The Hospitality Breakroom: Booked Differently

Travel advisors book billions of dollars in travel every year, yet vacation rentals have historically been difficult for advisors to book with confidence. Between commission structures, inconsistent inventory, lack of communication, price disparities, and questions around property quality, the process can become frustrating for both sides.

In this episode of The Hospitality Breakroom, Rachel Alday sits down with Sara Hollander, founder of Travina and a longtime travel advisor, to unpack why the relationship between vacation rental operators and travel advisors has been so complicated—and how it can be improved. Sara shares her experience trying to book vacation rental homes for her clients and explains the challenges that ultimately inspired her to build Trevena.

The conversation explores how Travina vets both travel advisors and professionally managed properties, connects advisors directly with property managers, tracks commissions, and gives advisors the information they need to confidently recommend vacation rentals to their clients. Rachel and Sarah also discuss the importance of protecting the advisor-client relationship, creating trust between both sides, and treating travel advisors as a valuable source of repeat business rather than simply another booking channel.

You don’t want to miss this episode!

Connect With Rachel:

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/

https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/

Please Do Disturb Preorder – https://promo.porchlightbooks.com/pages/promotions/pleasedodisturbps

Here is the Amazon pre-sale: https://a.co/d/00ymhj33

Rachel's first book, Please Do Disturb, is now available for preorder. Co-written with leadership experts Linny Jones and Harte Logan, it shares the leadership principles Rachel has used to build Abode Luxury Rentals through practical stories, actionable tools, and a simple three-question framework. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to preorder your copy. Thank you for your support!

Travel advisors are becoming an increasingly important source of business for the vacation rental industry—but many property managers still struggle to understand how to effectively work with them. In this episode of Hospitality Break Room, Rachel Alday sits down with Nir Maimon of Maimon Group and LPMs to unpack the opportunity, the challenges, and what vacation rental operators can do to build stronger relationships with the advisor community.Nir shares how Maimon Group discovered that roughly 40% of its bookings were coming from travel advisors and why these clients can be particularly valuable for luxury vacation rentals. The conversation explores the biggest barriers keeping advisors from booking vacation rentals, including real-time availability, rate parity, commissions, white-label property presentations, communication, and—most importantly—trust. They also discuss how LPMs was built to address these challenges by connecting property managers and travel advisors through a system designed specifically for luxury vacation rentals.The episode also dives into response times, protecting advisor relationships, repeat bookings, property inspections, and the role of tools like Double Check in creating additional layers of trust. For property managers looking to grow their portfolios, Rachel and Nir explain why working with travel advisors isn't just another booking channel—it can also become a powerful selling point when attracting new homeowners. The overarching message is clear: if vacation rentals want to capture more of the travel advisor market, the industry needs to make the booking experience as seamless, reliable, and trustworthy as hotels.

Connect With Rachel:

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/

https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/

Please Do Disturb Preorder – https://promo.porchlightbooks.com/pages/promotions/pleasedodisturbps

Here is the Amazon pre-sale: https://a.co/d/00ymhj33

Rachel's first book, Please Do Disturb, is now available for preorder. Co-written with leadership experts Linny Jones and Harte Logan, it shares the leadership principles Rachel has used to build Abode Luxury Rentals through practical stories, actionable tools, and a simple three-question framework. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to preorder your copy. Thank you for your support!

Vacation rental companies have spent years optimizing direct bookings, OTAs, and digital marketing—but there’s another powerful distribution channel many are still overlooking: travel advisors.

In this episode of Hospitality Breakroom, Rachel sits down with Anthony Barrera, a 12-year veteran of the vacation rental and travel industries, to unpack why the relationship between vacation rental companies and travel advisors has been so difficult—and why the opportunity is becoming too significant to ignore. Anthony shares lessons from his decade at Onefinestay, his experience working on B2B travel platforms and luxury villa acquisitions, and what he believes vacation rental companies need to do to compete with the sophisticated systems hotels and other travel businesses have built for advisors.

The conversation explores why travel advisors can generate higher-value bookings, how vacation rental companies can build the infrastructure to support them, and why the best relationships are built proactively—not when a booking request arrives. Anthony and Rachel discuss everything from CRM tracking and commission structures to response times, advisor education, FAM trips, consortium relationships, unbranded property materials, and creating commissionable experiences. They also discuss Anthony's new company, Strata, which is designed to help vacation rental brands build and manage stronger relationships with the travel advisor community.

Connect With Rachel:

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/

https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/

Please Do Disturb Preorder – https://promo.porchlightbooks.com/pages/promotions/pleasedodisturbps

Here is the Amazon pre-sale: https://a.co/d/00ymhj33

Rachel's first book, Please Do Disturb, is now available for preorder. Co-written with leadership experts Linny Jones and Harte Logan, it shares the leadership principles Rachel has used to build Abode Luxury Rentals through practical stories, actionable tools, and a simple three-question framework. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to preorder your copy. Thank you for your support!

Travel advisors have long been a major source of business for luxury hotels—but vacation rentals have struggled to tap into the same channel. In this episode of Hospitality Breakroom, Rachel Alday sits down with Joe Bartolomé, a longtime luxury hotelier and founder of The Joes, to explore why travel advisors could represent one of the biggest untapped opportunities for professionally managed vacation rentals.

With 25 years of experience operating the highly acclaimed Farmhouse Inn, Joe brings a hotelier’s perspective to the vacation rental industry. He explains why trust, consistency, curation, and service matter so much to travel advisors—and why advisors are increasingly looking beyond traditional hotels for unique, high-end experiences. For vacation rental operators, the opportunity isn't simply about paying a commission; it's about becoming a trusted partner who can reliably deliver an exceptional experience for the advisor's client.

Rachel and Joe also break down the practical steps vacation rental companies can take to become travel-advisor ready. From establishing clear commission and cancellation policies to creating easy-to-share property materials, protecting advisor relationships, and training teams on how to handle advisor bookings, they make the case that getting started doesn't have to be complicated. The bigger challenge, they argue, is changing the mindset around travel advisors and recognizing them as a valuable, relationship-driven distribution channel.

Key Takeaways

• Why luxury travelers are increasingly looking for unique, curated experiences
• Why trust is the foundation of travel advisor relationships
• How vacation rentals can learn from the hotel industry's approach to advisors
• The basic policies every vacation rental company should establish before working with advisors
• Why clear commission and cancellation policies can make or break a booking
• How to create property information that advisors can easily share with clients
• Why protecting the advisor-client relationship is critical
• How one successful advisor relationship can lead to exponential referrals
• Why travel advisors can provide access to high-net-worth travelers
• How vacation rental companies can start building relationships with advisors
• Why the industry needs better technology and infrastructure for advisor distribution
• How longer stays and professionally managed vacation rentals can unlock inventory in restricted markets

Connect With Rachel:

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/

https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/

Please Do Disturb Preorder – https://promo.porchlightbooks.com/pages/promotions/pleasedodisturbps

Here is the Amazon pre-sale: https://a.co/d/00ymhj33

Rachel's first book, Please Do Disturb, is now available for preorder. Co-written with leadership experts Linny Jones and Harte Logan, it shares the leadership principles Rachel has used to build Abode Luxury Rentals through practical stories, actionable tools, and a simple three-question framework. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to preorder your copy. Thank you for your support!

Travel advisors have long been an important part of the hotel and luxury travel ecosystem—but vacation rentals have historically struggled to build the same relationships. That may be changing. As travelers increasingly look for personalized experiences, more space, privacy, and high-touch service, professionally managed vacation rentals have an opportunity to become a much bigger part of the travel advisor booking landscape.

In this episode of the Hospitality Breakroom, Rachel Alday sits down with Scott Wiseman, CEO of Nocturne Luxury Villas, to explore how vacation rental operators can build stronger, more profitable relationships with travel advisors. Scott brings decades of hospitality experience across hotels, luxury travel, all-inclusive resorts, and vacation rentals, giving him a unique perspective on what travel advisors need from lodging partners—and why earning their trust can lead to valuable, repeat business.

The conversation covers everything from the importance of paying travel advisor commissions and creating advisor-friendly property information to building white-label booking experiences, protecting the advisor-client relationship, and using personalized guest experiences to make advisors look good. Rachel and Scott also discuss why travel advisor bookings can produce higher-value reservations, how smaller vacation rental companies can begin entering the advisor ecosystem, and why the industry needs to stop thinking of travel advisors as simply another distribution channel.

Connect With Scott:

[email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottfwiseman/

Connect With Rachel:

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/

https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/

Please Do Disturb Preorder – https://promo.porchlightbooks.com/pages/promotions/pleasedodisturbps

Here is the Amazon pre-sale: https://a.co/d/00ymhj33

Rachel's first book, Please Do Disturb, is now available for preorder. Co-written with leadership experts Linny Jones and Harte Logan, it shares the leadership principles Rachel has used to build Abode Luxury Rentals through practical stories, actionable tools, and a simple three-question framework. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to preorder your copy. Thank you for your support!

In this episode of The Hospitality Breakroom, host Rachel Alday sits down with Julie Byrd of Cabo Villas to unpack the evolving relationship between vacation rental operators and travel advisors. While traditional hotel brands have long-established systems for working with travel planners, the vacation rental and short-term rental (STR) space is rapidly catching up. Julie shares her decades-long journey—from her early days aspiring to be a travel advisor to building a direct, high-value advisor network at Cabo Villas.

Together, Rachel and Julie discuss practical strategies for bridging the distribution gap, avoiding middleman friction, maintaining trust through proper accounting, and creating unforgettable, high-touch experiences for guests.

Connect With Rachel:

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/

https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/

Please Do Disturb Preorder – https://promo.porchlightbooks.com/pages/promotions/pleasedodisturbps

Here is the Amazon pre-sale: https://a.co/d/00ymhj33

Rachel's first book, Please Do Disturb, is now available for preorder. Co-written with leadership experts Linny Jones and Harte Logan, it shares the leadership principles Rachel has used to build Abode Luxury Rentals through practical stories, actionable tools, and a simple three-question framework. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to preorder your copy. Thank you for your support!

In this episode Rachel argues that luxury travel planners and professionally managed vacation rental companies are missing a major partnership opportunity despite serving the same affluent guest. Citing multiple reports, it notes that 84% of affluent travelers value trusted advisors over online research, Virtuoso saw a 76% increase in consumers seeking advisors, and protection/security is a key driver (65% of Virtuoso clients; 75% prioritize safety). It highlights rapid growth in luxury vacation rentals (about $28.5B in 2025 projected to $63.7B by 2034) and increased luxury spend (Flywire: 80% plan to spend more; 96% have used or expect to use an advisor). The host explains barriers—difficulty evaluating/booking rentals, trust gaps, unclear standards, commission opacity, lack of distribution tools/contracts—and calls for standardized processes, dedicated contacts, technology-enabled availability and commission tracking, and clear boundaries that protect planner-client relationships, emphasizing that the core asset being exchanged is trust.

Connect With Rachel:

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/

https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/

Please Do Disturb Preorder – https://promo.porchlightbooks.com/pages/promotions/pleasedodisturbps

Here is the Amazon pre-sale: https://a.co/d/00ymhj33

Rachel's first book, Please Do Disturb, is now available for preorder. Co-written with leadership experts Linny Jones and Harte Logan, it shares the leadership principles Rachel has used to build Abode Luxury Rentals through practical stories, actionable tools, and a simple three-question framework. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to preorder your copy. Thank you for your support!

Rachel Alday introduces the Hospitality Breakroom season “Booked Differently,” focused on improving partnerships between vacation rental operators and travel planners, and interviews Rich Sippos, Abode Luxury Rentals’ director of sales overseeing reservations and concierge for a $25 million revenue business. Rich shares insights from 21 years in vacation rentals and attending the Mountain Travel Symposium in Whistler, describing its speed-dating meetings with advisors and the need for disciplined follow-up to form long-term partnerships. They discuss how travel advisors can drive significant high-dollar bookings and concierge spend, how political sentiment can affect international luxury travel demand, and why wealthy travelers value time, consistency, and curated experiences. Key friction points include lack of standardized commission structures, inventory/availability access, and clear points of contact, while trust-builders include consistent operations and in-person property visits. They mention Seretti Group, Fisher Travel, Fora, LPMS, and encourage listeners to reach out.

On todays episode, Rachel interviews Vanessa Cella, a top-100 travel planner at Fora Travel (out of about 22,000 advisors), about what travel planners need from vacation rental partners and why the relationship between rentals and advisors is still harder than with hotels. Vanessa shares her background, focus on luxury travel, and why she books only vetted, professionally managed rentals rather than Airbnb/Vrbo. They discuss how hotel booking is streamlined through advisor tools and contracted perks, while vacation rentals are inconsistent, often require manual email back-and-forth, and create friction around availability, payment terms, cancellation policies, rate parity, white-labeling, and one-off commission negotiations—sometimes through intermediaries that slow guest issue resolution. Rachel argues the industry needs better tech distribution, standardized contracts, and pre-set commissions/perks so both owners and advisors can work more efficiently.

Connect With Rachel: [email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/

https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/

Connect With Vanessa: [email protected] 

https://www.instagram.com/luxurytravelbyvanessa/

Please Do Disturb Preorder – https://promo.porchlightbooks.com/pages/promotions/pleasedodisturbps

Here is the Amazon pre-sale: https://a.co/d/00ymhj33

Rachel's first book, Please Do Disturb, is now available for preorder. Co-written with leadership experts Linny Jones and Harte Logan, it shares the leadership principles Rachel has used to build Abode Luxury Rentals through practical stories, actionable tools, and a simple three-question framework. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to preorder your copy. Thank you for your support!

On The Hospitality Breakroom, host Rachel Alday of Abode Luxury Rentals and longtime reservations lead Rachel “Tilly” Tilton discuss why vacation rental growth may depend more on relationships with travel planners than OTAs, and why booking vacation rentals through the travel-planner ecosystem remains difficult. They contrast hotel workflows (GDS-based distribution, preset commissions, price parity, and established protections) with vacation rentals’ property-by-property complexity, owner approvals, nonstandard ADA details, and lack of a shared platform. They share a successful example: a Park City Olympics/Paralympics family viewing-party booking that worked because the planner researched Abode’s portfolio, communicated needs clearly, and respected response times. Key friction points include requests for “white-labeled” property info, mismatched commission expectations, reluctance to share guest contact details needed for operations and emergencies, third-party intermediaries adding layers and confusion, and payment delays, while highlighting positive partners like TTW Group Brazilian Travel Agency and Shelton and James and calling for industry-wide solutions and collaboration.Connect With Rachel:[email protected]://www.instagram.com/aldayrachel/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelalday/https://abodeluxuryrentals.com/