[Ep 8] Inspiring the Travel Bug in Everyone - VacaVibes

Superhost Unveiled

Daniella Morganelli got her start in the vacation rental business by traveling worldwide throughout her life with her mom. By visiting other areas she learned essential tools and tricks to make a memorable guest experience.

Two years ago she purchased a condo in Glen, New Hampshire that she transformed into a vacation rental. She had the intention to make it an Airbnb at the start and her realtor helped her find some properties that would be ideal for vacation rentals. D5 Vacavibes is ideal for skiers, hikers, families who want to enjoy Storyland, and all who love the outdoors. The story of this condo is a warm, cozy, cabin.

When first listing the property, Daniella admits that she hit the publish button prematurely. She got her first 3 bookings within 2 hours. They were working up to the last minute when her first guest came. Ended up not having the property ready which lead to a 4-star review for her first review. It took some time to bounce back from that. Anything less than 5-stars is a bad review in the eyes of Airbnb.

Today, Vacavibes has super host status. Daniella had her heart set on getting the status when she first published her listing. Despite the 4-star review, she was still able to claim the Superhost status.

Instagram plays a huge part in the story of this vacation rental. With other 5,000 followers, Daniella uses the platform to share her family's adventures in the White Mountains. Since starting it, she's used Instagram to host giveaways and contests which has helped her bring back reoccurring guests.

Using Influencer Marketing helped Danielle get some exposure for her property and Instagram as well. Influencers on Instagram get paid to promote businesses. She paid and offered a free stay to the Influencer she worked with and in exchange, the Influencer promoted her property and gave her the rights to all of the photos.

Daniella joined the White Mountain Attraction Association and her property is listed as a suggested place to stay. She uses her Instagram to encourage her followers to get out, travel, and explore new places. Whether they stay with her or somewhere else, if they were inspired by her Instagram it was a success.

Living about 3-hours away from her vacation rental, Daniella has thought of everything to self-host from smart thermostats to smart smoke detectors. Before starting, she did reach out to a property management company who told her that she could not run a social media account for the property which made her stay clear of property managers.

Not everyone is cut out to be hospitable. Many people who list their homes on Airbnb have a sense of "this is my house and my rules." Daniella believes that people are paying you to stay at the property and therefore you should do as much as you can to make them feel at home. For this reason, she has little to no house rules. To this day, she hasn't had any issues with the lack of rules. Each guest deserves to feel special and at home.

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