Today marks our 10 year anniversary of forming @airconciergeinc; When we first started homeowners/airbnb hosts could hire us on a per job basis; •Key exchange & house walkthrough; $50 •Trash take in/out; $20 •24/7 guest message/support: $25/day •Cleaning; entire home was based on $50/bedroom rate •No contract •Pay after service completed •Use us only one time Clients LOVED us and our business model. Of course they did. We were doing the hardest part of the job for the least amount of money with the lowest margins. It was a total shit show. $50 for a meet and greet and guests would show up 2-3 hrs late, because of flight delays, traffic, grocery stops, sightseeing. They wouldn’t bother calling or even know who to text. I made beds and wiped down windows, watered plants and swept doorsteps. I was texting with guests at 10pm when HVACs weren’t working, smoke detectors were chirping, and the almighty toilet backed up; By the way, during these start uo days, I was a CA licensed attorney and still running another completely unrelated business. Where I sat at a desk in La Jolla, from 8am-12pm, and my clients were big firms and funds from Wall Street to LA, eg (fortress, Oaktree, etc.) I was a made man. Why I would start a company in which I was the manual labor working at odd hours on evenings, holidays and weekends with risk in every facet for pennies, was utterly absurd and ridiculous. One hot summer night Claire and I bought 5 standing fans at 10pm from a CVS for a $1000/night vacation home in Del Mar that didn’t have AC. The owner was pissed we did that because “the VRBO listing description clearly said no AC was provided.” She wouldn’t reimburse us the $90 for the fans. We left them there. I tightened loose chair legs, gave restaurant recommendations, delivered welcome baskets, flowers, bunt cakes. Our biggest month was $4,500 on which we had profit of $950. Probably came out to $1.85/hr. I hired a guy named Steve at $18/hr to work alongside us and run operations. He quit after 40 days and having to run back and forth from PacifIc Beach to Rancho Santa Fe to check on a 5 bedroom cleaning that Sofia did by herself with a same day turnover and the owner wanted pictures and videos from each room from all 4 corners. It was beyond laughable but I learned everything in those 6 months that carried us through to today. We stopped running the business that way after 6 months and decided we would manage the entire property and all the moving parts for a commission of the rent. 10 years of blood, sweat, tears, lawsuits and tv shows, some of the best employees and owner clients I’ve ever met and a few of the worst. Our first two “real” hires (July 2015) are still with us today and are more like owners and close friends than employees. We aren’t here without either of them. Two other women on our leadership team have been with us for 5 & 6 years respectively. Warrior women, who manage the clients, business development — lifeblood of the company type stuff. We’ve booked 60MM in accommodations alone not including all the other taxes and fees. We’ve hosted over 250,000 travelers from almost every country in the world including a few movie stars, famous musicians, comedians and athletes. We’ve been a target of multiple acquisition attempts and have never raised outside capital. 100% family owned since day 1. We still feel like we’re just getting started and we’re obsessed with providing memorabilia stays in remarkable homes. Cheers 🥂 to another 10. (Year 1 pics 👇🏻)
@RyanDanz @airconciergeinc Congrats on 10 years! 🎊 I heard once the average vacation rental PM company last 6 years and then the owners sell from burnout typically. You have beat the median! 💪🏼
@RyanDanz @airconciergeinc This is the tweet I want to show my students during our entrepreneur unit. It is a lot of hard work.
@RyanDanz @airconciergeinc Thank you for sharing your journey. Congratulations on your amazing success!!
@RyanDanz @airconciergeinc Congrats on the anniversary. That's incredible!
@RyanDanz @airconciergeinc Impressive AF, keep going! 👊
@RyanDanz @airconciergeinc Congratulations, Ryan and team!! Absolutely incredible!!