Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals

The way travelers discover vacation rentals is changing.
Traditional Google search still matters, but discovery is increasingly expanding into tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, where travelers can describe the kind of trip they want and receive recommendations based on that intent.
In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Gil Chan, Founder and CEO of CraftedStays, to explore what this shift means for vacation rental operators and the direct booking websites they have spent years building.
Gil shares how his experience as a property manager, combined with his background in e-commerce and product development, led him to build CraftedStays around a problem he saw firsthand: vacation rental websites often lack the infrastructure needed to support a seamless, measurable direct booking journey.
The conversation also dives into how AI search is changing website strategy, what CraftedStays has learned from its research into AI visibility, and why content, structured data, reviews, and strong local expertise may become even more important as the search journey evolves.
Episode Chapters:
05:39 - Why direct bookings are still complicated
06:56 - What vacation rental websites can learn from e-commerce
16:52 - Building a website platform that can evolve faster
18:55 - CraftedStays’ relationship with Google and the development of Aria
22:56 - From Google search to conversational travel discovery
28:34 - Reviews, structured data, and helping AI understand your business
32:07 - What CraftedStays learned from 24,000 AI search queries
36:53 - Using AI to create and optimize direct booking landing pages
48:13 - Where independent operators can compete with OTAs in AI search
50:12 - How to audit your visibility across AI search platforms
55:35 - Why there is no “page two” in AI search
Want to dig deeper into AI search?
CraftedStays has created a free AI Search Guide for vacation rental operators that breaks down what property managers should be paying attention to as search continues to evolve.
👉 Explore the guide: https://craftedstays.co/ai-search-for-vacation-rentals/
Connect with Gil:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thegilbertchan/
Learn more about CraftedStays:
Website: https://craftedstays.co/alexannie/

✨ Exclusive Offer to Alex & Annie Listeners:
Build a direct booking site designed to get found and convert with CraftedStays.
Turn more visitors into direct bookings with less manual work.
👉 Get started: https://craftedstays.co/alexannie/

Thinking about the next chapter for your vacation rental business?
Connect with Monarch Collective to explore what growth could look like with the right platform behind you.
👉 Learn more: https://gomonarch.com/partnerships/

Reach more direct-booking travelers with Savvy.
List your professionally managed properties for free.
👉 Get started here: https://savvy.com/list

#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #directbookingwebsite
Send us a message!

In this fourth episode of First of the Month Wrangle, presented by Lasoh, we are joined by Orlie Benjamin, Founder and CEO of Lasoh, and Eric Goldreyer, Founder and CEO of Savvy, to unpack one of the latest conversations surrounding Airbnb and direct booking.
Airbnb has been testing a program that allows some hosts and co-hosts to drive their own demand to an Airbnb listing in exchange for a reduced platform fee. The company may be calling it direct booking, but Orlie and Eric argue that the definition gets more complicated when the reservation still happens on Airbnb and the operator does not fully control the guest relationship.
That question opens the door to a much bigger conversation about what direct booking actually means, who owns the guest relationship, and what operators gain or give up depending on where that relationship lives.
Episode Chapters
00:57 - What Airbnb is testing with “direct booking”
05:53 - Is Airbnb’s direct booking link really direct?
08:30 - If you are doing the marketing, who owns the guest?
13:02 - Guest data, remarketing, and the customer relationship
23:30 - Why direct booking has a trust problem
26:23 - Why your guest list is part of the value of your business
29:05 - Owning versus renting the customer
30:02 - The opportunity in referrals and repeat guests
39:31 - Solving the discovery problem for direct booking
41:56 - How AI, AEO, and GEO are changing travel search
49:04 - Why there will never be only one booking channel
51:31 - Building around customer feedback and relationships
For vacation rental operators thinking seriously about reducing OTA dependence, strengthening guest relationships, and building more value beyond the next reservation, this episode offers a useful look at what “direct” really means and what it takes to build a business around the customer relationship. 
Learn more about Lasoh:
Website: https://tinyurl.com/52nvyw8t
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lasoh/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Lasohio/61575721958679/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lasoh.io
Connect with Orlie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orliebenjamin/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585160391720
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orlie.benjamin/ 
Learn more about Savvy:
Website: https://www.savvy.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stay-savvy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savvy_stay
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savvystays 
Connect with Eric:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericgoldreyer/ 
✨ Exclusive Offer to Alex & Annie Listeners: 
Turn every guest interaction into more revenue with Lasoh.
Get 20% off Lasoh products with code AlexandAnnie. Valid through November 30, 2026.
👉 Learn more: https://explore.lasoh.io/alex-annie
#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #directbookings
Send us a message!

A guest can spend months planning a vacation, travel all day, arrive with tired kids and luggage in tow, and then have the entire experience unravel at one very important moment: the front door.
In this episode, Alex is joined by Dawn Keathley of Dormakaba and Matt Seyed of Secure Lodging Systems for a conversation about an often overlooked part of the vacation rental experience: guest access.
They explore why getting guests through the door reliably is about much more than choosing a lock. Access sits at the intersection of guest experience, property security, owner trust, and day-to-day operations.
Drawing from both the manufacturing and implementation sides of the industry, Dawn and Matt share what reliable access looks like in practice and why the right system needs to hold up to constant turnover while still making arrival simple for guests and manageable for teams.
Reliable access is easy to overlook precisely because guests should not have to think about it. A failure at the front door, however, can quickly become the moment they remember most.
Episode Chapters:
06:17 – What makes Dormakaba different in access control
08:18 – What makes vacation rental access different from other industries
09:30 – Working with homeowners, HOAs, and associations
10:51 – Managing access across complex condo and resort environments
17:20 – How vacation rental access control has evolved
18:20 – The challenges with hard keys and inconsistent lock systems
19:55 – Commercial-grade vs. residential-grade locks
21:43 – Phasing access-control upgrades across a portfolio
22:55 – Why the vacation starts at the front door
24:00 – Access control and the professionalization of vacation rentals
25:26 – What happens when operators cut corners on guest access
31:53 – Evaluating doors, common areas, pool gates, and guest workflows
33:14 – New access technology built for vacation rentals
Learn more about dormakaba’s vacation & short-term rental access solutions:
Website: https://dk.world/Vacation26 
Connect with Dawn:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnkeathley/ 
Connect with Matt:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-s-2a05751b6/ 
✨ Exclusive Offer to Alex & Annie Listeners:
Thinking about the next chapter for your vacation rental business? 
Connect with Monarch Collective to explore what growth could look like with the right platform behind you.
👉 Learn more: https://gomonarch.com/partnerships/ 
Reach more direct-booking travelers with Savvy.
List your professionally managed properties for free.
👉 Get started here: https://savvy.com/list
#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #guestexperience
Send us a message!

Alex & Annie are taking the podcast on the road for a special on-location episode from Montego Bay, Jamaica. 
This time, they’re stepping inside Call Center Solutions to see the operation firsthand, meet the people behind it, and get a closer look at what it takes to build a hospitality team that can support vacation rental businesses from hundreds of miles away.
Throughout the visit, Alex and Annie sit down with members of the CCS team across operations, HR, IT, and leadership to hear what the business looks like from the people running it every day. One theme keeps surfacing along the way: the importance of culture, connection, and making remote team members feel like a true extension of the companies they support.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 – Alex & Annie arrive at Call Center Solutions in Montego Bay
02:49 – How CCS started in Jamaica and grew beyond the original experiment
06:50 – What onboarding and training a remote hospitality team actually looks like
11:36 – Meet the operations team: culture, customer service, and what makes a great agent
20:47 – Inside HR: hiring, employee support, and building a team people want to stay with
29:42 – The IT and infrastructure keeping the operation running
34:21 – Beachside reflections on culture, connection, and hospitality
41:30 – Beyond reservations: how CCS supports more of the operation
45:16 – How property managers can get started with a CCS team
Come along for a behind-the-scenes look at Call Center Solutions, the team they've built in Montego Bay, and a few uniquely Jamaican moments along the way.
Connect with Call Center Solutions:
Website: https://www.ccssuccess.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-call-center-solutions/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/call.center.solutions/ 

✨ Exclusive Offers to Alex & Annie Listeners:
Build a direct booking site designed to get found and convert with Crafted Stays.
Turn more visitors into direct bookings with less manual work.
👉 Get started: https://craftedstays.co/alexannie/
Thinking about the next chapter for your vacation rental business? 
Connect with Monarch Collective to explore what growth could look like with the right platform behind you.
👉 Learn more: https://gomonarch.com/partnerships/ 
Reach more direct-booking travelers with Savvy.
List your professionally managed properties for free.
👉 Get started here: https://savvy.com/list
#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #guestexperience
Send us a message!

Alex & Annie are taking the podcast on the road for a special on-location episode from Montego Bay, Jamaica. 
This time, they’re stepping inside Call Center Solutions to see the operation firsthand, meet the people behind it, and get a closer look at what it takes to build a hospitality team that can support vacation rental businesses from hundreds of miles away.
Throughout the visit, Alex and Annie sit down with members of the CCS team across operations, HR, IT, and leadership to hear what the business looks like from the people running it every day. One theme keeps surfacing along the way: the importance of culture, connection, and making remote team members feel like a true extension of the companies they support.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 – Alex & Annie arrive at Call Center Solutions in Montego Bay
02:49 – How CCS started in Jamaica and grew beyond the original experiment
06:50 – What onboarding and training a remote hospitality team actually looks like
11:36 – Meet the operations team: culture, customer service, and what makes a great agent
20:47 – Inside HR: hiring, employee support, and building a team people want to stay with
29:42 – The IT and infrastructure keeping the operation running
34:21 – Beachside reflections on culture, connection, and hospitality
41:30 – Beyond reservations: how CCS supports more of the operation
45:16 – How property managers can get started with a CCS team
Come along for a behind-the-scenes look at Call Center Solutions, the team they've built in Montego Bay, and a few uniquely Jamaican moments along the way.
Connect with Call Center Solutions:
Website: https://www.ccssuccess.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-call-center-solutions/ 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/call.center.solutions/ 

✨ Exclusive Offers to Alex & Annie Listeners:
Build a direct booking site designed to get found and convert with Crafted Stays.
Turn more visitors into direct bookings with less manual work.
👉 Get started: https://craftedstays.co/alexannie/
Thinking about the next chapter for your vacation rental business? 
Connect with Monarch Collective to explore what growth could look like with the right platform behind you.
👉 Learn more: https://gomonarch.com/partnerships/ 
Reach more direct-booking travelers with Savvy.
List your professionally managed properties for free.
👉 Get started here: https://savvy.com/list
#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #guestexperience
Send us a message!