Learn STR Hospitality from Industry Expert Katie Cline

We’re thrilled to announce the first course in the Independent Host Academy: Your First STR: Hospitality Secrets from Top Hotel Brands, led by hospitality expert Katie Cline.

Katie owns three vacation rentals in upstate New York - Trout Landing, Gallant Fox, and The Lazy Oar - and hosts two podcasts, Skift’s Suite Success and Second Home First, sharing strategies from hospitality leaders and innovators. She’s also an award-winning publicist who has led communications for The Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, and St. Regis, and regularly contributes to Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Yahoo!, MSN, and The Everymom.

What You’ll Learn in This Course

This course is designed for new short-term rental hosts who want to start strong. You’ll explore:

• Your First Steps as a Host: Define your unique value and build a hospitality-first approach
• Hospitality Made Simple - Part 1: Learn core hospitality principles STRs can borrow from hotels
• Hospitality Made Simple - Part 2: Turn hospitality into a scalable business through smart systems
• STR Superpowers: Discover what short-term rentals do better than hotels
• Build Your Own Brand: Create a distinctive STR brand by defining your story, values, and guest identity

Start With Chapter One

For now, chapter one is available - a perfect way to get started. Each week, a new chapter will be released, guiding you step by step toward creating a professional, guest-focused rental business.

Why Take This Course

Learning from an expert like Katie Cline gives you practical strategies without feeling overwhelmed. You’ll gain insights from hotel industry best practices and adapt them to your rental - all while building a brand and approach that works for independent hosts.

This is just the beginning - more courses and learning opportunities will follow in the Independent Host Academy.

Get Started Today

Ready to take your first step toward a smarter, more guest-focused STR business? Start with chapter one and join the growing community of independent hosts learning, connecting, and scaling together.