Join use at the STR AI Summit — June 23-24 at the Freedom Factory in Beverly, MA. 100 seats only strsecrets.com/aisummit

Mike Sjogren spent over $5,000 in API credits in two months learning AI the hard way. And he wants to make sure you don't have to.

In this Portfolio Clinic training, Mike breaks down the top 10 AI mistakes that cost him real money — from not understanding context windows to memory file bloat to giving an agent 15 tasks at once and wondering why nothing got done. He then walks through exactly how STR operators should be using AI right now across three buckets: getting more properties, getting more bookings, and getting more time back.

He also shows how he rebuilt his Florida direct booking website in under a day for under $200 using Manus, how his AI agent scrapes top boutique hotel social media content overnight and delivers a morning brief, and why the goal is never to build your own software — it's to use AI as a bolt-on to everything you already have.

DM Mike on Instagram @mike.sjogren and comment PROMPT to get the free PDF of all the prompts he used to build his direct booking website.

STR AI Summit — June 23-24 at the Freedom Factory in Beverly, MA. 100 seats only.

strsecrets.com/aisummit

Free 6-step course for scaling STR operators: https://level.strsecrets.com/pc-book

STR Secrets FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets

Timestamps:

0:00 - Why Mike Is Doing This Training (And How Much It Cost Him)

2:15 - Mistake #1: Not Understanding Context Windows ($6 Per Message)

5:30 - Mistake #2: Memory File Bloat — Why AI Gets Dumber Over Time

7:45 - Mistake #3: Using Your Most Expensive Model for Everything

10:00 - Mistake #4: Broken Cron Jobs — How to Schedule Tasks That Actually Run

13:00 - Mistake #5: Treating AI Like an Employee Who Can Handle 15 Things at Once

16:30 - Mistake #6: Not QC-ing the Output

18:00 - Mistake #7: Trying to Build Your Own PMS or Pricing Tool

20:30 - The 3 STR Buckets: More Properties, More Bookings, More Time

23:00 - How to Use AI to Automate Your Entire Prospecting Pipeline

27:00 - How to Use AI to Get More Bookings Right Now

30:00 - How to Rebuild Your Direct Booking Website With AI for Under $200

36:00 - How Mike's Overnight Agent Scrapes Top Hotel Content Every Night

39:00 - The 10 Rules for Using AI Without Burning Your Budget

42:00 - How to Motivate Your Team to Use AI Without Fear

46:00 - Where to Start If You're Brand New to AI

48:00 - STR AI Summit: June 23-24 at the Freedom Factory

🎟️ Join us at the STR AI Summit — June 23-24 at the Freedom Factory in Beverly, MA.

Only 100 seats. Early bird: $1,497.

strsecrets.com/aisummit

Tying your identity to your door count is the fastest way to burn out—or worse. In 2008, Rod Khleif lost $50 million. He calls it an expensive "seminar."

In this episode, E sits down with Rod to discuss how he rebuilt his massive real estate portfolio by fundamentally changing his peer group and his mindset.

Today, Rod's students own over 260,000 units, and he has fed more than 160,000 children through his Tiny Hands Foundation. He breaks down the massive demographic shift he calls the "Silver Tsunami"—why the demand for senior housing is about to explode, and how his team is acquiring assisted living facilities for $40,000 a door.

He also shares a massive wake-up call regarding Artificial Intelligence, explaining exactly how his own marketing team is using Claude AI to replace 95% of their manual workload.

Connect with Rod Khleif:

Website: http://Rodkhleif.com

Podcast: Lifetime Cash Flow Through Real Estate Investing

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rod_khleif/

Free 6-step course for scaling STR operators: https://level.strsecrets.com/pc-book

STR Secrets FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets

Join us at The STR AI Summit is June 23-24 at the Freedom Factory in Beverly, MA.

100 seats only. Grab your ticket: https://www.strsecrets.com/aisummit

Most STR operators have built a great lifestyle business. But here's the hard truth: only 1 in 10 businesses will ever successfully sell. The rest close and walk away with nothing.

In this Portfolio Clinic training, Mike Sjogren breaks down exactly how STR management companies are valued — and what operators need to start doing right now to build a business with a real exit strategy.

He walks through the EBITDA formula, the exact valuation metrics used by C2G Advisors (the top M&A firm in the STR industry), why rental arbitrage and co-hosting businesses get little to no value from buyers, and why private equity has been quietly acquiring STR management companies since 2022.

He also introduces the Freedom Collective — STR Secrets' own roll-up model designed to give operators a share of the upside instead of selling to private equity at a discount. And he breaks down how AI agents can automate an entire acquisition pipeline from property data scraping to sales call booking.

Free 6-step course for scaling STR operators: https://level.strsecrets.com/pc-book

STR Secrets FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets

She thought it had to be one or the other.

Career or kids. No middle ground.

Then her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at three years old.

And everything changed.

Jane Ng left corporate America to care for her daughter full time. Her daughter survived — but was left with a brain injury that means she will never be fully independent. Jane will care for her for the rest of her life.

So going back to a W2 was never an option.

Instead she found real estate. Then short term rentals. Then co-hosting. Then a coaching business helping other moms do the same thing.

Today she owns 4 STRs, co-hosts 11 properties, runs a coaching business — and is home every single day for her kids.

Here's what she shared in this episode:

→ How she bought her first out-of-state property for $50K while parked on the side of a road in New Orleans

→ Why STRs are one of the most powerful tax savings tools for stay-at-home parents

→ How she built a team that runs the whole operation — with just one weekly check-in call

→ How she structures her week so she is never tied to her phone

→ The mindset shift that stopped her from quitting when things got hard

→ How she uses AI to find her next STR market before she even talks to a realtor

→ Why hospitality — not just for guests but for cleaners, neighbors, and vendors — is her #1 secret

This episode is for every mom who thinks she has to choose.

She doesn't.

Connect with Jane:

Instagram: @theinvestingmom

YouTube: @theinvestingmom

Connect with us:

Free 6-step course for scaling STR operators: https://level.strsecrets.com/pc-book STR Secrets FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

4:10 - Introducing Jane Ng: The Investing Mom

4:42 - How Jane's Daughter's Diagnosis Changed Her Life Forever

6:21 - Why Going Back to a W2 Was Never an Option

7:03 - Parked on the Side of a Road in New Orleans: The Moment Everything Changed

8:20 - From Long-Term Rentals to STRs: The 1031 Exchange That Started It All

9:18 - Why Her Daughter's Illness Made Her Braver in Business

11:39 - The Middle Ground: How STRs Let Her Be a Mom and an Operator

13:28 - The Identity Guilt That Holds Moms Back — and How to Get Past It

15:10 - Her Morning Routine: Up at 5:30, Kids First, Business Second

18:01 - Portfolio Overview: 4 Owned STRs, 11 Co-Hosted Properties, 3 Businesses

18:25 - Why the STR Tax Loophole Is a Game Changer for Stay-at-Home Parents

20:32 - How Co-Hosting Started: She Said No 6 Times Before Saying Yes

22:06 - How She Built Her Social Presence as a Self-Described Introvert

25:49 - How She Manages Everything: VA Structure, Weekly Check-Ins and Time Blocking

28:07 - How She Structures Her Week to Never Feel Tied to Her Phone

31:07 - Start Small: How to Build Good Habits Without Overwhelming Yourself

36:46 - How She Uses AI to Find Her Next STR Market

39:19 - Her #1 Secret to STR Success: Hospitality for Everyone

📲 Connect with STR Secrets:

Free 6-step course for scaling STR operators: https://level.strsecrets.com/pc-book

STR Secrets FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets

Apply to work with us: https://strsecrets.com/apply

STR Secrets Podcast: https://strsecrets.com/podcast

Most luxury STR owners write that electric bill every month without ever knowing what's causing it. David VanWert did the same thing — until he built a platform to fix it.

In this episode, E and Chris sit down with David VanWert, founder of Umbra and owner of seven STR cabins in the Smoky Mountains and Mammoth Lakes. David built Umbra after spending years watching energy costs silently destroy the profitability of high-end vacation rentals — and after realizing no existing solution was built for the STR world.

In this episode David covers:

- What Umbra does: smart power monitoring and automation built specifically for large luxury STRs

- How Umbra integrates with your PMS to automatically cut power when guests check out

- Real results: 45% reduction in electricity cost per night, $620 saved in one month on one property, 30% lower bill YoY

- How silent system failures — clogged AC units, water leaks, tripped breakers — get caught before they become emergencies

- Why electricity costs in the Smoky Mountains regularly hit $2,000-$3,000 per cabin in winter — and how to stop that

- How David scaled to seven properties in under five years using second home loans, cost segregation studies, and the STR tax loophole

- Why the STR tax play — not cash flow — is the real opportunity for high-income earners buying right now

- David's full AI workflow: how he rebuilt his entire business from the ground up using Claude

- How he cut a 100-hour design project down to under 20 hours with AI

- Why he believes operators have a 4-6 year window to get ahead of AI before things get "weird"

- The time study method: how to audit every 15-minute block of your day and identify what AI can automate

- What happens to property managers and co-hosts when AI agents handle all communications, scheduling, and pricing

- David's #1 secret to STR success: tenacity

This is a rare conversation — equal parts operations, tech, and honest truth about where this industry is headed.

---

About David VanWert:

David VanWert is the founder of Umbra, a power-monitoring and automation platform built specifically for large luxury short-term rentals. He owns seven cabins — six in the Smoky Mountains and one in Mammoth Lakes — and built Umbra after experiencing firsthand how much energy waste and property risk goes undetected in high-end vacation rentals. His background is in technology and design, and he now splits his time between operating his own portfolio and helping other owners and property managers answer one simple question: what's running right now, and should it be?

Connect with David and Umbra:

Website: umbra-energy.com

Instagram: @umbraenergy

Facebook: Umbra Energy

Timestamps:

0:00 - Intro

1:22 - Introducing David VanWert and Umbra

5:28 - E's Michelin Restaurant Story: Service Is Black and White, Hospitality Is Color

9:06 - What Is Umbra and Why Did David Build It?

10:58 - The Real Cost of Running a Luxury STR: $2,000-$3,000 Electric Bills in the Smokies

12:49 - How Umbra Works: Smart Power Automation Tied to Your PMS

14:34 - Real Results: 45% Reduction, $620 Saved in One Month

16:37 - How Umbra Catches Silent Failures Before They Become Emergencies

18:34 - David's Background: From High-End Home Automation to STR Investor

20:26 - How David Scaled to Seven Properties in Under Five Years

21:58 - The STR Tax Play: Why High-Income Earners Should Be Buying Right Now

24:30 - Is the STR Market Still Worth It? What David Is Seeing Today

27:46 - How David Rebuilt His Entire Workflow Using Claude and AI

33:25 - From 100 Hours to 20: How AI Changed His Design Business

40:13 - The 4-6 Year Window: Why You Need to Get Ahead of AI Right Now

43:11 - What Happens to Property Managers When AI Handles Everything?

45:00 - Where to Start With AI If You Have No Tech Background

47:26 - David's #1 Secret to STR Success: Tenacity

If you haven't updated your pricing yet — your next booking will pay you less than you expect.

Btw you can grab the spreadsheet from here : https://www.strsecrets.com/airbnbfee

Also, if you want to talk to us directly: http://strsecrets.com/implement

In this training Mike covers:

- What the Airbnb fee change actually means: 15.5% host-only fee applies to nightly rate, cleaning fee, resort fee, pet fee — everything

- Why the split fee showing back up in your account is a bug — not a reversal

- The exact price increase you need to make: 18.34% minimum for direct owners

- How co-hosts and property managers need to handle this differently — and why checking the listing owner's account first matters

- The fee change spreadsheet walkthrough — how to model the right scenario for your business (comment FEE CHANGE to get it)

- How to split the channel fee with your homeowner so nobody loses

- How to track your Airbnb algorithm ranking after raising prices using Rank Breeze

- Why five-star properties make 18% more in RevPAR than 4.7-star properties — and how that matters more right now

- How Mike's portfolio is pacing 130% of June goals and 120% of July goals — and why

- Why now is the time to get on Vrbo — Mike is seeing 10% more bookings YoY from Vrbo this year

- How to retarget past guests with text messages and automated campaigns to offset any Airbnb drop

- Listing optimization basics: why your first five photos, your copy, and your reviews are your most valuable assets right now

This is the most important training for STR operators this month.

📲 Connect with STR Secrets:

STR Secrets FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets

Apply to work with us: https://strsecrets.com/apply

STR Secrets Podcast: https://strsecrets.com/podcast

Timestamps:

0:00 - What Just Happened: Airbnb's Fee Change Explained

1:16 - The Split Fee Is Not Back — It Was a Bug

2:23 - What 15.5% Host-Only Fee Actually Means for Your Payout

3:04 - Step 1: Increase Your Airbnb Pricing by 18.34% Right Now

4:27 - Step 2: Track Your Algorithm Ranking After Raising Prices

5:44 - How to Check and Confirm Your Fee Setting in Airbnb

8:21 - The Fee Change Spreadsheet Walkthrough

12:30 - How to Split the Channel Fee With Your Homeowner

14:26 - What Co-Hosts and Property Managers Need to Do Differently

15:12 - How to Make Pricing Changes Inside Your PMS

16:03 - Testing Price Increases: 15% vs 18% vs 25% — What We've Seen

18:01 - The Airbnb Algorithm: What Actually Moves Your Ranking

18:25 - Five-Star Properties Make 18% More in RevPAR

19:48 - Virtual Stays, Friends and Family Reviews and Algorithm Boosts

20:15 - Mike's Portfolio Is Pacing 130% of June Goals — Here's Why

21:03 - Get on Vrbo: Mike Is Up 10% YoY From Vrbo This Year

22:15 - Retarget Past Guests With Text Campaigns Right Now

23:45 - Listing Optimization Basics: Photos, Copy and Reviews

24:07 - Action Steps and Where to Get the Spreadsheet

Free 6-step course for scaling STR operators: https://level.strsecrets.com/pc-book

STR Secrets FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets

E just got back from the Unreasonable Hospitality Summit in Nashville — and this solo episode is his full recap.

Will Guidara wrote Unreasonable Hospitality during COVID. He took Eleven Madison Park from a nice restaurant to the #1 restaurant in the world — the only restaurant to ever go from one Michelin star to three in a single year.

His philosophy: service is what you do for people. Hospitality is how you make them feel.

In this episode E breaks down the biggest lessons from the summit — how to systematize hospitality so your team delivers it consistently, why hiring the person over the resume matters more than you think, how to build a culture of praise and feedback that makes teams want to grow, and why the magic moments your guests remember are never accidental.

He also tackles the AI question head on: the answer is not cutting your team — it is repurposing them to create more human moments in a world where genuine connection is becoming a scarce resource.

The episode closes with the question Will Guidara asked the room that E says called him to greatness: "What would you attempt to do if you knew you couldn't fail?"

Get the book: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara

New book: Unreasonable Hospitality Field Guide (released April 28, 2026)

Free 6-step course for scaling STR operators: https://level.strsecrets.com/pc-book

STR Secrets FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets