Christina & John McNaught: Short-Term Rental Experts

06/24/2026

This may go against what I used to say, but I’m going to say it anyway…

Not every houses needs the neon green and blue pickleball court. 😳😂

Meet Harmony Haven.

This property booked a $93,524.23 reservation. This is ONE reservation. ONE. Direct. Not Airbnb. Not Vrbo. Straight to our direct booking site.

And it didn't need a single loud amenity to do it. No splash pad. No neon pickleball court, no insane murals.

What it has instead is a cold plunge, an infrared sauna, a pool and spa, fire pits, a dedicated meditation space, yoga mats, a rebounder for low impact movement, and a design that photographs like a magazine spread.

This one was never about more screens and more noise. It's the opposite. Harmony Haven is built to make you slow down and enjoy the beauty of the little things, even though the house is massive.

Because here's what nobody talks about. There is a whole different guest out there, and they pay for a feeling. Wellness. Recovery. Space to actually breathe. Not just a place to sleep.

And here's the part that really tells you who this guest is. Harmony Haven sleeps 25 plus. This booking? Six people. Six. They didn't come for max heads in beds. They came for room to spread out and actually breathe. We personally don't do beds in heads around here anymore either.

Now add the direct piece. When a booking like this comes in direct, there's no platform skimming off the top, no algorithm deciding who sees the listing, and no third party owning the guest relationship. Just us, the guest, and a property built for exactly who showed up.

So no, you don't always need the neon court to win. You need the right property matched to the right avatar, professionally designed so it photographs like a destination. Do that and the booking value takes care of itself.

We own.
We sell.
And most importantly, we educate.

So tell us, are you team build the amenity playground, or team design for the high end wellness guest? Or are you heads in beds👇

Also STR designer on this was Paige Hayes

06/23/2026

Anyone else at the event at The freedom factory? come meet John and I..We wore super bright shirts so you could find us haha! Cant wait to hear Rachel D. Gainsbrugh today!

06/22/2026

I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but whatever you do, don't just shoot your listing photos at noon.

I know, everybody chases that bright midday sun. Flat light, harsh shadows, washed out colors. It makes your place look like every other rental in the search results.

We shoot at noon but more importantly at dusk. Every light on, the landscape lighting, the string lights, the court lights, all of it, and we let our photographer work during that window when the sky goes deep blue and purple.

Same backyard. Completely different feeling. One looks like a place to stay. The other looks like the trip they've been dreaming about all year.

Y’all, the nighttime shots are the ones that stop the scroll, and not everyone does them.

Do you do both?

06/20/2026

Guests don't just book square footage. They book a feeling.

I know, I know. Clear the clutter, shoot the empty room. And sure, you need some of those. But here's the thing a regular real estate photographer doesn't think about. They're shooting to sell a house.

We're shooting to sell a feeling.

That's exactly why we don't use a regular real estate photographer for our short term rentals. We hire an STR photographer on purpose, somebody who knows the goal isn't square footage, it's the vacation. They even bring "lifestyle models" to showcase your home and the amenities the way a guest will actually use them.

An empty room says "here is a room." A lifestyle photo says "here is your whole week." One of those gets scrolled past. One of those gets the booking.

Swipe through and you'll see it.
Morning coffee by the pool with the sun coming up through the palms. Two mugs, because you brought your person.
A kid launching off the edge mid cannonball.
A rainy day that doesn't matter because the fun just moves to the arcade inside.
And the day ending with wine by the fire..
That's not square footage. That's a whole vacation in one scroll.

So here's how I actually play it. We put SOME of these lifestyle shots in the listing, not all, just enough so every guest can picture their own family right in the middle of it. The rest live here on social, where the job is to stop the scroll. Clean rooms keep the promise. Lifestyle shots sell the dream.

There are a couple of STR photographers in this market we've used and trust. This shoot was done by Sam Smith, and STR is literally all he does. The man knows his craft!

Also I will tell you in the comments how we usually manage this with time constraints of geting your listing up and live ASAP.

So tell me where y'all land. Lifestyle photos in your listing, or strictly clean empty rooms? I read every comment. 👇Sam Smith

06/19/2026

Buy it nice, or buy it twice?

Don’t come at me for talking about grills this morning. I know. Riveting realtor content. But hang with me, because this is the stuff nobody warns you about until you’ve already wasted money.

If you’ve been hanging with us, you know we’ve talked good neighbors, we’ve talked the washer dryer setup… this is the next one. The stuff nobody tells you before you buy.

I tried the cheap route once. Grabbed a Nexgrill off the floor because it was easy and hey, fraction of the price. Felt like a win. Then…Salt air, daily guest use, somebody leaving the lid open in a rainstorm. That thing rusted out, burners went uneven, igniter quit by season two. I replaced it. Then I replaced it again.

Do the math with me. A $200 grill you swap every 18 months is not cheaper than a Weber. It just spreads the pain out so you don’t notice you’re bleeding money. Ok if you gave a small rental that charges $200 a night or under this may not be the right option, but in our case, 100% Weber.

But here’s the part most owners miss.

Our guests are not lowering their standards on vacation. Almost everyone booking our personal vacation homes has a grill at their own house, and they expect the same or better when they pay to stay with us. They walk out back, see a solid Weber, and they trust the whole property more. They see a rusty wobbly clearance grill, and they wonder what else you cut corners on.

So a couple years ago we switched everything to Weber. Weber backs their full size gas grills (Spirit, Genesis, Summit) with a 10 YEAR warranty (depending on model) on most parts. Lid, burners, grates, cookbox! Register it once and they actually honor it. And the replacement parts are easy to find and built to fit. If a burner tube goes, Weber ships you a new set and it stays covered for the rest of that window. Try calling about a burner tube for a no name grill. I’ll wait.

That’s why buy it nice, or buy it twice isn’t just a cute line. It’s the math.

What’s the one thing you ALWAYS spend up on at your STRs? Tell me. I wanna know. 👇 I’m sure y’all have opinions!

06/14/2026

Want to know how a great short term rental deal dies before closing?

The wrong lender.

We’ve always been more focused on one question: can this lender actually get the deal done?

This duplex wasn’t our first short term rental. But it was the first property we bought with the sole intention of turning it into one. 🌴

And it taught us something most investors learn the hard way.

The best lender isn’t always the one with the lowest rate. It’s the one who can actually get the deal done. I see this so much as a realtor!

When we bought this duplex, we knew exactly what we were trying to do. The plan was BRRRR before BRRRR was the cool thing everyone talked about online.

We used an FHA loan, put very little down, lived in one side, renovated both units, increased the value, then refinanced into a DSCR loan and pulled our capital back out to buy the next property.

The plan worked.

But here’s what we’ve learned after years of buying short term rentals. A quarter point on the interest rate rarely makes or breaks a deal. Specially if you’re going to refinance it. The wrong lender absolutely can.

We’ve seen investors spend weeks shopping rates only to find out their lender doesn’t really understand short term rentals.

Then suddenly the income isn’t being viewed correctly. The guidelines change. The deal gets delayed. Or worse, it dies altogether.

Meanwhile, a lender who finances short term rentals every day can often navigate challenges that other lenders can’t.

Don’t get us wrong. Rates matter. But for us, they don’t matter much if you never make it to the closing table.

These days we choose lenders based on experience, communication, creativity, and their ability to get the deal done. The rate is part of the conversation. For us, it’s just not the whole conversation.

So we’re curious how everyone else shops for financing. Are you chasing the lowest rate, or are you looking for the lender most likely to get you to closing?

06/12/2026

Y'all really don't believe me when I say build the backyard out. Cool. Meet two houses. 🤷‍♀️

Same area. Both 4 bed. Both sleep 14. On paper they are basically twins.
Home A is pacing at $147,558 right now and finished 2025 at $216,000.
Home B is pacing at $95,072 right now and finished 2025 at $125,000.

That is a $91,000 gap last year on two houses that look almost identical in a spreadsheet.

So what's the difference? Look at the backyards.

Home A (the higher earner) has a more normal design. Still good, just not flashy. What it has is a killer game room and a backyard that got built OUT. Sport court. Open pool. Room to actually play.

Home B (the lower earner) honestly has the cuter STR design inside. Awesome bunk beds. Really well done. But it kept the pool cage and there is no designated game room or outdoor amenties.

You tell me which one you are booking with 14 people and a long weekend.
This is exactly why on our homes the first thing we do is put up a fence. The second thing? We pull out the pool cage. (More on that soon 😂) I have about 10 examples of this with numbers to share, so this isn't just a one off.

Pretty design gets the like. A built out backyard gets the booking.
Keep the cage or lose it? Tell me below. 👇

06/11/2026

STR Stuff Nobody Talks About: Part 5.

Ceiling fans. Specifically, ceiling fan remotes.
This is the hill I will die on.

Picture it.

A family pulls up after traveling all day. Mom has a sleeping three year old on her hip. Dad is carrying half the house in luggage. They finally get the front door open, walk into a dark room, and Mom does what every human being on earth does.

She reaches for the light switch.
Except there isn't one.
There is a fan. With a remote. Somewhere.

Maybe it's on the nightstand. Maybe it's in a drawer. Maybe the batteries are dead. Maybe the last guest left it in a completely different room.

Now everyone is standing in the dark using phone flashlights before they've even set down a bag.

(And before anyone comes at me, yes, in our homes we make sure those remotes are there and working before every check in. But not everyone does.)

Here's the thing.
That first moment tells your guest everything.

It tells them whether this stay is going to feel easy or whether they're going to be solving little problems all week.

You either greet them with a deep breath or with one more thing to figure out.

And tired people remember which one they walked into.

Listen, I get it. The remote fans look sleek. They photograph beautifully.

But pretty doesn't help a mom carrying a sleeping toddler find the light.

As both an owner and a property manager, we are obsessed with lighting. Every room should light up exactly where guests expect it to. We even label switches because nobody should have to stand there flipping five of them trying to find the porch light.

The best guest experience is the one they never have to think about.

Every tiny point of friction chips away at how a guest feels. And how they feel is the entire game.

One confusing fan doesn't bother you because you know where the remote is.

To an exhausted family after a long travel day, it's one more thing that doesn't work the way they expected.

Hardwire the light. Label the switch. Make it boringly obvious.

Run your home like the people walking through the front door are tired, carrying a sleeping kid, and reaching for a light switch that needs to be there.

Because they are.

Okay. I feel better now. Please tell me I'm not alone.

What's your completely irrational STR pet peeve that drives you crazy every single time?

06/09/2026

This one may make some of ya'll twitch!
We allow pets in every single property we own.

STR Stuff No One Talks About. Part 4.
Pet friendly or not?

This one starts a fight every single time.
There are owners who act like allowing a dog is the fastest way to destroy a property.

Then there are owners like us.

We own 5 short term rentals and have welcomed pets in every one of them. And honestly? We've never really had an issue.

We charge a one time pet fee, per dog and every dollar goes straight to our cleaners for the extra work after checkout. We're not trying to make money on pets. We're trying to remove a barrier to booking.
Because here's what we've found.

Especially in larger homes, somebody in the group almost always has a dog. And if the dog can't come, sometimes the whole booking goes somewhere else.

That's a pretty expensive stand to take over a yellow lab. 🙂

Are there properties where a no pet policy makes total sense?

Absolutely.

But for us, being pet friendly has meant more bookings, more repeat guests, and more families making memories together.

So now let's do this.

🐾 Pet friendly
or
🚫 No pets allowed

06/09/2026

Oh no.. not another realtor posting their listing... ;) Stick with me, because I'm not just another realtor, and this is not just another listing.

New friends, meet Shangri-La.

When the owners were ready to sell, they came to John and me, the expert STR agents here in Bradenton, because they wanted a team that understands the ins and outs of short term rentals, not just lists them. We were so honored they trusted us with something this special.

And this isn't a pretty house hoping to cash flow someday. It's a 9 bedroom private resort on 3.6 acres of the Manatee River, fully furnished and turnkey, already a thriving Airbnb that booked over $407,000 in the last 12 months with more on the books.

Oh, and it has a Lucas Lagoon pool. If you know, you know. Plus an illuminated dance floor, an actual, light up, best party of your life dance floor. I'll give you a second.

That's before we even get to the private pickleball court. The outdoor kitchen. The waterfront gazebo. Home theater. Sauna. Fitness room. Boat house and fishing pier. Kayaks and paddleboards. Heated spa. The kind of place you walk into and immediately start scheming about how to never check out.

Listed at $2.9M, and one of the most special properties we've ever had the keys to. Now go check out this dance floor! and let me know if you want a private tour!

This 7102 square feet Single Family home has 9 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. It is located at 1030 Mill Creek Rd, Bradenton, FL.