Some years ago when Cottage Blogger was in its infancy, and the cottage rental market here in Ontario was meeting some challenges of change, I came across a new listing site.

Cottage Country.com was a start-up and at first glance seemed like every other listing site that was sprouting up at that time. They were taking on new cottage owners and offering free advertising, promising the earth and showing little substance or strategy.

Or so it seemed.

There was a difference though. Cottage Country grew up in a Rogers incubator program (Rogers is a major Canadian telecommunications company) and you don’t get in there without a lot of drive and ambition, and that is what founder, Mark Bordo has in buckets.

Fast forward six years and Cottage Country has come of age, flown the Rogers nest, rebranded as Canada Stays and is rapidly building a stronghold in the competitive Canadian rental market. Now backed by vacation rental goliath ‘HomeAway' in a round of funding completed this February, Canada Stays is set to make some waves in this still-emerging market.

Tweet: Amazing Podcast! @CanadaStays CEO Mark Bordo joins #vacationrental expert @Cottageguru http://ctt.ec/B351g+ pic.twitter.com/WO7PfIUhcf

In this episode, I catch up with Mark and we discuss the evolution of his idea that was generated after an unsatisfactory rental to a Toronto-based company with a workforce of over 40 people.

Mark shares

• his early experiences of finding a suitable cottage for his family
• how the support from Rogers got the company off to a good start
• the early struggles to build a portfolio of properties
• why owner education is a primary goal
• his motivation to create an exceptional experience for travelers
• his Ontario roots that make his best cottage memory a winter one!

And lots more…

Links:

www.canadastays.com
Skift and those pesky vacation rental owners
Tnooz – HomeAway invests in Canada Stays

Where you can find Canada Stays:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Google+

Pinterest