STRS Marketing, Author at Short Term Rental Secrets

Ep 294 – $1B STR Company CEO Tells You Exactly How AI Will Eat Your Business (Or Make You Rich) | Marcus Räder, Hostaway

STRS Marketing2026-05-18T06:13:44-04:00

🔥 STR AI Summit — June 23-24 | Freedom Factory, Beverly, MA Only 100 seats. Built for operators who are serious about what comes next. 👉 strsecrets.com/aisummitIf you're managing 5, 10, or 50+ properties and wondering whether AI is a tool or a threat — Marcus Räder has the answer. And it's not what most people are saying. Marcus is the co-founder and CEO of Hostaway — the first vacation rental software company to reach unicorn status and the recipient of the largest funding round in vacation rental history: $365 million led by General Atlantic. He's been in this industry for [...]

Ep 294 – $1B STR Company CEO Tells You Exactly How AI Will Eat Your Business (Or Make You Rich) | Marcus Räder, HostawaySTRS Marketing2026-05-18T06:13:44-04:00

Ep 293 – The Man Who Lost $50 Million and Called It a Seminar | Rod Khleif on Mindset, AI, and What’s Coming

STRS Marketing2026-05-11T05:46:49-04:00

🎟️ Join us at the STR AI Summit — June 23-24 at the Freedom Factory in Beverly, MA. Only 100 seats. Early bird: $1,497. strsecrets.com/aisummit In 2006, Rod Khleif's net worth went up $17 million while he slept. Two years later, he lost $50 million. He didn't call it a failure. He called it an expensive seminar. In this episode, E sits down with Rod Khleif — Dutch immigrant turned multifamily mogul, bestselling author, and host of the largest commercial real estate podcast in the world. At 66 years old, with 30 companies built and over 300,000 student-owned multifamily units, Rod [...]

Ep 293 – The Man Who Lost $50 Million and Called It a Seminar | Rod Khleif on Mindset, AI, and What’s ComingSTRS Marketing2026-05-11T05:46:49-04:00

Ep 292 – The Stay-at-Home Mom Who Built 4 STRs, 11 Co-Hosted Properties, and a Coaching Business — While Raising 3 Kids

STRS Marketing2026-05-04T05:06:33-04:00

She thought it had to be one or the other. Career or kids. No middle ground. Then her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at three years old. And everything changed. Jane Ng left corporate America to care for her daughter full time. Her daughter survived — but was left with a brain injury that means she will never be fully independent. Jane will care for her for the rest of her life. So going back to a W2 was never an option. Instead she found real estate. Then short term rentals. Then co-hosting. Then a coaching business helping other moms do [...]

Ep 292 – The Stay-at-Home Mom Who Built 4 STRs, 11 Co-Hosted Properties, and a Coaching Business — While Raising 3 KidsSTRS Marketing2026-05-04T05:06:33-04:00

Ep 291 – The 4-Year Warning: Why AI is About to Replace Average Operators| David VanWert

STRS Marketing2026-04-27T05:52:00-04:00

Most luxury STR owners write that electric bill every month without ever knowing what's causing it. David VanWert did the same thing — until he built a platform to fix it. In this episode, E and Chris sit down with David VanWert, founder of Umbra and owner of seven STR cabins in the Smoky Mountains and Mammoth Lakes. David built Umbra after spending years watching energy costs silently destroy the profitability of high-end vacation rentals — and after realizing no existing solution was built for the STR world. In this episode, David covers: - What Umbra does: smart power monitoring and [...]

Ep 291 – The 4-Year Warning: Why AI is About to Replace Average Operators| David VanWertSTRS Marketing2026-04-27T05:52:00-04:00

Ep 290 – What the #1 Restaurant in the World Taught Me About Running a Better STR Business

STRS Marketing2026-04-20T05:58:05-04:00

E just got back from the Unreasonable Hospitality Summit in Nashville — and this solo episode is his full recap. Will Guidara wrote Unreasonable Hospitality during COVID. He took Eleven Madison Park from a nice restaurant to the #1 restaurant in the world — the only restaurant to ever go from one Michelin star to three in a single year. His philosophy: service is what you do for people. Hospitality is how you make them feel. In this episode E breaks down the biggest lessons from the summit — how to systematize hospitality so your team delivers it consistently, why hiring [...]

Ep 290 – What the #1 Restaurant in the World Taught Me About Running a Better STR BusinessSTRS Marketing2026-04-20T05:58:05-04:00

Ep 289 – From Tragedy to 65 Units: How Cara and Mark Truckey Built a Life and Business on Their Own Terms

STRS Marketing2026-04-13T05:46:41-04:00

In 2016, Cara and Mark Truckey lost their 14-month-old son. He never woke up at daycare. Most couples don't survive a loss like that. Instead, it became the moment that changed everything. In this episode, E and Chris sit down with Cara and Mark Truckey — two STR Secrets boardroom alumni who have built a real estate portfolio of 65+ units across Wisconsin and Florida while raising three kids and running multiple businesses. This is one of the most honest and human conversations we have had on this show. In this episode Cara and Mark cover: - How losing their son [...]

Ep 289 – From Tragedy to 65 Units: How Cara and Mark Truckey Built a Life and Business on Their Own TermsSTRS Marketing2026-04-13T05:46:41-04:00

Ep 288 – Your STR Could Be Banned Tomorrow and here’s What You’re Not Doing About It | ft. Julie Marks

STRS Marketing2026-04-06T05:54:53-04:00

Most STR operators don't think about regulation until it's already too late. Julie pulls back the curtain on what’s really happening in short-term rental regulation and why hosts can’t afford to stay invisible. From local politics to nationwide advocacy, this episode is a wake-up call for operators who think regulation is someone else’s problem. • How Julie went from accidental host to industry advocate • Why anti-STR arguments often hide deeper community concerns • The biggest mistake hosts make when regulations start changing • Why advocacy is not charity, but a real business investment • How small hosts can contribute without [...]

Ep 288 – Your STR Could Be Banned Tomorrow and here’s What You’re Not Doing About It | ft. Julie MarksSTRS Marketing2026-04-06T05:54:53-04:00

Ep 287- 5 Years. 180 Properties. 36 People. Aidan Groll on Building a Real STR Management Company

STRS Marketing2026-03-30T05:11:54-04:00

Most STR companies obsess over guest reviews. Blue Gems obsesses over owner profitability. And they grew to 180 properties under management doing it. In this episode, recorded live at the Freedom Factory in Beverly, MA, E sits down with Aidan Groll — co-founder of Blue Gems Management, one of Florida's fastest-growing STR companies. Aidan and his partner JB manage 180+ properties across Orlando and Clearwater Beach with a 36-person team — and grew almost entirely through organic relationships, not paid ads. In this episode, Aidan breaks down: - How he went from a corporate accounting job to buying his first duplex [...]

Ep 287- 5 Years. 180 Properties. 36 People. Aidan Groll on Building a Real STR Management CompanySTRS Marketing2026-03-30T05:11:54-04:00

Ep 286 – Why You Keep Self-Sabotaging Even When You Know Exactly What to Do

STRS Marketing2026-03-23T07:02:40-04:00

Q1 is almost over. E has something to say about it. In this solo episode, co-host Emanuele shares everything he's been working on in 2026 — and gets raw about why most people are still stuck. The problem isn't the tools. It's not the market. It's not the strategy. It's your beliefs. E breaks down Tony Robbins' 3 S's — why State and Story have to come before Systems. He walks through the 5 core wounds that quietly drive self-sabotage: rejection, abandonment, humiliation, betrayal, and injustice. And he explains why your beliefs work like a thermostat — no matter how big [...]

Ep 286 – Why You Keep Self-Sabotaging Even When You Know Exactly What to DoSTRS Marketing2026-03-23T07:02:40-04:00

Ep – 285 The ‘Help First’ Sales Mindset That Grew Them From 12 to 120 Properties with Sean Bakhtiari

STRS Marketing2026-03-16T07:46:01-04:00

What happens when a corporate finance guy from Boston decides he's done working for someone else — and bets on short-term rentals? Sean Bakhtiari grew up in New Hampshire, studied finance at Providence College, and spent 9 years in Boston's financial district working in sales, marketing, and client experience. He loved the work — but always knew he wanted to build something of his own. So he bought his first STR. Then a second. Then started building a management company. At 12 properties, he hit a wall. He was good at business development and client relationships. But systems, operations, and scale? [...]

Ep – 285 The ‘Help First’ Sales Mindset That Grew Them From 12 to 120 Properties with Sean BakhtiariSTRS Marketing2026-03-16T07:46:01-04:00

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