There’s no pudding better than when the proof is in the pudding. This month we interviewed Steve Turk, Managing Director and Founder of Vida Hospitality and Vida Stay, who recounts a tale of how starting his business in Quest’s virtual office space in Miami provided an unbelievable source of support and fueled the enormous success of his two thriving businesses.
Quest: Tell us about your business(es). What’s the story behind your massive success?
Steve Turk: We have two companies under the Vida brand. We started with Vida Hospitality, which provides staffing and recruiting for luxury hotels. We were able to use our established relationships to get into the top hotels and discuss with them how we provide reliable people of high character and quality to provide wonderful experiences for their guests. Hotel after hotel has come onboard with us because we understand the luxury market and hold ourselves to the standard of only selecting people that we ourselves would hire from our days working in a luxury hotel.
As Vida Hospitality grew, we were finding ourselves receiving a steady amount of calls from homeowners asking for help with short term property rentals. We were not sure about this at first, but we decided to give it a try. It was just an natural outgrowth of the business we are in, as we already had hospitality trained team members ready to work. Basically the home owners needed somebody to coordinate with guests renting their Airbnb listings, almost like a front desk at a hotel. After seeing the volume of such requests we got and turned down, it became obvious that we were missing a business opportunity. So we tried it once and fell in love with this new sharing economy business. Vida Stay was born. Vida Stay now handles all guest communications in almost any language, checking guests in and out of the home , and also provides hotel style cleaning services. We manage the Airbnb listing, the property, and exceed guests’ expectation so that all the owner has to do is collect their money.
Quest: Describe the relationship you had with Quest Workspaces.
Quest was where Vida started. At first we rented a virtual office space in Miami, and then we took the smallest office they had to offer (it was like a closet), and then I hired my first employee a month later. By the end we had changed private offices five times and occupied the biggest one we could get in the whole facility. Eventually we just outgrew the space. With our size ballooning and having 15-20 people visiting our office per day, we sadly realize that it was time to move out into our own dedicated space.
Quest: When you chose Quest, who else were you considering and what tipped the scales for you?
Steve Turk: There were a couple mom and pop companies and also some larger chains, but we knew that neither was really a fit. We went looking for virtual office space in Miami in the downtown area, and knew we wanted a Brickell address because being in the luxury hotel business we needed the credibility. In our search for virtual office space in that part of Miami, Quest was the only company who treated us as we felt we really wanted to be treated. They were the only ones who smiled, offered us a tour, followed up, the only ones we felt like actually cared. Since we’re in the hospitality business ourselves, we know high quality service when we see it!
We met center manager Vanessa Vega who gave us a magnificent tour. We loved the look of the new office and what they offered in terms of virtual office space in Miami, and we loved that there were private offices available, as we were going to be doing a lot of interviewing. For the sake of confidentiality we didn’t want to be in a wide open coworking center.
Quest: What did your luxury clients think of the space?
Steve Turk: They absolutely loved it. In fact, they thought we had the whole floor. It was really due to the efforts of the front desk team. Quest answered the phone with our company name and when interacting with our clients, they acted like they were our employees. They actually thoughts that Vanessa was a member of Vida.
I guess you could say we “faked it until we made it.” The look and feel of our office space had the same upscale feel as our website, and it just went with our brand and made us unstoppable time and time again in winning over luxury clients.
People would come there and say, “Geez, Steve, you have this whole space?” Sometimes they didn’t ask and went away thinking we had the whole place.
Quest: In the two years you were there, you never had the opportunity to go somewhere else for a cheaper price?
Steve Turk: It was just worth it. There was a certain level of service we wanted to offer. It comes down to the people at the front. That made the difference for us and we needed to convey that sense of quality given the business we are in. I didn’t think they were any more expensive than the other ones we looked at.
Quest: What was the nicest thing Quest did for you? Or, what was the most expensive problem that Quest helped you solve?
Steve Turk: About 9 months in we were doing great but we unfortunately had a few customers who weren’t paying their bills on time. It happens for a lot of businesses but it was our first time facing anything like that in ours. There was a two week span where we were in a cash squeeze. I went to Quest and they helped us work with us on it. Just by doing that they kept us in business, and from that point on the situation resolved itself and we never missed a payment ever again.
Quest: If there was one person at Quest that you would attribute as the largest contributor to your success, who would it be? What are three words that come to mind when you think of that person?
Steve Turk: That’s easy. Vanessa Vega is creative, a problem solver, and energetic. In business sometimes you run out of energy and don’t give everyone the focus they need. She treated everyone as if they were the most important client all the time. I didn’t want to talk to someone who I felt didn’t care about us and I never ever felt that way working with Vanessa.
Quest: One thing our clients rave about is the experience of interacting with other Questers. What was your experience with the network you found in our workspace?
Steve Turk: Everyone was growing and it was a very professional environment. It wasn’t like they were sitting around drinking beer. People were all trying to help each other. If I had an accounting or law question I could talk to a number of professionals. Everyone had the same mindset of helping each other out.
Quest: If you could say one thing to someone who was deciding between Quest and other places, what would it be?
Steve Turk: Do you want to look like a true professional company with a professional brand? If so, then Quest is for you. In many other places that are “hipper”, it is more of a startup place. When we had a Quest virtual office space in Miami and a great address and people answering the phone with our name it made us look like a really big brand right off the bat.
Quest: Would you call them a true partner?
Steve Turk: From my experience starting from virtual office space in Miami and the way they handled our clients as if they were part of our team, it really helped us grow. They stuck with us through every stage of our growth and had a solution as we progressed. Even when I was looking to move out, Vanessa gave me pointers as I was leaving. For sure, Quest was a true partner.
Virtual Office Space in Miami For Your Company
As the Vida case study illustrates, Quest’s virtual office space in Miami is a great way to get started for those companies hungry for their success and with a strong desire to grow. But it’s not just for startups; we’re there for you at every stage as your business scales. Email info@questworkspaces.com for your personal tour today!
