Alanna Schroeder believes that hospitality is “a state of mind” that begins “the moment you decide to create a short-term rental business.”
Alanna’s website, The Distinguished Guest – a trusted and consistent source of information for new and experienced hosts – espouses that philosophy in all of its content, from classes and one-on-one consulting sessions to Alanna’s blog posts and product recommendations.
“You must learn from the very beginning to become a mind-reader – someone who uses empathy to anticipate your guests’ wants, needs, comfort levels, and fears, and then deliver an experience that deeply understands them,” she wrote in a recent blog post.
Like many of her clients and followers, Alanna learned about the hospitality side of the vacation rental business by doing it.
Alanna was a novice to hospitality when she converted her family’s second home in the Lake Tahoe area into a vacation rental property. She started renting out the home to earn income after giving up a lucrative job as a real estate asset manager to have another child.
What set her apart was her meticulous research. During preparations to open her vacation rental, she set out a vision of incorporating some of the amenities and details that guests would enjoy at a small boutique hotel such as high-quality commercial linens and toiletries. Doing her homework on how to take a vacation rental business to the next level has made her a go-to source for others seeking to learn how to excel in hospitality.
Sourcing short-term rental supplies for others
The process of researching and locating linens and toiletries for the property sparked an idea: Why not source these same products for other vacation rental owners, she thought.
She shared her business idea with her husband who was skeptical. “My husband just looked at me and said, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it. You never follow through with anything.’”
Alanna took his skepticism as a challenge. “I said, game on. I ended up building the business, and it was quite successful,” she said.
Hospitality products to education
The Distinguished Guest launched in late 2012 largely as an online store offering linens, toiletries, and other vacation rental supplies, all of which she had researched and used in her own vacation rental. She used her blog to write about her experience of starting a vacation rental.
A year later in 2013, she bought a second vacation rental in Kauai, which provided her with another laboratory for trying different short-term rental products.
Eventually, The Distinguished Guest evolved into an education portal as her vendors opened their own retail sites. Instead of selling their linens and toiletries, she formed marketing partnerships with her vendors. Now, she recommends products she has used and loved.
“I do a lot of research and homework on what works. I would say 90% of the products I recommend I’ve tried or used in some way at my vacation rental,” Alanna said. The other 10% comes from product reviews or feedback left in her Facebook group.
Learning how to do short-term rental insurance right
Some of Alanna’s research is unexpected. She learned the hard way about the importance of choosing the right insurance policy. In 2015, she called her then-insurance provider to make sure her Kauai property had all of the essential coverage. She asked a few pointed questions like did she need a fire extinguisher or a deadbolt. “Their answer was a wake-up call,” she recounted in a blog post.
The “short-term rental policy” didn’t cover any bookings less than seven days.
Alanna learned more about how to properly insure her vacation rental from Darren Pettyjohn, co-owner of Proper Insurance, whom she met at a trade show.
Proper Insurance specializes in insuring short-term rental properties and offers customizable, all-inclusive policies to fit a vacation rentalist’s specific needs.
Alanna ended up getting a quote and buying a short-term rental policy from Proper Insurance.
“I feel so much more confident knowing that I have this amazing insurance plan,” Alanna said. “It’s really important to be insured properly.”
Now, Alanna’s classes all have a module on short-term rental insurance. She also recommends Proper Insurance on The Distinguished Guest and has onboarded the insurance provider as a marketing partner, too.
“I’ve sung their praises because I just think that they have an incredible policy, and it’s a great company. They get a lot of great reviews,” she said.
Go-to educational portal on vacation rental hospitality
As Alanna curated the best products and practices in hospitality, she thrived on the rewarding feeling of sharing her newly gained knowledge and experiences with others. So, she has since expanded her wisdom-sharing efforts into other channels, too.
She started her private Facebook group, New to Short-Term Rentals, Airbnb and Hosting, to give new vacation rentalists a safe environment to ask questions and network. The group now has more than 9,300 members.
She and vacation rental photographer Tyann Marcink co-founded the VR Mastered Boot Camp, five days of intensive, hands-on courses and networking for vacation rental owners and managers.
And in May 2021, Alanna launched a course for new vacation rental owners on the basics of running their businesses. The course touches on setting up your property, photography, safety, advocacy, and other topics.
Alanna also sets aside time to advocate for vacation rental owners by volunteering for associations such as the Rental by Owner Awareness Association in Hawaii and the national trade association, Host2Host, for independent short-term rental hosts.
Only as good as your reputation
Alanna says the secret to her success as a trusted source of information on vacation rental hospitality is only recommending products that she knows work.
“I’m really picky about what products I recommend … because you’re only as good as your reputation,” she said.
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