Winner of The Shortyz 2026 Best Travel Influencers of the Year

Software Episodes

288
July 1, 2026

Revenue Reality Check: What to Do When Revenue Plans Do Not Go as Planned with Julie Brinkman of Beyond

Send us a message! Revenue strategy always starts with a plan, but the market does not always follow it. A major event may not pace the way it did last year, certain property types may start falling behind, owners may get nervous about open dates, and new channel updates can quickly add more complexity to an already busy season. In this episode of Revenue Reality Check, presented by Beyond, Alex & Annie are joined once again by Julie Brinkman, CEO of Beyond, for a practical conversation ab...
285
June 15, 2026

Pour Decisions: When Vacation Brain Hits Summer Stays, with Amanda Martins of Safely

Welcome to the second episode of Pour Decisions: When Stays Go Sideways, presented by Safely. In this episode, Alex and Annie are joined again by Amanda Martins, VP of Business Development at Safely, for another round of real guest stories, summer stay surprises, and practical takeaways for short-term rental operators. This conversation is all about “vacation brain” and the strange, messy, and sometimes costly decisions guests make when they are out of their normal routine. From poolsid...
284
June 9, 2026

Trust Accounting Isn’t Back Office: It’s the Foundation, with Ed Ulmer of Barefoot

Send us a message! In this episode, we are joined by Ed Ulmer, CEO of Barefoot, for a conversation about trust accounting, vacation rental technology, and what operators need from their systems as their businesses become more complex. Ed shares how his background in tourism, destination marketing, real estate, and software all shaped the way he looks at vacation rental management today. For him, the industry has always come back to one core idea: trust. The conversation takes a deep dive i...
Guest: edward ulmer
283
June 3, 2026

From Fax Machines to AI: Lessons from 20 Years of Industry Transformation, with John Suzuki

Send us a message! The vacation rental industry has gone through major waves of change over the last two decades, and AI is quickly becoming one of the biggest shifts yet. In this episode, we are joined by John Suzuki, Chief Technology Evangelist at Staylist, for a conversation about the evolution of vacation rental technology, the pace of innovation, and what this next chapter could mean for property managers. John brings a long-term perspective on how far the industry has come, along wit...
Guest: John Suzuki
282
May 31, 2026

1st of the Month Wrangle: Can We Stop Marketing Properties and Start Marketing to People? with Lasoh CEO Orlie Benjamin

Send us a message! In this second episode of First of the Month Wrangle, presented by Lasoh, Alex & Annie are joined again by Orlie Benjamin, Founder and CEO of Lasoh, to continue the conversation around vacation rental marketing and what it takes to make it more effective, more personal, and more guest-centered. This time, the conversation focuses on a simple but important question: can we stop marketing properties and start marketing to people? For many vacation rental operators, marketing ...
Guests: Orlie Benjamin , Lasoh
279
May 13, 2026

Direct Bookings Aren’t Dead, But Your Strategy Might Be | with Chris Walker of Direct Booking Tools

Many vacation rental operators are working on their direct booking strategy, but the real opportunity is not just driving more traffic to their website. It is understanding what happens once guests get there. In this episode, we are joined by Chris Walker, Owner of Luxury Homes of Hilton Head and CEO of Direct Booking Tools. Chris shares what he has learned from nearly two decades in property management and how his experience as an operator led to the creation of Direct Booking Tools. T...
Guest: Chris Walker
277
May 1, 2026

Introducing Revenue Reality Check Presented by Beyond, with CEO Julie Brinkman

Send us a message! Revenue strategy does not happen on autopilot. Markets shift, booking windows move, owners ask harder questions, and guests become more price sensitive. For vacation rental managers, the strategy that worked last month may need a second look today. That is the focus of Revenue Reality Check, a 6-part bimonthly series brought to you by Beyond. Each episode takes a closer look at the pricing decisions, demand trends, owner conversations, and revenue moves property managers...
276
April 29, 2026

Does Vacation Rental Software Still Have Room to Grow? With Hospitable CEO Pierre-Camille Hamana

Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Pierre-Camille Hamana, founder and CEO of Hospitable, to talk about the evolution of vacation rental software and why adoption across the industry still has so much room to grow. Pierre-Camille shares how his own experience as an Airbnb host in Brussels led to the creation of Smartbnb, which later became Hospitable. What started as a solution for repetitive guest messaging has grown into a broader property management platform supp...
274
April 15, 2026

Pour Decisions: When Stays Go Sideways, with Amanda Martins of Safely

Send us a message! Not every guest stay ends with a five-star review. Some leave behind a mess. Some turn into a serious operational headache. And some become the kind of story you end up telling for years. That is the idea behind Pour Decisions: When Stays Go Sideways, a special series presented by Safely. In this series, Alex & Annie sit down with the Safely team and industry guests to unpack the kinds of guest incidents that rarely make it into the marketing copy but often leave the ...
272
April 1, 2026

1st of the Month Wrangle: What's Missing from Vacation Rental Marketing, with Lasoh CEO Orlie Benjamin

Send us a message! We’re kicking off a new special series, First of the Month Wrangle, in partnership with Lasoh, where we’ll dig into the strategies, systems, and blind spots shaping one of the most important and often misunderstood areas of vacation rentals: marketing. Throughout the series, Alex & Annie will be joined by Orlie Benjamin, Founder and CEO of Lasoh, a vacation rental marketing platform built to help operators drive more direct bookings and increase profit through deeper relati...
Guests: Orlie Benjamin , Lasoh
258
Jan. 6, 2026

Culture Over Features: Building a Human-First Tech Company with Frank Bosi of Hostfully

Send us a message! In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Frank Bosi, Senior Director of Partnerships at Hostfully, to unpack what it really takes to build a tech company that people trust. Frank’s journey began in luxury hotels long before short-term rentals became a professionalized industry. That hospitality foundation now shapes how he approaches partnerships, leadership, and growth inside one of the most culture-driven PMS brands in the space. This conversation explores why cultu...
Guest: Frank Bosi
250
Nov. 18, 2025

After the Applause: Real Takeaways from VRMA 2025 with Tim Rosolio, Ela Mezhiborsky, and Jessica Gillingham

Send us a message! VRMA International 2025 is in the books and if you were there, you probably felt it too: this year hit differently. More people, deeper conversations, and a sense that the vacation rental industry is entering a new chapter. But what actually stuck after the applause faded? In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Tim Rosolio, Ela Mezhiborsky, and Jessica Gillingham to reflect on what stood out most, not just from the sessions, but from the conversations around the show. ...
247
Oct. 31, 2025

1st of the Month Bonus: Boom Founders Announce $12.7M Funding Raise, Plus Agentic AI for STR

Send us a message! Big news to kick off the month! 🚀 In this first-of-the-month bonus episode, Alex & Annie sit down with the Boom founders, Moran, Shahar, and Alon Goldboim, to talk about Boom’s recent $12.7 million funding round and what it means for the future of the short-term rental (STR) industry. The Goldboim brothers share how they built Boom, the world’s first AI-powered Property Management System (AiPMS), and how their newest innovation, BAM (Business Agentic Manager), is redefining...
241
Sept. 24, 2025

The Danger of OTA Dependence: Building a Strong Direct Booking Strategy with Mark Simpson of Boostly

Send us a message! When Airbnb changes its policies, the ripple effect can shake operators everywhere. For many, the problem is deeper than one policy update. Relying too heavily on a single platform leaves businesses vulnerable, and the cracks are starting to show. In this episode, Mark Simpson, CEO and founder of Boostly, shares why now is the time for vacation rental operators to double down on direct bookings. Drawing from more than a decade of helping hosts grow beyond OTAs, Mark brings ...
Guest: Mark Simpson
239
Sept. 10, 2025

How Property Managers Can Offer Flexible Cancellations Without Losing Revenue – with Sasha Lawler of Roam

Send us a message! Flexible cancellation policies are no longer optional in today’s vacation rental market. Guests expect them, OTAs prioritize them, and competitors are already adapting. But for property managers, relaxed policies often feel like a direct threat to revenue and owner trust. In this episode, we talk with Sasha Lawler, CEO and Founder of Roam, about how her company is eliminating that trade-off. Roam’s embedded insurance model allows managers to offer flexible bookings that att...
Guest: Sasha Lawler
232
July 30, 2025

From Hunches to Hard Data: Why Asset Intelligence Matters When Buying STRs, with Paul Kromidas

Send us a message! In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we sit down with Paul Kromidas, Founder & CEO of Summer, to talk about the growing need for asset intelligence in short-term rental investing, and why gut feel is no longer enough when deciding which properties to buy. Paul shares his journey from building products at Airbnb to launching Summer, a powerful underwriting and asset management platform designed specifically for STR operators. Originally built as...
Guest: Paul Kromidas
222
June 1, 2025

Rewriting the Rules: Orlie Benjamin on Building Lasoh for a Better Guest Experience

Send us a message! In our first-of-the-month bonus episode, we are joined by Orlie Benjamin, founder and CEO of Lasoh, a marketing technology platform designed to help vacation rental operators own their guest relationships and drive direct revenue. Lasoh provides a branded digital guest portal and integrated CRM that allows operators to engage with guests from the moment of booking, offer upsells, and run smart, automated campaigns. Orlie shares how her background in corporate marketing and ...
221
May 28, 2025

Show Me the Money! Matt Gurley Shares Lynnbrook's Approach to Payments, Profits, & Fraud Prevention

Send us a message! In this week’s episode, we're joined by Matt Gurley, Director of Sales and Partner Integrations at the Lynnbrook Group, for a deep dive into the payment side of vacation rentals that most property managers overlook until it’s too late. From fraud prevention to faster checkouts to smarter cash flow tools, Matt breaks down how Lynnbrook is simplifying payment processing and helping operators keep more of what they earn. With a career that started in the OTA integration trench...
Guest: Matt Gurley
219
May 14, 2025

Are We in a Travel Recession? AirDNA’s Jamie Lane Decodes the 2025 Market

Send us a message! Is the short-term rental industry on the edge of a travel recession, or just entering a new phase of normalization? In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, AirDNA’s Chief Economist Jamie Lane joins us to explain what the data is revealing about the 2025 market. With demand softening among budget travelers, international bookings pulling back, and economic uncertainty on the rise, Jamie helps make sense of the mixed signals facing STR professionals...
Guest: Jamie Lane
214
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. We dive into Boogie's leadership philosophy, the cultural shift happening at TravelNet, and the strategic vision shaping Track PMS’s next chapter. From enhancing ...
213
April 9, 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, automa...
209
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 cha...
206
Feb. 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...
Guest: Tim Rosolio
204
Feb. 12, 2025

LIVE from Nashville: Key Takeaways from Track NEXT 25 – Innovation, Insights, and Industry Shifts

In this special episode, Alex & Annie take you to the heart of the Track NEXT25 Conference, TravelNet Solutions' 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 ye...