Thanks For Visiting

Most Airbnb hosts plan for the obvious costs: the mortgage, furnishings, cleaning fees, and maybe a few supplies.
But the expenses that hurt the most are usually the ones no one planned for.
In this episode, Sarah and Annette break down 11 short-term rental expenses that commonly catch hosts off guard. Some are small recurring costs. Others can wipe out thousands of dollars if they are missing from your forecast, budget, or profit and loss statement.
They cover everything from short-term rental insurance and permits to platform fees, tech stack bloat, credit card processing fees, chargebacks, utility spikes, seasonal photography, furniture replacement, and the professional team every host should have before they need one urgently.
They also name the most expensive hidden cost of all: hosting without a pricing strategy.
If you are only looking at gross revenue, this episode will help you understand what your Airbnb is actually costing you—and where those expenses belong in your business.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why AirCover is not a replacement for short-term rental insurance
Which licensing and permit costs hosts need to plan for
How OTA commissions and platform fees affect actual profit
Why tech subscriptions should be audited quarterly
What direct booking hosts need to know about processing fees and chargebacks
Why high occupancy can create higher utility costs
How seasonal photography can impact bookings
Why cheap furniture often costs more over time
Which financial professionals belong in your hosting business
Why a missing pricing strategy can cost more than anything else

Resources Mentioned:
Join us Live and Learn about Strategic Host!
PriceLabs: Revenue management for hosts and property managers.

Gale Golden did not start with a perfect short-term rental strategy.
She started with a family ski house in the Adirondacks, a property that sat empty for years, and a decision: rent it or sell it.
In this episode, Sarah and Annette sit down with Gale to talk about how Five Star Lodge went from a beloved family property to a more intentional, more profitable short-term rental business. Gale shares how she first got into real estate, why she started hosting, and what changed when her market became more competitive after COVID.
She also breaks down what happened when she stopped treating the property like a side project and started treating it like a business. From learning revenue management and watching PriceLabs every morning to investing in professional photography, improving operations, building her team, and positioning the property around its actual guest experience, Gale’s story is a clear reminder that optimization changes everything.
If you have a great property that is underperforming—or you know there is more revenue sitting inside your current listing—this episode will help you see what can happen when you finally run the numbers and make the business match the property.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Gale turned a family ski house into a short-term rental business
Why market saturation forced her to get serious about pricing
How revenue management helped unlock stronger performance
Why professional photography changed the way guests saw the property
How better systems improved cleaning, maintenance, and team performance
Why direct booking opportunities may already exist inside your current network
How Gale’s property was selected for Staycation USA
Why the right guest experience can outperform generic amenity checklists

Resources mentioned:
Join us Live and Learn about Strategic Host!
Learn more about PriceLabs!

Steve Marquis did not stumble into short-term rental success.
Before buying his first Gulf Shores property, he was running seven or eight pro formas a day, studying markets, comparing opportunities, and trying to find the right investment. But once he finally bought his first condo, the real work started.
In this episode, Sarah and Annette sit down with Steve to talk about how he went from teacher to real estate agent to short-term rental investor, and how he used a data-driven approach to outperform his original revenue projections.
Steve shares why he chose Gulf Shores, how he renovated and repositioned his first beach condo, and why small family-friendly amenities helped him stand out in a market full of generic beach listings.
He also breaks down how he learned to track booking windows, stop panic-dropping rates too early, build a remote team, market to snowbirds, use email to encourage repeat guests, and keep pushing revenue without chasing 100% occupancy.
If you have ever wondered whether your property can make more than the market data says it can, this episode is a reminder that the right mix of numbers, positioning, systems, and guest experience can keep raising the ceiling.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why Steve chose Gulf Shores over more expensive beach markets
How he used pro formas to evaluate investment opportunities
Why family-friendly amenities helped his condo stand out
How booking window data changed his pricing strategy
Why revenue matters more than chasing 100% occupancy
How he manages properties remotely from Ohio
Why he plans to keep building in one market
How email marketing and direct bookings can increase guest lifetime value

Resources Mentioned:
Join us Live and Learn about Strategic Host!
PriceLabs: Revenue management for hosts and property managers.

Kim Kelley did not buy her Annapolis home with an Airbnb business plan.
She bought it so her family could be close to their daughter, Lizzie, while she attended the United States Naval Academy and played varsity lacrosse. After Lizzie graduated and was commissioned into the Navy, Kim had a decision to make: sell the house or turn it into something more.
So she “threw it on Airbnb.”
In this episode, Sarah and Annette talk with Kim about how The Goat Getaway became much more than a second home. Kim shares what it took to get licensed in a strict market, why her second guest immediately exposed the need for a stronger team, and how she built boots-on-the-ground support while hosting remotely from Dallas.
She also breaks down the strategy that changed everything: learning PriceLabs, raising her base rate, adjusting minimum stays, creating parent-child listings, and building direct booking demand through the Naval Academy community.
If you have a property with untapped midweek demand, a strong niche audience, or a direct booking opportunity hiding in plain sight, this episode will show you what happens when you stop guessing and start operating like a real business.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Kim turned a family home into The Goat Getaway
Why remote hosting requires a trusted local team
What her early guest issues taught her about operations
How PriceLabs changed her pricing strategy
Why parent-child listings helped unlock midweek demand
How she reached 70% direct bookings
Why one bad guest pushed her toward a stronger business model
How she uses weekly metrics to keep improving the listing

Resources Mentioned:
Join us live & learn about Strategic Host!
Pricelabs: Revenue management for hosts and property managers.

You do not need to buy another property to build a six-figure Airbnb business.
In this episode, Sarah and Annette break down the path they would take if they were starting with one property in 2026 and wanted to make $100K. Their answer is not buying more doors, taking on more debt, or jumping into rental arbitrage. It is co-hosting.
Before you manage someone else’s property, your own listing needs to be performing. Sarah and Annette walk through the numbers, systems, and standards that need to be in place first, including cost per reservation, pricing strategy, booking funnel performance, and guest experience.
Then they explain how co-hosting works, what the math looks like, why it carries less risk than arbitrage, and what you need before taking on your first client.
If you already run a strong short-term rental, this episode will help you see how your current property can become the proof of concept for a bigger business.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why co-hosting can be a faster path to $100K than buying another property
How to use your own listing as your proof of concept
Why every host needs to know their cost per reservation
What the $100K co-hosting math actually looks like
Why co-hosting carries less risk than rental arbitrage
What brand standards, contracts, and onboarding fees need to be in place
Five steps to start building a co-hosting business

Resources Mentioned:
Apply for Strategic Host!