Built by hosts,
built for hosts.

Adapting to a changing hospitality industry:
Meet Host.AI
Cole Rubin
Co-founder, Host.AI
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Hi, I'm Cole. As a real estate developer and short-term rental operator, I co-founded Host.AI with an ex-Google engineer to solve a problem that I was experiencing in my business.

I want to share how I decided to build Host.AI and why I am excited about where we're heading.

My short-term rental experience

I first entered the real estate industry as a private equity analyst, managing broker relationships, underwriting assets, and assisting in large-scale acquisitions. However, in 2021, I left the corporate world of PE to go all in on a side hustle that was beginning to take off: my short-term rental business. To date, I've built 32 turn-key Airbnb properties that I have flipped and I currently manage 9 properties in Joshua Tree and Big Bear under my company, Ekwede Group.

This experience in building my short-term rental (STR) business has been as demanding as it's been rewarding. I'd be lying if I said it was easy. But the more experience I gained, the more I began to see how unnecessarily demanding the job was. And as someone who has a passion for optimizing time and money, I decided to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence to make my life as an STR operator easier.

The problem with guest messaging

As any property manager / host knows, your livelihood depends on the guest experience. Sluggish replies lead to disgruntled guests and the dread of negative reviews—not to mention the impact on my Airbnb SEO rankings.

The most frustrating part, however, is that I found myself responding to the same recurring questions from our guests: "What's the wifi password?" "Where should we dine?" "How do we check in?" And no matter how many automated responses I had in place, I couldn't avoid the never-ending cycle of identical questions which drained my time and energy.

I explored avenues like virtual assistants (VAs) and property managers, only to discover their limitations. VAs required rest and training, while property managers incurred substantial costs and couldn't guarantee round-the-clock availability.

My experiment with ChatGPT

In early 2023, out of sheer curiosity, I decided to paste one of my standard guest messages into Chat-GPT. The result was nothing short of astonishing. The response was not just coherent; it exuded politeness, formality, and eloquence. It felt like a sneak peek into the future of property management.

So I asked myself: why spend so much time on repetitive guest inquiries when technology could do it better and faster? That's when the idea was born – a revolutionary AI assistant tailored specifically for the hospitality industry.

And with the help of an ex-Google software engineer, I co-founded Host.AI.

What we are building

We are not making just another AI chatbot. We are building an AI-powered guest experience designed to boost your business's efficiency and your bottom line. What does an AI-powered guest experience look like, though?

  1. Seamless Integration: It needs to seamlessly mesh with my property management software, effortlessly acquainting itself with the intricacies of each listing.
  1. Turbocharged Efficiency: No more toggling between apps, no frustrating delays; Host.AI has to streamline communication by natively interfacing with Slack, WhatsApp, or SMS.
  2. Knowing When Not to Reply: In a world where mishaps occur, Host.AI has to discern when to remain silent and let the host take the reins. It could flag certain messages as Urgent, entrusting the response to the host.
  3. Continuous Learning: Beyond mere automation, Host.AI would be a dynamic learner, perpetually refining its responses and enhancing efficiency.
  4. Revenue Generation: Host.AI has to transcend mere automation and evolve into a revenue generator, adeptly upselling based on calendar availability.
  5. Multilingual Proficiency: It would shatter language barriers, facilitating seamless communication with guests from diverse corners of the globe.

This is my vision for Host.AI Host.AI. Luckily, with the speed of technology we are there, offering STR operators a revolutionary solution that not only meets but exceeds the demands of the modern hospitality industry.

Embracing what's next

My journey from a financial analyst in the real estate industry to a short-term rental operator to the founder of Host.AI has given me a chance to improve an industry that I have come to know well.

In the dynamic world of hospitality, staying ahead of the curve is essential. So, I invite you to join the growing community of hosts who have already harnessed the power of Host.AI and are reaping the rewards of automation, personalization, and convenience. Make your life easier, enhance your guests' experience, and maximize your revenue potential – all with Host.AI. It's not just AI; it's the future of hospitality.

-Cole

Me at my Joshua Tree property