Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Property Management with Wandermore Hosting

In the latest episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we chat with Robert Bohren and Nicole Comey, Co-Owners of Wandermore Hosting, a co-hosting property management company that provides a comprehensive suite of customized services for property investors and STR hosts. Robert also has extensive experience in sales, consulting, and business development, and Nicole is an Army veteran with a strong background in logistics and operations.

Nicole and Robert manage STR properties located in multiple states and use Hospitable to streamline operations and save time—they are our Mogul plan users. In this episode, they share what they love about hosting, what their long-term business goals are, how they find property owners to co-host with, and what red flags they look for when deciding whether an owner is a good fit.

Press Play now to learn how Robert and Nicole use technology to overcome challenges of managing properties remotely and ensure both property owners and guests enjoy a seamless experience.

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

How Robert and Nicole Started a Property Management Business

 “We got started as a lot of people do in this industry, purchasing our own property and turning it into a short-term rental,” Robert says. “You know, we decided that we liked it enough to want to do this for other people, and help them get started, and get their properties up to where they needed to be producing, and hitting their goals.”

Now, Robert and Nicole run a co-hosting property management company based in Orlando, Florida. They manage 19 properties throughout a few different markets, including Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, and Oregon.

“We have one assistant who works for us doing guest messaging, but we hired her only about a couple of months ago. So in the beginning, it's just been Robert and me,” Nicole explains.

Challenges of Managing Properties Remotely

Since their vacation rental properties are in different states, managing them remotely presents a set of unique challenges. But Nicole and Robert prove that with the right strategies, it can be both efficient and rewarding. Robert shares how they ensure that everything runs smoothly.

“The way we look at it is it’s not much different than having a property that’s even 45 minutes or 30 minutes away. If you have the right cleaning team and maintenance staff, you can manage properties from anywhere. The key is having people on the ground who can help when needed. Hospitable helps us a ridiculous amount with that.”

Nicole underlines that their business “relies on great communication in all aspects.” They monitor what guests say in their reviews and relay that feedback to their cleaning and maintenance teams. They also communicate that feedback to property owners so they can make property improvements.

Using Hospitable

“Hospitable has helped with streamlining the guest booking journey from confirming the booking all the way to check-out,” Robert says. He also notes that AI features have been a game changer for them, although they aren’t using AI for every response. “Hospitable guest communication has completely helped us make sure our guests are happy, and we maintain those high review scores for sure.”

“A specific instance is, say, a guest is having an issue with a specific item,” Nicole adds. “Hospitable pins it that this guest has pinpointed an issue. Then, every time we respond, it’s there. So we’re taking extra care to make sure that our responses are specific to that need and trying to make sure that the guest is comfortable.”

Robert and Nicole use other vacation rental automation software as well to handle different aspects of hosting, for example, Breezeway to manage cleaning and maintenance, and a dynamic pricing tool. “But Hospitable is the main hub for everything,” Nicole says. “I think that without Hospitable, we would be lost.”

Robert says he likes that the Hospitable team is constantly developing and adding new features. “The rental agreement is a good example. It was a chore to keep track of who was signing and sending guest messages to ensure they signed. But now Hospitable can take that out of our hands.”

About Growing the Business

Robert says they use a few different funnels to find property owners to co-host with, and the main ones are the Airbnb co-host program and word-of-mouth. “We haven’t put a whole lot into marketing spend. I think a lot of it has just been word-of-mouth, with the Airbnb cohost platform taking care of our customers. We try to do things a little bit differently.”

Robert explains that they prioritize property owners, ensuring they have complete control, and give them visibility into guest communication. Then, property owners can see what level of service Wandermore Hosting provides and how their properties are managed.

“We’re not afraid to allow our owners to see all the messages going through. We want them to know that we’re responding quickly, and we’re upholding that guest experience and happiness,” Robert says.

He points out that they’re adding properties, but they’re selective and are not going to take on just anything that comes to them. “Do we want to add 250 properties? Probably not. We want to add the properties of owners who are motivated to take care of their properties, they are responsive, and properties that are of good quality.”

“We don't want to be gigantic,“ Nicole adds. “We want to be able to maintain the relationship with the owner. And that’s what we pride ourselves on.”

Tune in to the full episode of the Hospitable Hosts Podcast to discover how Robert and Nicole have built a thriving business and what strategies they use to make short-term rental management as transparent and straightforward as possible.