Operator and strategist in the short-term and vacation rental industry since 2008. I spend most of my time building Reva. The rest goes to writing about where this industry is headed, to the podcast, and to a small number of operators and owners I work with directly.
Not a recap of what everyone already knows. The takes I write and build from.
The gap between operators doing the full job and everyone leaning on the platforms is the most important dynamic in the space, and most people underweight it. The middle does not hold. Pick a direction on purpose.
AI is over-hyped this year and under-hyped over the next few. When guests search the whole web instead of one app, the platforms' aggregation advantage thins. The move is to be what the agent finds.
Every fee handed to the channels is a marketing budget already being spent. The biggest hole in most rental businesses is direct demand, and it is closable one step at a time.
Small, self-selected communities of aligned operators do what no single operator can do alone: shared marketing, shared standards, guests who come back to the network instead of the platform. Find your tribe.
Clean is the floor. Great is rare. Nobody remembers fine. The homes and operators that get remembered are the ones building the stay, not just listing the square footage.
The podcast, co-hosted with Conrad.
Long-form conversations about running this business well: operations, marketing, guest experience, and the arguments the industry is not having out loud yet. Most of what ends up in the newsletter starts here first.
ListenI take on a few at a time. Direct, practical, no retainer theater.
For professional property managers
For owners running their own homes
The best places to reach me and follow the work.