{"podcast":{"title":"Behind the Stays","slug":"behind-the-stays-3506810","podcast_index_feed_id":3506810,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/behindthestays/feed.xml","website_url":"https://www.behindthestays.com/","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/10635360/BTS-Artwork-1400x1400.jpg","author":"Zach Busekrus","episode_count":383,"summary":"Welcome to Behind the Stays — a podcast that shares the stories behind your favorite boutique hotels, short-term rentals, and hospitality brands and the hosts, operators, and entrepreneurs who’ve brought them to life. Every Tuesday and Friday you’ll meet the military veterans, retired flight attendants, tech entrepreneurs, school teachers, single moms, hoteliers, and real estate investors who are all, in their unique ways, shaping the future of travel and hospitality. Discover how these visionaries — from all over the world — have built stunning landscape hotels in the mountains, designed bohemian bungalows on the beach, erected eclectic off-grid and nature-immersed escapes, and so much more. Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world’s top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more. And I’m your host, Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. Alright friends, enjoy the show!","last_synced_at":"2026-09-12T02:22:44.365150+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810"},"episode":{"title":"Why Blackberry Farm Doesn't Buy Ads — Matt Ferebee on Storytelling as Guest Experience","slug":"why-blackberry-farm-doesn-t-buy-ads-matt-ferebee-on-storytelling-as-guest-experience","published_at":"2026-08-25T11:18:59+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/why-blackberry-farm-doesn-t-buy-ads-matt-ferebee-on-storytelling-as-guest-experience","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810","url":"https://behindthestays.podbean.com/e/why-blackberry-farm-doesnt-buy-ads-%e2%80%94-matt-ferebee-on-storytelling-as-guest-experience/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ik3v2h4tqb5ymesq/BTS_348bsa5z.mp3","summary":"Check out Lodgify claim your exclusive discount: https://www.lodgify.com/behind-the-stays/ — Explore FerebeeLane: https://www.ferebeelane.com/ Connect with Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-ferebee-2287566/ Connect with Zach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharybusekrus/ — Twenty-five years ago, a kid with an English degree and a freelance gig writing about furniture realized something. People didn't want to just know what the sofa looked like. They wanted to know how it was made, who designed it, how many hands had touched it before it reached the showroom. The descriptions of the piece were fine, but it was really the stories that sold it. That kid was Matt Ferebee. And that instinct, that the story behind the thing is more valuable than the thing itself, became the foundation of FerebeeLane. Boutique, brand, and guest experience agency that he co founded with his partner Josh Lane over two decades ago. Their first big client was Hickory Chair, a premier furniture company in North Carolina that was fighting to stay relevant in a rapidly commoditizing market. Matt and Josh launched a magazine for them called Timeless, profiling watchmakers from Cartier and interior designers to contextualize the brand among the greats. That caught the attention of BlackBerry Farm. At the time, maybe 22 keys, hard to categorize, and often dismissed as a charming bed and breakfast. Matt interviewed founder Chris Bell, and within 18 months, FerebeeLane had assumed full responsibility for their marketing. To this day, BlackBerry Farm does no paid advertising. They're celebrating their 50th anniversary, and Matt's team is still right there beside them. In this conversation, we trace the arc from furniture copywriting to shaping the narrative identity of some of the most revered hospita…","meta_description":"Check out Lodgify claim your exclusive discount: https://www.lodgify.com/behind-the-stays/ — Explore FerebeeLane: https://www.ferebeelane.com/ Connect wit…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3675,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/behind-the-stays-3506810/episodes/why-blackberry-farm-doesn-t-buy-ads-matt-ferebee-on-storytelling-as-guest-experience/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/why-blackberry-farm-doesn-t-buy-ads-matt-ferebee-on-storytelling-as-guest-experience.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}