Behind the Stays Sponstayneous

Meet Alex Alioto, Co-Founder and Head of Growth at Whimstay, the Hotel Tonight for Vacation Rentals.
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Alex had dreamed of being a wide receiver for the 49ers — he was the kind of kid you’d find walking around the grocery store sporting a helmet and a jersey even when it wasn’t game day.
While his dreams of playing in the NFL never came to fruition, Alex did wind up playing in another arena — he studied theatre at the University of Michigan and spent nearly a decade as an actor in New York City. 
And, believe it or not, this was all a precursor to Alex finding his way back to the Bay area to work at early-stage, high-growth startups.  After 7 years of helping Yelp become a household name, Alex met his cofounder, Ben Jamshahi, and the duo began building Whimstay. 
In this conversation, Alex and I discuss:
The massive market that exists for last-minute travel
The locations that Whimstay sees the most spontaneous travel to
The biggest differences between Whimstay and other OTAs like Airbnb and Vrbo
How Whimstay negotiates exclusive discounts with professional property managers 
What the next generation of travelers is looking for from travel brands
And so much more
Learn more about Whimstay
Connect with Alex on LinkedIn 
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Can Monkey — the Uber for Trash Service for your Short-Term Rentals. 
Can Monkey ensures that the trash cans at your Airbnbs are moved to the curb and back promptly on collection day so that if you’ve got a same-day turnover your new guest arrives to a clean and empty trash bin.
And for those unexpected situations, like a guest leaving behind excess trash or an unexpected mid-week turnover, their OnDemand trash removal enables you to book a CanRunner (cool name huh?) to immediately come and remedy the situation. 
For just $49/month per property, Can Monkey will pick up and return both your trash and recycling cans on your home’s pick up days  No hidden costs. You are never locked into a contract. And whether you’ve got one property or 100, Can Monkey can have you up and running within a week. 
To learn more about why hosts love this Uber for trash solution, head on over to CanMonkey.com and submit the form on the home page to get more information about how Can Monkey can help you.  Oh, and if you do, be sure to mention that Zach from Behind the Stays sent you there way and you’ll qualify for an exclusive discount off of your first month of using Can Monkey.
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Justin and Rebecca Rush, the creators of the River Rock Cabin on the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Justin and Rebecca are real estate photographers who had always dreamed of one day building their very own Airbnb…long after they had built their primary dream home, of course. 
One day Justin got a text from one of his clients about a piece of land that was for sale along the Toccoa River.  Justin assumed the call was a request to go take pictures of the lot, but his client asked him if HE wanted to buy it…he knew how much Justin and Rebecca loved the area…
Once Justin figured out he wasn’t joking he immediately said, “yes”...
There was only one problem — the home was only permitted for a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom which was too small for the primary residence they were hoping to build.
But the land was WAY too beautiful to pass up and that’s when the idea of building a unique cabin into the side of the mountain that overlooks 300 feet of private river frontage was born. 
In this conversation, you’ll discover: 
How Rebecca and Justin build a stunning cabin on the side of a mountain during COVID
How they got inspiration from Levi Kelly’s YouTube channel for their build — and the story behind how Levi wound up coming to the cabin the month after it opened
How they financed the build 
Their honest thoughts on the cons of direct booking 
Some ideas they have for modernizing RV parks as a next project
And so much more
Book a stay at the River Rock House
Follow the River Rock House on Instagram
This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA
Want to see if a Treehouse resort in Dubai pencils?  You can do so in AirDNA.
Want to buy land in Ontario to build a Glamping resort?  AirDNA will show you how other, comparable products are performing in the region.
Or maybe you’ve already got your stay up and running and you want a better understanding of how your Airbnb compares to others in the market?  You can connect your listing to AirDNA and get accurate nightly pricing recommendations based on real-world, real-time demand.
AirDNA is the key you need to unlock the insight behind what it’s going to take to bring those big dreams you have to life.
Pay just $25/month and access ANY market in the world — AirDNA is cheaper, faster, better, and stronger to use than ever before. 
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.
 

Mike Hicks, the founder of Wander Chatt, a collection of unique stays across Chattanooga, TN and beyond.
Mike started his entrepreneurial journey at just 19 years old after dropping out of college to learn how to work for himself.
Mike got a job with a real estate developer helping to clear lots and doing an array of labor-intensive construction tasks.  Mike worked long hard days for this developer but after work Mike and the rest of the crew would be invited out to go fishing.
And it was during these moments that he started asking questions…how do you determine a good deal?  What should you look for when purchasing a lot? Etc.
In this conversation Mike and I discuss:
How he bought his first house as a 19 year old
Why he moved into short-term rentals after nearly two decades of buying, renovating, and renting traditional long-term rentals
Why he pivoted away from traditional vacation rentals and went all in on unique stays when founding Wander Chatt
How he “interviews the land” before buying a lot
His thoughts on the biggest opportunities for hospitality entrepreneurs today
And so much more
Book a stay at Wander Chatt
Follow Wander Chatt on Instagram
Connect with Mike on Instagram
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno. 
Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts. 
Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you. 
Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property.
Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning. 
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Brian Meyer and Selly Butler — the founders of FLOHOM a new hospitality start-up that offers stunning, on-the-water stays in marinas across the mid-Atlantic.
Selly is a serial entrepreneur whose latest venture is in the marina business. One day Selly received a call from an enthusiastic entrepreneur who asked to place Oysters in his marina as part of a water purification and protection nonprofit that he was running. 
This enthusiastic entrepreneur?  Well, yes, it was Brian Meyer.
And while the two couldn’t have known it at the time, this one phone call would change the course of both of their lives forever.
In this conversation, you’ll hear Brian, Selly, and I discuss:
Where the idea for FLOHOM came from
How hard it was to get the necessary permits to be able to rent a floating home that’s also a houseboat as a short-term rental
What their go-to-market strategy for FLOHOM has looked like so far
The new economic potential businesses like FLOHOM can generate for marinas
How they’re thinking about franchising and brand licensing 
Why they are vertically integrated
The kinds of investors they’re looking for to join them on this journey
And so much more
Book a FLOHOM
Follow FLOHOM on Instagram
This episode is brought to you by Posh Outdoors.
Posh Outdoors  supplies owners of iconic properties and stunning land with high-end glamping accommodations and backend support, at no up-front cost to the landowner — and the way they make their money is through an attractive revenue share model once your unit is ready for hosting. 
Posh Outdoors is doing something really revolutionary — they are making it easy for you to invest in luxury glamping as an entire asset class rather than an individual glamping resort. 
As a Behind the Stays listener, you can become an early investor in this company for as little as $100. 
You can learn more about Posh and all the deets surrounding this early investment opportunity by visiting https://posh.dealpage.io or sending an email to nick@posh-outdoors.com. 
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Mark Lumpkin from STR Cribs — the leading one-stop-shop for renovating, designing, and fully-furnishing a short-term rental.
Mark is an innovative entrepreneur who has worked on nearly 600 renovations transforming run-of-the-mill homes into bespoke, scroll-stopping stays. 
In this conversation, Mark and I discuss 
How thematic short-term rentals can be a great way to compete against unique stays when your STR is a condo or single-family home
Why more hospitality entrepreneurs should create experiential stays for families not just couples
The most impactful and least impactful renovations you can do when getting your home ready to list on Airbnb
The most under-rated markets for thematic stays
 Hot takes on AI and the role it should and shouldn’t play in hospitality
And loads more 
Connect with Mark
This episode is brought to you by Posh Outdoors.
Posh Outdoors  supplies owners of iconic properties and stunning land with high-end glamping accommodations and backend support, at no up-front cost to the landowner — and the way they make their money is through an attractive revenue share model once your unit is ready for hosting. 
Posh Outdoors is doing something really revolutionary — they are making it easy for you to invest in luxury glamping as an entire asset class rather than an individual glamping resort. 
As a Behind the Stays listener, you can become an early investor in this company for as little as $100. 
You can learn more about Posh and all the deets surrounding this early investment opportunity by visiting https://posh.dealpage.io or sending an email to nick@posh-outdoors.com. 
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.

Meet Whitney Hansen, the creator of The Flower Pot, a truly spectacular, one-of-a-kind experiential stay in Burley, Idaho.
Whitney has always been entrepreneurial — she owns her own consulting business, she hosts a podcast on investing and financial freedom called The Money Nerds, and is now also a hospitality entrepreneur.
After building one of Idaho's only geodesic domes and seeing it perform remarkably well on Airbnb, Whitney began dreaming of what her next build might look like — would it be an A-Frame?  A Treehouse?  A Pirate Ship?
And then she had a crazy idea…her family owned some farm land in Burley and her mother nurtured a beautiful flower garden on the plot.  What if, she thought to herself, what if we created a giant flower pot that folks could stay in?
And while the idea sounded totally crazy at the time it didn’t sound that crazy to Airbnb. That’s right, Whitney wound up being a winner of Airbnb’s OMG fund and got $100,000 from the company to help her bring the project to life.
In this conversation Whitney and I discuss: 
How she heard about and ultimately won Airbnb’s OMG contest
What it cost to bring this unique stay to life
Some of the hardest aspects of owning and operating unique stays that not enough people talk about
How the Flower Pot has performed as an investment so far
Ideas she’s cooking up for her next build
And so much more
Book The Flower Pot
Follow The Flower Pot on Instagram 




This episode is brought to you by our friends at Turno. 
Turno is the smartest way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners — think of Turno as an Uber or Task Rabbit for STR hosts. 
Simply create an account, describe your listing’s cleaning needs, and Turno will match you with cleaners near you. 
Turno offers simple, affordable pricing for STR hosts of any size. Single property accounts and Marketplace users get access to all the platform’s tools and features for FREE. And they make working with your existing teams easy too, with plans as low as just $6/month per property.
Learn more and earn a $150 Amazon Gift Card after you complete your first cleaning. 
Have you signed up for Ping yet?
Ping makes it easy for guests to be notified when their favorite Airbnbs become available — and it's the secret tool the best Airbnb hosts use to maximize bookings.
Sign up today at bnbping.com
About the Show
Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  
You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 
Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.