Good morning!

This weekend, my husband and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary with a camping trip.

Before you get too impressed with my rugged outdoorsiness, I should clarify: this wasn't that kind of camping. (Although I HAVE done that. It's just been a while.)

We comfortably settled into our Class A RV at a campground in Honesdale—about an hour and a half from home, but still right here in the Poconos.

And somehow, what was supposed to be an anniversary getaway, developed just a tiny bit of a work component.

I planned a few meet-ups with a few Poconos VRO members. I met with some prospective members. We attended the Honesdale Beer & Wine Fest, took a Harry Potter themed train ride, explored the town and generally did the things our STR guests come here to do.

Which got me thinking about the art of combining work and play.

Now, do I believe in vacations where you completely disconnect from work?

HECK YES.

Sometimes you need to turn off the phone, close the laptop and remind yourself that the world will continue spinning without you.

But there are also times when a little bit of "work" mixed into your fun can actually make both better—especially when you own or operate a vacation rental.

After all, we're in the business of experiences. So actually experiencing things occasionally seems like pretty important research.

Here are a few ways for you to give it a go:

Be a guest at your own property.
Actually stay there. Make dinner. Watch TV. Make coffee. Sit outside. Try to figure out the thermostat without using your owner's manual. You may discover that the can opener is terrible, the bedside lamp is impossible to reach, there aren't enough outlets to charge all your gadgets or that the porch is absolutely magical at 7:00 in the morning.

Be a tourist in your own town.
Take the tour. Ride the train. Visit the attraction. Eat at the restaurant everyone recommends, or better yet, the one only the locals know about. When a guest asks what they should do on a rainy Saturday, firsthand experience is infinitely more useful than sending them a link.

Stay somewhere that's better than you.
I love this one!  Book a property that stretches your idea of what's possible. Maybe they nail the welcome experience, have incredible amenities or do something surprisingly simple that makes you think, "WHY aren't we doing this?"

That's not vacation spending. That's research. 

Use a change of scenery to think bigger.
There's something about getting away from your normal surroundings that creates room for ideas. Without the house, laundry, errands and endless honey-do list staring you in the face, you might finally have the headspace to think strategically about your property or business.

And perhaps most importantly...

Remember what it's like to be the guest.

Those of us who live and work in the Poconos can easily forget that people save money, pack up their families, sit in traffic and travel here because they're excited to experience the place we get to call home.

Sometimes it's good for us to experience it through their eyes again.

So this weekend I did a little networking, a little "market research," a little exploring... and a LOT of anniversary celebrating.

Twenty-nine years deserves at least that much.

So for those of you who happened to see Dave and me at the Beer & Wine Fest conducting some particularly enthusiastic "market research"...

We were working! (That's my story & I'm sticking to it!)

Have a Great Week!

~Rebecca