STR Global Unlocked with Simon Lehmann: Unfiltered knowledge for the short term rental industry

In this episode of STR Global Unlocked, Rebecca Kacaba, Co-Founder and CEO of DealMaker, joins Simon Lehmann for a candid conversation on why traditional capital raising no longer works for most founders and what a modern alternative looks like. Rebecca is a former capital markets attorney who left Big Law to build one of North America’s leading online capital raising platforms. DealMaker has help...

In this episode of STR Global Unlocked, Bobby Healy, Founder and CEO of Manna Drone Delivery, joins Simon Lehmann for a grounded discussion on why last-mile delivery is structurally broken and how autonomous aerial delivery could reshape logistics, cities, and the short-term rental guest experience. Bobby brings decades of experience building travel and infrastructure businesses. Today, he leads E...

2025 marked a turning point for the short-term rental industry. Not a year of hype or breakout growth, but a year of recalibration. In this Holiday Special of STR Global Unlocked , Simon Lehmann reflects on the conversations, tensions, and signals that defined the industry throughout the year. These insights are from the podcast, but also from in-person events, operator discussions, and real-world...

Europe is often discussed as a single market. This panel makes clear why it is not. In this panel, Simon Lehmann brings together three leaders navigating growth across Europe’s most fragmented markets: Alexander Limpert (GuestReady and RentalReady), Antoine Serrurier (COCOONR), and Harold Lubberdink (Happy. Rentals). Together they break down what sustainable growth really looks like when regulatio...

Woody Marshall is a General Partner at TCV, one of the most influential investment firms in global technology and a long-standing backer of travel companies including Expedia, Airbnb, HomeAway and TripAdvisor. With more than two decades of experience investing in category-defining platforms, Woody brings a unique view of how technology evolves and what it takes for a company to break through in fr...

Cami Narino, Chief Operating Officer, and Jeff Hurst, Chief Executive Officer at Furnished Finder, join Simon Lehmann to analyze one of the most important shifts happening in housing and hospitality today: the rise of midterm rentals. Over the past decade, Furnished Finder has grown from zero to more than 300,000 listings, powered by independent landlords, changing mobility patterns and a growing...

Glenn Fogel is the President and CEO of Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com, Priceline, Kayak and other global brands that shape how the world travels. With more than two decades at the forefront of online travel, he has guided Booking through major industry shifts, emerging technologies and changing traveler behavior. In this episode, Simon Lehmann speaks with Glenn about how AI,...

Sean Breuner is the Founder and CEO of AvantStay, one of the most ambitious hospitality brands in the short-term rental industry. Since launching in 2017, AvantStay has raised significant capital, expanded across the United States, and set out to define what a national hospitality brand could look like in STR. In this episode, Simon Lehmann sits down with Sean for an open conversation on scale, br...

Cliff Johnson is the former Co-Founder of Vacasa, one of the largest short-term rental management companies in the United States, and now serves as President of PadSplit, a fast-growing affordable housing marketplace. His journey from startup founder to industry veteran gives him a rare perspective on how far the STR sector has come (and what still holds it back). In this episode, Simon Lehmann si...

Two systems drive every property management company: revenue and operations. For years, they’ve worked in silos. But what happens when they finally connect? In this episode, Simon Lehmann brings together Jeremy Gall, Founder and CEO at Breezeway, and Richie Khandelwal, Co-founder at PriceLabs, to explore how smarter data, clearer demand signals, and integrated tools can redefine how professional o...

Amiad Soto is the co-founder and CEO of Guesty, one of the most recognized property management software platforms in the short-term rental industry. His journey started in Tel Aviv, where he and his brother Koby launched the company more than a decade ago, before taking it through Y Combinator in Silicon Valley. Under his leadership, Guesty has grown into a global player, shaping the way property...

Carl Shepherd is the Co-Founder of HomeAway, the marketplace that helped define the modern short-term rental industry. Before Airbnb became a household name, Carl and his co-founder Brian Sharples built HomeAway into a global platform that changed how people rent and manage vacation homes. The company went public in 2011 and was later acquired by Expedia for $3.9 billion. If you want to understand...

Every major player in short-term rentals has chased the idea of building a truly global operator. None have cracked it. In this panel, Simon Lehmann brings together three leaders shaping the next phase of professionalization: Graham Donoghue (Forge Group, UK), Steve Schwab (Casago, US), and Quirin Schwaighofer (MadeComfy, Australia). Together they break down what it really takes to scale across bo...

Brian Egan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Evolve, a Denver-based hospitality company with a mission to become the most trusted brand in vacation rental. Since launching Evolve in 2011 alongside Adam Sherry, Brian has grown the company to support over 35,000 properties and more than $5 billion in rental revenue.  If you're navigating the complexities of short-term rentals, this episode offers in...

“Short-term rental is mainstream hospitality. It makes up 14% of global hospitality.  And mainstream industries must operate by a different set of rules.”  — Simon Lehmann The short-term rental industry is at a turning point. Regulation is tightening, OTAs are shifting power, and owners are demanding more transparency. Technology and AI promise efficiency but raise new risks. Safety sits at the ce...

STR Global Unlocked is the podcast built to say what others won’t. Hosted by Simon Lehmann, one of the most trusted voices in the global STR space, every episode takes on the hard questions shaping property management, STR tech, investment, and hospitality such as: Is regulation now existential for STR? Are OTAs making operators fragile? Will short-term rentals become just another hotel product? T...