This week, we are excited to feature Glen and Lisa Oostema, owners of Oostema Farmstead and OwnerRez users for nearly seven years. Beginning with one Airbnb on their family farm in 2015, they have grown their business into several vacation rentals, an RV campground, and an on-farm store, allowing them to share their family farm with guests from all over the world.

Can you tell us a little bit about your history?

We're Glen and Lisa Oostema, owners of Oostema Farmstead in Lynden, Washington. Farming has always been our livelihood, but in 2015 we decided to list one Airbnb on our family farm. We had no idea where it would lead.

Over the years, that one Airbnb grew into multiple vacation rentals, an RV campground, Harvest Hosts stays, and eventually our on-farm store where we sell our grass-fed Wagyu and Angus beef. Looking back, each new venture built on the one before it. What started as one place to stay has grown into an entire farm experience.

What is your background?

We've spent our lives farming. Hospitality wasn't something we planned on doing, but welcoming guests to the farm became a natural extension of what we already loved, sharing this beautiful place with others.

Were you always in vacation rentals or property management? If not, what did you do before?

No. Vacation rentals became our second career. Before that, our focus was entirely on farming. As our hospitality business grew, we found ourselves learning website design, marketing, online booking systems, and everything that comes with running a growing vacation rental business.

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

Yes. We've lived and farmed in the Lynden area for many years. It's a beautiful corner of northwest Washington, and we enjoy giving guests the opportunity to experience life on a real working farm.

What do you love most about the vacation rental business?

The people. We love meeting guests from all over the world and watching them slow down, enjoy the farm, and make memories with family and friends. Many arrive looking for a place to stay and leave feeling connected to the farm and our community.

What do you dislike the most about it?

As your business grows, so does everything happening behind the scenes. Managing reservations, guest communication, rental agreements, payments, and multiple booking channels can become overwhelming without the right systems in place.

How do you use OwnerRez to manage your business?

OwnerRez pretty much runs the hospitality side of our business. A few years ago, I built our own WordPress website because I wanted more direct bookings. Today, nearly all of our campground reservations come through our website using OwnerRez. It also manages our Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Hipcamp, Harvest Hosts, and direct bookings, all in one place. The biggest benefit for me is the automation. I've spent a lot of time building our workflows, scheduled emails, rental agreements, payment schedules, security deposits, and all the little details that happen behind the scenes.

Now, when a guest books, OwnerRez takes over. It automatically sends confirmations, rental agreements, payment reminders, welcome emails, and even our arrival-day text asking guests to give us a 20–30 minute heads-up before they arrive. Since we have more than 16 accommodations spread across our farm, that simple text helps us be ready to greet our guests and make sure everything is ready when they pull in. Instead of trying to remember every step for every reservation, I know the system is taking care of it, which lets me spend more time on the farm instead of behind the computer. I still haven't tapped into everything OwnerRez can do, but it's become the center of our hospitality business.

What is the most useful feature OwnerRez offers?

Without question, it's the automation. Once we invested the time to set everything up, OwnerRez started handling many of the repetitive tasks that used to take hours every week. As we've grown from one Airbnb into multiple accommodations, an RV campground with direct online bookings, and a farm business with many moving parts, OwnerRez has grown right alongside us. It allows us to spend less time managing reservations and more time welcoming guests, raising cattle, and continuing to grow Oostema Farmstead.

Glen and Lisa have turned their family farm into a one-of-a-kind experience for guests from all over the world. We are proud to support their business and look forward to seeing Oostema Farmstead continue to grow!