Cold open

SPEAKER_01 0:00

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SPEAKER_00 0:27

Welcome to Live Let Thrive, a podcast about the Airbnb life, the share economy, and everything in between. Here are your hosts, Micah and Steve.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Hello, hello, hello. And welcome back to another exciting episode of Live Let Throw.

Australian scientist to 22-year Tokyo resident

SPEAKER_03 1:22

Coming at you from Arlington and Fort Worth, Texas. Who we got, Steve? Who we got? I'm glad you asked. We have a special guest. Her name is Tracy Northcott. Who is Tracy Northcott? Well, let me pull up her bio and I'll tell you all about her. Australian Tracy Northcott of Infor, Tokyo Family Stays, and Tracy Northcott Consulting is a serial entrepreneur and multipreneur based in Tokyo, Japan. She is one of the most successful Airbnb hosts in Tokyo. She also runs software development company Infor with her family, as well as Tracy Northcott Consulting, where she helps other hosts discover the true potential of their STR or Airbnb business, maximizing their investment, enjoyment, and hospitality standards. Welcome to the show, Tracy.

SPEAKER_05 2:19

G'day, g'day. Thanks, guys. It's so good to be here.

SPEAKER_03 2:23

You are the second Australian we've had on our show. After someone you might know, uh Julie George.

SPEAKER_05 2:31

Julie, she's my buddy. She's she's my girl. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:35

Is she your your ride or die?

SPEAKER_05 2:37

Yeah, well, we've actually never met in person, which is interesting. Um, because I'm in based in Japan and she's based in uh Australia, but we talk every week. Um, yeah, so and she's just she's funny as all get out. Oh, she makes me giggle. So yeah. It's really good. It's really good because I'm here in Japan and like I have to be very serious. Japan's a very quiet, conservative country, and and not everyone's actually hardly anyone speaks English. So I'm I try to be sort of very, you know, quiet and conservative. And then I just get on with Jules and we just you know, we just laugh until our bellies hurt.

SPEAKER_03 3:13

So you unleash the beasts.

SPEAKER_05 3:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Yep. So that's interesting. Now, how did you end up in Tokyo?

SPEAKER_05 3:22

Um so I did Japanese at school. So uh in Australia, a lot of people do study Japanese at school. Um, and so I'd been doing it since I was 13 and I through high school and then I did some um some units at university. Um, and then my brother had already moved here for a diff completely different reason. And um, he'd started up a company uh in software development, and uh and then I'd been working in working for 10 years and in laboratories, different story, but I've been working um as a scientist and I just went nah, gotta gotta get out of here. So I thought it'd be fun to jump on a plane and come to Tokyo, and that was 22 years ago, guys. 22 years I've been living in Tokyo.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Wow. Okay. Now you're the first now. You're gonna remain learn a lot because first off, you're in Tokyo. We've never interviewed anyone in Tokyo, and we don't

Accidental arbitrage to break even on family visits

SPEAKER_01 4:18

know anything about short-term rentals in Tokyo. How did you get involved in short-term rentals over there?

SPEAKER_05 4:23

Look, it was completely by accident. So um I got married, like long story short, I got married, had a baby, and uh this was in 2010. My baby was well, like my son was born, and we were getting a lot of lot of visitors. Um, and we were just getting, you know, all the relatives wanted to come and see the child, and and also Japan was really high up on the bucket list of a lot of tourists. Um, and Japan was really welcoming in tourists, and so it was just really hard to um find places for um for my family to come and stay. So I thought, well, I'll just rent, you know, I'll rent a second apartment down the road from my house, and they can go and stay in there, and then I'll rent it out part-time on Airbnb. And uh, it was so busy that I couldn't that I need to start another one and then another one and then another one because it was just crazy. It was crazy. In that was 2012. So I've been doing short-term rentals for 10 years. Yeah, it's a long time.

SPEAKER_03 5:22

Yeah, you you accidentally started an arbitrage. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_05 5:25

I did. I didn't know it was called arbitrage, and it was just like, and well, my goal was my goal was to break even, guys. I already had a company, right? I already had a uh like a software company that you know was paying my bills. So this was really just to to cut you know, as a zero cost uh, you know, side hustle.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

No, this is all that's cool. Oh, it's just it's just interesting to me that a lot of people's side hustles where they're just I just want I'm cool with breaking even, end up, you know, kind of taking over their lives and becoming their number one hustle. You know, I just like love those stories.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

No, what now okay? I don't know anything about Japan.

2018 regulations cleaned out bad operators

SPEAKER_01 6:02

What are the are there any regulations in Japan? And how did how does it work over there?

SPEAKER_05 6:06

Yeah, so 2012, obviously there were zero regulations. It was wild, wild west. Um, and the you know, there was a massive influx of tourists. So, of course, um the hotels here are tiny, are stinky, um, or they're very, very large five-star. There's not a lot of the middle-range hotels. So there was a huge vacuum in the market. And people like myself went, well, okay, I can fill that space. And so uh started renting multiple apartments. Um, it got very big very quickly, and of course, backlash from the community. And in between 2016 and 2018, the government were um creating regulations, and then in 2018, the door shut. So um the regulations came in, and that cleaned out a lot of people that were kind of doing it badly or only sort of phoning it in. And the people that had really decided that this was going to be a sustainable business were the ones that went and got their licenses, and and uh so that that was us. We chose to um invest in the time and the paperwork. Oh my god, the paperwork, the bureaucracy, um, to get we needed a property management license, and then each individual property needs its own license, and for that you have to get a safety certificate. So um we had to get a lot of retrofitting done, uh, exit lighting put in, fire alarms, all that stuff, and it needs to be signed off by a company that can give you the safety certificate. So, you know, we invested all of that into our houses and um and we're still here.

SPEAKER_03 7:41

So Micah always talks about that. He says he says he welcomes regulation because it's it gets rid of the riff ref.

SPEAKER_05 7:50

Absolutely, and it's bad for the market, like you know, when you know, when you've got some hosts that are really just phoning it in, there's the that you know they've got you know crappy apartments or they're not well maintained, it just reflects badly on everybody else in the market, you know. So uh I think it's good when you've got some sort of standards and also safety. I mean, safety, oh my god, people where they sleep, you've got there's a care of duty, a duty of care there that you've got to take seriously as a as a business owner.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Now, on your apartments, because uh I'm really interested in this Japanese market now.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

So there goes Micah.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Who's your target avatar coming

Targeting families, not luxury guests

SPEAKER_01 8:30

into Japan? Was it like a lot of Americans? And like, how often are these people coming? Who's your target avatar in the how often are they coming?

SPEAKER_05 8:37

Yeah, so um my target avatar, well, I decided very early on that it was family. So whatever a family looked like, um, whether it be two mums, two dads, a you know, single parents, a but a family. So a family has a certain, you know, energy about it, they have a certain need. And and so I was accepting families um uh of all different shapes, sizes, colors, and nationalities. So that's really my demographic as a family. Um, and and you know, the name of my business is baked right into that. So it's Tokyo Family Stay. So that's really who I was targeting. Um, you know, if you're a family, I know how to take care of you. If you're a luxury, if you're a luxury guest, I don't really know how to look after luxury guests. It's not really my jam. Um so I was really very specific on who I was targeting. And but the nationality-wise, it was it's such a mixed mixed bag, Micah. It was all over the shop. So um uh families from Southeast Asia through to you know, through to the UK and Europe and America, so many different types. Um but what you do learn when you when you're hosting people from all over the world is that families do have a certain energy and a rhythm and a and a and a and a need point um that that's what I was really targeting.

SPEAKER_03 10:00

No, no. We always hear things are so small over there in Japan. And just looking at at you the the I guess it's the living room that's behind you, which is you know an image you're projecting of one of your units. It seems, you know, from American standards, it seems pretty small. Now, are there is there any uh culture shock when a family uh family of four or family of five arrives and like wow, this is really small. I mean, how do you handle that?

SPEAKER_05 10:25

Uh I I see part of my job as educating my guests on how to thrive, on what to expect. Um, most of the people coming anyway, they're you know, they're uh they've done a lot of research, so they do understand that houses are smaller. Um, but part of my job is really to explain about luggage and trash and and and what you need to do in the community with houses being so small and so close together. So, you know, some of my houses, you can reach out the window and touch the next house next door. That's how close they are. Um but it's but I but I I frame it rather than as like you must do this and you must do that. I frame it as part of the adventure. And my job is really to show you it's my job is not cheap accommodation. I'm not selling you a cheap place to stay. That's not my product. Um, there are plenty of places that will sell you that. My product is understanding what life is like to live as a local in your in, you know, Tokyo is not one big city, it's just thousands and thousands of villages very close together. And each each village has its own little uh, you know, it has its own vibe, it has its own energy, it has its own like um, we don't have a lot of um strip malls here, we don't have a lot of brands, like national brands here. Everything is very local. And what I see my job as doing is to show that and to to really let people experience life as a local in Japan.

SPEAKER_03 12:05

And you and you mentioned uh a second ago, trash. I know I've always heard Japan's very clean, right? Very strict on that.

SPEAKER_05 12:13

Extremely clean, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:15

How does that work to a guest that's not familiar familiar with how they do things over there?

SPEAKER_05 12:20

Yeah, well, it's it's giving people the right tools for success. So um, you know, we meet, we're we're a bit different probably from a lot of other hosts in that we do. I have someone, either myself or one of the team, meet and greet every single guest that comes in. Um and we show them how to use the air conditioner, how to use all of the implements because it's all in another language, but also I have tools in the house in English, and actually I have it in multiple languages: English, Chinese, uh, Korean, and Japanese. I have um the the uh the book of house, I call it like the uh, you know, all of the the main instructions. But but trash is really important, and I I have the bins all organized, they're all labeled, and then on the on the outside of the bin, it's like, well, this is for burnable rubbish. This is what goes in the burnable rubbish, and this is the day that you need to take it out, and this is where you and I show people exactly where to do it. So um, or one of my team does um uh check-ins at midnight. I don't do them, I don't know them anymore. I I did for a lot of years, but um, yeah, I I uh I've trained staff to to uh I want to train staff to to take me out of a job, so that's my goal now.

SPEAKER_03 13:32

Nice, nice and so I I I take it people get uh they arrive pretty um tired over there because it's a long trip to Japan.

SPEAKER_05 13:40

It's a long trip. And often they they're arriving in at 5 a.m. or they're arriving at midnight. And so you know, we've got to, you know, we've got the infrastructure to deal with that, and um, and also I have other supporting businesses that help us. So I've got a relationship with a transport company, I've got relationships with babysitters, I've got relationships with other with other service providers that really make it a soft landing for people. Um, and again, that's my job. That's my job as a hospitality um provider. I'm not selling cheap accommodation, I'm selling you a you know, a like a really good uh experience um in Japan.

SPEAKER_03 14:19

I love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Now, how and since these places are smaller, how big of a family do you host? You just said like a yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 14:29

Yeah, well, we've had we've had places, so I don't have this one anymore. My my favorite house actually was a six-bedroom house in um in Tokyo. It was a big old house um and it was two stories. Um interestingly, in Japan, in most houses, it's only one bathroom. Um, usually there's a couple of toilets, but one main bathroom. So that's a challenge. Um it's a culture shock for a lot of people. So um I I could host families with, you know, up to 10 people, 10, 12 people, especially if they're multi-generational families. So, you know, you're bringing you bringing the the grandparents with you. Great. I've got a room for them on the ground floor, they don't have to climb stairs, it's all it's all very easy. So um I really think about the the makeup of of um of families.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

Okay. Now and then how how big is your portfolio over in Japan? Like how many units are you hosting?

SPEAKER_05 15:23

Well, I well, before the pandemic, um I I was all set up for the Olympics. I was all set up for like a massive influx.

25 units, all booked for the Olympics

SPEAKER_05 15:32

Um, I had 25 places, all fully booked. Um, it was all gonna be fabulous. And I was also then bringing on more properties that I was only just going to rent for those two months and do a profit share with the owners. Like the owners were maybe going away for the summer, and I was gonna put people anyway. So that was that was what it was before the pandemic. So um we're a small business, so 25 25 units is or houses is great for us and our size. Um, it went down to five now. We had to really dig in and we really had to decide which houses we wanted to keep and which ones we were gonna let go.

SPEAKER_03 16:12

So that that's crazy. I was gonna ask that to the the pandemic, because okay, here you know it was it was a a pretty hard blow, of course, to got a lot of cancellations and this and that. And um, but to yours, it was a double whammy because not only you get a lot of cancellations, you were planning on huge month coming ahead, right? Yeah, and then you it not only didn't you make the huge month, you made what zero, or did how what happened?

Lost $1.5 million in three weeks

SPEAKER_05 16:39

Well, look, um I won't lie, it was a it was a horrible, horrible time. Um, we I was projecting for 2020, and I'll be transparent, I was projecting a seven-figure profit. Um I'd taken and I was fully booked, and yeah, and obviously we'd taken deposits. Um, I lost in revenue, um, I lost $1.5 million in revenue in three weeks.

SPEAKER_03 17:07

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 17:11

Yeah. So I sat on the floor, I sat on my floor, on my living room floor in the fetal position and turned off my phone because it was just every day bing, bing, bing, and it was just horrendous. I wish it on nobody. I do, I wish that on nobody. I've since had therapy, it's all good. Um and you know, the other thing was going through the regulations two years before really set me up for um expectations. So I was 50% booked on Airbnb and 50% booked on my own private system. I knew that when regulations happened, we got zero assistance from Airbnb. And I stopped drinking the Kool-Aid two years beforehand. So I knew that my but Airbnb, I love them. They're a fantastic marketing channel. I do not work for Airbnb. I have my own business. And I really had, you know, I really dug in in those two years. I built up my own brand. And um, and so when when the pandemic hit and everyone was screaming, oh my goodness, Airbnb, it's like I I didn't expect anything different. I was like, Yep, that's uh that was what happened to us during the regulation. So this is definitely what what was going to happen during the pandemic. So I wasn't, it wasn't as hard to deal with, I think, um, because we were not we were not expecting Airbnb to help us at all. So um, yeah, so what happened was that you know I we lost all that revenue, but because all of we we were able to control our

Travel credits kept guests loyal through the shutdown

SPEAKER_05 18:47

our our guests, I had a relationship with them. So I was able to talk to them as people, going, you know, guys, you can't come, but I know you're gonna come down the line. So let me hold your deposits, I'll hold them as travel credits. Here is my signature, here is my stamp of honor. You will be able to come back and you will be able to use your um use your travel credit down the line. And that's what kept that what that's what got us through. Um, and I've now got people coming back, they're using their travel credits. I've got a I've got a spreadsheet of who they are, I've got a contract with them saying this is my my word is my bond, and I've got a but but not only that, it's like you, you know, you have it in on writing that I'm that that this is your that you are owed this. And so now they're coming back. I'm now applying their travel credit to their bookings. Um, and uh everyone's happy. I'm happy, my places are filling up because these are people that were gonna book anyway, and they're coming back to me. They're not going back out into the wild and and booking somebody else, they're they're coming back to me. Um and I and and also the loyalty is just, you know, I'm just showing them so much gratitude. Um, and it's it's it's wonderful because they know that they've helped me and my family, and it's just such a wonderful situation.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

That's beautiful, that's beautiful. Yeah, that's it, it is a sink or swim with a bunch of with a bunch of hosts, and and and you did whatever you could to stay afloat. And that's that's amazing, that's inspiring, you know. Um, and you can't be you got creative with it, you know, keeping the deposits and promising them a great ship in the future, stuff like that. So that was um, I mean, y'all's but y'all's lockdown lasts for a while, right?

SPEAKER_05 20:27

Okay, we're still locked out. Well, our borders are technically still shut now.

SPEAKER_03 20:30

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_05 20:32

Um it unless so the people that are coming back now, these are people that are um either coming for work um or they're coming like there's a lot of um uh visiting professors that are coming for like summer summer residencies. Um, so that's who I'm booking now. Um, so they've got visas and they're coming in, or they're students, or they've got student visas or work visas and they're coming in. But but also so from September onwards, I'm really booking tourists back in.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

You said you lost 1.5 mil in three weeks with 25 units, and you were expecting a seven-figure profit.

unknown 21:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Now I that this makes me want to come to Japan

Five-times-rent profit margin on three to five bedrooms

SPEAKER_01 21:18

because I'm like 25 units and doing that. That is crazy. What are your most profitable units? So, what was your most profitable unit over there? How big was it?

SPEAKER_05 21:26

Sure. Well, um I've done the numbers. Um, so again in 2018 when regulations came in, I really looked at what was, you know, rather than having like a massive portfolio with each of them owning a little bit of money, I sort of shrunk the portfolio and increased the profit margin for each one. So that's really what I've been focused on. It's not vanity metrics. I don't need a hundred doors. I just need, I need it, I need the profits because the you know, you you can't eat you can't eat vanity metrics. You can, but you can eat eat profits, right? So So that's what I was working on, keeping my costs at a certain level and really maximizing the juice from each property. So and I found the sweet spot for us is around about the three-bedroom unit, the three to five bedrooms. And I can be making usually five X on the costs. That's that's my that's my sweet spot.

SPEAKER_03 22:21

I like that I like that term vanity meth vanity metrics.

SPEAKER_05 22:26

Vanity metrics, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:28

You think any of that um vanity metrics stuff happens on Clubhouse?

SPEAKER_05 22:33

Really? I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

Maybe some capity cap cap. Um yeah, so you're big on Clubhouse too, right?

SPEAKER_05 22:44

Well, yeah, I'm I mean what I do is I try to add value, you know. Um I try to, you know, I try to hang out in spaces where people are interested in learning about hospitality. Um you know, because I'm not, you know, like I think Clubhouse is global. So um things that are local in terms of local laws, local, um, you know, uh local attorneys, local, local, local things, I can't really assist with. But I try to hang out in rooms where you're talking about how to deliver excellent guest services, how to how to find um additional money from understanding your guest and understanding where you're at. And just trying, you know, because I've got a ton of ideas of of how to get additional monetization from um uh you know, from your, you know, getting your squeeze, get all the juice out of that. So and sometimes the squeeze is worth the juice, sometimes it's not. It's deciding which one is that.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

So being real quick, so being you're catering to a lot of like workers and stuff like that, like people that are that live in in Japan and just need a place. Is that are they Japanese or so?

SPEAKER_05 23:57

Before the pandemic, it was all inbound tourists, 99%. Because the there was Airbnb really missed the boat a little bit in terms of educating the the domestic market um on the benefit of a short-term house rental. Um so it was really all of the all of hosts here really focused on the the inbound tourist market. Um and but what I've had what I what I've done since is I've been working with relocation companies and insurance companies and uh those people to um to look after relocation, uh inbound relocation. So that's obviously a pivot that I've had to do. Um domestically, there's when the pandemic first hit, a lot of Japanese expats were called back from wherever they were working. Um and so I was hosting a lot of families who were coming, the Japanese families who were perhaps working in China or working in Malaysia or working in various places. And because it was so uncertain with the health, their companies, like you know, Mitsubishi or you know, one of the big companies would bring the, you know, because they couldn't guarantee health standards in other countries, they would bring them back to Japan and they would live in Japan until that you know things because you you remember what it was like early 2020. No one knew what was going on. It was a it was a crazy time. So yeah, Japanese families coming back, but um domestic travel is not so big here. Um, there's not a lot of digital nomads, it's not like you know, there's just not a lot of that.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

This is the most interesting, I think, podcast because you're talking about it from a the all basically on the other side of the world, how you guys were looking at it. I've never thought about people, hey, we have to depend on the tourism guests to come in, and then you have to make that switch when the pandemic comes. That that's amazing. I'm happy you were able to do that. That's a really good learning lesson.

SPEAKER_05 25:59

Not everyone survived though. Not like not everyone survived. It was hard. It's been really hard.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

And then what are your like on a short-term rental or Airbnb in Japan and Tokyo? What are your expenses over there? Like, what if do you guys have proper insurance? How what are your expenses?

SPEAKER_05 26:17

Sure. Well, um, we proper doesn't work here, so I have my own um it's so if I if I drop into Japanese, I apologize. So Minpaku is short-term rental in Japanese. So um I have my own Minpaku insurance policies. So I had to negotiate with an insurance company and actually create a product for me. Um, because I don't, you know, like I said, I do not rely on the air cover. I don't rely on that. It's like I want to have my own cover. Um and expenses, utilities are quite high here. I mean, they you they're quite high everywhere with short-term rentals because you know, there's not a lot of internet of there's not a lot of um IoT, internet of things. So um smart home things, especially in my houses, just don't happen. So each room has its own air conditioner and um and people leave them on. They, you know, there's no central heating here, so I can't control that outside. So I find utilities are quite high, um, electricity. Um costs, um obviously, yeah, utilities, wear and tear. Um, I don't have um, you know, we don't have yards. So, well, not in Tokyo anyway. So there's no kind of outside maintenance um that needs doing. Um, it's mainly just wear and tear on the inside and utilities and consumables, of course, you know, having having nice products inside.

SPEAKER_03 27:50

Now oh, go ahead. So, how do you um I was gonna take us off topic? You go ahead, you go ahead, Michael. You you're on topic.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Oh, yeah, yeah. You you said you you you created your own in you worked with someone to create your own insurance. Now, what does that insurance entail? Do you get like loss of income if something

Custom insurance and utilities that guests leave on

SPEAKER_01 28:08

happens? How did you kind of structure that?

SPEAKER_05 28:10

No, unfortunately not. It was after the pandemic hit that we went, oh, maybe I should have got an like a like a business protection insurance. But no, it's mainly personal liability. Um, you know, so if someone hurts themselves, I want to be able to obviously take care of them and take care of myself. Um, damage. Um, I've obviously the the house, it's like the the building has insurance, which is you know, if it burns down, but there's all the contents. Um and also when you've got uh so a usual um a usual insurance policy doesn't allow for different people moving in and out. So I had to have my insurance policy written to make sure that if there was any problems, that the insurance company was not going to say, well, you didn't specify that it was gonna be like a hotel, you know, like um uh normally when you have a house insurance, you specify who is it that's living in the house. So um, but because you've got different people moving in and out, the the insurance company would possibly see that as a way that they could not pay out a claim. And I wanted to have it written down that they knew that it was that it was going to be different people uh that were staying in the property.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Gotcha, gotcha. Okay. I'll say so. Oh, go ahead, go ahead. No, go ahead, Steve.

SPEAKER_03 29:35

So being the okay, being the places are so small, how do you how do you design them, you know, with that in mind?

SPEAKER_05 29:42

That's a great question, Steve. Um I'm not a designer. Like I'll first to admit, I'm not a I'm not a like an interior designer, but what where I think where whenever I'm starting with a house, I always think how is someone going to be using the space? And how is my ideal guest going to be using the space? So they're tourists, they're coming in, they've got luggage. They need to have a straight shot through from the front door through to where they're going to be dropping their luggage. I need to make sure that there's no furniture that's going to be banged or dinged on the way through to dropping their luggage. Um, in Japan, everyone takes off their shoes at the front door. Um, I've got to make sure that that's clearly signed, that that's clearly that it's easy for people, just make it easy. Make people make it easy for them to do the right thing. Um and also make it easy so that there's not a lot of wear and tear. Uh so that's that's where I start and I look at flow. Um, if there's kids, um, you know, I'm planning for children. So when I'm planning a dining area, I've got to make sure that I have chairs with backs on them and not sort of fancy modern stool things, right? Because when you're trying to feed a kid and you don't have a high chair, um, or we have high chairs, but but again, storage is an issue. So um I I have the tools so that people can actually feed their kids at the dining table rather than needing a high chair. So um, and then with cribs, I I have a um I have pack and play cribs so they can go and I have places where they can go in different parts of the house. So um I know a lot of hosts want to have heads in beds, so many people, but um, even if I could fit more beds in, I don't. I like to leave space um so that you can have a crib, like a pack and play crib in different rooms, so that people have choices about where they're where they're gonna sleep, where their kids are gonna sleep. Um, so I really just put the skin on of my ideal guests and really think about how they're gonna be living there. Um, and and does that's where I start my design. And then the last thing I think about is obviously is the uh is the color palette because you know, like I said, I'm not a designer. I just like, oh, that looks good. Or does it look good? So thinking about the flow, that all about the flow.

SPEAKER_03 32:02

Feng shui.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

You said something in there. You said there's no storage area. Now you may be able to oh go go ahead. Go ahead on that.

SPEAKER_05 32:11

Because I have there is a little storage area. So one of my houses, one actually my favorite house, I call it the pencil house.

The 2.5-meter-wide pencil house

SPEAKER_05 32:18

It is 2.5 meters wide, so in yards, that's about three yards wide. Okay. So that's how sorry, you can lose me. So yeah, that's how wide this house is, and it the reason is is because it's on, it's basically been subdivided from a driveway, and they these houses are popping up all over Tokyo, and they're fun, they're really cool. I wouldn't want to live in them full time, but as a short-term rental, it really makes it fun. But I make but there is there's two closets. Um, so uh, and some of those actually have some, you know, has the vacuum cleaner and you know that type of thing in there. So we get a lot of people who come in for skiing because Japan's snow is is just insane. Um, the powder snow is just it's famous all over the world. So we get a lot of people who come in and they want to ski, but I make sure that I speak to them beforehand and go, you know, guys, are you carrying ski gear? If you are, then you cannot bring it to the house. Here is a solution. It's not like I say, you can't do this. It's like, well, here is a solution that'll solve your problem, it'll solve mine as well. And I give them the tools for success. So um in Japan, there is fantastic uh they call it Takubin, which is uh courier, like private courier services. And they're cheap, they're everywhere, and they deliver door to door. And they you can tell them this one thing I love about Japan. If you if you specify I want my luggage delivered to my ski place the morning of this date, it will be there 100%. You can guarantee, you know, you can go to the bank on that. It's like it's it's accurate. So explaining that this is a this is a resource at your your disposal and this is how to do it, I see as a service to my guests. My guests love it that they they that you know they can feel like they're an expert. Um, and also it means that they don't have to step over bags in the middle of the middle of the pencil house.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Now, the reason I was asking about storage is because like how do you so where do you keep like your supply closet? Is it somewhere off site? Because the reason why I'm asking is because I'm currently remodeling a whole house and there's no storage space. I'm like, are we gonna have to build a shed? How do you handle that?

SPEAKER_04 34:42

Have a look. This is my storage shed.

SPEAKER_05 34:46

Can you see? Yeah, this is in my house. So um, yeah. So that's my house. So this is my storage shed. My cleaners have access to my house. Um, and they can come and go. This is where we keep all of the big supplies. Let me just turn that off. It's a bit distracting. Um, so in the house, obviously under the sink, um, under the sink, and usually we have a storage um like a supply closet that's locked, um, you know, part of the game. You have to keep it locked with cleaning products, like the additional stuff. Obviously, we have enough out for the guests. Um, sheets and towels um go under the bed, under the bed that they belong in. Um again, Japan is really designed for lack of storage. So we have storage bins that are designed to go under the bed and they have a lock on them so that when the cleaners come, they can pull out the box from under the bed, they know which which linen goes on, the linen that's on there goes straight to the wash and uh and they do it that way. So yeah, you you can be creative with storage. You don't necessarily have, I mean, I I dream about having a home edit, you know, pantry. Um, I like it's porn for me. I'd like I wash it on Netflix. But it's just not possible. Yeah, house porn is it's just not possible for us. So, you know, we have creative, and there's whole stores

Capsule hotels: from drunk salarymen to bucket-list branding

SPEAKER_05 36:18

here dedicated to finding storage solutions. Um and it's usually out of it's usually tucked out of the way.

SPEAKER_03 36:25

Nice now. The um pods, you're familiar with the pods over there? The pods that that people, these like little like coffin things that they sleep in or they think of.

SPEAKER_05 36:36

The capsule hotels, yeah. The capsule capsule hotels.

SPEAKER_03 36:39

Have you ever stayed in one of those?

SPEAKER_05 36:41

Well, see, they've been around forever. Um this is you know, this is an entrepreneurial success story, which indulge me for a second. So these capsule hotels have been around for a long time. They were stink, they used to be stinky and smelly, and it was where um salary men used to just crash when they when they got too drunk to catch the train home. And and it was usually only men, and they were just cheap, cheap, cheap. So I mean, I'm talking like 10 bucks a night, $15 a night. Um, and there would be like a communal, uh a communal bathroom and a communal shower room, and you would just sleep in this little tube, and they were just nasty, nasty places. Um but then someone, some clever marketer thought, well, geez, we can turn this into a like a bucket list item. So uh, you know, so they got in interior architects, interior designers, and some, you know, some really slick lighting and some fantastic social media and some some got some really good articles written, and now the prices are really high. Um, it's on a it's on the bucket list for a lot of tourists. Like, I want to go and stay in a capsule. Um, and now they're like really, you know, because they're like space agey now. You've got like you can have like T there's little TVs and there's like little you know speakers and and uh really fancy, but again, they're just a tube, just a tube. So it's really just and so someone was very, very clever in their rebranding and their marketing, and it's just genius. I'd like as a as an entrepreneur, I'd like well done. I think that's brilliant.

SPEAKER_03 38:31

So a tall person couldn't stay in one of those. Sorry, a tall person couldn't stay in one of those.

SPEAKER_05 38:37

Um, they are pretty long. Um I've never stayed in one. Um, I'm a bit claustrophobic. I don't I couldn't I couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_03 38:45

What are they like two two feet high or um yeah?

SPEAKER_05 38:50

I think if you've ever stayed in a boat, they're like a bunk bed on a boat, like you know, so you wouldn't you couldn't sit up in a hurry.

SPEAKER_02 38:57

You can't sit up, you can't sit up in them.

SPEAKER_05 39:00

No, they're like when you're lying down, you probably I don't know, you probably got another like foot and a half on top of your nose if you're lying down. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:10

Oh wow, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_05 39:12

Uh it's cool how they turned it into something like uh uh you know, a bucket list items genius, genius marketing, because you know, like how much like the number of people that you can put and what they did was very clever as well, is that they made them like you know, there's a women's only floor, um, and they've got a men's only floor as well. So because you know, um, you don't want you don't want sort of some creepy, because there's it's there's a lot of men who stay there because it's salary men. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:43

So now on your side, are you still arbitraging or have you switched over to the ownership side?

SPEAKER_05 39:49

Um, I'm I'm all about what I what can I make and what what numbers make sense? So um rather than saying, oh, I'm all arbitrage or I'm all co-hosting. So I do a bit of column A and a bit of column B. So um obviously I have some arbitrage places that I love that I've had, like the pencil house, I've had for eight years. I just I just love it so much. And I and I because it's so novel, um, I can make a ton of money on it and uh and it's in a great location. So that's definitely one that I'm keeping on the arbitrage side. Um I was I I pat the back of my former self that I was clever enough to build a house and uh buy a house and build a house where I actually have a sec I have an apartment built in. So um I'm house hacking, so that's one of my units. Um and um and then also I work with a lot of people who have second houses. So these are people who are like digital nomads, they they have a house here, they might have a house in in the US or wherever. And so um they own the house when they come to town, they use their own house, and then I manage it for them when they're not there. And that's that's a co-hosting profit-sharing model. Um, and that's obviously fantastic. So I do a bit of I do a bit of everything, and there are some that I only sublet for particular, you know, while

Arbitrage, house hacking, and profit-share co-hosting

SPEAKER_05 41:16

people are away. So it's it's it's whatever I think is gonna make sense for who I can sell it to.

SPEAKER_03 41:22

Versatile, you're versatile, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:24

And also profit-wise. Like I said, I'm not interested, I'm not like is the squeeze worth the juice? You know, I've got I do have to make those decisions. I've had I've turned down deals where it just, you know, yeah, I could make a little bit of money on it. Is it worth my time? Yeah, maybe not so much.

SPEAKER_01 41:39

So I like that mentality because over in the States, everyone's about to get more, get more, get more. And then you end up in a situation like in one of the markets I'm in Houston, you just have everyone throwing up these units now that you place is oversaturated, bad operators. I like how you have that mentality of let me is the juice worth the squeeze? I mean, not try to get everything, let me get the right one that works. No.

SPEAKER_05 42:02

Well, also you're headed for burnout as well. Like, you know, hospitality burnout is real. Like looking after people, looking after people is a big responsibility, and it's hard. I it's not passive. And you know, it you're wearing all the hats, you're chief everything officer, like you're looking after guests, you're looking after the owners, or you're looking after your your landlords and trying to get deals, it's just too much. So sometimes you've just got to knuckle down and like really focus on giving giving good hospitality because the guests are the ones that are paying you. So if you're not looking after your guests, then then you know, like, yeah, you've got to decide what's what's uh what's a good use of your time.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

Like that, the chief everything officer.

SPEAKER_03 42:46

Now do you do you put karaoke machines in every unit?

SPEAKER_05 42:51

No, no, we have noise issues, right? We have noise issues because again, uh you can touch the touch the next door neighbor's wall with your when you lean out the window. So no carry, but the thing is you don't need that stuff because um Tokyo is such a vibrant city, you know, and where I where I where I pick my places, you know, if you want to go out and sing karaoke, there's a place five minutes down the road, you can go and do it. Um and you know, you can go and get the best Japanese for him from the local, the, you know, the local uh um sorry, yakitori, like I'm sorry, I was trying to think of the English then. Um, you know, the the the local restaurant people down the road. And and I, you know, you can do all these things. Um you don't really have to um be totally engaged within the house. Like go out and enjoy yourself and then come back and I'll you know make sure that you've you know you've got a a little piece of quiet when you come home.

SPEAKER_03 43:51

Now, now one of the cool things because I you know I watched the Olympics and the Tokyo Olympics uh on TV and I was brokenhearted. that the the pandemic was going on didn't have none nobody could go you know enjoy the olympics except for the people that were there right uh the the athletes were watching them so they're other athletes anyways so but they were doing little little like informative commercials in between you know in between this the this the the events and one of one of those guys was walking through these little like back alleys and say these are these he just opens this curtain there's a little restaurant there he goes you just walk into these after there was a word for these little restaurants where you just walk in and you sit down and and and he says and you tell them uh surprise me or something like that you tell them something japanese and then they serve you some kind of dish and it's just like I'm phenomenal.

SPEAKER_05 44:39

Yeah yeah that's and that's a real thing it's not like uh so I used to before I was doing short-term rental my other side hustle was I had a bar I owned a bar and um and in one of these little alleys and um yeah they it was it was it was interesting it was very interesting but yeah these places are tiny they fit they fit six people and uh you go there because the the bartender is amusing or tells a good story or makes you some really interesting octopus balls or something. So yeah and um and it's all beer and whiskey. It's all beer and whiskey and uh something called shochu. My favorites yeah beer whiskey and shochu shochu is basically a gut rot you know it's like it's like the white liquor that's fermented rice or something and it's just like what about sake um nihonshu sake oh well sake actually is the word for all alcohol um which interest me and uh the sake that you're you're talking about like it's called Nihonshu uh Japanese alcohol Japanese uh alcohol and you can go to tasting bars it's really quite good now you can there's hot and there's cold and there's ones that you have with fish and there's ones that you have with like you know with like beer nuts there's there's one for every occasion um and uh I you know when you're having Japanese food um it's it's really great and in summer cold cold cold sake is just got it's great it's really good oh nice well and one more question on the food because I absolutely go for it I'm all about food one of my favorite move uh movies is is is on Netflix uh hero dreams of a sushi you seen that hero dreams uh yeah uh is that the one no hero oh yes so he's the uh he's the funny little the funny little um uh man that does the the really expensive uh sashimi right yeah it's a little bitty restaurant does it say the sashimi sushis whatever and and um I mean I remember uh Obama went there to his little restaurant and and the the the prime minister of Japan at the time I mean and it's like in this little it's like in a in a bus the train station or something it's like on the bottom and it's in Tokyo station I think so but it's really strict so you have a window of opportunity like you have to get there on time and you go there and it's like you ever seen that Seinfeld episode like the soup Nazi oh yeah that no soup for you and it's pretty much the same thing it's like you get what they give you absolutely they give you like um like it comes and you're supposed to like you know if you don't if you don't care for it like you don't like keep that to yourself but so um and uh it's all about the experience and and it's like hell expensive it's like uh $400 for like three pieces of fish or something but goodness it's it's a bit more there but but yeah these are this is the best cut of fish and it's the um and it's uh you know infused with love or something I'm not sure but um uh but uh it you go for the experience and also to tick it off to say yes I've been to this restaurant so but but you can go down the road and get some uh more affordable sushi well sushi's everywhere so it's like I can go to 7 Eleven I can go to the 7 Eleven and get awesome sushi it's it's not you know Japanese food like it's it the experience is part of it it's not just what you're consuming and that's why that's why you don't get like the mega sets and you don't get the you know like you you know you don't supersize things here it's it's because it's not about what you're consuming it's the whole environment of how you're consuming it like the ambiance and the and the everything um and uh you know you you yeah you don't you don't get a lot of overeating here yeah that sounds like yeah it's pretty expensive for to do well I mean that that like experience right for that yeah for that but you know I know all the best little places that you like the holes in the walls where you can you know have great experiences and you know have a big bowl of like you know amazing pork ramen ramen for the you know for ten dollars and um yeah I've got all the tips and tricks so now this is my last question like on the short term rental side like what's your average price per night because it sounds like you get some high end guests over there. Yeah it depends on the season obviously and I and I um and I love my dynamic pricing. I love it. Because I when I used to do it myself and it's just like nah but um so we go anywhere between you know $200 a night

$200 to $700 a night, cherry blossom peak

SPEAKER_05 49:23

in low season through to six seven hundred dollars a night in high season yay that is a shit it's a big split it's a big range. When do you guys high season is it ski season or no interestingly um it's uh between the 25th of March and the end of April really kind of random isn't it yeah what's going is I'm trying to think what's going on over there where is it just people are taking vacations have you heard of have you heard of uh the the sakoda the cherry trees no the the the the blossoms the cherry the the cherry blossoms that's when they bloom wow yeah people pay seven hundred dollars a night for that I got it yeah have you have you ever been to I think um washington DC has has the sakota has the cherry blossoms when they're in bloom when they're in full bloom it is it's transient but it is really really special it's a really special time and here in Japan as well it's where it's where the it's where the school year ends it's where companies take spring break um and it's it's a time of renewal and um and the the whole the whole country is electric at that time of year um but you pay for it you pay for it um and uh the other really peak time is New Year's so um anywhere between christmas day and the 2nd of um january is really really big here it's called that's called Oshogatze um and that's where all companies except for shops shut down and um and you know New Year's is like christmas in in an in a christian country so we don't have christmas christmas is a working day can you believe that so I heard something crazy it is yeah KFC is like a real popular meal for Christmas over there. Oh my god yes it's like what is that like I do not understand why KFC like it's Christmas chicken I don't know again some very clever marketer like put this into the the the local zeitgeist that you have to have chicken at Christmas and it's like and so KFC is just massive massive wow we we do our right we do our own thing I like I pull my kid even though it's a school day I pull my kid out of school it's like you know like uh we're pretty japanese in terms of like we're respectful of of culture but you know Christmas day is kind of special so we pull our kid out and um and we have Christmas proper Christmas lunch and a turkey and do all that stuff.

SPEAKER_03 52:10

So no KFC for you.

SPEAKER_05 52:13

No KFC you gotta put your orders in early to date night too Christmas and Christmas day is not a big thing. Christmas Eve is really big it's date night so if you don't have a date for Christmas Eve like you're a loser

Mining your brand for affiliate revenue

SPEAKER_05 52:29

so that's where all the you see all the like the restaurants are all filled with um it's like Valentine's Day all the restaurants are all filled with um couples having having date night nice so uh an interesting question on your on your question list right here is uh how you can how you can mine your brand for additional revenue what does that mean absolutely so that's knowing who you serve so where I where I see my brand is three things my guest my product and me so they're the three things that that are my brand not like you know you start with those three things and then then you have your you you know your brand identity and that's when after that you start bringing in your colours and your logos and whatever so you you know you start with what you're what service you're delivering and when you know that then you know what problems your guests have and what how you can monetize. So like I said I know my guest is coming in what problems they have so I've lined up um affiliate arrangements with a transportation company with a food to a food walking tour company actually a couple of them ticketing for museums and Disney and and that stuff um babysitting services so I know what problems my guests are likely to have and so I've built relationships where my guests are happy because this is money they were going to spend anyway and um and I'm happy because they're spending money with me and I can I I'm making a commission. So um I'm not like you know I'm not being grubby selling selling selling it's like I'm solving a problem this is a problem that you were going to spend money on anyway I'm just allowing you to spend it with me. So that's that's what that is but but I help you know um I help people all around the world doing it for their market. So what works in my market is going to be very different from from other people's um and it's and what I do is I help people like really brainstorm what the product is that they're delivering and who are they delivering it to and after you've done that that's when you start looking for opportunities. So um are you you know if you're in an off-grid area do you need to you know um uh have have a local experience that is a like a sustainable farming experience for example but you don't deliver the service but it's likely that your guests are going to be interested in it or if you're doing a high-end luxury do you need to build a relationship with a chef that comes in and does a food experience for example so it really does depend on the those three those three um pillars of your brand um knowing those things and then looking for a good a good fit for that nice nice one more one more question

Owning the customer and nurturing repeat bookings

SPEAKER_05 55:18

on your list that I really intrigues me because we're all trying to kind kind of start doing this you know and be more successful at it is how to manage direct marketing for your short-term rental that's a that's a that's another you have to get me back Steve that's another that's a complete other podcast um number one is uh your customer you need to own your customer and so that means owning the email addresses owning their like obviously you need permission for that so you you you know you're building a relationship directly with the customer and not involving the third party OTA so even if they've come to you from the OTA first time they are you know you and you pay the commission for Airbnb fine they've just they've earned it they've brought you the customer but after that customer comes to you you need to then start nurturing that relationship and how I do that is obviously I start even before they arrive. So I have their welcome pack I have all of the tools for them to land and and all the rest of it um and then after they leave is where I immediately start you know sending them you know rebooking retargeting um you know uh incentives for them to invite their invite their friends who are likely to be my that my ideal guest as well um you know and and have those guests also spread the word either through social media or through email and uh and and be able to um nurture nurture those guests that way as well nice so you off book marketing is off book marketing is really the way to the way to create sustainability it's how I've sustained my business when when the you know when they're stuck hit the fan so and what kind of what kind of tools do you use to direct market to them? Just the the standard I have it I have an email list um I have a you know an email like I just use Mailchip I don't use anything fancy um and it's just more about giving timely information so you know I let people know about what festivals are on um what what is likely to be interesting for them or you know if I've discovered a new restaurant that people might be interested I'll I'll send that through. So I just try to keep it topical and personal and um you know I I think people turn off when when they think they're being sold to the whole time. You want to really just try to be of service and try to make their journey to your area easy. And if you keep that as the as top of mind then then it's then you can then you can do the email marketing easier. You know you'd bring up a point about you know setting up these email lists to guests and me and my partner were talking the other day about something we're working on in our business is getting repeat customers have you been able to capture are you like have you been able to capture how many repeat customers you're receiving oh good question I haven't um it's more anecdotal um it's it's uh yeah I mean if they come back through my my direct booking platform I I know that I've got a relationship with them and they've stayed with me before but most people tell me to be honest they'll say oh look hey do you remember me I stayed with you in 2017 for example um they'll tell you and because I try to create my communication to be personal and um and you know to show that I really because I really do care.

SPEAKER_01 58:50

I mean you can't sort of fake that right like I really do care that people are going to have a good time they they remember that um and uh they'll they'll they respond to that one thing I noticed about return guests and you guys can weigh in on this they're usually coming back for one specific thing like if you're in a specific area hey you're in this area I want to come back this area every time have you guys noticed maybe on Airbnb it's hard to get a repeat guest because people are going they want to see different experiences or I don't know have you seen that well I mean Airbnb want that right yeah they they um they don't they don't even though we're supposed to be you know an important part of the important part of the the echo sphere in Airbnb they they the the relationship really is between Airbnb and the guest and the the hosts are really just like um they're just the the the service provider but we're expendable and you know um they want Airbnb want to show the guests the new and shiny all the time um and uh and and we're we're a little bit anonymous in this thing so um and that's I mean that's fine.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:06

I mean there are some people that only want to use Airbnb but then my guests come back to me because they they like they like my service and they like my hospitality. And um you know you you can't be everything to everybody and that's that's that's fine. I mean if you want new and shiny all the time keep you know keep going through the Airbnb system and and um and and getting their their picks and their you know novelty properties. So that's that's that's a that's a different type of product um but I'm I'm really doubling down on the service I deliver and uh because I've only got it you know my calendar I've only got 365 days a year that I can fill it. I want to fill it with people who want to be there and who want to pay my prices and are not going to start you know who see the value in what I'm doing. Whereas whereas if you're just going on the Airbnb Tinder roller coaster right you're really looking at a price thing. So you're what you're wanting maximum novelty for the lowest price and that's a different mindset that's a different product than what I'm delivering.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:11

So I like how you said that the Airbnb Tinder thing it is it probably is you don't know it's the internet you don't know who you're gonna get right so yeah I like that I've never heard Airbnb be compared to Tinder but that is a good comparison.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:27

It is it's just it's a it's a fair like fair smell a roller coaster I don't know so so what what one more one more question uh and you have really really great questions that you may she made a cool sheet you know who she is her bio and then has questions to ask her is really like awesome you know I never had we never had a guest do that before but um so highly recommend having her on your podcast so what one thing um yeah the one question I was it kind of intrigues me too is the um how to successfully open and close a short-term rental no one ever talks about closing them you know rents have been going through the roof and people are starting to have to make decisions so that's a it's an important question right

How to close a short-term rental ethically

SPEAKER_03 1:02:08

now.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:08

Interesting I actually wrote a blog post on this um uh two years ago I write a blog as well um because you know I'm insane um but I and I I'm not really strategic about it I just write about what I'm feeling at the time um and and I actually can you know if you're interested in this I can actually send you the link um on on how I on how I close a house and I actually have a downloadable checklist so you can download that checklist and actually go through the stages. So first of all you've got to decide when it is you're closing um put a put a time because it put a time put a time there and if you've got bookings you I whenever I close a place I make sure that I do as much as I can to keep the bookings that are there because that's a contract that I've made with somebody in good faith. They've booked with me it's not their fault that for whatever reason I have to close that place. So if I can't keep them in the place they've booked I will do absolutely everything I can to move them to one of my other places or you know and what I've done in the past is actually like I'm friends with other hosts in the area I've moved them to another host that I know is is going to be a good fit for them. So figure outing the dates and then just working backwards from there.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:28

So I have a whole checklist on on what to do for um for stress free getting rid of a house so um and giving it back to giving it back to the owner in good condition and um and also ethically ethically you know disposing of your um of your stuff beautiful yeah we we definitely send us that link please because that I would love to read that I would love to read that yes man costs are never talked about this has been a great episode Michael what do you think yeah this has been really good I loved learning about Tokyo today about the places over there uh if we are traveling abroad we will definitely be reaching out to you Tracy and uh staying in one of your tiny little spaces well the bigger I try to do I try to do the bigger places because you know I I understand that it's it's a little bit of culture shock so I try to make it a soft landing it's only four of us so we'll be good we will okay we'll be good.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:26

Yeah I've seen photos of you and your beautiful family thank you thank you yeah it'll be it'll be I think it'll be worth it so so where can folks find you at Tracy I'm look Steven I'm such an easy person to find I'm not a woman of mystery um you can find me at Tracy Northgot Consulting on Instagram my blog my website um my hosting business is Tokyo Family Stays and um I still I I still do all the communications there because I just I just love it love it I choose the jobs that I want to do and outsource the ones that are best done by other people and hop on clubhouse too Tracy seems to be on there quite a bit giving some amazing information for free she's awesome given given the time zones though like the the time zones do make it tricky for me sometimes what time is it right now for you 1045 a.m oh okay wow okay yeah we're about to get ready to go to bed over here yeah yeah no i'm i'm i'm actually going uh to um uh have lunch with a friend and talk about real estate so she's a real estate agent so i'm looking at getting a beach house oh congratulations yeah awesome well thank you so much for hopping on and it's been a pleasure and we can't wait to go visit your one of your beautiful places over there thanks guys this has been fun it has thank you for coming on thank you take care that too

SPEAKER_01 1:06:01

Man, that was a good episode. I was uh dang, I didn't, I didn't I I love this podcast because we're able to talk to so many people across the world, like and how she broke down, like they were like heavily dependent on people from outside coming in to lose 1.5 million in three weeks.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:18

Some people that would jump out the window when something like that happened.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:21

Yeah, that reminds me of that old uh Chris Rock quote. He was like, Man, you think you got some money? No, what did he say? He said, if uh Bill Gates woke up with Oprah's money in the morning, he jumped out of window and split his throat on the window. But yeah, man, you gotta learn how to survive. Oh man, but yeah, that was awesome, man. It was crazy how she, you know, dang, she was able to bounce back from that, lowered her portfolio down to five units, but she made sure those five units were high-producing units, and I love that strategy because that's what I'm doing in my business, right? I'm getting these higher end units up and getting rid of the riffraff, you know. So I love that strategy. You know, now your overhead isn't high because 1.5 million three weeks. Oh, I was like, oh yeah, that that's a great story, though. That was a great bounce back story, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:16

Man, it's it's funny because sometimes I'll get a question about the podcast hey, anybody ever go on that you know that's failing at Airbnb or this and that, and that's thing because I'm like, no, I mean, our show is about people that persevere, you know, people that that learned the the game do it right, and situations happen. COVID affected everybody, it did, and so it shook out a lot of people that were doing it before COVID, and the ones that are still coming on our show were able to get through it and and still thrive, you know. Yeah, it's beautiful, it's a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:48

I I know I love it, and then that's that then I I made a reel the other day and I said uh what I would look for in a mentor. And that's one thing I said, I was like, man, if they didn't survive COVID or they did weren't hosting during COVID, they don't really know the seasons of short-term rentals, man. And I said, I think our best podcast, our best podcasts were during COVID because everybody was scrambling and becoming creative, and it opened up the space, and you know, the survivors were there, man. And that was the cool part about the the pandemic over here. It wasn't a good thing, but it it allowed people to use their creativity.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:21

Murphy's Law, what can go wrong will go wrong. So you got to be prepared for it.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:25

For real, man. That but that was a man, that was an awesome cast, man. I I don't I kind of want to go check out Japan. It's always been a me too. I've always wanted to go to Okinawa, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:35

Oh, nice, nice. Cool, man. Another great episode. Livelet thrive at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:41

Yeah, hit us up, live let thrive at gmail.com. Follow us on IG. I'm trying to do reels daily, and uh yeah, follow us, send us an email, enjoy our Facebook group, get on that Facebook group. We will be uh posting updates uh with a lot of good talk in there, and we're posting updates about our next meetup, which is gonna be in Q3. So uh come kick with us.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:00

Come to Dallas, everybody. Man, these meetups are freaking fire, dude. Everybody's having so much fun at these things. We're getting, you know, there's great information from from us and other people there interacting with us, and and and there's some you know, food and drink a drink, you know, get a little buzz going on. It's just it's so much fun, man. These things are uh we're we're needing bigger and bigger venues, you know. It's pretty soon we're gonna rent out like an auditorium or something like that, man. It's it's getting crazy, but yeah, come to town, come to Dallas, come have fun in Dallas with us. We'll hold a we'll save a place for you.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:39

Yeah, and thank y'all for everyone who is coming out. Thank y'all for coming and uh thank y'all for continuing to support the podcast. And we are out peace later.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:49

Thank 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.