In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with brother-sister duo Taylor Moore and Danielle Giancola, founders of Nomadic Vacays, about building a vacation rental business from scratch during COVID-19, prioritizing infrastructure before growth, and creating systems that make operations plug-and-play.


What You'll Learn:

• Why building infrastructure for 100 properties from day one accelerates growth even when you start small
• The 18-month immersion strategy where founders work 16-hour days learning every business aspect firsthand
• How a 22-step onboarding process with video tutorials eliminates dependence on key personnel
• Brother-sister partnership dynamics and the good cop bad cop approach to managing family employees
• Creating service businesses within your business ecosystem for family members with different passions
• The partnership alignment mistakes that led to their third partner departing and how to avoid them
• Balancing automation and templates with personalized guest communication touches
• Why vendor selection and relationship management took years to refine properly
• Proactive communication strategies that reach out to guests and owners before they contact you
• Growing into technology features over time rather than activating everything immediately
• The corporate careers they left behind to build a vacation rental legacy
• Why they showed up at 4 AM when guests got locked out instead of sending a service provider
  
  

Taylor Moore and Danielle Giancola are the brother-sister founders of Nomadic Vacays, managing 57 vacation rentals in Naples, Florida. They left high-level corporate careers in sales and consulting in New Jersey during COVID-19 to relocate their entire family and build a vacation rental business from scratch. Despite being told by Streamline initially that they were too small for the platform, they insisted on implementing enterprise-level systems from day one, understanding that having everything in one central location would become their competitive advantage. They partnered with Thorough Accounting, Rental Guardian, and RingCentral to create integrated back-end functions designed for 100+ properties even when they were just starting. Their first 18 months involved working side-by-side 16 hours daily, learning every operational aspect personally so they could train teams effectively. They've built comprehensive video tutorial systems covering all 22 steps of property onboarding, making operations plug-and-play for team members with zero experience. While they've experienced turnover and learned hard lessons about partnership alignment, their infrastructure-first approach has enabled sustainable growth while maintaining genuine hospitality and personal connections.


This episode is sponsored by Rental Guardian.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show


The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Amanda Look, founder of Salt Air Properties, about building a 100-property portfolio in Bar Harbor, Maine with a fully employed team rather than contractors, maintaining culture in seasonal markets, and learning when to say no to growth opportunities.


What You'll Learn:

• Why hiring cleaners as W-2 employees costs more but delivers stronger reviews and higher quality control
• How to solve the isolation problem that drives turnover in cleaning positions
• Creative employee appreciation programs that build loyalty in seasonal markets
• The suggestion box system that captures frontline insights from 100 properties daily
• Why Amanda refuses to onboard new properties after June 1st in her market
• How leadership training programs prepare seasonal workers for expanded management responsibilities
• Building proprietary trash and concierge programs when national vendors don't service rural markets
• The transition strategy from owner-operator to CEO with delegated daily operations
• Why running occasional field shifts keeps you connected to operational realities
• How to become selective about growth after proving your business model
• Managing compressed booking windows that shift from 180 days to 36 days
• The support systems required to balance business scaling with family and personal sanity
  
  

Amanda Look is the founder of Salt Air Properties, managing 100 vacation rentals in Bar Harbor, Maine with two office locations and a staff of 30 people. She started in 2009 while working full-time at a bank, managing long-term rentals on the side before testing short-term rentals with her first property. When it booked solid within three days, she knew the model worked. By the time she attended her first major industry conference, she had grown to 40 properties and realized she could transition to full-time property management. Amanda made the strategic decision early to hire all cleaners as employees rather than subcontractors, believing that presentation and quality control are everything in this industry. She now focuses on leadership development for her management team, building proprietary service programs, and transitioning from day-to-day operations to strategic ownership while staying grounded through occasional field work.


This episode is sponsored by Streamline.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show
The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Jennifer Mucha, founder of Arrived, about scaling from one property to 350 units across multiple states while navigating the realities of geographic expansion, remote team management, and sustainable business growth.


What you'll learn:

• Why geography is the single hardest factor to control when scaling across multiple markets
• How to build your business around the functions you actually enjoy doing
• The hidden challenges of acquiring vacation rental businesses and inheriting staff
• Why fractional marketing teams often outperform in-house hires over time
• How Jennifer outperformed established competitors from day one through pricing and search optimization
• The real differences between managing local versus remote employee teams
  
  

Jennifer Mucha is the founder of Arrived, managing 350 vacation rentals across Oregon, Hawaii, Palm Springs, and additional markets. She started 21 years ago with a single property in Sunriver, Oregon, discovering immediately that she had a natural talent for pricing strategy and making properties visible in search results. This allowed her to generate significantly higher revenue than every established competitor in her market. Over the following decade, Jennifer grew through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, learning firsthand the challenges of each approach. After spending ten years acquiring businesses in markets as distant as Hawaii (a five and a half hour flight), she's candid about why acquisitions aren't always the best path forward. She's used Streamline for over eleven years and credits the platform's stability and proactive innovation with enabling efficient operations across all her markets. Jennifer is generous with mentorship and welcomes property managers to connect with her on LinkedIn.


This episode is sponsored by Lynnbrook Group.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show


The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

The Outer Banks of North Carolina has long been the exception to vacation rental market volatility, a place where generational families returned year after year for traditional Saturday-to-Saturday seven-night stays. That stability is being disrupted in ways property managers everywhere need to understand. In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Tiffany Moldovan, Director of Property Management at Beach Realty, about managing through one of the most dramatic market transformations in recent vacation rental history and what other markets can learn from their experience.


What you'll learn:

• How one market saw 10,000 additional short stays while losing 9,000 seven-night bookings in a single year
• The pricing strategy that yields 120 percent of weekly rates through flex stay combinations
• Why travelers drove demand for shorter stays years before software could automate the pricing
• Data-driven tactics that convince resistant owners to embrace flex stays and maintain profitability
• Converting OTA guests to direct bookings through SMS marketing and urgency-based deadlines
• How booking windows compressed from 180 days to 60-90 days and what that means for revenue management
  
  

Tiffany Moldovan has been in vacation rental management since 2012 and currently oversees approximately 450 properties at Beach Realty, one of the mid-sized management companies serving the Outer Banks market. Her experience spans the dramatic post-COVID shift from traditional seven-night stays to flex day demand, and she's developed systematic approaches to help owners navigate this transformation. As a member of the Outer Banks Association of Realtors board of directors, Tiffany brings both operational expertise and market-level insights to understanding booking trends, traveler behavior, and competitive positioning.


In this conversation, Tiffany shares how Beach Realty implemented length-of-stay pricing that ensures owners never receive less than 60 percent of weekly rates on three-night stays, the zone-based property manager structure that allows personalized service at scale, and why showing owners year-end profit numbers matters more than per-booking anxiety. She reveals the unexpected success of one owner's 40-property portfolio after pulling the trigger on flex stays across every unit, discusses the challenges of operating in a remote island market where Amazon delivery takes three to four days, and explains why OTA presence has become essential even in traditionally direct-booking markets.


This episode is sponsored by LSI Tools.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show


The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

Most vacation rental managers chase unlimited growth, but Michael Steinkirchener is doing something radically different. In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Michael, founder of Uncharted Vacations, about why he's deliberately capping his portfolio at 100 properties and how strategic limitations have become his competitive advantage. Michael reveals the innovative programs and partnership approaches that allow boutique operations to thrive in an industry obsessed with scale.


What you'll learn:

• Why capping growth at 100 properties creates a competitive advantage through personalized service
• How to finance property renovations for owners through an innovative retention program
• Critical tech stack decisions that prevent costly migrations down the road
• Negotiation strategies with vendors that can fund entire staff positions
• Why travel insurance uptake should be 30-40% instead of the current 10-15%
• How to demonstrate monetary value to owners through transparent accounting practices
  
  

Michael Steinkirchener brings a refreshingly different perspective to vacation rental management. As founder of Uncharted Vacations and the consulting firm Stream Advisors, he's built his business around a provocative idea: sometimes the best growth strategy is knowing when to stop growing. Michael has deliberately capped his portfolio at 100 properties, arguing that beyond this threshold, companies lose the intimate knowledge of owners and guests that defines exceptional service.


His "Redesign on Our Dime" program exemplifies this innovative thinking. When owners lack cash for necessary property updates, Uncharted finances the improvements and recoups costs through a slightly higher management fee over time. The result? Higher ADRs, improved retention, and owners who feel genuinely partnered with rather than simply managed. Michael also reveals how he demonstrates value by listing all included services on owner statements, then showing them discounted to zero, creating a powerful year-end tally that combats competitor poaching.


From startup advice about choosing scalable tech stacks before you have 600 reservations to migrate, to practical tips on negotiating credit card processing fees that could fund another employee, Michael offers actionable insights for managers at every stage. He's particularly passionate about recognizing cleaners as the backbone of the industry, sharing stories of providing emergency housing during hurricanes and surprising team members with new equipment.


This episode is sponsored by Streamline

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show


The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

Scaling a property management business across international borders while maintaining culture and quality seems impossible—until you meet someone who's done it. In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Christian Gissing, founder of True North Property Management, about building a multi-country vacation rental empire that operates in the US, Jamaica, the UK, Bali, and Mexico while helping friends achieve financial freedom.


What you'll learn:

• How to harness personal energy in your first hour each day to impact your entire team's performance and culture
• The branch manager program model that allows partners to leverage your systems while managing local operations independently
• Why building a business designed for exit creates better operations, margins, and sellability regardless of your actual plans
• The critical importance of firing quickly when employees violate core values instead of nurturing people who won't change
• How to identify the specific type of entrepreneur who will flourish with your business model in any market
• Practical steps for navigating international expansion including taxation, labor laws, and local partnerships
  
  

Christian Gissing founded True North Property Management 11 years ago in Traverse City, Michigan, with the vision to create a life he didn't need a vacation from. Starting from scratch with a bootstrap approach, Christian has expanded operations across four countries and is currently onboarding 800 units in Jamaica alone. His innovative branch manager program allows friends and qualified entrepreneurs to leverage True North's complete back-end infrastructure—technology, systems, human resources—while maintaining local market focus and owner relationships. Christian's leadership philosophy emphasizes self-perpetuating growth, where teams thrive with or without founder input.


In this conversation, Christian shares his "failed my way to success" philosophy and the hard lessons learned about protecting company culture. He explains why founders must fire themselves from operational roles to unlock business potential, how focusing on team transformation creates fulfillment beyond cash flow, and why making your first hour sacred for energy management impacts everyone you touch. Christian also discusses his involvement with Stakeholders, a rollup opportunity for property managers seeking liquidity events, and why thinking like you're building to exit transforms business quality immediately.


This episode is sponsored by RevMax.


If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show




The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

When hurricanes strike repeatedly and booking windows collapse from a year to two weeks, how do property managers not just survive but build stronger operations?


In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Casey Alderman, Property Manager at Parsley-Baldwin Realty, about transforming crisis management into competitive advantage while maintaining luxury service standards on Florida's exclusive Boca Grande island.


What you'll learn:

• How proactive hurricane preparation weeks in advance builds unshakable trust with homeowners and simplifies post-disaster recovery
• Why personal relationships and genuine connection drive guest loyalty more than property amenities or competitive pricing
• Creative pricing strategies using length-of-stay pricing and flexible scheduling that protect market value without rate slashing
• The personality traits and cultural fit factors that matter most when hiring for white-glove luxury property management
• How technology automation frees hours weekly for relationship building while maintaining operational excellence
• Practical adaptation strategies for navigating shortened booking windows and unprecedented market disruption
  
  

Casey Alderman serves as Property Manager at Parsley-Baldwin Realty in Boca Grande, Florida, where she has spent the last two years navigating what she describes as "unprecedented event one after the other." With eight years of property management experience spanning university housing, apartment complexes, and luxury vacation rentals, Casey has refined her approach through Hurricane Ian, COVID-19, Hurricane Helene, and Hurricane Milton. Her leadership on the boutique seven-mile island, where competitors are also close friends and celebrity guests expect exceptional service, has proven that relationships matter more than revenue and adaptability beats complacency every time.


In this conversation, Casey shares how she transformed typical reactive hurricane preparation into a proactive system with customizable checklists, pre-storm photography, and transparent communication that proves invaluable when post-storm island access is delayed for days. She reveals why she values people over profit, how she maintains personal connections with guests in her free time, and the creative strategies she employed when booking windows compressed dramatically. Casey's philosophy of continuous enhancement and her refusal to accept boredom as acceptable make her insights essential listening for any property manager facing market challenges.


This episode is sponsored by Lynnbrook Group. 


If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show



The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

Property management technology partnerships can make or break operational efficiency, yet most platforms struggle to balance openness with sustainability. In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Mike Norde, Director of Third-Party Partnerships at Inhabit, about how thoughtful partnership strategies create value for everyone in the ecosystem while maintaining the infrastructure and support quality that property managers depend on.


What you'll learn:

• How open ecosystems with competing vendors drive innovation and give property managers meaningful choice
• The red flags that identify unreliable technology vendors and how to avoid costly integration mistakes
• Why Inhabit's API strategy balances individual property manager flexibility with platform sustainability
• How collaborative problem-solving and "no blame" culture creates partnerships that last decades
• The future of property management technology consolidation and what it means for your operations
• Practical steps for vetting third-party solutions and building a tech stack that scales
  
  

Mike Norde serves as Director of Third-Party Partnerships at Inhabit, where he leads the vacation brands division and oversees one of North America's most comprehensive property management technology ecosystems. With years of experience in multiple leadership roles at Streamline, Mike has witnessed the growth of numerous partner companies from startup operations to industry-leading solutions serving hundreds of thousands of units. His unique perspective combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of hospitality culture, making him one of the most respected voices in property management technology partnerships.


In this conversation, Mike shares the philosophy behind Inhabit's sustainable partnership approach. He explains why they don't partner with everyone who approaches them, how they vet potential vendors using what he calls his "human BS detector," and why watching partner companies grow has been one of the most rewarding aspects of his career. Mike also reveals how Streamline's culture of collaborative problem-solving, where teams have each other's backs even when thrown into the deep end, translates into better outcomes for property managers and guests alike.


Whether you're a property manager evaluating new technology solutions, a vendor seeking to integrate with major platforms, or an industry professional interested in the future of PropTech, this episode offers invaluable insights into building partnerships that create lasting value.


This episode is sponsored by Streamline. 


If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show


The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

The vacation rental industry promises travelers the comforts of home with hotel-like amenities, but there's been a persistent gap between that promise and reality. In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Milad Ghods, co-founder of Bellhopt, about how his company is bridging that gap through pre-arrival concierge services.


What you'll learn:

• Why 87% of vacation rental guests make first-day grocery runs and how this impacts their experience
• How Bellhopt's 20,000-SKU ordering platform creates seamless guest experiences across 20 states
• The white-label philosophy that makes property managers the heroes of every interaction
• Why Bellhopt's business model with no subscriptions, no contracts, and automatic commission payouts achieves 100% retention
• How PMS integration enables concierge services to run on complete autopilot
• The presentation standards that create magazine-perfect refrigerator experiences
  
  

Milad shares the personal travel frustrations that led to Bellhopt's creation. After repeatedly arriving exhausted at vacation rentals with empty refrigerators and closed grocery stores, he and his co-founder saw an opportunity. They surveyed 3,000 people and discovered that 87% made convenience or grocery store trips on their first day of arrival, revealing a massive market void.


Four and a half years later, Bellhopt serves 400 property managers with 10,000 properties across 20 states. Their secret weapon approach focuses entirely on making property managers successful. By keeping their branding minimal and handling everything from automated messaging to detailed refrigerator stocking, they enable property managers to offer premium differentiation without operational complexity.


Milad also discusses Bellhopt's breakthrough experience at Streamline Summit, where as first-time exhibitors they saw lines of property managers at their booth and unprecedented exposure for a growing company. The integration with Streamline and other property management systems allows for automatic property information flow, housekeeping coordination, and entry code management.


This episode is sponsored by Streamline. 


If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show


The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →

In this episode of The Vacation Rental Show, host Lynell Gordon speaks with Lino Maldonado and Brady Stump, co-founders of Stakeholders VR, about creating an entirely new consolidation model that didn't exist in the vacation rental industry.


What you'll learn:

• Why traditional "cash out and move on" acquisitions aren't the right fit for many successful operators
• How the "third lane" between selling everything and franchising preserves entrepreneurial ownership
• Why Stakeholders VR keeps local brands intact instead of consolidating under one umbrella
• How property managers can derisk by having 40-60% of valuation in a diversified national portfolio
• Why servant leadership at the parent level supports rather than directs local operations
• The three goals of Stakeholders VR's CTO role (understand current tech, guide future selections, anticipate what's next)
• How generational family businesses maintain ownership while accessing enterprise-level resources
• Why 99% of net worth in one property management company is like having your entire 401k in one stock
• The importance of keeping operators invested long-term rather than rushing them out after a year
• How to multiply synergies without forcing operational changes
• Why the greatest value in vacation rental companies is typically what gets removed first
• The role of local market involvement in maintaining brand authenticity
• How diversification protects against hurricanes, floods, fires, and no-snow years
• Why passion and "fire in the belly" is the secret sauce that creates brand value
  
  

Lino Maldonado brings 30 years of vacation rental experience, currently serving as CEO of Stakeholders VR. He started his career at Abbott Resorts (which rolled into Resort Quest) and has operated Scenic Stays in Destin, Florida, where his daughter now works in the same office he sat in three decades ago. His deep understanding of local market dynamics, technology implementation challenges, and the value of servant leadership shapes Stakeholders VR's approach to honoring rather than disrupting successful operations.


Brady Stump is co-founder of Stakeholders VR and founder of Rental Guardian. Before that, he operated a real estate and property management company affiliated with Christie's International Real Estate in Pawleys Island. His sons are actively involved in the business—his oldest, Jonah, helps run operations at Sea Mountain, while his youngest assists with bringing the stakeholder group together. Brady's experience building both insurance products and property management companies from the ground up informs his vision for creating winning scenarios where operators can take chips off the table while maintaining significant upside participation.

This episode is sponsored by Rental Guardian.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to:

• Subscribe, rate, and review
• Share this episode

👉 Apple - https://apple.co/3lYc2gU
👉 Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3InYanV
👉 Fame Host - https://bit.ly/hwg-podcast
👉 iheartradio - https://ihr.fm/3Z8qqlg
👉 RSS - https://feeds.fame.so/the-vacation-rental-show


The Vacation Rental Show is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

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

Are you a vacation rental industry leader looking to share your expertise? We're seeking innovative voices to join our conversation about growing and scaling vacation rental businesses.

The Vacation Rental Show reaches thousands of property managers worldwide. We're particularly interested in perspectives on:

• Scaling your vacation rental portfolio
• Optimizing guest experiences
• Revenue management strategies
• Industry trends and market insights

Express your interest in being a guest →