The STRatus Stays Difference
What differentiates STRatus Stays is not branding or polished promises. It is the operational doctrine behind it. The infrastructure, discipline, and standards come directly from our infantry and special-operations experience: precise execution, predictable responses, back-up plans, and accountability built into every action. In the military, failure of communication or delay in response is not an inconvenience; it is a liability. That same mindset is applied to taking care of your property and giving your guests the best rental experience possible.
This level of operational discipline does something the rest of the Short-Term Rental industry can’t: it makes the work more efficient. When operations are structured, predictable, and executed with military rigor, the cost to deliver them drops — dramatically. That is why STRatus Stays can offer great pricing options without cutting corners or reducing quality. Better systems produce lower overhead, faster turnarounds, and fewer failures, which means you get stronger rental performance at a fraction of the typical cost.
The result is a Short-Term Rental system run with steadiness, clarity, and disciplined
consistency rather than guesswork, excuses, and hidden fees.
That is the STRatus Stays Way.
The STRatus Stays Founding Team
Meet the Founder: Cole Dobbs
I founded STRatus Stays to bring military-grade precision and accountability to short-term rental operations. Before building STRatus Stays, I served in Air Force Special Operations as a Combat Controller. I would coordinate air strikes in complex, high-pressure environments where every single detail mattered. That experience taught me the value of processes, communication, and reliability. All the skills that now define how we run short-term rental operations.
After leaving the military, I earned both a Master’s in Management and an MBA from Rice University with a focus in Real Estate, became a PMP-certified construction project manager, and earned my Texas Real Estate License while running a Short-Term Rental of my own. These experiences gave me the business insight, operational discipline, and property-level expertise to understand what hosts actually need - efficient systems, transparent communication, and measurable results.
As a real-estate investor and STR host myself, I’ve seen the frustration of unreliable vendors and property managers who overcharge but under-deliver. STRatus Stays was built to fix that—uniting my background in military operations, project management, and real estate to deliver Processes, Performance, Professionalism, Purpose and better Prices to every host we serve.
Meet the Director of Marketing: Rob West
Before beginning his career at STRatus Stays, Rob served four years as a Marine Corps Infantryman, completing multiple deployments and developing the leadership, resilience, and “get-it-done” mindset that define how he executes today. After his service, Rob earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and later an MBA from Rice University with a focus in Marketing.
Rob’s background in communication and market strategy gives him a unique advantage: he understands exactly what guests search for, how OTA algorithms prioritize listings, and what converts casual browsers into booked stays. He studies guest behavior, competitive positioning, pricing psychology, and listing dynamics to engineer the highest possible exposure on Airbnb, VRBO, and other platforms.
At STRatus Stays, Rob is the architect of demand. He builds high-performing listing strategies—optimized titles, ranking-ready descriptions, conversion-focused photography, and targeted promotional campaigns. His approach blends data, creativity, and military precision to ensure your property stands out in crowded markets and consistently attracts the right guests at the right price.
Meet the Head of Accounting and Finance: Syed Raza
A graduate of the University of Houston and a Rice University MBA with a focus in Finance, Syed began his career as a consultant, designing and implementing financial systems for mid-market companies valued up to $500 million. His expertise in scalable financial architecture, investor-oriented analysis, and disciplined accounting controls gives STRatus Stays the backbone it needs to grow responsibly and support hosts with total transparency.
At STRatus Stays, Syed oversees all financial operations - from revenue tracking to expense verification - ensuring that every host receives accurate reporting, clean books, and complete financial clarity. His commitment to accountability and disciplined financial processes allows STRatus Stays to deliver reliable, transparent service across every property we manage.
Syed also serves as a portfolio advisor for STRatus Pro clients, helping investors understand the financial realities of their residential investment strategy. He provides data-driven guidance on short-term rental performance, mid-term rental positioning, and long-term rental yield comparisons—arming investors with unbiased insights that are rooted in numbers, not sales pressure or brokerage activity. His mission is simple: to help owners expand intelligently, optimize cashflow, and unlock financial freedom through their residential real estate.
Contact us!
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!