11+ Top Influencers in the Podcasting Space for Short-term Rentals
July 18, 2022 | Amelia Melching
The 2010s saw people listening to radio shows on their way to work. The 2020s? It’s all about podcasts and influencers. What was once a space for niche creators is now a mainstream marketing strategy for virtually every business, including the short-term rental space.
Here at Wheelhouse, we understand the need to adapt. That’s why we use cutting-edge machine learning technology to continue capturing the most relevant data for our dynamic pricing software. And today’s vacation rental podcast influencers certainly have the same idea.
These podcasts focused on short-term rentals offer communication, education, and authenticity. Maybe you’re a “rentalpreneur” but not an influencer — that’s OK. You can learn from industry insights from others in the biz or reap the rewards from sharing and being featured on a vacation rental podcast.
What are podcast influencers?
An influencer has enough knowledge, credibility, or popularity to influence audiences into buying a product. A podcast influencer is the same; only their medium of choice is podcasts.
Podcasts aren’t always directly used to directly sell a product. In many cases, they serve as a source of information for industry insights or entertainment.
Say you’re a short-term rental manager who’s just starting up. You might feel isolated in handling some challenges, but what if you could connect with a community of people that speak out about those same challenges? A podcast helps you feel connected and teaches you about others’ experiences in your industry.
What Can Vacation Rental Influencers Bring to Your Rental Business?
The beauty of vacation rental influencers is that you can use them in many ways to improve your rental business. And listening to some solid podcasts can keep you up-to-date on important industry trends and information, from hearing about the latest property management conferences to the best property management software.
Directly, podcast influencers can promote your listings and connect you to an audience of potential customers, partners, and investors. The possibilities are endless, but here are the main ones:
More Visibility
Visibility happens in a few ways. You could improve your business visibility by creating your own podcast and putting your name on the radar of countless new customers and industry partners. Or, you could pay for advertising on a prominent vacation rental podcaster’s show—promoting your visibility to an entirely new audience.
Reduce Advertising Costs
Podcasts still come with costs, but you have options to make them comparably smaller than Google Ads, for example. Managing your own podcast can generate revenue through affiliate ads and new sales leads.
Or, promoting your business on another vacation rental podcast could give you a better return on investment in advertising.
Help You Understand Your Guests
Every marketer will tell you how important it is to understand your customers. Learning about their needs, challenges, and interests through expert podcasts will help you create a product or service they truly need.
Podcasters discuss common industry challenges and customer needs. Some ways they do this include:
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Expert guest speakers
Audience Q’s and A’s
Interviews
Higher Trust
Podcasters build trust in their audiences. They discuss common industry trends, updates, and insightful stories about things that interest audiences.
If you gain enough of a following, you can build your credibility and likeability with people that might purchase your service or recommend you to a potential lead.
Inspire Renters (and Yourself!)
Podcasts aren’t solely informative—they’re inspiring, entertaining, and thought-provoking. The top podcast influencers for short-term rentals show their audiences something they haven’t seen before.
Imagine a vacation rental influencer that interviews a guest to find out their favorite listing features or interviews a property manager that specializes in eco-friendly treehouses. You’ll bring something new to the table and position yourself as an innovator to new customers.
Add Organic Content Creation
Why not spice up your regular Twitter posts and blog articles with more interactive content? A weekly podcast episode (or even a guest interview on another podcast) could give your content calendar the boost it needs for engagement!
And just sharing others’ episodes (or your thoughts on them) can do the same!
Top Podcast Influencers for Short Term Vacation Rentals
Let’s explore some of the top social media influencers for short-term rentals (and podcasters, of course).
Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals
With more than 35 years of combined experience in vacation rentals, Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe have teamed up to share Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals.
On a mission to find the one story, idea, strategy or decision that led to their guests’ big A-HA moment, this podcast appeals to a wide variety of listeners within hospitality and beyond.
Motivational and fun, Alex & Annie embody the importance of women supporting other women and were recently named to the Top 30 Hospitality Podcasts by the Global Hospitality Institute.
Podcast details:
Episodes: 44
Where to listen: Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Castro, RSS Feed
Other social media accounts:
Best for: Inspiration and insider tips focused on vacation rentals
The Accommodation Show
The Accommodation Show host, Bart Sobies, is a short-term rental management coach and CEO of hospitality booking service iBooked. He’s someone with extensive experience in this business, which might be why it has an average 5-star rating on Apple.
This podcast discusses BnB branding, tech hacks, booking strategies, data leveraging, exit strategies, and more.
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Podcast details:
Episodes: 64
Where to listen: Apple, Spotify
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Other social media accounts:
Boostly
Boostly zooms in on one of the biggest challenges in the short-term rental industry: pumping up occupancy. The podcast host is hospitality expert Mark Simpson, who interviews industry authors, investors, and others to present listeners with actionable advice to increase their bookings. Some recent episode topics include niche hosting (i.e., bridal parties) and AI technology.
Best for: Owners and managers that need to increase occupancy.
Get Paid for Your Pad
Get Paid for Your Pad offers a few products to smooth the short-term rental business for busy property managers. The podcast host and founder, Jasper, gives masterclasses and abundant free resources through the brand. Listeners love the sheer variety of topics, from scalability and rankings to unique host stories and influencer marketing tactics.
Best for: Everyone! The podcast covers topics for both seasoned and beginner Airbnb hosts.
Live Let Thrive
Myka Artis and Steven Suarez have modest beginnings in the short-term rental world, both started with renting out their own homes and eventually moving to Airbnb. The two work full-time unrelated jobs, joking that they’re Airbnb hosts by night.
Live Let Thrive is a podcast dedicated to helping Airbnb hosts thrive in the Shareconomy. You’ll find many topics on their show, including community involvement within property management, scaling, passive income, and more.
Best for: Part-time and mom-and-pop short-term rental business managers using Airbnb.
Million Dollar Host
Million Dollar Host is for the aspiring Airbnb super host and, incidentally, millionaire. Hosted by short-term rental tycoon Julie George, Million Dollar Host covers endless topics about creating the perfect Airbnb business. George started making $600 per week on Airbnb and built her business to generate over $8 million in just three years.
Decor, industry predictions, maintenance, marketing, and legal issues are only a few aspects of the podcast’s content. Julie also hosts special guests like lawyers, inspectors, successful property managers, and owners specializing in specific properties (villas, for example).
Best for: Airbnb investors.
The No BS Short-term Rental Podcast
The No-BS Short-Term Rental Podcast has a unique inclusion lens when discussing short-term rental industry challenges and trends. The podcast is relatively new, though both hosts have extensive industry experience:
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Mateo Bradford: Strategic Business Development Manager at Ease (capital evangelist specializing in the short-term rental industry)
John Stokinger: Senior Business Development Manager at Hopper Homes, with experience in industry marketing and payment processing roles.
The podcast offers more socially conscious themes in the industry, like inclusion and environmental initiatives. Additionally, reviewers praise the podcast’s raw and unfiltered conversation about the industry’s challenges.
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Podcast details:
Episodes: 61
Where to listen: Spotify, iHeart Radio, Apple, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music
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Other social media accounts:
Best for: Managers and owners interested in honest discourse and challenging short-term rental issues
Short Term Rental Secrets
The host couple of Short Term Rental Secrets has a short-term rental-property portfolio across the US with over 20 properties.
The podcast features actionable advice and topics from various industry experts specializing in everything from capital funding to tech. Podcast host Michael aims to help people use real estate investments as a tool to find financial independence.
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Podcast details:
Episodes: 103
Where to listen: Apple and Spotify
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Other social media accounts:
Best for: Aspiring sole-income short-term rental managers.
Slick Talk
Slick Talk is a unique podcast featuring experienced hospitality professionals with proven success in the vacation rental and restaurant industries.
Best for: Vacation rental managers and restaurateurs that want to learn from the pros
Vacation and Short-Term Rental Titans by SUPERHOG
SUPERHOG offers a service every short-term rental manager finds valuable: guest screening. Have you ever rented to a seemingly quiet guest to find they’ve trashed your apartment? SUPERHOG knows the story all too well and brings peace of mind through intelligent screening.
The company also started a podcast called Vacation and Short-Term Rental Titans to dive deeper into every aspect of the business to pump up revenue. They explore technology and industry trends and speak with experts and CEOs from other property management and related companies like Guesty, for example.
Best for: All short-term rental managers, especially those with an interest in innovative tech solutions.
Vacation Rental Machine
Vacation Rental Machine focuses episodes on Airbnb topics, from super host tips to slow occupancy periods. They also discuss the latest tech, including the importance of dynamic pricing software (ahem, Wheelhouse).
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Podcast details:
Episodes: 156
Where to listen: Apple, Spotify, YouTube
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Other social media accounts:
Best for: Aspiring Airbnb superhosts
How to Choose Your Short-Term Rental Podcast Influencer
Now that you know which influencer podcasts are available, it’s time to pick your perfect match. How do you assess which podcasts can actually make a difference in your business?
Listener Count & Engagement Rate
How many people follow the podcast’s social media pages? Do you see regular reviews, comments, and shares? Listener count and engagement rate work together to tell an important story about an influencer: whether the world believes in them.
Remember, follower count doesn’t matter if there’s no engagement. But, if they have amazing 100% engagement–and only 10 followers–that won’t work either. It’s important to find a balance between them when looking for a podcast influencer to support your short-term rental business.
Brand Fit
Niche is super important. We’ve seen a few influences that specialize in particular booking platforms, rental types, locations, and more. It’s up to you to ensure the podcast you choose aligns with your brand and business.
Content Quality
Does the podcast sound scratchy and unprofessional? Make sure you’re featured somewhere your dream audience will take you seriously.
Moreover, the podcast content should be consistently credible and valuable. If reviewers cite dissatisfaction with inauthentic promotions and vague industry insights, you might consider another option.
Partnership Options and Cost
Influencers should have a range of partnership options to meet your needs. If you’re on a budget, look for exchanges where you can trade advertising or services with each other.
Some partnerships might include guest interviews, affiliate marketing and linking, and more.
Prepare for Your Vacation Rental Influencer Campaign
Make Campaign Goals
What do you want to accomplish using influencer podcasts as a marketing tool?
Do you want to grow your social following?
Thought leadership content?
More bookings?
Whatever it is, write down clear goals that you can measure.
Why bother writing campaign goals? Because they’ll inform the type of content you create for your influencer podcasts, and you can compare the results against them.
Choose the Right Podcast
Our list of the top vacation rental influencer podcasts features a wide range of topics. Airbnb specialists, motels, property management software, and others share their knowledge on each podcast. Narrow in on the podcasts more relevant to your brand, business, and ideal audience.
Determine Content
Remember the goal setting we mentioned above? That’s step one in determining the type of content you’ll create for your guest features.
If you want to inform, consider sharing your company’s unique lessons learned through interviews or reports.
If you want to promote, use the podcast as a way to strut your stuff. Go on, tell the world how fantastic your occupancy rates were last quarter and how you got there.
Prepare Your Vacation Home for the Influencer Stay
Maybe you won’t have a guest interview on an influencer podcast, but they will test out your rental. You should cross every t before arrival and ensure their experience is top notch.
We’re talking complimentary coffee (and ancillary services), lush sheets, 24/7 service, quick responses, flexible bookings, and the whole nine yards.
Optimize Your Short-Term Rental with Wheelhouse
Influencer podcasts open a new world for your vacation rental business. You can network with valuable contacts, gain a new audience, and attract investment with an influencer’s positive presence.
Bottom line? You’ll generate leads for new clients and partners. And once you do that, you’ll need to ensure your listings are priced correctly for your increased occupancy! We can help with that. Try out Wheelhouse, the vacation rental industry’s most trusted dynamic pricing tool!
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