Live Let Thrive Podcast
Airbnb, PadSplit, Corporate Rentals, Arbitrage, and Live Let Thrive cover all the creative ways to rent out your properties to maximize profits. We also cover creative ways to buy properties. Come along for the ride and have some fun along the way!
Live Let Thrive Podcast
The FIFA World Cup Flop — and Rents Down 30% (with Mikey B)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The FIFA World Cup turned out to be a massive booking flop for DFW short-term rental hosts. Properties that were pricing at $3,000 per night in March dropped to barely 2x normal summer rates by game week, with hotels dumping room blocks and new inventory flooding the market. Mike Brown nearly landed a six-figure contract for 25 people over two months but lost it when the international client demanded move-in within three days - a red flag timeline that would have bypassed proper vetting.
The episode covers current market shifts: rents dropping 20-30% in Texas multifamily, Pad Split emerging as the affordable housing play at $160-180 per week, and Arlington neighbors threatening City Hall over "multifamily zoning on single-family land." Steve closed another owner-finance deal at 6.75% with $11,900 down and is running six-bedroom Pad Splits while Myka preps for his second realtor exam attempt. The crew discusses AI automation for guest messaging, the nightmare of plumbing with six tenants sharing bathrooms, a guest hitting 1,000 gigs of internet in two days, and an $863 electric bill nobody caught until months later.
Work with us. Interested in professional management or consulting?
Myka — Sharebnb: www.sharebnb.com
Steve — Argest Rentals: www.ArgestRentals.com
Sign up for PadSplit with Steve's link and get a free 1-on-1 PadSplit strategy call with Stevie Stacks: padsplit.com/hosts
Myka's other podcast, Entrepremarriage — building wealth without losing the marriage: youtube.com/@Entrepremarriage
All our links: linktr.ee/liveletthrive
#airbnb #airbnbhost #shorttermrentals #midtermrentals #padsplit #rentbytheroom #coliving #corporatehousing #BRRRR #realestate #realestateinvesting #VRBO #shareeconomy #airbnbsuperhost #airbnbpodcast #sharebnb #liveletthrive #liveletthrivepodcast #biggerpockets #directbookings #bookdirect #dfwrealestate
Cold open
SPEAKER_05Welcome to Live Let Thrive, a podcast about the Airbnb life, the share economy, and everything in between. Here are your hosts, Micah and Steve.
Welcome back - Mikey B is in the house
SPEAKER_00Hello, hello, hello. And welcome back to another exciting episode of Live Let Through.
SPEAKER_03What's up, Micah? Man.
SPEAKER_00I'm chilling, Stevie Stacks. How you doing, brother?
SPEAKER_03I'm doing good in this 105-degree heat going on in um Texas. Uh, roasting us and killing our AC units and getting some feedback from somebody's microphone. But uh probably Mikey B. And uh we're gonna have a great show today. This is episode 346 of your favorite short-term, mid-term, long-term Pad Split podcast in the world coming at you from Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas.
SPEAKER_00What is up, man? We uh oh, we do have a special guest with us today, man. Well, he's been on with us before, but he's still a special guest. What's up? Who we got with us?
SPEAKER_03We got Mikey B, Mike Brown in the house. We're getting the band back together, most of it. And we're gonna have some fun today and talk some talk some shop, man. How you been, Mikey?
SPEAKER_04I've been good, been good, man. Glad to be uh back on the show with you guys. And um, man, it I feel like it's been so long since we we we did this. And so uh obviously we have a lot to catch up on. Uh, there's been a lot of development on our end. We've still been growing, uh, still been continuing to learn uh literally every single day. So uh so yeah, it's it's it's great to see one that you guys are still doing this for so long, um, that you still have the passion for it, and uh, and also meeting and educating others along the way because that's what it's all about, right?
SPEAKER_03So that's what it's all about, man.
SPEAKER_04Teach one, as I've heard someone say before.
SPEAKER_03What is it? What was that again?
SPEAKER_04Reach one, teach one.
SPEAKER_03Reach one teach one. Wow. That's deep right there. So, where are we gonna dive into this thing? I just got back from Mexico, by the way. I was there 10 days. It was uh it was a cool trip. Baptized our son over there. We had some fun,
Why we stopped booking Airbnbs in Mexico
SPEAKER_03hung out with the family and um rented an Airbnb with a pool and pretty cool, pretty cool place, you know. I will say this. I I kind of I don't know. When I go to Mexico, I kind of like the hotel life a little bit. No, no knock on Airbnbs, but it's uh I don't know. I like the hotel life.
SPEAKER_00I I'm with you, bro. We did an Airbnb in Mexico, and yeah, we were like, man, next time we gotta do a resort or a hotel, man. It was cool, but yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, because I mean they really take care of you at the hotels over there, and and um, right where you want to be, right in the middle of the city, in the middle of the action, just walk downstairs and go out there and explore. You know, that's you know, where an Airbnb could be off a little bit, somewhere not as convenient, you know what I'm saying? So that's what that's what I like of a vacation. You just want the convenience, you want to go walk down to a local coffee shop in the mornings and go have some go to restaurants and stuff like that. So, yeah, is one is one time that I'm like pro hotel on this show.
SPEAKER_04Wait, wait, so I know you have a lot of kids, so do you still get one hotel room or two hotel rooms? I'm glad you asked.
SPEAKER_03So we um at this particular hotel, we've been um getting the the hotel room with the two beds on it, and it's been working out fine. And now our son got here, right? So now it's three kiddos that we travel with down there, so it's getting a little cramped in there with the pack and play, walking around it in that hotel room. So we but they have a two-bedroom uh suite that we're gonna rent this next time we go. So it's big two-bedroom suite, uh room for everybody. So we're looking forward to that.
SPEAKER_00Yes, sir. One one quick question, though. I have a question. How was it during like the World Cup? Like, how was Mexico? Because I I want to know because I went to the Spain versus Argentina game here at the Pluckers, and man, it was it was lit. I was like, dang, they was in there turned up. I was like, I gotta do this again. But how was the the atmosphere? Because we just got done with the World Cup.
SPEAKER_03You know, I'll say this because we didn't stay in the main downtown, the the centro, they call it in Guadalajara. We stayed at a town um about an hour away, uh 45 with traffic, it's about 45 minutes, but an hour with traffic. And in that time, we were staying the Airbnb, it's kind of a secluded area, so we didn't get to witness that too much, but we would see on TV and stuff. Downtown was the place, man. And we visited downtown, not during one of the matches, but they had the whole area closed off, giant screen there, you know, where the fan zone where they're gonna go party and watch the games. So it's a it was a big deal, and we'd see it on TV. There'd be like thousands of people there watching the games and partying and stuff, you know. So it was it was a pretty uh pretty cool deal. But like I said, we we weren't there to to witness those games while they were going on. Okay, they did play some games in Guadalajara and they played some games in Mexico City. And so they had some, yeah, this the Mexic the Mexican team played there in Mexico, and then they made the playoffs, and and the playoffs they came here and played a game, I believe. Yeah, and they lost, you know. And USA got their ass kicked the first game. So we can talk World Cup. I love World Cup, but this is a uh pot and the fans are like, this is a podcast about short-term rentals, man. What's going on? So um, first of all, umica is getting his real estate license, and that's yeah, yeah.
Passed the national exam, failed the state
SPEAKER_00Man, yeah, man. We are I am so I I I did did my first attempt on was it Monday? I think it was Monday. Uh I passed the national exam, but I failed the state, so I gotta go back next Friday and take it. But I found out I was studying the wrong material. I was only studying for the national with the test I was taking through me, my uh through the course, and I didn't realize it was a whole state section. I was like, oh, snap! But I mean, I only missed the state by five questions, so I ain't mad at myself for that. So uh hopefully by next Friday, I will be a licensed realtor. Um, and I already got a brokerage I'm signing with. Uh interview by the way, if you're getting your license, interview a bunch of brokerages, tell them your goals, write down your goals, what you're trying to do. Like my goals is I'm trying to wholesale, I'm trying to list, and mainly I'm trying to build up my own portfolio of rentals. I'm trying to do flips, you know, uh build up my cash reserves and just have that honest conversation with a brokerage, and you'll find one that you know fits your style. And shout out to Jabron, he hooked me up with his brokerage, and it was a real good conversation to do. It was like, you know, straight up he knew what I was trying to do. He's like, Oh, you're an investor, you know. Um, then I interviewed another one, they were good as well. Uh, but this other one that I interviewed with with Jabron's, it was it was really good conversation, pleasant. So hopefully next Friday I have my real estate license and I got a bunch of goals to complete after that. So uh yeah, that's how things have been moving on my end, man. How about for you, Stevie Snacks?
Myka's new owner-finance deal in Watauga
SPEAKER_03How about for me? So I before we get to Mike Brown, just sitting there. I I did I purchase the house a few weeks ago. Let's go another house over here in in the Wataga area. Yeah, I got it. I got it for um owner finance, owner finance directly from the from the owner. And the and what's cool about this, I I I s I you know when I go to Zillow, I search owner finance, seller finance, subject to I searched keywords, right? To see what comes up. And I and because I I've said it on the show before, I'm I'm exclusively buying owner finance or subject to houses now. I'm not messing with the banks no more, and I'm just going direct to sellers. And I saw this one pop up on there, and it said, you know, for sale, owner finance, and it and it said the terms and stuff. So I hit him up and I talked to the guy, he was cool. He said, Yeah, just go to the house, there's the code, you can go walk through it, let me know what you think. And I did that, you know, after the day job, I went there, checked it out, and they did an amazing job on this house, man. It was really cool. Uh I mean professional um upgrades. Uh it was just it was renovated inside and out, man. It looked beautiful. I was like, man, this is uh it's a good price and good uh interest rate, 6.75, which wasn't it's not bad for nowadays, right? Especially you don't have to mess with the banks. And my down payment was $11.99, $11,900, and I got me a house. So I I was happy about it. I got it furnished real quick. Uh my brother's next door neighbor hit him up. It's funny, like that same week, he hit him up and said, Hey, do you know anybody that wants to buy some uh living room furniture? And because you know the wife's doing upgrading, so he put all the old stuff in the garage. And and I told my brother, you know what? I'm buying a house not too far from y'all tomorrow, but send me some pictures, and it happened to be this badass leather furniture, right? I never buy leather furniture because it's expensive as hell, but it's his badass leather furniture, all everything you need for a living room. And he said he'll take 200 bucks for it all. I said, dude, as soon as I close on that house, I'm gonna go over there the next day with my truck. Let's load it up. And so it took like two truckloads of all this stuff, man. So it was just it just happened so perfectly, right? But my brother knows every time, you know, people know every time furniture comes up, they hit me up. Hey, Steve, you need some furniture. You do the Airbnbs, you know. So that's what they say. Get your get your uh name out there, what you do, and then stuff like that will will come to you naturally.
The numbers: 6.75%, $11,900 down
SPEAKER_00Straight up. Uh so okay, because I gotta run these. I love these numbers, bro. You've 6.75% interest rate, 11,900 down. You win in all day with that. Now, what are you pad splitting that or are you doing just a full short-term, midterm rental on that?
SPEAKER_03So this house was really, really pretty, and it's in a place where I can do short-term rentals, and but of course, my my main goal is to corporate first. So I saw this as like a nice corporate slash Airbnb, right? Corporate slash short term. So that's that's the approach I took on this one. Um now and and the area and and the street it was on, you know what I'm saying? I it's not C class, right? It's not where you know, where where I'm I'm looking for the pad splits is more C class, B minus area. So this is this street's pretty good. Um, is it B? B plus okay, you know, so so you know what I'm saying. So it's not in the area, it's uh people will call the popo there. Yeah, straight up. And so not not knocking C neighborhoods. I grew up in C neighborhoods, but um, I'm just saying that's for a pad split, it wasn't gonna work for that. So I just decided to do corporate and Airbnb, and it got booked right away. It's a long booking in place, so so it's um it's working out pretty good so far.
The Nextdoor post about a room-rental house
SPEAKER_00Um the reason why I'm happy you brought that up because we can um I want to include Mike in this too, but I kind of wanted to bring this around full circle because uh I got I sent you guys an article from next door in Arlington, and uh looks like Arlington is now cracking down on pad splits.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, that was that an article, or was it just a Facebook thing going back and forth?
SPEAKER_00That's a next door, that's one of them cranky next door neighbors who's about to go down to City Hall and complain.
SPEAKER_02Okay, yeah, she looked very Karen like look very Karen.
SPEAKER_00So it and that goes back to I think what you just said, um, the types of neighborhoods people are setting this stuff up in, right? I now my neighborhood is I'm actually probably gonna start looking for a house here in the next year or so because it is becoming a renter's neighborhood, but my area would probably be considered like a B. So this lady complaining, I think you're right. I think there people are starting to set these things up in B neighborhoods, and now it's starting to be like, well, I'm about to go tell the city hall, and now it's like, ah, here it goes. So do you think we're about to have the short-term rental Arlington, Texas crisis all over again?
Regulation is coming to every city
SPEAKER_03I mean, it's imminent, it's imminent in all the city because this is still kind of new, right? Yeah, that's but still kind of new, and um, and yeah, the people the like the words she was using on that what you showed me that that screenshot was saying, oh, they're putting like they're making these little houses into 10-bedroom houses and they're shoving all these people in. That's not the case, you know. If it's a I like I said, my house is a six-bedroom, so that's six people living in a house together. That's normal, right? Six people living in a house. Uh, that's a family, you know, that's a family. Three, you know, five or six people as a family. So it's not like I'm putting 10 making 10 bedrooms out of a 1500 square foot house, which is they're they're just using that the like uh uh that example to go to shout at City Hall. This is what they're doing, you know.
SPEAKER_00Uh I'm uh I'm I'll go ahead.
SPEAKER_04I was like, but even for long-term rentals, are aren't there like occupancy uh maxes for long-term rentals? You know like building code, max occupancy.
SPEAKER_03There, they're that's a good question. I don't know about max occupancy, but um, if it's a three or four bedroom house, I I think six is pretty normal. Seven. Now, now the guys that you need to talk to, and uh we had him on the show, Justin King, he's the guy that does pass in the area, and of course the founders. When I've heard a lot of uh the PASP that um uh what's it called, the podcast and stuff. But what they bring up a lot is there's laws on the books in some of these cities. So every city has their own particular laws, occupancy laws, right? And the main the main issue is a lot of these, then they bring it up, a lot of these laws are old, archaic, and they're pretty racist in a way. Now they say they say this. That's true. And why they say this because the neighborhood started putting these laws in place where uh three different generations can't live under the same roof of the same family. And who does that who does that kick out of the neighborhood? Mexicans, blacks, Asians, you know what I'm saying? Where all of our family live together, you know what I'm saying? So they they made these particular racist laws like in the 50s, you know, and they're still on the books because they just never updated them. And so that's one of the main things that Paz Split's been fighting against these discriminatory laws, right? And now there are there's laws where you know people of different that are not related can't live under the same roof, different two or three non-related people can, and that's discriminatory too, right? And as and who's to say what a family is? Describe a fan, you know, tell me what family means, you know what I'm saying? And so so that's the main thing that they're going up against when they're and they're going and getting these old laws changed.
The six-bedroom conversation from the meetup
SPEAKER_00Um you touched on something that you're doing six bedrooms. So remember a couple of weeks ago we were talking, it was a Saturday, and I was down at one of my real estate meetups. Um, the lady I was talking to, she does them in Arlington and I believe Ewless. But she only does them with a minimum of seven bedrooms. So, but her friend who does it in Arlington, he said he was doing like I think he was doing six plus figures on a pad split, but he was doing it on like eight bedrooms. So I don't think you're the target. I think it's remember how it's always it's sometimes not the people who were doing it like we do it. We do it in a C class neighborhood. I think they're doing it in C class neighborhoods, but they might be doing it overdoing it, like nine bedrooms. Now you got nine cars sitting out front. So you're like, whoa, what's going on over there? So I think that's like I think that's who this lady was like the lady who the article what we were showing you. I think she's talking about people doing it that way, which I haven't seen them in my neighborhood, but I've I've been walking lately just to kind of like get my steps in. I kind of just start looking around my neighborhood, but I don't I haven't seen them in my neighborhood, you know. So I am interested to know where she's talking about. It's in Arlington somewhere.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, what do you think about this, Mikey B? Let's hear your let's hear your take on this.
Mikey B on bad actors and heads-and-beds
SPEAKER_04I mean, like with anything, there's always gonna be your bad actors and people that are gonna try to push things to the limit, right? To see how far they can go. Um, because at that point it's heads and beds, right? So why not do a 15-room house? If you if you can do it, let's do it, right? But as you mentioned, and more so in in in residential neighborhoods that are probably closer to uh commercial districts, have even less parking, um, is the parking issue, right? I mean, I I don't know what you've seen, Stevie, with the with the demographics or if you've been tracking that, you know, people that stay with you, do they usually have cars? They don't, do they share cars? Um, because I mean, I I can even definitely see in the scenarios where you got a you know a parking garage, right? Like a normal residential parking garage. Um, you know, do people pay extra to use that um when they're doing the pad split or it's first come, first serve? And you know you got people blocking other people, you know, in and all that kind of stuff. So, and you know, for me from the beginning, like I said, I stay in my lane, you know, regardless of how lucrative pad split is, I don't think I'll ever get into that space. Um, I'm just not that that kind of person. I mean, to have to deal with the the commingling of attitudes and demographics and uh personality crash uh clashes. Uh because I'm sure you, I mean, I've I've seen I've heard some of the stories from the other podcasts. So I was like, I don't have to deal with any of that. So um, but uh, but hey, it there's there's something for everybody. But um I I mean I I can see how the business model is perfect for the economic times. Um because of co-living and you know, the article, I don't know if I shared it today, but maybe I shared with somebody else, um, is you know, especially on multifamily, which then is also cascading into single family, uh,
Rents are down 20-30% from 2022 in Texas
SPEAKER_04rents are coming down like aggressively right now uh across the United States and in some areas more so than others. Um, I think in in some of the most aggressive ones here in Texas, uh, they've come down 20 to 30 percent of what they were in 2022. That's a big jump. Uh, and you know, you have you see a lot of multifamily properties that are now having uh concessions year-round, right? One month free, two months free, three months free. It's like year-round, regardless if it's slow season or peak season. So you get three months free in in the middle of the middle of the summer kind of thing. So um, so I think it's just it's just telling of the times. And you know, I even see it now. Uh, we'll probably get into this later, around just like the people that that come to us asking about housing, is like probably 80% of our inquiries, like for direct bookings, are all in that threshold. So they're wanting a fully furnished all utilities included for under $2K or under $1,500.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_04Right? Um, and for some, you know, if you're especially if you're doing arbitrage and and other models, that's it's just not possible, right? But in the co-living space, you know if people are comfortable with a shared space, then that's golden for them, especially if they're in transition and they're comfortable with doing that. So I'll shut up because I feel like I've been talking about it.
SPEAKER_00You brought up some good points. Go ahead, Steve.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Um yeah, you brought up a lot right
If rents fall, do renters go back to apartments?
SPEAKER_03there.
SPEAKER_00So I I I uh yeah, I love that you brought up the declining rents, right? So, like I think wouldn't the declining rents kind of not really hurt Pad Split, but wouldn't people be moving back into the apartment space? And are they even moving? Are the rents declining that fast? Because I'm seeing stuff just brand new stuff just sitting because that rent's still sky high.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I mean, and that's the thing that they're just sitting in, but they're trying to use concessions to be able to reel people in. Um, and I I would say, because I mean we do overcharge, we've gone through two cycles already where multiple buildings have not changed rent at all. Like whatever your rent was last year is the same as this year. No increase, no decrease. Um now I will say, I mean, I don't know if we could share Micah, you know, since we're both out, um, or the complex that we were at, the rent that we were paying was for for new people were was much less than what we were paying, like for the exact same unit.
SPEAKER_02Right?
SPEAKER_04So they had already come down, but yet since we were existing uh tenants, you know, we they had either kept going up or they had stayed the same, right? Yeah, um, it's it's rare that you will ever see them, you know, on a renewal say, hey, you know, it's actually gonna be less on your renewal this next time around. Super super rare for a landlord for a single family, they may do that. But uh, but yeah, not for a large complex.
Is PadSplit the right play right now?
SPEAKER_00But so I think uh to me, it sounds like pad splits the perfect thing to do right now. And then yeah, y'all know I screenshotted what I said to that lady. I'm like, if y'all want brand new apartment buildings to be affordable, uh, and but you don't want pad splits, I'm like, honestly, pad splits probably the saving grace. You know, if you want the affordable housing, I mean, I think pad splits probably the thing that's making the the housing affordable, you know, people are living willing to, you know, co-live, co-mingle or whatever. And I think those are the people that are gonna be able to save up to possibly maybe buy a house and maybe they'll buy a house and pad split it or rent out the rooms. Shout out to our friend Josh of the show. That's what he does, you know, rents out the rooms at the house he live in. You know, maybe, you know, I so I think affordability is hard. It's hard, but I think it's I think we always come up with a way to fit to to get through it, to me.
SPEAKER_03I I will say it's just a Do it.
SPEAKER_04I was gonna say, Stevie Stacks, have you ever thought about that play? Doing like a pass put university to your own tenants as they're coming through. So hey, you know, you stay with us, we'll teach you how to do the model two.
SPEAKER_03I no, I'm not that close to my tenants. Uh I call them guests still. They're my guests. They're my guests. Uh the here's the thing about uh I know you mentioned that the rents are coming down a bit, right? Either stabilizing or coming down. But you still can't beat the affordability of uh renting a room on Pad Split. You're looking at you're looking at 180 bucks a week, you know, 160 to 180 bucks a week in most of the of the rooms, you know. That's under that's just you know you're paying six or seven hundred bucks a month for a place fully furnished, all bills paid, um, got the kitchen, got everything you need. You know, yes, you have to share with uh with other uh pad mates, but it's it's affordable and it's flexible. They they they're paying week by week, right? You do have to do the initial three months. I mean, if you you can pay a little extra and have more flexibility, so you don't have to stay the whole initial three months, but if you're just gonna pay the regular price, you have to stay there for at least three months, uh 12 weeks, they say. Um, and then after that you go kind of like month to month or week to week kind of thing. So for a lot of these people, um you know, they just need a place to they might have started a new job in the area, they don't know if they're gonna stay at that job, they they might be going to school. We're getting uh people from Furnish Finder, which three months is that's usually how long they stay, anyways, right? So we're getting Furnish Finder people booking, that's been a big play for us, and they need the flexibility. So they're not gonna go sign a year lease at an apartment complex and then furnish it and all that stuff if they're gonna only be here for three months. So the main thing is of main thing is affordability, and the second main the second thing is uh flexibility. So it's still not approaching. I mean, uh an apartment, you know, first months, sometimes last months, depending on the credit and all that stuff, how big your deposit's gonna be. Um, and then you have to furnish the place, and then you gotta get all the utilities in your name and all that fun stuff, you know. So it's still it's there's still a big wide enough gap to where that's not approaching what you know getting an apartment is.
SPEAKER_00And that's what I believe as well. Go go ahead, Mike.
No couples, no kids - what you can and can't say
SPEAKER_04How how does that work with um I assume that most of your guests are probably like single tenant type of people, so there's no there's no people that have like you know a couple, or they I guess they don't allow couples and they don't allow kids either, right?
SPEAKER_03I don't allow couples. Um you can't legally say you don't allow kids. You can't legally say that, but I'll say this when the when they someone puts in the information to book one of your places, they pretty much say what they're what they're going through, what they got. You know what I'm saying? You and you can hit reject or accept. You know what I'm saying? You don't have to tell them, and you can just say whatever reason, you know, you don't really need to put a reason, whatever. But yeah, you can't say, Hey, you got kids, you ain't coming here. Um it's yeah, it's not set up for kids. You don't want to bring kids into a co-living.
SPEAKER_04It's a lot, hey, it's a liability, right? I mean, if you think if you think about it, because if you think about they're exposed to you know people that they don't know, and you know, obviously, yes, everybody's had the criminal background checks, all that stuff, but still, um, anyway, we're gonna go down that road. I'll stop working.
SPEAKER_00He's got some good stories about that. Now I don't know about background checks.
SPEAKER_03Don't don't don't go with what Pasma's checking them. You do your own research too, you know.
SPEAKER_00That's funny, man. Um Steve, uh actually, Mike, what you said is uh actually very interesting. You said Steve, would he do like a pad split university style? And I actually like that idea. The reason why I like it is because I think you could actually get a lot of people and you could start like a little course behind it. And that's kind of like what I'm doing with my real estate license, honestly. I'm like, look, I'm gonna be showing people who like the 1% who need that short-term rental tax loophole, show them how to self-manage because they have to self-manage in order to qualify for that. Like, and if you use me as your realtor, you're automatically inside of the course with everybody else and all the resources. Uh, and then if you just want to pay to learn how to self-manage, you can pay to get in, and then you you know pay X amount a month. So I think that is a good idea because I I'm definitely I'm on that same wavelength.
SPEAKER_03I'm still a baby in this game, man. I started this last year, right?
SPEAKER_00You ain't a baby in Pad Split, bro.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, baby, baby.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna be honest. Pad Split is so new that you are the experience that you have right now blows people away because I talk to people that are trying to get into it, they're like, eh, I don't know. And I was like, I always say, man, just listen to my podcast talking to my partner Steve. Uh, because it's like, okay, when we first started this podcast on Airbnb, we may have been like, we were we had just started doing it, but Airbnb, it was still throw a couch in a room and everybody will come book it days, you know what I mean? So I think you're right at the cusp beginning of pad split.
The call that started it all, five years ago
SPEAKER_03Yeah, because uh we have the story we told on the show before about you know five years ago or so. Um, I got a call from a guy saying, Hey, I got you know, he's out of Canada. He said he has an investment house in Arlington and blah blah blah. He told me it was a pad split. I didn't know what the hell a pad split was, right? He goes, Oh, it's where they all rent by the rooms and blah blah blah. And and I went there and it was he had never seen the house in person, but it looked like from the 70s, you know, like he there was no renovations done. And I saw they they made walls, they made walls everywhere, you know. They made I mean they crammed people in this place. He said, Yeah, I'm getting in trouble with the neighborhood, and the cops are coming by and people are doing drugs there. I was like, What the hell is this pad split crap, man? So I had a bad taste from way back then. I said, I'm never doing that, that stuff, you know. And and so I went and said, Your house is just your house is you know, it needs a lot of work, dude. It needs a full renovations. You can't do short-term rentals in that part of Arlington, anyways. Uh corporate, I don't know, you can try, but you your house needs the full, you know, full renovations because it's just looks old, ugly. There's all the walls are messed up from the from where they put all the walls in there. And that was back when Pad Split was doing all this the stuff for you. They'd go in there anymore. No, it's all on us to do to go build rooms out and everything and manage it. They used to do all that for the homeowner, right? It was just they just wanted to get get this business going, so they were doing everything, and that wasn't a sustainable model, uh as you can see, because um yeah, they uh to manage contractors in every freaking city, imagine that's a liability, that's what it was.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, the liability could definitely be very lucrative, I mean, in the contracting business, but it it's the liability for sure.
We'll be Airbnb and let hosts do the work
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so they did the well, we're gonna be like Airbnb and let them do all the work and we'll just take a cut, you know. That's smart, it's smart. And so um, it's come a long way, and the websites, I mean, the the app's great, the website's great. Um, so I I dig how they you know they're they're helping make everything seamless for someone that's gonna start this, right? Making it easy. Like I said, I could it's good, it's almost as good as the Airbnb app, you know, that that good. Um, but it's like I I say I'm a baby in the sense like because you are talking about okay, let's start teaching these these people that are in my passpits to do pass split and get their own. I've heard I've heard stories of people um were able like someone that that was in a Passpit were able to go buy their first house and then turned it into a Passpit. And that's cool. And I'm here, I I'd love to help anybody that you know that wants the that needs my help. And so, but as far as here's here's the thing too, you know, we can talk this this could be a whole episode, but but um there was uh a a girl that stayed at one of the past splits uh nearby over here, and um and she Latina and she was in Argentina, Argentinian actually, but um she she she was cool, she's saying, Oh yeah, I'm at this other house, but I want to move out, blah blah. I kind of turned into the house manager, and I just tired of taking care of people and this and that. So I just wanted to move to a house that's nice and quiet, but you know, told me all this stuff, and there's too much drama here, blah blah. Anyways, so she came and moved, she moved into one of the rooms that are in my house, and and you know, cool at first and everything, and then next thing you know, she's kind of the I'm like drama kind of follows her, you know what I'm saying? She's in everybody's business telling everybody what to do, and so she be she tried to like force her will on on the whole house, like she's the the manager, and I didn't hire her to be no manager, you know what I'm saying? So I know there's people that pay extra for that, yeah. So she ended up moving out, thank god. But I was like, okay, I see the one end where you got the bad, you know, tenants or whatever, but I see the other end where you see the super tenant that wants to be in charge of everybody and everything, and telling and snitching, and you're like getting phone calls. It who you know, it's like you don't want that either. You want a you know, a nice civil house where people are cool, respecting each other's stuff, and they're not there's no drama, you know. And so I don't know about picking someone to be the house manager and how what that's gonna impact, you know, like it going back to the college days where one of the persons, one of the people there is that what are they called, where they they took care of the dorms. Uh I forgot what they're called, VA. Oh, yeah, the um the resident resident R A. The R A, yeah, yeah. Advisor. And everybody hated that.
SPEAKER_04But hey, hey, you may be on to something, don't speak too loudly and let Passplit hear you. That could be another model within Pasplit. Is like you have these ambassador, you know, RA people, and they're like the super hosts, you know, and as they go from place to place, they got a special badge or whatever. I I mean that could work.
SPEAKER_02A super guest, a super guest, super guest.
SPEAKER_04They don't get a discount because they they they manage a little bit, you know.
PadSplit's new Superhost-style rules
SPEAKER_03You know, it's funny you should say super hosts, and you know, said super guest too, but you said super host, and pad split starting to introduce the freaking superhost crap that Airbnb does, and they already sent me a thing and and saying, Hey, you know, we're this is the first time we're gonna introduce the whatever the Pad Split calls it, their version of Superhost, right? And um, and here's the criteria, here's where you're at with the things. And I hey, I deny a lot of people. I want to get a nice house, I talk to everybody, I get a feel for everybody, you know. So I I really screen, you know, kind of tough. I want it, I want good people in my house. And I even told the guy, like I said, the the general manager around here, uh uh Justin, I said, Hey, I don't do I get dinged, you know, like Airbnb dings you for denying people, right? I said, Do I get dinged for that? He goes, Not at all. You can you can turn away anyone you want, blah blah blah blah. Anyways, this new pad split super host thing that they're starting. It showed all my criteria. I'm I'm doing great, every single one, except for uh accepting people and denying people. Um I'm high on that. I'm like, wait a minute. Y'all told me that don't mean nothing. Now you're telling me for me to be a super host, I have to start accepting everybody. You know, you know, it's it's it's starting. It's starting, it's funny. I I'm looking at exactly how the same road Airbnb went down. They're doing the same path.
SPEAKER_04I mean, so you gotta have the playbook at this point. You know what's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_03I know what's gonna happen, and then the city's gonna blah blah blah complain, and we're gonna go to the courts and battle, and it's it's the same stuff, man.
Will cities let PadSplit keep growing?
SPEAKER_00Now now, okay. Now, now this is what I what I will say about Pad Split. Do you think they're gonna be able to pass that because or is Pad Split gonna help you guys out, unlike Airbnb, because you are now entering a space where you're allowing multifamily zoning on single family land, which that is what I was afraid she was gonna take down the city council because that she might win by saying some crap like that. Then I'm like, oh shit, you know what I mean. I was like, when she said that shit, I'm like, uh that might get ugly.
SPEAKER_03Hope she doesn't listen to the cast.
SPEAKER_00I I don't think that this cast, yeah. I hope she don't either, but when she was 10, I was like, dang, she knows she knew the lingo. That was the thing. She knew what lingo to say. I was like, sound like you're one of them ex-realtors or something. Like, you know what you're talking about. But that's what I was wondering. I'm like, I hope that don't come back, but I don't know. But at the same time, bro, we got an affordability crisis. Ain't nobody renting out these apartments up here, honestly. Yeah, that's how I look at
The founders watched what happened to Airbnb
SPEAKER_00it.
SPEAKER_03I I will say that the founders are aware of what you know what happened with Airbnb, how they grew so fast, and they pissed off every city and they uh got banned everywhere. I know that I know they know that exact uh playbook. So they're they're actively working with cities trying to get these, like I said, the racist laws passed or whatever they were. Um, and they're working with HUD too. Now that was a big win for them. They said HUD, you know, is um and um section eight or whatever. You're there you're able to use your voucher to rent a room now. Yeah, yeah. I don't know if it's in every city, but I know they said they they they they know. I mean, he the founder. Uh I can't think of his name right now, but um his is a weird name. Um, but he he he knows the all the HUD directors, he knows all the section eight people, he knows he's got connections, right? And there is an affordable housing crisis, like you said. And he said, listen, we can make this, we can create so many new rooms to to house people that are that are on section eight or or HUD or whatever. And um we want to work with you to to house these people that that can't get houses anywhere, right? And so, and you're allowed to rent rooms with with section eight or or HUD or whatever it's called. And and so that that was a big victory for them. So they're they're they're working with cities, they're they're telling, they're telling them we want to help tackle the affordability issue.
Section 8 and the PadSplit crossover
SPEAKER_00I uh man, I know you you you got me thinking though, I do kind of want to know how they were planning on pulling that off because you know Section 8, how HUD and Section 8 work is, it's mainly for families, right? Because your Section 8 housing is based upon, okay, how many people okay, three bedrooms you get this because you have they're assuming you have this many kids. So if you're doing it off I don't want to sound bad here, but let's say you're doing section eight off a single bedroom. What type of clientele are you letting in now?
SPEAKER_03Um, you know, I automatically thought the little old lady that's on section eight. You know, little old lady or older dude that's on section eight. I don't see an issue with that.
SPEAKER_00Okay, okay. Because that's who I would target. Because I have an older lady on section eight, three-bedroom house, but she has her grandkids living with her, and then they all she wants them to go to a specific school. So I was like, yeah, you know, it works out. I was wondering that because the the old little old lady, sometimes a little old lady got grandkids, or that's you know, she may be helping with. So I'll I'll I'm interested in that. That's that's interesting that they did that. I didn't know they were doing that. Pad split, way to go playing that race card in your favor.
SPEAKER_04I know another one, I don't know, Todd. Pad split has targeted this. Um, but I've been hearing recently that there's been a huge influx, you know, aside from FIFA World Cup and all that stuff, uh, new international people in the United States. And one of the biggest challenges that they have when coming to the States is housing uh and trying to find somewhere to stay, whether short-term, long-term, uh, because of the the the background check process, right? Um, so as you know, if you go through traditional background check or try to do that for an international person, nothing's gonna come up, right?
unknownUh-huh.
SPEAKER_04Because it's a totally different database. And so uh there's actually a group, uh, it's it's called I'll think of it later, but basically it was a founder that basically created a platform to be able to vouch for is it called Cosign? I can't remember. But basically it's like uh some it's a platform that where they vouch for these international people when they're coming to the states. But like I guess where I'm getting at is I don't know if Passpit has found a niche for that um to house um you know international people uh specifically um and things of that nature because I think that could be a big draw because I mean again, you're talking about affordability, people come to the states, they may not have a lot of money, uh, or they're trying to save as much as they can and they're willing to share, you know, and have those kind of co-living spaces. So um, I mean, that could be a whole other market.
International guests booking rooms for the World Cup
SPEAKER_03I will say I I got a few um interested international people to book some rooms during the World Cup because they were working the World Cup, you know, they were in town to to to help with whatever the construction or whatever was going on. But all the all the inquiries I got, it was like two dudes wanted to rent one room. They wanted to they want two dudes wanted it. I'm not you know, whatever. I'm not saying same bed or you can if you want to allow two occupants per room, you can do that in your pad split. I don't because you know my houses aren't super huge, and if I'm gonna allow two people in in one room, you know, the other ones are gonna say, hey, I can bring someone too, you know. I can't then what am I gonna do? Then I'm gonna have 12 people, 13 people in a house, you know what I'm saying? Um, so I don't allow it, but I'm thinking already, like, okay, there's money there. Because I've had a few that want to do, you know, or a couple, you know, I've had a few inquiries, but like the international guys that we're trying to book, they all wanted to two guys per room.
SPEAKER_04So again, I I am interested. I don't I'm not gonna get into pad split, but I'm just interested in like the inner workings because like I think about in in that scenario, let's just say if you had two people, like I don't know. Again, it's it's early, which again, that's an opportunity for you. You know, has it gotten to the point where people are doing pricing strategy for Pad Split? Like, is it the same price for two people? Is it the same price for three people? You know, because I I think about it like this the number of occupants and the utility usage and plumbing and everything else that's being taxing on that house by having that many more people in there than you would normally have, right? So um on the side booster pumps to the toilets or something. I don't know, man.
Plumbing is the number one problem
SPEAKER_03I'll thief go because I'm plumbing's a big freaking issue, I'll tell you that much. But but um I I will say that um the two people the like I said, you can allow you could allow multiple people per room. Um, what what was your question again? Sorry, I you the plumbing threw me off because I already had a million stories about plumbing, but go ahead. What were you saying about oh I'm charging more pricing strategy? Okay, you can't on the current app, the way it's set up, it'll tell you if they're requesting for two occupants and you can you know deny them right away or whatever, but you you can't charge more per the second occupant, not with this the the way it's set up currently. Now, I know a lot of you know, I listen to the podcast and I listen to co-living podcasts, not just Pat Split podcasts, right? Could people do this by themselves, they don't even use Pat Split, and they'll they'll do something like that on their own, right? They'll say, Okay, you want a second person, it's gonna be another whatever, $100 a week, you know. And that I can understand. Now I could I could designate like um if I have a big master bedroom, I could designate that as a two-occupant room, and then I could raise the price on that one, you know what I'm saying? But I can't just say, Oh, someone in one of the rooms wants to bring someone I I can't I can't charge them more on the on the app, maybe outside the app if there was a way, but I can't inside the app.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we are what you're talking about is what I was kind of going at. Like, have you looked on Pad Split and then seen like, okay, Susie across the street charges $1,200 for one room. Is she allowing two people? You see what I'm saying? And then compared to me, I'm charging $600, but I'm allowing one person. It's you know what I mean? Like, can you like run comps? That's like, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_03I I've I've looked at comps in the area just to see where the pricing's at, right? But I've never I've never like tried to dig in and I've never seen someone headline it, hey, two people per room, you know. Otherwise, I mean, when you when you request to book something, then that was it's kind of a new feature too to request to book for two people. Because before you wouldn't know it was two people until you actually talk to them on the phone, right? Um, but now it'll they can request it right away. And it's good for them because they know that hey, they're gonna if they're gonna get denied, they're gonna get denied right away. That's they can try another place, right? But it's not, I haven't seen, I mean, I'm sure it's gonna happen where people are gonna advertise and say, hey, we allow two people per room in this pad split. And that's gonna be, I think that's gonna be a good uh income boost for that house.
SPEAKER_00I think it's gonna be an income boost, but I think that's also gonna cause a lot of attention because if you look at it, right? Let's just say somebody was saying, hey, I'm gonna let two people stay, but let's say we charging $1,200 a room, six rooms, that's $7,200 a month. Yeah.
$2,500 mortgage, 12 people in one house
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yo, let's say your mortgage is all in $2,500. All in? My God.
SPEAKER_04Killing on that. That's what tension. 12 people in one house.
SPEAKER_00No, but I'm in. People in one house. I'm just throwing it out there though. Like, I would look into that. Like, matter of fact, I might have Claude do it after this call. I'm gonna be like, go look and tell me how much you can charge on a you know, because I'm just interested, like how much are you know, you may see, or just see, like, okay, somebody who's charged what what's the highest amount being charged for one room on Pad Split and see what features are on that room? Are they allowing two people or you know what I mean? That's what I would look at.
SPEAKER_04Technically, technically, you could probably do that on um, I mean, I don't want to assume, maybe Stevie would know. Is um is everybody that is on Pad Split, are they also on Airbnb, or are they usually just all or nothing? Because I what I'm saying is I wonder if how much of that data already exists in price lapse, right? If you go buy the room for the category filter, then you can see all that, right? All the amenities, all the I mean, but I again I don't know.
SPEAKER_03I'll I'll say this you're not if you're gonna do pad split, they don't allow you to be on any other path plat uh platform. You have to every room has to be a pad split. Even if you're gonna live there, you're gonna have to be your profile in that room, and and they I see why they're doing it, and it's more uh of um you know safety issue, they know everybody's background checked and all that fun stuff, plus um, yeah, uh yeah, just pretty much so they'll know who's in each room, you know what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_00And also to touch on your two dudes in a room, man. I had that issue when uh I when I was renting out my rooms, it was I didn't judge them, but I don't know what they were doing. But I mean it was too they wanted to go to a cowboy game together and they bunked up in the king bed together. I was like, oh they woke up the next woke up the next morning, went to the cowboy game. We never seen him again. They drove in from San Antonio, hey, that's what they wanted to do. So yeah, I've seen that too. Like two dudes, like, hey, they just wanted a room. I was like, hmm, you could have got like a hotel, split the cost, but that was like, hey, you know, but you know, they wanted to save some money, man.
SPEAKER_03Nothing wrong with that, I guess.
SPEAKER_04You know, so hotel has rules too, so you know it was I don't care.
FIFA was a flop
SPEAKER_00Oh man, but you guys brought up two things that I don't think we've talked about on the podcast yet, which was FIFA was a fail.
SPEAKER_03Flop, FIFA flop was a flop.
SPEAKER_00What did I I personally well, none of my places are near FIFA or any of that? And the one that we have, I think we did midterm. How did did y'all see like people like struggling for FIFA? Who was dependent upon FIFA? What did y'all see? Uh, from the people that I talked to, it just didn't do the numbers, you know. People that were right next to stadiums, they said it just didn't do the numbers. What did y'all see?
SPEAKER_03Mikey B, you go.
Watching World Cup prices collapse on PriceLabs
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so I'll I'll be honest. I mean, um, that was not our target audience this season. Uh, I think a lot of the people were trying to focus on that. Uh, we have a pretty mixed portfolio. Um, yes, maybe for some of the larger places we were we're hoping to get that, but that wasn't like the thing. Um, but to your point, I was tracking pretty closely on Price Labs how the pricing would change. And I mean, if you look back maybe March time frame, maybe even April, you know, we had like single-family homes, like four-bedroom, five bedrooms that were going for like $3,000
Hotels dumped their room blocks
SPEAKER_04a night, right? And then, you know, closer and closer and closer, you know, it's the you see the price starting to drop, drop, drop, drop. And then you heard about all the hotels releasing all those room blocks and everything for the exact same property. Literally, the week before FIFA, I mean, the prices were probably maybe 2x, if even that of what they would normally be for a summer break. And for some places, you know, for those that don't have a lot of design, maybe B class or whatever, they were probably the same amount, same price as they were last summer, right? So that just goes to show you how competitive because you also think about it from this aspect. There's also a lot of new inventory that came onto the market because of this, too, right? People that moved out of their own homes to do this, people that bought properties,
Everyone bought and arbitraged for the World Cup
SPEAKER_04people that arbitraged properties just for FIFA. Um, you know, I think Rob had talked about somebody that, you know, they picked up 10 apartments, like a 12-month lease of 10 apartments to do FIFA. And I'm like, I know he's hurting right now because um, and so anyway, I won't talk too much longer, but I will say uh two things that came out of it. Well, at least the experience, we didn't actually get the contract, is we actually went after three contracts for three different companies that were coming in for FIFA.
The six-figure corporate contract we lost
SPEAKER_04One was a film company, one was like a journalist company company. Uh, I can't remember what the third was. I think it was like some artists' group. Uh, we didn't get any of them. Uh the biggest one that we lost was for 25 or 27 people, and it was gonna be for two months, and it was a six-figure contract, and it was a referral actually from someone from the group, the local group. And uh we we we toured the properties with the guy, it was the CEO of the company and everything. Uh, we toured the property property with them. Um, you know, some he liked, some he didn't like. And you know, we went back and forth, so on and so forth. And the thing about it is, you know, that's one thing people don't understand. People always will talk about, you know, I want direct bookings, I want direct bookings. I don't have to go through the OTAs, but there's a lot of risk that is involved with that process. And if you're not ready and don't know that process,
Direct bookings carry risk nobody talks about
SPEAKER_04especially dealing with an international company, like there's another level of due diligence, due diligence that you have to do uh as it relates to vetting that company, right? Showing proof of funds, you know, uh doing W9s, all that stuff. Um, and in two of the scenarios, and I'm sure you guys saw that was another phenomenon that I saw too, which didn't help. Um, and we had to actually kind of reel in some of our pricing to not do discounts as you get closer to the check-in date, because people now they know the game. Like lead time is 20 days or less. Most of the time it's also say week. And so knowing that phenomenon, you kind of have to hold hold the line. You can't drop prices like you used to. So, all that's to say is for those for two of those big contracts, those people were wanting to move in within three days. So you're telling me I'm supposed to package five or six houses for a six-figure contract in three days and get security deposits, approval funds, get money wired in three days. So it was a legitimate company, but again, for people that don't know this space, people could get duped very quickly. Um, because remember, that's a tactic that sometimes scammers use is pressure, right? Um, and they they want you to do it quickly. And anytime that they try to break your process, I say, hey, this is our process, this is what we this is how and this is there for a reason, and for that very reason. So yeah, people booking last minute, man. That was that was the biggest the biggest piece.
The guy who leased 10 apartments for FIFA
SPEAKER_00Um, you touched on something too that I we haven't talked about in a while. Um you said arbitrage. Somebody went and got 10 apartments, which to me is crazy in general. Um where are y'all seeing from the arbitrage space? I say it's dead, but I'm not in it, so I can't discuss it or talk about it. But like like conglomerates, like going and getting 10 apartments like we used to. Like we had 10 in Dallas, 10 in Houston, we shut all that stuff down. What are y'all seeing in the arbitrage space? Because I said it was dead, but I might be wrong.
Are your arbitrages still profitable?
SPEAKER_03Uh oh, go ahead, CD. Oh, I'll I'll say most of mine are profitable. Most of my mine, I started this a long time ago, right? And I've held on to them for years, and I've got all the hundreds of reviews, all that fun stuff. So people keep booking them, right? I will say that I've, you know, I I know some people that just started like last year doing arbitrage because they saw some course or bought some course online, they just started it. So they started arbitraging at the exact worst time. They can't, they're they're losing money right away, they're not getting no traction, and they're jumping out pretty quickly. If you started in the last couple years, uh, I say most people probably hop out of it. But if we've been we've been doing it for a while, you know, five, six years. So we've we're seasoned, our our properties are seasoned. We have a ton of reviews and we have traction. So we're we're profitable. But that's definitely the people that are trying to do it nowadays are are not are not doing very well.
SPEAKER_00That's what I was wondering. How about you, Mike?
SPEAKER_04I'll uh I'll um I'll I'll agree with that uh partially. Um well no, I actually agree with that 100%. Um I think a lot of people were trying to ride the ride the wave, and some people got on the wave too too late. Uh I I think the biggest piece, just like in real estate, you actually make your money on the deal. Like, yes, you may make your profit on you know big contracts and bigger stays, but you make your money on the front end. And a lot of people don't negotiate concessions hard enough because they don't typically have enough leverage. Like remember, Micah,
Negotiating concessions when you bring volume
SPEAKER_04when you and I, I mean, we were we we got double double digits, I think, in the first uh one we did. And so at that point, you actually have leverage to be able to negotiate with those apartment complexes to get much more on concessions. And so now, I mean, we're we're we're doing uh we're getting pretty creative on what we can do with concessions outside of just you know additional weeks free or months free, like we're getting free storage or free reserve parking um and stuff like that. And um, so you know, that piece, and then what Stevie mentioned about being in the game a long time, you know, we've seen it all, right? Uh, we know all the tactics that people try to use, we know um, and it and it's not finessing anything, it's just it's just like anything with experience, right? And so we can avoid a lot of the pitfalls that some of the newer folks can't really see coming. And you know, sometimes these gurus they won't tell you that stuff, right? You can only learn that from experience. And so I think that is where a lot
Why people fail: Airbnb only, no diversification
SPEAKER_04of people potentially fail, especially with the OTAs, um, and not and not diversifying. Like I can't say that enough. Uh, you'd be surprised how many people are just only on Airbnb um and not doing anything else outside of that, or even attempting to learn to go beyond that. Because it's, I mean, let's be honest, uh it's a lazy man's game, right? I mean, and I can't remember the the exact quote, but basically, I mean, people were duped
Passive income was always a lie
SPEAKER_04that this was passive and it's nothing but it's not it's far from that, right? Uh, and I'm not saying that that it's that's a bad thing, but it's just not it's not for everybody. Some people don't have the heart, some people don't have this thing power, and some people just don't get like excitement. Like sometimes like we get excitement, we know, from from different challenges and things that we have to go through, and and so on and so forth. One thing I've learned recently, just because I've been able to to I guess be a little bit more engaged, is you know, the power of picking up the phone and talking to people. Like I used to be so anti that, right? And I know Sean's talked about that in other folks too. I'm not saying you have to do it all the time because you want to protect your time, right? Um, that's another reason why we got into this, but um just the power of that and how far it can go, and more so on the um like on the B2B side. I mean, speed is everything, man. Like money loves speed, like nothing else. So like when you have a B2B client, like I had somebody from HEB call me the other day, and um they said, hey, we're looking for you know two rooms for XYZ. And I wasn't able to call back until like an hour later, and I haven't heard from them again. Like I call, text, email, everything. So the key is picking up the phone and or leveraging AI. I know Micah's gonna talk about that. Leveraging AI to help speed and boost that.
SPEAKER_03You don't got a VA to answer that phone? Huh? You don't got a VA to answer that phone call?
SPEAKER_04Uh we do, but sometimes it has to be escalated to me. So, I mean, in in some scenario, because I because I'm the one that's brokering the deal on the B2B stuff, right? Like on the B2B stuff, like I'm I'm brokering that deal. So um they don't have that kind of negotiating power. Um, they don't know. So anyway, anyway. You need somebody that does.
What not passive actually looks like
SPEAKER_00Hey, you touch you you going heavy right now. You you touching on like four topics that I'm I want to talk about because yeah, I was gonna say this the thing that Steve said a couple weeks ago. All the shit rolls uphill.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So like, and you said it's not passive. It's not, right? Because I'm dealing with the situation where it's like we yeah, we pick up the phone, and then when you answer these people, like I'm dealing with an annoying corporate guest right now, right? Annoying corporate guests. They they they complain about everything. They've been there for months and they're talking about and they're complaining about stuff, but I've trained my VA to be like, hey, take care of everything that's needed, make sure they're taken care of. But now I have to now kind of pull my VA back and kind of teach her American culture of some stuff ain't important, like the uh the street lights out. They'll come take a picture that, hey, the street lights out, are y'all paying for that? You know, like, bro, come on, man. But like, like just stuff like it's like, come on, bro. Like, but so I had to like train her, like, hey, that ain't important. Like, you gotta know the significance of importance and what's not important. Uh, there's weeds growing through the uh the deck. Okay, we'll have the lawn guy handle it. Like, I just have to like make it quick.
SPEAKER_04Um uh uh, can you urgent, right? I don't need it
The $863 utility overage nobody caught
SPEAKER_04today like that.
SPEAKER_00It's not urgent. So, but this is the crazy part. So the owner of the property, right? He kind of dropped the ball on sending me the uh the the overages because anything over 150, like for the bill for like the lights, water, gas, they have to pay it. Bro, they've been using up like the the the electric bill last night was last month was 863 bucks.
SPEAKER_04I was like, Oh my god, bro, crazy. But wait, 150 is a low threshold.
SPEAKER_00That's what big little space is that 20, it's about 2,000 some square feet. It's a big old house, but it's got like 150 is a threshold. Yeah, 150 is our threshold.
SPEAKER_04Wow.
SPEAKER_00But like but but 863 dollars, bro. It was like and then like, but we had our guy, he's been going over there doing some of the maintenance stuff when they're complaining about it. And he was he told my boy, my boy who owns it, he was like, Yeah, man, uh that dude just sits back there with all the lights on. He just be playing Xbox every time I go over there. He goes, All your lights are on. He goes for the front porch light, all of them. He goes, So if he's complaining about the electric bill, he's like, bro, he has everything on in the house. He goes, when I walk in there, like he'll have the kitchen lights on and the house, like crazy stuff. But you know, I'm having to now train the American culture to my VA because now this thing rolled all the way up to me. So I'm having to like be stern with this lady. Like, no, we're not about to go get the meter fixed. The meter's working fine. Your boy just backed their Xbox gaming and got all the lights on in the house, right? So I'm dealing with that. And then it's like, you can't ever be truly passive unless we get to the point, and I think we talked about this on past episodes, where we fully remove ourselves and have somebody come take our place. And I just ordered a Mac mini for that purpose. That is my AI solution, and I'm working on that, but yeah, that that was my two cents on that.
SPEAKER_03I'll tell you real quick, you know, uh, it's we all got stories now. They're now the now the stories are coming up, right? Um, uh we we had an issue recently. A family, they were kept complaining the internet kept going out. The internet could I was like, internet, we have ATT there. It's never you know, spectrum I can understand, but ATT don't go out. But anyways, we kept we sent a guy, we you know, we did all the troubleshooting, all the online guy had to go out and they're all pissed off. You know, we don't have internet, we need internet, you know. We have a child on the spectrum, and then they need to get on their devices, and and and um, and that you know, it's understandable, right? And uh, I mean, not putting your kid on a device all day, but some people do that, and and uh, and so that's apparently see my VA, you know, they're hand they handle all this stuff. I'm just trying to, you know, they they they brief me on the things and and they I said, why why is that? I said, We've never had internet troubles there before. What's going on? He goes, he goes, Well, I think when it reaches a thousand gigs, it meant it messes up the internet. I was like, thousand gigs? Well, how much are they using? He goes, Well, they in these last two days they reached a thousand. I was like, what? I was like, I don't even reach a thousand in a month. I was like, Damn, he goes, Well, they told me their child's on the spectrum and they're on their on their device all day. And and um, and and my VA said, Well, he goes, I got kids on the spectrum too, and we don't we we limit their screen time because you know it can get real addicted to them, and but but apparently they they let their kid get on whatever devices all day long and just gobbling up those. So whenever it hits a thousand, it starts having issues on the internet. So I've never seen that in my whole time. First, I was like, What are they doing? Uh mining Bitcoin over there or some shit.
SPEAKER_00Gotta be, bro.
SPEAKER_03Like, I can have in two days.
SPEAKER_00That's insane.
SPEAKER_03I don't know how they do that.
Five devices, two days, one house
SPEAKER_00In two days, I can have I can have my computer running clawed, my son on his phone, my daughter on the phone, my wife working from home, I'm working from home, and ain't no way we reaching. That's insane. They're doing something up in there. I don't know what they're streaming. They're trying to blame it on the kids. They got they got something else going on up in there, bro.
SPEAKER_01I know, man.
SPEAKER_00Mama and daddy back there streaming something else in the back. I don't know what's going on. They got something else going on, bro.
SPEAKER_03Man, yeah, it's the first time I've ever seen that. So when y'all brought up internet or whatever, I just I just thought of that story. So, yeah, go ahead. Talk about that that's crazy.
SPEAKER_00I'm I'm just saying, I had never heard nothing like that. That that and and I've I've seen some crazy stuff, but go ahead, Steve.
SPEAKER_03Real quick, going back to the plumbing on the that's a huge deal.
SPEAKER_00I wanted to talk about that.
Flushable wipes are a myth
SPEAKER_03That's a huge deal because there is no such thing as flushable wipes. It's a myth. They're labeled, they're all labeled flushable wipes, but now you got six people using two bathrooms, right? And one dude is sitting there throwing dude wipes down the thing every freaking time. We we we say there's no wipes allowed, no flushable wipes allowed in the house at all, you know, unless you throw them in the trash can or something. But you if you're get if you're caught throwing these wipes down the toilet, not that we're gonna watch you poop or nothing, but if you we know the person that's using these wipes, they're gonna get a fine. And if it gets, if they do it again, notice to vacate. So it's a it's a it's a huge deal.
SPEAKER_00Bro, I'm happy you brought that up because that that I think would save a lot of people some time because like knowing small things like that that will cost you thousands of dollars in the future, will that that will mess up your whole business. And I agree because I think one thing we forget about in this business is you have to be culturally appropriate in in managing people because not everybody use dude wipes or whatever. I'm like, bro, just get you some Charmin and you good. They cheaper anyway, but that that's how I look at it. But not everybody like that. People have hemorrhoids, whatever their problem is at the house, you know. So they gotta have their sensitive wipes, and then now it's causing plumbing issues, so you got to make rules like that. Another thing, you have to be culturally appropriate. We talked about this before with the shower drain, you know what I'm saying? I didn't know people's hair clog up the shower drain. I'm like, dang, that's new to me. I didn't know that. Like, brother, we wash our stuff, it just stays on our head, so it's just stuff you got to be, you have to be culturally appropriate.
SPEAKER_02Sorry, Mike Brown.
SPEAKER_00No, no, but you gotta be culturally, but nah, you gotta be culturally appropriate and like knowing this stuff and learning to go get the little things that catch the hair. So these are small things because that that used that plumbing issue used to mess me up with the the hair and the drain. Man, they used to kill us.
SPEAKER_03I will say this. Now I just thought of it. Don't know why I just thought of it, because I brought it up before. In our own house, we have bidets, you know, where the the things you put on the toilet where it shoots the water up your butt, right? We have those, and you I mean, you only you need like a couple squares after you're done, you know, bathing your booty hole. But but why'd you jump? Why do you jump like that? You know, you can put on number 11. He's sitting on his bidet, you don't have a temper temperature dial on there. They're like Tom and Jerry when he's like floating above the geyser, but uh but I just thought of it. Why don't I freaking put those in the pad splits? They won't need no dude wipes, they just spray, spray, spray, wipe it clean once, you're good to go.
SPEAKER_00Okay, what's the maintenance on those? Not from your perspective, that's your perspective. Okay, what's the maintenance when somebody else is using it?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, that's a good point.
SPEAKER_00They might be sitting there flushing, like I never had one of these before.
SPEAKER_04So I don't know. It's a liability because if they start to leak, then that can cause a whole lot of issues too, right? So it's like it's a it's another failure point that you don't need to introduce, is what I think think about potentially.
SPEAKER_03I just put a big gulp cup of water next to the toilet.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because I mean I I I love that we talk about this stuff because it happens, bro. Like the stuff that we look at, like that's a maintenance issue. You put six people in a house, man, all types of stuff becomes maintenance issues, man. I'm serious. Like this lady, the toaster don't work. Like, oh my god, man. What? Just small stuff, you know what I mean? Yeah, but yeah, it's it's part of the business. It's part of the business.
SPEAKER_03The shit rolls uphill, baby.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly, man.
Who eats the fine when a guest breaks a rule?
SPEAKER_00I love it.
SPEAKER_04I was I was gonna ask real quick, Stevie, on the the fines and stuff. Is there something like their cover for Passplits?
SPEAKER_00Ooh, good question.
SPEAKER_04Or is that all on you? Because I mean, I think about it like this for people that don't already have enough money as it is, how are you gonna expect how are you gonna expect them to pay for any repairs that that they did or cause?
SPEAKER_03You know, that that that's the frustrating part about Pat Split because in the early days there I before I got on, you know, started in Path Split, I heard they had it where you could find people through the app. They got rid of that. I guess, I guess, you know, the same thing with Airbnb. They they gotta serve both sides, right? So they they didn't want to to become that kind of company that's just gonna, oh, you're gonna rent from us. You can you can get fined every week for whatever you know stuff. Um, so they took away that function. We can still now here's the thing, I still threaten fines, and I'll send evidence to them, whatever, if if I want to try to pursue a fine. I haven't won one yet. And um, now notice I will say the NTV, the notice to vacate is the strongest tool I got. It's um, and people seem to respect that, you know. For a lot of people, Pad Splits their last hope to have a place of their own, you know what I'm saying? So they don't they don't want to burn that bridge, knock on wood. I'm sure there's people that don't give a damn and they'll get kicked off of Pad Split, whatever. But um, the notice to vacate, say, hey man, you know, you did this twice. I'm gonna hit the notice to vacate button. You got on the site, you got 14 days to leave, right? And people knock on wood, like I said, again, I haven't had any issues getting someone out of the pad split. Um, they'll either transfer somewhere else or they'll just hop off the platform or whatever. But once you, you know, they don't want to get evicted from pad split, is what I'm saying, is is what I've what I've noticed. The N T V is a pretty strong tool.
SPEAKER_04Is that so does that show up on their record? Like a like a review does when they get evicted from someplace, or no?
SPEAKER_03Oh, if you evict them from your pad split, yeah, it's on their record. You're it's an eviction. You have to go through the whole freaking process to evict someone from a pad split. No, no, no, no, no, no. I meant like with notice to vacate, like somebody else You know, that's a good point. I don't that's a good point when you hit the notice to vacate. I think I think if they transfer somewhere else, I don't think it shows up. I don't think I don't think that's a good question. I'm I'm gonna look that up though.
How do you insure a PadSplit?
SPEAKER_00Y'all now bring me to another question. How do you insure a pad split? Because if you can't you can't I mean, I guess you could put short-term rental insurance on it, but then it's like I don't know. How how do you how do you ensure that?
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna see I'm gonna say his minimum his okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00Let's start from the beginning. Your minimum stay is I mean not your minimum, but your average stay is what three months.
SPEAKER_03Man, you know, I think I think the average stay is about four or five months. I've had someone there, I have a couple of them that are there for a whole the whole almost a whole year already. It's coming up on a year. So um, but like if you factor in the ones that bounce after a couple months or one month, then and the ones that stay for five or six, then I guess it's around just out of my head, I'd say it's four or five months is about what the what I'm seeing. Do they have to pay their own insurance?
SPEAKER_04No, no, no. Do they offer their own insurance product? But that's also another question. Do you require them to that insurance?
SPEAKER_03I don't at the moment, but y'all give me some great ideas. Um Pad Split doesn't have their own insurance product. Um, they you're still you still have to insure your house with whoever you insure with. I'll I'll say that um um I have a house that that had some a water leak. It's not a pad split, it's like a air the air one of the Airbnb corporate houses. And USAA, they didn't ask any questions. They said, All right, well, where's the damage? Blah blah blah. Okay, yeah, we'll go ahead and fix it. The adjuster came out. He even made a comment. I go, Oh, the world, this looks like uh looks like kind of like an Airbnb or something. I was like, I was like, it's corporate. I was like, it's corporate. He's like, why is that an issue? He's like, no, it's not an issue at all. We're still gonna pay out. I just I just noticed everything looked perfect in there, and um, he you know, he's it looked like an Airbnb setup, right? And um, he's we talked about the World Cup coming to town and all that stuff, but it but you state farm might have walked in and said, Hey, this is a Airbnb, we ain't paying you nothing. You know, I I would say it depends on the insurance company. Um, and there are there are products being built specifically for Pad Split now. I've heard them on some podcast, some guys talking about they're they they're doing insurance for Pad Splits, so they're they're coming.
SPEAKER_00Okay, because that that now we don't want that lady listening to the show. Because these are the things that you know but that are still up in the air. Which is fine. I mean, because they Airbnb didn't have insurance down to a pet when we first started, right? The the proppers, the uh steadily's all that stuff didn't really exist at that point in time. So yeah, I think it'll come around. Yeah, because I was just wondering, like, but I think Mike, you're on to something. Maybe they need to like do like because you can go on lemonade and get a $25 insurance policy for wherever you're staying. It's cheap. You may want to it's just a yeah, trust me.
SPEAKER_04Give give it a year, Stevie. It's you'll see it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. People people have created ideas off listening to this podcast.
SPEAKER_03I wanna exactly. I want I wanna I wanna pick my Michael's brain one second, because just before I hopped on a cast, I was talking to uh a real estate agent friend of mine about that murder that happened that cold game. Because it was uh, you know, um, if anybody don't know that Arlington, Texas, there was uh uh a real estate agent that murdered apparently allegedly murdered uh a southern chick like in 2012. And she's been she's a prominent real estate agent in the area, she's one of the top sellers, all that fun stuff. Uh Latina chick. Um, anyway, she just got arrested for uh for that murder that happened a long time ago from this brand new DNA stuff that they're using nowadays. I don't know, but uh you the the you want I don't know if you read the article, but man, the DNA thing that that shot that shot the picture out that this is what we think she looks like. It looked almost exactly like her. It was crazy. For real. They're throwing some AI on that shit now. But uh, they are they are so you can't run and can't run, can't hide
The sober-living housing pitch
SPEAKER_03no more. But, anyways, uh I was talking to her about that because she kind of knew some inside stuff about that story, and and then we we got to talking, and she said, you know, she didn't have it, she don't have her own rentals yet. Long story longer. She uh a friend of hers uh over over in Box Springs or something like that said, Hey, you can use you can you can do whatever you want, you can rent this house for me and do whatever you want, the the corporate Airbnb, whatever. And she's she knows a lady that that does the um or has an agency that helps um the sober living. So she they put the uh they put these uh sober living people in people's houses. And she said, Well, I might rent this house, would it make a good sober living? Well, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna go check it out. I'll go look, I'll go walk it with you and see what we can do. And she's talking, and she already said they can put two people per room, or if it's a big room, they could put three people per room and put dividers in between for sober living. I was like, How big is this house? It's a three-bedroom house, and I think I'm gonna put two but two people in one room, two people in the other room, and then three bed, three people in the oh, I didn't know you could do that. She's telling me about us. It's kind of sounds like PAS sounds similar to pad split, right? But you could put multiple people in in the rooms. So I wanted to get you. You mentioned sober living before, and you said your buddy made like bank off that stuff.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, his no, his was uh it's very similar to it. Um, his was housing like halfway houses out in Cali, but same time, it's it's very similar because you're doing the sober thing. However, from everybody that I was reading off of, there's a lot of insurance and liability that goes with that. But I mean, it's the same thing that you're doing with it's it's anything, right? Everything's gonna have its own liability. But I mean, you could possibly look into it because like when I posted that matter of fact, man, y'all know I ain't been on social media, I'm off social media, but when I posted that video, it got like 40,000 something views on TikTok. But everybody who who was commenting on it, they were like, Oh, you make more with sober living. I was like, bam, like the numbers I was talking about, like he was doing, I think how much I forgot how much he was doing off that house. Some crazy number. It was a crazy number, but dude, like everyone who was commenting on that, they were like, Oh, you can make the same with sober living. I was like, Damn. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_03Uh I will say the number this lady was giving her said about two two to three hundred bucks a week per person, which is not bad. Because the pat split, we're looking at 160 to 180 a week per per room. You know what I'm saying? So you're doubling up. She can yeah, put even if we just get 200 per person, that's and for a three-bedroom, two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, that's fourteen hundred bucks a week in in a three-bedroom house if you're if she's gonna do something like that.
SPEAKER_00See okay, you know what that makes me think though pad split should get with sober living facilities because they're doing it on residential property. How are they making that legal? Because ain't nobody messing with them.
You need a license, and the house has to qualify
SPEAKER_04You have to typically so Adam Adam does this, or he does it now. Um you have to you have to have a license to do that. You have to have a license, and the house has to be uh inspected and certified. Maybe that's the right level. It's a different thing. That's Oklahoma, right? Well, I think it's it's generally similar in other states. Um he said he said that whole process took almost about a year to get the license, to go through the process, get the inspection, get interviewed, all that stuff. So it's it it's it's a definitely it's it's doable, but it's definitely a higher barrier to entry that a lot of people are probably not willing to today, right?
SPEAKER_00And if it's a higher barrier to entry, more profitable.
SPEAKER_04Oh, of course, because you're gonna make more way more money. Um, and I I think again, look into it, Adam. You may want to get him back on the cast to talk to talk about it, but um, I think he said you have you're required to have at least one like staff member, like on staff for whatever LLC you have, whatever, like the like paid staff that's not you know your family, but uh paid staff member. So there's there's a lot of jumps and hoops that they make you go through. But um, but what you got to set up, I mean I mean you said, I mean, and and then once you have that, you that you can roll it into multiple houses, especially if you're in the same region. But the key to that is uh having the connection with an agency that's gonna put people in there because it's not like there's a sober living Airbnb where people individuals come to you, they're going through an agency, and those agencies place those people in the place.
SPEAKER_00And you just gave somebody an idea. That is a good ass idea, bro. If you had like a sober living Airbnb site, oh my god, that would be a hit. Dang, you just gave somebody an idea because man, I ain't gonna lie, imagine
All-male or all-female house - the agency's rule
SPEAKER_00that.
SPEAKER_03Now, the agency she knows it said either do the house all male or do the house all female. That's what they told her.
SPEAKER_00I'm happy you brought that up, and I know you've you've talked about this before, but that's always been my issue with Pass Split, too, man. There's some liability. If you got like, you know, I know people commingle, but it's like, man, you don't want nothing to happen up in there, you know. Especially if they ain't running background checks. You know, I'm gonna be real. Pass split reminds me of that Dave Chappelle episode, that real world episode, when they put that dude in there. That's what it reminds me of, bro. Hey, you shake my dad. You know, remind me of that, but that's just me. So I don't know if I ever hop into it, but that's just what it reminds me of.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I did, I did, I did tell my friend, I was like, if you if you're gonna try, you know, she was like, I don't know if I should do it. I kind of want to, and and she's taking it the whole like religious way, you know. I want to help these women out, and you know, it's gonna be like a religious theme house and all this stuff, and and but I'm just nervous, I never had a rental before of my own. And I was like, you know what? I wouldn't mind partnering with you on this one because I want to learn it myself, learn it myself, and so that that's what I'm considering. I said, if you're gonna you live over there, you can be the one checking on the house and stuff, and I'll go half and half on whatever the rent is and and furnishing it and whatever we need for it. But I'd I'd partner with her just just to learn the ropes of this because I it sounds I was like 200 per person, 300 per person. That and you could put you can put them in. I said, first of all, I would find a way to get a fourth bedroom in that mother that that house, man. And um, but but um it sounds it like like you're saying it sounded very profitable, but we'll I need I didn't know about that license. I don't know nothing about it, but I'd like to learn about it. Maybe my houses would be better off as as sober living than pad splits, because I will say more people are getting into pad split low lower barrier to entry, right? And and um, but you know, one might have to hop into something more profitable that less people are doing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I I agree. It's always we always gotta be looking forward.
SPEAKER_04Yep. So before we end, that's a good point.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. So, real quick, my my last question, then after mine, y'all can keep we can keep going. How are y'all using AI in y'all businesses right now?
Mike Brown's AI responder and CRM funnel
SPEAKER_04Go Mike Brown. Uh so for us, oh man, uh, we're definitely not on your level, Micah, but uh we're using it mainly on the CRM side uh in guest messaging. So from the CRM, we've built uh you know a bunch of funnels and we have an AI responder for like text inquiries. So basically what we uh just kind of give you a little bit of a taste is everything that comes through Furnish Finder, for example, because that's not connected to a PMS or OTA or anything, uh, is funneled through the AI. So when those messages come in, inquiries come in, it pulls the data, it puts it into the CRM, sends out an issue of a message, and then from there, as soon as they say anything, it starts the call, right? And uh it'll it knows everything about the properties. We built the database. Um, so let's just say if someone asks the question, hey, do you have any two bedrooms available? You know, once it asks, you know, a couple of clarifying questions, you know, if it's a certain area, budget, blah, blah, blah, it'll look at our calendar because it is it's linked to it, right? From the PMS, see what's available, and send them the links for those to take a look at all in one swoop. So technically, it hasn't had to be touched by a VA at all. Um, and it does follow-up. And as you all know, sales is in the follow-up. So think about the last time you messaged someone and they didn't say anything to you. Did you message them back or did the VA message them back? Probably not. So it even has an auto's fault. If they don't say anything and they haven't moved forward, said you know, saying yes or no, that they want to move forward within 24 hours, it'll do a follow-up. Hey, just checking in, you know, we sent you blah blah blah. And then in the next three days, it'll do the same thing, and then the next five days. So that is key because people think about it, they're reaching out to tons of people. You know, I I called um, I called a lady back almost immediately, like within five minutes, and she said, Who are you again? Who are you with? They don't remember that they even contacted you. So you have to you have to remember to be top of mind. Uh, and I'm not saying being pestering, but AI can can can help out with that a lot, right? Um, and we're starting to use oh I had a real quick question.
SPEAKER_03Sorry to knock you off what you were thinking, but so you're doing all they're they're responding to the messages inside of Furnish Finder.
SPEAKER_04No, it's so they're getting the when they went in initially, like when you get a lead or when they message you the first time, since that goes to email, it's extracting it from the email and creating a contact and initial message to send via text or email or webhook because you have one of the two, right? Or you have both. Right, right, right.
SPEAKER_03Okay, so it responds in the email or text. Text is usually best because that's what it'll extract the phone number from the text message, from the email. It'll extract extract the phone number and then it'll start texting them by itself, right? By itself, okay, okay. Because I was gonna say, uh I thought you said it was uh you know responding inside a fair furniture finder and sending links, and that's where they they didn't they're not allowing you to do anymore. We we got popped, we get busted, we get shut down all the time for that crap. We've gotten shut down before several times, and and the the thing is here's the thing we because we're advertising heavy on um uh pad splits on Furnish Finder, and so we'll send the they'll send a reach out and we'll send links to the to the different pad splits we got because if one of them's filled up, we'll send and they're like, Hey, you cannot send external links, blah blah blah, and and then we're like, wait a minute, y'all are supposed to start working with Furnish Finder every time we we've heard this for like a year now. You're supposed to integrate with Furnish Finder. I mean, I'm sorry, with Pad Split, and you still haven't done it, and we're getting in trouble for sending Pad Split links inside the it. So so it's a it's a weird deal.
SPEAKER_04I mean, they're getting that's why they're not an OTA. Uh why we can you should be able to send anything.
SPEAKER_03I know, but here's I think I think this is their thinking because a lot of us did this and a lot of us do this. We'll get we have one listing in Dallas, we got one listing in Fort Worth, we got one listing. We're not gonna put all of our Dallas listings and pay $200 for each one, you know what I'm saying? So we're gonna once they reach out for that one, uh you know. I think that's what they're what they're trying to combat.
SPEAKER_00I mean, honestly, for them to be.
Our secret: push everyone to the direct site
SPEAKER_04But yeah, I'm gonna say I'm gonna tell you our secret, but we basically make it to where they have to come, they they go to our site. That's where we get most of our leads from. Um, and remember I told you before, like when people like you know how when you go to a site for the first time, it says, Hey, you can get a discount or whatever, you sign up for our newsletter or whatever. That has been the number one for us. Because that starts that starts the uh the chain reaction, right? The nurturing emails, the automatic campaigns, all that stuff. Make them spend it. So it's not like we're taking information.
SPEAKER_03Make them spin the prices right wheel for the to win a discount.
SPEAKER_00That would be nice, actually. I know what he's doing. He's doing the Orlando miner. He's hitting them with the news. Guys, guys, guys.
SPEAKER_03Orlando, he's the best.
SPEAKER_00We gotta get that guy on the finder. Oh man, but no, um, uh that's really good. I like how you're using AI. By the way, if you do want AI to respond inside a furniture finder, I can set that up for you. Once I get my Mac mini, I'm gonna have to have a bunch of stuff going on. But um, these are all really good use cases. Also, if you guys do use like Google Voice that goes back to your email when people text you, or when people leave voicemails, you can have AI text them back, or even I this is one thing I'm working on is the void voice where it can actually call them back from the text or the uh or the email from Google Voice. So those are some use cases. I don't I told y'all my Mac mini don't get here till September, but once I get here, I'm about to be a dangerous man. Um, that's one way to use AI. I am going back to Hostfully, more than likely, um, because Hostfully does have an API key that I can put into my Claude and then have my Claude and my OpenClaw, my Mac Mini, kind of auto-respond to guest messages in Airbnb, VRBO, etc., text message, emails. I can have them running campaigns. But once I get all this stuff up and running, I'm gonna definitely be demoing it for y'all. Um, and I'll definitely be having, you know, like the people who are in my my STR self management course. I definitely want all y'all to come in and because I'm gonna start probably selling that too, showing people that you can. Fully run this through a small little Mac mini box. But I always like to just see like what are people using like their AI skills for. And one thing I am using AI for is getting monthly bookings directly from Airbnb just by using Price Lab's market dashboard, pulling it, putting it into Claude, and I tell it, tell me what's the bookable rate that you're getting booked at for monthly rentals. And if it's lower than what I expect, then I know how to set my discounts up. Or I can just have Claude set the discount up for me. And I've been getting a lot of monthly reservations just directly through Airbnb doing that. And then we still also do our you know direct booking marketing campaigns. So yeah, man, it's a lot of I love y'all know me. I'm an AI nerd. I love AI. I can talk about it all day. Go ahead, Steve.
VAs running ChatGPT all day
SPEAKER_03I ain't as high tech as you guys, as you know. But I do I have my VAs use the hell out of the Chat GPT, you know, and I know that's like that sounds so archaic with all the stuff y'all are talking. But I will say one thing that we use it heavy on now for new properties. Man, I hate to say it, I hate to say it, but I'll be taking I you do iPhone photos sideways in the whole property, give it to my my boy Manu, and he makes those mother lovers look so good with the chat GPT. I mean, it's just it's I haven't paid for photos in a long time.
SPEAKER_00Hey bro, if you think chat GPT, tell him to use Gemini with the photos. Oh my gosh, man. Yeah, tell him to use Gemini with the photos. Gemini is like, yeah, on photos. You'd be like, oh wow.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, some of the these photos look better than the the 250 professional ones, man. It's it's I feel bad for the photographers out there, but my god, dude, these look so amazing. And even even Airbnb ain't saying, hey, you might pay for a professional, you know how they give you that tip, you know, they're not saying that because they look so damn good.
SPEAKER_00Not no more. Not no more.
SPEAKER_03So that's one thing. I'm kind of like, uh, I don't want to take people's child, but it's saving me 250, 300. So that's that's one thing, man.
SPEAKER_00All right, man. That that's that's go ahead.
Airbnb is flagging AI-edited photos
SPEAKER_04Speaking on the photos or Airbnb, I don't know if y'all have gone through recently, but they've just started maybe a month ago, maybe two months now, um, flagging photos. If you have any text, yep. But it could be, you know, say if you got a waffle bar or whatever, and you got Mrs. Butterworth's Sarah in the photo, it has branding, they're gonna flag that photo.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_04Um, and you're listening.
SPEAKER_03Mrs. Butterworth got canceled, bro. Sorry to tell you. She's got fired.
SPEAKER_00Hey, so I it's funny you brought that up.
SPEAKER_03And Jamama's gone, Uncle Ben, they all got lost their jobs.
unknownSorry.
SPEAKER_00I know, messed up, man. She was hiring, firing up the canceling the folks with jobs. But hey, uh nah, but um, it's funny you brought that up because I just launched another list, and my sister and brother and brother-in-law just started one right next to me, and I'm managing it for them, right? So I went through their photos, you know, we put the share BNB thing on there. They flagged all of them, but they didn't make them stick them down. We still get in reservations, but they flagged them. They'll definitely come up with that little um exclamation point like, hey, there's writing on this photo, but I don't know. So yeah, they are flagging photos, so just letting y'all know. It's only on new listings, though.
The new 15% Airbnb guest discount
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay. Oh, one quick thing. Y'all, y'all have heard this, the new Airbnb update where you can give a 15% discount to the like guests that have 4.85 uh or greater in reviews. And that shit works, man. I mean, it works for now. I'm sure it's gonna, you know, fizzle down a little bit.
unknownGiving them no discount.
SPEAKER_00No, but you gotta bump up your price, and then but I ain't giving nobody no 15% discount after they're taking a 15% fee. Well, that's like a 30% downhaul. But I do understand what you're saying. You raised your rate. I understand.
SPEAKER_04Sounded like Orlando right there, but but I mean, VR VRBO's been doing that like for a while, right? They have like so many different promotions you could do. You have an in-app promotion, you know, web promotion, mobile promotion. They've gotten pretty sophisticated.
VRBO is cheaper - and a $4,700 booking proves it
SPEAKER_00See, see, but this is the thing though. VRBO right now is cheaper than Airbnb. But this the crazy part. I got I just had we just got a $4,700 30-day booking off Verbo, and people are paying that because it's cheaper than Airbnb. So, hey, uh like you said earlier, get listed on multiple platforms.
SPEAKER_03There you go. Yeah, cool, man. It's been over an hour, so it's fun seeing y'all again and having and cutting up. This is good.
SPEAKER_00Man, this has been good, man. It's been what uh it's been a while since we casted in general, but then with everybody here, summertime's busy, man.
SPEAKER_03All the travels and everything, straight up, man.
SPEAKER_00But it's been good. We definitely and I'm gonna I'm gonna let y'all know we will be like dropping these episodes weekly. I don't care if it's just me, my myself, Steve by himself, because like at this point, with once I get my license, I'll always be having something to give y'all a weekly, and you know, and then me, Steve, we all get together. But yeah, I want y'all. Um, if you're looking to buy a house the next week or so, you know, hit me up. I might be licensed, so hit me up. Uh, you need that short-term rental tax loophole. I'm gonna teach you guys how to do that, and not only on top of that, how to convert those things to midterms after you get your tax benefits, so you ain't gotta keep depending on short term. So that's my outro. Anything else y'all want to add?
SPEAKER_03You want to add something, Mikey B?
SPEAKER_04No, other than um, you know, um keep the hospitality spirit up, you know, especially for those that may be starting out. Um keep learning every day. Uh you gotta keep pouring pouring knowledge in. And um, you know, don't make it don't make it hard. Don't make it be such a hustle, you know. Enjoy it um and meet new people and connect. Uh, that's how you that's how you grow.
SPEAKER_03So oh, we should we're gonna do another meetup soon, hopefully. Mikey B has been planning it for us, so let's get that in.
SPEAKER_04Yes, hopefully we could do one in the studio, and then we can invite all of our friends to come be a part of that, just like we did a while back.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, that was fun.
SPEAKER_03I got an office space we can use if you want to set up a studio there, but whatever.
SPEAKER_04That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03You're right. All right, y'all. Well, great seeing y'all, and um, everybody keep living, letting, and thriving, and we are out. Peace.
Outro
SPEAKER_05Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of Live Let Thrive. Be sure to tune in next week for all the latest in the world of Airbnb and all that entails. Bye-bye.
People on this episode
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
Real Estate Rookie
BiggerPockets
Entrepremarriage
Myka & Mahogany
The Co-Living Show
Craig Curelop and Miller McSwain
BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast
BiggerPockets
LEAN Podcast
Mahogany
