talking about how to make a bed or how to price a house, but you need to understand things like, especially in our market, the cost of fuel, um, what other things are playing into uh the travel market.01:01:03.679 --> 01:01:05.039


Are you a drive-to-market?01:01:05.039 --> 01:01:07.519


Does international travel affect you at all?01:01:07.519 --> 01:01:11.920


So, so be broad-minded and then you can get into it.01:01:11.920 --> 01:01:13.679


You can learn the technical aspects.01:01:13.679 --> 01:01:14.960


If you have them, great.01:01:14.960 --> 01:01:21.039


But the big thing is is is is be willing to look at lots of different factors to help you make good decisions.01:01:21.039 --> 01:01:27.039


Um, just don't rely on one one set of one data set to to figure out what to do.01:01:27.039 --> 01:01:29.599


Get lots of opinions, watch lots of podcasts.01:01:30.159 --> 01:01:32.400


So, yeah, it's very sound and nice.01:01:32.400 --> 01:01:33.679


Yeah, yeah, yeah.01:01:33.679 --> 01:01:34.559


No, that's great.01:01:34.559 --> 01:01:35.280


I agree with that.01:01:35.280 --> 01:01:37.519


This has been so much fun, Tom.01:01:37.519 --> 01:01:39.119


Thank you so much for joining us.01:01:39.119 --> 01:01:44.320


It's I actually was I remembered when you said how it's it's six months on, six months, six months off.01:01:44.320 --> 01:01:50.079


I think I had asked you last July to come on the show, and you said, I'd love to, but not right now.01:01:50.079 --> 01:01:51.599


Like I just can't do it.01:01:51.599 --> 01:01:56.480


So I'm glad that we got uh we're in your off season right now as you're preparing for the busy season.01:01:56.480 --> 01:01:57.920


But thank you again so much.01:01:57.920 --> 01:02:02.639


If anybody wants to reach out, what's the best way for them to get in touch?01:02:03.199 --> 01:02:06.639


Uh Tom.stewart at resortrealty.com.01:02:07.119 --> 01:02:08.159


There you go.01:02:08.159 --> 01:02:09.440


Awesome.01:02:09.440 --> 01:02:15.519


Well, uh, if anybody wants to get in touch with Annie and I, you can go to alex and anniepodcast.com.01:02:15.519 --> 01:02:18.079


And until next time, thanks for tuning in, everybody.