This year’s VRMA International Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada accommodated an unprecedented amount of attendees this year. Over 1700 professionals, vacation home owners, sponsors and vendors gathered inside the MGM Grand. The overall stark addition did not go unnoticed with an estimated 29% increase in new attendees.
This three day event tackled everything from the global view of the industry to deeper understanding of specific vectors within the medium. One of the most difficult things to get correctly at large conferences such as this, is how to cater to the variety of vacation rental spaces out there. Accommodating individual home owners, property managers, rising services and vendors in this vertical is a tricky task and we felt that this year’s event performed admirably.
One of the biggest reasons why we love to attend VRMA Conferences is to learn about the emerging and effective ways our industry brothers and sisters are utilizing. From tactical changes in rental agreements to large scale marketing allocations, it was great to see and hear a varying degree of spectrum.
By looking at the end to end experience for the guest was one of the best articulated speaking points we heard. Understanding guest experience not only from a vacation experience but from a booking experience, without OTAs, strategically places companies at an advantage. Families are still going to want to book a home over a hotel, and as close to the owner (in terms of booking) as possible.
Additionally, this understanding plays a role in content creation, decision making on discounts and other guest preferences.
VRMA International concluded on a bittersweet note. A board member for 5 years and 2018 VRMA President, Mike Harrington, passed the torch to Jodi Taylor Refosco of Taylor-Made Deep Creek Lake Vacations. Mike will assume the role of immediate Past-President for an additional year.
When asked about the transition, outgoing President Mike Harrington responded, “I’ve immensely enjoyed my time as President of VRMA. I’ve seen this industry grow exponentially during my tenure and I am excited to see the emerging technologies and strategies moving forward. Jodie is going to do great here and I look forward to seeing this industry continue to grow”.
VRMA International 2019 is scheduled for October 13-16, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana.