The Vacation Rental Manager's Podcast with Sarah and T

Send us a textMelanie Brown is the top analyst of data from the Vacation Rental industry, and today The Vacation Rental Manager's Podcast with Sarah and gets to hear what's up!  Melanie gives us key trends in the vacation rental industry in Q-1 and what that means for vacation rental managers for the rest of the year.    Get a pen and paper ready to take notes on this informative episode.Find all of Sarah and T's content at www.sarahandt.com You can also follow this podcast on Instagram or Linked In Special thanks to our podcast Partners:Intercoastal Net Designs www.icoastalnet.comKeyData www.keydatadashboard.comSojo www.getsojo.com

Send us a textThis week Sarah and T reprise an episode from 5 years ago that is just as relevant today as it was when it first aired.   Carl Shepherd,  one of the co-founders of HomeAway (now Vrbo), was interviewed by Sarah and Tim in the fall of 2019.   The interview was wide ranging and filled with predictions about the future which have all come true.   Many consider this the best episode in the history of the program.   Sit back and listen to one of the true visionaries in the industry give a great rundown on the history and future of vacation rentals. Find all of Sarah and T's content at www.sarahandt.com You can also follow this podcast on Instagram or Linked In Special thanks to our podcast Partners:Intercoastal Net Designs www.icoastalnet.comKeyData www.keydatadashboard.comSojo www.getsojo.com

Learn all about budgeting for vacation rental managers from experienced experts Sarah and Tim. They cover setting up a budget, analyzing income and expenses, tracking marketing budgets, and involving the team for financial success. Don't miss out on their valuable insights!

Shep Hyken, world renowned motivational speaker and author of 8 books, shares valuable insights on customer service. Learn the true meaning of 'Fine' and the 5 steps to improve customer service. Discover why the worst trained staff person sets the standard for service. This episode is full of takeaways for your business!

Learn how to optimize logistics in the vacation rental industry with Max Farley of Sojo. Discover the importance of comprehensive starter sets, meeting guest expectations, and providing essential amenities. Enjoy a rapid-fire Q&A with Max and get insights on fraud and frustrations in the industry.

Send us a textYour Christmas present from Sarah and T is an episode that gives all of the takeaways from the recent Vacation Rental Women's Summit & the DARM (Data and Revenue Management) conference that was held in Nashville, TN in early December.  Sarah was there with a microphone in hand to get all of the best takeaways from the conference attendees.   In the news segment, Sarah gets a big surprise at the conference.Find all of Sarah and T's content at www.sarahandt.com You can also follow this podcast on Instagram or Linked In Special thanks to our podcast Partners:Intercoastal Net Designs www.icoastalnet.comKeyData www.keydatadashboard.comSojo www.getsojo.com

Send us a textIn this week's episode we have a familiar name - DiJulius.   This time it is Cal DiJulius who is John DiJulius' son and an expert on the motivations of Millennials and Gen Z workers and why it is important to understand those motivations.   This is a fascinating look at what our employees are thinking and what motivates them.   A great conversation with a well informed guest.Find all of Sarah and T's content at www.sarahandt.com You can also follow this podcast on Instagram or Linked In Special thanks to our podcast Partners:Intercoastal Net Designs www.icoastalnet.comKeyData www.keydatadashboard.comSojo www.getsojo.com

Matt Durrette, Owner of Cozi Vacation Rentals in Texas, shares his secrets of adopting the EOS platform to run his business. The podcast discusses the significance of operational efficiency, scaling a business, and outsourcing in Honduras. They also have a casual conversation about various topics and mention their future plans in vacation rental management.

Send us a textIn this episode Sarah and T take on the topic of e-mail blasts.  Are you doing them?  Are you doing them effectively?    How do you know?  14 specific points are covered in how you can crush your next effort and know exactly how well you did.1) Build up your email list & segment - all previous guests list, potential guests, by season, by type of property, etc. - Every single email you get should be added to a list and segmented.  I recently stayed in a VR with a company. After we booked, they kept sending us promotional emails. Made me wonder if we had a booking! Make sure your upcoming guests aren't sent an email that you are now offering 40% off! - Booking Anniversary to previous guests on their booking date from last year- Type of properties, size of properties, season they visited only?2) Consistent (so you're there when it's time to book) - top of mind. Only way to pull this off is to make your emails interesting/professonal3) Frequency of sending - at least once a month, ideally once a week (TIM & SARAH DISAGREE)4) Not Always a Sales Email - way too many VR emails are like this "20% off for next week!" - think about your own perspective when you get an eblast.5) Types of eblasts - introduce a new property (attracts Lookie Loo's), newsletter format - new restaurants/activities in the area, Resort developments (new gondola), groups of properites/themes, Snow alerts, local partners (make sure you show them they were included), booking anniversary, ...others, TIM? 6) Professional looking, template so recognizable (idea - personalize by showing a person from your team at bottom), highlight properties at bottom, social links, videos, other examplesPaul Hanak from ICND says open rates don't matter! Listen to his reasoning mid-podcast. 7) Call to Action - we always had "book direct & save" at bottom of every single email. 8) Lots of links! Link logo and photos too9) Always include all owners on your emails10) Tracking code to conversion! Follow by email monthly - this is the WHOLE POINT. Don't send an email without tracking conversion. 11) A/B testing - most platforms easily allow you to test everything from subject lines to send times - utilize it!12) Stop gathering emails from "contests" just to have a bigger list. We've tested it! They signed up to win a contest, not to engage with your brand. Open rates are poor, so you wind up paying for all these extra emails without any payoff. Quality over quantity. 13)  Subject Lines are the name of this game. Without a good subject line that captures attention and creates curiosity, that email won't even be opened.  Need some inspiration? Just google "Good email subject lines" and ask ole chatGPT.14) Check and recheck for spelling/grammar errors - everything speaks! (sarah example of "piece") Find all of Sarah and T's content at www.sarahandt.com You can also follow this podcast on Instagram or Linked In Special thanks to our podcast Partners:Intercoastal Net Designs www.icoastalnet.comKeyData www.keydatadashboard.comSojo www.getsojo.com

Sarah and T host a podcast featuring interviews with over 30 participants at the VRMA Conference in Orlando. Topics include pricing strategy, advocacy, problem-solving, creativity and differentiation in the industry, data-driven decision making, sustainability, experiential stays, and the growth of the vacation rental industry. They also mention using AI for Google rankings and express excitement for future growth of the podcast.