Mastering Co-Hosting

In the latest Hospitable Hosts podcast, our special guests are Kevin Ramirez, Hospitable's Customer Support Advocate, and his wife, Natalia. Kevin and Natalia run a management company called Vaycaay—they host Airbnb properties in Florida and North Carolina and use Hospitable to streamline repetitive daily tasks.

Kevin is also an Airbnb business coach and has The BNB Professional Podcast to provide expert guidance for new hosts and help them navigate the ever-changing short-term rental landscape. Follow on Instagram.

Chatting with Miles, Natalia and Kevin share their story of starting a small family-run property management business with just three units and becoming professional Airbnb co-hosts who manage 14 STR properties.

Press Play now to discover how Kevin and Natalia got into the STR business, started co-hosting, and how they use Hospitable to make it easier to manage their properties listed on different OTA platforms.

If you prefer to read the highlights, we've got a summary of the key takeaways below.

How Did It All Begin?

Kevin and Natalia got into the vacation rental business 6 years ago when they had just married and needed more money. Natalia had a job, and Kevin was working on a real estate business—they were doing some flips, but the income wasn't stable, so Kevin got a paralegal job in a local firm in Miami.

"But I have more entrepreneurial qualities than an employee. I was working there, and immediately from day one, I needed to find something else to do. So I ended up stumbling into Airbnb," Kevin explains. In 2018, they started a vacation rental property management company, and Kevin quit his paralegal job once they signed a few deals with short-term rental property owners.

Why Co-Hosting?

Kevin and Natalia were doing business using the rental arbitrage model, which was a success. They started with three properties and quickly expanded their portfolio to 15, one being a 10-unit building. But during the COVID pandemic, everything changed, and they weren't prepared for it.

They needed to pay almost $25,000 in rent to property owners, but when COVID hit, the US shut down, and they didn't have bookings for 3-4 months. The situation became even more challenging when their business partner vanished. But they managed to get out of it and become tougher and more resilient.

"In the middle of COVID, we shut down the operation for 15 units. Then we went down to 1 unit—the owner asked us to manage the property. He said, "Why don't you be my co-hosts?" This offer gave them confidence and encouraged them to go ahead.

So now Natalia and Kevin are Airbnb co-hosts. This strategy is less risky because they don't have to pay rent, but they can help owners profit from their investment properties, and it's very rewarding. Some property owners have been with them for many years, and the relationships that started as working relationships have grown into friendships.

Why Did They Choose Hospitable?

The owner who asked them to manage his property referred them to a friend who also referred them to a friend. By the time they managed about four units thanks to word of mouth, they started experiencing different challenges. Their properties were listed on many platforms, so managing guest messaging and scheduling cleanings across bookings became problematic.

That's why they started looking for software to help them solve their problems and make it easier to manage daily tasks. They tried different tools and didn't like them, then they discovered Hospitable and found it easy to use. "Once we came to Hospitable, that's where there was a huge difference in how quickly I was able to go from setting up to sending messages—within hours," Kevin points out.

Natalia's favorite feature is AI messaging—she thinks it is the best thing in the world. "I hear it from the team all the time. They're like, I didn't have to Google this. Just click the Suggest with AI, and it answers the question," she explains.

Advice to New Hosts

Kevin thinks that for those who start on Airbnb, setting their property to make it attractive to guests is extremely important. The industry is maturing, and there are a lot of professional, experienced hosts. "The best tip I could give you is to go out and learn. Make sure that you learn what you're doing," he emphasizes.

Kevin recommends using different online sources and searching for information about setting up the property. Pay attention to interior design, furniture, inventory, and professional photography. "That's the foundation. And if you get that right, once you list it, it's gonna go much smoother once you're live and taking guests," he underlines.

Tune in to the full episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast to get inspired by the story of Kevin and Natalia's journey to becoming successful Airbnb co-hosts. Find out what challenges they overcame and the lessons they learned along the way!