Keynotes by Casago

Steve V2: 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 twenties, 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.

Keynotes.

Casago is podcast for homeowners.

Today.

We're talking to Justin Ford.

If you're not in the industry, you may
not know Justin's name, but Justin is

infamous within the industry for safety.

And he's actually the safety expert.

If you ask anybody who's in the short
term rental industry as a professional.

Today's going to be talking about
seven things that homeowners can

do to help make sure that our
guests are safe and cared for.

And that we're talking about
safety looking forward.

So we're not talking about
liability, looking backwards.

Justin, welcome to the show.

Hey, thanks for having me on Steve.

Yeah, I've been working with safety for
11 years now, five years at breezeway.

My family owns a short term rental, so
I'm very focused on an understanding

from the perspective of a property
owner, how important it is to

address safety in your property.

, Justin, I think about what you do and
all the things that you've been able

to help with a lot of property managers
and especially us here at Casago.

And I think the measure of
your success is in those safety

incidents that never happened.

I know for a fact that there's a lot of
people out there who are walking around

a day because you've got to talk to the
homeowners or to the property managers

to make sure those properties were safe.

And a lot of homeowners and property
managers who didn't end up having

a liability because they were
proactive because of your coaching.

I think that's fantastic what
you've been able to contribute

to the industry as a whole.

I get a lot of calls about it.

Every time this topic comes up and you
just talking, it just goes right back.

You know, there was a dad who called
me because a property manager did

something with a property owner to a
property to make it safer and it saved

his two year old daughter's life.

And, uh, I was on the
floor when he called me.

I said, you're the guy
that recommended this.

And, you know, we did
this and I went, yeah.

And he goes, I get to walk my two year
old down the aisle someday because of you.

So it's, uh, I think
about that every time.

And that's why I'm here with you.

I feel like if I don't keep
going, that I might miss one.

So I'm very committed to trying to
make sure that we keep everybody

moving about and enjoying life.

How did that make you feel
when you got that call?

I was blown away.

I was actually at Whole Foods and
I was shopping and I was getting a

repeated phone call and I'm like,
I'll call whoever this is back.

And finally, you know, I answered cause
they kept repeatedly calling me and, and

they said, Hey, are you sitting down?

You're going to be blown away.

I'm patching somebody in
on the phone with you.

And it was the guest
and I was blinded by it.

I didn't know what was going to happen.

The thing I remember the most was a
security guard that they have at Whole

Foods, which I guess is there to keep
people from shoplifting or whatever.

I remember him helping
me get up off the floor.

He's, they, they thought something
had happened to me medically and,

and I was just, I was a wreck.

Having, having this person come
on and surprise me like that.

It was, um.

It was mind blowing and I've had that
more than once now, but that one's

always the one that stands out the
most because I don't know who he is.

He said his name.

I don't remember it and
they asked not to share it.

So I don't even know who he is.

I hope someday he reaches out to me
again because it meant a lot to me.

That's a phone call you'll
never forget your whole life.

And if you ever get any award.

For what you're doing.

That is the award that probably is going
to stand out the most to you as you one

day retire and sit back in a chair or
on the back of a boat somewhere fishing.

That's going to be one
of those big ones, right?

Oh, absolutely.

So Justin, thanks for coming
on today and talking to the

Casago homeowners about safety.

We're just going to write down the
list you gave me and talk to our

homeowners about things they can
do in their properties to make sure

that guests are safe and cared for.

And for number one, you
talked about smoke alarms.

Just real quick before I go into that, one
of the things that I always want to make

sure property owners understand, because
I get someone who owns a vacation rental,

their prime goal is to generate income.

And I've highlighted and broken
it out for years now that

you're looking at, Less than 0.

0083 percent of your income over
10 years going towards safety.

So safety is a small
amount that you need to do.

And in most cases, the investment
in safety is like maybe one week's

rental over a 10 year time period.

And I think a lot of
homeowners don't get that.

It doesn't cost a lot to do that.

I think it's really important just
to highlight just because you're the

local regulations or government isn't
saying you're supposed to do something

doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.

And it's very important to do that.

But smoke alarms are the
single most important item.

And when you're working
with a property manager.

You've got to understand if they've
gone through my safety program,

they get that there's different
ones that are out there and the

best ones aren't the most expensive.

And there's a reason for placing them.

What happened when, especially if
you built your home new, you sat down

with a contractor and he came down
with a price list and you said, Oh,

you know, I want that nice mantle
and we want granite countertops.

And he got to the safety
section and he did what's

called the basic safety package.

And that includes contractor
grade smoke alarms.

Most Short term rentals that I go into
have what are known as contractor grade.

They're the cheapest ones out there.

And it's because they wanted to
make sure they had more in the

budget for your marble fireplace
mantle or your granite countertops.

And so you gotta, you gotta go to
that next level because having the

best smoke alarms in your property
is critically important to making

sure the guests wake up and get out.

Now, Justin, we talked a little bit
before, and you said that there was.

Three different kinds of smoke alarms.

There's the ionic, the photo cell,
and then the dual detectors and the

ionic and the photo cells both have
different missions and methodologies,

how they detect it, but you thought that
the dual detectors are the best, and

that's what you put in your own home.

Yeah, so ionization, ionic ionization in
the photo cell or sometimes photoelectric,

those are two different types of sensors.

Ionization is using radioactive material
and it's zapping it back and forth

and it can detect smoke particles,
but it doesn't see flame very well.

Whereas a photoelectric
smoke alarm, Is using light.

It can see flame, but it
can't see smoke as well.

So the U S fire administration
has made a very clear statement.

You can see it on their website.

It's like the most prominent statement
on their website, us fire Marshall,

all the big guys in us government
that says dual detection, they

recommend that you have both sensors.

And fortunately the best and really.

Pretty most affordable.

They're on 30 bucks.

Smoke alarms that are sold out.

There are those dual detection
alarms that detect both ways.

They detect both fire and smoke.

It was so surprising to me when you
told me that the dual detectors can

often be cheaper than the others.

And that's the best one to have.

So what a great piece of information
to know, because quite honestly,

I would have thought like the a
hundred dollars smoke detector

would have been the one to go with.

And obviously not.

I think for our homeowners, it's
a great piece of advice for that.

And for those that, by the way, that
have a monitored system, which if I

had a short term rental, as I said, my
family has one, but if I personally was

setting up one, I would probably go with
a monitored system where you've got, you

know, like an ADT or an alarm company.

They do have dual detection alarms
as part of those systems as well.

So if you do have a commercial monitored
alarm and you're short term rental,

you can also request that your alarm
company installs the dual detection ones.

That's fantastic.

Now you can go and check mine
today at my house right now.

So, Justin, for number
two, you said egress.

So, right now, egress is probably
the thing that regulators, government

regulators, the people who write
the codes, National Fire Protection

Association, International Building
Codes, that's the number one thing

they're looking at because they're
concerned that Too many people in a

bedroom or a sleeping area could not
escape timely in the event of a fire.

Egress is not as much of a concern
if you have a sprinkled building.

That is, you have a fire sprinkler system.

If I was building a new construction,
if I was an STR investor, I would

be using a sprinkle system in my
rental property with PEX tubing.

Now they're so inexpensive
to do and even retrofitting

putting PEX tubing in that way.

You don't have to worry as much about
egress because if there's a fire, the

sprinkler system is going to come on and
that gives people the time to escape.

So if you don't have that, you have to
have two means of a way for someone to

get out of the sleeping area or bedroom.

And this includes open lofts, you know,
like in an, a frame, um, this includes

the basement one would be the door,
you know, I'm going to walk out the

bedroom door, the smoke alarm went off.

I got enough time.

Oh my gosh, it's on fire.

I'm out of here.

Two is that you have to have an
exit to the outside and that exit.

Has to be 5.

7 square foot openable door or
window has to be clear and it has

to be within 44 inches of the floor.

So really simple dimensions
there, then it can't be blocked.

So you can't like have
an air conditioner in it.

You can have the bed up against it.

I see that all the time, like in
tall and skinnies in Nashville, you

know, they've got these little teeny
bedrooms, the queen bed and headboards

up and it's blocking the window.

You can't do that.

So you've got to have a clear
way for someone in a fire to go.

I can't go down the hall.

I guess I got to jump out the
window and that's your egress point.

So one, making sure that
there's two ways out.

We talked a little bit earlier about
also making sure that the guests

know what those egresses are, right?

Yeah, absolutely.

If you're more than 20 feet above
the ground, you should have an escape

ladder so that they can get out.

Those are like 50 bucks, easy to get a
lot of different companies make those.

And it's really important.

I think if you can to indicate
that's what it is and focus on that.

A sticker's not that.

Offensive to put on the window, the
small three by three inch egress window.

Just get them to thinking about it a
little bit, you know, and you can have

the kind of stickers that you peel off and
put back on again when you're not there.

I think it's important to
make sure you highlight that.

I would certainly have
that in my rental property.

Cause again, these people have
given you the ultimate trust

when they come stay with you.

Why not make sure that
you're meeting that.

Yeah.

You know, Justin, I saw a piece
on TV where a gentleman, And his

family ended up having a fire.

And for whatever reason that
day, he just happened to remember

seeing the egress plan and it was
dark, uh, the lights were off.

They couldn't, you know, smoke going on.

And from his memory of just happening
to see the egress plan, he was

able to get him and his family out.

And you know, that one piece of
paper that he happened to look over.

May have saved him and his family's life.

Simple things to make sure
that the responsibility we have

to our guests is being met.

So Justin, for number three, this is one
of the more common problems that we run

into tripping hazards, tripping hazards.

I mean, it's in your own home.

You're most likely to get injured in
your home because you tripped or fell.

Over 50 percent of safety incidents
that happen to the human being, whether

you're in Bali, you're in Seattle,
or you're in Paris, you're most

likely to get injured in your home.

Or your condo or whatever, where you live.

That's where we spend
the most amount of time.

And so now you're putting
people in a property.

They're not familiar with, and we see
so many of these, the insurance claim

data shows that 60 percent of incidents
happen within the first hour of arrival.

And that's because guests are showing up.

30 percent of them show up after dark for
the first time, the lighting isn't good.

We can easily address that with
solar lighting, motion sensor lights.

There's timer lights out there now.

Things are so sophisticated now that
your computer knows you got a booking.

It knows that there's a guest arriving.

The guest can even tell you when they're
arriving and the lights can all come on.

So making sure they got a clear
path in there and that they're not

going to trip over anything, those
carpets that you want in there.

I know they look beautiful and
in your own home, that's great.

But when you've got a
short term rental in there.

It's really not a good idea to have
them get them out of the bathrooms.

Hotel industry taught us that back
in the eighties, let the guests put

their own towel down on the floor
and create their own trip hazard.

And the same for the kitchens.

You know, I know people love to put a
rag mat down in front of the sink, but

if it's just for looks, get rid of it
when you're looking at it and it's like

the only purpose is it is for aesthetics.

Maybe it's time to take it out.

Yeah, I think I've even told you
that even my mother fell over an

area rug and I'm convinced that while
I understand how they create space

and are attractive, those are one of
the biggest hazards we have in these

vacationals and just getting rid of them
so that we don't have this safety issue.

Is absolutely worth the consideration
for our homeowners to think about.

And the, unfortunately the
liability side is really big.

This is the one area where
lawyers are very focused.

I just saw a 2.

2 million settlement on a slip and
fall case in Pawleys Island, South

Carolina, at a short term rental.

America's live very litigious area.

They definitely look, you know, if
you don't have a good handrail going

up the stairs, that's a big one too.

So you want to make sure.

You go about the property
and you might do that.

You might have your grandmother come
over or, you know, the nice little

old lady down the street to make that,
uh, that's made you cookies before.

Invite her over.

See how she moves around the property.

And if she's having trouble, just imagine
a guest that you're not there to help

and coax around moving around there.

So it's time to spruce things up.

Yeah.

Or grandpa with the old man shuffle
as, yeah, grandpa, the old man shuffle.

Exactly.

As men, as we get older, we go from these
big long strides to these short shuffles.

I, I saw Bono on stage, you know,
from U2 doing the old man shuffle.

I was like, oh boy.

It only takes the thickness
of a nickel to create a trip

hazard, which is mind blowing.

That's a great statistic.

I didn't know that.

A thickness of a nickel.

Thickness of a nickel
can create a trip hazard.

Yeah.

You know, the, you just catch your toe
just at the wrong angle, get that short

step and suddenly you're falling forward.

Justin for number four, we hear
a lot about the safety issues in

the news, which is swimming pools.

What are the, some of the things our
homeowners can do if they have a swimming

pool to make sure that the guests are
safe and that we're providing the best

experience for our guests and the least
amount of liability for our homeowners.

Yeah, unfortunately, pools are
the number one cause of death of

guests in a short term rental.

And the statistics, I mean, the numbers
that we're seeing this year, this has

been the worst year we've ever seen.

It's bad.

And it's because these kids are
coming down here and they generally

speaking, they're going on vacation.

They're not used to having a pool at home.

They don't have one at home.

Now they're here.

They want to use the heck out of it.

And they want to use it even when
their parents aren't there and their

parents don't always want to be there.

Um, you know, they're coming down.

We know from statistics that 75
percent of North Americans acknowledge

that when they go on vacation,
they get intoxicated at least once.

And of those 90 percent of them said
they don't do that in their own home.

So they're coming to your home to sit by
your pool and drink and maybe get a buzz.

And they don't even do that at home.

And I know this is a hard pill
to swallow, but you really got

to go down to the Marriott.

You got to go down to the holiday Inn
and you see how they set up the pool.

That's what you got to do.

You got to have depth markers.

If you're not going to do depth
markers, a lot of insurance companies

require depth markers, but if you're
not, you need to have a sign says

what the depth of the pool is.

You need to have a pool safety hook.

Um, they're about 40 bucks and don't
Mount it like way on the other side

of the pool or swap it out with a net.

It's got to be in close
where someone can use it.

You need a life ring and
it needs a rope on it.

If someone's drowning and someone
can't go in the pool to get

them, you and I are healthy guys.

We both would do that if it was our kids.

So who's not jumping in the
pool, someone who's not healthy,

someone who can't do that.

And so they need a rope to pull it back
in and you need to make sure you've

got the water watcher program in place.

It's practically free.

The government even sends out cards.

A lot of property managers have them.

It should be on the counter.

When the guests arrive,
the card is a lanyard.

It goes around the guest's wrist
and it says, I'm watching the pool.

I'm not drinking.

I'm not going to the bathroom.

And if I do, I'm passing the card
to another responsible person.

And then finally it's access to the pool.

Most of the time when people gain access,
it's because the pool arms don't work.

People pull the batteries out
or the pool gates aren't closing

and latching as they should.

So making sure you've got secure
access to the pool is very important.

Yeah.

All great advice.

And, you know, I think those hooks are
so important because if you think about

it, often the children who don't know
how to swim is because the parents Don't

know how to swim and couldn't teach them.

So we see that one other quick
note too, is those darn pool toys.

Some of the leading insurance
companies now have come out

with a blanket statement.

You are not allowed to have
pool toys at the property.

And if the guests leave them behind,
you need to pop them and throw them

away, which is horrible for landfills.

I get it, but they're only allowing us
Coast Guard approved flotation devices.

So I know some people love that white.

Pegasus unicorn thing in the pool and they
look great in the marketing photos, but

don't leave those behind for your guests.

Yeah, that's good advice.

Justin for number five, he's
good fire extinguishers.

Property owners do not
like fire extinguishers.

I'm blowing the bet that probably
99 percent of the ones listening

to this are going to go.

Yeah, I do.

Yeah.

It's under the sink.

It's in a box or you don't even have it.

You might've seen that guy on Instagram.

Who's got that little can of
bug spray called prepared hero.

I call it declared zero.

I can't stand that thing.

Um, you gotta have big five pounders.

I'm sorry.

But you need a five pound fire
extinguisher within 30 feet of all

cooking appliances, including the grill.

And here's the great news.

They work and the renters
use them to save your house.

You're actually putting them out in
the property so that if there's a

fire, who cares how the fire started?

I don't care if the guest was drunk.

They were an idiot.

I don't care.

You've gotten guests coming in next week.

And so if they can put out the fire
and first save lives, we've seen that.

We've seen, um, many
short term rental fires.

I got the keys to the city down in
Chincoteague, Virginia last year, because

a homeowner listened to me, move the
fire extinguisher out where they belong.

And everyone says there's no way
that this house fire would have not

grown much bigger, except the fact
that that fire extinguisher came from

under the sink and got moved into
the hall that led to the outdoors.

The guests saw it.

They woke up to the smell of
smoke and they put the fire out.

And so the next guest came
in and everybody was happy.

So they work.

I know you don't want to hear
this after three or four weeks.

You don't even notice it there.

Yeah.

Often in a big, beautiful, luxurious
home, people don't want to see that fire

extinguisher and part of Casago's minimum.

Required items is having a fire signature
there, but making sure that placements

in the right area where guests can
see it, they have a mental note of it.

And often, if you see these fire
signatures underneath the sink

or somewhere inaccessible, often
that's where the fire starting.

It's hard to get in underneath
the sink or underneath wherever

it might be to get that out.

And now you're kind of blocked by
the fire in order to put it out.

And like you said, number one.

Is making sure that the guests are
safe and, you know, and our own

families that are, and homeowners
that are there are safe, but then

number two is property damage.

And number three is the rental
income that you could lose for future

reservations while the repairs go on.

So there's a lot of good reasons to
make sure those fire extinguishers, no

matter how big and red and ugly they
are, are out where guests can find them.

And I like what you said,
red, not the white ones.

Those white ones are for
your boat or for a car.

So they gotta be red.

Gotta be red.

Justin, for number six,
you said barbecue grills.

So barbecue grills, people love them.

When you look.

Barbecue grills in public use, the best
ones, the ones where we don't have any

issues are the ones at a campground.

And why is that?

Cause they're staked into the ground.

You can't move them.

It's a no brainer.

Someone brings a bag.

They dump it in, they light it and
there's not going to be any issues.

So that's the ideal situation.

And I do see an increasing number
of SDRs going in that direction.

But again, we're dealing
with luxury properties.

I know a lot of people want
that nice big gas grill.

My advice is to switch over to
the griddle type, at least the

flames not up in their face.

And we just saw an incident in Florida
where the renter couldn't light it.

The igniter wasn't working.

That's always the problem.

And they didn't realize they
hadn't turned the gas off.

They went into the bathroom
while they were in the bathroom.

The grill exploded.

Thank God the guy had
to go to the bathroom.

Cause if he had stayed out there, he
would have perished, but the grills

that are made out there, a lot of them,
unfortunately, aren't great quality.

The igniters fail in them.

You should never be leaving
them by the way, the lighter.

If your igniter isn't working, it
needs to be removed from service,

but we do need to recognize timers.

Gas timers are very important
placement of the grills.

Get them at least 10 feet away from
the properties if you can or away from

combustibles, but recognizing that they
are a strong point for combustion injury.

And damage to the rental property
is the first step and then make

a good choice on the best way you
want to go with the right grill.

Yeah, the two things I always look
at when I'm looking at barbecue

grills inside the properties from
a safety point of view is one the

igniter because the little batteries
go out in those igniters so often.

And then people are expecting it to work.

They leave the gas on and then they start
searching for something to light it with.

And just like the gentleman's
whose barbecue blew up.

The second thing that I always look
for is the O rings inside of the

connectors because they dry out.

Yeah, exactly.

That's great.

That's a great, I talk about that a lot.

There's some kid being paid 14 bucks an
hour to check those when he fills them.

And trust me, he doesn't see all of them.

And I've seen cracks and leaks in
them, um, up in lake of the Ozarks.

They lost a 13 million condo complex
from a vacation rental fire because of

that exact scenario, you know, where
they turned the gas on and it was leaking

in the, he hit the igniter and boom.

I treat mine a little bit with a little
bit of silicone when I get a chance

a little silicone keeps it fresh.

It keeps it from cracking.

And then if it goes bad, it's less than
a buck for a little packet of them.

These guests are crazy.

I've seen at least five videos
on Instagram this summer.

I saw one this morning where they
don't know what they're doing with

these things and they're, they've been
putting charcoal when the gas goes out.

That's yeah.

Well, the general public we're dealing
with when it comes to garage grills,

they don't understand them a lot.

So my, my advice is to keep
them as simple as possible.

You want a really awesome grill at home.

Great at your short term rental.

You're not going to have somebody calling
on canceling because you've got a charcoal

grill that's in a stake out in the ground.

And I got to go out
here to cook, trust me.

So think about a good grill.

That's going to be easy for them to
operate and not cause any issues.

Charcoal grills are great as long as in
the description, we put this a charcoal

grill, set the expectation for it.

Guests don't have a problem with it.

There's no big deal, but we have to make
sure that we put that in the description.

So if you're switching over to a charcoal
grill, make sure to let your property

manager at Casago know so they can
make sure that's in the description.

But that's a really good.

And one other quick one to Weber
makes a really nice electric grill

now that looks just like a gas grill.

They're about 500.

There's actually some locations I've
seen in Colorado at where they're

required to have the electric grills.

And if you're on an elevated deck because
they're not producing an open flame.

So those are worth consideration as well.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You have my own property in Rocky
point has the electric grill.

It does great.

And when not quite as great, but overall,
as long as it's not a windy day, it does

really well and obviously a lot safer.

So for number seven and the
last one is you, you talked

a little bit about products.

Yeah.

What do you mean by that?

So if you go on online and you
Google search hotel grade products,

you get millions of returns
and everybody knows about that.

You get hotel grade sheets, hotel
grade pillows, hotel grid, mastresses.

We don't have products for the
short term rental industry that

are short term rental grade.

So everything that goes into the
home is essentially made for the idea

that whoever buys it is using it.

In their own lives.

And a refrigerator is a great example.

Refrigerators are designed when you buy,
you know, like I'm talking about 000

ones, you might get it like a big box
store, a Best Buy, Lowe's, Home Depot,

at a Whirlpool or something like that.

Those are designed that they're
full of food all the time.

And yet in the short term rental
industry, we run them empty all the time.

And that requires them to run
that much harder all the time.

I go into short term rentals all
the time where I, the first thing I

point out, I'm like, you hear that
the refrigerator is running and

people look at me like, I'm crazy.

Like, why are you talking
about the refrigerator running?

I'm like, I just want you to know,
we're going to come back to this.

And like half an hour later, we go
over and I'm like, see, it's still

running and you open it, it's empty.

And it's sucking all the dust
in there, which collects on the

filters, which becomes a fire hazard.

And actually refrigerators are the number
three cause of fire in short term rentals.

So we got to clean them more.

The list goes on and on, but you
just got to take a better step back

as you're setting up your properties
and understanding you're using a

lot of the products in this home.

That are not designed for the general
public coming in and using them.

So we've got to use the right ones.

We've got to think about it.

We've got to realize that there's more
maintenance that's going to be needed

and be thoughtful about all of that.

Yeah.

A lot of the products are built for
residential, but really as short term

rentals, we had to think of these
as commercial properties, right?

And there is a difference.

And yeah, when you don't store
food in there, it doesn't store.

The energy that's put into that food.

And so it has to cycle
constantly to keep them running.

The one that blows my mind, Steve,
and you know, you're in Arizona.

I was just out there.

A lot of people take the refrigerator
that doesn't work very well, or when they

get a new one and they put them in the
garage, which is not air conditioned.

So now that refrigerator.

That they said, didn't do
a good job staying cold.

They'd be like, ah, it's for
the drinks for the guests to

put their beer and drinks in.

And now it has to run really, really hard.

And I've seen at least 10 fires from
those, especially Florida, Texas, Arizona.

So yeah, the refrigerator is old.

Don't stick it in the garage for drinks.

. It's time for it to go because you know,
the garage gets even hotter than outside.

And today it was 111 degrees out.

I bet you it was 125 degrees in my garage.

Justin, thanks so much for coming on.

I really appreciate you taking the
time coming in on a Saturday while

you're on vacation with your family.

Thank you so much again for talking
to our homeowners and making sure

that all of our guests and homeowners
are safe and well cared for.

I really appreciate being here.

I know someone's listened to this.

And it's going to take some action
that's going to make a difference.

And that's why I came on today.

And I appreciate being here to do that.

Yeah.

Thanks again, Justin.