Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals
With more than 35 years of combined experience in vacation rentals, Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe have teamed up to connect the dots between inspiration and opportunity, seeking to find the one story, idea, strategy or decision that led to their guests big A-HA moment. Join them, as they highlight the REAL stories behind the people and brands that have built vacation rentals into the 100 BILLION dollar industry it is today.
Wed, April 30, 2025
Inside Booking.com’s Strategy to Become the Best Partner for Property Managers - with Ian Ackland
Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we’re joined by Ian Ackland, Managing Director of the Americas at Booking.com, for a candid look at how one of the world's largest travel platforms is evolving its approach to better serve property managers. With more than 30 years in the travel industry and over a decade at Booking.com, Ian shares how the company is shifting from being just a distribution channel to becoming a true partner for vacation rental professionals. From reimagining payment systems and investing in connectivity, to expanding their U.S. market presence and leveraging AI, Ian walks us through the strategy behind Booking.com's efforts to reduce friction and drive more value for hosts at every stage of growth. Whether you’re a large enterprise or just getting started, this episode is packed with practical insights on how to work smarter, tap into new guest demand, and build a more effective tech stack through stronger partnerships. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ Ian’s background in hospitality and why hosting is personal to him 2️⃣ The evolution of Booking.com's vacation rental strategy 3️⃣ Why connectivity partners like NextPax play a key role in host success 4️⃣ How Booking.com is supporting both enterprise and mid-sized property managers 5️⃣ What makes listings convert: content, rate plans, and smart distribution 6️⃣ The redesign of their payment system to solve real host pain points 7️⃣ How generative AI is helping streamline guest communication 8️⃣ Loyalty, trust, and the value of high-frequency guests 9️⃣ The tools and resources Booking.com offers to support property managers at scale Connect with Ian: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-ackland-1b3b444/ Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE: https://www.boomnow.com/ Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie #VacationRentals #ShortTermRentals #OTA
Wed, April 23, 2025
Here Goes Nothin’ – Matt Landau on Leading with Connection
Send us a message! In this week’s episode, Matt Landau returns to the show to share one of the most personal and transformational shifts of his career — a journey from building systems and scaling success to rediscovering the power of human connection. Long known as a community builder and founder of VRMB, Matt opens up about the moment everything changed. After years of being surrounded by the same ideas and doing the same routines, he stepped outside the norm and into a retreat that would forever alter his perspective on leadership, creativity, and authenticity. Now leading his own immersive experiences through Here Goes Nothin’, Matt is helping business leaders from all industries explore their own breakthrough moments by leaning into discomfort, curiosity, and connection. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ The “aha” moment that shifted Matt’s trajectory 2️⃣ Why scaling isn't always the answer—and what comes next 3️⃣ The creative power of letting go of control 4️⃣ What it really means to lead with authenticity 5️⃣ How retreats are reshaping the future of leadership and hospitality 6️⃣ Why personal breakthroughs often unlock professional success If you’ve ever felt stuck, uninspired, or simply curious about what else might be possible, this episode is your invitation to take the leap. Connect with Matt: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landaumatt/ Website: https://heregoesnothin.com/ Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE: https://www.boomnow.com/ Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie #vacationrentals #connection #heregoesnothin
Wed, April 16, 2025
Behind the PMS: Meet TravelNet Solutions New CEO Boogie Wittenburg
Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we sit down with Boogie Wittenburg, the new CEO of TravelNet Solutions, makers of Track PMS. With a background in mission-critical technology powering global brands, Boogie brings a fresh, people-first perspective to the vacation rental tech space. Building on the strong foundation laid by the company’s founders, Boogie shares how he’s guiding TravelNet Solutions into its next chapter — one that balances continuity with innovation. With a renewed focus on culture, customer experience, and thoughtful technology, Boogie brings a clear vision for scaling both the platform and the people behind it. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣Boogie’s journey from global tech to short-term rentals 2️⃣Why servant leadership is at the core of his management style 3️⃣How TravelNet Solutions is improving customer support and answering the phone again (yes, really!) 4️⃣The rollout of the new Owner Mobile App and its impact on retention 5️⃣Track’s approach to product development: build, buy, or partner 6️⃣The role of AI in scaling support and internal operations 7️⃣What true team engagement looks like—and why it matters Boogie also shares a powerful reflection on legacy, leadership, and building a company where employees, customers, and innovation thrive together. Whether you’re a property manager, tech vendor, or industry leader, this episode offers valuable insight into what it takes to scale a software company without losing sight of people. Connect with Boogie: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oduswittenburg/ Website: https://tnsinc.com/ Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. #VacationRentals #TrackPMS #ServantLeadership
Wed, April 09, 2025
How Beyond is Redefining Revenue Management for Property Managers — with CEO, Julie Brinkman
Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we sit down with Julie Brinkman, CEO of Beyond, to explore how the company is transforming the way property managers approach pricing and profitability. From dynamic pricing to market intelligence, Beyond has become a vital tool for short-term rental professionals looking to scale sustainably and outperform their competition. Julie shares how the company empowers property managers with smarter data, automation, and real-time insights to "beat the market"—no matter what that market looks like. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ Julie’s unique path to leadership and the lessons learned from her mother’s resilience 2️⃣ The evolution of revenue management in vacation rentals 3️⃣ How Beyond's tools help property managers maximize revenue while saving time 4️⃣ Lessons learned navigating COVID-19 and coming out stronger 5️⃣ The unique challenges of pricing single-unit properties vs. hotels 6️⃣ How global expansion is shaping Beyond's product innovation 7️⃣ The critical role of empathy, culture, and customer feedback in tech development Julie also touches on the importance of industry collaboration, the rising need for smarter pricing strategies, and why AI alone isn’t enough to drive revenue in a human-centered business. If you're a property manager, tech enthusiast, or hospitality professional looking to stay ahead in a competitive market, this conversation is packed with insight and inspiration. Connect with Julie: LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/jrbrinkman/ Website: https://www.beyondpricing.com/ Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. #vacationrentals #revenuemanagement #shorttermrentaltech
Wed, April 02, 2025
Saying No to Say Yes: Brittany Blackman’s Path from Burnout to Self-Discovery
Send us a message! In this soul-stirring episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals , we sit down with Brittany Blackman, former vacation rental business owner turned leadership coach and founder of Discover Freedom. Brittany gets real about what it took to walk away from the business she built and loved, after realizing that outward success came at the cost of her inner peace. She opens up about her battle with burnout, the pressure to be everything to everyone, and how learning to set boundaries — and say no — led her to a life of greater alignment, fulfillment, and purpose. Now on a mission to help others do the same, Brittany shares how she's using her story and her coaching practice to support leaders in the vacation rental industry who are ready to rewrite their own rules. Whether you're feeling stretched too thin, stuck in hustle mode, or simply ready to reconnect with your “why,” this episode is a powerful reminder that saying no is often the first step in saying yes to the life you actually want. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ Brittany’s leap into vacation rental entrepreneurship during the pandemic 2️⃣ What success really looks like and why it sometimes means walking away 3️⃣ How burnout led her to a life coach, self-work, and a values reset 4️⃣ The emotional impact of people-pleasing and perfectionism in leadership 5️⃣ Why boundaries are essential (not selfish) 6️⃣ The mindset shift behind Discover Freedom 7️⃣ What it means to lead, and live, with intention Connect with Brittany: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-blackman-384141216/ Website: https://discoverfreedom.life/ Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. #vacationrentals #leadership #burnout
Wed, March 26, 2025
The OG Women of Vacation Rentals: Honoring the Trailblazers that Shaped the Future of the Industry
Send us a message! In this special episode, Alex & Annie sit down with the original queens of vacation rentals: three powerhouse women who helped shape the industry from the ground up. Meet Jeanne Dailey (Founder & CEO, Newman-Dailey Resort Properties), Valerie Hawkins (Co-Owner & CEO, Perdido Key Realty), and Audrey Miller (Co-Founder & CFO, Cottage Connection of Maine) - each with a story full of grit, heart, and game-changing innovation. From starting with whiteboards and spiral notebooks to pioneering tech adoption and leading through legislative battles, these trailblazers reveal how they built thriving companies in a male-dominated industry - before vacation rentals were even “a thing.” Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ Jeanne Dailey’s Story 2️⃣ Valerie Hawkins’ Story 3️⃣ Audrey Miller’s Story 4️⃣ The Early Days of Vacation Rentals 5️⃣ First Software, Systems & Tech Innovation 6️⃣ Being Women in a Male-Dominated Industry 7️⃣ Finding Community in the Industry 8️⃣ Early Networking, Software Choices, and Mentors 9️⃣ The First Leap into Property Management Software 🔟 Working with Family & Building a Legacy Connect with Jeanne: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannedailey/ Connect with Valerie: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-hawkins-04aa0a43/ Connect with Audrey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audrey-leeds-miller-23748b4/ Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie #VacationRentals #WomenInLeadership #ShortTermRentals
Wed, March 19, 2025
Stop, Collaborate, and Listen: How Jason Gann of Beyond Pricing Used Humor & Authenticity to Build his Personal Brand
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Jason Gann, a well-established figure in vacation rentals who has carved out a unique path as both a sales executive and an emerging comedic talent. Jason takes us through his fascinating career journey - from selling hair-cutting shears to stepping into the world of vacation rental technology, navigating the fast-changing landscape of property management software, and now leading conversations around revenue management at Beyond Pricing. Jason shares heartfelt insights on how personal branding, humor, and authenticity have helped him build meaningful industry relationships. He also discusses his upcoming role as the co-host of VR Nation, how imposter syndrome almost held him back from stepping into the spotlight, and why embracing vulnerability has become a powerful tool in his career. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣Jason’s transition from the beauty industry to vacation rentals. 2️⃣The rapid evolution of vacation rental technology over the past decade. 3️⃣The importance of personal branding and authenticity in career growth. 4️⃣How humor and content creation helped Jason stand out in the industry. 5️⃣Insights into revenue management and dynamic pricing strategies. 6️⃣The challenges of imposter syndrome and how Jason overcame them. 7️⃣Behind the scenes of Jason’s viral ‘Finish the Lyric’ video at industry events. 8️⃣What to expect from VR Nation 2024, including Jason’s role as co-host. Connect with Jason: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-gann/ Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie #vacationrentals #revenuemanagement #personalbrand
Wed, March 12, 2025
The New Standard: Why Smart Guest Screening is Essential for Short-Term Rentals with Ela Mezhiborsky of Autohost
Send us a message! As the hospitality industry evolves, guest screening and verification have become essential components of a safe and seamless guest experience. In this episode, we sit down with Ela Mezhiborsky, President and Co-Founder of AutoHost, to explore how cutting-edge technology is reshaping the way hotels and short-term rental operators manage risk, prevent fraud, and enhance security. Ela shares her insights on the growing role of AI and cybersecurity in guest verification, the challenges of "bad AI" in fraud prevention, and the regulatory changes driving the need for stronger screening solutions. From mandatory ID checks to advanced biometric verification, this conversation unveils the future of trust and safety in hospitality. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ The Evolution of AutoHost & Guest Screening 2️⃣ The Role of AI in Fraud Detection & "Bad AI" Risks 3️⃣ Regulatory Changes & Compliance Trends 4️⃣ Hotels vs. Short-Term Rentals: Who’s Leading in Security? 5️⃣ The Future of Guest Verification & Embedded Security Solutions 6️⃣ Addressing Human Trafficking & Ethical Responsibility 7️⃣ Where AutoHost is Headed Next 8️⃣ Final Thoughts & How to Connect with Ela Connect with Ela: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elamezhiborsky/ Autohost Website: https://www.autohost.ai/ Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie #guestscreening #vacationrentals #fraudprevention
Fri, March 07, 2025
Breaking News: The Women’s Summit 2025 Announced – Exclusive Details with Amy Hinote!
Send us a message! We’ve got BIG news to share! In this special bonus episode, we welcome back industry powerhouse Amy Hinote to reveal all the exciting details about the 2025 Women’s Summit! What better time to celebrate this announcement than during International Women’s Day on March 8, 2025? This global day of recognition honors the achievements of women in every industry—including the incredible women shaping the vacation rental space. And what better way to continue that celebration than by gathering in person this August? Taking place August 19-21, 2025, at the historic Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, SC, the Women’s Summit has become a must-attend event, bringing together property managers, vendors, thought leaders, and trailblazing women from across the industry. Don’t miss out on this exclusive update from Amy Hinote as she shares insider details on what to expect at this year’s event! Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ The Women’s Summit 2025 – What to Expect & Why You Should Attend 2️⃣ Keynote speakers 3️⃣ The event’s focus on mentorship, leadership, and career growth 4️⃣ How the summit fosters cross-generational conversations in the industry 5️⃣ An inside look at the session tracks 6️⃣ Volunteer and Sponsorship Opportunities – How to Get Involved Connect with Amy Hinote: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amymutual/ Register for the VR Women’s Summit and use code ALEXANDANNIE at checkout to save $100 on your registration: https://vrwsummit.com/ Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie #WomensSummit2025 #VacationRentals #ShortTermRentals
Wed, March 05, 2025
One Industry, One Mission: The Power of Partnership Between VRMA & VR Nation
Send us a message! In this episode, we are joined by some of the most influential leaders in the vacation rental industry. From VRMA (Vacation Rental Management Association), we welcome Executive Director Anne Gardner and Chair of the Board of Directors Jodi Refosco. Representing VR Nation, we have President Matt Tisdall and Executive Director Heidie Henriksen. Together, we dive into the exciting evolution of both organizations, their upcoming conferences, and the importance of collaboration in shaping the future of vacation rentals. With two major events on the horizon: the VRMA Foundations: Frontline Excellence Training in Savannah and the VR Nation National Conference in Austin, we discuss what attendees can expect, how these events foster industry-wide education, and why networking is more critical than ever. Beyond conferences, the conversation highlights the growing need for unified advocacy, support for small and large operators, and the push toward greater professionalization of the industry. Whether you're a seasoned property manager, a new entrant in short-term rentals, or a vendor supporting this space, this episode is packed with valuable insights into where the industry is headed and how we can all work together for collective success. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣Introducing the panel: Key leaders from VRMA & VR Nation 2️⃣What makes each association unique & where they collaborate 3️⃣Upcoming conferences: What to expect in Savannah & Austin 4️⃣The importance of advocacy and professionalization in vacation rentals 5️⃣How VRMA & VR Nation are supporting both small and large operators 6️⃣The role of vendors & suppliers in the evolving vacation rental landscape 7️⃣Educational initiatives for short-term rental operators 8️⃣The need for industry-wide collaboration in an ever-changing market Upcoming Events Mentioned: VRMA Foundations: Frontline Excellence Training – April 14-15, 2025 | Savannah, GA VR Nation National Conference – April 27-28, 2025 | Austin, TX VRMA Executive Summit – May 28-30, 2025 | South Beach, FL Connect with our Guests on LinkedIn: Matthew Tesdall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewtesdall/ Heidie Henriksen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidieh/ Anne Gardner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-gardner-mba-cae/ Jodi Refosco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodirefosco/ Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. Get $50 credit and $0
Wed, February 26, 2025
VRBO’s Strategy for 2025 & Beyond: Exclusive Interview with Tim Rosolio
Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we sit down with Tim Rosolio, Vice President of Vacation Rental Partnerships at Expedia Group, to discuss VRBO’s vision for 2025 and beyond. Tim shares insights on VRBO’s evolving strategy, including how the platform has transformed since its transition from HomeAway, its commitment to professional property managers, and its focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences. He also provides an inside look at VRBO’s marketing direction, technology advancements, and key initiatives that will shape the future of the vacation rental industry. We explore how VRBO is leveraging its One Key loyalty program, improving traveler targeting, and refining its platform to drive better results for property managers. Plus, Tim gives a candid take on the OTA landscape, regulatory challenges, and the evolving role of trust and safety in the industry. For anyone looking to stay ahead in the short-term rental space, this episode is packed with valuable insights from one of the industry’s top leaders. Key Takeaways: 1️⃣ The evolution from HomeAway to VRBO and what it means for property managers 2️⃣ How VRBO is enhancing technology to create a seamless experience for partners and travelers 3️⃣ The impact of One Key and how it’s shaping guest loyalty 4️⃣ VRBO’s marketing strategy for 2025 and adapting to the changing digital landscape 5️⃣ Trust, safety, and guest verification: How VRBO ensures quality stays 6️⃣ What’s next for VRBO’s promotions suite and marketplace design 7️⃣ How VRBO is engaging in advocacy efforts and regulatory discussions to support the industry Connect with Tim Rosolio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-rosolio-434b2a98/ Learn more about VRBO’s One Key program: https://partner.expediagroup.com/en-us/solutions/distribute-your-inventory/one-key-travel-rewards Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie #vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #vrbo
Wed, February 19, 2025
Building a Podcast Empire: How Wil Slickers Scaled Hospitality.FM into a Media Company
Send us a message! In this episode, we sit down with Wil Slickers - an industry legend who transformed a single podcast into Hospitality.FM, a full-fledged media company. Wil shares how he scaled his brand from a passion project into a thriving network of nearly 40 hospitality-focused podcasts. Wil discusses the challenges and breakthroughs in building a media empire, from securing sponsorships to expanding into new content formats like video, book publishing, and event management. He also shares his insights on why podcasts alone aren’t enough - you need an entire content ecosystem to drive engagement, audience growth, and monetization. Whether you're a hospitality professional, content creator, or entrepreneur looking to scale your brand, this episode is packed with valuable lessons on business growth, media strategy, and the future of hospitality content. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣The importance of media in shaping the hospitality industry. 2️⃣How podcasting serves as a platform for industry education and networking. 3️⃣Monetization strategies for podcasters and media creators. 4️⃣ The shift from traditional hospitality marketing to digital-first strategies. 5️⃣ Wil’s personal journey and the lessons he’s learned in media entrepreneurship. 6️⃣ The future of industry conferences and the role of intimate, curated events. 7️⃣How Hospitality.FM is providing value to creators and listeners alike. Connect with Wil: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wil-slickers/ Hospitality FM: https://hospitality.fm/ Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannie #vacationrentals #hospitalitypodcast #hospitalitymarketing
Wed, February 12, 2025
LIVE from Nashville: Key Takeaways from Track NEXT 25 – Innovation, Insights, and Industry Shifts
Send us a message! In this special episode, Alex & Annie take you to the heart of the Track NEXT25 Conference, TravelNetSolutions' premier annual conference, held in the vibrant city of Nashville. This annual user conference brings together company representatives, executives, vendors, and customers for a blend of fun, fellowship, and educational sessions designed to maximize the value of Track software. Alex teamed up with Justin Panzer, VP of Marketing for TravelNet Solutions, to delve into what made this year’s conference a standout. They discuss the event's engaging format, which included inspiring keynote speakers, hands-on workshops, peer-led discussions, and insights into the latest industry innovations. Alex & Annie also bring you exclusive conversations with industry experts, innovators, and property managers, offering insights into the latest trends, tech advancements, and strategies shaping the vacation rental industry. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ Michael Ohanian (VP of Product Management, Track) – The power of Track’s in-house Distribution Manager and how it's helping property managers optimize revenue in tough economic times. 2️⃣ Kelly McNeil (Senior Strategic Program Director, Track) – Breaking down Track’s Payments System, how it’s reducing processing fees, and making transactions seamless for property managers. 3️⃣ Lui King (Safely) & Ashley Ching (Inhaven) – A new partnership that’s innovating linen insurance to protect properties against guest-related damages. 4️⃣Rosita Hernandez (Product Manager, Track) – An exclusive look at Track’s Owner Portal revamp and mobile-first approach, improving transparency and communication for property managers and owners alike. 5️⃣ David Stephens (Lead Data Scientist, Track) – How AI and dynamic pricing are driving smarter revenue decisions in vacation rentals. 6️⃣ Daniel Leifield (Key Data) – The importance of real-time industry data and insights into what top-performing property managers are doing differently. 7️⃣Tim Schutts (VP of Sales, Track) – How Track is positioning itself to bridge the gap between vacation rentals and traditional hotels, catering to hybrid hospitality models. Connect with our Guests: Justin Panzer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinpanzer/ Michael Ohanian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ohanian/ Kelly McNeil LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-mcneil-18614886/ Rosita Hernandez Lin
Wed, February 05, 2025
How Rent Responsibly is Closing the Information Gap in STR Regulations – with Founders David Krauss & Alexa Nota
Send us a message! In this week’s episode, we sit down with two of the most influential voices in the short-term rental (STR) advocacy space - David Krauss, CEO & Founder of Rent Responsibly, and Alexa Nota, COO & Co-Founder. With regulations and housing discussions at the forefront of industry challenges, Rent Responsibly is leading the charge in empowering hosts, owners, and managers to unite, educate, and advocate for fair policies. From community-building to data-driven insights, David and Alexa share how they’re working to close the information gap between policymakers and operators, ensuring that STR professionals have a seat at the table. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ Strengthening the STR community through advocacy and education. 2️⃣ Addressing policy misconceptions and affordability concerns. 3️⃣ Why hosts must engage in local and state policy discussions. 4️ Key findings from Rent Responsibly’s 130,000+ data points. 5️⃣ How state and local groups are organizing for policy impact. 6️⃣ Combating misinformation in STR regulations. 7️⃣ Why local hosts’ voices matter in regulatory decisions. 8️⃣ How hosts can partner with Chambers of Commerce & DMOs. 9️⃣ Debunking the idea that banning STRs solves housing issues. 🔟 Steps for STR owners and managers to advocate effectively. Connect with David: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-krauss/ Connect with Alexa: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanota/ Connect with Rent Responsibly: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rent-responsibly/ Website: https://www.rentresponsibly.org/ Want to optimize your guest experience? Exclusive for our listeners: Get a free guest journey analysis at https://www.happyguestofficial.com/alexandannie Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. #STRadvocacy #vacationrentalindustry #rentresponsibly
Wed, January 29, 2025
Breaking the Mold: How Fred Boothby’s Bold Business Model is Shaking Up the Industry
Send us a message! In this week’s episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Fred Boothby, CEO of Enjoy Unique Stays, to explore how he’s breaking the mold in the vacation rental industry. What started as a small side business has grown into a thriving portfolio of 140+ properties across multiple states, redefining what it means to create experiential stays that go beyond the ordinary. Fred shares the bold strategies and innovations that have shaped his success, from crafting unique guest experiences to navigating the challenges of multi-market property management. He also dives into the hard lessons learned from industry risks like natural disasters, the power of branding and culture, and the role of technology in streamlining operations. Whether you're a property manager, real estate investor, or hospitality enthusiast, this episode is packed with game-changing insights to help you stay ahead in an evolving industry. Key Topics Discussed: 1️⃣ Fred’s journey to founding Enjoy Unique Stays 2️⃣ The importance of branding, culture, and team alignment in scaling a hospitality business. 3️⃣ Lessons from hurricane recovery and business resilience. 4️⃣ Fred’s hands-on experience with Streamline, Guesty, and Boom, and the role of technology in managing diverse properties 5️⃣ Why secondary and tertiary markets offer hidden opportunities 6️⃣ The rise of experiential stays in hospitality Connect with Fred Boothby: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-boothby-777096a/ Connect with Enjoy Unique Stays: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unique-stays-llc/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_enjoyuniquestays_/?hl=en Website: https://www.enjoyuniquestays.com/ Want to optimize your guest experience? Exclusive for our listeners: Get a free guest journey analysis at https://www.happyguestofficial.com/alexandannie Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. #ExperientialStays #VacationRentals #HospitalityIndustry
Wed, January 22, 2025
Making Trash Fun (Again!) with CanMonkey CEO, Alex Shapiro
Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we’re thrilled to welcome back Alex Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of CanMonkey. Alex joins us to share exciting updates on how his company has continued to revolutionize trash management for vacation rentals and beyond. CanMonkey, which started as a bootstrap idea in 2018, now operates in 28 states and services over 5,000 properties across 350 cities. With innovative solutions, a gig-based workforce, and a deep understanding of industry challenges, Alex and his team are solving problems many didn’t even know had solutions. This conversation dives deep into the evolution of CanMonkey from a simple service idea to a full-fledged logistical technology company. From their distinctive brand strategy to their ability to tackle city regulations and homeowner frustrations, Alex offers insights that are not just valuable for vacation rental operators but for any entrepreneur looking to scale a business. Key Topics Discussed: ⚡ Can Monkey’s Origin and Growth ⚙ How Can Monkey Solves Trash Management Challenges 💡 The Role of Brand and Humor in CanMonkey’s Marketing 🤝 Navigating Regulations in Vacation Rentals 📌 The Gig Economy Workforce 💬 Expanding Services Beyond Trash Curb Management 🎯 Looking Ahead to 2025 ⭐ Advice for Entrepreneurs Connect with Alex: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/k-alexander-shapiro-74b47259/ Connect with CanMonkey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/canmonkeyinc/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canmonkeyinc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CanMonkey YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCha6rByeYqvhNrTbA5fwUPg Want to optimize your guest experience? Exclusive for our listeners: Get a free guest journey analysis at https://www.happyguestofficial.com/alexandannie Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/ to learn more. #WasteManagementSolutions #VacationRentalTech #PropertyManagementInnovation
Wed, January 15, 2025
Podcasting the Podcasters: Celebrating Our 200th Episode
Send us a message! It's a milestone moment for Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals as we celebrate our 200th episode together with some of the most brilliant and influential podcasters in the vacation rental industry. To make this occasion extra special, Amber Hurdle and Travis Wilburn take over hosting duties, flipping the script by putting Alex & Annie in the guest seats. This episode is a tribute to the journey of not just Alex & Annie but the entire podcasting community that amplifies the voices of vacation rental professionals, pioneers, and enthusiasts. Joining the celebration are some of the industry's key influencers: Sarah and T, Wil Slickers, Tom Goodwin, Amber Hurdle, and Travis Wilburn. Together, they represent a collective history of over 1,100 episodes and more than 6 million listeners. This lively and inspiring conversation delves into the trends shaping the vacation rental industry, the origins of some of your favorite podcasts, and the transformative power of podcasting on careers and lives. Key Topics Discussed: 🥚 The Origins of Industry Podcasts✨ Reflections on 200 Episodes🎙 The Power of Podcasting⭐ Trends in the Vacation Rental Industry💻 Technology Transforming the Industry🎧 Memorable Moments from Podcasting💬 Lessons for Aspiring Podcasters📌 The Future of the Industry and Podcasting Connect with Sarah and T: Sarah Bradford: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-bradford-032129b1/ Tim Cafferty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-cafferty-479b974/ Connect with Travis Wilburn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-wilburn-03057410/ Connect with Wil Slickers LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wil-slickers/ Connect with Tom Goodwin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trgoodwinmlc/ Connect with Amber Hurdle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theamberhurdle/ Want to optimize your guest experience? Exclusive for our listeners: Get a free guest journey analysis at https://www.happyguestofficial.com/alexandannie Ready to take your operations to the next level? Visit <a
Wed, January 08, 2025
Vacation Rental Tech: What You Need to Know to Stay Ahead in 2025
Send us a message! In this week’s episode, we are thrilled to welcome back Terry Whyte, owner of Anna Maria Island Beach Rentals and a renowned expert in vacation rental technology and operations. As one of the leading voices in the vacation rental industry, Terry dives into the evolving landscape of vacation rental software, sharing his predictions and practical insights on what’s driving innovation in the field. From the rise of "all-in-one" solutions to the growing dominance of CRM platforms, this episode sheds light on the tools and strategies reshaping how property managers operate and thrive in an increasingly competitive market. Terry also shares his firsthand experiences navigating the challenges of hurricanes, offering valuable advice on resilience, recovery, and rebuilding trust with guests. Whether you’re a property manager, tech enthusiast, or vacation rental professional, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways to help you stay ahead in a dynamic industry. Key Topics Discussed: 🍃 Managing Hurricane Recovery and Restoring Guest Confidence 💡 The Rise of All-In-One Solutions in Vacation Rental Tech ⚡ CRMs as the Backbone of Modern Property Management 🤖 AI and Automation’s Impact on Vacation Rentals 🧮 Trust Accounting and Its Growing Industry Importance 💻 Content Marketing Strategies for Direct Booking Success 🚪 The Growing Competition from All-Inclusive Resorts 🔮 Short- and Long-Term Predictions for Vacation Rentals Connect with Terry: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-whyte-4540633b/ Website: https://annamariaislandbeachrentals.com/ Want to optimize your guest experience? Exclusive for our listeners: Get a free guest journey analysis at https://www.happyguestofficial.com/ #vacationrentals #propertymanagement #vacationrentaltech
Wed, January 01, 2025
1st of the Year Bonus Episode: Alex & Annie Reflect on 2024 and Set Intentions for 2025
Send us a message! Welcome to the first episode of the year! What better way to kick off 2025 than with our tradition of reflecting on the past year’s highlights and setting an inspiring tone for the year ahead. In this episode, Alex & Annie revisit the most listened-to episodes of 2024, unveil their “Words of the Year” for 2025, and outline their bold goals and exciting plans for the months to come. Whether you’re looking to reflect on your own journey, draw inspiration for the year ahead, or stay updated on the latest trends in vacation rentals, this episode is packed with valuable insights, actionable strategies, and the motivation you need to start your year strong. Key Topics Discussed: 💭 Reflections on 2024 🎧 Top 5 Podcast Episodes 2024 ✨ Alex & Annie’s Words of the Year 2025 ⭐ Insights on Industry Trends 🔮 Future Podcast Plans 🤝 Gratitude and Mentorship 📍 Conference Plans for 2025 #vacationrentals #newyear2025 #goalsetting
Wed, December 18, 2024
For the Love of Gatlinburg: How Tom Goodwin Uses Storytelling to Preserve a Destination’s Heart and Soul
Send us a message! In this week’s episode, we’re thrilled to welcome back Tom Goodwin, CEO of Mountain Laurel Chalets and host of For the Love of Gatlinburg Podcast. Tom shares insights into his family-run vacation rental business in Gatlinburg, which has been a beloved destination for over 50 years. We dive into his journey of preserving the essence of Gatlinburg through his podcast and discuss how it celebrates the community's rich heritage and unique stories. Tom also gives an update on Mountain Laurel Chalets, including the lessons learned from a recent business acquisition and how they’ve grown their portfolio while staying true to their brand’s values. From creating meaningful guest experiences to forming deep community ties, this episode is packed with inspiration for anyone in the vacation rental or hospitality industry. Key Topics Discussed: 💭 The Vision for For the Love of Gatlinburg ✨ Mountain Laurel Chalets: A Family Legacy 🎯 Challenges and Insights from Acquiring Another Company ⭐ The Importance of Guest Experiences ⚡ Marketing and Branding Strategies 🤝 Community and Industry Collaboration 💡 The Role of Hospitality in Fostering Connection 📍 Future Goals and Inspirations Connect with Tom Goodwin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trgoodwinmlc/ Website: https://www.mtnlaurelchalets.com/ Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! #VacationRentals #ShortTermRentals #Gatlinburg
Wed, December 11, 2024
From the Vault: Get Out of Your Own Way and Step into Your Power, with Amber Hurdle, CEO of Employer Brand Central
Send us a message! In this special throwback episode, we revisit a powerful conversation with Amber Hurdle, CEO and founder of Employer Brand Central. Originally aired around this time last year, this episode marks a pivotal moment for Alex & Annie as they navigated career transitions and personal growth. Amber’s wisdom, energy, and insights set the tone for what was to come, not just for the hosts, but for countless listeners. Amber reflects on the importance of building strong personal and employer brands, overcoming self-doubt, and unlocking potential by “getting out of your own way.” With actionable advice and heartfelt stories, this episode will resonate with anyone standing at the edge of a new beginning or deep in the trenches of change. Whether you’re rethinking your career, building your personal brand, or simply seeking inspiration, this episode is packed with insights to guide you forward. Key Topics Discussed: 🔨 Building Personal and Employer Brands 🗺 Navigating Career Transitions 🔥 Confidence and Personal Power 🧹 Cleaning Out Your “Friend Closet” 🤝 The Role of Authenticity ⭐ Leadership and Empowerment 💡 Reflections and Lessons Learned Connect with Amber: Website: https://www.employerbrandcentral.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theamberhurdle/ Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! #PersonalBranding #EmployerBranding #CareerTransitions
Wed, December 04, 2024
Driving Change Through Advocacy in the Vacation Rental Industry with John Hildebrand
Send us a message! This week, we’re thrilled to welcome back John Hildebrand, founder of Hilde Homes and a leading advocate in the short-term rental industry. From his early days as a property manager to becoming a leading voice in vacation rental advocacy and education, John shares his inspiring journey with authenticity, humor, and valuable insights. With firsthand experience navigating the challenges of hosting, John highlights the vital role of advocacy in driving positive change for operators, guests, and local governments. He discusses how grassroots efforts, statewide coalitions, and collaboration with groups like Rent Responsibly are helping to elevate the industry’s standards while fostering more balanced and fair regulations. Key Topics Discussed: 🐣 The evolution and impact of Airbnb’s Co-Host Experience. ✨ Why diversifying your booking channels is critical for long-term success. 🍃 The critical role of advocacy in addressing regulatory challenges. 🙌 Building statewide coalitions to create sustainable solutions for hosts and communities. 📢 How small-scale operators can find their voice and make an impact. 🤝 John’s collaboration with Rent Responsibly to educate and empower hosts. ⭐ Bridging gaps between operators and local governments through open dialogue. 🔔 The importance of noise monitoring, safety measures, and compliance for professionalizing the industry. Connect with John LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhildebrandphoto/ Website: https://hildehomes.com/ Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! #vacationrentals #STRregulations #vacationrentaladvocacy
Wed, November 27, 2024
From 2 to 70: Declan McGonigal’s Blueprint for Vacation Rental Success
Send us a message! In this week’s episode, we sit down with Declan McGonigal, the dynamic owner-operator of My Beach Vacation Rentals, based in North Myrtle Beach. Declan’s story is one of grit, growth, and ingenuity, as he shares how he went from managing just two properties to overseeing a thriving portfolio of 70 vacation rentals in just a few years. Declan opens up about the lessons he’s learned along the way, from the early challenges of starting his business to the strategies that helped him scale successfully. He shares how realtor referrals and local meetups powered his growth, the role of technology in streamlining operations, and the importance of building a strong team. Whether you’re a seasoned property manager or just starting out in the vacation rental industry, Declan’s journey offers invaluable insights and actionable advice. Key Topics Discussed: ⚡ Transitioning from engineering to vacation rentals 📢 Using realtor referrals to grow a portfolio 🎯 Choosing and evolving a tech stack 🙌 Building and managing a strong team 💡 Benefits of community involvement with the Chamber of Commerce 📊 Plans for scaling to 250 properties 🎧 Insights from Declan’s podcast, STR Unlocked Connect with Declan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/declan-mcgonigal/ Website: https://mybeachrentals.com/ Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! #VacationRentals #PropertyManagement #BusinessGrowth
Wed, November 20, 2024
It’s About DARM Time: Amy Hinote Previews the Industry’s Biggest Event
Send us a message! Register at https://vrdarm.com/registration/ and get $200 off when you use the promo code alexannieVIP In this exciting episode, we are joined by the dynamic Amy Hinote, founder of the Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management Conference (DARM). Amy shares her vision for DARM 2024, revealing exciting details about the venue, agenda, and the groundbreaking educational sessions planned for property managers and industry professionals. Tune in to learn about innovative strategies for revenue and marketing integration, the role of AI in the evolving tech landscape, and how to master direct booking strategies for long-term growth. Whether you're a seasoned attendee or new to DARM, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss. Key Topics Discussed: 🎯 The Vision for DARM 2024 ⭐ Revolutionizing Revenue and Marketing Strategies ⚡ Tech Innovation and Challenges 📊 Industry Insights and Trends 💡 DARM’s Signature Battleground Competition 🤝 Building Connections and Community Connect with Amy: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amymutual/ DARM Website: https://vrdarm.com/registration/ Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! #DARM #DARM2024 #VacationRentals
Wed, November 13, 2024
Building a Boutique Brand: How Steve Turk Brings Hotel Standards to Vacation Rentals
Send us a message! In this episode, we sit down with Steve Turk, founder of Tangy Management, a vacation rental management company known for its unique hotel-inspired approach to hospitality. With over 24 years of experience in luxury hotels, Steve brings a fresh perspective to the vacation rental industry, blending high standards from the hotel world with the flexibility of short-term rentals. Steve shares the story of how he shifted from a career in luxury hotels to founding Tangy Management, and the unique value his team brings to the vacation rental market. Steve also discusses his journey as the host of Hospitality Mentor podcast, which he started as a way to connect with industry leaders and share insights about careers in hospitality. From this, he has grown a vibrant community and organized popular networking events. Steve opens up about the challenges of managing vacation rentals in competitive markets like Miami, adapting to market shifts, and the importance of building community among guests and property owners alike. Key Topics Discussed: 🚪 Steve’s Background in Luxury Hotels 🐣 Founding Tangy Management 🎙 Launching The Hospitality Mentor Podcast ✨ Event Organizing and Community Building ⚡ Innovative Approaches to Guest Experience 💡 Expansion Plans & Market Challenges Whether you're a seasoned property manager or just curious about the evolving landscape of vacation rentals, Steve's insights into the business and his innovative projects are sure to inspire. Connect with Steve: LinkedIn Website Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! #LuxuryVacationRentals #HospitalityStandards #BotiqueBrand
Wed, November 06, 2024
Scaling Up in Italy: Behind the Scenes at Scale Italia 2024 with Alex & Annie
Send us a message! This week, we’re coming to you live from the heart of Florence, Italy, where Alex & Annie attended Scale Italia 2024! In this special on-the-ground episode, we bring you a dynamic mash-up of conversations with some of the most influential figures in the vacation rental and property management industries. Hear firsthand perspectives from Italy’s vibrant conference floor, where the future of global property management, tech trends, and regulatory changes in the short-term rental space were top of mind. From unique regulatory hurdles in Italy to the latest advancements in AI and PMS technology, this episode captures the pulse of Europe’s growing vacation rental market. Join us as we sit down with conference organizers, tech innovators, and industry leaders to unpack the challenges and opportunities facing property managers worldwide. Key Topics Discussed: 🏛 European Insights and Hospitality: Alex and Annie share their experiences at Scale Italia, highlighting the welcoming atmosphere, local hospitality, and the refreshing international focus of the event. 📜 Navigating Italian Regulations: Cristiana Carpini, CEO of Tara Home Consulting and Event Director for Scale Italia, discusses Italy’s complex regulatory landscape and her efforts in advocating for vacation rentals, particularly in regions like Florence that pose challenges to short-term rentals. 💻 Technology and AI Transformation: Alon Goldboim from Boom delves into the ways his company is leveraging AI to streamline operations for property managers, creating integrated ecosystems that replace fragmented systems. 🤝 Building Community and Sustainable Business Practices: Bob Garner from Envirorental shares his vision for sustainability in property management, stressing the business advantages of eco-friendly practices. 🎉 The Importance of Local Events in a Global Context: John An of Tech Tape and Marcus Rader from Hostaway emphasize the benefits of Scale Italia, which brings together local markets and international leaders to foster innovation and expansion. Featured Guests: Cristiana Carpini - CEO, Tara Home Consulting, and Event Director for Scale Italia Richard Vaughton - Industry Expert, Member of the Board for Boom Alon Goldboim - Founder & CTO, Boom Marcus Rader - CEO, Hostaway Deborah Labi - Founder, Have You Got Bob Garner - Founder, Envirorental John An - Founder, TechTape <a href='
Wed, October 30, 2024
Throwback to Our Fan-Favorite Episode with The OG’s of the Panhandle: Lino Maldonado, Jim Olin, Paul Wohlford and Steve Caron
Send us a message! In this special re-air of one of our most popular episodes, Alex & Annie brings together a powerhouse panel of industry experts, known as the OGs of the Panhandle. Our guests— James Olin, Steve Caron, Lino Maldonado, and Paul Wohlford —share invaluable insights from their decades-long journeys in the vacation rental industry, reflecting on where it all started, where it is now, and where it’s headed. Episode Highlights: The Early Days: Travel back with our panel as they recount the challenges and successes that marked their early years in vacation rentals. Hear the stories of navigating uncharted territory with passion, resilience, and a vision for the future. The Industry Today: Explore how mergers, acquisitions, and new technologies are reshaping guest experiences and operations. Our experts discuss balancing innovation with the personal touch that defines hospitality and reveal the tech innovations that have made the biggest impact. Looking Ahead: The conversation shifts to the future, delving into topics like potential industry standardization, the role of larger players, and the value of a boutique approach. Hear insights on how advocacy and regulatory involvement are shaping what’s next for vacation rentals. Key Takeaways: 💡 Evolution of an Industry: Understand the milestones that have propelled the industry forward and the challenges in keeping pace with consumer and market changes. 📚 Collaboration and Community: With a focus on bridging the gap between legacy vacation rental companies and newer STR operators, the panel highlights the importance of collaboration, advocacy, and creating a strong sense of community. Tune in for a chance to revisit this insightful episode packed with lessons, inspiration, and shared passion for the future of vacation rentals. Whether you’re a long-time listener or new to the show, this conversation is a must-hear! Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners:- Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE.Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! Connect with Lino: <a href='https://www.link
Wed, October 23, 2024
Throwback to Our Most Listened Episode of 2024 – Building a Hospitality Legacy with Tom Goodwin, CEO of Mountain Laurel Chalets
Send us a message! In this special re-air of one of our most popular episodes, Alex & Annie revisit our insightful conversation with Tom Goodwin, CEO of Mountain Laurel Chalets. Tom’s remarkable journey in the vacation rental industry, from unexpected beginnings to building a brand rooted in community, continues to inspire. Tom's Journey: Discover how Tom's unexpected entry into the vacation rental world, through his wife's family-run business in Gatlinburg, evolved into a thriving venture. His initial 18-month commitment turned into an 11-year commitment, filled with challenges and triumphs. Community and Branding: Explore Tom's insights into the profound impact of community involvement and branding in the hospitality industry. Learn how his diverse background seamlessly translated into revitalizing the Mountain Laurel Chalets brand. Looking to the Future: Tom shares his excitement for the future, including the acquisition of a new business and plans for a local podcast. Stay tuned as he promises to keep us updated on his journey throughout the year. Key Takeaways: 💪 Community Resilience : Witness how the Mountain Laurel Chalets community not only survived but thrived in the face of adversity, exemplified by the creation of the "Family First" program after the 2016 Gatlinburg fires. 🍀 Guest Experience Philosophy: Delve into Tom's philosophy on guest experiences and how it influences the company's reputation and customer loyalty. 🤝 Building Lasting Relationships : Uncover the significance of strong relationships with property owners, highlighted by the annual owner meetings that not only retain existing owners but attract new ones, creating a familial atmosphere within the business. Join us in exploring more stories and insights from the vacation rental industry. Share your thoughts, subscribe, and stay engaged as we continue to learn that success is about more than just the properties we manage—it's about the relationships we build and the communities we serve. Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners:- Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE.Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal!</
Wed, October 16, 2024
Building a Global Vacation Rental Brand Through Franchising with Casiola CEO, Dennis Goedheid
Send us a message! Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! In this week’s episode, we welcome back Dennis Goedheid, founder and CEO of Casiola Vacation Homes. Dennis returns to share exciting updates on his company's growth, including the launch of a new franchise model. Since its inception, the franchise has rapidly expanded into key markets, including Aruba, where Casiola has seen tremendous success. Dennis also dives into the challenges and opportunities in the vacation rental space, from navigating property management in international markets to the importance of local partnerships. He provides insight into Casiola’s unique franchise approach, which aims to create a global brand for vacation rentals, much like Marriott did for hotels. The conversation touches on the critical issue of short-term rental regulations, with Dennis discussing his advocacy efforts in Florida and Aruba to ensure fair regulations that support both property managers and local communities. Key Topics Discussed: 📃 Casiola Vacation Homes' growth and current portfolio ⭐ Launch and success of Casiola's franchise system 🗺 Expansion into Aruba and rapid growth in that market 💭 Importance of regulatory involvement in the vacation rental industry 📛 Florida's recent legislative challenges for short-term rentals 📢 Upcoming fundraiser at DARM to support fair regulations 🏝 Dennis's experience on Richard Branson's Necker Island 💡 Insights into Richard Branson's leadership style and business philosophy 📈 The challenges and opportunities in the vacation rental industry 🤝 Balancing profitability with social responsibility and legacy-building Connect with Dennis: LinkedIn Website #VacationRentalFranchise #GlobalVacationRentals #ShortTermRentalRegulations
Wed, October 09, 2024
Insights from Ian Carter, former CEO of Hilton International: How to Balance High-Tech with High-Touch
Send us a message! Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we are joined by Ian Carter, the former CEO of Hilton International and current Chair of the Board for Watches of Switzerland, Eataly, The Boston University School of Hospitality and Administration, and Boom. Ian shares his remarkable career journey, from his early days at General Electric to leading Hilton International through its historic merger with Hilton Hotels Corporation. We also dive into the vacation rental market, where Ian reflects on the challenges and opportunities this sector presents, especially in comparison to his experience in the hotel industry. He highlights the increasing role of AI and technology in managing vacation rentals and the importance of personalizing guest experiences. Key Topics Discussed: 💫 Ian's transition from non-hospitality sectors to becoming CEO of Hilton International. 💼 Insights into The Evolution of Hilton International 💡 AI and Technology in Vacation Rentals 💬 Differences Between Hotels and Vacation Rentals ✨ Personalization in Hospitality 🤝Challenges and Opportunities in Scaling Vacation Rentals ✅ Public vs. Private Companies in Hospitality ⭐ Luxury and Hospitality Brand Leadership Connect with Ian: LinkedIn #AIinhospitality #vacationrentals #hospitalitytech
Wed, October 02, 2024
Closing Out Strong: Revenue Management and Market Insights for Q4 2024 with Rebecca Ballart of Rev & Research
Send us a message! Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we're once again joined by Rebecca Ballart, COO of Rev & Research, a leading revenue management consulting firm for vacation rentals. Rebecca shares her deep insights into the current state of the vacation rental market, discussing the challenges and opportunities that property managers are facing as we head into 2024. We dive into the key trends, including increased supply, softening demand, and how international travel options are affecting domestic bookings. Rebecca provides actionable advice on navigating tough homeowner conversations, adjusting pricing strategies, and enhancing guest experiences to drive long-term success. Key Topics Covered: ⭐ The current challenges in vacation rental markets and strategies to stay ahead in 2024. 💬 How property managers can better communicate with homeowners, especially during tough conversations about revenue performance. 💫 The importance of having a well-rounded revenue management strategy, beyond relying solely on pricing tools. 💡 Practical tips for using guest communication to increase direct bookings and improve guest retention. 🔨 Strategies for tackling oversupply in saturated markets and optimizing inventory performance. Connect with Rebecca: LinkedIn Connect with Rev & Research: LinkedIn | Website #vacationrentals #revenuemanagement #propertymanagement
Tue, October 01, 2024
1st of the Month Bonus News Announcement: Extenteam Announces New Staffing Program for Hosts of All Sizes
Send us a message! Exclusive offers for Alex & Annie Listeners: - Get a FREE OwnerPoint Analyst with a demo ($1200 value). Enjoy 10% off OwnerPoint Pro or OwnerPoint Connect services, plus over 50% off additional markets and zip codes. Alex & Annie listeners also receive free Jini for Property Managers. Claim this offer here: https://www.ownerpoint.io/alex-and-annie - Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit https://www.boomnow.com/ to claim this limited-time deal! In this special 1st of the month bonus episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Ari Eryorulmaz, founder and CEO of Extenteam, to discuss their exciting new staffing program designed for vacation rental hosts of all sizes. Ari shares insights into the company's journey, from humble beginnings as a side gig to becoming a leader in providing virtual staffing solutions for property managers worldwide. He highlights the evolution of staffing needs in the hospitality industry post-COVID and introduces Extenteam’s newest service, Tailwind, which enables smaller operators to access professional staffing on a flexible, per-unit subscription basis. This game-changing program is set to help hosts operate efficiently and elevate guest satisfaction, regardless of property size. Key Topics Discussed: 🐣 The Evolution of Extenteam: From Side Gig to Industry Leader 💼Post-COVID Staffing Trends in Vacation Rentals ⚡ Introduction of Tailwind: Staffing Solution for Small Hosts 🍃 Work-Life Balance for Property Managers ⭐ Extenteam’s Global Expansion: Entering Europe and Beyond 💡Scaling Business Through Virtual Staffing Connect with Ari: LinkedIn Connect with Extenteam: LinkedIn | Website #vacationrentals #vacationrentalstaffing #shorttermrentals
Wed, September 25, 2024
Designing Unique Cabin Experiences: How Eric Moeller Blends Boutique Hospitality with Cabin Living
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Mention "Alex & Annie" when you sign up with Boom to get 50% off your onboarding fee and 1 month FREE. Visit boomnow.com to claim this limited-time deal! In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Eric Moeller, the visionary founder and CEO of Freewyld, a brand creating nature-inspired cabin communities. Eric takes us on his entrepreneurial journey from real estate investment to building luxury short-term rental brands and developing Freewyld. With decades of experience in real estate and vacation rentals, Eric has a fresh perspective on how to elevate the short-term rental experience. His passion for thoughtful design, personalized hospitality, and creating spaces that encourage guests to unplug from technology and reconnect with nature sets Freewyld apart from other rental brands. In this conversation, Eric breaks down how Freewyld combines modern amenities, reclaimed materials, and nature-centric properties to craft unforgettable guest experiences. Key Topics Discussed: 🚪 Eric's Entry into Short-Term Rentals 🐣 The Birth of Freewyld 💎 Blending Boutique Hospitality and Vacation Rentals 🔨 Challenges of Renovating Vintage Cabins 😎 Elevating Guest Experiences 🤝 Hospitality as a Passion Connect with Eric Moeller: LinkedIn Freewyld Website
Wed, September 18, 2024
Mastering Owner Acquisition and Growth Strategies with Rentalz’ Larry Hoffer
Send us a message! In this exciting episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Larry Hoffer , CEO of Rentalz , a company specializing in breakthrough growth solutions for vacation rental managers. Larry takes us on a journey through his two-decade career, starting from a personal double-booking mishap in Vail, Colorado, to becoming a key figure in the vacation rental industry. He shares how Rentalz, with its innovative services like OwnerPoint , ContactPoint , AnswerPoint and the recently launched TravelPoint , is driving exponential growth for property managers across North America. Key Topics Discussed: 🚪 Larry’s Origin Story 💡 Rentalz' Core Focus on Growth 🤖 AI in Property Management ⚡ OwnerPoint, ContactPoint, AnswerPoint, and TravelPoint 🎯 Importance of Consistency 🤝 High-Touch Customer Engagement ✨ Breakthrough Sponsorships 🙌 Real Estate & Realtor Partnerships Connect with Larry: LinkedIn Connect with Rentalz: Website #vacationrentals #pms #crm
Wed, September 11, 2024
Boom Launches the World’s 1st AiPMS, with CEO Shahar Goldboim
Send us a message! In this week’s episode, we sit down with Shahar Goldboim, CEO of Boom, to discuss the world’s first AI-driven Property Management System (AiPMS). Shahar shares the story behind Boom’s inception and how his passion for innovation in real estate led to the creation of a cutting-edge solution for property managers. By blending AI with the complexities of property management, Boom is revolutionizing the way companies scale, optimize operations, and enhance the guest experience. Shahar also gives us an inside look at how Boom’s AiPMS seamlessly integrates property management tasks like guest communication, work orders, review management, and upselling—all in one platform. Key Topics Discussed: 🚪 The Origins of Boom 🤖 AI in Property Management ⚡ Operational Efficiency 🚀 Guest Experience & Automation 💎 Owner Transparency 💡 Scalability for Property Managers ⭐ The Future of Property Management If you're looking to streamline your property management processes, this episode is a must-listen! Connect with Shahar: LinkedIn Connect with Boom: Website
Wed, September 04, 2024
Heather Bayer’s Trust-Based Blueprint for Vacation Rental Success
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners:Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Heather Bayer, a veteran in the vacation rental industry. Heather shares her journey from running a management training company in England to becoming a prominent figure in the vacation rental space. She discusses her current role as the Director of Training for the Vacation Rental Formula Business School and her experiences as a podcast host. Throughout the episode, the discussion touches on the importance of understanding different personality types and communication styles in the workplace, the challenges of online education, and the evolving landscape of networking and knowledge-sharing in the vacation rental industry. Key Topics Discussed: 🚪 Heather's entry into the vacation rental industry 💫 The evolution of her career from property management to education and training 📖 The importance of continuous learning and adaptation in the industry 💻 The launch of a new coaching program featuring industry experts ⭐The value of personality assessments in improving workplace dynamics 🚀 The changing landscape of education and networking in the vacation rental sector Connect with Heather: LinkedIn Website Podcast #trust #vacationrentals #education
Sun, September 01, 2024
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: From the Archives - The Six P’s of Disaster Preparedness with Pete DiMaio
Send us a message! In this special first-of-the-month episode, Alex and Annie bring back one of their most impactful discussions from June 2022, perfect for the peak of hurricane season. This re-airing of Episode 36 features Pete DiMaio from TravelBoom, who shares vital strategies for preparing vacation rental managers and hoteliers for potential disasters, particularly hurricanes. Pete walks through his comprehensive "Six P’s of Disaster Planning," a methodical approach to ensure that vacation rental businesses and hotels are ready to handle the chaos and communication challenges that arise during a disaster. He emphasizes the importance of proper planning and the critical role of effective communication before, during, and after such events. Key Topics Discussed: 📅 The Importance of Planning Ahead 📲 On-Site Content Management 📨 Communication Strategies 💻 Social Media and PR Management 🆘 Guest and Community Assistance Pete DiMaio’s insights offer actionable steps that can help you protect your business, support your guests, and contribute positively to your community when it matters most. Connect with Pete: LinkedIn #DisasterPreparedness #VacationRentals #CrisisManagement
Wed, August 28, 2024
High-Altitude Culture: Nurturing Teams in Luxury Vacation Rentals with Rachel Alday
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners:Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals , we are thrilled to welcome Rachel Alday, co-owner and co-founder of Abode Luxury Rentals. Rachel shares the fascinating journey of how she and her husband built a successful luxury vacation rental business that spans multiple high-end markets, including Park City, Jackson Hole, and Sun Valley. Rachel’s story is one of perseverance, vision, and adapting to the ever-changing landscape of the vacation rental industry. From navigating the complexities of luxury property management to strategically expanding into new markets, Rachel shares the invaluable lessons she has learned along the way. Key Topics Discussed: .🚀 The organic growth of Abode Luxury Rentals from Park City to Jackson Hole and Sun Valley 💰 Managing high-end properties valued between $2 million and $50 million 🚢 The importance of hiring local talent when expanding to new markets 🤝 Building and maintaining a strong company culture in the vacation rental industry 🧘 The role of therapy and mental health support in employee satisfaction and performance Whether you’re a seasoned professional in the vacation rental industry or just starting out, Rachel’s insights and experiences offer something for everyone. Connect with Rachel: LinkedIn Connect with Abode Luxury Rentals: LinkedIn | Website #vacationrentals #luxuryvacationrentals #teams
Wed, August 21, 2024
Turning LinkedIn Connections into Career Opportunities with Alexis Scott
Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals , we sit down with Alexis Rivera Scott, the dynamic founder of Fairy Job Mom. Alexis shares her journey from a career in hospitality sales to becoming a powerhouse on LinkedIn with over 81,000 followers. She opens up about her transition from traditional employment to entrepreneurship, the challenges she faced along the way, and the importance of building a personal brand. Key Topics Discussed: 🔁 The Evolution of Alexis' Career 📱 Building a Personal Brand on LinkedIn 🐣 The Story Behind Fairy Job Mom 💎 Balancing a Personal Brand with Professional Roles 💼 Challenges of Entrepreneurship 🤝 Networking and Engagement Strategies 💬 Career Advice for Professionals Whether you’re looking to enhance your own personal brand, considering a career pivot, or simply interested in hearing the inspiring story of a successful entrepreneur, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. Connect with Alexis: LinkedIn Connect with The Fairy Mom Job: LinkedIn | Website #PersonalBranding #SocialMediaMarketing #LinkedInEngagement
Wed, August 14, 2024
The Role of PR in Building Your Vacation Rental Brand with Jessica Gillingham
Send us a message! In this episode, we dive deep into the world of public relations with industry expert Jessica Gillingham, CEO and founder of Abode Worldwide. Jessica shares her unique journey into the vacation rental space, from her early days in Canadian tourism to launching her own booking platform, and eventually founding Abode Worldwide. She offers valuable insights into the role of PR in shaping brand narratives and building trust within the industry. Key topics discussed: 🤝 The role of PR in shaping brand narratives and building trust 🏠 The impact of Airbnb on the short-term rental industry ⭐ The evolving landscape of industry conferences and events 💬 The importance of unity and cohesive messaging within the sector Whether you're a property manager, tech provider, or industry enthusiast, this conversation is packed with insights you won't want to miss! Connect with Jessica: LinkedIn Connect with Abode Worldwide: LinkedIn Website #vacationrentalPR #shorttermrentalPR #vacationrentals
Wed, August 07, 2024
Spontaneous Stays: How Staywatch is Revolutionizing Last-Minute Bookings with CEO, Zach Busekrus
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this episode, we sit down with Zach Busekrus, Founder/CEO of StayWatch and host of the "Behind the Stays" podcast. Zach shares his unique journey into the short-term rental industry, from living exclusively in Airbnbs during the pandemic to founding a company that's revolutionizing how travelers find and book vacation rentals. Zach offers fresh insights on industry trends and challenges common assumptions about direct bookings and brand-building for smaller operators. His perspective as both a frequent traveler and industry innovator provides valuable food for thought for hosts and property managers at all levels. Key topics discussed: 🚪 The origin and evolution of Stay Watch 🏡 The significance of hospitality in the STR industry 📈 The role of data in connecting guests with the perfect stay 💬 Challenges and opportunities in the STR market 💫 Future plans and vision for StayWatch Whether you're a seasoned property manager or just getting started in the short-term rental space, this episode offers practical advice and inspiration for navigating the evolving landscape of vacation rentals. Connect with Zach: LinkedIn Connect with StayWatch: LinkedIn Website #ShortTermRentals #BookingDeals #VacationRentals
Thu, August 01, 2024
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: The Costs and Benefits of Multi-Channel Distribution in Vacation Rentals with Simon Lehmann
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie Welcome to our August 1st of the month bonus episode! Today, we welcome back Simon Lehmann, a seasoned expert in the vacation rental industry and the co-founder and CEO of AJL Atelier. With over two decades of experience, Simon has been at the forefront of innovation and strategy, guiding countless property management companies through the complexities of the market. In this episode, Simon shares his expert insights on one of the most critical topics for vacation rental professionals: diversifying distribution channels. As the landscape of vacation rentals continues to evolve, mastering multi-channel strategies has become essential for success. Simon breaks down the importance of not relying solely on major OTAs, the distinct approaches between the US and European markets, and the benefits and challenges of a diversified distribution strategy. Key Topics Discussed: 🔗 Importance of Multi-Channel Distribution 💼 US vs. Europe Market Approaches 💡 Benefits of Multi-Channel Strategies 📅 Challenges of Managing Multiple Channels 🚀 Future Opportunities in Distribution 📢 Market Dynamics and Trends 🤝 Mergers and Acquisitions Whether you're a seasoned property manager or new to the vacation rental scene, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways that will help you optimize your distribution strategy and stay ahead of the curve. Connect with Simon: LinkedIn AJL Atelier Website #VacationRentalDistribution #ShortTermRentalTrends #VRIndustryInsights
Wed, July 31, 2024
Understanding How The Enneagram and Personality Assessments Can Help Transform Company Culture, with Linny & Kyle Jones
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Linny and Kyle Jones, the dynamic duo behind Dwell Luxury Rentals. Tune in to hear how they have transformed the vacation rental landscape in their small mountain town, Flagstaff, by bringing big-city luxury standards to the area. Linny and Kyle share their journey from working in five-star resorts to managing a curated portfolio of luxury properties, emphasizing the importance of values alignment with homeowners and creating consistent, high-end guest experiences. Key topics discussed include: 💬 The story behind Dwell and their approach to luxury vacation rentals 📃 How Linny and Kyle use the Enneagram to improve team dynamics and client relationships ⭐ The importance of company culture in the vacation rental industry 🎯 Strategies for sustainable growth in property management 💼 Balancing hospitality with setting boundaries for guests and homeowners 🚀 The future of professional development in the vacation rental space Whether you're a seasoned property manager or new to the field, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge on elevating your business through people-centric approaches. Send a voice message to Alex & Annie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandanniepodcast0/message Your message could end up on a future episode of this podcast! Connect with Linny: LinkedIn Connect with Kyle: LinkedIn Connect with Dwell Luxury Rentals: LinkedIn Website #VacationRentals #LuxuryVacationRentals #EnneagraminBusiness
Wed, July 24, 2024
The Amenities Arms Race: Maximizing ROI through Data Driven Design with Mark Lumpkin
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this insightful episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we are thrilled to welcome Mark Lumpkin, Director of Sales for STR Cribs. Mark shares his journey from a Florida local with a passion for real estate to leading a company that transforms vacant properties into stunning, resort-style short-term rentals across the country. Mark delves into the innovative business model of STR Cribs, highlighting their comprehensive approach to property transformation, from design to construction and everything in between. With a team of skilled designers and project managers, STR Cribs offers a hands-off experience for investors, ensuring every property they touch becomes a high-performing, unique vacation rental. Key topics discussed include: 🚪 The origins of STR Cribs and Mark's personal journey in the short-term rental industry. ✨ The importance of design and amenities in today's competitive market. 🎯 STR Cribs' process of working with individual property owners and large managers. 📃 The concept of "designing for the data" and tailoring properties to specific markets and guest demographics. 💫 Real-world examples of standout projects, including a Star Wars-themed house in Orlando. 🙌 The critical role of guest experience and how it impacts a property's success. Mark also offers valuable advice for property managers and owners on the importance of regular updates and investing in the right amenities to stay ahead in the "amenities arms race." Whether you're an investor looking to enhance your property portfolio or a vacation rental enthusiast curious about the latest trends, this episode is packed with practical tips and inspiring stories. Tune in to discover how STR Cribs is revolutionizing the vacation rental industry, one unique property at a time! Send a voice message to Alex & Annie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandanniepodcast0/message Your message could end up on a future episode of this podcast! Connect with Mark Lumpkin: Email LinkedIn Connect with STR Cribs: LinkedIn Website #vacationrentals #str #vacationrentaldesign
Wed, July 17, 2024
Unintended Consequences: How NYC’s STR Ban is Impacting Homeowners, with RHOAR
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie Join Alex & Annie as they dive into an enlightening conversation with Margenett Moore-Roberts and Gia Sharp, key figures in the short-term rental advocacy scene in New York City. This episode explores their personal journeys, the challenges posed by current rental regulations, and their relentless efforts through RHOAR (Restore Homeowner Autonomy & Rights) to fight for fair legislation. Discover the impact of these laws on homeowners, the formation and mission of RHOAR, and how you can support this crucial cause for a fair and regulated short-term rental market. Key topics covered: 👉 Overview of recent short-term rental legislation in NYC and its unintended consequences for homeowner 👉 RHOAR's mission to advocate for one and two-family homeowners' rights to short-term rent 👉 The economic and community impacts of restricting short-term rentals 👉 Challenges of organizing and advocating as a grassroots movement 👉 The importance of nuanced regulations that consider different types of hosts 👉 Potential long-term effects on homeownership, community demographics, and wealth-building Tune in to hear Margenett and Gia’s powerful stories and learn how you can help advocate for fair short-term rental regulations. Don't miss this inspiring episode! Send a voice message to Alex & Annie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandanniepodcast0/message Your message could end up on a future episode of this podcast! Connect with Margenett: LinkedIn Connect with Gia: LinkedIn Connect with RHOAR: Website Email #VacationRentals #Shorttermrentalregulations #RHOAR
Wed, July 10, 2024
We’re Going to Italy! Meet the Team from Scale Italia
Send us a message! Get your Scale Italia 2024 tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/scalerentalsitalia/1074426 Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this week’s episode, Alex & Annie welcome the team behind the Scale Italia - Gianpaolo Vairo, Damian Sheridan, and Cristiana Carpini - to discuss their rapidly growing conference series for professional vacation rental managers. Learn about Scale's unique focus on education and networking for operators, their expansion into new global markets, and what to expect at the upcoming Scale Italia event in Florence this October. Key Topics: - The origins and growth of the Scale conferences - What differentiates Scale from other industry events - How Scale selects new markets and adapts to cultural differences - Hot topics and emerging trends in the European vacation rental industry - Scale's approach to regulations and advocacy efforts - Preview of the Scale Italia event in Florence, including content and networking opportunities The conversation offers valuable insights into the European vacation rental landscape and the importance of international knowledge-sharing in the industry. Alex and Annie also share their excitement about attending and speaking at the upcoming Scale Italia event, providing a unique perspective as American industry professionals venturing into the European market for the first time. Connect with Scale LinkedIn Website Connect with Damian Sheridan LinkedIn Connect with Gianpaolo Vairo LinkedIn Connect with Cristiana Carpini LinkedIn Send a voice message to Alex & Annie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandanniepodcast0/message Your message could end up on a future episode of this podcast! #Scale Italia #Vacationrentalconferences #vacationrentals
Wed, July 03, 2024
Nocturne Villas: Raising the Bar in the Multi-Market Luxury Segment, with Scott Wiseman
Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we're joined by Scott Wiseman, CEO of Nocturne Luxury Villas. Scott brings a wealth of experience from his journey through the hospitality industry, from hotels to luxury tour operators, and now leading the charge in high-end vacation rentals. Scott's journey in hospitality began at 15 after a transformative family vacation to Acapulco. His career has spanned from hotels to luxury tour operators, including leadership roles at Abercrombie & Kent and Apple Leisure Group, before finding his perfect fit with Nocturne in the high-end vacation rental space. With his extensive background, Scott shares insights on: 🏘️ Nocturne's strategy for acquiring and integrating successful vacation rental companies 🌟 The importance of maintaining local brand identity while providing corporate support 🛎️ Developing personalized concierge services tailored to each unique destination 📊 Navigating regulatory challenges across different markets 🏨 The growing legitimacy of vacation rentals in the luxury travel space ✈️ Working with travel advisors to enhance the luxury guest experience 🔄 The seamless transition from hotels to vacation rentals for luxury travelers Whether you're a property manager looking to elevate your offerings or curious about the luxury segment of the vacation rental industry, Scott offers valuable perspectives on building a successful portfolio of high-end properties and creating extraordinary guest experiences. Connect with Scott Wiseman: LinkedIn Connect with Nocturne Luxury Villas: LinkedIn Website #LuxuryVacationRentals #VacationRentals #LuxuryTravel
Wed, June 26, 2024
Breaking the Mold: How BnBFinder's Fee-Free Model is Redefining the OTA Landscape - with CEO, Eric Goldreyer
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this episode, Alex and Annie are joined by Eric Goldreyer, the CEO and owner of BnBFinder. Eric shares his journey in the bed and breakfast and vacation rental industry, discussing his previous ventures and how they led to the creation and success of BnBFinder. He also talks about the challenges and opportunities within the industry, the importance of professional management, and the future of BnBFinder. With his wealth of experience, Eric shares insights on: 🏠 The evolution of bed and breakfasts and their transition to vacation rentals 💻 BnBFinder's unique position as a fee-free OTA for professional property managers 🤝 Lessons learned from TurnKey's acquisition by Vacasa 🏨 The importance of hospitality in short-term rentals 📊 Efforts to professionalize the vacation rental industry 🌍 BnBFinder's growth strategy and plans for international expansion Whether you're a property manager seeking to optimize your distribution or curious about the changing landscape of short-term rentals, Eric offers valuable perspectives on building a successful OTA and the future of the industry. Send a voice message to Alex & Annie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandanniepodcast0/message Your message could end up on a future episode of this podcast! Connect with Eric: LinkedIn Connect with BnBFinder: LinkedIn Website
Wed, June 19, 2024
Is it Time to Sell Your Vacation Rental Business? With Jacobie Olin and Jason Sprenkle
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this week’s episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we're joined by two powerhouse guests in the vacation rental space - Jason Sprenkle, CEO of Keydata, and Jacobie Olin, President of C2G Advisors. Jason has over 20 years of experience in vacation rentals, previously running 360 Blue in the Panhandle area. He has worn many hats from development to property management before spinning off software companies like Keydata. Jacobie has been immersed in the industry since childhood, born into a vacation rental family in the Florida Panhandle. After a stint away, he returned in 2017 and now leads C2G Advisors, providing strategic consulting and M&A advising. With their decades of combined experience, Jason and Jacobie provide valuable insights on: 📈 How the industry has shifted from the post-COVID peak, and what this "normalization" means for acquisitions 💰 Key metrics buyers evaluate when valuing a business, including growth rate, staffing margins, churn rate, and more 🏡 The concept of building an "Airbnb empire" vs a sustainable, transferable business 🏨 The emergence of "house of brands" models as companies acquire strong regional players 🤝 How long owners should prepare before pursuing a sale (hint: start tracking metrics 3 years out if possible) 🗺️ Why national branding remains an elusive goal, and regional dominance is key Whether you're an owner considering an exit, or just want to build a stronger business, Jason and Jacobie share priceless wisdom every vacation rental pro needs to hear. Tune in for their expert perspectives on setting up your company for long-term success! Send a voice message to Alex & Annie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandanniepodcast0/message Your message could end up on a future episode of this podcast! Connect with Jason Sprenkle LinkedIn Connect with Jacobie Olin LinkedIn
Wed, June 12, 2024
Navigating Regulations, Sustainable Scaling, and Tech: Hostaway's Insights for Vacation Rental Operators - with CEO, Marcus Rader
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie are joined, for the third time, by Marcus Rader, CEO and co-founder of Hostaway - the largest all-in-one solution for vacation rental property managers. Regulatory Challenges & Unique Perspectives Marcus shares candid insights from his recent travels, including staying in an "illegal" rental in New York City. He dives into the growing pains of regulation across different markets and the underlying psychology behind it. The Quest for Quality at Scale The discussion explores the challenges of scaling a vacation rental business while maintaining high-quality service. Marcus examines why most companies will likely remain small and owner-operated despite industry narratives. Crafting Enriching Industry Events Marcus provides a critique of the lack of tactical, actionable content at many industry conferences. He reveals plans for Hostaway's first user conference "Hostchella" aimed at fostering practical education. Empowering Choice in Technology Marcus emphasizes Hostaway's philosophy of giving users the freedom to choose the tools that work best for their business needs, rather than forcing an all-in-one suite. Hear his thoughts on striking a balance between integrated and open ecosystems. Key Takeaways: 🤝 Collaboration over Domination: Learn why Hostaway prioritizes being a humble partner rather than having an "ownership mentality" that hurts industry collaboration. 💰 Unlocking Growth Opportunities: Uncover strategies for responsibly scaling your business while maintaining operational excellence. 🎓 Cultivating Practical Education: Gain perspectives on crafting enriching educational experiences tailored to the diverse needs of vacation rental professionals. Join Alex & Annie for this insightful conversation with Marcus Rader as he shares his vision for shaping the future of the vacation rental industry. Send a voice message to Alex & Annie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandanniepodcast0/message Your message could end up on a future episode of this podcast! Connect with Marcus Rader LinkedIn Connect with Hostaway LinkedIn | Website
Wed, June 05, 2024
Disrupting the Deals Landscape: Matt Renner's Entrepreneurial Leap from Corporate to Startup with PassPass
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners:Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this episode of "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," we sit down with Matthew Renner, co-founder and CEO of PassPass, to discuss his latest entrepreneurial venture following an extensive career in the corporate world. Transitioning from Corporate to Startup Life Matt opens up about his motivations for leaving the corporate world after 16 years to start his own company, PassPass. He shares the excitement and challenges of embracing the entrepreneurial mindset. The PassPass Business Model Explained Matt dives into the unique PassPass business model that aims to create a win-win for businesses and consumers. Businesses provide deals for free, while consumers pay a $5 monthly fee for access to discounts nationwide. Participating businesses then earn a revenue share from referred customers. Empowering Small Businesses to Compete A core mission of PassPass is leveling the playing field to help independent small businesses thrive against major corporate brands. Matt discusses how the revenue sharing model and subscription discounts enable small businesses to effectively compete. Key Takeaways: 🔄 Career Pivots: Insights into making bold career transitions from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship. ⚖️ Aligning Incentives: Exploring PassPass' innovative model that aligns business and consumer incentives through revenue sharing and valuable discounts. 📈 Uplifting Small Business: Learn how PassPass aims to empower independent businesses to gain a competitive edge against big brands. Tune in for an inspiring discussion about Matt's entrepreneurial journey, the PassPass concept, and its potential to shake up the deals/discounts landscape for the greater benefit of businesses and consumers alike. Send a voice message to Alex & Annie: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandanniepodcast0/message Your message could end up on a future episode of this podcast! Connect with Matt: LinkedIn Connect with PassPass: LinkedIn | Website
Sat, June 01, 2024
1st of the month Bonus Episode: Mastering Operational Excellence for Exceptional Guest Experiences - with Stay Lake Norman COO, Caleb Hannon
Send us a message! Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Get 50% off your onboarding fee when you partner with Extenteam using this link: https://www.extenteam.com/alexandannie Get $400 off your onboarding fee when you partner with Hostaway using this link: http://get.hostaway.com/alexandannie In this First of the Month Special Episode of "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," hosts Alex & Annie welcome special guest Caleb Hannon, COO of Stay Lake Norman - a professional luxury vacation rental company in the Lake Norman area of North Carolina. From Unique Beginnings to Vacation Rental Success Caleb shares his unconventional path to the industry, working in marketing, teaching, and non-profit management before joining Stay Lake Norman as an Operations Coordinator during COVID. Despite having no prior hospitality experience, Caleb immersed himself in the industry through podcasts and immediately fell in love with the problem-solving nature of vacation rental operations. His dedication and passion propelled him to rise through the ranks, becoming COO and even purchasing a portion of the company. Crafting Exceptional Guest Experiences Stay Lake Norman takes a meticulous approach to curating unforgettable guest experiences. Caleb discusses their robust tech stack, including Streamline, Breezeway, Turno, SiliconTravel, and PointCentral, emphasizing the importance of best-in-class solutions. Standing Out with Targeted Marketing Strategies Caleb highlights Stay Lake Norman's impressive 73.5% direct booking ratio, crediting a strong focus on SEO, content creation, a dedicated podcast, and positioning themselves as the go-to resource for all things Lake Norman. Key Takeaways: 🏡 Operational Excellence: Discover the systems and processes Stay Lake Norman implements to ensure top-notch service and streamlined operations. 📈 Effective Marketing Tactics: Learn valuable strategies for driving direct bookings, leveraging content marketing, and establishing a strong local presence. 🛶 Curating Memorable Experiences: Gain insights into creating exceptional guest experiences by offering unique ancillary services and fostering community connections. Join Alex and Annie as they delve into Caleb's journey, gleaning valuable lessons on operations, marketing, and guest-centric approaches that have propelled Stay Lake Norman's success.
Wed, May 29, 2024
Vacation Rentals vs Hotels: Coexisting in the Evolving Hospitality Landscape - with Susan Barry of Hive Marketing
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," hosts Alex and Annie are joined by Susan Barry, the president + “queen bee” of Hive Marketing and the podcast host of the “Top Floor” Podcast. Susan shares her journey in the hospitality industry, her experiences with Hive Marketing, and her insights on the evolving landscape of hospitality marketing and management. Susan's Background and Journey: Susan Barry, originally from Panama City, shares her background and how she became the queen bee of Hive Marketing. She discusses her early career in Tallahassee, Florida, working in the restaurant and catering industry, and her move to Denver, Colorado, which marked the beginning of her career in hotel management and marketing. The Intersection of Hotels and Vacation Rentals: The trio explore the relationship between hotels and vacation rentals, addressing the perception of competition and the potential for collaboration. They discuss the importance of offering a spectrum of lodging types and the need for hotels to recognize the impact of vacation rentals on the market. Challenges and Opportunities in Hospitality: The trio discuss the challenges faced by women in the hospitality industry, particularly in breaking through the "good old boy" network. Susan emphasizes the importance of recognizing systemic issues and the need for organizational support for women and people of color in hospitality. Key Takeaways: 🌟 The Evolution of Hive Marketing: Susan's journey from catering to founding Hive Marketing and its growth over the years. 🔑 Challenges for Women in Hospitality: The systemic issues faced by women and the importance of organizational support. 🤖 The Impact of Technology and AI: Susan shares her thoughts on the role of technology and AI in hospitality, particularly in revenue management. Connect with Susan Barry: LinkedIn | The Top Floor Podcast Connect with Hive Marketing: Website
Wed, May 22, 2024
From the Beach to the Mountains: Meaghan Moylan’s Journey to The Outpost Group
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," hosts Alex & Annie welcome special guest Meaghan Moylan, host of the "Workflows and Espressos" podcast and Executive Director of Outpost - a Vacation Rental and Property Management company located in the Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Meaghan shares her inspiring journey of embracing new opportunities in the dynamic vacation rental industry. The Year of Yes Mentality Meaghan highlights how adopting a "year of yes" mindset opened doors to invaluable experiences and connections. By saying "yes" to speaking engagements, industry events, and even hosting a podcast, she expanded her network and gained valuable insights. Navigating Unique Market Challenges Working with Outpost in Jackson, Wyoming, Meaghan offers a unique perspective on navigating regulatory hurdles near national parks and protected lands. She discusses strategies for educating guests, fostering community relationships, and promoting sustainable tourism practices. Leveraging Technology and Innovation The discussion explores the rapid technological advancements in the vacation rental industry. Meaghan shares her experiences with implementing new tech stacks, property management systems, and keyless entry solutions to enhance operational efficiency and guest experiences. Key Takeaways: 👥 Building Meaningful Connections: Discover how cultivating an open mindset and actively networking can foster impactful relationships and collaborations within the industry. 🌳 Responsible Tourism Practices: Learn strategies for prioritizing environmental sustainability, community engagement, and regulatory compliance in unique vacation rental markets. 💡 Continuous Innovation: Gain insights into staying ahead of the curve by continuously adopting new technologies and operational tools to drive efficiency and enhance guest satisfaction. Join Alex and Annie as they dive into Meaghan’s inspiring journey and glean valuable lessons for growth and success in the vacation rental space. Connect with Meaghan: LinkedIn Workflows & Espressos Podcast Connect with Outpost: LinkedIn Website
Wed, May 15, 2024
Balancing Tech and Human Touch: The Future of Guest Communication in the Hospitality Industry with SendSquared CEO, Nicolas Wegener
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," hosts Alex & Annie explore the delicate balance between leveraging technology and preserving the irreplaceable human touch in guest communication for the hospitality industry with special guest Nicolas Wegener. Nicolas brings invaluable insights as the visionary leader behind Sendsquared, a pioneering communication platform tailored for the vacation rental industry. With a deep understanding of fostering meaningful connections, Nicolas shares his insights on striking the perfect balance between leveraging technology and maintaining a human touch. The Art of Personalization: Nicolas emphasizes the power of personalization in creating memorable guest experiences. From addressing guests by name to remembering their preferences, he highlights the impact of these small gestures on fostering rapport, loyalty, and trust, ultimately leading to repeat bookings and positive reviews. Embracing AI and Technology: While acknowledging the value of AI and technology in streamlining communication processes and improving efficiency, Nicolas stresses the importance of not solely relying on automated responses. He explores the potential of AI tools for tasks like drafting responses, sentiment analysis, and optimizing send times, while maintaining a human element in communication. Striking the Perfect Balance: Nicolas shares his perspective on achieving the ideal balance between technology-driven efficiency and personalized communication. He cautions against completely replacing human interaction with AI, particularly in situations where guests and owners seek genuine connections and personalized attention. Key Takeaways: 🌟 The Irreplaceable Human Touch: Alex and Annie delve into the significance of preserving the human touch in the hospitality industry, even as technology continues to evolve. They discuss the importance of fostering authentic connections and creating lasting memories for guests. 🔑 Leveraging AI for Efficiency: The hosts explore the various ways AI and technology can enhance communication strategies, including automating processes, enabling quick replies, and optimizing send times for emails and text messages. 📈 Future Plans for SendSquared: Nicolas shares insights into SendSquared's roadmap and wishlist for the next five years, including their focus on developing a comprehensive Owner and Guest CRM platform, potential expansion into hotels and boutique resorts, and introducing new communication tools and advanced automation features. Connect with Nicolas Wegener: LinkedIn Co
Wed, May 08, 2024
The Human Side of Hospitality: Nurturing Teams in a Post-Pandemic Landscape with Elisabeth Yoho of Harris Vacation Rentals
Send us a message! In this insightful episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Elisabeth Yoho, Chief People Officer at Harris Vacation Rentals. Elisabeth dives into the critical role of corporate culture in retaining top talent and creating cohesive teams that thrive. She shares valuable strategies for understanding individual team members, leveraging events to build connections, and setting rates aligned with core values. As the hospitality industry navigates a post-pandemic landscape, Elisabeth provides a refreshing perspective on prioritizing the human side of business success. Nurturing a Cohesive Team Culture: Elisabeth emphasizes the significance of understanding each team member's individuality, personality, and preferred communication style. She shares insights into utilizing tools like the DISC assessment to minimize conflicts and enhance team dynamics. Fostering Connection Through Events: Recognizing the importance of community-building, Elisabeth highlights Harris Vacations' approach to organizing team-building activities and quarterly events. These initiatives promote socializing, bonding, and creating a positive, engaging workplace atmosphere. Key Takeaways: 🏡 Building a Cohesive Workplace: Alex and Annie explore strategies for fostering open communication, celebrating diversity, and leveraging tools to enhance team dynamics, drawing from Elisabeth’s insights. 👯♀️ The Power of Connection: The trio delve into the significance of team-building activities and social events in nurturing a positive company culture, promoting employee satisfaction and engagement. 💰 Navigating Rate Dynamics: They discuss the complexities of rate-setting in a shifting market, emphasizing the need for strategic pricing approaches that balance profitability with guest demand and owner expectations. 🌟 Retaining Top Talent: The episode concludes with a focus on employee retention strategies, highlighting the role of company culture, growth opportunities, and aligning practices with core values in fostering long-term loyalty and commitment. Connect with Elisabeth: LinkedIn Connect with Harris Vacation Rentals: LinkedIn | Website
Wed, May 01, 2024
Winning Hospitality Strategies: Aligning Guest Values, Loyalty Programs, and Marketing Efforts with TravelBoom COO, Pete DiMaio
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals” podcast, hosts Alex and Annie are joined by Pete DiMaio, COO of Travel Boom Marketing. Together, they dive into the latest trends and strategies shaping the hospitality industry, leveraging insights from Travel Boom's recent hotelier sentiment study. Aligning with Guest Preferences Drawing from Travel Boom's recent hotelier sentiment study, they unpack the misalignment between guest preferences and hotelier perceptions, emphasizing the need to provide valued amenities like in-room kitchens. Importance of Loyalty Programs The discussion delves into the growing importance of loyalty programs, offering instant discounts and perks to attract guests, drive direct bookings, and foster repeat business. Authentic Social Media Engagement Pete shares actionable tips on maintaining authenticity through organic social media engagement, building brand loyalty and meaningful connections with audiences. Combining In-House and Outsourced Marketing Moreover, he stresses the synergy of combining in-house marketing expertise with outsourced services, ensuring accountability, measurable results, and a comprehensive strategy aligned with company goals. Key Takeaways: 📈 Loyalty Programs: Leveraging instant discounts and perks to drive direct bookings, foster guest retention, and encourage repeat business. 🌐 Social Media Engagement: Maintaining authenticity through organic social media efforts to build brand loyalty and meaningful audience connections. 🔗 Marketing Synergy: Combining in-house expertise with outsourced services for a comprehensive, accountable, and goal-aligned marketing strategy. 🏆 Winning Hospitality Strategies: Implementing insights to elevate the guest experience, cater to modern traveler preferences, and achieve success in the competitive hospitality landscape. Whether you're a hotelier, vacation rental owner, or industry professional, this episode offers invaluable insights and actionable strategies to navigate the ever-evolving hospitality landscape. Join us as we unpack the latest trends and share expert advice for elevating your hospitality business. Connect with Pete DiMaio: LinkedIn Watch previous episodes with Pete: Episode 19: Top 5 Things Vacation Rentals Can Learn from Hotels The Six P's of Preparing for the Disaster Zone Recession Proof Your Vacation Rental Marketing
Wed, April 24, 2024
Building an STR Empire in Non-Traditional Markets with Homehop founders, Nate Klatt and Dan Mitchen
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," hosts Alex & Annie dive into the world of short-term rentals (STRs) with Nate Klatt and Dan Mitchen, the innovative minds behind HomeHop. Together, they explore the journey of HomeHop from house flipping to scaling a successful business in the Midwest's STR market. Guests Introduction: Nate Klatt, a seasoned CPA specializing in real estate investments, brings strategic financial acumen to HomeHop. Dan Mitchen, with a background in real estate and property management, complements Nate's expertise, driving operational excellence. Together, their collaboration blends financial prudence with innovative strategies, shaping HomeHop's success in the competitive STR market. Journey to HomeHop: From House Flipping to STRs: Nate and Dan recount their transition from flipping houses to recognizing the potential of short-term rentals, particularly in non-traditional markets like Cleveland. Business Model and Operations: The duo delves into the intricacies of their business model, emphasizing cash-on-cash returns and the benefits of operating in Midwest STR markets. They share how their combined expertise has shaped HomeHop's strategic approach to growth. Technology Integration: Nate and Dan highlight the role of technology in optimizing their operations, from automating processes with Slack and Zapier to leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT for guest reviews and maintenance issues. They discuss their use of HostAway as a property management system (PMS) and plans for expanding their tech stack. Key Takeaways: 🌉 Bridging the Gap Between STRs and Vacation Rentals: Alex and Annie explore the synergy between STRs and vacation rentals, advocating for industry collaboration amidst regulatory challenges. They discuss the potential risks of platform dependency and the importance of diversifying distribution channels. 🌴 Role of Hospitality in STRs: The hosts delve into the guest-centric approach of successful STR operators, balancing technology with personalized guest experiences. They share insights from industry veterans on maintaining hospitality standards in an evolving market. 🔮 Future Plans and Industry Insights: Nate shares HomeHop's future goals, including expanding property management services and embracing direct bookings. The conversation concludes with reflections on industry convergence, regulatory impacts, and the evolving landscape of hospitality in the STR sector. Connect with Nate Klatt LinkedIn Connect with Dan Mitchen <a href=
Wed, April 17, 2024
Adapting to Regulatory Changes and Exploring Growth Strategies in Vacation Rentals with Erin Booth of Summit Mountain Rentals
Send us a message! Join Alex & Annie as they delve into the dynamic world of vacation rentals with Erin Booth, COO of Summit Mountain Rentals in Colorado. Erin's extensive background in the industry, from managing a single unit in Brooklyn Heights to her current leadership role, provides a wealth of knowledge and insights for listeners. Erin's Background: Erin Booth's journey in the vacation rental industry began with managing a single unit in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Her passion for hospitality and property management led her to tackle unique challenges, including managing properties in Fire Island—a car-free zone accessible only by ferry. Her tenure with Summit Mountain Rentals has seen her rise to the position of COO, overseeing operations in Summit County and driving strategic growth initiatives. Mentorship and Professional Growth: Erin's emphasis on seeking mentorship and fostering professional development reflects the industry's collaborative nature and the benefits of learning from experienced leaders. Strategic Expansion: Discover Summit Mountain Rentals' data-driven approach to expanding into new markets, including Florida, while maintaining a delicate balance between growth and respecting local market dynamics. Key Takeaways : 💪 Overcoming Unique Challenges: Erin shares experiences from managing properties in Fire Island, New York—a car-free zone accessible only by ferry. Her journey highlights the resilience needed to navigate unique challenges in the vacation rental landscape. 📈 Adapting to Industry Changes: Erin's transition to general manager for New York underscore the importance of adaptability and strategic positioning in a constantly evolving industry. 📜 Navigating Regulatory Landscapes: Erin delves into regulatory challenges in Breckenridge, Colorado, emphasizing the critical role of active industry advocacy in shaping regulatory outcomes and protecting business interests. Tune in to the full episode for an in-depth exploration of Erin's experiences and actionable insights for navigating the vacation rental industry successfully. Connect with Erin Booth: LinkedIn Connect with Summit Mountain Rentals: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn
Wed, April 10, 2024
Tech Innovations in Vacation Rentals with Direct Software CEO, Wes Smithe
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex & Annie: the Real Women of Vacation Rentals," hosts Alex and Annie dive into the world of vacation and RV rental software with special guest Wes Smithe, the co-founder, CEO, and chairman of Direct Software. Join them as they explore Direct's evolution, innovations in direct booking, and Wes' entrepreneurial journey. Direct Software's Impact: Wes Smithe introduces Direct Software, a vertical SaaS platform revolutionizing asset management, booking, and back-office operations for rental managers. Learn about their direct integrations with leading channels like Airbnb and VRBO, their robust API, and their global reach supporting rental managers worldwide. Innovations in Direct Booking: Discover Direct Software's latest innovations, including a user-friendly content management system and a new direct booking engine designed for short-term rental managers. Wes explains how these tools enhance brand consistency, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness for rental businesses. Key Takeaways: 💻 Tailored Solutions for Rental Managers: Direct Software offers tailored solutions for vacation and RV rental managers, with direct integrations and a focus on user-friendly technology. ⭐ Efficiency and Guest Satisfaction: The new content management system and direct booking engine are designed to streamline operations and enhance the guest experience. 💼 Lessons from an Entrepreneurial Journey: Wes Smith's entrepreneurial journey highlights the importance of mentorship, community support, and resilience in building a successful tech company. Don't miss out on this insightful conversation! Connect with Wes: LinkedIn Connect with Direct Software: Website Instagram LinkedIn Facebook Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, April 03, 2024
The Future of Staffing in Vacation Rentals: An Interview with Rich Sippos of Extenteam
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie welcome Rich Sippos, Head of Sales at Extenteam, to discuss how their dedicated remote staffing solutions can streamline vacation rental business. Rich shares valuable insights into Extenteam's philosophy, dispels common misconceptions, and reveals how they can support vacation rental businesses. Rich brings a wealth of experience from the vacation rental industry, having transitioned from owning and operating his own vacation rental business to consulting and eventually finding his way to Extenteam. Key Takeaways: 📞 Extenteam’s Offerings: Dive into the core services offered by Extenteam, focusing on full-time dedicated team members for remote work across various aspects of vacation rental management. 👨💼 The Evolving Staffing Model: Learn how Extenteam's dedicated team members integrate seamlessly into the business, offering a more flexible and scalable staffing approach. 🚀 Dispelling Misconceptions: Rich clarifies common misconceptions about Extenteam, emphasizing that they provide dedicated team members who integrate deeply into their clients' businesses rather than just functioning as a call center. Tune in to the episode and gain valuable insights into the world of vacation rental management and the innovative solutions offered by Extenteam. Don't forget to take advantage of the special offer mentioned in this episode! Connect with Rich and Extenteam: Rich Sippos | Extenteam Website Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Mon, April 01, 2024
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Annie’s Next Big Leap, plus Spring Happenings & Updates
Send us a message! Welcome to our 1st of the month bonus episode. In this episode, Alex & Annie are not fooling around with April Fools' jokes; instead, they have significant announcements to share! Annie's New Role at NextPax Annie unveils her new role as the Director of Technical Supply for the Americas at NextPax. She discusses her responsibilities, the potential for growth in South America, and the importance of channel management in today's vacation rental landscape. Annie shares insights on NextPax's platform and strategic partnerships that ensure efficient service for property managers. Alex's Entrepreneurial Journey Alex provides updates on her role as a fractional CMO, highlighting the significance of strategic leadership in marketing. She shares how her expertise helps businesses create memorable guest experiences and achieve growth. Upcoming Industry Events and Guests Alex & Annie discuss exciting upcoming industry events, including VRMA Spring in New Orleans, where Alex will present a session on innovative marketing strategies. They also tease upcoming podcast guests who will bring diverse perspectives and valuable insights to the show. These guests will share their expertise and success stories in the vacation rental industry, offering actionable strategies to enhance your businesses. Don't miss out on this episode for valuable industry insights and exciting announcements. Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, March 27, 2024
Finding Courage in Adversity, with Lynell Gordon of Inhabit
Send us a message! In this episode, we welcome Lynell Gordon – vacation rental expert, partner at Inhabit, and host of "How We Grow: the vacation rental show." Lynell shares her powerful personal journey and how the practice of writing down goals and intentions has positively shaped both her life and career. Meet Lynell: Lynell's vacation rental expertise shines through her work with Inhabit and her podcast, "How We Grow: the vacation rental show." Her dedication to sharing industry knowledge and personal experiences makes her a compelling voice in the field. Resilience in the Face of Adversity: Lynell discusses how challenging experiences, from being in Israel during a bombing attack to overcoming abusive relationships, have forged her remarkable resilience and focus on what truly matters in life. Key Takeaways: 🧘♀️ The Power of the Written Word: Lynell reveals how her daily practice of goal-setting has fundamentally improved her problem-solving skills and stress management. Learn how putting pen to paper can clarify your path and boost motivation. 🎯 Goal-Driven Productivity: Discover how Lynell's system of listing daily tasks increases her focus and helps break down ambitious goals into achievable actions. 📒 Journaling for Clarity & Calm: Understand the therapeutic benefits of journaling. See how Lynell uses this practice as a tool for stress reduction, emotional processing, and identifying solutions to life's challenges. Connect with Lynell: LinkedIn How We Grow: The Vacation Rental Show Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, March 20, 2024
Our 1st Celebrity Interview with World Renowned Speaker, Entrepreneur & Author David Meltzer
Send us a message! Welcome to "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals"! In this insightful episode, we sit down with powerhouse celebrity entrepreneur and personal development leader, David Meltzer. David reveals his profound journey and practical strategies for finding clarity, purpose, and unlimited potential. Learn the power of meditation to elevate your mindset, plus the value of a "be interested, not interesting" approach that will reshape how you live and lead. Key Takeaways: 🧘♀️ The Power of Meditation: David discusses how meditation has been instrumental in gaining clarity and awareness in his life. Learn how meditation can elevate your frequency and unlock your inner potential. 🆚 Being Interested vs. Interesting: David's philosophy emphasizes the value of learning from others and building a supportive community. Discover the importance of staying curious and engaged in personal growth. 🍃 Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Accountability: Explore David's approach to life centered on gratitude, forgiveness, and taking responsibility for our actions. Learn how these principles can lead to a fulfilling and purpose-driven life. David's message resonates with the idea of reducing interference in our lives and living in a state of "I am." Join us in embracing these principles and unlocking the abundance that surrounds us. Exclusive offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Receive $150 Amazon gift card when you try Turno and its Cleaner Marketplace: https://turno.com/offer/alexandanniepodcast/ Get 50% off your onboarding fee when you partner with Extenteam using this link (offer is valid until April 30, 2024): https://www.extenteam.com/alexandannie Connect with David LinkedIn Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, March 13, 2024
The Battleground Baddies: CJ Stam, Travis Wilburn & Julie Byrd Weigh in on New Innovations in VR Technology
Send us a message! Get the inside scoop on the latest vacation rental technology trends! Alex & Annie are joined by DARM Battleground Baddies: Travis Wilburn, CJ Stam, and Julie Byrd to break down the groundbreaking innovations from this year's Battleground of Technology Providers. Learn why Key Data's data-driven tools were the clear winner and how AI is changing how properties are booked. Darm Conference Highlights Discover the standout technologies showcased at the DARM Conference and get the judges' expert perspectives on the most promising developments. Key Data's Winning Edge Explore the features of Key Data's dashboard and understand why the judges deemed it a game-changer for data visualization and optimization. AI in Action Julie Byrd shares the real-world impact of implementing AI Adaptive across her company's website, revealing how AI-powered recommendations boost reservations. All-in-One vs. Best-in-Class Debate over the benefits of comprehensive tech stacks versus specialized best-in-class solutions. The judges warn against vendor lock-in and emphasize the value of flexibility. Key Takeaways 💻 Data is Key: Understand the growing role of data analytics in decision-making for vacation rental businesses. 🤖 The AI Advantage: Learn how AI is streamlining operations and creating more personalized, effective guest experiences. ⚙ Choose Your Tools Wisely: Explore the importance of selecting the right technology to meet your specific business needs. Discover the tech that's revolutionizing the vacation rental industry and driving more bookings. Tune in to our latest episode for insider knowledge from top judges and industry leaders. Connect with CJ Stam: LinkedIn Connect with Travis Wilburn: LinkedIn Connect with Julie Byrd: LinkedIn Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, March 06, 2024
The OG’s of the Panhandle: Lino Maldonado, Jim Olin, Paul Wohlford, and Steve Caron
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex and Annie, The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," we embark on a fascinating journey into the vacation rental industry with a panel of seasoned experts known as the OGs of the Panhandle. Our guests, including trailblazers like Jim Olin, Steve Caron, Lino Maldonado, and Paul Wolford, share their personal journeys from the industry's early days to the dynamic landscape it occupies today. The Early Days: Dive into the challenges and triumphs of being pioneers in the vacation rental sector during "The Early Days." The panelists reflect on the hurdles they faced, sharing anecdotes about the unknown territories they navigated and the passion that fueled their commitment to the industry. Current Landscape: Explore the impact of mergers and acquisitions, the role of technology in enhancing guest experiences, and the delicate balance between innovation and preserving the personal touch in "Current Landscape." Uncover specific technologies that have revolutionized the guest experience and hear firsthand accounts of how these industry leaders adapted to change. Key Takeaways: 💡 Industry Evolution: As we navigate through the industry's evolution, discover key milestones and turning points that have shaped its trajectory. Gain insights into the challenges of adapting to changes in consumer preferences and market dynamics, providing a comprehensive view of the industry's journey. 🔮 The Future: The conversation shifts the focus to "The Future," where the panelists debate the potential for standardization within the vacation rental industry. Engage in discussions about whether larger companies like Vacasa should pursue public market success or if a more localized, boutique approach is preferable. Delve into the role of advocacy and regulatory understanding in shaping the industry's future. 📚 Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: In exploring the divide between legacy vacation rental companies and newer short-term rental (STR) operators, the conversation emphasizes the need for collaboration and knowledge sharing. Learn about practical steps, such as creating consortia and supporting advocacy groups, to establish best practices and foster a sense of community within the industry. Building a Thriving Community: The episode concludes with Alex and Annie discussing the importance of building a thriving community. Discover how a collaborative network can benefit all players in the vacation rental industry, ensuring shared success and avoiding pitfalls through the lessons learned from past mistakes.
Fri, March 01, 2024
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Spring News, Updates & Insights from the Desks of Alex & Annie
Send us a message! Join Alex & Annie with a cute participation of Chloe, newest furry member of the family, as they delve into the current vacation rental market trends. They share their insights on the fluctuating booking rates and the explosion of Airbnb listings, particularly in the Myrtle Beach area. The duo discusses the critical need for property managers to diversify their booking strategies and the importance of direct bookings as a way to build resilience in an increasingly competitive market.Key Takeaways: 💼 Market Dynamics: Alex & Annie analyze the market's performance, noting the downturn in bookings for some areas and the dramatic rise in Airbnb listings. They stress the importance for property managers to adapt and find ways to make their offerings stand out. ✏ Direct Booking Focus: We hear Alex & Annie's advice on the significance of direct booking strategies. They suggest starting with one initiative and gradually adding more, emphasizing the need to focus on past guests and utilize various marketing channels effectively. 📚 Industry Growth and Learning: Alex and Annie highlight the value of attending industry conferences and engaging in continuous education. They encourage listeners to participate in upcoming events like Spring VRMA and the Executive Summit to network and gain knowledge that can help elevate their businesses. Upcoming Features: Alex & Annie tease exciting upcoming episodes, including a panel with seasoned industry experts from the Florida panhandle and a discussion with the judges from the D.A.R.M. Battleground. They also announce an interview with David Meltzer, focusing on the intersection of personal development and business success. Additionally, Alex & Annie share news about their new sponsorship program and their participation in Breezeway's Elevate event, demonstrating their commitment to providing listeners with valuable insights and opportunities for growth in the vacation rental industry. Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, February 28, 2024
3 Points for Hospitality Marketing: Alex & Jonathan Ruggles of Flip.to
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex had the opportunity to sit down with Jonathan Ruggles, the Director of Partnerships at Flip.to. They discuss three key points in hospitality marketing: building your digital presence on your own land, leveraging guest-generated content and audiences, and the power of being a first mover in adopting innovative strategies. Alex shares insights from her experience in the vacation rental industry, emphasizing the importance of owning data, creating authentic interactions, and staying ahead of the competition. Key Takeaways: 📱 Owning Your Digital Presence: Alex highlights the significance of owning your digital assets and data to avoid reliance on third-party platforms like OTAs. Building direct booking strategies and cultivating audiences you own, such as through email lists, can provide long-term benefits and control over your marketing efforts. 💻 Leveraging Guest Content: The conversation delves into the power of guest-generated content in marketing. By putting guests at the forefront and allowing them to share their vacation experiences, businesses can create authentic connections and attract like-minded audiences, ultimately differentiating themselves in a crowded market. 💼 Being the First Mover: The episode emphasizes the advantages of being a first mover in adopting new strategies and technologies. Alex shares insights on the importance of having a strategic team to drive innovation and take calculated risks in implementing new solutions, ultimately setting businesses apart in the competitive hospitality industry. Don't miss out on the insightful conversation to gain valuable insights on building your digital presence, leveraging guest content, and the power of being a first mover in the industry. Connect with Jonathan Ruggles LinkedIn | Flip.to | Flip.to LinkedIn Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, February 21, 2024
From Vision to Triumph: Unpacking Hostfully's Growth Story with CEO, Margot Schmorak
Send us a message! Join Alex, Annie, and special guest Margot Schmorak in this episode of "Alex & Annie, the real women of Vacation Rentals," as they explore the captivating journey of Hostfully over the past year and the crucial aspects of building a supportive community for women in the vacation rental industry. Listen as Margot shares her experiences in a powerful group, emphasizing the importance of mutual support, advice-sharing, and mentorship for women navigating both personal and professional challenges. Margot Unveils Hostfully's Triumphs: In an exclusive interview, Margot shares behind-the-scenes insights into Hostfully's impressive growth, strategic investments, and overall success throughout 2023. She sheds light on the indispensable role of a united team and the transformative impact of thoughtful product development. Industry Dynamics: Challenges and Opportunities: Dive deep into the dynamic landscape of the vacation rental sector. The trio discusses the effects of industry consolidation and heightened investment, offering listeners valuable perspectives on navigating challenges and seizing opportunities in this ever-evolving market. Key Takeaways: 🤝 The Power of Community and Mentorship: Margot passionately highlights the significance of micro-communities and mentorship programs, especially for women in the tech and business spheres. The conversation explores conflict resolution, negotiation skills, and the need for open conversations to foster a supportive network. ⚙ Technology's Role in Shaping the Industry: Explore the changing technological landscape within the vacation rental sector. The focus is on interoperability and delivering reliable returns for investors, providing listeners with insights into the crucial role technology plays in shaping the industry's future. 🏁 Reflections on Success and Future Outlook: As the episode concludes, Margot reflects on Hostfully's journey, underlining the importance of a strong team, consistent returns, and a focus on fundamental principles for sustained success. The discussion offers a glimpse into the future, teasing what lies ahead for Hostfully and the broader vacation rental industry. This episode is a testament to Margot's leadership, providing invaluable insights into the challenges and triumphs of Hostfully and the broader vacation rental industry. Tune in for an engaging conversation that offers practical advice for navigating the complexities of tech, business, and fostering a supportive community. Connect with Margot LinkedIn | Instagram </
Wed, February 14, 2024
Real Women Talk Real Growth: A Conversation with Vered Schwarz, COO of Guesty
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," we sit down with Vered Schwarz, the President and COO of Guesty, to not only delve into Guesty's new offerings but also shine a spotlight on the vital role of women supporting women in the vacation rental industry. AI in the Vacation Rental Industry: The implementation of AI goes beyond messaging for Guesty. We delve into how Guesty envisions AI playing a role in marketing and revenue management, personalizing communications, and adapting pricing strategies based on evolving trends. Women Supporting Women: Importance of Mentorship and Networking: In the dynamic vacation rental industry, the significance of women supporting women cannot be overstated. We explore how mentorship and networking play pivotal roles in fostering professional growth. Hear inspiring stories from successful women in the industry who have benefited from mentorship and built valuable connections through networking. Key Takeaways:💻 The Impact of Remote Work and Hybrid Models: The conversation shifts to the evolution of remote work and its impact on the workplace. Vered emphasizes the value of face-to-face interaction but acknowledges the efficiency of remote collaboration. 📚 The Importance of Education and Continuous Learning: Recognizing the need for education in the industry, Vered shares Guesty's commitment to providing resources for new and existing property managers. 🏦 Consolidation Trends: Vered sheds light on the ongoing consolidation in the vacation rental industry. Mergers, acquisitions, and private equity investments are becoming increasingly common as companies aim to differentiate themselves and gain a competitive edge. Guesty's commitment to innovation, as showcased by Guesty Lite and Guesty Reply AI, reflects the evolving needs of property managers. The episode concludes by emphasizing the importance of women supporting women, mentorship, and networking in propelling the vacation rental industry forward. Thanks for joining us on this journey through the latest developments and insights in the vacation rental sector. Ready to explore the latest in vacation rentals and industry insights? Watch the full episode and don't miss out on Guesty's innovations, trends, and inspiring stories of women in the industry. Connect with Vered Schwarz LinkedIn Connect with Guesty LinkedIn | Website | Instagram | Facebook Connect with Alex and Annie <a href='https://w
Wed, February 07, 2024
Jen Ford’s Journey to Creating Work-Life Balance through Meaningful Career Choices
Send us a message! In this episode of "Alex & Annie, The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," hosts Alex & Annie welcome back and dive deep into the extraordinary journey of Jen Ford, a trailblazer in the vacation rental industry. Join us as we uncover the highs, lows, and unexpected turns that shaped her remarkable career. Jen's Evolution in the Vacation Rental Industry: Jen shares her transition from the fast-paced world of high tech to becoming a finance executive at HomeAway, and her decision to take some time off from the industry after Turnkey Vacation Rentals was acquired by Vacasa in 2019. Get ready for candid insights into the challenges she faced, lessons learned, and the dynamic landscape of the industry. New Ventures Post-Vacasa: Jen opens up about her advisory role at CanMonkey, tackling logistical challenges in trash management for vacation rentals. Gain insights into her approach to helping founder-led companies scale up, and the benefits of fractional work that allows her to contribute expertise while maintaining a balanced life. Plus, get a sneak peek into her potential future endeavors, from running a company to embracing a nomadic lifestyle post-retirement. Key Takeaways: 💼 Navigating Career Shifts and Personal Realizations : Explore with us as Jen reflects on the pivotal moments during Turnkey's acquisition by Vacasa and how it prompted her to reevaluate her work-life balance. Learn how personal events reshaped her identity beyond professional titles, giving listeners a glimpse into the real person behind the career. 🧘♀️ The Power of Mindfulness and Intentional Decision-Making: Jen takes us through her post-Vacasa journey, emphasizing the importance of self-care and intentional decision-making. Discover how being mindful of her experiences allowed her to connect the dots and pave the way for a more fulfilling and balanced lifestyle. 🤝 Family, Values, and a New Purpose: The conversation delves into Jen's role as a mother and how her daughter's diagnosis with type one diabetes became a catalyst for reprioritizing. Uncover the heartwarming story of how personal values became the compass guiding Jen toward meaningful work that aligns with her passions. Join us for this inspiring episode, filled with wisdom, resilience, and the pursuit of a purpose-driven life. Share your thoughts with us and stay tuned for more captivating conversations with real women making waves in the vacation rental industry! Connect with Jen: LinkedIn Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe <a
Thu, February 01, 2024
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Alex’s Next Big Leap, featuring David Meltzer LIVE from Blue Wire Studio
Send us a message! In this engaging bonus episode of "Alex & Annie, The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," hosts Alex and Annie take you on a journey through their eventful month of January. From industry conferences to unexpected encounters, they share insights, challenges, and exciting plans for Aha Moments, the podcast's parent company. Conference Chronicles: IMN and STR Virtual Summit Dive into Alex and Annie's experiences at industry conferences like IMN and the STR virtual summit for women with Stacey St. John. Explore the diverse crowds, key takeaways, and the need for bridging the short-term rental (STR) and vacation rental (VR) worlds. Alex's Bold Move: From Casago to Full-Time Passion Pursuit Join Alex as she opens up about leaving her job at Casago to pursue her passion for marketing and podcasting full-time. Hear about the fears and challenges she faced, emphasizing the importance of following signs and trusting her instincts. Aha Moments' Vision: Navigating Vacation Rental Success Get an exclusive look into Alex's plans for Aha Moments, the podcast's parent company. Discover her vision to work directly with vacation rental companies and suppliers, helping them uncover their own "aha moments." A Surprise Encounter with David Meltzer Experience the excitement as Alex visits the Blue Wire studio at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Alex shares her initial intention to meet David and potentially have him as a guest on their show. However, to her surprise, she received an email invitation from David himself to attend a mastermind event and a VIP dinner where she had the chance to sit down for an interview with David in the greatest podcast studio in the world. Alex describes the incredible experience of meeting David, as well as other like-minded individuals, and the valuable insights and advice she gained from the event. 🎙 Join Alex and Annie as they unravel the stories, challenges, and lessons learned in this riveting bonus episode. Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, January 31, 2024
Executive Spotlight: MMGY Global CEO Katie Briscoe Shares Insights from her Inaugural Year at the Helm
Send us a message! In this insightful episode of "Alex and Annie, The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," we had the pleasure of sitting down with Katie Briscoe, the CEO of MMGY Global. Katie, a seasoned destination marketing expert with a wealth of experience, takes us on a journey through her remarkable career, providing insights into her role as the CEO of MMGY Global and shedding light on the evolving landscape of the travel industry. MMGY Global's Transformation : Katie detailed MMGY's growth from a hospitality-focused company to a global powerhouse with 600 employees and 14 offices worldwide. She highlighted the company's strategic investments and acquisitions, particularly in women-owned businesses. Leadership and Mentorship : Reflecting on her rise to CEO, Katie discussed the importance of mentorship, her experiences with both male and female mentors, and the significance of leaving the door open for future generations of women leaders. Industry Challenges and Trends : Katie touched on the changing landscape of destination marketing organizations (DMOs), the impact of COVID-19 on travel, and the importance of vacation rentals in the travel ecosystem. She also emphasized the need for responsible travel and the role of DMOs in enhancing residents' quality of life. Personal Insights : Katie shared her approach to maintaining energy and balance as a leader, including her personal hobbies and the practice of gratitude journaling. Future of Travel and Tourism : The conversation also covered topics that need more attention in the industry, such as the evolving funding models for DMOs and the ongoing conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion in travel marketing. Key Takeaways: 🌐 The Role of MMGY Global : Explore the significant impact MMGY Global has on the travel industry and its specialization in global tourism, collaborating with diverse destinations and hospitality brands. 👩💼 Challenges and Rewards of Being a CEO: Gain firsthand knowledge from Katie about the exhilarating highs and daunting challenges that come with being at the helm of a leading global company. 👐 Importance of Mentorship and Diversity: Delve into the crucial role mentorship and diversity play in shaping the travel industry. Our conversation with Katie was not only inspiring but also educational, providing valuable insights into the complexities and responsibilities of leading a global travel marketing company. Her passion for the industry and commitment to mentorship and diversity are a testament to the positive direction in which travel and tourism are headed. 🎧 Listen to the full episode now for an in-depth exploration of the travel industry'
Wed, January 24, 2024
Building a Legacy of Hospitality: The Story of Mountain Laurel Chalets with CEO, Tom Goodwin
Send us a message! In this captivating episode of “Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we sit down with Tom Goodwin, a seasoned professional in the vacation rental industry, to explore his remarkable journey and the transformative power of community and branding in business. Tom's Journey: Discover how Tom's unexpected entry into the vacation rental world, through his wife's family-run business in Gatlinburg, evolved into a thriving venture. His initial 18-month commitment turned into an 11-year commitment, filled with challenges and triumphs. Community and Branding: Explore Tom's insights into the profound impact of community involvement and branding in the hospitality industry. Learn how his diverse background seamlessly translated into revitalizing the Mountain Laurel Chalets brand. Looking to the Future: Tom shares his excitement for the future, including the acquisition of a new business and plans for a local podcast. Stay tuned as he promises to keep us updated on his journey throughout the year. Key Takeaways: 💪 Community Resilience: Witness how the Mountain Laurel Chalets community not only survived but thrived in the face of adversity, exemplified by the creation of the "Family First" program after the 2016 Gatlinburg fires. 🍀 Guest Experience Philosophy: Delve into Tom's philosophy on guest experiences and how it influences the company's reputation and customer loyalty. 🤝 Building Lasting Relationships: Uncover the significance of strong relationships with property owners, highlighted by the annual owner meetings that not only retain existing owners but attract new ones, creating a familial atmosphere within the business. Join us in exploring more stories and insights from the vacation rental industry. Share your thoughts, subscribe, and stay engaged as we continue to learn that success is about more than just the properties we manage—it's about the relationships we build and the communities we serve. Connect with Tom LinkedIn | Website Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe <strong
Wed, January 17, 2024
LIVE from Panama City Beach: In The Trenches with Michael James as He Launches New Business
Send us a message! Join Alex and Annie in this insightful episode of "Alex and Annie, The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," recorded live from Panama City Beach, as they welcome Michael, a seasoned vacation rental expert, to discuss his journey in the industry. From starting a business with a solid plan to exiting and now embarking on a new venture with a focus on accessibility, Michael shares his wealth of knowledge and experience. Michael's Journey: Michael recounts his move to the 30A area in 2004 and the launch of his vacation rental company in 2013. He emphasizes the importance of having a business plan and seeking mentorship, which contributed to his company's organic growth. Business Growth and Strategy: Learn about Michael's approach to growing his vacation rental company to 41 properties and his unique strategy of treating each property as if it were his own. He shares insights on the importance of hospitality and the impact of mentorship and education in the vacation rental space. New Business Focus on Accessibility: Michael discusses his new mission, which centers on creating universally designed vacation rentals that are accessible to all, including those with disabilities. He shares a personal story that inspired this focus and highlights the growing demand for accessible vacation rentals. Educational Mission: Alex and Annie talk about their mission to educate and mentor others in the vacation rental industry. They discuss the potential of Michael's journey to serve as a learning opportunity for listeners who are starting or growing their own vacation rental businesses. Key Takeaways: 🏡 Starting and Growing a Vacation Rental Business: Michael's story shows the benefits of a well-thought-out business plan and the organic growth that can follow. 🌟 Importance of Hospitality: Michael's Disney background influenced his approach to providing exceptional hospitality in his vacation rental business. ♿️ Focus on Accessibility: There's a significant and growing market for accessible vacation rentals, and Michael's new venture aims to address this need. 📚 Education and Mentorship: Alex and Annie's commitment to sharing knowledge and opportunities for education in the vacation rental industry. 🎧 Tune in for a captivating conversation filled with insights, challenges, and opportunities in the dynamic world of vacation rentals! Connect with Michael LinkedIn Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner <stro
Wed, January 10, 2024
Streamline Your Vacation Rental Turnover Process with Turno: An Interview with the Founder, Assaf Karmon
Send us a message! Join Alex and Annie in this exciting episode of "Alex and Annie, The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," as they sit down with Assaf Karmon, the CEO and founder of Turno. Discover Assaf's journey from being an Airbnb host to creating a revolutionary platform that transforms the vacation rental turnover process. Assaf's Journey: Assaf opens up about his struggles managing cleaning and turnovers as a host, leading to the birth of Turno. The hosts delve into the challenges hosts face in finding reliable cleaners and how Turno's marketplace connects hosts with vetted professionals. Turno's Features: Explore how Turno is the "Uber of cleaning" with the added benefit of consistent cleaners for each turnover. Assaf discusses the platform's accountability aspect, allowing hosts to review cleaners, and highlights features like customizable checklists, inventory lists, and automatic payments. Turno's Growth: Learn about Turno's impressive growth, now available in every US market and expanding internationally. From individual hosts to large companies, Turno scales effortlessly. The hosts touch on Turno's potential in addressing regulatory requirements and its role in the rise of co-hosts. Special Offer: Don't miss the exclusive offer for listeners – sign up for Turno using turno.com/alexandanniepodcast and receive a $150 Amazon gift card to elevate your hosting experience. Key Takeaways: 🧼 Streamlining Turnovers with Turno: Turno, the "Uber of cleaning," offers reliable and consistent cleaning with customizable checklists and automatic payments. ⭐ Accountability and Reliability in Cleaning Services: Consistent cleaners for each turnover foster reliability, addressing a common industry pain point. 💰 Elevating Passive Income for Hosts: Efficient features like automatic payments empower hosts to focus on strategic aspects, fostering a hands-off, lucrative hosting experience. Learn about the features of Turno, the benefits of reliable cleaners, and how it can help you achieve a state of passive income. Don't miss out on this insightful conversation! Connect with Assaf Karmon: LinkedIn Connect with Turno: Website | Facebook | Instagram LinkedIn | Tiktok | YouTube | Pinterest Connect with Alex and Annie <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-o-h
Wed, January 03, 2024
Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers: LIVE with 30A Beach Girls
Send us a message! In the latest episode of "Alex and Annie, the Real Women of Vacation Rentals," listeners were treated to an insightful conversation with the dynamic duo of 30A Beach Girls, Hollie and Lisa. Nestled in a stunning vacation home with the aroma of a chef's creation wafting through the air, the podcast delved into the secrets behind the success of this female-led empire in the vacation rental industry. The Founding Story: Hollie unveils the fascinating journey of 30A Beach Girls, from a humble housekeeping and maintenance company to a thriving management enterprise. Discover how their evolution was fueled by proactive communication and a commitment to personalized guest experiences. Unreasonable Hospitality" and Beyond: Explore the unique culture of 30A Beach Girls, where going above and beyond guest expectations is the norm. Learn about their approach to building lasting relationships with repeat guests and the art of adding personal touches, such as holiday home decorations. Key Takeaways: 💃 Unique Guest Experience: The 30A Beach Girls have built their brand by offering personalized vacation experiences, leading to repeat business and a strong reputation. 📈 Strategic Growth: The company plans to expand to 200 units but will then focus on maintaining quality over quantity, being selective about the properties they manage to fit their business model. 💼 Seasonal Business Diversification: They are expanding into corporate retreats and events during off-peak seasons to provide consistent work for staff and additional revenue streams. Join us for a conversation that's as enriching as the vacations that 30A Beach Girls curate. Subscribe, listen, and transform the way you think about vacation rentals with Alex and Annie, the Real Women of Vacation Rentals! 🌅🎧 This episode is brought to you by Turno : the smart way to schedule, pay, and find vacation rental cleaners. Join hosts and property managers worldwide who put their short-term rental and Airbnb cleaning on autopilot with Turno. Special offer for Alex & Annie listeners: Receive $150 Amazon gift card when you try Turno and its Cleaner Marketplace. New users can sign up at turno.com/alexandanniepodcast . Search for a cleaner in your area, connect with one or more, and then complete a marketplace cleaning. Once you see how easy and simple cleaning management can be, you’ll love how much time and money you save, not to mention no more cleaning headaches! Connect with the 30A Beach Girls Website | Instagram | <a href='https://www.facebook.com/30abea
Mon, January 01, 2024
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Celebrating a Year of Growth and Looking Ahead to 2024
Send us a message! In this special first-of-the-month episode of 'Alex and Annie, the Real Women of Vacation Rentals,' hosts Alex and Annie take a nostalgic journey through 2023 and unveil exciting plans for the upcoming year. Book Announcement: Get ready for their upcoming book, "Connecting the Dots," where Alex and Annie delve into the biggest aha moments from their interviews with industry experts. Discover the insightful themes and lessons that will be explored in this must-read for anyone in the vacation rental sphere. Top Five Episodes of 2023: Join the hosts as they revisit their favorite episodes, including interviews with Marcus Räder from Hostaway, Kristin Brown from Concishare, and Melanie Brown from Key Data. Explore the valuable insights and memorable moments that made these episodes stand out. Predictions for 2024: Alex and Annie share their thoughts on the future of the vacation rental industry in 2024. Dive deeper into the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and join the conversation by sharing your own predictions using #AlexAnnie2024. Alex and Annie Foundation: Learn more about the newly launched Alex and Annie Foundation, designed to support individuals in the industry looking to take the next step forward. Discover how you can get involved in their mission to elevate and empower the vacation rental community. As the episode concludes, Alex and Annie express heartfelt gratitude to their listeners and reiterate their commitment to providing valuable content and support. Stay tuned for their adventures in 2024, including conference appearances and the ongoing efforts of the Alex and Annie Foundation. Your journey in the vacation rental community just got even more exciting. This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research! Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, December 27, 2023
Navigating Mentorship and Industry Transitions in Vacation Rentals with Sarah Bradford
Send us a message! In this insightful episode, hosts Alex and Annie dive deep into the world of vacation rentals with a special guest, Sarah Bradford, co-host of Sarah and T Podcast, and former owner of two successful vacation rental companies in the picturesque landscapes of Colorado. Journey Through Experience: Sarah begins by unraveling her rich background in the vacation rental industry, providing listeners with an intimate look into her entrepreneurial journey. She candidly shares her experiences in selling not just one but two thriving businesses, shedding light on the highs, lows, and invaluable lessons learned along the way. Challenges of the Trade: The discussion seamlessly transitions to the challenges and pressures inherent in running a vacation rental company. Sarah delves into the complexities of navigating regulations and effectively managing staff, providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the day-to-day operations of this dynamic industry. Key Takeaways: 👩🏫 The Power of Mentorship: Sarah stresses the pivotal role mentors played in her career, underscoring the importance of a supportive network within the vacation rental industry. 🚦 Future Trends and Considerations: Sarah offers a forward-looking perspective, emphasizing the need for vacation rental companies to meticulously budget and track finances. She passionately advocates for dispelling misconceptions associated with vacation rentals, particularly the prevalent Airbnb stereotype. 🦺 Safety First: The conversation touches upon critical issues like liability and safety measures. Sarah passionately discusses the responsibility vacation rental professionals have in ensuring the well-being of both guests and staff. Tune in for an engaging discussion that goes beyond the surface, offering a nuanced understanding of the vacation rental industry, its challenges, and the exciting possibilities that lie ahead. This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research! Connect with Sarah: LinkedIn | Podcast | Facebook Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, December 20, 2023
Holiday Bonus - Our Top Episode of 2023: How to Explain Changes in Revenue and Bookings to Your Homeowners
Send us a message! Join us for an exclusive throwback to our most viewed episode of the year with Ben Coleman - Founder of Rev & Research, Vanessa Humes - Director of Sales & Marketing at InterCoastal Net Designs and Lance Stitcher - Broker/Owner at Seaside Vacations and Sales. In this episode, Alex & Annie are joined by a panel of experts to help guide you on a pressing topic - How to Explain Changes in Revenue and Bookings to Your Homeowners. 2023 is not turning out to be as profitable as expected for vacation rental managers, and naturally this is causing quite a bit of turmoil for property managers, especially those who got into the business during the golden years of 2020-2022. Some of the great insights discussed in this episode includes proactive, data-driven communication with your homeowners, as well as the importance of making sure you’re pricing appropriately for 2023 instead of making decisions like it’s still last year. Whether you’re an individual property manager feeling the pressure of the current market, or a Vacation Rental company with hundreds of properties under management looking to safeguard your book of business - tune in to this episode to learn from our expert panel on exactly what steps to take to navigate the stormy seas of 2023 and beyond. This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research! Connect with Ben: Website | LinkedIn Connect with Vanessa: Website | LinkedIn Connect with Lance: Website | LinkedIn Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, December 13, 2023
Sell or Be Sold: Rebl Rentals Former CEO Reflects on Selling the Business, with Leslie Sonnier
Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Friends, Leslie Sonnier joins Alex for an in-person conversation set against the backdrop of Myrtle Beach. From a chance meeting three years ago in matching dresses at a conference, to reflecting on the emotional process of selling Rebl Rentals, a thriving vacation rental business in Scottsdale, Arizona, this episode is a rollercoaster of memories, lessons, and the excitement of new beginnings. Creating Memorable Experiences and Impact on Families: The conversation emphasizes the profound impact vacation rentals have on families and their cherished memories. Leslie discusses the importance of creating memorable experiences for guests. Life as a Balancing Act: Explore the challenges of finding a balance between work and personal life in the demanding vacation rental industry. Alex and Leslie share insights into the importance of self-care for those navigating this dynamic field. Key Moments: 👩🏼🤝👩🏻 Connection through Coincidence: Three years ago, Alex and Leslie met at a conference and discovered an unexpected bond—wearing the same dress. The duo reflects on this serendipitous start to their friendship. 👩💼 From Homeowner to Mogul: Leslie shares her remarkable journey into the vacation rental industry. Starting with listing her own house on Airbnb with minimal knowledge, she transformed her venture into a booming business with 137 properties. 👐 Emotional Business Transition s: Dive into the heartfelt discussion about Leslie's emotional process of selling her vacation rental business. The hosts explore the challenges of moving on to a new phase in life and the resilience required in such transitions. Tune in to the full episode to hear Leslie's incredible journey in the vacation rental industry, her experience of selling her business, and her exciting plans for the future! This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research! Connect with Leslie: LinkedIn | Instagram Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, December 06, 2023
Get Out of Your Own Way and Step into Your Power, with Amber Hurdle, CEO of Employer Brand Central
Send us a message! In this empowering episode of "Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals", we're reunited with a dear friend and the very first podcast guest, Amber Hurdle, the CEO and founder of Employer Brand Central. Together, the A.H. Trio dives deep into the transformative power of confidence and personal branding. The Fluidity of Confidence: The conversation delves into the concept of confidence not being static, but something that needs continuous work and self-awareness. They discuss the vulnerability and insecurities inherent in everyone, challenging the misconception that confident individuals are immune to self-doubt. Amber encourages listeners to embrace their personal power and not let external validation or negative opinions affect their self-worth. Wrap-up: This episode serves as a reminder that confidence is a journey, and it requires self-reflection, resilience, and the willingness to step out of one's comfort zone. By embracing personal power, building a strong personal brand, and surrounding oneself with the right people, individuals can unlock their potential and navigate through life's transitions with confidence and purpose. Key Takeaways: 😎 Confidence as a Journey: Explore how confidence evolves over time, requiring continuous self-work and awareness. 👩💼 Transitioning to Entrepreneurship: Amber shares her personal journey from a thriving corporate career to launching Employer Brand Central, emphasizing the value of recognizing one's worth. 🥚 Embracing Vulnerability: Discuss the vulnerability and insecurities inherent in everyone, regardless of outward confidence. Amber encourages listeners to embrace personal power and resilience. 🤝 T he Power of Relationships: Highlight the impact of nurturing relationships with supportive individuals and being intentional about one's environment for personal growth. Get ready for a confidence boost! Join us in this episode as Amber reveals the secrets to embracing your uniqueness, crafting your personal brand, and kickstarting your journey towards a more confident and purposeful you! This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research! Connect with Amber: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe <a href='http://alexandanniepodcast.c
Fri, December 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Mark Simpson of Boostly Announces New Documentary
Send us a message! In this captivating episode of "Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals," we are thrilled to have Mark Simpson, the visionary founder of Boostly. Boostly is a game-changer for vacation rental hosts and managers, providing a unique blend of tools, tactics, and a supportive community. Boostly's Mission: Mark dives deep into how Boostly empowers short-term rental owners. The company focuses on securing more direct bookings, reaching the ideal guests, and giving hosts valuable time back through their personalized vacation rental websites. Exciting Announcement: The Boostly Documentary: Mark unveils a groundbreaking project that's been in the works – a documentary-style video series featuring the transformative journeys of two hosts implementing Boostly's strategies. This series promises an immersive experience, offering insider glimpses into their challenges, successes, and the strategies that elevated their direct bookings. Key Insights and Inspiration: The aim of the documentary is clear – to inspire and guide hosts looking to amplify their direct bookings. Mark shares the release date, December 26th, for this insightful series. But that's not all – a watch party will be held for viewers to join in, learn from these hosts' experiences, and be part of a community of thriving vacation rental owners. Key Takeaways: 🧰 Tools, Tactics, Tribe: Boostly's three-pronged approach ensures hosts not only enhance their direct bookings but also build a supportive community. 🤝 More Than Bookings: Beyond the metrics, Boostly helps hosts connect with their "should-be" guests, fostering meaningful connections. ⌚ Time Freedom: A significant emphasis on regaining time, allowing hosts to focus on what truly matters. Tune in to this special episode to catch Mark's exciting announcement and discover his unwavering passion for helping vacation rental owners achieve unprecedented success. This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research! Connect with Mark: Website | Linkedin | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram Connect with Alex and Annie Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com
Wed, November 29, 2023
Bridging the Gap Between the STR World and Vacation Rentals with Stacey St. John
Send us a message! 🎙️ Today we're in for a treat as we chat with the fantastic Stacey St. John, a powerhouse in short-term rentals and a great friend of Alex and Annie. From crunching real estate numbers to running a buzzing property management firm, Stacey's got stories that'll make you nod in agreement and maybe chuckle a bit. Stacey's Journey into Short-Term Rentals: In this episode, Stacey shares her inspiring transition from long-term real estate to short-term rentals amidst the challenges of COVID-19. She unveils the strategic decisions behind this shift, emphasizing the importance of data-driven strategies and a deep understanding of real estate fundamentals for effective wealth building in the vacation rental industry. Bridging the Gap: The conversation takes an exciting turn as Stacey advocates for unity between short-term rental owners and their counterparts in vacation rental management. Discover the pearls of wisdom she imparts on creating a collaborative community, fostering an abundance mindset, and most importantly, bridging the gap between these two integral facets of the industry. Imagine a world where professionals from both sides come together, sharing knowledge, learning, and growing collectively—Stacey paints a vivid picture of this harmonious collaboration in the form of a conference. Mentorship and Empowering Women: The dialogue extends to the crucial topic of mentorship and the prevailing lack of female representation in leadership roles within the vacation rental industry. Stacey and Annie engage in a thought-provoking discussion on the transformative power of mentorship in navigating challenges and seizing opportunities. Stacey graciously shares anecdotes from her mentoring journey, passionately advocating for more women to step into leadership roles and urging everyone to pay it forward within this vibrant and supportive community. Key Takeaways: 💡 Uncover the indispensable role of mentorship and community in the short-term rental industry. ⭐ Gain valuable insights into the art of data-driven decision-making for effective and sustainable wealth building. 🤝 Embrace the vision of collaboration between short-term rental enthusiasts and vacation rental management professionals. 👩 Experience Stacey's empowering journey and her fervent call for increased female representation in leadership roles. Ready to unlock the full spectrum of insights from our deep dive into the dynamics of the vacation rental industry with Stacey? Don't miss a beat – tune in to the full episode now! This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research! Connect with Stacey: Website | <a href='
Fri, November 24, 2023
Revving up for DARM with Rebecca Ballart & Ben Coleman
Send us a message! In this engaging episode of Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals we are joined once again by Ben Coleman, the visionary founder of Rev and Research, alongside the Chief Operating Officer, Rebecca Ballart. Rev and Research revolutionizes the vacation rental industry with their 100% done-for-you revenue management services. Beyond standard rate adjustments, the team, driven by a passion for data and numbers, conducts a comprehensive analysis of clients' businesses. From revenue discussions to sales budgets and overarching goals, their unique bottom-up approach has halved owner attrition in the first year. With a team of industry leaders and former operators, Rev and Research taps into the brightest minds in vacation rentals, maximizing occupancy at optimal rates. Their services not only pay for themselves but also reshape the landscape of revenue management in the industry. In this episode, Ben and Rebecca, together with Alex and Annie combine their expertise to dissect the current state of the vacation rental market. They stress the importance of understanding market demand and pricing strategies while underlining transparency and clear communication with homeowners regarding revenue projections and expectations. Dive into the challenges of managing diverse inventory, from urban markets to homes versus condos. Learn how staying informed about local events can be leveraged to boost bookings and adapt to the changing expectations of homeowners. The discussion concludes with a sneak peek into the upcoming DARM conference. Ben and Rebecca share insights on their sessions covering revenue management strategies and tackling underperforming units. Overall, the episode emphasizes the proactive, transparent, and knowledgeable approach required for success in vacation rental revenue management. 🚀 Don't miss this enlightening conversation that could reshape the way you approach revenue management in the vacation rental industry! Highlights of the Episode: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:23 Meeting and connecting at conferences. 00:02:11 Demand normalizing and technology. 00:06:29 Taylor Swift and booking strategies. 00:10:11 Understanding Different Types of Inventory. 00:11:38 Market research and vacation rentals. 00:13:55 One night stay reservations. 00:16:40 Types of homeowners and ROI. 00:19:51 Trust and transparency in real estate. 00:23:28 Trust in client conversations. 00:28:20 Companies growing inventory through information. 00:29:29 Thinking outside the box. 00:32:02 DARM conference benefits. 00:36:38 Letting go of difficult units. 00:37:31 Setting boundaries with owners. 00:40:25 Deciding what properties to keep. 00:42:41 Being proud of your brand. 00:48:15 Know your brand. 00:49:32 Getting i
Tue, November 21, 2023
Revving up for DARM with Rebecca Ballart & Ben Coleman
In this engaging episode of Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals we are joined once again by Ben Coleman, the visionary founder of Rev and Research, alongside the Chief Operating Officer, Rebecca Ballart. Rev and Research revolutionizes the vacation rental industry with their 100% done-for-you revenue management services. Beyond standard rate adjustments, the team, driven by a passion for data and numbers, conducts a comprehensive analysis of clients' businesses. From revenue discussions to sales budgets and overarching goals, their unique bottom-up approach has halved owner attrition in the first year. With a team of industry leaders and former operators, Rev and Research taps into the brightest minds in vacation rentals, maximizing occupancy at optimal rates. Their services not only pay for themselves but also reshape the landscape of revenue management in the industry. In this episode, Ben and Rebecca, together with Alex and Annie combine their expertise to dissect the current state of the vacation rental market. They stress the importance of understanding market demand and pricing strategies while underlining transparency and clear communication with homeowners regarding revenue projections and expectations. Dive into the challenges of managing diverse inventory, from urban markets to homes versus condos. Learn how staying informed about local events can be leveraged to boost bookings and adapt to the changing expectations of homeowners. The discussion concludes with a sneak peek into the upcoming DARM conference. Ben and Rebecca share insights on their sessions covering revenue management strategies and tackling underperforming units. Overall, the episode emphasizes the proactive, transparent, and knowledgeable approach required for success in vacation rental revenue management. 🚀 Don't miss this enlightening conversation that could reshape the way you approach revenue management in the vacation rental industry! Highlights of the Episode: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:23 Meeting and connecting at conferences. 00:02:11 Demand normalizing and technology. 00:06:29 Taylor Swift and booking strategies. 00:10:11 Understanding Different Types of Inventory. 00:11:38 Market research and vacation rentals. 00:13:55 One night stay reservations. 00:16:40 Types of homeowners and ROI. 00:19:51 Trust and transparency in real estate. 00:23:28 Trust in client conversations. 00:28:20 Companies growing inventory through information. 00:29:29 Thinking outside the box. 00:32:02 DARM conference benefits. 00:36:38 Letting go of difficult units. 00:37:31 Setting boundaries with owners. 00:40:25 Deciding what properties to keep. 00:42:41 Being proud of your brand. 00:48:15 Know your brand. 00:49:32 Getting in touch and networking. This episode is brought to you by Rev & Resea
Wed, November 15, 2023
Riding the Waves of Change with Valerie Gangas, CEO of Juniper Holiday & Home and Author of "In Deep Shift"
Send us a message! In this engaging episode of Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we sit down with Valerie Gangas, a powerhouse in Transformational Life Coaching, an accomplished Author, and the visionary CEO behind Juniper Holiday & Home. As Valerie shares her fascinating journey, we explore how her roots in the restaurant and bar industry grew into a passion for hospitality, ultimately guiding her towards the dynamic world of vacation rentals. During the challenges of the COVID era, Valerie's entrepreneurial spirit led her to start her own vacation rental company, experiencing an impressive surge from 12 homes to a portfolio of over 60 in record time. Listen in as Valerie unravels the essence of her success, emphasizing the crucial role of brand-building and the creation of an authentically memorable guest experience. She believes that vacation rentals are not just about making money, but about creating magic in people's lives. The conversation takes a deep turn as Valerie opens up about her book, "In Deep Shift," a heartfelt exploration of her personal transformation journey. In navigating the challenges of grief and self-discovery following the loss of her mother, Valerie found comfort in meditation, tapping into her intuition and authenticity. Her message is clear: life's inevitable profound changes are opportunities for growth, urging us to trust our instincts and cherish the transformative journey. But the story doesn't end there. Valerie offers a sneak peek into her upcoming book, a blend of her passion for hospitality and spiritual enlightenment. This enlightened hospitality manifesto promises to be a guide for those seeking a harmonious blend of service and spirituality. As an active contributor to the vacation rental community, Valerie generously shares her insights, guiding others on their own paths of transformation. Join us for an episode full of wisdom, inspiration, and the kind of magic that leaves an indelible mark on your journey. Tune in now and let the journey begin! Highlights of the Episode 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:01 Greek immigrant restaurant business. 00:05:12 Transitioning from restaurants to vacation rentals. 00:10:05 Finding a mentor and learning. 00:12:21 Building a brand through guests. 00:14:55 Building a consistent brand. 00:20:30 Consistency and building a brand. 00:23:43 Recording an audiobook. 00:24:56 A deep shift in life. 00:29:12 Creating magic in people's lives. 00:32:50 Making big life changes. 00:35:29 Shattering false narratives. 00:39:42 Tips for meditation. 00:43:27 Being quiet and gaining more. 00:46:07 Shifting perspectives in difficult times. 00:48:51 LinkedIn: Where Business People Connect. This episode is brought to you by <a href='https://www.rev
Wed, November 08, 2023
Keeping Wall Street Dollars on Main Street, with David Angotti
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex and Annie are joined by David Angotti, the Chief Evangelist at Guesty, an end-to-end property management software designed for short-term property managers who seek to save time, increase revenue, and grow their businesses. David's journey in the vacation rental industry began after he exited his first company, SpeedyPrep, in 2009. Retirement at the age of 29 quickly lost its allure, so he purchased a few rental properties. This quickly evolved into a property management business from which he also exited. Afterwards, David shifted his focus to launching and managing a book direct business, ultimately leading him to his current role at Guesty. David breaks down the role of Chief Evangelist into two parts. The external part of his role strives to achieve a level of market education and awareness that makes sure Guesty is always part of the conversation when companies are evaluating property management software. The internal part of his role requires him to always have his finger on the pulse when it comes to current market trends and demand, and for him to advocate for both their existing clientele and the total addressable market to make sure that Guesty is always developing in a direction that best serves their market. Guesty is expanding their United States team, adding 40-50 consultative market managers who will serve individual markets across the US. Their purpose will be to ensure that Guesty’s onboarding experience is much more refined, and that clients have access to a dedicated support team in their particular market that can serve them at a much higher pace and quality than what the industry is used to. The reason for this expansion is that Guesty is now moving into the traditional vacation rental markets, while their previous market share was typically in urban areas. A big focus of David’s work is towards educating the market on how to build the right growth strategies. He considers the marketing agency model to be inefficient for smaller property managers, as great marketing agencies typically have large retainers that are way out of budget for your average property management company, and smaller agencies are less effective than hiring freelancers and contractors to take care of individual projects. Tune into the full episode to learn more about David’s journey and expertise! HIGHLIGHTS: 00:54 David’s Journey Into Vacation Rentals 10:22 Improving Your Book Direct UX 15:41 How Guesty Helps With Marketing 18:42 What Does a Chief Evangelist Do? 26:14 Guesty’s US Expansion Plan 32:20 The Right Approach to Marketing 39:42 Building a Recognizable Brand This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research ! Connect with David: <a href='https://www.guesty.com/s
Fri, November 03, 2023
The A-Ha Moment: 2 Year Flashback to Where it All Began
Send us a message! Welcome to a special flashback episode of Alex & Annie! Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the podcast, and we couldn't be more grateful for the road so far, and excited for what's to come! To celebrate, we decided to back the episode where it all started. Fun fact - the first time we tried to record it we needed 3 takes to get it right, as technology was getting the best of us. Here are the original show notes - In this inaugural episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we explore the spark that started our journey to making this podcast. We provide a high-level overview of our industry background, and highlight two AHA moments that defined the future of our careers. Topics we cover: Who are Alex & Annie? The importance of having a good mentor Two AHA moments that defined our careers Where will this journey take us? Vacation Rental Women’s Summit Thank you for joining us and helping this become a reality. We cannot wait to bring you more exciting stories from the PEOPLE behind the industry. CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, November 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: And the Major Award Goes to... Lance & Elaine Stitcher!
Send us a message! For this November 1st of the Month Bonus Episode, Alex & Annie welcome Lance and Elaine Stitcher - Owners of Seaside Vacations & Sales - a full-service, boutique Vacation Rental company that operates in Chincoteague Island, VA, Ocean City, MD, and Captains Cove, VA. During the VRMA 2023 International Conference in Orlando they became the recipients of the Vacation Rental Management Company of the Year Award and are joining us today to talk about their road to winning this prestigious award. Lance and Elaine understand that to truly provide the best possible guest experience, you need to level up your service and go beyond the industry status quo. One of the ways they’ve done it is by bringing laundry in-house and including linens as a standard part of their service. This was a costly, uphill battle at first, but now they can proudly say that they’re the only vacation rental managers in their market that do this - which takes a huge burden off of the guests shoulders. Spirits are high after the phenomenal VRMA conference in Orlando last week. Compared to last year's event in Vegas, the Orlando venue was much less populated by external parties making it easier to connect with industry peers - which is what vacation rental conferences are all about. This year, the DARM and Women’s Summit Conferences are both right around the corner from the VRMA event, and we’re expecting a strong follow-up to the Orlando event. When asked about revenue management in 2023, Lance reaffirms that the COVID high season is obviously over, however, they’ve still seen a 25% growth improvement compared to 2019 which puts them at an over 5% yearly growth rate for the last 4 years. Revenue management is no easy task, especially if it’s one of the many hats you wear, which is why Lance considers Rev & Research and Wheelhouse must-haves for their business at this point. With the market no longer being as forgiving as it was during 2020-2021, Lance and Elaine are both focused on making revenue management their superpower. This year, they’ve learned an invaluable lesson about the importance of getting seasonal pricing right, and the market expectation of flexibility when it comes to cancellations and changes to bookings. Check out the full episode to hear the road that took Seaside Vacations & Sales to the VRMA Vacation Rental Management Company of the Year Award! HIGHLIGHTS: 00:00 Lance & Elaine Receive the VRMA Award! 02:21 Seaside Vacations & Sales Road To Victory 05:03 Bringing Their Laundry In-House 10:42 The Value of Conferences 17:21 Revenue Management in 2023 24:52 How Consumers Choose Booking Sites 30:52 Why Our Industry Rocks! This episode is brought to you by Rev & Research ! Connect with Lance: <a href='ht
Wed, October 25, 2023
Flashback: 5 Ways to Drive Direct Bookings Before the OTAs Put You Out of Business with Vanessa Humes
Send us a message! Join us today for a special FLASHBACK episode with Vanessa Humes as we explore the Top 5 Ways to Drive Direct Bookings! This episode originally aired in September 2022. Original shownotes from September of 2022: 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, Vanessa has great insights and tips that will help you build your business on your own land...because the grass really IS greener, when you water it yourself :) CONTACT VANESSA HUMES ICND LinkedIn vhumes@icnd.net CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, October 18, 2023
Planting Seeds: Marcus Räder Reflects on a Year of Massive Growth for Hostaway
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Marcus Räder - Founder & CEO of Hostaway. Hostaway is one of the fastest growing vacation rental management software companies, perfect for those with 5 to 1,000+ listings. They make it easy for you to get more out of your business while spending less time with tedious manual tasks by offering a variety of pre-made software-based solutions. Last time Marcus was on the show, we spoke about what companies really learn as they attempt to grow with investment capital, and this time he’s joining us to discuss where our industry is heading in 2024 and beyond. Aside from the fact that Hostaway just raised the biggest venture capital round in vacation rental history at $175 Million USD, the reason why we decided to have Marcus on the show again is because his last year's appearance on here ended up being one of our favorite episodes ever. Between the entrepreneurial and career wisdom, plus the technical topics we discussed - the episode was so good we released it twice. And today’s sequel does it justice. When speaking on the prioritization on what to develop for the Hostaway platform, Marcus reveals that their core philosophy stems from the fact that they need to be an all-in-one solution. There’s too many moving parts in the day-to-day operations of a property management company to allow decentralization, which is what Marcus realized 7 years ago during the inception of Hostaway. The money trail that goes from renter to property owner is a complex route with many stops, which creates quite a few inefficiencies. Marcus draws a comparison to Amazon - the reason why they’re so price efficient is because they remove a variety of steps from the money trail including logistics and wholesalers, allowing for true efficiency to be achieved. This same Amazon-esque philosophy is what he applies to how Hostaway serves their clients. Marcus speaks on the success of Hostaway being in large part driven by their company culture and hiring methodology. The reason why they’ve been able to achieve more with a team of 150 then their competitors with teams of 5-600 is due to them being zoned in on hiring the right talent and building a culture of winners. To help facilitate this type of environment, Marcus makes sure to meet with every single new hire, even though at times it might take 3 months to get it set up with his ultra busy schedule. Now that American Express is moving into the vacation rental space with their loyalty program, many speculate on the impact this will have on the market share between hotels and rentals. Marcus brings up a great point that these new programs won’t fundamentally change the thinking of a buyer when choosing between a hotel or a rental property, so no impactful uptick is to be expected from this new program. Tune in to the full ep
Wed, October 11, 2023
Embark On Your Marketing Journey with Marketing Guru, Veronica Romney
Send us a message! On this episode of Alex & Annie : The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, Alex is joined by Veronica Romney, Founder of Rainmaker Residency™ and VeronicaRomney.com. Veronica is a coach of all things marketing and leadership with over 15 years of experience. She puts her marketing skills on display with the two long term rental properties and one short term rental property she owns, and her marketing efforts as a solo contributor have outperformed both agencies and management companies with her holistic understanding on what it means to effectively market both herself and her products. As both owned and social media become more prevalent across every business sector, marketers have to learn how to market themselves first and foremost to unlock better opportunities and own their marketing channels. Here’s the problem - marketing yourself is no easy task for conventional marketers who’ve spent their careers building demand for goods and services. For many, putting yourself out there comes with a lot of anxiety and imposter syndrome, and the way Veronica suggests battling those seeds of doubt is to remember the statistic that 82% of Americans will think positively of a brand if its leaders have their own thought leadership and online presence. Veronica’s path to working with influencers such as Tony Robbins, Pete Vargas and Dean Grazioni stemmed from her decision to sell her agency. After 5 years of running ModernMarca with her husband, Veronica was very burned out, and her exit just so happened to be around the same time as Tony Robbins and Dean Grazioni entered into their partnership on a new service which was all about how to monetise your knowledge. Veronica became a client, and the program ended up being a major success with the team behind it looking to follow up by building a public speaking team - on which Veronica won a spot in a 600 applicant competition. The way Veronica got into the short term rental space is by purchasing a second home and converting their townhouse into a rental property. The house she purchased came with $80,000 worth of bookings already made prior to their investment, and it was run by a top tier local property manager. Upon purchase she noticed that the house was badly maintained and came with an archaic, outdated system, which broke her perception of property management companies. To fix this predicament, Veronica reached out to a smaller, more modern local management company and offered a hybrid model - they take care of the operations and property management and she does all the marketing, and so a win-win was born! Tune into the full episode to learn how marketing yourself can open up new and exciting opportunities! HIGHLIGHTS: 00:42 How Veronica and Alex Met 03:28 Marketing Products vs Marketing Yourself 12:32 Veronica’s Impressive Resume<
Wed, October 04, 2023
An STR Rollercoaster: Exploring The Highs and Lows of Rental Arbitrage, with Syed Lateef of SyedBnB
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Syed Lateef of SyedBnb. Syed is a philanthropist, a family man, an exotic car collector, an 8 figure Airbnb Coach, and the CEO of his short term rental company. He currently operates almost 300 units and is looking to add more. Last year his Airbnb business did more than $10,000,000 in revenue - but it was NOT an easy ride. Syed’s journey into short term rentals began when he was in the midst of looking for ways to achieve financial freedom, which led him to purchase his first multifamily investment property in 2017. After living in it for a year, he ended up placing it on Airbnb based on a podcast episode he heard, and this move ended up making double the rent value immediately. Then, within 3 months it started making triple the rent value, and so his new business plan was in motion. Fast forward to today, Syed has over 300 units under management, with a majority of his properties being in the Chicago area. COVID was a true challenge for Syed’s business. When flights were grounded, regulations came in overnight and Airbnb refunded more than $100,000 worth of Syed’s bookings, he was faced with the reality that the lease agreements he had signed were no longer sustainable. After approaching property owners, he gave them 3 potential options - either he moved out of their properties, went into revenue share agreements with them or they could sue him. Even though things were looking grim, most owners agreed to go into a revenue share agreement, and even those who were ready to sue him slowly retracted their positions as they started to understand exactly how crazy the world was becoming. It’s no secret that the rental arbitrage model is one that often doesn’t work out in the vacation rental space - but that’s not the case for Syed’s business. The reason why Syed’s business model works even though almost all of it is based on rental arbitrage is the fact that he’s mostly in urban areas where the rents are much lower. Even though Chicago might seem like a year-round market, Syed reveals that most of their bookings happen during the summer, with him reporting losses between $350,000-$400,000/month during the winter months. When asked about booking windows, Syed mentions that everything has gone last minute in 2023. Between hotels being open again and all the negative press that Airbnb has been getting, Syed’s lead times are now on average 5 days, which is very stressful. Another big stress factor for his business is the over-reliance on consistent cash flow. Syed mentions that another freak event like COVID could wipe out their business overnight, which is a tough idea to deal with for any entrepreneur. Tune into the full episode to hear about the rollercoaster of running an Airbnb empire! HIGHLIGHTS 00:33 Syed’s STR Journey 02
Sun, October 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Having a Ball with Ginger & Hunter Harrelson of Beachball Properties
Send us a message! For this October 1st of the Month Bonus Episode, we have our next edition in the “Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers'' series, presented by Casago, welcoming Ginger & Hunter Harrelson - Owners of Beachball Properties - a family-owned vacation rental and property management company servicing the Alabama Gulf Coast that offers a premier selection of condos, duplexes, and private homes in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Fort Morgan. Prior to founding Beachball Properties, Hunter was in finance and Ginger was working for a big law firm - which isn’t a common mix of backgrounds for founders of vacation rental businesses. The way Beachball Properties began was with Hunter & Ginger cashing out their corporate 401k’s, selling their house and boat to purchase a small, local vacation rental business that kickstarted their industry journey. Beachball Properties have grown to over 270 properties under management, and managed to do so within 7 years - which is no common feat!. Ginger & Hunter attribute their growth to their community involvement, building both their personal brands and the company brand on social media, and the fact that they had a scrappy and aggressive marketing strategy from day one in a market where their competitors were not utilizing these channels. When asked about the biggest challenges that Beachball Properties currently face, Hunter unveiled that In May of 2022, Beachball started building their very own laundry facility which has been an intense and demanding project, but one that is going to be ready soon and will be a gamechanger for them. Ginger speaks on the fact that with over 270 properties under management, they can no longer market themselves as the little guy which means they need to change their messaging - and that will be a difficult task especially since the current messaging is working so well and they have no intentions of losing their existing stream. Check out the full episode to hear the full story of Beachball Properties! 02:02 How Ginger & Hunter Met 06:52 How Beachball Properties Came To Be 10:43 Being Involved With The Local Community 14:22 Scaling Through Scrappy Marketing 26:03 Beachball Properties Biggest Mistake 33:48 Ginger & Hunter’s Approach to Industry Events 38:43 Biggest Challenges In 2023 This episode is brought to you by Casago and Rev & Research ! Connect with Hunter: Website | Linkedin Connect with Ginger: Website | Linkedin Connect with Alex and Annie:</
Wed, September 27, 2023
Throwback Episode: Building a Start-up in a Grown-up Organization, with Homes & Villas VP Jennifer Hsieh
Send us a message! Hey listeners, it’s throwback time! Today we’re looking back at a very special episode from 2022 with Jennifer Hsieh, VP of Homes & Villas by Marriott. Here’s a fun fact: Annie had just completed her final interview for the position of Director of Business Development with Jenny just moments before we recorded this episode. A lot has changed since we first started this podcast, and it’s fun to reflect on past episodes to see how far we’ve come; individually, collectively, personally and professionally. We are SO grateful for everyone who tunes in to the show each week – thank you for your support and friendship! Show Notes from original air date October 5, 2022: 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 presented perhaps the most unique - yet sought after - option for their loyal Bonvoy members. Alex, Annie & Jenny dive into the details of the complexities of growing a start-up in a grown-up enterprise, along with HVMI's position on working exclusively with professional property managers. Jenny shares career insights on her first major role with Target, and then how she worked in various departments in Marriott before moving into her current role to launch HVMI. She is an inspirational leader and one certainly worth following. Find out more about Homes & Villas by Marriott here: https://homes-and-villas.marriott.com/ This episode is brought to you by our Premiere Brand Sponsor, Casago, and Co-Sponsor Rev & Research CONTACT JENNIFER HSIEH LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, September 20, 2023
Vacation Rental Secrets with Best Selling Author, Brooke Pfautz
Send us a message! On this episode of Alex & Annie : The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, Alex is joined by D. Brooke Pfautz, Founder of Vintory - a company that is laser-focused on helping vacation rental managers grow their inventory. Brooke stumbled into the vacation rental space right before the global economic crisis of 2008 when he founded Vantage Resort Realty which quickly grew to 500+ properties under management and became one of the country’s largest vacation rental managers. After exiting from Vantage in 2013, Brooke held a couple of positions in the space until launching Vintroy 4 and a half years ago, and he’s now helped over 600 companies to grow their inventory. Guests are the lifeline of your vacation rental business, however, too many companies don’t have a proactive strategy for acquiring new homeowners and often only tend to this matter once they experience significant churn. Brooke quotes a study they did which showed that an inventory acquisition strategy is 4-6x more impactful than marketing or revenue management, yet vacation rental companies disregard this motion, ultimately leaving a ton of business on the table. Brooke recently published his 2nd book - “ Vacation Rental Secrets: The Short-Term Rental Industry’s Top Experts Disclose their Biggest Mistakes and Share their Hard-Earned Wisdom ”, which features our very own Alex Husner and quite a few recurring guests we’ve had on Alex & Annie. The inception of the book happened when Brooke was presented with the question of what are 10 biggest mistakes you’ve made in your journey so far, which then went viral on LinkedIn and had people from all across the industry reaching out to share their mistakes, which Brooke turned into a daily post cadence, which then laid the foundation for the book! Brooke brings up chapter nr. 8 from the book, which highlights a fact about inventory that’s been mentioned on the show before and should be reminded to managers more often - disqualification is key to scale. Not all inventory is good inventory, and the negative impact of working with bad owners far outweighs the immediate revenue gain. Tune into this episode to learn how to make inventory your superpower! HIGHLIGHTS: 01:15 Brooke’s Journey until Vintory 04:26 New Property Acquisition Strategies 09:26 Choosing The Right Market 11:41 The Book is Here! 15:42 Brooke’s Favorite Mistakes 17:15 Culture Index and Predictive Index Integration 21:43 Disqualification is Key to Scale 26:2
Wed, September 13, 2023
Conquer Social Media and Turn Posts Into Revenue with the CEO of Revpar Media, Calvin Tilokee
Send us a message! Today joining Alex & Annie is Calvin Tilokee, CEO & Creative Director of Revpar Media - a social media management company that works with hotels and takes a strategic approach to growing your audience and turning them into customers. Calvin has always shined with his sense of humor and ability to create funny, interesting and relatable content. He started with a company Facebook group that was used for sharing memes, and there he was able to put his creativity on display. He moved on to Instagram and started building a holistic social media presence, and from that the business idea began. Calvin has grown his Instagram to over 25,000 followers - which is no small feat for a business account. He attributes his success to a frequent, consistent content publishing schedule which was strategically built to hit people’s notifications and feeds during times when social media usage is highest. This strategy grew his account from 4000 to almost 10000, effectively doubling his follower count. Then the pandemic hit, and he grew another 50% when people really needed some comic relief. A common reason why so many business pages fall flat is because they underestimate the investment that needs to be made to make it work. It’s pretty standard that social media management and content creation is delegated to an early 20’s employee that has a full-time role already and has no real industry knowledge, making it impossible for them to create a piece of content that will attract new customers. When the Airbnb boom happened, Calvin had already spent more than 10 years in the hotel industry so he had a live view of the impact and how it escalated over the years. He lays some wisdom about adapting to new market conditions - with Airbnb, just like with TripAdvisor and any new platform that shows up, legacy industries are often in denial and neglect new advancements until they feel the market shift that is brought on by these new innovations, which is the opposite way of how things should be viewed in order to stay ahead of the curve. When discussing how the hotel industry are looking at vacation rentals and short term rentals from a competition standpoint, Calvin sees that in large metropolitan cities like San Francisco and New York the markets are pretty even and hotels aren’t really stressing about the competition, however, in places like Orlando or Palm Springs in which the infrastructure supports rental properties more than hotels - revenue managers need to look into what vacation rentals offer, otherwise they won’t stand a chance. Tune into the full episode to learn more on how the hotel industry is making waves on social media! HIGHLIGHTS: 02:43 How Calvin Began Making Content 06:57 Growing Your Instagram to 5-Digit Follower Counts 09:14 Connect With Your Audience by Finding t
Wed, September 06, 2023
Taking the Leap: How To Start Your STR Entrepreneurship Journey, with Tony Stancato
Send us a message! Today joining Alex & Annie is Tony Stancato, Owner-Operator of Book ‘n Gather - a vacation rental management company that helps you get the most out of your vacation rental by helping with optimization and maintenance. He’s also the co-host of Michigan Short Term Rentals Podcast, their show is about to hit their 50th episode milestone - so if you’re in Michigan, queue their show on your podcast list! Tony’s background is in manufacturing - he was in that industry for 14 years prior to pursuing short term rentals as his career. The original idea was to grow their roots in short term rental hotspots like Florida or Tennessee, but as they dug deeper they noticed that it made a lot more sense for them to stick to their current location - Michigan - and they’ve scaled their business to a dozen properties since. The biggest decision anyone has to make when starting out their journey as an owner/operator of a short term rental property is - where do I begin? Do you start by purchasing the smallest possible property to see if it’ll work out, or do you go for a large multi-family expecting higher ROI? Tony mentions that the one thing that helped him the most was having a group of people that would join him in evaluating potential investments and encourage him to make the leap when the right opportunity presented itself. Working up the courage to start this journey, especially if you’re a conservative buyer, is never easy - so a strong support system is worth its weight in gold. So your main takeaway should be to stop falling for analysis paralysis, and take the opportunity once it presents itself. Whatever choice you make, things won’t be perfect from the get go and you’ll have to learn along the way, so the sooner you start the quicker you’ll get to where you want to be. When you’re a bit further in your STR business road, selecting the right software vendors will be your next big move - and it’s one that can drastically improve your life as an owner-operator if done right. Tony suggests that you visit STR conferences as a good source for potential software vendors, as well as be proactive researching new tools through peer-reviewed channels such as social media and social media communities. Tony operates strictly out of Michigan, and has his finger on the pulse when it comes to local regulations. Michigan isn’t a conventional STR hotspot, so in many ways they’re still learning and developing their legislative approach. In some locations there’s a huge disconnect in how decisions are made - at times regulations go from 0-60 overnight, meaning a lot of stress for operators who can go from choosing their own rules to being effectively handcuffed overnight. Tune in for the full episode to learn how to start your own Short-Term Rental Owner-Operator Journey! HIGHLIGHTS: 04:
Fri, September 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Sarah Franzen Announces Her New Journey
Send us a message! On the September 1st of the Month Bonus Episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Sarah Franzen - the ex-Director of Revenue Management & Analytics at Natural Retreats - a luxury vacation rental management company operating in some of America’s most iconic destinations. Sarah is here to announce a huge career change - as of today, September 1st, 2023, she’s going out on her own and is now the founder of REVZEN. Prior to working in the vacation rental space, Sarah was in education - which perfectly aligns with her decision to become a consultant. Her plan is to utilize her education background and skill set to stand out in the crowd of consultants by truly encompassing the purpose of a consultant - to mentor, guide, and give actionable advice on how to make revenue management your ultimate business advantage. Sarah’s A-HA Moment that led her to begin her entrepreneurial journey stemmed from her 8 year tenure in vacation rental revenue management. When she began her journey in her speciality, there really weren’t any clear guidelines on what the role entailed, and the tools and technology we have today were non-existent. She had a significant role in creating the building blocks of vacation rental revenue management, which ultimately made her a pioneer of her craft. Building processes and figuring things out as she goes was her everyday life, and during these trials she acquired the expertise, competence and confidence to now make a life changing decision. Then the actual moment happened during a retreat to Kansas City with 3 of Sarah’s peers. They made a commitment to form an association for revenue managers that would give them a forum to learn from each other. Sarah is an educator, there’s a gap in education - so a perfect fit is born! The information gap in revenue management has tightened over the last few years, yet there’s still an astounding amount of property managers and homeowners that have yet to start their revenue management journey. Part of the reason why is because implementing all the new tools and technology available to us today is no easy task. Setting your seasonal rates is a key ingredient in revenue management, but that’s really only the beginning. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to what your next steps should be. Distribution, team management, vendor selection - these are just a few of the aspects you could prioritize when looking to achieve revenue management excellence. It comes down to taking a deeper look into your current situation and pragmatically deciding your next move towards an optimized revenue model. An unbiased view is a must have to achieve this, which is why a consultant is the perfect option, as following the advice of a third party is your best chance at making unclouded decisions. Tune into the full episode to learn how to make reven
Wed, August 30, 2023
Making Vacation Rental Safety Sexy! With Justin Ford of Breezeway
Send us a message! Today, joining Alex & Annie is Justin Ford, the Director of Short-Term Rental Safety & Certification Programs at Breezeway, the leading property operations and services platform for short-term rentals. In October of last year, Breezeway received their Series B Investment of $15 million USD and since then they’ve successfully scaled to over 150 team members, serving clients such as Lake Tahoe Accommodations, Huswell, Seaside Vacations, and more. Justin’s journey to Breezeway began in the United States Coast Guard where he worked with fishery & boating safety. This eventually led him to a career as a yacht captain, managing a yachting fleet for a major credit card company for 11 years until Bank of America acquired their company. In 1997 he had purchased a lake cottage in Maine, which he was actively renting out. As word spread that he’s managing the cottage as a source of income for himself, others wanted him to do the same for them and so his business in the short term rental space was born. His first venture that he co-founded, "On the Water in Maine Inc.," grew into the largest vacation rental company in the northeast and is still thriving until this day. During his time growing On The Water in Maine, Justin saw the challenge of educating and enforcing safety guidelines for vacation rentals. His next venture started as a safety checklist, and then evolved into a company called Dwell Safe, and was acquired by Breezeway 4 years ago, where he was retained as a director. Safety regulations are no longer an afterthought. Most incidents once deemed "accidents" are now seen as entirely preventable, placing great emphasis on accountability. While an accountability-based approach is unquestionably an overall improvement over the previous status quo, it does come with some growing pains that Justin and Breezeway actively aim to address. A major issue is that many safety regulations are presented in a convoluted manner, discouraging self-education. The official government safety code is exceedingly complex, requiring a PhD in Safety Sciences to even read. Moreover, there are numerous aspects not covered in the official code, rendering proper implementation overly complicated. Justin’s prediction regarding the restructuring of safety codes & regulations for short-term rentals closely follows the trajectory of the hotel industry’s regulations over the last 50 years. He anticipates that within less than 5 years, a government-approved definition of short-term rentals will be established, accompanied by a standardized code that will be approved and implemented overnight. This will cause a huge earthquake for short term rental operators, as they’ll have to immediately get their properties up to code or face the consequences. Check out the full episode to learn how to stay ahead of the
Wed, August 23, 2023
Getting Creative: Unlock Your Next Great Idea at Keystone Retreats with Steve Schwab and Matt Landau
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie are joined by two recurring guests: Steve Schwab, CEO of Casago, and Matt Landau, Founder of VRMB. Together, they have started a new joint venture called Keystone Retreats. These recurring cohorts aim to help those in the vacation rental industry break through to the next level through creative and educational workshops and events. Last year, Matt was feeling that burnout was creeping up on him. Not being his first rodeo, he knew exactly what the signs are, and decided to start pivoting towards Keystone Retreats - a new venture that would ultimately reignite his passion for the Vacation Rental Industry. Matt decided to join forces with Steve, who has over 22 years of vacation rental industry experience running Casago. Steve describes his time with Keystone Retreats as a real eye opening experience that has taught him how to better serve the vacation rental industry and become an even greater force in our space. Keystone Retreats is all about transformation. Instead of just focusing on just the business side of the vacation rental industry, the real purpose of these events is to help people unlock their north star by collaborating on new, creative projects and stimulating parts of their mind that might have been left unmoved since they were a kid. Steve shared their plan for future Keystone events - they are looking to step up their next iteration by having a clearer vision of what Keystone Retreats is, and constantly improving the value that’s brought to the participants. Their next step is to cultivate more amazing thought leaders that will come in to share their journeys, workshops, and transformative paths that will help you break through to the next level. If all of this sounds a little bit fluffy to you, you’re not the only one - even our host Alex was a bit skeptical about the creative workshop part of the events, but it ended up being the most memorable and transformative part of her Keystone Retreats experience, and one she fondly recalls to this day. Check out the full episode to learn more on what Keystone Retreats has in store for you! HIGHLIGHTS: 01:15 - Matt’s Journey with Burnout 03:19 - How Steve Joined Keystone Retreats 05:58 - The Meaning of Keystone Retreats 10:25 - What to Expect in Future Keystone Events 14:32 - Should You Indulge in Creative Activities? 17:21 - Will Keystone Retreats Attract the STR Industry? 23:45 - The World-Class Experience of Keystone Retreats This episode is brought to you by Casago and Rev & Research ! Connect with Steve: Website |
Wed, August 16, 2023
The Inside Scoop Behind the VRMA, with Executive Director Kimberly Miles
Send us a message! Today joining Alex & Annie is Kimberly Miles, Executive Director of the Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA) - an international, professional trade association of the vacation and holiday rental property management and hospitality industries. Kimberly has been with the VRMA for 2 years, and previously had an impressive 19 year tenure at American Hotel & Lodging Association, where she advanced up to becoming their SVP of Operations. Our very own Alex Husner is also a board member of the VRMA, so on this episode Alex and Kimberly dive into highlighting the role of the Executive Board at VRMA. The 13 leaders that represent the board develop and drive the strategic course for the association and set out their goals and priorities to make sure the organization is always a valuable asset to the vacation rental industry and a true representative of the hospitality space. When Kimberly started with VRMA, they had just held their first in-person meeting since the pandemic. Associations were struggling in a remote world, so Kimberly had her hands full with reigniting the spark of in-person events. Within her first 6 months, she got up to speed with the task at hand and successfully held a staggering 1700 person event in San Antonio. After weathering the storm of returning in-person conferences, in 2022 Kimberly was able to shift her attention to the long-term planning and goals of VRMA and take a more strategic seat in her duties as Executive Director. The approach that the VRMA is taking to their growth strategy is centered around embracing change. The board is focused on adaptability, and their goal is to make sure that everyone in the industry has a place under the VRMA roof. The organization heavily emphasizes education as the best way to grow, and it’s one of the reasons why they’ve become an industry leader. In order to maximize the reach of their educational efforts, the VRMA is always promoting their conferences and events, but they’re also cognizant of the fact that not every vacation rental owner is doing this full time, meaning that lower-commitment educational sources like webinars and ebooks get the same amount of attention. There’s a huge event on the horizon - The VRMA are hosting their International Conference in Orlando, October 22-25, 2023. The event is hosted at the Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, and Kimberly expects this to be a record breaker - so get your tickets now before they’re sold out!! Tune into this episode to learn more about the exciting things that the VRMA have prepared for you, and we hope to see you all in-person in October at the 2023 VRMA International Conference! HIGHLIGHTS: 01:58 What Does the Executive Board at VRMA Do? 06:01 Kimberly’s VRMA Post-Pandemic Onboarding 10:03 VRMA’s Growth Strategy
Wed, August 09, 2023
The Importance of Diversification with the Founder & CEO of Newman Hospitality, Andy Newman
Send us a message! Today joining Alex & Annie is Andy Newman, Founder & CEO of Newman Hospitality - a company that connects Real Estate Investors with high income short-term rental opportunities. Newman Hospitality operates in South Florida, Northern Virginia and Indiana, which at first glance might seem like an inefficient mix of locations, but as it turns out this very approach has given Newman Hospitality the chance to avoid the huge risk factor and seasonal woes of having all of your eggs in one geographical basket. Andy mentions that this strategy blossomed from his banking background, where risk management is everything. Newman Hospitality has been able to retain their workforce year-round, and harvest the fruits of diversification. One interesting statistic that Andy brings up is that by spreading out your properties by at least 50-75 miles, you reduce your climate risk by half - which is a huge advantage in a market like Florida where natural disasters are becoming a common occurrence. How Newman Hospitality came to be was when Andy started his first venture after leaving corporate banking in 2010. He had gotten used to traveling and spending a lot of time in Airbnb’s, and he enjoyed the experience so much that he started hosting his friends & family for free. That drove him to the VRMA and hospitality sector in general, on a mission to become a better host. Currently, Newman Hospitality manages 130 properties. As many businesses do, their initial approach was to scale their portfolio as fast as they could, but after a while they started disqualifying and getting rid of properties that weren’t up to their standards. Their evaluation process focuses on three key elements - Property, Location and Owner. This has served them better than purely focusing on short term revenue, as disqualification avoids major headaches in the long run and guarantees that the customer experience is consistent in every location. One of their biggest recent strides was becoming part of the Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy network. While anyone can join Airbnb without much effort, Marriott Homes & Villas is a truly exclusive network that requires a good bit of qualification to join, and has been a huge selling point for both renters AND property managers to put their trust in Newman Hospitality. Check out the full episode to learn more on how to turn diversification into your ultimate business advantage! HIGHLIGHTS: 07:25 Newman Hospitality’s Business Strategy 11:02 Airbnb’s impact on Newman Hospitality 13:40 The Impact of Joining Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy 16:32 Pick The Right Channel Partners 17:32 Andy’s Coaching Career 22:40 How Newman Hospitality Scaled 25:20 Issues With Regulations 30:25 Managing Long-Term Rentals 35:50 Running a Family Business 39:18
Wed, August 02, 2023
Exploring New Air Sensor Technology with the CMO of WYND, Dora Du
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex and Annie are joined by Dora Du, CMO of WYND - venture-backed startup that has built proprietary sensor technology that helps homeowners take control of the air in their properties. Their first use case is a product line that monitors and improves in-door air quality, and more recently they’ve released a new product that detects noise and smoke. WYND was founded by MIT engineers and scientists, with their first focus being to create products for the residential market. During COVID, they ventured into the vacation rental space unintentionally - but as more property managers bought their initial line of products, WYND followed the market and have now changed their messaging, approach and product development to be more tailored towards the vacation rental industry. Dora highlights that WYND is playing their role in the automation revolution of the vacation rental industry. With new remote technology becoming more prevalent and the short term rental space being democratized with the Airbnb boom, there’s both excitement on the horizon, and also lots of added pressure with the rapid increase in regulations. They know their product line will become less of a “nice-to-have” and more of a “must-have” as HOA’s and local governments push for more regulations. When comparing the vacation rental and hotel markets, Dora mentions that the biggest difference is the speed of adaptation and implementation. Selling to vacation rental property managers happens at a much lower volume and with a less complex sales cycle, which puts vacation rentals ahead of the curve in regards to new technology adaptation. Dora goes into detail on how WYND is changing the game for sensor technology, and talks on the many use cases and proprietary value of their product line. They are now developing new AI technology to help people improve their indoor environment by better understanding the air they breathe - which is super exciting. Tune in to the full episode to learn about new technology that might be a great addition to your vacation rentals! HIGHLIGHTS 00:30 How WYND Found Product Market Fit 08:54 Dora’s Career Trajectory 11:22 The Difference Between Serving STR’s and Hotels 13:29 How COVID Kickstarted Vacation Rental Technology Adaptation 15:25 How WYND’s Technology Works 19:30 Dora’s A-HA Moment in Her Career 20:59 What’s Next for WYND This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Spe
Tue, August 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Simon Says - The Airbnb Bubble has BURST
Send us a message! On the August 1st of the Month Bonus Episode, Alex & Annie welcome the return of Simon Lehmann - CEO and Co-Founder of AJL Atelier, a boutique consultancy that specializes in the international private accommodation and vacation rental industry. The topic of today is the shifting landscape of the short term rental industry, and what the current situation is in different STR hotspots around the world. Simon has a 360 view of the global vacation rental market, as both his consultancy and the clients he serves operate around the world. One of his insights is that international airfares have reached unprecedented levels, while domestic travel has taken a backseat. European economic downturns typically arrive with a delay compared to the US, so this ripple effect is expected to drive down international demand in 2024 and return domestic travel back to status quo. Simon mentions that the current macroeconomic situation with interest rates hiking is making short term rental investments less attractive to investors. The increased cost of capital has even shaken up giants like Airbnb, causing them to decrease the exorbitant fees they had climbed up to over the last few years. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the industry. With less people treating short term rentals as a goldmine investment opportunity, truly professional operators will have a chance to shine in a less crowded market and regain the market share they possessed prior to the Airbnb boom. The way Simon sees the market shaping is that professional operators are now having a resurgence, as the barrier of entry for a successful short term rental property manager is increasing. He sees professional hosts getting their market share back by integrating the right technology, having better accessibility through book direct vendors, and most importantly - fostering stronger long-term relationships with homeowners. The current downturn isn’t affecting every destination equally. The markets that are most damaged right now are 2nd and 3rd tier destinations, with real estate companies reporting unprecedented churn rates as newer operators that placed investments into short term rentals during the Airbnb rise of the last few years are now looking to unload their properties due to shrinking profits. Tune in to the full episode to learn how to navigate the market changes of 2023 and avert future crises! HIGHLIGHTS 04:39 The Market Has Softened - What Now? 08:43 Which Markets are Most Affected in 2023 11:01 Cost of Living Crisis in Europe 13:24 Climate Crisis - What’s Next? 16:02 Simon’s View of The Bear Market 23:28 How Professional Operators are Increasing Their Market Share 25:45 Building Trust Through Transparency 31:02 Homeowner Generational Changes 33:45 Simon’s Message for the Re
Wed, July 26, 2023
The Journey is the Destination: How Mike Reinman Sold to Vacasa, then Opened 2 Casago Locations
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex and Annie are joined by Mike Reinman, Owner of Casago Kona & Owner/GM of Casago Redwood Coast. Mike sold Redwood Coast Vacation Rentals to Vacasa at the end of 2019. After speaking with Casago CEO Steve Schwab, Mike decided to return to the industry and purchase a STR business in Kona. This is where his partnership with Casago began, and what laid the foundation for his next venture with Casago Redwood Coast. Mike started in the short-term rental industry by converting his garage into a rental space. He then managed to scale this business to a staggering 142 properties before ultimately selling and taking a sabbatical from property management. During his time running Redwood Coast Vacation Rentals, Mike had been approached for a franchise opportunity with Casago, but he ended up going in a different direction. When Mike sold his first STR business, Steve Schwab approached him with the opportunity to purchase a vacation rental business in beautiful Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and so their partnership began. Mike attributes his decision to invest in Casago Kona to the support system that Casago brings to the table for their operators. He had experienced dissatisfaction with the previous software providers and booking vendors he had used, and those experiences made him doubtful of ever wanting to get involved in the vacation rental space again, given the struggle of ensuring operational soundness and profitability. A big selling point for Mike was the community aspect of being a Casago business. Having the ability to confide in other vacation rental owners and get their expertise on how to better run a vacation rental business has been a game changer and brought many new insights to Mike’s already astute understanding of the vacation rental industry. Mike’s appreciation for the way Casago works with their property managers didn’t appear from thin air. When he sold his first business to Vacasa, he wasn’t a huge fan of the corporate atmosphere. To be a successful property manager, you must have a broad understanding of various aspects of the business, and Mike didn’t feel like this was reflected in the conversations he had with members of the Vacasa team. Tune into this episode of Alex & Annie to hear more insights on what a proper support system can do for your vacation rental business! HIGHLIGHTS: 02:01 Mike’s Journey to California and the Inception of His STR Business 06:58 How Mike Started Evaluating His First Casago Project 10:25 The Struggles of Running a STR Business in Hawaii During COVID 11:34 How Casago’s Support System Closed Mike 15:17 Growing Together With Other Successful Property Managers 19:25 The Importance of Consistent Coaching 25:05 Mike’s Experience Working with Vacasa 27:42 Mike’s Approach to Leadersh
Wed, July 19, 2023
We've Got 99 Problems But Trash Pickup Ain't One, with CanMonkey CEO Alex Shapiro
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex and Annie are joined by Alex Shapiro, CEO and Co-Founder of CanMonkey - the very first Trash-To-Curb Service that handles the waste and recycling can duties of your vacation rental properties. CanMonkey started 4 years ago with a business model that’s similar to Uber and DoorDash - employing gig economy drivers to ensure a seamless service across 13 different states. What differentiates them from Uber’s business model is that they’ve achieved profitability as a bootstrapped startup, instead of relying on funding and burning through cash. Before Alex made the decision to go all-in, he chose to first see CanMonkey drive results in their local market. Luckily, this market was Scottsdale, AZ - one of the most thriving markets in the rental property space. His A-HA moment was during a meeting with a client who was converting his long-term rental into a short-term rental and had expressed his frustration with his current waste management setup. This conversation unlocked a deal that effectively doubled their business overnight - and Alex knew it was time to fully bet on CanMonkey. The way CanMonkey develops their service has been a key factor in their rapid growth. Alex has always approached product development with feedback and flexibility in mind, letting their clients be the ones who inspire their product strategy and ultimately choose how they’re best served. Another key factor has been their sublime approach to marketing. During the conversation with Alex, it’s apparent that his wheels are always turning when it comes to new ways to market their business. His approach to finding relevant and fun ways to create social media content stems from conversations he has with clients, and the tidbits that come through during those interactions. He’s also not afraid of “poking the bear” and creating campaigns that might receive negative feedback, which can often be a phenomenal strategy to gain brand awareness through a tiny sprinkle of controversy. Tune in to the full episode to learn what it takes to successfully scale a service-based business! HIGHLIGHTS: 01:30 - CanMonkey’s Go-To-Market Strategy 03:16 - The A-HA Moment that Led Alex to Going All-In 05:49 - CanMonkey’s Main Use Case 11:49 - Their Approach to Growth & Product Development 15:45 - Building Brand Awareness Through Clever Marketing 21:34 - Alex’s Roots in the Fortune 500 27:14 - The Advantages of Being Bootstrapped 31:26 - The Future of CanMonkey This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com</
Wed, July 12, 2023
Regaining a Love of the Family Business, with Stacy Wesson of Casago Cascara Vacations
Send us a message! In this special edition of our “Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers'' series, presented by Casago, we sit down with Stacy Wesson of Casago Cascara Vacations. Stacy shares her stories and experience in the industry running the family business in Sun River, Oregon that joined forces with Casago in April of 2022. The story of Casago Cascara Vacations for Stacy is one that begins in her early childhood. Her parents opened the business when she was only 5 years old, so she’s seen the evolution of every aspect of the business - and now holds the title of General Manager. A little over a year ago, Stacy joined forces with Casago to help streamline the business operations of Cascara Vacations. After 10 years in the industry, Stacy was feeling a bit frustrated with how the local business scene had evolved. New players were arriving in their local market and bullying them with aggressive, high-roller tactics, so a decision was made to get external help. Now, she’s seeing huge improvements in aspects such as new technology implementation, vendor selection and competitive analysis. Being part of a community of vacation rental professionals that are all working towards a common goal has been a game changer for their business, and has led Casago Cascara Vacations to see more positive reviews, avoid turmoil with homeowners, and bring solidarity to their internal team through the positive impact seen in their day-to-day operations. Check out the full episode to learn more tips & tricks on how to add efficiency and excellence to your vacation rental business! HIGHLIGHTS: 02:30 Stacy’s Leadership Philosophy 06:42 Navigating Around Bad Regulations and Unhappy Campers 12:08 Stacy’s Strategy for Avoiding Future Turmoil 16:23 What Went Into Stacy’s Decision to Join Forces With Casago 20:58 The Changes in Casago Cascara Vacations Over the Last Year 25:18 Casago’s Onboarding & Support Process 30:10 The Impact of Proper Training and Support This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Stacy: Website | Linkedin Connect with Alex and Annie: Alex Husne
Wed, July 05, 2023
How to Explain Changes in Revenue and Bookings to Your Homeowners
Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie are joined by a panel of experts to help guide you on a pressing topic - How to Explain Changes in Revenue and Bookings to Your Homeowners. 2023 is not turning out to be as profitable as expected for vacation rental managers, and naturally this is causing quite a bit of turmoil for property managers, especially those who got into the business during the golden years of 2020-2022. That’s why today's Revenue Roundtable features Ben Coleman - Founder of Rev & Research, Vanessa Humes - Director of Sales & Marketing at InterCoastal Net Designs and Lance Stitcher - Broker/Owner at Seaside Vacations and Sales. Some of the great insights discussed in this episode includes proactive, data-driven communication with your homeowners, as well as the importance of making sure you’re pricing appropriately for 2023 instead of making decisions like it’s still last year. Whether you’re an individual property manager feeling the pressure of the current market, or a Vacation Rental company with hundreds of properties under management looking to safeguard your book of business - tune in to this episode to learn from our expert panel on exactly what steps to take to navigate the stormy seas of 2023 and beyond. HIGHLIGHTS: 00:00 Introducing Today’s Revenue Roundtable 02:24 Setting Today’s Agenda - Revenue is Down, What To Do? 04:30 How a Data-Driven Approach Is Becoming a Necessity in This Market 08:42 Proactive Account Management is a Necessity & Homeowner Marketing Becoming a Priority 13:25 The Value of a Strong Social Presence 14:52 More on Proactive, Data-Driven Communication, and the Importance of Staying Ahead of your Homeowner 19:10 Understanding Local Market Conditions and Pricing Accordingly 20:10 Lance’s Approach to Educating Homeowners About Market Conditions 22:13 How to Set Expectations for The Upcoming Fall Season 24:16 Creating Demand as a Marketing Focus Point 26:54 Data As The Ultimate Revenue Team Alignment Tool 30:52 Ben’s and Lance’s Approach to Channels 35:05 The Value of Proper Communication Within Your Team 36:16 What Topics are Currently Underrepresented within Revenue Teams 38:24 Lances Prediction on How Inventory Will Shift From Investments to Residential Properties 40:30 Bens Predictions on How The Markets are Changing and his Strategy to Navigate What’s Ahead 45:02 How To Get In Touch With Today's Experts This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in
Sat, July 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Celebrating 100 Episodes of Alex & Annie
Send us a message! Welcome to Episode 101 of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals - the celebration of passing the 100-episode milestone. Today, we are joined by Ed the Ghost Host, who's interviewing us about this wonderful journey we've been on since January 2021, and passing us the microphone so we can unveil some new projects and initiatives coming your way. To start, we'd like to thank everyone who has come along for the ride - from our wonderful guests to our plentiful listeners and those who engage with us on social media. We also appreciate those who aren't strangers when seeing us at vacation rental conventions and events. Your support, feedback, and communication mean a lot to us. It has been amazing so far, and there's so much more to come. It's beyond wild that we've been heard tens of thousands of times across six different continents and in almost 30 countries. This was not at all what we expected when we started this podcast two and a half years ago. So, what's next? We're now in the process of writing our first book that will highlight the stories of our guests. It's a passion project we've been thinking about for a long time, and we believe it's time that we create something tangible to further shine a light on the wonders that have been revealed during these 100 episodes. We are beyond excited. One thing is very apparent in our industry - there's a divide between the short-term rental space and the vacation rental space, and we're not fans of that at all. We believe that a unified voice between the two sectors should be the common goal. This will help both industries grow and avoid unwanted regulations, and we're dedicated to doing our part in bringing alignment between these two similar but different industries. We have a list of guests that we would love you to hear from on our show, such as: Marcus Räder from Hostaway Ed Mylett Heather Monahan Rob Greyber from Vacasa Bill Faeth Brian Chesky from AirBnB This has been a really rewarding journey for both of us. Building our personal brands, beginning and nurturing new friendships, and hearing direct feedback from people we never thought were even listening to us. We're happy, grateful, humbled, and insanely excited for things to come. Stay tuned! 00:00 Welcome to Episode 101 - The Celebration of Passing 100 Episodes 00:45 Our First “Thank You” of the Episode 01:34 Introducing our Guest Host 03:37 What’s next for Alex & Annie? 05:04 Book Announcement!! 08:29 New Narratives in the Upcoming Episodes 11:28 What can STR’s Learn From Our Industry and Vice Versa 14:28 Dream Guest List - What To Expect 19:05 The Most Rewarding Parts of Our Journey as Hosts 22:26 Another Thank You!! This
Wed, June 28, 2023
From 0 to 100 Real Quick: Celebrating 100 Episodes of Alex & Annie Podcast with The 100 Collection
Send us a message! In this very special anniversary episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Travis Wilburn and Rebecca Lombardo - Co-Founders of The 100 Collection. The 100 Collection is a prestigious evaluation program that recognises exceptional vacation rentals managed by industry-leading companies committed to excellence in hospitality across a multitude of destinations. Travis and Rebecca are huge believers in the value that local brands bring to the vacation rental space and the importance of a “Doyen/Doyenne” - meaning the most well respected and knowledgeable person in their particular space - as the term relates to the absolute best local vacation rental manager. Their approach to adding new members to The 100 Collection is centered around finding the local Doyen/Doyenne. During this evaluation process, the highest esteemed and most trusted local hosts are curated and often unbeknownst to them enter a research and evaluation process to potentially become part of The 100 Collection. The 100 Collection is going live mid-July - so their guest-facing launch is right around the corner! We highly suggest you follow their journey and take the lessons discussed in this episode to heart when building your vacation rental brand. HIGHLIGHTS: 00:00 - Welcome to Episode 100! 00:50 - How Today’s Guests Started The 100 Collection 02:25 - What is The 100 Collection? 04:22 - The Meaning of “Doyen” 06:43 - How The 100 Collection Evaluates New Members 09:15 - The Importance of a Professional Vacation Rental Host 11:47 - How They Find a Doyen/Doyenne 15:40 - Current 100 Collection Portfolio 18:15 - The Value of The 100 Collection Brand & More On Their Evaluation Process 22:43 - How Customers Make Buying Choices & How To Develop a Trustworthy Brand 25:50 - When The 100 Collection is Going Live and Their Marketing Strategy 31:17 - What’s Next for The 100 Collection 34:43 - The 100 Collection Potentially Collaborating with VRMA 35:58 - The Story of The 100 Collection Brand 39:20 - A BIG Thank You to Our Fans!! This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Travis: Website | L
Wed, June 21, 2023
Book Direct Strategies + Mastering ChatGPT with Bart Sobies
Send us a message! Welcome back to another exciting episode! Today, we have a special guest, Bart Sobies, who is an expert in vacation rentals and technology. Bart is the visionary behind The Accommodation Show and iBooked.Online. He has a long history of success, starting his first online business at just 15 years old. With his passion for technology, marketing, and investment, Bart has helped many hospitality owners generate extra revenue through direct bookings and digital products. He is also the founder of a thriving Facebook community where over 2000 industry professionals share valuable insights. In this episode, Bart shares practical tips for building a successful website and using direct booking strategies. He draws from his experience in helping restaurants with online ordering to highlight the importance of adapting to changes and recognizing the potential of direct bookings in vacation rentals. As the host of The Accommodation Show, Bart explores how emerging technologies like AI and Chat GPT are shaping the future of the industry. He discusses their impact on thought leadership, provides valuable tips for using Chat GPT effectively, and explores their implications for SEO. Additionally, Bart stresses the significance of building a brand and reducing dependency on booking channels. He shares his best practices for identifying the ideal guest and employing effective communication strategies to foster guest loyalty and drive direct bookings. Join us for an enlightening conversation as Bart Sobies shares his expertise, recommendations, and visionary outlook on the vacation rental industry. Gain valuable insights that will empower you to navigate the evolving landscape and enhance your success as a hospitality owner or manager! Highlights of the Episode: 02:21 - Guest Intro: Bart Sobies 03:46 – A little bit of history 06:10 – Highly encouraged direct booking strategies 09:12 – Focus on the audience you can speak to 10:42 – Direct bookings or homeowner marketing 14:19 – Getting into the vacation rental space 19:16 – Chat GPT and where it's taking the industry 23:52 – Will it replace original thought leadership? 28:36 – Best tips on learning ChatGPT 35:21 – How this applies to the future of SEO in the marketing world 38:00 – Working with people in vacation rentals 40:38 – Not depending on a channel and building a brand 49:25 – Tying it all in to the guest experience 53:15 – Closing This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnn
Wed, June 14, 2023
Harnessing HostGPO to Simplify Purchasing for Vacation Rentals, with CEO Jeff Iloulian
Send us a message! Join us for an enlightening conversation with Jeff Iloulian, the CEO of HostGPO, a game-changing buying group for short-term rentals. Discover Jeff's remarkable journey from lawyer to successful vacation rental operator. He founded HostGPO to solve the challenge of sourcing high quality, affordable products for vacation rentals. By leveraging collective buying power, HostGPO transforms the industry, making it easier for operators to access top-notch products at discounted rates. In this episode, discover how HostGPO helps vacation rental owners save money in the long run by sourcing durable, commercial-grade furniture. We explore the challenges of dealing with property managers and homeowners, along with the valuable consulting and design services offered by HostGPO. Dive into the delicate balance between standardization and uniqueness in unit aesthetics. We also discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in the vacation rental industry and how GPOs, like HostGPO, help alleviate decision fatigue for owners. Furthermore, we delve into the advocacy work for industry safety in vacation rentals. Tune in for insightful discussions on these topics and more, providing valuable insights for vacation rental owners! Highlights of the Episode: 02:22 - Guest Intro: Jeff Iloulian 02:49 – Jeff and the company 06:11 – Company size and its operators 07:04 – Working with hosts big and small 08:15 – The process 09:58 – Dealing with property managers and homeowners 14:20 – Consulting and design service 17:42 – Homeowners upgrading their units 21:51 – Balancing standardization of units and uniqueness 24:59 – Going to the all-white model 28:33 – Covid exposed vacation rentals’ weaknesses 30:23 – Conversation with parents about transitioning from practicing law to short term rentals 37:41 – Solving the decision fatigue 40:57 – Advocacy work for industry 42:08 – People are sleeping on safety 49:44 – Closing This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Jeff: Website | Linkedin Con
Wed, June 07, 2023
Paid, Earned & Owned Media Strategies with Adam Stoker, CEO of Relic Agency
Send us a message! Join us for an insightful conversation with Adam Stoker, president and CEO of Relic Agency and guru in the world of tourism and destination marketing (DMO/CVBs/Chamber of Commerce). Discover how he stumbled into the tourism industry, built an 8-year relationship with the Cedar City, Utah Tourism Bureau, started the Destination Marketing Podcast and is now one of the largest DMO agencies in the country. In this engaging episode, we discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on the tourism industry, including the importance of building strong relationships with local stakeholders and vacation rental owners. Adam also shares his thoughts on how tourism destinations are now launching campaigns that focus on community pride, workforce development, and more. Plus, we explore the influx of short-term rental properties prior to the pandemic and how the oversupply in some areas had become a nuisance, but the pandemic has helped alleviate those issues. Don't miss our deep dive into the concept of branded media in the tourism industry and its role in the ever-changing competitive landscape. Adam explains the importance of involving all stakeholders in the vacation rental industry and how it has been a blessing for the industry. We also discuss the significance of paid, earned, and owned media as essential elements of a successful marketing strategy. Finally, we touch on the evolution and impact of AI in the tourism sector, including its role in content creation and SEO. Tune in for an episode packed with valuable insights and expert advice from Adam Stoker! Highlights of the Episode: 02:22 - Guest Intro: Adam Stoker 03:47 – Background and involvement in the DMO space 09:15 – Working with and without a budget in DMOs 13:40 – Podcasting and establishing credibility in the industry 16:14 – Recovery and what the future looks like for the tourism industry 23:29 – Branded media and owning your own audience 32:37 – Owned media for beginners 38:08 – AI and owned media 44:46 – AI is going to eliminate mediocrity 47:44 – AI and SEO 51:42 – Closing This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Adam: Website | <a hr
Thu, June 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Making Advocacy FUN Again! With Tiffany Edwards
Send us a message! Welcome to another first of the month bonus episode where it’s all about advocacy and legislative issues with Tiffany Edwards, a strategic consultant specializing in short-term vacation rental organizations. Tiffany's expertise spans across various markets, assisting in navigating STVR regulations, state legislation, stakeholder engagement, and grassroots campaigns. Her remarkable achievements include receiving the 2021 VRMA President's Award for her exceptional work in reopening STVRs post-COVID and raising advocacy funding to over $1.5 million for the organization. In this episode, Tiffany delves into the current state of vacation rental advocacy. She shares her experiences engaging with governors and communities, highlighting the industry's significant contributions. Discover how Tiffany brings together individuals with different mindsets to drive positive change and gain insights into the hot-button issues shaping the vacation rental industry. Tune in and join us as we explore the exciting world of vacation rental advocacy and find out about regulations that shape our industry! Highlights of the Episode: 02:32 - Guest Intro: Tiffany Edwards 05:24 – General sense of advocacy at the moment 07:29 – Involved in Governor Desantis' effort against Covid 11:36 – In a better position to talk about what the industry represents 17:41 – Bringing in people with different mindsets 20:37 – Funds and what issues gets the most help 25:14 – Hot button issues 30:28 – Finding business licenses that haven't been enacted 34:09 – Paying taxes 35:38 – Pre-emption and what it means for a community 40:56 – Closing This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Tiffany: Instagram | Email: tiffany@colettaconsulting.com Connect with Alex and Annie: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make su
Wed, May 31, 2023
Scaling a Global Vacation Rental Brand with Casago Partner Ryan Dame
In this compelling episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Ryan Dame, a seasoned leader in the vacation rental and hospitality industry. As a Partner at Casago and Good Neighbor Tech, Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. What does it take to excel in a multi-market operation and how important is financial literacy for vacation rental operators? Tune in Now! Join us as we delve into his insights on excelling in a multi-market situation, the importance of strategic partnerships, and the intricacies of franchising at Casago. Additionally, Ryan sheds light on the significance of financial literacy in the vacation rental industry. Don't miss this engaging conversation with Ryan as we explore the keys to success in this dynamic industry! Highlights of the Episode: 02:21 - Guest Intro: Ryan Dame 03:00 – Ryan's background 10:12 – Expanding to other areas 17:34 – Deciding business names 23:16 – What it takes to excel in a multi-market situation 27:46 – What an ideal partner looks like 32:16 – Franchises at Casago 33:21 – Experience in the keyless lock industry 39:15 – One thing that the industry should be talking about but isn't 47:26 – What's next for Ryan 50:06 – Closing This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Ryan: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram Connect with Alex and Annie: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook </a
Fri, May 26, 2023
Breaking News: Amy Hinote is BACK! 2023 DARM & Women's Conference Coming in December
Send us a message! Welcome to a special episode where we have the privilege of sitting down with Amy Hinote, the founder and editor-in-chief of VRM Intel Magazine, an industry leading trusted source of news, information, and resources for those in the professionally managed vacation rental industry. Drawing from her extensive background in finance and over 15 years of experience in the field, Hinote offers insights on the evolving landscape of the vacation rental industry and the upcoming fifth annual Data and Revenue Management Conference and the 2023 Vacation Rental Women's Summit in December. Join us as we explore the pivotal role of technology in driving industry growth and gain valuable insights from Amy on the importance of self-care in a demanding industry. You’ll want to tune in with an industry expert who is shaping the future of vacation rentals and helping our community unlock the secrets to success in our dynamic industry! Highlights of the Episode: 00:44 - Guest Intro: Amy Hinote 02:47 – The fifth Annual Data and Revenue Management Conference and the 2023 Vacation Rental Women's Summit 08:03 – Less vendors and booths, more vendors in the sessions 13:15 – Growth of technology in the industry 25:34 – Format of the women's summit 29:36 – Is VRM Intel still gonna be part of our space? 33:48 – The industry needs a voice 35:35 – If you don't take care of you, life will come in and make that decision for you 39:17 – Everybody has something that they're fighting This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Amy: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Vacation Rental Women's Summit | 4th Annual Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management Conference Connect with Alex and Annie: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnnieP
Wed, May 24, 2023
Unveiling the Secrets of High-End Concierge Service for Vacation Rentals with Kristin Brown
Send us a message! In our latest episode, we sit down with Kristin Brown CEO of Concishare, a prominent lifestyle concierge management company to explore high-end concierge service for vacation rentals. What does it take to provide a seamless experience and create an atmosphere of total relaxation for your guests? And what is the right mindset and strategies needed to excel in this space? Join us for an insightful conversation with Kristin as we explore the world of hotel-level concierge service tailored for vacation rentals. Discover her guests' most frequently utilized service, the intricacies of logistics, forging partnerships, and uncovering the realm of vacation rentals in various destinations. Don't miss out on this engaging episode - tune in now to gain valuable insights and enhance your understanding of exceptional concierge service in the vacation rental industry. Highlights of the Episode 00:44 - Guest Intro: Kristin Brown 01:12 – Kristin's background 02:56 – Replicating hotel level concierge for multiple destinations 06:13 – Seamless transition from hotels to vacation rentals 09:32 – Most used service 13:42 – Coordinating logistics 19:15 – Dealing with big events and sellout situations 22:04 – Repeat guests 26:04 – Markets and finding partners for on off markets 28:43 – Partners big and small 31:11 – Vacation rentals in other destinations 34:14 – Oddest request from a guest This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Kristin: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram Connect with Alex and Annie: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make
Wed, May 17, 2023
Property Management for Long and Short Term Rentals: Challenges and Strategies With Craig Stevens
Send us a message! Craig is a financial expert, author, and speaker who founded Shore Term Rentals, a short-term rental and property management company in New Jersey. With over 25 years of experience, he started acquiring multifamily apartment buildings in 2014, grew to 9 complexes worth $6M+, and developed a property management company to manage several of his personal properties. In this episode, Craig shares how he’s leveraging his background in finance to effectively run his property management business. Craig delves deep into the unique landscape of managing properties at the Jersey Shore, the ways in which short and long term rental management are different, and discusses regulatory issues that property managers face in the area. Don't miss out on this insightful discussion about the ins and outs of property management! Highlights of the Episode 00:43 – Guest Intro: Craig Stevens 01:32 – Steven's background 03:18 – The Jersey Shore landscape for property managers 04:22 – Experience carried over from long term rentals 07:02 – Making decisions on software 09:05 – Where most bookings come from 15:18 – Growth plans 18:37 – Hiring and workforce 20:38 – Referral system and networking 21:31 – The Multifamily side of business 24:52 – Overbuilding of long-term housing in Florida 26:35 – Forecasts of growth for a community 28:25 – Regulatory issues in Jersey Shore This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Craig Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Connect with Alex and Annie: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of <a href='http://alex
Wed, May 10, 2023
Special Episode: How to Build a Sustainable Brand, Live from RR Summit 2023 with Stuart Butler and Pete DiMaio
Send us a message! Today's episode is a very special one, as we bring you a recent panel discussion we hosted at Rent Responsibly 's 2023 Sustainability Summit. What does sustainability have to do with branding and company culture, and why is it more important than ever to focus on this way of thinking? Tune in to find out! Tune in as we dive into this topic with two of the smartest minds in hospitality marketing, Stuart Butler and Pete DiMaio . You do NOT want to miss this one! About the Guests: Stuart Butler After 20 years in the hotel industry, Stuart recently became the Chief Marketing Officer at the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB, the official destination marketing organization for the Grand Strand. A native of England, Stuart moved to the United States in 2001 and has spent the past two decades implementing marketing strategies for hundreds of hotels and destinations worldwide. With a degree in Rocket Science from the University of Kent at Canterbury, he leverages cutting-edge technology and takes a scientific and innovative approach to everyday marketing challenges. Pete DiMaio Pete is the Chief Operating Officer at TravelBoom. With TravelBoom, Pete takes an analytics approach to hotel marketing and works tirelessly to ensure his clients are able to drive occupancy, increase RevPAR, and improve direct bookings; all while providing a granular level of reporting that proves the return on investment. Pete has over two decades of experience in hospitality marketing from both the traditional and digital sides of the business. Highlights of the Episode 02:16 - Episode Intro by Dana Lubner, Head of Leadership Development at Rent Responsibly 05:17 – Guest Intro: Stuart Butler CMO for Visit Myrtle Beach and Pete Dimaio COO for TravelBoom 05:45 – What to consider when starting the brand 08:11 – What happened to companies that did not start thinking about building the brand 09:48 – Fundamentals for starters 14:23 – How not to get bogged down in making the right decisions 20:19 – Will the ability to customize by guest detract or build trust? 24:02 – The importance of company culture 32:29 – Assets that need to be protected 41:12 – Testing and why it's so important Connect with STUART: LinkedIn | <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/compan
Wed, May 03, 2023
Advocating for Short Term Rentals with Dana Lubner
Send us a message! This is a must-see episode: Today, we are joined by Dana Lubner, Director of Community Development at Rent Responsibly and host of the podcast "How to Save Your Vacation Rental Business." With a background in marketing and advertising, Dana fell in love with the short-term rental industry while working with her brother's company, Effortless Rental Group. However, her real passion emerged when she witnessed the industry's need for advocacy and education. As a founding member of Mile High Hosts, Denver's short-term rental community, Dana has organized events such as the Good Neighbor Summit and educates hosts on responsible practices. Now, at Rent Responsibly, she helps short-term rental owners and managers across the country mobilize to advocate for fair and balanced regulations while building strong alliances and educating the community. With her podcast, Dana continues to share her knowledge and passion for the industry, empowering listeners to take action and create a healthy and sustainable vacation rental community. Don't miss out on this informative discussion with Dana. Discover how Rent Responsibly is advocating for short term rentals and promoting successful alliances for hosts. Tune in now to gain valuable insights and be part of the community-building efforts in the short-term rental industry! Highlights of the Episode: 02:57 - Guest Background: Dana Lubner, Head of Leadership Development at Rent Responsibly 06:25 – Rent Responsibly the last couple of years 08:38 – The Good Neighbor Summit 14:02 – A portal for opportunity 16:52 – The year of reckoning or more regulations? 21:00 – Bring everybody that has a stake to the discussion table 25:23 – Partnership with the VRMA 28:38 – Interactions with other channels around vacation rentals 32:18 – What's next for Dana? This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Dana: Email: dana@rentresponsibly.org LinkedIn | Website | Instagram | Linktree Connect w
Mon, May 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: Mergers, Acquisitions & Consolidations…Oh My! With Simon Lehmann
Send us a message! Simon Lehmann is back for our May 1st of the Month Bonus Episode! As one of the world’s foremost experts on short-term rentals and vacation rentals, Simon is always first to spot emerging trends in our industry. In this episode, we delve into the current state of acquisitions within vacation rentals and how the economy is influencing these deals, along with what companies should be thinking about if they’re considering selling. Join us to gain valuable insights into the world of vacation rentals and learn how to navigate its changing landscape. Tune in now! Highlights of the Episode: 00:43 - Guest Intro: Simon Lehmann 01:18 – The state of the union as it is for vacation rentals 09:54 – Sell now or wait? 16:42 – Foreclosures as an opportunity for buying inventory 21:24 – It's a good time to sell when markets are slowing down 28:01 – Current valuations of deals 32:56 – What should we look forward to? 39:19 – Closing This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Simon: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter Connect with Alex and Annie: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook | <a href='ht
Wed, April 26, 2023
Implementing EOS to Enhance Efficiencies, with Matt Durrette
Send us a message! Here’s an episode you won’t want to miss: We talk to Matt Durrette, Founder and CEO of Cozi Vacation Rentals, about their journey to success. Nestled in the beautiful Texas Hill Country in Fredericksburg, Cozi is a premier 24/7 provider of property management and marketing services for its owners and a provider of unforgettable experiences for its guests. Originally founding the business out of Baltimore, MD, in 2014, Matt was able to grow his managed portfolio in this downtown market to 100 homes from 2014 to 2019 while working full-time for Northrop Grumman as a Global Business Development Representative and attending grad school at Saint Joseph’s University, in Philadelphia, where he obtained his MBA in Marketing and Data Analytics in 2018. Matt was fortunate to meet his beautiful wife, Jenna, who is originally from Austin, Texas. In Summer 2019, Jenna easily convinced Matt to move back to be near her family. Upon moving, Matt left his full-time job at Northrop and pursued Cozi Vacation Rental full-time. In March 2020, COVID ultimately shut down Cozi’s Baltimore City Market, and from this point, Matt chose to solely focus Cozi's growth on the drive-to tourism markets of the Texas Hill Country just south of Austin. Since April 2020, Matt has organically grown and scaled the Cozi Vacation Rentals unit portfolio in Texas from 0 to 250 units within two years. Tune in to our latest episode to find out how Cozi continues to thrive and learn a few secrets on how they do it as a team! Highlights of the Episode: 02:25 - Guest Background: Matt Durrette, Founder and CEO of Cozi Vacation Rentals 04:02 – Hill Country vs. Big Urban Area 07:03 – High quality partners for high quality service 10:37 – Bringing the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) to Cozi 14:20 – What the EOS does for company culture 24:30 – The impact of EOS on company meetings 33:14 – Predictive Index and Culture Index 40:10 – Keystone Retreat 45:58 – What’s next for Cozi? This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Matt: matt@cozivr.com | LinkedIn | <a
Wed, April 19, 2023
2023 Update: Markets, Revenue, Bookings & More with Melanie Brown of Key Data
Send us a message! For today’s episode, we talk to Melanie Brown. Melanie is the Director of Data and Analytics at Key Data, the leading analytics and benchmarking company for the vacation rental industry. Melanie has a strong background in data-driven decision-making. She is excited to help property managers and destinations around the world better understand their data. Key Data is the leading provider of trusted, real-time short-term rental market data around the world. Key Data Dashboard was created BY property managers FOR property managers. They offer an ensemble of business intelligence (BI) tools that tell the story of your company’s key metrics with easy-to-grasp dashboards of the 30-plus KPIs that are most important to you. Seamless PMS integrations provide trusted and anonymous data exchange with competitors in your local and regional markets. Tune in to our latest episode to learn how Key Data tools can help you better understand your vacation rental data and stay ahead of the competition! Highlights of the Episode: 01:45 - Guest Introduction: Melanie Brown 04:10 - Ahead of the hotel sector on the availability of data 11:41 - Key Data in relation to pricing tools 15:25 - Trends shown by the data 17:50 - Status of available units 19:30 - Comparing markets 22:45 - Why some destinations are not doing well 29:30 - Markets that are not on dynamic pricing 31:39 - One key tip for property managers 35:38 - Big things on the horizon (What’s next?) 37:18 - Companies that have properties in multiple markets 39:37 - How hotels are using Key Data Connect with Melanie: Website | LinkedIn (Key Data) | LinkedIn (Melanie Brown) | Youtube | Twitter This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness:
Fri, April 14, 2023
Breaking News: Key Data Dashboard and Rev & Research Form New Partnership
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie feature two special guests, Jason Sprenkle, CEO of Key Data Dashboard, and Ben Coleman, President of Rev & Research. They unveil a new partnership between their two organizations to better service their co-customers. Key Data is great at helping customers visualize data, especially with the increasing use of purely automated pricing platforms, while Rev & Research excels at walking customers through the process. Ben shares how genuine care to help customers make more money and give them back their time became the driving force behind their partnership. Learn more about how the integration between Key Data and Rev & Research will deliver data that empowers property managers in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Jason: Identifying a need to provide assistance to customers "You've got a lot of customers increasingly using purely automated pricing platforms like Bluehouse, PriceHub, etc, and you got a lot of customers who are doing it the old-fashioned way on their own. But what we're increasingly finding is there's a lot of customers in the middle who they want to do it on their own, they want to use some pro tools, but what they really want is some help." Ben: The partnership will provide accurate price forecasting "You can't be messing up rates these days. Owners are looking at them a lot more, guests are finding deals a lot easier, and the next thing you know, you've undersold a high season month real quick and you didn't really quite see what was coming." "And I think that we are going to be able to take all that data that they're going to give us and give it to us in a format that we can really start tracking and benchmarking markets and really start driving into true forecasting and into true budgeting for our clients. Connect with our guests: Jason: LinkedIn | Email | Website Ben: LinkedIn | Email | Website You can also email Rebecca and Key Data Sales . This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neig
Fri, April 14, 2023
Breaking News: Key Data Dashboard and Rev & Research Form New Partnership
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie feature two special guests, Jason Sprenkle, CEO of Key Data Dashboard, and Ben Coleman, President of Rev & Research. They unveil a new partnership between their two organizations to better service their co-customers. Key Data is great at helping customers visualize data, especially with the increasing use of purely automated pricing platforms, while Rev & Research excels at walking customers through the process. Ben shares how genuine care to help customers make more money and give them back their time became the driving force behind their partnership. Learn more about how the integration between Key Data and Rev & Research will deliver data that empowers property managers in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . “REAL” TALK Jason: Identifying a need to provide assistance to customers "You've got a lot of customers increasingly using purely automated pricing platforms like Bluehouse, PriceHub, etc, and you got a lot of customers who are doing it the old-fashioned way on their own. But what we're increasingly finding is there's a lot of customers in the middle who they want to do it on their own, they want to use some pro tools, but what they really want is some help." Ben: The partnership will provide accurate price forecasting "You can't be messing up rates these days. Owners are looking at them a lot more, guests are finding deals a lot easier, and the next thing you know, you've undersold a high season month real quick and you didn't really quite see what was coming." "And I think that we are going to be able to take all that data that they're going to give us and give it to us in a format that we can really start tracking and benchmarking markets and really start driving into true forecasting and into true budgeting for our clients. Connect with our guests: Jason: LinkedIn | Email | Website Ben: LinkedIn | Email | Website You can also email Rebecca and Key Data Sales . This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to<a href="https://www.
Wed, April 12, 2023
Making Vacation Rental Security Fun Again, with Guest Ranger’s Salar Tanzif
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie feature Salar Tanzif, the VP of Sales at Guest Ranger. Security has become a primary concern for both property managers and homeowners. As a result, screening guests is essential to ensure that bad actors are detected and prevented from causing harm or damage. Guest Ranger, a risk management company, offers screening services that help to detect shady backgrounds, fraudulent activities, and other red flags that could indicate a problematic guest. Salar discusses patterns of fraudulent activity, as well as the measures in place to detect and defeat them. Salar breaks down the different security levels property managers can employ and how Guest Ranger's "frictionless checks" operate behind the scenes. Learn about the cat-and-mouse game behind vacation rental security in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Salar: The most common red flags for fraudulent bookings "One of the common patterns is local guests, another common pattern are last minute reservations of someone booking a day, two days before reservation. That's a common pattern. Or even the amounts of the units, so the dollar value of that reservation, if it's over $10,000, $20,000 these are things that are not red flags but things that you should look into more." Salar: Verification of multiple security checks takes only 12 seconds "The process of the guests going through it should take no more than 10, 12 seconds because all they're doing is they're taking a picture of their ID and a selfie and a credit card if needed. And then right after, immediately after the guest does that, we notify the PM and say, hey, here are the results. Either it failed or passed." Connect with Salar: Linkedin | Website | Email This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner
Wed, April 12, 2023
Making Vacation Rental Security Fun Again, with Guest Ranger’s Salar Tanzif
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie feature Salar Tanzif, the VP of Sales at Guest Ranger. Security has become a primary concern for both property managers and homeowners. As a result, screening guests is essential to ensure that bad actors are detected and prevented from causing harm or damage. Guest Ranger, a risk management company, offers screening services that help to detect shady backgrounds, fraudulent activities, and other red flags that could indicate a problematic guest. Salar discusses patterns of fraudulent activity, as well as the measures in place to detect and defeat them. Salar breaks down the different security levels property managers can employ and how Guest Ranger's "frictionless checks" operate behind the scenes. Learn about the cat-and-mouse game behind vacation rental security in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Salar: The most common red flags for fraudulent bookings "One of the common patterns is local guests, another common pattern are last minute reservations of someone books a day, two days before reservation. That's a common pattern. Or even the amounts of the units, so the dollar value of that reservation, if it's over $10,000, $20,000 these are things that are not red flags but things that you should look into more." Salar: Verification of multiple security checks takes only 12 seconds "The process of the guests going through it should take no more than 10, 12 seconds because all they're doing is they're taking a picture of their ID and a selfie and a credit card if needed. And then right after, immediately after the guest does that, we notify the PM and say, hey, here are the results. Either it failed or passed." Connect with Salar : LinkedIn | Website | Email This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enj
Wed, April 05, 2023
Enhancing Guest Experiences Using In-Unit Technology, with Suneel Goud
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie feature Suneel Goud, the CEO and Co-Founder of GuestView Guide, a SHARP NEC company. Suneel discusses their in-unit digital concierge designed for property managers and operators to enhance the guest's experience. GuestView Guide provides guests with everything they need to know about the property and the local area while saving time through the automation of tasks and facilitating communication. The device is customizable and comes with a management console that controls the devices centrally through cloud-based software. Aside from GuestView Guide's connection with numerous property management systems and its easy integration with other systems through an API, Suneel shares their 90% engagement rate and his observations on current trends: using tech to fill in the gaps of the labor shortage and an increased focus around cybersecurity. Learn about the changing reality of tech in the hospitality industry in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Suneel: Tech fills in the gaps of the labor shortage "Maybe someone calls you about how to operate the AV equipment, and that's a regular thing that people call you about within your units. Just create a video and put that in the device and that will allow you to kind of head off those calls. So I think there are ways to take technology and help fill some of the gaps that you'd have because of the labor shortage." Suneel: Use a guest's own preferences to customize their experience "As a hospitality operator, whether you're in vacation rentals or in a hotel, the goal is to really customize and provide a very personalized experience to the guests. And the more information you know and have about them, the better you can tailor that experience to the guest." Connect with Suneel: Linkedin | Website | Email This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: <a href='http
Wed, April 05, 2023
Enhancing Guest Experiences Using In-Unit Technology, with Suneel Goud
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie feature Suneel Goud, the CEO and Co-Founder of GuestView Guide, a SHARP NEC company. Suneel discusses their in-unit digital concierge designed for property managers and operators to enhance the guest's experience. GuestView Guide provides guests with everything they need to know about the property and the local area while saving time through the automation of tasks and facilitating communication. The device is customizable and comes with a management console that controls the devices centrally through cloud-based software. Aside from GuestView Guide's connection with numerous property management systems and its easy integration with other systems through an API, Suneel shares their 90% engagement rate and his observations on current trends: using tech to fill in the gaps of the labor shortage and an increased focus around cybersecurity. Learn about the changing reality of tech in the hospitality industry in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Suneel: Tech fills in the gaps of the labor shortage "Maybe someone calls you about how to operate the AV equipment, and that's a regular thing that people call you about within your units. Just create a video and put that in the device and that will allow you to kind of head off those calls. So I think there are ways to take technology and help fill some of the gaps that you'd have because of the labor shortage." Suneel: Use a guest's own preferences to customize their experience "As a hospitality operator, whether you're in vacation rentals or in a hotel, the goal is to really customize and provide a very personalized experience to the guests. And the more information you know and have about them, the better you can tailor that experience to the guest." Connect with Suneel : Linkedin | Website | Email This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe <a
Sat, April 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus: The Real Women of Distribution, with Michelle Marquis and Vanessa Moore
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie are joined by Michelle Marquis and Vanessa Moore, the Chief Innovation Officer and Director of Distribution respectively at TravelNet Solutions. Michelle talks about their Hospitality Hub which aims to consolidate the efforts of property managers and streamline operations. Vanessa's expertise is in strategic distribution and she highlights that while they maintain direct connections with channels, they focus on the 20% that serves the 80%. The idea is to be where customers are searching and to have access to the right channels that fit a property manager's current customer base. There is a proliferation of channels so property managers need to think about their channel mix and how this affects their revenue. Learn about distribution and channel business in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Michelle: Hospitality Hub consolidates tech that works better together "Our vision is as a hospitality hub you can have a choice. The property manager could still say I want to do business with all of these different vendors. Still, our thought is that anywhere we don't partner, we can buy or build and put these technologies and these features into the product so that when it's either natively built or it is complementary to what we do, you put them into one product and that's the hospitality hub." Vanessa: Be where your customers are searching "The approach we're taking is that we are direct connecting to the channels that our customers want to be on and where is the biggest ROI, so we might not have the biggest reach, but our connections to those channels are going to be impeccable." Michelle: Turning the nozzles of channel business for direct business "I would say that, yes, everybody wants more direct business. Right now, you need to be looking at, and I'm going to call it channel business, but I look at channel businesses online, offline, and distribution. All of those three things, and then making a plan to turn up the nozzles of each one of those things." Connect with Michelle: LinkedIn | Email Connect with Vanessa: LinkedIn | Email This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnni
Sat, April 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: The Real Women of Distribution, with Michelle Marquis and Vanessa Moore
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie are joined by Michelle Marquis and Vanessa Moore, the Chief Innovation Officer and Director of Distribution respectively at TravelNet Solutions. Michelle talks about their Hospitality Hub which aims to consolidate the efforts of property managers and streamline operations. Vanessa's expertise is in strategic distribution and she highlights that while they maintain direct connections with channels, they focus on the 20% that serves the 80%. The idea is to be where customers are searching and to have access to the right channels that fit a property manager's current customer base. There is a proliferation of channels so property managers need to think about their channel mix and how this affects their revenue. Learn about distribution and channel business in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . “REAL” TALK Michelle: Hospitality Hub consolidates tech that works better together "Our vision is as a hospitality hub you can have a choice. The property manager could still say I want to do business with all of these different vendors. Still, our thought is that anywhere we don't partner, we can buy or build and put these technologies and these features into the product so that when it's either natively built or it is complementary to what we do, you put them into one product and that's the hospitality hub." Vanessa: Be where your customers are searching "The approach we're taking is that we are direct connecting to the channels that our customers want to be on and where is the biggest ROI, so we might not have the biggest reach, but our connections to those channels are going to be impeccable." Michelle: Turning the nozzles of channel business for direct business "I would say that, yes, everybody wants more direct business. Right now, you need to be looking at, and I'm going to call it channel business, but I look at channel businesses online, offline, and distribution. All of those three things, and then making a plan to turn up the nozzles of each one of those things." Connect with Michelle : LinkedIn | Email Connect with Vanessa : LinkedIn | Email This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to<a href="https://www.re
Wed, March 29, 2023
Hello from the Other Side: Christina Thoreson Reflects on Selling Her Vacation Rental Business
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie are joined by Christina Thoreson, who with her husband Thor, built Chattanooga Vacation Rentals into a sizable and well-run outfit in Tennessee prior to selling in 2022. Christina recalls their early struggles including not knowing how to run housekeeping and maintenance, and struggling to figure out the legal and operational aspects of the business. Christina and Thor were early adopters of technology, and although they went through a series of software changes, they had finally found the perfect tech and operational recipe in 2021 - and that’s exactly when the doors started knocking with offers to acquire the business. Christina shares her and Thor’s plans for the future, which she says may include getting back into the industry…perhaps through a franchise. :) Learn more about building and selling a successful vacation rental company and shifting careers as a sommelier in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Christina: Seizing a golden opportunity at the best terms "In a three week, first in a 24-hour period, and then about a three-week period, we had four interested parties. And I said, Thor, what? We weren't gonna sell. What do we do? And he said, I think it's a sign You know, to get two offers in this period of time, this just doesn't happen. We just need to move forward." "We probably spent six weeks negotiating that. Well, the first offer we spent about three, two, or three weeks on and just couldn't figure out a way to do it. That second offer, we spent about six weeks really hammering out terms, wanting a lot of assurances about how things were gonna move forward." Christina: Getting guarantees for their people was a top priority "One of the things we negotiated, we spent about three weeks negotiating, is a clause in the contract that said you have to keep our people for at least six months. You absolutely cannot change their pay, you can only increase it, and you have to give them these benefits you're promising them. If you don't do that, we have a contract, we'll sue you." Connect with Christina: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinahthoreson/ Email: christinahthoreson@gmail.com Phone: 423-4630770 This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnnies
Wed, March 29, 2023
Hello from the Other Side: Christina Thoreson Reflects on Selling Her Vacation Rental Business
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie are joined by Christina Thoreson, who with her husband Thor, built Chattanooga Vacation Rentals into a sizable and well-run outfit in Tennessee prior to selling in 2022. Christina recalls their early struggles including not knowing how to run housekeeping and maintenance, and struggling to figure out the legal and operational aspects of the business. Christina and Thor were early adopters of technology, and although they went through a series of software changes, they had finally found the perfect tech and operational recipe in 2021 - and that’s exactly when the doors started knocking with offers to acquire the business. Christina shares her and Thor’s plans for the future, which she says may include getting back into the industry…perhaps through a franchise. Learn more about building and selling a successful vacation rental company and shifting careers as a sommelier in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Christina: Seizing a golden opportunity at the best terms "In a three week, first in a 24-hour period, and then about a three-week period, we had four interested parties. And I said, Thor, what? We weren't gonna sell. What do we do? And he said, I think it's a sign You know, to get two offers in this period of time, this just doesn't happen. We just need to move forward." "We probably spent six weeks negotiating that. Well, the first offer we spent about three, two, or three weeks on and just couldn't figure out a way to do it. That second offer, we spent about six weeks really hammering out terms, wanting a lot of assurances about how things were gonna move forward." Christina: Getting guarantees for their people was a top priority "One of the things we negotiated, we spent about three weeks negotiating, is a clause in the contract that said you have to keep our people for at least six months. You absolutely cannot change their pay, you can only increase it, and you have to give them these benefits you're promising them. If you don't do that, we have a contract, we'll sue you." Connect with Christina : LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinahthoreson/ Email: christinahthoreson@gmail.com Phone: 423-4630770 This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to<a href="https://www.revandresearch.com/"
Wed, March 22, 2023
Lessons Learned from a Global Brand: How Sykes Cottages Scaled to 24,000 Rentals, with CEO Graham Donoghue
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Graham Donoghue, the CEO of Sykes Holidays Cottages Group. When Graham was brought on Sykes, the brand was lacking a narrative and a story. They were large and profitable but departments were siloed with no real rallying cry to drive the company forward. Today, Sykes has 25 brands in its portfolio and 24,000 properties under management in the UK and New Zealand, making the brand a major player in the vacation rental industry. One interesting thing about Sykes is its approach to acquiring businesses. They intentionally retain the brand of the businesses they acquire to maintain continuity and protect the legacy of the local brand. This strategy helped Sykes grow while maintaining the values that made the local brands successful in the first place. Graham shares the technologies they developed during the pandemic, from their switchboard that optimizes cost per acquisition and push notifications on their app, to pulling insights from the data to provide value to end users. Learn more about accelerating growth and leveraging technology in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Graham: COVID presented a unique challenge and opportunity "During that 18-month period, we offered a hundred and 54 million sterling of refunds back to consumers. But when the government said that people could travel in the UK, and every week it was a different message, but as soon as they did say they could travel, then there were 10,000 people calling for their money back, but there were also 10,000 people calling or going onto the website trying to book a holiday. So it was like famine to feast in a heartbeat." Graham: Technology frees up your best people to deliver excellent service "The reason why we have 2000 people is we're a technology-driven company but we use people, we use our human capital to hopefully deliver exceptional service. What I'm always looking at is I don't want the really clever, smart people I have a doing tasks that could be done by technology, that don't have a lot of value to the end stakeholder. But actually being there, you know, 10 o'clock at night on the phone when there's a problem with your boiler and be able to service that and deal with it, that has value." Connect with Graham: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamdonoghue/ Website: https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/ This episode is brought to you by Casago , G
Wed, March 22, 2023
Lessons Learned from a Global Brand: How Sykes Cottages Scaled to 24,000 Rentals, with CEO Graham Donoghue
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Graham Donoghue, the CEO of Sykes Holidays Cottages Group. When Graham was brought on Sykes, the brand was lacking a narrative and a story. They were large and profitable but departments were siloed with no real rallying cry to drive the company forward. Today, Sykes has 25 brands in its portfolio and 24,000 properties under management in the UK and New Zealand, making the brand a major player in the vacation rental industry. One interesting thing about Sykes is its approach to acquiring businesses. They intentionally retain the brand of the businesses they acquire to maintain continuity and protect the legacy of the local brand. This strategy helped Sykes grow while maintaining the values that made the local brands successful in the first place. Graham shares the technologies they developed during the pandemic, from their switchboard that optimizes cost per acquisition and push notifications on their app, to pulling insights from the data to provide value to end users. Learn more about accelerating growth and leveraging technology in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . “REAL” TALK Graham: COVID presented a unique challenge and opportunity "During that 18-month period, we offered a hundred and 54 million sterling of refunds back to consumers. But when the government said that people could travel in the UK, and every week it was a different message, but as soon as they did say they could travel, then there were 10,000 people calling for their money back, but there were also 10,000 people calling or going onto the website trying to book a holiday. So it was like famine to feast in a heartbeat." Graham: Technology frees up your best people to deliver excellent service "The reason why we have 2000 people is we're a technology-driven company but we use people, we use our human capital to hopefully deliver exceptional service. What I'm always looking at is I don't want the really clever, smart people I have a doing tasks that could be done by technology, that don't have a lot of value to the end stakeholder. But actually being there, you know, 10 o'clock at night on the phone when there's a problem with your boiler and be able to service that and deal with it, that has value." Connect with Graham : LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamdonoghue/ Website: https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/ This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit<a href="https://www.alexandanniepod
Wed, March 15, 2023
Increasing Last Minute Bookings through Flexible Availability, with Whimstay CEO David Weiss
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie chat with David Weiss, the CEO of Whimstay. He shares his background in vacation rentals and the global payments space and his journey to becoming Whimstay's CEO. David discusses how last-minute bookings are their niche and that their goal is to increase incremental bookings while offering the best deals to travelers. He talks about the initiatives they have for this year like partnering with a technology company, intelligent pricing, and expanding into Europe. Whimstay believes in flexibility and offers broad payment options, including their patented Split Pay option, to create superior experiences. Find out more about how David and Whimstay serve the needs of property owners and travelers in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . “REAL” TALK David: Superior experiences for both property owners and travelers "Our mission really is to offer exclusive and unique discounts to travelers with a superior experience, but really just the property owners and managers attract incremental guests and generate incremental bookings. The core of that mission is the last-minute window." David: Offer travelers the flexibility to pay how they want "The aspect of flexibility, which for us which would also be inclusive of making it easier to cancel and book and change and extend even with the type of value proposition that we have, in addition to saying let's give the traveler however they want to pay for their vacation. Let's give them the flexibility to pay how they want." Connect with David: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-weiss-aa39ba22/ Website: https://www.whimstay.com/ Email: david.weiss@whimstay.com This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/
Wed, March 15, 2023
Increasing Last Minute Bookings through Flexible Availability, with Whimstay CEO David Weiss
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie chat with David Weiss, the CEO of Whimstay. He shares his background in vacation rentals and the global payments space and his journey to becoming Whimstay's CEO. David discusses how last-minute bookings are their niche and that their goal is to increase incremental bookings while offering the best deals to travelers. He talks about the initiatives they have for this year like partnering with a technology company, intelligent pricing, and expanding into Europe. Whimstay believes in flexibility and offers broad payment options, including their patented Split Pay option, to create superior experiences. Find out more about how David and Whimstay serve the needs of property owners and travelers in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . “REAL” TALK David: Superior experiences for both property owners and travelers "Our mission really is to offer exclusive and unique discounts to travelers with a superior experience, but really just the property owners and managers attract incremental guests and generate incremental bookings. The core of that mission is the last-minute window." David: Offer travelers the flexibility to pay how they want "The aspect of flexibility, which for us which would also be inclusive of making it easier to cancel and book and change and extend even with the type of value proposition that we have, in addition to saying let's give the traveler however they want to pay for their vacation. Let's give them the flexibility to pay how they want." Connect with David : LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-weiss-aa39ba22/ Website: https://www.whimstay.com/ Email: david.weiss@whimstay.com This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of<a href="http://alexandan
Wed, March 08, 2023
Human Capital is the Most Important Capital, with Steve Trover, CEO of Better Talent
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Steve Trover, the Founder, and CEO of Better Talent. Knowing a person makes connecting their talents with the right jobs easier. Interestingly, Steve is also the one who brought together Annie and her current role today at Homes & Villas by Marriott International. Steve talks about the people stack and how optimizing human capital has a profound effect because it is most companies' single biggest cost. He shares how a company's integrator works with its visionary to execute the vision, as well as the difficulty in hiring for this role. Find out more about the best practices for acquiring your human capital, from full-time employees to consultants to virtual assistants, in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Steve: Optimize the people stack because it is the biggest cost "The people stack though, really lends itself and speaks to the fact that most companies today, if they're running optimally, don't just have full-time employees with big salaries. They might have full-time, part-time, independent contractors, consultants, global talent, you know, virtual assistance, that type of thing." "And what we do with our clients is really look at their overall cost structure, which by the way, if you look at a VRMs P&L, I've looked at hundreds, if not a thousand of them, the number one cost by far on every P&L of every VRM I've ever looked at is people." Steve: Integrators work with the team to execute the vision "If they don't have somebody to execute that vision or a group of individuals that again, are rowing in the right direction, that vision is not going to happen. And you know, I ran a really great company, I believe for a lot of years. I waited way too long to get my integrator. And so the integrator in EOS speak is really the person that takes that vision, works with the individuals on the team, the different departmental leads the leadership team to execute on the vision." Connect with Steve: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bettertalent/ Website: https://bettertalent.com/ Email: steve@bettertalent.com This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in v
Wed, March 08, 2023
Human Capital is the Most Important Capital, with Steve Trover, CEO of Better Talent
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Steve Trover, the Founder, and CEO of Better Talent. Knowing a person makes connecting their talents with the right jobs easier. Interestingly, Steve is also the one who brought together Annie and her current role today at Homes & Villas by Marriott International. Steve talks about the people stack and how optimizing human capital has a profound effect because it is most companies' single biggest cost. He shares how a company's integrator works with its visionary to execute the vision, as well as the difficulty in hiring for this role. Find out more about the best practices for acquiring your human capital, from full-time employees to consultants to virtual assistants, in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . “REAL” TALK Steve: Optimize the people stack because it is the biggest cost "The people stack though, really lends itself and speaks to the fact that most companies today, if they're running optimally, don't just have full-time employees with big salaries. They might have full-time, part-time, independent contractors, consultants, global talent, you know, virtual assistance, that type of thing." "And what we do with our clients is really look at their overall cost structure, which by the way, if you look at a VRMs P&L, I've looked at hundreds, if not a thousand of them, the number one cost by far on every P&L of every VRM I've ever looked at is people." Steve: Integrators work with the team to execute the vision "If they don't have somebody to execute that vision or a group of individuals that again, are rowing in the right direction, that vision is not going to happen. And you know, I ran a really great company, I believe for a lot of years. I waited way too long to get my integrator. And so the integrator in EOS speak is really the person that takes that vision, works with the individuals on the team, the different departmental leads the leadership team to execute on the vision." Connect with Steve : LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bettertalent/ Website: https://bettertalent.com/ Email: steve@bettertalent.com This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger , and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & An
Wed, March 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode, with Steve Milo and Miriam Ramsey of Vtrips
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Steve Milo and Miriam Ramsey, the Founder/CEO and Regional Business Development Director of Vtrips respectively. They discuss the latest trends observed from the IMN Conference, the latest headlines from Vacasa, the new purpose-built cabins of Vtrips, fighting for smarter legislation, and organizing people in the collaborative committee of the Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA). Inside Current Headlines Steve shares his experience as a panelist at the IMN Conference which was very different from the traditional vacation rentals conferences, with a much more investor-heavy crowd. He also points out how they’re proactively lowering their ADRs to get occupancy, while Miriam highlights how important it is to communicate with homeowners this year in an unpredictable travel economy. Inside Advocacy Steve discusses how he helped set up the Texas Professional Vacation Rental Coalition. This organization is now lobbying for a bill that preempts local governments from regulating vacation rentals so we can be treated more like hotels, bed and breakfasts, and timeshares. Steve also brings to light how the VRMA collaborative committee helps the vacation rental industry lobby for smart regulation. Find out more about Steve and Miriam's industry insights and Steve’s health tips in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Steve: The IMN Conference pulled in a lot of investors "In the course of two days, I met so many people representing funds, in some cases small funds, large funds, in some cases multi-billion dollar funds, who were all looking to get into the short-term rental on the asset side. So they were looking to like, how do we buy large pieces of vacation rentals?" Steve: Join the VRMA to lobby support for the vacation rental industry "The VRMA, because they raised so much money last year, is even giving grants to state coalitions and to local communities that are forming alliances like Tybee Island to try to fight some of these bad regulations. But the VRMA exists and so I hope more people join the VRMA." Connect with Steve: LinkedIn (Steve) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemilo/ Email: steve.milo@vtrips.com Connect with Miriam: LinkedIn (Miram) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriam-ramsey-252213139/ Email: miriam.ramsey@vtrips.com Find out more about Vtrips</b
Wed, March 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode, with Steve Milo and Miriam Ramsey of Vtrips
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Steve Milo and Miriam Ramsey, the Founder/CEO and Regional Business Development Director of Vtrips respectively. They discuss the latest trends observed from the IMN Conference, the latest headlines from Vacasa, the new purpose-built cabins of Vtrips, fighting for smarter legislation, and organizing people in the collaborative committee of the Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA). Inside Current Headlines Steve shares his experience as a panelist at the IMN Conference which was very different from the traditional vacation rentals conferences, with a much more investor-heavy crowd. He also points out how they’re proactively lowering their ADRs to get occupancy, while Miriam highlights how important it is to communicate with homeowners this year in an unpredictable travel economy. Inside Advocacy Steve discusses how he helped set up the Texas Professional Vacation Rental Coalition. This organization is now lobbying for a bill that preempts local governments from regulating vacation rentals so we can be treated more like hotels, bed and breakfasts, and timeshares. Steve also brings to light how the VRMA collaborative committee helps the vacation rental industry lobby for smart regulation. Find out more about Steve and Miriam's industry insights and Steve’s health tips in this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Steve: The IMN Conference pulled in a lot of investors "In the course of two days, I met so many people representing funds, in some cases small funds, large funds, in some cases multi-billion dollar funds, who were all looking to get into the short-term rental on the asset side. So they were looking to like, how do we buy large pieces of vacation rentals?" Steve: Join the VRMA to lobby support for the vacation rental industry "The VRMA, because they raised so much money last year, is even giving grants to state coalitions and to local communities that are forming alliances like Tybee Island to try to fight some of these bad regulations. But the VRMA exists and so I hope more people join the VRMA." Connect with Steve: LinkedIn (Steve) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemilo/ Email: steve.milo@vtrips.com Connect with Miriam: LinkedIn (Miram) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriam-ramsey-252213139/ Email: miriam.ramsey@vtrips.com Find out more about Vtrips Check out our previous episode with Steve, our most downloaded episode of 2022 here . Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodn
Wed, February 22, 2023
How Mike Flaskey Sold Diamond Resorts for $1.4 BILLION Dollars to Hilton Grand Vacations
Send us a message! Elevate a Vacation Guest’s Experience In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Mike Flaskey, Former CEO of Diamond Resorts International and Founder of Mike Flaskey Entertainment, as he gives his second public interview since leading the sale of Diamond Resorts to Hilton Grand Vacations in June 2021. COVID profoundly affected Diamond but innovation allowed them to rebound quickly. Mike shares how they did this and how they pioneered a new way to be evaluated on multiples of EBITDA. He talks about the cutting-edge innovations that timeshare sales and marketing teams did alongside rental managers, as well as the success of Diamond's Events of a Lifetime. Mike also discusses why timeshare companies are not able to represent vacation rentals on the sales table even though the industries appear to coexist within the same ecosystem. Find out more about Mike and how he grew Diamond Resorts through strategic acquisitions, partnerships, and organic growth in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Mike: Drive EBITDA to increase market cap "If you bring Cole in and Cole Swindell does a concert, it's going to cost a thousand dollars per family to sit down and talk to me. But by the time you factor in that triple close, and you look at the EBITDA dollars that they drive to the bottom line, even though if you may have some slight margin compression, you're driving so many more dollars to the bottom line, that's how these companies are evaluated." "They basically get a valuation on a multiple of their EBITDA. So if you can drive more of these EBITDA dollars and you put that multiple to it, you're increasing the market capitalization of your company. And so we were a first mover and we saw that." Connect with Mike: LinkedIn | Websit e | Email This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: <a href='https://
Wed, February 22, 2023
How Mike Flaskey Sold Diamond Resorts for $1.4 BILLION Dollars to Hilton Grand Vacations
Elevate a Vacation Guest’s Experience In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Mike Flaskey , Former CEO of Diamond Resorts International and Founder of Mike Flaskey Entertainment, as he gives his second public interview since leading the sale of Diamond Resorts to Hilton Grand Vacations in June 2021. COVID profoundly affected Diamond but innovation allowed them to rebound quickly. Mike shares how they did this and how they pioneered a new way to be valuated on multiples of EBITDA. He talks about the cutting-edge innovations that timeshare sales and marketing teams did alongside rental managers, as well as the success of Diamond's Events of a Lifetime. Mike also discusses why timeshare companies are not able to represent vacation rentals on the sales table even though the industries appear to coexist within the same ecosystem. Find out more about Mike and how he grew Diamond Resorts through strategic acquisitions, partnerships, and organic growth in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Mike: Drive EBITDA to increase market cap "If you bring Cole in and Cole Swindell does a concert, it's going to cost a thousand dollars per family to sit down and talk to me. But by the time you factor in that triple close, and you look at the EBITDA dollars that they drive to the bottom line, even though if you may have some slight margin compression, you're driving so many more dollars to the bottom line, that's how these companies are evaluated." "They basically get a valuation on a multiple of their EBITDA. So if you can drive more of these EBITDA dollars and you put that multiple to it, you're increasing the market capitalization of your company. And so we were a first mover and we saw that." Connect with Mike : LinkedIn | Website | Email This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe <a href=
Fri, February 17, 2023
Breaking News: Jim Barsch Joins Got2Go as Chief Commercial Officer
Send us a message! Build Strong Relationships In The Vacation Rental Community In this special edition of Alex & Annie, Got2Go announces the “Mystery Guest” that has been hired to lead the company as Chief Commercial Officer. Jim Barsch needs little introduction; this experienced vacation rental technology veteran brings years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to the Got2Go team. Got2Go CEO Craig Musumeci shares their big plans for a membership model and event concerts, while Jim shares the path to get there by building strong connections. Tune in to hear more on this news and more updates on where the company is headed next! “REAL” TALK Jim: Communicating the value of a channel to property managers "It's really building those relationships, partnerships, bringing in the additional inventory, building the awareness about who and what we are. It's going to be fun, it's going to be a number of different approaches to it." Craig: Watch out for free Got2Go trips coming soon "We're going to be giving away trips every month to people that book. They're going to get an entry every time they book anything. We're going to give away tickets like packages. We're going to be really unique in giving a lot away." Connect with the Got2Go team: Call (844) 446-8246 (844 I-GOT-2-GO) Jim Barsch | Craig Musumeci | Russ Johnson | Stephanie Baker | Website This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation
Fri, February 17, 2023
Breaking News: Jim Barsch Joins Got2Go as Chief Business Officer
In this special edition of Alex & Annie, Got2Go announces the “Mystery Guest” that has been hired to lead the company as Chief Business Officer. Jim Barsch needs little introduction; this experienced vacation rental technology veteran brings years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to the Got2Go team. Got2Go CEO Craig Musumeci shares their big plans for a membership model and event concerts, while Jim shares the path to get there by building strong connections. Tune in to hear more on this news and more updates on where the company is headed next! “REAL” TALK Jim: Communicating the value of a channel to property managers "It's really building those relationships, partnerships, bringing in the additional inventory, building the awareness about who and what we are. It's going to be fun, it's going to be a number of different approaches to it." Craig: Watch out for free Got2Go trips coming soon "We're going to be giving away trips every month to people that book. They're going to get an entry every time they book anything. We're going to give away tickets like packages. We're going to be really unique in giving a lot away." Connect with the Got2Go team: Call (844) 446-8246 (844 I-GOT-2-GO) Jim Barsch | Craig Musumeci | Russ Johnson | Stephanie Baker | Website This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | Youtube |<a href="h
Wed, February 15, 2023
Revenue Management Tips & Trends for Vacation Rentals in 2023, with Rev & Research
Send us a message! In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Ben Coleman and Rebecca Ballart , Revenue Management Consultants for Rev & Research . They share the trends they observe in today's market, with the most notable being shrinking lead times. They discuss how to communicate with homeowners, manage CEO-level expectations, and organize the portfolio according to lead time. With more competition and softening demand, Ben and Rebecca suggest being proactive and using a data-driven approach to achieve growth. Find out more about Ben and Rebecca's top tips and trends for vacation rentals in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Ben: Buying vacation homes today has a focus on ROI "I think the mindset from a rental perspective is changing in that of it's not just a place that I can take my grandkids or a place I'm gonna take my kids, or a place I'm gonna pass down to my grandkids. It's more of a, Hey, we want a good ROI on our asset. We want a good ROI on our investment ." Ben: Manage expectations from the top due to softening demand "When I say expectations, I think it starts at the property management level, at the owner, the CEO level of creating true sales budgets, of creating true expectations on what is by the unit portfolio, What are those ADRs? As we see demand softening, like we were talking about, I think there is a good potential for RevPAR growth." Rebecca: Take a surgical approach to see where you are bleeding "We pulled a key data leaderboard report just for those spring rates and we organized it by the units, what their year-over-year revenue was, and we were able to pull out 10 units that were behind ADR, they were behind occupancy real quickly. And so we look at it and go, okay, occupancy's down. We go over, oh, their ADRs 30% over the year, over year. Well, there's a problem right there." This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Check out our previous episode with Ben: Bee Boppin' with Ben Coleman: Revenue Management vs. Revenue Performance Find out more about Ben: </p
Wed, February 15, 2023
Revenue Management Tips & Trends for Vacation Rentals in 2023, with Rev & Research
In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Ben Coleman and Rebecca Ballart , Revenue Management Consultants for Rev & Research . They share the trends they observe in today's market, with the most notable being shrinking lead times. They discuss how to communicate with homeowners, manage CEO-level expectations, and organize the portfolio according to lead time. With more competition and softening demand, Ben and Rebecca suggest being proactive and using a data-driven approach to achieve growth. Find out more about Ben and Rebecca's top tips and trends for vacation rentals in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . “REAL” TALK Ben: Buying vacation homes today has a focus on ROI "I think the mindset from a rental perspective is changing in that of it's not just a place that I can take my grandkids or a place I'm gonna take my kids, or a place I'm gonna pass down to my grandkids. It's more of a, Hey, we want a good ROI on our asset. We want a good ROI on our investment ." Ben: Manage expectations from the top due to softening demand "When I say expectations, I think it starts at the property management level, at the owner, the CEO level of creating true sales budgets, of creating true expectations on what is by the unit portfolio, What are those ADRs? As we see demand softening, like we were talking about, I think there is a good potential for RevPAR growth." Rebecca: Take a surgical approach to see where you are bleeding "We pulled a key data leaderboard report just for those spring rates and we organized it by the units, what their year-over-year revenue was, and we were able to pull out 10 units that were behind ADR, they were behind occupancy real quickly. And so we look at it and go, okay, occupancy's down. We go over, oh, their ADRs 30% over the year, over year. Well, there's a problem right there." This episode is brought to you by Casago , Guest Ranger and Good Neighbor Tech . Visit AlexAndAnniesList.com to view our top picks for the best suppliers in vacation rental technology and services. Special thanks to Rev & Research for being the presenting sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List. Check out our previous episode with Ben: Bee Boppin' with Ben Coleman: Revenue Management vs. Revenue Performance Find out more about Ben : LinkedIn Get to know <str
Wed, February 08, 2023
You Can Only Be a Local in One Place, with Casago CEO Steve Schwab
Send us a message! VALUES AND ETHICS ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF SUCCESS In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Steve Schwab, CEO of Casago . He shares his unintentional entry into the vacation rental industry and how working with the local community is at the core of his success. Steve also talks about Casago University, the company’s in-house training institution, and how this empowers local heroes because their success is the franchise's success too. Find out more about Steve and the owner-centric systems he created in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK Steve: The Immutable Principles Of Vacation Rentals "There are only a few things that are always immutable: transparency, trust, ethics, being centered on your homeowners, making sure they're well-taken care of, loving on your guests so they have an amazing experience to come back. These are sort of the immutable principles but everything else starts over each time, and be humble when you hear what a community wants and needs and don't try to tell them what's best for them." Steve: Casago University Sets People Up For Success "I think you do people a disservice when you sit them down and hand them a job and don't set them up for success. In no elite unit was I ever part of in which there wasn't an indoctrination, training, and build out to what was expected from me and how to do my job with it." Steve: Franchising Builds Up Local Realtors With A Brand Name "If you look at the top 10 residential real estate companies in the world, they're all franchises, and there's a reason why; it's still a local business like we keep going back to those local realtors know their area, know their city, love their city. They're beholden and accountable to their areas but they needed tech and they needed distribution and they wanted a recognizable name." Connect with Steve: Steve Schwab | Casago | Email Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! <a hre
Wed, February 08, 2023
You Can Only Be a Local in One Place, with Casago CEO Steve Schwab
Principles, Values and Culture are the Foundation of a Successful Company In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Steve Schwab , CEO of Casago . He shares his unintentional entry into the vacation rental industry 22 years ago in Rocky Point, Mexico, and how working with the local community is at the core of his success. Steve also talks about Casago University, the company’s in-house training institution that trains all staff and franchisees on the immutable principles of vacation rentals. “REAL” TALK Steve: The Immutable Principles Of Vacation Rentals "There are only a few things that are always immutable: transparency, trust, ethics, being centered on your homeowners, making sure they're well-taken care of, loving on your guests so they have an amazing experience to come back. These are sort of the immutable principles but everything else starts over each time, and be humble when you hear what a community wants and needs and don't try to tell them what's best for them." Steve: Casago University Sets People Up For Success "I think you do people a disservice when you sit them down and hand them a job and don't set them up for success. In no elite unit was I ever part of in which there wasn't an indoctrination, training, and build out to what was expected from me and how to do my job with it." Steve: Franchising Builds Up Local Realtors With A Brand Name "If you look at the top 10 residential real estate companies in the world, they're all franchises, and there's a reason why; it's still a local business like we keep going back to those local realtors know their area, know their city, love their city. They're beholden and accountable to their areas but they needed tech and they needed distribution and they wanted a recognizable name." Find out more about Steve and Casago’s vacation rental franchise model in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . Connect with Steve : Steve Schwab | Casago | Email Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! <a href="https://ww
Wed, February 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: We Are Not Airbnb… So What ARE We?
Send us a message! On today’s episode, we’re featuring our recent panel at DESTICON, a virtual conference that brought together tourism and hospitality professionals from the DMO (Destination marketing organization) space. In our session, we discussed how professional managers can work with their DMOs and CVBs to promote responsible tourism. (DMO = designated marketing organization and CVB = convention visitor’s bureau. These organizations are typically funded by local and state tourism dollars, and exist to promote tourism to the destination.) There’s plenty of confusion as to what the difference is between our product and what Airbnb is as a company. Lauren Madewell, David Krauss, and John Flanagan represent different sides of our industry – and collectively, we attack the biggest questions and misconceptions. Don’t miss this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals – it’s an important one! “REAL” TALK Lauren Madewell: The lack of ways to verify guests on Airbnb is concerning "Frankly, every bit of it is concerning. So you're getting their name and you're getting their cell phone number. Thank God you're getting their cell phone but you're getting a masked email. You're not getting their address. You have no way to verify their identity. You are trusting that this listing company, this tech company, Airbnb, has fully verified their identity and said, it's cool. It's cool. Everything's good." David Krauss: Create a voice for vacation rental on the boards "I think that's fundamentally the area of opportunity is to be proactive, not let this conversation kind of happen without engagement, but in terms of the CVBs and the boards and the DMOs, generally speaking, I think that the more that accommodation option is valued and seen as a valuable contributor and a complimentary activity, I think that's where the conversations are productive." John Flanagan: Regulations are actually good, restrictive bans are not "One thing that I think that I would impress upon anyone listening is that regulations are not a bad thing. We actually want regulations from both the supplier side and the operator side in our industry. The threat to what we're trying to do for travel and short-term rentals is restrictive bans and restrictions on short-term rentals. The reasons that those things come into fruition and happen is because of a lack of education on what a real professional operator does and a lack of regulation is standardization." This episode is brought to you by our Premiere Brand Sponsor, Casago , along with Co-Sponsors, Guest Ranger and Good Neighbor Tech<
Wed, February 01, 2023
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: We Are Not Airbnb… So What ARE We?
“REAL” TALK Lauren Madewell: The lack of ways to verify guests on Airbnb is concerning "Frankly, every bit of it is concerning. So you're getting their name and you're getting their cell phone number. Thank God you're getting their cell phone but you're getting a masked email. You're not getting their address. You have no way to verify their identity. You are trusting that this listing company, this tech company, Airbnb, has fully verified their identity and said, it's cool. It's cool. Everything's good." David Krauss: Create a voice for vacation rental on the boards "I think that's fundamentally the area of opportunity is to be proactive, not let this conversation kind of happen without engagement, but in terms of the CVBs and the boards and the DMOs, generally speaking, I think that the more that accommodation option is valued and seen as a valuable contributor and a complimentary activity, I think that's where the conversations are productive." John Flanagan: Regulations are actually good, restrictive bans are not "One thing that I think that I would impress upon anyone listening is that regulations are not a bad thing. We actually want regulations from both the supplier side and the operator side in our industry. The threat to what we're trying to do for travel and short-term rentals is restrictive bans and restrictions on short-term rentals. The reasons that those things come into fruition and happen is because of a lack of education on what a real professional operator does and a lack of regulation is standardization." This episode is brought to you by our Premiere Brand Sponsor, Casago , along with Co-Sponsors, Guest Ranger and Good Neighbor Tech . Special thanks to Rev & Research , Presenting Sponsor of Alex & Annie’s List Connect with our guests below: David Krauss | Lauren Madewell | John Flanagan Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a co
Wed, January 25, 2023
Leading through Authenticity and Vulnerability, with Alex Zemianek CEO of JZ Vacation Rentals
Send us a message! THE KEY TO A GREAT TEAM IS AUTHENTICITY In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Alex Zemianek, the Founder and CEO of JZ Vacation Rentals. He shares how trial after trial left him broke and almost broken. However, when he allowed himself to be vulnerable with his team, they rallied behind him during their darkest days. Alex says that it was through an authentic relationship with the people who make up his team that this was even possible. Find out more about Alex and JZ Vacation Rentals in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK ALEX ZEMIANEK: AUTHENTICITY CREATES A TEAM THAT STAYS "The biggest thing is making sure that you have some kind of authentic relationship. And when people feel that you're genuine, then they're probably going to perform a little bit differently." ALEX ZEMIANEK: GIFT KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EDUCATION "I genuinely feel that education is the best gift you can give and receive as well because people can steal your money, they can tap into your bank account, but they can't take your knowledge." This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research Connect with Alex Zemianek and learn more about him: LINKEDIN | JZ VACATION RENTALS | EMAIL Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Wed, January 25, 2023
Leading through Authenticity and Vulnerability, with Alex Zemianek CEO of JZ Vacation Rentals
THE KEY TO A GREAT TEAM IS AUTHENTICITY In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Alex Zemianek , the Founder and CEO of JZ Vacation Rentals . He shares how trial after trial left him broke and almost broken. However, when he allowed himself to be vulnerable with his team, they rallied behind him during their darkest days. Alex says that it was through an authentic relationship with the people who make up his team that this was even possible. Find out more about Alex and JZ Vacation Rentals in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals . “REAL” TALK ALEX ZEMIANEK: AUTHENTICITY CREATES A TEAM THAT STAYS "The biggest thing is making sure that you have some kind of authentic relationship. And when people feel that you're genuine, then they're probably going to perform a little bit differently." ALEX ZEMIANEK: GIFT KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EDUCATION "I genuinely feel that education is the best gift you can give and receive as well because people can steal your money, they can tap into your bank account, but they can't take your knowledge." This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research Connect with Alex Zemianek and learn more about him: LINKEDIN | JZ VACATION RENTALS | EMAIL Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Wed, January 18, 2023
DACK’s Customer Experience Enhancing Solution, with Thomas Schaper
Send us a message! IMPROVE YOUR GUEST EXPERIENCE WITH SEAMLESS TECHNOLOGY In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Thomas Schaper, the Head of Product at DACK Inc. Thomas shares his experience in creating DACK as an app that improves the guest experience and makes vacations easier. He also discusses details about DACK’s model from how it was named to how it works. Find out more about Thomas and DACK in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK THOMAS: FREE UP YOUR STAFF WITH AUTOMATION “If you free up your staff with automation and tech, then you can focus on the truly cool parts about hospitality. You can come up with more engaging conversations to have with them, when every call doesn't have to be about what the Wi-Fi code is or how to how to turn on the hot tub, stuff like that. I think it kind of frees up your team to do more memorable, engaging, you know, personal things.” This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research Connect with Thomas and learn more about him and DACK: Thomas Schaper | DACK | DACKInc.com Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Wed, January 18, 2023
DACK’s Customer Experience Enhancing Solution, with Thomas Schaper
IMPROVE YOUR GUEST EXPERIENCE WITH SEAMLESS TECHNOLOGY In today’s episode, Alex and Annie welcome Thomas Schaper, the Head of Product at DACK Inc. Thomas shares his experience in creating DACK as an app that improves the guest experience and makes vacations easier. He also discusses details about DACK’s model from how it was named to how it works. Find out more about Thomas and DACK in this latest episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK THOMAS: FREE UP YOUR STAFF WITH AUTOMATION “If you free up your staff with automation and tech, then you can focus on the truly cool parts about hospitality. You can come up with more engaging conversations to have with them, when every call doesn't have to be about what the Wi-Fi code is or how to how to turn on the hot tub, stuff like that. I think it kind of frees up your team to do more memorable, engaging, you know, personal things.” This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List , presented by Rev & Research Connect with Thomas and learn more about him and DACK : Thomas Schaper | DACK | DACKInc.com Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Wed, January 11, 2023
CAPTURE IT! The Value of Email Capture as a Vacation Rental Marketing Solution, with Arthur Colker
SUCCESS IN THE VACATION RENTAL SPACE ISN’T ALWAYS INTENTIONAL and Arthur Colker is proof of that. Arthur is the CEO and founder of StayFi, and in this episode, discusses how he accidentally fell into the short-term rental and vacation rental space. He talks about how he helped a friend develop an independent brand, and how he saw the value in controlling and owning guests’ data. Arthur built a solution that helps managers and operators capture guest data and then monetize it through tools like email marketing and text marketing, which helps with upsells and remarketing for booking. Find out more about Arthur and his business in this latest episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK ARTHUR: CAPTURING DATA IS JUST THE BEGINNING “Big focus of our product is building the end-to-end marketing solution. So we started with data capture, so obviously capturing the data is just the beginning, and then it's how do you monetize that information.” ALEX: VENDORS FORMING MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL PARTNERSHIPS “There's been a lot that's changed in the vendor world in the last year or two, and it seems like a lot of vendors are working together better than ever, and realizing that it makes sense to form those, mutually beneficial partnerships so that you can have a more robust offering that's going to serve the needs of property managers.” This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research Connect with Arthur and learn more about him and StayFi : Arthur Colker | StayFi | StayFi.com Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals , make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | Youtube | Facebook | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alexandanni
Wed, January 04, 2023
The Journey is the Destination, with Luca Zambello, CEO of Jurny
Send us a message! Luca Zambello joins us for today's episode to share the journey of creating Jurny, the industry's first MOS (management operating system). With roots in property management, Luca shares how he changed software 5 times - then finally realized, he wanted to create a solution to empower property managers to more efficiently run their businesses...and that he wanted to be a technology company rather than a hospitality company. His journey is nothing short of inspiring and impressive! This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research CONTACT LUCA ZAMBELLO Jurny LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Sun, January 01, 2023
Looking Ahead: 2023, We're Coming for You!
Send us a message! It's the 1st of the Month! Tune in as we look back on this incredible year and share our top 5 most downloaded episodes. We also share our predictions for 2023, and our Words of the Year :) Alex just returned from attending Casago University for 2 weeks in Puerto Penasco, MX, and shares her experience learning all about Casago's vacation rental franchise model. Here are our Top 5 Most Downloaded Episodes of 2022: 1. Steve Milo: We've Got Questions, He's Got Answers - Q&A with VTrips CEO 2. Revenue Managing from the Driver's Seat, with Wheelhouse CEO/Founder Andrew Kitchell 3. Bee Boppin' with Ben Coleman: Revenue Management vs. Revenue Performance 4. 5 Ways to Drive Direct Bookings Before the OTAs Put You Out of Business, with Vanessa Humes 5. Predicting a Wave of Tech Consolidations, with Matt Loney, CEO of Xplorie A HUGE thank you to all our listeners and sponsors of the show, we truly appreciate you! Cheers to an amazing 2023! CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, December 28, 2022
Holiday Bonus, Part 2: Our Favorite Episodes of 2022
Send us a message! Tune in for Part 2 of our Holiday Bonus - our two favorite episodes of this past year! Unlocking $4.9 BILLION Dollars in Military Travel to the Vacation Rental Industry, with Anthony Gantt 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) was not an option - so Anthony booked a rental on Airbnb. Little did he know, the Government did NOT allow this - military personnel could be compensated for hotel stays, but compensation did not allow for bookings made on these "new OTAs" (which includes Vrbo and all the other vacation rental based channels.) He was not reimbursed for the necessary accommodations to relocate, and soon found out this was happening all across the globe - military families had NO ability to be reimbursed for vacation rentals or short term rentals as a form of relocation OR vacation - a standard practice when a traditional hotel is utilized. Anthony now embarks on a new career path as CEO/Founder of At Ease, that will take him into a totally different battle zone: working through the challenges of outdated laws and complexities of OTA / vacation rental technology. If his mission is successful, he will unlock a $4.9 BILLION dollar travel opportunity for vacation rental managers and short term rental hosts alike. Tune in for a lively, fun and inspirational episode with Alex & Annie & Anthony discussing all things vacation & short term rentals, technology, entrepreneurship and more! This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research CONTACT ANTHONY GANTT CEO & Founder AtEase LinkedIn Facebook CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-o-husner-%F0%9F%8C%8E-1844
Wed, December 21, 2022
Holiday Bonus, Part 1: Our Favorite Episodes of 2022
Send us a message! As we wind down this incredible year, we wanted to share our two favorite episodes from 2022. Narrowing down this list was no easy task! Over the past 12 months, we've had the privilege to interview many of the top leaders in the vacation rental industry and beyond. For part 1, we bring back our episode with Marcus Räder, CEO of Hostaway who shared an insightful perspective on the importance of planting seeds in your career journey that very much hits home for the both of us. Marcus shares how companies can only learn by doing the wrong things. Putting capital where it shouldn't be will only make you learn the lessons faster - you'll hire the wrong people, and put them in the wrong positions. Money can be a catalyst for growth, or for learning - often times, it forces you to make decisions you aren't equipped to make. You will make bad decisions on people that will affect your company culture and performance. It's how quickly you learn from these bad decisions that will determine whether you can turn things around. He shares the importance of planting seeds on your journey, and talking to everyone you can. Make sure they know that you are on a mission. When you get your "lucky" break, it won't be luck - it will be a Return on Luck, or ROL. You will know this, but others won't. Let them think it's luck - it's a more newsworthy story that way ;) We also talk about some technical things like the recent Airbnb update, the difference between Hostaway and other PMS's, etc... but the real magic of this episode is the learnings shared by a self-described war time CEO. This episode is a MUST listen! This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research CONTACT MARCUS RÄDER LinkedIn Hostaway CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Wed, December 14, 2022
How a Young Entrepreneur is Re-imagining Guest Experience Technology, with Francois Goello
Send us a message! Francois Goello who is the founder of Enso Connect joins us today for an interesting tale of how a terrible guest experience led to him founding one of the slickest guest apps on the market. Francois tells us how Enso Connect was built from the guest perspective first - rather than the property first - and how this frame of mind is enabling them to solve communication issues that PMS's (property management systems) were not made to handle. An entrepreneur from a very early age, Francois shares how his first two jobs involved snow balls and trading American Express cards. Now leading Enso Connect at only 25 years of age, Francois has an infectious energy and passion for technology and the industry. Tune in for an engaging episode! This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research CONTACT FRANCOIS GOELLO Enso Connect LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, December 07, 2022
Top 6 Tips to Recession Proof Your Marketing, with Pete Dimaio of TravelBoom
Send us a message! Pete Dimaio of TravelBoom Marketing is BACK for a three-Pete! This is Pete's 3rd appearance on the show, and today he joins us for a very timely and relevant topic. As we head into 2023 and an economic forecast that is anything but certain, it's more important than ever that business owners and marketers are ready to sharpen their pencils, and know when it's time to push the gas or pump the brakes. We discuss the importance of auditing your tracking and why, re-negotiating your contracts, adopting an "always-ON" marketing strategy, why you should seek out strategic partnerships and so much more! No matter how good or bad the economy is, building a profitable business is key to sustainability. Recession proof your marketing plan with Pete's Top Tips - grab your notebook! This is a good one! You'll also hear a short story from Robin Craigen, President & Co-Founder of Moving Mountains in this episode, brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research CONTACT PETE DIMAIO Travel Boom Marketing Vice President - Director Client Services & Marketing pete.dimaio@travelboommarketing.com TravelBoomMarketing LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Thu, December 01, 2022
Simon Says: The Vacation Rental Industry Needs More Accessible Properties, Plus End of Year Wrap-up
Send us a message! 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. We re-cap our first month in our new positions with Casago and Homes & Villas by Marriott, along with recent vacation rental headlines from Track, Rented, Lexicon and Texas's advocacy group. We also share a review from our good friend Matt Durrette - big thanks Matt and best wishes for the new year to him and his team at Cozi Vacation Rentals! Simon Says: The Vacation Rental Industry Needs More Accessible Properties Simon invited Rosemarie Rossetti to join us today for a discussion on the need for more accessible vacation rentals. Some OTAs have added Accessible as an amenity choice, but as Rosemarie points out, often it's way too late in the booking process - which creates a great deal of frustration for the millions of guests searching for rentals that can accommodate them. CONTACT SIMON LEHMANN LinkedIn AJL Atelier CONTACT ROSEMARIE ROSSETTI UDLL.com rosemarie@rosemariespeaks.com CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by AJL Atelier
Wed, November 30, 2022
How Strategic Marketing and Technology Paved a Path to Success for Casiola, with Dennis Goedheid
Send us a message! Dennis Goedheid has built a budding empire in Orlando, that has recently spawned into Miami and Aruba. His entrepreneurial journey began in Belgium, where he learned the fundamentals of marketing and branding which he has applied to his Orlando based vacation rental business. Dennis is as humble as he is successful, and an asset to the vacation rental community. You'll never miss the Casiola team at conferences - they are always ON brand, in their bright fuchsia shirts! We love simple touches like this that are an example of how it doesn't take rocket science to build a brand that people remember. Tune in for a great look at how Dennis and the Casiola team leverage technology, including Wheelhouse, Track PMS and their own custom-built operations modules. This episode is part of our Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers, brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research https://www.alexandannieslist.com CONTACT DENNIS GOEDHEID Linkedin Casiola Vacation Homes CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, November 23, 2022
Behind the Success of Every Small Business is a Family, with Lauren Madewell
Send us a message! Lauren Madewell joins us today to share the story of her family's business, Auntie Belham's Cabin Rentals. The company is ran by Lauren and her sister Mallory, along with their Dad, John Madewell, who fell into vacation rentals when a relative passed away and left the business to John in 2008. The family rose to the occasion, and has grown the company into one of the most respected outfits in the Smoky Mountains with a loyal following of guests that return year after year. Topics we cover: The importance of having a close group of constituents Lauren and Mallory's career change from air traffic controller to vacation rental managers The checklist homeowners should ask other cabin rental companies when doing their due diligence Homeowners buying at the height of the market, and what this means for 2023? When is a good time to scale? Beauregard the Bear: Lauren's checkout video that broke the internet Why culture is so important, and how leading with love is everything This episode is part of our Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers, brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research https://www.alexandannieslist.com CONTACT LAUREN MADEWELL Linkedin Auntie Belham's Cabin Rentals CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, November 16, 2022
Fireside Chat with Airbnb Brand Ambassador, John Hildebrand
Send us a message! John Hildebrand of Hilde Homes joins us today for a discussion on all our favorite topics! John's company is based out of Scottsdale, AZ with properties in Arizona and California and has risen to fame as a Brand Ambassador for Airbnb. Despite having this important role with Airbnb, John's account got suspended last year - a shocking and frustrating mystery that Airbnb couldn't even explain. This incident made John realized the importance of building his own brand off the platform, and why creating his own direct booking strategy was critically important. John is President of the Scottsdale chapter of Rent Responsibly, and has become a respected figure within the destination for his efforts to guide smart legislation. Although he credits Airbnb with a great deal of his success, he too agrees with the "we are not Airbnb" movement. Are we short term rentals, or vacation rentals? Is saying that we're professional a differentiator? Tune in to find out! This episode is part of our Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers, brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research https://www.alexandannieslist.com CONTACT JOHN HILDEBRAND Linkedin Hilde Homes CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, November 09, 2022
Growing through Acquisitions & Smart Business Principles, with Scott Bunce, Cabins for You COO
Send us a message! Scott Bunce, COO of Cabins for You joins us today for a look behind the curtain of their innovative enterprise that manages properties in the Smoky Mountains and Georgia mountains, with plans to expand into the Florida Panhandle on the horizon. Scott's extensive background in hotel revenue management has made him a top choice for panels at vacation rental conferences, and in today's episode he shares his thoughts on the impact of revenue management on our industry. Inventory growth - and loss of units to real estate sales - is another main theme of this episode. Scott also shares how their company has leaned into acquisitions as their main growth strategy. This episode is part of our Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers, brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research https://www.alexandannieslist.com CONTACT SCOTT BUNCE Linkedin Cabins for You CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, November 02, 2022
Celebrating One Year Anniversary of Alex & Annie Podcast: Episode 1, The A-HA Moment
Send us a message! Flash back! On November 2, 2021, we launched the Alex & Annie Podcast with our 1st episode, The A-HA Moment. As we reflect on the past year and so many incredible memories, we thought it was fitting to revisit this episode. Yesterday on our 1st of the Month Bonus Episode, we made 2 major announcements - Alex has taken a new role as CMO for Casago, and Annie has taken a new role as Director of Business Development for Marriott Homes & Villas. It's impossible to ignore the timing of these two incredible opportunities happening at essentially the exact same time, a year to the date of our 1st episode. Thank you to everyone who has supported us in this journey - we are beyond grateful for the outpouring of support of our industry! Original show notes from 11/2/2021: In this inaugural episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we explore the spark that started our journey to making this podcast. We provide a high-level overview of our industry background, and highlight two AHA moments that defined the future of our careers. Topics we cover: Who are Alex & Annie? The importance of having a good mentor Two AHA moments that defined our careers Where will this journey take us? Vacation Rental Women’s Summit Thank you for joining us and helping this become a reality. We cannot wait to bring you more exciting stories from the PEOPLE behind the industry. CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Tue, November 01, 2022
1st of the Month Bonus Episode - Simon Says: Alex & Annie's Careers are a Changin'
Send us a message! 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: Alex & Annie's Careers are a Changin' Tune in for not one but TWO major announcements from Alex & Annie, which we were happy to share alongside Simon who has been a mentor and friend to each of us as we get his thoughts on two milestone life events. Plus, we re-cap VRMA International 2022, including Alex's introduction as a member of the Board of Directors for VRMA. CONTACT SIMON LEHMANN LinkedIn AJL Atelier CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by AJL Atelier
Wed, October 26, 2022
The Queen of Guest Experience: Tyann Marcink Hammond, Touch Stay
Send us a message! Tune in for a fun look behind the curtain of this amazing gal that is changing the game for small and large vacation rental operators that want to provide an enhanced experience for their guests! Tyann wears two hats - she operates her own portfolio of properties, and at TouchStay her title is quite literally, the Queen of Guest Experience. Creating a memorable guest experience helps you build your brand and drive repeat business - don't miss this one! This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research https://www.alexandannieslist.com CONTACT TYANN MARCINK HAMMOND Linkedin TouchStay CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, October 19, 2022
Creating Modern Clarity with Stoic Wisdom, with Andrew McConnell
Send us a message! 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, and rise in your career, by illustrating that the human mind is not unlike real estate: adopting an owner’s mindset can make all the difference. Drawing on ancient Stoic philosophy, modern science, and remarkable stories of contemporary innovators in business, sports, and more, Get Out of My Head demonstrates how to effectively allocate your mental resources, set mental boundaries, and overcome challenges by seizing ownership of your own mind and channeling adversity as a vehicle for growth. This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research https://www.alexandannieslist.com CONTACT ANDREW MCCONNELL Get Out of My Head Rented Linkedin CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, October 12, 2022
The Vacation Rental Power Couple: Lance & Elaine Stitcher of Seaside Vacations & Sales
Send us a message! 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 marketing and dynamic pricing. This episode is part of our Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers, brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research https://www.alexandannieslist.com CONTACT LANCE & ELAINE STITCHER Seaside Vacations & Sales Lance - Linkedin Elaine - Linkedin CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, October 05, 2022
Building a Start-up in a Grown-up Organization, with Marriott Homes & Villas VP Jennifer Hsieh
Send us a message! 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 presented perhaps the most unique - yet sought after - option for their loyal Bonvoy members. Alex, Annie & Jenny dive into the details of the complexities of growing a start-up in a grown-up enterprise, along with HVMI's position on working exclusively with professional property managers. Jenny shares career insights on her first major role with Target, and then how she worked in various departments in Marriott before moving into her current role to launch HVMI. She is an inspirational leader and one certainly worth following. Find out more about Homes & Villas by Marriott here: https://homes-and-villas.marriott.com/ CONTACT JENNIFER HSIEH LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Sat, October 01, 2022
1st of the Month Bonus Episode - Simon Says: It's Conference Season!
Send us a message! 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 first ever Red Carpet event for the vacation rental industry, welcoming our celebrity guests and friends that have built vacation rentals into the $100 BILLION dollar industry it is today. Episode 1 kicks off with a bang, detailing Steve Milo and VTrip’s rise to fame, having acquired several of the most prominent vacation rental brands on the East Coast in the past two years. You'll also see a preview of Episode 2 with Casago, led by Steve Schwab and Ryan Dame, as they show how building a company on the foundation of culture has enabled a trajectory of unlimited growth for property managers who want to compete at a national level while maintaining ownership of their companies. Their franchise model has the potential to be a game-changer for the rise pf professionalization and standards within our industry - we can't wait to see the full episode! Be sure to RSVP for this event - attendance is limited! Claim your spot here: https://www.paperlesspost.com/go/y8RlVmeS3z93Rvf4B6DyJ Register for VRMA International here: https://international.vrma.org/ CONTACT SIMON LEHMANN LinkedIn AJL Atelier CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, September 28, 2022
Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers: Robin Craigen, CEO of Moving Mountains
Send us a message! 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 business with just 2 properties, applying the same principles they learned from the yacht business to help vacationers from around the world experience the beauty of the Colorado mountains. Fast forward several years and Moving Mountains has lived up to their name – rated as one of the Top 100 Places to Work by Outside Magazine, their team now manages nearly 200 luxury rentals in Steamboat Springs, Vail, Beaver Creek and Breckenridge. Robin shares stories of building the business and their incredible team, acquisitions, technology decisions and how keeping a close watch on their financial hygiene has enabled their long-term growth strategy. This episode is part of our Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers, brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. CONTACT ROBIN CRAIGEN robin@movingmountains.com Moving Mountains LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, September 21, 2022
5 Ways to Drive Direct Bookings Before the OTAs Put You Out of Business, with Vanessa Humes
Send us a message! 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, Vanessa has great insights and tips that will help you build your business on your own land...because the grass really IS greener, when you water it yourself :) CONTACT VANESSA HUMES ICND LinkedIn vhumes@icnd.net CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, September 14, 2022
The Billion Dollar Question: Can Limited Edition Be Scaled? With Matt Landau
Send us a message! 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 it mean to be Limited Edition, and how can you leverage this positioning to create your OWN lane and break free of the competition all together? Tune in to hear Matt's thoughts on how industry leaders Vtrips and Casago have not only done this, but done it at scale - a feat that becomes much more complicated with growth across multiple markets. Matt is a story-teller at heart, and deeply in tune with how important brand and guest experience is to the success of a business. In today's episode we talk about the upcoming premiere of his TV show, Homerunners, which debuts during VRMA International in Vegas on Sunday evening, October 23rd. We are also very excited to announce that we will be hosting the Red Carpet for this event as the official podcast! Be sure to RSVP for this event - attendance is limited, and you don't want to miss the most glamorous event to date in vacation rentals - claim your spot here: https://www.paperlesspost.com/go/y8RlVmeS3z93Rvf4B6DyJ CONTACT MATT LANDAU VRMB.com LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, September 07, 2022
Bee Boppin' with Ben Coleman: Revenue Management vs. Revenue Performance
Send us a message! 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 teams are working in-step to optimize occupancy and rates. Having the right tools, and knowledge, is key to making this happen. At DARM, we heard several strategies for how these departments should be aligning. Today we kick-off this first edition of Bee Boppin' with Ben with some history and interesting stories from Ben's unusual journey into vacation rentals, and he shares his perspective of the state of revenue management - or rather, revenue performance - in today's day and age. CONTACT BEN COLEMAN RevandResearch.com LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Thu, September 01, 2022
1st of the Month Bonus Episode - Simon Says: Human Capital is KEY to Profitability, PLUS Launch of Alex & Annie's List
Send us a message! 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 changing business environment, companies and investors are realizing the importance of human capital in their acquisition strategies. If a particular business model doesn't work out, the right employees can be redirected - finding the right people is most important. Simon joins us today to dive into the top 5 things you must focus on to create a profitable business. This topic is applicable to ANY industry! Alex & Annie's List : Here Comes the A-TEAM! We are very excited to launch Alex & Annie's List, a curated group of the top suppliers within the industry and our GO-TO experts in their respective categories! Each company on Alex & Annie's List will have a seat on our "A-Team" - these SME's (Subject Matter Experts) will be collaborating with us on Ask-Me-Anything episodes, webinars, live events & more! Next month, we'll announce our lineup of "All-Stars" - these are the Exceptional Property Managers that will join us as we collaborate with the A-Team to connect the dots between what the products and services that are being built and what is TRULY needed. We're still rounding out a few categories for Alex & Annie's List , so if you're interested in participating, please reach out to us! Our goal is to build this into a community that helps the industry and all of our businesses grow and succeed. Collaboration is the key ingredient that makes our industry so special. We are beyond excited to share this journey with ALL of you! CONTACT SIMON LEHMANN LinkedIn AJL Atelier CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, August 31, 2022
Building the Perfect Tech Stack Starts with the PMS, with Terry Whyte
Send us a message! 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 to any conversation he engages in. Terry and his wife Sandy have built a legacy of excellence over the past 27 years as owners/operators of Anna Maria Island Condo Rentals on Florida's Gulf Coast, and are actively engaged at the national level of the professionally managed vacation rental industry. What does the future hold for channel managers? Can hotel based software stand a chance to make it in vacation rental tech? Will Track become the largest enterprise property management system in the world? And why should you prioritize getting your website OUT of your PMS? Tune in to find out! This episode is both interesting and heart warming all at the same time. It's all part of our Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers - brought to you by Wheelhouse . CONTACT TERRY WHYTE LinkedIn Anna Maria Condo Rentals CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, August 24, 2022
Creating Shoppable, Revenue Driving Experiences, with Minoan Founder Marc Hostovsky
Send us a message! 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 furnishings and decor in your unit shoppable to your guests. Marc's previous experience at Jet.com and Wal-Mart have given him a unique perspective on a service that to this point has not been developed. This is a great listen for anyone interested in marketing & e-commerce! Want to Learn More About Minoan? Minoan Experience - Join today -it's free! LinkedIn Instagram CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Wheelhouse The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Wed, August 17, 2022
Cleaning House on Operational Tech, with Koryn Okey of Breezeway
Send us a message! 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 several similar services into one - from messaging to checklists and vendor invoicing, Breezeway positions their value as a specialist for operators that need more than the generalist offerings of most PMS's. You'll also notice, there's a story within this episode - Lance Stitcher, owner of Seaside Vacations & Sales, joins us to share how using Wheelhouse for their revenue management has enabled him and his wife Elaine to 10x their business over the past 2 years. It's all part of Wheelhouse's Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers. This podcast is brought to you by our Premiere Brand Sponsor, Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine . They're offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research - launching soon! Sign up for updates here. CONTACT KORYN OKEY http://breezeway.io - Mention this podcast and they will WAIVE all implementation fees! LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, August 10, 2022
Predicting a Wave of Tech Consolidations, with Matt Loney, CEO of Xplorie
Send us a message! 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 Operations (housekeeping & maintenance) The influx of new technology pouring into vacation rentals has undoubtedly streamlined many aspects of the business, but take one lap around the vendor hall at a vacation rental conference and you'll quickly see the overlap between several of these new providers. At the end of the day, profitability is key and in a low-margin business, there's only so many services you can add on before you start seeing diminishing returns. As Matt says, "the tech stack is just getting too big." Developing an exceptional guest experience is a vital part of building a book direct brand that encourages repeat business and reduces your reliance on OTAs. When evaluating products or services to enhance the guest experience, be sure to ask yourself: Will this help me win NEW guests? Will it help me KEEP existing guests so they book direct next time, and don't leave to go stay with a competitor? You'll also notice, there's a story within this episode - Lance Stitcher, owner of Seaside Vacation Rentals, joins us to share how using Wheelhouse for their revenue management has enabled him and his wife Elaine to 10x their business over the past 2 years. It's all part of Wheelhouse's Spotlight on Exceptional Property Managers. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research https://www.alexandannieslist.com CONTACT MATT LONEY Xplorie.com Linkedin CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linked
Wed, August 03, 2022
Revenue Managing from the Driver's Seat, with Wheelhouse CEO/Founder Andrew Kitchell
Send us a message! 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 in Nasvhille, we'll hear about Wheelhouse's next wave of innovation - one that puts YOU in the driver's seat. We believe that data should help you make informed decisions - but it shouldn't make decisions for you. Wheelhouse's latest innovation caters to this fundamental principle. Wheelhouse is offering listeners of our podcast 50% OFF your 1st 2 months - use promo code ALEXANNIE or mention this podcast when you talk to them! http://www.usewheelhouse.com/?afmc=Alex%26Annie CONTACT ANDREW KITCHELL Andrew Kitchell UseWheelhouse.com LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Mon, August 01, 2022
1st of the Month Bonus Episode - Simon Says: It’s Time to Put Egos Aside to Strengthen the Industry
Send us a message! 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 Strengthen the Industry" At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which organization is doing what, so long as they are working for the betterment of the industry; what matters is that they are working together to effectively leverage resources to help all stakeholders. Either we win it as an industry, or we lose it all together. As one of our favorite sayings goes, "if you're not at the table - you're on the menu." It's time for everyone to pull their chair up to the table and tackle the issues that either threaten the existence of our industry - or in rosier terms - create a future in which everyone can succeed and thrive. Introducing "Alex & Annie's List" Tune in to also hear our BIG announcement of the concept behind "Alex & Annie's List." We're almost done curating the list...and checking it twice! HUGE thank you to the amazing companies that have partnered with us for this exciting journey of upcoming webinars and group episodes. Tune in for the September 1st of the Month Bonus Episode for more details! In this episode we mention Miller Hawkin's excellent article on Linkedin regarding advocacy - check it out by clicking here. Shout out to the VIPs we mentioned in this episode - Steve Milo, Anthony Gantt, Lauren Madewell, Stuart Butler and Robin Craigen! CONTACT SIMON LEHMANN LinkedIn AJL Atelier Raincatcher CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Episode in Partnership with AJL Atelier AlexandAnniesList.com is brought to you by </
Wed, July 27, 2022
What Every Marketer and DMO Should be Thinking About, with Stuart Butler, CMO of Visit Myrtle Beach
Send us a message! 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 in a destination, and why creating branded entertainment is key to distinguishing your destination or company. Stuart brings a wealth of knowledge and insight that is applicable for any type of business – and of course, we share some laughs and fun along the way! Tune in! CONTACT STUART BUTLER stuart.butler@visitmyrtlebeach.com Visit Myrtle Beach LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, July 20, 2022
We are NOT an Airbnb Business, with Sarah & Annette from Thanks for Visiting
Send us a message! 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 industry a bad name, but rarely do we talk about the GOOD apples that run above-board businesses and understand that they are NOT just an "Airbnb business." Sarah and Annette are 100% good apples! :) We first met Sarah & Annette at VRMA International last fall in San Antonio in what was a very unusual encounter. This chance meeting become one of the reasons we started our podcast - tune in to hear the story! CONTACT SARAH & ANNETTE https://www.thanksforvisiting.me/ Annette Grant - LinkedIn Sarah Karkarkaian - LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, July 13, 2022
Steve Milo: We've Got Questions, He's Got Answers - Q&A with VTrips CEO
Send us a message! 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 as it has been planned. Topics we also cover: Differences between Vtrips and Vacasa’s business models Predictions as we head into 2023 (and presumably a recession) How keeping local brands in place has been a pillar of their success Choosing Track as their PMS – was it a good decision? Advocacy efforts – what can other states learn from Florida? Importance of establishing that our industry is not the same thing as Airbnb Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Js3h_Bjwodw CONTACT STEVE MILO CEO VTrips https://vtrips.com/ LinkedIn Facebook CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, July 06, 2022
Unlocking $4.9 BILLION Dollars in Military Travel to the Vacation Rental Industry, with Anthony Gantt
Send us a message! 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) was not an option - so Anthony booked a rental on Airbnb. Little did he know, the Government did NOT allow this - military personnel could be compensated for hotel stays, but compensation did not allow for bookings made on these "new OTAs" (which includes Vrbo and all the other vacation rental based channels.) He was not reimbursed for the necessary accommodations to relocate, and soon found out this was happening all across the globe - military families had NO ability to be reimbursed for vacation rentals or short term rentals as a form of relocation OR vacation - a standard practice when a traditional hotel is utilized. Anthony now embarks on a new career path as CEO/Founder of At Ease, that will take him into a totally different battle zone: working through the challenges of outdated laws and complexities of OTA / vacation rental technology. If his mission is successful, he will unlock a $4.9 BILLION dollar travel opportunity for vacation rental managers and short term rental hosts alike. Tune in for a lively, fun and inspirational episode with Alex & Annie & Anthony discussing all things vacation & short term rentals, technology, entrepreneurship and more! Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/zYcrURUI6go CONTACT ANTHONY GANTT CEO & Founder AtEase LinkedIn Facebook CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Fri, July 01, 2022
1st of the Month Bonus Episode - Simon Says: The Times They Are a Changin'
Send us a message! 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 seems like every day we see an announcement that one of the leading companies in our industry has been acquired. Why are so many legacy operators turning in the keys and selling their businesses? A properly planned exit strategy is key to attaining the highest valuation when you decide to sell. Whether that time is now, 5 years or 10 years from now - it's never too early to start making the decisions that will set you, your family and stakeholders up for future success. CONTACT SIMON LEHMANN LinkedIn AJL Atelier Raincatcher CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by AJL Atelier
Wed, June 29, 2022
The Six P's of Preparing for the Disaster Zone, with Pete Dimaio
Send us a message! 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 storms to wildfires, if you are in a vacation destination you NEED to hear Pete's candid advice along with stories from Alex & Annie's on-the-scene experience managing resort properties through several major storms. You may have heard about the 6 P’s, “ P roper P lanning P revents P iss P oor P erformance.” In a disaster there's no time to think creatively and properly address the situation. You must create a comprehensive plan before disaster strikes. This vacation rental disaster planning guide will consist of the following: On Site Content Email Communications Social Communications PPC and Meta Search Management PR Outreach Guest and Community Assistance As a vacation rental manager or short term rental host, your job is to help others and be hospitable, and your disaster communications/marketing plan should be based on being empathetic to your guests and those in trouble. Everything you communicate should be from a helping perspective. This includes being flexible with your policies. In times of a disaster you want your guests to know your pet policy is flexible, your cancellation policy is flexible, your check out times are flexible. By being a great member of your community you can come through disaster stronger and more resilient then ever before. This is a must-listen episode! CONTACT PETE DIMAIO Travel Boom Marketing Vice President - Director Client Services & Marketing pete.dimaio@travelboommarketing.com TravelBoomMarketing LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Pete DiMaio is the vice president and director of marketing at TravelBoom. With TravelBoom, Pete takes an analytics approach to hotel marketing and works ti
Wed, June 22, 2022
Behind the Scenes of Women in Travel Thrive, with Silvia Camarota and Rachel Humphrey
Send us a message! 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 women in their travel careers. Silvia leads Expedia as the Senior Director for North America Market Management, and is a founding member of Women in Travel Thrive. Before retiring in August of 2021, Rachel served as the EVP & COO of AAHOA, the nation's largest and most influential hotel owners association and is a board member of Women in Travel Thrive. CONTACT SILVIA & RACHEL Silvia Camarota Senior Director for North America Market Management, Lodging at Expedia Group Founding Member Women in Travel Thrive LinkedIn Rachel Humphrey Former EVP & COO of AAHOA Board Member, Speaker, Hospitality Industry Executive, and Counsel LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, June 15, 2022
Get the Full Story Behind Every Booking, with Leo Walton of Superhog
Send us a message! 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 comes to processes like screening and other security measures is to set expectations early and bring them to the guest’s attention as soon as possible. By clearly communicating your security measures, bad guests will be deterred and good guests won’t bat an eyelid when it comes to completing them if they have been made aware of how you operate and what you expect from them. Leo’s positive energy is infectious. Tune in for a lively discussion! Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VqQB4YYZVCI CONTACT LEO WALTON Superhog.com LinkedIn | Facebook CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Wed, June 08, 2022
An Authentic Approach to Raising VC Funding, with Hostfully CEO Margot Schmorak
Send us a message! 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 this has created along the way of building Hostfully into one of the most successful property management companies in the world. CONTACT MARGOT SCHMORAK margot@hostfully.com LinkedIn Facebook Hostfully CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, June 01, 2022
It’s the 1st of the Month! Bonus Episode - June 2022
Send us a message! 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't want to miss this announcement from Simon Lehmann and AJL Atelier. CONTACT SIMON LEHMANN LinkedIn AJL Atelier Raincatcher CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by AJL Atelier
Wed, May 25, 2022
How Planting Seeds Turns into ROL (Return on Luck), with Hostaway CEO Marcus Räder
Send us a message! In this insightful and candid interview with Hostaway CEO, Marcus Räder takes us on an eye-opening journey of what companies really learn as they attempt to grow with investment capital. Marcus joins us today as another member of "The Blondies", and while the three of us together look we could also be members of the Brady Bunch, we dive into some seriously impactful topics that are applicable to any business looking to scale and grow. Marcus shares how companies can only learn by doing the wrong things. Putting capital where it shouldn't be will only make you learn the lessons faster - you'll hire the wrong people, and put them in the wrong positions. Money can be a catalyst for growth, or for learning - often times, it forces you to make decisions you aren't equipped to make. You will make bad decisions on people that will affect your company culture and performance. It's how quickly you learn from these bad decisions that will determine whether you can turn things around. He shares the importance of planting seeds on your journey, and talking to everyone you can. Make sure they know that you are on a mission. When you get your "lucky" break, it won't be luck - it will be a Return on Luck, or ROL. You will know this, but others won't. Let them think it's luck - it's a more newsworthy story that way ;) We also talk about some technical things like the recent Airbnb update, the difference between Hostaway and other PMS's, etc... but the real magic of this episode is the learnings shared by a self-described war time CEO. This episode is a MUST listen! CONTACT MARCUS RÄDER LinkedIn Hostaway CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
Wed, May 18, 2022
Finding Her Identity Under the Arches, with McDonald's Tracy Johnstone
Send us a message! Tracy Johnstone is one of those leaders who if you are lucky enough to encounter on your career journey, will aspire you to become so much more than you ever thought possible. As a female who rose to the top of the ranks of corporate McDonald's in the 1990’s, Tracy shares how she built her confidence and found her voice in a male dominated boardroom. She recalls, “There’s lots of seats at the table… I just learned early on, which ones I wanted. Just being on the team wasn’t enough for me, at some point. I knew the seat I wanted, and I started working on my skill set to get that seat.” Mic-drop moment right there. This episode is jam packed with them! A master of margins, Tracy explains how she taught her employees to understand profitability through ketchup packets and how a handful of ketchup became an A-HA moment for her staff as she transparently shared the P+L of her restaurants with all employees. Tracy also shares a vivid account of how she led the recovery efforts of Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle back in 2018, and then, led her company and employees through COVID. While she had no idea at the time, these two situations were leading up to the biggest challenge of her life - a breast cancer diagnosis that came at the end of 2020, which led to her decision to sell the business. Tune in to be inspired and uplifted! One favorite takeaway we had to sneak in: “The more you do, the more people will let you do.” CONTACT TRACY JOHNSTONE tracyvjohnstone@outlook.com Linkedin CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, May 11, 2022
99 STR Problems, But Airbnb Ain’t One: The Direct Booking Playbook with Boostly CEO Mark Simpson
Send us a message! Tune in for today's episode with Boostly CEO Mark Simpson, joining us from across the pond to chat about the importance of building a book direct strategy. The Pandemic showed the short term rental industry how dangerous it can be to rely on only 1 or 2 platforms for bookings, especially when you don't have control of these platforms. There's a heavy price associated with playing by someone else's rules and as the old adage goes, "don't build your house on someone else's land." Smart marketers are leaning into building and leveraging their own UGA's - user generated audiences - that provide security from a platform suddenly changing it's rules. While we hope none of us will ever live to see another Pandemic, we also need to be prepared in case these platforms - which have all the control - decide to impose commission increases. Margins and profitability are the key to growing, scaling and sustaining a vacation rental business - and Mark is here today to share with our audience how his new book The Book Direct Playbook can help you do just that. CONTACT MARK SIMPSON https://geni.us/bookdirectplaybook https://boostly.co.uk/ LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, May 04, 2022
Creating a Sustainable Competitive Edge, with Ed St. Onge, President of Flip.to
Send us a message! Tune in for Part 2 of our episode with Ed St. Onge, President of Flip.to and Founder of the first ever channel management software for hotels, EZ Yield. On last week's episode, Ed took us through the early days of channel and yield management and how the technology his team build became the foundation of an industry. On today's episode, Ed shares his story of Flip.to and how they are transforming the guest journey to drive more direct bookings, grow profits, and enhance the quality of the conversations and relationships we have with our guests - at scale. Alex is a self-proclaimed super user of Flip.to, and she shares her experience using the platform at Condo-World as well as at the DMO level with the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB. There's never been a more important time to focus on building and leveraging your UGA - user generated audiences - to grow your brand and create more direct bookings. Flip.to has helped Condo-World maintain their 95% direct booking ratio, through the tactics explained in this episode...you don't want to miss this one! CONTACT ED ST. ONGE https://flip.to estonge@flip.to LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Sun, May 01, 2022
It’s the 1st of the Month! Bonus Episode - May 2022
Send us a message! It's the 1st of the Month! Tune in for our short and SUITE bonus episode series where look at booking pace and discussing upcoming events. trends, and anything of interest in the world of vacation and short term rentals! CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, April 27, 2022
The Early Days of Travel Disruption with The OG of Channel Management, Ed St.Onge
Send us a message! This is Part 1 of a special 2 part series with Ed St. Onge, President of Flip.to (and the OG of Channel Management). Why are there 2 episodes? Because 1 just wasn't enough! Ed takes us on a journey that is nothing short of astounding, starting from his early days as the President of EZ Yield, the very first ever channel manager for hotels that he sold to Travel Click (then later acquired by Amadeus). The technology EZ Yield built in the early 2000's laid the bricks for future channel and rate management software that is utilized today for both hotels and vacation rentals, and in this unprecedented interview, Ed shares behind-the-scenes stories of the challenges and triumphs of pioneering a business where there was no roadmap to follow. SPOILER ALERT! On next week's episode, Ed tells us about Flip.to, a guest experience platform that Alex & the Condo-World team have used since 2017. In just the past year, this program has enabled Alex to grow her email database by 150,000 qualified email leads. Yes, you read that right! As Vrbo and Airbnb have continued to dominate market share of vacation rental bookings, Condo-World has been able to maintain their 95% direct booking / 5% OTA ratio. Flip.to has been a major component of this success and Alex is excited to share her story on next week's episode! HINT: This is a video you want to at least start watching on YouTube! Ed brought a very special guest! Meet Ed (and Todd) here: https://youtu.be/DCYPJmQUwhc CONTACT ED ST. ONGE https://flip.to estonge@flip.to LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, April 20, 2022
VRMA Spring Forum Recap: All In On Advocacy, with President Miller Hawkins
Send us a message! Tune in for this special episode where we speak with VRMA President, Miller Hawkins, about the recent Spring Forum in Chicago. Advocacy was top of mind at this event, as vacation rental managers came together to find a way to protect the industry from the infringement of short term rental laws that are spreading like wildfire. While local governments are enacting these laws to prevent the problems that come from the "bad apples" that have accompanied the surge in popularity of short term rentals, they are also jeopardizing the livelihoods of the professional companies who operate above-board and are vital (and big tax contributing) members of their business communities. As the opening session drew to a close, Miller took the stage to ask for continued support of the VRMA Advocacy Fund that Steve Milo of VTrips formed a few years ago. The goal was to raise $250,000 at the event, and Miller asked anyone who was willing to donate $10,000+ to join him on stage. Several companies jumped right up, with enthusiasm and check book in-hand, and within 10 minutes, more than $300,000 had been raised! By the end of the day, total donations came to $432,600 for the VRMA Advocacy Fund. Way to go Miller, VRMA Staff & Board of Directors, and of course, the companies large and small that stepped up to protect our industry! • $60,000: Inhabit IQ , VTrips • $50,000: Vacasa • $20,000: Avalara , C2G Advisors , Dormakaba , Elliott Realty , RedSky Travel Insurance , TravelNet Solutions , VacayHome Connect • $10,000: AvantStay , Behome247 , DoneRight Management , Got2Go , Panhandle Getaways , PriceLabs , Scenic Stays , Silicon Travel , StoicLane, <a href='https://weatherbyconsulting
Wed, April 13, 2022
How Rent Responsibly is Aligning Forces to Protect the STR Industry, with David Krauss
Send us a message! Tune in for today's episode with David Krauss, CEO and Co-Founder of Rent Responsibly , the organization that has helped thousands of managers from coast to coast as they deal with the influx of short term rental laws that are infringing on the industry. In most cases, short term rental laws are enacted by municipalities to combat issues created by the new wave of individual hosts that can now easily rent properties on Airbnb and Vrbo. Disruptive guests and hosts that don't pay taxes are among the top concerns, but while these laws are successful at eliminating those issues, they are also shutting down the professionally managed rental companies that operate their businesses above-board. David's experience renting his own condo in Texas years ago led him to co-found NoiseAware, after one of his guests' had a party that got out of control and he was fined for a noise violation. This A-HA moment put David on a path to find a solution that would allow him manage guests and not be in violation of any HOA or local laws. Their technology provided an answer to this problem, but then David recognized a different need - to connect hosts with other hosts in communities that were staring down these STR restrictions. Rent Responsibly provides tools and alliance management services equip local leaders to build successful, self-sustaining organizations of short-term rental hosts, managers and all other stakeholders. They make it easy for leaders and members to connect, collaborate, solve common challenges, advocate for themselves, steward their communities, and rent responsibly . Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/4BburRFTpug CONTACT DAVID KRAUSS https://www.rentresponsibly.org david@rentresponsibly.org LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, April 06, 2022
Leadership is a Mindset, with Ali Cammelletti
Send us a message! Ali Cammelletti joins us today to discuss all things related to leadership and resilience in the workplace. Ali has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including several years with Navis where she worked with resort and lodging companies around the world to drive revenue and increase sales agent performance. Ali now owns her own consulting company, Spark Your Mindset, and specializes in leadership coaching with business leaders in all industries. While vacation rentals are near and dear to her heart, Ali’s work and the principles of this episode are applicable for any business organization. Topics we cover: Hiring for skill or will: what’s more important? How employee training/coaching impacts company morale Why perfectionism is rooted in hospitality, and how it leads to procrastination Re-thinking the org chart: building a linear vs top down leadership model What it means to be resilient, and how to develop this quality Ali will be presenting a team building program at the upcoming VRMA Spring Forum in Chicago April 11-12th. Her proven approach for building group cohesion and engagement aligns with the TIGERS 6 principles of Trust, Interdependence, Genuineness, Empathy, Risk, and Success. Years of research and application of these principles proves that their presence or omission affects team member engagement and effectiveness. Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/p3uV461CNO8 CONTACT ALI CAMMELLETTI https://sparkyourmindset.com/ ali@sparkyourmindset.com CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Fri, April 01, 2022
It’s the 1st of the Month! Bonus Episode - April 2022
Send us a message! Tune in on the 1st of the month for this short and SUITE bonus episode series! In this month's episode we discuss: Changes to booking pace - what happened in March? Annie's trip to Myrtle Beach and HSMAI Event Is Annie really moving to Myrtle Beach?! Or is it April Fool's Day :) Our Fireside Chat (& lunch) with VRMA President Miller Hawkins Importance of aligning local and national trade associations within a destination Alex admits to committing the cardinal sin of vacation planning for her recent trip to Cartagena, Colombia Preview of April's upcoming episodes and topics Upcoming events and where we'll be next! We look forward to seeing everyone at VRMA Spring Forum in Chicago April 11 - 12th ! CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Thu, March 31, 2022
Fishing for Growth: Entrepreneurship, Networking & NFTs with Greg Fisher
Send us a message! As one of Greg Fisher’s partners recently said, “There’s a difference between an Owner and a Founder; and Greg is a Founder.” Greg joins us today to share his entrepreneurial journey and how he grew TripShock into one of the largest online tour & activity marketplaces in the country. When Greg launched TripShock back in 2009, he faced significant headwinds as he battled to get the platform up and running. Most water sports and attractions were still managed by pen and paper during this time, so not only did he have to convince companies to have trust in TripShock, he had to also convince them on the premise of moving into the digital era. 13 years since launch, TripShock is now in more than 25 US destinations and is continuing to expand - a journey that has been accomplished through organic growth and without accepting any outside capital. Greg also shares stories from behind the microphone of the Awkward Watersports Guys Podcast, which has quickly become the unified voice of the water sports industry. Greg and his partner Kevin O'Neil deliver an informational (and entertaining) show that appeals to business owners, marketers and entrepreneurs from all industries - just don't listen with your kids in the car, Kevin gets a little wild from time to time :) Finally, Greg delivers a raw explanation of NFTs and how businesses can use blockchain to progress into Web3 technology. He provides a VERY important piece of advice for businesses that you don't want to miss! Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/8k6g9hRXBnQ CONTACT GREG FISHER LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel Lexicon Travel- Navigation not Autmation Lexicon Travel helps navigate the complexities of distribution for vacation rentals Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Wed, March 23, 2022
Applying a Growth Mindset to Career Opportunities with Jen Ford, former Chief Commercial Officer & CFO of TurnKey
Send us a message! Tune in to this inspiring episode as Jen Ford shares highlights of an impressive career and the pivotal decisions that helped her build confidence, discover her passions and ultimately, lay a solid runway for future growth opportunities. As Jen reveals, it's all in your mindset! Jen is a seasoned executive with a background in e-commerce, retail, travel, and technology. During her career, Jen has worked in both public and private companies, from start-up to Fortune 100. She has led successful teams in a broad range of functions, including strategy, finance, investor relations, business intelligence, revenue management, and human resources. Notable roles include her position as Chief Commercial Officer & CFO at TurnKey Vacation Rentals (2nd largest VR property manager in the US), head of Finance at Snap Kitchen (an omni-channel, prepared food concept with 45 retail locations in three states), head of Investor Relations and a member of the IPO team at HomeAway ($3B+ market cap), and multiple overseas assignments in Europe and Asia with Dell. Jen has been active in the boardroom since 2015 and has experience leading audit and compensation committee discussions on behalf of management. Jen is adept in scaling companies from early stages to maturity and has extensive experience guiding management teams on balancing growth and profitability, building critical operational infrastructure, and creating financial discipline. She has played a key role in helping start-ups gain traction through partnerships and has been a core member of the launch team for commercial agreements with Starbucks, Whole Foods, and Aramark (Snap Kitchen), and Marriott (TurnKey). Jen has an extensive fund-raising history, having brought in more than $125M of equity and debt while in the CFO seat, in addition to the $750M raised while leading Investor Relations. She has been involved in more than 15 acquisitions, including HomeAway’s acquisition by Expedia for $3.9B and TurnKey’s acquisition by Vacasa. CONTACT JEN FORD LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, March 16, 2022
Top 5 Things Vacation Rentals Can Learn from Hotels, with Pete DiMaio
Send us a message! Today we are joined by Pete DiMaio for a very special episode! Pete is Vice President of Travel Boom Marketing, the hotel industry's leading marketing agency and on this episode he joins us to share the Top 5 Things Vacation Rentals Can Learn from Hotels. We recently joined Pete on his show The Hotel Marketing Podcast to share what hotels can learn from vacation rentals. This was a fun switch-a-roo episode and it is packed with helpful information! Pete details the following tips: #1: The On-Property Experience Sells The Stay: Meeting the “innkeeper” and not just transacting a purchase Enjoying the amenities (are they available via the vacation rental company)? The moment a guest steps foot on your property is the moment you are selling the next stay. Are you able to add value to their stay? Are you able to surprise and delight? #2: Maximize Your email and owned assets: Social channels such as Facebook, IG, TikTok and others Email communications Email automation Triggered messages #3: Own your Guest through Remarketing & Reengagement: Email Paid re-targeting Communications Asking for reviews, etc #4: Reduce Booking Engine Abandonment Through Transparent Pricing: Your potential guests will abandon a booking if they’re hit with massive fees on the checkout page. Example of property who increased their checkout fees and saw conversion rate drop by over 50% Build the value from the onset #5: Spend the Time, Money, & Effort In Your Marketing: Focus time and effort to optimize your website, marketing, and communications channels and avoid getting too mired in the day-to-day management and operations. Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/NAWJzb0RRrQ CONTACT PETE DIMAIO TravelBoomMarketing.com The Hotel Marketing Podcast pete.dimaio@travelboommarketing.com LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-o-husner-%F0%9F%8
Wed, March 09, 2022
Re-Imagining The Leaning Tower of Tech, with Lino Maldonado, President of BeHome247
Send us a message! Lino Maldonado is recognized as one of the industry's most innovative players, known for his collaborative spirit and uncanny ability to see opportunity where most see road blocks. Lino's career includes 23 years with Wyndham Vacation Rentals as VP of Operations, where he managed a staff of 1200 employees and a budget in excess of $500M. Utilizing his wealth of knowledge and experience as an operator, Lino joined BeHome247 in 2019 to lead the charge and development of cutting-edge smart home technology, workflow automation and energy management solutions for the accommodations and real estate industry. Lino shares stories of the early days at ResortQuest and Abbott Resorts when property management companies were powered by AS400's and green screens, and the evolution that has since turned into The Leaning Tower of Tech for many property management companies using disparate systems. BeHome247 allows the front of the house to talk to the back of the house, with the ability for each client to customize the platform to fit their own unique use cases. This is very clearly a product built by operators, for operators. We also dive into the synergies Lino saw while at Wyndham between the vacation rental and timeshare divisions, and the programs he developed to optimize inventory efficiently. Alex and Lino recently attended GNEX Conference and participated in a panel specific to this topic, along with Ryan Dame of Casago, Scott Bunce of Cabins for You, and Gregg Anderson, moderated by Amy Hinote. Stay tuned for more episodes on this topic! Lino served as Chairman for VISIT FLORIDA during 2018-2019 and Chairman of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association in 2016. He was also selected by Governor Rick Scott as one of his six appointees to serve on the Gulf Consortium, which was tasked with helping to structure the States expenditure plan for the settlement funds from the 2010 BP Gulf Oil spill. Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/W2fY343as8g CONTACT LINO MALDONADO https://www.behome247.com lino@behome247.com Cell: 850-685-8325 CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Spon
Wed, March 02, 2022
How Vacation Rentals are Influencing Destination Marketing with Jennifer Barbee
Send us a message! On today's episode we are joined by Jennifer Barbee, CEO of Destination Innovate and a dynamic leader who has worked with over 400 hospitality and destination brands. She has been credited with many innovative firsts in the industry; including the first personalized destination website, tapped to lead digital account strategy for the first inbound travel campaign for the US Department of Commerce and the first destination campaign to be used as a Facebook Business Case study. She is a contributor and member of the Forbes© Agency Council and a popular speaker on innovation and strategy for travel brands. Topics we cover: How branding has evolved for destination marketing organizations (DMOs) over the past decade Importance of including residents in the overall strategy of a destination How the consolidation of vacation rental companies has affected destinations Shifting perspective on competition - should we be looking inwards or outwards? How vacation rental companies can leverage their local DMO to increase the reach and exposure of their businesses What effects the Metaverse, E-sports and gaming will have on destinations and tourism businesses Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/C4qbrrmmSrw CONTACT JENNIFER BARBEE https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferbarbeeinc/ https://destinationinnovate.com CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Tue, March 01, 2022
1st of the Month Bonus Episode: March 1, 2022
Send us a message! Tune in on the 1st day of the month for these short and SUITE bonus episodes with Alex & Annie! In this month's episode we discuss: Booking pace and changes to traveler sentiment Alex shares her experience participating at GNEX Conference in Vegas Big news of a major award! Listener spotlights Preview of March's upcoming episodes and topics Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/u_dxzheyOaU CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, February 23, 2022
Meet Whimstay, the Hotel Tonight of Vacation Rentals with CEO Ben Jamshahi
Send us a message! As CEO Ben Jamshahi tells us, Whimstay is the Hotel Tonight of vacation rentals, on a mission to help professionally managed vacation rental companies fill last minute or unused inventory. Ben entered Stanford University at only 14 years old (YES, you read that right!) to begin his educational and business career which has spanned multiple industries over the years. His entrepreneurial brilliance shines through in this episode. An inspiring and thought provoking leader, Ben and Whimstay are poised to become the OTA professional managers truly enjoy doing business with. Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/mjAylXbSjq4 CONTACT BEN JAMSHAHI https://www.whimstay.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-jamshahi-506800172/ CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, February 16, 2022
Raising the Bar for Women in Tech, with Guesty President/COO Vered Raviv Schwarz
Send us a message! In today’s episode we are joined with Vered Raviv Schwarz, President/COO of the property management platform Guesty. We had the pleasure of meeting Vered at the Women’s Conference at the end of 2021, and got to listen to her speak about being a female entrepreneur in a male dominated tech world. An advocate for women in business and technology, Vered shares with us stories from her career that led her to understand that you can truly do anything you put your mind to, and that with the right amount of hard work and determination, anything is possible. Vered has over 20 years of experience in private and public companies, including some of the most successful companies in the Israeli tech scene. Prior to starting her career in technology companies, Vered was an attorney at one of Israel’s prominent law firms, focusing on M&As and IPOs. During her career, Vered helped technology companies scale, go public, acquire companies and get acquired. She was the first executive at Fiverr and helped grow the company from 40 people to a global organization. Vered holds LL.B and LL.M from Tel Aviv University and serves on the advisory board of several startups, while participating in mentorship programs focusing on female entrepreneurs. Vered has been featured in prominent media outlets including Forbes, USA Today, Entrepreneur and The Next Web. She has also shared her insights at numerous events including The Next Web, Skift, Phocuswright and more. Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/uZvAlIMQ5Yo Learn more about Guesty here: https://hosts.guesty.com/?r=alexandannie CONTACT VERED RAVIV SCHWARZ vered@guesty.com CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, February 09, 2022
Sustainable Growth Strategies with Jim DeVos of Best Beach Getaways
Send us a message! Jim DeVos is the type of business leader and entrepreneur that any employee who takes pride in their job would love to work for. Jim's career started in the airline industry with Piedmont Airlines, where he honed the skill of team building, opening up 3 hubs and 70 new markets. He then went on to work as an advertising exec for 17 years, and got to witness the the tail end of the Mad Men era of agency life and the days when 3 martini lunches were the norm. Jim's experience in sales and marketing ultimately led him to open Best Beach Getaways in 2008 with a partner, and within one year they managed to grow to 100 units under management. While this growth was impressive, their limited understanding of the operations side of the business quickly caught up with them. Jim recalls some of the struggles during this time, which fortunately led to great victories on the other side - including a portfolio that now includes 460 prime oceanfront condos in the Florida Panhandle. Topics we also cover: Keeping employees happy, and how long term retention has enabled their success Why profitability and managing your margins is so important (hint, you can pay people more, which helps with #1 :) Acquisition strategies, and importance of how they are structured Software challenges, and why they decided to build their own systems His brush with fame! Watch episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/EsUodnofoHg CONTACT JIM DEVOS https://www.bestbeachgetaways.com/ jim@bestbeachgetaways.com CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, February 02, 2022
Finding National Success through Local Operations, with iTrip CEO Steve Caron
Send us a message! In this episode we are joined by iTrip CEO Steve Caron, an industry veteran whose tour of duty began in the Air Force as a special operations night instructor. When Steve departed the service, he went on to use his computer science degree as lead technologist for Abbott Resorts, the largest vacation rental company on the Gulf Coast at the time. Abbott was eventually sold to Resort Quest, the first company to attempt becoming a national vacation rental brand. Founded by hotel execs, Resort Quest looked to standardize the companies they acquired but in the process lost sight of one of the most important parts of a successful vacation rental business - the local operators. Steve went on to found Sterling Resorts in the Florida Panhandle with Jim Olin in the early 2000's, growing inventory from 0 to 1700 units during the big real estate and construction boom of condo resorts. Sterling became one of the largest and most respected regional brands in the industry, until being sold several times and eventually to Vacasa in 2019, at which time the brand dissolved and folded up under their national namesake. Topics we also cover: Why Choice Hotel's efforts to get into vacation rentals didn't take off as expected Will hotel brands continue to partner with local vacation rental companies, or will they start acquiring their own inventory? How iTrip differentiates itself from other national brands 1) as a platform and 2) as a company that values local operations and relationships Why healthy coopetition is vital to the future of our industry How has the InhabitIQ rollup in 2019 effected iTrip and the other companies it acquired Is pecking order really a thing? Are chickens the original Mean Girls?! (Annie says YES!) Steve shares stories of his recent adventures in becoming a farmer in Tennessee. If one thing is for sure, he really loves his Chicks!🐥🐣🐤 Watch episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/cg5iJU8NzOk CONTACT STEVE CARON steve.caron@itrip.co iTrip.net CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin
Tue, February 01, 2022
It’s the 1st of the Month! Bonus Episode - February 2022
Send us a message! Wake up, wake up, wake up... it's the 1st of the Month! On this new bonus series, we'll look back on the previous month and look ahead to the next, examining booking trends, pacing and anything timely and newsworthy within travel and vacation rentals. Tune in on the 1st day of the month for these short and SUITE bonus episodes with Alex & Annie! CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, January 26, 2022
Building a Million Dollar Business on AirBnB with Julie George
Send us a message! On today's episode we're joined by Julie George, author of the best selling book Million Dollar Host and a renowned leader, speaker and consultant on how to build a business on the backbone of the sharing economy. Recognized as an Airbnb expert, Julie grew her portfolio from 1 unit to 130 in less than 3 years, generating over $8M in revenue prior to selling the business. She now consults and mentors others short term rental hosts seeking to grow their own million dollar businesses. *Special offer! Share our podcast on LinkedIn and tag @alexandanniepodcast to win a FREE copy of her book! Watch episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/HIxSR8x81d8 CONTACT JULIE GEORGE LinkedIn CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, January 19, 2022
Flipping the Switch with Steve Trover, CEO of Better Talent
Send us a message! Steve Trover is a 25-year vacation rental industry veteran whose career took off in the 1990's when he founded All Star Vacation Homes (ASVH), a property management company in Orlando that he expanded to include several different business models in 4 total markets. Steve designed, developed, and/or built hundreds of vacation homes during this time, and served as President and Vice President of the Vacation Rental Manager Association (VRMA) over a 5-year period. Steve's deep understanding of the business and entrepreneurial prowess led him to develop his own property management software, which later became LiveRez. In 2017, the vacation rental industry was stunned when ASVH permanently closed their doors. In this candid interview, Steve shares the challenges his company faced during this time and the missteps that left him no choice but to close the business. He also shares the story of " The Switch" , an initiative led by VRMA during his tenure as President (2010) to protect the brands of professionally managed vacation rental companies from losing control to the OTAs and streamline distribution. While this initiative was ultimately derailed, it put a necessary spotlight on many of the challenges that we are still dealing with today. If there's one word to describe Steve, it would be resilient. He understands that while there is great satisfaction in recalling how much has been accomplished, the richness of the memories and lessons learned come from recalling the WHOLE STORY - the lows as well as the highs. Steve shares his successes with humbleness and his failures with humility, which reveals how truly passionate he is about the industry and helping those around him navigate their own paths. Today, Steve is CEO and Founder of Better Talent, where he helps companies with their single most important task: Building and developing a cohesive team. Watch episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/XP-HVp_R5kI CONTACT STEVE TROVER LinkedIn | Better Talent CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by <a href='https://www.condo-world.c
Wed, January 12, 2022
Starting 2022 on a High Note with Amy Hinote, Founder/CEO of VRM Intel
Send us a message! On this first episode of 2022 we dive into the most pressing issues facing the vacation rental industry with Amy Hinote, Founder/CEO of VRM Intel and one of the most recognized and respected thought leaders of the past decade. This is a fireside chat you don't want to miss! Topics we cover: How the unique format of the Vacation Rental Women's Summit was a major benefit for attendees AND vendors How branding has changed for vacation rentals – is the industry giving up on the #bookdirect movement? Impact of Vacasa going public, and the effect acquisitions have on destinations Is the consolidation of tech companies making software products better? Why destination marketing and CVB/DMO efforts are critical for the future of vacation rentals When is the right time for property managers to sell their businesses? VRMA's decision to allow individual property owners to join association Where will the DARM (Data and Revenue Management Conference) be held in 2022? Watch episode on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s1n5PBWujk Purchase the video package from the VRWS here: https://vacationrentalwomen.com/register/video-package/ Coupon Code: VRWS21 $75 OFF CONTACT AMY HINOTE LinkedIn | VRMIntel CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, December 29, 2021
Looking Ahead...2022, We're Ready For You!
Send us a message! We have so many exciting interviews and topics lined up for 2022 that we had to share a few highlights! Today's episode is a preview of just a few of the amazing guests that will be joining us on the show as we launch Season 2. We also share our predictions for the vacation rental industry in the New Year. Tune in to hear a few highlights from from Amy Hinote, Jim Devos, Greg Fisher, Steve Trover and Julie George. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of us in this journey. Do you have ideas for an episode or want to be a guest on the show? Reach out to us! We'll see you in 2022! CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, December 22, 2021
Delivering a Legacy of Excellence with Julie Byrd, COO of CaboVillas.com
Send us a message! 20 years at one company is a big milestone for anyone, but for Julie Byrd it's been a labor of love and legacy. Julie recalls the early days of selling newspaper ads to CaboVillas.com founder, Don Hirschaut, which led to a full time position with the company and the beginning of Julie’s inspiring career under his mentorship. When Don tragically passed away in 2019, he left behind a passion for excellence and innovation that remains at the heart of the business and can be easily seen in the efforts of Julie and her team to create dream vacations for their guests. Through collaborative partnerships with Los Cabos tourism boards, local tours & activities providers, restaurants and attractions, CaboVillas.com has found the secret sauce to delivering the ultimate, personalized guest experience for families, groups and couples visiting the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Watch episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/k2dQgedqL04 CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Wed, December 15, 2021
Puttin' On The Ritz: Vacation Rental Women's Summit Review
Send us a message! On today's episode we share highlights of an amazing week at the Vacation Rental Women's Summit (VRWS) at The Ritz Carlton in New Orleans. This event was top-notch on every level, and the collaborative atmosphere among attendees was truly remarkable. We had the opportunity to go to dinner with keynote speaker Amber Hurdle , who was also our very first guest on the podcast (Episode 2) and has affectionately become our "spirit woman". More on that in the episode! We share highlights from our very first breakout session, where we had the founders of the startup Got2Go in the "OTA Hot Seat" for some heavy hitting Q&A with great audience participation. Side note, do you remember when Airbnb came to VRMA in 2008 and asked for our feedback as they built out their platform? Neither do we....because it didn't happen :) This collaborative session with Got2Go was unique in nature and showed how these founders are truly building a platform for hosts, by hosts. Big thanks to Amy Hinote and her incredible staff at VRM Intel that produced both the opening and closing conferences of 2021. Business travel is back, and we love being part of this collaborative industry that grows so much from these events. We also reflect on the past 2 months of learning how to build a podcast. Spoiler alert... "ALWAYS HIT RECORD"! Want to know what's in store for us in 2022? Tune in to find out what we're most excited about! Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/IJOLx5Vi-oc CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Tue, November 30, 2021
How a Swissport Airport Exec Became the Renaissance Man of Vacation Rentals, with Simon Lehmann
Send us a message! Simon Lehmann is one of the most respected thought leaders and operational experts in the world of vacation rentals. Simon has been our mentor and friend for several years, but it wasn't until a couple months ago at VRMA International that we got to sit down with him and learn more about his personal and professional life prior to entering the industry. This is Simon Lehmann like you've never heard before! His story is one of inspiration, innovation and putting real life experience to work for his businesses and clients. Simon currently serves as President of AJL Consulting, and has previously served in other major industry roles in his career including his time as CEO of Interhome (48,000 rentals under management during his tenure), Founder and Chairman of Vacasa Europe, and President of Phocuswright. But what most people don’t know is that Simon's impressive career began years earlier in the airport industry, where he worked his way up to become an executive with Swissport Worldwide. Simon ran ground handling operations for several airports in Europe, managing 1000's of employees and by the time he turned 35, was responsible for $1.3 BILLION dollars in revenue. In this episode we dive into those early days that got him to where he is now, and then flash forward to talk about all things related to the current state of vacation rentals. Simon points out that in 2005, vacation rentals had a 5% category awareness. In 2021, it has soared to 80%. Is there room to grow the next 20%, and do we need/want that? We also discuss homeowner retention, software choices, guest experience, the future of travel and how he believes blockchain will be the next major disruptor. Simon tells us about Dtravel , the first blockchain company to enter the vacation rental space that was just recently announced. To quote one of Simon's inspirations, “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” ― Nelson Mandela We couldn’t agree more. CONTACT SIMON LEHMANN AJL Atelier Simon Lehmann - Linkedin CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by </
Tue, November 23, 2021
Building a Remarkable OTA with Got2Go
Send us a message! Join us as we take a behind the scenes look at startup OTA, Got2Go. Built for hosts by hosts, we had the opportunity to speak with Got2Go's founders about the upcoming launch of this game changing new platform. From onion and lettuce farming at the family business in New York, to national leadership roles with timeshare and pharmaceutical companies, to public service and solving major crimes, these founders bring an impressive track record of success across multiple verticals to tackle the challenges of the online travel landscape head-on. Armed with a big vision and eager to make this a host-friendly platform, Got2Go is inviting our audience to have a seat at the table to make this the OTA you truly enjoy doing business with. Topics we cover: What being a "host friendly" platform really means How they've built a world-class platform without tech backgrounds How getting people out of timeshare led to the creation of Got2Go Importance of establishing the brand prior to launch How event/ticket bookings will shape host and guest experience Preview of upcoming Women's Conference breakout session ** Alex & Annie will have Got2Go on stage in the OTA Hot Seat for a breakout session at the upcoming Vacation Rental Women's Conference in New Orleans Dec 1st & 2nd. They want to hear from you - bring your questions, comments or requests about what YOU think is important when choosing which OTAs to distribute to. If you'd like us to ask a question, please email it to alexandanniepodcast@gmail.com Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/-H7F51eVoTY Visit Got2Go.com or find them on Linkedin: Craig Musemici Russ Johnson Guy Devore CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE: AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by: Condo-World Lexicon Travel
Wed, November 17, 2021
Finding Your Personal Power with Amber Hurdle
Send us a message! Join us for our 1st live guest interview , Amber “the Velvet Machete” Hurdle to dive into finding your personal power and how being outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens. From her days with Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Attractions to her award-winning talent optimization firm, we uncover the strategies and moments that gave Amber the voice to be a powerhouse businesswoman and helped her to create the Velvet Machete Brand Strategy. This engaging chat is a sneak peek into her upcoming Key-Note presentation at the VRMIntel Women’s Summit in New Orleans December 1 & 2. www.VacationRentalWomen.com To find out more about Amber Hurdle, check out: VelvetMacheteLeadership.com AmberHurdle.com CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Tue, November 02, 2021
Episode 1: The A-HA Moment
Send us a message! In this inaugural episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we explore the spark that started our journey to making this podcast. We provide a high-level overview of our industry background, and highlight two AHA moments that defined the future of our careers. Topics we cover: Who are Alex & Annie? The importance of having a good mentor Two AHA moments that defined our careers Where will this journey take us? Vacation Rental Women’s Summit Thank you for joining us and helping this become a reality. We cannot wait to bring you more exciting stories from the PEOPLE behind the industry. CONTACT ALEX & ANNIE AlexandAnniePodcast.com LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram Alex Husner - Linkedin Annie Holcombe - Linkedin Podcast Sponsored by Condo-World and Lexicon Travel
Mon, January 11, 2021
CAPTURE IT! The Value of Email Capture as a Vacation Rental Marketing Solution, with Arthur Colker
Send us a message! SUCCESS IN THE VACATION RENTAL SPACE ISN’T ALWAYS INTENTIONAL and Arthur Colker is proof of that. Arthur is the CEO and founder of StayFi, and in this episode, discusses how he accidentally fell into the short-term rental and vacation rental space. He talks about how he helped a friend develop an independent brand, and how he saw the value in controlling and owning guests’ data. Arthur built a solution that helps managers and operators capture guest data and then monetize it through tools like email marketing and text marketing, which helps with upsells and remarketing for booking. Find out more about Arthur and his business in this latest episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals. “REAL” TALK ARTHUR: CAPTURING DATA IS JUST THE BEGINNING “Big focus of our product is building the end-to-end marketing solution. So we started with data capture, so obviously capturing the data is just the beginning, and then it's how do you monetize that information.” ALEX: VENDORS FORMING MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL PARTNERSHIPS “There's been a lot that's changed in the vendor world in the last year or two, and it seems like a lot of vendors are working together better than ever, and realizing that it makes sense to form those, mutually beneficial partnerships so that you can have a more robust offering that's going to serve the needs of property managers.” This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse: The Ultimate Revenue Driving Machine. Wheelhouse is a proud member of Alex & Annie's List, presented by Rev & Research Connect with Arthur and learn more about him and StayFi: Arthur Colker | StayFi | StayFi.com Connect with Alex and Annie and get more real vacation rental goodness: Alex Husner | Annie Holcombe AlexAndAnniePodcast.com If you enjoyed this episode of ALEX & ANNIE: The Real Women Of Vacation Rentals, make sure to visit our socials, leave us a like, a comment, or share our content with the crowd! Don’t forget to subscribe! LinkedIn | Youtube | <a href='h
Sun, January 10, 2021
Welcome to Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals
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