April 12, 2021

Meet Jonathan Ham | Vacation Rental Brand

Local Stories

We’re so pumped about our conversation with Jonathan Ham. Jonathan is a the owner of the Turquoise House in Scottsdale, an amazing Vacation Rental Brand and is also a content partner. Content partners help Voyage in so many ways from spreading the word about the work that we do, sponsoring our mission and collaborating with us on content like this. Check out our conversation with Jonathan below.

Hi Jonathan, thank you so much for sitting down with us again. For folks who might have missed our initial interview, can you start by briefly introducing yourself?
Hey, I’m Jonathan. I’m a Husband, Dad to 2 little princesses, internet entrepreneur, small business owner, retired collegiate gymnast, fitness enthusiast, craft beer lover, and mountain bike junkie! I live in the greater Los Angeles area but love to relax and unwind while visiting family and lounging poolside in Scottsdale! My goal is to provide you with the exact experience I would expect for a great week away. Meticulously clean homes, fully stocked kitchens, beds, blankets, excellent televisions, beautiful back yards and much more! Before getting in to this business my Wife and I tried many vacation rentals out as guests throughout Scottsdale. We took notes of all the things we would do better to provide a great experience for our guests and made sure we did those things in our homes. My Wife spent endless hours working on the designs of each house and sourcing all the great comforts to make our guests feel at home. Between the two of us we have tried to think of every possible thing you would need at our properties and if we missed something just let me know and I’ll do my best to provide it! We would love to have you experience our homes! Please reach out with any questions!

How has Covid 19 effected your business?
The past year has been a rollercoaster for everyone to say the least. When the lockdowns first happened, we had most of our bookings cancel and our primary focus was to do right by our guests. We ended up giving those cancellations an option to get a full refund or push their reservations to a later date once there was some certainty. I used the downtime to replace a roof at the “South” house and do some maintenance. We implemented new cleaning measures with our team to add additional disinfecting of surfaces and more detailed protocols. Cleanliness has always been a priority and we were able to step it up some more! Within a couple of weeks, a new type of guest began inquiring about longer term bookings to quarantine, work from the house, and enjoy time with family in a beautiful location. The houses quickly booked back up from people who would drive to Arizona from North Dakota, Minnesota, Chicago, and Albequerque among other places. The houses proved to be the perfect places to quarantine, work from home, and make the most of the crazy situation everyone was faced with. Some extended their stays, and some even drove back a few weeks after being home to stay for another 20-30 nights! We ended up with very little downtime even during summer which is typically our slower season. Once we saw the demand from this new type of traveler, we decided to look for another house. During the peak of uncertainty, we double downed on our dream by purchasing the “West” house. West is a 5br, 3 ba home that we think will be great for our guests traveling with their extended families. West has 2 master bedrooms, so we envision a family of 5 who want the grandparents to join them, or 2 families traveling together to be able to travel while having their own spaces. West also has a very large back yard with 2 large putting greens, swimming pool, cornhole, a patio with a BBQ and all the amenities to make traveling with family’s fun. With West, we now have a larger offering for our guests traveling with families to be together in their small circles in their own home.

What does the short-term rental landscape look like to you moving forward?
I think more of the covid trends will continue. Longer stays, more families traveling together, more driving and less flying. I see plenty of demand moving forward and people are itching to get out. We’ve noticed an increase in first time renters for the short-term rental market. New Airbnb accounts are on the rise and travelers are seeing the benefit of short-term Rentals over hotels and other options.

What are some of your business goals for 2021?
We look forward to a full year of hosting our wonderful guests and providing them a great experience for each booking. We would love to find a way to purchase 1 more house to make the “Turquoise House East” and complete the 4-house goal of ours. North, South, East, and West would be a great brand of Turquoise Houses that we can run for many years to come!

It was so great to reconnect. One last question – how can our readers connect with you, learn more or support you?
We would love to connect with your readers on social media and see how we can provide a wonderful experience in Scottsdale for them.