VRS158 – Why You Need Emotional Gunpowder For Your Vacation Rental Business

After over 40 years in the vacation rental business, Twiddy and Co have amassed a lot of knowledge about what works and what doesn’t in the industry. In this episode, I talk to President, Ross Twiddy, about his experience with the family company, what’s behind its growth and success and what he considers to be the foundation of their marketing strategies.

From a handful of homes in the village of Duck in 1978, to over 1,000 properties in Duck, Corolla and the 4-WD areas of the Outer Banks today, the Twiddy story is one of persistence, strong values, and an adherence to a philosophy of hospitality. Ross shares how his father’s early influence, together with his own passion for the industry is shaping the company’s continued growth.

Over that time there have been plenty of changes in technology, management practices, and guest expectations, and when the company is managing the turnover of 96,000 beds and 94,000 bathrooms in a summer of rentals, systems need to be in place to handle challenges of any nature.

Given Twiddy and Co is considerably larger than my own property management company, I had plenty of questions to ask about working with that kind of scale, owner acquisition, and marketing strategies. Ross delivered some great answers.

We discussed:

  • The changing nature of vacation rentals in the Outer Banks
  • Why labour issues are a big challenge
  • The three biggest factors in running a successful business
  • How to stand out from the competition in a crowded market
  • Why he looks for emotional gunpowder when acquiring new properties/new owners
  • The elements that combine to create a successful owner/Twiddy partnership
  • Why you should know your data and hate your status quo
  • The power of web analytics and using them as a foundation for a marketing strategy

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Where you can find Ross:

twiddy.com

Website

@TwiddyOBX

Twitter

https://www.facebook.com/TwiddyOuterBanks

Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/twiddyobx/

Instagram

https://www.pinterest.com/twiddyobx/

Pinterest

https://www.youtube.com/user/TwiddyOuterBanks/

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Heather Bayer

  • Thanks Heather really enjoyed that one.

  • Lorenzo Caimari

    Thanks Heather ,great podcast ! very interesting