In 2006, Steve Milo of Vacation Rental Pros had 15 properties under management and a lot of ambition to grow his company. By 2015 when I interviewed him last on VRS094, VRPs inventory had increased to just over 900. In this episode, Steve describes how that number has doubled in the past two years with the acquisition of property management companies in widely differing locations including Maui and the Smokey Mountains.

Steve credits much of his success to two things – the lean structure he’s brought to management of the properties and subsequent acquisitions, and a thoroughly pragmatic approach to dealing with OTAs.

In his presentation earlier this year to a packed audience at the European VRMA conference, Steve pulled no punches in sharing his thoughts on the pros and cons of each of the primary listing sites, and we talk about the progress (if any) they have made in the past two years.

From the Booking.com “sleeping giant” to Trip Advisor’s irrelevancy; Airbnb’s lag in adapting to the needs of property managers, to ‘leakage’ prevention at Home Away, Steve shares his perspective on the continued changing nature of the VR marketplace.

He touches on the reasons supply of vacation homes is declining in the US, the push by Asian OTAs into western markets and his thoughts on how the rise of alternative channels could disrupt the influence of the larger OTAs?

He also explains the statement that wraps up the presentation:

“Those who can adapt will survive and thrive, and those who cannot adapt, will perish”

….and tells us what property manager and independent owners have to do to be successful in the face of all the challenges.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Vacation Rental Pros

Ctrip – China’s largest OTA

VRMA National Conference – Is there a future for property managers?

Smokey Mountains.com

VRS094 – Vacation Rental Pros with Steve Milo