Mike Bayer:
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Heather Bayer:
There's been a lot of conversation recently about the value of conferences. And since I've just spent time at two of them, I wanted to weigh in a bit. So in this episode, I'll share my thoughts on VRNation, formerly known as NWVRP or Northwest Vacation Rental Professionals.

And I'm talking to the outgoing and current executive board. I also met the inspiring Chief Marketing Officer from Scouted.com, who talks about the platform that's aiming to rival Airbnb for experiences. Listen in, there's a lot of great content.

This is the Vacation Rental Success Podcast, keeping you up-to-date with news, views, information, and resources on this rapidly changing short-term rental business. I'm your host, Heather Bayer, and with 25 years of experience in this industry, I'm making sure you know what's hot, what's not, what's new, and what will help make your business a success.

Well, hello and welcome to another episode of the Vacation Rental Success Podcast. This is your host, Heather Bayer, and as ever, I am super delighted to be back with you once again. So, after getting back from the CanStays Conference in Banff, which I've been talking about recently, I wasn't intending going to another one, but the buzz surrounding VRNation in Boise got my FOMO into really high gear.

So I reached out to Brian Olsen, the outgoing president of what was the NWVRP Association, and he kindly invited me to attend. So a few days after getting back from Calgary, I headed west once more. So the last time I'd been at an NWVRP Conference was in 2019 in Sun River, and I loved the intimate nature of this smaller event.

So I was all ready to head to Whistler the following year, but of course the pandemic put paid to that. So fast forward to this year and the annual event for NWVRP was the venue for a major rebranding announcement as the Pacific Northwest-focused Association became a new nationwide organization. So I just want to read this from their website.

"Having transformed from a regional association to a nationwide association, VRNation now serves as a comprehensive vacation rental organization, as well as a marketplace for listing professionally managed properties across the entire country. This rebranding extends beyond geographical reach. We've enhanced our association to include not only large property management companies, but also hosts and short-term rental homeowners managing fewer than five properties. By joining VRNation, you can become a part of a forward thinking community committed to elevating the standards and success of the vacation rental industry."

So a big switch, not only to include independent hosts, which is something that VRMA has been suggesting that it will do for a number of years, but really hasn't happened.

So that was quite important, but also to declare their intention to become, and I hesitate to say this, a new OTA, but it is a new platform for owners by owners to list their properties. So I wanted to find out more, so I was able to sit down with past and present members of the board, and that's Brian Olsen, Matthew Tesdall and Tera Lorimer, and ask about the transformation process, the journey into creating a nationwide association, and what you can expect from VRNation going forward.

This is day two of the VRNation conference in Boise, Idaho. I was pronouncing it 'Boyzee' and I got told very quickly that that is not the way to pronounce it, but we've had the best day and a half. We've still got half a day to go and it's been one of the most rewarding conferences I've been to in a long time.

I went to Bend, Oregon in 2019 and realized what a fabulous group of people that were running this organization. So I signed up very quickly to go to Whistler and we all know what happened in 2020, so I never got to Whistler. I never managed to get to the conferences that came after COVID, so really happy to be here.

And today I have with me the outgoing President of what was NWVRP, and that is Brian Olsen, and I have Matt Tesdall, who is the incoming president of the new VRNation, and Tera Lorimer, vice president of VRNation. So really happy to have these three great people here today to talk about the transition of the organization from NWVRP to VRNation.

And we had some really interesting information yesterday, and we're going to share that with you. Want to encourage everybody to get in and join this, but you need to know more about it to start with. So let's start with Brian. Thank you so much for sitting in this room where I'm crouched over a little chair because my mobile equipment is plugged into the floor and I can't talk. Yeah, well, that's another story. I'll take a picture before we leave. Welcome Brian.

Brian Olsen:
Thank you. I'm glad to be here.

Heather Bayer:
Well, tell us about.... give us a potted history.

Brian Olsen:
Okay, Northwest Vacation Rental Professionals, which was NWVRP, actually started out as VRMAWA with two great people Michelle Acquavella and Dan Eby and they saw a vision for Washington and all of a sudden, those of us from Oregon and different areas started showing up and they went through their first name change to Northwest Vacation Rental Professionals.

In 2018, I was elected to the board. My first piece of advice is, always be at conferences, because you can get elected when you're not there, like myself. So Dan's actual vision when we did was to in a different way is to go in a national direction eventually and this last year we made it happen.

I had a great board this last two years. They have a vision. We all saw where we wanted to go, and we're able to take it there. So it's been a fun ride. There's been a lot of stress. These two sitting with me have been on the committee to make it happen, which has been great.

Heather Bayer:
Okay, that's wonderful. Matt, tell us, were you co-opted into this, or were you sitting there waiting to dive in the moment Brian moved out?

Matt Tesdall:
Well, I just was just sitting there and then I get strong armed by Brian over here. I think everybody knows who Brian is. He's pretty convincing, but with that, you know, joking aside, I really was excited and I'm excited about the vision.

I love this industry and I want to get back to the industry. And I thought, what better way as we go through this change, and with the board that we have, to let's put some focus on this and really see VRNation go. We were already getting property managers from other parts of the country, it was already happening, so all we did was just make it official.

Heather Bayer:
Yeah. I remember the first time I came, and I'm from Toronto, we're not in the Northwest and I was sort of jealous. Why isn't there anything over in our area? And so I think the idea of taking this national is a real no brainer. There's so many people in huge support of what you're doing, that I think you're going to have not much difficulty getting there.

Tera, what's your role in all this?

Tera Lorimer:
I'm the vice president and I sit on the committee that worked on the marketplace this year. So I've been on the board for maybe five years and I try to step in where I can and offer my perspective.

Heather Bayer:
Well, tell us about the marketplace because that was announced yesterday. Your opening talk was great.

Tera Lorimer:
Thank you very much. The marketplace is like a new OTA for property managers, we are going to start listing properties immediately. It just unveiled last week at vrnation.com and we are signing up property managers at the conference right now and we're excited to start expanding as fast as possible.

Heather Bayer:
I was really interested to see, after you'd made your announcement yesterday, to see the line of people at the VRNation booth.

Tera Lorimer:
It was great, everybody was very excited. We got good feedback and it's nice to see a platform that we built, for property managers by property managers. So we can control the narrative. We're the merchant of record and we can take care of our guests a little bit.

Heather Bayer:
So how, how are you going to promote this, because that's always a question that people have when they see a new listing site or OTA. How is my property going to be promoted?

Tera Lorimer:
Absolutely, well, we are asking our property managers to also participate in that and put VRNation out there out to their guests and out to the world, because it's a price match to their direct book website. It's basically equivalent to a direct booking. So we will be marketing to guests via the property managers, via social media, all the typical routes we do.

Heather Bayer:
So is the booking taking place on the platform or so..., so it doesn't go back to the property manager's website?

Tera Lorimer:
It doesn't go back to the property managers. It's straight through the platform. It's API connected to their PMS software.

Heather Bayer: Okay. That's, that's perfect. Pretty brilliant. Yeah. Love it. I

Matt Tesdall:
I think it's important to note that this is something that we feel very strongly to do for the industry. It's not something that we're trying to take over anything. We just have a passion and we like these smaller groups and in these intimate settings. I think people learn very well that way. I don't know. What do you think?

Heather Bayer:
Well, you've got such a wealth of education going on over these two days. And it's different types of education that we've not necessarily seen before. And I've talked to a lot of people really in the last couple of days who've talked about other events that go on where the education is skewed towards A particular type of sponsor or vendor or somebody with, I don't know how to say this or something. Maybe Brian, help me out on this.

Brian Olsen:
Well, one of the things that VRNation and has been the history since VRMA law, when this association started, was that we love our vendors. First let me say that before what I'm about to say is we couldn't do this as we all know who do shows, we couldn't do it without them. But in order to preserve the influence being property managers, vendors are not allowed on our board, which has kept the education to be directed, property managers are helping. Vendors sit on committees. They were very influential in helping with getting things planned, keynotes and things like that. But the idea is, because of that, we keep control. There's not that financial influence saying, well, this vendor put in this much money and they should have this much speaking and they can talk about whatever, so we've worked really hard at that to keep that. We've also typically been one of the early conferences in the year and everybody has come out with their new content. And so we typically are picking up some of that new content either via keynote speaker or a session because it hasn't been anywhere else yet.

Heather Bayer:
Yeah, that is a great point and something someone mentioned yesterday that, often you get the same old speakers, not the same old, same speakers, different places, but delivering the same content. And I think this is something that with the amount of events that are happening, that speakers need to be upgrading their content and making it different at every event.

Brian Olsen:
Well, I was paying attention and so when Jenn [Boyles] moved over from England to British Columbia, to Vancouver, I got on with her right away because I was like, you do direct booking content. I want you at our conference. And then Bart [Sobies] reached out. So we had speakers from Canada and Australia this year, which was completely different. And I think it was a nice change, because it was original content.

Heather Bayer:
Yeah, and that's, I think that's what we're trying to say, original content, I think should be at every event, and I don't like to see content regurgitated over, over different events.

Brian Olsen:
You know, I think if we've learned stuff over the years, I've been in this industry for going on 20 years, the content that's changing and the style of how people are learning and ingesting information is changing. So I think it's important. Some, one thing we're going to look at doing is shortening sessions potentially, and adding more content instead of those 40, 50, 60 minutes sessions, maybe do 25, 30 minutes and then add more content, short little bits, I don't know, I'm just..., we were talking about it.

Heather Bayer:
Yeah, I think that's a great idea, but maybe even mixing it up.

So you've got the short ones and then, I mean, I was in Banff for the CanStays Rental Alliance Conference recently, and one of the mornings opened with Justin Ford doing a two hour bootcamp. And I think those are of huge value. Because they deliver so much consumable education. And I think people came away from that session so many actions to take that I think interspersing the short ones with the longer ones is perhaps an idea for the future. Tera. What do you think?

Tera Lorimer:
I completely agree. I can appreciate, when there's a 25 or 30 minute session, I can learn a lot. I soak up all the information and we can get more class time in and offer different classes because people put in proposals early on, months in advance, when we're planning this and not everybody gets accepted, because so many people have something to say or want to speak or offer a class. If we go to shorter sessions, more informational, more educational I think it's going to, you know, benefit everybody. I have taken some of the boot camps, even at, NWVRP last year. I took one on social media and photography, I learned how to take pictures with my iPhone and make TikToks and videos.

And it was a phenomenal four hour class with Tyann. I learned more in that four hours about social media and photography and putting that stuff together than I had in five years combined. I've taken the safety certification courses there, they're amazing. My entire staff is safety certified. We require it at our office that everybody has to go through that class and get certified, so I think there's a huge benefit to some of those longer classes or the certifications or the education.

All of my housekeepers have gone through Dirk's housekeeping program, and they think he is the bee's knees. He's just one of the greatest speakers and teachers that I've ever seen. And he's super excited and very motivational and he loves candy. And we can't speak highly enough about some of the people that come in and really put their heart and soul into teaching those classes.

Heather Bayer:
I know, I saw Dirk in the main hall and he's got a big suitcase and a carry on. And I said, oh, are you leaving? He said, no, no, no. He said, this is my suitcase of stuff. He said, do you wanna see my hat? And he pulled out a hat and he put that on and I could see in his suitcase there were other things, so I would imagine he is extremely entertaining and, I've got a great selfie of him with a hat on. But yes, Tyann, queen of experience, queen of everything, queen of almost everything. It's great that you've had her on board and certainly she's been front and center at this conference and there's some real leaders in this industry, in education and sharing this material and you're doing so well to bring those people in.

Brian Olsen:
And we're adding back to Dirk certification. We do have, if you're a member, you get the safety certification as part of your membership. So there is no cost. You can get your whole team certified on safety and there's no cost, which is a great member benefit, and we're working on those different benefits that we're going to bring in along the way as well.

Heather Bayer:
That is huge. I've done the full course, I'm a certified safety inspector. It was mind blowing to do that. Everybody should be doing this certification and if it's offered as part of the membership, that's a big bonus for sure.

Tera Lorimer: And one thing I really appreciate about this conference and the board is how nimble we can be and we can modify what people want to see, how long the classes are, what we can provide for them and change things up to so you aren't seeing the same thing five years in a row and you aren't bored out of your mind. And It's nice to have some fresh new blood on the board and change things up a little bit and if we can make it even better next year, then that's everybody's goal.

Heather Bayer:
So let's address the elephant in the room, and VRMA, how do you sit in relation to VRMA?

Matt Tesdall:
I love VRMA. I have no problem with VRMA. I go to the international conferences, I think they're a great asset with how they bring the vendors. Us doing this VRNation Marketplace, the intent is not to overtake VRMA. Okay, the timing on this is what it is, but with that said, that's how I feel.

Brian Olsen:
I feel very much the same way Matt does. I think these, both organizations have room. I think that we have a smaller feel to us and we are very nimble. Like Tera said, we can make changes quickly. We have a board that gets along. And if you say we got to have a call tomorrow at noon, if they can, everybody's going to make room to come on. And so I think that really is what makes us different a little bit, but we're not there.

I go to VRMA International, I've been to spring forums. I was co chair at the San Diego conference. So I'm a firm believer in the organization, but I think both of us can exist and help each other in the long run.

Heather Bayer:
So now you are VRNation, are you going to be taking the conference out of the Northwest?

Tera Lorimer:
Absolutely. This is what I've been waiting for.

Heather Bayer:
You guys want to travel, right?

Tera Lorimer:
Absolutely. I'm here to travel and I chase the sun, but yeah, we're going to try and be somewhere in the middle states next year. We've been looking at Denver, we're looking at Texas and we're going to keep moving east. So yeah, we're very excited about that and having fresh new eyes join us and lots of new companies and get out there where we haven't been before.

Heather Bayer:
Okay, tell us a bit more about membership, what people can do to find out more.

Brian Olsen:
Well, VRNation.com for starters, or reach out to us directly, but you can go there, you can sign up on there and then you can see the marketplace as well.

Heather Bayer:
So just a quick recap on the benefits of membership.

Brian Olsen:
Well, you become, automatically, you can be listed on the marketplace. That is part of your pack, plus your educational benefits, your certifications. One of the best conferences, I think, in the country every year, the networking, there's all kinds, I can't believe how many benefits. I brought a new person, Nathan's my maintenance manager, he's been with me for four months. He is blown away by this conference. He's made a ton of contacts, which means that's gonna be a benefit to my business and our company when he comes back, because he has new people to talk to, so there's a lot of different benefits Right now, you know, it's $499 to be a member, which is a very relatively inexpensive membership and you get all of that with that so....

Heather Bayer:
Well, particularly the safety certification, I think, is a big benefit.

Brian Olsen:
Well, it's $500, I think, if you just did it. For one person, exactly. Yeah, and you can do your entire staff through us.

Heather Bayer:
Right. Well, there's good reason to join, even if it's just for that. Any follow up on that, Matt? To close out?

Matt Tesdall:
No, just exactly what Brian said, and what Tera has mentioned. Go to vrnation.com, now keep in mind it's version one. Okay, there's going to be more versions, right? So, but feedback is important. We like feedback. We're excited about the future of the industry and where we're going as an industry and all the different organizations that are involved in it, that's what I got.

Heather Bayer: Brilliant. Oh, I just want to thank the three of you, Tera, Matt, and Brian for joining me. Anything you want to say in closing here?

Tera Lorimer: Thank you, Heather. We really appreciate you having on us on and taking time out of your day to talk with us.

Heather Bayer: Well, I really appreciate you inviting me here and giving me the opportunity to go and talk to everybody. I've got a few more chats that I want to have with people while I'm here, and we'll bring that to our audience in a short while and. There will, of course, be a link to VRNation on the show notes, so make sure you go there. I'll put Matt's and Brian's and Tera's contact information down there as well, so that if you want to contact anybody and find out more, you can get hold of them there.

So thank you very much for joining me. It's been such a pleasure.

Tera Lorimer: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Heather Bayer:
So those were great insights into the new association, and it really feels as though they've got something that could become powerful. But to grow their membership, they need property managers and homeowners to sign up. So, go to the VRNation website and take a look.

So, the VRNation conference had some really great education sessions, and there were a good range of vendors too. Some you'd be familiar with if you're a regular conference goer, but also some new names and new faces. A couple of particular interests were, the first one was Pet Screening, which is a platform aimed at owners and property managers who want to create pet responsible policies, minimize their liability and increase revenue. This is really long overdue and it's definitely worth a look and speaking to them.

They also help with some of the situations that I know a lot of people run into, particularly when they're not pet friendly. And that's the issue of emotional support animals and certified therapy dogs. etc. I'm not going into that whole ADA issue about assistance animals. They can help you with that. So definitely head on over to the site, the information's in the show notes. I will be talking to someone from pet screening in the next few weeks to talk about how that all works as well. So if you want to wait, you can wait and hear all about it from their head of education.

So I was also really taken with Scouted.com, they are partnered with VRNation and are a platform that connects local experts, or as they call them Scouts, to travelers looking for the best authentic experiences. So up to now, Airbnb has really been the only platform to offer experiences. Of course, Airbnb have really dialed in on that, but now with Scouted, anyone who does direct bookings can offer unique things for guests to do, either connecting them with local providers or becoming a Scout themselves.

And I was able to talk to Jess Fuhrman, their chief marketing officer to find out more. But before going over to that interview, Kerry Gibson, the founder of Chalets Hygge is going to share her love of our sponsor, Lodgify. I've known Kerry for a while now, and I've been to stay in one of her wonderful properties in the Eastern Townships of Québec.

She runs a really tight ship in terms of the consistent hospitality that she and her husband, Philippe, deliver. And she cites Lodgify as part of the foundation of her business that allows this to happen. Let's hear from Kerry about her experience with them and why she won't be changing her PMS anytime soon.

Kerry Gibson:
Hi, my name is Kerry Gibson and I'm the co founder of Chalets Hygge, a boutique brand in the Eastern Townships of Québec, Canada, where we own and operate our six unique properties.

Since 2019, we've been using Lodgify. Honestly, it's a decision that has transformed our business. After I spent so much time extensively researching the market, I chose Lodgify to anchor our tech stack. And it's been a game changer for our automation and direct booking capabilities. With Lodgify, our direct bookings have soared from 0 percent to 60 percent annually, and even up as high as 80 percent during peak seasons. Our website, which I created through Lodgify, is professional and has flexible tools that have allowed me to create something that's aligned to our brand and our vibe.

I'm often asked if we used a professional website development company, but nope, it's all me and Lodgify. Lodgify isn't just about beautiful websites though, it's really a comprehensive suite that includes a direct booking engine, property management system, channel manager, dynamic pricing, and a seamless integration with Google Vacation Rentals.

The Lodgify marketplace is another thing that I love so much about them. It's like a tech shopping mall where I can go and explore and adopt the latest innovations that sync perfectly with my existing setup and will only just enhance our efficiency and our automation.

And I can't leave out customer service. Customer service at Lodgify is top notch, living up to the high standards we have in hospitality, although really I rarely have to use them because their digital self-help tools are so robust, but when I do, their team is not only responsive and courteous, but also super effective at resolving issues.

People often ask me if I've considered other technologies, and my answer is always a resounding no. Why would I? Because Lodgify's continuous innovation, exemplary customer support, and commitment to our industry has been a proven partner in our growth, and I feel that I've already made the best selection for allowing our business to grow and scale, so why would I spend my time looking for something else when I truly believe I've already selected the best solution that there is?

Heather Bayer:
So now I have Jess Fuhrman from Scouted.com with me and we're going to talk about what Scouted is and why Scouted is so important to VRNation. Welcome, Jess. Thank you for joining me.

Jess Fuhrman:
Thank you for having me

Heather Bayer:
So I've got two questions to ask you to start with. What is Scouted and how did you get involved in it? Let's start with that.

Jess Fuhrman:
Awesome. Well, I'm going to flip those questions around and tell you why I got involved and how I met them So I'm the founder and CEO of an organization called Idaho Women in Technology and I was at a startup pitch event about two months ago and, lo and behold, on stage came Dave [Daniel], one of our founders, and Dave pitched and it was horrible.

It was so bad that there was something inside of me that said you must help this man. But what I also heard was how incredible this platform is, the capabilities, the road map, what they've already built is just absolutely incredible. So I met with Dave and one week later I was full time with Scouted as their chief marketing officer and doing the nonprofit work on the side.

Heather Bayer:
Wow. Well, when I met you yesterday, you were just so enthusiastic about the product and the service and everything that Scouted is all about. So what is it all about?

Jess Fuhrman: So, basically, Scouted is a marketplace, and what Scouted does, it's really interesting. Airbnb came out with these experiences, local led experiences a few years ago, and saw wild success.

So, where Scouted comes in is we're built for property managers, by property managers, because property managers needed a tool to keep some of the revenue from experiences that they're sending their guests on. They needed a tool so that they could keep some of that revenue in house.

So essentially Scouted is here to help property managers make more money when guests book on their website.

Heather Bayer:
Okay. So how do they make more money? We're going to have to really get to that. Get down into the detail of this. So say I'm a property manager. Well, actually I used to be a property manager. When I went through the Scouted website, I started to get some great ideas about what we could have done when I was in that property manager role. So say I'm still in that role. How would you describe to me what I could do to make some more income?

Jess Fuhrman:
Right. So as a property manager, there are all types of ways to monetize those properties. And obviously we're all fighting against some of the larger companies that take bigger cuts than seem necessary. So what Scouted does is, it creates this open marketplace for property managers to take back control of those excursions that they're offering to their guests. So essentially a property manager that partners with us, we will go in and strategically open their market.

We will help them recruit Scouts, which is essentially their experience provider. That could range from a massage therapist, a dog walker, a yoga class, a rock climbing guide, a personal chef. I mean, the possibilities are endless. It's also an economic development tool, because we're creating more entrepreneurs in these markets that we're opening up.

In fact, the Boise True Crime Tours opened here and that has been incredibly successful. This wonderful man decided, I want to start a business. What should I do? So in partnering with Scouted, we're able to send guests his way, both locals and tourists are filling his funnel up. So essentially what that does is, whoever referred that Scout or experience provider, receives a partial revenue share. And as the property manager, they can decide if they want to incentivize the homeowner, if they want to keep that for themselves. So it's just a way for property managers, instead of doing a backdoor handshake deal with a river rafting guide company where you're sending thousands of dollars a year, this is a way for you to have something that's trackable, that we do all of the backend data for both sides of the marketplace, and we can completely track that transaction so that the property manager gets paid.

Heather Bayer:
Tell me about insurance. And the reason I say that is because I had this idea having looked at the Scouted website and I live in the most glorious place in Ontario. We're got a river that runs right in front of our house and people go down this river on floaties. I can go and sit on my riverbank at a weekend and watch 20 or 30 of these, they're unicorns and they're giraffes, and they're all floaties.

Jess Fuhrman:
I actually wear a tutu when I'm rafting. I know exactly what you're talking about.

Heather Bayer:
And they float down the river and everybody has the most amazing time. But really, it's only the locals that know about this. They know where to put their floaties in. And then there's a local guy who takes guided paddleboard and blow up kayaks and he has a few of those and he floats them down the river and people just have such a great time.

They bring their dogs and you see the dogs sitting on the front of the paddleboards and it's just a really, really unique experience. But it does bother me, you know, how does insurance work?

Jess Fuhrman:
As a tourist, you're sitting on the side of the river thinking, I wish I could do that. And as a podcast host, you're asking, where's the liability?

Heather Bayer:
Yes. Well, I mean, our company got sued. So we spent two years under the threat of this, and I know how easy it is to happen. So you know, I'm curious how that works.

Jess Fuhrman:
Well, if you don't get sued, you're not doing it right, at least the first time around. That's what I feel like in the SaaS industry.

So we have a wonderful legal team that we work with. They have advised us.... I don't want to say too much, I'm pretty new to the company...., but what we're doing is, we're following a model of a true marketplace. It's a gig- based economy world. We do have some credentialing in place as far as what we will and won't accept on our platform, but really we're there to ensure that all state regulations are being followed. If there's a fishing guide license that's required, we're not going to allow an individual to sign up in a space where it's illegal for them to be playing. But typically our providers, especially our more experienced providers do have insurance.

So that's something we're working on as we build the platform out to ensure that our guest safety is number one.

Heather Bayer:
Yeah, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, we wouldn't have even thought about insurance. In fact, we broached the topic of insurance to an insurance provider in Canada, in Ontario, and he actually said, Oh, nobody ever sues us.

Jess Fuhrman:
Yeah, just put them in the back of your pickup, take them up to a tall mountain, have no safety regulations. Let's just have some fun. I mean, that's really why we're here. Just kidding.

Heather Bayer:
Yeah, exactly. So what do you find? I mean, you obviously find a lot of fun with your job. So what's most fun?

Jess Fuhrman:
So this is really interesting. Two of the founders are former professional hockey players. And I'm actually a hockey player. And this convention that we're at today is in my hometown, Boise, Idaho, which is really exciting because it's not exactly a hockey town. But there is this camaraderie that I can't quite put my finger on with our founding team.

We have just the most fun. We're incredibly direct. We're very driven. We're very mission focused and we're able to get things done very quickly because we have just a powerhouse team. So there's lots of high fives, lots of validation happening this week, and we're just excited to be here and be fully launched.

Heather Bayer:
You shouldn't really be talking about hockey when the Leafs are in the playoffs.

Jess Fuhrman:
This true. Well, I'm a Detroit fan, so I don't want to talk about it.

Heather Bayer:
One of our property owners in Ontario is now the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. So it has always been sort of hockey is a right, I don't know, I haven't watched a hockey game since I was 17 and out in Gander, Newfoundland on one of my very first dates.

Jess Fuhrman:
Okay. So we won't go into an update on how the series is going right now. The finals are on. It's an exciting time to be watching hockey.

Heather Bayer:
Yeah. No.

Jess Fuhrman:
For some of us.

Heather Bayer:
For some of you. Let's go from Leafs Nation to VRNation.

Jess Fuhrman:
Sounds good, sounds good.

Heather Bayer:
So what's your connection with VRNation?

Jess Fuhrman:
So our connection to VRNation is that we fully believe that the power and the revenue models should be given back to the property managers. We're so excited about VRNation, because when a group of individuals come together to lobby on behalf of themselves, and they have passion and they have experience in the industry we're able to kind of flip the model around.

And I don't want to name any names, but we're ready to go toe-to-toe with some of the bigger players. We're hoping that this becomes a nationwide franchise, which it's looking like it's going to be. So instead of the Northwest property managers, it's now VRNation. Everyone's included. So listing your properties on VRNation gives you an advantage because this is actually fueled by a nonprofit entity that built VRNation.

So the fees are incredibly low. The support is there. The way that this website looks and feels, it was actually just launched last week, so we are so proud to be VRNation's exclusive experience provider. So we've got some tools, we've been helping them build, we've been taking feedback from VRNation executives, what do you guys want and how can we provide this for you? So that's our connection.

Heather Bayer:
That's so exciting. So if you're talking to a large audience right now of hosts, of property managers....

Jess Fuhrman:
Okay, I just got nervous. Thank you for that.

Heather Bayer:
And so what would you tell these property managers who are listening, who perhaps have never heard of NWVRP or VRNation?

Jess Fuhrman:
Well, I hope you haven't heard of them, and I hope that once you stop listening, or you could press pause very quickly and do this, you go follow VRNation on Facebook, LinkedIn, look up the website, understand how to get your properties on there.

We'd be happy to help you at Scouted. VRNation has an incredible board of directors, and I think with what they have done so far, we've been very impressed that this is going to be nationwide, but it really requires the property managers to do their part. Take back your revenue from the big providers.

Go and sign up your houses. It's critical that we all work together and band together to put the control back in the property managers hands. So that's why I think VRNation is absolutely going to be successful, but it definitely takes a movement and I'm hoping it's going to go viral.

Heather Bayer:
Well, if this conference is anything to go by, the enthusiasm and yes, this desire to take it to the next level is palpable. And I wish you every good fortune with Scouted moving forwards and together with VRNation, so I'll make sure that there is a link to Scouted on the show notes so that if you want to go and find out about this, I found it fascinating. I'm still thinking about things that I could share with the property managers that are around my area.

Jess Fuhrman:
Send me a message, Jess Fuhrman on LinkedIn. You can find me under Idaho Women in Technology, under Scouted.com. We will absolutely empower, uplift, and help you be your own boss and we'll connect you to the Nexus. So thank you so much.

Heather Bayer:
Oh, you're welcome. It's been an absolute pleasure talking for me as well.

Jess Fuhrman:
Thank you.

Heather Bayer:
Thank you, Jess. That was so much fun and I expect we'll be hearing a lot more about Scouted in the future.

So I really enjoyed VRNation and got to visit with so many friends and made a lot of new ones. For me, conferences are mostly about networking now that I'm no longer in the property management business. And we're actually listed as a vendor now with Vacation Rental Formula Business School with VRMA and may even, we're thinking about it, may even have a booth at the international conference in October.

I'm also pitching a presentation about creating vibrant working environments, which is a pillar of our THRIVE Learning System. So that's what I'm working on this week. It's not easy getting selected. So I have fingers crossed this one will make the cut. We're onboarding our first companies with our THRIVE Learning System, and that's a lot of work right now. So I'll keep you posted on how that's going, but for now, thanks for listening. I'll be right back with you next week.

Mike Bayer:
This episode was brought to you by Lodgify, an all-in-one solution that will help you start, manage and grow your short-term rental business. Use code VRF 10 and get started today.

Heather Bayer:
It's been a pleasure as ever being with you. If there's anything you'd like to comment on, then join the conversation on the show notes for the episode at vacationrentalformula.com. We'd love to hear from you, and I look forward to being with you again next week.

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