We were lucky to catch up with Kristi Adkins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kristi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

We didn’t scale overnight — we scaled with intention. From the beginning, we kept our vision big, but our goals small and achievable. When we started, we focused on doing the little things with excellence: creating welcoming guest experiences, caring for our properties as if they were our own homes, and treating every homeowner partnership with trust and transparency.

We grew step-by-step. First, we managed 5 properties. Then we set our sights on 15. Once we reached that, the goal became 25, then 50. At the time, even imagining getting to 100 felt huge — almost unreachable. But by staying consistent, refining our systems, investing in our team, and never sacrificing the guest experience for the sake of growth, we continued scaling steadily and sustainably.

Today, we’re managing around 175 properties — and still growing.

Our growth has always come from:
Word-of-mouth referrals
Strong property performance
Repeat homeowners expanding their portfolios with us
Operational systems built for scale
A guest experience that genuinely stands out

We didn’t rush. We didn’t chase shortcuts. We simply kept moving forward — one goal at a time.
And we still operate with that same mindset:
Vision big. Goals small. Execute daily.

Kristi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Kristi, the owner of StayEasy LLC — a Vacation Rental Management company that was built from the ground up through hands-on experience, a guest-focused mindset, and an unwavering belief in doing things the right way.

We first entered the short-term rental space as hosts ourselves. We learned quickly that running a successful rental is far more than posting a listing online — it’s guest communication, cleaning standards, maintenance coordination, pricing strategy, and anticipating needs before they arise. We felt the gap immediately: homeowners wanted to share their properties without the stress, and guests wanted a smooth, memorable, “they thought of everything” experience.
So we stepped in to solve both sides.

Our Backstory: I come from a healthcare background as a Registered Nurse, and Josh has spent over 20 years in the property management industry. We moved from Kansas to California in 2013 and continued in our respective careers for several years. In 2018, after the birth of our first child, we began rethinking our lifestyle and work priorities. We decided to invest in our first vacation rental in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, with the hope that it would offset part of my income so I could stay home with our baby. That decision changed everything. The property performed well, and once we shared the results with friends and colleagues, many of them asked if we could help them generate passive income through short-term rentals as well. It started with one home — and grew into a business. What we jokingly refer to now as the “snowball effect” became the foundation of StayEasy LLC. And the rest truly is history.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

We’re proud to say that we funded our business ourselves. Both of us have been working since our early teens, and we were intentional about saving and building financial discipline long before we knew where it would lead. When the opportunity came to purchase our first vacation rental, we relied entirely on our own savings — no investors, no outside partners, just us believing in the vision and taking a calculated leap.

From there, every step of growth has been reinvestment. Our business has remained family-owned and operated, and we’ve continued to scale using our own earnings rather than relying on external funding. It allowed us to grow at a pace that prioritized quality, sustainability, and trust, rather than urgency or pressure.
Starting with our own capital created a strong foundation and a deep sense of ownership — not just in the business, but in the standards we uphold every day.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When we first started, we were total beginners. There was no strategy team, no fancy content plan — just us, our phones, and a lot of late nights. We would sit together after the baby went to bed, liking 100+ posts a night, engaging with accounts using similar hashtags, learning which tags performed well, experimenting with music trends, and figuring out how long a clip should be to hold attention.

It was slow, hands-on, and honestly, very humbling — but it taught us how our audience behaves and what they care about. That foundation was invaluable.

As our business grew, we eventually hired a social media manager who helped us refine our brand voice, show more of our personality, and create fun, educational, and visually compelling content. Watching this side of the business evolve has been one of the most enjoyable parts of our journey — it’s where our story really gets to come to life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://stayeasyllc.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/stayeasyllc
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/stayeasyllc
• Linkedin: Kristi Adkins
• Other: https://stayeasylux.com

Image Credits

Joshua Adkins