AI has been part of nearly every industry conversation this year, but one theme keeps coming with it: how do we use it without losing the human side of hospitality? In this clip from our mid-year recap episode, Jinnie reflects on the question many of our guests are navigating right…
For most guests, a vacation is a small window of time they have worked and planned for all year. That is what makes hospitality such a meaningful responsibility. In our August First of the Month Wrangle, presented by Lasoh, Orlie Benjamin shares why she believes vacations are deeply connected to…
Growth in vacation rental management is often measured by one highly visible number: door count. 🚪 It is easy to track and impressive in a headline. But does it tell you whether those properties are profitable, whether owners are staying, or whether your team can support the growth? In the…
What happens when a vacation rental company is sold? In this episode, we are joined by Igor Simkin, CEO of Monarch Collective, for a candid conversation about how buyers evaluate a business, what can raise concerns during the process, and what life after the sale can look like for founders,…
What makes a vacation rental business attractive to a buyer? Door count may get attention, but it does not tell the full story. Sustainable growth, clean financials, a trusted local brand, strong employees, and direct booking performance can all influence how a business is evaluated. In this episode, Alex &…
Three hundred episodes sounds like a milestone. The real story is everything it took to get there. Five years of showing up through job changes, career shifts, busy seasons, personal challenges, and all the moving parts that come with building something over time. In this clip, Alex, Annie, and Jinnie…
What can vacation rental marketing learn from brands that have spent years balancing third-party distribution with direct customer relationships? In the third episode of First of the Month Wrangle, presented by Lasoh, we are joined again by Orlie Benjamin, together with Patti Ziegler, her former leader at The Scotts Miracle-Gro.…
In this third episode of First of the Month Wrangle, presented by Lasoh, Alex & Annie are joined by Orlie Benjamin, Founder and CEO of Lasoh, and Patti Ziegler, Orlie’s longtime mentor and former leader at Scotts Miracle-Gro. Before building Lasoh, Orlie worked with Patti across direct-to-consumer marketing, brand building,…
Nearly 300 episodes in, the Alex & Annie Podcast is entering one of its most exciting chapters yet. For this special mid-year recap, we are joined by our very own Jinnie Randolph, who has been working behind the scenes to help shape the show’s content, partnerships, strategy, and future growth.…
Nearly 300 episodes in, the Alex & Annie Podcast is entering one of its most exciting chapters yet. In this special mid-year episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Jinnie Randolph, who has been working behind the scenes to help shape the show’s content, partnerships, strategy, and future growth. Jinnie…
What helps a vacation rental company remain relevant across generations? There is no single answer. In this clip, Rick Elliott and Brandon Cox highlight two of the principles that have shaped Elliott Realty’s growth over the past 67 years: staying open to change and investing in the brand early. Rick…
A company’s longevity is shaped by the people trusted to carry it forward. For Elliott Realty, investing in people has meant being highly intentional about who joins the team, protecting the culture they are joining, and looking for individuals who have the potential to grow into greater responsibility. That approach…
What does it take for a vacation rental company to stay relevant for nearly seven decades and beyond? In this episode, we are joined by Rick Elliott and Brandon Cox of Elliott Realty to explore the people, systems, leadership decisions, and long-term thinking that have helped the company grow since…
What does it take to build a vacation rental company that can grow, evolve, and remain successful for nearly seven decades? In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Rick Elliott and Brandon Cox of Elliott Realty to explore the people, systems, leadership decisions, and business fundamentals behind the…
Strong vacation rental advocacy is built through consistent local relationships, and Kansas City is a great example of what that work can lead to. Tyann Marcink Hammond and other advocates created opportunities for city officials and operators to meet, ask questions, and work through practical issues together. Over time, that…
In this episode, Tyann Marcink Hammond shares why advocacy deserves attention before it becomes the biggest fire in the business. It is easy to leave advocacy on the back burner when current regulations are not creating problems for your operation. But policies can change before operators fully understand what is…
Advocacy can be easy to push aside when the day-to-day work of running a vacation rental business already demands so much attention. That changed for Tyann Marcink Hammond when one of her properties was reclassified from residential to commercial, increasing the tax bill from $4,000 to $10,000. In our latest…
Advocacy often stays on the back burner until a regulation directly threatens the business. For Tyann Marcink Hammond, that moment came when vacation rentals in parts of Missouri were reclassified from residential to commercial properties, causing some tax bills to rise dramatically. In this episode, Tyann returns to share how…
A strong website can help convert guests who already know your brand. The harder part is getting them there in the first place. In this clip, Eric Goldreyer, CEO and founder of Savvy, explains why great photos, a smooth booking engine, and a polished website are only part of a…
Direct booking is often only treated like a marketing problem. But another big challenge is discovery. Travelers do not want to search through countless websites to see what is available in a destination or even know which sites to search. They want enough inventory to compare, a booking experience they…
Owner conversations are strongest when they are backed by both data and a clear story. Because when an owner asks why a date is still open, why bookings are pacing slower, or why rates have not been changed yet, they usually need more than a report. They need context. The…
Direct booking has been part of the vacation rental conversation for years, but one challenge remains hard to solve. Travelers are not always searching that way. In this episode, we welcome back Eric Goldreyer, CEO and founder of Savvy, to talk about why the direct booking movement has a discovery…
Direct booking has been part of the vacation rental conversation for years, but one challenge remains hard to solve. Travelers are not always searching that way. In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Eric Goldreyer, CEO and founder of Savvy, to talk about why direct booking has struggled…
Getting more direct bookings is not always about getting more people to your website. Sometimes, the bigger opportunity is improving what happens once they arrive. In this clip, Chris Walker shares how Direct Booking Tools helped one of their clients increase website conversion by 500%. He explains why conversion matters…