How Dwell Escape Saves a Week Monthly on STR Accounting

Dwell Escape is a growing Short-Term Rental and boutique hospitality company managing around 200 properties across the United States and Colombia. Their diverse portfolio spans vacation rentals and bespoke hospitality experiences in destinations like Florida, California, Michigan, New York, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, and internationally in Colombia. With operations of this scale and complexity, Dwell Escape requires robust financial systems that can support multi-market growth, owner transparency, and a hybrid mix of trust accounting and co-hosting models—all while delivering exceptional experiences for guests and clients.

As COO Rodrigo Arias explains, delivering that standard at scale demands more than just good hospitality—it requires a solid financial system behind the scenes.

“We needed a scalable, reliable system for trust accounting and payments,” he said. “Our process was growing more complex and we couldn’t afford errors—or time wasted every month.”

The Challenge: STR Accounting Bottlenecks & Owner Friction

As COO Rodrigo put it, Dwell Escape’s previous accounting setup was “a mess.” Their financial workflows relied heavily on spreadsheets, shared folders, and manual exports from platforms like QuickBooks, payment processors, their bank accounts and credit cards, and the Property Management System (PMS). It was a cobbled-together system that took as many as 15 days every month just to reconcile accounts and close the books.

The month-end process required three to four team members juggling everything from reconciliations and expense tracking to reporting and owner payouts. Despite this major time investment, things still slipped through the cracks. “Some items were not properly charged,” Rodrigo shared, “which resulted in substantial losses and inefficiencies.”

Even after all that effort, owner statements weren’t sent out until the 15th of each month, leaving stakeholders in the dark and increasing the risk of financial misalignment. The manual overhead wasn’t just costly—it was becoming untenable as Dwell Escape’s property count scaled into the hundreds.

📊 Key Data Points:

• Up to 15 days/month spent on manual accounting
• Involved 3–4 team members every month
• Substantial losses due to missed charges and inefficiencies
• Owner statements delayed until mid-month
• Burden worsened as their portfolio expanded past 180+ properties

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The Solution: Automating Trust Accounting at Scale

After implementing Clearing, Dwell Escape didn’t just streamline their processes—they transformed them.

Tasks that once consumed up to 15 days a month now take just a few days. That’s 60+ hours saved monthly, freeing the finance team to focus on growth initiatives instead of spreadsheets and reconciliations.

“We used to send statements around the 15th. Now we get them out by the 7th, with more accuracy and less stress,” said COO Rodrigo Arias. “As we grow, the stakes only get higher—and Clearing helps us meet them.”

Clearing’s automation engine now handles:

• Booking imports from the PMS and OTAs (when applicable)
• Accurate revenue, tax, and trust account stakeholder allocations
• Owner statement generation and delivery
• ACH payouts to owners and vendors

These tasks were once manually managed by 3–4 team members across spreadsheets, shared drives, and disparate systems. Now, automation ensures accuracy, compliance, and scalability—with audit trails baked in.

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The Results: Time, Money, and Confidence Gained

With around 200 properties across the U.S. and Colombia, Dwell Escape needed more than just software—they needed accounting infrastructure built to scale. With Clearing, they now operate with speed, confidence, and clarity.

🕒 Efficiency Gains

• 60+ hours saved per month
• Manual team involvement cut by half
• Owner statements now delivered by the 7th of each month (one week sooner)

💸 Financial Impact

• Thousands of dollars saved each month, from:
  
  • Reduced external accountant dependency
  • Fewer missed charges and expenses to owners
  • Stronger financial accuracy and visibility
• Eliminated financial leakage from missed expenses
• Trust accounting compliance maintained effortlessly

“Clearing isn’t just a system—it’s part of our foundation for growth.”

Dwell Escape’s owner relations have improved, reporting is faster and more accurate, and their accounting is now future-proof—even as their portfolio expands.

Built to Scale with You 🤝

As Rodrigo put it, “Systems don’t solve for trust accounting, automation, and reporting like Clearing does. If you’re growing or managing a complex portfolio, Clearing is a must.”

Dwell Escape’s journey proves that accounting doesn’t have to be a bottleneck—even with 180+ properties. With Clearing, it’s a growth driver.

For more information about Clearing, join us for a free, personalized demo.

Clearing is a Financial Technology Company, not a bank.

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