We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lynette Guy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lynette below.

Alright, Lynette thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I like to personalize each one of my reservations. I leave a hand-written card for every guest. Often, they’ll let me know if they are celebrating a birthday or anniversary. When they do, I recognize this special occasion to help make it an even more special trip for them.

I stay at each one of my cabins so that I can make sure my guests have every necessity and convenience they could want during their stay. If I go to cook a meal and notice that there is a cooking utensil that would be helpful, I make sure to add it, as well as anything else that would be useful during their stay.

I have a digital guidebook that I send to all my guests. It has information about the cabin, but it also has local recommendations. I don’t just recommend attractions that they are able to google. I visit restaurants, local artisans, and activities in the area and give personal recommendations on what I find to be the best.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I own Freedom Finder Vacation Rentals. I own 2 rental cabins in Helen, Georgia, Freedom Finder cabin and Memory Maker cabin. They are just outside of Helen, and close to hiking trails, waterfalls, wineries, horseback riding, and great restaurants.

Both cabins are unique. They are not cookie-cutter cabins, but have thoughtful amenities throughout. Freedom Finder has a large wrap-around porch with hanging egg swings, an AKORN grill, picnic table, and hot tub. The porch overlooks the fire pit which is adorned with string lights. From the other side of the porch, you can see the two-person hammock. It’s a large structure where you can look up and do some star-gazing or take a nap on a sunny afternoon. There’s not another one like it in north Georgia.

Memory Maker has a lot of custom features, including a pendant light fixture in the loft made from mountain laurel. There’s a wall of birdhouses outside that are perched on mountain laurel found on the property. The loft has some “wall” games for family enjoyment (Connect 4, Scrabble, Tic-Tac-Toe, and Checkers). It also has two back porches. The upper porch has a dining table and gas grill, along with a couple of lounge chairs for soaking up the sun. The lower porch is where you will find the hot tub, an Amish swing, and a bistro table where you can enjoy a relaxing drink and good conversation. You’ll want to be sure and follow the path to the “secret garden”. Walk through the arbor to find yourself in an outdoor room perfect for reflection, reading a book, or spending a few quiet minutes away from the busy aspects of everyday life.

In addition to owning and managing both of my cabins, I also co-host and I am a certified short-term rental stager.

C0-hosting is different from a management company in that everything is completely transparent. That means if you own a short-term rental, but you don’t have time to manage it yourself and I co-host for you, you collect all the money that is made from Airbnb or VRBO and I invoice you at the end of the month. You are in control of your listing and you own your listing, no me. If you hire a management company, they own your listing. They are in complete control and they will send you a check after they take their fees. In addition, if you decide after a couple of years that you would like to manage it yourself, you will lose all the reviews that were built up over the course of those two years and you’ll have to start all over again.

As a co-host, I give the properties the same personal attention and attention to detail that go into my own. This sets them apart from the crowd.

As a certified vacation rental stager, I can help get a new property ready to put on the rental market or evaluate an existing property that is underperforming and determine what needs to be done to wow your guests.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Initially, most of my guests booked my cabins on either Airbnb or VRBO. Once they have stayed with me, I let them know that they can save money by booking direct with me the next time they stay. I provide business cards with my book direct information. I also provide all my guests with a digital guidebook. It has information for booking direct as well.

I encourage my guests to follow me on social media. In doing so, they can keep up with new things going on at the cabins and see what local events are taking place.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients come from referrals. When I have happy guests that refer me to their friends and family, this makes for the best new guests.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://freedomfindervacationrentals.com/
• Instagram: @myfreedomfinder
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myfreedomfinder
• Other: www.airbnb.com/rooms/23281806 www.airbnb.com/h/memory-maker www.vrbo.com/1246954 www.vrbo.com/2737237

Image Credits
Kurtis Miller Photography