VRS549 - SSTIR Crazy Month: Safety, Sustainability, Trust, Insurance, and Regulations

We’ve just wrapped up SSTIR Crazy Month after 5-weeks of focusing on the core elements of our business that tend to be sidelined in conferences and summits.  For the month of February, we talked about Safety, Sustainability, Trust, Insurance and Regulations, with podcast episodes, expert panels, blog posts and social media content.

In this episode, Heather and Mike - co-founders of the Vacation Rental Formula Business School - review the month, pulling out the best bits and key takeaways from each week, and sharing some of the highlights from our expert contributors.

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We need your help to prevent STR bans and unreasonable regulations!!!

In an effort to make our voices heard and start the conversation with top level decision makers the CanStays Rental Alliance Conference is happening April 20-22 in Banff Alberta.

We need you to attend, we need you the share this message, we need you to get involved.

Use the coupon VRF100 to save $100 when you BUY YOUR TICKET

Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS549

Do people really think about their impact on the environment when they go on vacation?

Do they actively seek out locations and properties that clearly state their sustainability features?  

Reports and statistics are telling us that Gen Z is the most enlightened generation when it comes to responsible tourism, and we should be hooking into that and making it a part of our marketing and operational strategies for the future.

In today’s episode I am joined by Marc Ribail, the co-founder and Head of Sustainability at Inspired Living Solutions, and founder of QALIA, a sustainability certificate program for the luxury market.

This episode is a part of  SSTIR Crazy Month which is sponsored by Proper Insurance‍
Proper Insurance is committed to providing short-term rental owners with a comprehensive insurance solution.

Call Proper Insurance today at 1-888-631-6680

Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS548

If you don’t already have local or state legislation in place to regulate your short-term rental business, it’s either in progress or it’s coming, because it’s not a matter of if your area gets regulated for short-term rentals. It’s when.

This is the message Rolf Blizzard wants everyone to heed and why you need to be laser focused on your current regulations, or well-prepared for what is in store for you in the future.

The recent outright ban on short-term rentals in the province of British Columbia has galvanized managers and owners and brought them together in coalitions to lobby their government representatives.  But is this too late?

In this episode Rolf shares what he calls the "Seven Cs of Advocacy," and breaks down the ways in which stakeholders, i.e. owners and property managers, can set themselves up for greater advocacy success by getting ahead of potential regulatory action.

This episode is a part of  SSTIR Crazy Month which is sponsored by Proper Insurance‍
Proper Insurance is committed to providing short-term rental owners with a comprehensive insurance solution.

Call Proper Insurance today at 1-888-631-6680

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Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS547

Insurance often takes a back seat in conversations about building a successful short-term rental property management business, but it has such critical importance, we have to pay more attention to it.

When we do discuss it, it’s often to complain about the rising cost of premiums, but if it takes a lawsuit, or catastrophic damage to bring it front of mind and to realize its value, it may be too late.

In this episode, we are focusing on every type of insurance including liability coverage, damage waiver products, and travel insurance.

Nick Massey from Proper Insurance joins Heather to talk about the things you need to know in order to safeguard your business against unforeseen incidents. 

This is an important conversation and one that could protect you from so many risks.

This episode is a part of  SSTIR Crazy Month which is sponsored by Proper Insurance‍
Proper Insurance is committed to providing short-term rental owners with a comprehensive insurance solution.

Call Proper Insurance today at 1-888-631-6680

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Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS546

Trust is at the core of everything we do in this business, and there’s no-one better to talk about this than Chris Maughan of I-PRAC.  He has been studying trust for more than 25 years and in this episode shines a spotlight on its paramount importance in building relationships with guests, reducing uncertainty, and shaping confidence.

Airbnb says they ‘want to build the world’s most trusted community’.  They underscore this by assuring potential guests they will  ‘dedicate a knowledgeable and experienced team to monitor any suspicious activity in our marketplace’. Yet, they are just what they call themselves - a marketplace - and with more people seeking out direct book options to save money on service fees, it is on the operators to deliver a haven of trust in their online presence.

The conversation explores ways that hosts and property managers can instill trust-building elements, like trust pages, transparent listings, and reduce uncertainty in all their communication.  

This episode is a part of  SSTIR Crazy Month which is sponsored by Proper Insurance‍
Proper Insurance is committed to providing short-term rental owners with a comprehensive insurance solution.

Call Proper Insurance today at 1-888-631-6680

Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS545

Do we need to know our guests?  They book, pay, arrive, stay a while, leave, and we hope that all will go well, the property will be respected and there won’t be a charge-back.  That is not always the case though, and while we can expect most of our guests to be great, there will always be a few that cause issues…and unfortunately, they can be the costliest ones.

Guest screening used to be easy in the ‘way back when’ days when we didn’t care as much about protecting personal information. Now that people are rightly reluctant to release too many personal details, it’s challenging to be confident who is renting our homes.

And when trust and safety is at the forefront of our minds, we need to have a solution to guest screening.

In this episode, Leo Walton from Superhog talks about the need to balance guest-centric communication with efficient screening procedures. The conversation also delves into the role of guest screening in damage prevention, identifying fraud, and combating fraudulent chargebacks.

This episode is a part of SSTIR Crazy Month which is sponsored by Proper Insurance‍
Proper Insurance is committed to providing short-term rental owners with a comprehensive insurance solution. Call Proper today at 1-888-631-6680

Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS544

This episode is sponsored by Minut.
You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >>
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut

Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business!
Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow.
Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time:
Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass


Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult


Discover more about the VRF B-School:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses

Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS543

This episode is sponsored by Minut.
You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >>
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut

Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business!
Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow.
Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time:
Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass


Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult


Discover more about the VRF B-School:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses

Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS542

This episode is sponsored by Minut.
You can discover more about Minut at our Virtual Vendor Showcase >>
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/virtual-vendor-showcases/minut

Get access to the best education for your short-term rental business!
Enroll in The Vacation Rental Formula Business School today and start seeing results tomorrow.
Get 25% OFF an All-Access Pass For A Limited Time:
Don't Miss Out >> Get Your All-Access Pass


Get on the waitlist for the next intake for VRF B-School Consultation
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/consult


Discover more about the VRF B-School:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/courses

Listening to this podcast on the move? Get to the show notes here:
https://www.vacationrentalformula.com/VRS541