I am writing this on my way home from Florence after the two-day Vacation Rental World Summit which is organised and hosted by Antonio Bortolotti. After two full days and fun nights of vacation rental immersion – I’ve now had some time to reflect on the weekend from the comfort of my EasyJet seat.
It was at Antonio’s 2016 event in Barcelona that I decided to fully focus on working with vacation rental clients, and to hone my PR specialism in this exciting industry that is currently going through a time of growth, transformation, energy and excitement.
I haven’t looked back. Neither has the Summit.
.
This year’s VRWS attracted more than 200 owners, property managers, OTAs and industry thought leaders from 25 countries, spread over 5 continents. Impressive statistics that show that the frontline of the vacation rental industry is willing to travel far and wide in order to learn how to be better, do better and serve better.
Over the course of the two days I had many interesting conversations with owners, property managers, the OTA’s, tech companies, service suppliers and industry experts. Our discussions invariably covered both the big challenges, but also the huge opportunities facing their individual businesses and the industry as a whole.
But for me, over the entire weekend, the key theme and the big take-away was about Experience.
Questions raised and discussions covered by the speakers included; How do vacation rental businesses leverage their own experience in order to carve a niche in a competitive industry? How do hosts and PM’s best fulfil guests’ desire for experience, and how do they monetize this? How do ambitious and scalable PM’s and VRM’s ensure their processes are optimised to provide guests with a consistent experience? How do brands provide and distribute extraordinary content in order to encapsulate the experience they offer? And finally – thanks to a stellar final presentation by Robin Clifford from Airbnb providing us with insight into Millennials and the future of travel….the future will be all about the Experience.
So, my thoughts as I fly over the Alps?
Those that can both promise and deliver the best experience – from the dream stage, through the enquiry and the booking process, to the delivery of a guest’s entire stay – will be the vacation rental winners.
Love your sharp and spot on synthesis of the Summit, Jessica. It will be interesting to see how the industry evolves. I agree with you on your closing line. Couldn’t be phrased better.
Thanks Antonio and thank you for a super weekend! It will be very interesting to see what happens between now and next year’s Summit. My vote goes for Nice by the way!
Jessica
Yes it will be interesting how the industry evolves. After 2 days of reflection in Selvatelle, nr Pisa, i have a clearer route ahead to promote the “experience”. So, many thanks to Antonio all the speakers and participants for inspiration. We also would vote for Nice next year😉
It was lovely to see you and Karen again and pleased you have had the time to reflect on your roadmap for the year. See you in Texas if not before!
Very sharp Jessica! There was another striking takeaway for me, which came from Tammi & Alex, and that was “execution”. They highlighted how many VR’s don’t do the simple things well enough. Taking on “experiences” adds a whole new dimension to executing well.
Sorry we didn’t talk – I had a few outside distractions that meant I missed tge networking. Glad things are going well for you!
Tammi and Alex delivered a fantastic presentation and made many very important points. Experience and The Experience are so vital for ongoing success. Hope to catch up with you at next year’s event James!