How do you use AI in your STR business?

Question

We use it for streamlining a lot in ours.

It can do so much that it makes me wonder if there are angles I'm missing.

Michael Baum · Answer

I am with @Bruce Woodruff, I don't use AI for anything.

Now I could see using it to somehow verify my conclusions on a deal or an area I am researching.

Otherwise, nope.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

I wouldn't use AI for anything. A reasonably smart person can do everything you mentioned  themselves very easily.

Mike Anderson · Answer

As a tech guy by day that has worked on, installed, and helped integrate some AI I read this tweet below a few days ago and it couldn't possibly sum up better where we are these days with "AI". I've sat in multiple all hands calls where C Suite executives begged their employees to use AI and had no idea how to actually use it outside of it being a super charged google search... Tweet: Last quarter I rolled out Microsoft Copilot to 4,000 employees.$30 per seat per month.$1.4 million annually.I called it "digital transformation."The board loved that phrase.They approved it in eleven minutes.No one asked what it would actually do.Including me.I told everyone it would "10x productivity."That's not a real number.But it sounds like one.HR asked how we'd measure the 10x.I said we'd "leverage analytics dashboards."They stopped asking.Three months later I checked the usage reports.47 people had opened it.12 had used it more than once.One of them was me.I used it to summarize an email I could have read in 30 seconds.It took 45 seconds.Plus the time it took to fix the hallucinations.But I called it a "pilot success."Success means the pilot didn't visibly fail.The CFO asked about ROI.I showed him a graph.The graph went up and to the right.It measured "AI enablement."I made that metric up.He nodded approvingly.We're "AI-enabled" now.I don't know what that means.But it's in our investor deck.A senior developer asked why we didn't use Claude or ChatGPT.I said we needed "enterprise-grade security."He asked what that meant.I said "compliance."He asked which compliance.I said "all of them."He looked skeptical.I scheduled him for a "career development conversation."He stopped asking questions.Microsoft sent a case study team.They wanted to feature us as a success story.I told them we "saved 40,000 hours."I calculated that number by multiplying employees by a number I made up.They didn't verify it.They never do.Now we're on Microsoft's website."Global enterprise achieves 40,000 hours of productivity gains with Copilot."The CEO shared it on LinkedIn.He got 3,000 likes.He's never used Copilot.None of the executives have.We have an exemption."Strategic focus requires minimal digital distraction."I wrote that policy.The licenses renew next month.I'm requesting an expansion.5,000 more seats.We haven't used the first 4,000.But this time we'll "drive adoption."Adoption means mandatory training.Training means a 45-minute webinar no one watches.But completion will be tracked.Completion is a metric.Metrics go in dashboards.Dashboards go in board presentations.Board presentations get me promoted.I'll be SVP by Q3.I still don't know what Copilot does.But I know what it's for.It's for showing we're "investing in AI."Investment means spending.Spending means commitment.Commitment means we're serious about the future.The future is whatever I say it is.As long as the graph goes up and to the right.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

I just heard a radio interview about the use of AI in general. They mentioned that McDonalds just had a commercial that was AI produced.....it was pulled after negative reaction from the public.

AI seems 'soulless' to most people. It's ok for occasional help writing a letter, but I'd keep it personal and human for public interactions......

Just my $.02...

Michael Chang · Answer

I'll go first:We upload vendor quotes, contractor bids, and comps and have it build comparison tables.When something is broken, we send a picture of an appliance with the name and AI tells us what's wrong and how to fix it.We have a team rule - every question asked publicly must go through ChatGPT first and share the link. Forces the team to self-solve 90% of problems.We use HelloHost AI to handle the majority of guest comms. VA monitors and steps in when needed.We use Gemini to see what a room looks like with different furniture/decor before buying.We use a custom AI bot to write review removal appeals that actually work.We use ChatGPT to analyze competitor reviews to check sentiment and spot fake ones.What else am I missing?

Mike Grudzien · Answer

I'm old school, sorry.  Hands on, personal messages, personal calls.  (I have 1 STR.  11 years in with a 4.98 average...)

Josh Ball · Answer

I don't use AI for anything besides helping me create clever descriptions for my listings when I am creating them or updating them. I still go back through to "humanize" it prior to upload but that is it.

Nothing I hate more than messaging/calling a company & getting some robot type response so I don't ever see me using AI for guest interaction/response.

Steve K. · Answer

I have started using AI a little bit and have been shocked at how wrong it is much of the time. Definitely double-check everything that you use it for!

AJ Wong · Answer

We don't. AI is a useless bubble.

Collin Hays · Answer

I'm really wanting AI to make me some virtual money.

How do you use AI in your STR business?

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