‘I use Superhog to win over new investors and homeowners’
- US property manager
Cody Wood, COO of STR Accommodations, turned Superhog’s safety and security features into one of his company’s strongest selling points.
March 20, 2024 | STR Accomodations, US
‘I use Superhog to stand out and win over new investors and homeowners’ - US property manager
Cody Wood, COO of STR Accommodations, tells us how he turned Superhog’s safety and security features into one of his company’s strongest selling points.
STR Accommodations LLC specialises in property management for short-term rentals. They also offer tech support and “light” coaching for smaller operators and property investment assessments.
Cody's STR Journey and Challenges
Cody started his STR journey as a humble house ‘hacker’ renting out a guest room in his home, before joining STR Accommodations as a business partner.
“We basically exploded. My partner brought 75 properties in which he was managing with little technology, operations or systems. He was always on the phone. He was going crazy. He was the definition of a hectic host. We dialled back to 60 properties and ended up making the same amount of money we’d made with 157. We realised quantity doesn’t always equal profitability. It’s finding the right properties, homeowners, and investors and investing your time and energy to make these properties the best.”
How did you find out about Superhog and what first attracted you to us?
We heard Superhog founder, Leo Walton, speak on Clubhouse, which prompted us to book a call with him directly. After the call, we were blown away and knew we had to find a way to integrate this service into our offerings.
To offer safety and security policies to our homeowners, similar to the OTAs was a game changer and the biggest concern they had with direct bookings. It has allowed us to build confidence and trust with investors and made it easier to move guests away from the platforms and into direct bookings.
Which of our product features do you use?
We use damage waiver and guest screening for direct bookings linked through our PMS.
Damages are the nature of this business. It's going to happen. One of the things we were looking for early on was to make sure damage costs weren't coming out of our pocket, or the homeowners’ pockets. We also wanted guests to take care of the properties.
The fact that we have the damage waivers for most reservations is one of our strongest selling points when we talk to homeowners or investors.
We are a hospitality company with a hospitality mindset. We don't want to be chasing guests for money. So, it’s also great that Superhog handles the backend for us. We want guests to have a great experience, from the very first step they take in booking the property to when they leave. Without us having to go after them for small damages.