Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals

A guest books a beautiful vacation rental, has an incredible stay, and leaves with memories worth sharing. But when they tell others about their experience, whose brand do they remember? In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Michelle Gilliland, VP of Sales at Savvy, to explore what it takes to build a recognizable brand in a market where OTAs dominate traveler attention. Drawing from nearly 15 years of experience in the vacation rental industry, Michelle brings a unique perspective ...

The way travelers discover vacation rentals is changing. Traditional Google search still matters, but discovery is increasingly expanding into tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, where travelers can describe the kind of trip they want and receive recommendations based on that intent. In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Gil Chan, Founder and CEO of CraftedStays, to explore what this shift means for vacation rental operators and the direct booking websites they have spent years ...

In this fourth episode of First of the Month Wrangle, presented by Lasoh, we are joined by Orlie Benjamin, Founder and CEO of Lasoh, and Eric Goldreyer, Founder and CEO of Savvy, to unpack one of the latest conversations surrounding Airbnb and direct booking. Airbnb has been testing a program that allows some hosts and co-hosts to drive their own demand to an Airbnb listing in exchange for a reduced platform fee. The company may be calling it direct booking, but Orlie and Eric argue that the ...

A guest can spend months planning a vacation, travel all day, arrive with tired kids and luggage in tow, and then have the entire experience unravel at one very important moment: the front door. In this episode, Alex is joined by Dawn Keathley of Dormakaba and Matt Seyed of Secure Lodging Systems for a conversation about an often overlooked part of the vacation rental experience: guest access. They explore why getting guests through the door reliably is about much more than choosing a lock. A...

Alex & Annie are taking the podcast on the road for a special on-location episode from Montego Bay, Jamaica. This time, they’re stepping inside Call Center Solutions to see the operation firsthand, meet the people behind it, and get a closer look at what it takes to build a hospitality team that can support vacation rental businesses from hundreds of miles away. Throughout the visit, Alex and Annie sit down with members of the CCS team across operations, HR, IT, and leadership to he...