Mark SimpsonHelping short-term rental hosts get the tools, tactics and training to grow direct bookings with confidence

It's crucial to diversify your portfolio by following this advice!

1 Mar 2023 · 1 min

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0:43

Short interview excerpt from a YouTube video in which Mark Simpson asks a guest for one key piece of advice about pivoting/diversifying into boutique hotels. The guest emphasizes unexpected operational challenges—especially staffing to handle guest communications—recommends partnering or getting a mentor rather than going in blind, and warns of financial risk. The guest notes personal experience: they opened their first hotel after operating 15 short-term rental units across five states.

Chapters

What's that one bit of advice that you wish that you had that you can pass on to anybody else who is thinking of going down this route and sort of pivoting and diversifying their portfolio into boutique hotels?
I think the thing that I didn't realize was just like I was talking about like the staffing for like phone calls was really threw me for a loop at the beginning and I was like, oh damn. Like we had to hire up pretty quick to handle that volume. A lot of folks will send me DMs now. I didn't do my first hotel till I had 15 units in five different states. So I was pretty seasoned on the short term rental front. I'm not saying that you can't do it without. I'm not saying that you can't jump right into it. But if you're going to to do that, do it with a partner or get educated with a mentor. Like don't jump in blind. And I don't say that to plug me or any other educator. I'm saying that because it's just financially dangerous. Like you can lose a lot of money.