Meet Barrett Thrasher and Roger Pippin | Beats Working Vacation Rentals

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barrett Thrasher and Roger Pippin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barrett and Roger, what is the most important factor behind your success?
One of the most important factors behind our success is empathy—simply listening to people, and showing up in person when needed. Essentially, we like to be very hands-on, especially if a guest has a problem or a concern. Nothing can ruin a vacation faster than being passed around like a hot potato that nobody seems to actually want to talk to.

Vacations and traveling can produce a wide range of emotional experiences, from intense happiness to crushing disappointments when things just refuse to go right. Typically, people are traveling because they want to experience something novel or different than their day-to-day life. It’s likely that they saved money and spent a lot of time making those plans, particularly if they are traveling in a group, or with children. All of this time and money spent means that they have a vested interest in the trip being positive and relatively free of hiccups. Our guests, therefore, are stakeholders in our business; as such, they should be afforded the dignity of us taking the time to empathize with their concerns so that we may respond in an understanding, problem-solving manner.

Given our own experiences while traveling, and the fact that so much of contemporary “guest management” in the modern world is handled by nameless strangers, we stand firmly by the ideal that most travel issues can be solved by having a empathetic, honest, and meaningful conversation. Being a good listener is the essence of Southern hospitality. When a guest has a problem or an emergency while in a strange place, they need someone who will listen to and advocate for them. No one, including us, wants to be passed off to another department or another manager. Our approach actually solves problems faster! When people know they can reach out to a real person, they have a tendency to keep coming back to our homes.

Likewise, when it comes to generating new business, talking to homeowners about their experiences and frustrations and really listening to them helps them understand that we are not the usual property management outfit. While recently staying at a mountain house in Murphy, NC, for a wedding, we had an opportunity to talk to our rental’s owner. We chatted on the phone for about two hours, and by the end of the trip, we were managing her house. Taking the time to really listen to people is one of the essential elements of our business, and you never know who you might be friends with at the end of the conversation.

Our empathy for our guests and clients also extends to the people that work with us, particularly our cleaning staff. A lot of people might think that cleaning vacation homes is an easy, simple job that doesn’t require attention to detail. We know the truth, because for years we cleaned all our homes ourselves. Cleaning after people while on tight timelines is stressful, and also physically and mentally demanding labor. Since we cut our hosting teeth cleaning homes in New Orleans, both of us have experienced some truly horrific (and in retrospect, fairly hilarious) scenes early in the morning, knowing we had to finish by check-in time at 4pm. Occasionally, we had to help guests stumble out of bed and pack their luggage in order to make a flight, and we were left trying to puzzle out what shenanigans they were up to the night before, given the state of disarray of the home.

Due to humbling experiences in the beginning of our business, and experiencing our own travel issues while on vacation, we strive to always be empathetic towards our guests, our homeowners, and our staff. We want everyone who interacts with Beats Working Vacation Rentals to feel cared about and cared for, no matter what surprises a vacation rental may bring!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One of things we love the most about being self-employed is that we get to set our own schedules, which means we work hard, and we have the opportunity to work out even harder. Barrett is an avid runner and cyclist, and also has a daily yoga and Pilates practice –unless there is an Alabama football game on! Roll Tide!

Roger is very active in the local jujitsu community, and has trained at Kazushi Club Gulf Shores since the day we moved to Fort Morgan. He is also a musician who makes space music to relax and unwind to, which is a great soundtrack for our beach life. You can find his music on SoundCloud if you look for the artist “Cethyd,” which is a reference to the late Scottish author, Iain M. Banks.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When Roger and I need to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life, we take a road trip to Murphy, North Carolina. Located less than two hours from Atlanta, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee—and less than four hours from Birmingham, Alabama and Spartanburg, South Carolina—Murphy truly is a hidden gem. We are simple people who love enjoying the outdoors, and Murphy is an awesome place to do just that. We like hiking with our friends and family, fly fishing on the “Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail,” and simply taking in the scenery–all while getting in a good workout. (We have even been known to find secluded areas to do a little yoga and Filipino Martial Arts while we are out on the trail.) Our evenings are pretty chill. Roger and I like to do a lot of porch-sitting with our small krewe, prepare wild game with ‘dat Louisiana flare, sip on some adult beverages, and listen to the glorious sounds of wilderness with a bit of ambient electronica playing in the background. When we want to get out a little bit in Murphy, we hit up our favorite local watering hole–Buck Bald Brewery–for some good fun and even better company, followed by a slab of the best-ever baby back ribs at The Smoky Mountain BBQ Company. If we are feeling lucky, a few rounds of blackjack at nearby Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino is on the list.

Murphy is also an ideal and easily accessible jumping-off point to explore the eastern side of the Smokies. The National Park is home to many natural and historic attractions, including Clingman’s Dome (the Park’s highest point, at 6,643 feet), the pioneer settlement at Cades Cove, and innumerable waterfalls, wildflowers, and wildlife. Outside the park, guests can explore Gatlinburg, Cherokee, Dollywood, and many other charming mountain getaways that make a perfect home base for exploring these ancient hills. The eastern Park entrance in Cherokee, North Carolina is approximately an hour’s drive from our vacation cabins.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We definitely have to give a shoutout to some of our favorite people: Charlie Ochello and Charley Ogletree. Charlie is a native New Orleanian and gave us our first crack at managing a vacation rental. He set in motion everything we’re doing now, and we will always be grateful for that. Plus, he’s quite a character and a true Louisiana thoroughbred! We also want to give a big shoutout to Charley Ogletree, who is Roger’s real estate broker and a great source of advice and guidance. He really helps us make strong moves and we’re super thankful for having him in our lives. We also want to thank our good friend Emily for all the many things she does to support us. You’re the best Emily!

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Image Credits
Randy Gray – Broadcast Pro Photo – https://www.broadcastprophoto.com