Welcome to Boostly Podcast Episode 566.
In this podcast episode, host Liam interviews Tim Mortimer from B&B Made Easy. Tim has over 118 units in Australia and attributes his success to his growth mindset.
He believes that having a growth mindset means always thinking about the next step and how to develop oneself. Before starting his business, Tim was a school teacher and also worked in a boarding school. He noticed that there were many empty homes around, which belonged to farmers or boarding school parents.
This gave him the idea to start his B&B business. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tim's business thrived as many people could not travel overseas and instead traveled within Australia. He says that he loves the hospitality industry and is always looking to learn and share his knowledge with others.
Liam praises Tim for his quick business growth and asks him about how he spotted the opportunity. Tim explains that growing up in a thriving region with many opportunities and talking to the families of the children he cared for in the boarding school helped him to see the potential of starting a B&B business.
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Transcript from the Episode
Liam: What allowed you to do that? Scale up by the number of properties,
Tim: a growth mindset from the start. Um, you know, knowing that, uh, you know, uh, if you've got a growth mindset, you, you'll be thinking the next step all the time and how to develop yourself.
Intro
Liam: Hello and welcome to a new episode of The Behind the Host podcast.
The podcast where you can learn from other hospitality owners from across the world. And how their businesses thrive. So you can pick up tips, tactics, and some of the training that you can implement into your own business. So today I'm really excited cuz we are Bo uh, we're joined by Tim Mortimer, uh, from b and b Made easy.
And uh, he's coming from Australia, so all the way from the other side of the world. So welcome along,
Tim: Tim. Good, thanks for having me, .
Liam: It's a pleasure to have you here. Normally I give a great big introduction and, uh, Tim needs no introduction at all. He's a hospitable host. He's a best selling offer. Uh, he's got over, uh, well, he's got hundred and 18 units in Australia, but what I'm going do is not steal too much funder from him.
I'm gonna let him, uh, introduce himself and his business. And, uh, tell us a bit about yourself then, Tim.
Tim Intro
Tim: Yeah. First of all, thanks very much for having me. I, uh, asked Hospit blows. We've all, um, we've got our own little sort of community going on and really enjoy crossing paths from time to time. So, you know, when I got this opportunity to speak I jumped at it.
So thank you very much. Um, I'm Tim Moer. I'm in, uh, orange in New South Wales, uh, in a. Orange is a town, um, about four hours drive west of Sydney. So, um, in the middle of the lockdowns, we, although it hurt for some periods, uh, we also had periods of intense travel where, um, you know, Australia's borders were closed, even state borders were closed, and we got a lot of Sydney insiders come in.
So, Um, luckily for us, we had, oh, I had started the business um, a couple of years earlier and then had gained the knowledge and were re and was ready to grow, um, and handled the workload. So we actually thrived during that covid sort of between lockdown time in Australia. Um, and con yeah, lo loved the industry and just continuing to, to thrive and learn as much as they can and, and obviously pass on as much as they can as well.
Cause I think we can all help each other.
Liam: And, uh, Tim, I think you're being modest there. You're a superstar When it comes down to the how quick your business is has grown and, uh, just for what, what did you do? Take us back to before, um, before you got into the business, what was your career and how did you, how did you get into this?
How did you spot the opportunity?
Tim: Yeah, so Grow, I grew up in this town, in, in Orange. It's a Food and Widen region, and there's a few other industries. So it's, it's always been kind of, um, growing and thriving. So a lot of opportunity, let's put it that way. Um, similar, similar to you, I, I, I was, um, struggling to, I was struggling, but looking after, trying to look after [00:03:00] my family and, and, you know, wouldn't do as much as I could, um, look for opportunities and, you know, I was a school teacher, a PE teacher, um, you know, which, which was, was.
I enjoyed the role. Um, had to take up a, a, a second job in the boarding school. Uh, you know, looking after the, the kids, uh, who were, who were doing, uh, you know, o overnight care and things like that. Um, so working very long hours and, um, and then the, the, a lot of the farmers around the town, they send their kids in, uh, and got talking to the families and then earn, learnt that orange, and I knew this anyway, but orange has a lot of homes that, that just sit empty.
When those, uh, farmers or borders parents come to visit, they use it for that, that that's their investment in their sort of holiday home or you know, their place to see their kids. So, Uh, yeah. Being Light Globe moment, I thought, geez, uh, you know, and I was, this is how I think as well. So I finally thought of an idea that, that might have a bit of traction and, um, haven't stopped thinking about it since.
Uh, reached out on a Facebook page, uh, again, during, during a shift when there wasn't much going on. Just started, uh, thinking about a business idea around short term property management in our. Um, didn't take long to realize these things are exist all around the world. , and I was quite sheltered in orange, but um, luckily reached out on a Facebook group group and a lady by the name of Julie George responded.
To me, uh, we had half a half an hour conversation and uh, that was all the inspiration I need to, to get to where we are today, which is prob pretty much three and a half years with my teaching job and managing a close to 120 properties. Now we're talking houses, not units. Yeah. . So it's a, uh, it is, it is been a very quick, uh, change, but it's very exciting as well, which,
Liam: I love that as well.There you mentioned Julie George, and if anybody's listening or watching and doesn't know who Julie George is, just, uh, type in $1 million host and, uh, she has had a fantastic story. She's got her own book, hasn't she? She's also in hospitable host . Yeah, exactly. We'll keep plugging the book. Um, but yeah, she is an amazing, uh, host and, uh, short term rental thought leader.
Really, isn't she in the industry? Um, yeah. That's amazing to hear. And so you've gone from, uh, you know, sort of, you've spotted that opportunity. You've then, uh, you know, sort of realized that there's some empty homes in the, in the area. You've, you've reached out to somebody who's kind of walked that path before and, and got some advice.
Wh how did you get your first one? What was the first one or first few? Uh, talk us through how you'd.
Tim: Yeah, so naturally it was a, it was a slow start. There was a big learning curve, uh, to be done. Um, off the advice of Julie, I went and got my real estate license, um, before even starting the business because, uh, that was my commitment to then moving forward.
Um, I was quite lucky. My parents owned a vineyard in town and they had a couple of apartments on it. Um, uh, mum was only on booking.com, so, you know, that was my sort. Uh, I, I'll piggybacked off that a little bit to learn, um, whilst doing a lot of nighttime research and, and a bit, you know, podcasts and things like this, just, just to gain some knowledge.
Um, and I knew that it wouldn't take long before I was, before I could become a bit of a market expert in the area because no one was doing it before. And, um, then, then I, then once I was, that I could then offer the service of helping other people out because I would've more knowledge. Um, I did about nine months and then I remember I saw a house for sale and I thought Jesus would be amazing.
Uh, it a bit of luck as well. I called up the owner, um, found, you know, orange is a small community, so I found out who the owner was. Gave them a call. It, it was a cold call. I remember exactly where it was, what road it was. I pulled over the car and was nervous. I was so nervous. Anyway, um, and they had heard of the idea Airbnb idea before and.
Yeah, there, there was my first property and, and it performed extremely well. Uh, and without even a business name yet, I, we, um, I had two or three other people in town call me up from word of mouth that this was happening. Uh, established the business name and so that had taken a full year. Uh, I was teaching at the same time and I was like, oh gee, this is actually working.
Uh, let's, let's give it a bit more, let's see how we can go. And then within the next year, I got up to 24 properties and that, and I had a part-time employee helping me out that, you know, um, yeah. Made the decision mid that year that I'm really going to, I'm gonna step off teaching here and, and, and give this a go.
Yeah. So the, you know, the following year would say we got up to six or something. Covid hit straight away when I hit, stepped off teaching as well. So that was a bit scary. That's, that's, um,
Liam: That, that you're just, just saying about those steps there. So you've gone from like four for a short period of time, and then you've suddenly gone up to 24, and then you've gone up, you've, you've jumped up again to, to 60, obviously.
What was the emotion making the switch
And how did you feel, um, obviously switching away from teaching and you mentioned obviously you're doing this for your family. H what, what was the, the emotions like at the time and, uh, you know, just, just making that switch?
Tim: Yeah. I think, um, and, and honestly, I. I'd never thought stopped thinking about the idea since I thought of it.
And Julie, Georgie and SP inspired me and, and I gained more knowledge and, and knew it was going to work. So I was, I was quite confident that it was going to work, which is good. Um, I thought I'm 30. I was 33 or something at the time. Um, and if, if I'm going to do something, it's, if I'm gonna try something, it's now.
So I, I, and I paid for my real estate course. This is off a, off a couple thousand dollars. This whole business was created as well. Um, so there was a financial commitment, as I mentioned, that we, we, you know, we, we were, uh, we had a lot to pay for , so there wasn't too much spare cash around. But, um, again, all of those things contributed to really backing myself and the.
Um, and yeah, it had to work because I had a family to support, so I was working long, long days and, and, and, um, but yeah, I'll never regret it cause I'm in, I'm in such a much better place right now. And, but I, and I knew that if I dug down and, and got to that sort of point that I would emerge in a pretty cool place.
And that's exactly where I am now. It's, it's really, it's really good. That's
Liam: amazing. They say when you've got a strong enough why, the how becomes the, how becomes clear, doesn't it? So, um, yeah,
Tim: exactly. You make it. Yeah. That, that's, that's exactly how it worked for me. And, um, yeah. And then obviously I learned, didn't know much about business before, so there was a lot of, lot of things I had to learn.
I built my own first website and it took me two months, I think. Uh, and, and it was, it wasn't good at all, but, you know, You've gotta, you've gotta get in there and, and do those little steps in order to emerge, um, you know, in, in a better place where we can eventually pay someone like Mark to do a website
Liam: for you.
That's cool. I mean, when it comes down to, um, the scaling, let's talk about your great path to our scale questions too, because you've gone from, you know, a few properties and then jumped up in these, uh, you know, sort of blocks of, of, of properties. Would you say was the success, what allowed you to do that scale up by the number of properties?
Because there'll be people listening at the moment who goes, well, do you know what I'm, I'm, I'm struggling with one property or three properties, or six properties. What, what is the mindset that you need to have to scale? And what advice would you have around, uh, scaling in general?
Tim: Yeah, a great question because it's so complex as well.
I'll, I'll just try my best. But, um, definitely, um, a, a growth mindset from the start. Um, you know, knowing that, uh, you know, if you've got a growth mindset, you'll be thinking the next step all the time and how to develop yourself and all of that. So, you know, we, we all, everyone we hire in our, in our business now, we are looking for things like that.
Um, something I learned early, early, and I did a bit of research on it, is. And because of, um, our global hospitality, but also the course of a guest coming in or the communication, a guest coming in, the communication again, then the cleaning business. Um, we've created our own cleaning business in the house as well, so that's, Um, that's been a great factor during Covid, but it's also meant, meant a lot of work and, um, but it's also a really good protective factor.
If anything else happens, we've got that in-house so we can control that. Mm-hmm. . Um, but everything, it comes down to the systems that you create in writing it down. Um, so you don't have to rethink every time something happens again. If you can have a procedure for it, then you can hand it off to someone else who can do the same job or a similar job, and you can monitor.
Um, so that's something if you, if you say you have a couple of properties or even one property looking to grow, um, really start writing things down, uh, how you do things and try and when, once you start getting people to help you to, don't do it for them, teach them to do that. And one, and I've got, I'm to a point where I've got probably 12 staff and they're all thinking that way.
That when something, when he has to do. More than once, let's write it down, make a procedure for it, and um, and then, you know, then we can, we don't have to use that brain power and drag us down, um, on another day. We can actually just, just get the sys, get the procedure done, um, you know, and, and then contribute ourselves better to the business or to Yeah, that makes sense.
To making things move. Yeah. So definitely the assistance. Now I, I've established a really good team culture. So once you start getting a few team members, that's quite vital. Um, I've in, in the midst of, A time where there's enormous labor shortages. I, I don't have problems finding people to work for us because Bond was, it's interesting, but number two, because we've got a really good reputation around town that this is a great place to work.
So, um, that's also been a great factor. Um, te technology is a big one.
What have you relied on to grow that reputation
Liam: How do, how do you get that reputation? So you've mentioned, uh, you know, reputation around town. What, what have, uh, you relied on to, to grow that reputation?
Tim: I think it's just, um, and this, and a lot of teaching skills have helped me in this business as well.
And I'm, I'm a team sports player for 30 years as well. So I think it's just people like getting to know people, having that time to have a chat, um, celebrating wins as, as little as they are or as big as they are. We, we really celebrate, um, and we have achieved a lot. So we've had a lot to celebrate. We don't let them pass because we're too busy.
We, we set a date, even if it's not right now, we set a date. A month in their head. Cause we're gonna celebrate reaching that amount of properties or, you know, something like that. So, um, every month we have a bit of a, i, I throw on lunch for the team and we, and we do some peer sort of, um, affirmations where we're, we're, I've got everyone cel, uh, I call it a Culture Champions lunch, where we really.
Um, keep the culture at the front of mind by recommending other people where you've witnessed that they've lived up to the culture. So it is not me appra, appraising downwards, or any in any way. It's, I sit back and let everyone, you know, boost each other up. So, I don't know. And then, and then that just gets around, gets around town and people love working here,
Liam: That's amazing in itself though, to even, you know, there'll be a lot of people listening here go, go, you know, wow. We could do that. We could set, you know, sort of tie 'em aside to celebrate these wins and actually celebrate the team. And it sounds as though you've built, uh, a culture there, which. Enjoy coming to work, but also understands the, um, you know, the, the, the goal, the, the, the, the aim that they're looking to achieve together.
Um, you know, and, and sort of all relying on each other, which is cool. So you, you mentioned about the team. Talk me through who's in your team, uh, you know, what and who was your first hire as well?
Tim: Yeah, it's, it's been, it's been quite interesting, um, especially with the, the rapid growth. Um, and, and as, Further into the business and all charts and things like that.
Um, when you're first starting off, you just need someone who, um, well I wasn't great at accounting, so I need someone with, when we do trust accounting here. Um, so. I'm someone with a bit of accounting knowledge or experience or, or strengths in that. So that, that's another thing. Don't, don't hire someone exactly like you, because you're gonna find the same problems.
Hire someone who's smarter than you in a different area so that you can compliment the business. Um, I found that person first, first interview. I, I was like, that's it. I know who it is. Proceeded with the other five interviews that I had lined up, but, um, found, found a. A gorgeous lady who was, who became the mother of the business and fostered it through the next year or two until, uh, she left.
But, um, yeah, it's, I, I don't know. Just get the right people. I, I think like think about your values, what you want for the business, and, and again, do research around interview questions. Try and expose those, um, things throughout the questions without directly asking them and having them say, yep, I'll do that.
You know, ask, ask, um, scenario questions and things like that. And, um, you, you, I don't know. I, I may have been lucky, but just, just felt the connection straight away and, and, and, and that this person was gonna look after my business. That was my first. Um, and then we've, we've ended up to a point now where we have, uh, four or five departments.
So we have a, and they, and they are teams, so a gaps team, and that's guests and property success. So they focus on that. Then we have an operations team, and that's the warehouse that's cleaning, uh, our home host, which we call them as well. And that came from Julie George, but also our maintenance team. Uh, then we have a business development team as well.
Yeah, so we're starting to develop teams and as you get, when you get to that point, things become much clearer. You need to, you, you can define your roles because if someone leaves in that position, they, someone else feels that position. But a as you're growing with, um, you know, maybe one to two to three people, your positions are gonna have to change quite frequently.
So, um, again, if you've got a good, positive culture and you let them know that change is gonna happen, that will happen much more easier.
Liam: I love that. Uh, I love. Not only that, the mindset growth there of not just managing, you know, yourself and, and you know the properties, but actually then start to manage teams of people and have defined teams.
What was the, did you say the GAP team? What did that stand for?
Tim: We get gaps, guests, and property success. So again, every, all of our business, they all, yeah, we figured that that's a person. They, all the guests, that's all the communication and the reservations and they're on the property management software that we use.
Um, but then also they are in tune with all of our properties. So we figured that. because if the guests are asking about a property, they would have the knowledge on the property. So, and then the connection to all the platforms and that's, that just found its way to that side. Yeah. And then the warehouse and operations found its way to another side as well.
So, um, and then, then we've got a little bit of, bit of team sort of, um, yeah, a attitude and camaraderie there. So, and then when we bring everyone together, it's, it's, it's kind of cool. So, yeah. You know, it's, and it's not, it's not easy. It's never been easy. People aren't easy all the time. So, you know, there's, it's just an ongoing cha not, not challenge, but you know, opportunity to, to develop people as well.
And that's, that's our next step moving forward. And it's about empowering people to become the market leaders. Not, not for, for us to, to, you know, talk down to empower our staff to then as we develop as. There's management positions that emerge and, um, we want people to show initiatives. So, you know, we're really sort of allowing that to happen,
Liam: which is cool.
It sounds really exciting. And to go from, you know, we, we've talked about sort of where you've started the, uh, growth and then now looking at the team members who, who are helping you doing that. And like you say, you, you have already, you've got that vision for the next step. So it's really inspiring. Tim, I, I really like that.
What would you say has been your biggest challenge
One of the things you mentioned just then was that was one of the challenge. What would you say has been the biggest challenge that, that you've had to face, um, during your time as a host?
Tim: Um, Cleaners and linen is, uh, it's, it's always been the challenge. So, and it always will be a challenge. So it, like when we talk a big challenge, obviously when Covid hit and lockdowns happen and that, that, you know, we got through that, that's okay.
But, um, Yeah, labor shortages and finding cleaners. Uh, we worked out that we weren't paying them enough. Again, we built our cleaning team in-house, which is really strong because then we can, then we have a, a sc now we have a scalable cleaning business to go with our scalable property management business to start dropping around into different places.
So that's our, our next sort of. , um, you know, opportunity. Mm-hmm. . Um, but yeah, and labor shortages in Australia also affect linens supply as well. So we, but again, this is, this is how it works. We, our team culture. So at Christmas I was on a beach somewhere. Um, linen didn't arrive. We had Mrs. New Year's and people investing their time into, into which, you know, we focused on a lot.
We want everyone to, um, you know, to their investments as far as their properties investments, but investments as, as well as their, um, their holiday investments. You know, they've been working hard and their investing in their holiday. We protect investments in that respect. But, um, a couple of trucks of linen didn't arrive and, and all of our home hosts, they all took linen home and washed it and bought it back because it was that team culture and vibe.
And they were happy to because they knew that a guest would be arriving to a home with no linen and that would be disastrous for the business. And yeah, in a. Um, for us as a, as a team. Yeah,
Liam: that's amazing. And, uh, just that all pulling together and having that that culture is, is amazing, like you say, cuz you can't stop stuff from going wrong.
That's how you react when it does go wrong. You know, how, how you solve that issue, so
Tim: Sounds amazing. Yeah. And I found that that was one point where, um, there's more, but where if we were outsourcing to a cleaning team, uh, we, we would've had a huge problem right there. Um, so, so very, I felt very lucky, especially during covid, because we can control, um, we can control a lot with, uh, an in-house.
We can control quality and, and that's probably what we'll move on to a bit later on. Yeah, we keep it so high. But, um, yeah, that's, that's, that's, again, it's part of our business and, and what we're controlling is that sort of things too.
Liam: It seems to be, um, often, you know, the great thing is I, I get to speak to a lot of hosts and, and the, the, the common themes are just making sure we are documenting, having that vision, being brave, and also, uh, having great people around you.
And that sounds like, you know, you've, you've got some really great. Uh, with, within the business, which is fantastic. Um, so you mentioned just then the, uh, the ratings, and I won't steal your funder, but let the listeners know, uh, the rating that you've currently got and also how at this scale you're, you're keeping that so high.
Tim: Yeah. So, uh, we, we. Big focus on, on, on quality. Um, we, it ensures your business moving forward. , uh, there's nothing more important than it. I, I won't, you know, when I'm looking at an Airbnb, I'm extremely picky and, and I'm a, I'm a guy who doesn't really care , but, um, but yeah, so quality's gotta be, um, really high.
So we've always had a focus on supporting that and ensuring that it's. Um, the issue is though, when you start to add more and more properties and, and me get a little bit further away from teams and people working in the business, there, there, there are gaps that can appear. Um, try a bit of covid and labor shortages and all of that stuff in there as well.
Just a sprinkle those, you know, like, yeah. So we're 118 properties and we are still Airbnb super hosts, which we, we do. You know, we do, uh, strive to achieve as, as much as we're on the other platforms as well, figure that's a really good KPI to be chasing and, and staying above. Um, Because there are benefits from being that if people are looking on Airbnb, you know, that's, that's a trust icon that people are searching for and, and obviously ag, Airbnb algorithms help you out.
Um, not a bad place to start for the whole business across the board anyway, so. Yeah, we, we did, um, we did lose it in, uh, in the last quarter. Um, and we, and once we did, it was a huge reconstruction of the cleaning business. We, we, I, I was accountable for it. Um, as much as I can point the finger at cleaners and say, you know, there's a job and you're not doing it right.
They weren't supported. Trained, they weren't called out when they weren't doing a good job. They, they, you know, there was a lot of, um, business structure missing a around them. Um, so, so yeah. So, uh, we went back right down to ground level at the cleaning business. Sat there a few days and went right through everything and built it again from the ground.
Um, with the, with the fresh impacts that were happening, like the, the pay rate was increasing elsewhere and we weren't, so we didn't have cleaner availability or, or, and then that was putting pressure on other cleaners that were loyal to us, so, Um, you know, made a few decisions to, to, to be the place for cleaner where cleaners want to clean pretty much.
So we have really good systems. We, we, there was a little bit of, um, an opportunity was more positive feedback, uh, on really good cleans, so mm-hmm. the Gaps team sends that through to the Warehouse team and, and you know, that gets, uh, displayed up on the board. Um, the property, the cleaner, the review, it's all, it's all shown up.
really en encouraging that positive feedback down there. Um, and then probably I've had a lot of achievements, but one of the, one of the most satisfying for me was when we got that super back. That was, that was a, that was a almost a six month, um, workload, um, full team, um, contributing to a, to a success there, which, um, which is now the standard for us moving forward again.
So glad to have got it back, but. But yeah, we, we've, we've got it back with a much better cleaning business as well. So, um, yeah, setting some good goals for the team moving forward. We're monitoring those now, so even if we get a little bit close, we'll be, we'll be, um, on, onto, onto some people in the team to fix it up.
We introduce, um, more spot checks. Um, as a k p we've gotta do, we have to do, um, at least 40 and, and they are targeted as well, so, um, and random at the same time. So everyone's contributing to keeping that cleaning score high, because at the end of the day that, yeah, that's, that's what guarantees the future business for me.
Liam: I love the, uh, the fact that you've overcome that challenge and, and for people listening, it's, it's over 4.8, isn't it? A hundred and, uh, 18 properties, which is amazing for, for, for that. Is that, is that,
Tim: Yeah, I, I wonder the, the scale up conference in Barcelona and, and there was a stat that came out that above a hundred properties, the standard drops down to 4.5 or 4.3, and that's just the average.
Mm-hmm. , um, that a property manager, because it is a challenge at scale, it's a massive challenge once you add more people and, and get further away from properties that there are properties now that I still haven't been into. Um, but I don't need to because I've got my team trained up to, to do what I used to.
Um, but they, yeah. That therefore li like the challenge, um, and, um, yeah, to, to, it's, yeah. We pride ourselves on, on our quality that we do and, and clients. We actually had a client come on because they stayed with us as a guest, had a plumbing issue on a Friday afternoon. Our team sorted it within 10 minutes and then our warehouse team turned up with fresh.
Because they had to soak up some wet ones. So, um, within 15 minutes and she said, oh, I'm, I'm, I'm up here to buy a property. I'm coming with you guys. So that's amazing. You know, if you keep that quality, it just, the reputation around town, word of mouth, there's cafes all around, people just like to talk, especially when about money.
So, um, it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's a level of service that sort of guarantees future business for us. Just,
Liam: just hearing the, um, the journey there is, is, is amazing and it's kind of, I wanna go in two different directions with, with two different questions, but we'll stick with the. Um, the guest side of things, the experience, which just sounds amazing and let you say that, is helping the reputation, which is helping more people come to you, which again, in, in turn with your systems, is then helping to deliver on that, um, that promise to them, and then again, attracting more people, which is amazing.
So lets talk more about guest experience
So let's talk more about the guest experience. I know that as you've grown, and this is mentioned within the, within the book, um, or within the chapter in the book that you've added on experiences. And, and things like that, you've, you've become a place where you can, uh, offer a little bit extra, is that right?
Tim: Yes, definitely. Um, and, and I'm, this, you can only do so much. We're still not doing it to the point that I know we, that we will end up doing it too. Um, but yeah, you, you get more guests, they ask more things. Naturally. A business like this, you build up a list of recommendations and that's the starting point of, you know, that's the starting point of building a brand that links to businesses who also recommend you or, or we'll get to a point soon where we can charge a marketing space to be on our guest app that they can then get.
And again, that's all in my head. I haven't got there yet. Um, there's other things we're focusing on first, but, um, The guest experience is extremely important because they're the ones who lead the reviews. Um, I had, yeah. Um, as long as you are, you are supporting the guests and, and that's very much the attitude.
Um, it's in our core values of how can I help the attitude of any guest that, um, isn't entirely happy. The communication is there as well. Um, but if a guest has a good experience, um, staying in a professionally managed property, uh, and. Yeah, they're gonna leave a five star review or if they, you know, if they're misinformed, they might leave a four star review.
If they have a bad experience, then some people that you just can't please. We all know that in hospitality. Um, but you know, that knowing that it happens, you know, we still try our best to, to, to please them where we can. Uh, that's hospitality. Uh, but yeah, ensuring, I suppose, adding those guest experiences.
Uh, just further enhances the guest. Uh, the guest. Yeah. The guest enjoyment of the property or the enjoyment of their stay, and they're more likely to leave a good review. Not that we do that. We're in a small town. We want, we want to, we've, we're in such a position of power where we have 800 people in our houses, in our town with direct message.
Uh, to go and support our local business who have done it tough through drought and through covid. Uh, we have that power to, to send them out. We also have their emails that we can bring them back as well. So we are really finding ourself in an exciting position for the town that. We can start to play influence on, in, on encouraging visitors spend before they even arrive.
We're upselling bottles of wine, um, and early chickens and late checkouts. So they're spending before they even come into the region and then again in the head. Next plan is to you. Get a cheese platter upon arrival, you go and book a photographer. So we are gonna start linking with local businesses and services.
Again. Again, it, it'll come back around like, not that, not that that's the intention. The intention is to support the town.
Liam: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that sounds, I can, I can see the vision as you're setting out there of, of, you know, that really will help the local area, but also, like you say, you're also. Additional income, additional spend from the guests.
But actually the the key thing isn't the additional spend. You're actually giving them a better experience, a greater service. And that's
Tim: what we're making their job. Yeah. Making their time easier. We're a weekend of town, so you leave Sydney after work at 4:00 PM you get here at 8:00 PM at Stark already.
You, you don't really want to, cuz you finish your week of work. You don't really wanna research what you're gonna do tomorrow or whatever. We wanna have them do that two weeks before they. Yeah, and know where they're going and book their things. So, and then all again, enhance the guest experience, receive great reviews.
Liam: I'm, I'm certainly inspired by that and I know some of the listeners will be as well because it sparks a lot of ideas on how you can, uh, make that experience better. But, you know, and lets say link with local businesses where it's a mutually beneficial, uh, relationship then as well, which is cool. So, Tech have you used that has helped you?
Is there one particular piece of tech that’s helped you?
Is there one particular piece of tech or a system that's really helped you, um, in your business growth?
Tim: Yeah, we use, we use, we actually use a lot. And part of our, um, mission statement is, and I think in this business or any business in today's , today's environment is to, you know, using or leveraging off technology and data to obviously, or our to be market leaders in the region.
Mm-hmm. , um, always of the attitude like this is something I learned in business as well. Um, how to view things as an investment. So yes, that is gonna cost that much money, but how much stress is it, is it gonna save from that person who's manually scheduling every claim, um, or manually doing? Um, and the amount of time, sa amount of time saved as well as stress, uh, I, I, I, I pushed one staff member out accidentally because that happened.
Um, and then therefore, you know, have learned and conceive. The investment in good technology will allow us to grow faster, but it also allows us to provide a better experience, allow our workplace to be more enjoy. Um, so yeah, we use, um, we use GEI as our property management service. We're, we're very happy with them.
We have a great relationship with them. Um, price Labs is fantastic. Uh, if you're not on, if you have got more than two, if you've got one property and you're not using some sort of dynamic pricing, uh, I'd recommend get on it or research it straight away. It is, it's a lot to learn when you're small. It's a lot to learn.
Um, and I'm still, just before this interview, I was, I was revisiting our prices. Um, I just wanna make sure, and there's a lot of data in that that comes with it. So, um, we, um, you get to a point, I think up, up until about 40 properties, we were manually, um, scheduling cleans. And then we used, um, well we, we went with guest guest u cuz it integrates with a lot of other softwares that can then make other departments, uh, jobs easier.
So, um, we use breeze. . Um, and it, it's, it's a really user, they're all, all of our softwares, they're all user-friendly. That's what we look for. We obviously look at the cost, but we more so look at the cost saved in time and stress and energy, uh, and which allows our humans to do the thinking and the customer service rather than being bogged down in manual processes.
So, um, yeah, there, there's a main, main text. We use some project, project management, um, technology as well, uh, which is a huge time saver. I'm talking days and days a week. It's per person. Yeah. So, Um, that, that's amazing. And, um, yeah, I, I don't know. You've gotta embrace it. You've, you've gotta pay for it, but really look at it in, in the time saved.
And which, and what will it allow you to do? Because you can save that time. Yeah.
Liam: Sounds like an amazing tech stack, and I love what you said there about, you view it like an investment, not just, uh, you know, obviously the money and the, the, that, but the time it'll save for your pupil and how they're just freed up to then do what their main role is, which is, uh, you know, sort of the, the, the customer service and, and to, to think, uh, you know, ahead that the technology, the, the, the manual tasks are then covered, aren't they?
So that sounds, uh, sounds
Tim: amazing. Yeah. And like you said, to think like we, we don't want people drained down in processes. That's not what we're about. You know, we want, again, we're empowering our staff to think, to be the market leaders themselves. So we want them thinking like that, okay, how can I do this?
What about this, you know, to come to me with questions and ideas that that's, that's the kind of environment we want here. Want it to be quite dynamic and fun and engaging as.
Liam: That's cool. So we've covered obviously where you started your scale, uh, your tech, your team. One thing that we must talk about, if not with uh, Julie George will tell us off, especially if we
About Hospitable Host
don't, but is to just talk about hospitable hosts. And, uh, if you haven't, for people listening, uh, for people on the live, they can see we're holding up the book. Tim's got a copy as well. And, uh, this book is an amazing book, which was, Idea born from, um, Jodi Sterling, and to bring hosts together from all across the world to have their stories within there.
If you haven't already, go and check out hospitable hosts. You can get a copy on Amazon. It is a bestseller. Um, and, uh, there's chapters, uh, including Tims, including mine, uh, including people like Julie, George, mark Simpsons. There's loads of great, great hosts Yeah. From across the world. And there's some really cool tips in there.
And, uh, it just says a bit more about your story and, and that side of things. So definitely, um, one of the questions I'd have, What got you involved in the book? What, what tempted you to, to get involved in the project?
Tim: Yeah, I, um, I, I, I'm very close with Julie George. I invited her down to our hundred property party to just as a, as a big thank you.
And, um, yeah, we've become quite close. Like she was also there in Barcelona when I was there too. So we've crossed paths a few times. . Um, and she, she said, Tim, you've got an amazing story to share, like, get on this book. And I, and I was like, oh, yeah, okay. I haven't written written a sub book before. Um, but then once I learned more and, and who it's, it's an amazing, um, it's an amazing book because there was, there was no.
Obviously the book's called Hospitable Hosted, and that was the only direction we were given , like everyone, uh, they're all of different levels. Like, like Mark is doing his thing with marketing and websites. I, I actually met him through this and we've got a website being made now, which I'm really excited about.
Um, Julie is, she's sold her business and, and, and she's doing a lot of cons, um, consulting and things like that as well. Um, and then everyone is in their own environments around the world, so everyone's had to adapt to different things. So, you know, if, if you, oh, it doesn't matter how small or large you are, and there's some really good stories and, and obviously the core being around hosting guests, which again, uh, it's all about raising the bar with, um, the short term, uh, the rental.
Uh, and, and, you know, helping each other move forward together as a, as a broader industry to, to, to keep the quality really high and to, to ensure that, ensure it's longevity.
Liam: Hospitality is such an exciting space, isn't it? It's a, it's a growing space. It's an exciting space and, uh, you know, having stories and what we can learn from each other all around the world with these new pieces of technology and new ways to, to market and new experiences that people can have.
So, uh, Tim, thank you so much, uh, for that. I really feel we've got to know your business as. Draw these to a close. We'd like to ask a couple of quick flyer questions and uh, yeah. I know that recently you traveled, uh, a bit. I got to see, I'm friends with you, obviously on Facebook, and we get to see from the hospitable host group.
Uh, where was your favorite place that you traveled to?
Tim: Yeah. Oh, uh, so my wife's French, so we went and spent some time, which is another big achievement. I've gotta take some time off the business and had someone else run it for me. So that was, that was huge. But, um, Oh, BOR Alby, which is her hometown. We spent a few weeks aircraft on.
Then we went to Barcelona, which was um, a bit more tourism for me cause I'd never been there. But that, that was amazing place as well. So any anywhere in Europe's good for me.
Liam: Love it. If, um, if you could have any superpower, what would it.
Tim: I, they say walk through walls, , walk through
Liam: walk. Fair enough. It already sounds like, uh, you walk on water with the amazing things that you've walls.
Tim: What I think I was meant to say sea through walls, but . I was gonna say, I don't think I wanna do that, actually. Let's just walk through walls.
Liam: Love it. And um, lastly, who inspires you? Or is there. Sort of mantra or quotes that, that you like to live by?
Tim: I don't know if this is good or not, but I'm, everything I do, like we, we put on a concert in that too.
And, and, and it's like nothing happens. If nothing happens. , you can just drift through life and then you know nothing happens. But you know, when you go the effort of doing something. You feel great, although it might have been a lot of hard work. Uh, and, and to see other people smiling from an effort that you've done.
Um, like I said, well the business is one example of that, but then we, we we're putting on local sort of events around town and, and that's my passion. I only put them on cuz I'd like to attend them. But, um, you know, I, I, a lot of people and smile face, nothing happens. If nothing happens, get up and. Get out there,
Liam: I love that. I feel inspired. That reminds me of, um, Steve Jobs quote of, you know, it's not clear looking forward the steps you take, but looking back you can see how it's all connected and, uh, you know, sort of say once you've, once you've taken action and, and, and done something, then. [00:41:00] Uh, you know, filthy with, with, with pride and uh, you know, sort of quite humbly being able to make people happy is, is a gift, you know?
That's, that's really cool, Tim. So,
Tim: yeah, his is a bit more polished than mine. This is a version .
Outro
Liam: I like it. I like it. So, thank you so much. I know that everybody listening would've got some great value and some real gems from this. If people listening, uh, want to get in touch, what's the best way for them to do so?
Yeah, well,
Tim: our website is bnbmadeeasy.com.au Cause we're Australian. Or Facebook? Facebook's the best. No, not, not the best, but the best way to, to see what we are doing. Uh, Facebook or Instagram. Mm-hmm. , um, yeah. Jump onto b and b made easy and follow that. That's, yeah, I'd be very happy to connect with any I wanted to as well.
Liam: That’s easy. That's cool. And just for people listening as well, we've got your link tree here, uh, which is www.link, uh, t r dot e e slash tim t uh, Mortimer. So that's T I M M O R I M E R. So for anybody listening, go and check out, uh, Tim on Facebook Linktree and uh, what is your website url? Just so when that is live, people will be able to.
To go and check out.
Tim: Oh, yeah, no, it is live now. When, when we're further developing it. And, and for anyone else as well, it's all about the trust icons. People need trust when booking a home. People need trust if you're gonna look after their home. So we haven't got there yet. We're really, uh, spending a lot of time making sure that's right before we put it live.
But, um, yeah. Uh, b and b made easy.com.au.
Liam: Love it. Love it. Tim, thank you so much. This has been absolutely fab. Did you have any last sort of, uh, comments at all? No. I'm gonna have. Love it. Let's speak to you again soon. Cheers,
Tim: Thanks having a blast.
Liam: Gonna
Tim: get it on the Bruce Lee podcast, Bruce Lee. Let Bruce Lee cuz it's so hard on the tees loose leaf, making up those rhymes.
Don't write it, just do it loosely.
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