FabStayz LGBTQ listing site, with Robert Geller
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
Release Date: 04/21/2019
Synta Keeling (under-represented host series)
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
Debi Hertert of Hosting Your Home podcast interviews Synta Keeling, Washington DC superhost. Synta deals with issues of racial bias as part of her hosting and shares her insights with Debi. This interview took place two days after the Capitol building insurrection. Synta has previously been interviewed by the NPR Hidden Brain podcast discussing bias as it exists within Airbnb travel, for guests and hosts.
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At Ease Rentals with Anthony Gantt (under-represented hosts series)
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
Anthony Gantt, US Marine Corps officer, created At Ease Rentals, a rental platform for Short Term Rentals accessible by government travelers. He was inspired by an experience of not being reimbursed for housing after a military chang in station and staying at an Airbnb. At Ease Rentals hopes to be the go-to platform for military and government workers who opt not to use hotels.
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C L Reed (under-represented hosts series)
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
Debi interviews C L Reed, a black host who explains some of the issues we can learn from, having to do with discrimination, fear, and lack of knowledge.
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Kevin Rhea (under-represented hosts series)
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
Debi interviews Kevin Rhea, a black host who explains some of the issues we can learn from, having to do with discrimination, fear, and lack of knowledge.
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Debi and Rob vs the Pandemic
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
Debi and Rob talk about the pandemic and how it has affected their lives.
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FabStayz and Drag Queen take over Portland!
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
We had an AWESOME photo shoot in Portland, Oregon directed by FabStayz founder Robert Geller, featuring airline flight attendant Danny Lee Cabrero as drag queen “Liquor Mini”, named after the little booze bottles on planes. It could not have been more fun! Robert was working on a publicity campaign for FabStayz and wanted it to be fun and attention getting. It worked! Danny visited 10 locations dressed in flight attendant drag, and photographer Carlos Camarena caught it all. The greater Portland area, with its supportive trade organization Host2Host, is the principal launch city for...
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HYH-52 “The Airbnb Way” with author Joseph Michelli
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
What company comes to an author’s mind after writing bestsellers about Starbucks, Zappos, Mercedes and Ritz-Carlton? Airbnb! Joseph Michelli became highly interested in the company and authored a book "The Airbnb Way". Joseph identifies the ways in which Airbnb engages with customers and builds brand loyalty. He includes both the view from inside the company and the view from the individual hosts who provide hospitality to millions of travelers each year. “The Airbnb Way” is a unique publication that is overdue - few businesses have been as disruptive as Airbnb and much...
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STR Advocacy Done Well - with Mark Rockwell
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
STR (Short Term Rental) Advocacy interview.
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FabStayz LGBTQ listing site, with Robert Geller
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
Debi Hertert of the Hosting Your Home podcast talks with FabStayz LGBTQ Listing Site founder Robert Geller, about his exciting, new STR platform. Robert has 10 years of experience with his gay travel company "Outings and Adventures". Through his personal Airbnb hosting experience and Airbnb travel, he saw a real need for a travel platform that would be respectful and safe specifically for LGBTQ travelers. He's inviting hosts to register, with the agreement that those hosts will be allies of LGBTQ travelers and make them feel welcome. Robert listed some impressive statistics...
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HYH-49 Meet Tyann Marcink!
Hosting Your Home - Airbnb host stories
Debi Hertert talks with her friend and colleague Tyann Marcink about how Tyann got started in the vacation rental hospitality business, and the many hats that Tyann wears. The two spoke in October, 2018 when Tyann participated in the . So listeners will find a wealth of information about vacation rentals, coming from a person who has now spent 10 years in the business and who teaches it in bootcamp workshops. Tyann is also the Community Ambassador for the TouchStay Digital Guidebook product for short-term rentals. Right after this interview, Tyann...
info_outlineDebi Hertert of the Hosting Your Home podcast talks with FabStayz LGBTQ Listing Site founder Robert Geller, about his exciting, new STR platform. Robert has 10 years of experience with his gay travel company "Outings and Adventures". Through his personal Airbnb hosting experience and Airbnb travel, he saw a real need for a travel platform that would be respectful and safe specifically for LGBTQ travelers. He's inviting hosts to register, with the agreement that those hosts will be allies of LGBTQ travelers and make them feel welcome. Robert listed some impressive statistics for the volume of LGBTQ travel that are included below in the show notes.
Robert expects the platform to be fully launched by June, 2019 in time for Gay Pride and the large amount of travel that goes with it. Hosts are invited to register at FabStayz.com during the beta version. FabStayz has a process for incorporating Airbnb listings into the FabStayz platform. Hosts pay a subscription price to FabStayz to be listed and attract bookings.
2:00 - 6:00 Robert talks about his gay travel company startup that followed a corporate job layoff in 2008. He started the company “Outings and Adventures” initially to offer activities for the LGBTQ community outside of a bar. They did paddle boarding, kayaking, tree climbing, sushi cooking etc. It morphed into the travel company and now they do things like a riverboat bike tour on the Moselle river!. He is also an Airbnb superhost and traveler. With “air quotes”, Robert said the first “adventure” wasn’t very adventuresome. It was attending the very first showing of the movie Sex in the City. He could only get 10 tickets, but those first 9 email addresses have grown into a travel company with 8,000 email addresses and 10,000 Facebook likes.
6:00 - 20:00 What was the origin of FabStayz? His experiences as a gay Airbnb host showed him the need for a hosting/traveling environment that is safe for both parties. His description of these experiences are compelling. He saw an opportunity to elevate the experience of the guest and host for LGBTQ travel. He knows that many LGBTQ travelers wait with anxiety to learn how the host might respond to an exploratory email such as “my partner and I”...waiting and wondering and worrying. Robert doesn’t want this to be the way it is. FabStayz is an LGBTQ brand, not a gay brand. Often a gay brand is hyper-sexualized, and FabStayz is not. Imagery, language etc on the platform speaks to everyone in the community, fun and uplifting. FabStayz is aligning with visitor bureaus and the LGBTQ chambers of commerce all over the country and are being well received.
20:00 - 25:00 An “Ally” is defined on the FabStayz website as a person who helps this cause. Debi mentions that crossing cultural gaps is difficult. Not everyone knows what to say or how to reach out. She asked about an educational component. Robert also points out that this is an opportunity for hosts to differentiate themselves to market to this community. He stated that LGBTQ travel accounts for $200 billion spent per year, 77% of the LGBTQ community have valid passports; and often travel to a Pride event outside their home community and stay an average of 4 days.
25:00 - 29:30 So how does FabStayz actually work? Robert describes how in beta, people can go to FabStayz.com and register there. The site hasn’t even launched yet but has support from the LGBTQ community of every ethnicity. Every "acronym" and ethnicity is represented on his staff, helping making decisions. What happens when you register? You are asked which platforms you are listed on, with Airbnb being the preferred platform to begin with. They discussed the possibility of direct bookings, as well as VRBO.
29:30 -32:00 When are you going to launch? Robert feels like they are just weeks away. Beta 2 is even more beautiful than Beta 1. For sure, Robert wants his FabStayz LGBTQ listing site to be fully launched by June, 2019 which is Pride month. It will be a great story to share around the world!
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