Reaching over my basketball sized stomach, sitting near the kiddie pool at White Water in Branson, Missouri, I signed the contract to build our first vacation rental house.

The next day I set up our listing on VRBO, using photos from the display house we had toured the previous day.

Handwritten personal checks for thousands of dollars began arriving in the mail a few weeks later, I was toting two toddlers and an infant to furniture stores to choose the best couches and beds, and I got my first ever cell phone.

Just a few months later we set up our newly built house in 5 days while my infant son watched us hang blinds, arrange furniture, and make beds.

Within 2 hours of completing set up and leaving for home, our first guests arrived for their family reunion vacation in Branson.

We were one of 12 properties that slept 12 or more people in one house.

Fast forward 11+ years – there are now more than 300 properties that sleep 12 or more people, and my sons help me assemble furniture at new properties we set up together as a family.

This year we are building our third place in Branson, a huge 10 bedroom house; last year we completed an historic rehab of a late 1800s bank with original vaults; and the past few months we picked up a few other properties to manage. In total I own 6 properties and manage 3 others.

We have seen 1 paper check in the last 2 years as all payments are now by credit card, pricing has to be adjusted more than once a year, and managing and hosting is very profitable for our family. In fact, I was cash flowing our first place before we had even closed on the loan.

I’ve made the OTAs work for me. I don’t rely on them, but I use them and wield their marketing power to further my business.

I’ve honed in on a niche and cut my competition down from 300+ back to 12 or fewer.

I’ve done several things like Alanna:

• Created multiple social media sites
• Built my own websites for booking guests direct
• Synced all OTA calendars to my reservation management software
• Streamlined my workflow with auto responders (5-7 minutes per reservation is all I spend now!)

And I’ve done a few other things differently:

• Added a Touch Stay digital welcome book
• Sending a physical thank you card after guest departure
• Sending a surprise gift to their home address right after booking
• Joined my local Chamber of Commerce groups
• Built a neighborhood referral website
• Created lead generation guide books
• Completely overhauled the interior design of my original places

And just like Alanna, I’ve spent those countless hours learning what to do and how to do it in the best way for my guests.

One thing I have also learned is that this vacation rental journey is better with support, including learning from others who have gone before us and walked those difficult lessons already.

I've walked through a bunch of those difficult lessons:

• Double booking
• Missed cleaning
• Guest locked out
• Ambulance called
• Gun left
• Iced in
• Air conditioning broke
• Heater broke

And I still go on vacation every year.

That’s why Alanna Schroeder and I are back at it again with our fourth VR Mastered Vacation Rental Bootcamp — an immersive weekend of boutique vacation rental education to help you weather whatever the next decade brings.

You’ll learn how to do everything on my list above and lots, lots more. Plus meet some amazing teachers and friends, and have some fun while you’re at it.

Sign up today!