What does it take to turn a 10,000-square-foot building into a thriving short-term rental that can host up to 42 guests? For Andrew Llewellyn, the answer included grit, rejection, and relentless problem-solving.

In this episode, Sarah and Annette sit down with Andrew to hear how he went from running ice cream shops and a food truck to becoming a real estate developer along Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. Andrew shares how he convinced a bank to back his vision (after 40 rejections), why he leans on parent-child listings to maximize occupancy, and the systems his team uses to pull off back-to-back turnovers for massive groups.

You’ll learn:

• How Andrew pivoted from muffins to multi-unit rentals during COVID.
• Why defining your ideal guest avatar matters for large group stays.
• How to set up parent-child listings that increase revenue and flexibility.
• What it takes to build cleaning systems that can handle 42-guest turnovers.
• Why direct bookings and SEO fuel long-term sustainability.
• Andrew’s hard-won advice for dealing with city regulations and securing financing.

This conversation is packed with inspiration and actionable strategies—whether you host a one-bedroom cottage or are dreaming about your own large-scale project.

Resources:

PriceLabs – Dynamic pricing software that automatically adjusts your rates based on real-time demand.

SuperStay STR – Andrew’s direct booking site for large group stays in Louisville, Kentucky.

Mentioned in this episode:

Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!

Hello, welcome back to another great episode.

2

My name is Sarah Karakaian.

3

Annette Grant: I'm Annette

Grant, and together we are.

4

Thanks for Visiting.

5

Sarah Karakaian: Let's start this

episode like we do each and every

6

week in this celebrating one of

you our dedicated listeners who's

7

heading on over to strshare.com,

8

giving us information about

your short-term rental so we can

9

celebrate you here on the podcast.

10

Annette, who are we sharing this week?

11

Annette Grant: Before I say

it, I liked how you said back.

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Sarah Karakaian: I, yeah, I was feeling

don't know what you fresh feeling.

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Annette Grant: I liked it.

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I liked it.

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Thank you.

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This week we are sharing Vista A-Frame.

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Sarah Karakaian: Ooh.

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Annette Grant: And one thing that

just caught my eye that I loved in

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their bio established 73, reborn 23.

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Sarah Karakaian: I loved that.

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Annette Grant: So here is

one thing that I think.

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We talk, we've talked about this so

many times, but I wanna reiterate it.

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Please start documenting in your story

before you ever are ready and before

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you think you have anything to share.

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Because this host and I go back, they

have all their before and afters and

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you guys, I just wanna share like their

first post, one comment, one comment.

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Someone just put fire emojis.

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Okay?

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So you have to start somewhere to their

pin post 20 comments now, you know, like

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you have to start somewhere and you have

to be willing to share your story before

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you're ready, um, and be willing to pivot,

be willing to maybe change the handle.

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You don't have to be so devoted.

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So I just wanna give a shout

out to Vista A-Frame, because

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A, they took this property.

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73 bought it and they have redesigned

all of it and they've showed their blood,

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sweat, and tears that they put into it.

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They've been sharing their story

and I felt an immediate connection.

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Okay, and you wanna go stay

there, so please start your story.

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And you know what?

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Even if it's like you didn't start it.

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First when you started, you can

go back, do those old throwbacks,

42

and show some before and afters,

tell the story about you buying it.

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It's never too late.

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Even if it's like you have that curated

feed and you wanna pop it in, or

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maybe there's something on your direct

booking site telling the story, um,

46

putting those old pictures in there.

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But I just really like when anyone

is authentic, shares their story.

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And that grabbed me

with the vista A-frame.

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I'm invested in them.

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I'm invested in what they are doing,

and I'm invested in their success.

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So the next thing I wanna

say though is give back.

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So just like Vista A-frame, they

reached out to us, they gave us, uh,

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their information via strshare.com,

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and we are now sharing them.

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So if you are gonna go and share

your space online, make sure to go

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in like a couple other short-term

rental host, heart their properties.

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It does matter.

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Okay?

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So if you're out there posting and

think, no one's responding to you,

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but have you given the love, have

you, um, supported someone else?

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It all comes back to you.

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There's a flow to it.

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So.

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And this is all flowing right now.

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Vista hopefully listens to our

podcast and they came to our website.

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It takes action.

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It takes action, and then it takes flow.

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It's all about like reciprocity here.

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So @vistaaframe, I'm gonna say it again.

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I'm gonna ask all of you go give them a

follow comment on some of their photos.

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Go stay with them.

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If you are in the Flagstaff, Arizona area.

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They've got some, I'm just gonna

tell you they've got some reels

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with some major views on them.

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Check 'em out, see what they're doing.

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They do a really nice job of showing

you all the seasons there and they

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just continue to highlight their

the A-frame ness of their A-frame.

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Sarah Karakaian: It's so cute.

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Annette Grant: Yes.

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But well done.

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Thanks for sharing.

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We can't wait to share one of

your properties soon, so if you

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haven't reached out, reach out.

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Sarah Karakaian: All right.

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I have a question for all of you.

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You had a project you

wanted to bring to life.

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Maybe you have one right now in

your brain and you called your

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favorite bank, asked them for a loan.

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They said, no.

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Annette Grant: Actually,

they say yes first.

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And you go, really?

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Do you go far down the

sure far down the runway?

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Sarah Karakaian: Yeah.

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And then they tell you no, but

let's just pretend they're being

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kind and telling you no upfront.

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And then you call the second

bank, then you call the third,

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then you call the fourth, and

then you're like, you know what?

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This probably isn't gonna happen.

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Four banks said no.

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When we tell you that today's guest went

through 40 banks to get the job done,

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that's when you know someone is dedicated.

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Someone wants to see it to the

other side, and that's exactly

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what Andrew Llewellyn did.

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Andrew is a, is now a real estate

developer who's turning old buildings

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into awesome short-term rentals

along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

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He, in his episode, he shares the real,

the behind the scenes journey, the wins,

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the setbacks, and everything in between.

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He is fun, he is relatable.

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He is in the thick of the day to day.

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Annette Grant: He was

really inspirational.

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Sarah Karakaian: He really

was, and he's delightful.

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And he, he experienced, again,

Colin, 40 banks and that, that's

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just one part of his story.

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And he's got another

project on the horizon.

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Annette Grant: And for

all of you out there.

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In his property, he can host up to

42 guests and believe it or not, he

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does a back to back same day turns.

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So talk about inspiring.

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He's got a system he's gonna share.

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Sarah Karakaian: Andrew,

welcome to the show.

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Let's dig in.

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What were you doing

before short-term rentals.

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Andrew: That's a really good question.

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I was running two ice cream shops

and I had a food truck with the

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same ice cream shop concept on it.

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And um, that was a blast.

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We had a ton of fun, um, always

just providing smiles and anytime

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someone was upset, we were

pretty sure it wasn't our fault.

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So.

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Annette Grant: Was it a franchise

or was it your own startup?

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Andrew: It was my own startup.

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So our, the concept just

quickly was like ice cream.

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And then we did the European liège

waffle, which is like a yeasted dough

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waffle with pearls of sugar in it.

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And um, it just happens to

be that those waffles and ice

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cream use the same toppings.

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And then you've got these, like

your one piece of equipment, one

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item, you get a whole new menu.

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And so then we were like, man, we

should just put that ice cream on top

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of the waffle and serve this thing.

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We came up with the name, the Waffle

Sundae, and, uh that was a ton of fun.

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The place was called Liège and Dairy, kind

of like legendary, but the Liège Waffle.

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So.

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Sarah Karakaian: Okay, so what

happened is, is it, did we sell it?

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Is it still happening?

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What, what's, what's going on?

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Andrew: Um, so well we, that's

a great segue into how I got

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into what we're doing here.

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Um.

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I during COVID of course, like classic

entrepreneur, I got super bored and I

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was like, there's not too much going on.

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The governor's like, you can't

have people in the restaurant.

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And then I had this chef that I really

liked that um, prepared a lot of the food

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for the ice cream shops and he was like,

I'm not getting as many hours as I need.

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And so I was going to coffee shops

and noticed they didn't have.

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Like muffins.

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And I was like, why?

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And they're like, our chef

can't deliver during COVID.

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And I was like, that's, I was

like, that's the worst thing

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I've ever heard in my life.

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I'll get you blueberry muffins.

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So I got my chef some more hours.

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We were making some money and so we

were doing kind of like basically

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Starbucks 'cause they're food.

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I knows short-term rental podcast.

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But,

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Sarah Karakaian: No, I love this.

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We're on the ADHD train.

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I'm bringing it back.

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Um, and so anyways, um.

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We, you know, we're like, this bakery

business is blowing up and we, uh,

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need to move outta the back of the

ice cream shop where we're doing this.

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And I called my dad and I was

like, Hey, we need to rent

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another place for this bakery.

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And he was like, I'm tired

of seeing you pay rent.

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I'll help you buy a building.

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And so.

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Um, I took him to the showing and it was

a 10,000 square foot building and had

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this little Airbnb on top two long-term

tenants and an office on the first floor.

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And he was like, this is

not what I was thinking.

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I was thinking this was like,

no, I was thinking like 2,500

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square foot little thing.

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And I was like, no, no, no.

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The Airbnb and the long-term tenants

will pay the mortgage on the place

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while we get the bakery going.

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And you know, that way.

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We've got some cash flow

on it, at least break even.

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And so he's like, okay, I get it.

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Not a bad idea.

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So we do this, buy the building.

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And we're starting to send

permits, building permits to

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the city to build a bakery.

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Well, the city had other ideas and

they wanted us to add a hood system.

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We had like a little

hood system for an oven.

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They wanted us to add a hood system

for like fryers in McDonald's.

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And.

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So that took our little, like

three, you know, $350,000 bakery,

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uh, to like over half a million.

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And I was like, I don't think I can

sell that many blueberry muffins.

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And I was like, I don't think this works.

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This might just be like,

uh, good money after bad.

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Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.

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Andrew: And.

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You know, in the middle of the

night I woke up at like four.

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Annette Grant: The muffin

math wasn't math on that.

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Andrew: The muffin math was bad.

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Yeah, yeah.

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Not that many people need to eat

muffins in Louisville and uh, so.

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Um, a buddy of mine that had one of

the original kind of 16 person call

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it large Airbnbs in Louisville, had

come on the tour with me and he had

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jokingly, well, I think he was joking.

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Um, he had said, you should Airbnb this

whole place, and ha ha ha, you're funny.

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10,000 square feet of Airbnb.

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Airbnb.

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That's crazy.

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That'll never work.

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And so now I'm like kind

of backed in the corner.

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I can't do this bakery.

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It's four in the morning and

I'm sweating and I can't sleep.

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So I go downstairs and I'm like, maybe

we should Airbnb the whole place.

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So I start looking up comps and sure

enough, by the, you know, maybe like 3:00

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PM that afternoon, I'm totally exhausted.

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But I built out like a financial

model of what the building would

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look like with Airbnb in it.

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And he was right, we

should Airbnb this place.

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So that's what we did.

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We took our bakery, build out money.

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We built two apartments on the first

floor in this retail space and the

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long-term tenants, they didn't wanna stay.

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So we furnished their places, gave

'em, you know, some nice paint.

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And then I had this idea where you guys

can pick up here is I was like, I think

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we could do large groups in this space.

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Annette Grant: And for all of

you listening right now, if you

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want to head on over to Andrew's

website, it's superstaystr.com

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I think as he's talking, it'll,

if you're, you know, if you're

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available to look it up, you'll

be able to understand the layout.

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Uh, we're gonna go through that with

Andrew here of what the property

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actually looks like, because Sarah

and I were doing a lot of, uh.

239

You know, studying before we jumped

on, and one of the things that Andrew

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does that we love and we teach so many

people is about parent child listings.

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So if you are listening to this

episode and you think, oh, this isn't

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for me, I don't host 42 guests, by

the way, is the amount of people

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that he can, um, have overnight.

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There is a huge lesson here for

you because parent child listings

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can work in most properties.

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Okay.

247

So, um, and we have a lot of other content

about that if you wanna look it up.

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But Andrew, you have the guest house.

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Mm-hmm.

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Which is 42 guests, 15

bedrooms, 21 beds, and 10 baths.

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Woo.

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That's the full property buyout.

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So that would be all 10,000

square feet, correct?

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Andrew: Yep.

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Annette Grant: You have the retreat,

which is in the same building, but.

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You know, some of the,

um, units withdrawn.

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So 24 guests, eight bedrooms, 13

beds, six baths on two floors,

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and then the estate, which is 16

guests, which be seven bedrooms,

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eight beds, four baths, one floor.

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Andrew: Yep.

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Annette Grant: Here is our

first question for you.

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First of all, 42 guest.

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Bless your heart.

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Okay.

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When you are doing the full buyout, do

you try to get the full 42 guest buyout?

266

Is that your ultimate goal

with the property first when

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you're with your calendar?

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Andrew: Um, yes.

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That listing is always my goal.

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Okay.

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And my calendars are actually blocked,

so, um, you can't book anything else.

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At, I think our retreat listing

opens up at like six months.

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Okay.

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Out, but anything past past

six months, uh, six months in

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perpetuity, um, is guest house only.

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Annette Grant: Okay.

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So that is the goal revenue wise,

is to do a full buyout of property.

278

Okay.

279

So six months out, you're like,

okay, maybe the 42 people have

280

probably already have their plan.

281

You'll open up the calendar for the 24.

282

What's the booking window then

when you're like, all right.

283

We gotta bring it back to the

estate, or I think you can even

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do less than that too, right?

285

Andrew: Yeah.

286

Um, so we have the, uh, the retreat

and the estate open up at like 90

287

days out, and then we hold those,

we hold all three listings open.

288

Um, and at 30 days then we open up our

individual listings because that's the

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booking window for smaller apartment

style Airbnbs and here's another like

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little inside baseball tip that we do.

291

We start just burning down the pricing

all the way to, I think we go to like $59

292

a night at like a couple of days before.

293

Um.

294

And we just, we just keep burning it

down until people, people take it.

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So.

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Annette Grant: We normally, we, we

normally say booked and blessed and

297

we try to keep the hold the floor, but

I You're burning it down and booked.

298

Andrew: Yeah.

299

Yeah.

300

We'll just, we'll just burn

that price down, you know?

301

Annette Grant: Um, well, hopefully that

probably doesn't happen that often.

302

You're in a very popular area, correct?

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Andrew: Yeah.

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Okay.

305

That's correct.

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Annette Grant: Now, if we would

take a year and, and these

307

are just, you know, numbers.

308

I know we didn't ask

you to prepare too many.

309

On average, how many nights does

the guest house, the full 42

310

guests buy out the entire building?

311

Andrew: Yeah.

312

Um, probably like a hundred nights a year.

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So most weekends.

314

Annette Grant: Okay.

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Yeah.

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Gotcha.

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Andrew: And then, and then

we're, um, so our typical, our

318

typical guest is not 42 people.

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Okay.

320

Our typical guest is, um, a

milestone event on the weekend.

321

So that's a bachelor party, a

sophisticated bachelor party,

322

not 22 year olds having a rager.

323

Right.

324

Uh, and then, uh, or if dad's 50th

birthday party, whatever it is, and then

325

during the week we do corporate retreats.

326

Mm-hmm.

327

So those, those, that guest

profile wants everyone in an

328

individual bed with their own room.

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Annette Grant: Nice.

330

That is nice.

331

Andrew: So we're like 15 guys.

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Annette Grant: Perfect.

333

Andrew: And maybe a

bachelor party is like 24.

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Sarah Karakaian: Gotcha.

335

How long have you been open for business?

336

Andrew: 20 we finished, um, the

concept fully out, fully built out.

337

It took us some time to do

it, uh, in November of two.

338

November of 22.

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Sarah Karakaian: 22.

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How has it been?

341

Has it been fun?

342

Has it been challenging?

343

What has been the best part of it?

344

That you didn't expect?

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Andrew: My favorite part is

meeting, uh, meeting the guest.

346

I love giving, I love meeting our, our

large groups of guys, whatever they

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are, and giving 'em a tour of the place.

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And the tour is like kind of amazed.

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Through the building, the way the

units connect and they're always

350

like kind of super confused.

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Like, I don't know, how do we

get back to the back porch?

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And, um, just learning about learning

about those guys and where they're from

353

and what they do for work and why they're

here, why bourbon's interesting to them.

354

Um, and you know, we've met some

really cool people and, um, it's

355

hard sometimes they, sometimes

they even request like, Hey, do you

356

want to come like, party with us?

357

And I'm like, well, no, that's

probably where the line is.

358

No, I'm good.

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Sarah Karakaian: But that's great.

360

You're connecting with your customer and

I'm using that word customer purposefully

361

because I think sometimes we forget

that they, our guests are our customers.

362

Right.

363

Did you, looking back at like past

Andrew, would you have ever, and

364

did you grow up in Louisville?

365

Andrew: Yes.

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Sarah Karakaian: Did you know you'd

be in hospitality in some respect,

367

or what was that journey for you?

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Andrew: Um, no, I never thought

I'd be in hospitality and I never

369

thought I'd be in restaurants.

370

You know, growing up dad was like,

you don't wanna run a restaurant.

371

That's like the worst thing ever.

372

And like, you definitely don't

want to be in hospitality.

373

And here we are, like, I've done both.

374

Yes.

375

So, um, Yeah, it's, it's, um.

376

I really like it.

377

Um, it's really rewarding and I

really like our, I really like our

378

types of customers that we attract.

379

Sarah Karakaian: Sure.

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Andrew: We've been really thoughtful

with, with the type of customer we want.

381

Sarah Karakaian: Mm-hmm.

382

You are very, and that was, I share with

everyone listening is that Andrew is very,

383

even when you've been talking just now,

very specific on who your guest avatar is.

384

Right?

385

That ideal customer that's really going to

enjoy your space, get the most out of it.

386

Did you know that from the beginning

that that would be the smartest thing you

387

could do is talk to one kind of person?

388

Or did that naturally happen because

you're also a gentleman and the

389

bourbon trail lends itself to to batch?

390

Like how did you make that connection

that that would be your ideal guest?

391

Andrew: Um, you know, I knew we needed

to like select a customer, but we

392

spent the first, I wanna say like 18

months just kind of renting to anyone

393

and everyone that would give us money.

394

And then kind of like making

notes about like, yeah.

395

Never again on like one of our,

here's one of our groups weddings.

396

I dislike doing weddings.

397

Like it drives me crazy.

398

It's unmet expectations.

399

Um, we just don't do well with them.

400

Mm-hmm.

401

And so anytime somebody with a

wedding comes to us, I'm like.

402

You can rent it, but don't call me.

403

Yeah, I can't help you.

404

Um, but, you know, uh,

dad's 50th birthday party.

405

Here's my personal number.

406

Annette Grant: Right?

407

So, so interesting.

408

Yeah, it's been because

expectations are different for that

409

Andrew: Uhhuh.

410

Yeah.

411

Um, so we've been really thoughtful

about what kind of guests we want to

412

attract and don't want to attract.

413

And, um, you know, for the listeners,

you can even go on our listings

414

and see our, our group units are

really about like, we can help you.

415

Um, and then our individual units are

like, this is a self guided vacation.

416

Like, you're probably gonna have

the worst Airbnb experience you've

417

ever had, but rent at your own risk.

418

Annette Grant: Um, well, what

I love here is, um, scroll.

419

Um, we're, we're looking at Andrew's site.

420

Everybody, while we're chatting with

him, one of the things that I love.

421

Is, you can tell he's really

catering to these groups.

422

One, one thing is he has like

book a free planning call today.

423

Number one, I love that you

wanna talk to this person.

424

Is this truly the guests that should

be booking the entire property.

425

Two, you have cl- a free gift to start

their party, like Ultimate Kentucky

426

Bourbon Trail Bachelor party starts here.

427

Everyone, you think Andrew is

not smart with his SEO, his

428

search engine optimization right

there that is killer by the way.

429

Nice.

430

Andrew: Yeah.

431

Thank you.

432

Annette Grant: And this is, I

mean, he has best trip ever group

433

chat, chaos to best trip trip ever.

434

Like he is.

435

Sarah Karakaian: The copy is clever.

436

Annette Grant: He is, taking guest on

this emotional like, yeah, they're right.

437

This group chat is going to be

absolute chaos until we lock

438

something in and turn it around.

439

So I just, I, I really do

encourage everyone, please go

440

to his website, check it out.

441

And, and there are, there are a lot

of lessons to, to learn here for sure.

442

And I love your, um, your experiences.

443

Can you share with us, this is one thing

we really haven't had too many, um,

444

guests on the show, corporate events.

445

Like you said, because of the separate

bedrooms, even Sarah and I have wanted to

446

do some, some retreats, but that's always

gotten a little like, what's the bathroom

447

situation, what's the bedroom situation?

448

So when someone from a

corporation reaches out to you.

449

So number one, do you do the outreach

or do you wait for them to come to you?

450

And then what are some things about

corporate retreats that similar probably

451

to weddings there's some different things

that you need to deal with with those.

452

Andrew: Um, so we're, we're

a tiny little team here.

453

Um, it's, it's two of us in the office,

and then I've got anywhere between

454

five and eight cleaners at any time.

455

So corporate outreach is,

is not, it doesn't happen.

456

Annette Grant: Okay.

457

Andrew: They really come to us.

458

Annette Grant: Okay.

459

Andrew: And when they do come to us,

um, we try to capture 'em and just

460

treat 'em like royalty and, um, do

everything we possibly can for 'em.

461

Now, the biggest differentiator we

found with corporate customers is um,

462

whether they're on a budget or not.

463

The guys that are not on budgets

don't have expectations and

464

they're, they'll just keep.

465

Exactly, they'll just keep paying.

466

But if, if somebody starts talking

about price and like, oh, we need to

467

hit this much per person, it's kind of

like, well, maybe we're not your place.

468

You know, it's like you're gonna be

looking at every little thing and, Um.

469

Annette Grant: Trying

to save on the budget.

470

Mm-hmm.

471

Andrew: Trying to save on the budget

and like, oh, you know, sorry, you know,

472

the, um, the whiteboard didn't get put

out, like our cleaning team forgot.

473

And like, that's a, that's a natural

disaster in their lives, um, where the,

474

where the other guys may not even call,

you know, that had an unlimited budget.

475

Annette Grant: Okay.

476

So, and the, um, when someone

calls like this free planning call.

477

Is it really a planning call?

478

Like what happens there?

479

Do do, I know your team is small, if

it's you or your teammate, like is

480

there, uh, a checklist that you go

through to like make sure they're the

481

right guest or what does that look like?

482

The, this plan, this free planning call?

483

Andrew: Yeah.

484

It's, it's a.

485

It's essentially a, a sales script.

486

Annette Grant: Okay.

487

Andrew: Uh, that she takes 'em through

and, um, basically it just call it

488

agitates the pain that they, they have.

489

Um, we really don't give 'em specifics.

490

We just try to kind of show them like

they have a problem and we have a

491

solution and, um, kind of sell them the,

uh, the dream, sell 'em the vacation,

492

and, um, don't talk to 'em about TSA.

493

Annette Grant: What's TSA, TSA?

494

Andrew: Like, like when you have to

take your shoes off at the airport.

495

Annette Grant: Oh, like the

details of, of does the security.

496

Andrew: The details, yeah.

497

Sarah Karakaian: No one

wants to hear about that one.

498

Annette Grant: I thought that I, what?

499

That was what we were talking about, but I

thought we might have went somewhere else.

500

Okay.

501

Next question.

502

Booking direct versus on the OTAs,

what's that percentage for you?

503

Andrew: Um, we could probably

do a lot better at that.

504

We're about 50 50.

505

Annette Grant: Okay.

506

50 50 though.

507

Yeah.

508

That's, that's pretty impressive.

509

Yeah.

510

Re repeat guests.

511

Andrew: Oof.

512

We could do a lot better at that.

513

We're, you know, people don't what

we found and maybe I'm just not good

514

at it and we could get better at it.

515

Maybe y'all have some tips for me.

516

But, um, people celebrating

milestone events, it's one and done.

517

So bachelor party, you know,

hopefully you don't have a second one.

518

Annette Grant: Well, hopefully

there might be other guys in

519

there that ha know someone.

520

Andrew: Yeah.

521

Or other guys.

522

Annette Grant: They brag about it.

523

I, I think that's where we actually

all hosts could do better is, yeah,

524

maybe they came for grandma's birthday,

but that doesn't mean that someone

525

else doesn't wanna, gonna wanna come

back just for a family vacation or

526

bring, um, a different party of people

back that didn't get to experience it

527

because they had such a great time.

528

So, um, I think.

529

You probably could do

a better job at that.

530

Um, yeah.

531

And the referrals that those people

could, um, could, could give.

532

Sarah Karakaian: I wanna talk to

Andrew about this renovation process

533

and the funding for the renovation.

534

What was that like?

535

Andrew: Oof, man.

536

That's, uh, that was a painful experience.

537

Sarah Karakaian: Can we re,

can we relive it with you?

538

Annette Grant: We've been looking through

the pictures, like this was not easy.

539

To, um.

540

Sarah Karakaian: Did you take down walls?

541

Like Yeah.

542

Talk us through all the things.

543

Andrew: Yeah.

544

Um, the renovation of this, I'm

actually sitting in it right now.

545

Um, the renovation of this building

was like, call your mama hard.

546

Like, there were times that I was

just like, I just had to call my mom.

547

You know, I'm like a grown

man and I had to call my mom.

548

And, uh, so I hope your

listeners are appreciated.

549

Annette Grant: I they're gonna love that.

550

I, I've never heard the

term call my mama hard.

551

Oh my gosh.

552

Andrew: Yeah.

553

So.

554

Yeah.

555

Annette Grant: All of the moms out

there actually are swooning right

556

now 'cause they hope that their

adult sons are still calling them.

557

Andrew: Yeah.

558

Yeah.

559

Annette Grant: When times get hard.

560

Andrew: Um, it was, it was excruciating.

561

Um, and.

562

It didn't help that I was still

running an ice cream shop.

563

I had approximately 20 high school

girls on staff that were supposed to

564

be scooping ice cream, and then I was

trying to manage construction workers

565

as well as the general contractor.

566

Annette Grant: And were you still

supplying muffins to all the coffee shops?

567

Andrew: We were still supplying

muffins to the coffee shops.

568

Yeah, it was a real low

point of entrepreneurship.

569

Sarah Karakaian: Oh, they're

the best, aren't they?

570

Andrew: But yeah, I'm so

much better for it now.

571

I wouldn't trade it.

572

Annette Grant: Yeah.

573

There we go.

574

Andrew: And I, I would.

575

I would push anybody that's serious

about getting into short term rentals

576

or doing this, like, I know we're

having fun here, but, um, I, I would

577

push them to go through the experience.

578

I mean, it just makes you grow as a

person and, um, you know, learning

579

how to communicate with learning how

to communicate what you want, what

580

your vision is, and, and getting

that across, uh, to somebody that

581

has the skills that you don't.

582

Um, it's pretty cool.

583

Annette Grant: Well, it must have not been

that bad because we, when we hopped on.

584

There's a new project underway.

585

Sarah Karakaian: There's a new, I

hired a general contractor this time.

586

Annette Grant: Oh, okay.

587

Sarah Karakaian: You didn't

hire one last time, Andrew?

588

Andrew: No, I did it myself.

589

That's why I was call your mama hard.

590

Sarah Karakaian: Wait, wait,

wait, wait, wait, wait.

591

Does Louisville not require like, 'cause

this is a commercial property, right?

592

Did you not have like

commercial restrictions or?

593

Andrew: Louisville has this weird,

um, loophole where you can, um, if

594

you own the property, you can get

this type B contractor license.

595

And I had gotten it before to

do, uh, my second ice cream shop.

596

So I had done like.

597

Sarah Karakaian: You knew that.

598

Andrew: So I was like,

yeah, I can do this.

599

But this was like, two apartments

was different than like a knee

600

wall and a couple of drains for

601

Sarah Karakaian: a

602

Andrew: sink.

603

Sarah Karakaian: Did you have,

did you have an architect

604

or an engineer on your team?

605

Andrew: Um, I had an architect.

606

Sarah Karakaian: Okay.

607

Andrew: Uh.

608

And he drew this, he drew the amazing

space out there on the fir first floor.

609

Sarah Karakaian: Okay.

610

Andrew: Um, and it wasn't until

we were like, had the place torn

611

out, that we learned that we needed

a mechanical engineer as well.

612

Sarah Karakaian: Oh yeah.

613

Andrew: I mean, we did the whole thing,

like as hard as you possibly could.

614

Sarah Karakaian: It is beautiful.

615

Andrew: Like we learned

the lesson at each stage.

616

Annette Grant: That's okay.

617

What if you could.

618

And help some other hosts out here.

619

Andrew: Yeah.

620

Annette Grant: With this large property,

if you could go back and change

621

something that's realistic, change that,

like now, you know, especially with

622

these large amount of guests, what,

what would you, what are you going to

623

do different on this next property?

624

Just because of the guest count

and making sure the hospitality is.

625

Andrew: Um, so this is actually

kind of probably like a deep cut

626

and maybe specific to Louisville,

maybe specific to other areas.

627

Um, I would bypass the short term rental

permit completely and just go to the

628

hotel and build and put the laundry room

and the three compartment sink and all

629

of the health department requirements

for a short, short term rental inn.

630

To just get off the radar of short-term

rental and participate with, um,

631

Marriott and all the flagged hotels.

632

Annette Grant: Okay.

633

Andrew: Uh, from a regulation standpoint.

634

Sarah Karakaian: Really?

635

Annette Grant: I see.

636

Sarah Karakaian: Okay.

637

What, what sort of pain points

are you feeling right now?

638

Because this property

is a short-term rental.

639

Andrew: Um.

640

We're just kind of like, we get lumped

into the short term rental category

641

and like we, we just kind of get the

angry neighbors that are like, the

642

list is public and it's like, hey, they

sleep 42 people and the limit is 10.

643

And then the city calls me and I'm

like, well, I can sleep 50 legally.

644

Do you need me to submit

the taxes five times?

645

Annette Grant: Oh, okay.

646

Andrew: Um, so it's like, it's that

kind of goofy stuff and just, yeah.

647

Annette Grant: Okay.

648

No, that's a really great

tip, because then you're like.

649

Sarah Karakaian: That's

not what I was expecting.

650

Annette Grant: Here's my,

here's my hotel shingle outside.

651

Come at me, bro.

652

Andrew: Yep.

653

Annette Grant: Like they're not

gonna be able to say anything when.

654

Andrew: And then here's, here's the other

thought with it that goes a little deeper.

655

Uh, even, um, you know, if they decide

to like regulate out short-term rentals

656

completely, and they're like, well,

you forget to pay your permit one time

657

at some year, you're done forever.

658

You know, there's no grace period.

659

Nothing.

660

We're not giving out anymore.

661

You're kind of dead in the water.

662

And so if we ever got that far from a

regulatory standpoint in Louisville.

663

We'd be done With this property.

664

And it would just be like 10,000

square feet of like nothing that we

665

couldn't really do anything with.

666

So, um, you know, I kind of look

at it and said, okay, you have a

667

whole bunch of hobby business owners

ish, you know, for the most part

668

Airbnb guys, um, you know, it's.

669

Usually not sophisticated.

670

There are some very

sophisticated people out there.

671

Um, do you want those guys that

can't even afford to call a lawyer

672

to talk about a lawsuit or do you

want to be with like angry neighbors

673

in Marriott that love lawsuits?

674

Um, and will just regulate it out?

675

So I was like, I kind of like

that hotel position better.

676

Sarah Karakaian: No, it's very thoughtful.

677

Annette Grant: That's

very, very thoughtful.

678

So will your new building, is

that the route that you're going?

679

Andrew: We're going with that route.

680

Annette Grant: Okay.

681

And we're, how far are we?

682

Well, let's, let's, let's talk about this

decision to do the next property 'cause

683

you just told us that was a low point in

your entrepreneurial career, but you're

684

coming back for more, so maybe we have to.

685

Talk off the mic about that, how

you like this punishment situation,

686

but why, so obviously do, do you

see this current property as a huge

687

success and you wanna repeat it?

688

Are you like, look, I've learned

a lot, I think I can do better.

689

Why the next property?

690

Give us all the, like, some of those

bullet points for that decision.

691

Andrew: Yeah.

692

Um, one of the main decisions was we have

basically squeezed as much, you know.

693

Squeeze as much juice out of

this thing that we have here

694

currently that we possibly can.

695

And we're kind of just getting into

like diminishing marginal returns.

696

Like I can write more and more

blogs, but I really can't push

697

the average daily rate up anymore.

698

And we already kind of are

like full on occupancy.

699

Um, so it's the next clear solution

is to go build another one.

700

Um, and I really like the, I

really like the niche that we,

701

that we play in of large groups.

702

It feels very, um, defendable from

a competitive standpoint, um, that,

703

you know, there's not a lot of people

that the bank will loan the money to,

704

to go do these types of properties

from an operational standpoint.

705

Sarah Karakaian: Yeah.

706

So why, why are they lending to you

and what was that experience like?

707

Getting the, was it a construction loan?

708

And then did you refinance.

709

Like what, what was that like?

710

Andrew: Um, so this one, this

property was, um, a construction loan.

711

It was small enough, um, that

the, the bank was like, sure,

712

we'll take a shot on it.

713

Um, and it, again, that

714

Annette Grant: Different time.

715

Andrew: So.

716

I remember getting an email from the

bank, I probably shouldn't say this

717

publicly, but I got an email from the

bank and they were like, Hey Andrew,

718

um, we've got a whole bunch of money

in the vault with your name on it.

719

And I was like, this is a joke.

720

Right?

721

And so, yeah, they were basically

just like handing money out.

722

Um, and so I don't think

that that would happen today.

723

No chance.

724

They would take a, they would

take a flyer on a, on a guy.

725

Annette Grant: Um, well, did you

have a relationship with them

726

though on the ice cream shops?

727

Andrew: I did not.

728

Annette Grant: Oh, really?

729

Okay.

730

Andrew: The, the banker was just kind

of a, a personal friend, acquaintance

731

that I had known for 10 years.

732

Annette Grant: But you did, but

see, you had a relationship.

733

We always like to tell everybody, I

mean, your net worth is your network.

734

And it might not have seemed like a

deep relationship with that person,

735

but they had known you for 10 years.

736

You'd done other businesses.

737

You still had those businesses

where you're going over another one.

738

So people take note of that.

739

You know, they are, as Andrew keeps

showing up, he's from this town.

740

He's, his face is about these business.

741

Those businesses didn't go under and

you were trying to do something else.

742

You know, you were like,

Hey, what's going on here?

743

So that's very interesting

that they, they would rather

744

lend to people that they know.

745

Also, I'm, I'm sure very interesting.

746

Andrew: Yeah relationships

and, and the mentorship you

747

get from those relationships.

748

Yeah, so this one, this one was a

construction loan into permanent loan.

749

Um, and it was, we hit it right

before the rates skyrocketed, so

750

we were super lucky in that aspect.

751

Um, and so, so that was, that was great.

752

My dad was actually surprised.

753

He was like, I don't think

you can get that loan.

754

And I was like, watch.

755

And, uh, so he was, he

was super proud of me.

756

And, um, so then, um, when we decided

to do the next project, um, I learned

757

a lot about right sizing the, um,

right sizing the bank to the project.

758

So as you get bigger and bigger, um,

you kind of need a bigger and bigger

759

bank that, that the risk of you

failing is about the same to them.

760

Annette Grant: Gotcha.

761

Andrew: So.

762

Sarah Karakaian: That's a good tip.

763

Andrew: You can't go to, you can't go to a

small community bank to do, to do a hotel.

764

Sarah Karakaian: Yeah.

765

Andrew: Um, so.

766

We ended up talking for the new project.

767

We talked to 40 banks,

um, to get one to say yes.

768

Sarah Karakaian: That's a great, and

we talk about that too, where people

769

feel that they get a no from bank,

one or two, or maybe even three.

770

That the, well, I guess we'll

just try something else.

771

And it's like, if you really believe

in it, and the math is mathing.

772

Annette Grant: You're like, Colonel

Sanders down there, how many people did

773

he go to for the, to accept the recipe?

774

It's like 999.

775

Andrew: Yeah.

776

Annette Grant: No.

777

Colonel Sanders was,

778

Sarah Karakaian: I did

not know that story.

779

Annette Grant: And he

was like 78 or something.

780

I'll have to fact check myself.

781

But legit.

782

Andrew: Colonel Sanders was like,

uh, over 65 when he started KFC.

783

Annette Grant: Did you think

you were gonna be compared

784

to Colonel Sanders today?

785

Andrew: Um, no.

786

That was not on my Bingo card today.

787

Sarah Karakaian: You never know.

788

We're gonna get here

and thanks for visiting.

789

Annette Grant: What let's, I'm,

let's just get it out there.

790

You're cleaning team though.

791

This is a beast.

792

Can you do a back to back turnover?

793

Does that happen in your world?

794

Andrew: It does.

795

Annette Grant: Woo.

796

Andrew: Almost mul- multiple times a week.

797

Sarah Karakaian: They've got it down.

798

Annette Grant: No.

799

Listen, I wanna say this, to all those

hosts out there that have to take a

800

day in between each reservation and

they're cleaners only clean on Tuesdays,

801

say what you just said again, Andrew.

802

Andrew: Don't believe it.

803

They clean every day.

804

They clean seven days a week

you can do back to back.

805

Like you just, you just

gotta get better at it.

806

Sarah Karakaian: Gotta get it done.

807

Andrew: Better cleaners.

808

Don't, don't have a flexible

sense of self with your cleaners.

809

Annette Grant: So, back to backs, like,

how do you incentivize your team though?

810

Like, let's say there was the bourbon.

811

Bourbon.

812

Boys went wild.

813

Okay.

814

Bachelor, even though it was

sophisticated, it, it turned

815

to a little sophist of funk

'cause a lot of dudes in there.

816

Andrew: Yep.

817

It's,

818

Annette Grant: How do you,

how do you incentivize them?

819

How do you get them fired up to like,

we gotta turn and burn this one down.

820

We gotta get it turned quick.

821

What do you do?

822

Andrew: So, um, let's go back

to relationships real quick.

823

I and, and mentorship.

824

Um, one of my dad's friends is a, is

a mentor and a friend of mine as well.

825

And he has a brain that's at least three

times the size of mine, and he gave me

826

a book called The Goal by Elliot Gold

Wrap and it talks about manufacturing and

827

this idea of throughput and bottlenecks.

828

So we, we had this same problem

that you are talking about with

829

like, oh, I don't think we can

do a full buyout to full buyout.

830

We need to put a day in between.

831

And we were doing that and I was like,

we are just leaving like thousands

832

and thousands of dollars on the table.

833

This is unreal.

834

And I was like, there's

gotta be a solution.

835

So, um, we had a checklist

and we started like.

836

Massaging that checklist.

837

And I was like, just put more, the

original solution was just put more

838

cleaners in there, so we had like six

or seven cleaners in here to do it.

839

And I was like, that's not

profitable, but it's slightly

840

better than not doing a night.

841

And so we ended up, I, I wanna

say it took us six, maybe eight,

842

12 months to, to get this system.

843

Now when we do a full buyout, clean over.

844

Um, one person does all 10 bathrooms.

845

One person does all 10 beds.

846

One person does the five kitchens.

847

Um, one person does, uh,

I forget what she does.

848

Uh, something, I'll have to

check the checklist and, um,

849

and then I have a floater.

850

Their job is to do all of the walking.

851

Because what we found was when

you're walking across 10,000 square

852

feet, you're just eating up time

and it's a function of time, right?

853

So one person, they, as the

bed maker, strips the beds.

854

They just throw it in the hallway.

855

And the runner, the first thing

they do is go put a new set of

856

sheets and towels at every room.

857

So when the bed maker gets

there, they have what they need.

858

And that they load up

the washing machines.

859

Annette Grant: Nice.

860

Andrew: So it's a, it's like an orchestra.

861

Sarah Karakaian: Systems save everything.

862

This is why they're so cool.

863

Annette Grant: Yeah.

864

Know.

865

It's so it.

866

Well.

867

Sarah Karakaian: They're so cool.

868

Annette Grant: The other part about

what Andrew said, and we just got

869

off several calls with a lot of hosts

today, and we just hear the words.

870

I'm overwhelmed, I'm confused.

871

And it's like you, you

have to be solution based.

872

And you just heard, I mean, you just

said it took six, maybe 12 months

873

to figure it out, but hasn't that

unlocked this next level for you?

874

You wouldn't have been doing this

current, this new project had you

875

not solved for that problem, right?

876

Andrew: No.

877

No, for sure.

878

We wouldn't be doing it and our cleaning

costs would be out of control and our,

879

our girls that come here and clean

for us would be stressed out and our

880

turnover would be higher and we wouldn't

be able to do, like, one of the fun

881

things I like to do with them is like,

they're here, like, let's just, I have

882

to eat lunch, so why don't I just get

lunch for everybody, like occasionally.

883

And we can sit around the, there's plenty

of dining room tables here, and so we

884

can sit around and, and just, you know,

chop it up with them for, you know, at

885

half an hour, 45 minutes, eat some lunch.

886

And, and they love it and

they feel appreciated and.

887

Um, you know, it's, it's special.

888

Sarah Karakaian: Building a team.

889

You have a team, you have a culture

that you are developing and, and you

890

didn't, we were reading an email today

from, you know, from a business, uh,

891

educator that we enjoy, and just saying

how you have to comparing it to the,

892

the amount of people, if you wanna

succeed, be a successful entrepreneur.

893

That you have to be the best and every

level that you wanna climb to, you have

894

to be better, okay than a thousand people.

895

And then what was the next level?

896

Like 30,000, 35,000 people?

897

In the next level.

898

And just thinking in that way, like, are

you, and if you think you're working hard,

899

you're probably not working as hard as.

900

Annette Grant: Are you an outlier?

901

Sarah Karakaian: Yeah.

902

As person next to you and right.

903

And so for you not to give up and be

tenacious is a really great example

904

of, and you probably know this next

project is gonna be hard, right?

905

Yes.

906

You have that experience.

907

It's gonna have a new, new

challenges, but the reward pays off.

908

Andrew: I had no idea

it would be 40 banks.

909

Annette Grant: Right.

910

Did you ever wanna quit though?

911

'cause I'm, you're telling me that and

I'm like, dang, that's a lot of rejection.

912

Andrew: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

913

I did want to quit.

914

Annette Grant: Yeah.

915

Seriously.

916

Andrew: It's a lot of rejection.

917

Annette Grant: It's a lot.

918

Sarah Karakaian: But you couldn't quit.

919

Like what was the, what

if you would've quit?

920

What have, what would you have

had to done sell the property?

921

Andrew: Well, so here was,

here's the interesting story

922

behind this new building.

923

We thought that the.

924

And, and let me go back

to right sizing the bank.

925

We went to the bank that we were going,

that we worked with on this property

926

and they were like, we love it.

927

We actually have passed on a couple

projects 'cause we knew you had one

928

coming up and we wanted to work with you.

929

And we got into it and they were,

and the board of directors said,

930

we're not going down that road.

931

It's too big for us.

932

It's pushing our, it's pushing our limits.

933

Um, we don't want to do it.

934

Well, we, they had helped us acquire the

building on a, just a, a two year note.

935

So I had the building and it was office

space with tenants in there that were

936

at half the market rent and no leases.

937

So, yeah.

938

So going in, I knew we were

gonna bleed for a little bit.

939

I didn't think we would be bleeding

for 12 months trying to find

940

another bank when they told us no.

941

Sarah Karakaian: Woo.

942

Andrew: Yeah.

943

Sarah Karakaian: You kept after it.

944

Annette Grant: So good.

945

Andrew: And, and so our choice was to

have this just dog of a property that

946

had been on the market for, I don't know

what it was on for like almost two years.

947

Annette Grant: Okay.

948

Well, you spoke about something earlier.

949

I wanna circle back to,

you talked about blogging.

950

I'm still, I'm looking at

your site, you guys please.

951

It's a masterclass right when Top

left corner, prime Real Estate, there

952

is a phone number that is trust.

953

I trust them right next

to it's their email.

954

Next, schedule a free call.

955

Next book.

956

Now next have any questions?

957

They have chat.

958

The trust that Andrew is, um, getting

across to his guests immediately is like,

959

we wanna talk to you, we wanna host you.

960

We're not gonna put any

friction between you having

961

questions and us answering them.

962

So please.

963

Take a look at that.

964

But the blogging is the new, you

said you kinda like, well wait,

965

we only get 365 days of inventory.

966

We're kind of maxed out there.

967

Why was blogging, why was the SEO

why was your direct booking site,

968

like when did, when did this become

a part of the important part of

969

your, of you owning this building?

970

Andrew: Um, it, it was, it was from the

get go and it was just kind of like, um.

971

Yeah, that's, that's a

very interesting question.

972

No one's ever asked me that.

973

Um, it came from w, uh,

a podcast or something.

974

I had listened to back when I had the

ice cream shop and they were talking

975

about Uber and Google and these tech

companies, how they create a marketplace

976

platform and they get both the users

and the suppliers on the platform and

977

then they just open up their margins.

978

Right?

979

And they did it with Uber

and we saw it with like.

980

When we first got into it, it was like

all the Uber drivers had like great

981

cars, and they were like super friendly

and they were making good money.

982

And you're like, man, this is so cheap.

983

And now you get in an Uber

and you're like, oh, I don't

984

know if I'm gonna make it.

985

And you're like, this is really expensive.

986

And the driver's, like, I,

I'm working for $3 an hour.

987

And so Uber has basically

taken the margin out of it.

988

And I was like.

989

Airbnb is Uber and I was like,

they're just gonna take the margin.

990

And so I was like, we have to get off

this platform, um, from the get go.

991

Annette Grant: Boom.

992

Love that.

993

Andrew: And um, so, and sure

enough, they have, we've seen it

994

over the past couple of years.

995

Sarah Karakaian: And they've been going

in on us the past eight months, you know,

996

just, it's been, just hit after hit.

997

Andrew: Mm-hmm.

998

Annette Grant: And I want everybody to

understand, um, you don't have to have a

999

42 guest property to blog about your area.

00:45:24,004 --> 00:45:28,519

You can have a one bedroom people

are, are searching for you.

00:45:28,519 --> 00:45:29,869

Your blogging matters.

00:45:29,869 --> 00:45:30,919

Your SEO matters.

00:45:30,919 --> 00:45:36,559

We're actually seeing it be

even more important now with AI

00:45:36,589 --> 00:45:43,789

because AI still needs to crawl

actual real content from us.

00:45:44,299 --> 00:45:44,629

Andrew: Yeah.

00:45:44,839 --> 00:45:45,349

Annette Grant: Okay.

00:45:45,529 --> 00:45:49,939

So luckily, I mean, if you haven't

started doing some sort of direct booking,

00:45:49,939 --> 00:45:56,809

any sort of content creation, whatever

that might be, you need to, um, and if

00:45:56,809 --> 00:46:00,169

you have been doing it, you're gonna

probably see, I bet you if I went to

00:46:00,169 --> 00:46:05,029

chat GPT right now, I'm sure you know

this, you probably come up super stays.

00:46:05,029 --> 00:46:11,119

If I put in bachelor party, Louisville, I,

I guessing you come up in chat GPT, right?

00:46:11,269 --> 00:46:12,104

Andrew: I, i'd hope so.

00:46:12,259 --> 00:46:14,419

Annette Grant: I would hope so too,

because you've put the, the work

00:46:14,419 --> 00:46:17,869

in here and what's so great too is

if anybody listening, if you have

00:46:18,109 --> 00:46:20,299

goals to add onto your properties.

00:46:21,364 --> 00:46:24,784

Think when Andrew gets this next

property up and running, there is gonna

00:46:24,784 --> 00:46:29,554

be so much rocket fuel on it because

he's already been laying the ground.

00:46:29,764 --> 00:46:31,214

The, the groundation.

00:46:31,234 --> 00:46:32,024

Sarah Karakaian: The groundation.

00:46:32,044 --> 00:46:33,604

Annette Grant: Wait, I

made a new word today.

00:46:33,664 --> 00:46:34,624

Sarah Karakaian: That is great, isn't it?

00:46:35,254 --> 00:46:35,944

That's our book.

00:46:35,944 --> 00:46:36,534

The groundation.

00:46:38,909 --> 00:46:41,224

Annette Grant: But, but

seriously, I think, um.

00:46:42,049 --> 00:46:43,399

Andrew: Well, let me

say this too about it.

00:46:43,609 --> 00:46:47,899

The, um, the customers, they,

they don't wanna book through

00:46:47,899 --> 00:46:49,279

Airbnb is what we're finding.

00:46:49,279 --> 00:46:55,099

Like the, the best customers are

actively using Airbnb to search and

00:46:55,099 --> 00:46:58,729

then to figure out how they can get

off the platform because they know

00:46:58,729 --> 00:47:03,439

that the, the fees are there and that

the price is definitely lower direct.

00:47:03,559 --> 00:47:06,799

I mean, the hotels have trained,

trained that if you go look at,

00:47:07,039 --> 00:47:09,409

you know, you can book on price

labs and it's usually pretty good.

00:47:09,409 --> 00:47:10,039

And then, or price.

00:47:10,759 --> 00:47:11,329

What is that?

00:47:11,389 --> 00:47:12,199

Annette Grant: Price line.

00:47:12,289 --> 00:47:13,189

It's called price, price line.

00:47:13,279 --> 00:47:14,479

Andrew: Yeah, price line.

00:47:14,749 --> 00:47:16,219

And it's usually pretty good.

00:47:16,219 --> 00:47:19,339

And then, you know, you go direct

and it's like a couple dollars lower.

00:47:19,339 --> 00:47:21,829

So like the customer's

been trained to go direct.

00:47:22,434 --> 00:47:24,529

Annette Grant: I, I have a question

that, this is so interesting what

00:47:24,529 --> 00:47:27,289

you just said 'cause we just, we just

got, we get this all the time too.

00:47:27,739 --> 00:47:29,119

You spoke about comps earlier.

00:47:29,539 --> 00:47:30,979

You just spoke about price Labs.

00:47:32,359 --> 00:47:34,369

Do you use dynamic pricing software?

00:47:36,039 --> 00:47:39,004

Andrew: Unbel- we, I use

every setting in that.

00:47:39,154 --> 00:47:41,974

Annette Grant: Listen, because

Andrew, we just got off a call.

00:47:42,034 --> 00:47:43,774

We get this every day from hosts.

00:47:45,064 --> 00:47:46,264

It doesn't work for me.

00:47:46,264 --> 00:47:47,104

I can't use dynamic pricing.

00:47:47,374 --> 00:47:48,784

I have a unique property.

00:47:48,904 --> 00:47:50,314

I don't have any competition.

00:47:51,544 --> 00:47:55,984

Now you like, we would still,

obviously you're using it, but like

00:47:56,374 --> 00:47:59,254

if anybody, you would be someone to

come with that, like, well, yeah,

00:47:59,254 --> 00:48:02,644

no one, no one can sleep, 42 guests.

00:48:03,184 --> 00:48:07,234

Can you please share why that

is such an important part of

00:48:07,234 --> 00:48:09,904

your business to everyone out

there that isn't using it yet?

00:48:10,469 --> 00:48:14,134

Andrew: Well, um, let me, let

me just start with this, uh.

00:48:14,554 --> 00:48:15,994

Your property is not that unique.

00:48:15,994 --> 00:48:18,304

Hospitality is fundamentally a commodity.

00:48:18,664 --> 00:48:20,254

Um, so.

00:48:20,369 --> 00:48:20,829

Sarah Karakaian: Mic drop.

00:48:21,509 --> 00:48:22,029

Andrew: A mic drop.

00:48:22,294 --> 00:48:23,344

Sarah Karakaian: I'm

just tired of hearing it.

00:48:23,344 --> 00:48:24,004

I love that.

00:48:24,004 --> 00:48:24,634

That's great.

00:48:24,754 --> 00:48:25,294

Say that again.

00:48:25,294 --> 00:48:25,684

Andrew: So.

00:48:25,864 --> 00:48:26,229

Sarah Karakaian: Say it again.

00:48:26,404 --> 00:48:27,184

Andrew: Uh, yeah.

00:48:27,364 --> 00:48:29,824

Hospitality is fundamentally a commodity.

00:48:30,384 --> 00:48:34,494

So, um, it's, you, your

yours is not that unique.

00:48:34,674 --> 00:48:38,184

Maybe you're a British seafood

restaurant in Palo Alto.

00:48:38,184 --> 00:48:41,844

Like that's my favorite,

uh, you know, comparison.

00:48:42,174 --> 00:48:44,964

Um, read that in a book,

but that's not original.

00:48:45,144 --> 00:48:45,684

But yeah, I mean.

00:48:46,744 --> 00:48:47,014

Cool.

00:48:47,014 --> 00:48:49,144

You're unique, but no

one wants to go to you.

00:48:49,414 --> 00:48:52,234

Like, yeah, my theme is Betty Crocker.

00:48:52,234 --> 00:48:54,604

It's like nineties Betty

Crocker accessories.

00:48:54,604 --> 00:48:55,534

Like, yeah.

00:48:55,534 --> 00:48:57,664

You've, you're, you

got a monopoly on that.

00:48:59,284 --> 00:48:59,734

Sarah Karakaian: So good.

00:49:00,274 --> 00:49:03,424

No, and we're not, you know, listen,

we say this because we want to help

00:49:03,424 --> 00:49:05,494

hosts, and it's like, let us help you.

00:49:05,494 --> 00:49:05,884

Annette Grant: Right.

00:49:05,949 --> 00:49:06,449

Let us help.

00:49:06,454 --> 00:49:06,814

Exactly.

00:49:06,814 --> 00:49:07,924

You we're saying this.

00:49:07,924 --> 00:49:08,944

Yes, absolutely.

00:49:08,944 --> 00:49:13,274

From a heart of like, this

technology exists for all of us.

00:49:14,044 --> 00:49:17,584

To Uplevel and to help everybody

make more money, truthfully.

00:49:17,584 --> 00:49:17,644

Yeah.

00:49:17,674 --> 00:49:21,514

And when, when we hear these statements,

we just like, we, it, it pains us

00:49:21,514 --> 00:49:25,324

because we know for a fact those are

the hosts that are leaving money.

00:49:25,384 --> 00:49:26,104

Sarah Karakaian: They're in their own way.

00:49:26,104 --> 00:49:26,674

Annette Grant: On the table.

00:49:26,674 --> 00:49:26,944

Yes.

00:49:26,944 --> 00:49:29,074

They're in their own way by thinking.

00:49:29,689 --> 00:49:30,769

Um, that they're.

00:49:30,769 --> 00:49:34,909

Andrew: I mean, you, you, if you're gonna

be successful in this, in this business

00:49:34,909 --> 00:49:39,529

and in this industry, you have to use

the, you have to have dynamic pricing

00:49:39,529 --> 00:49:43,819

because the, the supply and demand

changes every single day of the week.

00:49:43,939 --> 00:49:46,519

There's different events

happening in every city.

00:49:46,909 --> 00:49:52,459

Um, and the, the pricing software

is a, an amazing tool to easily

00:49:52,459 --> 00:49:53,629

get to where you need to be.

00:49:54,594 --> 00:49:55,999

Sarah Karakaian: Yes, yes.

00:49:56,029 --> 00:49:57,139

Andrew: We have a weekly meeting.

00:49:57,889 --> 00:49:59,779

Over, over pricing.

00:49:59,869 --> 00:50:02,809

Sarah Karakaian: Yeah, because it's

it's essential to your business.

00:50:02,809 --> 00:50:02,849

Annette Grant: It's the life blood.

00:50:02,849 --> 00:50:02,879

Sarah Karakaian: Yeah, it is.

00:50:02,879 --> 00:50:03,259

It's the pulse.

00:50:03,289 --> 00:50:03,469

Okay.

00:50:03,469 --> 00:50:07,489

I cannot let this episode end without

asking you my number one question

00:50:07,489 --> 00:50:08,539

that I haven't got to ask you yet.

00:50:09,379 --> 00:50:13,009

Hosts are terrified of

hosting large parties.

00:50:15,199 --> 00:50:18,409

What, what's your secret

sauce to this place?

00:50:18,409 --> 00:50:19,729

Still standing today.

00:50:20,209 --> 00:50:21,709

Hopefully it still smells great.

00:50:22,059 --> 00:50:23,579

Annette Grant: You

actually invite parites.

00:50:23,599 --> 00:50:25,689

I mean, you're inviting

people to come party.

00:50:25,689 --> 00:50:25,699

Sarah Karakaian: Yeah.

00:50:25,699 --> 00:50:26,419

You're actually come big groups.

00:50:26,419 --> 00:50:27,679

Let's go gentlemen.

00:50:27,679 --> 00:50:28,969

Let's have a bachelor party here.

00:50:29,909 --> 00:50:32,059

Tell us the good, bad, the ugly.

00:50:32,749 --> 00:50:33,139

Andrew: Yeah.

00:50:33,199 --> 00:50:40,639

Um, just a, a really, you know, selecting

good guests, vetting guests, uh, talking

00:50:40,669 --> 00:50:44,359

to them, understanding what they're

looking for, what their expectations

00:50:44,359 --> 00:50:46,939

are, why they're coming to Louisville.

00:50:47,599 --> 00:50:49,489

Are they from Louisville?

00:50:49,699 --> 00:50:50,749

Big Red flag?

00:50:51,019 --> 00:50:55,549

No, probably not gonna stay here,

um, unless you're 65 years old.

00:50:56,029 --> 00:51:03,134

Um, and then, um, and then just a

really, um, firm set of house rules.

00:51:04,564 --> 00:51:08,854

With fines attached to each each

house rule to kind of set the

00:51:08,854 --> 00:51:10,204

expectation on the front end.

00:51:10,504 --> 00:51:12,724

Like, yes, you can come here and party.

00:51:13,174 --> 00:51:15,904

Um, I know you're probably

gonna spread apart the dining

00:51:15,904 --> 00:51:17,554

room tables and play beer pong.

00:51:18,034 --> 00:51:22,594

Um, but if you don't clean that

up to some normal extent where my

00:51:22,594 --> 00:51:26,734

cleaning girls are here, um, this

is what you're gonna be charged.

00:51:26,794 --> 00:51:30,814

And if you decide you're gonna,

um, turn my place into an ashtray.

00:51:31,444 --> 00:51:33,094

Um, this is gonna be the charge.

00:51:33,364 --> 00:51:38,674

Uh, so just really clear

expectations and, um, but first and

00:51:38,674 --> 00:51:41,914

foremost, vetting good guests and

understanding who's staying there.

00:51:42,064 --> 00:51:44,134

Annette Grant: Do you make sure

these larger guests, do you have a

00:51:44,134 --> 00:51:46,774

phone conversation or someone on your

team with every single one of them?

00:51:47,539 --> 00:51:49,579

Andrew: 60%, 60, 70%.

00:51:49,699 --> 00:51:55,279

And usually, usually we can tell through

some, we usually have some communication

00:51:55,279 --> 00:51:58,339

with them through the extra experiences.

00:51:58,399 --> 00:51:58,489

Annette Grant: Mm-hmm.

00:51:58,969 --> 00:51:59,239

Right.

00:51:59,239 --> 00:52:01,369

Andrew: And then our price

point kind of mm-hmm.

00:52:01,369 --> 00:52:02,559

Weaved out as well.

00:52:02,709 --> 00:52:03,219

Annette Grant: Exactly.

00:52:03,919 --> 00:52:04,279

Great.

00:52:04,579 --> 00:52:06,319

No, this, this is awesome.

00:52:06,349 --> 00:52:11,314

Um, the, the last question that I

have is you do have experiences.

00:52:11,344 --> 00:52:13,354

You do have upsells on here.

00:52:13,564 --> 00:52:15,094

Can you walk us through a little bit?

00:52:15,094 --> 00:52:18,184

Do you partner with people

and then is that a rev share?

00:52:18,574 --> 00:52:19,534

How does that work?

00:52:19,534 --> 00:52:19,594

Um.

00:52:20,509 --> 00:52:21,919

Upsell rev share wise?

00:52:22,189 --> 00:52:23,449

Andrew: Yeah, that's a great question.

00:52:23,479 --> 00:52:26,959

Um, uh, you know, I've mentioned here

we're, we're a small team, so we really

00:52:26,959 --> 00:52:31,549

can't, we have to be careful about what

we take on and, and, uh, don't take on.

00:52:31,819 --> 00:52:36,829

But, um, everything we do, we

look through the lens of can

00:52:36,829 --> 00:52:37,939

it be done from a keyboard?

00:52:38,269 --> 00:52:43,669

So all of our extra services are provided

by, um, vendors that we've, uh, vetted.

00:52:44,419 --> 00:52:48,559

And we know that they can perform,

um, and we don't have to babysit them.

00:52:48,564 --> 00:52:48,574

Mm-hmm.

00:52:48,784 --> 00:52:49,014

So, okay.

00:52:49,729 --> 00:52:54,499

And then we, we usually put a, uh, a

markup on top of whatever they charge.

00:52:54,619 --> 00:52:55,099

Annette Grant: Nice.

00:52:55,609 --> 00:52:56,149

I like that.

00:52:56,359 --> 00:52:57,529

Can it be done through a keyboard?

00:52:58,309 --> 00:52:58,609

Andrew: Yeah.

00:52:58,639 --> 00:52:59,239

Annette Grant: Interesting.

00:52:59,749 --> 00:53:04,639

Anything you wanna share with hosts,

um, where they can find out more?

00:53:04,639 --> 00:53:08,829

I think I gave your website

earlier, the superstaystr.com.

00:53:09,049 --> 00:53:10,609

Anything you wanna

share with hosts though?

00:53:10,669 --> 00:53:13,819

Just a word of encouragement

or let them know.

00:53:14,344 --> 00:53:15,394

Andrew: Keep, keep going.

00:53:15,514 --> 00:53:16,744

Keep working it to the bone.

00:53:16,954 --> 00:53:21,154

Um, you know, wake up every

morning, ready to, ready to start

00:53:21,154 --> 00:53:23,399

swinging and, um, don't give up.

00:53:23,989 --> 00:53:26,809

You know, there's, there's, uh,

there's, there's something magic

00:53:26,809 --> 00:53:28,369

in, in everyone's property.

00:53:28,369 --> 00:53:31,069

Everyone's property is unique in some way.

00:53:31,579 --> 00:53:39,649

Um, it may not be, uh, it, it'll work

on Price Labs and, um, um, but uh, yeah.

00:53:39,649 --> 00:53:43,879

And then, and then if you want to

follow, um, my new project that we have

00:53:43,879 --> 00:53:47,959

going on, uh, in downtown Louisville,

you can follow me on all the socials.

00:53:48,049 --> 00:53:49,509

I am Andrew Llewellyn.

00:53:49,909 --> 00:53:54,919

And, uh, we're gonna be doing, uh, weekly

updates on YouTube and stories and.

00:53:54,979 --> 00:53:55,249

Sarah Karakaian: Cool.

00:53:55,939 --> 00:53:56,209

Andrew: Yeah.

00:53:56,269 --> 00:53:56,389

Sarah Karakaian: Awesome.

00:53:56,389 --> 00:53:58,339

When, when is it gonna

open the new project?

00:53:59,209 --> 00:54:00,899

What do we think?

00:54:00,899 --> 00:54:04,219

Andrew: I still have guys in there like

tearing out the walls from the office.

00:54:04,369 --> 00:54:04,429

Oh, okay.

00:54:04,429 --> 00:54:05,899

So we're like months and months away.

00:54:06,159 --> 00:54:06,749

Annette Grant: Okay, okay.

00:54:06,869 --> 00:54:09,739

But everyone, if you are

planning a milestone trip.

00:54:10,069 --> 00:54:14,389

Or someone around you is please

reach out to Andrew and his small but

00:54:14,389 --> 00:54:16,969

mighty team and support each other.

00:54:16,969 --> 00:54:17,449

Sarah Karakaian: Book your stay.