Speaker: Welcome to Keynotes, a podcast just for Casago homeowners.
This is where we explore how to get the most out of your relationship with
Casago, learn tips and tricks on how to make more income with your property,
and learn a little bit about the short term rental industry along the way.
I've been a vacation rental nerd since my 20s, and the team has finally let
me have this podcast so I can share everything I've learned with you.
I'm your host, Steve Schwab, and this is Keynotes.
Hey, welcome to Keynotes.
My name's Steve Schwab.
I'm your host . Today I'm with JB and Ilona from Casago,
Henderson and Las Vegas.
Guys, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having us, Steve.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Steve.
Speaker: So glad to have you guys.
I'm excited to be able to talk to you.
A little bit of background and disclosure.
J.
B.
was actually my platoon sergeant in the Army.
Speaker 3: That was a great time.
Actually, Bravo Company, first Ranger battalion, so it wasn't
just the Army, it was the Special
Speaker: Operations Army, Steve.
That's right, and it was an amazing time and certainly life changing
for me, directionally changing for me, and your leadership was a big
part of that, so thank you for that.
Speaker 3: It was great to be with you, and we served in a company of
Speaker: heroes.
Yeah, didn't we?
Some amazing men gathered together.
I always talk about that.
And Ilona, you have an amazing background with your athleticism.
You were a professional athlete.
Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Speaker 2: Yes, I came from a little town in Ukraine on the Black Sea called Odessa.
I born there and I start skating.
figure skating and I moved to United States when I was 25 years old and become
a professional figure skating coach.
After building my business, my coaching business in United States for
about 30 years, I decided to retire.
and start my new career in the real estate business.
So, me and my husband, G.
B., decided to go to vacation property management with Casago.
And it was great experience.
I changed my life completely for that.
And I'm very happy I did that.
My skating coaching business is very similar as with the vacation
rental business because in both businesses you need to stay organized,
disciplined, and attached to details.
It's very important in skating to be attached to details.
As I was working As choreographer, and it's very important to, to
look at the program on a different perspective, different sides to
clean up the program with expression, with head movement, with hands
movement, same in property management.
Now, when I'm designing homes, I have to be very detail oriented
how I want to design it.
And it's actually helping me.
With my new business, uh, to stay organized, disciplined,
and lead my company.
Same way as I lead my skating career, because I was working with the team of
coaches and I was leading them to help this young athletes and their parents.
So I build my team around me.
Same as I'm building my team around me now with my maintenance people and cleaning
team and supervisors and designers.
So it's very similar for me what I did before and what I'm doing now.
And that's why our company is going to be successful.
Speaker: Yeah, you know, you both come from such a disciplined
and structured background.
And with organization, I feel like it's like, The perfect power couple in property
management because something that we always say is the big things are easy.
It's the small things that make the difference and they're
the hard things to do, right?
And so when it comes to whether figure skating and making sure that
you're hitting that pose or that, you know, whatever that spin is.
just exactly right for the judges or whether you're running a complex special
operations mission like you did, John.
Both of those lend themselves to the idea of making sure that you have a
perfectly clean property that is in great condition and you're taking
care of that and being the steward of the property for those homeowners.
Would you guys agree with that?
Speaker 3: I agree 100%.
Everything Ilona said, I just want to caveat a few things.
One, she failed to mention that she was a world champion, which I think set her on
this path of success because the detail and the commitment you need to become a
world champion and then a professional athlete and then a professional coach.
That is the, uh, symbol of excellence for what we're doing at Casago now.
Her creativity, I think blends very well with my like military regimented system.
I think that's why that we, we can look at things and solve
problems when they come up.
And give people, homeowners, when they go with us, they see us as real people.
And we're not trying to like, hustle this to sell it, or it's just the next house.
Like, we have this commitment to excellence with them.
And we want to take the homeowner on a journey, and we want to be
that steward of their property.
Yeah, to take something off their plate when they're busy doing other things, they
want to have these investment properties and they wanted to go well, but it's also
of giving the guest experience because I think sometimes, you know, that is miss.
Guests go into some other properties and they're like, you
know, wow, I'm paying whatever, four or 500 a night for something.
And this isn't it.
Yeah.
Speaker: I mean, you both obviously exude that humble professionalism.
You're a very modest woman when it comes to not speaking about like all the amazing
things you've done, but it's a good thing.
We have John here to bribe you up and make sure that everybody gets to
know what an amazing human you are.
And speaking of guests experiences, we have something we call owner centric and
I've always believed making sure that.
Guests have amazing hospitality is in its own way, serving the
homeowner and elevating the homeowner.
Like he has to talk to the philosophy of owner centric, which is something
that we talk about often in Casago.
And what does it mean to you guys and how do you implement it day to day?
Speaker 3: Well, I think that owner centric really expands
to the guest experience.
Uh, we've had a homeowner that before we took over her home,
she never had a five star review.
Now that's all she has is five star reviews.
You know, one that makes that homeowner feel, feel wonderful that their home,
What they bought that their, their hard earned money went into is giving success,
giving happiness to somebody else.
And I think that's so important when we talk about that owner centric.
And this is what we're trying to get to.
This is what we want in a premier property.
Discussing that with the homeowner, if that's what you want to have, then we're
for you, you know, I like to say in our business and Vegas and Henderson, there's,
you know, there's, there's two people that there's the super big company that's
maybe turning and burning your place.
And then there's the mom and pop shops and we're boutique and
we're boutique, but we have the.
Power and presence of an international Casago brand.
We have the support network.
We have the backing.
We have the university.
We have just this group of owners, like you call the 65 CEOs that we can call at
any time and communicate with each other.
Cause we're, we're all in it together.
I think that's so important.
Speaker: Ilana, you have an amazing way in which you are really owner centric.
And I've seen this throughout, you know, our time together.
When you meet with a homeowner, and maybe it's part of, of your Ukrainian culture,
but it comes off so great that like, you're really honest with them about
what the property is and what they need to do to make sure that, that there's a
premium experience and that the reviews and the revenue are going to be maximized.
You do it in such a kind way, but a very straightforward way, and , it's a
very special way of being owner centric.
And maybe you could tell us a little bit about like some of the philosophies
you have around that and what is your approach when you come and meet
a new homeowner , looking through their property, making sure they're
a good fit for, for your company.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna look back.
Where I come from and how I come here to United States.
In my country, Ukraine, when you never look for how to make money.
Only certain things, right?
Let's say I start my business here as the figure skating coach.
The money wasn't on the radar.
For me, it was important to help the children to learn the skills.
And for me, it was important to work with them and teach
them and bring best from them.
And then, of course, because I'm, I'm working, it's my
job, you get paid for that.
But the pay thing never come.
before the result.
I think that stay with me and now I'm in a new business.
I understand it's our business, but also, it's in me that I'm not thinking about
how to make money on that home first.
for me is how I can improve that home first, how I can help
this homeowner to make this home to make money for both of us.
And first of all, first is for homeowner, how I can help them to make this home.
Work better how I can improve this home.
That's what is in my mind when I talk to a homeowner
Speaker: When
Speaker 2: I meet them,
Speaker: It comes through that first and foremost you have their best
interest in mind and Doing that consistently will eventually drive
the revenue as the business grows
Speaker 3: I think she's clear when she's with the homeowners of this
transformation like you could almost do one of these reality shows before and
after we actually thought about that like filming it before then filming it
after and then when the homeowner comes in and sees and the homeowners alone is
clear with them look there's going to be an investment because your property
was not where it was supposed to be because it was not managed correctly.
And, um, you know, just recently and one of the new homes we
picked up the homeowners.
You know, I just went and spent a weekend in it, and, you know, nearly in tears
at the transformation of their home, and now they see it and feel it, so
it's not just a space where people are going to come in and lay their head.
It's a place that people want to come and visit, and they feel it,
and it's the reason, you know, they purposefully chose to go into a home
rather than just staying in a hotel.
You know, obviously more in Vegas, you can stay, you can stay cheap, or you can stay
expensive, and Uh, but when people have a need for staying in one of the properties,
whether it's a homes or condos, you know, we, we give them that experience and it's
a loan is creativity, this transformation of these properties, and I think she
uses it from her own personal experience.
Where would I want to stay?
Yeah.
How do I want it to look like?
And,
Speaker: Uh, that's the, that's the genius when I've stayed in your properties.
So I've rented at your properties before when I've come to Vegas and one word
comes to mind as I walk in and then I walk through the property and it's intentional.
Everything that I see in the property from just even the way that a certain
paper is laid at a very specific angle, , as the welcome note or
the towels are put in place or the beds made everything's intentional.
And when you see a property that has been cared for with high intention.
You know that you can feel like it's been well cared for.
It's a premium experience.
I think that's what you guys bring to the homeowners and the guests,
, through your stewardship of those properties as we're winding down.
How does somebody get a hold of you if they're interested in
having you manage the properties in the Las Vegas or Henderson area?
Speaker 3: They can reach out to us directly at 702 605 6116 or
they can email us at henderson.
com.
Uh, you call us, email us, we'll get right back to you.
Yeah, I know you guys are fantastic with your
Speaker: response rates.
Thank you so much for coming out . What a great time talking to you and we'll
look forward to talking to you again.
Thank you, Steve.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Thank you.