GuestX Podcast

Nate Wysk, the general manager of PointCentral joins us this week on GuestX. Nate tells us all about how they're bridging the gap between technology and hardware. PointCentral is streamlining operations for property managers by offering smart thermostats, locks, and noise sensors, making it easy for property managers to control their properties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Travis Wilburn and Rebecca Lombardo, co-founders of The 100 Collection join us this week on GuestX. Travis and Rebecca bring years of experience to their new start up, The 100 Collection, an independent evaluation program that awards a distinguished imprint to the top vacation rentals. Their focus is on creating a curated group of vacation rental companies that are dedicated to the gold standard of hospitality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Corinne Bentzen from The Home Depot joins Matt and Brian for a final interview at the Berkshires Home Makeover. Corinne tells us that this is a new space for the Home Depot, and they want to fully serve their customers by not only providing the tools and materials for home improvement, but also provide interior design options as well. Corinne explains that this project was to show property managers and owners that they can easily make improvements to their vacation rentals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marc Hostovsky, the founder of Minoan joins us this week. Minoan is turning short term rentals into showrooms for brands. Guests can use and experience products during their vacation, and purchase them through Minoan. This experience creates a symbiotic relationship between the supplier and consumer, through furnishing homes, and marketing the product to short term rental guests. Click here to get $25 off your first order through Minoan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holly and Brad from Our Faux Farmhouse joins Matt and Brian at the Berkshires Home Makeover in Lenox, Massachusetts. Holly and Brad tell us all about how they got their start in DIY home projects and interior design when they purchased their first home and started documenting the process online. Their design process during this project was guest centered and creating a more open and inviting space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fariha Nasir from Pennies for a Fortune joins us from Lenox, Massachusetts, where Matt and Brian are covering The Berkshires Home Makeover. She is a self taught interior decorator with a background in painting. She started off transforming her home into a custom dream home, and tells us all about her process, her love of patterns and wallpaper, and how she adds depth to a room. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danielle Guerrero from Our Nest on Powell joins us at The Berkshires Home Makeover in Lenox, Massachusetts. Danielle is an influencer and designer who got her start in home improvements by doing DIY projects in her first home. Danielle is all about first impressions and she made improvements to the front entryway and throughout the home to make the space more usable and inviting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca and Pras, the vacation rental homeowners the vacation rental homeowners sit down with Matt and Brian and tell them about their experience during this project. They bought their home fully furnished and turnkey, but it lacked updated amenities. Once their home was chosen for this project, they were involved in the design process and the designers were able to make their home more inviting and functional as a vacation rental, without losing the character of the home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matthew and Brian met up with Tim Rosolio, the Vice President of Vacation Rental Partner Success at Expedia Group. Tim talks about what makes a vacation rental more appealing to guests, and how important it is to list all of the amenities included in a listing. He highlights the fact that the right amenities can really change the seasonality of the property, and the guest experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Matthew and Brian from Lennox, Massachusetts, for the first of an eight part series on the Berkshires Home Makeover. A collaboration between VRBO and The Home Depot, the Berkshires Home Makeover shows vacation rental homeowners just how easy it is to elevate the guest experience. Featuring three leading design-focused influencers and using furnishings and decor exclusively from The Home Depot, this is a project you are not going to want to miss. Tune in now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on GuestX, we met up with Alexander Limpert, the Co-Founder and CEO of GuestReady, a tech driven accommodation brand that focuses on short-term rentals. Alex explains GuestReady's goal which is to offer guests unique stays with a consistent guest experience and high quality amenities. They also help owners through their sophisticated property management software that allows them to easily scale their business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Goldin joins us this week on GuestX, the Co-Founder and Managing Director at Storied Collection, a niche hospitality company that features a collection of historic castles and estates. The idea behind Storied Collection came to be when Michael stayed at a historic property that had ties in his family lineage. Storied Collection allows guests to find unique and experiential stays with deep ties to history and ancestry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Carran joins Matt and Brian this week on GuestX. He is the Director of Sales for Stayflexi, an all in one automation platform, PMS system, and booking engine for the hospitality industry. Steve explains the idea behind Stayflexi, which is to make the guest experience as flexible as possible. The system leaves the choice up to the guest whether they want to check in and out early or add experiences to their trip through a designated link. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ashley Ching joins us this week on GuestX, she is the founder and CEO of Inhaven, a home furnishing platform for the vacation rental industry. Ashley has years of experience as a merchandiser and brings a wealth of knowledge to the vacation rental industry. She highlights the importance of providing guests with a consistent and positive experience throughout their trip by furnishing the home with everything they will need. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Turk joins us this week on GuestX, he is the Managing Director of Turk Hospitality Ventures. Steve shares his vast experience in both the hotel and vacation rental industry. He addresses the need for set standards for both property managers and homeowners in the vacation rental industry, and the importance of setting parameters when partnering with a new homeowner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on GuestX, Sarah Dandashy the founder of Ask A Concierge joins us. Sarah is an industry veteran who has years of experience crafting curated experiences for guests so that they can fully experience the destination they're visiting. Sarah also touches on the duality of the human element and technology in the hospitality industry. Technology is helpful, but the human element is critical. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt and Brian sat down with Mauricio Ramirez, the Commercial and Marketing Director at Mundo Imperial. Mauricio explains the idea behind Mundo Imperial, which combines luxury resorts with entertainment experiences that are unique to the company. Mauricio highlights the importance of strategic marketing to diverse clientele and catering to their needs and wants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deborah Labi joins us this week on GuestX. She is a serial entrepreneur in the short term rental space and the founder of the Have You Got Network, The Guest Innspector & Techsplained Series. Deborah encourages all property managers to stay in their properties so that they can experience it as a guest would. She stresses this exercise, because cleaning services may miss critical details, which could lead to negative reviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Matt and Brian sat down with Matthew Heller, the founder of Performance Optimist Consulting, which helps organizations improve leadership competencies, customer service, and employee motivation. Matthew shares his wisdom and thoughts on what makes a great leader, which to him means having a passion for learning and people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on GuestX, we sat down with Brooke Pfautz, the CEO and Founder of Vintory. Brooke gets down to business and explains Vintory's homeowner acquisition technology, which uses data to find and target desirable homes in a specific market. Brooke encourages property managers to keep growing within their target market and to differentiate themselves from the competition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim Rosolio, the VP of Vacation Rental Partner Success at Expedia Group, joins Matt and Brian this week on GuestX. Tim has an end-to-end view of the business, he understands what hosts need because he is one. Tim explains Vrbo's conversion based sort, which gives hosts with good reviews the spotlight, rewarding them for their positive reviews. This two sided marketplace is a symbiotic relationship, guests want an exceptional experience and hosts want great guests to stay with them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on GuestX, we sat down with the author of Million Dollar Host, Julie George. Julie shares her story in the short term rental business, where she built a 130 property business on her own which generated over $8 million dollars in less than 3 years. She has since sold her business and has pivoted to helping owners scale their business in a simple and smart way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on GuestX, we sat down with the founder of Book Ambition, Dennis Ross. Dennis started his writing career in the music industry writing and producing notable artists like Boyz II Men. Dennis is a professional ghostwriter and he shares his vast experience around meaningful storytelling, and stresses the importance of using emotions to empathize and connect with potential customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt and Brian sat down with David Stange, the founder of Beachy at HITEC 2022. David explains how Beachy is improving the guest experience by allowing hotel and resort guests to book amenities, activities, and food through their easy to use platform. Beachy is also streamlining operations for managers and service workers by making it simple for them to fulfill orders and provide service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Simpson, the founder of Boostly and author of The Book Direct Playbook joins us on GuestX this week. Mark noticed there was a lack of online support for hospitality owners, which sparked the creation of Boostly. Through Boostly, Mark has helped over 100,000 people from every niche of the hospitality industry by providing tactics and tools to increase direct bookings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Louise Brace, the owner of Rental Tonic joins us on GuestX this week. Louise is a dedicated copywriter and digital marketing strategist who has been writing for the hospitality industry for over 10 years. As a lover of travel herself, Louise shares her passion for writing memorable content for short term rental companies which strengthens their SEO score and encourages guests to book direct. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Suzuki of Vrbo pivots the conversation and dives deep into data and how to utilize it correctly in a way that is understood. John highlights important applications of data, such as pricing and revenue management. He also gives us his insights on where the industry is now and what the future looks like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We sat down with industry veteran John Suzuki, Vrbo's Global Evangelist and Ombudsman. John has been educating and inspiring the vacation rental and travel communities for 18 years. John has a real passion for hospitality and is always striving to raise the bar of industry standards by meeting and exceeding traveler expectations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim Murphy, the CEO of Boomers Parks joins us this week on GuestX. Tim shares his knowledge from his experience in the hospitality and family entertainment industry. Tim stresses the importance of quality service and conditions, which cultivates a quality experience that guests want to enjoy longer, which keeps them returning in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, we sat down with Steve Schwab, the CEO and Founder of Casago. Steve is an industry veteran, and explains how a franchise model can turn a property manager into a local hero with the enterprising tools of a large company. Steve offers valuable insights on the current state of the short-term rental industry and what the future looks like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Liebman, the new Guest Experience Evangelist for ROLLER Software, shares his passion and keen insight for all things guest experience on this week's podcast. Josh has extensive experience in the tours and attraction industry, and he shares some great information about where things are headed and specific ways that you can improve your guest experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Matt and Brian chat with VTrips Founder and CEO Steve Milo about the hospitality industry, business development, and his advocacy efforts for fair regulation locally and through VRMA. Steve is an entrepreneur, veteran and thought leader who has scaled VTrips from a small firm to a company managing thousands of rental properties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Graham Donoghue, CEO of Sykes Holiday Cottages, joins Matt and Brian this week on GuestX. Graham's impressive resume includes product innovation, technology, and digital transformation across a wide range of industries. Graham talks about how the team at Sykes uses data and their Net Promoter Score (NPS) to make informed decisions around the guest experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we welcomed Sarah Taveprungsenukul, the co-founder of youtip, back to the podcast. We spoke with Sarah during the 2021 Phocuswright Conference, where youtip was awarded Most Innovative Startup of the Year. Sarah's passion for the hospitality industry is evident as she explains how youtip is changing how people tip with their cashless, contactless digital tipping platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Co-owner of Casal dei Fichi, Bob Garner, joins us this week to discuss his sustainable and personal approach to hospitality. He shares the origin and restoration story of Casal dei Fichi, located in beautiful Le Marche, Italy, and how they embrace sustainability and inspire guests to do the same after their trip. Bob and his team are also creating a more personal guest experience, which includes a weekly pizza party for their guests. Learn more about our podcast sponsors, Breezeway here, and check out more of our episodes here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Schulz, the co-founder of NoiseAware, a company that provides noise monitoring technology, sits down with Matt and Brian this week to explain the idea behind the company. Andrew shares how NoiseAware works and touches on how they are educating local legislators to help them understand the technology, encouraging regulations based on behavior instead of a complaint process. Learn more about our podcast sponsors, Breezeway here, and check out more of our episodes here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt and Brian sat down with Steve Cody, the CEO and co-founder of Bunking. Steve has created several rental businesses and marketplaces throughout his career. Bunking, his most recent company, came to be when his kids wanted to live in Tofino, Canada but needed to find an affordable option. Bunking allows people to connect and rent accommodations with a curated group of like-minded individuals. Learn more about our podcast sponsors, Breezeway here, and check out more of our episodes here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on GuestX, we sat down with Madison Rifkin, the CEO, and Founder of Mount. Mount improves the guest experience by enabling property managers to rent amenities already present in the home, such as bikes, scooters, and golf carts, to guests via an app. Madison shares how they have expanded the business by adding amenity co-hosts to their program so that larger property managers don't have to worry about the upkeep of the rentals. Learn more about our podcast sponsors, Breezeway here, and check out more of our episodes here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's all about guest experience at Villas of Distinction. Matt and Brian caught up with Steve Lassman, the vice president of Villa Product and Agency Relations for World Travel Holdings' luxury villa division. Steve explains their guest-first approach and how the team at Villas is creating immersive domestic and international experiences for their guests with the help of activity buyers, travel advisors, and their partners. He also stresses the importance of choosing property partners that align with your companies' values and processes. Learn more about our podcast sponsors, Breezeway here, and check out more of our episodes here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chip Conley, the founder of Joie de Vivre, and NYT best-selling author has one of the most fascinating entrepreneurial journeys we've heard on GuestX. From founding his own boutique hotel empire to working with Airbnb from the very beginning, Chip is at the forefront of the hospitality business. In this week's podcast, he shares his knowledge of business psychology and emphasizes creating differentiated brands that retain their soul as they scale. Learn more about our podcast sponsors, Breezeway here, and check out more of our episodes here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Creating an experience for your customers isn't a simple task. The guest experience goes beyond the onsite experience – it starts with the guest's first touchpoint with your brand. In this week's episode, we're joined by Tom Kenyon, the VP of Product for BlueTent, to discuss the importance of investing in your brand's story to make sure it conveys the right message. Learn more about our podcast sponsors, Breezeway here, and check out more of our episodes here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Co-hosts Matt and Brian sit down and reflect on the first nine months of the GuestX Podcast. Reviewing the variety of guests they've interviewed and the most important topics discussed on the show. They also share why it's important to get insights from professionals outside the hospitality industry to improve the guest experience. Learn more about Breezeway here and checkout more of our episodes here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Loma Homes' Co-Founder, Jeff Brown, joins us this week to share how he and his team is taking a unique position in the industry. They create immersive experiences for their guests through themed vacation homes and their online presence. Jeff explains that since the homes are owned solely by the company, it makes it easier for them to control their brand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Matt and Brian met up with Jaclyn Riley, the global director of marketing and communications at Club Quarters Hotels. Jaclyn draws from her knowledge of the global hospitality marketing field to explain the nuances of scaling a brand and how she “engineers a feeling” and then monetizes that feeling. Whether trying new loyalty programs or experimenting with marketing strategies, she emphasizes the importance of testing so you're ready to pivot when needed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GuestX sat down with Mark Levy - Employee Experience Advisor, TEDx speaker, and company culture advisor - to talk all about the employee experience. Mark explains how the employee experience is a "guest experience", with company culture, values, environment, as just a few of the factors that can keep employees happy. He describes his time at Airbnb as Global Head of Employee Experience, pioneering the shift from HR to Employee Experience, and ways to keep a company culture thriving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt and Brian met up with Mike Harrington, the CEO and owner of Carolina Retreats and the former president of VRMA. Mike explains how he got his start in the industry and how it has changed since that time. He touches on each segment of the business, including asset management, brand consistency, and the guest journey. He also shares his views on direct booking and fair pricing, which keeps repeat guests coming back each year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GuestX sat down with Dennis Goedheid, the Founder and CEO of Casiola Vacation Homes and Guestor. Dennis takes us through his early days of property management and how Casiola came to be. Dennis explains Casiola's branding strategy and tells us about their unique software system, which is fully transparent, allowing owners to see all of the daily operations, reservations, and reviews that their property receives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt and Brian sat down with industry veteran and travel enthusiast Djuan Rivers, the former VP of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Djuan shares his knowledge from his vast experience in the hospitality industry and explains how every role in a company plays an essential part in the overall guest experience. He also underscores the importance of guiding front-line employees since guest expectations have rapidly changed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GuestX sits down with Chris Maughan, CEO and co-founder of I-PRAC, a global accreditation platform for short-term rental companies. Chris shares how I-PRAC came to be when he met a family who booked a vacation rental that didn't exist. Chris also explains the I-PRACs trust logo, a unique ID members receive that they can display to verify their business, assuring guests that they are dealing with a legitimate business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt and Brian met up with Sachin Narode and Rachel Obenshain, the founders of Xeniapp at Phocuswright. Sachin and Rachel talk about the idea behind Xeniapp and how they are making travel simple for both the provider and guest. Xeniapp is a web-based storefront, booking engine, CRM, and payment settlement engine all in one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GuestX caught up with Daniel Cruz, CEO and co-founder of Washbnb, a laundry solution built exclusively for hosts. Daniel talks about how Washbnb came to fruition while he was a property manager trying to get his linens clean for many units. Washbnb uses a different approach to laundry services which offers hospitality companies the highest quality linens, delivered weekly clean and ready for use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices