The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with Elaine and Lance Stitcher of Seaside Vacations & Sales

In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show: How We Grow , host Lynell Gordon is joined by Elaine Mose Stitcher and Lance Stitcher , the co-owners of Seaside Vacations and Sales , to discuss their memorable experiences and their advice for new vacation rental professionals.?

Elaine Stitcher is Co-Owner, Marketing Director, and Realtor at Seaside Vacations and Sales, a full-service vacation rental management company. Lance is her fellow Co-Owner, as well as the Broker and Chief of Creative Solutions. Last year, VRMA voted them the Vacation Rental Management Company of the Year.

This episode is sponsored by Streamline Summit 2024 - Rhythm.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Every guest is memorable in their own way, but Elaine recalls one particular story that has stuck with her through the years.?

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they had a guest called Dale. Aged 90, he was trying to marry his sweetheart, but they kept having to reschedule. As the world opened up, the Seaside Vacations and Sales Team arranged for him to get married behind the office on the water. The story was covered by the local news, and every year, Dale and his wife come back to stay.?

"We threw together a wedding in the back of our office, right on the water for this couple … and it was the most incredible thing in the world." - Elaine Stitcher

As beautiful as that story is, there are always some negative and challenging times in a vacation rental company.

Lance recalls the story of the first owner they had to fire.

She was incredibly challenging to work with, and Lance and Elaine actually found out that they had gone through every property manager in the area, and they were the last willing to work with her. Their working relationship culminated in the owner accusing them of breaking into her closet and rearranging everything to mess with her.?

Despite the property being profitable, they realized it was preferable to cut ties, especially given how many resources it took to work with her.

"If you have one owner that is, well, 1/30 of your company but requires 25% of the work, it's probably best to cut loose." - Lance Stitcher

What You Need to Know When Starting Out

Elaine and Lance have three pieces of advice for new vacation rental professionals.

Firstly, trust your gut. You have to be willing to let go of owners, guests, or team members who aren’t working out. Just last year, Elaine and Lance kept on a challenging homeowner for too long. This owner ended up getting into an altercation with a guest, which was the final straw for Elaine and Lance, but they wish they had stepped in sooner to avoid this.?

“Follow your instincts. Your gut feeling, your gut instincts, are 9 times out of 10 right on from the beginning. Listen to the red flags. Pay attention.” - Elaine Stitcher

The second piece of advice is to build your brand from day one. Many new entrants delay this, but it is a crucial factor for scaling up. From the very beginning, Elaine and Lance put effort into building their brand, showcasing their authentic selves to attract like-minded owners, guests, and team members.

"One thing that we did extremely well was we began building our brand on day zero." - Lance Stitcher

Thirdly, take advantage of social media. Early on, Elaine and Lance relied heavily on social media due to budget constraints, but this worked in their favor. Guests and homeowners would leave positive testimonials in community groups on Facebook, which would encourage more business. To this day, they still utilize social platforms whenever they can.?

To listen to the full conversation between Lynell, Elaine, and Lance on How We Grow: The Vacation Rental Show, follow the links here:

Apple: https://apple.co/3WYoNHg

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4fVmgGq