Gatlinburg

Strategy

THE PEOPLE PROBLEM

Of the many challenges for vacation rental managers, the most pervasive and the most constant always seem to be people. Putting the right people in the right seats is critical to the success of any business. With Sessions 5 unemployment at an all-time low, it’s harder…
Strategy

THE DATA BEHIND THE GUEST EXPERIENCE MOVEMENT: A GLIMPSE INTO WHY AIRBNB, BOOKING.COM, AND EXPEDIA ARE INVESTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO EXPERIENCES

Join Matthew Loney, President and CEO of Xplorie, as he reveals the data and rationale behind the OTA’s growing investment in experiences for guests. We’ll take a deep dive into what it means for the vacation rental industry and how you can leverage your local tours…
Gatlinburg, Marketing

SEO/SEM DISRUPTED: GOOGLE SHAKES UP THE FUNNEL

Changes at Google are disrupting traditional SEO and SEM strategies. How are these changes affecting marketing efforts, and how can VRMs navigate the new search format? Amber will demonstrate what has changed at Google, how channel managers and OTAs are working with Google’s new booking platform,…
Gatlinburg, Strategy

PROACTIVE HOMEOWNER ACQUISITION

Competition for new homeowners has sharply increased with the influx of new and aggressive multi-destination companies. Pfautz discusses how homeowners are making decisions about choosing a VRM in 2020 and how to tell your story and set your company apart from the competition. With a focus…
Marketing

MITIGATE BAD REVIEWS AND GET MORE 5-STAR REVIEWS

Most people do not leave reviews and those who do either had an amazing stay or well, you know, a really bad one. In this session, I will show you how to get more reviews so you have more data to make better decisions with as…
Gatlinburg, Strategy

LESSONS LEARNED—TECHNOLOGY, HIRING, OWNERS, GUESTS, LAUNDRY AND MORE

Experience is the best teacher, and some lessons are learned the hard way. Milo will candidly discuss some of these lessons he has learned over the last 15 years in vacation rental management, including implementing technology, hiring, working with homeowners, dealing with guests who want to…
Strategy

HR 411—CRITICAL WORKPLACE TOPICS FOR 2020

Workplace issues that kept leaders up at night in 2019 continue to cause more anguish in 2020. To assist you with a strong start as the calendar turns, we’re looking back at the key workplace topics that trended throughout 2019 that we expect will continue to…
Marketing

HOW TO LEVERAGE MARKETING TOOLS FOR BUSINESS DECISIONS & REAL RESULTS

While SEO and marketing tools provide incredible data, these tools oftentimes overwhelm non-marketing professionals. However, with a small amount of training, these tools can provide actionable data that provides a solid foundation for real-life business decisions. With David Angotti, SmokyMountains.com
Strategy

EXPERIENCE AND PROFESSIONALISM: WHY THEY MATTER IN THE VACATION RENTAL INDUSTRY

With new entrants in the vacation rental industry, the level of professionalism has seen a decline across the US. How is this lack of experience and diminished focus on best practices affecting the industry? Edwards will discuss the important of professionalism and how VRMs can raise…
Technology and Revenue Management

DATA-DRIVEN BUSINESS STRATEGY

VRMs now have access to a ton of data, including destination data, performance data, website analytics, call center data, property data, and more. But how do managers combine all of this data to make business decisions about growth, staffing, pricing, and marketing? Each piece of data…
Marketing

COULD YOU BE LOSING GUESTS IN THE BOOKING PROCESS?

Once a guest finally chooses one of your rentals, are you losing them in the booking process? Identify and create a user-friendly online booking process while keeping guests excited about booking their vacation as they finalize the reservations. Analyze abandoned shopping cart activity, examine rental policy…
Gatlinburg, Marketing

COULD YOU BE LOSING GUESTS IN THE BOOKING PROCESS?

Once a guest finally chooses one of your rentals, are you losing them in the booking process? Identify and create a user-friendly online booking process while keeping guests excited about booking their vacation as they finalize the reservations. Analyze abandoned shopping cart activity, examine rental policy…
Marketing

BUILDING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH GUESTS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE VACATION

With more guests going straight to the property, it is increasingly difficult to build a trusting relationship with them that keeps them coming back year after year. Using email and SMS/text messaging, we’ll discuss how to connect and interact with guest with information that communicates trust…
Marketing

BUILDING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH GUESTS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE VACATION

With more guests going straight to the property, it is increasingly difficult to build a trusting relationship with them that keeps them coming back year after year. Using email and SMS/text messaging, we’ll discuss how to connect and interact with guests with information that communicates trust…
Property Care

BREEZEWAY MASTER CLASS

Join industry veteran, Koryn Okey, as she leads a Breezeway Master Class where she’ll provide a deep dive into key functionality to improve your scheduling process, increase visibility into the progress of your field staff, automate guest communication, and identify efficiency gains for your daily operations….
Technology and Revenue Management

ADVANCED REVENUE MANAGEMENT: PUTTING THE “HOW-TO” AFTER THE “WHY”

The session will focus on the constraints, levers, and the need to mix automation with human oversight that makes revenue management for vacation rentals unique within the travel industry. The session will also present some well-established frameworks for managing rates, minimum length of stay (LOS), discounts…
General Session, Sandestin

A NEW DECADE IN VACATION RENTAL MANAGEMENT

Across panhandle destinations, vacation rental management companies are witnessing a shifting landscape with an influx of new faces, business models, and customer behavior. Industry leaders will be on stage to discuss regional changes, Vacasa’s purchase of Wyndham, new franchise models, preserving our destinations, and the future…
Gatlinburg, General Session

2020: A NEW DECADE OF VACATION RENTAL MANAGEMENT

Vacation rental management companies are witnessing a shifting landscape with an influx of new faces, business models, and customer behavior. Industry leaders will be on stage to discuss regional changes, the competitive environment, new franchise models, preserving our destinations, and the future of vacation rental management…
Technology and Revenue Management

2020 TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE

Vacation rental technology has seen a shakeup over the last two years with consolidation and emerging third-party solutions. How are software executives looking at building PM software and how are property managers navigating combining the use of third-party tech products with their PMS? Panel: Scott Butler…
Sandestin, Technology and Revenue Management

2020 TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE

Vacation rental technology has seen a shakeup over the last two years with consolidation and emerging third-party solutions. How are software executives looking at building PM software and how are property managers navigating combining the use of third-party tech products with their PMS? Panel: Brett Parry…
Gatlinburg, General Session

2019 PERFORMANCE AND THE 2020 FORECAST

Let’s take a deep dive into actual year-over-year (YOY) performance. Which areas saw YOY growth? Are we seeing migration of guests across destinations? Did we see notable swings in ADR, Occupancy, and RevPAR? Get the answers to these questions and more as we examine 2019 activity…

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