Hospitality Technology: How To Get The Best Out Of Your System

Okay, welcome along. Today we are talking all things tech. In particularly, we're talking about tech tape how you can get the very best out of your hospitality tech. My name is Liam Carolan. I'm the co host of the Spotlight series on the Boostly podcast. Today we're going to be shining the spotlight on our special guest who is an author and features in the book Direct Blueprint. He's going to be sharing solutions to a problem that you and I can all relate to which which is finding the right tech within our hospitality business. So I'm going to be introducing to you Mr. John Ann. He is the founder and CEO of Techtape. He's a rental short term rental industry expert. He particularly focuses on optimizing and customizing the technology stack, driving up your revenue and continually streamlining operations. I'm really excited to dive into his experience. Not only that, he is a Harvard graduate, expert consultant in environmental sustainability industry. And of course, as I mentioned, he's an author in the book Direct Blueprint. So I'm really, really excited. So welcome along and thank you for joining us today John.

Thank you Liam. It's good to be on and I'm really excited to finally be on on your, on your show. So thanks for having me.

Hey, we're excited to learn a lot more and I know people listening in live may have senior on clubhouse or on some of the socials and panels and stuff like that, which is cool. So first of all, congratulations on being in the book. We will be diving into that soon. But my 42, you've got a copy. Awesome. Before we dive into that, let's just take us back to how you got into hospitality and also where in the world is your hospitality business and what does that look like?

Yeah, so like most people in the industry, I stumbled onto hospitality and short term rentals. So my background is I'm an architect by training and after several early careers as an architect and as a sustainability consultant, I worked to build a real estate development company where we were building single family homes. And while you're developing properties, what happens is money is always flowing out until you sell the property. And so in the middle of one of my projects I was vacationing out in Hawaii in Honolulu and I had the goal of getting my first short term rental and seeing how that would play out. And so I lined up a realtor and we bought a small unit. This is about eight years ago. And so that's how I stumbled into the hospitality space and then the reason why I kind of grew into it Is while the first property did better than I had expected, financially, the management was horrible. I couldn't find a good manager who could manage the way, you know, I expected. And so little by little, I started taking out over pieces of the first, the guest communication, then the operation, obviously the technology and the systems. And so it's been kind of like a frog boiling in a, you know, cold pot of water that's slowly getting hotter and hotter. And that's kind of how I feel like I've, I've entered into the hospitality space.

And what does your hospitality business look like now? So is it all still based in, in Hawaii, I take it?

So the, the actual hospitality business, the company, the brand is called Ohana Stay and Ohana means family in, in Hawaii and it's all based in Hawaii. And we made the conscious decision to stay specifically in Honolulu. And so that's where all of our properties are. And it's simply because for me, building out the right team is really critical. And we've built a really solid team that, you know, basically between locals in Honolulu as well as staff out in the Philippines who are, you know, superb at what they do. And I don't want to spend my time building multiple teams in multiple markets. So the business is based out in Honolulu.

That's cool. And there's a couple of things that we can learn that you touched upon it saying that you've tried a few things in hospitality and you want to make sure that the standards are high and that you couldn't find a management company that meets your standards. And this is one of the things we see from hosts, is that it's about finding, setting your standard, sticking to it, and then building your business around that. And like you say, you mentioned the team as well, which is really cool. So your business, which you got in the hospitality side of things, is one thing. Talk me through. Let's, let's talk about tech tape. What is tech tape? First of all, for the people listening and for those who may not have heard of it, and how did the idea and the concept come around?

So tech tape is a play on word, duct tape. So we're piecing together a lot of different technologies, technology to make it work for your business. So just the range of things that we work on is one, we provide expert revenue management services so that you can make more revenue with your short term rental properties. Two, we can augment your existing technology stack with functions and features that might not exist in your PMS or your tech stack. And so we build and maintain those workflows or dashboards that you may need. Because a lot of people switch PMSS because they want one or two features and things fall apart because of that. And then because it was so painful, they accept technology that doesn't actually work for them. And so techtape can kind of be that filler that allows you to get all the pieces that you need for your business. Then the third arm of the business is helping people transition from one technology or one PMS to another. The reason why we provide that is I am the person who is not smart enough to stop trying to switch PMSS after trying two or three times. I've switched PMSS over 15 times in my short term mental career. And the first couple times it's really like it feels like your whole business is falling apart. But after a while there's a process and a system to transitioning and so we can help people kind of do it in a controlled environment and not this emergency situation that typically occurs when you're transitioning.

That's amazing. And I'm sure as I can relate to that situation where you do change technologies to try and find the perfect one. But actually it's about trying to find something which works for you and then seeing how that then technologies can interact with other technologies. And that sounds like that's what techtape does. When did you first realize that that problem wasn't just something that was happening in your business, but something that could help other hosts as well?

I tend to find problems that people run into over and over again, but it's so fragmented that everyone thinks that it's their own problem. So obviously changing my PMS 15 different times was me thinking that the perfect solution is out there and you just have to be tenacious and find the one that works. And I've come to the conclusion that because every short term rental operator pretty much stumbles into this business and there's no education around it, that everyone operates differently. And then for a technology provider, they have to make hard decisions on feature set and how those features work. And so while something might be like perfect for me, it could be terrible, terrible for you. And the way I really came, the aha moment for this realization was I did this myself and I see other people doing it. They ask people who they respect about their recommendation on what technology they should use and time and again that usually ends up in failure because you respect this person, you think they know everything about this business. They tell you, oh, I use this. So then you go in and onboard and then you realize this does not work for me. And so I've seen that happen many times with a lot of people where when they're about to switch pmss, the first thing they do is they post on Facebook, I'm about to switch. What do you guys think of owner as, or what do you guys think of Logify or whatever it may be? And again, it could be perfect for whoever's answering and saying, this is the perfect, perfect pms, but it's not going to be for you. And so as I saw that happening over and over again, that was one part. The other part is as I started my hospitality business, I've actually been providing tech tape like services for other property managers and owners where some people needed to augment their tech stack. And so I've been doing this and I've been creating these workflows for other people under the Ohana State brand. So it's something that I've been doing for a while and it was kind of a side business within Ohana Stay. And then so I've built up a process system and a team that can really augment this. And then I've decided to kind of branch this tech tape out as a separate entity, a separate focus, primarily due to regulations that hit in Honolulu. And we can talk about that later. But that was kind of where I was trying to figure out what are some of my unique skill sets within the hospitality space that could benefit a lot of operators.

What I love about that is I'm nodding along and hopefully people listening to the podcast or watching on the live is nodding along because I can relate so much to what you're saying is I get so many people turn to me and ask, what PMS do you use? And I go, hey, I use this one. But please don't take that as thus the one that you should use, because so many people do just that. Because I've been in exactly that same position as many people will have done, where you find somebody who's doing well, you see what tech they've got, and you just, you just go, well, that must work for me if it works for them. But the best analogy came from actually, Mr. Mark Simpson is that I think PMSS are a lot like cars that, you know, you could ask 10 different people, what is the best brand of car or automobile? And you'll get 10 different answers. Because it just depends, you know, do they need a 4x4? Do they need a sports car? Do they need, you know, sort of a people carrier? It really is so unique to the hospitality business. Both on location and on type of guest, on the features that, the expectations that that host needs. And that is so personable, isn't it? So I'm sure you're going to have a lot of people listening in on this and just go, yeah, that is, you know, I'm interested to know more. And of course, I'm lucky enough to have read a sneak peek of your, your chapter, John. And all the way through it, I was smiling and nodding and thinking, hey, this is talking directly to me. So there's some really cool, obviously tips in there. But also, you know, just finding out about how tech tape can help you is going to be so important for hosts. You touched upon a challenge that you're going through, and this is one of the things that we see in any business. I love to ask guests, you know, has there been any challenges along the way? And more importantly, how. What was the mindset and how did you overcome? I think it's something that everybody in hospitality can relate to.

Yeah, I mean, we all run into challenges. I guess the first challenge is a collective challenge we all ran into with COVID And, you know, our business is getting shut down. Hawaii was especially tough because Hawaii literally shut down people from coming into the island. So, you know, at that point, my, you know, my mantra at that point was surviving is thriving. So just figure out a way to kind of patch it together, keep this working. So I actually ended up hosting doctors. I mean, nurses are great, but these were like administrative level doctors who were being brought in by the hospitals. And so that's kind of how I survived. So that was the first challenge to my hospitality business. Oh, go ahead.

Sorry. I was going to dive in and, and tech tape wise, what. What was the challenges for that?

Right. So I, I mentioned this before. Tech tape actually was born as a formal entity because a little over a year ago, a very, very stringent, and I will say unfairly, new regulation was introduced and then finally voted in, in Honolulu on Oahu. And as I was working with rent responsibly and other folks to, you know, for advocacy against this regulation, I also thought about, okay, you know, what's my plan B if my business gets shut down? So I was kind of fighting to keep the regulation and things kind of at bay. And we were moderately successful, although not fully successful. I also thought about, all right, what are some of my unique skills that I can really take away from my operations that can benefit the industry? I didn't want to have to start yet another career that's outside of what I'VE come to really grow in. And technology is something that for the folks who know me, have known that I, I have a pretty deep understanding of how the technology works. And so I actually formalized Tech Tape in response to regulations within our industry. So it all kind of comes back full circle. And what's really exciting is similar to like you were saying when you were reading my chapter and you felt like I was talking about your story. I've seen that everyone that I speak to about Tech Tape, they have that same exact response. And so I knew that I was onto something. And so already we have, you know, we have a lot of great customers. We're managing around about 100, 150 properties right now, depending on what service. And so for a company that was only formalized a year ago, it's been very successful. And so I think, I just think the need is there. And the big technology companies are always looking for something that's completely scalable. In other words, things that is just plug and play, you buy and then the software is just running on automation. One of the unique parts of techtape is a big component of it is the consulting part to helping to understand what your specific issues are. And then after that, we're creating a semi customized solution that specifically addresses your needs. So it's higher touch. And that's why I call it semi customized, because I'm not creating the new tools, I'm using all the tools that are out there, but I'm able to bring them together in a way that it basically works for what you need in your business.

And that brings us really nicely onto the book Direct Playbook because Mark considers all the authors in this book is like the avengers of hospitality, the people that you need on your team to be able to help you succeed. And exactly how you're talking there, that Tech Tape can, you know, have all those high touch points. It really have a consultant who will talk to you about what the needs are and then look at that. And that is, that's just one of the things that is amazing about this book and this industry, that there's so many different services that can help you. So let's, let's dive into the book. How did the book project come about? How did you get involved in it?

Well, first of all, obviously Mark Simpson, you know, he was, he talked it up and I heard about it and it was something that in the back of my mind I was like, you know, this is something that I have a story that I really want to share with our industry. And Then there's another book, Hospitable Hosts, that Mark Simpson was a part of previously. And I had missed the boat on contributing to that book. And so I was a little keen on the next opportunity. I would like to jump in and be able to contribute. And then as I saw the list of, as you call the Avengers who are signing up to contribute to this book, I mean, I have to share. You know, if you guys can see this, it's, you know, iprac, Mount Price Labs, touchstay, DAC up listing, Super Hog, Mino and D Travel co Host Expert, and then obviously Mark Simpson with Boostly. You know, I was like, you know, I have to be a part of this and I have something to contribute. And so I spoke with Mark and you know, it made sense that I, you know, I contribute a chapter to it. And that was really it, as I really wanted to share the story because I. It's not about my ego about like, you know, writing a chapter in the book. It's actually like you said, it's a story that everyone runs into over and over again. And if I can get this out, I think I can help a lot of people, not even if they don't work with me directly, just understand kind of the bigger picture of how the technology, you know, technology can go together and create a framework for themselves for how they're going to build their tech, tech stack. So that was really my driver for trying to get, you know, be one of the co authors of this compilation of superstars.

And this definitely worked. I mean, the, the chapter itself is awesome, but the entire book and the project, the idea that we could, any host who's potentially new to hospitality or even people who've been in a while could pick up this book and really fast track their journey, really by. By just knowing these technologies exist. They don't need to use every single one, but it's just knowing. It's like having a tool belt and having it in your tool belt if you need it, that you can dive into these, these individual technologies. So the actual book itself, that's how it came about. How did you feel writing the chapter? Was it something you struggled with or was there any structure to it or did you just like literally go, bam, I've got my story, I can just do it straight away. How did, how did you feel writing it?

I mean, the story was there. I mean, I've had that story and you know, for a while I did have to set aside snippets of time to, to put this together. So you know, it did not just come together organically for me. So the first chunk I, I wrote while I was in Hawaii. I was on vacation with, with my family and friends and one, excuse me, one day everyone was going to the beach. I said, guys, I just need a couple hours, I need to focus on this. So I just, you know, sat down and that's where I got most of my, you know, the rough outline and draft written. You know, I needed some focused time then as Mark Simpson is very good at doing, is establishing deadline. So that deadline was really coming up and I think the deadline was right around when Darm was happening the Data and Revenue Management conference. And so I have to say the final bits of this, of my chapter, I ended up writing while I was listening to one of the sessions and that was the only way I was going to be able to finish out the chapter. So I know it sounds like I was just doing it on the side, but it actually was something that was percolating inside. And again it's, it's, it's a story that I think will resonate with a lot of people. And so even if my writing might be a little rough, I think the story, the intent will get through. And that's, that's all I was trying.

To achieve 100% and I love that. Listening and learning, I guess while teaching and writing, you know, that's pretty amazing. What would you say to a host who's just getting started or if you could talk to somebody at the start of their journey, what tips would you have, both from your experience that you can draw upon from Ohana Stage, but also from Tech Tape? What would you like to say to hosts, you know, who are just getting started or potentially looking at improving their tech?

Yeah, I know this might sound like putting the cart before the horse, but I think the way I grew in this industry and a way a lot of people grow in the industry is, you know, reactive and just doing and then getting into habits, some good, some bad, and then just repeating those habits over and over again. Now as especially as you know, I formalized Tech Tape and the processes needed to develop these outside workflows. I wish that from day one I was more cognizant of my processes and documenting it. They could always change, but documenting the processes from the get go so that everything doesn't live in here and it's actually, you know, in, in the format that others can follow because the way I can, I, I've been so easily able to transition from Ohana Stay and at this point I'm, I'm about 80 out of the day to day of Ohana Stay at this point. So that I'm, you know, I'm focusing on tech tip. And the goal is probably by the end of Q1 next year I should be fully out, out of the, you know, all the day to day of Ohana stay. And the way I'm doing this is literally anything that comes in my head and I'm barking orders at my team. I then translate that into, into systems, processes so that it's not me doing it, it's the system that's running the, running the show. And I know in the early days it's very easy, it's very easy to run a short term rental property. It's as it grows and as the same problems happen over and over again that it's all the challenges start coming out. And so being more cognizant of the systems and the processes that you're taking and always thinking that it shouldn't be in your head, it should actually sit outside of your head so other people can execute for you.

And is there a gadget or app or, or piece of tech? And I've got to ask you this John, is, you know, you're the main man for this, I think. Is there one that you use often which you find works for you? Obviously we're not saying that everyone should go and get that particular piece of tech or that piece of, or gadget or app, but do you find there's, there's one that would work for you and you always return to it.

So organizing this information, I haven't found something, something that just works. So we are still building out the system for housing the SOPs and everything. We're kind of building our own internal tool because we've tried Asana, we've tried all these different tools and it just didn't work the way our team works. But the one tool, one tech that I think is most beneficial is Loom L O O M and so it's a video recording platform that can record your screen and your voice and even your, your mug if you want. And so what we use is we use Loom to not only ask for something to be done, but to actually physically show how it's being done. And then, then my staff can follow it and get the work done and they also have the instructions saved so that they can create an SOP out of it. And so Loom is a tool that, I mean without it it would be infinitely more difficult to get everything that's in my brain out. But now I can just while I'm doing something, if I know that I need somebody else to take care of it, I can loom it, send it over and then they can create the forms, the processes, all that's required. So I would say loom is the tech that brings it all together for me.

That's a great answer. And this one, which I've used today, multiple times I used yesterday, that is one that is just so important. And it's free as well for the most part. Depends on your account. But yeah, it's amazing. So definitely one for everyone to check out. So moving slightly away from the book then. So what are you most excited about in hospitality currently?

All right, so this has to do with tech tape, but I think what I love about our industry right now, the short term rental industry, is on the technology side. It is so creative. There's so many new tools that solve real problems that I think a lot of people talk about the consolidation because it's so fragmented and that's the only way forward. I actually think if the industry consolidates then we're going to lose a lot of the creative and the real problem solving tools and I think it's going to become more vanilla, generic. So I love the fact that there are lots of cool, amazing tools that are being created like new startups all the time. And I think that's the passion that I have as part of this industry.

So.

What, what I'm excited about, what techtape I think can do is I call it the defragmentation of our fragmented industry. So there's a long tail of all these tools, new tools, new things that are coming out, but they always run into the issue of, you know, do I spend resources to integrate with Guesty and streamline and just a couple of the big pmss and then leave the rest, you know, of behind. And I think what I'm excited is rather than support or going after the consolidation of the industry, trying to kind of bring it all together so that the creativity still exists. But these small players are also able to access, you know, some sort of integration with the smaller PMSs. So that's what keeps me up at night thinking about, all right, how do I implement this? How do I get this going so that it not only helps the operators who want to use the technology, but then I grew up where you had to defragment hard drives because there were physical plates. I don't know if you remember that before solid state. And so I kind of envision what Techtape can do is take all the fragmented pieces and kind of put it together in a orderly fashion that makes sense for the industry while it still promotes all the creativity. I hope, I hope that wasn't too geeky, but that's kind of, that's the part I'm really excited about right now.

No, no, honestly, I got goosebumps because I'm excited about that too. I, I genuinely believe that, as you know, in any tech kind of world, big companies take over from some of the other companies and like you say, it can get a bit boring, whereas what's fun is the creativity, the, the companies who are coming up and solving real problems. And it's an exciting space in hospitality because most hospitality tech is still relatively young, isn't it, when it comes down to it, so. And what I love about Tech Tape and what I've learned and what hopefully the people listening has learned tonight is that, you know, you don't need to find your perfect solution in terms of tech. Find things which suit you, you know, to a percentage. You know, does it, does it suit your needs? 80, 90%, right? Then stick with it and find ways to solve that other 10, 15, 20% by going to somebody like Tech Tape like yourself and, you know, figuring out what it is else you want from technology and are there other ways to do it. And I just love the idea of that because that's exciting, you know, is that really solves people's business. And let's be honest, as hosts, we didn't get into this because, I mean, don't get me wrong, I like to geek out, but not everybody likes the tech side of things. So having a service like this on offer is going to be a lifesaver. So as we reach towards the end of these, John, we love to do a couple of quick fire questions. These are just quick fire good, fun questions just to find out a little bit more about yourself. So the answer can be short, as long as you like. But yeah, just just a bit of fun. So what is your top social media platform, if any? And why?

Call me old school, but I like LinkedIn. I just feel that there's a balance of being able to be personable and like, you know, show who you are as a person. While there's a, you know, high level of professionalism in it. I, you know, I grew up where LinkedIn was kind of your business was becoming your business card. And so that's where I interact the most. I do have, you know, Instagram channel and everything, but I just, me personally I find it difficult to interact meaningfully and with Instagram. So LinkedIn is, is my social media platform of choice.

That's cool. Different, different strokes for different folks. I'm the same. I like certain ones more than others. What is your morning routine and how does it help you if you have a routine?

My morning routine is my alarm goes off at 6:15am every day, whether it's a weekend, whether it's a holiday, whether no in the time zone that I happen to be in. And I spend about 15 minutes just kind of like lying in bed, just kind of thinking about what's ahead for the rest of the day. And then I get up 6:30, that's time to get my kids ready for school. So like spending time with my, my children, my family is actually why I do everything that I do. And so, you know, we have breakfast, one of us walks our dog, and then I take the kids to school. And that's very, very important to me. And then once I get back, and that's usually around like 8:15 or so, that's when I get my workday started. Some days the first thing is exercise, working, working out at my gym. Other days it's other meetings or anything. But that start of the day, that's really important part of my routine. And when I'm traveling, I actually miss the fact that I can't take my kids to school. Sorry, that was not a quick fire answer.

No, no, it's cool though. It really, the great thing about these questions is we get an understanding of what's really important to you and this is great. That's why we do what we do, isn't it, as entrepreneurs to have the time to do that? I, I've been in jobs where I, yeah, I wouldn't have been able to take my kid to school. So one question which I'd love to ask is, is there any books that you recommend or anything that you feel that you've got some value out of and that the listeners might do as well?

Okay. This is, you know, kind of cliche, but I think what got me on the entrepreneurial journey was Rich Dad, Poor Dad. So, you know, that's old school, but you know, one that really means a lot to me because that changed my mindset.

It's one of the classics.

Yeah. And then there's one I forgot the title. It's something startup. The, I'll get the title. I, I, I read it about a year ago.

Mike McCallahan. Mike McCallowitz. The, I know the one you mean. The something Stuff is. I can't remember what it is. We'll add it. Hey, for anyone listening, we'll add it to the comments and on the YouTube, just. I'll add it in after.

Yeah, no, but it really kind of, you know, it shows that as you're developing a, you know, a company or a tool or anything, just to really just think about quickly reiterating and like finding the core principles, getting it out there to get feedback and then quickly iterating on what you've done and not thinking that you know what the perfect answer is. But the, the feedback loop is the most important and that really has enabled me to be much more. I mean, the concept of tech tape is the idea that we could iterate and make it work better and better and better. And so that that book also resonated really well with me.

That's cool. That's cool. And as I say, we'll add it in.

I can't remember the name, but as.

Soon as we come off this, we'll instantly just go, ah, I know exactly what it is. Last question. And we always end with this. John, is, is there a mantra or a motto that you live by? I know you touched on one earlier on during COVID but has that changed? Or is. Is there another mantra or motto that you currently live by?

I think one of my biggest thing across every, you know, everything that I do is if you run into the same problem two or three times, then there's probably like a system or a process that you can build to either eliminate or minimize that problem. And the other way that I would explain that is if you learn from your mistakes, you can't fail. And that's the mantra. The second one is a mantra that I try to instill in my kids is like, it's fine if you fail. Just learn from your mistakes so that you're always, you know, improving along the way. And so those are kind of two similar concepts. But you know, I, I just really believe that mistakes are very important and then you learn from it and then that's how we learn and grow.

That's just so important and a great way to bring it to an end really, because that feedback loop is just important, isn't it? You know, you fail, you learn and then you, you improve. So I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people. I feel like we've got to know yourself, John. I feel like we've got to know what tech tape is. And also some, you know, some funny questions and some recommendations and things like that how can people get in touch with you if they want to do so?

So like I said before LinkedIn, I'm, I'm fairly active on LinkedIn. So if you either search John on, on LinkedIn or tech tape T E C H T A P E you should be able to find me. And then my website is gettechtape.com G-E-T-T-E-C-H-T-A p e.com and my email address is john an@gettechtape.com and that's how they can find me. And I'd be happy to, I'm happy to share kind of just, you know, initial feedback on any issues people have and then if there are ways that I can actually help, then, you know, we can figure out a way to work together as well.

That's really cool. And, and you find, you know, so many awesome people who have got experience and are very given with their time and expertise. Do you know what I mean? Which is awesome. So if you do want to find out more about John and you're listening to podcast or you're watching online on the live or on YouTube, then the best thing that you can do is go and register for the book. The Book Direct Blueprint. You can go to boostly.co.uk blueprint to find out more. The release date is December 22nd. So depending on when you're listening to this podcast, if you was to go there and it's after that date, you can actually purchase the book. If you go there now, as I record this in November, you'll be able to go there and register for the announcement of when it gets released. And there's, there's some other cool stuff on there as well, so it's really worth going to them.

So one thing I want to add about the book also is all the sales profits are going to food banks and so, you know, we're not writing this book to make ourselves millionaires. It's really everyone, everyone doing this is really, you know, just trying to get out our story and kind of share with our community.

That's a cool, cool thing. And I was going to ask, is there anything we've missed or any final thoughts just before we bring things to a close?

I think in a short amount of time, I think we covered a lot. So no, nothing more to add.

Well, thank you so much for coming on, John. Really appreciate you spending your time with us. And if you're listening into this Boostly podcast, I thank you as the listener. I know there's lots of places you can put your attention. And I thank you so much for putting your attention with Boostly. I hope this has helped you on your hospitality journey. And a spy from John and a spy from me. So thank you very much. We'll see you on the next one.

Thanks.

Having a blast. Gonna get it on the Bruce Lee podcast. Bruce Lee like Bruce Lee? Cause it's so hard and the T is loosely making up those rhymes don't write it, just do it loosely.