[00:00:05] Speaker A: Welcome to the Short Term Show. The show about short term rentals and long term wealth with real property owners hosting real properties who are crushing it in the vacation and short term rental space.
And here's your host, Avery Carle.
[00:00:28] Speaker B: Hey y'all. Welcome back to the Short Term Show. I'm your host, Avery Carle. Got a couple announcements. Today you can buy my new book, Smarter Short Term Rentals anywhere books are sold. So Barnes and Noble Books, a million Amazon, all those places, or the BiggerPockets
[email protected] smarter strs. Thank you very much for reading it. Also, the Short Term Shop is hiring in Orlando, Myrtle Beach, North Carolina, and not Myrtle beach as in it's in North Carolina in Myrtle beach and North Carolina and also the Shenandoah area. So shoot us an
[email protected] if you're an agent in those areas or really in any vacation market. Careershortermshop.com if you are an agent interested in joining the Short Term Shop. Now, without further ado, we will go ahead and introduce our guest today, Kate Almeida. And I have, I'm so excited to, to interview her because she's got a really cool backstory. So I'll ask the questions and I'll let Kate tell you about it herself. How's it going, Kate?
[00:01:30] Speaker C: Cool. Going great.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: All right, well, tell us a little bit about yourself, how you, what your background is and how you got into short term rentals.
[00:01:40] Speaker C: Sure. Yeah. So I've kind of always had this mission, this very specific mission to connect people through creative spaces. And that kind of began when I was 18, managing concerts, like putting on concert events in my hometown and for my College. And by 20, I was out on the road tour managing for, on the Vans Warped Tour, if you've ever heard of that.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: Oh, yes, I have played on the Vans Warped Tour. Oh, really?
Yes.
And ages ago, in another lifetime.
[00:02:16] Speaker C: That's amazing. Yeah, yeah, I was on, yeah, I was on the tour. It was basically like my summer job when I was in college. I love that. 2009 through 2012.
And I managed non profit sponsors on the tour. Oh, cool. So that was so much fun. I absolutely loved being a part of that and like, you know, basically helping to set up a city every day in a different, different location and meet all these new people and just connect with so many people. And then in, let's see, 2014, I found out about Airbnb. A friend of mine actually made a comment that my apartment quote looked like an Airbnb and I Was like, what is that? I looked into it and books and stays. And then I decided I wanted to host. So I purchased my first property in 2015 and just started with a private bedroom in my own primary residence. Totally fell in love with it. Decided I wanted to do that all the time.
So I moved out to San Diego to pursue that dream. Ended up quitting my 9 to 5 marketing agency job and doing that full time for about four years.
Ended up moving up to San Francisco where I worked out of the global headquarters for Airbnb as a host advisor.
And then Covid happened.
Yeah. And I ended up moving back home to Virginia and basically taking everything that I learned from California and just like bringing it back home. I became a full time Airbnb ambassador at that point. And that's basically what I've been doing ever since. So I've helped onboard.
I almost, maybe I might have already reached. I need to check again. But about 1300 new hosts all around the world in the past five years. So it's been really fun and fulfilling. I love helping new people start their own furnished rental businesses.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: Fear not saturation.
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[00:04:58] Speaker B: Love it. So let's talk about the units that you, you have. So what's in your portfolio right now?
[00:05:04] Speaker C: Yeah, so currently I have two guest houses in my backyard. We have 12 acres. So I, I'm actually in one of them right now. I have. This is a guest house and then I have an ADU which are. They're slightly separate here. I know different space, like different cities have different definitions of guest houses and ADUs. Basically here in AD you can have a kitchen. A guest house cannot.
So there actually was a stove in here. Took it out.
So we have these two. One is a midterm rental, one is a short term rental and then I have a historic home basically in downtown Richmond, Virginia that is also a midterm rental and that's it for me right now. When I was in San Diego I had a full on co hosting business and had 10 properties there. Really unique spaces like surf shacks and yachts and floating houses which was super cool. But I didn't actually own any of those, so I was just kind of managing them for the owners.
But my main kind of focus today is helping others start their own short term rental businesses.
[00:06:13] Speaker B: Okay, so I have a few questions about this. It seems like you've managed in a lot of different types of markets and different types of properties. So first I'm going to ask about different types of properties. So I've always wondered because I don't have any, any adus or guest houses. So here where I live, they call guest houses carriage houses. It's very pretentious sounding and I don't have any of those things and I've never rented one of those. But do you find any differences in the way the stays flow or the type of guests that choose? Like maybe your historic home in Richmond, like a single family, we know there's nobody else on the property or that choose knowing it's an ADU or a guest house and that there are other properties on the property that they're staying?
[00:06:56] Speaker C: That's a really good question. Um, I have found that. Let's see, usually I, I've noticed it's like a bit younger folks that are usually booking the ADUs and like the guest suites, they tend to be a little bit more like less expensive and you know, they're not huge. So it's not really like for big families, it's more so for couples or singles coming through.
Whereas like my big house and downtown is more for families, like larger groups coming in.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:34] Speaker C: I feel like that's probably the biggest thing that I noticed.
Okay.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Yeah, I want to hear about the surf shacks and the floating houses. What's a floating house? How does that work?
[00:07:45] Speaker C: It's literally what it sounds like. It looks like a house but it's floating. And you can't, a lot of them, you can't actually drive out. Like they're, they're brought to there and they're.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: Oh really? So it's not a house boat, it's an actual house?
[00:08:00] Speaker C: Yeah, it's an actual floating house and there are communities all around the US Sausalito in California has a huge floating house community. It's amazing. Like Google photos of it. It's really cool. In Seattle there's a lot of floating houses as well.
But yeah, it's, it's a house that is on the water and, and floats, but it's pretty much there permanently. Like you don't really move it around if you need to, you need to find a boat to like bring it to Another place, but really cool experience. And those do very well.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: So are these things like out in the middle of a lake or something and you have to take a boat to get to them or are they like docked at a marina type thing?
[00:08:44] Speaker C: Not. Yeah, these ones are docked at a marina. So it's really easy to get to the ones in San Diego. We're essentially in downtown San Diego and. Yeah. Very convenient location.
[00:08:58] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:08:59] Speaker C: Yeah, that.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: So what, in terms of your management process and dealing with guests, what are some things? I think a lot of our. Our community is interested in unique stays like that.
[00:09:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:11] Speaker B: Can you compare the process in terms of like, random things that might pop up that need to be fixed or that don't go right, or just the differences in the process of the flow of the stays in a unique. A unique stay, like a floating house and just like a regular house.
[00:09:26] Speaker C: Yeah. There is a bit more to it. Like sometimes the bathrooms work a little bit different or like getting onto the dock and into the boat can be a little challenging for those. I always met the guests in person and like actually greeted them and showed them around and showed them how to do things. That's probably the biggest difference, slash challenge.
But.
But also I feel like that helped a lot, like meeting them in person. There's something about that, like in person, face to face conversation where people just felt better about it and like, gave better reviews and stuff, which was really cool.
I think that's probably the biggest challenge though is like, usually the bathroom situation can be a little different. Sometimes they. For boats, like for the yachts that I had, they like, there wasn't a ton of water, so we encouraged guests to use the like, communal showers at the marina, which was really, really nice and luxe and great. But you know, they. They might not be able to shower on the boat, depending.
[00:10:34] Speaker B: Good to know. Yeah.
[00:10:35] Speaker C: So, yeah, just being like, really upfront about that. As with any sort of quirks in any space that you're renting, you just want to really over communicate, make sure that they know everything that they need for the stay.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So do you find. Would you ever do a unique stay like that again? Would you ever manage another one of those? Or does it just kind of like jam up your.
[00:10:57] Speaker C: I totally would. I absolutely would. Yeah. I'm actually looking for something in the Virginia beach area, maybe a boat with my dad to invest in.
That was so much fun and I. Yeah, I would love to do that again.
[00:11:12] Speaker B: What does a floating house like that in San Diego get per night?
[00:11:17] Speaker C: That one at the time. So I was managing it between like 2016 and 2019.
At the time, it was making like it depends on the, you know, the season, the day of the week, if there's any events coming to town, but I'd say around like 3:50 a night. And that was a two bedroom, two bathroom, two level floating house.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Okay, that's just so huge. Yeah, that, that's, that's really cool.
[00:11:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:47] Speaker B: Okay, so let's talk about the types of markets now. So are everything you have managed and do manage, are they all in like metro areas or different types? You said the ADU. Sorry, I interrupted you again. Are on 12 acres, so that doesn't sound too metro, that sounds country.
[00:12:05] Speaker C: So my property with the two guest houses are. We're only 10 minutes from the city center of Richmond, Virginia. We are technically in Henrico county, but we're just over that line, which honestly is really nice with the taxes and just getting permits and whatnot.
But we are right off the interstate and so it's really easy to zip down to the city in 10 minutes or less.
So. So all of my spaces have either been in Richmond or just outside of Richmond or San Diego proper. So I've pretty much always been in or very close to big cities.
[00:12:46] Speaker B: Okay, awesome. And what would you say is your favorite?
Do you prefer having managed in California or do you prefer Virginia, or does it matter?
[00:12:57] Speaker C: They're both so great in their own ways. I think one thing that I really miss about California is people. Like, I had more guests from, like, more international guests and guests from all over the world that would come there, whereas Richmond is like more. So people driving through that list maybe in North Carolina or like coming, you know, on a road trip from New York down to Florida. It's. It's a lot of, like, more local or, you know, like more US folks, which is still great and amazing. They're. They're awesome guests. But what I loved about San Diego is I just met so many different people from different parts of the world and like, learned about different cultures.
I lived in one of the. So I had a property where I lived in one of the surf shacks, but there were four of them on the property that I managed. So I got to meet a lot of the guests that were coming in and like, you know, have conversations with them, go get a drink with them, and that was really fulfilling. Really cool. Um, and I, I do kind of miss that. That's probably the biggest difference, like where they're coming, where they were coming in from.
[00:14:04] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I hear that. So let's talk about. So you, your first one was in 2014, you said when you started doing that or that was when 2015. Okay, so you've been doing this about 10 years. What would you say has. Has been the biggest change in the industry in managing short term rentals over the last 10 years?
[00:14:24] Speaker C: Probably that it's just gotten so much more popular. Like there's just a lot more listings out there.
That and just regulations like cities kind of cracking down on short term rentals.
Those are probably the biggest like changes that I've seen. But I've kind of seen that as like an opportunity for me at least. Like for example, in Richmond, you ha. It has to be your primary residence in order to get a permit. Like it has to be on your primary residence.
[00:14:58] Speaker B: Oh, I didn't know that. Okay.
[00:15:00] Speaker C: Yeah. So you can't just rent out like an entire home in a residential community short term.
But that has actually in a way like helped me kind of niche myself down as an Airbnb ambassador to help people who are home sharing. Like that really has been my, my thing all along. And so I think that kind of like made it, I don't know, like solidified that that was my niche when that happened. So.
[00:15:32] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:15:33] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:15:35] Speaker A: This program is brought to you by Smarter Short Term Rentals, the Facebook group.
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[00:16:42] Speaker B: So let's talk about your business. So what advice do you have for. For other hosts and getting started?
[00:16:48] Speaker C: I would say start small and start with what you have. You know I have, I'm also guilty of this but like I can daydream a lot and have like so many big ideas about all of the things that I want to do and I get a lot of folks that come into my webinars that also have These big dreams and like, you know, but they haven't even started. They've never managed a space before, so, you know, start small. You know, I started with just a bedroom in my own primary residence and I was able to learn so much through, through doing that and like, learn more about design and creating welcoming spaces and you get some good reviews in and that helped me get more clients and more properties down the road.
[00:17:30] Speaker B: All right, awesome. Is there anything that you would like our audience to know that I haven't covered, that I haven't asked you yet. Do you feel like they'd benefit from.
[00:17:39] Speaker C: Hearing, Ooh, I mean, if you're a new host, I don't know how many of those are listening to the show. It's probably more seasoned investors. But if you are newer, if you know someone that is wanting to be more of a hobby, host host themselves, you know, as opposed to having short term rental like management company.
Please use the resources that are on Airbnb to, you know, connect with an ambassador like myself. We can mentor you for free. Airbnb does free live webinars. I lead a lot of these. There's so many resources out there that are totally free and really, really helpful. Please take advantage of them. We would, we would love to help you get the ball rolling.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: I do. I have one more question. So you work with mostly people who are home sharing. So people who are like renting out an ADU or even actual rooms in their houses, right?
[00:18:33] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. I work with all sorts of hosts with all sorts of spaces, but that's something that I'm very particularly passionate about and talk more about in my webinars.
[00:18:44] Speaker B: Okay, well, I have a lot of questions about that, actually. So when it comes to actual, like, home sharing, what are some best practices? Because, you know, I only own things that I don't live in. So, you know, you have, you want to make it very standardized, very hotel like, but when you have your actual stuff in a house that needs to be separated when people are coming in and out, how does that work?
[00:19:07] Speaker C: Yeah, so I. It's really helpful to have a closet or a room that you just lock off with all your personal things in it. So you can just throw everything in there, lock it off, and not have to worry about it.
And what. It's funny, I always get the question, like, what else do I need? Like, what do I need to buy?
And a lot of times I'll go into these spaces and I'm like, you don't need anything more. You actually need to declutter like, you need to get rid of stuff.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:38] Speaker C: People here in the US and I, I'm guilty of this too, but have a serious like clutter issue. Like a lot of things, you know.
[00:19:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:47] Speaker C: And sometimes that can overwhelming to guests. So just like cleaning things up can be a very helpful thing if you're home sharing and in general for short term rentals.
But yeah. And then let's see, like getting a photographer. Of course, you know this. But like a lot of hosts who are doing this on their own and they're not a big investor, they put up these photos on, on Airbnb and I look through their listing, I'm like, oh my gosh, you've. You've spent so much time and energy and money putting this together and then you just quickly snapped cell phone photos like, please hire a professional photographer. It makes such a big difference.
Some people just aren't even really thinking about that. So that's huge.
[00:20:36] Speaker B: So what about food in the kitchen and like spices and things and things that are going to be in the kitchen? How does, like, it's easy. Okay, well, let me, let me lock up all my personal belongings. But like the stuff in the kitchen, how does, how do we navigate that?
[00:20:49] Speaker C: Yeah, great question.
When I was home sharing with my own personal home, I of course made sure that the fridge and everything was always very clean and well organized. But I also, I'm a big fan of labeling things. So I had to have like a label on a couple shelves that were mine. You know, the host only please don't touch. You know, and then guest, guest shelf. Like, feel free to use these if you, if you buy anything. I usually did allow them to like use my spices if they wanted to. I never really had any issues with that. I think the biggest thing is just making sure it's very clean and organized and if you. And to have that space for the guest, if they are bringing in some of their own things, just make it really clear where that space is.
[00:21:34] Speaker B: Well, here's a question based on, on my own experience that, you know, maybe you can give us some advice on what this host should have done differently. So a couple years ago, we were driving through Pagosa Springs, Colorado self. My husband, two kids and a Chihuahua. And we, I booked an Airbnb. I don't know, it's probably two or three weeks in advance and it looked fine. You know, it was a condo, nothing crazy. And we got there and it was a situation where the host lived there and just kind of like leaves while you're there, which was fine had I known that. But like with kids and stuff, you know, I didn't know if there were like, is there medicine in the cabinet? You know, I didn't want any. You know, it's just harder with kids than if it's just you two adults. And you know, there was food in the fridge and all this stuff. And I'm like, oh, I didn't. This, I thought this was going to be like a regular nobody lives here, we're checking in, like a hotel type thing, but this person lives here. So then I was like really uncomfortable the rest of the time because I just wasn't expecting it. Like, had I known, I wouldn't have booked it. I wouldn't probably book something like that for my family. But anyway, what, what would be your tips to not do that? I gave her a five star review. I would never give anybody less than a five star review on anything. But what would be your advice for a host who might be about to make that mistake?
[00:22:59] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm glad that you brought that up. I think just being super proactive with your communication. Again, like, communication is everything. She should have been really clear in the listing that that is her personal space that she's sharing while she' When I was doing that with my own personal studio, I was like real clear about that and all of my messages within my listing.
I made notes about that like you, there might be some food in the refrigerator.
You know, things like that.
Yeah, just being very clear about communication. I'm sorry that happened that I can see how that could be frustrating, especially like with kiddos.
[00:23:42] Speaker B: It was fine. We made, we made the best of it. It was just two nights anyway, so.
[00:23:46] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, I can see how that might be a little weird though, or like going into a space and seeing like family photos all over the space. Like a photo of portrait of grandma staring at you from the bed. That's like kind of weird. Yeah, well, yeah.
[00:24:00] Speaker B: And you know, in a different time in my life, that might have been something I would have booked on purpose. But. But you know, different seasons. So the last thing I want to ask about is if you're home sharing and you're going to be there during the stays, I have some questions around like personal safety. So I know we all ask a few questions of guests to make sure they're not going to party in our houses or whatever, but when you're going to be there too, that's like an extra level of vetting. So is there anything specific that you do to make sure that you're not, you know, having an ax murderer stay with you.
[00:24:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I always have a really, really good conversation with them from the minute they book or before they're even booking. I ask a lot of questions. Hey, what brings you to town? Is this your first time coming here? If they're new to Airbnb. Hey, I noticed you don't have any reviews yet. Have you ever used Airbnb before? Just want to make sure, you know, I'm. I'm also going to be at the space. This is a private room listing and of course, having locks on the doors just in case for them and for me on the private, like, bedroom doors. You know, it's interesting, though. I. I did that for a really long time, like a private bedroom, and nothing weird ever happened. Like, I had the most. If anything, they were, like, almost more respectful because they knew that they were in my space and they were super clean and quiet. And maybe I just really lucked out. But I think a big part of that is just having that conversation and meeting them in person and them seeing, like, oh, you're. You're an actual human being. Like, you're not just an alien on side of the screen. Like, you. You're cool, and you. You care about my stay. And, you know, I would invite them to go, you know, grab food or whatever, and a lot of them became good friends of mine. In fact, one of them actually introduced me to my partner seven years ago.
[00:25:52] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:25:53] Speaker C: Introduced me. Yeah. So I've had a really positive experience, but.
But of course, you do always want to be proactive and a good communicator.
[00:26:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. People always ask me, what's your craziest short term rental story? And I've had them for 10 years, too. And, like, I don't have one. Nobody's ever thrown a party or torn anything up and knock on wood right now, But I don't have any. Like, oh, my gosh, my guest did something crazy. Nobody's ever done anything.
[00:26:22] Speaker C: Yeah, same. If anything, it's been the opposite. Like, they've become some of my best friends. Like, I've gone to their weddings and birthday parties, baby showers. I've. If, like, they leave me gifts. You know, people are always afraid of, like, oh, what if they steal my things and break all my things? And, like, been hosting for 10 years, thousands and thousands of guests. Like, yeah, a wine glass is gonna break. But usually people are really upfront about it and, like, leave 20 bucks on the counter to get a new one or, you know, people are good. I think that's like the biggest thing that I've come to realize hosting, and I'm sure you have too, is like, people are good. They just want a safe, comfortable place to stay. They're just like me and you.
[00:27:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Mostly.
[00:27:03] Speaker C: Mostly, yeah.
[00:27:06] Speaker B: All right, well, thank you, Kate. You have been a wonderful guest. Definitely something different than what we're used to, so that's always cool. Let's got the last three questions of the show we ask every single guest. First question, what advice would you give 20 year old Kate if you had it to do over?
[00:27:22] Speaker C: Love that.
Don't listen to boyfriends who told you you couldn't do it and go ahead and make that leap. And I did, by the way, and it was, it's been great. And I'm glad that I didn't listen to them.
And also, just get your real estate license asap. Like, I was finding houses for friends and my landlords and negotiating deals between them and the sellers for years and, like, not getting paid for that, you know, and like, I should have just made the time to get my real estate license way before I did because that would have given me a lot more money to invest, invest in more properties.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: I agree with that. Number two, what advice would you give a new investor who's interested in getting started today? So much different time than when you got started.
[00:28:10] Speaker C: Yeah, let's see. I mean, like I said, start small. You know, it's easy to daydream and have all these big ideas, but you don't want to put too much on your plate from at the beginning or you're gonna get overwhelmed and burnt out.
And you don't need a huge amount of money to begin with. You know, start with that private room. Start with house hacking if you're able to maybe even start cleaning Airbnbs. And that's a great way to meet investors and, you know, property manager, property owners that might be able to use your help and, you know, just get started and you'll learn as you go and you can scale strategically from there.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: Also great advice. And last, what's your favorite book that's impacted your mindset?
[00:28:56] Speaker C: Oh, my God, I love this question. There's so many of them.
Okay. The Happiness Advantage by Sean Achor.
Have you ever heard of this guy.
[00:29:07] Speaker B: Who'S like, no, I haven't.
[00:29:09] Speaker C: He's like a positive mental attitude researcher. So. More specifically, though, there's a TED Talk that he gave. It's called the Happy Secret to better work. It's 10 minutes long. And this TED talk, like, I swear, was Like a pivotal moment in my life. Like, my entire perspective about things totally changed after watching this. I must have watched it, like 10 times in a row. I was like, oh, my God.
It just teaches you that traditional thinking suggests that success leads to happiness. But what he's saying is that happiness actually drives success. It's like the opposite way.
[00:29:47] Speaker B: What's the name of it again? I'm writing it down.
[00:29:49] Speaker C: So the TED Talk is called the Happy Secret to Better Work by Sean Achor. A C H O R.
He's so funny and he's. Yeah, he's like this positive psychologist, researcher. And it's just I've watched. I'm like a total nerd. I've watched a lot of TED talks in my life, but there was something about this one that just like, was a really pivotal moment in my life and it just really stuck with me. And. And he has a few books out there, but the Happiness Advantage is the one that really dives in.
[00:30:23] Speaker B: The Happiness Advantage. Writing that down, too.
[00:30:26] Speaker C: Yeah.
So many good books, though. Shout out to the short term rental book club.
I never heard of them. They are great. They'll send you a new book every month. We nerd out together at the end of the month. Yeah.
[00:30:38] Speaker B: Oh, fun. I'll have to check out.
[00:30:41] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:42] Speaker B: Maybe we could get my book in there.
[00:30:45] Speaker C: I know you've done a couple bigger pockets ones. I'll have to mention that to them.
[00:30:50] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I'll send it over. But thank you so much for coming on. If our listeners want to find you and follow you, how can they do that?
[00:30:58] Speaker C: Yeah. So my website is hostwithkate.com@host with Kate on social Media.
That's probably the big. The best way to get in touch with me.
[00:31:09] Speaker B: All right, well, Kate, thanks again so much for coming on. It was a really great episode.
[00:31:14] Speaker C: Thanks so much for having me. Have a good one.
