+$500K
Revenue Growth
Helped a 15-listing PM operator grow from $1.2M to $1.7M in a single year through OTA optimization and revenue management.
Revenue ManagementOTA Optimization
Five revenue leaks.
Five fixes.
One engine.
Jack Esposito brings 10+ years of hands-on expertise, from Booking.com and Guesty to scaling operators globally. Strategy, systems and performance for operators who are serious about growth.
For property managers with 20 to 300+ listings.
500+
Global Projects
3,000
Luxury Villas Managed
10+
Years in STR
The Front Door
Start with the audit. Know exactly where the money is leaking.
The STR Performance Audit is a scored diagnostic of your whole operation across five pillars. You get a weighted scorecard across 30 criteria, the cost of each gap in euros, a 30-60-90 day priority roadmap, and a 60-minute walkthrough call.
25%
Direct Bookings & Distribution
20%
Owner Growth Pipeline
20%
Pricing & Revenue Management
20%
Listing Quality & Content
15%
Visual Appeal: Photography & Design
How it works
01
Kickoff call and data request
02
We score 30 criteria with evidence
03
You receive the report
04
Walkthrough and roadmap
How It Works
The STR Engine
Four interlocked systems that transform any STR operation into a high-performance business.
Every program plugs into one of these four systems.
01
Demand
Make the right guests find you.
02
Revenue
Charge what you're worth. Every night.
03
Operations
Run the machine without running yourself.
04
Growth
Scale the model, not just the count.
What it is
Demand is everything that drives a qualified guest to your listing before they book. OTA algorithm positioning, listing content, photography, reviews, direct booking channels, and the organic presence that makes your brand discoverable without paying OTA commission every time.
What good looks like
At 5 units you rank in the top 10% of your comp set on Airbnb. At 15 units you have a direct booking channel generating 20%+ of reservations. At 50 units you have a brand that guests search for by name.
What broken looks like
You rely entirely on Airbnb's algorithm, have no direct booking strategy, and your listing photos were taken on a smartphone in 2022.
Metrics to watch:OTA traffic rank · Direct booking % · Cost per acquisition
What it is
Revenue management is the discipline of pricing intelligently — not just setting a base rate and hoping. Dynamic pricing calibrated to local demand, comp set movement, lead time curves, seasonal patterns, and length-of-stay rules that protect your ADR.
What good looks like
Your RevPAR is in the top quartile of your comp set. You review pricing weekly. You have minimum-stay rules that eliminate orphan nights. You know your breakeven occupancy by unit.
What broken looks like
You set a price in October and check it again in March. You're fully booked in peak season at a rate 30% below market.
Metrics to watch:RevPAR · ADR · Occupancy rate · Revenue per available unit
What it is
The systems, tools, and people that deliver the guest experience without requiring your constant attention. PMS configuration, automation workflows, cleaning and maintenance coordination, guest communication, review management, and the SOPs that let you delegate with confidence.
What good looks like
Your guest comms run on autopilot — reaching up to 80% automation with an AI tool like Aeve AI. You have a cleaning team that self-manages via software. A new property can be onboarded in under a week. You could take a two-week holiday without the business breaking.
What broken looks like
You're manually sending check-in instructions at 11pm. Your cleaner finds out about checkouts via text. Every new property adds 8 hours per week to your workload.
Metrics to watch:Response time · Review score · Cost per clean · Owner hours per unit
What it is
Growth is not just adding units — it's building the ownership model, capital structure, and acquisition strategy that lets you expand without breaking the systems underneath. Portfolio construction, owner acquisition, market selection, and knowing when to say no.
What good looks like
You have a documented model for evaluating new properties. You have a pipeline of property owners approaching you. Your margins improve as you add units, not deteriorate.
What broken looks like
Every new listing is a heroic effort. You're growing revenue but not profit. You're saying yes to every property because you're scared to say no.
Metrics to watch:Portfolio margin · Owner acquisition cost · New unit ramp time · NPS
Programs
Five leaks. Five programs.
Each program starts from a pain operators say out loud, ships specific deliverables, and moves one number.
Pain
“Booking.com and Airbnb take 15-18% of everything I earn”
Program
Direct Booking Engine
Booking website, payments, CRM, repeat-guest campaigns.
The number it moves
Direct revenue share. Target 15 to 25% within 12 months.
Pain
“I haven't signed a new owner in months”
Program
Owner Growth System
Owner landing page, income projection tool, outreach playbook, owner referral program.
The number it moves
New owner contracts signed per quarter.
Pain
“My prices are guesswork and my listings rank on page 4”
Program
Listing & Pricing Sprint
Per-listing rewrite, amenity audit, dynamic pricing setup and tuning.
The number it moves
ADR and occupancy versus your comp set.
Pain
“My photos don't sell the stay”
Program
Visual Appeal Package
Shot list and staging spec, vetted local photographer, quality control.
The number it moves
Click-through and conversion rate per listing.
Pain
“My interiors look tired”
Program
Design Revamp (with partners)
Design brief, budget plan, vetted designer, before and after relisting.
The number it moves
ADR uplift after revamp.
Ways to work together
Project, fractional or coaching.
Project
Fixed fee per program.
Fractional
Monthly retainer.
Coaching
1:1 sessions.
The Expert Behind the Engine
Jack Esposito
Five years inside Booking.com. Three years at Guesty delivering 500+ global projects. A portfolio of 3,000 luxury villas at Oliver's Travels. Now independent — helping operators build businesses that scale.
10+
Years in STR
500+
Projects Delivered
3,000
Villas Managed
5.5K+
LinkedIn Network
The ArcTen years. Three seats.
Ten years. Three seats.
One industry.
2013–2018
Booking.com
Spent five years inside the world's largest OTA learning how distribution, algorithm and commercial strategy actually works — from the platform side.
2018–2021
Oliver's Travels
Managed a portfolio of 3,000 luxury villas across Europe and beyond. Operations, revenue, owner relationships and guest experience at serious scale.
2021–2024
Guesty
Implemented over 500 Guesty projects across 40+ countries. Built operational playbooks now used by some of the largest STR operators in the world.
2025 — Now
The STR Engine
Independent STR consultant. Deploying everything learned inside those three organisations for growth-minded operators.
Proof of Work
Results
40→500
Listings Scaled
Built the operations infrastructure to scale multiple projects from early stage to 500+ listings without operational breakdown.
Scale SystemsOperations
500+
Global Projects
Delivered Guesty implementations across 40+ countries, building the frameworks now used by enterprise STR operators globally.
GuestyPMS Implementation
Convictions
What I Believe
"OTAs are a channel, not a strategy."
Airbnb and Booking.com are distribution tools. Treating them as your entire business limits your growth and margin.
"Tech stack pays for itself in 90 days."
Most operators underinvest in operations software. A well-configured PMS pays back in staff hours within the first quarter.
"Most operators are systems-poor, not effort-poor."
I've never met a failing STR operator who wasn't working hard. The issue is almost always a systems gap, not a motivation gap.
"Revenue management is not dynamic pricing."
A pricing tool is one input. Real revenue management touches pricing, LOS, distribution mix, and demand forecasting together.
"Scale without systems is organised chaos."
Adding units without fixing your operational foundation doesn't multiply revenue — it multiplies problems.
"The best STR businesses are boring to run."
If your business requires your daily presence to function, you own a job, not a business. The goal is a machine that runs without you.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The STR Engine?▼
The STR Engine is the consulting practice of Jack Esposito. A four-system framework (Demand, Revenue, Operations, Growth) for short-term rental operators serious about scaling beyond effort-driven growth.
Who do you typically work with?▼
Property managers and STR operators between 20 and 300+ listings across Europe and the US, particularly those scaling beyond owner-operator stage and needing to professionalise systems, revenue management, and operations.
Do you only work on Guesty?▼
Guesty is a core part of my expertise. I delivered 500+ implementations during my time there. But the STR Engine framework is platform-agnostic. I work across PMS platforms and frequently lead migrations.
How are engagements structured?▼
Most engagements start with the STR Performance Audit, a fixed-fee diagnostic. From there I offer project work (per program), fractional consulting (monthly retainer), and 1:1 coaching.
Where are you based?▼
London, working with operators across the UK, Europe, and the United States.
Do you offer a free consultation?▼
Yes, a 30-minute fit call to understand your business and decide whether working together makes sense.
Ready to Scale?
Start the Engine.
Request the STR Performance Audit, or book a free 30-minute fit call to find out which system is your biggest constraint.