Get Paid For Your Pad is the go-to podcast for Airbnb hosts, short-term rental operators, and vacation rental entrepreneurs who want to scale smarter, earn more, and stay ahead of industry shifts.
Hosted by Jasper Ribbers, Eric Moeller, and Kaye Putnam from Freewyld Foundry, this podcast delivers actionable tips on Airbnb pricing strategies, revenue management, direct bookings, listing optimization, and guest experience. You'll hear from real hosts, property managers, and industry pros who share behind-the-scenes insights, lessons learned, and the systems they use to grow profitable STR businesses.
Whether you're managing one property or one hundred, you'll walk away with practical strategies to increase occupancy, boost profits, and build a sustainable short-term rental brand.
Tune in weekly to learn how to thrive in today’s competitive Airbnb market, and get paid what you’re worth.
Freewyld Foundry offers revenue and pricing management (RPM) services to the top 1% of STR hosts. Learn more and request a free Revenue Report: https://www.freewyldfoundry.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Get Paid For Your Pad is the go-to podcast for Airbnb hosts, short-term rental operators, and vacation rental entrepreneurs who want to scale smarter, earn more, and stay ahead of industry shifts.
Hosted by Jasper Ribbers, Eric Moeller, and Kaye Putnam from Freewyld Foundry, this podcast delivers actionable tips on Airbnb pricing strategies, revenue management, direct bookings, listing optimization, and guest experience. You'll hear from real hosts, property managers, and industry pros who share behind-the-scenes insights, lessons learned, and the systems they use to grow profitable STR businesses.
Whether you're managing one property or one hundred, you'll walk away with practical strategies to increase occupancy, boost profits, and build a sustainable short-term rental brand.
Tune in weekly to learn how to thrive in today’s competitive Airbnb market, and get paid what you’re worth.
Freewyld Foundry offers revenue and pricing management (RPM) services to the top 1% of STR hosts. Learn more and request a free Revenue Report: https://www.freewyldfoundry.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
👉 Get a Free Revenue Review → https://www.freewyldfoundry.com/report
Find out how much money your portfolio is leaving on the table. Risk-free.
What happens when one of the largest, most celebrated short-term rental companies collapses overnight?
In this episode of Get Paid For Your Pad, Kaye Putnam (Head of Marketing at Freewyld and Freewyld Foundry) and Eric Moeller (CEO of Freewyld and Freewyld Foundry) break down the shocking downfall of Sonder, once valued at over $2B, operating 9,000 units across 40+ cities, and viewed as the blueprint for scaling an STR brand.
They unpack what really led to Sonder’s bankruptcy, how the rental arbitrage model buckled under massive fixed costs, and why the company’s economics never worked at scale. Whether you operate 5 units or 500, this episode is a masterclass in avoiding the financial, operational, and strategic mistakes that took down one of the industry’s biggest players.
You’ll discover:
• Why rental arbitrage becomes dangerously fragile at scale
• How fixed costs, liabilities, and rapid expansion eroded Sonder’s margins
• Why chasing occupancy instead of profitability led to massive cash burn
• How custom tech and PMS development slowed operations and added complexity
• What operators must learn about single points of failure and platform dependency
• Where the biggest opportunities now lie for STR CEOs after Sonder’s collapse
Eric and Kaye also reveal how the industry reacted behind the scenes, what former employees shared about internal challenges, and why this collapse is creating a sudden wave of opportunity, from talent acquisition to landlord negotiations to premium inventory hitting the market.
💡 Topics Covered:
• Sonder bankruptcy, short-term rental economics, and business model risk
• Rental arbitrage vs. property management models
• Profitability, cash flow discipline, and cost structure analysis
• How operational spread destroys margin in the STR industry
• Lessons for STR CEOs, founders, and operators scaling portfolios
• Identifying and eliminating single points of failure in STR businesses
🔗 Relevant Links:
Learn more about Freewyld Foundry → https://www.freewyldfoundry.com
Follow Eric Moeller → https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericdmoeller/
Follow Kaye Putnam → https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayeputnam/
Follow Freewyld Foundry → https://www.linkedin.com/company/freewyldfoundry
Keywords:
sonder, short-term rentals, rental arbitrage, STR risk, Airbnb business, profitability, hospitality, Freewyld, Freewyld Foundry, real estate investing, STR operations, revenue management, portfolio scaling, hospitality economics, Airbnb host, property management, bankruptcy analysis, growth strategy
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.