467: Hosting Across the Pond: Global Lessons from the UK Retreat
Thanks For Visiting
Airbnb Superhosts Annette Grant & Sarah Karakaian
4.9 • 589 Ratings
🗓️ 29 May 2025
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week’s episode is a special one—we’re taking you behind the scenes of an exclusive short-term rental retreat held in the UK at the stunning, historic Knowsley Hall. Alongside 17 founders, CEOs, and global leaders in the STR space, we got to talk shop, exchange ideas, and ask bold questions about where our industry is headed.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- How Knowsley Hall (est. 1385!) is blending historic preservation with modern hospitality
- Lessons from tech leaders who got their start as hosts—and the problems they built businesses to solve
- Candid insights on profitability, pricing, direct bookings, AI risk, and OTA algorithms
- Interviews with Ella (Autohost), Bart (Autorank), Phil (Futurestay), and Marc (Boostly)—all with actionable takeaways for your business
We asked them:
- What separates thriving hosts from those struggling right now?
- Is there hope for direct bookings—and how do we make it work?
- What tech is worth investing in (and what can you ditch)?
- What’s one trend in hosting that needs to die already?
If you’ve ever wanted an inside look at the STR industry from a global perspective, this episode is packed with high-level insight, practical advice, and some spicy opinions on what needs to change.
RESOURCES:
- Hostfully | Use Code TFV500 for $500 off!
- Stayfi | Provide an exceptional WiFi experience for your vacation rental guests
- Autohost.ai – Smart Screening for Hosts
- Autorank.io – Optimize Your Airbnb Ranking
- Futurestay – Simplified Property Management
- Boostly – Build Your Direct Booking Brand
- Short Stay Summit
- Knowsley Hall on Instagram
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel | Top 10 Amazon Cleaning Must-Haves for Your Airbnb
Mentioned in this episode:
StayFi | Go to www.stayfi.com and enter TFV to get 50% off your first three months.
Hostfully | Go to https://www.hostfully.com/tfv and use TFV500 to get $500 off your subscription.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Choosing the right property management system is a big deal. |
| 0:03.6 | And we did our research, try different platforms, and for years, |
| 0:07.7 | hostfully has been the best fit for our business. |
| 0:10.2 | It's not just a PMS. |
| 0:12.1 | It's how we run everything. |
| 0:14.3 | Managing listings across Airbnb, Verbo, and Booking.com, easy. |
| 0:18.9 | No double bookings, no stress. And let's talk about guest experience. |
| 0:23.6 | The custom guidebooks? They are game changer. Guests get check-in details, your house rules, and even |
| 0:29.9 | favorite restaurants before they have to ask. Plus, it integrates with everything. Guest screening, |
| 0:35.9 | direct booking payments, and even in-house damage waivers, |
| 0:39.1 | which you know we love. And their new inbox AI, it pulls from your guidebooks and property details |
| 0:45.7 | to help you answer guest questions faster. And right now, TFE listeners get an even bigger discount. |
| 0:52.4 | Hostfully just upgraded your deal to $500 off onboarding. |
| 0:56.2 | Yep, that means if you sign up for an annual plan, your onboarding is completely free. |
| 1:01.7 | If you go monthly, you get 50% off your onboarding fee. |
| 1:04.8 | So go to hostfully.com slash TFE and book your demo and grab the discount using code |
| 1:10.4 | TFE 500. The link will also be in the show notes. |
| 1:18.2 | You're listening to the thanks for visiting podcast. We believe hosting with heart is at the |
| 1:25.2 | core of every short-term rental with Annette's background |
| 1:28.4 | and business operation. |
| 1:30.0 | And Sarah's extensive hospitality management and interior design experience, we have welcomed |
| 1:35.1 | thousands of guests from over 30 countries earning us over a million dollars and garnering |
... |
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