How Design Drives Bookings in Lake Tahoe | April Vogt

Speaker A: Foreign. Welcome back to Foundry Talks. I'm Rachel Stanowski and today I'm so excited to be joined by April Vogt, who is the co founder and owner of Modern Mountain Vacations based in Tahoe. So we're so excited to have you on the podcast today April and hear more about your story.

Speaker B: Awesome. Uh, thank you so much Rachel. I really appreciate you bringing me on today.

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So I guess let's just kick it off and walk us through how you ended up in Tahoe and hospitality. I know you have a background in restaurants and food and beverage. So how did you make that transition and just where did everything begin?

Speaker B: Yeah, so actually um, restaurants was my very first job. Starting out at age 14 and a half as a dishwasher and a pizza place and kind of worked myself, worked uh, my way up. And you know, over the years of course I, you know, got my through self through college by working in restaurants here and there. And um, after I had graduated, it was about the wrong time to graduate in the American economy. So I was able to find a job that was absolutely not well suited for me. After a lot of struggle was actually um, cold. Calling realtors and uh, sales is not my strong suit. And I was just pretty much miserable for about a year and barely making um, ends meet as it was commissions based. So I was like every week I was pretty much close to like getting kicked out of the company because I wasn't making the commissions. Oh. And um, after, you know I, it's so funny cause I had, I had a couple good months. It was right after my boyfriend broke, uh, up with me. So I was just really sad and mean. And then as soon as I got over it, I was back to like bottom of the barrel in the commission sales based company. So at that point I decided it was time to move and I had a few choices and I ended up um, in Tahoe to live here for one winter.

Speaker A: Amazing. And then what happened? Did you just fall in love with it? Decided to stay, something worked out career wise?

Speaker B: Yep. So the easiest thing to do in Tahoe, um, it's very hospitality based. Tourism is the main driver of um, most businesses here. And so the easiest thing to do for a winter was to work in restaurants again.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And so I kind of dove back in and um, was really successful. And um, yeah, I, it's obviously working in restaurants is a career, but um, it wasn't, you know, my main focus or career move was just to make a lot of money, enjoy my life in Tahoe. And one winter turned into one summer, and then the next summer turned into the next winter, and so on and so forth. And I continued working in restaurants instead of, um, let's say, quote unquote, finding a real job.

Speaker A: No, I hear you. Restaurants is, it is a real job and it's a hard job and you learn a lot and you.

Speaker B: Yeah, I, I agree.

Speaker A: So after doing that for, you know, a number of years, when, or I guess how did Modern Mountain Vacations come about?

Speaker B: Well, I guess there's a little bit of backstory, um, with my real estate purchases. So over time, you know, I was saving, saving a lot of money here in Tahoe working as a bartender. I bought a couple properties and a good friend of mine mentioned that I should probably be renting them out when I traveled. Uh, uh, we have two really marked slow seasons in Tahoe. So it's a great time to, you know, especially when you're a lot younger and you love kind, uh, of like a dirty backpacker life, uh, to go off to Central America and not a dirty life, but, you know, very cheap and, um, you know, a lot of grit. Happy, go lucky. Yeah. Life go off and, you know, kind of spend less money and experience the world elsewhere. And so that's what I did. And that's when I discovered, uh, renting my house out as a short term rental. Um, some years later, I, uh, had been approached by you know, several different, uh, friends and families who were asking for me to do the same thing to their house. And that's kind of how I started in the short term rental, co hosting side of things.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Uh, a few years after that, my business partner and I found out that we were just doing the same thing but unable to take vacations at this point. So, like, circling back to what I love to do. And I was kind of, I was stuck. I was stuck in a beautiful place and so was she. And so we decided to join forces, um, and kind of merge all the accounts that we had and came up with Modern Mountain Vacations.

Speaker A: That's amazing. And I know that there you are really passionate about design and infusing that into the properties. And how did that, or I guess how has that affected the success of your rentals?

Speaker B: Yeah, so my very first client was, um, a, you know, young man who was successful in real estate as well. And he had also been renting his houses out on, um, actually I think he had been doing direct booking first and transitioned to Airbnb as soon as it started becoming popular. And he, you know, quintessential kind of Tahoe guy, he would go to TJ Maxx Ross once a year and um, you know, kind of put the stuff in the house and forget about it. Right, yeah. And that he hired me first to revamp his house. Not to have anything to do with, with co hosting, um, or anything like that. And that's when I saw the opportunity in the market to provide something. Um, you know, there's a, there's a certain vibe that, you know, some mountain towns have and um, we see that today's consumer is moving away from that older cabin vibe. So I saw the opportunity to create something, something bigger, something nicer and something that appeals to our actual, um, touristic base that comes to Lake Tahoe. Yeah.

Speaker A: And I mean, what a transition to go from something that maybe just feels kind of like a cabin home, a little disjointed. I think maybe there's a level of expectation in that if you go to a mountain town, but I think you're, you hit the nail on the head with today's consumer. They're so much more savvy, there's so much more information at their fingertips that they are craving more of this picturesque stay. So have you found that the stays are converting better or repeat guests or longer stays because the properties are so much more beautiful and well put together?

Speaker B: Yeah, I think, um, everything you said we found, we found all of that. So we actually just launched um, two new properties, uh, one that is also owned by this same owner that I started with 12 years ago. And um, another couple client that um, you know, both had very beautiful homes. And we really push our clients to kind of lean into our philosophy and make sure that they're bringing it up to a certain level. And the amount of bookings that we've gotten in just being live in just a month is we're on track to almost beat almost any other house that we have in our portfolio. Despite all of them being well designed. Yeah.

Speaker A: Wow, that's incredible. And I think there's a lot of questions for people about when the short term rental space, like what's the best way to photograph them or do you do video or uh, you know, what have you found when you're designing these beautiful spaces and then they actually hit the market, like what has been the most successful tool for you in the way that you photograph them or push them out to market to see those kind of immediate reactionary bookings?

Speaker B: Yeah, I think the first thing is to think about, um, photography as really telling the story. And of course we have to have, you know, A certain portfolio, let's say, of listing photos that, that really, you know, out outlines the space and. Yeah, so the guests can see, you know, what rooms actually exist. But yeah, uh, more often than not they want to see themselves in the space, even if, you know, the person in the picture isn't them. Yeah. So in the last couple years we've incorporated lifestyle models. Um, we've worked with a variety of different photographers to get a ton of different shots and definitely going outside of the typical box of just real estate photographers. So one of our favorite local photographers is more based in action and sports and really capturing people's movement and. Uh-huh. We think that's translated really well into showcasing our home. Plus, it makes marketing so much easier. I know it's crazy how blocked I feel when I'm only looking at properties of, you know, or, uh, pictures of, of a bed or a couch. But then if there's, there's somebody sitting in the photo, then I can kind of start to tell the story around it.

Speaker A: I know it's interesting. We, we like to call those and no shade to Zillow. But we're like, okay, we need more than just the Zillow shots. Like, we know those are necessary to really go through so people have a super clear understanding of this space and what they're getting, if it's going to be a good fit for their family. But we need, we need some emotion into it. It can't just all be the horizontal, wide, overly saturated Zillow photos.

Speaker B: Absolutely.

Speaker A: So tell us a little bit more about the Tahoe collection and is there a process that you decide if, like, how do you decide if a property belongs in it? Have you ever been approached by properties that you actually had to say, you know, this isn't going to be the best fit?

Speaker B: Yeah. So there is a process and I think, um, we've kind of distinguished ourselves from other property management groups or co hosts in our market as well as potentially, you know, different from what I see online. And you know, my, you know, real estate, short term rental, Facebook groups, you know, people are of course doing things differently. Um, how we've positioned ourselves is that we're referral and um, on approval only. And the referral thing has worked out really well for us. Um, we do have great connections here and people see that we're making their homes money and are happy to refer us to their friends and family. And then we kind of do a three tier, let's say three phase system to onboard our clients. So we require all of our Clients to bring their property up to a certain level. Um, if they don't want to, then that's okay. We're happy to refer them to somebody else. And, um, while we're going through that process is when we are kind of, you know, dating the clients and them. And them us. So if it's not a good fit, um, at the end of like a full design, uh, stage, they are also welcome to go to a different property management or co hosting service. And as are we, um, welcome to, you know, not onboard them. And that's worked out really well to just lay that out in the beginning and know that there's no hard feelings. That hasn't happened yet. But, um, it seems to really work for our business model.

Speaker A: Yeah. And I feel like there would be at first a level of uncertainty, like, well, we just need to get more properties in the collection. Like, that's okay. We can make it work. But has holding your company to those standards really paid off versus just kind of taking anything?

Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. We definitely, um. I haven't thought about this morning. We definitely made some mistakes in the very beginning of when we founded our company. And maybe taking the wrong clients who either didn't. Not, um, not the wrong clients, but they either didn't fit our personalities.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Or, um, the home just wasn't exactly up to what we wanted to present as our grouping. So now we're able to advertise to, um, our clients that. That are coming up on board. You are part of, like, an exclusive collection.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And you're going to be part of something better. And you're not, you know, just one of 500 or.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Even one of 100.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And while, you know, scaling is great, we think we lose something when we scale past a certain amount. Um, being that it's just the two of us and we're not intending to bring on another person here, uh, you know, in the Tahoe area. Not to say that we don't have help with assistance and, um, people elsewhere, but, um, you know, once you get past a certain point, it feels like the home is just becoming a number and it's not grouped into, you know, it's. It's not as well distinguished as the unique offering that we've presented it at.

Speaker A: Yeah. Well. And I think as a homeowner, that is super valuable to feel like you aren't just one of 500. You and your partner, I'm sure they feel like that you intimately know their property. You know, you are passionate and really proud of what it is. What, How You've helped design it and shape it, uh, to welcome guests and create that guest experience. And I think sometimes I could imagine that it would be maybe hard for owners to kind of grasp the need to do that. But in the long run, that is going to create such a better guest experience, better reviews, more repeat guests, more bookings, and it will just be such a better payoff by doing all of that kind of work upfront.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. It's a big investment with time and with money, of course. Uh, um, but we've already seen the results of just what you explained and being able to know that when we're referring, you know, maybe we have a house that's not exactly correct for the guests that inquired, but we can refer them to one of our other houses and they're going to get, you know, a different style, of course, but same great design, same thoughtfulness, and the same hospitality will be there throughout.

Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, that's so cool. So kind of focusing a little bit more on the guest experience. So one of the things our team is most curious, uh, about because of the design and space planning background that really sets your company apart from other short term vacation rentals is I guess your perspective on how much the guest experience is decided by the design before a guest maybe even arrives.

Speaker B: I think, I mean, I think it's twofold with the guest experience and with communication. Um, Maybe let's say 50, 50 just to be fair there. Um, but because you are telling the story, the guest is experiencing this, this, you know, home, at this vacation home that they're hoping to book through the pictures first. We know that, you know, people usually make their booking decisions or at least put this house, you know, in their favorites within the first five seconds. So really eye catching. And then communication is, you know, being warm, welcoming and overarchingly just making sure that they know they're taken care of. I think would be the, the other half.

Speaker A: The other half of that, yeah. And on the communication front, is there a lot of pre arrival communication that takes place with the guest?

Speaker B: Yeah. So we are, um, really diving into more and more of that. And while of course we have systems and automated messages, I think one of our big focuses now is kind of identifying guest needs before, before they let us know what they are. And most, most guests actually do let you know what their needs are. But you might get, it might get buried in an automated message because they've told you why they're booking and who they're coming with and then you've just bombarded with them Asking for the information for their rental agreement and that's it. And that feels, or that can feel pretty cold and unwelcoming, I think. So our next big focus is as we have tools with AI and automation and assistance and things to make everything in the backend easier to really go back and more, more often than not manually look and figure out why a guest is booking, what they might need, and if we can provide recommendations to them before they even ask. That goes such a long way.

Speaker A: That's amazing. I know. I. We stay at short term rentals a lot as a family because I have extended family and anytime we do something all together, it's just so much more convenient to stay all under one roof than getting a bunch of different hotel rooms. And we joke and we were just staying at, um, for family function in Vegas and we're like, all right, who booked it? Who has the message with the wi fi? Who has the message for the checkout instructions? You know, because it really just, I, I think in when Airbnb was first starting and it was kind of first coming out, you really felt like you were staying in someone that, like their property that you knew and that has kind of been removed in just how everything has evolved. And it almost does feel like you're just checking into a hotel. You're just one of many. And so bringing that back, I think is going to be so interesting to see how the guest experience changes. And so we'll have to have you back on in like a year once you've really implemented that. And so we can talk about how that's changed. Because in all of our research, you know, Derek focuses a lot on the consumer research side of things. And what we're finding is that people are craving that human connection more. And those real interactions with people, especially in, with the rise of AI and everything, like kind of going back to just basics and human connection. Um, and so I think that that will also just be another way that you're really setting yourselves apart from the competition. Because I think at first the automated messages and everything were like, oh my gosh, this is so great. We can get back to people in an instant. This is awesome. But it does take away the human element of it. And like, no, we actually are know who you are, we know why you're coming to stay, we know what you need. How can we be of service, how we can be of assistance? And we're seeing that with some of our own clients, that those opportunities also give you a great space to upsell for certain services. So we see that you're coming with little kids. Did you know? Did you know we do fridge stocking prior to your arrival. Here's something we can offer you. And, and so things like that.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I don't know the stats on this, but I heard, um, you know, some percentage that of people will feel a certain way when they see their name written down in handwriting. And so we, of course, do not get to every house at every check in. And, um, we feel there's too much margin for error with asking somebody else to drop something off like this. But when we are at the house beforehand, maybe doing a quality control check, and we'll absolutely take the extra time to write a handwritten note and, um, welcome them to our home and, uh, let our guests know by name, like, we're so happy that they're there, that they're celebrating with us, um, whatever reason. And that, of course, takes time. It's maybe not efficient. Right. It's definitely, um, you know, 10 to 15 minutes to kind of go back in the messages and write a handwritten note and make sure you know your handwriting and you spelled everything correctly. But we found it makes a huge difference.

Speaker A: I know it's. I haven't thought about this in years, but my days working in house for hotels, we would write handwritten amenity cards, and, you know, different teams would write them based on why the guest was there or whatever. And then the GM would personally sign every single one. And sometimes there was a big stack, but, you know, those were some of the most shared things on Instagram. Like, people would take a little picture of their fruit bowl and water with their card with their name handwritten or the nice welcome note or something. And it got a lot of attention. And I think that that is. It's just becoming so much m. Uh, very rare to see that and to have that experience. And so I think people love it. It's almost like a little novelty. Like, oh, my gosh, look, someone actually took the time to write this down. It makes you feel special.

Speaker B: Yeah, I'd have to agree. I mean, I stayed at a hotel recently in France. I think it was part of a Marriott collection. Maybe, um, one of their, um. I'm not sure which collection it was part of, but one of the smaller brands within Marriott, and they came to my room with a handwritten note and, like, a little, um, mustard from the region. And then I thought about how many times I shared that with people, and it's at least 10. So I'm very sharing it again.

Speaker A: Again, it stands out for sure.

Speaker B: I love that.

Speaker A: Um, okay, well, my last question regarding, you know, hospitality and how you kind of got involved. We talked a little bit before we started recording about the impact of restaurants and how that can impact personally, you know, in really. It's a tough environment, but it really helps you understand people and hospitality. And so I, um, guess just last kind of question on this. What did. Do you think that there's one thing that that industry really taught you about hospitality that still impacts your decisions today?

Speaker B: Yes. Uh, one of the places that I worked at for a long time was, um, one of the ski resorts here, Sierra Tahoe. And, um, the general manager there, he's now moved on to, um, general manager of Ski California, I believe.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: Um, he was there for a long time, and he had the best employee trainings every, every year. And I was specifically in food and beverage. And he painted this story of the person. Um, let's say a family coming up to Tahoe. They've just been in the car for five hours. You know, their kid probably got car sick. There was, uh, there was tons of snow. They had to put chains on. You know, they're just trying to have a good time, and they're probably four hours late to when they started wanting to go skiing. So then they arrived to, you know, your restaurant, your bar, and they're just trying to get a hot chocolate and probably a drink for them. Yeah. And then you're not welcoming. And so you've just basically became the first point of contact to this person that has spent likely thousands of dollars to experience something that they usually get to experience only once a year.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And so it all comes back to, like, being that first welcoming face. And of course, I'm not perfect. And I've interacted with, with let's say, tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of guests. Uh, but that always came back to me. And no matter how busy I was, I tried to make the best effort to, you know, be the first welcoming face at any place that I worked in Tahoe to people who've, um, you know, are coming to experience one of the most beautiful places in, in the world. But it's taken a lot of time, money and effort probably to get there.

Speaker A: Yeah, no, it's such a good reminder. And you. It really sets the tone for the stay, that first interaction. And yeah, I love that. It's very powerful. And, um, I think you're so right. When you're just in it day in and day out, you kind of forget. It just feels normal to you. It's just part of life. But for people who have like, really taken the time to get there and, you know, they planned this probably months out and setting that, you know, being that first phase, setting the tone for the whole stay, kicking it off on the right foot. And is. Is a good reminder and easy, I think, easy to do. When you think about it, you know, as, as the staff and the employee, when you put it in that perspective, it's like, all right, yeah, I, I can smile and give a genuine welcome. It's not that hard.

Speaker B: Yeah. And as I'm, you know, as I'm sure you have and I have, you know, we've all been in that position where, you know, the travel to whatever location we're getting to is arduous and we're just trying to take that first moment to relax and then you don't have a good experience and it, it maybe sours that restaurant, that hotel, or even that space or even that exact place, um, for me wanting to visit again.

Speaker A: A hundred percent. Yeah. There's, um. And I think also when we talk about like, reviews and how word of mouth and referrals can be so important, I will get the stat wrong. But it's like, uh, people are so much more likely to share a bad experience with friends and family than a great experience. So if you can do any, anything in your power to kind of mitigate those bad experiences, it will happen. No one's perfect, like you said. But just also thinking about that, that, you know, how much more likely are they then going to say, well, don't go to this bar when you get in because the server was so rude or, you know, acted like we were, um, a pain or whatever, versus oh my gosh, we got there, they got a set up right away. It can just really make all the difference.

Speaker B: Absolutely. I think it's even. I've heard 10 to 10 to 1. I'm not sure if that's true either, but that's terrifying to know that.

Speaker A: Totally. I completely agree. Uh, okay, well, switching gears a little bit to something we're really excited to chat with you about. Um, the fact that you are actively pursuing a hotel purchase, which is big and exciting. Um, and we would love to just chat a little bit about that. Maybe if you can just start with what's kind of pulled you towards that decision or what made you even want to explore what that could look like.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So I, um, have loved real estate and all things real estate, um, since I started getting into it. I think about, you know, 13, 14, years ago is when I made my first purchase.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And really dove into, you know, renovations and then of course providing short term rentals. Maybe it's providing housing because I have done several construction projects, um, on small, multifamily and um, it's, it's an industry that I have found to be available to anyone and also available to any, you know, any type of risk factor. There's, I just feel that there's so much opportunity in, in real estate to uh, make money and do what you want to do. Especially, you know, if you're not into hospitality. You can do self storage. You can do really well if, you know, if you want to provide amazing, uh, places to stay in your community, you can do development or you know, maybe buy a small, um, you know, fourplex and fix it up, which is something that I've done a couple of times. Um.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So over the years I just started thinking about something bigger and also looking into how hard it is to buy a property now in Lake Tahoe market. Um, that pencils with our price points. And being that they're residential assets, they are very hard to get, um, the you know, down payment for. If you want to buy, buy one on your own. Yeah. So my business partners and I had, um, this is, um, some investments I have with other business partners. We decided, you know, we had almost gotten, you know, most of the value out of a couple of our properties and we were looking at next steps and hotels, um, was kind of a natural next step for me and I proposed that to my business partners and they were all for it. So that's, that's. Yeah.

Speaker A: And what, when you're kind of evaluating to do? I know with the cost of homes and just real estate prices in, in that area in general, that can be tough to keep acquiring properties. Is there something else that you feel like a hotel would give you or guests something that vacation homes can't?

Speaker B: Well, for me personally, I think it would give me the, the challenge to uh, kind of hone and use all the skills that I've been acquiring over the years and over the decades in hospitality, in restaurants, in construction management, um, you know, in design. So it's really something that's unique to, to my interest, I guess. And um, you know, I do see it as a great challenge, but I also love providing like, experience, uh, superior hospitality, let's say. Yeah. And being that it's a commercial asset, it also gives me the opportunity to potentially, you know, use different government programs in order to get the loan. Um, not fully dependent on my W2 income or my partner's W2 income and the opportunity to just you know, build something or renovate.

Speaker A: Um, yeah.

Speaker B: To a different standard.

Speaker A: Yeah. And I think that's. We were just chatting with a couple other guests who are building. They bought um, and are renovating a property in Page, Arizona. And they were like yeah, we had. It's a 50, I think it's 50, 50 keys. And they were like we, you know, come from the short term rental space. We didn't even know really what, what, what we were doing. But we met and it just kind of unfolded and there are so many benefits to it. And when they really, they kind of broke down even just as, as the owners or investors in the profit, like how profitable it can really be when you think about, okay, uh, everything's in one place. You don't have to have cleaners going to all these multiple properties. You know, you can have one centralized food and beverage offering. And so there's just so many, so many benefits. And I think it can feel overwhelming to people sometimes. Like oh my gosh, that's just so many more guests and so many more rooms and so many more things. But I think there's, there's trade offs. There's things that are obviously harder about the short term rental space when you've got all of these different properties and then things that can be harder about a hotel. But um, I think that there is, there is such an opportunity and I don't feel like it's adequately been the, I don't want to say the ease because it's hard but just the like you're saying with government assisted programs and just the, the opportunities that can come about to actually do it, like it's, it's not as complicated I think as people sometimes think. Like oh my gosh, to buy a hotel you need to have XYZ and all these things and to some extent you do. But I think it's also a little bit more attainable than people realize. Have you felt that as well?

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I joined a boutique hotel mastermind group that has been super helpful in um, you know, kind of proving that thesis that, that I can do it because people all around me are doing it.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And um, you know I, I met with just by chance contractor uh, that I really admire and um, has done great work on a lot of our homes here in the grocery store. And I was telling him about this plan probably about m. A year ago now and he was like, oh, it's, it's like everything that you've been working for is meant for this moment. And um, I think it was just like some kind of like light bulb for that. Switching my head to, um, have somebody else tell me that I'm uniquely qualified to do this, even though I am very confident in being able to do it. Um, that was like, you know, one of those things that somebody probably didn't think twice about saying, but kind of changed, um, the trajectory of my mind of like what I'm able to do.

Speaker A: Yeah. It's interesting when someone else points out the things that like your strengths to you, you're like, oh, yeah, you're right. So is there anything about this process of really, you know, looking to either build or acquire and renovate a hotel for a property that feels new or maybe a little intimidating to you?

Speaker B: Yeah, I think, um, the development side is not something uh, that I have a lot of experience in. Um, and so that's new. The lending side on, um, you know, such a big purchase. Well, what can be such a big purchase.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Is definitely, um, you know, scary at times. Um, but I'm blessed to have, um, you know, two business partners who are very hands on on that side, on the financial side and also the development side and just knowing everything that goes into it. So, you know, for a bit in my research, because I'm responsible for all the research and they're kind of open to the location provided it's a good purchase.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Was, uh, feeling, you know, like, am I alone in this? And then we were very close to getting a hotel that we were offering on. And I saw them jump in and um, kind of fulfill these areas in business that I'm not as well versed in.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And that I realized like, why we are a good partnership to do this. Yeah.

Speaker A: Wow, that's so exciting. Can you share a little bit about the location or.

Speaker B: Not yet this, uh, deal fell through. So, um, we had a, um, verbal acceptance of um, a really special property here in Tahoe. And we're at the end, we're beat out by all cash.

Speaker A: So, uh, those are all cash offers.

Speaker B: Yeah. Great learning experience. Uh, we, we did a lot of, you know, quick and really like, intense research at the time that we thought we might be getting it. And. Yeah, and that was great just to learn the process. But we are back on the hunt.

Speaker A: Back on the hunt.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: When you're looking at places or evaluating places that could potentially be a good fit, do you have any set criteria that's kind of. Okay. Baseline. This is what we're looking for.

Speaker B: Yeah. So this has changed over the time. And, um, now I'm kind of repeating these three words or phrases in my head of, um, to make sure that they're. They're fitting my. My boxes and. Or my guide box. Let's say, um, one of them is better and not necessarily like, better than the rest, but this is the opportunity to become better. Or it's um, you know, it's not maybe boxed in by, ah, you know, a location that can't be changed, neighbors that can't be changed. Um, it's definitely going to be in a better location. Let's say, um, it's not a typical strip mall hotel. Or the other word is unique. And um, I've always said that I've wanted either unique architecture or, uh, specifically some amount of land that maybe has view or something that can be built upon. Yeah. And then the other one is bigger, and that's bigger than, um, bigger than we initially were going after. So when we first started, I said that our buy box was maybe 12 to 40 keys. And now that we've looked at bigger projects offered, you know, been in the running to get bigger projects, it, uh, honestly just seems easier to go bigger because underwriting for not knowing if you can hire staff is terrifying.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Oh, man.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And so, okay, I, I feel like this is similar to what we heard recently. They said like, yeah, there's not that big of a difference if you go from like 30 to 40 or 50. So like the same mentality, like, go for 50, like go. Just go bigger.

Speaker B: Yeah, that is the, the plan. And of course, if you know, a very smaller, uh, more unique, um, you know, maybe the property we find is only gonna have three of these, um, attributes. Right. But we find a unique smaller but better property, then it can still be in the running. But ideally it's gonna have, um, all three of those aspects.

Speaker A: Oh, I love that. And are you hoping to stay in like, close proximity so that would be easy for you to get there, or are you kind to the U.S. i'm pretty open.

Speaker B: Mountain west in the U.S. is, um, my general focus being in the mountains, designing in the mountains, and kind of knowing the customer base, uh, I feel is my strong suit. So the Mountain west would be my go to. And then, uh, we are also looking in Europe.

Speaker A: Oh, so exciting. Oh my gosh, that's so fun. What, how exciting. And it sounds like that things will unfold when the time is right and you are very clear on the vision of what you're going for. And it sounds like everything's really rooted in strategy and so I can't wait to see what it is that you get and develop. It's going to be so exciting too. Uh, okay, so just a couple last questions to wrap it up. Um, for someone maybe earlier in their career in hospitality or in this world who wants to build something boutique and design driven. Any advice for them or any advice for people kind of just starting out where to start or what to think about if they're.

Speaker B: If somebody's really wanting to build something design driven, I think my best advice would be to um, design to your style and design to. As you're the guest avatar. Right?

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: I personally find it very difficult to design for. Um, yeah, a consumer that I don't know or that I can't relate to. You will not find me designing or looking at anything on a beach market.

Speaker A: Yeah,

Speaker B: I don't, you know, it won't be Florida. I don't understand the style and people make amazing products. Short term rentals, hotels there and um, I do not think I would succeed there. So I think it would just be staying in your zone of genius and, and designed to what you really like because people will feel that come through.

Speaker A: Yeah, I know Derek always says that and I'm going to totally mess up uh, the exact way that he says it. But dare to be different or lean into what makes you different and unique because you were never going to be everything for everyone. But if you can do one thing really well, that or that's different from the competition, that is what people are going to remember and that's what's going to resonate. So I love that advice. Just to stay in your. What did you say? Level of genius or in your zone of genius?

Speaker B: Genius. I love that. I love that. Um, okay.

Speaker A: And so we talked about the exciting opportunities with your purchase of a hotel or development of a hotel kind of backing, backtracking a little bit for Modern Mountain Vacations. What's next for Modern Mountain Vacations? Is there anything that you guys are working towards or other than, you know we kind of talked about really personalizing the guest experience.

Speaker B: Yeah, that is um, you know, marketing, guest uh, experience and let's say direct um, booking are probably our three top focuses in the end of 2026. So um, no, you know, shade to the OTAs. They have been wonderful for us and we've made a lot of money with their marketing. But given that we are providing something different and more personalized, we um, do have a huge opportunity to capitalize on um, by um, offering direct Booking. And you know, we found that people are enjoying our hospitality so much that we know that they, they are going to come back with us. So it's um, it's really exciting to have a very well rounded portfolio in the Tahoe collection and now to be able to, you know, reinvite our guests who maybe stayed at the 14 bedroom home. Of course their next trip to Tahoe probably isn't going to be with 14 people and say, like, we have this home that fits your, your family and your dog. Um, and we'd love to welcome you back here or, you know, are you coming with a smaller group, medium sized group? We have, we have the home for you and you're going to get the same service that you did last time.

Speaker A: Love that. And I feel like when you do take more direct bookings or those direct bookings come through, you're able to get so much more of that information and really connect with the guests. So it makes it easier to then offer those types of things. And for future stays, definitely.

Speaker B: And I think, um, yeah, a secondary would be, you know, where I would say, yeah, we're elder millennials, so we're um, you know, on the cusp of all this technology and maybe not the earliest adapters, but we've um, you know, definitely leaned in to, um, using more technology than we ever have before. But with the main goal being to be able to have more time to provide better hospitality and actually welcome people as opposed to, ah, overall efficiency as the goal, let's say.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And I think that that's what it should be used for. Right. Especially in the hospitality space where you're never going to be able to replace humans altogether in this world, in, in the hospitality world. And so to find ways to make it more efficient to then free up your time to be able to do. I say this a lot, but I feel like people in hospitality are people people, they are not tech people. And so to be able to use it to free up some of the, uh, administrative things that you get inundated with on that side, to actually be able to go and connect with the guests like that, that should be the goal. And so I love that that's kind of your guys's thinking as well.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker A: That's awesome. Well, April, thank you so much for being with us today. And if anyone listening wants to follow along or book a stay with you, where can they do that?

Speaker B: Yeah, so you can find us, um, on Instagram. That's Modern Mountain Vacations. That's also our website, modernmountainvacations. Dot com. Um, you'll find me on LinkedIn. And I'm also working on our company page on LinkedIn, so.

Speaker A: Amazing.

Speaker B: A little bit of tidbits there, too. Awesome.

Speaker A: Uh, we love it and we're excited to follow along with you on your journey to opening a hotel. We can't wait to see what that looks like. And thank you so much for sharing. Just such great insights and really, just straightforward, truthful things about what it's like in this space and things that have worked for you. I think a lot of people will find it really valuable, so we're just so grateful to have had you on.

Speaker B: Awesome. Thank you so much.