{"podcast":{"title":"Short Term Rental Secrets Podcast","slug":"short-term-rental-secrets-podcast-142895","podcast_index_feed_id":142895,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/str-secrets/","website_url":"https://www.strsecrets.com/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/e68956e1-6a6e-48c3-9079-efb3bb0b6c37/str-secrets-podcast-cover-new.png","author":"MICHAEL SJOGREN","episode_count":376,"summary":"The Short Term Rental Secrets Podcast is dedicated to providing actionable content to help new and seasoned real estate investors launch, automate and scale their Airbnb business and fast track their journey to financial freedom. You can enjoy the podcast and other free resources at www.STRsecrets.com","last_synced_at":"2026-06-22T14:19:33.530059+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/short-term-rental-secrets-podcast-142895"},"episode":{"title":"5 Years. 180 Properties. 36 People. Aidan Groll on Building a Real STR Management Company","slug":"5-years-180-properties-36-people-aidan-groll-on-building-a-real-str-management-company","published_at":"2026-03-30T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/short-term-rental-secrets-podcast-142895/5-years-180-properties-36-people-aidan-groll-on-building-a-real-str-management-company","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/short-term-rental-secrets-podcast-142895","url":"https://www.strsecrets.com/ep-287-5-years-180-properties-36-people-aidan-groll-on-building-a-real-str-management-company/","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/3b97eaec-5436-4ecb-a127-1924a42a3c99.mp3","summary":"If you want to increase your revenue, automate your day to day operations and spend more time with your kids, talk to us: http://strsecrets.com/apply If you want us to review your listing, org chart, pricing or anything related to STR business, join here: ➡ https://www.facebook.com/groups/STRentalsecrets Most STR companies obsess over guest reviews. Blue Gems obsesses over owner profitability. And they grew to 180 properties under management doing it. In this episode, recorded live at the Freedom Factory in Beverly, MA, E and Chris sits down with Aidan Groll — co-founder of Blue Gems Management, one o f Florida's fastest-growing STR companies. Aidan and his partner JB manage 180+ properties across Orlando and Clearwater Beach with a 36-person team — and grew almost entirely through organic relationships, not paid ads. In this episode Aidan breaks down: - How he went from a corporate accounting job to buying his first duplex in March 2020 - How a 400 sq ft backyard ADU made $50K in its first year and convinced him to go all in on STRs - Why Blue Gems puts owners 70% over guests — and how they pitch that to new clients - Their full org chart at 180 units: 14 in maintenance, 7 in guest experience, 3 in sales and more - Why they do ALL maintenance in-house — and why speed was the deciding factor - How they automated 70% of guest communication with AI in the last year - Their 7-day contract-to-live-listing goal and how they hit it consistently - How they choose markets based on regulatory stability — not just cash flow - Why they shut down their podcast and social media for 2+ years to focus on growth - Their plan to reach 350-400 units through acquisitions of smaller operators - The Valley of Disappointment — and why most people quit right before it gets good - Aidan's #1…","meta_description":"If you want to increase your revenue, automate your day to day operations and spend more time with your kids, talk to us: http://strsecrets.com/apply If y…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2964,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/short-term-rental-secrets-podcast-142895/episodes/5-years-180-properties-36-people-aidan-groll-on-building-a-real-str-management-company/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/short-term-rental-secrets-podcast-142895/5-years-180-properties-36-people-aidan-groll-on-building-a-real-str-management-company.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}