We were lucky to catch up with Valarie Sparks recently and have shared our conversation below.

Valarie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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?

Fancy Like at Canyon Lake, my husband’s and my business, is an upscale vacation home rental located in Texas Hill Country. You know how they say the best way to start a business is to simply start? That’s what we did. However, outside of providing excellent hospitality and impeccable cleanliness, we didn’t know what our customer base wanted nor looked like.

We jumped in, got dirty, and have been successfully pivoting ever since.

How we were able to scale the business simply came down to listening to customers and making adjustments accordingly.

At the start, in May of 2022, we didn’t offer an ideal bedroom/bathroom layout. Given my hotel management background, I knew we were in the experience business, but what I didn’t know was that experience needed to include.

As an example, a 16-guest bachelor party reserved the home and a couple months later asked “Where is everyone going to sleep?” At first, we scoffed at the question because the bedroom layout is clearly stated. But, then we thought, well let’s figure this out. And when we did the math, there weren’t enough beds to sleep 16 men comfortably, so we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. We converted a two-room walk-in closet, with a skylight, into two separated sleeping spaces, each with a bed, three walls, curtain, night stand, lamp, clothing rack, and tower fan for comfort and white noise.

All the while, we were receiving customer inquiries asking about an adjacent guest house we called the “casita.” Over a year period, we must have received 30 messages asking if there was a bathroom inside that casita, and when we replied “no” we never heard from those interested customers again.

As a result, a year into business we took on the expense of adding a full bathroom, with shower, inside that casita, which then resulted in needing a new septic system for the entire estate; main home as well.

Next up, a group of 20 guests asked where is everyone going to sleep. We again walked around the main home trying to answer another great question. We converted a kids play room into another separate sleeping area. The laundry room then became the play room.

All of a sudden, two years later, we were managing a 6-bedroom, 12 bed, 5 bathroom vacation home rental. We had indeed scaled.

In fact, just last week, we converted one of the queen beds to a king, so we now offer 5 king beds. We also recently added a 5-plug charging station on each night stand because we noticed guests were unplugging the bedside lamps to charge their phones. Another example of listening to your customer to enhance the experience. We didn’t want it to seem like we were now accommodating large groups, but skimping on the experience.

We have two mottos that have made us the highest-revenue grossing vacation home rental in Canyon Lake, Texas.
#1 You’ll want for nothing.
#2 We like big beds and we cannot lie.

We uncovered our customers wanted beds. A lot of them. And not an outdoor walk from a bedroom to a bathroom.

We got gritty, creative, pivoted, and listened.

Today, with a more clear understanding of what makes our business successful, we comfortably accommodate large groups and events for up to 60 guests. It’s also important to understand what’s around your business. We didn’t know there were 10 vacation home rental condos, within walking distance.

When discussing scaling, it’s also important to discuss obstacles, because they will be there. Count on them.

One obstacle has been the water level of Canyon Lake. When we first opened, the lake was about 100% full and as of January 2025 is it less than 50% full, with all public boat ramps closed. We used to market our ample and easy boat parking, but not today. How do we continue to scale when the water recreation demand is down?

We now market to a new customer base; brides and wedding parties.

There are multiple high-end wedding venues within a 30-minute drive and many brides want more of a micro wedding; a backyard wedding, with onsite lodging.

Who knew while we were listening to our customer base, by adding beds and a bathroom, we were also gearing ourselves up to accommodate micro weddings, outdoor wedding receptions, and large overnight bridal parties.

A second uncovered obstacle, as we scaled to accommodate events, was neighbors.

We assumed a house rule of “no loud outdoor music after 10pm” would cover our “be a good neighbor” bases. Turns out, a DJ at 6pm is a major neighborhood disturbance. As such, pivoted and updated house rules. We immediately stopped permitted speakers of any size. Does that turn some brides away? Absolutely. But, we have prioritized a great relationship with our neighbors and plan to keep it that way. We can all think of a time when prioritizing relationships over money resulted in a better outcome.

We have officially scaled our vacation home rental business, and removed competition, for now. Offering 12 luxury beds and being able to comfortably sleep 20 guests, with a private pool, outdoor event space, and walking-distance overflow lodging isn’t something our competitors can offer.

When the lake levels return we know more competition will enter the market, and we will pivot then as well.

A third obstacle involved the private backyard pool. In order to accommodate larger groups we upgraded the pool system to commercial grade.

2024 was our most successful year thus far, and 2025 is on track to outperform 2024, with an only 50% full lake, compared to when the lake was 100% full in 2022/2023.

How did we get here? We scaled.

And along the way, we listened to our customer, attempted to fully understand what our customer base looked like, overcame obstacles, and differentiated to eliminate competition.

Can’t help but add – we LOVE what we do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

From Sheraton to Short-term
My heart for hospitality developed in 1994, at 15 years old, when my parents opened a Ponderosa Steakhouse in Southern Maryland. I developed a strong work ethic, got hooked on hospitality, and have been ever since. When I moved away to college I wanted to enter the hotel industry, with my first position as a front desk / reservation agent at the Sheraton Suites Akron Cuyahoga Falls. Each summer of college, I would intern at various Holiday Inn and Marriott hotels around the country.

I graduated August 2002, from Kent State University, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. I would then spend the next 12 years in hotel operations and sales management, at various resort and convention hotels throughout Southern California. From there, I started a hotel sales consulting business.

Marriott calls it a “Spirit to Serve.” When you have it, serving doesn’t feel like work, but rather a calling.

Next up, my brakes took over and I became a mom. That same passion for hospitality came over me for motherhood, and my prioritization of motherhood began. From 2015 – 2021, I focused on raising two boys and thought quite possibly, outside of part-time virtual consulting, the hospitality industry was in my past. And then, my husband, Jonathan, decided to leave the tech industry and try a new one that he and I knew nothing about; the short-term rental industry.

Having just moved to Texas Hill Country, in 2021, and knowing nothing about the rental market, Jonathan conducted extensive research, using websites such as AirDNA, to find a house that included the amenities and layout/square footage required to maximize revenue. The house was sold furnished and we were able to quickly list the home on Airbnb and VRBO. Well, the first day in business was Mother’s Day weekend and then it was summer. Oh boy. The reservations came in and they didn’t stop.

All of a sudden, without even realizing what was happening, we went from knowing nothing about the short-term rental industry, to becoming general managers of our own 3,600sq ft, 5-acre, 6-bedroom, mini-resort. We quickly realized self managing a large short-term vacation home rental meant you are all the things, all the time. I was back in resort hotel management. This time I also wear the hat of marketing manager, as I have created a successful social media presence where I collect direct booking leads. All of the reasons why I loved hospitality came rushing back and I have enjoyed every minute of this new business venture. The tough days weigh harder on you, when it’s your own business. But, when you love what you do, you can move on rather quickly.

Jonathan and I have owned and managed Fancy Like at Canyon Lake since May of 2022 and it is indeed a labor of love. For 2023 and 2024, the vacation home was the highest revenue grossing property in Canyon Lake Texas. We named the vacation home after the Walker Hayes country pop song, ‘Fancy Like’ because “every now and then when you get paid, you gotta spoil your crew with an upgrade.”

If I could offer advice to someone trying to figure out his or her career path, I would advise to do what you love. And get immediate hands-on experience to find out if what you think you love is really what you do love. If you wake up everyday excited to do it all again, you know you found your passion. And it’s crazy to say I will have done nothing but the hospitality industry since I was 15 years old, with no plans to leave it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I am proud of the value and following I have created via Facebook and Insta. @FancyLikeVacationHome

Coming from a career in resort and hotel convention management, the hotels for which I represented had successful social media presences. High-quality photography and videography was at the forefront of their online presence.

I knew having a high-quality professional video on my social media sites, direct booking website, and a YouTube channel would be imperative.

Also, direct marketing a direct booking website, exclusive of Airbnb/VRBO fees, for my vacation home rental in local Facebook Groups, would also be important.

Via social media marketing efforts, I have booked 15+ large group reservations. And they were through our direct booking website, which means we didn’t have to pay the additional Airbnb/VRBO booking fees.

Advice I would give would be to not pay for Facebook ads. A better return on investment would be a professional and engaging video of the experience or product you offer.

Also, build relationships with local vendors/businesses that can refer what you are offering. Promote affiliate vendors and local businesses through your social media channels. Find your referral pack and make them look good on social media. Paint the picture of what you offer, via social media, with high-quality photos and video.

Lastly, ask your customers to follow you on social media and follow them, where appropriate, as in it looks like they welcome public followers.

Keep your product or service top-of-mind via valuable social media engagement

Any advice for managing a team?

As a volunteer teacher for my church’s children ministry, the Children’s Ministry Pastor has given me the helpful advice to make the 60 minutes I spend with the children the best 60 minutes of their weeks. That advice has stuck with me, even beyond the church.

I take that advice when working with the cleaning team of my vacation home rental. We have from 11:30am – 3:00pm to go from a 20-guest check out to a 20-guest check in. That work is not for the faint of heart. It is fast paced and extremely detail oriented.

To somewhat of a default, my experience as a Marriott housekeeping manager has led to very high expectations. These expectations are great for the incoming guests, as they know the experience will be impeccable, without a trace of a previous guest. However, that can also lead to a stressful working environment for a cleaning staff. As such, I balance both my cleanliness expectations and the need for high morale and a fun working environment. I have adjusted my expectations accordingly and have a willingness to help out and inspect, without reprimand or stress.

The cleaners and I work together to get the job done and create a 5.0 rated cleanliness experience, as that is the only rating received in over 200 check outs.

Marriott is the number one hospitality management company because they take care of their associates. Management treats housekeepers well and respects their hard work.

I don’t sweat the small stuff and keep the environment one of which the cleaners feel I am there to help, not critique.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fancylikevacationhome.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/fancylikevacationhome
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FancyLikeVacationHome
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valariesparks/
• Twitter: @SparksSocial
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/jKLBXQhmX_M?si=acDS9UNum_YZuSal