Get the Midterm Rental Insurance Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprintIn this solo episode of In The Lab, Ruben delivers a powerful, high-impact debrief heading into Q3 2025. With the lab coat on and lessons in hand, he walks through seven strategic experiments and three hard-earned insights from the previous quarter that every real estate entrepreneur needs to hear. From HELOCs on second homes and appraisal strategies to AI integration and bank account structuring for business credit, this episode covers the exact tweaks Ruben is using to grow Invested Escapes and support clients nationwide.

Ruben dives deep into how to structure relocation proposals, why in-person events still win in a digital world, and how compressing negative timeframes can drastically improve your quality of life. He also breaks down the importance of storytelling, the untapped power of leveraging GPTs for niche business use, and what it means to move with clarity in your next season.

If you're looking to sharpen your edge, build systems that scale, and lead with purpose this quarter, tune in now and take these 10 proven strategies into your lab.

#RealEstateStrategy #MidtermRentals #Entrepreneurship#TemporaryHousing #BusinessGrowth #MTRAccelerator #Q3Planning #RealEstateTips

Get the Midterm Rental Insurance Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

In this data-packed episode of In The Lab, we sit down with Jeff Hurst, CEO of Furnished Finder and former President of Vrbo, Chief Strategy Officer at HomeAway, and COO of Expedia Group. Jeff brings decades of experience in travel and hospitality tech to a fast-growing platform that has quietly become a powerhouse in the midterm rental space. Under his leadership, Furnished Finder has doubled its team, modernized its infrastructure, and doubled down on transparency—offering rare insights into tenant demand, booking trends, and platform economics.

Jeff walks us through how Furnished Finder is fundamentally different from traditional OTA platforms—highlighting landlord control, flat-rate pricing, and a commitment to empowering hosts with direct lead access. He unpacks the tenant segments behind over 2 million inquiries per year, including construction crews, relocating families, digital nomads, and healthcare workers. From scalable furniture ROI to market mismatch signals, Jeff shares actionable insights that today’s operators can apply immediately.

If you’re looking to scale with better data, more control, and deeper tenant insights, tune in now to learn how Jeff Hurst is leading a marketplace revolution—one booking request at a time.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

12:14 Jeff talks about pricing transparency

42:58 Jefftalks about chasing shiny objects

KEEPING IT REAL:

08:25 – How Furnished Finder differs from OTA platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo

11:00 – Why tenant experience and pricing transparency matter

14:00 – The role of data in trust-building and growth

17:00 – Tenant breakdown: business travelers, relocation, and digital nomads

19:45 – Rise of renovation relocation and local stay trends

22:30 – Super agents and power users: Furnished Finder’s enterprise use case

24:30 – Jeff’s product roadmap and replatforming efforts

26:30 – 130% YoY growth in relocation booking requests

29:30 – Room count and pricing by bedroom type explained

34:00 – 10% of tenants are large families—how to meet that demand

37:00 – Extended stay hotels vs. MTR: the real comparison

40:00 – Life hacking with Furnished Finder and furniture savings

43:00 – Product philosophy vs. chasing shiny objects

47:00 – How private ownership shapes Furnished Finder’s decision-making

52:00 – Operators vs. entrepreneurs and solving real problems

54:00 – Advice to 20-year-old Jeff and early-career insights

59:00 – What’s next for Furnished Finder: messaging, sort order, and tools

CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

Website: https://www.furnishedfinder.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-hurst-atx/

#MidtermRentals #FurnishedFinder #RealEstateInvesting #CorporateHousing #TemporaryHousing #InsuranceHousing #FurnishedRentals #MTRStrategy

Connect with me at https://experimentrealestate.com/connect

Get the FREE Mid-Term Rental Insurance Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

In this insightful episode of In The Lab, we’re joined by Gabriel Wacker, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Transitions Group—a vertically integrated firm providing solutions in corporate housing, furniture rental, and temporary accommodations. Gabriel has been a key player in the evolution of furnished housing since the early days of Oakwood and Marriott’s foray into corporate housing. His background spans decades of leadership at Executive Stay, Vicinity, and Furniture Options, positioning him as an authority on scalable housing solutions across the Midwest and beyond.

Through Gabriel’s lens, we explore the challenges and opportunities in temporary housing—from military and intern housing to large-scale insurance displacements. He unpacks the history of corporate housing, including Oakwood’s rise and exit, and reveals how today’s midterm rental operators can scale by leveraging supplier networks, CHPA partnerships, and match leases. Gabriel explains how controlling logistics, furniture, and housing—without owning property—can unlock cash flow, using real-world examples of 100+ unit contracts built on strategic relationships.

If you’re looking to scale your rental operation, tap into legacy networks, or grow through strategic partnerships without owning property, this episode is for you. Tune in now to learn how Gabriel built a vertically integrated platform, secured complex 100+ unit contracts, and unlocked cash flow—one strategic relationship at a time.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

21:22 Gabriel talks about having a realistic path to scaling

41:53 Gabriel talks about how insurance housing fits into their business model

KEEPING IT REAL:

07:00 – Differences between midterm rental and corporate housing terminology

10:05 – Why corporate housing began in multifamily apartments

11:45 – The scale and strategy behind Oakwood’s 15,000+ units

13:33 – How Oakwood and Marriott transitioned executive housing brands

16:00 – The journey from Executive Stay to Transitions Group

20:48 – A realistic path for operators scaling from 5 to 100+ units

24:00 – Unlocking growth with furniture rental as a scaling strategy

27:01 – Intern housing, FEMA, and other complex housing projects

29:00 – How Transitions Group partners and bids on major housing contracts

32:00 – Logistics and warehousing behind 100+ furnished unit deployments

34:00 – How pricing and net terms are structured with corporate clients

36:00 – The origin story of Furniture Options and its corporate housing pivot

40:00 – What’s ahead: volatility, post-COVID trends, and the new normal

42:30 – Insurance housing’s place in the midterm rental strategy

47:00 – How CHPA supplier networks drive collaboration and opportunity

50:30 – Franchising, licensing, and the Marriott model for revenue sharing

54:02 – Final advice: mentorship, partnerships, and playing the long game

CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

Website: https://www.transitionsgroup.net/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielwacker/

#CorporateHousing #MidtermRentals #InsuranceHousing #CHPA #RealEstateScale #TemporaryHousing #FurnishedRentals #HospitalityBusiness