Keynotes by Casago

Speaker: Welcome to Keynotes, a
podcast just for Casago homeowners.

This is where we explore how to get
the most out of your relationship with

Casago, learn tips and tricks on how
to make more income with your property,

and learn a little bit about the short
term rental industry along the way.

I've been a vacation rental nerd since
my 20s, and the team has finally let

me have this podcast so I can share
everything I've learned with you.

I'm your host, Steve Schwab,
and this is Keynotes.

Hey, welcome to

Keynotes.

I'm your host, Steve Schwab.

Today, I'm with Jennie Strait from
Santa Barbara talking a little bit

about property management and her
personal philosophies on homeowners.

Uh, welcome to the show, Jennie.

Speaker 2: Hi, Steve.

Thanks for having me.

Speaker: Oh, I'm glad to have you here.

Jennie, you've been with
Casago now for how many years?

Speaker 2: Five years.

Five years.

Next month, yeah.

Speaker: That's fantastic.

Yeah.

Next month you get your blue badge.

Speaker 2: I do.

So exciting.

So exciting.

Speaker: You've been such an
integral part of the team.

It seems like five years.

It doesn't do it justice.

It feels like you've been here
for a lot longer than that.

Speaker 2: Right, right.

It's great company.

Speaker: Jenny, how'd you end
up getting into Kosago and what

was your background before?

Speaker 2: My background, I grew up in
the restaurant industry and it really

gave me that, you know, connection
with people that I always loved.

That's part of my nature,
to be with people.

And then naturally I went into
sales and did business in college

and I did outside sales for
probably, you know, 15, 20 years.

various companies.

And again, I loved being with
people and I always loved property.

So I kind of changed gears and I moved
back home to Santa Barbara from Orange

County, got my real estate license
and wanted to do property management

specifically and not do sales in my city.

And I found Casago when they came to
town and it wasn't the right timing.

So we have that funny story between
us that I was in your phone and I

was in Spencer's phone and we had
forgotten that we had interviewed

and then I found you guys again and
you know, it was destiny, right?

Speaker: So cool.

It absolutely was.

Yeah.

You've been such an integral
part of the team and the company

as a whole and all the cities.

Thank

Speaker 2: you.

I also did a couple of years
of, Long term rentals before

I came to short term rentals.

So I didn't know that.

Yeah, I did about two and a half
years there Yeah, that's great.

Yeah

Speaker: Tell us a little bit
about your family your background.

Did you grew up in Santa Barbara?

Yeah, we

Speaker 2: moved to my dad was in the
army He's an orthopedic surgeon or was

and my mom was a nurse So we traveled
a lot when I was small and we came to

Santa Barbara when I was six And my dad
started his practice there and I grew

up there and I'm still friends with
all, I mean, friends from, you know,

second grade, first, second grade on up.

So we, we have that in
Santa Barbara community,

Speaker: you

Speaker 2: know, great community.

Speaker: You can tell that
you really love Santa Barbara.

I

Speaker 2: do.

I'm very passionate.

And I can remember being a
small child and absolutely

being in awe just as I am today.

I'm very passionate about it and
excited about Santa Barbara because

it has so much to offer, yeah.

Speaker: You know, it really shows
when you are just speaking about

it, you light up every single time.

So, you came to Casago because
of the Actually, twice.

First time, it just wasn't the right time.

We were pretty small back then
that we, you know, we were really

weren't ready to hire anybody yet.

And then, boy, we were lucky that
when you came around, we were ready

to, to, to bring on a new teammate.

Tell me a little bit about your
personal approach when it comes to

delivering, like, a great experience
in the vacation rental industry.

Speaker 2: You know, I believe in
Casago's core values with the warm

welcome and the fond farewell.

And I love to communicate with
my guests and just let them

know that we're here for you.

We want you to have a wonderful
experience and please reach out if

you need anything at all and that
my team's always available for you.

When I create a welcome letter, I
have their needs and wants in mind

and I feel that I empower them with
all the knowledge that I give them

about the rental that they're in
and that's really important to me.

And to them because they, they do,
they feel empowered and they feel

comfortable in their surroundings.

And I think that gives them that warmth
and love and comfort of being in a home.

Yeah.

You know, cause they're not in a
hotel, they're in another home.

And then they get that sense of
home and warmth and love actually.

And they feel good about it.

Speaker: I love the fact that
you said love and warmth because

that really embodies a lot
of the way I see you operate.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

It transcends, yeah.

Speaker: Could you share a few
practical ways that you make homeowners

feel like they're top priority?

Speaker 2: Again, I use the same
philosophy that I've used my

whole life and that it's just
the way that I treat the guests.

I'm not afraid to tell homeowners the
honest truth about what they're going

to go through if they haven't already
been in the short term rental industry.

So I'm very honest and
I like to educate them.

So again, they feel comfortable.

They know what the process is going
to be as we go through it together.

And just that I'm here
to answer any questions.

And I want them to feel really good
about their choice to go with Casago

and to go with me and my team.

I do, I have to say the hard things
and, um, I want them to know that

Exactly what's going to go on.

And so there are no surprises.

So I'm very, very upfront and forward.

Speaker: I feel like when I always
hear about your interactions with

homeowners, especially in the beginning,
I feel like I could almost sum up

some of the things that you say by
saying it's hard conversations now

make for better relationships later.

Speaker 2: That's right.

Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.

I believe

Speaker 2: in that.

Speaker: Jenny, we have something in
Kosago called the owner centric model.

What does that mean to you?

Speaker 2: That means that we are
about owners first and foremost.

Honestly, we care and love our
guests and everything else, but

owners are the most important people.

You know, I take into consideration
there are wants and needs that I have to

educate my team on so my team understands
what's important to this owner.

Speaker: Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You're sort of the conduit.

Well, you're not sort of the conduit.

You are the conduit often between
the homeowners wants and needs.

And then send that expectations into
what it comes into operations, right?

Speaker 2: Correct.

Speaker: Yeah.

Correct.

Yeah.

What are some of the tools and
methods that you use to maintain the

transparent relationship and support
relationship with the homeowners?

Speaker 2: You know, I love to educate.

And so I educate the owners on all of
the aspects and tools that they have at

their fingertips from our back offices
and the way that we set up their home,

the way that we market and advertise
and the descriptions that we write.

And, and I always go back and forth
with them on, do you like this?

What do you, Want to improve on, they
know their homes better, uh, to a

certain extent, you know, I, I get
very intimate with the homes and so

do my team, but initially, you know,
nobody can tell me like they can't.

So I write and what do I
want the guests to know?

Then I cross reference with the
owners to make sure that I'm

hitting all the fine points.

Speaker: Do you have a memorable
story with a homeowner that kind

of highlights why homeowners
listening should choose Casago?

Speaker 2: I do.

And it's a recent one.

I have many, but this one really
just made me feel so good.

We had a guest come in to
one of our beautiful homes.

This was about three months ago.

And he came to stay at
Santa Barbara Serenity.

Beautiful property.

He got his welcome letter.

He got his check in instructions.

He got a personal call from us saying
hello and welcome and we're here for you.

Then a few weeks into the stay,
Jeremy had a few questions we had to

accommodate different things with the
owner for him, like getting his car into

the garage and taking their cars out.

Things like that, little things
that he really appreciated.

He, he called me organically
one day and said, Hey Jenny.

I really, really enjoyed
the check in process.

The welcome letter was so detailed.

All the information you put in about this
home, that I felt really comfortable here.

I happen to have ten units that
I am building in Summerland.

And I'd really like to talk
to you about onboarding those.

Wow.

Yeah.

So from his own personal experience about
how our company was run, how the action we

took for him consistently answered all his
questions timely through Airbnb, actually,

and then having the onboarding sit down
property management meetings with him.

consecutively over and over again
about how it would look to have his

properties in there and then going
on site and so on and so forth and

fast forwarding to me onboarding
those this last month and a half.

Speaker: That's such a great
testament to your hospitality that

somebody who's a guest Especially
with investment of 10 properties

and turning them all over to you.

And

Speaker 2: trusting us and literally
going out of the country for a month.

He left and said, here you go.

Wow.

Yeah.

And he trusted us to do the right thing.

And, you know, he came in
and sat down with Spencer.

In revenue management and got to see
how he works at the, you know, different

levels of revenue management and really,
it was so exciting for him and brought his

team in as well to get educated on Casago.

So I'm honored, very honored
to have him and his team and

Speaker: yeah, his properties.

It's beautiful.

Do you have any final thoughts to a
potential homeowner who may be listening?

Why they should.

Choose Casa Go.

Speaker 2: Casa Go brings so much
more to the table from boots on

the ground to owner platforms.

So you know exactly what to expect.

The transparency is incredible.

You know, we are always
there to answer the phone.

You know, we don't push things
off and we're always here for you.

Onocentric is a coined Casa Go
phrase and for many, many reasons.

And I just think that, The Google
reviews, I think we have 35.

They're all from owners.

They're not from guests.

So, you know, that says a lot about
us when our owners are available

for testimonies, they're available
to other owners for phone calls,

and they really love the experience
they've had with us, you know.

Yeah, so great,

Speaker: Jenny.

Thanks for coming on.

Speaker 2: Thank you, Steve.

Speaker: If a homeowner wants to get
ahold of you to find out more about

property management, how do they do that?

Speaker 2: They can contact me
directly via email@jennyatcaco.com.

That's J-E-N-N-I e@casco.com.

Cs a g com, and then my direct
phone number is (805) 701-8026.

Again, that's.

805 701 8026 and we'd love to talk to you.

Speaker: Thanks again, Jenny.