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A strong work ethic.
Discipline.
Rolling out of bed before the sun rises.
All three of those ingredients are needed for an aspiring entrepreneur – a lesson Jonas Gordon learned early on from his family of small business owners. After spending time away from Canmore for Junior and university Hockey, Jonas returned to the home he loved, looking to use his entrepreneurial instincts to carve out a place for himself in the mountain resort town. In the quiet months leading up to 2020, Jonas worked to gain his Real Estate license and launch his brand – Gordon Real Estate.
A Mountain Escape Destination
Canmore is located just outside of Banff National Park. The town is known for its breathtaking scenery, outdoor lifestyle, and wildlife. Just an hour’s drive from the international hub of Calgary, Canmore serves as the gateway to the Rocky Mountains. As a market, it’s extremely popular both in the winter, for its ski season, and in the summer, for the incredible hiking trails and sweeping mountain vistas.
It’s a highly desirable place to be, which makes the real estate market extremely attractive. Most REALTORS hesitate to add the option of short-term rentals to their business. But Jonas was different – he was determined to be better than most REALTORS.
Living in Canmore for his entire life, Jonas had seen the growth of short-term rentals first hand. He also knew that investors wanted to use their properties for personal use, but they also wanted to use them to generate income. Jonas realized he could add extra value to his clients if he understood the STR market.
While he recognized the opportunity, he didn’t know if he had the time he needed to manage the intricacies of multiple guests while still providing great service. Would becoming a property manager mean that he had to be chained to his desk twenty-four seven?
Says Jonas “I like to spend some time in the backcountry, not be on my phone 24 hours a day. If there’s a late check-in, a guest issue, or anything like that, that was definitely a turnoff. I was content with not being a property manager.”
Despite his reservations, Jonas’s clients kept asking him to advise on the revenue potential for resort properties. In Real Estate, reputation matters, and Jonas wanted to ensure that if he recommended the property to an investor, it would fulfill the projections he set out.
Jonas Enters the Jetstream
In 2020, Jonas met Mike Liverton, the Chairman and founder of Jetstream, who walked him through the business model. Jonas quickly realized that Jetstream’s technology would let him leverage his unique strengths and continue to build client relationships while Jetstream took care of the majority of day-to-day operations, and was always on call to handle immediate needs from the renters.
Jetstream’s platform handled all of the things Jonas’s clients required – including identity screening, guest check-in, secure remote access, and a 24/7 customer care team that helped with guests.
Jonas explains, “I’m very thankful for this partnership because it allowed me to go into the short-term rental management space without it impacting my existing business, or the lifestyle I wanted to have,” In essence, Jetstream gave him to tools he needed to become a property manager – without having to add to his workload or deal with the headaches of being a property manager.
There were other components that helped Jonas’ real estate company see immediate success, beyond Jetstream’s ability to handle the day-to-day management of his listings and guest relations. In particular, Jetstream’s shared success model was an incredible benefit of the partnership. It allowed Jonas to scale at his own pace without having to incur upfront fixed costs before he was able to generate income from new bookings.
Beyond all of Jetstream’s tech-enabled marketing and services, there was something else that was even more important to Jonas; “The only way I was going to do this and feel good about it is if I was able to provide something to the owners that would maximize their opportunity to make money and to have the highest return possible on their investment. Even with all of the technology and tools, it still comes back to having happy guests and happy owners – that’s what is going to make you successful.”
From the beginning of the partnership, Jonas was impressed by how passionate the team at Jetstream was about the guest experience. For Jetstream, guest delight was absolutely critical, and couldn’t be replaced by technology.
Success is About Relationships
A successful Real Estate career requires developing positive relationships, and for Jonas, that extends to his working relationship with Jetstream. Whether he’s working with Jetstream’s revenue managers to optimize prices, or working with the operations team to implement the latest technology, the Jetstream team has always gone the extra mile to find the right solution.
“The mindset is that we’re going to get this done,” Jonas says. “We have to work hard and get it done. There’s no drama or emotion involved, we just have to work together to find the best solution.”
The Result: Happy Guests, Aggressive Business Growth
Jonas’s first season with Jetstream was a huge success, as occupancy exceeded expectations, phenomenal revenue was generated (Zero to 6 figures in just 6 months), and guest feedback was extremely positive.
“We’re at the point now where it’s all systemized and structured. That gives me the confidence to keep growing the business aggressively. Our housekeeping and operations are in place, and I know we can scale and still provide terrific performance for our owners.”
Would the Jetstream model work for other ambitious REALTORS in other resort towns and cities?
“One hundred percent. What’s unique about Jetstream working with REALTORS is that REALTORS provide the skillset of really understanding the market and the region we specialize in. You can’t find a tech system that can do that. In
the past, the time-consuming nature of property management probably deterred REALTORS from adding short-term rentals to their business, but this no longer has to be the case. REALTORS can extend their brand and their revenues by staying connected to their clients long after the purchase of a property.”
What is Jonas’ advice for realtors looking at adding short-term rentals to their business?
“The first few units are going to be your biggest challenge, because you’re really learning how to operate in this new space. But once you create that system, it’s a lot more efficient to carry on and scale the business. It helps that the day-to-day operations are taken care of by Jetstream. What you put in determines what you’re going to get out – and you get to sculpt what that looks like.”
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