Content creator found dream job ‘by accident’ and now earns £6,000 per project filming Airbnbs and hotels on her iPhone

A luxury content creator who earns up to £6,000 per project while travelling the world filming Airbnbs and hotels on her iPhone has said she fell into her dream job “by accident”.

Sam Weiss, 34, has spent the past four years filming high-end villas and boutique hotels where she gets paid to stay for free with family and friends for an average fee of (2,000 dollars) £1,585 per shoot.

The creative marketing strategist from New York state fell into her career by accident after being fired from her corporate job as an actuary seven and a half years ago and cashing in all of her assets to travel the world.

Five years into her travels, she was inspired by a fellow traveller to start offering to produce video content for Airbnbs in exchange for complimentary stays.

Despite having just 850 followers on her Instagram @_samanthaweiss and facing countless rejections, she landed her first Airbnb in March 2023 and has since filmed a total of 39 properties throughout Mexico.

Since investing in a drone to further improve her content, she said her most lucrative deals pay her four figures.

“It is a dream job and I literally fell into it by accident,” Sam told PA Real Life, speaking from an Airbnb in Oaxaca.

“I get to essentially vacation, make content and visit the most gorgeous properties in Mexico – who wouldn’t enjoy that?

“It’s crazy because so many people think I have a team behind me or a professional camera, but I actually use my iPhone to film.”

Sam said it was a “blessing in disguise from the universe” when she was fired from her job as an actuary in Stamford, Connecticut, in October 2017.

The videographer, from Buffalo, New York, said: “I knew the job wasn’t for me and I was actually planning on leaving.

“It was a field where you had to study lots and I knew I was a creative person, very fun and outgoing.

“I had always loved travelling so I decided to go and figure out my life.”

Sam cashed in everything to her name, including her severance package from work, pension, stocks and savings, and decided to travel the world.

“I went to Thailand, Bali, Philippines, throughout Europe and I didn’t want to stop,” she said.

Three years into her trip, Sam wanted to sustain her new lifestyle and tried confidence and video coaching but “nothing was really sticking”.

She then heard about Airbnb user-generated content (UGC) through a fellow traveller and decided to give it a go.

“For the longest time, I thought you needed to be an influencer and have a huge audience to stay with Airbnb and hotels,” she said.

“But here was a girl who was doing it and she had 4,000 followers.

“She explained that she wasn’t pitching her follower count, she was pitching her content, so I thought ‘why not just go after this and see what happens?’.”

Sam sent out dozens of pitches online to Airbnbs and hotels, offering two to three social media reels in exchange for a two-night complimentary stay.

“When the first Airbnb said no to me, I almost gave up but I kept going,” Sam said.

“I felt so lit up and excited so I decided to go all-in.”

In March 2023, Sam landed her first collaboration at a boutique hotel in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, where she currently lives.

After five exchanges, Sam was running out of money and started charging for her services – receiving (200 dollars) £158 for her first paid job.

“I was so over the moon and excited that I could make a living out of this,” she said.

Taking her footage to the next level, Sam invested in a (1,000 dollar) £800 drone which enabled her to film million-pound villas with sweeping sea views.

“I really studied what top creators were doing in the industry and it got so much better the more I was practising,” she said.

“Now I’ve become really well-known for my content and I’m hoping to plan some more international trips this year.”

One technique Sam is known for is her “soft lifestyle” shots, capturing videos of herself in the properties to show how others can use the space.

And you “don’t need to spend a ton of money on a professional camera to do it”, she said, starting out with an iPhone 13 and now mostly relying on her iPhone 15 Pro to film.

Sam has grown her business, earning an average £1,585 per shoot – with her largest fee of (7,500 dollars) £6,000 which involved filming a mix of Instagram reels and drone content for eight luxury properties in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

She now also coaches others how to produce Airbnb and hotel content like hers at small-group retreats in Tulum, Mexico.

“There was one Airbnb, Casa Viento, where I was like holy crap I’ve made it,” she said.

“It was such a gorgeous, bright and airy property with a private pool and I thought ‘oh my God this is it, I did it’.

“On another project, I got flown out to Riviera Maya with a luxury vacation company and they paid for my flight, transportation and private chefs.

“I’ve also been able to invite my girlfriends to a place with a pool overlooking the ocean.”

Sharing her top tips for others wanting to break into the industry, Sam said having a portfolio and perseverance are key.

“Throughout my journey, I got told no so many times and wanted to give up but I didn’t let it stop me,” she said.

“You’ve got to really want it.”