Welcome to How to Host by Palmer & Gunn!

Hello and a warm welcome from us—Clancy and Fiona! We’re so excited to have you here and can’t wait to guide you through the ins and outs of hosting, Palmer & Gunn style.

The big thing that most people don’t realise when it comes to running a small business is just how important you, and your story are…

Now something you may not realise about yourself is that you have so many transferable skills and experiences that will prove to be very valuable in your business…

Palmer & Gunn has completely changed our lives and we are so thrilled to share with you how we built our business from the ground up, starting with with our Short-Term Rental, Wee Tiny…

When it comes to your Short-Term Rental, guests are the major consideration…

Pricing your Short-Term Rental involves a delicate balancing act between not undervaluing your space and not overpricing it, especially when you are just getting started…

Designing your space will vary so much depending on whether you are starting from scratch or not, but we’ll say it again, your space needs to be unique if you want to build a thriving Short-Term Rental business…

Let's talk bookings; we'll share everything about our direct bookings, how we manage them and why we absolutely love them...

Many hosts overlook the importance of storytelling when it comes to their listing. Remember, this is the final step in a series of sales prompts designed to entice people to book a stay...

Having experience with both face-to-face Check-In and contactless Check-In, we can say hands down that you, and your guests will prefer contactless self Check-In for a few reasons…

We feel there is a lot of focus put on creating the perfect guest experience but what about creating the perfect hosting experience…

Testing your STR yourself should be the first step, to ensure everything is just right, we recommend doing it more than once…

Let's talk about add-ons, inclusions and gifts with purchase...

Throughout our hosting journey we’ve explored various options, from full hampers including perishable items like milk, bread, eggs, to homemade goodies. We’ve even been told at one point that we should spend %10 of our nightly rate on a welcome pack…

What to do when something goes wrong…

When you’ve reached the point where you have tested your space, smoothed out any issues, we want you to know that despite your best efforts, things may still go wrong occasionally. Breakages occur, oversights happen and mistakes will be made—it's all part of the process. The important thing is how you handle these situations when they happen.

The cleanliness of your STR is everything…

Let’s face it you can recover from a bad review because something didn’t work but it’s going to be a whole lot harder to recover from a review stating your Short-Term Rental was dirty.

When it comes to housekeeping, you have two options: outsource the role, or take it on yourself. This decision is entirely dependent on your unique circumstances, we’ve done both, so let us share our experience...

Maintaining your Short-Term Rental is just as important as keeping it clean…

Take some personal insight from us…

One of the most rewarding strategies we've implemented in our business is income stacking as well has having an active role in marketing our business which is what we will work on next.

You've put in the hard work (blood, sweat and tears), now your offering is ready to launch—so what's next? Telling the world about it…

Ok so you’re ready to take bookings, but how do you market your services without feeling icky and resorting to sleazy sales tactics?

Well it's actually simpler than you think.

Branding is more than a name and a pretty logo. Branding is the feeling that is evoked when people hear, see or think about your business. It is a little hard to put your finger on, but it is unmistakable when you see it done well…

We've already talked a bit about OTA booking platforms, and without a doubt, we highly recommend listing your Short-Term Rental on OTAs like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com. After all, why not let them do some of the marketing for you…

It is such an exciting time to be a small business owner, largely because Social Media is full of opportunities and it has really levelled the playing field when it comes to marketing…

Photography is one of the most important marketing tools you’ll use in your business, so let’s talk about where to start, and what you need…

The first time we were contacted about taking part in a Collaboration we had absolutely no idea what that actually meant or how to go about it…

One of the best ways to gain an online presence is to build a website and believe us when we say it’s so easy you can do it yourself…

We’ve all heard the saying there’s no such thing as bad Press. So what is it and how do we get it without spending a fortune…

There are always marketing costs involved in securing a booking or sale, the OTAs will take their cut, there is the time and energy that goes into Social Media, there are cost of generating video/photo content…

You may not realise it now, but email campaigns are so powerful. Let us tell you how easy it is to get started and why you should have one…

Right about now you might be thinking, do I really need a blog…

The short answer is no, you don’t need a Blog but blogs are one of BEST ways for you to create content and drive traffic to your website just like you do with social media, except blogs have a much longer lifespan and are so versatile; feature them on your website and email campaigns plus you can make your own pins on Pinterest.

Workshops are amazing cup filling experiences…

However, there are a lot of moving parts, making it tricky to know where to begin.

So you’re going to Host workshops (exciting), let’s talk about how to sell tickets and take payments…

What does your venue need to host a Workshop?

It's pretty simple; let's run through the bare necessities you'll need to Host Workshops.

Location Shoots are an amazing mid-week income generator so let's talk about the things you’ll want to know…

How do we approach Location Shoots?

We market our Palmer & Gunn Location Shoots through our Website and Social Media platforms, as well as third-party agents (much like our STR and OTAs).

What it’s actually like to host Location Shoots for Film and Television…

Before we get started, it is important that we are speaking the same language…

We have been asked so many times over the years if we would Host Weddings…

There are several ways you can Host Weddings at your property, but our first piece of advice: Please don't do it for free!

Turning a $800 stay into $3000 profit…

If you’re eager to maximise earnings by offering your own bespoke Wedding packages but unsure where to begin, fear not…

Let's take a look at our Bespoke Elopement packages for a real-life case study, providing you with insights to kickstart your own journey…

Congratulations—You Did It!

This chapter is all about setting your business up…

The Software, Tech and Apps we use…

We like to keep things simple and avoid overcomplicating our workflows with unnecessary apps or subscriptions. Not only can they be overwhelming, but the costs can also quickly add up!

Your One-Stop Shop for Additional Resources plus our Sourcing Guide (discounts included)…