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In this episode of Get Paid For Your Pad, Kaye Putnam (Head of Marketing at Freewyld and Freewyld Foundry) sits down with Eric Moeller to break down one of the most common and costly phases STR operators get stuck in: the hectic host stage. This is the mode where everything feels urgent, every day is firefighting, and growth never seems to unlock the freedom operators expect.
If you’re an STR operator who feels overwhelmed by constant operational tasks, unclear priorities, stalled growth, or systems that never seem to catch up with your business, this episode is essential. Kaye and Eric share the behind-the-scenes of a recent Freewyld offsite, the operational shifts they implemented, and the mental models that finally stop operators from trying to “catch squirrels” instead of closing the hole in the roof.
You will hear:
• Why operators stay stuck in hectic host mode even as they grow
• How to identify whether the fires you’re solving are the right ones
• The difference between vision-based decisions and urgency-based decisions
• Why adding hires or new tools won’t fix a broken operating rhythm
• How meeting cadences and communication systems shift team performance
• Why delegation fails when roles are unclear or overloaded
• How to choose the one thing that actually moves your business forward
We also talk about:
• How offsites expose bottlenecks you can’t see day to day
• Why operators should let some fires burn to preserve focus
• How Freewyld rebuilt its project management workflow and templates
• Why daily standups reveal training gaps faster than any report
• How to use experts and consultants to cut months of trial and error
• Why most operators track too many KPIs and miss the meaningful ones
• The “jobs to be done” exercise every CEO should complete quarterly
🎯 Mentioned in the Episode:
Traction (EOS)
Scaling Up
ClickUp
Freewyld Foundry Revenue and Pricing Management
🔥 Favorite Takeaway:
“You’re not overwhelmed because the business is broken. You’re overwhelmed because you’re solving the wrong problems in the wrong order.”
📍 Want us to audit your pricing strategy?
Get your free personalized revenue report at FreewyldFoundry.com/report.
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Kaye: If I just hired another team member, or implemented a really helpful AI tool, or onboarded five more units, then things would finally slow down and start working for me. If that has been the story you have been telling yourself for the last two or three years, this episode is your wake up call.
We recorded an episode a couple of months ago about the hectic host. It is an old term from Overnight Success when Eric and Jasper ran the Legends program, and many people still identify with it. They feel like hectic hosts. Today we are talking about how to combat that, with new examples and things we are implementing inside Freewyld. Eric, hello.
Eric: Hello. That was a great intro. This is one of my favorite topics. When we came up with the term hectic host, it immediately clicked. It perfectly describes what most hosts experience when they are in the growth stage. We talk to operators every day through our revenue management service, and most of them are in that hectic host stage. We will relate it to what we are going through in our business and what we are seeing, but our goal is to help people move away from the hectic side of the business.
Kaye: My branding heart loves the alliteration, but more importantly, it is accurate. Being a hectic host is not a bad thing. It is simply the reality when you have not yet built the vision, systems, and scale you want.
We just came back from an offsite in San Diego. It was you, me, and our new operations manager, Cami. We started putting systems in place that will hopefully help us battle inefficiencies and the constant state of putting out fires. Before we dive into the main content, let me share a quick personal story.
We recently had squirrels in our roof at home. We hired pest control and paid eight hundred dollars to trap squirrels. They caught a couple of them and dealt with it. But right before recording today, I looked outside and saw three squirrels running around the trees. It reminded me that we sometimes try to trap all the squirrels when we really need to close the hole in the roof. So with that metaphor in mind, what are some of the squirrels you are seeing in Freewyld and Freewyld Foundry right now?
Eric: There are many. It is nonstop. That is the challenge of being a hectic host or a hectic business owner. At scale, opportunities and challenges show up everywhere.
A phrase I have been using recently is let the little fires burn. Squirrels can be opportunities or challenges, but not all of them should get your attention. You have to constantly ask yourself if something is the one thing you need to focus on right now to get closer to your goal. That could be an opportunity or a problem.
For us, a clear example is our sales system. We have been trying to build a new CRM. It is a big lift to shift technology, rebuild connections, and restructure everything. Meanwhile, Cami is already doing a lot. I asked myself what the rush was. Our current system is not perfect, but it works well enough for now. By introducing a huge new project at the wrong moment, we create unnecessary pressure and distract from higher priority goals.
Kaye: I see two ways to prioritize things in a business. One is based on long term vision. What needs to exist for us to scale the way we want to scale? The new CRM fits into that category. The other is urgency. What is burning down right now and creating a bottleneck? The classic productivity quadrant comes to mind. What is both important and urgent?
Running a business feels like chess. You protect the king, but you still have to move the pawns. It is a constant practice of choosing the right thing to focus on.
Eric: Exactly. And you need input from yourself, your team, your clients, and the market. Business is solving one problem after another. For years, I thought our problems came from lack of skill or experience. Now I understand that every company, big or small, is constantly solving problems. What separates great companies is how quickly and effectively they solve them.
In Foundry, we built an incredible fulfillment team. They are delivering excellent results and want more clients. So we focused on fueling demand. That created a marketing problem. We solved that by building a marketing engine. Then marketing success created a sales problem. Soon, growth will create another fulfillment problem. It is a continuous cycle.
This is normal. Many hectic hosts do not realize that their problems are not unique. Better operators build systems, culture, and teams that solve problems more efficiently. That is what moves them out of the hectic host stage.
Kaye: Reaching out for perspective is part of that. Right after the offsite, we had a call with a Meta ads consultant because that channel is working well and we want to double down. Even though I have a decade of experience running ads, there is always more to learn. Perspective helps you ignore the noise and focus on the actions that actually drive results.
What were your favorite takeaways from the offsite?
Eric: One major takeaway is that we are building a real business, and these challenges are normal. We are not building rockets. We are building a service business that requires people, process, and technology. Nothing we are doing is unprecedented. We can tap into experts quickly to solve problems.
For example, a client texted me before this recording asking for help negotiating big deals. I did not have the capacity or the specialized knowledge to support him fully, so I introduced him to someone in my network. Now they are negotiating the biggest deals of his career. That is the power of tapping into expertise quickly.
Kaye: A big one for me is how often hectic hosts believe they are the only ones who can solve problems. They get stuck in bottleneck mode because everything feels like it must go through them. At our team size, it is impossible for you to be in the weeds everywhere. You would burn out.
In terms of operations, our project management structure needed refinement. We are rebuilding templates, improving how we track work in ClickUp, and we implemented a new meeting cadence.
I generally dislike unnecessary meetings, but we designed a daily standup for Tuesday through Friday that is already paying off. In the very first one, I identified where I needed to provide more training and where one team member needed additional clarity. It was instantly valuable.
Eric: When you meet daily, even briefly, you start to understand where your team needs support. It is not about adding more meetings. It is about ensuring alignment. Some huddles will be boring, but the speed of removing roadblocks makes them worth it.
Kaye: Exactly.
Eric: When we interview potential RPM clients, we ask about systems and meeting cadence. Most companies do not meet consistently. Two books I recommend are Traction for early stage businesses and Scaling Up for companies past a couple of million in revenue.
Both emphasize consistent communication. Daily huddles with a tight agenda keep everyone moving in the same direction. Weekly and quarterly meetings create rhythm and clarity. Offsites are essential for solving bigger problems. If you feel stuck in the hectic host stage, examine your cadence. Are you meeting daily? Weekly? Are you doing quarterly offsites? This alone can transform your company’s momentum.
Kaye: Another takeaway for me was revisiting KPIs. In marketing, there is endless data. I realized we might be tracking too much. I want fewer, more meaningful metrics, and I want each team member to own one specific number that ties to our North Star of qualified leads.
Marketing is the growth engine. We are not creating content just to create content. We are creating content to generate results.
Eric: I agree with simplifying core metrics, but I also believe in tracking everything in the background. What matters is which numbers you compare. For operators, core metrics are often occupancy, five star reviews, and revenue per available rental. Profitability is essential but difficult to track at scale.
Kaye: There is a saying I like. Do not collect numbers if you will not use them. Tracking for the sake of tracking creates unnecessary work.
Eric: Exactly. You need to know which metrics support your strategy. TikTok growth is interesting, but it is not a primary channel for our cabin bookings. Instagram is. So that is where we measure with intention.
Kaye: Perfect example.
Eric: Many people stay in the hectic host stage because there is so much to do. In our episode on Sonder, we talked about choosing one business and staying in your lane. When hiring, we recommend hiring snipers, people who are highly skilled at one thing. You keep them focused. As business owners, we must do the same in our own companies.
We recently did a revenue report for someone whose portfolio ranged from low end studios to luxury homes. Their team was stretched across completely different product types. If they narrowed their focus, everything would get easier and clearer.
Simplify again and again.
Kaye: That came out of the offsite too. We realized we have key responsibilities in marketing that could technically be spread across the current team, but that would dilute everyone’s focus. Instead, we are adding part time roles so each person can stay in their lane and operate at their highest level.
Eric: That is essential. During the offsite, we also discovered that one position in our company had accidentally become three roles in one. Breaking it out into separate roles will create clarity and better results.
Kaye: Before we close, I want to share an exercise that is incredibly valuable for CEOs. Create a jobs to be done list. In one column, write all recurring tasks in your business. In the next column, write the name of the person responsible. You will immediately see where one person, often yourself, is carrying too much.
Eric: Great point.
Kaye: The offsite was incredible. I hope these examples help you move from hectic host to strategic CEO. Eric, anything else to add?
Eric: Choose one of the books we mentioned. Do not be afraid to invest in experts. And simplify wherever you can. Appreciate you all. Until next week.
