Kyla Jamison, COL ’25, Salem, OH
This summer I had the opportunity to intern at the Standard Holding Company of Ohio. The Standard Holding Company of Ohio operates out of Salem, Ohio, and manages 10 short-term rental properties (Airbnb’s) throughout the state. As an intern, I was responsible for researching potential properties and leading the marketing campaign across all social media platforms. Working on identifying entertainment and attractions in different areas, I helped the occupancy rates soar and the overall business reach record-breaking months of June and July. Throughout this summer, I have learned a lot about tailoring advertisements to reach a certain demographic, and also how to use video software programs with film from a GoPro. Every town has unique characteristics and identifying these is what made the campaign successful for Airbnb’s.
The first marketing video I crafted was for two Airbnb’s in Columbiana, Ohio. These two rentals are built as historic replicas of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford’s childhood homes, so capturing the unique history of these men and their lives was important in conveying the historical, rustic vibe of these rentals. Connecting the history to Columbiana’s modern, upcoming restaurants, bars, and entertainment industry was a challenge, but I learned that preserving rich history is vital in appreciating the innovation of the modern day. Columbiana was voted the nicest town in America in 2019 by Reader’s Digest, so including its features from the small antique shops located downtown, to the brand-new Homestead Plaza and Concert Venue was a major key to showing people all that Columbiana has to offer, and to ultimately increase the occupancy rates in these two Airbnb’s.
Being from a small town in Ohio, accepting an internship with the Standard Holding Company was intimidating at first. As a sociology student, I have learned much about the ways in which housing markets and businesses can affect communities, for the good or bad. I believe that the short-term rental industry has a huge opportunity to do well for communities, but only by recognizing an area’s unique history and purpose. With consideration for what already is and careful thought of what may be, the short-term rental industry is not only a business but also a historical platform. Realizing ways in which business can strengthen communities was my favorite part of this summer and making the advertisement video available to the public for them to realize this made me proud. Real estate may be partly about the current value of something and the highest returns, but the real value lies in the history and people from the community.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2022 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here.
