We were delighted to have had over 50 fantastic experienced speakers join us in 2020 from countries all over the world including Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, UK and US.
Our speakers for 2021 will be joining us online or live in London.
Neely Khan
Neely There
After a decade of working in hospitality, in front-of-house, training, and senior recruitment roles, Neely combined her love for the industry with her lifelong passion of writing.
What started in the front room of Neely’s one-bedroom apartment, (where Neely and her daughter would survive on Instant Noodles and the kindness of others) is now an ode to the art of storytelling; and how it continues to build trust and loyalty in the hospitality industry.
Very much “a writer” before anything else, Neely has a delightfully unique approach to all her work. When she is not working on epic long-form articles - of thousands and thousands of words, you will find her writing short fables, poetry, and breathing life into make-believe characters for her clients’ brands. No day nor project is ever the same; and even Neely struggles to sum-up her creative portfolio of work!
While Neely frequently takes on projects such as website copywriting and email sequences, much of her time is devoted to meatier, long-term projects. In 2021, she has been working on books (to be published) for clients in the hospitality and short-term rental space; and continues to create organic and research-heavy content for big brands such as Boostly and I-PRAC.
Mark Simpson
Boostly
Mark is recognised as an expert in Short Stay Accommodation Marketing and has been featured on BBC News, BBC Five Live and the Hotel Owner Magazine.
Mark founded Boostly in 2016 and has been working with Accommodation Owners and Property Managers from all over the world to boost their direct bookings and cut down on the amount of time it takes to do so.
His Boostly Academy is one of the largest training programmes for hospitality businesses all over the world and the Hospitality Community Facebook Group is regarded as one of the best and most engaged online support forums.
Louise Brace
Rental Tonic
Louise Brace is a holiday rental and destination marketing expert and one of the leading sources on short-term rental regulations in Spain. She has lived in Spain for 18 years.
A travel content writer and digital marketer, Louise works with rental businesses across the globe to create meaningful brands, which engage with guests through authentic and compelling written and visual content. Holiday experiences, not holiday rentals, is Louise’s motto!
Vince Perez
Fetch My Guest
Vince Perez expertise spans across multiple disciplines in the hospitality and technology fields. Prior to his successful technology ventures, Vince was a respected executive in the hospitality industry serving in Senior Executive Leadership roles in Operations, Sales and Marketing for premier companies, including Japan Airlines, Nikko Hotels and Hyatt Corporation. Vince is a partner with Beach House Rentals, a thriving vacation rental management company located on the California Coast.
Vince is also the founder of Fetch My Guest (www.fetchmyguest.com), the only autonomous marketing automation platform that gives independent vacation rental professionals complete control of their brand, marketing and guest life cycle resulting in more direct bookings while dramatically reducing marketing costs. Fetch My Guest launched in North America in 2015 and has been well received by Vacation Rental Managers, and praised by industry analyst and bloggers for their innovative approach and focused commitment to serving the vacation rental professionals. Fetch My Guest is the underlying technology that powers the largest network of independent vacation rental brands that is driving the #bookdirect revolution. The members only marketplace delivers on the promise of transparency to vacation rental travelers from the Hawaiian Islands to the coast of Maine.
Vince is a regular contributor to VRMIntel and has been featured in Sarah and T and Cottage Blogger podcasts. Vince has also been a featured speaker at the Vacation Rental World Summits, VRMIntel Live, Northwest Vacation Rental Professionals and VRMA events.
Jodi Bourne
Vacation Rental Marketing
Jodi Bourne is a vacation rental marketing strategist, consultant and website designer who helps professional short term rental owners and property managers take action steps to increase direct bookings.
With 15-years experience as a content marketing and social media strategist and nine years in the tourism industry, she shares her unique perspective as a vacation rental guest and travel blogger to help owners market their property, destination and guest experience.
Jodi and her husband Michael enjoy traveling and finding off-the-beaten-path destinations and unique experiences. You can usually find her with a laptop in hand and her pup Jolene at her feet in her home in the Texas Hill Country or online at jodibourne.com.
Sarah Riley
Inspired Courses
Sarah Riley is internationally recognised as one of the leading experts in the unique holiday rental and glamping industry.
She helps owners set up their dream business from the tiniest seed of an idea by helping them discover the model that fits their lifestyle, to then attracting direct bookings using techniques very few know about in this increasingly competitive industry.
All shared through her Inspired Courses platform and podcast, Sarah focuses on inspiring the niche accommodation owner of tomorrow and championing this very special industry.
Yvonne Halling
Bed and Breakfast Coach
Yvonne Halling is the founder of Bed and Breakfast Coach.com and the creator of B&B Money Maker Business Transformation Program where clients typically increase their business by between 23% and 600% in one season, while working less, paying less commissions and having more fun.
Along with her team, she helps clients to implement key business principles that are very much missing from the small hospitality landscape, which is why online travel agents such as booking dot com and Airbnb have pretty much taken over.
Doug Kennedy
Kennedy Training Network
Doug Kennedy is president of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. the lodging industry’s best source for training programs and related support services in topic areas of hotel sales, vacation rental reservations selling, and hospitality & guest service excellence.
For three decades, Doug has been a fixture on the lodging and tourism conference speaking circuit, having been a speaker for over 100 hotel brand, management company and tourism association conferences. it is estimated that over 40,000 people have participated in more than 2,100 small group training workshops he has presented.
Thousands worldwide read his monthly hotel, tourism and hospitality industry training articles in publications such as Hotelier Maldives, HotelNewsNow, Hotel-Online, Hotel News Resource, HTrends, HotelMarketing.com, VRM Arrivals, 4Hoteliers.com, and VRM Intel.
Maeva Cifuentes
Flying Cat Marketing
Maeva is the founder of Flying Cat Marketing, an SEO and content marketing agency that helps fast-growing companies reach their revenue goals organically through content.
She's worked with companies like Operto, Avantio, Get Paid For Your Pad, STR Legends, Host Tools, Boostly and others to help design and execute their content strategies.
Moriya Rockman
Smiling House
Moriya Rockman, founder and CMO of Smiling House Luxury Switzerland, managing over 3.000 properties in 90 destinations in 29 countries.
As a Media creative and PR expert, Moriya was involved in the Business Development of many companies.
4 years ago, together with her husband Ira, they founded Smiling House and Smiling Flats Holiday Rentals. Both companies are busy with creating a bridge between Legacy Travel Players and holiday rental professionals, especially in the luxury and premium segment.
Moriya is a keynote speaker for the vacation rental industry, and the winner of the SHORTYZ 2020 Pioneer Award.
Moriya is also a specialist and a lecturer of the sharing economy.
She is an active Partner of Weconomize, a group of professionals leading transforming processes in big organisations using the shared economy.
Terry Whyte
Beach Rentals
My name is Terry Whyte but many people refer to me as “the property management software guy” because I am so passionate about software in our sector. When I am not running The Island in the Sun (my vacation rental fleet in Anna Maria Island, Florida) I lead up a small research group that dives into the world of property management software.
In the last several years, I have done demos with most tools on the market (many multiple times over), guided thousands of property managers through the software selection process, and co-founded the Keystone Awards, the first awards program for vacation rental management software.
Property management software is the single most important tool for our business. And to make the right decision that fits your needs, information is power. Which is why I have dedicated my time to sharing my unabashed research and findings with you. This project is funded 100% by supporters. Staying true to the mission, I do not accept outside sponsorship dollars or affiliate/commission checks.
More to be announced very soon...
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