The Guest Cast (Touch Stay)

Hannah, Touch Stay’s Creative Media Manager, hijacks The Guest Cast to shine a spotlight on the hosts who made her feel extra safe as a solo traveller.

From tonsillitis in Galicia, to catcalling in Cuba, Hannah has experienced it all whilst exploring new regions on her own. And she’s come to understand that there are ways hosts can make solo travellers feel more comfortable arriving in a new area.

With the rise of remote working making our working and living patterns more flexible, more and more people are choosing to take off on solo trips. Listen in to find out how you can cater to a growing market of independent travellers.

Now Recording:
Stories and lessons from guests about how an interaction with hospitality changed their travel.

Who will you hear from?

– Rand Fishkin with SparkToro
– John McElligott with York Exponential
– Alissa Cincotta with Behind the Shutter
– and many more.

Interested in being a guest?
Email hello@theguestcast.com with your story today.

In this short, yet captivating story, Mark talks about a delicate situation he and his family found themselves in while hosting – and how they really went above and beyond to help look after some vulnerable guests. In his words, it’s a story that “sums up hospitality to a T”.

If you haven’t heard about Boostly before, check them out here. For more direct booking wisdom, you can also follow Mark on Linkedin, Twitter & YouTube. 

Now Recording Season 2: Stories and lessons from guests about how an interaction with hospitality changed their travel. What stories will you hear?

• Communal living in Italy
• Long distance hiking in Austria
• Culture shock in Tanzania
• and many more

WHAT TO DO NEXT

• Subscribe to the podcast
• Leave us a rating and a review
• Share on your social media
• Send to a friend

Learn more about creating your own story-worthy experiences with your guests at touchstay.com.

Interested in being a guest? Email hello@theguestcast.com with your story today.

This week, we’re delighted to share a rather special A-ha moment, direct from our CEO, Andy.

Andy starts his A-ha moment by asking: When was the last time you surprised your guests?

He discusses the how, while hosts are often brilliant at hospitality, the day to day operations can get in the way in the “surprise and delight” moments that guests love.

Sharing his own experiences of being on the receiving end of this, he encourages you to put yourself in the position of a guest – and find those things that you know will make a big different to them.

Find out more about Andy by connecting with him on LinkedIn.

This week, we’re taking a look back on some of our favourite guest stories from 2021 - with snippets from guests such as:

• Co-founder of SparkToro and Moz, Rand Fishin
• HR influencer Gethin Nadin
• Editor of Behind the Shutter, Alissa Cincotta
• Speaker and Solutions Advocate for the travel industry, Johana Haugen
• and the adventurous travel bloggers, Dave and Deb from Planet D.

You can listen to all our podcast episodes at touchstay.com/podcast

In this weeks episode, we talk to Cassie Yeldham, a Brit who has made a (part time!) home in Cuba. 

While travelling to and from Cuba over the last few years, Cassie met her Cuban Cowboy husband. Now both located in the UK, Cassie and her Cowboy (also known as Ronnie offer various experience packages for tourists who want to really feel the magic of Cuba.

Listen as Cassie talks about its unique tourism landscape, touching on what both guests and hosts can learn from the successes and failures of Cuba, the new kid on the block when it comes to hosting. 

This week, we're back to our A-ha moments, and the Queen of Guest Experience herself is sharing some of her thoughts. 

Tyann talks about the importance of giving yourself some grace when it comes to opening a new vacation rental - after all, not even the 5 star hotels get it right every time. 

In this episode, our very own Touch Stay CTO Drew Pearson talks about two of his life changing trips to Italy - one where he to proposed to his wife, and another when he returned with his family some years later.

He talks openly and lovingly about how his love of Travel writer, Rick Steves, influenced the way he travels. He explains how he chooses not to follow the tourist routes "just because" and instead, following his own interests, resulting in far more fulfilling, and memorable experiences

In this episode, Tyann, Andy and Drew talk about how hosts can help their guests achieve this kind of experience. Tyann even challenges hosts to create a list of ways that guests can avoid the tourist traps and feel more Spanish, Italian - or, in Tyann's case, Missourian ;). 

We discuss how a dimly-lit cave and shopping at Louis Vuitton dramatically altered Alissa’s experience as a guest – and how she now applies the VIP feeling to her own business.

Alissa Cincotta is the editor of Behind the Shutter and the wife of world-renowned photographer Sal Cincotta.

Her captivating story takes us to the depths of a small winery in Italy and then on to Napa Valley during the California wildfires.

In our first episode, Alissa leaves Touch Stay hosts, Andy and Tyann, enthralled by a bottle of limoncello, and shares a simple technique that a luxury resort used to make her and Sal feel like VIPs on their honeymoon.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

• Subscribe to the podcast
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Learn more about creating your own VIP experience with your guests at touchstay.com.

Would you like to be a guest on The Guest Cast? Send your story to hello@theguestcast.com.

A velociraptor and the hum of robots greet robotics expert John McElligot on his arrival at a hotel in Tokyo run by a single person and a crew of robots.

The absence of human interaction propels him to discover why he seeks out interactions with the local bartender and others in the community.

In this fifth episode of The Guest Cast, hosts Andy and Tyann discuss the importance of human touch in guest interaction as technology rapidly increases in hospitality.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

• Subscribe to the podcast
• Leave us a rating and a review
• Share on your social media
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Learn more about incorporating human touch into your technology stack at touchstay.com.

Would you like to be a guest on The Guest Cast? Send your story to hello@theguestcast.com.

In this Aha-moment episode, Vacation Rental leader and Co-Founder of Vacation Rental Formula, Heather Bayer shares a story on how she became the "Bunkbed Baddie!"

Listen first hand about the importance of making sure your guests know when you make a change to your property... because you never know what they're counting on having in their property!

As an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) with a medal from the Queen, Julie Dean is no stranger to interesting experiences. In fact, she actively seeks them out. 

During their stay in Morocco, she and her daughter find themselves eating mysterious meals with unknown ingredients, saying yes to invites from strangers, and securing the most precious travel souvenir they could ever imagine. All this, while staying somewhere that was "not polished within an inch of their lives".

In the last episode of The Guest Cast Season 1, hosts Andy and Tyann talk about the role the guest plays in making a trip memorable, and what hosts can do to help enhance it.  

WHAT TO DO NEXT

• Subscribe to the podcast
• Leave us a rating and a review
• Share on your social media
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Learn more about increasing the happiness of your guests through the guest experience at touchstay.com.

Would you like to be a guest on The Guest Cast? Send your story to hello@theguestcast.com.

This week, we're bringing you a super short snippet - an "aha" moment from the Touch Stay team about something they've learnt about guest experience. 

This week we're hearing from Touch Stay's CMO, Kate Stinchcombe-Gillies.

Last year, Kate played vacation rental host for the first time, and learnt the hard way about why assuming her guests had understood how equipped her home was, wasn't good for her - or them!

And we'll be back next week with another guest story! 

Author and travel blogger Karen Beddow, talks to Touch Stay about some of her amazing adventures in Africa - and how she coped taking her young children along for the ride.

In this episode, the Andy and Tyann touch on the importance of expectation versus reality, plus the power of the Tour Operator - and how having someone to guide you in an unfamiliar place enhances experience. 

In her thought-provoking episode, JoAnna talks to Andy and Tyann about how a friendly innkeeper made her day, and how the length of her hiking trip reinforced how it's possible for guests to have amazing travel experiences in a sustainable and meaningful way - and how hosts can help tourists do this as part of their sustainability efforts.

This week, Jamie Sinton joins Andy and Tyann to talk beautiful cabins, travel influencing, and what luxury really means.

Jamie’s story starts with a cabin that wasn’t even available for her to visit. Searching for a place to stay with her family, she discovered a cabin that was still being developed. She followed its story on social media, getting to know the owners and the story of the cabin as it came to life.

When it was finally ready to rent, she booked it! On arrival, it truly met all of her luxury requirements. From the music playing as she entered, to the stunning furniture, to the labelled pantry.

Jamie discusses what luxury really means to her, and the importance of storytelling in showcasing holiday accommodation to guests. Discover how you can use channels such as social media influencers to captivate guests before they book.

Faced with a $150 fine for using Netflix, Wes and his family didn't feel welcome in their North Carolina vacation home. In fact, the strong fine for using the well known streaming service during their stay set the guest experience tone as stinky as a wet fish.

Founder of Nokori tech platform, Wes Melton had brought his family to the beach for a "workcation" during the pandemic. The multitude of signs around the property warning the family of what not to do made Wes feel like he was constantly under scrutiny and not able to relax.

In this fourth episode of The Guest Cast, hosts Andy and Tyann discuss proactive and welcoming messaging, human versus digital interactions, and setting expectations through positive guest communications.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

• Subscribe to the podcast
• Leave us a rating and a review
• Share on your social media
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Learn more about brilliant communications with your guests at touchstay.com.

Would you like to be a guest on The Guest Cast? Send your story to hello@theguestcast.com.

• Damian Sheridan – Director, The Book Direct Show & Scale Rentals Show
• Assaf Karmon – CEO & Co-founder, TurnoverBnB
• James Brown – Operations Director, UnderTheDoormat
• Bob Garner – Owner, Casal Dei Fichi
• Deborah Heather – CEO, Quality in Tourism
• Rachel Parsons – Founder, New Forest Escapes
• Simon Lehmann – CEO & Co-founder, AJL Atelier
• Leo Walton – Co-founder, SUPERHOG
• Jenn Boyles – Founder, Direct Booking Success
• Neely Khan – Travel & Hospitality Writer

Founder of Happy Apples, Joette Reidy, talks to Andy and Tyann about how her adventures on the Camino de Santiago made her less judgmental, and why she can't get enough of shared accommodation.

In this episode of the Guest Cast, VR guru Jasper Ribber discusses his stand-out experiences as a guest, which always find a balance of professional efficiency and quirky warmth.

A detailed check-in process in Singapore took the stress out of Jasper's trip before he'd even arrived in the country. Other trips, to Central and South America, stood out because of the enthusiasm of the local hospitality culture - Jasper's hosts really wanted him to have a wonderful experience. 

Join Jasper, Andy, and Tyann as they discuss the joys and the challenges of catering to modern vacation rental guests. They touch on how hosts can be both unique and professional at the same time - while highlighting the necessity of defining, and meeting the needs of, your "guest avatar".

Rand mistakenly leaves a note saying that he "beat up" a stranger's car in Italy, then later struggles to find his parked car, leading to a surprising conversation with the hotel valet.

The co-founder of SparkToro and Moz, Rand Fishkin and his wife Geraldine visit "the family" in Europe and get a deal on a high end hotel in the off season, but will there be savings when Rand crashes into a vehicle on their drive down the Amalfi Coast?

In this second episode of The Guest Cast, hosts Andy and Tyann discuss how family heritage and hospitality skills are intertwined into the guest experience.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

• Subscribe to the podcast
• Leave us a rating and a review
• Share on your social media
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Learn more about intertwining hospitality in the guest experience with your guests at touchstay.com.

Would you like to be a guest on The Guest Cast? Send your story to hello@theguestcast.com.

It's time for yet another A-ha moment from an industry expert in the Vacation Rental sector. 

And this week, we're delighted to have Bookster's Marketing Director, Kelly Odor sharing her fountain of knowledge. 

Kelly's snappy, yet invaluable insights about data and how you can use it to better guest experience and improve your vacation rental business overall - is a must listen. We hope you enjoy!

In this episode of the Guest Cast, Andy and Tyann talk to travel journalist and content creator, Jill Starley-Grainger.

In this "illuminating" episode (expect more puns like this...!), Jill talks about her wealth of travel experiences - and how there's a pet peeve she runs into time and time again... bad lighting. 

Join Andy, Tyann and Jill as they share several different "bad lighting" experiences, and discuss  how something so seemingly small can have such a profound effect on guest experience. 

In this episode, Andy and Tyann talk to the MD at Days out - Catherine Warrilow. In a conversation full of takeaways from Catherines travel story as well as her work in marketing - this is an episode packed full of lessons for hospitality professionals of all kinds.

As well as recounting her holiday booking nightmare, Catherine also talks about how her experience in marketing has led her to approach things differently in order to get on her audience’s radar, and gives some invaluable tips for you to do the same. 

From improving your trust signals, to asking the right questions, all the way to how you organise your content - there’s a lot to unpack in this episode. 

Tyann also challenges you to get in touch with that one thing you’re doing differently to make your guests experience easier, better, or more positive. Join the conversation on Twitter and Linkedin. 

This week, Andy and Tyann speak to Amber Hurdle, public speaker, author and vacation rental industry influencer.

Amber talks about how a journey to Europe to connect with her Italian heritage left her feeling completely at home - even though she'd never even been to Italy before! 

While Ambers' story starts with a deep longing to understand herself better through her ancestors, it unfolds into a conversation about ways vacation rental owners can tap into the history of their guests.

She suggests that by focusing on the heritage, background and history of a property or area, hosts can provide a unique stay that evokes a far more compelling guest experience - and make you stand out of the vacation rental crowd.

And - Tyann again challenges you to find the special, historical or cultural experience that is local to you - and make sure your guests know about it!  

Travel influencers Dave and Deb (aka Planet D) traverse the South American jungle on a small tour where Dave breaks his back on a remote section of the Amazon River and must be air transported by a tiny seaplane during a ferocious thunderstorm.

Not speaking the local language, Deb must rely on translators, the tour company, insurance agents, and local medical professionals for information on her husband's status as she arranges transports to safely get him home to Canada.

In this third episode of The Guest Cast, hosts Andy and Tyann discuss the incredible importance and value of travel insurance, especially when faced with a life or death situation from a simple accident that could happen anywhere at any time.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

• Subscribe to the podcast
• Leave us a rating and a review
• Share on your social media
• Send to a friend

Learn more about communicating essential emergency information for a better guest experience for your guests at touchstay.com.

Would you like to be a guest on The Guest Cast? Send your story to hello@theguestcast.com.

This week, we speak to Gethin Nadin, a UK based  award winning psychologist & author, HR influencer - and avid traveler.

Gethin talks to Tyann and Andy about his trips to New York and Tennessee, where he sought life-changing experiences and moments that would end up having huge impact on how he viewed his world. 

Debbie begins her A-ha moment with an “Ahhhh!” moment, when clear communications from her accommodation would have come in really handy.

In her own communications with her guests, Debbie strives for consistency and humanity. She recounts how regular messages, from the moment guests book, have helped her to build strong, trusting relationships with visitors.

If you can remind guests that there’s an actual person at the end of every communication, you’ll welcome visitors who want to look after your property.

In this episode of the Guest Case, hospitality expert and influencer Will Slicker talks to Tyann and Andy about his extensive experiences staying in hotels and short-term rentals.

Touching on how he feels that the hotel guest experience is dwindling, Will, Andy, and Tyann discuss what short-term rental operators can do to help keep the guest experience alive - not just during the more challenging times of covid, but on an ongoing basis.

Listen in as they discuss everything from the importance of branding and how well your photos represent your accommodation, to the importance of health and safety - and how the latter of that list often receives less focus than it should.

You can find out more about Will by following him on LinkedIn, heading to his directing booking website and you can even listen to his podcast The Slick Talk.

Heading to Galicia in Northern Spain, Hannah's trip is interrupted when she falls sick, leading to someone very unexpected doing everything they can to help her. 

In Season 1’s bonus episode, Touch Stay’s Content Editor Hannah Gardiner tells the story of her first ever solo travel experience.

Hannah heads to the north of Spain to enjoy the cities of A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela. After a few days of soul searching, eating “pulpo” and feeling free, she falls seriously sick with tonsillitis (and naturally thinks she’s dying!).

Alone, scared and bed-bound, Hannah explains how her accommodation host went above and beyond to help her, transforming what could have been a nightmare travel experience into an extraordinarily special one. She also explains how the experience gave her the confidence to continue travelling alone all over the world.

In this episode, Andy and Tyann discuss the importance of being able to anticipate your guests’ needs. They touch on the logistics of having procedures and teams in place to respond to even the most unforeseeable circumstances, without having to assume all responsibility when your guests get into trouble.

This week on the Guest Cast, you’re in for a treat! We’re bringing you another batch of Aha Moments - this time, from a selection of carefully selected industry voices, collected at last week's Vacation Rental World Summit in Porto. 

You'll hear from the likes of: 

• Antonio Bortolotti - The brain behind the VRWS event 
• Richard Vaughton from Rentivo
• Madison Rifkin from Mount 
• Manuel Lozano, Expo Renta Vacacional
• Greg Chuchra, from Tedee Smart Locks 
• David Jocoby from Hostfully 
• Dana Lubner from Rent Responsibly
• Roberto Bricio from Guesty 
• Raul Oliveira from Alep