Like many hospitality professionals, Wil Slickers is a people person. He’s known for his magnetic charm and ever-growing media empire, Hospitality.FM. Hospitality seems to run so deep in his DNA that new listeners to one of his multiple podcasts might assume Wil comes from a long line of innkeepers.
But like so many in short-term rentals, Wil discovered his goldilocks calling after the trials of a few things that just weren’t quite right, sometimes even despairing.
“I come from a very Christian household,” he said. “I think I was 7, my mom told me some pastor said I was meant to lead the people… So, that was in my head growing up all the time, like, you’re gonna be a pastor, you’re gonna be a pastor, you’re gonna be preaching in churches and do all this other stuff.”
The thought was so ingrained that he simply assumed he’d go to Bible college, get his doctorate, become a pastor, and that would be that.
Through his teens, though, what he was told he was meant to do never felt right. No one told him, “it’s OK to try things, and it’s OK not to be at a job for a long time if you don’t like it,” he said.
After two summers as a camp pastor, the lack of fulfillment and passion – with no understanding yet why he might feel that way – festered into a deep depression. He ultimately turned to substance abuse to fill the emptiness and avoid the reckoning between his outer life and his inner life.
Basic training for a new lease on life
His lowest point was when he became homeless and had to live in his car. Desperate for an end to his destructive path, he joined the U.S. Army National Guard in 2014 to get clean and cultivate discipline. “Big shoutout to the Crawford family, who basically gave me a second chance and pushed me to get out of the situation by becoming a farm hand and helping me make the decision to join the National Guard,” Wil said. “Mark Crawford is one of my top heroes.”
It was in basic training that he learned he was capable of things he’d never thought he could do. “I was never a physically athletic kid in high school or middle school,” he said. After a period of being “broken down” in boot camp, they build you back up with confidence, like, “Hey, man up and do this shit now. You can do it,” Wil mimicked his drill sergeants saying.
He went in weighing 115 pounds and came out at 175 pounds of muscle and confidence, walking with his head held high and his shoulders back. “After I got out, I was like, OK, I need to see what I can become if I continue down the path of pursuing physical health, mental health, and learning how to regulate my emotions, and that was a big change in my life,” he said.
He gave his pastoral “destiny” one more attempt by enrolling in Bible college during his time in the National Guard, but three months in, he dropped out and never looked back. (Wil notes he is still Christian, just not a preacher and rather “just a guy who tries to love people.”)
A love affair with hospitality
Back on the job market, Wil attempted to build an event and chauffeur business, but when that didn’t take off, he took a job as a front desk agent at a Marriott hotel in Spokane, Washington.
He found yet another source of confidence in a new type of uniform: the suits he had acquired as a chauffeur. At first, the hotel job was just a job. “I look good in a suit, I’m going to be at the front desk, and it’s gonna be paying the bills,” he remembered. At first, it was chaotic getting to know the gig and the software, he said, but then he discovered the joy of hospitality.
“I fell in love,” Wil recounted. “I love taking care of guests, creating moments and experiences.”
In some ways, the discovery wasn’t all that surprising. When he is having a challenging day, Wil mindfully looks for moments of joy, a practice he learned from the example of his twin brother TJ, who has Down’s Syndrome.
“Growing up I would be so insecure around people, and he would just grab life,” Wil said. “He just has this sense of nurture. It was like, man, I wish I could embody that. It’s kind of become a daily question, what would TJ do? How would TJ react? Even in a negative situation, he is able to meet people where they are and have a sense of care. It’s that sense of ‘I love you, and how can I help?’”
In that way, TJ is a living example of hospitality, human connection, and creating moments and endless experiences – the same values that Wil aspires to.
“I am trying to represent him in everything I do,” Wil said.
And he does. He remembers one particular guest, Mr. Schardien, a traveling medical salesman who frequented the Spokane hotel and booked with a Visa but always preferred to pay with his American Express.
One day, he forgot the AmEx. When Wil asked about it, Mr. Schardien was blown away that he remembered that. Wil made sure to take care of him on every visit, but that simple act sparked a friendship.
He worked for a couple of years in Spokane, then moved to a boutique hotel in Seaside on the Oregon Coast called Riverside Suites to learn what it would be like to work for an independent owner. On his last day at the Marriott, Schardien and his wife gifted him brand new housewares and a book full of gift cards and cash for his move.
Finding podcasting and vacation rentals
Working in the boutique hotel only increased Wil’s hunger to improve himself and to learn everything he could about the hospitality sector. He didn’t yet know about conferences and was never a great reader, he said, but a YouTube video with Gary Vee and Tony Robbins mentioned how easy it was to start a podcast. “It’s free; Get Anchor.FM, and buy a $20 mic from Amazon,” he summarized.
Wil saw podcasts as a vehicle to grow as a hospitality professional by connecting with and learning from successful entrepreneurs in the industry. So, he followed Gary and Tony’s advice, and in 2018 while still living in Seaside, he bought a microphone and started his first podcast, Slick Talk.
In the meantime, his parents were trying to figure out what to do with a two-bedroom apartment above their garage in Seattle where they had been having trouble with the long-term tenant. After learning they could earn three times more by renting out the apartment short-term, they turned to Wil for help.
Immediately, Wil saw his parent’s short-term rental as an opportunity to operate his own hospitality business. He soon tested out marketing campaigns like direct mail and engaging in a local Facebook group, and his client count quickly grew.
In December 2019, he resigned from his position at the hotel in Seaside to focus full-time on his podcast and property management. Today, that company is Recreation Rentals, a boutique luxury vacation rental manager of nine properties from Washington and British Columbia to the Poconos and Orlando. He runs the company with his business partner, Adam Knight, who also happened to be the very first guest on Slick Talk.
His dedication to his podcasts and learning from others compounded his success. Soon, he launched another podcast, Good Morning Hospitality, which then led to his founding of the Hospitality.FM podcast network.
Like a record label, he explained, HFM manages the production and distribution of podcasts for many creators, not just himself, as well as sponsorships and other things.
Practice – and Passion – Makes Progress
Consistency has been another guiding principle for Wil. He attributes his success to consistency in pursuing his goals and working toward his vision even in the face of adversity.
Now five years after starting Slick Talk, Wil has recorded more than 450 episodes. To put that in perspective, the average lifespan of a podcast is about six months.
Remarking on that short shelf life on Office Hours with David Meltzer, Wil noted that the enemy of success is instant gratification. In fact, success comes from incremental steps day by day that are in alignment with one’s core values and goals, he said.
He elaborated on that thought in an Instagram post in April 2023 to mark 2.5 million downloads of Slick Talk.
“I have had the honors of interviewing some of the industry’s biggest names, founders, thought leaders, and friends with hospitality,” he wrote. “And as I reflect on this milestone the number one reminder that comes to mind is that this shit doesn’t happen overnight.”
Read More: The ultimate guide to vacation rental podcasts
Across the network, HFM now airs 29 different podcasts about hospitality and recently passed 5,000 episodes. Among those, his Good Morning Hospitality show hit 1 million downloads this year.
That doesn’t mean Wil’s got a perfect track record or an always-harmonious life. He faces regular challenges, too. On top of the network and property management, he also speaks at several events a year.
“I could always do better,” he said. One of his strategies is having “rest zones” in his home and life. Work stays in his office – he doesn’t allow himself to bring his laptop into bed or into common spaces. And he intentionally schedules time off, like a quarterly massage at a nice hotel spa or a week at a cabin with friends.
But at the end of the day, it’s finding his passion that makes him light up. “Honestly, I just love what I do,” he said.
Learn more: 2023 STR Sustainability Report featuring Wil Slickers keynote session from RR Summit
…
SUBSCRIBE TO GET UPDATES
