Ep 70 - Minimizing Risks Through Intelligent Guest Screening with Ela Mezhiborsky

GUEST'S BIO Autohost CPO and co-founder Ela Mezhiborsky handle the intersection of customer success and product development, setting priorities and driving the product roadmap based on client feedback. Before transitioning to SaaS, her career involved working in risk management, running her own digital marketing agency, and managing a successful short-term rental business in Toronto. In fact, it was her experience in the short-term rental industry that exposed her and her co-founders to the massive security void plaguing property managers. It’s the reason they built Autohost. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE 04:32 Ela Mezhiborsky introduction and background 05:23 How Ela got into the STR industry 08:02 How Autohost was created 11:00 Ela shares how Quickstay experienced fraud ring and illegal activities from guests 15:45 What is Autohost 17:27 Providing a safe check-in experience for guests and hosts 19:31 How to screen your guests without using a formal screening tool 26:06 Ela talks about anti-discrimination in the STR industry 29:37 What Autohost does for STR operators 32:20 Autohost's guest screening process 37:14 Ela talks about Autohost Starter 40:47 Acknowledgments to Ela 41:02 Where can people connect with Ela 41:38 Ela's #1 secret to success with STR NOTABLE QUOTES "Spidey sense is better than no sense." - Ela Mezhiborsky "Be aware of what you said. " - Ela Mezhiborsky "Identifying where your red flags are is important." - Ela Mezhiborsky "Inherently, people are good but sometimes good people still discriminate unconsciously." - Emanuele Pani CONNECT WITH THE GUEST Ela Mezhiborsky: Facebook | Linkedin Autohost: Website |  Instagram CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS Michael Sjogren: Short Term Rental Secrets Facebook Group | Clubhouse | Instagram | Youtube | Facebook Page | Linkedin https://linktr.ee/the_airbnbguy Emanuele Pani: Clubhouse | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin FREE MASTERCLASS TRAINING - https://www.strsecrets.com/masterclass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices