TOPAZ HORIZON

Do you have a condo unit, a townhouse or a house that's sitting empty and you'd like to rent it out to vacationers? Then you MUST watch Stay Here on Netflix!!!

Stay Here is a show hosted by real estate expert Peter Lorimer and interior designer Genevieve Gorder. Together, they traveled across the United States, picking properties from dilapidated historical homes to a house boat to transform and market as a short-term rental, a.k.a. an Airbnb gem.



My husband and I have watched all the episodes. We like home design shows a lot. Our recent favorite is The World's Most Extraordinary Homes and it's also on Netflix and it's also a must-watch! We like home makeover shows, too. I mean, nothing is better than watching decorating experts transform a terrible piece of property to an astounding house! We learn a lot of design advice and we picked up a few tips and tricks in all the years we watched shows like decorating-budget-is-from-selling-old-stuff Clean House to the insane sky's-the-limit-budget of Million Dollar Decorators.

What makes Stay Here the kind of makeover show that made me take out pen and paper is it's also a business plan for people who want to make money on Airbnb. Airbnb is the most popular and the biggest accommodation-sharing service in the world. Whether you have an extra room or an extra house, you can rent it out to travelers. Airbnb makes this possible for millions of property owners and tourists out for a unique experience. It's also made tons of money. So if you want a piece of that pie, here's where Stay Here comes in.

In every episode of Stay Here, Peter and Genevieve check out a property, assess its income-generating potential, renovate it to a wow-inducing piece, and help the owner market it online. The renovated properties make so much money after, it's crazy! So let me share with you my Top 10 helpful real estate tips I learned from Stay Here:

1. Research the competition. How much are the hotels and rentals in your area? What do they look like? What can you offer that they don't? This information can help you decide on how to decorate your place, how much to charge, and how to market it.

All Malibu beachfront properties have this view but only The Beach House on Malibu Road has this deck to soak it up!

2. You have to be better than the hotel in the area. Guests know they're staying at a home so they usually won't expect a hotel-like experience. But when you give them 5-star accommodation and service, that will make them leave you a glowing review, refer you to friends, and they will return. Peter always says, "Referrals are the lifeblood of short-term rentals!" So if people like you, they'll recommend you forever, which means free marketing for you.

Why choose a bland hotel room when you can sleep in this blissful blue bedroom in the Palm Springs Time Machine?

3. Target families. Most everyone who chooses Airbnb do so because they're a big group. Hotels infamously limit occupancy to 2 people per room, or 2 adults with 2 kids aged under 12. So people like me who have 3 kids, or families who like traveling with the grandparents, or those who bring along their pets are dismayed at hotel restrictions. So here's where you—dear property owner—come in. Target families! They are willing to pay more especially since hotels don't offer them space and a home-y feel. Look at your amenities with a mother's eye. Make it child-safe and child-friendly. Make them feel it's a true home away from home. Peter said, "Ninety percent of vacations are booked by moms." Moms are who you need to impress!

The loft in the second bedroom of DC Firehouse 4 can accommodate 2 kids while the wall of curtains can hide baby stuff like strollers and car seats.

The Palm Springs Time Machine offers a sexy bar, psychedelic rooms, a fabulous pool—all in their original 1969 glory.

Expect this cheerful living area to greet you when you book  a stay at the Yellow Block Bed & Breakfast.

The Yellow Block B&B has cereal, the local favorite rainbow bagels, and its own Yellow Block bagel for guests to enjoy.

7. Include a tourist guide. Places to go, transportation tips, shopping malls, unique shops, bars, banks with ATMs, landmarks. Guide them to a great local experience.

Families seated at that generous table can plan their itinerary using the Yellow Block B&B Wall of Attractions.

You can't miss DC Firehouse 4—on the stretch of colorful homes, it's the one with a firetruck!

9. Make your rental social media friendly. If it's Instragammable, you get free marketing when your guests take selfies and photos. Genevieve says it's not enough to make your place look nice, it has to have a feature that will make your guests take out their phone and snap a selfie. She calls it "a social media moment." That's a fabulous wall to pose against, a crazy pink bedroom, a historical piece. Peter says, "Create a hashtag!" In the time of Instagram, but of course!

At the Palm Springs Time Machine, a #selfie in this fantastic pink bathroom featuring a crazy sunken bathtub is a must!

You have to watch the show, mamas! If you're thinking of a business that allows you stay at home, then Stay Here will help you make your dreams a reality with concrete business advice. Truly a must-watch show in the time of businesses at home, room-sharing, and social media!

Stay Here is exclusively showing on Netflix. All photos here were grabbed from the websites or Airbnb listings of Yellow Block B&B in Brooklyn, Palm Springs Time Machine in Palm Springs, The Beach House on Malibu Road in Malibu, and DC Firehouse 4 in Washington DC.


Check back on Monday for a new post! Have a great weekend!

My favorite holiday ever will always be in London, UK. First, it's the first country I traveled to all by myself. A solo trip—even though that trip was for work—is always unforgettable. Second, it's the city where Vince and I spent our honeymoon. That's why London will forever be my favorite foreign city, and I like to keep mementos of my time there around my house. For example, these throw pillows that baby Piero is resting on.

Everything in this picture sparks joy!

It's Chinese New Year tomorrow! For many Fil-Chinese schools and businesses, that means it's a holiday so hello long weekend!

Hi mamas! I know you all must be stuffed full this holiday season but I just need to tell you about the food we ate when we stayed at New World Hotel Makati this week. The food was really good at Jasmine and Café 1228, and I'm tempted to go back just to eat!

Lotsa photos so let's just do a photo essay. First, let me tell you about our fantabulous dinner at Jasmine, New World Hotel's authentic Chinese restaurant. We've heard of the delectable dimsum at Jasmine and I know dimsum is everywhere in Manila but, guys, the dimsum here has earned Jasmine a spot in Philippine Tatler's Top 20 Restaurants. And we were not disappointed!

But first, soup! This is the amazing Seafood Hot and Sour Soup. It is indeed spicy and sour and sweet and all the chunks of seafood were tender and perfect. It was really spicy, though. Naubo ako ilang beses haha

"Har Gao" or shrimp dumplings and "Shao Mai" or pork dumplings with crab roe. Also known as hakaw and siomai! These are THE BEST hakaw and siomai I've ever had in my entire life!!! The hakaw was plump and siksik and juicy and the skin was tender and perfect. The siomai is so freshly steamed that the meat was so juicy and tender and flavorful and tender and sooo delicious!

Wagyu Beef Mango Roll. I don't know what that crispy lace is made of but it was crunchy and delicate and a delight. The soft Wagyu beef inside was a great contrast. I want to order this again!

This kid liked it, too!

Barbecued Pork Pastry. This was lovely and flaky and then the pork inside was delicately flavored and tender.

I just got back, mamas, from a quick getaway at New World Makati! We stayed there for just one night. We needed a break but we didn't have the energy or the time to go somewhere far so we took advantage of New World Hotel's Yuletide Getaway promo and stayed in the city for a truly wonderful time. No kidding—we had so much fun!

There's New World towering behind my little boys. We got the Deluxe Room package. That's a room with two twin beds and it includes breakfast buffet at the Café 1228 for two adults and two kids below 7 years old. You also get a bottle of wine and two movie passes to Ayala cinemas. All that for just P6,700! That's so affordable considering New World is a 5-star hotel!

Okay, mamas, sit tight. Lotsa photos coming up!

Here are the kids and you can tell they're really happy about our room! It's a good-sized room. We've stayed at trendy boutique hotels which we found out soon enough is a bad idea for a family of 5. We need space! So we now like staying at big hotels. Traditional, yes, but hotels have centuries of knowing how to take care of people.

Staking their claim on the beds. Soft, fluffy everything! Look at them—they look like angels surrounded by heavenly clouds. Looks like only haha in reality they are little balls of naughty energy!

Exhibit A: Piero. Blurry because he's jumping up and down the extra cot we got even though they know little monkeys shouldn't be jumping on the bed because they might fall down and bump their heads. Since we have three kids, we needed an extra bed. It was just as comfy!

There's a small seating area which made the room feel cozy. We also got a platter of fresh fruits, which the kids snacked on while watching TV.

Oh, and very important info for bloggers, traveling businesspeople, and work-from-everywhere people like me: There's complimentary WiFi and it is fast! Hotel-wide, too, so even when I was booking an Uber at the lobby, posting Instagram photos by the pool, and checking my mail at the restaurant, I could do it using the hotel WiFi. Plus, I like the compact way they put all the universal sockets together by the desk. So convenient, whatever plug you happen to have!

Now let's check out the bathroom!

The bathroom is great! Big, clean. It doesn't have a TV, which is ubiquitous in many hotels these days. I like that there's no TV actually. I never understood that!

I like the separate shower stall. I also like that kid that squeezed himself beside the toilet.

The bathtub is a little low, which made it a bit hard to get out of. The kids, meanwhile, loved it and said it's built for kids so, "Mama and Papa, don't get in the bathtub!"

Here's the view outside our big window:

The pools are big and we love that there's a kiddie pool! Lots of hotels these days are just business hotels so they either have a lap pool, a jacuzzi and/or a deep pool. Some hotels say they have a kiddie pool but it's so small, it's ridiculous. If you're a family with small kids, you'd be happy to know that New World has a real kiddie pool. Big enough so that if other kids are there, your kids have space to wade or swim.

Now, if you're around the area and you want to buy festive pasalubong or gorgeous edible gifts, stop by The Shop at the lobby of New World and choose from yummy delights like fruit mince pies, rich fruit cake, yule logs, stollen bread, lotsa holiday cookies, and gingerbread confections like our Christmas tree! We gobbled that all up!

Oh, what a lovely time we had at New World Hotel! The holidays have been, as always, stressful not because I hate Christmas (it's my favorite time of the year!) but because of the kids' school stuff, the terrible traffic, and the difficulty of getting around whether it's in an Uber or on a bus or jeep. But because it's my favorite time of the year, I always enjoy the hustle and bustle because the streets are gaily decorated, the people are actually in a better mood than usual haha, everyone's giving gifts, and there's so much food!

Speaking of food, let me tell you about the amazing meals we had at New World's Jasmine and Café 1228 in my next post!

Meanwhile, if you want to book New World Hotel's Yuletide Getaway Package, click here. Highly recommended by me and my family!

For our 10th wedding anniversary and the 18th anniversary of when Vince and I fell in love, Kamiseta Hotel Baguio was so sweet to offer us a delicious lunch at their charming boutique hotel. It's such an exquisite hotel! Pictures don't do it any justice (although these ones on Real Living are gorgeous!) It's so much more glitzy and kitschy and glorious and delightful in real life. So if you're ever off to Baguio, do book a stay there. Or just have a meal at Vanilla Cupcake Bakery, like we did. And what a meal it was!

Here we are at the iconic blue doors to the Kamiseta Hotel. It also sports the logo of beribboned K's. You will see this logo everywhere (and I mean they went overboard), but allergic-to-logos me didn't mind at all. I guess because it looks like a ribbon so it wasn't tacky.

Here's the receiving area. As I said, pictures do it no justice. Especially this one haha.

Kamiseta Hotel used to be a heritage home so do expect that it will look and feel like a house. There's no lobby, for example. But I loved that it felt so homey. I thought it was lovely that every detail of the hotel spoke volumes of the love poured into this hotel. It's near Wright Park in Camp John Hay. Down a very quiet street. It's so beautiful, I want to live there. Rooms are small but so sumptuously decorated. I think I'll need to wait for a time the boys can stay in their own room, though. But definitely I want to go back and stay here for a night or two!