Vacation Rental Success

High occupancy is not the same as a healthy business. That's the thread running through this conversation with Sarah Stahl, VP of Marketing at Lake.com and founder of short-term rental marketing consultancy Market Movers. Sarah has spent the last seven years watching operators fill their calendars while quietly losing ground on margins, guest relationships, and long-term resilience - and she's done being polite about i...

In this episode, Heather sits down with returning guest Jodi Bourne to talk about how short-term rental professionals can use Claude in practical, business-building ways.

Rather than focusing on AI hype, this conversation digs into what actually matters: saving time, improving clarity, supporting creativity, and using tools like Claude to strengthen both operations and marketing. Jodi shares why she moved ...

In this solo episode, Heather explores one of the biggest shifts happening in the AI space right now: the move away from relying on prompt libraries and toward building systems powered by context.

A couple of years ago, prompt engineering was everything. People were collecting prompt packs, saving templates, and searching for the "perfect prompt" that would magically produce the right result. And at the ti...

In this episode, Heather Bayer sits down with Heidie Henriksen, Executive Director of VRNation, to talk about how the organization is helping to strengthen the short-term rental industry through education, collaboration, and community.

Heidi shares her 25-year journey in the vacation rental industry - from starting as a host, to working in property management and technology, to now leading a national nonpr...

We're at a genuine turning point in how AI is being used in the short-term rental industry - and the language we use right now really matters.

In this episode, I unpack the difference between two words that are being thrown around almost interchangeably: assistant and agent. They are not the same. And if you don't understand the distinction, you could either underestimate what AI can do for you… or worse, ...

AI is no longer a curiosity in our industry - it's becoming a priority. In this first episode of a new AI-focused solo series, Heather steps back from tools and prompts to explore something more fundamental: is your business actually ready for AI?

Because AI doesn't fix messy operations - it magnifies them.

This episode introduces a practical framework for building real AI readiness across you...

What makes a guest trust your website enough to enter their credit card details?

That's the question at the heart of this conversation with Amber Knight from Bookings Cloud - and it's one every property manager should be asking.

Amber has been in this industry long enough to remember tape charts and highlighters (yes, really). From growing up around her father's vacation rental business in Sun...

Amber Hurdle is back for her fourth appearance on the podcast - and once again, she's lighting up the conversation with her bold, insightful take on branding, leadership, and the evolving role of AI in business.

A year after her last visit (when ChatGPT was just becoming mainstream), Heather reconnects with Amber to explore how the AI landscape has shifted - and how short-term rental pros can ride the wave...

On this very special Book Direct Day, I'm thrilled to welcome Heather Dunwoody to the podcast for a deeply resonant conversation about the why behind what we do in this industry. Heather isn't just someone who works in branding and guest experience., she's someone who truly understands that hospitality goes far beyond service. For her, it's about creating meaningful connections and welcoming guests into something much ...

In this special episode from our Training Series, host Heather Bayer is joined by Brittany Blackman (Discover Freedom) and Sean Kemper (ETI Solutions) - two powerhouse professionals who are bringing serious change to the short-term rental industry through coaching, consulting, and training.

Together, they unpack the often unseen emotional weight of solopreneurship, why training isn't just "nice to have" bu...

In this episode, Heather sits down with returning guest Ali Cammelletti, a hospitality consultant, speaker, and the founder of Spark Your Mindset. With more than 30 years of experience in hospitality, Ali brings powerful insights into how soft skills - like empathy, emotional intelligence, and communication - can make or break a vacation rental business.

While software training and hard skills often domina...

In this solo episode Heather Bayer continues the series on training and development in the short-term rental space. 

Drawing on her past as a training consultant and her years of managing hundreds of properties, Heather shares a clear, practical path to building team training that works - even if you're not a "trainer."

She also introduces an incredible AI tool - NotebookLM - that can help you...

In this episode, Heather Bayer welcomes back her son and business partner, Mike Bayer, for a timely New Year's discussion on a topic that affects nearly every property manager: onboarding and training.

After a holiday season filled with family chaos (a trip to the emergency room, and a broken hot tub!), Heather and Mike shift gears to reflect on the challenges of integrating new team members into short-ter...

It's the first episode of 2026 - and that means it's time for our annual deep dive into what's happened across the vacation rental industry over the past year, and what's coming next. Back by popular demand, David Angotti joins Heather to break down the big shifts of 2025 and share what smart property managers should focus on heading into the New Year.

From PMS shakeups and AI integration to a renewed focu...

What if artificial intelligence could actually enhance the human touch instead of replacing it?

In this episode, Heather speaks with Eliseo Palous, co-founder of Short Stay Media, to explore how AI - especially voice AI - is revolutionizing guest communications in the short-term rental industry without sacrificing what matters most: hospitality, responsibility, and trust.

Eliseo shares the fas...

What happens when a corporate professional takes a chance on short-term rentals in the middle of a global pandemic? In this inspiring episode, Heather sits down with Stacey St. John - real estate investor, property manager, and community builder - to unpack her incredible journey from cautious investor to powerhouse property manager with a portfolio of beachfront properties in Myrtle Beach.

Stacey didn't j...

When disaster strikes - whether it's a fire, flood, or even a bat infestation - families are often left scrambling for safe, comfortable housing. That's where Jake Mast steps in. In this episode, Heather Bayer sits down with Jake, founder of Rapid Response AI Housing, to explore how his company is disrupting the traditional insurance housing model by combining speed, accuracy, and human-centered AI solutions.

📌In this power-packed episode, Heather Bayer is joined once again by vacation rental marketing guru Mark Simpson of Boostly. Mark returns for his fifth appearance on the podcast - and this time, he's bringing an urgent message for vacation rental professionals across North America: The FIFA World Cup 2026 doesn'...