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Thank you to those who attended ELEVATE, Breezeway’s inaugural Property Operations Summit held from March 9th to 10th. We had a great two-day virtual conference where 40+ panelists (ranging from large multinational brands to local housekeeping supervisors) shared insights and best practices to help operators meet the demands of clients, provide professional guest experiences, and run a successful rental management business.
Day 1 of the summit focused on high-level industry themes like elevating quality, hospitality level service expectations, the future of service, tech adoption, vacation rentals capturing market share, and the regulatory landscape. Sessions included:
Elevating Quality in Vacation Rental Supply
Moderated by Simon Lehmann of AJL Atelier, in this session Merilee Karr of UnderTheDoormat and Travis Riner of Homes & Villas by Marriott International Hospitality’s discussed how converging hospitality supply will continue to shape quality standards in short-term rentals, and how operators can leverage professionalism to differentiate and showcase their quality inventory at booking.
Property Managers as Hospitality Providers and the Future of Service
In this panel moderated by Jessica Gillingham of Abode PR, we heard from J.D. Wagner of Luxury Properties Jackson Hole, Amber Carpenter of ACME House Company & Anthony Lee of ALTIDO where they discussed the identity shift from ‘property manager’ to ‘hospitality provider’, and its implications on the future of the industry. Audience members were able to join the conversation through live polling directly after this session. When attendees were asked do you consider yourself a ‘property manager’ or a ‘hospitality provider’ 72% responded that they consider themselves both a property manager and a hospitality provider (8% consider themselves property managers, 14% consider themselves hospitality providers, and 4% selected neither). Another area the audience had the opportunity to weigh in on is the idea of delivering more client service, and is this the key differentiator between a ‘property manager’ and ‘hospitality provider’? 73% responded yes.
Fragmentation & Adoption of Tech: Shifting from All-In-One to Purpose-Built Tools
Matt Landau of VRMB moderated this panel including Sean Miller of PointCentral, Mike Goldin of NoiseAware & Jason Sprenkle of Key Data where their discussion focused on analyzing tech adoption and fragmentation, and how these trends empower professionals to deliver more value to clients, and differentiate their brand. In this session the audience had the opportunity to participate in live polling, and answer questions about their current tech stack. When asked how many software solutions they are using to operate their business 31% answered 0-3, 46% answered 3-6, 16% answered 6-9 and 7% answered 10 or more. The audience was also polled to see how much of a priority it was for them to optimize their tech stack in 2021, an overwhelming 90% of respondents answered yes.
Accelerating Growth in Vacation Rentals
In this session moderated by Amy Hinote of VRM Intel, Laik LePera of Village Realty, Robin Craigen of Moving Mountains and Luca Zambello of Jurny discussed how vacation rentals can position themselves against hotels and other property segments, and continue to exceed guest expectations and capture market share.
Exploring the Regulatory Landscape
As the industry pushes for higher-quality service, guest expectations aren’t the only driving force for operational excellence -- state and local regulators are closely examining the impact short-term rentals are having on their communities. In this panel session moderated by David Krauss, we heard from Philip Minardi of Expedia Group & Daniel Watts of LodgingRevs regarding the heightened scrutiny of vacation rental operations in 2021 and beyond.
Conclusion
Day 1 sparked a lot of great discussion among panelists and audience members, as we covered a wide range of topics that impact the short-term rental industry. Weren't able to join us live? Visit the ELEVATE landing page for recordings of each session, and be sure to check out our next blog post recapping Day 2.