Podcast Episodes

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 al...

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 ...

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 d...

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...

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 b...

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. Dur...

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 clien...

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...

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 bootstrappe...

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 evolutio...

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 & Researc...

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.

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 recognizes 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/Doye...

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 ...

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 episo...

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, inclu...

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-COVI...

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 Rev...

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 vaca...

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. Cr...

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! Stuart Butler After 20 years in th...

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, D...

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 rental...

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 ho...