Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals
With more than 35 years of combined experience in vacation rentals, Alex Husner and Annie Holcombe have teamed up to connect the dots between inspiration and opportunity, seeking to find the one story, idea, strategy or decision that led to their guests big A-HA moment. Join them, as they highlight the REAL stories behind the people and brands that have built vacation rentals into the 100 BILLION dollar industry it is today.
Episodes
This week, Alex & Annie sit down with Valerie Gangas, Founder & CEO of Juniper Holiday + Homes, for a conversation that blends business, design, and deep personal transformation.
Valerie shares how Juniper began with a personal real estate portfolio and evolved into a thriving multi-market vacation rental management company operating in Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, and Utah. From navigating the early days ...
What did it take to bring vacation rentals into the mainstream and what did we lose along the way?
In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we’re joined by industry veteran and Finding Better podcast host John Suzuki, who reflects on the emotional and operational toll of the tech transformation that reshaped short-term rentals over the last two decades.
From the ea...
In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we sit down with Paul Kromidas, Founder & CEO of Summer, to talk about the growing need for asset intelligence in short-term rental investing, and why gut feel is no longer enough when deciding which properties to buy.
Paul shares his journey from building products at Airbnb to launching Summer, a powerful underwriting and asset ...
In this episode, we’re joined by Simon Seroussi, Co-Founder of SuiteOp, a guest experience and operations platform built by operators, for operators.
With a background in both hospitality tech and short-term rental management, Simon shares how SuiteOp was born from firsthand experience growing a 400-unit portfolio and the operational chaos that came with it. From automating smart locks to unifying guest p...
In this episode, we’re joined by Lorraine Woodward, CEO of Becoming rentABLE, to explore how property managers and hosts can make their vacation rentals more accessible without needing a full renovation or massive investment.
Drawing from her lived experience navigating life with muscular dystrophy and raising two sons with the same condition, Lorraine shares practical, real-world advice for designing spa...
This week, we’re joined by Deborah Labi, a seasoned hospitality professional and the founder of Have You Got, a verified global guest referral network designed to help independent property managers expand their reach and maximize revenue without sacrificing the personal touch that sets them apart.
With two decades of experience in the industry, Deborah understands the frustration of turning away great gue...
Many short-term rental operators think that getting listed on Airbnb or Vrbo is enough. But in today’s competitive landscape, basic distribution is no longer enough to stand out or to sustain growth.
In this episode, we’re joined by Lennart Kok, VP of Distribution and Marketing at NextPax, to explore what smarter vacation rental distribution really looks like. With a background at Hilton, Booking.com, and now NextP...
In our first of the month bonus episode, we’re joined by two well-known names in the vacation rental industry: Lino Maldonado and Brady Stump, co-founders of the newly launched StakeholdersVR.
You’ve probably heard early buzz about this exciting new venture, and today, Lino and Brady are here to tell us what it’s really all about. From how the idea came together to why it’s gaining traction, they give us a full loo...
Is your short-term rental business growing, or just getting harder to manage?
In this episode, we sit down with Patrick Stewart, CEO of Grand Welcome, to explore how franchising offers property managers a scalable and sustainable path to success in today’s competitive STR market.
Grand Welcome is one of the fastest-growing franchise-based vacation rental management companies in the U.S. The brand provides local oper...
In this week’s episode, we’re taking you back to Miami Beach for a special look at one of the most talked-about events in the industry this year, the 2025 VRMA Executive Summit.
It’s been a few weeks since the event, but the insights we gathered still feel just as relevant. Alex & Annie bring you candid interviews with some of the brightest and most respected voices in the vacation rental industry to ...
When media veteran James Varley stepped away from a decade-long career working on the FIFA World Cup, he had no idea that a single Airbnb stay would spark his next chapter: empowering short-term rental hosts through education.
In this episode, James joins us to share how that experience and the glaring lack of accessible resources for new hosts led to the creation of Host Planet, one of the UK’s fastest-growing med...
What happens when one of the world’s most trusted hotel brands steps into the vacation rental space?
In this episode, we’re joined by Jane Gavin (Senior Director of Brand Marketing & Guest Experience) and Keven Wishard (Senior Director of Global & Continent Operations) from Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy.
With decades of hospitality experience between them, Jane and Keven take us inside Homes & Vi...
In our first-of-the-month bonus episode, we are joined by Orlie Benjamin, founder and CEO of Lasoh, a marketing technology platform designed to help vacation rental operators own their guest relationships and drive direct revenue. Lasoh provides a branded digital guest portal and integrated CRM that allows operators to engage with guests from the moment of booking, offer upsells, and run smart, automated campaigns...
In this week’s episode, we're joined by Matt Gurley, Director of Sales and Partner Integrations at the Lynnbrook Group, for a deep dive into the payment side of vacation rentals that most property managers overlook until it’s too late.
From fraud prevention to faster checkouts to smarter cash flow tools, Matt breaks down how Lynnbrook is simplifying payment processing and helping operators keep more of what th...
In this episode, we sit down with two industry powerhouses: Dennis Goedheid, CEO of Casiola, and Shahar Goldboim, CEO of Boom and founder of DesignedVR, to unpack the story behind their groundbreaking new partnership.
As the vacation rental industry continues to mature, operators are finding new ways to grow that prioritize sustainability, clarity, and control. This conversation explores the revenue-sharing agreeme...
Is the short-term rental industry on the edge of a travel recession, or just entering a new phase of normalization?
In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, AirDNA’s Chief Economist Jamie Lane joins us to explain what the data is revealing about the 2025 market. With demand softening among budget travelers, international bookings pulling back, and economic uncertainty on th...
In this empowering episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, Shelley Brown joins us to talk about how breaking outdated expectations and embracing your weird can lead to more authentic leadership and a deeper sense of belonging.
As the original "Rebel in a Gown," Shelley brings her signature blend of authenticity, artistry, and humor to a conversation that challenges the status quo ...
Alex & Annie bring you behind the scenes at VRNation 2025 to explore direct booking strategies, industry growth, tech innovation, and the evolving role of associations in vacation rentals.
Recorded live in Austin, Texas, this special bonus episode captures real-time insights from the conference floor. Alex & Annie had on-the-spot conversations with some of the industry’s most influential voices and rising i...
In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we’re joined by Ian Ackland, Managing Director of the Americas at Booking.com, for a candid look at how one of the world's largest travel platforms is evolving its approach to better serve property managers.
With more than 30 years in the travel industry and over a decade at Booking.com, Ian shares how the company is shifting fr...
In this week’s episode, Matt Landau returns to the show to share one of the most personal and transformational shifts of his career — a journey from building systems and scaling success to rediscovering the power of human connection.
Long known as a community builder and founder of VRMB, Matt opens up about the moment everything changed. After years of being surrounded by the same ideas and doing the same routines,...
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