Hospitable Hosts

On this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, our guest is Ben Levy, Co-Founder and CEO of Localbird. Ben shares how their platform transforms the vacation rental experience by integrating seamless booking of local experiences, leveraging AI and human support, and scaling through strategic vendor vetting and automation. For more information, visit https://localbird.io/ Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction to Localbird 3:35 - Scaling Localbird internationally 6:43 - The Localbird experience 10:14 - Revenue opportunities and profit potential for hosts 12:22 - Impact of concierge services on reviews and repeat bookings 14:03 - First-week tips for activating Localbird 15:46 - Mistakes hosts make with upsells 18:05 - Vetting vendors and ensuring quality

At this Hospitable Town Hall, the team presented a major update to the Tasks app, introducing a voice-to-inventory reporting system for cleaners and a reimbursement workflow for restocking supplies via credit card. They also covered Booking.com updates, including a revamped account connection process, a new listing discount, improved Request to Book reminders, and other product updates.

On this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we are joined by our partner Chekin, an automated guest check-in platform, and Manuel Vicente, Founder of DenverStays.co and a short-term rental host. Manuel shares his journey managing short-term rentals in Denver, as well as across the US and Europe, highlighting how automation and compliance tools like Hospitable and Chekin have transformed his operations. He discusses strategies for scaling, managing legal complexities, and optimizing guest experiences without being physically present at each property. For more information, visit: https://chekin.com/ and https://denverstays.co/ Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 2:23 - Managing properties in multiple locations 4:58 - Pre-automation challenges in rental management 7:02 - Starting to use Chekin 10:50 - The impact of automation on operations 15:50 - Automation process outline 25:14 - Direct booking and marketing strategies 30:50 - European regulation updates and compliance tips 34:25 - Managing properties across time zones 42:00 - Future trends in the short-term rental industry 45:10 - Advice on scaling your property portfolio

At this Hospitable Town Hall, the team covered several key updates, including the new bank account matching feature for owners that connects existing bank accounts to owner profiles for easier payout management, Vrbo's planned pricing changes effective October 29th that will consolidate fees to 12% for both partner and legacy connections, and improvements to the Task app including backup teammate assignment and new language support. The team also discussed updates to the guest portal, with added Wi-Fi details and trip insurance information, new partner integrations, and various platform improvements for Booking.com and Vrbo connections.

On this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we sat down with Ashley Hagel, the Customer Success Manager at Clearing. We discuss when property managers should move from spreadsheets to dedicated trust accounting software, the importance of compliance, and how automation can streamline financial reporting. For more information, go to: https://www.getclearing.co/ Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:44 - When does a host need trust accounting software 3:17 - Understanding trust accounting and compliance risks 5:30 - Common mistakes in owner reporting and audit challenges 7:06 - How Clearing automates trust accounting for property managers 10:50 - How to tell you've outgrown your setup 13:52 - Hospitable x Clearing integration 16:05 - Preparing infrastructure for scaling to 100 units