April 28, 2025 • 24 mins
Ever wonder what happens when you gather 200 vacation rental professionals in one of America's most charming historic cities? Our latest episode takes you inside the VRMA Foundations Conference in Savannah, where operational excellence takes center stage against a backdrop of Southern hospitality.
Tim returns from Savannah overflowing with insights (and possibly too many shrimp and grits) after immersing himself in this intimate industry gathering. Unlike larger conferences where networking can feel overwhelming, Foundations created an environment where deeper connections flourished. The innovative track-based structure—office operations, frontline staff, and team management—kept attendees with their cohort throughout the event, fostering meaningful relationships and problem-solving.
Through exclusive interviews captured on-site, you'll hear diverse perspectives from industry veterans to newcomers. VRMA Executive Director Ann Gardner shares how the conference exceeded expectations by attracting new attendees "positively on fire" about training designed specifically for them. Marco DiDimizio, former owner of TripAdvisor's #1 ranked B&B in the United States, offers premium hospitality insights that translate perfectly to vacation rentals (including why you should never use the word "discount"). Supplier representatives reflect on the refreshing engagement levels, while a property manager attending with his team reveals how their dinner conversations buzzed with implementation plans before the conference even concluded.
What emerges is a portrait of an industry embracing operational excellence while maintaining the personal touch that defines exceptional hospitality. As one attendee put it, the conference reminded them of "VRMA from years ago, when the footprint was small and the interaction was high"—proving that sometimes the most valuable industry events aren't the biggest, but the most focused.
Whether you're contemplating attending future VRMA events or simply looking to level up your vacation rental operations, this episode offers both practical takeaways and inspiration. After all, in the vacation rental business, sometimes the best ideas come from conversations over pralines in Savannah.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
You're listening to the Vacation Rental Key with TNT
, the podcast for vacationrental managers by vacation
rental managers.
I'm Tim Cafferty and I managetwo companies, one in Virginia
and one in North Carolina.
I'm one of the two T's.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And I'm the other, T Tiffany Edwards, born and raised
in the vacation rental business.
I help manage our familybusinesses from Key West all the
way to Kauai.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
In the next 30 minutes, we're going to give you
our keys to success in thevacation rental business.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hey everyone and welcome back to Vacation Rental
Key with yours truly Tiffany.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
And the guy who had way too many shrimp and grits in
Savannah I'm Tim.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Tim eating your way through Savannah.
Did you get any work done?
I know that you love it overthere in the Southern Cuisine.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
I did get a lot of work done.
I'll tell you.
It was just overflowing withideas, overflowing like the
Savannah River after a good rain.
It was a fantastic event, somuch packed in just two days and
for those listening whocouldn't make it picture a
beautiful historic city, warmtemperatures, rooms full of
(01:30):
passionate property managers andenough educational session to
make your head spin in the bestpossible way.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Exactly, and, speaking of those sessions, we
wanted to give you the lowdownon some of the hottest topics
and most popular takeaways.
Think of it as your personalcheat sheet to the VRMA
Foundations.
So, tim, let's dive into all ofthe details, shall we?
What were some of the majornuggets that really stuck with
(01:57):
you from this conference?
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Well, first of all, you must be beyond the fact I
was asked about 50 times where'sTiffany?
We love her.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
No, that did not happen.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
I know, shocking, I know, but let's just say, the
next time I go to a conferencewithout you, I'm taking a
life-size cutout of you.
So people will talk to me more.
But beyond that, and enoughabout you I think we should
first set the scene.
The event was at the SavannahConvention Center.
It's located right on theSavannah River.
(02:33):
I did not know maybe youalready knew this, tiff that
Savannah is one of the busiestports for container ships in the
world, number two on the EastCoast, behind the Port of New
York, new Jersey, and numberfour in the world Number two on
the East Coast, behind the Portof New York, new Jersey, and
number four in the country.
I cannot tell you how many ofthese massive container ships I
counted moving up and down theriver where we stayed.
(02:54):
I sent you pictures, tiff, andyou can post them on our social
media so people can get an ideaof what we're looking at.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh, I'll post them.
Remember anyone listening tofollow us on the Vacation Rental
Key with TNT?
I'll make sure I get thosepictures.
I think you sent a few actionshots too of you running around
with people, so I'll make sure Iadd those to the list.
It sounds like some massiveships.
I love Savannah and I've heardgreat feedback about that
convention center.
Such a wonderful city, greathospitality, great food and top
(03:24):
shelf experience is what I'veheard.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, and they just finished Get this a $276 million
renovation on an expansionproject to the convention center
.
It's absolutely stunning.
At any rate, the conference wasnamed Foundations because it
was focused on the keys ofoperational excellence in your
company.
There were three tracks One wasoffice, one was frontline and
(03:52):
one was team.
What was cool about it, tiff,is you got to choose which track
you wanted to follow.
You got a little dot on yourname tag.
You were the yellow person, ablue person or a red person, and
then you stayed in the roomexcept for breakfast and lunch,
and you got to know the peoplefor two days, like the
maintenance and housekeepingfolks stayed together.
The team people talked aboutforming and training your team,
(04:15):
and the office track covered allthings related to reservations,
guest relations, your brandcommunication and maybe even
leaving a little welcome giftthat isn't just a logoed koozie
Think locally sourced goodieslike Savannah Pralines anyone.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Tim, did you go to Savannah Candy Kitchen without
me?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I 100% did.
Yes, I went there Sunday night.
I went there Monday night and.
I stopped in again on Tuesdaybefore I left town.
I was going to bring yousomething, but I ate it, sorry.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I'll wait in the mail .
Hopefully there's, you know,maybe another trip on the
calendar for you to go toSavannah and make it up for me.
Another thing I heard was a bigtheme was the fact that an
event was purposely smaller.
It was more intimate, and sothere was great conversation and
feedback and opportunity foreven better networking with a
real free flow of education.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Absolutely.
Like I mentioned, I was in theteam track, for instance, and
shout out to VRMA's favoriteaunt, sue Jones.
She started us off.
She just has such a greatmanner about her.
She immediately engagedeveryone.
She made it really easy forpeople to speak up and offer
their view of things.
And then we had some reallyinteresting discussions about
(05:33):
onboarding staff, with some reallife examples of what works,
and some people spoke up andsaid what doesn't work, which is
great.
And on the team side of things,justin Ford, mr Safety, scared
the pants off of people talkingabout safety and what we're not
doing.
Dave Roberts, from right hereat Blue, led a discussion about
(05:54):
not just having the latestgadgets for maintenance but also
having the right tools todeliver excellence in your
customer service.
And of course, dirk Johnson,the cleaning guru, did his thing
on housekeeping.
That group was really vibrant.
They got a lot of talking donebecause they were consistently
the last group to get to lunchbecause I guess they couldn't
stop talking.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Oh, I love a good working lunch and you said that
there was a track on office andkeeping things running smoothly
for that aspect of your company,right?
Tyann Marsink-Hammond led thatright.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Yes, the queen of guest experience was on fire.
Oh girl, I think the only thingshe missed on the whole
conference was, at the beginningof the conference, the two of
us run up on stage to geteverybody fired up and the
opening session, and we came upon stage to give each other a
high five and she missed.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Oh, I think someone from the audience sent me a
action shot of that that I'd behappy to share on social media.
Oh, good, good.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Well, anyway, tyen pulled off a huge surprise.
She always likes to delightpeople and she did again.
She had Marco DiDimizio come onfrom Cape Cod, massachusetts.
Anybody recognize that name?
Marco was the former co-ownerof the number one bed and
breakfast in the United States.
It was ranked by TripAdvisorand it was number two in the
(07:10):
world.
You will hear from him in a fewminutes, but let's just say if
you think you deliver greatservice to your guests, he will
make you rethink.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And it sounds like you might have found our
keynote-worthy guest for afuture podcast.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Maybe so, and let me tell you, savannah was the
perfect backdrop for all thislearning.
Between sessions, we got tosoak up some of that Southern
charm, wander through thehistoric squares and, yes,
indulge in a few delicious meals.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Great.
Well, all right, buckle up,folks, because we've got a
special treat for you.
After soaking up all theknowledge at VRMA Foundations in
beautiful Savannah, tim managedto corner a few attendees and
snag some insightful interviews.
We turned Tim loose out on thestreets of the Savannah
conference halls and, you know,could be unpredictable at best.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Yeah, well, an opportunity knocks and somebody
is willing to share the wisdom,you grab your microphone and you
hit record.
We managed to get about 11minutes of fantastic
perspectives from fellowvacation rental professionals,
and we thought you'd love tohear directly from them about
their takeaways and experiences.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
So we're going to start off with Ann Gardner,
who's the executive director ofVRMA, and ask what her
expectations were of theconference and the experience.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
Well, our expectations were pretty limited
.
We knew we wanted to make apivot and we knew we wanted to
program along an area where wehad direct feedback and requests
for more focused, morededicated training, really
having deep learningopportunities, and that that's
something that we just had somecapacity to grow into.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
You've been watching over this.
How have you think it's gone sofar?
Speaker 5 (09:03):
It's been tremendous in many ways and I will say,
first and foremost, we have seennew attendees, folks who've
never attended a meeting, whoare positively on fire that
there's training that is forthem, that they can come with
their team.
We are seeing great teamcamaraderie and networking and
(09:23):
when we see them in the hallwayscomparing notes after a session
before they go to the next one,that is a palpable energy and a
new audience that we realizewe're going to be leaning more
into with foundational trainingand really providing that area
that we know our vacation rentalmanagement professionals can
(09:44):
use that support to help growtheir teams.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
So if you had a message to give to a business
owner or an upper level manager,that's, a VRMA member who did
not attend this conference, whatwould you tell them?
Speaker 5 (09:58):
I would say that this was an undiscovered gem, that
we started with the idea of justsome really focused workshops,
but we saw a need and it's grownquickly, and I cannot be
happier or more grateful for oursupplier community support.
They are here supporting you,they are engaged and ready to
(10:19):
speak to you in your specificarea of your business and they
came prepared at this meeting totalk to concerns that you deal
with every day.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
As I continue to work the room.
Now I'm here with the king ofhospitality, marco.
Introduce yourself to ouraudience.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Hi there, I'm Marco DiDivizio with Inn Advisors,
formerly the Candleberry Inn onCape Cod.
We owned the property for 10years, took it from a sleepy
little B&B to the number one innin the US on TripAdvisor and
Travel and Leisure.
So some amazing results basedon guest experience.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
And you are here about to speak.
The crowd is going to be reallyinterested in what you have to
say.
This is your first exposure tothe vacation rental management
people.
What's the vibe?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
like for you.
It is terrific.
I didn't quite know what toexpect.
I thought they were going to beowners of properties.
Instead it's real managementcompanies and I love to see the
passion that they have, which isshared with the traditional
lodging side, that we have Focuson making those connections
with the guests and the guestexperience and how to elevate it
and how to build thoselong-term relationships which
(11:26):
then turns into loyalty andbookings money.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Wow, and so give us a couple of key points that you
hope the group will take awaywhen you speak to them in just a
little bit Absolutely Buildingthat personal guest experience,
making them feel seen, makingthem feel like they are a guest
in your home versus an anonymoustraveler.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
One important thing that I learned over the years
particularly for the managersthat provide a luxury experience
or a premium experience Don'tdiscount.
Do not use that word because iterodes your brand.
Now can you give a promotionalrate?
Yes.
Can you provide a special guestcredit?
(12:09):
Yes, but don't use that worddiscount.
Use a book direct rate versus astandard rate, so they think
they're getting a deal.
You can do last minute deals,you can do early bird special
rate.
Use those words.
Do not use the word discountbecause it hurts you,
particularly if you'repositioning yourself as a luxury
experience.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
I can't wait to listen to the whole thing here
in a little bit.
But welcome to our little grouphere.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Yeah, it was a pleasure, love to have you back.
I love the energy and thepassion here.
It's a great group.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Okay, I've caught up with a friend from the mountains
Rachel, all day is here, andyou're not only here, but you
have a whole crew here, that'sfantastic.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
I have four people from my team here.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
And how are they enjoying this Foundation's
experience?
Speaker 6 (12:53):
They're loving it.
I've been asking them a lot andI feel like they're saying
things like they like themsmaller, so they're getting like
more out of the sessions.
They're having like lots ofconversations because it's not
like so massive.
So just the fact that it's alittle more intimate, not so
overwhelming, that's whatthey're liking.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
I've noted as well.
With the way it's set up, youstay on a track and so people
are seeing the same people,they're engaging more.
Maybe friendships are occurring, yeah, like it used to be in
the VRMA.
Yeah, yeah.
But you have a little differentstory to tell about when you
came into VRMA versus Helen Well, I didn't come in when it was
smaller, I mean when I started.
Speaker 6 (13:28):
I can't remember what was my first year at
International, but I want to sayit was like maybe 16, something
like that, when my husband andI first started coming.
We didn't know anyone really andwe didn't really make like any
lasting relationships that firstcouple of times.
Which is funny because now Ifeel like I know everyone and I
love it, but at the time I feltlike, oh, this is interesting
(13:51):
and there was so much goodinformation, but I didn't feel
like I had an easy time meetingpeople.
And I feel like now that I justjoined the board recently, like
that's a huge focus for me islike how can we do better as an
organization?
To number one, like bring morepeople in the industry to the
table, because there's the vastmajority of people in our
industry don't even know aboutVRMA, which I didn't for a long
time.
It's operating for years andyears not even knowing that it
(14:13):
was here and then knowing thatwhen they finally come and they
want to attend a conference orget involved somehow, that we
make an effort to bring theminto the circle Because there's
so many cool people.
But it can be harder than maybesome of us realize to feel like
you're part of things and havea relationship that lasts beyond
just a chat during a session,right?
Speaker 1 (14:33):
So it's really incumbent on us more experienced
members to reach out to thosepeople and don't let them get
away without needing somebody.
Speaker 6 (14:40):
Or maybe we just need to find some more ways of
creating events or gatherings ordoing stuff that can allow for
encouraging more personalrelationships that you could
keep communicating after theevents.
That's where you really get somuch more.
As you start to develop arelationship with someone, you
can ask questions, not just whenyou see them that one time a
(15:02):
year, but like all throughoutthe year when your little
questions come up.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, all you got to do is look around the room.
It's happening folks.
Yes, right now, really cool.
Thanks, rachel.
Yeah, okay, now moved over hereto the supplier area.
And Okay, now moved over hereto the supplier area.
And I have the group Iaffectionately call the Verbo
Girls.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
And you have a Verbo hat on right now.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
I do that's pretty awesome Tim.
And you are.
Speaker 7 (15:23):
I'm Alex Van Ness and I'm Ora.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
And.
Speaker 7 (15:27):
I'm Jenny Davis.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
All right, jenny, you're the spokesperson here.
Oh gosh, you've been seeing alot of folks, a lot of new faces
here.
Yes, you've been seeing a lotof folks, a lot of new faces
here.
What's been your perspective asa supplier member about the
success of this event?
Speaker 7 (15:39):
We love the opportunity to talk with
different people from theseorganizations and I think
there's been a lot of valueadded getting some face time
with people that we don'tnormally have face time with.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
So you're seeing more back of the house, folks.
Speaker 7 (15:52):
I would guess the operators, the people that get
it done, Absolutely A lot ofpeople that are boots on the
ground that are normally toobusy to meet with us, so it's
nice to have some face time withthem, along with the GMs, the
COOs, the CEOs of thesebusinesses so that we can
collaborate together.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
So often we come to these events and they're huge
2,000 people, 1,500 people.
We have about 200 or so here.
What do you think of thesmaller setting?
Speaker 7 (16:20):
I personally love a smaller setting because I think
it gives us more time to havemore in-depth conversations.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Okay, and another one of our supplier members here
that you will recognize the name, brian Butler from Easy Care.
You have been a busy man thelast two days.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
I have been.
It's been a great show.
It really has been a great show.
I will tell you that one of thenice things that VRMA has done
is done the regional show,specific to the type of function
that is more oriented towardsoperations.
We've got great participation.
It reminds me of Verma fromyears ago, when the footprint
(17:00):
was small and the interactionwas high, and we've seen that
interaction in this and I'mloving it and we're sitting here
off to the side, you may hearthere are murmurs.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
There literally are about 20 tables full of people
in a problem-solving session andit appears there's not one or
two people talking.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
I love it.
I think the roundtable isreally exciting, it is true.
Interaction of peers it'sfacilitated, so you get the shy
people going too, buteverybody's full of knowledge.
It's a cross-pollination ofdecades of knowledge and to me
this speaks to exactly why youcome to this show, so it's great
(17:40):
.
I think everyone out here willwalk away with something from a
competitive company ornon-competitive, but certainly
another property managementcompany that they can take away.
It's the best way to do it.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
We're going to wrap this up with my new friend, Alex
from Johnson City, Tennessee,so you're one of the new folks,
if we will.
You've come to this event ingood faith.
How was it for you?
Speaker 8 (18:04):
It's been great for me and my team.
I came with four of our coreteam members who helped me
manage 33 properties that wehost guests in every day 33
properties that we host guestsin every day and I think
bringing the team was arguablythe best decision I made in this
whole process of deciding tocome, because all the people
that I'm here with are frontlineteam and so operations, the
(18:26):
cleaning, the maintenance, thetraining all that that we're
trying to figure out how tocontinue to be more efficient
with this has given us a lot ofreally good tools and a lot of
good concepts for us to takeback and to talk about.
Even just last night after theconference, we were sitting
around dinner and hashing outhey, what did you learn from
this part of the conference,what'd you learn in this session
?
And I was taking tons of notesand we're like a little bit
(18:48):
overwhelmed with everythingwe're learning and so trying to
take the fish, leave the bones,what is the key things that we
can take home with us andhopefully help the rest of our
team Like that's the goal withthis conference is learn, so we
can be a better team, we can bea better company, we can treat
our guests better, we can treatour fellow teammates better, and
so, yeah, I think honestly, wecould have wrapped up yesterday
(19:10):
and I would have been like, oh,this was worth it.
So it felt like today was just abonus day of bonus information,
more tools in our tool belt.
And, yeah, I'm excited to takeeverything that we've been
learning and take it home withus and try to implement it.
So, yeah, Fantastic.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I met one of your colleagues, Lucy, who I think
filled up a full notebook on thefirst session yesterday that I
was going to ask you about hersharing.
So that's great to hear.
You guys got together and eachshared what you learn, which is
what this organization is allabout.
Speaker 8 (19:41):
Yeah, and then also meeting you, meeting other
people like you, is helpful forme as a business owner.
I'm constantly trying to findpeople who are ahead of us and
have solved the problems we'refacing and are thriving, and
it's really encouraging to meetpeople like yourself and to see
like, oh man, like you know, wehang in there, like you know, we
hang in there, hang it, we hangin there, maybe we can be.
We'd be there one day, you know.
And so, yeah, the personalconnections that we've made and
(20:02):
that you make in conferenceslike this is arguably my
favorite part, fantastic lookforward to hearing how the
success builds for your companyand tiffany, we have a new
listener as well absolutely,absolutely.
I look forward to hearing it, orlistening to the podcast more
very good.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Wow, tim, I'm pleasantly surprised.
Those are some great Mikemoments.
Real great insights there, sodifferent in everyone's
experience and so valuable tohear directly from those that
have involvement in the industry.
And you got us a new fan,absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
A big thank you to all those who took the time to
chat with me in Savannah AnneGardner from VRMA, marco
DiDAmuzio, the former owner ofthe Candleberry Inn in Brewster,
massachusetts, if you wanted tolook him up.
Rachel Alday, you heard, fromAdobe Luxury Rentals in Park
City, utah, the Verbo Girls,alex Van Ness, flora and Jenny
(20:57):
Davis, brian Butler from EasyCare and my new friend and
newest listener to the podcast,alex of Johnson City, tennessee.
And, by the way, special shoutout to my new friend, lance
Baptiste of Sun River Resort inSun River, oregon, who sat with
me at the team's track and gaveme some insights and help which
helped me with just oneconversation with Lance.
(21:20):
It helped me pay for the entirecost of the conference for all
four people I brought, with justthe one tip he gave me.
So that's what it's all about.
I'm hopeful hearing theperspectives of those folks
gives you an even better feelfor the VRMA Foundations
Conference.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Pam, you know to add into that.
This makes me so excited and itreminds me and I know it said
we talked about this in one ofthe interviews reminds me of the
old days of VRMA, the timeswhere you're intimately
networking in smaller groups.
When I talked to our teammembers who had gone, they said
they loved the extended time.
They felt like they got so muchmore information.
(21:56):
But I think the reallyinspiring part is for you who've
been in this business for solong.
For me, who's been in thisbusiness for so long, there's
still so much we can learn frompeople who have even entered
just into the business and Ithink we end up getting so busy
that we lose that there's somuch foundational knowledge out
(22:17):
there.
So I love that VRMA is doingthis.
I love to hear back fromeveryone and their experience
and can't wait to hear morefeedback.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
I think the supplier members were very happy as well.
The conference room where wehad all our meals and the food
was fantastic, by the way, atthe conference, so thumbs up to
VRMA about that.
It's not always been the casein the past, but they killed it
this time.
But, at any rate, the suppliermembers who are there I counted,
I think, 26, maybe 30,somewhere in that.
(22:46):
Every time I looked at a vendortable there was someone there
talking to someone, so it wasvery engaging.
Again back to your point.
So wherever they pick nextyear's location, it is
definitely an event to considerLevel up your vacation rental
game.
Vrma Foundation is a place todo it.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
I love it.
Well, I can't wait to join youat the foundations next year.
Hopefully I won't be on theroad dealing with child care and
baseball and lacrossetournaments, because I missed
out on this one.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
So that brings us to the end of another episode of
the Vacation Rental Key with TNT.
We hope you've enjoyed ourSavannah deep dive and those
fantastic attendee interviewsand next time we get together we
have another great podcastlined up for your listening
pleasure and if you listenclosely, you may know what's
coming.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Until next time, guys .
Speaker 1 (23:36):
By the way, I'm definitely bringing my stretchy
pants next year.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
So long everybody.
Bye and my pralines, we'll seeyou next time.
You're listening to the Vacation Rental Key with TNT
, the podcast for vacationrental managers by vacation
rental managers.
I'm Tim Cafferty and I managetwo companies, one in Virginia
and one in North Carolina.
I'm one of the two T's.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And I'm the other, T Tiffany Edwards, born and raised
in the vacation rental business.
I help manage our familybusinesses from Key West all the
way to Kauai.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
In the next 30 minutes, we're going to give you
our keys to success in thevacation rental business.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hey everyone and welcome back to Vacation Rental
Key with yours truly Tiffany.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
And the guy who had way too many shrimp and grits in
Savannah I'm Tim.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Tim eating your way through Savannah.
Did you get any work done?
I know that you love it overthere in the Southern Cuisine.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
I did get a lot of work done.
I'll tell you.
It was just overflowing withideas, overflowing like the
Savannah River after a good rain.
It was a fantastic event, somuch packed in just two days and
for those listening whocouldn't make it picture a
beautiful historic city, warmtemperatures, rooms full of
(01:30):
passionate property managers andenough educational session to
make your head spin in the bestpossible way.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Exactly, and, speaking of those sessions, we
wanted to give you the lowdownon some of the hottest topics
and most popular takeaways.
Think of it as your personalcheat sheet to the VRMA
Foundations.
So, tim, let's dive into all ofthe details, shall we?
What were some of the majornuggets that really stuck with
(01:57):
you from this conference?
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Well, first of all, you must be beyond the fact I
was asked about 50 times where'sTiffany?
We love her.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
No, that did not happen.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
I know, shocking, I know, but let's just say, the
next time I go to a conferencewithout you, I'm taking a
life-size cutout of you.
So people will talk to me more.
But beyond that, and enoughabout you I think we should
first set the scene.
The event was at the SavannahConvention Center.
It's located right on theSavannah River.
(02:33):
I did not know maybe youalready knew this, tiff that
Savannah is one of the busiestports for container ships in the
world, number two on the EastCoast, behind the Port of New
York, new Jersey, and numberfour in the world Number two on
the East Coast, behind the Portof New York, new Jersey, and
number four in the country.
I cannot tell you how many ofthese massive container ships I
counted moving up and down theriver where we stayed.
(02:54):
I sent you pictures, tiff, andyou can post them on our social
media so people can get an ideaof what we're looking at.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Oh, I'll post them.
Remember anyone listening tofollow us on the Vacation Rental
Key with TNT?
I'll make sure I get thosepictures.
I think you sent a few actionshots too of you running around
with people, so I'll make sure Iadd those to the list.
It sounds like some massiveships.
I love Savannah and I've heardgreat feedback about that
convention center.
Such a wonderful city, greathospitality, great food and top
(03:24):
shelf experience is what I'veheard.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, and they just finished Get this a $276 million
renovation on an expansionproject to the convention center
.
It's absolutely stunning.
At any rate, the conference wasnamed Foundations because it
was focused on the keys ofoperational excellence in your
company.
There were three tracks One wasoffice, one was frontline and
(03:52):
one was team.
What was cool about it, tiff,is you got to choose which track
you wanted to follow.
You got a little dot on yourname tag.
You were the yellow person, ablue person or a red person, and
then you stayed in the roomexcept for breakfast and lunch,
and you got to know the peoplefor two days, like the
maintenance and housekeepingfolks stayed together.
The team people talked aboutforming and training your team,
(04:15):
and the office track covered allthings related to reservations,
guest relations, your brandcommunication and maybe even
leaving a little welcome giftthat isn't just a logoed koozie
Think locally sourced goodieslike Savannah Pralines anyone.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Tim, did you go to Savannah Candy Kitchen without
me?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I 100% did.
Yes, I went there Sunday night.
I went there Monday night and.
I stopped in again on Tuesdaybefore I left town.
I was going to bring yousomething, but I ate it, sorry.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I'll wait in the mail .
Hopefully there's, you know,maybe another trip on the
calendar for you to go toSavannah and make it up for me.
Another thing I heard was a bigtheme was the fact that an
event was purposely smaller.
It was more intimate, and sothere was great conversation and
feedback and opportunity foreven better networking with a
real free flow of education.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Absolutely.
Like I mentioned, I was in theteam track, for instance, and
shout out to VRMA's favoriteaunt, sue Jones.
She started us off.
She just has such a greatmanner about her.
She immediately engagedeveryone.
She made it really easy forpeople to speak up and offer
their view of things.
And then we had some reallyinteresting discussions about
(05:33):
onboarding staff, with some reallife examples of what works,
and some people spoke up andsaid what doesn't work, which is
great.
And on the team side of things,justin Ford, mr Safety, scared
the pants off of people talkingabout safety and what we're not
doing.
Dave Roberts, from right hereat Blue, led a discussion about
(05:54):
not just having the latestgadgets for maintenance but also
having the right tools todeliver excellence in your
customer service.
And of course, dirk Johnson,the cleaning guru, did his thing
on housekeeping.
That group was really vibrant.
They got a lot of talking donebecause they were consistently
the last group to get to lunchbecause I guess they couldn't
stop talking.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Oh, I love a good working lunch and you said that
there was a track on office andkeeping things running smoothly
for that aspect of your company,right?
Tyann Marsink-Hammond led thatright.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Yes, the queen of guest experience was on fire.
Oh girl, I think the only thingshe missed on the whole
conference was, at the beginningof the conference, the two of
us run up on stage to geteverybody fired up and the
opening session, and we came upon stage to give each other a
high five and she missed.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Oh, I think someone from the audience sent me a
action shot of that that I'd behappy to share on social media.
Oh, good, good.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Well, anyway, tyen pulled off a huge surprise.
She always likes to delightpeople and she did again.
She had Marco DiDimizio come onfrom Cape Cod, massachusetts.
Anybody recognize that name?
Marco was the former co-ownerof the number one bed and
breakfast in the United States.
It was ranked by TripAdvisorand it was number two in the
(07:10):
world.
You will hear from him in a fewminutes, but let's just say if
you think you deliver greatservice to your guests, he will
make you rethink.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And it sounds like you might have found our
keynote-worthy guest for afuture podcast.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Maybe so, and let me tell you, savannah was the
perfect backdrop for all thislearning.
Between sessions, we got tosoak up some of that Southern
charm, wander through thehistoric squares and, yes,
indulge in a few delicious meals.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Great.
Well, all right, buckle up,folks, because we've got a
special treat for you.
After soaking up all theknowledge at VRMA Foundations in
beautiful Savannah, tim managedto corner a few attendees and
snag some insightful interviews.
We turned Tim loose out on thestreets of the Savannah
conference halls and, you know,could be unpredictable at best.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Yeah, well, an opportunity knocks and somebody
is willing to share the wisdom,you grab your microphone and you
hit record.
We managed to get about 11minutes of fantastic
perspectives from fellowvacation rental professionals,
and we thought you'd love tohear directly from them about
their takeaways and experiences.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
So we're going to start off with Ann Gardner,
who's the executive director ofVRMA, and ask what her
expectations were of theconference and the experience.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
Well, our expectations were pretty limited
.
We knew we wanted to make apivot and we knew we wanted to
program along an area where wehad direct feedback and requests
for more focused, morededicated training, really
having deep learningopportunities, and that that's
something that we just had somecapacity to grow into.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
You've been watching over this.
How have you think it's gone sofar?
Speaker 5 (09:03):
It's been tremendous in many ways and I will say,
first and foremost, we have seennew attendees, folks who've
never attended a meeting, whoare positively on fire that
there's training that is forthem, that they can come with
their team.
We are seeing great teamcamaraderie and networking and
(09:23):
when we see them in the hallwayscomparing notes after a session
before they go to the next one,that is a palpable energy and a
new audience that we realizewe're going to be leaning more
into with foundational trainingand really providing that area
that we know our vacation rentalmanagement professionals can
(09:44):
use that support to help growtheir teams.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
So if you had a message to give to a business
owner or an upper level manager,that's, a VRMA member who did
not attend this conference, whatwould you tell them?
Speaker 5 (09:58):
I would say that this was an undiscovered gem, that
we started with the idea of justsome really focused workshops,
but we saw a need and it's grownquickly, and I cannot be
happier or more grateful for oursupplier community support.
They are here supporting you,they are engaged and ready to
(10:19):
speak to you in your specificarea of your business and they
came prepared at this meeting totalk to concerns that you deal
with every day.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
As I continue to work the room.
Now I'm here with the king ofhospitality, marco.
Introduce yourself to ouraudience.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Hi there, I'm Marco DiDivizio with Inn Advisors,
formerly the Candleberry Inn onCape Cod.
We owned the property for 10years, took it from a sleepy
little B&B to the number one innin the US on TripAdvisor and
Travel and Leisure.
So some amazing results basedon guest experience.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
And you are here about to speak.
The crowd is going to be reallyinterested in what you have to
say.
This is your first exposure tothe vacation rental management
people.
What's the vibe?
Speaker 4 (11:05):
like for you.
It is terrific.
I didn't quite know what toexpect.
I thought they were going to beowners of properties.
Instead it's real managementcompanies and I love to see the
passion that they have, which isshared with the traditional
lodging side, that we have Focuson making those connections
with the guests and the guestexperience and how to elevate it
and how to build thoselong-term relationships which
(11:26):
then turns into loyalty andbookings money.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Wow, and so give us a couple of key points that you
hope the group will take awaywhen you speak to them in just a
little bit Absolutely Buildingthat personal guest experience,
making them feel seen, makingthem feel like they are a guest
in your home versus an anonymoustraveler.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
One important thing that I learned over the years
particularly for the managersthat provide a luxury experience
or a premium experience Don'tdiscount.
Do not use that word because iterodes your brand.
Now can you give a promotionalrate?
Yes.
Can you provide a special guestcredit?
(12:09):
Yes, but don't use that worddiscount.
Use a book direct rate versus astandard rate, so they think
they're getting a deal.
You can do last minute deals,you can do early bird special
rate.
Use those words.
Do not use the word discountbecause it hurts you,
particularly if you'repositioning yourself as a luxury
experience.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
I can't wait to listen to the whole thing here
in a little bit.
But welcome to our little grouphere.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Yeah, it was a pleasure, love to have you back.
I love the energy and thepassion here.
It's a great group.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Okay, I've caught up with a friend from the mountains
Rachel, all day is here, andyou're not only here, but you
have a whole crew here, that'sfantastic.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
I have four people from my team here.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
And how are they enjoying this Foundation's
experience?
Speaker 6 (12:53):
They're loving it.
I've been asking them a lot andI feel like they're saying
things like they like themsmaller, so they're getting like
more out of the sessions.
They're having like lots ofconversations because it's not
like so massive.
So just the fact that it's alittle more intimate, not so
overwhelming, that's whatthey're liking.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
I've noted as well.
With the way it's set up, youstay on a track and so people
are seeing the same people,they're engaging more.
Maybe friendships are occurring, yeah, like it used to be in
the VRMA.
Yeah, yeah.
But you have a little differentstory to tell about when you
came into VRMA versus Helen Well, I didn't come in when it was
smaller, I mean when I started.
Speaker 6 (13:28):
I can't remember what was my first year at
International, but I want to sayit was like maybe 16, something
like that, when my husband andI first started coming.
We didn't know anyone really andwe didn't really make like any
lasting relationships that firstcouple of times.
Which is funny because now Ifeel like I know everyone and I
love it, but at the time I feltlike, oh, this is interesting
(13:51):
and there was so much goodinformation, but I didn't feel
like I had an easy time meetingpeople.
And I feel like now that I justjoined the board recently, like
that's a huge focus for me islike how can we do better as an
organization?
To number one, like bring morepeople in the industry to the
table, because there's the vastmajority of people in our
industry don't even know aboutVRMA, which I didn't for a long
time.
It's operating for years andyears not even knowing that it
(14:13):
was here and then knowing thatwhen they finally come and they
want to attend a conference orget involved somehow, that we
make an effort to bring theminto the circle Because there's
so many cool people.
But it can be harder than maybesome of us realize to feel like
you're part of things and havea relationship that lasts beyond
just a chat during a session,right?
Speaker 1 (14:33):
So it's really incumbent on us more experienced
members to reach out to thosepeople and don't let them get
away without needing somebody.
Speaker 6 (14:40):
Or maybe we just need to find some more ways of
creating events or gatherings ordoing stuff that can allow for
encouraging more personalrelationships that you could
keep communicating after theevents.
That's where you really get somuch more.
As you start to develop arelationship with someone, you
can ask questions, not just whenyou see them that one time a
(15:02):
year, but like all throughoutthe year when your little
questions come up.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, all you got to do is look around the room.
It's happening folks.
Yes, right now, really cool.
Thanks, rachel.
Yeah, okay, now moved over hereto the supplier area.
And Okay, now moved over hereto the supplier area.
And I have the group Iaffectionately call the Verbo
Girls.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
And you have a Verbo hat on right now.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
I do that's pretty awesome Tim.
And you are.
Speaker 7 (15:23):
I'm Alex Van Ness and I'm Ora.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
And.
Speaker 7 (15:27):
I'm Jenny Davis.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
All right, jenny, you're the spokesperson here.
Oh gosh, you've been seeing alot of folks, a lot of new faces
here.
Yes, you've been seeing a lotof folks, a lot of new faces
here.
What's been your perspective asa supplier member about the
success of this event?
Speaker 7 (15:39):
We love the opportunity to talk with
different people from theseorganizations and I think
there's been a lot of valueadded getting some face time
with people that we don'tnormally have face time with.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
So you're seeing more back of the house, folks.
Speaker 7 (15:52):
I would guess the operators, the people that get
it done, Absolutely A lot ofpeople that are boots on the
ground that are normally toobusy to meet with us, so it's
nice to have some face time withthem, along with the GMs, the
COOs, the CEOs of thesebusinesses so that we can
collaborate together.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
So often we come to these events and they're huge
2,000 people, 1,500 people.
We have about 200 or so here.
What do you think of thesmaller setting?
Speaker 7 (16:20):
I personally love a smaller setting because I think
it gives us more time to havemore in-depth conversations.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Okay, and another one of our supplier members here
that you will recognize the name, brian Butler from Easy Care.
You have been a busy man thelast two days.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
I have been.
It's been a great show.
It really has been a great show.
I will tell you that one of thenice things that VRMA has done
is done the regional show,specific to the type of function
that is more oriented towardsoperations.
We've got great participation.
It reminds me of Verma fromyears ago, when the footprint
(17:00):
was small and the interactionwas high, and we've seen that
interaction in this and I'mloving it and we're sitting here
off to the side, you may hearthere are murmurs.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
There literally are about 20 tables full of people
in a problem-solving session andit appears there's not one or
two people talking.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
I love it.
I think the roundtable isreally exciting, it is true.
Interaction of peers it'sfacilitated, so you get the shy
people going too, buteverybody's full of knowledge.
It's a cross-pollination ofdecades of knowledge and to me
this speaks to exactly why youcome to this show, so it's great
(17:40):
.
I think everyone out here willwalk away with something from a
competitive company ornon-competitive, but certainly
another property managementcompany that they can take away.
It's the best way to do it.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
We're going to wrap this up with my new friend, Alex
from Johnson City, Tennessee,so you're one of the new folks,
if we will.
You've come to this event ingood faith.
How was it for you?
Speaker 8 (18:04):
It's been great for me and my team.
I came with four of our coreteam members who helped me
manage 33 properties that wehost guests in every day 33
properties that we host guestsin every day and I think
bringing the team was arguablythe best decision I made in this
whole process of deciding tocome, because all the people
that I'm here with are frontlineteam and so operations, the
(18:26):
cleaning, the maintenance, thetraining all that that we're
trying to figure out how tocontinue to be more efficient
with this has given us a lot ofreally good tools and a lot of
good concepts for us to takeback and to talk about.
Even just last night after theconference, we were sitting
around dinner and hashing outhey, what did you learn from
this part of the conference,what'd you learn in this session
?
And I was taking tons of notesand we're like a little bit
(18:48):
overwhelmed with everythingwe're learning and so trying to
take the fish, leave the bones,what is the key things that we
can take home with us andhopefully help the rest of our
team Like that's the goal withthis conference is learn, so we
can be a better team, we can bea better company, we can treat
our guests better, we can treatour fellow teammates better, and
so, yeah, I think honestly, wecould have wrapped up yesterday
(19:10):
and I would have been like, oh,this was worth it.
So it felt like today was just abonus day of bonus information,
more tools in our tool belt.
And, yeah, I'm excited to takeeverything that we've been
learning and take it home withus and try to implement it.
So, yeah, Fantastic.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I met one of your colleagues, Lucy, who I think
filled up a full notebook on thefirst session yesterday that I
was going to ask you about hersharing.
So that's great to hear.
You guys got together and eachshared what you learn, which is
what this organization is allabout.
Speaker 8 (19:41):
Yeah, and then also meeting you, meeting other
people like you, is helpful forme as a business owner.
I'm constantly trying to findpeople who are ahead of us and
have solved the problems we'refacing and are thriving, and
it's really encouraging to meetpeople like yourself and to see
like, oh man, like you know, wehang in there, like you know, we
hang in there, hang it, we hangin there, maybe we can be.
We'd be there one day, you know.
And so, yeah, the personalconnections that we've made and
(20:02):
that you make in conferenceslike this is arguably my
favorite part, fantastic lookforward to hearing how the
success builds for your companyand tiffany, we have a new
listener as well absolutely,absolutely.
I look forward to hearing it, orlistening to the podcast more
very good.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Wow, tim, I'm pleasantly surprised.
Those are some great Mikemoments.
Real great insights there, sodifferent in everyone's
experience and so valuable tohear directly from those that
have involvement in the industry.
And you got us a new fan,absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
A big thank you to all those who took the time to
chat with me in Savannah AnneGardner from VRMA, marco
DiDAmuzio, the former owner ofthe Candleberry Inn in Brewster,
massachusetts, if you wanted tolook him up.
Rachel Alday, you heard, fromAdobe Luxury Rentals in Park
City, utah, the Verbo Girls,alex Van Ness, flora and Jenny
(20:57):
Davis, brian Butler from EasyCare and my new friend and
newest listener to the podcast,alex of Johnson City, tennessee.
And, by the way, special shoutout to my new friend, lance
Baptiste of Sun River Resort inSun River, oregon, who sat with
me at the team's track and gaveme some insights and help which
helped me with just oneconversation with Lance.
(21:20):
It helped me pay for the entirecost of the conference for all
four people I brought, with justthe one tip he gave me.
So that's what it's all about.
I'm hopeful hearing theperspectives of those folks
gives you an even better feelfor the VRMA Foundations
Conference.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Pam, you know to add into that.
This makes me so excited and itreminds me and I know it said
we talked about this in one ofthe interviews reminds me of the
old days of VRMA, the timeswhere you're intimately
networking in smaller groups.
When I talked to our teammembers who had gone, they said
they loved the extended time.
They felt like they got so muchmore information.
(21:56):
But I think the reallyinspiring part is for you who've
been in this business for solong.
For me, who's been in thisbusiness for so long, there's
still so much we can learn frompeople who have even entered
just into the business and Ithink we end up getting so busy
that we lose that there's somuch foundational knowledge out
(22:17):
there.
So I love that VRMA is doingthis.
I love to hear back fromeveryone and their experience
and can't wait to hear morefeedback.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
I think the supplier members were very happy as well.
The conference room where wehad all our meals and the food
was fantastic, by the way, atthe conference, so thumbs up to
VRMA about that.
It's not always been the casein the past, but they killed it
this time.
But, at any rate, the suppliermembers who are there I counted,
I think, 26, maybe 30,somewhere in that.
(22:46):
Every time I looked at a vendortable there was someone there
talking to someone, so it wasvery engaging.
Again back to your point.
So wherever they pick nextyear's location, it is
definitely an event to considerLevel up your vacation rental
game.
Vrma Foundation is a place todo it.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
I love it.
Well, I can't wait to join youat the foundations next year.
Hopefully I won't be on theroad dealing with child care and
baseball and lacrossetournaments, because I missed
out on this one.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
So that brings us to the end of another episode of
the Vacation Rental Key with TNT.
We hope you've enjoyed ourSavannah deep dive and those
fantastic attendee interviewsand next time we get together we
have another great podcastlined up for your listening
pleasure and if you listenclosely, you may know what's
coming.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Until next time, guys .
Speaker 1 (23:36):
By the way, I'm definitely bringing my stretchy
pants next year.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
So long everybody.
Bye and my pralines, we'll seeyou next time.
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