How Hosts Can Use Clubhouse in 2021 🚀

Sam.

Sa.

Sam. I welcome everybody to another episode of the Boostly podcast, Another round table. And tonight what we are going to be talking about is Clubhouse and how this new app can help you potentially get more direct bookings in 2021. As we do with every roundtable, we've got some guests who are going to come in and they are going to share their experiences. But first and foremost, please make sure that you do me a massive favor. Number one, can you please make sure you like this video? Number two, leave a comment, introduce yourself, let everybody know where you're watching from in the world and give your business a little bit of a promotion. And number three, can you share this video into any Facebook groups that you are a part of? Right, let's begin.

This is a freestyle going off the dumb.

Ready for my close up. Good looking, let me tell you. Get more bookings.

Oh, that'd be nice.

Giving me tips, tools and advice. Yeah, you're gonna get em hun. You're gonna sit back, listen to Mark Simpson. Whoa. Having a blast. Gonna get it on the Bruce Lee podcast. Bruce Lee, like Bruce Lee. Cause it's so hard and the tea is loose leaf Licking up those rhymes. Don't write it, just do it loosely. If you want my respect, you better but direct. Mmm.

Here are the words in the podcast.

That's what comes next. All right everybody, and thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for joining us. As you can see, we have got three lovely with us. We have got Mike on the way. Soon his time zones got a little bit ahead of him, so he's on the way. But for now what we're going to do is we're just going to say hello to all of our lovely guests on the round table. All of the guests that you can see and you can hear this evening with us, they have been using Clubhouse in some way, shape or form over the course of the last couple of weeks and months. And what we're going to do is we're just going to have a little chat about the this app. We're going to have a little chat about how we're all using it and also as well, we're going to see and just think and just predict how this app is going to potentially change and affect the world of hospitality. So we'll start off with the first guest to my right, to my left. Liam, if you could just do me a massive favor, please. If you could just give everybody a little bit more about you, where you're based in the world and just how first and Foremost, how long you have been on Clubhouse for?

Yeah. So thank you for bringing. So Mark. So I'm based in Norwich in the uk, the heart of the broads, hence the farmer accent. And I've been on Clubhouse now since the end of December, which feels about two minutes because it's been a whirlwind being on there, but really enjoying it.

Fantastic. And, and then next to Liam, we have Nicola Hutchman from Competa Escape. So Nikola, can you just give us a little bit of an introduction? And again, how long have you been on the Clubhouse floor? Don't forget to unmute yourself.

I must unmute. All right. Yeah, no, I've been on Clubhouse since the beginning of January. I run computer escapes as you've mentioned, and I've also got a hotel here in the uk.

So thank you very much. And Dina, So Dana Steele, if you could just please, a little bit of an introduction about yourself. And again, how long have you been on. On Clubhouse for?

Yeah, so I joined mid January Clubhouse and I'm coming to you from Kona, British Columbia, Canada, where we are running some luxury rentals. We're pivoting into that space from just our standard short term rental condos. So we're very excited to launch that this year.

Fantastic. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay, so for everybody tuning in, whether it is live or on the replay, if you can just please, like I say, when you do come and join us, give yourself a little bit of an introduction, let everybody know where you are tuning in from around the world and give your business a little bit of a pitch and promote. So we'll start off and we'll go into Liam. So like we do on most of these videos and these roundtables, what we, we like to do is just give a little bit, first and foremost of a, basically an introduction to Clubhouse and how you're using Clubhouse. So number one, what is Clubhouse? Liam, if you could answer that. And second, first and secondly, like, how have you personally become addicted with the app and how are you, how are you personally using it for your business and for also your learning as well, if you could do that. And don't forget to unmute yourself if you can.

Yes, Clubhouse, really, I mean, it's the ideal mix between a podcast, an audiobook and a telephone call, really, where you can actually just jump on, get involved in the conversation or whatever the subject is. So I've always liked audiobooks, always loved podcasts, and to be able to be on a medium where you can jump in and join the subject, it's been really helpful. And to ask your question, I'm using it really in three ways. So the first way is to learn and to find out more. So obviously running service accommodation here in Norwich, there's a lot of moving parts to service accommodation and there's loads of experts on Clubhouse at the moment who are happy to share their high level information. And this, the stuff which we're getting, you know, sort of, I've been introduced to software that I never would have thought that was out there, that I didn't know about, that over the last month and a half we've had access to, which is amazing. The second way is building relationships with these, these experts as well. So again, there was, there was some great people that I didn't know before Clubhouse, whereas now I've got the telephone number, you know, like we're speaking fairly regularly and you know, it's amazing. And these people are based not only all over the UK but in the States. You know, Tracy from Japan, you've got Julie from Australia. You know, there's some really amazing people on the app. And lastly, and in this order I'd probably say to promote my personal brand, we're about to launch some property service accommodation training. So it's been really useful to promote that side of things, of the business which is coming along as well.

Thank you very much. Nice. I totally agree with everything that you've been, you've been saying it's been, it's been fantastic to meet new people. I mean, I think that's definitely one of the first ways is to meet new people that people that you maybe you weren't aware of or just weren't in your, in your network prior. So thank you for that, Nikki. So again, same question really to yourself, like how do you describe, how would you describe Clubhouse to, to somebody when you're saying, oh, and you go, oh, I've been on this thing called Clubhouse. How are you sort of describing it to other hosts when they ask you this question? And don't forget to unmute that. Let's just everybody, we'll do everybody now that we can just all unmute our microphones just because it just makes me.

Not remember and I'm really good at muting and unmuting on Clubhouse. But anyway, yeah, no, I was gonna say addiction is a really good word because it is highly addictive and I think it's the actual old school interaction that you don't get on Facebook, you know, when you're messaging people all the time. And Liam picked up on one of the points, I would say is that the experts there, sharing their knowledge is. It's phenomenal. And obviously it's down to you to verify that the expert you're talking to is an expert in their field. And not just Joe blogs, but they share. People are sharing, you know, lots and lots of information. And for me, I take those people and then I go and interact with them on LinkedIn. So I've been on LinkedIn for God knows how long and it was. All my connections were in my past career of operations in hr and obviously I'm trying to change the direction of my business and what I do for myself personally going forward. So I've been able to make some really good connections and people coming to us. And I think that the key thing is that you can join specialist groups on Facebook, but your wall is full of special stuff that you don't want to ask, questions you're not bothered about. Whereas in these rooms you can find. And it doesn't have to be about your business, it can be about your hobbies or interests or, you know, mental health, anything. You can find experts and you can ask them specific questions and you get so many straight answers to specific issues. So I found as a learning curve, it's probably the most intense period of learning I've been through recently and I'm really enjoying being on it.

And you've started up a room. A regular. A regular room, which is. So what gave you the idea to do that?

Yeah, well, I think throughout my. My career I've been really lucky to have really great advice. Obviously, your groups have been great for us when we were new to hospitality and you give all your time freely. And for us, I co mod with Shirley and Ria, and for us, we just wanted to give back. So we don't claim ourselves as experts, we're just people that have experiences that network and get together and chat. So, yeah, the group's on a Monday and it's Holiday Accommodation Owners Network and we cover. We do get experts come in and join us, which is amazing. You know, they just see something that says hospitality and they pop in and we've had some really, really great people give us some help. So, yeah, I think we do it just to give back, really. And I think that's the whole ethos of clubhouse. And I think training in general has changed over the decades, certainly since I was in it, because you used to hold on to all your information and worry that your competitors got hold of what you were trying to do, whereas now you give it freely and you encourage people to come on board that way. And I think, you know, people can. There are hundreds of thousands of people claiming to be experts, but the fact that you can hear them talk helps cement in your mind that actually these are people you really want to work with. And I think for, from that point of view, it's great.

I like that we will cover back a lot of things, what have been said so far, but I want to move on to, onto Dina. Hello there. So how, so what's your own personal opinion on, on, on the clubhouse, Dina? Would you say, would you say that it's, would you say that you're, you're using it as a learning curve, or are you using it to chat to other people? How are you sort of using it?

Oh, I see my screen's frozen there. I, I'm using it mostly for learning. I look at it like it's a mastermind, a free one. I love it. I love stepping into rooms with a lot of big names and little names. I, I, I'm learning so much and connecting with people.

Oh, there we go.

You can hear me okay?

Yeah, yeah, we can hear you. Okay, keep going. Sorry.

When I'm attending events like the VRMA conference in New Orleans, I tend to shy away from networking in person. I see the groups and I see people mingling, and it makes me just, it's really hard to break in. But in clubhouse, you have that opportunity to connect with people, and for some reason, I'm just, I'm not sure.

Sorry, I was just see me.

But that's fine.

It's okay. For some reason, the, the screen every now and again would just freeze. But I was trying to play with that. But no, we, we definitely caught it where, and I totally agree where you, basically, it's, it's one of those where you can simply just jump on a stage, have a chat and for, for some reason, because I think maybe because it's audio, where instead of like a in person or a video or something like this, you can just be on stage and just have a chat. And like Nikki was saying, it's a great place to just communicate with somebody that is either on the other side of the world or just a couple of streets down from you. And it's a really good way of just interacting with other people and sharing experiences, which is, again, I think a lot of hospitality groups, whether it's Facebook groups or whatever groups is, again, it's a great way to do that. So I like that. Going to bring on our next guest, Mr. Mike Sargent. So Mike, thanks for joining us, buddy. Now, hey, do not worry, do not worry. This is the beauty of a roundtable. You can jump in at any point. So number one, before we get into how you're personally enjoying and why you're personally enjoying clubhouse, if you could just give everybody a little bit of an intro into where you are in the world and your business and who you help.

Yeah, for sure. So my name is Mike Chogren. I'm based outside of Boston, Massachusetts. We run a portfolio of 21 short term rentals across four different states, primarily using the management model. I do own some. In this past year we also got into the boutique hotel space where we're acquiring boutique hotels and basically running them like short term rentals. Like we don't have a front desk, it's all contactless, self check in. So really just taking it to the commercial space and we're taking another one on next month. I'm the host of the Short Term Rental Secrets podcast and I have a coaching community.

Nice. So moving on to Clubhouse then. So how long have you been on the platform? And again, why do you like it so much? Why, why Are you a fan of this app?

Yeah, so I've got on, I think I got on like the last week of December and I absolutely love it. I have not found any other platform like it and I think part of the reason why I like it so much is the Instagrams and the Facebooks and the Twitters. It's all this kind of like 30 second to two minute clips where clubhouse, it's long form content and you can kind of filter out who's real and who's not. Like you can only BS your way through so much on a 2, 3, 4, 24 hour clubhouse where it's just really cool content. And I love this industry in general just because I mean we're all operating in different parts of the world and even I know folks locally, it's never that competitive side where we're like, oh, I'm going to crush this person or this person that a lot of other industries have. Everybody's so willing to share and like help each other out. So for me, you know, I've used it several ways. I'll be honest. I got on to initially to grow my brand and promote my coaching program, like selfishly to be totally transparent. But what I found was that has worked. But more so what I've gotten out of it is so many amazing connections, like even the folks on this panel like that I'm getting to meet and hang out with. And I've set up like, you know, private little mastermind groups offline where we're bouncing ideas off of folks that have, you know, 20, 50, 200 listings, where I'm like, okay, here's how I'm running my lane or my business. How are you guys doing it? Here's where I'm struggling and vice versa. So the networking, like a bunch of folks have said, has been incredible. Whether it's other short term rental hosts, investors, vendors, it's just been an amazing platform to really connect with people and build relationships. And quite frankly, I mean, that's how we're on here, at least from my perspective.

So, yeah, no, totally. Which is. Which I think it was because of Clubhouse that I got the idea to do in a roundtable because it is again, a form of content where we can get a lot of people in a room or a group at the same time or a page and we can, we can just bounce ideas off each other and just chat. And again, I think it works a lot better for me personally because when you have a one on one style podcast, for example, you can easily just fall into the trap of just talking about the same things over and over again. But when it's a roundtable like this, just like a clubhouse room, you get some fresh and new every time. Which is, which is awesome. Which is, which is why I wanted to do a episode about Clubhouse because it is something that is new. So let's go back to Liam and the question that I wanted to sort of ask Ness next would be you're a host, obviously, and obviously you, as a side thing, you are starting to grow a potential coaching program. But how could you see Clubhouse for a hospitality business, hospitality owner, how could you potentially see it to get more bookings? So let's home in on that. So have you got any ideas or any way that you're potentially being able to use it to not only grow your personal brand, but also maybe potentially help your business get some bookings in 2021.

So I've tried something recently on Clubhouse. I actually tried to give away from Sunday for Valentine's Day. I've actually advertised it in my bio on Clubhouse, talked about it in the rooms that we're giving a two night stay away, which we drew tonight actually. So we got a lucky winner for that. And just I think that hosts could use it as another form of promotion. I mean, it's one of those things where I've tried that just to get some more eyes on the business page. But really the Thing that people would get more excited about, I think, is that experienced kind of stays. So one person springs of mind is Jenna from America. She's got a farm across there which is, you know, one of these sort of rural type farm stays. And while we were just chatting in one of these rooms, she started to post the pictures on her profile or on her Instagram, but also on her clubhouse as her main profile picture. And I want to go there. So it's one of those things where if hosts can do that, just get chatting in rooms. So I don't know, you could have a room subjected with, you know, top 10 places to visit in the UK or in Europe or in the world. And you know, we could all start up a thread about that and people could be talking about their own place. And you're gonna, you're gonna have so many people who wouldn't know about your business on there listening in and, you know, they naturally follow you from clubhouse onto Instagram. And if you've got that as your business Instagram, then you're gonna get more eyes on your, on your business and more bookings.

I like that. I think that's a really, really good idea. And again, we were just chatting beforehand and you're asking Dana there about, you know, where she's based in Canada and the snowy mountains. Keen snowboarder. And again, it's, it's something like that. But can these conversations can happen and start in, in any form? You know, just because we're host doesn't mean we don't go traveling when we can, obviously.

Of course.

So yeah, I really do like that idea of creating a room about top travel destinations because again, I think so many people think of it as just a platform where people are going in as experts and just sharing knowledge, etc. And those are the only rooms. But like Nikki was saying, there's so many different types of rooms and niches and things you can jump in that you, you wouldn't normally talk about on another platform, say Facebook, for example. So, yeah, 100%, Mike. So let's just quickly go back to you. So when say that we've got an absolute clubhouse newbie or we've got somebody watching, listening live or on the replay that is not even loaded it up yet for the first time, what would you say would be the most important thing for everybody to do when they get started on, on Clubhouse? And if for anybody who is watching this live and they are needing an invite, we do have some people in this room who will be able to help you get started, but we'll talk about that later on. So, Mike, so the first thing you do, you get your clubhouse account, you open it up. What would be the first thing that you would be doing and how would you give anybody some advice?

So the first thing is I would make sure that my Instagram profile is optimized. So I would have either a link tree or their direct link on my Instagram bio to my property website. Even if you don't have a website, have, you know, a link to Airbnb or VRBO, booking.com, whatever it is, so that it's linking to your properties. Because the way clubhouse flows is we get in these great conversations and then we direct people to click my Instagram link in my clubhouse bio to take them to my Instagram page. Because there's no visuals on clubhouse, right? And there's no links on clubhouse. So you want to make sure that your Instagram profile is optimized. Then in my clubhouse profile again, I would write a description about depending on what niche you're in. So for me as a, as a manager, it could be something along the lines of, you know, professional short term manager. Based out of Boston, we currently manage properties in XYZ states. If you have any questions or if you're looking to stay somewhere, blah, blah, blah, you know, check out the link in my Instagram bio. I'm talking in rooms about vacation rentals, short term rentals, creating a great guest experience, things like that. So like have. So when people click on you, they're going to know like this is exactly what you do. And then what I would do is I would get in a bunch of different rooms so you can hop in, you can get in big ones, you can get in small ones. The bigger rooms you're probably not going to speak much because there's so many people. And you could raise your hand, you might be in there for an hour just to get up on stage to ask a question. But the smaller rooms I think are kind of the sweet spot when you're getting started, to get in a room, whether it's a real estate room or a short term rental room, and just raise your hand, come up on stage, introduce yourself, ask a question if that's what they're looking for, and just start putting yourself out there and just going into more and more rooms and just adding any value or asking any relevant questions. Don't be the person that raises their hand and just goes into like a pitch about their business, like that's annoying and nobody likes that. So Find a way to add value and, you know, subtly bring up your business. But that would be my approach and just start to, like, make connections with people. Right. Like, Liam and I met maybe a month ago through Mark and some different rooms that we were in, right. And like, now I know Liam, I'm sure I'm going to meet some of these other folks up here too. But, like, I know him, I trust him. And, you know, if I know people that are going to be staying in his markets, boom, I'm going to send them his way. Right. Same thing with James Murphy and a lot of the other guys that I met over in the uk. Like, okay, cool. Like, now I, I can. We can cross promote business, basically.

Yeah, I like that. So, Dina, let's, let's test. Let's test your camera, make sure we're okay with that. I think we're good. I think we're good. So same question really to. To you, but when you first loaded up the app and you were playing around with it, what was some of the first things that you. That you did? Did you optimize your Instagram? Did you notice that more people were coming and checking out your Instagram? Or, or did you. Did you sort of have a little play around? Like, what would be the advice? Again, same question to you, really. What advice would you be giving to somebody who now would be starting for the first time, say, today or tomorrow?

I would optimize my clubhouse profile 100%. I noticed right away my personal interest when I was looking kind of snooping and perving on other people was a profile or just like two sentences took me nowhere even if they had an Instagram link. So it was funny. I suffer from insomnia. So one night I was lying in bed and just checking out all the bigger names on there and what they were doing with their profile. And call to Actions website, link to your Instagram, tell them to talk. You know, reach out on Instagram definitely helped. And while you're in a room speaking, people will DM you and try and start a conversation on Instagram with you. So I found it very helpful. Helpful that way. So if I were to get started, definitely fill out your profile, put a great picture on there. I've noticed a lot of people using when their profile pictures a ring around them. Because in clubhouse, when you're speaking, a ring will pop up around your face so that people can tell who's speaking. So I find those people that add the ring, keep drawing my eye to their profile. I can't actually find who's speaking, but the, the people with the rings are constantly drawing my attention. So whether that's a good hack or not, I think it is because it is drawing attention. I haven't done it myself, but that's.

Getting it into Canva. That's having a little play around in Canva. But yeah, that'll be really good. So Nikki, let's, let's come back to you good self. So you've been on it now for a little bit and there's obviously things that everybody likes and never thinks everybody doesn't like with the app. Now what would you, you personally like to see Clubhouse do over the course of maybe the, the rest of 2021 that would, that would make your life easier or would make you recommend it to more people? Is there anything that they're not doing, for example, that you would like to see them bring in?

Yeah, that I'm happy to answer that. Can I just go one point on the previous question? I think it's really important that people fill out their interests and when you're doing your interests, if you're doing it for business, think about your customer avatar and what their interests would be because obviously that the interest dictate what shows up in the hallway on Clubhouse, which is where you choose what rooms you're going to go sit in, you know, and listen to. So that, that was just my, my way. I found that really helpful doing that. As for Clubhouse, I like, I'm probably sound evil but I like the fact that it's invite only. I really welcome the time when it goes out to Android because I understand how those people must be feeling real fomo. You know, I'm really frustrated because they want to get on there because. But I would like to see some kind of assessment of people going on there. So the, you know, currently you just kind of verify yourself that you have an iPhone and you've got a phone number and I think that there are. You've probably been in rooms where you get the odd trolls shouting and making weird noises and you'll think, gosh, what was that? I think some kind of verification so that, you know, I'm really careful about who I give invites out to. You know, I want either to know them or somebody else to. To know them because you're tagged with that person obviously on your profile for good. So I'd like to see that there's some kind of, I don't know, verification for people coming on. The more the merrier that come on board. But I just think that there are, I'VE seen sort of cases of people having several methods and have got several profiles and they, they say they're an expert in this and an expert in that. So I think that whether they could ever manage that, I don't know. But you know, obviously as Mike said, it's, you're quite able to, to ascertain who's a time waster and who's a true, true expert in their field. So. But yeah, that and yeah, just making sure it doesn't become a platform for sort of bullying or that sort of thing really. Safety.

Yeah, I mean it's definitely had its, its pros, a lot of pros, but there's definitely been a couple of weird ones like you say, and you just have to spend a little bit of time on the app. But just like any app, there are obviously good things and bad things. For those of you that are Android users, we are recording this on Thursday 18th February in a couple of weeks time. I know that they are planning on launching it live to everybody Android as well. At the present moment in time it is Apple only. But yeah, in a couple of weeks time they're going to be launching it and rolling out to everybody. So if you are an Android user, do not worry about a couple of weeks time, early March, depending on when this podcast goes out on the recording, you will be able to get on there as well.

So.

But like Nikki was saying, at the present moment in time it is invite only. So to get in you got to know somebody, you've got to have a phone number of somebody that you know is on there to be able to, to get in. So which makes it really exclusive. You know, I read a really cool blog where someone was liking it trying to get into a nightclub. You know, a nightclub that is very, very hard to get into. You know, in nightclubs used to be open and it's very, very true of that and there is a lot of fomo. But it's one of the reasons why it has become more and more and more popular is because of this invite only. And it's again only available to Apple users at present. But okay, so let's ask the same question and that was a really good answer. Let's ask the same question to Liam. So is there anything that you would like them to bring in this year and again you can double up on what Nikki said or maybe add in a couple of your own. Is there anything that you would like them to bring in this year to make your life easier or would you would just like them to see it.

Yeah, definitely. I mean, from a technical aspect, there's a couple of things. So I'm definitely more of a Facebook user. So I'd love a link through to Facebook pages or Facebook profiles from a technical aspect, as I'm more keen on that than Instagram, but and also some form of direct messaging as well, because I find that you get a lot of messages via Instagram. That would just be great if, while you're a moderator, people could message in the questions straight away up, because not everybody's, you know, confident enough to jump up and, you know, or they haven't got time, you know, if you've got kids or you're driving or whatever, like, you know, being able to message and then carry on with what you're doing would be handy. But more than anything else, the number one thing I'd like to see, I'd like to be able to have. I mean, it's really professional. There's loads of learning and stuff on there, but I can't wait until you get the rooms where you can just geek out. So I'm a big fan of like, the Mandalorian and stuff like that, and I'd love there to be rooms where I could finish an episode, jump on there and debate the episode and stuff like that. And I can see that sort of thing coming along where you can, you know, geek out and have fun and get debates going on your. Your favorite subjects, basically.

No, I really agree on the messaging because if there's one social media network that has truly benefited from Clubhouse, it's Instagram, because the amount of people now who, if you want to send a message and everybody does it in some way, shape or form, want to get connected. They don't really go to Twitter, they go to Instagram, which I think is crazy that they haven't yet built in their own feature where you can send a message in the app. And again, the cool thing about this app, what I like, is that the founders of it are really active and they do a thing called a town hall every Sunday where they open up their own room and they will discuss about the. The new upcoming features. And they have, they have mentioned that about bringing in a direct messaging feature, but. But yeah, I am really amazed that there's not been more people that have used Clubhouse for a post TV show or a post sports game. Opened up more rooms and starting that. But we all know there's tons of podcasts around sports and sports teams and whatnot. And I'm amazed knowing the people that I know that are associated with these football sports podcasts. They aren't doing a lot more on Clubhouse for doing exactly that. But again, not just football or sports. It could be like, say, mandolin or TV shows or WandaVision at the moment. Anything like that. That'd be crazy. So, again, Dina, same question to you, please. So you've been on it for a little while now. Is there anything that you would like them to see bring in in 2021?

Absolutely. I definitely need it to be recorded. I use it, I listen to it in the background. So while I'm cooking in the kitchen or I drag my phone into the shower with me and my mind will wander because somebody said something great and then I've just missed what they've said. I would love to be able to go back and just have a listen. And I. Chat feature I do love, like right now, Facebook Live, the background chats between the people that maybe are a little bit too afraid to step up on stage and have something to share or an easier way to. To speak to people, even if you're a moderator. Like, right now, we could be connecting with the audience on Facebook Live with the d. With the chat feature. So I'd love a chat feature.

Yeah, Chat, I think. Chat feature, I think, would be very appreciated. And the recording is really interesting because, again, I think, I believe that this is one of the main reasons why people spend so long on there because of the fact that it's not been recorded and you feel like if you are part of a conversation and you have to leave then and knowing that it's not being recorded, that's where the fomo, I think FOMO has really massively made this up now, unfortunately, Mike, you're gonna have to go last on this one. We've had a lot of suggestions. Now you can definitely double. Double back on anything that anybody said already. Or is there anything else that's like, say you've been on it, you've been really cool on it, like, spend a lot of time on that. Is there anything else that you can think of that you'd like to throw into the mix?

Yeah, definitely. Live links in your bio that will actually work. So if somebody goes to my clubhouse bio, I'd want them to be able to click on a link to go to my website or a link tree or whatever, similar to Instagram. Because I think they're. To your point, they're. They're definitely boosting Instagram, which is great for Instagram. I don't think that they're affiliated at all. So you Know, if they had the messenger function and like a link tree thing, I think a lot less people would leave clubhouse. It would be all integrated, and it's probably just doing it in phases. I mean, you have to master one thing and build the whole infrastructure. I'm not a techie, but on the. The chat function inside of a room, I think when that does come up, the reason I like that it's not there now is because it definitely minimizes the troll effect, because it's a lot easier to be a troll and just type something in than to raise your hand, get on a stage, and vocalize whatever your random opinion is. So I think it does cut down on that. But, yeah, my big recommendation would just be including the live links in the bios.

Yeah. And for anybody who doesn't know what a link tree is, and I think a link tree is a really cool website and service. Could you just break down just very easily what link tree is if anybody wants to go and check it out?

Yeah. So it's really nice because Instagram only lets you include one link for your bio. So, like, on my link tree, they click on this thing, it brings them to a little page, and it has a bunch of links. So one of them takes them to my podcast, one of them takes them to my free masterclass, One of them could take them to my properties. Right. So it allows you to have multiple links that people can click, can click, not just one. Right. So it's a nice little. It's. I think it's free. I don't even know my team set it up, but I'm pretty sure it's free that you can use and add multiple links on one page.

Fantastic. And if you want to go check it out, just literally Google search link tree. Simple as that. It will pop up. And it is free, 100% free. You can do a free freemium service, but I mean, I've been using it for years, and I've never had to pay a penny for that. All right, well, thank you very much. So there are be people that are watching this. I can see that the live chat on Facebook and YouTube, a couple of people are saying, how do we get an invite? So the easiest way to do that, if there is anybody who has invites available and would like to share them, all you need to do if you'd like an invite, first and foremost, just put in the comments. Comments on the. On the Facebook or the YouTube. But I think most people are watching on the Facebook, just say, I'd like an invite. And again, if anybody I know we've got Shirley Graham who's watching live with us. She has already said I've got a few invites but again if you want to come on and join and use it then please do just put I need an invite and I'm sure someone will jump in and kindly share that with you. So what we're gonna do just to finish off this episode of the Boostly roundtable, we are going to finish off on some quick fire questions. Now I have sent these to our guests beforehand because otherwise it does catch out a few people and I've not done that in the past so I have a pre sent them but I would love for everybody as well to join in in the comments as you are watching with us and share your quickfire questions with us. So what we're going to do is we've got, we've got three to go through room. I'm gonna start with Liam and we're gonna go down to Michael for the first round. And again as you are listening and watching live with us, please do join in the comments and let us know what, what you are. So the first question is Liam, what have you changed your opinion on in the past five years? So what opinion did you have beforehand and that you have changed in the past five years? And we'll go with Liam first and Nikki, we're going to come to you second.

I'm going to go deep on this one. So that was, I didn't really think it was possible to get started in property and to launch my own business. I was in a full time corporate job. So definitely, as you know, my mind's been changed in the last five years and that's thanks to the network of people around me, people like yourself and you know, the people on the panel and the, you know, people I've met over the years has definitely changed my opinion on that.

Ah, very nice. I like that. Nikki, come on, come on over to yourself.

For me it's that you don't have to be on social media 247 and I thank you for that Mark, because I remember early on when I started following you and you said you need to turn your notifications off sometimes. And that's what I do. I make time for family now I make time not to be on social media because I was really hostage to it. That said Clubhouse has crept in a little bit more than it should do because obviously my notification once you get on there. But, but yeah, social media doesn't need to control you. You need to make social media Work for you.

Yeah, that's a lovely one, Dina, coming down to yourself. And we'll do my class. So what's the, what have you changed your opinion on in the past five years?

I would say just recently Michael said something about competition, that there really isn't competition here. And I, I've always feared it, but now I use it kind of as fuel in the local area just to keep me on my toes and just to stay on top of things instead of kind of get complacent. Because this job, when you're doing it by yourself, you kind of just stay in your lane. And when I'm now looking and seeing what everyone in my area is doing, it's just lit a fire under me. So I'm really grateful for that. I'm grateful for the competition.

Michael, coming to you, I think the.

Big shift that I've had in the last five years is you don't and some people are going to take this the wrong way, but you don't have to work hard to be successful. Right. Like I bought in heavy to the whole Gary Vee thing. Like, you got to grind. And for years, like I was working a full time job, two side hustles, like 80 hours, 100 hours a week and I wasn't getting ahead. And then I got some really good mentors that helped me really laser in and focused and learn about systems and teams and what are my highest dollar productive activities and how to manage my calendar effectively. And I still work hard, but I work way less than I ever have and I make way more money. And it's learning how to focus and be productive. But I don't want people to feel like you have to grind 24,7. Yes, there's a lot of work, especially at the beginning to build the momentum. But the focus should always be on what lifestyle am I trying to build. Right. Like so many people ask me, like, you know, I want to, I want a property in every single state or I want a thousand listings or whatever. And I always go back to why, like, what is your why? What's the end game with your business? Like, and for me it's lifestyle. Like, yes, I want a good income, but I want to go hang out with my wife and my 4 year old and go tubing whenever we want or go skiing or whatever. So the money's great, but if I don't have the time to use it, who cares, right? So figure out what resonates with you and work smarter, not harder.

Yeah.

And your story, Mike, your story is definitely a Tribute to that, you know, you got into this because of, you know, like your family, you know, and what was going on and everything. So, yeah, massively. And again, I know Dina is nodding and I'm nodding and everybody's nodding it. And it's one of them where I think there are people like you, Gary Vees, who don't know Gary Vees. He's a very prolific businessman over, based out of New York. He's very, very popular, very big YouTube channel. And he's somebody who only sleeps four or five hours a night, pretty much works every other day around it. And, you know, he does what he does for him, but everybody's different. And I think hospitality owners in particular. When you start this business, it's maybe coming out at the back of maybe another career and you come in and I think we. I think a lot of people have this trouble where you try and do everything yourself and, you know, like you've said several times, Mike, my team, my team, my team, you know, you've learned the power of outsourcing. I think this is something that, you know, I. I see so many people who are doing everything, everything themselves and they are always busy. And I always have it in the back of my mind something that I learned very on busy equals out of control. And again, if you. Again, you just, just put the systems and structures in place and, you know, there's loads of really cool people teaching the systems and structures and whatnot. And I know, Mike, you focus on it a part of your training and whatnot. So. Yeah, I totally agree. Really, really agree. Okay, so we've gone through some serious. Now let's go to a little bit of fun. And we're going to start with Mike first. This time we're going to work our way back backwards. The second question is this. So my. And I'll give you mine as well. So what was the first music record album you bought and what format was it on? And mine was Michael Jackson Thriller. And I'm very, very fortunate with this. I know we're going to have some very funny and amusing answers, but I was very, very fortunate. Mine was Michael Jackson Thriller. And. And that was because of when this. I don't know when I was really getting into, like, movies and whatnot. His movie Moonwalker was on, and that was like the. That was just like the album I could see at the time in our local supermarket. So I got it on cassette. Michael Jackson, fellas. So I'm very fortunate about one. But Mike, what was yours?

You know, it's funny when you sent me this, I was honestly thinking about it for a while, probably spending way more time than I needed to. And I narrowed it down to two, and I can't remember which one I got first. One of them, and they were on cassettes. Okay. So one of them was the Beach Boys. And I can't remember what the name of the album was, but I remember it was a Beach Boys album. And the other one was a band called Great White. It was like an 80s rock band. And yeah, those are the first two that I got.

I'm gonna have to. I'm gonna have to get this up. Great White, 80s band. This must have been an American thing. Oh, there they are. Oh, they are very 80s. They're all the hair. I love it. Oh, yeah, I made amazing. Thank you very much. Okay, Dana, moving over to you first album, what format was it on?

Cassette tape, 100%. And it was the soundtrack to the movie Cocktail. Beach Boys. I don't even know the name of the song because music's not really my thing. But I toted that cassette tape around with me to daycare anywhere. I was like, play my song. I had a huge crush on Tom Cruise, so that was my. That was mine.

That was your job. That was the one. I love it. And again, if you're watching this with us live on The Facebook or YouTube, even on the replay, please do leave yours in the comments because it is always good to. To. To see. Tracy has just said, I bought a picture disc, but I can't remember who it was. And so that's a good start. Nikki, let's come to you. And you did warn us before we went live. It's going to be a good.

I did. I was tempted to shut my camera off and pretend I was lost. But mine. The day of my eighth birthday, Grease, the album was released. And in those days, you used to go to a shop and the albums would be on the whole wall, and Grease was there. And that's what I brought. Grease, the album on vinyl. And I still love Greece, if I'm honest. Very cheesy, and it's one of my guilty sins, but I have much better taste in music now.

I think it's a great. That's a great album. I don't know what I was expecting. Evergreens on vinyl. I think that's. That is a good one. Go on. And, Liam, so you've also said that when you. Before we came on, you said the album that you bought is totally different to what you like now. So what is yours?

Yeah, So I was expecting Nicky's, by the way, to be like, the cheeky girls. The way you built.

For me.

I was lucky enough to have two older brothers, so I would just steal all of their music. So the first one that I actually bought was Limp Bizkitz Chocolate covered Starfish. And, yeah, I was really. I mean, looking back, I probably wasn't that into that music at the time. But the. The COVID was great. And I got to see him a few years back. And there's some corkers on there, obviously.

Limp Bizkit, that is. You know, I've got a Spotify playlist before, you know, as I'm working or whatever. And Limp Bizkit is. Is on there. I do like rolling. I do. I do like that. I'm a big fan. All right, so we're going to finish with our final Quick Fire, and we've had some great ones, great albums coming in on the. On the Facebook. I can see them coming in now. Some corkers in there. But the final one, and seeing this is a hospitality podcast. It would be remiss of me not to finish on this. So I will go, Liam, and then we'll work back to Mike. So, Liam, favorite place in the world to travel to. Seeing that travel is heavily restricted at this present moment in time, there's a lot of people who are ready to travel again. Let's reminisce slightly. Where's your favorite place in the world to travel to? If you could just pick one.

If I could just pick one, that'd have to be Kalami in Corfu. There's a jetty right in the middle of a bay. Me and Charlie have been there several times, and that was before Harry was born, so we'd love to get him across there, you know. You know, seeing the weather, the food is amazing, and, you know, snorkeling, catching the crabs. Just anywhere warm would be nice at the moment, but, yeah, that would be Kalami in coffee.

I like that. Nikki.

I had to have two, I'm afraid. I used to really love busy places. New York was an absolute favorite for us, but Maldives, I think, or anywhere like it. That's just. So you really do go on holiday and just switch off and just do nothing.

But.

But somewhere like that.

I think you can tell where people are in the world right now on the destinations that they're choosing. You just. Both of you are based in the UK right As we can. As we're speaking, and you've both chosen beautiful beaches and warm destinations. Okay, Dina, So again We've got Dina and Mike who are in cold climates right now. So where are you picking?

I, my heart is in Rome. I lived in Italy for a year and I cannot wait to get back. And last year I was planning another trip back. So that will be the first place I go. The best place in the world. Just that's where my heart is.

Amazing. I like that. I really like that. Mike, what's, what's yours?

I haven't traveled as much as I'd like to. I've got some bucket list items, Maldives on there. I think I want to plan that for my wife and I's 10th anniversary. But I think Montego Bay, Jamaica, we went there on our honeymoon and it was unbelievable. Like, it was absolutely stunning and just so relaxing and just such amazing people. So I think that would be internationally like my top pick from where we've been.

Nice. Well, thank you very much one and all for joining us and sharing your clubhouse and your quickfire questions and travel places. So again, just for everybody that's tuning in, we've obviously been talking about Clubhouse tonight and how hosts can use it in 2021 and how our guests have been using it in 2021. But if you want to find out a little bit more because we didn't really skirt over the basics, if you want the basics of what Clubhouse is and how it works, if you go onto the Boostly YouTube channel and if you were to click on the search bar and type in Clubhouse, then you will be able to get a very in depth introduction that I recorded on exactly what it is and how to use it. Now what we are going to do after this, really interestingly is I'm going to take this live video and we are going to head over to Clubhouse and I'm going to start up a Clubhouse room in the next five minutes and we are going to be carrying on this discussion and I would love as many people as possible to come and join in. So all you need to do if you want to join in is go on to Clubhouse, open up the app right now. If you need an invite, go into the comments below and say I need an invite and then I guarantee someone will be able to share it with you. Come on to clubhouse. Follow Mr. Mark Simpson, which is my Clubhouse account and I'll be creating a room and I will see you in there. Again, this is just for the live viewers who are watching with us now. If you're watching this back on the replay, it will have been and gone. But if you want to find out More about clubhouse. If you want to go find out more about the rooms that we're hosting, just get in touch on Instagram, send me a message and I'll let you know more. So before we finish, before we finish this evening, I just want to give our guests a massive, massive thank you and I want them all to give themselves a big, big shout out and they can find tell you where you can go and find out more if you want to get in touch. So Liam, first and foremost, what is your clubhouse handle? And if anybody wants to get in contact with you and have a chat, where is the best place that isn't clubhouse?

Okay, so my handle is just iamcarillan and the best place to get in touch with me on clubhouse. I run a room Every Tuesday at 7:30 UK time to talk about anything. Airbnb surviving and thriving in service accommodation. And also on a Thursday I run a room at half past eight for property beginners UK as well. So that's the best two places to find me.

Amazing Nicky, first foremost, what is your handle? And just tell us a little bit more about the room and how they can find you the room that you host on a Monday evening.

Yeah. Okay, so it's at Nikki Hutchman and it's N I C K I Hutchman. The room is on Monday at 8 o' clock in UK time and we just network for any holiday, any type of holiday accommodation owner, B B's hotel, short term rentals. We do have visiting people come in as I've said, but it's basically a really friendly group. So as Mike said, small rooms are great. Rio, one of our mods is actually really good at talking to to people. You have a party hat for seven days. She's encouraged quite a few people to come up and have have their first chat in that clubhouse room. So yeah, it's hospitality accommodation Owners network on a Monday at 8.

Fantastic. Dina, so what is your clubhouse handle? And. And are you going to be hosting any rooms or have you. How's the best place for people can get in touch?

My clubhouse handles Dina steal so D e a n a 1 n. And the best place to get in touch with me is Instagram. I'm super active on there, so pop me a dm. It's keys to Colona. I don't know if I need to spell that out for everybody.

Yes please do because I, I really just want to give you a bit of props on this one. Your Instagram. I absolutely love following it, the day to day stories and how you're documenting. I love what you're doing, so please do spell it out.

I love stories. I love sharing the day. So keys to Kelowna. K E Y S T O K E L O W N A. So that's the name of my city. Kelowna. Yeah, I would love to connect. I love Instagram. I love sharing, I love engaging with people. Just gets me super excited.

So.

You're so good at it too, Mark.

Ah, thank you. Stop it. Stop it. All right, Mike. Okay, so first and foremost, what is your clubhouse handle? And do you have any regular rooms that you are hosting or how can people get in touch?

Yeah, for sure. So it's Michael Sjogren. So it's Michael. M I C H A E L in my last name. S as in Sam, J as in John. O G R E N. Michael Sjogren. That is my handle on Clubhouse on Instagram, it's @theairbnb guy. That's probably the easiest way to get in touch with me. I'm super active on there. I've got a texting community as well, but hit me up on Instagram and we'll connect over there. And as far as regular Clubhouse, I.

Was gonna say the podcast as well. Please, please give the podcast a shout out. So when do you do that? How often do you do that?

Yes, we record them every Thursday. It's the Short Term Rental Secrets podcast. I've got a free Facebook group, Short Term Rental Secrets, and we live stream it into that group so you can ask our guests your questions. And then two to four weeks later it actually airs on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, all that good jazz. So it's a cool way to connect with us and our speakers. Mark was on there for. We did a two part episode with Mark last week that was amazing on how to generate direct bookings. I'm sure I'll have all these other amazing panelists on there as well. And it's just a lot of fun. And I totally forgot what else? Oh, for rooms on Clubhouse. I host rooms on there sporadically. Every Wednesday at 8:30, I typically co host a room with TJ to Johnny and those guys. It's called the Short Term Rental Secrets Roadmap. I'm a regular on that panel with those guys. Great crew, lots of value, add a lot of good guest speakers. At some point I'll set up my own club and host regular rooms. But right now I just kind of pop in and join as many rooms as I can.

Absolutely. Oh, amazing. All right, well, thank you to everybody who has been with us this evening, like I say, what we're going to be doing, what I'm going to be doing in about five minutes time, those of you watching live with me, I'm going to be starting up a Clubhouse room. Make sure you go and look for it and come and join in and join in the conversation. This is where we want to get you up on the stage. It's going to be a real small room. Don't be shy, put your hand up. I'll get everybody up and we can just have a good chat and just, and just finish off this evening and talk about clubhouse and host and how we could all use it. Now, if you are watching this back on the replay and this is the first time that you have watched one of these, then you've got loads of episodes to catch up on. Go to boostly.co.uk podcast and just delve into everything that you can see there. Final one from me, if you could do me a massive favorite. Could you please just like this video, just tap that like button as many, many, many, many times as you can for me. And then secondly, if you could just hit that share button and share this video, share this podcast, share this post in a group and in a Facebook group, or just share it on your wall and just tell another host about it. I'm going to be doing daily podcasts, we're going to be doing daily videos, daily blogs. We're going to be ramping it up and doing it every single day to make sure that hosts can bounce back quicker, faster, stronger in 2021. So any support that you can give would be amazing. So thank you very much. Come and check us out on Clubhouse and we'll be there in about five minutes. Okay, thank you very much. Speak to you all very.