Building a Thriving Business from Scratch: The Power of Education & Risk in STR with Victor Solano

Summary & Highlights

Transcription

Gil: Hey folks, welcome back to direct booking simplified. We break down the strategies and tactics to win in direct bookings.

On today’s show, I have Victor Solano. Victor, welcome to the show.

Victor: so much for having me. Appreciate it.

Gil: Yeah, it’s, it’s really good to have you on, uh, and kind of have you talk about your hosting journey and dig a little bit deeper into, uh, direct bookings, um, to kind of kick us off folks. Uh, do you mind giving folks a introduction on who you are?

Victor: Yeah, of course. So my name is Victor Solano. I’m a local here in Southern California by the Los Angeles area. And we have a STR management business that has rentals, mostly in the Southern California area, also in a couple of other states. So we 100 percent focus on management of Airbnbs, church room rentals in this area.

Uh, we have created a, significant portfolio in the past 2 years and have generated almost over a 1, 000, 000 in revenue for our partners. So, uh. It’s been a, it’s been a long and a hard journey that we have to kind of really work hard to get to this point. But, um, yeah, it’s we started about April of 2022 and then slowly started, uh.

Networking and getting more partners up to over 22 properties that we have now that we’re managing and, you know, we offer full management service services to our partners. So excited to be on.

Gil: Yeah. Talk to me about kind of the journey there. You mentioned like there was a long kind of hard road there. What was like some of the most challenging parts? I guess like what was it? I was the most challenging part of growing your coasting service.

Victor: Just because there’s so much competition in the beginning, you know, I, I kind of started with no funding available to, moving to a purchase or like a sub strategy. So, I knew there was a lot of competition in the area and so many different options that, you know, companies are large companies that offer management service.

So, I think getting the trust of my partners was something that we kind of struggled with in the beginning. But I think once that 1st and 2nd experience of rent, management came to place, I think, doing a very good job with those 2 kind of got us, you know, the momentum to get more and more either through referrals.

Or just kind of new partners that, came to know me through social media and things like that. So, I think the hard part, which is kind of getting the trust. Of somebody handing over their property to you, and, you know, like I said, we do full service, so we’re in charge of pricing communication and all these aspects.

So I think that was 1 big barrier that we had to overcome, having somebody trust us with their property. And then after that, it’s been just kind of steady and going and learning after that.

Gil: Yeah, you said something interesting just now, um, that I just picked up, you call your co hosts. Uh, like owners or property owners, partners, tell me a little bit more like, is that, is that pretty much what’s the common language or is that something that particularly that you use?

Victor: Um, I, I like to use that that language, um, because, um, in, in some of the, some of the rentals, there are some decisions that need to be made, with our partner owners, or, renters. Um, in decisions where, like, something needs to be upgraded in the home, there needs to be an establishment of of remodel to be done.

So some of the decision making, we do have to kind of sit down and kind of discuss. And, and in inter exchange ideas. So that’s why I do, you know, call them partners. Um, there are some, of course, of, owners that we work with that are completely hands off. And there’s some that are a little bit more hands on and kind of want to be part of the decision making.

So you kind of adjust and kind of learn, you know, which partners you, which partners you can 100%, you know, trust to, trust your decision and then other ones that you have to kind of bring them into the loop of things that are happening with the rentals.

Gil: Yeah, I know that with a lot of co hosts, they kind of get to a stage where they get really choosy and picky about who they bring on as like hosting clients and kind of in the, in the early days. You’re, you’re taking up pretty much whatever you can get there. Uh, and you’re kind of transitioned to that, like, what’s, what’s been your journey, like through that process and kind of like, how do you think about vetting your owners?

Victor: Yeah, that’s, that’s a good point. Like in the beginning, you just kind of, you take them as, as they come, right? Like if somebody wants to partner with you, you take the opportunity. Uh, but as you start kind of getting more properties, you kind of start, um, kind of building a culture in, in your business and kind of how the way you want to work.

Um, so I think just kind of understanding, what the owner wants in regards to management, kind of what they’re looking to improve. And then also, if they’re willing and able to kind of let go over the property and not consider it, you know, something, personal to them, because some owners.

They really like to kind of be in control and kind of micromanage like anybody that’s making decisions, but. We prefer not to work with those guests and we prefer with those guests with those, uh, with those partners and prefer somebody to kind of just. You know, let go and, you know, let us, you know, do all the management side and, as a result of that, we have, you know.

Increased revenue, increased occupancy, so we, we pick and choose owners that are able to trust us 100 percent with their, with their property and give us that flexibility to do the full management where we do pricing. Communication and everything, as opposed to owners who might want to be heavily involved in the decision making each little decision that you make in the property.

Or have, maybe don’t have much of experience like we do, but, you know, they, they want to kind of provide input in any situation that happens with the rental. So we kind of. They can choose the owners that have their trust in us and give us flexibility to make all of the decision making with their rentals as long as.

You know, the projected revenue is up to par, and, what we promised in the beginning, pick and choose, like. Uh, towards the end towards now that, you know, we’re at a point where, we’re in established business and we kind of have a full understanding of what we’re doing as opposed to in the beginning.

We’re just taking opportunities as they come.

Gil: Yeah, I mean, without, without those early days, you, you really couldn’t grow to where you are today. Okay. Um, but as you’re, as you’re thinking about like opportunity costs, when you have someone, uh, an owner that maybe a bit more straining to, to, to manage around, it starts to take away from your resources.

It starts to take away from your ability to like serve the right hosts or the right properties the right way and grow your portfolio the way that you want to. So that makes a ton of sense there. Do you have any, uh, do you have any stories of you walking away from an owner that you would share with us?

Victor: yeah, yeah, I have a not not thankfully, not not a whole list of them, but, um, yeah, there was, there was 1 owner that, uh, they were. They were located in in Texas. And, uh, Austin, Austin, downtown Austin, and, uh, everything was going well the 1st, a couple of months. Um, but, you know, I started noticing that a lot of the.

A lot of the nearby competition, like, short term rentals, they did offer a lot of. Amenities that we had at that point didn’t provide so competition is very heavy in Austin, Texas. So amenities is the name of the game. Our. Our, um, our structure for payment is based on revenue. The homes are not put into a position where they can make the most revenue, then, you know, there are certain situations where we make suggestions as to.

You know, what we can improve on what amenities we can provide that we suggest. Um, and I, I made a lot of suggestions to the, to the owner in the beginning about certain amenities that there was space for in the home to improve, like a jacuzzi or like a game room or things like that. But over several months, we were not receiving positive feedback, or at least an intent to make those improvements.

And then at the back end of every month, we’re kind of. You know, getting, um, not getting, you know, talks, but, you know, basically he was, you know, they were complaining about the revenue not being the highest. So, that’s where we kind of run into, like, a situation where, like, I’m making the suggestion to increase revenue, but then, you know, we also have needs the support of an owner or a partner of us to be willing to invest in the property to kind of generate the most.

So, out of those deals like that, where we see that. You know, our suggestions are not even being considered. I think we, we’ve had to kind of walk away and step back. Uh, from from those, uh, you know, rentals or owners that way, we can. Generate all of our, you know, all of our resources and spend all of our resources where the properties are doing well and also have opportunity to grow.

So, it does, it does take a lot to kind of be able to step back. And, you know, make those decisions, but at the end of the day, with, you know, some markets being saturated, those are the decisions that you need to make at the end of the day to kind of make sure your resources are going in the right places.

Gil: Yeah, maybe on the other side of the spectrum, do you have a story where you met a host that had a lot of opportunity and you gave them feedback and you’re able to actually turn things around and significantly increase the

Victor: Yeah, yeah, it’s it was actually my 1st, my 1st deal that we made was a duplex. So, this was located in Ventura, California, which is a kind of a coastal area of SoCal. Right. And the location was great for the duplex. It’s, it’s like a, a minute, you know, walking distance to the, to the beach. But, you know, the, the first duplex, it doesn’t have any patio space, but the second one does have a patio space.

And, uh, you know, there was a lot of opportunity to kind of use a, use a patio space to add a jacuzzi, to add a game room, to add a fire pit. So this was in the, in the beginning. So I didn’t really understand the importance or. You know, the importance and and significance of adding amenities to your Airbnb in regards to revenue and then, you know, income at the end of the year.

So we just started the 2 units with no, nothing crazy, nothing in the patio. But then we started noticing that. You know, there was a lot of our competition have had patios had, uh, had a jacuzzi, had a fire pit. So after a couple of maybe like three months of just, you know, kind of just having the interior decorated.

We started, we started moving towards a patio and we added, uh, we invested in a jacuzzi, we invested in a lot of games. Uh, we invested in, uh, uh, in a canopy. So, we basically decked out the patio and that itself increased the revenue in that property by 3000 dollars every single month. So, uh, it was a, it was investment.

I would say the jacuzzi. We found it for like, you know, 1500. It’s been working until this day. And then, and then the other items, maybe like a total of maybe 500, 600 or so. Um, and, and that investment, we, we got it back and, and more in that first month after having those. Yeah, yeah,

Gil: so what was the projected income versus in the very beginning when you, before you took it on and what did it end up hitting

Victor: yeah. So that property continues doing well. I think, uh, in 2023 did 125,000, um, in, in rental income. That’s about. You know, 10, 000 or so every, every single month, um, you know, net profit that’s about, you know, 4, 000, 3000, you know, every month, which is which is great. Um, but projected income, you know, prior to those additions, it’s, it’s about like 80, 000, you know, in, in that area.

Um, in our interior, but now with those amenities and and kind of the patio being available for the guests, it almost increased by. 30, 30, 000, 30, 000 so minimum. So, uh, we, we’ve been doing great. Of course, we have to get new pictures and things like that to kind of highlight those amenities, but it’s a significant difference.

Um, you know, that was when we started 2 years, 2 years ago, and then even now, it’s amenities are even. You know, even bigger difference now with so much competition around. So that was, you know, I, we have a great partnership with with that owner there. And, we continue doing the same numbers 2 years after we started that, that home there and it continues doing well, of course, you have to.

Gil: I mean, that’s really good COVID and everybody was still like heavy on local travel there. So if you’re, if you’re keeping up with 2022 numbers in 2024, that’s, that’s

Victor: yeah, you know, that’s that’s our best performing property. The 1 with that with that, you know, patio space and that we added. So, thankfully, we got the buying of of our partner to kind of make the, make that investment and it has resulted in in a. In a lot of more income for for both of us.

So, it’s that’s that’s it’s great and it’s a good example of, you know, we need to invest money to kind of make our money.

Gil: Yeah. Have you had, have you had the, I’m guessing you did, but like, have you had opportunities to leverage this story to win other co hosts over either that you’re bringing on to the service for the first time, or you’re like trying to convince them, like

Victor: Yeah, yeah, all the time. I, I, I try to bring up the exact story that I, that I mentioned, just especially when somebody is, is starting off with, uh, say somebody is going into the Airbnb space with no experience but purchased a property or is doing just a sublease. I really emphasize even before we get into discussions about, um, you know, a possible contract with us, the importance of, of willing to make these investments based on, you know, the, the size and the home of the property.

So, I think I, I try to get that under, you know, as, as 1 of our initial understandings that, you know, we have to make those investments in order for these projected revenues that we’re seeing to come into play. So, I think that’s where that conversation, that’s where I also get an idea of if the owner is kind of willing to make those investments, or they kind of fall back and they don’t have positive reaction to my suggestion.

And so. But I make that suggestions all the time and use that story all the time, just to kind of convince, uh, you know, the owners or my partners to kind of make those decisions that we willing to invest just because of the significant difference it can, it can make on on the yearly income. You know, like I said, we’re talking about 30 to 40, 000.

Dollars a year in different, just because of maybe 2000, 3, 000 investment. So your, your return on that investment is huge. Um, I think definitely, definitely getting

Gil: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What do you think has led you like you, you definitely, it sounded like you started from almost like almost nothing, getting your first property in there all the way to now 20, 20, 22 units there. What has been, I don’t know if it’s your secret to success or kind of like, what do you think has allowed you to be successful in, in that run?

Yeah.

Victor: a service like, like co hosting, I think education is, is, is one. And then being able to be comfortable, uh, taking risks, right. Cause there is, you know, some sort of risk involved with any, you know, any new endeavor that you’re doing. I have no background. In real estate at all, uh, 2 years ago, um, similar to, you know, a lot of people that I’ve heard, but I think.

We need to invest in education, um, and then willing to take those risks. To do something new to learn it to kind of go through the struggles. And keep your mind strong when things are going up and down. Um, it’s just kind of going through a learning process. So I think. Definitely being able to be comfortable taking a risk.

Um, and, and then also, um, there’s a lot of people that, you know, want to do certain aspects into real estate, but are not willing to invest the education that it requires. You know, you can’t go into into this, not knowing anything and not being educated. So I think, I think education is key to start. And then also, as you keep going to be able to scale.

So, um, um, yeah, like I said, I, I, I don’t have no, we can go into that, but I don’t have any real estate background at all. So, in the beginning, it was, it was a lot to adjust to.

Gil: And when you say education, what are some of like the, the formats, channels, the areas that you seek

Victor: Um, well, in the beginning, um, in the beginning, I actually invested into a mentorship program, um, mentorship program. It’s if I, if I may share, uh, which program. Um, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s the real system with. I’m not sure if you, you have heard it. It’s, um, yeah, it’s an Airbnb pro mentorship program that offers strategies on, uh, owning sub leasing and co hosting.

Um, so it’s a well designed program that I have to. Invest in, uh, go through all of, you know, all of the education that, uh, that it offers. It’s a great program that has, um, a lot of education and different trainers on different aspects of the Airbnb. Business, and I invested into that got educated, went through, you know, the program.

You know, fairly quickie, uh, fairly quickly. And then, um, you know, from that, I just kind of started going on on my own. Um, but that kind of got me the jumpstart to learning how this business works, but yeah, without that program, I probably wouldn’t have started or kind of been in this position, but,

Gil: How long did it take you to get that from the program start to that

Victor: Oh, uh, I started the program in January of 2022, and then our first deal came in April, so four months, April of 2022. So, so. Yeah, yeah, it’s not, it’s not, it’s not bad at all. Um, so, um, the good thing about the program is that, you know, it offers the education, but it also offers. A weekly training sessions, almost daily training sessions where you’re meeting with coaches and things like that.

So I think that. Like, I mean, like, uh, I learned fairly quick in those 4 months and that kind of. It’s also a good networking opportunity because there’s so many different other other students. Um, in the program that, you know, say, have the funding, but don’t want to do all the management. You’re getting educated and also getting an opportunity to network with with others.

Um, that are still interested in that are interested in the same field. Those partnerships have led to a lot of. New deals for me, the 1st ones for sure were from, you know, the real system and then from, from there on through referrals and things like that.

Gil: Yeah. Did you get to know this program and you knew this is like, this is what you wanted to do, or did you kind of figure that you wanted to get into short term rentals and you’re trying to figure out, okay, , what, Methods. Do I hadn’t even ended up finding the real system? Like, how did you go about like having that first spark of like, okay, this is the area I want to invest my, my career into.

Victor: well, I, I’ve always had, uh, even when I was in college, I always had an interest in real estate because I, I always wanted to create a, uh, a passive income opportunity in regards to real estate for me, but I didn’t know what avenue to use to get in. And then, um, I just started following a lot of, uh. Uh, people on Instagram that, had Airbnb businesses and things like that.

I didn’t really, uh, invest yet until, like, I was really well informed about, this program here, but it just, you know, on social media, basically, I’m just, you know, finding people on, on, on Instagram that, you know, offer their mentorship and things like that. Um, I had to do my research and kind of look at, you know, all the reviews of, of the.

Of the program, but, um, what I would interested me was the fact that they mentioned that co hosting, uh, management, managing other people’s rentals or their. Individual rentals is an opportunity, but with 0 funding, because at that point, I didn’t have any. Uh, credit cards or any funding to be able to do a purchase.

So I’m like, how do I, I’ve always wanted to figure out, like, how do I get in if I don’t have any, any money with me, but then they, they mentioned co hosting and then once they mentioned co hosting. Then that’s where I was able to connect with somebody that had the funding, but didn’t want to. They don’t want to do all the day to day work and then that’s where my 1st contract came into play.

So, um, I think that the fact that they had coaching specifically on managing Airbnbs, that’s what kind of interested, uh, interested me and then I was willing to make that investment, the investment wasn’t wasn’t cheap. And I basically, uh, got a credit card, maxed it out, put it on the, uh, put it on the, on the program.

And, uh, and I was telling my wife, I’m like, uh, you know, it’s, uh, it’s kind of, uh, we put all of our chips on the table, basically, because, uh, you know, I put maxed out that credit card. I knew I had to pay it off somehow. And I think that, you know, making that decision at the same time also put you in, put you against the wall where you kind of have to make something happen.

You kind of have to find a way. So, um, I think, uh, you know, the fact that I took that, big risk kind of motivated to motivating me to kind of make, you know, the, the collaborations and and connections that I need to make to kind of get that 1st co hosting deal. So it was a lot to go through at that point.

You know, um, and then having the trust of my wife to, you know, do something crazy like that and that I’ve never done. I’ve never experienced. I’ve never had an experience that it’s just it’s kind of a little bit mind blowing now to this point now. But, um, yeah, it was a definitely learning experience in the beginning.

Gil: Yeah. It reminds me of a lot of, we spoke to DJ, uh, on, on this podcast and a very similar story of like really having that passion, putting all your cards on the table and just going all in. And I love that

Victor: And that’s how it is for a lot of people truthfully. A lot of I, I listen to, like, other people’s stories all the time, or just kind of educate myself, but. Yeah. It’s, uh, I feel like, uh, knowing that a lot of people have done that in the past also encouraged me to make that decision, um, because people have said, like, oh, you know, you make the decision or or you make the decision and you kind of figure it out on the way.

So, these are people that I kind of looked up to in the real estate space, and they made it out. They’re doing super well now. So it kind of that also kind of gave me gave me the encouragement to kind of make that same decision, but. It is a common theme around people in real estate that, 1st decision to kind of go for it.

But other other energy and chips on table, like you said.

Gil: Yeah. Did you have any moments of doubt or did you kind of get to ride that momentum all the way till like the first success and saw

Victor: No, yeah, I had, I had a, that basically all of 22, all of 2022, I had a lot of doubts in, in my, in my mind, even with those 2 properties, that came in, it was great to have them. But again, the income of 2 properties, especially when you’re just taking a percent of the revenue. Um, at that point, I had my, my wife and had my, my son who was 2 at that at that point.

So I had a lot of pressure, built up for, for me to be able to. You know, provide, so there was still like, a lot of doubt whether, when the next deal was going to come. Um, and things like that, so it’s always kind of in back in back of your of your mind. And basically all of 2022, we were just.

Kind of holding on financially, we just month by month kind of making it through, but I just put my head down and just kind of got to work and, and, I had a really good experience with those 1st, 2 units. Um, I was able to. Maximize the revenue that month. And then, word of word, it got got around that.

I was, provided doing this much revenue for these 2 properties. So that kind of led me to my 3rd deal, 4th deal and and 5th deal. But, you know, that that 2022 was, was very difficult for us, even with having those 2 units, um, financially, right? Getting by every single month, uh, with with my family.

But, you know, after after that, after we saw the 3rd deal and 4th deal come out, and we were a little bit more kind of relaxed and I didn’t have so much pressure on on my shoulders. I was able to kind of focus on and. Focus on the business and kind of get it to a to a next level. Where we created a team at this point, but yeah, definitely a lot of doubt in that in that 1st year because you don’t know what’s going to come out of it.

And especially if. You need to support your family and in a situation like that. But it, it came out, you know, great at the end, but, uh, that first year, six months, I sometimes I even forget about it, uh, but I always got to kind of go back and look at a position where I was before and then where I’m at now.

Gil: What do you think gave you that energy to like, keep on pushing and can like keep on

Victor: Um,

Gil: Is it just your nature? Or did you like, is there a mindset that like you had in your, in your mind, like how

Victor: yeah, yeah. I think it’s just a mindset mindset thing. Uh, I think it’s a mindset thing where, you know, you, you, uh, you You just kind of gotta gotta figure it out. Um, and I, I was passionate about it because I really enjoyed, like, the 1st experience and kind of going through something new was kind of fresh for me because I was in the public health field for, like, the past 7 years.

So, going into something fresh, I think kind of regenerate, uh, you know, re, re, energized me and I was kind of passionate about providing, good service for, for management. So, I think being passionate, uh, uh, uh, about it kind of drove me to. Stay focused and kind of overcome those initial obstacles.

Um, I’m also a very kind of religious person, so I really had a lot of faith in God and, just kind of gave me the strength to kind of overcome all these obstacles and then in the 3rd, uh, which is very important to support of my family, the support and trust of my wife. Um, to kind of push me and just kind of keep going.

I think those 3 factors were got me over the hump and kind of got me to kind of keep going and keep scaling to. 2 other connections and other referrals, but, um, yeah, it’s a combination of, you know, support from your peers from your family. Um, and then just kind of being driven yourself to kind of make make it work and make it happen.

So, I think those are a combination of those things. Those 2 things kind of made it work for me. Bye.

Gil: Yeah. Kudos to you, man. I, I know those early days I’m kind of in those early days on my, my own like software business and we’re bootstrapping right now. So I completely empathize, like all the energy that has to go into it. And each day you’re almost battling yourself on figuring out like, Is this the right path?

Did I make the right decision? Can I make it through? And I think if you have the mindset and you kind of get through that, and it’s never easy, like even if you have the right mindset, like there’s always that self doubt. There’s always that like, that doubt, like, is there another path? Is there a better path?

Is this the right thing for me to do? I’m glad you’re able to have the support of your family. That’s, that’s really critical because if you don’t have the support of your you’re fighting Almost better, like three, four times harder

Victor: yeah,

Gil: because like, you know, there’s like, when life is good at home, it starts to percolate other and other areas as well to, um, when it’s challenging, when you’re lacking sleep, like early days of having kids, like those are hard, hard days where it bleeds into your work life and makes everything

Victor: yeah, yeah. I think what we’ve said is really important. Like, I’m not going to have, I’m not, battling my family or having to convince. My wife that this is the right thing, like, having her full support. Kind of, it’s just kind of like a strength pack that I have and just to keep going forward.

And, um. And then, um, and then that’s just, my initial family, of course, it’s always doubts about your outer family when they start realizing that, no, what, what you’re doing and what you’re getting into. And, I got my master’s degree in public health, so I had a, a good, good career, uh, at that point.

So when, your other family members start kind of seeing you drift into something else, there’s always that shadow that you can kind of hear behind you here, like, oh, what’s he doing? Like, is it okay? Yeah, of course, they don’t tell me directly, but you kind of hear from my wife and things like that little so though That’s you know, led to a little bit of self doubt, but I think my inner family was crucial with that and then um, also, you know trying something new and and we need to take, you know risk because um You know, if you don’t, if you don’t try, something new, or at least go for it, I mean, life, life goes on, where they’re, you know, you’re successful or not.

 Why not try it? And, you know, and not not have that, you know, what if I did it, you know, in the future, because, you know, say, I continued in my public health field. And I, you know, had this opportunity there and what if I went back into that? That’s always kind of the barrier that you gotta, you know, overcome, you know, what if something goes, what if something goes, goes well, but, goes back into having a positive mindset and, having optimism and trusting your skills to be make it work.

Gil: Yeah, I feel you on that one. Um, I, it reminds me like, A lot of like, you said something interesting just now about like how you almost forgot about those early days and you sometimes have to remind yourself like, Oh, you actually came a long way from, from where you are. And I think that might be true for a lot of folks where it’s really hard when you’re in it, but if you can make it through to the other end and you look back, you’re actually very proud that you took those risks.

I still remember The first startup that I did, I was employee number one, and we just had a co founder. It was the co founder and me, uh, in a shoe box, like office, basically like there’s no windows. Uh, the CEO had lived inside the office and like, we pretty much worked six, seven days Every single day I would travel from San Francisco to Mountain View and we would just work 12 hour days.

And I was young at that point. I didn’t know any better and like I just kept pushing through, kept pushing through and I’ve learned so much in that first, like three years of starting that company and be able to like look back and like created a career for myself in product management at that point.

Like I now like forget some of those tough times. Like you, it’s very easy to forget it. Um, but when you’re in it, like, it feels

Victor: When you’re there, you just kind of focused on, on just making it work. So I think you don’t, you don’t get a chance to back and, and you just kind of, you just got to go, you just got to go in and https: otter. ai You’re at at that same speed once you are already successful and have something established, then you don’t really get to like sit back and and a breath.

And I, I step back when people tell me like, Oh, how many properties are you managing? I’m like, uh, 20, you know, 22. And they’re like, Whoa, they give me that sort of reaction. And to me, it’s kind of like, like, I just, I don’t know. I haven’t, I don’t take it in. It’s until I get those, you know, compliments or people are telling me like that 22 is a lot.

And, or, even after I got 10, people are saying like, well, how did you get to this level? So I think, I think just, uh, until I, I get those moments of where I’m able to kind of sit back and, and kind of. , remember when, when it was really tough when, like, I was just telling you, like, when it was month to month, we were kind of like, we don’t know what’s going to happen next month and, and things like that.

But, um, I think it’s a good thing and a bad thing because you keep your hunger alive at this point when you’re really established. But it’s also good to sit back and kind of be thankful that you overcame that situation and that you’re not facing the same, issues where you’re, , financially unstable, but now you have different concerns in regards to kind of making it, growing it and skating it.

So it’s just. You know, different problems that you have, but you’re, you’re thankful that, worked out of that, out of that situation. But, um, yeah, it’s, it’s pretty, mind blowing and it’s also also very good to, um, for me, what I, what I like about it is kind of being able to control, right?

You know, control your income and control your business. That’s very kind of big and important, to me, and then, you know, the flexibility that you kind of get with having your own business. So I’m just like, super thankful for, you know, for that and, you know, just kind of part of the journey that I went through.

If I didn’t go through that journey, then I would have all of the knowledge and education that I have now to kind of be able to deal with situations that come up at this moment. And, you know, from that experience, I, I, you know, I know how to handle different situations and things like that. So it’s. It’s, it’s great, but it’s, it’s a common theme, like around, like a different, um, um, entrepreneurs or people that go into something new, um, which kind of, it’s funny to kind of look and look at, you know, everybody has their journey, but there’s similar themes mindset wise with each individual person.

Gil: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Um, and now that you’ve, you’ve grown from to this like 22 unit level, are you looking to scale exponentially up? Are you aiming to be like my, my 10 X growth? Like I’m trying to get to a hundred by the X next, like the next 12 months, or are you looking to like switch out like quality for quantity?

Like how are you thinking about like your scaling

Victor: Yeah, so I’m, I’m looking into, uh, doing some sub leases on my own. Um, and then also the purchasing side. Then at the same time, like you mentioned, quality over quantity. Um, I also wanna get, I mean, a hundred is, or, , 50 is not, it’s not like a really goal, a a goal of mine. I just wanna be able to scale, but with profit, uh, generating properties.

So actually I’m at a point where I can of pick and choose. Right? Pick and choose which, which skills I, I, I get into. Um, so I, I want to get into deals that, um, have the capacity to, to, um, have a lot of revenue. Um, and then at the same time, I also want to be able to kind of do some subleases with my team on my own and then also look at the, at the purchasing side, um, just to kind of.

Uh, kind of build some more passive income and then also, uh, with the purchasing side, kind of thinking about some long term wealth now with my family and things like that. So, it’s just a combination of those, of those 3, you know, quality and then purchasing and sublisting properties.

Gil: Got it. What do you, uh, you mentioned just a little bit about your team. Um, what would you say is like one of your secret, like superpowers within kind of the SDR space? Um,

Victor: trust of a lot of our partners or, or, uh, to go into deals with us or contracts with us. Is because of all of the, you know, small details that our, our team takes care of in regards to the, with the property. So I think. At this point, when there’s a lot of, you know, around.

Not all of them can be successful, but there’s little things that you can do in regards to pricing. You’re listing how it stands out. That our team is well equipped, to kind of make our listing stand out the best. So, I think, um, I think our superpower is, is making sure that, the listings that we do manage are up to par and are the best in the area.

Being the best in the area requires daily work on on the listings, you know, like I said, we have a team that is in charge of a photos, a team that is in charge of optimizing the listing every single day. There’s a team that, , just, you know, the pricing every day based on the market.

So, as opposed to other management companies that just kind of do the basic just gas communication, or just here and there kind of coordinating with the cleanings, but there’s a lot of day to day work that that is required to, get that revenue. Like I said, over a 1Million in the past 2 years. So, I think just being being a strategic with how you’re managing and and how you’re working to kind of get those.

You know, bookings and I think, um, I’ve done a good job of, of hiring a team around me. With experts in different, um, you know, parts of the management business. That way I don’t have to do all of it and they can focus on those aspects and then, and then at the end of the day, like, we do get more bookings compared to other listings or occupancies a little bit higher and revenue as well.

So, I think attention to detail is very important when you’re managing. And not everyone has, you know, that attention to detail that we can offer as a, as a management business.

Gil: Nice, nice, um, talk to me a little bit about your Direct bookings. You, uh, we talked a little bit kind of before the show. Um, you you’re slowly climbing on your, your direct booking rates, but you have a pretty solid footing on some of the like hands on tactics that you use to make sure that folks are coming back to you.

Can you talk a little bit more

Victor: Yeah, so, I mean, like I said, you know, part of, uh, part of our, management business is making sure that we provide a 5 star stays, right? Um, so we go above and beyond to, uh, service our, our guests and have, provide the best customer service. And that, that has led to, uh, Um, then wanting to come back, right?

Come back with us and stay with us because of the quality of stay that they had. So, right now, um, I would say about 20 percent of our, our, uh, annual bookings are from a direct booking. Uh, we do have a strategy in place where we, uh, reach out to those who have stayed initially to a platform like Airbnb, booking.

com and then have, , ask them if they enjoyed their stay and if they would like to come back. We also offer, like, small, little, like, discount for them to come back with us and that kind of also generates some interest. So, I think it starts with providing quality services, and then also have a system in place where you can kind of record.

Um, the guest information of somebody who stayed in your home, you know, we have, uh, systems in place where we, uh, you know, collect emails. We collect, uh, contact information. That way, when it comes to inviting somebody back, you know, we have that information and we can easily. Contact them and, direct bookings are, are great for us, but also great for the guests, right?

Because at the end of the day, they’re also, uh, getting the same benefits and not, you know, spending so much money outta out of their pocket. So we use that, uh, to kind of convince, uh, like I said, 20% of the, of the bookings, uh, to be through direct, uh, booking web, uh, uh, direct bookings. But we’re also looking into expand to get, uh, more, you know.

Marketing and getting a professional, uh, direct booking website. That way, you know, maybe by next year, 50 percent of our bookings can come from direct bookings and kind of growing that side of it because of so many benefits to having direct bookings as opposed to, you know, using different platforms, which are great, but I think direct bookings website, a direct booking website would be the way to go in the future.

And that’s, you know, things start start scaling and we start going.

Gil: That’s, that’s amazing. Like you’re, you’re able to actually capture like a, within a short timeframe, a pretty decent amount of direct bookings all on its own. And it sounds like some of the processes are like more hand, like high touch. And you’re actually reaching out to them, like. If you were to have like automations in place and email trickle campaigns, like I can only see that really like amplifying your reach there.

And it sounds like probably the folks that are coming back, yes, on some of the outreach that you’re doing, but it really starts, like I totally agree with you. It really starts with that five star experience there. And like, I think the hosts that do really well, they don’t really just, Yeah. And I think that’s, that’s the next step.

make sure that all the guests strive for that five star and like making sure that they all get five stars. But like, I think the hosts that do really well are the ones that really think about the entire guest experience and they, they really try to deliver something that convinces them to come back.

Because I think like a lot of folks, they’ll leave a five star experience on Airbnb just because it was a good stay, but like, it’s actually a step, uh, like one or two steps above that experience that makes them really want to come back to the same place because they have You Everywhere to choose from.

Like it’s very easy for them to go back to like Ventura and say like, okay, I’m going to go see what the next spot is. Um, but I feel like if you are consistently giving a really good experience, like they’re not going to want

Victor: Yeah for them to come back to us out of like like that’s a good point that you made for them to come back to us Out of like over hundreds of airbnbs in the area that also goes to kind of goes to show that You know, they really liked our place and that we were to provide that unique experience So I never thought about it actually that way, you know the fact that You know when you’re getting a second visit from somebody else I mean people like to try new things or want to experience like a different setup You But if they’re coming back to you, that means that they enjoyed their place, like, a lot.

Um, and then, like you said, some people just, like, leave five star, uh, reviews just to kind of be nice. And, and, you know, they had a good stay, but for them To make this decision to, you know, spend that money to come back to you. I think that that goes to show that, their first experience was even above and beyond what they expected and, you know, they want some more and they want to experience it again.

So, I never thought about that about it that way, actually. So when, when they have so much selection and, you know, they still want to. Go to the same spot that they went to last year, as opposed to trying something new in the same area. Um, yeah, it’s just kind of goes to show the level of experience that you’re able to provide and.

And, uh, I think taking advantage of of of that is is very kind of important and just game keeping consistency with the, with the guest experience. And that way, they can just kind of keep coming back. Um, but. That direct, uh, those direct bookings are, I think that’s the strategy to go to in the, in the, in the future.

Um, that way. Your brand continues to grow as well, and you start growing your business as well. So, um, I’m definitely excited to kind of get into the next level of direct booking and kind of growing the percentage of bookings that are. Coming to us, but, directly, that would be awesome.

Gil: Yeah. I can also say it being like good marketing and good metrics that you might want to get back to your homeowners as well too. Like that, like this month we have say a year from now you have 50 percent direct booking. Like it would actually be really good to hear from like if I’m a homeowner to hear that like a guest came back to the same place before or now they think they came out to the same place before and they had a good stay.

Like that shows to me that like whoever is managing my property is managing it really

Victor: Yeah, that’s, that’s true. It’s, it’s just to show your, like, you know, the owners that, you know, you’re doing a really good job and then also that can, that itself, or direct booking website, it can be a marketing tool to get even more, get more clients, more people to trust in your brand, trust in your, in your business.

So. There’s a lot of, you know, I don’t see any, any cons to, uh, basically, doing having a direct booking website or getting direct bookings, um, because it’s just grows your brand gives you a new, uh, new opportunities to grow and, and, um, and then, uh, like you said, it also shows, your partners that you’re trustworthy and that that properties, um, the property that they are making you in charge of is doing well, enough to have repeat customers.

So that’s, that’s always, you know, great.

Gil: Yeah, I actually, now that I’ve started to work with more and more established hosts, I find that a lot of co hosts now are realizing that they should be investing into direct bookings, not only for, um, the, uh, the higher occupancies, the higher revenues, but also about brand building sustainability of their business of not being too reliant on like the OTA specifically.

Um, but like, like you mentioned, like that brand building and being able to use that as leverage to attract more hosts, grow your portfolio in the way that you want, because when you’re building your website, you’re, you’re putting your brand out there for the first time. Because like when you’re on Airbnb, you really, you have very limited capabilities to like really establish your brand.

Um, but when you have your website, you get to talk about who’s your ideal guest avatar, who want, who do you want to stay at your place, the caliber of the, the, the properties that you manage, uh, talk about your services. Like it allows you to tell a much deeper story that you really can’t do without like pulling out your PowerPoint deck and, and like walking through a co hosting client, kind of through that, through

Victor: Yeah. Yeah. And it makes it, it adds a little bit more personality, uh, to it if, if you’re, you know, creating a direct booking website or have something that you created yourself. So I think that’s, um, that’s a unique touch that maybe, potential clients in the future to see. That you’ve kind of created something on your own, and then I think, like you said, you’re not depending on, you know, other or systems that you have to kind of rely on.

You know, for your income or for your, your business to grow, you know, it just adds a little bit more control. Um, that’s I really like that conversation that we had, you know, in the past where it kind of, you kind of broke down all the benefits of, you know. A direct booking website. I just kind of opened my mind to, you know, not, not just saving, saving fees or, you know, saving fees as a host, but there’s a lot, uh, or the site, which is a marketing site.

Uh, to it, and then also the importance of creating, you know, your own brand as you continue scaling. So, yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to getting into a little bit more into that space.

Gil: Yeah. I think like kind of to cap this one is this like I think of a lot of us, we get to a point where this is not like a passive thing to us anymore. Like, it’s not like passive income is on, it’s not an LTR, um, it’s a business of ours. And if you, if you think about businesses, like you think about like, what is going to make this business sustainable in the long run, because the last thing you want is to have a deteriorating business or like a business that you consistently have to feed and maintain in there.

Uh, you want something to, to be able to grow and to be able to like run that flywheel and you’re not running a flywheel if you’re consistently chasing for the next booking. But if you build a good list of past clients, you deliver a really great experience that people want to talk about. You’re able to build your social following.

Those are all things that compound over time. And I think like the good hosts that do invest into those things, it pays dividends, like many years down. Like it gets to a point where getting to that 50, 60, 65 percent direct bookings, In a few years is not unattainable. Like it’s actually very attainable because you’re investing on compounding things.

You’re not just like trying to keep things in maintenance

Victor: yeah, exactly. And then I think, you know, once you get into the direct booking. Space. I think you, similar to kind of initially starting your journey in STR, you kind of learn strategies around direct bookings and more marketing how you, how you can promote your, you know, your website more. Um, so it, it just kind of goes into a whole nother field, but at the end of the day, you know where you’re gonna be going through is, is kind of building your brand and, and, and building your own, your own business.

Um, and then essentially kind of cutting, cutting the middleman, um, in regards to kind of generating bookings, just kind of have a direct relationship with gas and, and then, um, and then, and then again, you know, marketing your own, your own brand, creating something that’s, that’s your own. So I think, uh, I think that’s the way to go, um, in the future as, as people start realizing that that’s definitely a possibility.

Gil: Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Victor. I usually end the show with two questions. One’s a mindset question. One’s a big takeaway question. So starting with a mindset one first. What’s the one piece of mindset advice that you would give to someone that’s starting something completely new?

Victor: Based on my experience, what I would suggest somebody to do if they’re starting something brand new is focus on a focus on education and networking. Um, because if you’re well educated, um, or at least semi educated with something new that you’re getting into, I think you have to work ethic, um, and the desire to make it work.

I think you’ll find a way. But, uh, you have to kind of be kind of like, in love with the, with the process of learning something new. So, if you’re willing to kind of get educated on it, make those initial investments and are, able to, you know, connect with others who have the result that you want, um, and, you know, drive yourself to kind of gain that experience.

I think, I think that’s what you need to focus on, you know, focus on getting as much education as, as you. As you can and, um, and, you know, strive to get and also, you know, connect with others, don’t come outside of your, your comfort, uh, you know, your comfort and, you know, and gain more information that with other people.

Um, and then I think. By doing those things, you kind of give you the, it gives you the self confidence to kind of take, uh, take risk, uh, take risk and kind of jump into, into something new. So, I think, um, that’s what I did in the beginning. Um, I invested in education and network, and then, and then I took the risk of, of, you know, getting my 1st deal.

And after that, you know, the education continues. But, uh, you know, if you’re kind of willing to, you know, make those initial investments and are driven to make it work, then I think I think you can do it. Um, it’s all it’s all up here. Basically, you know, your mindset is, is what can control your behavior and what can control your results.

So, um, I, you know, encourage everybody to if you’re passionate about it to go for it and do it, and then have the self confidence that you can get it done. And then kind of learn as, as you go. So, uh. Uh, yeah, those both be my takeaways for somebody, you know, trying to something, trying something new and getting into a brand new business or in real estate as well.

Gil: Love it. Love it. Uh, on the more tactical side, what’s the one takeaway that you want our listeners to

Victor: I think kind of focusing on, on, on your business and then what, what’s going to take you to the, to the next level. So I think once you have yourself, established and you have an established business, it’s just kind of looking into the fine details of, what can, what you can do to kind of improve your business, make it a little bit, uh, better.

So, I think, um, the education when you’re established comes a little bit different. You’re trying to educate yourself on how to keep your business strong as opposed to starting it. Um, and then keeping, keeping your clientele and things like that., what I, , encourage everyone to do that, it’s looking to get into the space or already in the real estate field is, is it just how are you going to market your, your brand?

Are you going to market your, your, your listings and things like that? I think for me, uh, direct bookings are, the way that I’m going to, try to focus all of my, my energy. Um, there is, there is a lot of fun in creating something new, so I think creating a direct, you know, booking website, I think it can, you know, either, it can, you know, market your property more, and then at the same time, you kind of gain the experience of creating something brand new for yourself.

I’m definitely kind of encourage everyone to, to reach your goals and then also, you know, continue to scale and educate yourself as once you have an established business, you know, for me, that would be kind of moving into the direct booking space in which I’m going to strive to.

Strive to do, um, so, um, yeah, that’s what I would kind of focus on, you know, as an established business owner.

Gil: Nice. Nice. Awesome. Victor, it was really good to have you on the show. Have you talk about your entire journey from starting from your, your, your course, all the way to landing your first deal, scaling up to 22, uh, what’d you do on the direct booking side and like how you also think about like mindset, helping you kind of weather through that entire journey there.

So I appreciate you sharing your story with everybody.

Victor: thank you for having me. I hope this story encourages others to kind of take the, try something new and, um, and striving to. , better yourself and things like that. So I’m glad to share and I hope this is not our last 1 and. And we can have a 2nd session, but I appreciate you having me and I’m so happy to share my story.

Gil: Awesome, man. We’ll talk more. Thanks, Victor. Bye. Bye.