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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Michelle Kesil interviews Ado Shemesh, a real estate investor specializing in short and midterm rentals in Columbus, Ohio. Ado shares his journey from the tech industry to real estate, discussing the keys to success in the rental market, the challenges he faced, and his future aspirations in hospitality. He emphasizes the importance of location, attention to detail, and learning through experience. Ado also offers valuable advice for aspiring investors and highlights the significance of mentorship in his journey.
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Ado (00:00)
Yeah, I definitely have that. We have been thinking about going out of state and we had a few opportunities, apparently not the right opportunity yet.Again, Columbus is a very good market and we’ve established our ⁓ core for now here. I do have aspirations to go out of state at some point. I love the beach. I grew up in Israel, so by the beach kind of, so I do love the beach and we do travel to different beaches. So definitely there is an aspiration of owning or operating or both.
by the beach at some point, could be in the US or elsewhere, but definitely that’s a part of the roadmap. I don’t have a timeline, exact timeline of when it’s going to happen, but we always are keeping, you know, talking to people and looking at opportunities. And I believe that will come at some point sooner than later, hopefully.
Michelle Kesil (02:31)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil, and today I’m joined by someone that I’m looking forward to chatting with, Ado Shemesh, who is a real estate investor focusing on short and midterm rentals in the Columbus, Ohio area. So excited to have you here today, Ado.Ado (02:53)
Thank you for having me. Very nice to meet you.Michelle Kesil (02:55)
Yes, absolutely. I think our listeners are going to take something away from how you’re approaching the Ohio short-term rental market. So let’s dive in. First off, for those who are not yet familiar with you and your work, can you share what your main focus is?Ado (03:13)
Yeah, absolutely. So we’re in hospitality real estate. We do short and midterm rentals. So this is Airbnb’s, VRBO’s, midterm rents, traveling nurses, stuff like that. We own a few properties and we do some co-hosting for other people, meaning we would plug in a property that someone else is.the owner into our system and would run the place as a mainly short-term rental but could be mid-term as well, just to utilize the same system that we use to support that activity.
Michelle Kesil (03:50)
Awesome. And how did you get started in the rental industry?Ado (03:55)
Yeah, so I was doing something completely different for almost a decade. was doing ⁓ IP consulting. So the tech industry at some point about six years ago, I decided that I want to get back involved in real estate, which I’ve done before many years ago in Israel. And we bought our first duplex here in Columbus.and we started our first Airbnb was ⁓ early 2020. And we liked what we saw and we kind of kept going, bought more places and started doing the coasting thing and still like it and hope we are gonna keep doing that for many years.
Michelle Kesil (04:45)
Yeah, absolutely. What do you feel are some main keys that have allowed your business to be able to grow and to run smoothly?Ado (04:56)
Yeah, so I think Columbus as a whole, as a market, ⁓ being not maybe not the most exciting city, but a stable place to be.We started buying about, well, our first place, actually the property that I’m sitting at right now, we bought nearly 10 years ago. It’s a different market now. Prices have appreciated and ⁓
Short-term rentals are more popular than, or you have more units than before, but still a good stable market. And I think it’s always about buying right and the right location, as they say in real estate. But if you run things efficiently and ⁓ paying attention to details, think the odds are in your favor to succeed.
Michelle Kesil (06:34)
Absolutely. And so when you say like efficiency and attention to detail, ⁓ what does that kind of look like in terms of maybe some action steps?Ado (06:46)
Yeah, absolutely. I would go in between after a cleaner has come to to a place, I would go typically before a guest checks in. Details could be well, there are a lot of moving parts in this, but details could be making sure that there is no hair in the bathroom or the toilet, because even something small like that could change the experience of guests completely. And somaking sure there is a saying that you need to be or you need to make yourself the least important ⁓ person in the business, which I believe in. But at the same time, you need to make sure that everything goes smoothly and goes well. And it’s your responsibility to make sure that things are really that way. So in real estate, really is physical. Well, not only, but just making sure that things are.
Michelle Kesil (07:41)
youAdo (07:42)
⁓looking the best they could and in our case cleanliness is very important. just making sure that things like that are ⁓ good is very important.
Michelle Kesil (07:54)
Yeah, absolutely. All the little things can make a difference.Ado (07:59)
Right.Absolutely.
Michelle Kesil (08:01)
What is an obstacle or challenge that you have maybe had to make a pivot through or overcome through learning and starting this investment journey that now, looking back, you can see the bigger picture lesson.Ado (08:20)
yeah, when we started this journey, we bought this duplex and we moved from this house that I’m sitting in right now into a much smaller apartment. And the plan was that the kids will go to school every day.as they do. And so in our mind, that was okay, because that was a part of the plan. But as soon as we moved in and made our actually first move in real estate, call it COVID came and then there was no school for a while or for six months. And there was an obstacle that we didn’t expect. But we kind of, you know, we needed to adapt. And ⁓ it was a little bit of chaos back then.
but it was a part of the journey and it’s okay. it actually taught us a lot and ⁓ we kept going after that. ⁓ And so it worked well, but it was an unexpected obstacle that happened ⁓ right when we started this journey of ⁓ owning real estate and the Airbnb is about six years ago.
Michelle Kesil (09:26)
Yeah, absolutely I think that some obstacles are inevitable in this path.Ado (09:32)
Yeah, I completely agree. There is a saying that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. And I think that’s typically the case. And it’s good that it’s the case because it’s teaching you a lot. ⁓Michelle Kesil (09:45)
Yeah, it’s important to see it that way.you most focused on solving or scaling to next for your business?
Ado (09:54)
Yeah, so I think there is a lot of opportunity within hospitality, real estate and short-term rentals. I think that it’s here to stay. think people like the idea of having their own spaceand being able to travel together, especially if it’s larger groups of four or six or eight people or more, they can be together. think people appreciate that.
having their own privacy. I think that trend is going to keep developing. And so we’re excited to be a part of this, coming up with new innovative ways to delight people in spaces and build unique humanities or spaces or could be hotels or other ⁓ type of real estate I think is exciting. And I think that trend is here to stay.
And again, we’re very excited to be a part of that ⁓ path of how people stay when they travel.
Michelle Kesil (11:28)
Yeah, definitely. That is exciting. You mentioned wanting to expand more in hospitality. Does that look like something other than the Airbnbs and more hotel style or what is your vision there?Ado (11:47)
Yeah, absolutely. So that could be a part of this. When you travel to new places, it also brings up new ideas. We took the kids, we went to Cancun about a month ago. And so every time you travel, I think you see new things and new ideas come up. I think that Airbnb as a platform enhances the ability to…connect with people and connect with guests and really deliver the marketing aspect of bringing the right person to the right venue or the right place that you own or operate. And so I think these platforms are going to continue thriving and utilizing them as a part of your tools, whether it’s a single property or a duplex or a fourplex or it could be a boutique hotel is going to be
important going forward than I think is going to support that journey of hospitality business owners or operators. ⁓ we like these platforms and I think they’re going to, ⁓ again, whether you do ⁓ one type of hospitality venue or another, I think these platforms are going to keep being a key component or partners for that journey.
Michelle Kesil (13:08)
Yeah, definitely. What is like, how did you learn how to do investing? Was it something that you did courses with mentors or just kind of trial and error?Ado (13:22)
Yeah, so we bought this first place. We bought that first duplex. I didn’t take a course or anything of that kind. I do have a friend who’s also a mentor and he’s been in real estate for a long time. And so I’m learning a lot from him. And when we started with Airbnbs, I was watching that curse or look.on YouTube. I’ve never ⁓ took a professional course or paid ⁓ for a specific course, but I kind of like just watched people that are doing hospitality and then we started our own thing and then you learn as you go. I think it’s a very good ⁓ way to go. You can pay some dues when you do it that way. ⁓ But I think
If you want to do something and you just start doing it, you’re more likely to learn as you go. And even if you make some mistakes along the way, you can correct them and keep going, which is the way that I like doing things. ⁓ And kind of that’s, that’s kind of what we have done so far.
Michelle Kesil (14:33)
Yeah, definitely. That is awesome that you were able to have a friend and yeah, just try things out from there.Ado (14:41)
Yeah, it’s always good to have someone in your corner that you can ask questions and meet with and it definitely helps.Michelle Kesil (14:50)
Yeah, absolutely. What advice would you give to someone that’s wanting to get started and get their first investment?Ado (14:59)
I would say just do it. ⁓ As they say, I thinkthe location ⁓ rule in real estate is very important. Well, again, depending on what you want to do, I think location is always a thing in real estate. Then if you want to go hospitality, if you want to do Airbnbs, ⁓ location is even more so important. And then details again are very
important in that niche that we do. think details are always a thing in anything you do, but in terms of getting into investing in real estate, if you can research a market, if you like it, and if that’s the niche you want to go, I would say just find the right deal for you.
talk to a few people maybe that know the market or operate in that market and just try to make sure that you’re buying right and you’re likely going to succeed. If you do things right and research again and buying the right locations, ⁓ the odds are in your favor in real estate as opposed to other industries. If you launch a startup, odds are against you.
by right in real estate, odds are in your favor. So I think that’s doable.
Michelle Kesil (17:00)
Yeah, absolutely. What are you hoping to excel to in your real estate journey? Like are you thinking about, I don’t know, expanding outside of your current area or like what are those like big dreams and goals that you have?Ado (17:17)
Yeah, I definitely have that. We have been thinking about going out of state and we had a few opportunities, apparently not the right opportunity yet.Again, Columbus is a very good market and we’ve established our ⁓ core for now here. I do have aspirations to go out of state at some point. I love the beach. I grew up in Israel, so by the beach kind of, so I do love the beach and we do travel to different beaches. So definitely there is an aspiration of owning or operating or both.
by the beach at some point, could be in the US or elsewhere, but definitely that’s a part of the roadmap. I don’t have a timeline, exact timeline of when it’s going to happen, but we always are keeping, you know, talking to people and looking at opportunities. And I believe that will come at some point sooner than later, hopefully.
Michelle Kesil (18:16)
Yeah, absolutely. There’s infinite possibilities.Ado (18:21)
Absolutely, I totally agree with that.Michelle Kesil (18:23)
Awesome. So are you doing any sort of marketing or lead generation strategies to find like rentals these days?Ado (18:35)
I do not, not systematically enough. And this is one thing that I think about almost daily if things need to be more systemized, which they’re not. Historically we’ve bought from different sources like MLS and Zillow and other places or people we know or an agent we know. I don’t have that system that works daily to generate leads.is something that I’m looking into and talking to people and exploring, but I haven’t done that so far and we’re not very systemized in that regard so far.
Michelle Kesil (19:13)
Yeah, definitely, well, something to think about for the horizon.Ado (19:18)
Right,yeah, absolutely. Yeah, no, it’s definitely a possibility, but did not establish that until that point.
I lost the voice, I? ⁓ I hear you now.
Michelle Kesil (19:27)
Yeah, I gotit. Awesome. Well, before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, learn more about what you’re up to, where can people find you and connect with you?
Ado (19:40)
Yeah, absolutely. I’m on LinkedIn quite often. It’s my name. I don’t think there is ⁓ another one, another person with my weird name. I’m on LinkedIn and yeah, that’s a good way to connect. I’m also on Instagram. I’m not as, and Facebook, not as active there, but ⁓ definitely. I would love to connect with people and explore new ideas within real estate.and elsewhere, but definitely would love to connect.
Michelle Kesil (20:11)
Perfect. Well, appreciate your time and your story. Thank you for being here.Ado (20:15)
Thank you so much, Michelle. It was a pleasure. Nice to meet you and I look forward to stay connected.Michelle Kesil (20:21)
Absolutely. And for the listeners tuning into the show, if you got value, make sure you have subscribed. We’ve got more conversations with operators like Ado who are building real businesses and we’ll see you on our next episode.
