Industry Insights
Building a Thriving STR Business with Pacific Properties Management
Discover how Misty scaled to manage 52 STR properties and how they use technology to ensure efficient operations and deliver peace of mind to property owners.
In this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we are joined by Misty Krengle, Co-Founder of Pacific Properties Management, a family-owned and operated company based in Jamaica Beach, Galveston, Texas. Together with her son, Tyler, Misty manages 52 properties across Texas and Florida and uses Hospitable to streamline day-to-day operations, save time, and scale efficiently.
In the episode, Misty shares their STR journey, challenges they faced when starting their property management business, and how they standardize processes and operations across their properties while maintaining a personal touch. Misty also discusses how they use technology to streamline cleanings and maintenance, and how using Hospitable helps them automate key aspects of property management and scale efficiently.
Press Play now to discover how Misty scaled to manage 52 STR properties and how they use technology to ensure efficient operations, deliver peace of mind to property owners, and ensure a great experience for guests.
Do you prefer to read the highlights? We’ve got a summary of the key takeaways below.
How Misty Got into Property Management
Misty Krengle is a registered nurse with a diverse background in nursing spanning over two decades. Her son works in real estate, and it was his idea to start a property management business in Galveston.
“We had a couple of friends who really needed management, and we thought that it would be a little side gig. And next thing, we really became passionate about it. We got good at it. We learned a lot.”
They started in 2021, and now they manage a diverse portfolio of 52 vacation rental properties across Texas and Florida. “We have some in Houston, some in Port Aransas, some in Crystal Beach, but the majority of our properties are right here in Galveston, Texas, in Jamaica Beach,” Misty says.
Challenges of Starting Out
Misty notes they had a good start during the COVID boom years, when the STR market saw a strong surge in demand. Now, as the boom is cooling, they have to rethink their strategies.
“We had to learn very quickly when the market changed, and people can now get on planes, and they can go elsewhere, and maybe budgets are getting cut and things like that. So we have to pivot, and we have to look at some different options to make it work.”
Misty thinks that at the beginning, the biggest challenge for them was to learn how to operate the house. “We had a lot of traffic coming through this property. Our challenge then was learning on our feet how to operate a house, how to get turnovers and cleanings done in four hours, and maintenance in there.”
Another “special challenge” was to gather a good, reliable team to delegate cleaning and maintenance tasks. Misty shares that in addition to using Hospitable to automate property management tasks, they are also using Turno to manage cleanings and turnovers. “Every single one of our cleaners has their checklist, the obvious things. Every single one of our handymen is on there.”
Working with Property Owners
Misty emphasizes that although they standardize processes across the properties they manage, they also provide personalized service, since the properties are owned by different people with different goals.
“One client has decorated the master bedroom to remind her of her grandmother. Well, guess what? Anytime that bedspread has a stain on it, I'm going to treat that a lot differently than I am going to treat the house that's down the street that has four investors in it. You do have to get to know your owners. Despite having standardized processes, we do still have a personal touch and complement the owner depending on what their goals are.”
Cleaning Quality Control Checks
Misty says they perform two types of checks to ensure high cleaning standards are maintained over time in all their properties.
“Each of our cleaning teams has cleaning leads. So their cleaning lead goes back after them as well to make sure that we get all the photos. They've double-checked all of our checklists to make sure that everything's done. In addition, we go every three months to ensure that every single one of our properties is checked by either our assistant property manager or me. One of us is going to lay eyes on that property.”
Misty emphasizes that during regular in-person inspections, scheduled every three months, they conduct thorough checks and focus on all aspects. “We're checking lawn care, cleaning, making sure that everything's stocked well. Just doing a once over. If there's just basic maintenance that needs to be done around the house, maybe the siding has got something going on, or a tree limb's falling, or anything like that.”
Using Hospitable
Misty says that they have used Hospitable from the very beginning to simplify property management and are impressed with the number of new features and updates. “Hospitable integrates things so fast that it wouldn't be worthwhile changing while you're waiting for the next thing to come on. So we all say, yep, just put that in the plug of what you would like next because it'll come.”
Misty points out that they use Hospitable’s smart device management feature to automate their smart thermostats and smart locks. “Fantastic integrations. We love them,” she says. They use Hospitable to automate guest messaging with AI tools, and have three virtual assistants who “love the messaging” to step in if AI can’t generate a message because there’s no info in the Knowledge Hub.
“I think that's been our biggest challenge as of yet. But overall, we're implementing a good system where every time you guys send an email saying, "AI did not generate a message," we're using that to our advantage. Why didn't it generate a message? Let's get that information in there to make it better for the next time.”
Listen to the full episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast to learn how Misty and Tyler turned their side hustle into a thriving property management business.
Table of contents
How Misty Got into Property Management
Challenges of Starting Out
Working with Property Owners
Cleaning Quality Control Checks
Using Hospitable