503. How Kristen and Michael Built a Standout STR Brand in Joshua Tree
Thanks For Visiting
Airbnb Superhosts Annette Grant & Sarah Karakaian
4.9 • 589 Ratings
🗓️ 2 October 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a market some call “oversaturated,” Kristen and Michael have proven that storytelling, strategy, and smart reinvestment can still make a short-term rental shine. The husband-and-wife duo behind The Seventh Ray House in Joshua Tree join Sarah and Annette to share how they got started, the risks they took, and how they continue to grow in a competitive space.
From renovating while living on-site to launching a direct booking website with Lodgify, Kristen and Michael break down the reality of building a sustainable hosting business—what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently if they had to start over.
You’ll learn how they:
- Balanced risk while betting on themselves in an uncertain market.
- Reinvested strategically with upgrades like a Nordic Warrior XL hot tub.
- Elevated their brand through professional photography and design.
- Built a direct booking strategy with Lodgify to reduce reliance on OTAs.
- Navigated discount requests, direct booking fears, and guest challenges.
- Shifted goals as their family and hosting journey evolved.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your hosting strategy, this episode will inspire you to think long-term, reinvest wisely, and bring pride and creativity to your rental.
Resources:
Lodgify – Build your own professional direct booking website and reduce reliance on OTAs.
The Seventh Ray House Direct Booking Site – Book directly with Kristen and Michael at their stunning Joshua Tree property.
Mentioned in this episode:
StayFi | Go to www.stayfi.com and enter TFV to get 50% off your first three months.
Minoan | Visit MinoanExperience.com and tell them TFV sent you!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Thanks for Visiting Podcast. |
| 0:08.4 | We believe hosting with Hart is at the core of every short-term rental. |
| 0:12.5 | With Annette's background in business operation. |
| 0:15.1 | And Sarah's extensive hospitality management and interior design experience, |
| 0:19.1 | we have welcomed thousands of guests from over 30 |
| 0:22.2 | countries earning us over a million dollars and garnering us thousands of five-star reviews. |
| 0:27.9 | We love sharing creative ways for your listing to stand out, serve your guests, and be profitable. |
| 0:34.9 | Each episode, we will have knowledgeable guests who bring value to the short-term |
| 0:38.7 | rental industry. Or we will share our stories of our own experiences so you can implement |
| 0:43.7 | actual improvements to your rentals. Whether you're experienced, new, or nervous to start your own |
| 0:50.3 | short-term rental, we promise you'll feel right at home. |
| 0:57.5 | Before we dive into the content, let's hear a word from our sponsor. |
| 1:07.3 | Want to stop giving away money in Airbnb and Verbo fees and actually own your guest relationships? |
| 1:12.4 | You don't need to be a tech wizard to make it happen. We use Stafi, and it's been a total game changer for our direct booking strategy. Every time a guest connects to the Wi-Fi, |
| 1:18.2 | Stafi captures their name, email, and phone number automatically. No awkward asks, no spreadsheets. |
| 1:25.4 | Just verify data you can actually use. And here's what's wild. We send just one |
| 1:30.1 | email a month to our email list and we always get two to three direct bookings from it. And that's |
| 1:36.0 | barely scratching the surface. Imagine what a weekly newsletter could do. Some stay-fi users have |
| 1:41.6 | boosted their direct bookings by over 35% and increase their occupancy by up to 20% just by using the tools inside of Stafi. |
| 1:51.2 | Stafi's new plug-and-play hardware makes set up ridiculously easy and the branded splash page gets your guests a hotel level experience. |
| 1:59.3 | So if you want to start marketing like a pro |
| 2:01.7 | and build a real guest list, not Airbnbs, this is how you do it. Head to stayfi.com forward |
... |
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