Alex and Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals

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Midterm rentals are moving from a side option to a real strategy. In this episode, Alex & Annie sit down with Jeff Hurst, CEO of Furnished Finder and former HomeAway and Expedia Group leader, to explain why 30+ day stays are gaining traction as many STR markets move into a more mature phase.

Jeff breaks down what makes midterm rentals different from short-term rentals, what demand is actually driven by, and why midterm can be a strong fit for operators looking for stability, fewer turnovers, and a guest profile rooted in real-life transitions.

Episode Chapters:
01:04 – Jeff’s background and how he views category shifts in rentals
06:16 – What Furnished Finder is, and what “midterm” means in practice
07:24 – Why the category is still early, and what professionalization looks like
08:35 – Who midterm guests are and what they need from a stay
12:01 – How midterm works operationally: screening, leases, deposits, and payments
22:48 – “Return on furniture” and the investment logic behind midterm
26:58 – Regulation, market maturity, and why more operators are taking midterm seriously
32:15 – Why midterm is gaining ground in saturated (mature) STR markets
33:21 – What types of properties fit midterm demand, and what does not

Connect with Jeff:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-hurst-atx/
Website: https://www.furnishedfinder.com/

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Mention the Alex & Annie Podcast when you sign up and get free onboarding ($1000 value).

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#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #MTR

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Destination marketing is in a pressure test.

Short-term rentals have become a major part of how people travel, yet many DMOs still struggle with how (or whether) to include them. At the same time, AI is speeding up the research-to-booking journey and forcing destinations to rethink what “relevance” even means.

In this episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Stuart Butler (President of Visit Myrtle Beach) and Adam Stoker (President of Brand Revolt) to unpack what’s getting in the way, what alignment can look like, and why the next version of destination marketing is going to require better coordination across the whole destination economy.

You’ll hear practical takes on funding dynamics, stakeholder value, the “illusion of relevance” in reporting, and why the future may turn DMO websites into something closer to infrastructure than a traditional marketing channel.

Episode Chapters:
00:54 – Stuart’s background and how he landed in destination work
02:27 – Adam’s background and how he sees the DMO landscape
05:37 – The “illusion of relevance,” metrics, and why DMOs feel behind
07:44 – The Indianapolis example, why some DMOs leave STRs out
09:28 – Can DMOs stay relevant without vacation rentals
11:53 – Why STRs need a seat at the table and what it takes to get one
14:34 – What STR operators can do in markets without big PM groups
19:16 – Funding reality, stakeholder influence, and how STRs earn attention
22:27 – Why getting involved with a DMO teaches you more than you expect
23:51 – The bigger DMO question, purpose, scope, and identity
30:31 – How performance reporting shaped destination websites
30:54 – Why the booking engine path can be a strategic dead end
36:49 – Stewardship, community trust, and what destinations are accountable for
50:06 – AI as a watershed moment for travel discovery and decision-making
57:59 – What destination content needs to look like in an AI-first world
1:02:21 – Closing thoughts on websites, infrastructure, and the road ahead
Connect with Stuart:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-butler-50aaa45/
Website: http://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com/

Connect with Adam:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamstoker/
Website: https://thebrandrevolt.com/

✨ Exclusive Offer to Alex & Annie Listeners:

Streamline your short-term rental operations with Hostfully.

Mention the Alex & Annie Podcast when you sign up and get free onboarding ($1000 value).

👉 Click here to get started: https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/alex-annie/ 

#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #DMO

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Condo-hotels and resort-style properties sit in a tricky middle ground. They are not traditional hotels, but they are not quite vacation rentals either. Many still run on hotel tech stacks, charge hotel-style commissions, and operate with hotel mindsets.

Meanwhile, guests are increasingly searching on vacation rental channels, homeowners are asking why they cannot find their units online, and off-site managers charging half the commission are pulling inventory away.

In our February First-of-the-Month bonus episode, we sit down with Emmanuel Lavoie, CEO of Jetstream, to unpack why so many condo-hotels and resort operators still resist distribution on channels like Airbnb and Vrbo, what it really takes to service this category well, and how AI is starting to reshape channel management.

Episode Chapters:
01:17 - Leaving a 10-year engineering career for travel tech
03:33 - How a Canadian OTA accidentally became a channel manager
9:43 - Why resorts still hesitate to embrace Airbnb and Vrbo
12:00 - What full-service channel management actually includes
13:42 - Why a $10 billion company chose service over cheaper tech
15:18 - Off-site managers are winning the homeowner battle
16:56 - The challenge of selling non-unique inventory on Airbnb
24:12 - Why one listing with 300 reviews beats 50 identical listings
30:42 - Building an AI-powered guest communication system
35:27 - Using AI for listing content creation at scale
38:21 - Empowering frontline teams as AI champions
42:09 - The human side of AI disruption
44:02 - Where Jetstream is heading next

Connect with Emmanuel:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuel-lavoie-5b89b924/
Website: https://jetstreamtech.io/

✨ Exclusive Offer to Alex & Annie Listeners:

Streamline your short-term rental operations with Hostfully.

Mention the Alex & Annie Podcast when you sign up and get free onboarding ($1000 value).

👉 Click here to get started: https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/alex-annie/

#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #distribution

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In this episode, we are joined by Deepak Mehrotra, founder and CEO of California Design Den, for a practical discussion on how linen decisions affect short-term rental operations over time.
Drawing from more than 20 years in textile manufacturing, Deepak shares how California Design Den evolved from supplying major retailers to working directly with short-term rental operators. The conversation focuses on how linen choices shift as portfolios grow, and why decisions that seem straightforward early on can become more complex at scale.
Rather than treating linens as a one-time purchase, this episode explores them as an operational system that touches guest experience, laundry workflows, replacement cycles, inventory planning, and cost control.
Episode Chapters:
01:07 – Deepak’s background in textile manufacturing and direct-to-consumer bedding
04:55 – How and why STR operators became a core customer segment
16:45 – Cotton performance and durability in high-turnover environments
17:45 – Common reasons linens need replacement in STR operations
13:33 – Renting versus owning linens and how operators assess the tradeoffs
14:43 – Laundry considerations for in-house and outsourced models
25:31 – Inventory availability, fulfillment speed, and consistency at scale
31:56 – How linen strategy evolves as portfolios grow
28:09 – Operational simplicity when managing linens across multiple properties
Connect with Deepak:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepak-mehrotra-9752682/

Connect with California Design Den:
Website: https://www.californiadesignden.com/

✨ Exclusive Offer to Alex & Annie Listeners:

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Get 10% off with code AlexAnnie10OFF.

Apply for California Design Den’s Linen VIP Club to access preferred pricing and dedicated hospitality support.

👉 Click here to get started: https://form.jotform.com/240328613238150

Streamline your short-term rental operations with Hostfully.

Mention the Alex & Annie Podcast when you sign up and get free onboarding ($1000 value).

👉 Click here to get started: https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/alex-annie/

#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #linens

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Last week with Moriya Rockman, we explored luxury through the lens of growth, relationships, and what it takes to scale a high-end portfolio without losing the hospitality at the center. This week, Nir Maimon brings the conversation to the definition itself, what “luxury” should mean, how it should be verified, and why the category loses trust when the label gets used too loosely.
“Luxury” has become one of the most overused words in vacation rentals, and that is exactly the problem.
In this episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Nir Maimon, President and Co-Founder of The Maimon Group, to break down how he evaluates luxury with a practical framework that starts with the operator and ends with the asset. Nir shares why luxury cannot be treated as a marketing adjective, what happens when guest expectations fall short, and why platforms and operators need clearer standards if the category wants to keep its credibility.
They also get into what verification can look like in practice, why Nir’s team says “no” far more than they say “yes,” and how their approach to service, personalization, and systems supports the level of trust luxury guests expect.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome to Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals
01:11 – Nir’s background and what The Maimon Group does in ultra-luxury
02:18 – The core issue: “luxury” is being misused in vacation rentals
04:26 – Nir’s framework: luxury starts with the operator, then the asset
06:45 – How Nir scores luxury (location, layout, privacy, finishes, noise, access, amenities)
08:34 – The trust gap: what OTAs get wrong without verification
15:48 – LPMS and the travel advisor workflow (how trust gets protected in bookings)
24:02 – Big-event travel and why groups keep choosing homes
27:45 – Personalization at scale: CRM, surveys, and concierge ownership
31:10 – AI in hospitality: start with clean data, then layer automation with human validation
38:08 – Looking ahead to 2026: “deployment,” standards, and repeatable excellence
Connect with Nir:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nir-maimon-59024595/
The Maimon Group: https://www.themaimongroup.com/ 
LPMS: https://thelpms.com/ 
✨ Exclusive Offer to Alex & Annie Listeners:
Streamline your short-term rental operations with Hostfully.
Mention the Alex & Annie Podcast when you sign up and get free onboarding ($1000 value).
👉 Click here to get started: https://www.hostfully.com/influencers/alex-annie/
#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #luxuryvacationrentals