When Tyann Marcink bought the old bank in Marthasville, Missouri, that little town was pretty much unknown.

There were no hotels, B & Bs, or vacation rentals.  But….. the 225 mile Katy trail ( a popular bike route) ran through it; it was near Purina Farms – a massive arena and center for canine events, and in an area of Missouri wine country.

So, Tyann made it a destination.  She is what Wil Slickers – host of Slick Talk – The Hospitality Podcast – calls a ‘destinationaire’.

Destinationaires are those creative hospitality entrepreneurs who see the potential in a location and set out to make it a place people want to visit and stay.

They define their market – and promote to it, and then achieve the satisfaction of bringing people to the place who then share their ‘find’ to their social circles.

“Destinationaire: A person who is wired to create remarkable experiences for others to anticipate and share”

In this episode, Wil shares how his experience of being in the hotel industry has touched and inspired his embrace of short-term rentals, and how the growth of his new property management business is being fueled by the destinationaire principle.

Wil talks about:

• His background in hospitality
• How the concept of destinationaire came about
• What goes into creating a destination and ‘finding the gap’
• Why any location can be marketed to travelers if you know who they are
• The importance of telling a story to underpin creating a desire for the location
• What should go into a press release to promote the new destination
• How to distribute a press release

Destinationaires: turning regional locations into destination tourism

Destinationaire Award

Slick Talk Podcast