May 12, 2025 • 40 mins
What does it take to create the #1 rated hospitality experience in America? Marco DiDimesio reveals the strategies that transformed the Candleberry Inn on Cape Cod into TripAdvisor's top-rated bed and breakfast for three consecutive years—an achievement that required far more than comfortable beds and good breakfast.
Marco's journey began with a career pivot from finance to hospitality, driven by an Italian heritage rich in hosting traditions and visits to over 30 different B&Bs as a guest. With business partner Angelo, they purchased an underperforming property with architectural promise, immediately investing in marketing while developing a service philosophy centered on becoming "superheroes" for their guests.
The magic of Marco's approach lies in his concept of the "personal guest"—collecting information before arrival to customize experiences, using breakfast conversations strategically, and turning problems into loyalty-building opportunities. He shares riveting examples of extraordinary service recovery, including driving guests to police stations after accidents and arranging transportation home when their car was totaled. These aren't just good deeds—they're strategic investments in guest relationships that generated 359 consecutive five-star reviews.
For vacation rental managers facing unique operational challenges, Marco offers practical adaptations of his high-touch approach. Quality assurance inspectors can double as experience enhancers by placing personalized welcome items based on guest information. Small farewell gifts (most under $1) create lasting impressions. And his partnership with marketing experts demonstrates how becoming the local authority through authentic content can attract guests researching destinations rather than simply accommodations.
Perhaps most valuable is Marco's staffing wisdom—hiring for attitude over skill, paying above market rates for quality service providers, and finding reliable team members in unexpected places (like the nuns from a local convent who became his most dependable staff). His advice to never use the word "discount"—instead offering "loyalty guest credits"—maintains perceived value while recognizing repeat business.
Ready to transform your guest experience from transactional to exceptional? Marco's proven strategies will inspire you to reconsider every touchpoint in your hospitality journey. Connect with him through InAdvisors or LinkedIn to learn how his expertise can elevate your properties to new heights of guest satisfaction and profitability.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Marco DiDomizio (00:00):
The problem-solving piece of it is
big, and this is where the staffand I work together on where
it's never done.
You can't just shrug yourshoulders.
You are that superhero for yourguests when something happens
where they need some help.
Tim Cafferty (00:24):
You're listening to the Vacation Rental Key with
TNT, the podcast for vacationrental managers by vacation
rental managers.
I'm Tim Cafferty and I managetwo companies, one in Virginia
and one in North Carolina.
I'm one of the two Ts.
Tiffany Edwards (00:40):
And I'm the other, T Tiffany Edwards, born
and raised in the vacationrental business.
I help manage our familybusinesses from Key West all the
way to Kauai.
Tim Cafferty (00:50):
In the next 30 minutes, we're going to give you
our keys to success in thevacation rental business.
Tiffany Edwards (01:02):
Well, y'all, I am so excited.
When Tim and I decided to dothis podcast, we said we didn't
want to do very many interviews,but I challenged him to say
that if we did an interview, ithad to be keynote worthy and an
individual who came on had to besomeone that would be closing
or opening a general sessionbecause of their pearls of
(01:23):
wisdom.
And Tim brought Marco to thetable.
I'm so excited for today'spodcast.
Tim Cafferty (01:29):
Yeah, delivered for you and, without further ado
, let's introduce our guest.
I am really pleased tointroduce you all to a true
hospitality superstar.
This gentleman and his partnerembody what many of us aspire to
be.
He and his partner, angeloFerraro, are the former owners
of the Candleberry Inn, locatedin Brewster, massachusetts, on
(01:50):
Cape Cod.
Through years of pouring theirheart and soul, they transformed
an inn into the top-rated bedand breakfast inn in all of the
United States and number two inthe world.
In 2022, 23, and in 2024, theCandleberry Inn was rated number
one by TripAdvisor and Traveland Leisure, not to be outdone,
(02:13):
rated the Candleberry Inn thenumber one inn in the country
last year.
He's got a real aura of servicedelivery that I think you will
see come through in this episode.
It is my pleasure and distincthonor to welcome Marco DiDomezio
, the king of hospitality, tothe Vacation Rental Key podcast.
Marco DiDomizio (02:30):
Thanks so much, Tim and Tiffany.
It's a pleasure to be here.
I'm really thrilled to join you.
Tiffany Edwards (02:35):
Thank you, marco.
So I have one of the biggestquestions just starting out.
So many of the operators invacation rentals just happened
to fall into this industry, butyou and Angelo made an inspired
choice to leave careers thatdidn't have anything related to
hospitality.
So, finance and architecturewhat inspired y'all to make that
(02:58):
change?
Marco DiDomizio (02:59):
Yeah.
So we actually liked thecareers we had when we were in
New York City, but that naggingfeeling of what's next kept
coming up.
We knew we did not want to bein the same job five or 10 years
from then.
And, by the way, 10 years later, we're still in touch with our
old bosses.
We still connect.
I spoke to my old boss about amonth ago.
He said he's still mad at mefor leaving and over the years
he's been visiting us at the inn.
(03:26):
But what inspired us was to ownour own business, to be the
masters of our own destiny.
And hospitality both of usbeing Italian, hosting 20, 25
people on any given weekend wassomething we grew up doing with
Italian mothers.
So it was a good fit.
We were really scared, but wewere up for it and went for it.
And you know, the architecturepart of it is really what
inspired Angela.
(03:47):
It's how it all started.
We would visit Cape Cod onvacations and we stayed in
Provincetown and we alwaysstayed at a different B&B and
over the course of about 15years we stayed at over 30
different properties.
So in that time we experiencedmany different things on what to
do and not to do in hospitality.
The not to do's are just asvaluable.
(04:07):
But the essence of it was thatAngela was very interested in
the architectural details of thehistoric buildings, which is
why we always see different ones, and over time we started
thinking you know, we can dothis, I can do this better, I
can do that.
I will never do that over time.
And then we started asking someof the innkeepers how they got
(04:27):
into it.
What did you do before this andwhat was the first step you
took and were you scared and whodid you work with?
And a couple of innkeepers inProvincetown recommended that we
join the Association forInnkeepers, which is now called
ALP, and there's a wholeaspiring track there for
upcoming hospitality owners andmanagers.
(04:48):
I wanted to take advantage ofmy membership as an aspiring
person and I saw that there wasgoing to be an immersive
Aspiring Innkeeping weekend hereon the Cape, so I signed up for
it.
The consultant had owned an innmany years ago.
She was the first inn on CapeCod to have a website in the
1990s.
Everyone thought she was crazy,but I still work with her now.
(05:10):
So she was the consultant thatwe worked with.
We went through her immersiveseminar.
We signed up to work with heras our broker, visiting the Cape
, and approximately six monthslater we located the Candleberry
Inn that was for sale, andsince then she's been a great
mentor to us and constantlypushing us, cheering us on and
(05:31):
also pushing us to get to thenext level.
You really do need that mentoralong the way, because when
you're in the business every day, you don't always see it and
you need to understand wherethat next step is.
And a lot of times we're afraid.
We're afraid to raise prices,we're afraid to do marketing,
and it's important to do thoseitems that will increase revenue
(05:51):
and your profit.
Tiffany Edwards (05:53):
What, specifically, were some of your
criterias in purchasing the inn?
Obviously, the architecture wasimportant, but what were some
of those main criterias that youfelt were non-negotiables for
your purchase?
Marco DiDomizio (06:04):
Sure.
So number of rooms, because youneed a certain number of rooms
to make it profitable and inthis world it's six or seven
rooms.
We were nine rooms, so that wasone of the main factors.
The other was the owner'squarters, because we lived on
site and not all properties arethe same, no-transcript, and
(07:13):
there needed to be enough rooms.
The price also worked with usbecause it was an
underperforming property at thattime, but we had the vision of
what it could be and thepotential of it, together with
our backgrounds.
Angelo's architecture and thedesign really was an asset.
As we moved forward and myselfwith finance and marketing, I
immediately hired a marketingcompany that specializes in
(07:36):
hospitality to help us, becausethere really was nothing done in
the beginning.
Our website was not responsivedesign, so it didn't fit some of
the devices that travelers wereusing.
There was no blog, there was noemail, there was no social
media, so we immediately builtthat from the foundation up to
gain more guests andreservations and over time, the
(07:59):
brand just kept building andit's never done so it's always
what more can I do?
And partnering with thatstrategic partner, the marketing
partner, to also help you thinkwhere else should you be?
Our monthly call was always allright.
This is what we've achieved.
This is what the Googleanalytics is saying.
This is what our numbers looklike.
But where else should we be?
And that's where the reputationmanagement piece of it with
(08:22):
TripAdvisor and the otherplatforms came about, and they
partnered with us to just keepmoving that forward.
Tim Cafferty (08:28):
You already answered part question I have
for you and that is thosechallenges.
You identified the property.
You felt like you had thisvision.
But talk to us about thechallenges.
I know there had to be many.
Marco DiDomizio (08:42):
The challenges was the money, because we bought
an underperforming property, sowhen I bought it, the revenue
wasn't there.
We left some big jobs in NewYork City.
So, like my God, what did wejust do?
You know?
So there was, there wereseveral sleepless nights there
in the beginning and, you know,the business wasn't there, the
occupancy and the ADR was allvery low, but we just kept
(09:04):
chipping away.
So that was the biggestchallenge.
And then I think everyone willagree, the staffing throughout,
and I think that that is an end.
The industry, even when weworked in New York, attracting
and retaining and motivatingstaff is always the biggest
challenge.
We were lucky that we built areally great team over the years
, but no season went withoutsome type of challenge.
Tiffany Edwards (09:25):
So, talking about staffing, because some of
our listeners will know, that'salso my greatest hurdle and
where I do not thrive.
But you've been able to retainstaff and train staff to a
spirit of excellence with yourguest performance, and so I
(09:45):
wanted to talk a little bit toand have you expand a little bit
on, one, your guest excellenceand becoming a problem solver
for your guests, and then, two,how you train those staff
members to continue that spiritof excellence.
Marco DiDomizio (10:02):
Sure, so the problem solving piece of it is
big, and this is where the staffand I work together.
On where it's never done, youcan't just shrug your shoulders.
You are that superhero for yourguests when something happens,
where they need some help.
And that's not to say that theycome to you and you don't have
an answer.
It's partnering with them andsolving the issue, them in
(10:28):
solving the issue.
There are several examples thatwe experienced over time.
One was where a guest showed upand they booked a stay,
thinking that it was for today,but it actually was a year from
today and we were full andthey're insisting to check in
and we're looking like no, it'sactually 2026.
And they were like, oh my God.
So sitting with them andfiguring out where they can go,
(10:49):
so refunding them right away.
But then every afternoon we hadspecial treats for our guests
because we baked every day.
So we had individual packageswith guests' names and room
numbers on it, so we made surethey got something.
We made sure they got theirrefreshments at our coffee
center, and all of that so thatthey would not get nervous or
freak out over this, becausesome people could.
I saw the wife getting veryobsessed.
So no, sit down, we got you,we'll figure this out.
(11:11):
And then calling my peersaround like five to 10 mile
radius on if they have rooms andthis was August, so there's not
a lot of there's not a lot ofavailability, but solving that
problem and it took about anhour and a half because they
were supposed to stay for abouta week, so no one had
availability for one week in astretch.
So it became piecemeal and Ipositioned it as this is a
(11:34):
lovely review and sent us a gift.
So that type of mentality.
There was another one that Ishared at the conference where
we had a guest who got in a caraccident.
They left after breakfast, theywent to Provincetown and around
(11:56):
4.30, I got a call from them atthe hospital and the wife had
broken her wrist.
So they didn't know what to do.
So I went to pick them up,approximately 20, 25 minutes
away, and she told me that sheneeded her phone, but her phone
was at the police station inProvincetown.
So we drove up to Provincetown,which was probably an hour or
so away, and then drove themback to the inn, and at that
(12:17):
point it was about 930 in theevening.
They hadn't eaten anythingsince that morning.
So Angelo had dinner for them,we brought it to their room and
then the next day I madearrangements to get them back
home because their car wastotaled, to get them back home
to New York.
So I found a car service thatwould take them down.
That level of service thatthey're just not sort of left
out in the lurch when somethinghappens like that, being that
(12:40):
problem solver, helping themthrough it.
It is priceless to a guest andthe loyalty that you build with
them that they will come backagain and again and refer
friends and family.
You can't put a price onsomething like that.
So it's that level, guestexcellence.
So it's beyond just providing aroom and providing a meal and
just welcoming them, but it'sfrom the beginning to the end.
(13:02):
Just show them that you reallyare fully invested in their stay
, in their visit, and instillingthat into the staff mentality.
It took a while for us to figureout the staffing.
The season for us got longerand longer because we had
success.
Our shoulder seasons werelonger, so we had the main busy
season, which runs approximatelyMemorial Day to the end of
(13:26):
September.
But then we got busy in April,may, june, through October and
November.
So many properties rely on theJ-1 students, which are the
international students who comefor like a work-study thing, but
their season is very short.
They get here in June, theyleave Labor Day.
That didn't work for us.
(13:47):
And then also, as our offeringevolved and our guest experience
raised, I really needed adults.
I really needed thosehospitality-minded people that
these kids just couldn't do.
By the time you had themtrained, it was time to leave.
These kids didn't even knowwhat a top sheet was to make a
bed, let alone teaching them howto make a bed professionally on
a daily basis.
(14:08):
So there were a couple ofdifferent ways where we solved
the staffing issue.
One was paying more than theaverage market and it's worth it
because if you're providing apremium service, then that is
one of the ways to support that.
I also promoted one of my staffpeople to an assistant
innkeeper and we worked with herto get her green card.
(14:30):
In between that we alsosponsored her as an H2B because
she was visiting from anothercountry, so partnering with her
to do that for her and againbuilding that loyalty with the
guests.
But she had a degree inhospitality.
She was very passionate aboutthis.
The guests loved her, she lovedthem and she helped me be
better Together.
We would always them and shehelped me be better Together.
We would always partner.
(14:50):
And what more can we do?
What else can we add in theguest room?
How else can we serve thisbreakfast in a more elevated way
?
Like our breakfast was likefine dining.
The guests were seated, theydid not get up, everything was
served to them in courses onChina.
Just elevating that wholeexperience.
And then I'm going to share alittle secret with you.
Another great idea that sort offell in my lap was every year,
(15:11):
when it was time to hire, I juststarted texting anyone that was
in my area code.
So here on the Cape, the areacode was 508.
So I just started textingpartners, people, my coffee
supplier, the person who printedmy rack cards.
And the person who printed myrack cards wrote back to me,
said yes, I actually do knowsomeone who may be interested in
working with you, but, however,she is a sister, she's a nun at
(15:33):
a convent.
I'm like okay, and apparentlythey go out and make money for
the community and it goes back.
You know she's not making itpersonally.
Do you have a problem with that?
I said no, as long as she canclean a room.
I'm good, she was delightful.
And then over the years weactually hired more sisters from
that convent.
They came in our uniform and itwas very discreet, but as
(15:55):
guests got to know them, theylearned about them and they also
visited the convent, which wasbeautiful.
But they were reliable, theywere honest and they were on
time.
There were no hangovers.
They worked the entire seasonand we just became really great
friends.
And they were on time.
There were no hangovers.
They worked the entire seasonand we just became really great
friends and they loved theproperty.
So now when we sold, they werevery upset about the news
because it's the end of thisfriendship.
(16:16):
It was a great way to solvethat problem.
Tiffany Edwards (16:19):
Well, and it sounds like you and Angelo
showed what you would expect bymaking the beds yourself and
going out and driving, so Ithink that's probably a very
large component to it as well.
Marco DiDomizio (16:30):
I had a bed making bootcamp so we actually
videoed how to make the bed.
How to make the bed tightly.
It can't look like someoneslept in.
It has to be perfect, it has tobe tight.
So my assistant innkeeperfilled me as we were doing it,
so it could be used as atutorial for all the other staff
members.
Tim Cafferty (16:46):
You just gave a great explanation of the concept
that I've come to know you by,and that is the personal guest.
Talk to us more about how youcan develop that relationship
with the guests, which you'vedone so beautifully.
Marco DiDomizio (17:00):
Absolutely.
I love that concept.
That actually was my guidinglight, my North star, as we were
through this journey.
Although I didn't know thatterm initially, yeah, I had the
vision of what we wanted toprovide to our guests.
I actually learned it from aguest.
So there was a guest who checkedin and they were tired and not
(17:20):
happy.
They didn't have a goodexperience wherever they had
stayed prior to us.
So they were tired.
They had driven a long time.
They wanted dinner.
So I got them reservations at anearby restaurant where they
could walk so they didn't haveto get back into the car.
They loved the room.
So I knew that in the eveningthey were spending time in the
room and they were enjoying thespa bathroom and the robes and
the slippers and all of that.
(17:40):
Then at breakfast they were newpeople.
When we seated them, they werecompletely refreshed and we were
talking about the area.
So now I moved into conciergemode.
You know how do we optimizeyour visit in the area?
Because, yes, it's nice to seeyou, but you didn't come here to
see me.
Maybe next time you'll comeback to see me, but initially
they're not coming to see us,they're coming to visit the area
(18:01):
.
So how do we optimize theirvisit with those types of
referral services on you knowwhat type of activities, what
type of tours dinner, museums,physical activities, biking,
hiking.
So we helped them with that andwhen they left they wrote such
a wonderful review and they saidthat they felt like they were
(18:21):
treated like a personal guestversus just an anonymous
traveler.
And that's where the lightswent off for me.
Like, yes, personal guests,that is it.
That is what we're aspiring tobe.
We want guests to feel likethey are personal to us when
they come into our lodgingestablishment, not just
anonymous or just sort ofwandering the halls.
We want them to know that thereis that personal connection.
Tiffany Edwards (18:44):
That's really interesting too, because even
from your last answer, I think alot of us as operators from the
vacation rental side focus alot on a review as opposed to
that personal guest or return oninvestment personally and then
for those individuals to return.
(19:04):
How did you collect or did youcollect some of this information
on the front end from yourguests to provide these personal
guest experiences, or how muchof it was really listening and
being present in thoseinteractions in the first 45
seconds that you met someone, orin those times at breakfast
when you were available and onsite?
Marco DiDomizio (19:25):
Yeah, that's a really good question and that
it's everything, all of theabove.
So it actually starts evenbefore they come.
So it starts with thereservation and if the PMS
system allows you to collectinformation on the purpose of
their visit, that information isamazing because if they're
coming for an anniversary or abirthday or whatever it is mom
(19:47):
and daughter trip, brothers, dadtrip, fishing trip you can
already start to plan what it isthat they're going to be doing
or to provide something specialin their room, whether it's a
bottle of champagne for thehoneymooners or a tray of
home-baked cookies.
If it's a family, you know inadvance.
So before they even get there,when they arrive, they're
(20:08):
already finding the surprise anddelight element of their stay.
So it starts there.
And then at check-in we didpersonal check-ins.
So for me, when they arrived, Ishowed them to their room, we
talked about breakfast, weconfirmed if there were any
dietary restrictions or foodallergies, which we also collect
in the reservation system.
But it's always good to confirmit because that really is
(20:29):
something where you canpersonalize and win that guest
over.
And over the course of ourownership it's become much
easier.
When we first bought the inn,there wasn't a lot with
gluten-free, but that's reallyevolved.
As long as you know in advance,you can pretty much do anything
and win that guest over.
But throughout the journeytaking them to their room,
understanding the body language,there should never be a
(20:50):
45-minute check-in.
I've heard of some innkeeperswhere they're talking to the
guests for 45 minutes Guess what.
They were in the car for threeto five hours.
They need to use the bathroom.
So you need to read their bodylanguage and understand that.
If they want to speak to you,if they want you, then good,
we're on.
You answer the questions whenshould we go?
What should we do?
How far is the beach?
Which restaurant should we goto tonight versus tomorrow?
(21:10):
Which one should we do for theanniversary?
All of that can be answered.
And then throughout the stayand yes, breakfast is important
Breakfast is when they are acaptive audience for us, because
everyone comes to breakfastDuring the day.
They come and go.
You may not see guests if theyare busy, but I made sure that I
was there for breakfast, soAngelo was the chef and then my
(21:31):
staff and I oversaw thebreakfast service.
And that's when I would askhow's it going?
How's everything in your room?
What do you have planned fortoday and that is an opportunity
that if something isn't right,you can quickly course correct
it and fix it to win them overand make them happy.
So you're going to get a goodreview, but, more importantly,
they're also going to rebookwith you.
(21:53):
It's never done, but there aredifferent ways to do that as
well that I talked about at theconference as well, like leaving
question cards in the rooms onhow the stay is going, or maybe
one of those little questioncards that you can leave on the
doorknob if you don't want to goin the room.
But collecting that informationstarts even before they stay
(22:13):
through the end.
And then at the end, how waseverything?
And getting a read on them.
Tim Cafferty (22:17):
You've done such a great job on that.
Marco DiDomizio (22:19):
Oh, thank you.
Tim Cafferty (22:20):
As you're talking to our audience, I can hear them
almost saying yeah, but, marco,I have X amount of properties
spread amongst this mileage.
What kind of tips would youhave for an operator that has
multiple locations but still hasthat opportunity to have the
guest interaction of some winswe could have?
Marco DiDomizio (22:39):
Absolutely, and I was so impressed by the
passion that was in the roomduring the conference, at the
other sessions as well as mine.
The interest is there, which Ilove.
There are ways, you know, whenI heard that the properties all
have inspectors, I love that.
So after the housekeepers, theinspectors go in.
We did that as well.
We called it QA qualityassurance just to check
(23:01):
everything to make sure the roomis set up for when the guest
arrives.
There's an opportunity there, Ibelieve, so that person or
persons can do something.
So if you have information inadvance on what the special
occasion is, or if it's a returnguest and you have information,
it's a family or whatever,there's an opportunity there to
(23:21):
do something special, whetherit's a personalized welcome note
, a tray of cookies.
If it's a family, whatever it is, they want certain foods.
Or if you want to leave a listof possible activities in the
area for the family.
Or if it is honeymooners,because some of the units that
you rent are also small, onebedrooms, right, so it could be
couples.
It doesn't always have to be afamily, so personalizing it to
(23:44):
that, but I think that's wherethe personalized touch.
There's an opportunity therefor you, like once the room is
done and you know this guest iscoming in, if you have
information in advance if it's anew guest, otherwise if it's a
new guest, otherwise if it's areturn guest.
That's amazing.
There's opportunities there.
And then also throughtechnology, being able to text
them through the stay otheropportunities and making it less
(24:05):
institutional, more personal, asofter way of writing those
couple of sentences or phrasesto the guest, to check in on
them to see how they're doing.
Tiffany Edwards (24:12):
I love that and I know that we've mentioned
personalized, but I think that,in terms of scale as well, we
use the same gift for the sameoccasion year over year and so
it becomes less personalized.
And so what I'm getting fromyou is to really understand that
guest so much better and thenhaving to bring something to
(24:33):
that guest that is unique tothem, especially if they're
returning year over year andthey're not getting the exact
same champagne bottle with theexact same note by the exact
same person.
But it's a welcome back.
So I really like that, that keyadvice there.
Marco DiDomizio (24:49):
Yeah, and it can change.
You can have the same gift forthe group of guests each year
and just change the gift.
Every year we had a littlefarewell gift.
So at the end of the stay wewould present the guests with a
little card and it was the sizeof a business card so they can
fit it in their wallet or intheir phone, and it thanked them
for the stay.
And then we also asked them togive us a review and it had the
(25:11):
logos of the various platformsTripAdvisor, google, whatever
but with that we would give alittle farewell gift and it was
less than a dollar.
So last year they were littleeyeglass cleaners, little cloths
that were branded We've doneflashlights, we've done luggage
tags, something that relates totravel or the guests, but is not
terribly expensive and isbranded, and the amount of
(25:34):
goodwill, like they werethrilled like, oh my God, we
should be giving you gifts, butthat little something.
And every year it was somethingdifferent because we had the
return guests.
Now we also had guests thatreturned more than once in a
season, but they got it againlike, hey, you're getting
another one.
Terrific, I'll give it to mydaughter, I'll give it to my mom
, you know.
So it's all good.
Tiffany Edwards (25:53):
I love that.
Yeah Well, maybe they came alsoto make sure they got that
farewell gift Right.
So I also want to ask aboutthis, because it's absolutely
incredible to get to an awardlevel one year.
To do it year over year andprovide consistency is
(26:14):
astonishing, and I know from Timand I and our hospitality
background.
I know the type of work thatthat takes Year over year.
Did you and Angelo and the teampivot at all?
Did you keep the same processes?
Did you fine tune anything yearover year to create that
consistency, or were you stillreally steadfast in your
processes?
Marco DiDomizio (26:38):
consistency, or were you still really steadfast
in your processes?
So it was consistent.
But it was also that idea ofdelivering value.
Okay, cause over time therewere some significant
renovations that were done.
We completely gutted ourbathrooms and scaled them up.
So it was constantly thinkingof cause our rates went up.
So how do we balance that?
How do we make the guests feelcomfortable but also make them
(27:01):
feel like they're not beingtaken advantage of by the
increase in rates?
Right?
So it was always what more canwe do to demonstrate this
perceived value in what they'regetting?
So at the end they'll say Ipaid a lot but it was worth
every penny.
And then they rebook sodefinitely those investments.
They'll say I paid a lot but itwas worth every penny.
And then they rebook sodefinitely those investments in
the property itself to make thestay nicer, the bathrooms, the
(27:22):
beds, all of that, but alsothose soft amenities.
Along the way we introduced anice cream freezer that was kind
of like a good humor ice creamfreezer that had the packaged
ice cream in there and the unitcosts for those were like 70
cents.
But their faces lit up when theyarrived and they saw that
because they could get that whenthey came home from the beach
or after dinner, for dessert orbefore bed, went over.
(27:45):
Really well, you couldintroduce things like nicer
sparkling waters and flavoredwaters, because we all provide
water in the rooms, but maybe inthe common area or in the
office you have something alittle nicer that makes them
come out of their way over tothe office and it's worth a
little more when they have towork for it and go and get it
Right.
So things like that, if theproperties haven't already
thought about it electricvehicle chargers you know, it's
(28:07):
another thing that we did andthere's a lot of great rebates
through the states where we paidvery little.
Things like that that justcontinue showing that there's
value there.
Because we always want toincrease our rates.
We have to, but how do wedemonstrate value along the way?
Tim Cafferty (28:22):
I'm intrigued by something very petty, but just
to clarify, you've gotten allthese awards Mark, you and
Angela in terms of top in thecountry, and I was fortunate
enough to win an award one timefrom Inc Magazine and they had
this huge gala.
It was a black tie fair.
There's nothing like that.
You didn't even know at onepoint that you were ranked as a
top location.
(28:43):
It seems like it should be morefanfare.
Marco DiDomizio (28:48):
So, yes, so I think you also asked earlier how
did we do it?
So it's a lot of work incollecting those reviews.
With my marketing partner, heactually developed an email
system where we would send outthe emails to request the
reviews and collect them andthen review them.
So it wasn't just quantity, itwas also quality of the reviews.
(29:10):
I don't know what's inTripAdvisor's algorithm.
It's that secret sauce.
They'll never tell you.
But if I had to guess, based onmy experience with them, it's
the quantity of reviews but thequality.
So what are guests saying thatwas so special about your
property, the food, the rooms?
And then how are we responding?
Because you're responding hey,tim, it was great to see you, so
glad that you enjoyed youranniversary visit with us in
(29:32):
that restaurant down the hillwhere you had that amazing lemon
drop martini.
Blah, blah, blah.
Writing all of that in, becauseI believe that Google loves all
of that.
When they're scraping, they'reseeing that it's deep, it's not
just a thank you.
So when I think that you'remaking the content a little
richer there and it's authentic,that gives you points.
How fast you respond to thereviews also goes into your
(29:55):
ranking, I believe.
So answering every review, howfast you respond and what you're
saying all go into that.
I believe Another part of it isalso the whole matter of being
the expert in your area andblogging about the area.
We had blogs that outrankedTripAdvisors.
We did one about the Cape CodRail Trail and it was so rich in
(30:16):
information about where you canaccess the trail.
Where are the bike shops?
If you need to rent one, or ifyou need one for a flat tire or
a broken chain?
Where can you stop to behydrated?
Where can you get a sandwich?
Where can you stop and just gofor a swim in one of the lakes
or beaches?
That blog ranked higher thanTripAdvisor's blog and I want to
(30:38):
believe TripAdvisor knew that.
Tiffany Edwards (30:42):
So when you sat down to do some of those the
blog were you lookingcompetitively at other ends in
the area to change what you wereproviding on your website, or
did you just focus internally onwhat your guests typically
wanted to see?
Marco DiDomizio (31:00):
It was together with my marketing partner,
because they have software thatwill make sure that what you're
writing about actually ranks insearches.
So that's part one.
Part two is who is your guest?
Who are you going after?
So I knew that I wanted thatguest that would go biking, or
the guest that would go whalewatching and writing those blogs
(31:20):
in a way where we became theexpert in the area.
Because when we first boughtthe inn and we had nothing as
far as content goes on ourwebsite, we wrote more blogs but
they were shorter.
Then, over time, with mymarketing partner, he said I
think we need to focus, we wantto make you the expert in the
area, so let's write fewer, butlet's make it really rich that
you know what you're talking.
(31:41):
So they would do the researchand write the blog itself and
then they would send it to me,because I reviewed every piece
of content before it waspublished.
I would review it and I wouldadd the local flavor.
I would add the context to thecontent is what I refer to it as
to make sure that it was.
So when we talked about thelocal restaurants, I would refer
to that restaurant down thehill where Diane was the
(32:03):
bartender and made that amazinglemon drop martini.
They wouldn't know that, onlythe local person knows that.
But they did 90% of thatresearch.
That ranks.
And then I would add in thatlocal flavor that only we know.
And that's where it really paidoff, because, again, google
loves stuff like that.
It helped us rank.
And that's when the guests findyou, when they're researching
the area.
Again, they're not coming tolook for us, they're not coming
(32:25):
to see us, at least notinitially.
Again, they're not coming tolook for us.
They're not coming to see us,at least not initially.
First they're looking to visitthe area and they're looking at
the different activities thatthey're looking to experience
when they're there.
And then they're like oh wow,candleberry Inn wrote about this
.
They know what they're talkingabout.
Oh wow, this is a beautifulwebsite.
I'm going to stay here.
And then you build, once youhave them in the door, you build
that relationship.
And then it's the long-termrepeats day, that and I love the
(32:47):
whole concept of the lifetimevalue of the guest over time,
how much they're worth, andthat's when you start thinking
about our rates have gone up.
Do we work with these guests?
Yes, but, as I told Tim at theconference never discount.
That word discount came up afew times at the conference and
I started twitching in my chair.
I'm like, no, they're like, butyou don't discount.
(33:07):
I'm like, well, that doesn'tmean you can't work with your
guests, but never call it that,because I turned, I looked at
everyone and said you'reproviding a luxury experience.
I hear this word luxury, stay,the luxury traveler who's
looking to pay a premium.
You know they shouldn't belooking for a discount.
If you're looking to work withcertain guests that are loyal,
(33:27):
absolutely Call it a loyaltyguest credit.
Call it, you know one-time, youknow adjustment, whatever it is
, even if something went wrong,right and something happened and
something happened with thetoilet, it happens One-time
service adjustment, one-timeguest loyalty credit, whatever
it is.
Book early rate, book earlybird special rate.
(33:48):
And my recommendation is tonever just directly adjust that
rate, leave the full rate.
So if your room rate like,let's say, for me, my room rate
was $700 and I wanted to givethem a discount, $700 room rate,
guest loyalty adjustment minus$100 for a net of six, so they
(34:11):
see the value and they know whatthey're getting and what other
guests are paying.
They feel special.
That perception is important,but take away that word discount
, don't use it.
Tim Cafferty (34:22):
Okay, that's fantastic advice, and so we
warned you in advance about thislittle inane game we like to
play with our guests.
It's time for Quick Draw.
We ask you questions and youcan answer in just a few words,
or more wordy if you like, andwe start right now.
What is your favorite Italianfood?
Marco DiDomizio (34:42):
My favorite Italian food is a piadina.
So from my region of Italy, itis a thin bread, almost like a
pita, that you fold over breadsor over vegetables.
Grew up eating that and when Ivisit Italy it's my favorite
thing to have.
Tiffany Edwards (34:56):
What's your favorite amenity that you have
during your vacation?
Marco DiDomizio (35:00):
I think it's the bath amenities.
I love exploring different bathamenities.
I was at a couple ofconferences recently and I
always tend to go to thosetables at the conferences and I
love the natural stuff.
There's a company called Latherthat's out there now and I'm
just loving their products.
They gave me a bunch of samples.
So yeah, I always love the bodywashes and the creams and those
little balms that you put onyour temples at night to relax,
(35:23):
and room sprays.
I love all that stuff.
Tim Cafferty (35:28):
All right, you're a busy guy, you don't have a lot
of downtime.
But when you do have downtime,and maybe you're watching TV and
you're scanning channels, whatis that?
One show or movie that you comeacross and you watch it again
for the 15th time.
Marco DiDomizio (35:41):
Oh, there's a few, but you'll laugh Like one
of them, I think, is LegallyBlonde because it just cracks me
up.
And who doesn't love JenniferCoolidge?
And you know that brings meinto this whole White Lotus
thing that we can talk abouthospitality, because everyone, I
believe, for us, for my staff,it was required.
You know how school hasrequired reading.
The White Lotus was requiredwatching that and the Devil
Wears Prada, because there weretimes where I was accused of
(36:04):
being like Meryl Streep therebecause people were moving at a
glacial pace.
Tiffany Edwards (36:09):
All right.
What was your you and Angela'sbig purchase after the sale?
Marco DiDomizio (36:13):
Well, our home.
So we have.
We bought a little Cape cottagehere, still on route 6A, which
is really cool that you knowgiving him his historic thing.
But it is modest.
It's a little one bedroomcottage.
It's a slice of old Cape Codand it's on a little pond.
We have a little dock, sopretty amazing.
That's what we've done so far.
Tim Cafferty (36:31):
What book are you?
Marco DiDomizio (36:32):
currently reading, relating to one of my
board seats, select Registry,which is a group of inns that is
a membership or distinct innsof North America.
They are vetted and inspectedbefore they can be part of it.
We met with an instructorrecently and he wrote a book
called Selling Value and it'sabout that whole value
(36:55):
perception to whoever yourcustomer is, rather than getting
caught up with hourly rates andthat sort of thing.
It's selling value.
Same thing applies to ourguests getting away from what is
my weekly rate?
What is my nightly rate?
No, what am I getting?
Tiffany Edwards (37:09):
All right, what was your first concert?
Oh gosh, I think it was Janet.
Marco DiDomizio (37:11):
Jackson in 1980 .
Oh, that's a good one.
Yeah, it was a good one.
Tim Cafferty (37:17):
Okay, just a couple more for me.
One is what is a talent orskill that you do not currently
possess that you wish?
Marco DiDomizio (37:24):
you had.
There's so many, I don't know.
I don't have an answer for thatone, sorry.
Tiffany Edwards (37:28):
Skip.
If you could live anywhere else, where would it be?
Marco DiDomizio (37:31):
I would love to live in Sicily, so we visited
Sicily a few times and there'sjust something about that island
that it's still unspoiled andthe food is amazing.
When we go there, we getcompletely recharged.
So yeah, sicily All right.
Tim Cafferty (37:46):
The last one for me is one thing that's still on
your bucket list.
Marco DiDomizio (37:50):
To visit more countries in Europe outside of
Italy, because my whole lifewe've always gone to Italy, so I
really need to explore all ofthose countries.
I want to visit Germany, I wantto visit Ireland.
There's so many places that Iwant to immerse myself in.
Tiffany Edwards (38:04):
And Marco is available for consulting,
correct?
So anyone who's listening inthe European area.
Marco DiDomizio (38:10):
Absolutely.
Tiffany Edwards (38:11):
All right, last one for me.
Do you hire for skill or forattitude?
Marco DiDomizio (38:15):
Attitude was really my driving force over the
years, because you can teach Ifthe will is there and they have
a good attitude.
You can teach the skill whichproved better for us over time.
Yeah.
Tim Cafferty (38:27):
Fantastic.
Well, as usual, you win nothing.
Marco DiDomizio (38:30):
We're playing our little game, except for our
undying gratitude for goingalong with us.
Tim Cafferty (38:35):
I just wanted to share one thing before we go
here.
I actually looked at thereviews on Candleberry Inn and I
would encourage everybody to gothere and he lives it folks.
I just picked out a few here,tiffany, just for edification.
Every part of our stay wasperfect.
Marco is the absolute best host.
Meals prepared by Angelo wereso unique and delicious.
(38:58):
The next one Every detail wascovered.
I'm serious Lens cleaners foryour glasses Exclamation point
three times.
Incredible experience Made usfeel like we were the only
guests at the end.
Unparalleled personal touch.
And my favorite, candleberryhas set the bar so ridiculously
(39:18):
high it's become impossible forme to stay anywhere else.
359 reviews All of them arefive stars.
That's incredible.
Thank you, marco DiDomezio.
We just told you he works witha company called InAdvisors.
If you wish to get in touchwith him, I'm sure you can find
(39:39):
him on LinkedIn, and it has beenour distinct pleasure having
you here today.
Sir, thank you so much fordoing this.
Tiffany Edwards (39:46):
And sharing all of your insight with us.
Marco DiDomizio (39:48):
Yeah, a pleasure.
Thank you both, it was a lot offun great I was seeing you soon
.
Tim Cafferty (39:53):
Look forward to seeing you next time.
The problem-solving piece of it is
big, and this is where the staffand I work together on where
it's never done.
You can't just shrug yourshoulders.
You are that superhero for yourguests when something happens
where they need some help.
Tim Cafferty (00:24):
You're listening to the Vacation Rental Key with
TNT, the podcast for vacationrental managers by vacation
rental managers.
I'm Tim Cafferty and I managetwo companies, one in Virginia
and one in North Carolina.
I'm one of the two Ts.
Tiffany Edwards (00:40):
And I'm the other, T Tiffany Edwards, born
and raised in the vacationrental business.
I help manage our familybusinesses from Key West all the
way to Kauai.
Tim Cafferty (00:50):
In the next 30 minutes, we're going to give you
our keys to success in thevacation rental business.
Tiffany Edwards (01:02):
Well, y'all, I am so excited.
When Tim and I decided to dothis podcast, we said we didn't
want to do very many interviews,but I challenged him to say
that if we did an interview, ithad to be keynote worthy and an
individual who came on had to besomeone that would be closing
or opening a general sessionbecause of their pearls of
(01:23):
wisdom.
And Tim brought Marco to thetable.
I'm so excited for today'spodcast.
Tim Cafferty (01:29):
Yeah, delivered for you and, without further ado
, let's introduce our guest.
I am really pleased tointroduce you all to a true
hospitality superstar.
This gentleman and his partnerembody what many of us aspire to
be.
He and his partner, angeloFerraro, are the former owners
of the Candleberry Inn, locatedin Brewster, massachusetts, on
(01:50):
Cape Cod.
Through years of pouring theirheart and soul, they transformed
an inn into the top-rated bedand breakfast inn in all of the
United States and number two inthe world.
In 2022, 23, and in 2024, theCandleberry Inn was rated number
one by TripAdvisor and Traveland Leisure, not to be outdone,
(02:13):
rated the Candleberry Inn thenumber one inn in the country
last year.
He's got a real aura of servicedelivery that I think you will
see come through in this episode.
It is my pleasure and distincthonor to welcome Marco DiDomezio
, the king of hospitality, tothe Vacation Rental Key podcast.
Marco DiDomizio (02:30):
Thanks so much, Tim and Tiffany.
It's a pleasure to be here.
I'm really thrilled to join you.
Tiffany Edwards (02:35):
Thank you, marco.
So I have one of the biggestquestions just starting out.
So many of the operators invacation rentals just happened
to fall into this industry, butyou and Angelo made an inspired
choice to leave careers thatdidn't have anything related to
hospitality.
So, finance and architecturewhat inspired y'all to make that
(02:58):
change?
Marco DiDomizio (02:59):
Yeah.
So we actually liked thecareers we had when we were in
New York City, but that naggingfeeling of what's next kept
coming up.
We knew we did not want to bein the same job five or 10 years
from then.
And, by the way, 10 years later, we're still in touch with our
old bosses.
We still connect.
I spoke to my old boss about amonth ago.
He said he's still mad at mefor leaving and over the years
he's been visiting us at the inn.
(03:26):
But what inspired us was to ownour own business, to be the
masters of our own destiny.
And hospitality both of usbeing Italian, hosting 20, 25
people on any given weekend wassomething we grew up doing with
Italian mothers.
So it was a good fit.
We were really scared, but wewere up for it and went for it.
And you know, the architecturepart of it is really what
inspired Angela.
(03:47):
It's how it all started.
We would visit Cape Cod onvacations and we stayed in
Provincetown and we alwaysstayed at a different B&B and
over the course of about 15years we stayed at over 30
different properties.
So in that time we experiencedmany different things on what to
do and not to do in hospitality.
The not to do's are just asvaluable.
(04:07):
But the essence of it was thatAngela was very interested in
the architectural details of thehistoric buildings, which is
why we always see different ones, and over time we started
thinking you know, we can dothis, I can do this better, I
can do that.
I will never do that over time.
And then we started asking someof the innkeepers how they got
(04:27):
into it.
What did you do before this andwhat was the first step you
took and were you scared and whodid you work with?
And a couple of innkeepers inProvincetown recommended that we
join the Association forInnkeepers, which is now called
ALP, and there's a wholeaspiring track there for
upcoming hospitality owners andmanagers.
(04:48):
I wanted to take advantage ofmy membership as an aspiring
person and I saw that there wasgoing to be an immersive
Aspiring Innkeeping weekend hereon the Cape, so I signed up for
it.
The consultant had owned an innmany years ago.
She was the first inn on CapeCod to have a website in the
1990s.
Everyone thought she was crazy,but I still work with her now.
(05:10):
So she was the consultant thatwe worked with.
We went through her immersiveseminar.
We signed up to work with heras our broker, visiting the Cape
, and approximately six monthslater we located the Candleberry
Inn that was for sale, andsince then she's been a great
mentor to us and constantlypushing us, cheering us on and
(05:31):
also pushing us to get to thenext level.
You really do need that mentoralong the way, because when
you're in the business every day, you don't always see it and
you need to understand wherethat next step is.
And a lot of times we're afraid.
We're afraid to raise prices,we're afraid to do marketing,
and it's important to do thoseitems that will increase revenue
(05:51):
and your profit.
Tiffany Edwards (05:53):
What, specifically, were some of your
criterias in purchasing the inn?
Obviously, the architecture wasimportant, but what were some
of those main criterias that youfelt were non-negotiables for
your purchase?
Marco DiDomizio (06:04):
Sure.
So number of rooms, because youneed a certain number of rooms
to make it profitable and inthis world it's six or seven
rooms.
We were nine rooms, so that wasone of the main factors.
The other was the owner'squarters, because we lived on
site and not all properties arethe same, no-transcript, and
(07:13):
there needed to be enough rooms.
The price also worked with usbecause it was an
underperforming property at thattime, but we had the vision of
what it could be and thepotential of it, together with
our backgrounds.
Angelo's architecture and thedesign really was an asset.
As we moved forward and myselfwith finance and marketing, I
immediately hired a marketingcompany that specializes in
(07:36):
hospitality to help us, becausethere really was nothing done in
the beginning.
Our website was not responsivedesign, so it didn't fit some of
the devices that travelers wereusing.
There was no blog, there was noemail, there was no social
media, so we immediately builtthat from the foundation up to
gain more guests andreservations and over time, the
(07:59):
brand just kept building andit's never done so it's always
what more can I do?
And partnering with thatstrategic partner, the marketing
partner, to also help you thinkwhere else should you be?
Our monthly call was always allright.
This is what we've achieved.
This is what the Googleanalytics is saying.
This is what our numbers looklike.
But where else should we be?
And that's where the reputationmanagement piece of it with
(08:22):
TripAdvisor and the otherplatforms came about, and they
partnered with us to just keepmoving that forward.
Tim Cafferty (08:28):
You already answered part question I have
for you and that is thosechallenges.
You identified the property.
You felt like you had thisvision.
But talk to us about thechallenges.
I know there had to be many.
Marco DiDomizio (08:42):
The challenges was the money, because we bought
an underperforming property, sowhen I bought it, the revenue
wasn't there.
We left some big jobs in NewYork City.
So, like my God, what did wejust do?
You know?
So there was, there wereseveral sleepless nights there
in the beginning and, you know,the business wasn't there, the
occupancy and the ADR was allvery low, but we just kept
(09:04):
chipping away.
So that was the biggestchallenge.
And then I think everyone willagree, the staffing throughout,
and I think that that is an end.
The industry, even when weworked in New York, attracting
and retaining and motivatingstaff is always the biggest
challenge.
We were lucky that we built areally great team over the years
, but no season went withoutsome type of challenge.
Tiffany Edwards (09:25):
So, talking about staffing, because some of
our listeners will know, that'salso my greatest hurdle and
where I do not thrive.
But you've been able to retainstaff and train staff to a
spirit of excellence with yourguest performance, and so I
(09:45):
wanted to talk a little bit toand have you expand a little bit
on, one, your guest excellenceand becoming a problem solver
for your guests, and then, two,how you train those staff
members to continue that spiritof excellence.
Marco DiDomizio (10:02):
Sure, so the problem solving piece of it is
big, and this is where the staffand I work together.
On where it's never done, youcan't just shrug your shoulders.
You are that superhero for yourguests when something happens,
where they need some help.
And that's not to say that theycome to you and you don't have
an answer.
It's partnering with them andsolving the issue, them in
(10:28):
solving the issue.
There are several examples thatwe experienced over time.
One was where a guest showed upand they booked a stay,
thinking that it was for today,but it actually was a year from
today and we were full andthey're insisting to check in
and we're looking like no, it'sactually 2026.
And they were like, oh my God.
So sitting with them andfiguring out where they can go,
(10:49):
so refunding them right away.
But then every afternoon we hadspecial treats for our guests
because we baked every day.
So we had individual packageswith guests' names and room
numbers on it, so we made surethey got something.
We made sure they got theirrefreshments at our coffee
center, and all of that so thatthey would not get nervous or
freak out over this, becausesome people could.
I saw the wife getting veryobsessed.
So no, sit down, we got you,we'll figure this out.
(11:11):
And then calling my peersaround like five to 10 mile
radius on if they have rooms andthis was August, so there's not
a lot of there's not a lot ofavailability, but solving that
problem and it took about anhour and a half because they
were supposed to stay for abouta week, so no one had
availability for one week in astretch.
So it became piecemeal and Ipositioned it as this is a
(11:34):
lovely review and sent us a gift.
So that type of mentality.
There was another one that Ishared at the conference where
we had a guest who got in a caraccident.
They left after breakfast, theywent to Provincetown and around
(11:56):
4.30, I got a call from them atthe hospital and the wife had
broken her wrist.
So they didn't know what to do.
So I went to pick them up,approximately 20, 25 minutes
away, and she told me that sheneeded her phone, but her phone
was at the police station inProvincetown.
So we drove up to Provincetown,which was probably an hour or
so away, and then drove themback to the inn, and at that
(12:17):
point it was about 930 in theevening.
They hadn't eaten anythingsince that morning.
So Angelo had dinner for them,we brought it to their room and
then the next day I madearrangements to get them back
home because their car wastotaled, to get them back home
to New York.
So I found a car service thatwould take them down.
That level of service thatthey're just not sort of left
out in the lurch when somethinghappens like that, being that
(12:40):
problem solver, helping themthrough it.
It is priceless to a guest andthe loyalty that you build with
them that they will come backagain and again and refer
friends and family.
You can't put a price onsomething like that.
So it's that level, guestexcellence.
So it's beyond just providing aroom and providing a meal and
just welcoming them, but it'sfrom the beginning to the end.
(13:02):
Just show them that you reallyare fully invested in their stay
, in their visit, and instillingthat into the staff mentality.
It took a while for us to figureout the staffing.
The season for us got longerand longer because we had
success.
Our shoulder seasons werelonger, so we had the main busy
season, which runs approximatelyMemorial Day to the end of
(13:26):
September.
But then we got busy in April,may, june, through October and
November.
So many properties rely on theJ-1 students, which are the
international students who comefor like a work-study thing, but
their season is very short.
They get here in June, theyleave Labor Day.
That didn't work for us.
(13:47):
And then also, as our offeringevolved and our guest experience
raised, I really needed adults.
I really needed thosehospitality-minded people that
these kids just couldn't do.
By the time you had themtrained, it was time to leave.
These kids didn't even knowwhat a top sheet was to make a
bed, let alone teaching them howto make a bed professionally on
a daily basis.
(14:08):
So there were a couple ofdifferent ways where we solved
the staffing issue.
One was paying more than theaverage market and it's worth it
because if you're providing apremium service, then that is
one of the ways to support that.
I also promoted one of my staffpeople to an assistant
innkeeper and we worked with herto get her green card.
(14:30):
In between that we alsosponsored her as an H2B because
she was visiting from anothercountry, so partnering with her
to do that for her and againbuilding that loyalty with the
guests.
But she had a degree inhospitality.
She was very passionate aboutthis.
The guests loved her, she lovedthem and she helped me be
better Together.
We would always them and shehelped me be better Together.
We would always partner.
(14:50):
And what more can we do?
What else can we add in theguest room?
How else can we serve thisbreakfast in a more elevated way
?
Like our breakfast was likefine dining.
The guests were seated, theydid not get up, everything was
served to them in courses onChina.
Just elevating that wholeexperience.
And then I'm going to share alittle secret with you.
Another great idea that sort offell in my lap was every year,
(15:11):
when it was time to hire, I juststarted texting anyone that was
in my area code.
So here on the Cape, the areacode was 508.
So I just started textingpartners, people, my coffee
supplier, the person who printedmy rack cards.
And the person who printed myrack cards wrote back to me,
said yes, I actually do knowsomeone who may be interested in
working with you, but, however,she is a sister, she's a nun at
(15:33):
a convent.
I'm like okay, and apparentlythey go out and make money for
the community and it goes back.
You know she's not making itpersonally.
Do you have a problem with that?
I said no, as long as she canclean a room.
I'm good, she was delightful.
And then over the years weactually hired more sisters from
that convent.
They came in our uniform and itwas very discreet, but as
(15:55):
guests got to know them, theylearned about them and they also
visited the convent, which wasbeautiful.
But they were reliable, theywere honest and they were on
time.
There were no hangovers.
They worked the entire seasonand we just became really great
friends.
And they were on time.
There were no hangovers.
They worked the entire seasonand we just became really great
friends and they loved theproperty.
So now when we sold, they werevery upset about the news
because it's the end of thisfriendship.
(16:16):
It was a great way to solvethat problem.
Tiffany Edwards (16:19):
Well, and it sounds like you and Angelo
showed what you would expect bymaking the beds yourself and
going out and driving, so Ithink that's probably a very
large component to it as well.
Marco DiDomizio (16:30):
I had a bed making bootcamp so we actually
videoed how to make the bed.
How to make the bed tightly.
It can't look like someoneslept in.
It has to be perfect, it has tobe tight.
So my assistant innkeeperfilled me as we were doing it,
so it could be used as atutorial for all the other staff
members.
Tim Cafferty (16:46):
You just gave a great explanation of the concept
that I've come to know you by,and that is the personal guest.
Talk to us more about how youcan develop that relationship
with the guests, which you'vedone so beautifully.
Marco DiDomizio (17:00):
Absolutely.
I love that concept.
That actually was my guidinglight, my North star, as we were
through this journey.
Although I didn't know thatterm initially, yeah, I had the
vision of what we wanted toprovide to our guests.
I actually learned it from aguest.
So there was a guest who checkedin and they were tired and not
(17:20):
happy.
They didn't have a goodexperience wherever they had
stayed prior to us.
So they were tired.
They had driven a long time.
They wanted dinner.
So I got them reservations at anearby restaurant where they
could walk so they didn't haveto get back into the car.
They loved the room.
So I knew that in the eveningthey were spending time in the
room and they were enjoying thespa bathroom and the robes and
the slippers and all of that.
(17:40):
Then at breakfast they were newpeople.
When we seated them, they werecompletely refreshed and we were
talking about the area.
So now I moved into conciergemode.
You know how do we optimizeyour visit in the area?
Because, yes, it's nice to seeyou, but you didn't come here to
see me.
Maybe next time you'll comeback to see me, but initially
they're not coming to see us,they're coming to visit the area
(18:01):
.
So how do we optimize theirvisit with those types of
referral services on you knowwhat type of activities, what
type of tours dinner, museums,physical activities, biking,
hiking.
So we helped them with that andwhen they left they wrote such
a wonderful review and they saidthat they felt like they were
(18:21):
treated like a personal guestversus just an anonymous
traveler.
And that's where the lightswent off for me.
Like, yes, personal guests,that is it.
That is what we're aspiring tobe.
We want guests to feel likethey are personal to us when
they come into our lodgingestablishment, not just
anonymous or just sort ofwandering the halls.
We want them to know that thereis that personal connection.
Tiffany Edwards (18:44):
That's really interesting too, because even
from your last answer, I think alot of us as operators from the
vacation rental side focus alot on a review as opposed to
that personal guest or return oninvestment personally and then
for those individuals to return.
(19:04):
How did you collect or did youcollect some of this information
on the front end from yourguests to provide these personal
guest experiences, or how muchof it was really listening and
being present in thoseinteractions in the first 45
seconds that you met someone, orin those times at breakfast
when you were available and onsite?
Marco DiDomizio (19:25):
Yeah, that's a really good question and that
it's everything, all of theabove.
So it actually starts evenbefore they come.
So it starts with thereservation and if the PMS
system allows you to collectinformation on the purpose of
their visit, that information isamazing because if they're
coming for an anniversary or abirthday or whatever it is mom
(19:47):
and daughter trip, brothers, dadtrip, fishing trip you can
already start to plan what it isthat they're going to be doing
or to provide something specialin their room, whether it's a
bottle of champagne for thehoneymooners or a tray of
home-baked cookies.
If it's a family, you know inadvance.
So before they even get there,when they arrive, they're
(20:08):
already finding the surprise anddelight element of their stay.
So it starts there.
And then at check-in we didpersonal check-ins.
So for me, when they arrived, Ishowed them to their room, we
talked about breakfast, weconfirmed if there were any
dietary restrictions or foodallergies, which we also collect
in the reservation system.
But it's always good to confirmit because that really is
(20:29):
something where you canpersonalize and win that guest
over.
And over the course of ourownership it's become much
easier.
When we first bought the inn,there wasn't a lot with
gluten-free, but that's reallyevolved.
As long as you know in advance,you can pretty much do anything
and win that guest over.
But throughout the journeytaking them to their room,
understanding the body language,there should never be a
(20:50):
45-minute check-in.
I've heard of some innkeeperswhere they're talking to the
guests for 45 minutes Guess what.
They were in the car for threeto five hours.
They need to use the bathroom.
So you need to read their bodylanguage and understand that.
If they want to speak to you,if they want you, then good,
we're on.
You answer the questions whenshould we go?
What should we do?
How far is the beach?
Which restaurant should we goto tonight versus tomorrow?
(21:10):
Which one should we do for theanniversary?
All of that can be answered.
And then throughout the stayand yes, breakfast is important
Breakfast is when they are acaptive audience for us, because
everyone comes to breakfastDuring the day.
They come and go.
You may not see guests if theyare busy, but I made sure that I
was there for breakfast, soAngelo was the chef and then my
(21:31):
staff and I oversaw thebreakfast service.
And that's when I would askhow's it going?
How's everything in your room?
What do you have planned fortoday and that is an opportunity
that if something isn't right,you can quickly course correct
it and fix it to win them overand make them happy.
So you're going to get a goodreview, but, more importantly,
they're also going to rebookwith you.
(21:53):
It's never done, but there aredifferent ways to do that as
well that I talked about at theconference as well, like leaving
question cards in the rooms onhow the stay is going, or maybe
one of those little questioncards that you can leave on the
doorknob if you don't want to goin the room.
But collecting that informationstarts even before they stay
(22:13):
through the end.
And then at the end, how waseverything?
And getting a read on them.
Tim Cafferty (22:17):
You've done such a great job on that.
Marco DiDomizio (22:19):
Oh, thank you.
Tim Cafferty (22:20):
As you're talking to our audience, I can hear them
almost saying yeah, but, marco,I have X amount of properties
spread amongst this mileage.
What kind of tips would youhave for an operator that has
multiple locations but still hasthat opportunity to have the
guest interaction of some winswe could have?
Marco DiDomizio (22:39):
Absolutely, and I was so impressed by the
passion that was in the roomduring the conference, at the
other sessions as well as mine.
The interest is there, which Ilove.
There are ways, you know, whenI heard that the properties all
have inspectors, I love that.
So after the housekeepers, theinspectors go in.
We did that as well.
We called it QA qualityassurance just to check
(23:01):
everything to make sure the roomis set up for when the guest
arrives.
There's an opportunity there, Ibelieve, so that person or
persons can do something.
So if you have information inadvance on what the special
occasion is, or if it's a returnguest and you have information,
it's a family or whatever,there's an opportunity there to
(23:21):
do something special, whetherit's a personalized welcome note
, a tray of cookies.
If it's a family, whatever it is, they want certain foods.
Or if you want to leave a listof possible activities in the
area for the family.
Or if it is honeymooners,because some of the units that
you rent are also small, onebedrooms, right, so it could be
couples.
It doesn't always have to be afamily, so personalizing it to
(23:44):
that, but I think that's wherethe personalized touch.
There's an opportunity therefor you, like once the room is
done and you know this guest iscoming in, if you have
information in advance if it's anew guest, otherwise if it's a
new guest, otherwise if it's areturn guest.
That's amazing.
There's opportunities there.
And then also throughtechnology, being able to text
them through the stay otheropportunities and making it less
(24:05):
institutional, more personal, asofter way of writing those
couple of sentences or phrasesto the guest, to check in on
them to see how they're doing.
Tiffany Edwards (24:12):
I love that and I know that we've mentioned
personalized, but I think that,in terms of scale as well, we
use the same gift for the sameoccasion year over year and so
it becomes less personalized.
And so what I'm getting fromyou is to really understand that
guest so much better and thenhaving to bring something to
(24:33):
that guest that is unique tothem, especially if they're
returning year over year andthey're not getting the exact
same champagne bottle with theexact same note by the exact
same person.
But it's a welcome back.
So I really like that, that keyadvice there.
Marco DiDomizio (24:49):
Yeah, and it can change.
You can have the same gift forthe group of guests each year
and just change the gift.
Every year we had a littlefarewell gift.
So at the end of the stay wewould present the guests with a
little card and it was the sizeof a business card so they can
fit it in their wallet or intheir phone, and it thanked them
for the stay.
And then we also asked them togive us a review and it had the
(25:11):
logos of the various platformsTripAdvisor, google, whatever
but with that we would give alittle farewell gift and it was
less than a dollar.
So last year they were littleeyeglass cleaners, little cloths
that were branded We've doneflashlights, we've done luggage
tags, something that relates totravel or the guests, but is not
terribly expensive and isbranded, and the amount of
(25:34):
goodwill, like they werethrilled like, oh my God, we
should be giving you gifts, butthat little something.
And every year it was somethingdifferent because we had the
return guests.
Now we also had guests thatreturned more than once in a
season, but they got it againlike, hey, you're getting
another one.
Terrific, I'll give it to mydaughter, I'll give it to my mom
, you know.
So it's all good.
Tiffany Edwards (25:53):
I love that.
Yeah Well, maybe they came alsoto make sure they got that
farewell gift Right.
So I also want to ask aboutthis, because it's absolutely
incredible to get to an awardlevel one year.
To do it year over year andprovide consistency is
(26:14):
astonishing, and I know from Timand I and our hospitality
background.
I know the type of work thatthat takes Year over year.
Did you and Angelo and the teampivot at all?
Did you keep the same processes?
Did you fine tune anything yearover year to create that
consistency, or were you stillreally steadfast in your
processes?
Marco DiDomizio (26:38):
consistency, or were you still really steadfast
in your processes?
So it was consistent.
But it was also that idea ofdelivering value.
Okay, cause over time therewere some significant
renovations that were done.
We completely gutted ourbathrooms and scaled them up.
So it was constantly thinkingof cause our rates went up.
So how do we balance that?
How do we make the guests feelcomfortable but also make them
(27:01):
feel like they're not beingtaken advantage of by the
increase in rates?
Right?
So it was always what more canwe do to demonstrate this
perceived value in what they'regetting?
So at the end they'll say Ipaid a lot but it was worth
every penny.
And then they rebook sodefinitely those investments.
They'll say I paid a lot but itwas worth every penny.
And then they rebook sodefinitely those investments in
the property itself to make thestay nicer, the bathrooms, the
(27:22):
beds, all of that, but alsothose soft amenities.
Along the way we introduced anice cream freezer that was kind
of like a good humor ice creamfreezer that had the packaged
ice cream in there and the unitcosts for those were like 70
cents.
But their faces lit up when theyarrived and they saw that
because they could get that whenthey came home from the beach
or after dinner, for dessert orbefore bed, went over.
(27:45):
Really well, you couldintroduce things like nicer
sparkling waters and flavoredwaters, because we all provide
water in the rooms, but maybe inthe common area or in the
office you have something alittle nicer that makes them
come out of their way over tothe office and it's worth a
little more when they have towork for it and go and get it
Right.
So things like that, if theproperties haven't already
thought about it electricvehicle chargers you know, it's
(28:07):
another thing that we did andthere's a lot of great rebates
through the states where we paidvery little.
Things like that that justcontinue showing that there's
value there.
Because we always want toincrease our rates.
We have to, but how do wedemonstrate value along the way?
Tim Cafferty (28:22):
I'm intrigued by something very petty, but just
to clarify, you've gotten allthese awards Mark, you and
Angela in terms of top in thecountry, and I was fortunate
enough to win an award one timefrom Inc Magazine and they had
this huge gala.
It was a black tie fair.
There's nothing like that.
You didn't even know at onepoint that you were ranked as a
top location.
(28:43):
It seems like it should be morefanfare.
Marco DiDomizio (28:48):
So, yes, so I think you also asked earlier how
did we do it?
So it's a lot of work incollecting those reviews.
With my marketing partner, heactually developed an email
system where we would send outthe emails to request the
reviews and collect them andthen review them.
So it wasn't just quantity, itwas also quality of the reviews.
(29:10):
I don't know what's inTripAdvisor's algorithm.
It's that secret sauce.
They'll never tell you.
But if I had to guess, based onmy experience with them, it's
the quantity of reviews but thequality.
So what are guests saying thatwas so special about your
property, the food, the rooms?
And then how are we responding?
Because you're responding hey,tim, it was great to see you, so
glad that you enjoyed youranniversary visit with us in
(29:32):
that restaurant down the hillwhere you had that amazing lemon
drop martini.
Blah, blah, blah.
Writing all of that in, becauseI believe that Google loves all
of that.
When they're scraping, they'reseeing that it's deep, it's not
just a thank you.
So when I think that you'remaking the content a little
richer there and it's authentic,that gives you points.
How fast you respond to thereviews also goes into your
(29:55):
ranking, I believe.
So answering every review, howfast you respond and what you're
saying all go into that.
I believe Another part of it isalso the whole matter of being
the expert in your area andblogging about the area.
We had blogs that outrankedTripAdvisors.
We did one about the Cape CodRail Trail and it was so rich in
(30:16):
information about where you canaccess the trail.
Where are the bike shops?
If you need to rent one, or ifyou need one for a flat tire or
a broken chain?
Where can you stop to behydrated?
Where can you get a sandwich?
Where can you stop and just gofor a swim in one of the lakes
or beaches?
That blog ranked higher thanTripAdvisor's blog and I want to
(30:38):
believe TripAdvisor knew that.
Tiffany Edwards (30:42):
So when you sat down to do some of those the
blog were you lookingcompetitively at other ends in
the area to change what you wereproviding on your website, or
did you just focus internally onwhat your guests typically
wanted to see?
Marco DiDomizio (31:00):
It was together with my marketing partner,
because they have software thatwill make sure that what you're
writing about actually ranks insearches.
So that's part one.
Part two is who is your guest?
Who are you going after?
So I knew that I wanted thatguest that would go biking, or
the guest that would go whalewatching and writing those blogs
(31:20):
in a way where we became theexpert in the area.
Because when we first boughtthe inn and we had nothing as
far as content goes on ourwebsite, we wrote more blogs but
they were shorter.
Then, over time, with mymarketing partner, he said I
think we need to focus, we wantto make you the expert in the
area, so let's write fewer, butlet's make it really rich that
you know what you're talking.
(31:41):
So they would do the researchand write the blog itself and
then they would send it to me,because I reviewed every piece
of content before it waspublished.
I would review it and I wouldadd the local flavor.
I would add the context to thecontent is what I refer to it as
to make sure that it was.
So when we talked about thelocal restaurants, I would refer
to that restaurant down thehill where Diane was the
(32:03):
bartender and made that amazinglemon drop martini.
They wouldn't know that, onlythe local person knows that.
But they did 90% of thatresearch.
That ranks.
And then I would add in thatlocal flavor that only we know.
And that's where it really paidoff, because, again, google
loves stuff like that.
It helped us rank.
And that's when the guests findyou, when they're researching
the area.
Again, they're not coming tolook for us, they're not coming
(32:25):
to see us, at least notinitially.
Again, they're not coming tolook for us.
They're not coming to see us,at least not initially.
First they're looking to visitthe area and they're looking at
the different activities thatthey're looking to experience
when they're there.
And then they're like oh wow,candleberry Inn wrote about this
.
They know what they're talkingabout.
Oh wow, this is a beautifulwebsite.
I'm going to stay here.
And then you build, once youhave them in the door, you build
that relationship.
And then it's the long-termrepeats day, that and I love the
(32:47):
whole concept of the lifetimevalue of the guest over time,
how much they're worth, andthat's when you start thinking
about our rates have gone up.
Do we work with these guests?
Yes, but, as I told Tim at theconference never discount.
That word discount came up afew times at the conference and
I started twitching in my chair.
I'm like, no, they're like, butyou don't discount.
(33:07):
I'm like, well, that doesn'tmean you can't work with your
guests, but never call it that,because I turned, I looked at
everyone and said you'reproviding a luxury experience.
I hear this word luxury, stay,the luxury traveler who's
looking to pay a premium.
You know they shouldn't belooking for a discount.
If you're looking to work withcertain guests that are loyal,
(33:27):
absolutely Call it a loyaltyguest credit.
Call it, you know one-time, youknow adjustment, whatever it is
, even if something went wrong,right and something happened and
something happened with thetoilet, it happens One-time
service adjustment, one-timeguest loyalty credit, whatever
it is.
Book early rate, book earlybird special rate.
(33:48):
And my recommendation is tonever just directly adjust that
rate, leave the full rate.
So if your room rate like,let's say, for me, my room rate
was $700 and I wanted to givethem a discount, $700 room rate,
guest loyalty adjustment minus$100 for a net of six, so they
(34:11):
see the value and they know whatthey're getting and what other
guests are paying.
They feel special.
That perception is important,but take away that word discount
, don't use it.
Tim Cafferty (34:22):
Okay, that's fantastic advice, and so we
warned you in advance about thislittle inane game we like to
play with our guests.
It's time for Quick Draw.
We ask you questions and youcan answer in just a few words,
or more wordy if you like, andwe start right now.
What is your favorite Italianfood?
Marco DiDomizio (34:42):
My favorite Italian food is a piadina.
So from my region of Italy, itis a thin bread, almost like a
pita, that you fold over breadsor over vegetables.
Grew up eating that and when Ivisit Italy it's my favorite
thing to have.
Tiffany Edwards (34:56):
What's your favorite amenity that you have
during your vacation?
Marco DiDomizio (35:00):
I think it's the bath amenities.
I love exploring different bathamenities.
I was at a couple ofconferences recently and I
always tend to go to thosetables at the conferences and I
love the natural stuff.
There's a company called Latherthat's out there now and I'm
just loving their products.
They gave me a bunch of samples.
So yeah, I always love the bodywashes and the creams and those
little balms that you put onyour temples at night to relax,
(35:23):
and room sprays.
I love all that stuff.
Tim Cafferty (35:28):
All right, you're a busy guy, you don't have a lot
of downtime.
But when you do have downtime,and maybe you're watching TV and
you're scanning channels, whatis that?
One show or movie that you comeacross and you watch it again
for the 15th time.
Marco DiDomizio (35:41):
Oh, there's a few, but you'll laugh Like one
of them, I think, is LegallyBlonde because it just cracks me
up.
And who doesn't love JenniferCoolidge?
And you know that brings meinto this whole White Lotus
thing that we can talk abouthospitality, because everyone, I
believe, for us, for my staff,it was required.
You know how school hasrequired reading.
The White Lotus was requiredwatching that and the Devil
Wears Prada, because there weretimes where I was accused of
(36:04):
being like Meryl Streep therebecause people were moving at a
glacial pace.
Tiffany Edwards (36:09):
All right.
What was your you and Angela'sbig purchase after the sale?
Marco DiDomizio (36:13):
Well, our home.
So we have.
We bought a little Cape cottagehere, still on route 6A, which
is really cool that you knowgiving him his historic thing.
But it is modest.
It's a little one bedroomcottage.
It's a slice of old Cape Codand it's on a little pond.
We have a little dock, sopretty amazing.
That's what we've done so far.
Tim Cafferty (36:31):
What book are you?
Marco DiDomizio (36:32):
currently reading, relating to one of my
board seats, select Registry,which is a group of inns that is
a membership or distinct innsof North America.
They are vetted and inspectedbefore they can be part of it.
We met with an instructorrecently and he wrote a book
called Selling Value and it'sabout that whole value
(36:55):
perception to whoever yourcustomer is, rather than getting
caught up with hourly rates andthat sort of thing.
It's selling value.
Same thing applies to ourguests getting away from what is
my weekly rate?
What is my nightly rate?
No, what am I getting?
Tiffany Edwards (37:09):
All right, what was your first concert?
Oh gosh, I think it was Janet.
Marco DiDomizio (37:11):
Jackson in 1980 .
Oh, that's a good one.
Yeah, it was a good one.
Tim Cafferty (37:17):
Okay, just a couple more for me.
One is what is a talent orskill that you do not currently
possess that you wish?
Marco DiDomizio (37:24):
you had.
There's so many, I don't know.
I don't have an answer for thatone, sorry.
Tiffany Edwards (37:28):
Skip.
If you could live anywhere else, where would it be?
Marco DiDomizio (37:31):
I would love to live in Sicily, so we visited
Sicily a few times and there'sjust something about that island
that it's still unspoiled andthe food is amazing.
When we go there, we getcompletely recharged.
So yeah, sicily All right.
Tim Cafferty (37:46):
The last one for me is one thing that's still on
your bucket list.
Marco DiDomizio (37:50):
To visit more countries in Europe outside of
Italy, because my whole lifewe've always gone to Italy, so I
really need to explore all ofthose countries.
I want to visit Germany, I wantto visit Ireland.
There's so many places that Iwant to immerse myself in.
Tiffany Edwards (38:04):
And Marco is available for consulting,
correct?
So anyone who's listening inthe European area.
Marco DiDomizio (38:10):
Absolutely.
Tiffany Edwards (38:11):
All right, last one for me.
Do you hire for skill or forattitude?
Marco DiDomizio (38:15):
Attitude was really my driving force over the
years, because you can teach Ifthe will is there and they have
a good attitude.
You can teach the skill whichproved better for us over time.
Yeah.
Tim Cafferty (38:27):
Fantastic.
Well, as usual, you win nothing.
Marco DiDomizio (38:30):
We're playing our little game, except for our
undying gratitude for goingalong with us.
Tim Cafferty (38:35):
I just wanted to share one thing before we go
here.
I actually looked at thereviews on Candleberry Inn and I
would encourage everybody to gothere and he lives it folks.
I just picked out a few here,tiffany, just for edification.
Every part of our stay wasperfect.
Marco is the absolute best host.
Meals prepared by Angelo wereso unique and delicious.
(38:58):
The next one Every detail wascovered.
I'm serious Lens cleaners foryour glasses Exclamation point
three times.
Incredible experience Made usfeel like we were the only
guests at the end.
Unparalleled personal touch.
And my favorite, candleberryhas set the bar so ridiculously
(39:18):
high it's become impossible forme to stay anywhere else.
359 reviews All of them arefive stars.
That's incredible.
Thank you, marco DiDomezio.
We just told you he works witha company called InAdvisors.
If you wish to get in touchwith him, I'm sure you can find
(39:39):
him on LinkedIn, and it has beenour distinct pleasure having
you here today.
Sir, thank you so much fordoing this.
Tiffany Edwards (39:46):
And sharing all of your insight with us.
Marco DiDomizio (39:48):
Yeah, a pleasure.
Thank you both, it was a lot offun great I was seeing you soon
.
Tim Cafferty (39:53):
Look forward to seeing you next time.
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!