551. How Laura Wegner Built a High-Performing STR Brand in Whistler
Thanks For Visiting
Airbnb Superhosts Annette Grant & Sarah Karakaian
4.9 • 589 Ratings
🗓️ 14 May 2026
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Laura Wegner didn’t get into short-term rentals because it was trendy. She got into it because her business disappeared overnight during COVID.
What started as a way to survive turned into a highly strategic hospitality business in Whistler, British Columbia. Today, Laura owns and manages premium ski-in/ski-out rentals and is preparing to expand into boutique property management with a very specific vision.
In this episode, Laura breaks down:
- Why she stopped treating her STR like a side investment
- How understanding RevPAR changed her business
- The mistake she made with minimum stay requirements
- What finally clicked with PriceLabs
- How design, cleanliness, and hospitality justify premium pricing
- The exact mindset shift that helped her outperform competitors in the same building
She also shares the real numbers behind her growth and how Strategic Host helped her increase RevPAR dramatically year over year.
If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed by pricing strategy, or unsure how to compete in a crowded market, this episode is a masterclass in using data with intention.
Resources Mentioned:
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Thanks for Visiting Podcast. |
| 0:07.8 | We believe hosting with Heart is at the core of every short-term rental. |
| 0:12.8 | With Annette's background in business operation. |
| 0:15.1 | And Sarah's extensive hospitality management and interior design experience, we have welcomed |
| 0:20.3 | 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 rental industry. |
| 0:39.4 | Or we will share our stories of our own experiences so you can implement actual improvements to your rentals. |
| 0:46.4 | Whether you're experienced, new, or nervous to start your own short-term rental, we promise you'll feel right at home. |
| 1:10.1 | Hello, welcome back to another great episode. My name is Sarah, Eric Kahn. I'm Ann Annette Grant and together we are. Thanks for visiting. |
| 1:12.6 | Let's start this episode like we do each and every week and that is showcasing an incredible host. |
| 1:17.0 | An incredible host that is one of our clients in Strategic Host. And who are we sharing this week? |
| 1:21.8 | This week we are sharing Laura Wegner of at the sweetlife whistler or the sweetlifewhistler.com, |
| 1:31.4 | sweet being S-U-I-T-E, Life Whistler. |
| 1:34.6 | And she has an incredible ski-in, ski-out properties in Whistler, Blackholm. |
| 1:42.5 | And we want to highlight a few things about her properties. Number one, |
| 1:48.3 | she's in a building with so much very, very equal square footage amenities, but she crushes it by |
| 1:57.8 | diversifying her amazing hospitality, her obsessive, using her own words, |
| 2:08.0 | cleanliness, her design and amenities, and just bringing the highest value to her guest. And what I love about Laura, she does not pause when it |
| 2:27.6 | comes to investing in her property or herself. And I'm just really excited because she is doing incredible things with her |
| 2:38.4 | properties. If you go to Whistler, stay with her. But this is for anyone today. I love that one |
... |
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