The 4 Non-Negotiables of STR Success in 2025

**Kaye Putnam:**Welcome back to another episode of Get Paid For Your Pad. I’m Kaye Putnam, Head of Marketing for Freewyld and Freewyld Foundry. I’m here with Eric Moeller, CEO of both companies. Welcome back, Eric.

**Eric Moeller:**Thanks, Kaye. I’m excited about today. We’re finally breaking down the framework we’ve been refining for months. It captures what we believe are the four non-negotiables of success in short-term rentals.

**Kaye:**Yes, and you posted about this recently on LinkedIn. The reaction was amazing. But we wanted to bring it to the podcast because this topic is so important right now. Things are shifting fast in the STR space. Today, we’re introducing the four non-negotiables and focusing this episode on the first one: brand and product.

**Eric:**Exactly. I’ve seen this industry go through four major shifts since I started. It used to be that you could list anything on Airbnb and make money. That’s not the case anymore. There’s a lot of noise out there about STR being dead. But our data says otherwise. At Freewyld and across our clients’ 1,500+ listings, we’re seeing strong performance. But it requires a different level of intentionality.

**Kaye:**Totally. Consumers have more options than ever. So if you want to stand out, you need to build something worth marketing. That’s where the four non-negotiables come in.

**Eric:**Let’s list them. One: brand and product. Two: unreasonable hospitality. Three: revenue mastery. Four: operational excellence. These are not just one-time checkboxes. They are ongoing disciplines. Top STR brands are investing in all four consistently.

**Kaye:**Each one is a lever for growth. We’re going to do a series. Today is all about brand and product. But first, let’s define each one quickly.

**Eric:**Brand and product is about creating a differentiated experience and a promise you consistently deliver on. Unreasonable hospitality is going above and beyond for guests in ways they don’t expect. Revenue mastery is about understanding and outperforming the market with pricing strategy and profitability. Operational excellence ensures everything works smoothly behind the scenes.

**Kaye:**Great. Let’s go deeper on brand and product. This is where Freewyld started. Eric, what was the vision?

**Eric:**It started with frustration. My wife and I were traveling, staying in STRs and boutique hotels. So many places looked good in photos but missed the mark in person. I wanted to create spaces that were intentional in every detail. A place that invites you to disconnect from your phone and reconnect with nature and each other.

**Kaye:**That was the seed for Wyld Mode. You told the story of throwing everyone’s phones into a box by the fire and declaring it was time to unplug. That moment captured a cultural tension people are feeling, being overly connected. Freewyld became the antidote.

**Eric:**Right. From the beginning, I knew I wanted every detail, furniture, scent, sound, to contribute to a feeling. But I needed help turning that vision into something tangible. That’s where you came in.

**Kaye:**My role was to extract everything from your head and shape it into a clear brand strategy. We used brand archetypes, Freewyld is a blend of Explorer and Creator. That gave us a psychological blueprint for every touchpoint: visuals, copy, photography, even the amenities.

**Eric:**What I love is that this process gave us clarity on what to say no to. We passed on properties that didn’t fit the brand, even if they were great real estate investments. We’re building something specific, and that requires focus.

**Kaye:**Exactly. A brand is a promise. And your product, your properties, must deliver on that promise. You can’t market joy and presence and then deliver a generic apartment with no soul.

**Eric:**And for operators out there, ask yourself: do your properties match your brand vision? Are your owners aligned with what you want to deliver? If not, it may be time to let some go.

**Kaye:**You also need to consider your guest avatar. Who are you designing for? And what do they care about most? That becomes your design filter.

**Eric:**And don’t forget how this connects to pricing power. When people feel something from your brand, they’re willing to pay more. It creates emotional loyalty.

**Kaye:**We’ll dig into that more in the revenue mastery episode. But this wraps our intro to brand and product.

**Eric:**If you want to build a short-term rental brand that guests remember and return to, this is where it starts. Define the story, codify it, and deliver it through your product.

**Kaye:**Thanks for listening. Next week, we go deep into unreasonable hospitality. See you then!