🎯 How Unreasonable Hospitality Can Skyrocket Your Real Estate Business
- Colby Casoria
- Jun 9, 2025
- 3 min read
The latest EMC Monday Mastermind delivered big value thanks to powerhouse guest DJ Ten Hoeve, a top KW agent serving luxury clients across Monmouth County, NJ. With over $1B in lifetime volume and a team helping 200 families annually, DJ broke down how unreasonable hospitality can completely transform your real estate business—no matter your price point or market.
💡 What Is Unreasonable Hospitality?
DJ opened with a key mindset shift:
“Luxury is about money. Hospitality is about thoughtfulness.”
Inspired by the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara, DJ emphasized that agents can build wildly successful businesses by creating deeply personal, thoughtful moments for their clients. This approach turns everyday transactions into unforgettable experiences—and generates lasting referrals.
🍽 The Hot Dog That Changed Everything
One of the most powerful stories shared was from the book Unreasonable Hospitality, during which Michelin-star restaurant Eleven Madison Park served $2 hot dogs to European tourists who had never had one—because they casually mentioned it during dinner.
"That $2 hot dog became their favorite moment of the trip."
The takeaway? The small, unexpected gestures are what stick. The goal is to make your clients feel seen and heard at every stage of the transaction.
🏡 How DJ Applies This in Real Estate
🔁 Treat Every Client Like a Luxury Client
Whether it’s a $300K condo or a $5M estate, DJ’s team offers consistent high-level care. This not only builds referrals, but also seeds long-term client relationships that grow over time.
📦 The Cookie Dough Pre-Listing Packet
Before every listing appointment, DJ’s team sends a branded box with:
A 40+ page track record portfolio
A magazine-style home prep guide
A refrigerated container of cookie dough with a note: “Ask us about the cookie dough”
Why cookie dough? It’s an unexpected, playful nudge to have sellers bake cookies before open houses, creating emotional warmth and engagement with buyers.
📅 Mapping Moments with the “Power of Moments” Framework
DJ recommends segmenting the transaction into three types of moments:
Peaks (e.g. offer accepted)
Pits (e.g. low appraisal, deal fallout)
Milestones (e.g. post-inspection, 1-year anniversary)
You then brainstorm unreasonable hospitality ideas for each.
Examples:
After a low appraisal, send a small comfort kit or an encouraging video
On the anniversary of their closing, record a personal video outside their home instead of sending a generic card
👤 The Avatar Exercise: Know Your Ideal Client
Stop trying to be everything to everyone.
DJ uses the Pumpkin Plan strategy:
Identify your “dream client”
Interview them about what they loved/hated about the real estate process
Build repeatable systems to serve more people just like them
Then:
Create detailed personas (names, lifestyle, pain points)
Systemize outreach and marketing tailored to them
Use tools like CRMs to track unique preferences (favorite coffee, colors, snacks)
✨ Systematizing the Magic
Unreasonable hospitality works only if it's repeatable. DJ’s team logs client preferences in Follow Up Boss. They also redirected budget from large events to fund personalized gift moments (e.g. retirement gifts, thank-yous, one-off surprises).
“We’re figuring out how to systemize the one-offs.”
He also teased their future plan: a red-carpet-style buyer consultation with reserved parking, welcome signage, and personalized drinks/snacks waiting in the office.
🧠 Training Agents to Serve Luxury with Confidence
DJ’s agents must pass an in-depth “Challenge” that simulates a full client journey—from first contact to closing—before being trusted with real leads. This ensures consistency and builds agent confidence.
🎯 How DJ Broke Into Luxury Real Estate
Background: Former Pfizer sales rep trained to serve highly educated doctors
Marketing Play: Created monthly infographics with local data before it was trendy
Strategic Networking: Hung out weekly at his tailor shop (frequented by wealthy locals) until a $5.5M deal came from it
“Figure out where your ideal client spends time—and go be there intentionally.”
📚 Recommended Reading
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
The Power of Moments by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz
Bonus: Velvet Rope Playbook (recommended by attendee Mark Benson)
🧭 Final Takeaway
DJ left attendees with a call to action:
“Start with the PITS. Find the hard moments in your client journey—and flip the script.”
Whether it’s a blanket during a cold showing or a curated coffee waiting in the office, those details become stories your clients can’t wait to tell.
📌 Want more content like this? Subscribe to the Every Move Collective YouTube Channel or Book a 1:1 consult with Colby & Eva Casoria to talk strategy, collaboration, or joining our next mastermind.
Let us know in the comments:
What “unreasonable” hospitality will YOU try in your business this week?
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