📲 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.

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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