Alan Kleber
5/5
We would like to begin this review of Jodi Bourne with words and phrases that we believe best capture our experience with her: Expert, Coach, Mentor, Advisor, Multi-Faceted, Knowledgeable, and now we can say Friend. Now imagine having all these skills and packaging them with a person that has an amazing personality that is encouraging, warm, and kind. There you have it…. Jodi Bourne, an amazing consultant for owners that deeply desire launching and managing a successful short-term vacation rental business that provides amazing guest experiences leading to a profitable venture!
If you are reading this and considering connecting with Jodi, please allow us to share our brief story with you. We are hopeful that this is helpful! First some background, funny enough my bachelor’s degree is in Real Estate/Finance, and I sit on the Board of a top 5 University Real Estate Degree Program. I have been a practitioner of real estate consulting services for 26 years in my role as Vice Chairman of one of the largest global real estate services companies. I share this simply to communicate that my career and education has been entirely focused on “Real Estate”. Having said this, Megan and I realized that to be successful with our STR vision it would be necessary to assemble a sort of Board of Advisors that could coach/mentor us with the sizable knowledge gaps we had with operating an STR venture.
For the first year of our business planning, we joined a Master Class Program established by a seasoned expert in the STR space. We learned a tremendous amount of information from this program but believed we still required more knowledge and hands on guidance. We engaged Jodi in March 2024 and got to work! Wow what an experience – crafting property descriptions, launching social media channels, developing a website, drafting guest communications, and establishing a give-away contest to launch the property. Jodi is currently in the midst of finalizing an amazing website and setting up OwnerRes. All the above work was distinctly different than what was provided in the Master Class Program.
As if all of the above is not enough – Jodi also played an important role by instilling courage to execute our vision and to push our boundaries of pricing comfort. After much discussion and a lot of nudging, Jodi encouraged us to price our STR at double (2x) the price of nearby STR’s. Guess what – she was right! Since launching we are running at north of 85% occupancy and have received amazing guest reviews!
In summary, if you are thinking about having a discussion with Jodi – DO IT! Jodi, thank you for believing in our project and encouraging us to be BOLD….we are excited to continue growing with you!