In the second installment of the Real Returns Podcast–a series devoted to educating people about how real investments can make real impacts–Evan Addams talks about his experience in the technology and hospitality space.
Evan is a technology entrepreneur that has led a diverse portfolio of hospitality and healthcare tech startup companies. As far as the real estate side of operations goes, he is invested in various types of real estate and recently started owning and operating a bed and breakfast group called CarriageWay Bed & Breakfast.
In Hospitality as Impact in the B&B Industry, Evan Addams discusses how bed and breakfasts can provide meaningful guest experiences and how he uses technology to deepen customer relationships. Our regular hosts, Andrew Reichert and Daniel Croce, also delve into how other industries could benefit from the cross-pollination that bed and breakfasts provide. Read on to preview what's to come in Episode 2 of the Real Returns Podcast: Hospitality as Impact in the B&B Industry.
Though most people think of real estate as exclusive to those who have already amassed considerable capital, that is not always the case. With the right strategy and a savvy purchase, people can acquire real estate with relatively small amounts of money.
Evan is one such person who went into his first real estate purchase with a plan and came out on top. He acquired his first property when he graduated college in 2010. Being a frugal person, he was in search of an affordable way to find housing and ended up stumbling across what he calls a "housing hack." By purchasing a duplex where he could rent out the extra units to qualified tenants, Evan lived rent-free in his new home.
Taken aback by the success of his housing hack, Evan continued to purchase properties when he saw the right opportunity. Slowly amassing a portfolio of real estate, Evan and his wife now own 13 units. With Evan's success story in mind, savvy investors can break into the world of real estate without having tons of capital.
As Evan searched for potential property acquisition opportunities, he wanted to purchase assets that would bring happiness to his family and others. Thinking back on some of the best experiences he and his wife shared, many of them were while staying at bed and breakfasts. For them, the adventure of stepping into and living in a real, culturally-accurate home was unique to the bed and breakfast experience.
Compared to the impersonal nature of traditional hotels, bed and breakfasts offer much more personal interaction. When you share a home with someone, the opportunity to build a lasting relationship with the host is genuine. As a testament to that idea, Evan and his wife are still in touch with hosts they stayed with over a decade ago.
In a day and age where so many people suffer from loneliness and a lack of human interaction, bed and breakfasts have the opportunity to impact lives beyond just a good night's sleep. Especially following Covid-19, where so many people were locked away for months and months, the need for human interaction is more prevalent than ever.
Given his fond memories of bed and breakfasts and their ability to impact lives, Evan acquired multiple B&B properties in his extensive real estate portfolio.
As Evan continued acquiring properties, he noticed that the bed and breakfast space was largely unprofessional compared to other hospitality areas. The vast majority of B&Bs are run by individual owner-operators who operate their business as if the internet does not exist. In other words, very few bed and breakfasts were taking advantage of modern-day technology to develop a competitive edge.
As a technology entrepreneur, Evan naturally saw an opportunity to combine bed and breakfasts with technology to create an improved customer experience. By collecting data on who stayed at what property, what they did while they were in town, and what their preferences were, among other things, Evan could create a more personalized experience.
Taking a page out of the premium hospitality industry, like what one might find at a Ritz-Carleton, Evan could create personalized notes for his returning guests. For example, returning guests could find a note in their room giving them a recommendation for dinner based on where they dined during their last stay.
Syncing between properties, customers can expect an increasingly personal experience each time they stay at a property. Therefore, Evan finds himself at the unique intersection of technology and high-luxury hospitality to create experiences that stand out in guests' minds.
Like everything else under the sun, hospitality prices have been going through the roof. Some hospitality experiences have gotten so expensive that people can no longer afford to visit places that were once a tradition. A room that was $200 a night just a year or two ago might be over $300 now–a considerable additional expense for vacationers.
While some price hike is justified because life is getting more expensive for the owners and operators of the bed and breakfasts, excessive rate hiking may do more harm than good. Inflating prices too much can force loyal customers to look elsewhere for their hospitality needs.
Contrary to what other property owners seem to believe, Evan thinks that keeping an experience affordable and accessible will benefit a bed and breakfast in the long run more than temporary rate hikes will. By keeping an experience affordable, properties can help sustain and deepen relationships with long-term customers. In the years and decades to come, those repeat customers will be worth more than the additional revenue generated by rate hikes.
While you got a taste of the topics covered in Episode 2, the real value comes from listening to or watching the podcast in its entirety. If you want to learn more about Evan Addams' story and the B&B principles you can apply to your own life, click here to listen or click here to watch the episode. Real Returns can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other streaming platforms.