Meet Sydney and her husband, Joe, from Porch Light Hospitality, located in Texas Wine Country. Porch Light is a family business and was conceptualized in 2011 by Joe’s parents. A few years ago, Sydney and Joe took the reins when business really started booming, and they currently manage all Porch Light properties. Their impressive portfolio includes 15 short term rental units across 5 properties, with plans to expand to 30 units in the next two years.
Explore the Porch Light properties:
The Gathering Guesthouses
Behrends Family Homestead
Austin Four Twelve
Grun Meadow
Orchard Street
Q: What are your biggest pain points as an STR owner?
A: Keeping up our standards and ensuring that every guest has the same 5-star experience across all units.
Q: How have you tried to differentiate your properties from other STRs and make them stand out?
A: Our area is very saturated with hotels and Airbnbs, so we’ve worked hard to carve out a niche for ourselves, operating more like a boutique hotel, with a curated experience with high quality service. We have 15 units across town but they all have the same Porch Light standard of service and amenities. We have guests that have come back to stay with us 5+ times just to try out different units because they know they will still get the Porch Light experience.
Q: What's your favorite thing about being an STR host?
A: Creating something that brings value to people’s lives - both through our guests and staff.
Q: What is the #1 most important thing for STR hosts to get right, in your opinion?
A: Service and quality. You can make mistakes along the way and most guests are really understanding as long as you make it right. Use a mistake as an opportunity to show guests your service, attention to detail and care. As far as quality, don’t skimp on the important things - especially guest facing amenities - pillows, linens, soaps, coffee. This will set you apart.
Q: What products and brands do you and your guests love the most?
A: Guests specifically comment on our beds, linens and local coffee, and our favorite Minoan brands are Comphy, Public Goods, Parachute, Article, and Wildsam.
Q: What's your favorite thing about partnering with Minoan?
A: The discounts of course, and the ordering process. It allows our team to keep track of inventory, brands we use and easy ordering to replace items that get damaged in use.
Q: What's one thing you know now that you wished you knew when you first started setting up your STRs?
A: Your STRs can be both efficient and unique. We’ve been figuring out along the way which things need to be streamlined across all units and which things should be unique to each unit. For example, large decor pieces can be unique, but guest-facing things need to be as efficient and streamlined as possible.
Q: Any other tips for your fellow hosts?
A: The difference between a good experience and a great experience is in the details.
Would you like to be featured in our host spotlight series?
Email us at partnerships@minoanexperience.com
