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[00:00:00] Sarah: Hello listeners. Welcome back for another great week. My name is Sarah Karakaian.

[00:00:03] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–

[00:00:05] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting. 

[00:00:06] Sarah: All right, let’s kick off this episode like we do every week, and that’s sharing one of you, our amazing loyal listeners who’s using our hashtag on Instagram, #STRShareSunday. And if you use that hashtag, we are prowling. We will find you. We will share you here in the podcast, on our email list. Annette, who are we sharing this week?

[00:00:30] Annette: This week, we are sharing on the Instagram, or you how– I can’t even say it wrong. It’s funny. Okay. @thehideawaymasonlake. Again, @thehideawaymasonlake. And a couple of things I want to chat about this property. Number one, they’ve done a wonderful job of weaving in, throughout their Instagram, specific available dates. And I love that. They’ll say, hey, September, 8th through 10th– actually, let’s say September 24th through 26th, we have availability for our conference if you haven’t bought a ticket yet.

[00:01:04] Sarah: Oh, I like that plug.

[00:01:06] Annette: But they’ll give a specific date and let people know there is an availability alert. I like that availability alert. And that the calendar is booking. And so do not delay. So they’re giving you very specific timeframe thinking, hmm, do we have opening? Yes. Let’s go that weekend. And a sense of urgency because they’re like, hey, our calendar is filling up. Get it while you can. 

[00:01:27] So if you’re looking for some content to weave in, do that every now and then. Give a specific three-night stay. Let people know, hey, these are the dates. Maybe people know, oh, that’s my birthday, my spouse’s birthday, whomever. It’s something they want to celebrate. I have that time off work. But give people that very specific date. I love that they’re doing that. 

[00:01:47] And hey, we know we only have 365 days, so get them booked. I love that they’re doing that. The other thing is, again, weaving in content. They’re putting reviews that they’re getting. Whether they’re handwritten, or they’re typed, they are putting those reviews out there so people can see that also. So if you’re not putting reviews as posts, please go ahead and do that. And then last but not least, it’s a beautiful, beautiful place, and Sarah loves one specific thing. It is their outdoor–

[00:02:17] Sarah: Sauna barrel. I want one.

[00:02:18] Annette: Yes. And I believe people probably would book the property if they were like–

[00:02:23] Sarah: Sauna barrel. No sauna barrel.

[00:02:25] Annette: Yeah, you’re going to go with the sauna barrel. Plus a sauna barrel with a view. So well done @thehideawaymasonlake. Thank you for using our hashtag, and we can’t wait to share one of you on our next STR shares. Sarah, let’s talk about this episode.

[00:02:40] Sarah: It is good, listeners. It’s important, listeners. This episode is going to open up your mind to all sorts of people who are staying with us. We don’t always know, especially if you have a larger place and you cater to large families that have many different aunts, and uncles, and cousins staying. We need to make sure that we’re being more inclusive so that people who are choosing to stay with us can all have a comfortable and most importantly, a safe stay.

[00:03:05] And this isn’t the safety topic we talk about with Justin Ford from Breezeway. This is safety as it relates to children who are on the autism spectrum. And I don’t have any family members that have alerted me to them being on the spectrum, and so therefore I don’t know about this. And so as a host, it is my job to open my mind up to everyone who’s staying with me. And today on the podcast, we have Suzanne Hacker who has made it her mission to make vacation rentals and short-term rentals more safe for children on the spectrum.

[00:03:38] Annette: Suzanne is also making it her mission to help us hosts become more friendly to people who are on the autism spectrum. She has launched spectrumfriendlyvacations.com. We will put that link in the show notes. And this is where you can get certified for your property to be friendly, and she’ll give you a badge that you can share on your direct booking website. You can also say that you are certified. 

[00:04:00] Sarah: We asked her if we could be affiliates for this while sharing it with all of you listeners. Should you use code TFV when you go to her website to become certified, any affiliate commission Thanks for Visiting makes off of that purchase, we will give back to the autistic community to help forward research and all those sorts of good efforts there. 

[00:04:22] So we really hope you take this episode, take those tips from Suzanne, but also become certified and just do yourself a favor as a host and make yourself more well-rounded, more open, more inclusive, and we can’t wait to hear what you think about today’s episode because it’s going to really enhance your rentals.

[00:04:38] Suzanne, welcome to the show. We are so excited to dive into this topic. Before we do, share with our audience a little bit more about your background and how you even came into the short-term rental space.

[00:04:55] Suzanne: Sure. Well, my background is actually as a banking executive for 25 years.

[00:04:59] Sarah: Okay.

[00:04:59] Suzanne: I know, right? In that experience, I did lending, whether it’s mortgage lending, consumer lending, small business lending, as well as overseeing 17 locations in a couple of different states. And I loved that career, but through acquisitions, that career ended. And then I was able to start investing in real estate after that. 

[00:05:21] And I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for a little while, but it was something I always wanted to do. But when I had that career, I didn’t necessarily have the time, how to do that at that time, so I started to do that and launched a vacation rental business and got hooked, like I know so many people do. And it was just that hospitality side as well as seeing property increase in value and put money in my pocket, hey, it worked for me.

[00:05:46] Annette: You say a short-term rental business, vacation rental business. Did you start with one home? Was it a property management business? How did it actually get started?

[00:05:56] Suzanne: Yeah. It started with the home because I believe it’s not a hobby. It’s a business. And I think a lot of times, women can be even more successful if they do treat it as a business. And so I always called it a business, no matter if I had one, two or five.

[00:06:10] Annette: Love it. Okay, so you started with one. And what was the location of that? What area of the world?

[00:06:14] Suzanne: That was near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. That was actually on the other side of the lake from there. 

[00:06:19] Annette: Ooh.

[00:06:19] Suzanne: I know, right? Yeah. It was great. A couple of blocks from the beach. People were able to walk there, so it was fabulous. I mean, we loved having the home, and it was a nice two storey Dutch Colonial, and it worked out really well. And then I bought a house in Lake Geneva and completely remodeled that one because that’s also something I really love to do, is remodeling, and a bit of DIY, design, and decor, and stuff too. 

[00:06:45] So started doing that, and then I decided I didn’t want those cold winters anymore So I didn’t want to wait till I was 70 to move to Florida. So sold houses and moved, and then started again. So bought another vacation rental in Florida last year, and then also started to co-host for other people.

[00:07:05] Sarah: Oh, wow, so you’re co-hosting now too. I didn’t know that piece, Suzanne. And so how do you spend your days these days then? Is it truly managing these rentals? You’re also very passionate, and you are leading up truly a movement of accessibility, but it’s a very specific niche of accessibility. So share with us what that is and why this is near and dear to you.

[00:07:29] Suzanne: Yeah. I mean, I also coach other people. I co-host, have my own, but I have really good friends and also family members whose children are on the autism spectrum. And one of my really close friends was starting to launch a vacation rental last year, and she happens to have two children who are also on the autism spectrum.

[00:07:54] Actually, one in 44 children every year now is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. And it was interesting because she’s back in Wisconsin. And while I had my vacation rental there in Wisconsin, her little four-year-old at the time was also nonverbal. One evening, during family movie time, she slipped out of the house.

[00:08:19] And wandering is a very common situation in families with autistic children. It’s called wandering or eloping, where children often leave their home. And they’re pretty smart kids. These kids, while they’re on the autism spectrum and may not be able to verbalize things, they’re still pretty smart.

[00:08:40] So unfortunately, she slipped out of the home. It wasn’t realized that she had left for a while, maybe an hour to two hours, until it was time to put the kids to bed. And that’s when my friend first called her husband, and then she called 911, and her husband called me. And it was Ninny, that’s her name for short. Her name is Trinity, but Ninny for short. So Ninny was missing. 

[00:09:05] So she had decided to walk to the beach and, fortunately, was found by someone, a very kind person who did also call 911. But because this was their second home, which she was working on turning into a vacation rental, the children weren’t part of the school system or anything like that, so it was a little difficult for them to find out exactly where Ninny belonged until she called 911.

[00:09:28] So that is one of the things that will always be in my brain, is getting that call late one evening that Ninny was missing. So when I had one of my first guests in my new Florida vacation rental,how we all have those electronic keypad locks on our doors, or most of us do, well, during one of the family stays that I had, all of a sudden, I kept getting pings on my watch about my alarm, or the keypad, if you will, on the lock.

[00:10:03] And all of a sudden, I went, oh no, a child is– I could just tell you. A child was sitting there locking, unlocking, and it just dawned on me that if that was the only lock I had on the inside of that home, that was not going to be good enough for a family that might have an autistic child because that is not going to keep them inside the home.

[00:10:21] And it was at that moment that I had just that moment of clarity of like, we have these in so many vacation rentals around the country that it is not good enough, and it scared me enough that I had to sit down and write down an outline. And I sent it to my friend who was turning her home into a vacation rental, and I sent it to her. And she immediately read it, and she answered me back, and she just said that she was just crying because she didn’t know how she was going to explain to future guests all these things that she had in her home to make her children safe.

[00:10:55] And it was because of that game changer night, as she calls it, when Ninny slipped out that they had to implement all sorts of different safety things. So that’s what started it for me. And I know that’s probably a longer answer than you expected, but that’s the backstory to that.

[00:11:08] Sarah: Those are the stories that stick with you when you don’t have those personal experiences that help you become a better host and think about people who are experiencing things that I have yet to experience in my life. So I will never forget that story of Ninny, so thank you for sharing that. 

[00:11:26] Suzanne: Yeah, you’re welcome.

[00:11:27] Annette: That particular moment, and you’re saying you’re going through your home, and she was going through her home, did you start to do research on what is a spectrum-friendly vacation rental? Do hotels have these? Can you give us some of the background on what would make– let’s dig into, us as host, how can we implement spectrum-friendly– educate us right now on how we can prevent these moments from happening.

[00:11:54] So what does that checklist look like? What did you start to go into, of research, on how can I make my vacation rental– because here’s where I know a lot of our listeners are probably going to have like, wait, I know there’s a checklist, but how can we actually tell guests what makes us for sure spectrum-friendly because there’s obviously a huge safety element too. So can you just unpack all of the things that would be required to become spectrum-friendly?

[00:12:20] Sarah: Just in case, Suzanne, for any listener who may not have an understanding of what it truly means to be on the spectrum, could you also first share that, and then go into what Annette asked for? Just in case anyone’s like, I’ve heard this, but I haven’t yet experienced or know anyone in my life who is on the spectrum.

[00:12:39] Suzanne: Yeah. So unfortunately, I mentioned before that statistic about one in 44 children are diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. It is called a spectrum disorder, though, because it has such a wide range, from being nonverbal, wandering or eloping, having gastrointestinal problems, the stimming, as it’s known. You may see children do that. A little bit maybe more verbal outbursts, the sensitivity to noises, even sensitivity to certain colors or certain lighting.

[00:13:13] There’s so many different things, unfortunately, that are in that spectrum disorder that it’s really hard to just say like, well, it’s just this, or it’s just this. Some of them have a huge sensitivity to certain fabrics. They can’t wear the tags. I mean, I hate tags too, but their sensitivity to it is a lot more. There’s just certain things that they end up all coming together, I think, for doctors, physicians, and families to be like, ugh, my child is on the spectrum. 

[00:13:43] My partner in life, his daughter is severely autistic on the spectrum, and she was diagnosed when she was two. A neighbor has two children on the spectrum. They have different learning styles, different communication, so, again, it’s hard to quantify, but a lot of times, they can get a diagnosis when they talk to their physician as early as two years old.

[00:14:05] Sarah: Got it. Thank you for sharing that.

[00:14:08] Suzanne: Yeah, you’re welcome. So I did have some personal experience from family, and friends, and neighbors, but I sat down and, yes, I started to research. First of all, what is all considered to be on the autism spectrum? What are some common, if you want to call it features of a child with autism, and what do they maybe do more commonly that would be a safety issue, first of all?

[00:14:33] Because my first fear is that safety concern for families, because it’s one thing for your child to elope or wander when you’re at home and you know the neighbors, but if you’re in a strange city and you don’t know anybody, and the police don’t know you or anything either, to have your child leave the house in the middle of the night, that’s, to me, the biggest thing.

[00:14:55] And making sure that we have better locks and alarms in the home, first of all, and that every door and even windows have either a lock or an alarm on them that a parent can set if they want to, to me, those are like the biggest things. And I offer a training through Spectrum Friendly Vacations that first teaches vacation rental owners or hosts about what autism is and what some of those triggers are. 

[00:15:22] And we go through things even like the lighting, the room-darkening curtains, because they can have that sensitivity to light, having night lights in the home, what all are some good things for safety and comfort then too. So we go through that in the training. The training would take somebody probably an afternoon to really go through. 

[00:15:44] You can make a property spectrum-friendly in an afternoon, typically, depending on the size of it, and if there’s things that you need to change because there are trigger colors too that can really set a child off, so we cover that in the training. But you can make it spectrum-friendly in an afternoon and typically for less than $500.

[00:16:04] Sarah: Make sure, first of all, that your doors do not only have that little deadbolt lock. Make sure that there is some additional security lock higher, where a small child can’t unlatch it. You see them in a lot of hotels, the security lock that’s up high. That’s the first simple, simple thing that can be done to keep the children safe.

[00:16:29] Suzanne: The next thing would be there are small alarms that can be put on doors and windows that can actually just be toggled on or off so that they can be used if you have a family with an autistic child, but they don’t need to be, but they’re there. And they typically know. If they see these, they know what they’re for.

[00:16:50] They know how to use them. They’re not difficult to install on any door and window, especially ones, that are easily accessible for children. The next thing I would say is make sure that your furniture is anchored to the wall, please. I think we often forget. It’s pretty. It matches the decor, all that fun stuff that we all love to do with our vacation rentals, but please make sure that it’s anchored to the wall because they don’t have the same fears that a lot of other children might have.

[00:17:23] And they’re going to be little monkeys, and they’re going to be climbing up on furniture that you may not even have thought that they would, and a lot of them could easily like tip over on top of them. So please make sure furniture is anchored to the wall.

[00:17:36] Annette: Okay. That’s a great safety tip. 

[00:17:38] Suzanne: Yeah. I’ll go on for a couple more. The room-darkening curtains is one of those things that I would ask, please have them in the bedrooms. And I think the last thing that I would say right now is for hosts to think– sometimes we’re like, oh, they moved the furniture. You know what? Sometimes they move the furniture for good reason. 

[00:18:01] Or if somebody wants to come in and they– one of the parents that I talked to recently, they were taking their first family vacation in five years because they have a child on the spectrum. And she had been messaging back and forth with the host. And one of the things that she was planning to do is as soon as they arrived, she was going to go in first, get anything that was breakable, and see if she could put it up, away, in closets, or something like that, so that she was being a good guest as well.

[00:18:32] So it’s being open to some of those conversations with our guests. It’s okay if they want to move things because it might be a really good reason, and they want to protect stuff. Or if they need to push a bed over, it’s not because they didn’t like where it was. It’s they needed to make room for their child to actually not sleep on the bed because it’s not safe for them to do so. So those are some things to be open to.

[00:18:57] Annette: You mentioned also, I think some potential paint colors or fabrics. Are there some that are just like, hey, just steer clear from these, if they’re just listening to the episode, and maybe they’re in that decision-making process of some of the stuff that they’re going to do? Are there some that are like, let’s just keep the lid on that bucket of paint and return it, or not even buy it in the first place? 

[00:19:19] Suzanne: Yes. Please don’t use red paint. That’s the very first one. Red is a trigger color. Even those oranges, please don’t do a nice big wall that’s with those colors because, yes, those can unfortunately trigger an autistic child, and they’re not going to be as calm as they might be with a pale blue, or a pale pink, or something like that. The neutral colors are definitely best.

[00:19:41] Annette: As you’re talking about this subject, are you familiar at all with– how are hotels handling this, and how are they marketing it? Because I’m sure you looked to the hotel industry when you were researching this to bring to vacation rentals. What’s some of the stuff that they are doing or that you’ve seen?

[00:19:59] Suzanne: I did research it, and there is actually some training to help your resort to be autism-friendly. Unfortunately, what they’re mostly focused on is the interaction piece with the guests and for their employees to be able to help recognize when a child may be autistic versus other children. They’re more training them in those interactions with the guests and not necessarily the training that I’m talking about with making the actual property safe and for them to not be able to escape or wander from those. That’s what I found in the training that I found.

[00:20:35] Annette: Oh, interesting. Okay.

[00:20:37] Sarah: How can hosts effectively share with potential guests that their properties are safe for autistic children to stay at? What word should they use in their listings, or what has worked for you and the people that you’ve helped to make that effective and clear to a potential guest? 

[00:20:57] Suzanne: Yeah. I mean, obviously, the first one is that if somebody goes through the training and then they actually send us that evidence that they’ve made their property spectrum-friendly, we have a digital badge that they can put on their direct book listing, if you will, or their website if they have it.

[00:21:14] That’s the first thing. We’ve developed a little bit of signage that they can use if they want to that lists different things that have been done in the property, show that it’s friendly, safe, and comfortable for families with autistic children. So there’s some of those things that we’ve already developed that we would love to share, obviously, with people that have made their homes that way. Other than that, using words like autism-friendly and actually specifying things that have been done in the home are fabulous. Even if you don’t get my training, making sure that your property is safer for families like that is fabulous.

[00:21:51] Sarah: And when you have a family who comes to stay, obviously, the family doesn’t have to disclose that their child is on the spectrum. What rules are you seeing hosts change to be more inclusive? You mentioned the furniture moving and being more open to why furniture might be moved, and so we could change our language to, if the furniture needs to be moved for the safety of your stay, please let us know so we can help you make the best decision in case there’s something you don’t know, like that bed will, I don’t know, needs to be– the break needs to be undone in order to move it. But anything else in the past year or so that you’ve made this your niche that we can think about as hosts so we can be more inclusive?

[00:22:31] Suzanne: I think it is even just using some of those words, inclusive stays. Letting people know some of the additional, maybe comfort items that, if they want, we can make available. Things like bed rails. I have a goodie basket that I recommend that people put to make it more comfortable with things like the noise-cancelling headphones, fidget toys, weighted blankets, those types of things that they’re not necessarily needed, but they’re great to make families more comfortable.

[00:23:02] So to list things like that in the actual listing on the website in the binders, or [Inaudible], or things like that, when they’re actually in the vacation rental, it’s just one more way. And I think it’s partly, you said, just making sure that it’s communicated in there. I love how you worded that actually with, if you need to move anything for the comfort or safety of your children to, please let us know, and we’re happy to help. If you need a bed rail installed, or a bed moved before your stay, again, please let us know, and we’re happy to help accommodate.

[00:23:36] Annette: My largest takeaway so far is because I think as hosts, when we come into our home and the furniture is moved, we are fuming of like– and I know every listener is like, yeah. Why in the world? We can’t even fathom. And I feel very non-inclusive and small-minded now, not even recognizing– I’ve seen it several times, and I’m always like, why would they– and I try to figure out why they configured it the way that they did, and now I know.

[00:24:06] I’ll never be able to answer those because that is special to not only potentially their family, but whatever their needs are and their wants during their stay, I know it can be frustrating because a lot of times– let’s say you’re you, or you have your turnover team, it’s like, oh my gosh.

[00:24:25] That’s normally where it comes from, is like, oh, wait, I can’t move this furniture back now because I don’t have enough hands to do it. But I think you’ve given me a pause now of like, not to maybe do that infuriated. Why did I move the furniture? Now it’s like, wait, they– because it’s not easy to move furniture, and I don’t think they’re just doing it for fun and to just rearrange your house.

[00:24:48] But now you’ve just shed some light on why that may have happened. So I do want to thank you for that because sometimes I think we get very zoned in on that, and now, there probably was a really great reason for them wanting to rearrange, do their own rearranging of the space during their stay. Oh, that’s good.

[00:25:07] Suzanne: No, I understand. I had my cousin come and stay at my vacation rental here in Florida, and her son is severely disabled. So there were some things, of course, that I was even looking, all right, what can I do to help to just make this a little easier for their stay? It’s moving the bed to the wall so he can’t roll out of bed, the bed rail. 

[00:25:27] A small little ramp. These aren’t big deal things, but small little ramp to help the wheelchair to get in the house a little bit better because there’s a little lift. They deal with it all the time at home, but I didn’t want them to deal with it when they’re on vacation. So it’s just little things, I think, that we can all do better.

[00:25:45] Sarah: Have you noticed the OTAs at all getting on board with this sector of inclusivity with stays?

[00:25:55] Suzanne: I’ve seen it a little bit more with just general disabilities, especially involving wheelchairs, and older people, and handrails, and bathrooms, and them wanting to really put a little bit more emphasis on that. But I haven’t seen anything yet when it comes specifically to autism.

[00:26:11] Sarah: Yeah, we need to do something about that. It’s good that they’re making progress, obviously, but sharing with them that there are so many other people who have special needs when they come and stay, especially vacation rentals, we’ve spoken to other designers and educators in the space of inclusivity, and it’s just so special when they go and stay in a vacation rental home when they’ve chosen your home to stay at, especially because travel can be unique, doesn’t happen every summer because of the special arrangements that need to be made. 

[00:26:45] We’re all in this business to make their travel more fun and more comfortable, and so as hosts, if there’s anything you can do, if anyone’s listening right now, to help bring this topic to light, if you maybe you have a local group that you meet with, or you’re in our Facebook group, just start these conversations about how we can bring this to the forefront. I mean, I feel like after I’m going to get off this call I need to go get more of those chain locks on all the exterior doors. That’s so easy.

[00:27:14] Annette: So many things that you’ve mentioned also, it’s not just for– to be spectrum-friendly is obviously enough, but I’m just thinking, yes, hotels, that is that extra layer of security to just have that higher lock there. And the room-darkening curtains, things of that nature, that all makes sense for sure. When hosts become spectrum-friendly certified? Are you encouraging them to market in different places? Are there Facebook groups? Or are there places that hosts can go to champion themselves and be their own marketing agency to pull in potential vacationers?

[00:27:54] Suzanne: So far, just my Facebook group that I found, which is in the infancy stage. That’s the only one that I know of yet as far as just specifically to autism-friendly. I have started one that I’m trying to open that communication between families and hosts of what things are good, what things are not good, what are some vacation rental owners or spots out there that they can vacation to? And so we started a Facebook group called, Spectrum Travel Connections just to try to open that communication.

[00:28:25] Annette: Awesome. And we’ll make sure to link that in the show notes.

[00:28:28] Sarah: So you were mentioning that these are things that are not just specific to autism, which is totally true because I even think about as families age and we’re having maybe more of the parents living with families or traveling with families, if there’s any dementia that’s in the grandparents, parents that we have, these can all help with dementia as well because you’re always worried that grandma or grandpa might leave the home, especially when they’re in an unfamiliar area. These types of things can help with that as well.

[00:29:03] Yeah, that’s such a good point. The safety of all of us truly. I mean, maybe we venture out without knowing, but having the front door, and the interior alarms, and just giving people that option, I think, isn’t a bad option to give for everyone.

[00:29:21] Annette: For any guest.

[00:29:22] Sarah: Is there anything we haven’t touched on, Suzanne, that you think we should talk about before we share with our listeners how they can get in touch with you?

[00:29:30] Suzanne: Really, what’s on my part is just a month and a half ago, here in Florida, there was a family staying at a vacation rental they rented via Vrbo and, unfortunately, during the night, little Evelyn slipped out, and she was four and autistic. And she did slip out of the home. And their story did not end well. And when I heard that, it just made me even more like, I need to reach out to more people like you two that can help me get this out so that this doesn’t happen again.

[00:30:06] Annette: I know you’re using the term slipped out. When children on the spectrum slip out, is it normally through the front door? What is the normal? Is it in their bedroom? Is it through the front door? What do you know of?

[00:30:21] Suzanne: It’s not typically through windows, even though I like to make sure you put some alarm on the windows. It’s not typically through windows. It’s typically through the door, through the front door, especially when there’s not extra locks or alarms on those. Yeah.

[00:30:34] Annette: Okay. It sounds, to me, like the immediate take action for hosts today would be to get that secondary lock higher up, away from the lock that anybody sees, people use on a regular basis, getting something like the hotel-style lock or, what Sarah was mentioning, the chain lock that would hopefully cut down on the slipping out of the home. I don’t know the price point. You might know the price point on those, how much that would even cost to purchase. And then a little bit of time to install, but it sounds like that’s the one we could do today. 

[00:31:12] Suzanne: 20 bucks. 

[00:31:12] Annette: 20 bucks. Okay.

[00:31:14] Suzanne: Or less. Yes.

[00:31:15] Annette: Cool.

[00:31:16] Sarah: It’s super easy to install too. So even, uh, any DIYer could make sure that’s safely anchored inside of your door jam or in the casing and just give that extra loop, so that way, if they unlock the door and they go to open it, it’s just enough to keep them inside.

[00:31:30] Annette: I’m even thinking, again, when you’re in a new environment, you’re in a new place, having that layer of security too, if someone does come up and knock on the door, as a guest, that would make you feel more safe. And hey, maybe I not exactly familiar with the deadbolt. At a hotel, you better believe I’m always flipping that lock because it does make me feel a little extra layer of security. 

[00:31:54] For instance, I don’t know why we haven’t thought about this before too, because short-term rental, I know I’ve stayed at a bunch. I’m like, are they giving this code out to everybody? So let’s say they are giving that code out. You could at least have that second layer of security for yourself, for your guests to feel like, look, if someone else has this code, they didn’t redo it, or the maintenance person or cleaning team, at least I know that when I’m in here, I can put that secondary lock on too. So I think it has a multifaceted use there, for sure.

[00:32:23] Suzanne: I mean, if we could get all the vacation rentals in the country to put that extra lock on, it would make me feel so much better. And I don’t know why we don’t. Why don’t we do that like the hotels do?

[00:32:33] Annette: No, for sure. 

[00:32:33] Suzanne: Think about it. 

[00:32:34] Sarah: Well, we will now, and we’ll make sure that we put some of those ideas that Suzanne shared with us on the podcast in the show notes. Where can listeners find out more about what you have to offer to really fully equip them to help all families who stay with them? What’s the best place to reach out to you and to learn more?

[00:32:53] Suzanne: Yeah, the best place is www.spectrumfriendlyvacations.com. That will link them to our Facebook community, our Facebook group, the pages, all those good things. So that’s the best stop.

[00:33:04] Sarah: Perfect. And for anyone driving right now or on the treadmill, we’ve got that in the show notes for you. I can’t thank you enough for the message that you’re sharing with as many people as you can. Annette and I are always thirsty for more ways to be more inclusive, and to learn more, and to open our minds.

[00:33:20] Listeners, I hope you do the same thing. I encourage you all to also go into your house rules and your guidebooks and make sure that our language, while we get some rules and we give boundaries, we are being inclusive in how we chat with our guests. I think that is also a hospitable step we can take in the right direction. So with that, I am Sarah Karakaian.

[00:33:40] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–

[00:33:41] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.

[00:33:42] Sarah: We’ll talk to you next time.