Why Experiential Design Is the Future of Profitable Short-Term Rental Investing

Christian Norman (00:00)
so I I think the biggest opportunity we’ve we’ve got with Arcadian Innovations is filling a gap that is not, you know, there’s not a strong market for what we do. And through the outreach that we’ve been doing, it’s become more confirmed. I speak to realtors, you know, and they know people that want short term rentals or have bought one or are interested and you know, they know management companies. But they don’t know a full service white glove package between that will foresee the rehab if it’s necessary or if it’s a new home or turnkey home, go in and, you know, create a boutique, you know, hotel level experience for the guests that’s gonna drive revenue without them really having to do any any type of work.

Scott Bursey (02:18)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast, powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey. And today we’ve got some serious octane to add to your tank. We’re sitting down with Christian Norman, the force behind Arcadian Innovations. Christian’s been crushing it in the real estate acquisitions, and he’s bringing the exact kind of fuel you need to scale your own portfolio in today’s market. Christian, welcome to the show.

Christian Norman (02:42)
Yeah, welcome Scott. Thanks so much for having me. I’m excited to be here.

Scott Bursey (02:45)
It’s awesome having you here, Christian. And to get our listeners up to speed, if you could give us the front row seat and how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now.

Christian Norman (02:56)
Okay, sure. Yeah. so kind of just a a backdrop about me. So where it all started was my career started in boutique hotels and hospitality. and through working up my ways in my career there, I, you know, became sales manager of a boutique high-end bed and breakfast. We had a, you know, four-star AAA rated French restaurant on site along with a 250 person event venue. and through, you know, working in boutique hospitality and eventually acquisitioning my own real estate through a retreat property. I’m getting a little off course here, but it all kind of runs together. So we’ll get into that for a moment. I essentially my grandmother passed away during COVID and we had acquisit, you know, inherited 70 acres of land in Princeton, West Virginia. My father wanted to sell the place. He was dead set on it. But working in hospitality, I was out of work for COVID. So I was like, “Dad, like let’s take a moment here and you know, I have some money, you have some money. Let’s put this into, you know, making this asset for our family that, you know, we can, you know, hold on to generations and also, you know, bring in it, you know, passive income.” So through the process, it was a lot of work. I did most of it on my own. you know, me and my buddy put the roof on the house. I’ve never put a roof on anything before. He’s a roofer, but you know, we got it done for low budget, because that’s what we were working with to make the dream come alive. and you know, now it’s a successful income-producing asset for my family. so the inspiration behind that, between my experience in boutique hospitality, is what really has driven Arcadian Innovations to come to life because I want to create that dream for more people. I want to create more pathways for people to hold on to their properties or for their families to acquisition, you know, properties to become, you know, something they can hold on to their family. Just, you know, when my grandmother bought the place in the 60s, she bought it as a vacation home, fell in love with it, you know, held on to it and took care of it for her life. So for me, it was, you know, no question that it had to stay in our family. But at the time the only way to do that was for it to produce income. so that where Arcadian Innovations comes in for, you know, clients is creating ways to diversify their assets through real estate and you know also you know realistically give you great place to get away and escape with your family, friends, colleagues, et cetera. and that’s when I got into real estate acquisitioning because I’d figured it was like, well, if I’m gonna do this, I gotta I gotta learn how to, you know, acquisition real estate and learn more about the industry. So I worked for an investment firm for a while as an acquisitions manager and doing a lot of cold calling and outreach and, you know, as I would say, you know, using sales tactics to, you know, bring people down on the price and kind of take people out of their homes. You know, we were going after a lot of times wholesaling people that were in bad situations and hard places. And though I understand the business and, you know, a lot of times it can be a great resource for people, a lot of times, you know, it can’t. And that’s where I really became more focused on this because I wanted to find ways that like how can we get more people into property? How can we find ways of people who might be getting behind like, you know, getting into are there ways we can turn your property into an asset that’s, you know, gonna bring income and cover those expenses? so that was a little long winded, but that’s kind of the background, the mission and the history of how I got to where we are today.

Scott Bursey (07:12)
Christian, your dream has definitely come to life and is flourishing. Congratulations.

Christian Norman (07:18)
Thank you, yeah.

Scott Bursey (07:19)
And you know, what really caught my attention about you was the way that you’ve been able to dominate complex real estate acquisitions and scale Arcadian Innovations through some of the most challenging market cycles we’ve seen. You know, that’s not easy.

Christian Norman (07:34)
No, no, it it’s definitely not. And it definitely it takes a lot of work and a lot of time and you know, just filtering through and you know, doing a lot of outreach and finding the right clients and, you know, a lot of just, you know, in house marketing. I spend a lot of time, you know, on my laptop like, you know, looking for clients, whether it be filtering through Facebook or real estate groups or, you know, Googling, you know, every management company in a hundred mile radius and, you know, doing outreach and seeing, you know, where, you know, they might need help or and, you know, also finding companies, you know, that I can pass my clients off to. so it it’s definitely a challenging market for everyone right now. But also there there are still a lot of people who are doing well and, you know, have assets that they could use or that could be diversified or so it’s really targeting the right people is a big part of the success and you know being knowledgeable as well and you know, I think what I do is, you know, comes from a good place and my intentions are pure and I’m I’m truly trying to help people, not just close a deal. And people resonate with that and, you know, that for me helps get more deals done.

Scott Bursey (08:40)
You know, you clearly bring a unique level of feel to the table. And that’s the exact drive that brings us to the first question that we want to unpack. Christian, what’s the core strength of your acquisition strategy that keeps the engine running when the market gets bumpy?

Christian Norman (08:57)
Yeah. you know, I say core strength really is I would say it did really has to do a lot with your positioning and how you’re speaking with people, how you’re reaching out to them. You know, I come in as a solutions person. I’m here to solve problems. I’m here to create solutions. I’m here to find ways for you to, you know, get what you want. Cause who doesn’t want to have, you know, a second or third property? You know, and I I do say like lake house, beach house or mountain house, but there, you know, that we also do work with clients for more corporate stype stuff and you know long term stays, et cetera. But I mean really the sell right now is, you know, for for investors, you know, that it’s, you know, in their budget. Who doesn’t want to have a beautiful lake house or beach house that, you know, we can come together and I give you this white glove service where, you know, I find the property for you. You you know, we agree on your your budget, your terms. I take care of all of, you know, aspects, whether it be project management for rehab, interior design, you know, flow of the space, creating all your guest systems, creating your book of business, and essentially handing you a a turnkey asset that, you know, with market research is I can’t say guaranteed, but pretty much guaranteed that it’s going to produce income for you and your family, or at least break even. So that way, you know, you’re getting a piece of real estate in a beautiful place that you’re able to book off a couple of weeks or weekends a year to take your family or, you know, host a corporate, you know, gathering or whatever it may be for your business, your family, or your personal wants. so I think through finding for making people aware of the ways that they can get into these types of properties without a super huge upfront investment. And also for you know the higher earning of individuals, showing them the ways that we can get them massive tax breaks through depreciation, you know, over the next three to five years. It really opens a lot of doors for people to feel more comfortable getting into the market.

Scott Bursey (11:25)
You know, that makes total sense, Christian. Focusing on fundamentals over speculation is exactly how we keep the pros in the game long term. That’s a powerful foundation to build on. And you know, we all hit walls. What’s the biggest bottleneck you’ve faced in your recent acquisitions? And how did you pivot to to break through it?

Christian Norman (11:45)
Sure, yeah. so I think the biggest bottlenecker pitfalls is, you know, I I do have a a partner and co-founder, you know, so it’s just a two-person team right now as far as the outreach, marketing, and that whole side of the business. So I guess really it was shifting when I left my acquisitions career, you know, where I was had my KPIs daily and I had my metrics and you know, I had everything in a system, you know, that was keeping me in line and, you know, had my boss, you know, checking in on me to say, you know, d— you know, me was always important to hit my metrics or go over. But still knowing that I had that person other than myself to to drive me, motivate me, to, you know, guide me essentially. so at first it was, you know, I would get on the computer and maybe work for a little bit and do some of this and that and know I realized like, okay, if this is really gonna scale, I’m I’m gonna have to get, you know, disciplined. And, you know, you know, it might be like spending hours at a time doing calls or, you know, whatever it may be, especially again with this point in the market. so the initial biggest bottleneck was, you know, I would say my self-discipline, because I’m very aware of like the systems and how to use CRMs and how to speak with people and do calls. And, you know, I’m very passionate about what I do, but it was easy to kind of just, you know, maybe hop on the computer for a little bit and like make a couple calls to like three or four realtors and be like, okay. And then I’m distracted. And then two hours has went by and I’m like, crap. so I think now it’s where I’ve really forced in, you could say, the self-discipline and made it a part of my routine and created a schedule, you know, just like in my acquisitions jobs where now I spend, you know, nine to two, you know, doing outreach and maybe it’s eleven to one. I’m going out and, you know, searching different *Airbnb* owners in a hundred mile radius and, you know, mining their information to to send an email or whatever it may be. once I actually brought that discipline that I’ve been used to by I was, I guess, being looked over before I was, you know, a founder of of my own business in this way. once I brought those systems into to my life and in my own business and something that I care about and I know I’m doing for me, it’s it’s first off created much more success in the business, but also just, you know, created a sense the sense I guess something always felt like it was missing, you know, and it’s because I knew that I was meant to do more than work for someone else, that I’m meant to, you know, really drive a change in the world. And, you know, now the goal is to give access, you know, to to more people real estate. And once I, you know, brought all that together, it’s just been kind of like a whirlwind ever since.

Scott Bursey (14:23)
I just love that. You know, most people let the bottleneck bottleneck stop them. You turned it into a lesson. That’s the mindset shift we preach here at *Investor Fuel*. That’s awesome. And let’s pivot to a a different angle right now. Looking at your pipeline, where do you see the biggest fuel opportunity for let’s say the next 12 months?

Christian Norman (15:26)
Yeah, sure. so I I think the biggest opportunity we’ve we’ve got with Arcadian Innovations is filling a gap that is not, you know, there’s not a strong market for what we do. And through the outreach that we’ve been doing, it’s become more confirmed. I speak to realtors, you know, and they know people that want short term rentals or have bought one or are interested and you know, they know management companies. But they don’t know a full service white glove package between that will foresee the rehab if it’s necessary or if it’s a new home or turnkey home, go in and, you know, create a boutique, you know, hotel level experience for the guests that’s gonna drive revenue without them really having to do any any type of work. know, I our team, we go in, we take care of the interior design, the furnishing, we build all of your systems. We create signage, guest rules, you know, all custom to the property and your wants. But when you walk into the homes we design, it feels like you’re, you know, stepping into a boutique style hotel. you know, everything you need is there. If you don’t know where something is, it’s not likely because there’s going to be some type of, you know, signage or or label that’s going to let you know where it is. and the goal for that is to really create the path of least resistance for not only the guest but the owner because the less guest you know resistance in the guest the much less resistance you’ll have as an owner I know personally. and we also, you know, build the *QuickBooks*, you know, get you acquainted with all of the software. You know, it’s a a learning period after where we spend about two weeks with our clients to get them fully engaged with the systems, the software, meet the cleaning crews. so that way it’s it’s a kind of a more simple flow. Or if they don’t want to do a self-manage, we’ll, you know, send them off to the teams that we management teams we partner with. And at that point, you know, all they’ve got to worry about is managing their books quarterly. so that where the real opportunity is, is finding people who you know might have this dream of owning short terminal or owning more real estate, but are not sure of the path, not knowledgeable, don’t have the time. I think once we make more people aware of the process, it’s gonna be a no-brainer for a lot of people.

Scott Bursey (17:48)
Spot on, being ready to capitalize while others are standing on the sidelines is how you build true generational wealth. You know, those opportunities are huge. But as we both know, the industry is rarely a straight line. Christian, if you could walk us through, you know, the landscape is changing fast. What’s the one risk you’re keeping a close eye on?

Christian Norman (18:08)
yeah, definitely. So I would say really the main risk, you know, at at this point. I would say, you know, not to not take credit, but a lot of it is up to the owner at the the point of handoff, you know. We really try to structure things and, you know, do a lot of market analysis before we get you into a deal. So we we know that between either the you know appreciation over on your home paired with the income from the rental, because I can’t guarantee, you know, every rental is gonna bring in a bunch of, you know, positive revenue, but our projections we can pretty much guarantee that the property will at least pay for itself, you know, based on and that’s also based on how much do you want it booked, how much do you want it marketed, you know, it’s all per client. but you know, a lot of times, like again, you know, people you you you hand them, you know, a beautiful package, but if they don’t want to, you know, take the time or effort or energy to take care of it, it it really truly only takes a couple bad reviews and your whole platform is toast. And you know, so I think the biggest thing is really educating people that are getting into this, that it’s not just some like fun, you know, like, I got a vacation house that it is there’s is a lot to it and there is a business. And even if you have a management company, you’ve gotta make sure they’re vetted and keep them on their game. So I I think the biggest risk is really someone n— getting into the property and not taking care of it afterwards. And I say that heartfully because we really we work hard to to find properties and get them at a good deal and you know, try to get you into the home already, you know, at a good price. And then, you know, pairing that with the turnkey business, I mean, if you take care of it within if— and especially, you know, people that are planning to hold on to the properties to five to ten years, you know, not only at that point are you have your appreciation on the home, you’re also able to sell a turnkey, you know, income producing business which you know will add to your valuation each ech— you know exponentially. So the only one fears, you know, the potential absolute crash of the market. But you know, we’re just gonna hope that doesn’t happen.

Scott Bursey (20:16)
Defensive positioning. It’s not about being fearful. It’s about being prepared. Christian, that’s a total pro move right there. And you know, you can’t do this alone. How are you building your team to ensure the culture at Arcadian stays as sharp as your deals?

Christian Norman (20:34)
Yeah, definitely. so it’s definitely by being selective, you know. I’ve been doing a lot of outreach to specifically realtors and management companies lately. And I’ve, you know, created my own kind of not a full call script, but like filtering process that, you know, I keep either with me on the computer, I just, you know, kind of keep it beside me so I make sure I go through my process. you know, and filtering out, you know, people especially, you know, that aren’t especially knowledgeable about short-term rentals. You know, there’s so much more that goes into it than it just being a rental, especially when it comes into the lending and getting like DSCR lending and, you know, all these different things. So it’s for me, really honing in on who we work with, vetting, you know, their their experience and making sure that, you know, the the realtors and management companies that we bring onto our team and continue to build relationships with are, you know, extremely knowledgeable, working at a high tier, you know, and I guess alig— align with our values truly, because I mean it doesn’t take long, you know, a couple calls, even one, you know, five, ten minutes of talking to someone, you can, you know, you can tell if they’re interested, you can tell if they’re knowledgeable. You can tell if your values aligned, you know, and I’ve I’ve you know got into deals you know where I have went against my values in the past and, you know, worked for people whose values weren’t the same as mine in the past. And, you know, it kind of just creates for this, you know, I guess, negative flow within, you know, yourself and for the business. It doesn’t work well for either partner. You know, so at this point in my my career and and my self knowledge and not and outside of my career, you know, if if our values aren’t aligned, if we’re not on the same mission, if we’re not on the same path, I I don’t have I don’t have time to work with you to be a friend to you, to be a a mentor to you, you know. I have to be really selective right now. And I think we all do about what we let into our space. And, you know, it doesn’t take but, you know, one bad seed of an invasive plant to to kill a, you know, an in— an entire, you know, farm. So I think, you know, it’s really my personal process of, you know, who I choose to be and how I choose to integrate myself into public situations and, you know, relationships is definitely what will take us to the next level.

Scott Bursey (22:55)
Culture is a silent fuel. If the team isn’t aligned, the deal flow doesn’t matter. Love that perspective. Christian, let’s go deep. If you had to look at an acquisition target today and determine its true potential in 30 seconds or less, what’s the most important number or metric you’re you’d be looking at?

Christian Norman (23:18)
so if I was looking at a target, most important number metric I would be looking at, gosh, it’s a loaded question because it really depends on you know the space. For us, the first thing I see is beyond that when looking at the property, like, is this an experience? Like, you know, when someone, you know, sees this place, even if it might not look like it now, I I brainstorm, I visualize like, can I make this an experience? Because right now that’s what is gonna set apart the difference in the short-term rental market is experiential design as we call it. Because anybody can throw to their their house on *Airbnb* and listing and you’ll see that those are gonna be tired, they’re gonna be dead, they’re gonna bring in, you know, clientele that you might not want in your house. So through using experiential design, you know, and first having that vision where I can see that this is gonna bring in the type of clientele I want that, you know. ‘Cause that’s the first step because all of those numbers, I mean, if you’re able to build something the right way and market in the right way, a lot of those numbers, you know, you can you can see past those. but I do think, I would say the biggest thing is really making sure, you know, through analysis, you know, we use like *AirDNA* and other platforms that the property’s gonna at least be able to cover its debt service and expenses. You know, the the the goal is really for the client at the end of the year to to make money and even if it’s not through direct revenue, it’s through massive tax cuts on depreciation of their new business and asset. So yeah.

Scott Bursey (24:50)
Absolutely. What a great breakdown. What a great blueprint for our listeners today. And you know, you’ve added so much great value today, Christian, but we can’t let you go quite yet. What additional words of wisdom or perhaps a golden nugget or two can you leave with our listeners today?

Christian Norman (25:09)
Yeah, definitely. Great question. I’ve got so many different ways I could go. But you know, I think honestly, I’ll— it’s it’s kind of my favorite quote. And it’s really be the change you want to see, you know, and especially, you know, I I consider myself, you know, kind of an activist in a way for for the environment and the community and our planet, and gonna be a little long-winded, but that’s why I got in another reason I got into real estate acquisitions and I, you know, fought so hard to save my seventy acres of land because I I want to spend my life, you know, acquisitioning, you know, more forest and natural land and, you know, creating sacred, safe places, you know, for for everyone and for the planet, because, you know, there’s the other end where if some people aren’t here to protect, you know, others will just take. and I j— I truly see the importance of, you know, keeping parts of our our planet serene and safe and creating retreat style places, you know, that people can come and heal and, you know, experience love and joy, etc. so my my real piece of advice is, you know, if if there’s something in your heart that you know you want to see be different in the world, get out there and, you know, even little steps, you know, to be that change that you wanna see. And it it can be very small and just by changing your attitude and, you know, we don’t see how far the ripples, you know, that we can make go. But just by, you know, being kind when to someone when maybe you normally wouldn’t, or opening the door for someone when you would normally just blow by. Like there’s so many small acts of kindness that can change someone’s day. And then by changing their day, you don’t know who they’re able to influence. And then all of a sudden your five second act of kindness or your, you know, two minutes to to console someone and then give them words of wisdom has made a ripple beyond what your your heart or your eyes can see. So I know that’s a little deep, but that that’s my words of wisdom for the group is you know, to to get out there and, you know, be the best version of yourself so we can, you know, create a a a more a better world.

Scott Bursey (27:09)
What a wonderful business model. And it all boils down to the golden rule. Treat others like you would like to be treated. Christian, thank you for that. And if our listeners would like to follow your journey or collaborate with you, what’s the best way for them to reach you?

Christian Norman (27:24)
Yeah, definitely. so we can go through. I mean, my the email’s probably the best at this point. We have [email protected]. So that’s all lowercase [email protected]. also LinkedIn’s a great way, I would say as well. on LinkedIn we have our website and you know everything else kind of linked in there. So you can also either find me on LinkedIn at Christian Norman. or you can just Google or search Arcadian Innovations on LinkedIn and find our page there. And I’m pretty active on there and stay connected with people. So I’d be happy to connect with anyone.

Scott Bursey (28:02)
Christian, this has truly been a pleasure. Thank you for joining us today.

Christian Norman (28:07)
Fabulous. Yeah. Thank you, Scott, for having me. It’s feels good to to get it get it all out there.

Scott Bursey (28:11)
And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you got value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be filling your tanks with elite guests just like Christian Norman, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you on the next episode, everyone.