The vacation rental industry has exploded in the last few years with big players. Big players like AirBnB, HomeAway & Booking.com have been rapidly consolidating the industry, creating an industry with more familiarity that’s palatable to the average consumer. But what does this mean for the “mom-and-pop” style businesses who don’t want to grow? Those who would rather create a small limited edition business infused with personality. In this round-table episode, we discuss the big picture history of the hospitality industry Andrew McConnell. We’ll learn how Kristie Wolfe creates and operates a boutique tiny home vacation rental business, and how Tara & Josh Conger walk the fine line of creating a scalable business while preserving their unique experiences.
Show Notes
Andrew McConnell
- Understanding the differences between commodity and limited edition vacation rentals
- How fragmented the vacation rental industry is
- Andrew McConnell discusses the history of the “cottage industry”
- How fragmented industries tend to consolidate
- What the “big players” in the hospitality industry did that the “small players” didn’t
- Building a lifestyle business versus a major venture backed business
- How the nature of vacation rentals is designed not to scale
- The hazards of being “stuck-in-the-middle” of a boutique personality based business versus a growing commodity business
- Discussing the potential winners and losers in the future of the industry
- Being unique versus pretending to be unique
- Being something to everyone, versus being everything to someone
Kristie Wolfe
- On building and designing tiny-home vacation rentals
- Why Kristie prefers to not meet guests at her unique homes
- How Kristie designs unique experiences for her guests (that sometimes involve trespassing)
- Kristie’s unique advantage when building tiny homes
- Kristie’s advice on doing vacation rental projects that get you excited
Tara & Josh Conger
- Creating a limited edition vacation rental company that can scale
- Having a private island as a vacation rental
- Building custom homes to be vacation rentals
- How Tara & Josh leverage concierge services
- Building a new website for the business
- Balancing the scaling of a business while maintaining a boutique personal touch
- Using CRM systems to improve guest experiences
Resources
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