Unlocked by Matt Landau

Jean Phillipe Reme of 2 Be Apart in Lyon, France is something of a vacation rental icon: he’s one of those entrepreneurs that sort of transcends industry and his management fleet is about as personality-driven as anything I’ve ever seen. In this episode Jean Philippe shares with me his strategy for baking flavor into each of his properties: this tactical strategy has become the big difference between his company and any others in the region.

EP20: The Folio with Jeff Jensen of Utopian Luxury Vacation Homes

Mike Harrington was the de-facto head of VRMA up until a few hours after our conversation. He’s also the President of Topsail Realty in North Carolina which was hit by a nasty hurricane in September. Almost 75% of Mike’s properties had damage so this was a pivotal learning experience for him and his team. Mike’s big saving grace was trip insurance.  If you’re the kind of person who thinks a natural disaster would never happen in your region, this episode will open your eyes.

Eric Bay is a connector. He’s the kind of guy that every neighborhood would like to have: he shoots straight, he respects opposing viewpoints, and he’s willing to work hard for the community. He’s also the President of the Alliance for Neighborhood Prosperity, which, based in New Orleans, is one of the most influential short term rental advocacy groups in the USA. In this episode, Eric walks us through the big learning point he made in this fight towards a fair and regulated short term rental ecosy

EP17: Listing Site Independence with Jeremiah Gall

Durk Johnson is a housekeeping guru. He’s the director of the Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals (VRHP) but he’s also the consummate systems thinker: he is always looking for a way to temptatify or create a framework that can be followed and scaled. This interview explores his “Follow the Wall” process, one step of his greater housekeeping methodology, one step to a more consistent and predictable vacation rental future.

EP15: Diversified with Jeanne Dailey of Newman-Dailey Resort Properties

John Dean of Only Provence is one of the most limited edition PMs in the world. His fleet of properties are widely recognized as the best properties in the Provence region of France. And this distinction doesn’t happen by accident. John has a deliberate practice he calls top-grading which is designed to keep his management fleet fresh, dynamic, and optimized.

Brad Stewart of Stewart Mountain Lodging in Sundance Utah is one of my best buddies in the industry. I think it’s fair to say that I admire his work as much as he appreciates mine. More specifically, I really admire how Brad thinks in systems and processes. This is a great lesson for anyone in the vacation rental industry looking to improve clarity with their team: think in benchmarks, standards, and common metrics: use technology to channel your voices into a central path.

EP12: The Acquisition with Alex Barba of BCN Apartments

EP11: The Auctioneer with Mailie Green of Global Villas Ltd

Lawrie Lawrence is a real estate guy. He loves real estate. he’s really good at real estate. And only recently has he become infatuated with a new kind of real estate, and that’s vacation rentals.

EP09: Pretext Support with Bernardo Retana of Otium Residences

We chat with Andrew McConnell of Rented.com, a tiny home expert Kristie Wolfe, and boutique vacation rental managers Josh & Tara Conger about the tensions of running a “Limited Edition” style vacation rental business in an industry filled with commodities.

Ralph Moorhouse, along with his wife Karen are an American couple who bought property in Paris & Nice after falling in love with the country. Ralph shares how he and his wife have streamlined a remote business process, and how they have overcome the tragedies brought on by multiple terrorist attacks.