Mark Lumpkin sits down with Shaun Shirazian, the new CEO of Lodgify — one of the biggest tech names in the vacation rental industry. Shaun shares his journey from hosting in San Diego to leading a global company from Barcelona, and breaks down the major shift happening in tech: from Software as a Service (SaaS 1.0) to Service as Software (SaaS 2.0).

You'll hear about:

• How Lodgify plans to make hosting easier through automation
• Why customer obsession is at the heart of Lodgify 2.0
• What’s changing and what’s not in the STR industry
• How Sean’s first 100 days shaped the future of the company
• Insights on global markets, regulations, and what's next for hosts

Whether you're a new host or scaling your portfolio, this episode is packed with real talk, future-focused insights, and a behind-the-scenes look at a major player in STR tech. Don’t miss it!

Contact Shaun: shaun.shirazian@lodgify.com
Follow him on LinkedIn: Shaun Shirazian
Learn more about Lodgify: lodgify.com

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Episode Sponsored By:
STR Search

STR Search is the industry leading property finder service. They've helped investors acquire over 215 profitable STRs across the US. If you'd like the data professionals to help you find your next STR, reach out to STRsearch.com

In this episode of the STR Investing Podcast, Taylor sits down with Pedro Rivera, Head of Acquisitions at Summer OS, to explore how his unique background in hotel acquisitions and build-to-rent communities shaped one of the most powerful tools in the short-term rental space.

Pedro shares:

• The key differences (and surprising similarities) between hotel and STR investing
• What institutional real estate gets right—and wrong—about short-term rentals
• How Summer OS was born out of frustration with unreliable data and plug-and-play tools
• Why accurate competitive sets, lot size, and submarket awareness are critical for STR success
• What most investors miss when projecting revenue and tracking performance
• Why operators must keep their hands on the wheel—set-and-forget doesn't work
• What’s next for Summer OS, including real-time variance analysis and revenue trend forecasting

If you’re scaling your STR portfolio, building underwriting systems, or struggling to trust the data, this episode is a goldmine.

Explore Summer OS: https://www.summeros.com

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Episode Sponsored By:
STR Search

STR Search is the industry leading property finder service. They've helped investors acquire over 215 profitable STRs across the US. If you'd like the data professionals to help you find your next STR, reach out to STRsearch.com

In this episode, Mark Lumpkin sits down with Jay Ullrich, STR operator, tech founder, and CEO of HostBuddy.ai - to unpack his journey from cold-calling landlords and scrubbing his own units to managing 45+ short-term rentals and launching one of the most advanced AI guest communication tools in the industry.

Jay shares:

• How he built a thriving STR property management company without outbound sales
• What he learned scaling from 1 arbitrage unit to 45+ managed homes in San Diego
• Why HostBuddy.ai was born out of late-night guest message fatigue, and how it works
• How today’s AI tools can help you reduce stress, automate communication, and increase profits
• Why HostBuddy stands out from every other AI chatbot in the space
• The challenges of scaling and how to maintain trust as you grow
• How to test HostBuddy live on their site (no signup required!)

Whether you’re just starting in cohosting or you’re managing dozens of units, this episode is packed with firsthand experience and future-focused insights that can save you time, money, and headaches.

Try HostBuddy's AI for yourself → https://hostbuddy.ai

Connect with Jay: jay@hostbuddy.ai | @hostbuddy_ai on Instagram

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Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share, and leave a review for the STR Investing, The Podcast so more hosts can scale smarter.

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Episode Sponsored By:
STR Search

STR Search is the industry leading property finder service. They've helped investors acquire over 215 profitable STRs across the US. If you'd like the data professionals to help you find your next STR, reach out to STRsearch.com