In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Grace Souter, Director of Digital Marketing at Inhabit, about the fundamental shifts in marketing strategy required as vacation rental companies evolve from boutique operations to enterprise-scale businesses.


What you'll learn:

• How marketing messaging shifts from "unique and different" to "standardized and professional" during growth
• Why small companies sell experiences while large companies sell trust and consistency
• The transition from manual personalization (handwritten notes) to AI-powered automation
• Essential digital marketing tools: SEO, PPC, email marketing, and PMS integration
• How AI is revolutionizing email personalization and guest behavior analysis
• Why marketing teams can no longer be treated as an afterthought during scaling
• The balance between outsourcing marketing expertise and building in-house capabilities
• How local business partnerships create competitive advantages for smaller companies
• The challenges of maintaining company culture while implementing systematic processes
• Career lessons from building companies from scratch and working with enterprise organizations
  
  

Grace Souter brings over 15 years of vacation rental industry experience, having worked across the spectrum from startup property management companies to enterprise-level organizations like Vacasa. Currently serving as Director of Digital Marketing at Inhabit, she combines hands-on operational knowledge with sophisticated marketing strategy expertise. Her unique perspective comes from living and working on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks, one of the most competitive vacation rental markets in the United States, where she's navigated everything from hurricane evacuations to beach erosion challenges while building successful marketing campaigns.


This episode is sponsored by Bluetent.


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Previous guests include: Jim DeVos of Best Beach Getaways, Stacy Wesson of Cascara Vacation Rentals, Michael Friedman of The Simple Life Hospitality, Steve Caron of Inhabit, John An of TechTape, Jessica Gillingham of Abode Worldwide, Justin Ford of Breezeway, Mahwussh Alam of One Perfect Stay, Lisa Stinnett of Inhabit, and many more.

Check out the three most downloaded episodes:

• Vacation Rental Stories: Episode 63 - Driving Innovation and Partnership
• Homeowners Become Family with Michael Godfrey, Owner of Michael’s Vacation Rentals
• Life in Maui as a Property Manager with Scott Jordan, Owner of Maui Life Realty

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