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Gifts Galore: Magic Bank and The HOST Partner to Make Your Guests Feel Welcome
Have you ever checked into a bed and breakfast, vacation rental home, or hotel and found a special gift waiting for you? Bet it brought an immediate smile to your face, right? Welcome gifts are a common part of weddings, bachelorette parties, and conferences these days because they set a celebratory tone right away. But…
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The HOST launches in New Orleans!
It’s the summer, which is the downtime for the tourism industry in New Orleans. That means there’s no better time to revamp your short-term rental to make it more efficient, lucrative, and manageable for you. After all, you probably got into the business to have more freedom while making more money, right? Let The HOST…
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Keeping It Clean: Tips from a Service Professional
Michelle Schindler is a busy woman. She’s a single mom to a teenager and helps take care of her 73-year-old father’s daily needs. She’s been with the HOST for a little over a year and recently promoted to Hospitality Cleaning Manager covering the greater New Orleans area. For homeowners, cleaners can often be the main…
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A Photo Is Worth A Thousand Words: Getting the Best Photographs of Your Short-Term Rental
If you’ve stayed in a vacation rental in the last 5 years, you’ve likely spent much of your time online looking at photographs. On many short-term rental sites, the photo is what attracts visitors in the first place. At the HOST, we can set you up with a professional photographer and stager to make your…
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Fighting Back with Facts: Understanding the Negative Image of Short-Term Rentals
Depending on what city you live in, you may have heard chatter over the last few years about short-term rentals being disruptive to the community. We want vacation rentals to enrich the local economy and create jobs for residents, and we’re sure you do too! So we sat down to talk to Eric Bay, President…
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Insurance & Your Short Term Rental
Homeowners who are renting out their homes are always “worried about the structure,” says Lauren Steinhardt, a producer at New Orleans commercial insurance broker, Gillis, Ellis, & Baker. “I’m worried about what if someone falls down the stairs.” When you’re renting out a property for vacation rentals, your regular homeowner’s policy just won’t cut it.…
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Is this Legal? What You Need to Know For Making Your Vacation Rental Legit
If you want to ensure the financial success of your vacation rental, that means knowing the laws, following the rules, and preparing for the financial hurdles associated with them. The HOST worked with New Orleans small business attorney Andrew Legrand to get the answers you need. Here are the four major issues he says you…
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Personality Plus: Building a Career in the Vacation Rental Marketplace
In the last few years, we’ve seen a boom in the share economy. People trying to earn extra income have turned to apps like Uber and Lyft to drive on their own schedule with their own cars. Young people looking to make an extra buck have started offering up their time to run errands on…
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A Home Away from Home
Samantha has her hands full running her own bakery in Pensacola, Florida, but she and her husband try to get away on short trips occasionally. Their favorite place to go is New Orleans, and it’s not hard to see why. “The property [we visit] in New Orleans is amazing. It feels like we live there,”…
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eBook : A Fluff-Free Guide to Short Term Home Rentals
We designed this guide to give people who are new to the short-term rental industry some functional tips from what to think about before purchasing the property through dealing with your guests. Think of it like a crash course. No fluff. Just honest advice. Please enter your name and email below to download the eBook.…