A year after the AI skills lab at VRMA in Las Vegas, with VRMA Nashville just behind us, I wanted to check where the industry really is with AI. Two conversations in the same week prompted it. One was a senior manager who told me she opened Claude six months ago, wasn't sure what to do with it, and closed it again. The other was Jodi's beginner training camp, where the most answered question showed that most people had either never started, or had tried once, got intimidated, and stopped.

Jodi Bourne is back for her eleventh appearance on the show, and together we work through the four groups we see in our client work: the builders, the buyers, the one-person shows and the non-starters. We talk about why the foundations matter more than the tools, what to pay attention to and what to ignore after a conference full of AI vendors, and the safety guardrails most businesses still haven't put in place.

We close with ten practical first steps for anyone who hasn't started yet, and a look ahead to the six-week Get Started series Jodi and I are running together in November and December.

‍About Jodi Bourne

Jodi Bourne works with short-term rental operators on marketing, brand messaging and AI adoption, and has become one of the most practical AI teachers in the industry. Her Hospitality Business Brain gives operators a structured foundation of guest avatars, brand voice, owner story, reviews and a property matrix, so that every AI tool they use works from accurate information. She runs the Savvy Hosts Lab foundations course and beginner training camps, sets up team-wide AI systems for property management companies, and is relaunching her podcast, The Savvy Host Advantage, with a series on AI. She is a teacher at heart, and it shows in how she works with clients.

‍Key takeaways

• Most operators haven't failed at AI, they've stalled. They opened a tool, didn't know what to do with it, and put it back on the shelf, and confidence comes from seeing one skill change one real output.
• When each team member uses a different AI tool with no shared brand voice or business information, the business ends up with inconsistent output and real data risk. Pick one tool, share the foundations, and have one person lead.
• Your business brain is only as good as what's in it. One forgotten FAQ in an old upload sent guests hunting for a property that no longer existed, so keep one source of truth and update it when anything changes.
• Before buying a new AI product, check what's already built into the tools you pay for, and ask your AI how you could do the same job yourself. Several of Jodi's clients have replaced guidebook and messaging subscriptions this way.
• Smaller operators have a real opening right now with AI search. Better blogs and better content are already helping small companies show up ahead of larger ones in some destinations.
• Write a one-page AI policy covering what never goes into AI (guest personal data, owner financials, card details), which tool the team uses, and the rule that a person checks everything before it goes out.

‍Ten things to do if you haven't started yet

1. Pick one AI tool and pay for it.
2. Talk, don't type. Use voice input for everything.
3. Write a one-page summary of your business: who you are, your properties, your guests, your owners, how you sound.
4. Connect your AI to the tools you already use, starting with your cloud drive.
5. Paste in a long owner email and ask for a summary and a draft reply, then edit it yourself.
6. Walk a property, record a voice memo, and feed the transcript to your AI for a listing draft.
7. Let your AI interview you about a process and turn it into an SOP.
8. Write your AI policy.
9. Get the team on the same tool, with one person leading.
10. Keep a wins list for 30 days.

Resources and links mentioned

• Jodi Bourne's website
• The Savvy Host Advantage podcast
• Savvy Hosts LabSimon Lehmann's STR Academy (Heather is a founding ambassador)
• STR AI Network
• Previous episode with Alex Zemianek
• Dr. Marie Haynes
• Goldman Sachs small business survey - Mar 2026
• Hostaway 2026 short-term rental report
• Tools mentioned: Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Gemini, Lovable, Obsidian, Little Bird, Granola, Willow Voice, Mailchimp, TouchStay

Connect with Jodi Bourne

If you'd like to talk to Jodi about getting your business brain in place or setting up AI across your team, she'd be glad to hear from you.

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Podcast: The Savvy Host Advantage

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