Meet Shane Henry, founder of Cameo Properties. Shane started his vacation rental business in 2018 after years of touring as a full-time musician and staying in short-term rentals across the country. With no formal real estate experience, he taught himself the business, rehabbing properties in his hometown and building a successful portfolio alongside his music career. With OwnerRez, Shane now manages eight short-term rental properties in Oklahoma while staying on the road as a full-time musician.

Can you tell us a little bit about your history?

I’m a full-time musician based in Norman, OK. I started my short-term rental business in 2018 after years of touring and staying in STRs across the country. I have released many albums under my name, Shane Henry, and currently have a band called The Imaginaries with my wife, Maggie McClure. You can check out our music at www.imaginariesband.com.

What is your background?

I have no prior experience in the real estate business; I’m a self-taught entrepreneur! My dad is a plumber, so I grew up with knowledge, and I’ve always been a fast learner when I focus my energy. All of my properties have been full-blown to-the-studs rehabs. Just proof that anyone can do this is if they focus their energy towards it.

Were you always in vacation rentals or property management, or is this a 2nd/3rd career?

This is a 2nd career for sure. My timing could not have been more perfect I had my first 2 properties online in April of 2019 and it was great to have income during the pandemic since musicians couldn’t tour and work.

Are you from the geographical area where your properties are located, or did you move there later?

All of my properties are in my hometown, Chickasha, OK, and a few are in Norman, OK. Chickasha is known for being a “Christmas Town” with the world's largest 50-foot-tall permanent Leg Lamp (from “A Christmas Story”) as well as the festival of light, which was voted one of the top 3 Christmas Light Displays in the USA. Our latest property, Ralphie’s House, is located just 8 blocks from the Leg Lamp and is our first “themed” property. It’s cool that our hometown is drawing in tourists now with the “Christmas” theme year-round.

If you moved there later, was there something that drew you to that area?

Honestly, my wife and I had moved back to Oklahoma from LA in 2018. I found a duplex in my hometown for sale; it was beyond rough, but I was able to get a construction loan and jumped in on rehabbing the property with no prior experience. It turned out so nice, I thought, I’m going to try renting this on Airbnb / Vrbo. I was blown away. The first month I went live, the property generated about 3 times the income that a rental would. Our area is primarily travel workers (construction/oil and gas) as well as folks traveling for sports and fairgrounds events. We live in a time now where you can be a success at running STRs in your own hometown. It’s no different than choosing an Uber over a taxi.

What do you love the most about the vacation rental business?

I love the flexibility that it’s given my life. I do this and music full-time. I could never go back to working an 8-5 at this point in my life.

What do you dislike the most about it?

Having to deal with guest issues when I’m on stage with a guitar in my hands, haha. For the most part, we have an excellent system, and OwnerRez is a huge reason why! Everything is automated, and since our properties are fully rehabbed, we seldom have major issues.

How do you use OwnerRez to manage your business?

You can’t run a short-term rental business without OwnerRez. OwnerRez runs our calendars via API (Vrbo, Airbnb, booking.com, Google Vacation Rentals), we have a direct website, and we use all the automated messaging and SMS text messaging. Our accountant also uses the QuickBooks connection.

What is the most useful feature OwnerRez offers?

That’s a hard one. To me, it’s all useful and works together to allow one person (myself) to completely automate and manage 8 properties while being on the road as a full-time musician. That’s powerful!

Shane’s path from full-time musician to vacation rental owner shows how powerful and flexible the vacation rental industry can be with the right tools in place. With OwnerRez, he’s able to continue his music career while running his short-term rental business at an elite level. We look forward to seeing Cameo Properties and Shane's music career continue to grow.