Updated on March 28, 2023
Whether or not you’re interested in investing in vacation rentals, you can gain some wisdom from Shawn Moore, CEO of Vodyssey, a vacation rental investment education company based in Salt Lake City.
His podcast, Vacation Rental Revolution, is brimming with motivational speeches to spur listeners to action and to fight for what’s important to them, whether that be time with family, exploring the world, or contributing to their local community.
In a recent episode titled “Are You Willing to Fight for Your Dreams?” he warned of the damaging effects of procrastination.
“Now is not the time to give up on your dreams, to give up on your goals, or to give up and do nothing about what you say is a priority,” he said in the episode.
“Think about where you spend your time. Think of the things that you say are important. Think of the things you say are priorities.”
When you procrastinate on something you say is important, he says, you’ve caught yourself in a lie because your actions show that “what you say is a priority is not a priority.”
“You will make time for whatever is a priority.”
This is a lesson he learned from his wife, Teresa.
“My wife really made me feel bad about saying I don’t have time for something,” he said. “She would look me in the eye and say, ‘You have time. … This is just not a priority.’”
For Shawn and Teresa, vacation rental investment was the road to prioritizing what’s most important to them – providing for and spending quality time with their family and having self-determination.
“I want to be in complete control of my life and to be unapologetic for following my dreams and living a life on my own terms while supporting, encouraging, and challenging others – starting with my kids, to live their lives chasing their specific dreams,” Shawn said. “At the end of my time, I want to be able to look back and say, ‘I’m glad I did,’ instead of ‘I wish I had.’”
Shawn now helps others in their journeys into vacation rental investing and chasing their specific dreams through Vodyssey.
He founded Vodyssey in December 2019, leveraging knowledge, lessons, and vacation rental advice he and Teresa had learned from their own experience in investing in vacation rentals since 2006.
Vodyssey, which now has over 1,400 members, teaches clients how to buy vacation homes, set up a business, underwrite deals, set up the vacation rental for guests, find the right property manager, and market the property.
Shawn’s family is a big part of the company.
Teresa directs the process of setting up new properties, including furnishing the homes and making sure guests have a unique experience during their stay. She is closely involved with local businesses and integrating them into Vodyssey’s customer experience. Shawn and Teresa’s son and daughter, who are 11-year-old twins, are the masters of ceremony on his podcast.
“I’m Wyatt, and I’m Grace, and you’re listening to the Vacation Rental Revolution podcast,” the children say at the beginning of each episode.
Investing in vacation rentals means investing in community
Shawn’s philosophy is, that investing in vacation rentals also means investing in the local community.
For instance, Shawn encourages investors to hire local property managers to operate their vacation rentals because doing so contributes to jobs in the community and because local property managers are more knowledgeable about professional property management and the community itself.
Guests choose vacation rentals largely because they want to have a unique experience. Shawn and Teresa make an effort to learn about the local economy and market in the areas where they own vacation rentals. They look for what’s unique about the area, including the local restaurants, shops, and activities that can help enhance a guest’s experience. That information is then included in listings.
“That’s a huge mistake I made for a long time,” Shawn said. “I was thinking if I had a really nice house set up like a model home that’s all I needed. Now we sell the experience. We’re showing those local restaurants. We’re trying to articulate in our listing what it would be like to stay in our property and the area it’s in, and that’s part of our listing now.”
Highlighting local businesses is also a way that vacation rental owners can help to boost the local economy and give back to the community, he said.
“We want our guests to be able to experience the amazing local communities and businesses firsthand when they visit one of our properties,” he said.
“At every one of our properties, we spend a few days going to the local restaurants, shops, and area attractions. We focus on the local, non-national brands.
“As a family we always find our favorites, and we make sure to highlight and recommend them in our guest books. We love when we find local artists and can feature their work throughout our homes.”
Being a good short-term rental neighbor
When Shawn onboards a new client, he emphasizes the importance of giving back and being a good neighbor in the community where they invest.
Noise-monitoring devices to prevent or quickly quash disturbances in neighborhoods and appropriate short-term rental insurance are two of the must-haves in any vacation rental business, he said.
Shawn uses Proper Insurance for his own vacation rentals and recommends it to his clients.
“Proper is the gold standard when it comes to the insurance side of this business,” he said. “ It’s very specialized short-term rental insurance, and business investors who are really taking it seriously will buy the gold standard. I don’t believe that there’s a lot of people that offer similar products or products that are niche-oriented to the short-term rental space.”
Proper is more thorough in how they offer coverage. It’s customized for things like if you have kayaks on the property, or if you have a deck.
“When we buy properties in our group, I always tell my clients to be a good short-term rental neighbor, so that when somebody’s like, I don’t like short-term rentals, you’re the one that tries to change their mind,” Shawn said. “It’s so important as this becomes mainstream, because there are some misconceptions out there that everybody’s just doing this to make money and take houses off the market, and that’s not the case.”
Download Rent Responsibly: Good Neighbor Guide
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This article is a part of our Forward Thinkers series powered by Proper Insurance
Proper Insurance leads the nation in short-term rental insurance, with over 100,000 policies written in all 50 states. Their policy covers vacation homes, townhouses, condos, duplexes, cabins, cottages, apartments and more. With expert vacation rental underwriters, they can tailor a policy specific to your short-term rental property.
