STR Investing, The Podcast
Unlock financial freedom through short-term rental investing with hosts Mark Lumpkin and Taylor Jones. Each week, they sit down with the biggest names in the STR industry to uncover what’s working right now — from acquisitions and design to operations, marketing, and scaling portfolios.
Taylor has helped acquire and manage over 500+ STRs, while Mark brings years of hands-on experience transforming properties into high-performing investments.
Together, they break down real strategies, real numbers, and real stories that help investors grow smarter and faster.
Whether you’re buying your first Airbnb or expanding a multi-market portfolio, this show is your roadmap to building wealth and freedom through short-term rentals.
Subscribe and start turning your STR goals into results.
Episodes
134 episodes
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of College Station, TX Amenities Market
In this week's Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down the short-term rental market in College Station, Texas—home of Texas A&M University and one of the country's most seasonal STR markets.Football weekends, graduation,...
From Peru to 15 Million-Dollar Fund
In this episode, Mark Lumpkin sits down with George Salas, Founder of Empress Capital, to discuss what it really takes to build a scalable short-term rental business.George shares his incredible journey from immigrating to the United Sta...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of St. Louis, MO Amenities Market
In this week's Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down the short-term rental market in St. Louis, Missouri—and the data reveals one of the biggest opportunities we've seen all year.With more than 25 million annual visitors...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Destin, FL Amenities Market
In this week's Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down one of the most requested short-term rental markets in the country: Destin, Florida.With more than 8 million annual visitors across the Destin and Fort Walton Beac...
Your Next Booking is Coming From ChatGPT
AI is changing the way travelers discover short-term rentals—and it’s happening faster than most hosts realize.In this episode, Mark Lumpkin sits down with Gil Chan, Founder & CEO of Crafted Stays, to discuss how AI search, direct bo...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Asheville, NC Amenities Market
In this week's Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down the short-term rental market in Asheville, North Carolina, combining revenue by bedroom count with amenity data to show investors exactly where the biggest opportunities are.
The Airbnb Taxes You Likely Don't Know About
Most short-term rental owners assume Airbnb and Vrbo handle all of their lodging taxes.They don't.In this episode, Mark Lumpkin sits down with Julie Banting Rogers from Avalara to uncover one of the biggest blind spo...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of West Palm, FL Amenities Market
In this week's Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down the short-term rental market in West Palm Beach, Florida, combining bedroom-count revenue data with amenity-stack analysis to show investors exactly where the biggest opportunit...
28 Years in the Hospitality Industry
What does it take to stay relevant in the short-term rental industry for nearly three decades?In this episode, Mark Lumpkin sits down with Michael St. Pierre, a hospitality veteran with 28 years of experience spanning vacation rentals, l...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Sevierville, TN Amenities Market
In this week's Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down one of the most competitive short-term rental markets in America: Sevierville.With more than 15 million annual visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains and over 13,000 activ...
STR Tax Loophole with Ryan Carriere
Tax season just got a lot more interesting.In this episode, Mark Lumpkin sits down with CPA and real estate tax strategist Ryan Carriere to break down one of the most powerful tax strategies available to short-term rental investors today...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Seattle, WA Market
In this week’s Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin heads to the Pacific Northwest to break down the short-term rental market in Seattle, Washington.With more than 5,000 active listings, nearly 40 million annual visitors, and inventor...
Dream Cleaning with the Dream Team
A dirty property can ruin a guest experience before the vacation even begins.In this episode, Mark sits down with Logan, founder of Dream Clean Team, one of the largest vacation rental cleaning companies on Florida's Emerald Coast. Start...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Yosemite, CA Amenities Market
Yosemite is one of the most visited national parks in America, attracting more than 4 million visitors every year. But when it comes to short-term rentals, the opportunity may be even bigger than most investors realize. In this week...
AI-Generated Direct Bookings
AI is moving faster than most short-term rental hosts realize.In this episode of the STR Investing Podcast, Mark Lumpkin welcomes back Boostly founder Mark Simpson for a deep dive into how AI agents, automation, and direct booking techno...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Galveston, TX Market
Mark Lumpkin breaks down the short-term rental market in Galveston — one of the fastest-growing and most competitive beach markets on the Gulf Coast.With over 6,000 active listings and supply up more than 50% in just two years, Galveston...
STR Lessons From Surviving a Million Dollar COVID Loss
What happens when a short-term rental operator loses over $1,000,000 during COVID?In this episode of the STR Investing Podcast, Mark Lumpkin sits down with Jason Baxter to talk about the highs, lows, and future of the short-term rental i...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Charleston, SC Market
Mark Lumpkin breaks down the short-term rental market in Charleston — one of the most desirable and tightly regulated STR markets in the Southeast.Charleston is a heavyweight market: Over 8 million annual visitors
Smart Locks, Smarter Stays with Amber Baron
Smart locks are no longer optional in short-term rentals.In this episode, Mark Lumpkin sits down with Amber Baron from Dormakaba to talk about why access control is one of the most overlooked parts of the guest experience — and how bad s...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Chattanooga, TN Market
Chattanooga might be one of the biggest STR opportunities flying under the radar.In this week’s Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down why Chattanooga is still in the early innings of the amenity arms race — and how investor...
Building my First Micro Resort
AI is changing business faster than ever — and short-term rentals are no exception.Mark Lumpkin sits down with Nick Korwin to talk about building a luxury micro resort from the ground up while working full-time in the AI and autonomous v...
STR Marketing Without Airbnb
STR software is evolving fast - but the best operators know the real edge isn’t just automation.In this episode of the STR Investing Podcast, Mark Lumpkin sits down with Amber Knight from bookingcloud.com to break down where the industry...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Scottsdale, AZ Market
In this week’s Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down the short-term rental data for Scottsdale and the greater Phoenix market — and answers the big question:Is it actually oversaturated?Using real data and strategy f...
RVs The Next STR!
What if your next investment wasn’t a house… but something on wheels?In this episode, Mark Lumpkin sits down with Gar Russell, founder of Fireside RV Rental, to break down an entirely different angle on hospitality investing.Gar s...
Monday Market Data: Breakdown of Big Bear, CA Amenities Market
In this week’s Monday Market Data Report, Mark Lumpkin breaks down the short-term rental data for Big Bear Lake — including a full market snapshot + amenity performance breakdown.This episode introduces a new format, giving you a clearer...