Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals

Andrew McConnell joins us today for look behind his new book, Get Out of My Head: Creating Modern Clarity with Stoic Wisdom. Known in the vacation rental world for his role as CEO of Rented, Inc., Andrew shares the most expensive rent of all: the self doubt and negativity that we allow to live rent free in our minds. In this book, Andrew shows it’s possible to achieve clarity, make good decisions,...

Lance & Elaine Stitcher are owners and co-founders of Seaside Vacations & Sales, a premiere vacation rental management company that represents nearly 300 properties in Chincoteague Island, VA and Ocean City, MD. This power couple has grown their business rapidly in the past decade by staying focused on the fundamentals - company culture, happy homeowners, work/life balance, innovative mark...

It was beyond a pleasure to sit down with Jennifer Hsieh, VP of Marriott Homes & Villas , to learn about both the challenges and opportunities Marriott has uncovered by bringing one of the world's largest hospitality brands into the world of vacation rentals. While Marriott International represents 30 hotel brands and 8,000 properties as part of their portfolio, Homes & Villas has pre...

Simon Says: It's Conference Season! Tune in to hear Simon's takeaways on the Vacation Rental World Summit and Avantio 2022, and preview thoughts of the upcoming VRMA International Conference being held in Vegas October 23 - 26th. If you're attending VRMA International, you do not want to miss Matt Landau's Homerunners premiere on Sunday night! We are SO excited to host the firs...

Robin Craigen and his wife Heather had a unique beginning in their hospitality journey that started on the high seas with their luxury yacht charter business. During this time, they developed a formula for creating exceptional guest experiences that would later lead them to trade their swim trunks and flippers for snow suits and ski poles. They moved to Steamboat Springs and opened a ski chalet bu...

Vanessa Humes of ICND joins us today to share the top 5 strategies for building a book-direct vacation rental brand. As we often talk about on the podcast, building your house on someone else's land puts your business in a dangerous position - but where do you begin if you want to take business BACK from the OTAs? Whether you're an experienced manager or just starting out in the industry...

Matt Landau is one of the most respected thought leaders in vacation rentals. Founder of VRMB, Matt has built an information-sharing media empire, driven by one simple yet effective concept. As he tells us, "If you have a tip, share it!" You will find more like-minded individuals to collaborate with and by sharing information we are all helping each other and the industry grow. What does...

Ben Coleman, President of Rev & Research, joins us today for this 1st edition of "Bee Boppin' with Ben" - a NEW series where we'll dive into the most relevant tips and strategies for optimizing your revenue management strategy. As we prepare for 2023 and a year that has a significant question mark around it, it's more important than ever that revenue and marketing team...

It's the 1st of the Month! Tune in as we recap the previous month and look ahead to the next, discussing  industry trends, pacing, events and more. Simon Lehmann of AJL Atelier joins us each month for "Simon Says", where we discuss the latest hot-button issue facing the vacation rental  and short term rental industry.  Simon Says: Human Capital is KEY to Profitability In a rapidly c...

Terry Whyte joins us today for an insightful look at the past, present and future of the vacation rental industry, and he shares his candid predictions for who will win the long game in vacation rental technology. Named as part of the "Top 20 Most Influential People in Vacation Rental Technology" by VRTech, Terry brings an incredible combination of experience and passion for the industry...

Marc Hostovsky, CEO/Founder of Minoan Experience, joins us today for an enlightening look at e-commerce and how vacation rental companies and hosts now have the ability to make their properties a shoppable, revenue driving experience. Gone are the days of ordering furniture from multiple websites or companies and keeping track of work orders - Minoan Experience allows you to make all the furnishin...

Last week we talked to Matt Loney, CEO of Xplorie about consolidations within vacation rental tech , and one of the areas he projected would consolidate was Operations software.  Today, we have Koryn Okey from Breezeway to share her perspective on why operators are choosing to use an external tool like Breezeway for housekeeping & maintenance, and how they've internally consolidated sever...

Today we're joined by Matt Loney, CEO of Xplorie, for a conversation about the current state of guest experience and tech in the vacation rental industry and what the future holds for consolidation between overlapping products.  Matt predicts there will be 3 main sectors of vacation rental technology that will see consolidation:  Guest Communication/Acquisition / CRM In-room technology Operat...

We are beyond excited to have Andrew Kitchell, CEO/Founder of Wheelhouse,  join us just a week before the 4th Annual Data & Revenue Management Conference. In 2021, Wheelhouse WON the prestigious Innovator of the Year Tech Battleground competition and shocked the industry with an unprecedented look into the transparency behind their algorithms. At the 2022 DARM conference being held next week i...

It's the 1st of the Month! Tune in as we recap the previous month and look ahead to the next, discussing  industry trends, pacing, events and more. Simon Lehmann of AJL Consulting joins us each month for "Simon Says", where we discuss the latest hot-button issue facing the vacation rental  and short term rental industry.  Simon Says..."It's Time to Put Egos Aside to Streng...

We often talk about the importance of not building your marketing house on someone else’s land (Airbnb, Vrbo, Google etc), but in this episode we discuss how creative marketers are building their brands on their own channels.   Stuart Butler, CMO of Visit Myrtle Beach and undeniably one of the sharpest minds in all of hospitality marketing joins us today to explain the concept of creating gravity...

Sarah Karakaian and Annette Grant from Thanks for Visiting are here today for a lively discussion about the differences between vacation rentals and short term rentals, and the opportunities that exist to work together to strengthen and professionalize the industry as a whole. We often talk about the "bad apples" in short term rentals that give the professionally managed vacation rental...

Steve Milo joins us today for a candid Q&A you DON’T want to miss! As founder and CEO of Vtrips, Steve has grown the company from a handful of vacation rentals in 2006 to nearly 7,000, acquiring 10 companies just in the past year with a goal to hit 10,000 by the end of 2022. This massive expansion doesn’t just happen overnight; but as Steve reveals, his success has been as much opportunistic a...

Anthony Gantt, entrepreneur and recently retired Officer for the United States Marine Corps after 22 years, joins us today to tell a tale of what it truly means to build a purpose-built startup. During his service, Anthony was relocated from Virginia to Texas, charged with orders to find accommodations for his family which included his wife plus their 6 children. A standard hotel room (or multiple...

It's the 1st of the Month! Tune in as we recap the previous month and look ahead to the next, discussing  industry trends, pacing, events and more. Simon Lehmann of AJL Consulting joins us each month for "Simon Says", where we discuss the latest hot-button issue facing the vacation rental  and short term rental industry. Simon Says..."The Times They Are a Changin'" It...

We are so excited to welcome Pete Dimaio, VP Of Client Success for Travel Boom Marketing, back for his second tour of duty! (Pete joined us back in March on Episode 19 ).  Pete is here today to talk about a very timely and important topic as many of us enter hurricane season: how to manage your marketing/communications strategy when faced with a natural disaster.   From hurricanes and tropical sto...

We are honored to be joined by two of the most inspirational female leaders in travel, Silvia Camarota and Rachel Humphrey, as they share a behind-the-scenes look at the networking & mentorship organization Women in Travel Thrive . Founded to propel women closer to equality in the travel industry, this organization provides connections, education, and tangible resources designed to support wom...

Today we’re diving into a topic that continues to grow in importance for vacation and short-term rental managers: guest screening and property protection. Leo Walton is co-founder of Superhog , a company that has streamlined the process for managers to easily confirm the identity of their guests and protect against fraud, damage and crime.  The key to providing a good guest experience when it come...

Fresh off a major announcement that Hostfully successfully raised $4M in funding, Margot is part of only 2% of venture funded companies led by female founders. Margot credits her success to her ability to lead with transparency and authenticity that is rarely seen in the VC world. Mom of 3 beautiful children, she talks to us about how she balances a very busy work and home life and the challenges...

It's the 1st of the Month! Tune in for our short and SUITE bonus episode series where we discuss news, upcoming events. trends, and anything of interest in the world of vacation and short term rentals. We're at the VRMA Executive Summit this week in Palm Beach, Florida, moderated by the one-and-only Simon Lehmann. We have some BIG news to share today, so stay tuned to the end...you don&a...