Agenda
Tuesday, September 15: Successful Revenue Management Requires Understanding of Internal and Comparative Data
| Time | Presenters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 AM ET
7:00 AM PT |
Scott Shatford, AirDNA
Elizabeth Winkle, STR Moderated by Amy Hinote |
2020 Vacation Rental Performance (Part 1)The DARM conference kicks off by jumping head-first into year-to-date (YTD) 2020 performance. AirDNA CEO Scott Shatford, Key Data CEO Jason Sprenkle, and STR CSO Elizabeth Winkle will examine hotel, OTA, and VRM performance data and booking trends, along with projections for the remainder of the year. This session will look at North America (with an eastern focus), the UK, and Europe. Due to time zones, the second part of this session will be held at 6:00 pm ET, focusing on western North American markets (incl. Hawaii), along with Australia and New Zealand. |
| 11:15 AM ET
8:15 AM PT |
Cliff Johnson, Rented.com
Breffni Noone, Penn State University RevPAR Debate: Julie Brinkman, Beyond Pricing Jordan Locke, RevPARTY Melanie Brown, Key Data Anurag Verma, PriceLabs Heather Richer, Richer Logic Steve Milo, Vtrips |
Terminology and KPIs (+ Panel Discussion on RevPAR)Successful revenue management not only requires access to comparative data, it also requires a comprehensive understanding of the data, including definitions, equations, and why they matter. Rented COO Cliff Johnson and Penn State's Revenue Management professor Breffni Noone will take us through the terminology and KPI equations used by revenue managers to craft, implement, and evaluate effective pricing strategies. RevPAR DEBATE: One of these important metrics in revenue management is RevPAR (revenue per available room), and vacation rental industry platforms have multiple ways of measuring RevPAR. Breffni Noone will talk about why this metric is important, and then industry leaders will discuss the current iterations. Be a part of history, as we will be “flies on the wall” watching as the vacation rental industry gets on the same page about RevPAR. |
| 12:30 PM ET
9:30 AM PT |
Scott Shatford, AirDNA
Graham Blankenbaker, Beyond Pricing Tyler Ashby, Key Data Anurag Verma, PriceLabs Will Sanford, STR Desiree Garcia & Maureen Shilling, Streamline Judges: Sarah Bradford, Winter Park Lodging and Steamboat Lodging; Tim Cafferty, Outer Beaches Blue and Sandbridge Blue; Mike Harrington, Carolina Retreats |
Data Tool Demoground *Open SessionBack by popular demand, in a Phocuswright-battleground-style format, the vacation rental industry’s data tool providers will provide demonstrations of their platforms; and a panel of three PM “judges” will be on hand to question these providers. |
| 2:00 PM ET
11:00 AM PT |
Adrienne Davey, AirDNA
Breffni Noone, Penn State University Moderated by Sarah Franzen, Natural Retreats |
Segmenting Properties and Building Comp SetsIn the hotel industry, revenue managers segment properties based on ratings, room attributes, and hotel amenities. However, the vacation rental industry is more complex, as each property has its own configuration, location, quality, and amenities. In this session, we will discuss the “why” behind property segmentation for pricing, how to use data to build qualified competitive sets, and how to avoid pitfalls. This class will be directly followed by how to use demand data and property data to finetune comp sets. |
| 3:00 PM ET
12:00 PM PT
|
Justin Jones, IMEG |
Internal Demand Data: Using Website and Call Center Data in Revenue Management StrategyTwo of the vacation rental industry’s top experts will discuss the demand data available to VRMs through their websites and call centers. Jack Newkirk & Justin Jones will lead this presentation of internal demand data, what metrics from websites and call center activity contribute to pricing decisions, and how to track and measure these key performance indicators (KPIs). |
| 4:00 PM ET
1:00 PM PT |
Jeremy Gall, Breezeway
Ian Ackland, Booking.com |
Utilizing Property Data in Dynamic Pricing DecisionsBesides comparative and demand data, the vacation rental industry is unique in that individual property data figures into the pricing equation. In this class, led by Jeremy Gall, Lino Maldonado, and Sean Miller and moderated by Amy Hinote, we will look at how technology platforms give PMs further insight into individual properties’ quality score and how this data figures into pricing decisions. |
| 5:00 PM ET
2:00 PM PT |
Winter 2020/2021 Outlook in a Pandemic EconomyRalf Garrison, founder and former CEO of Mountain Travel Symposium and Destimetrics, and friend of the VRM Intel family (last seen on stage in the opening keynote for 2019’s DARM conference), will provide a leisure travel vacation market update and a look at the upcoming 2020/2021 Winter resort season using data from Insights Collective, a pandemic economy resource center and think tank. Laird Sager, CEO at Red Sky and Insights Collective benefactor, will facilitate this discussion’s Q&A with Garrison. |
|
| 6:00 PM ET
3:00 PM PT |
Scott Shatford, AirDNA
Patrick Mayock, STR Moderated by Amy Hinote |
2020 Vacation Rental Performance (Part 2)In the second part of the 10:00 AM 2020 Performance session, AirDNA CEO Scott Shatford and Key Data CEO Jason Sprenkle, and STR Global's Lyse Perrigo will examine both hotel, OTA, and PM performance data and booking trends, along with projections for the remainder of the year. This session will look at western North America (incl. HI), Australia, and New Zealand. |
Wednesday, September 16: Revenue Management and Pricing Strategies
| Time | Presenters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 AM ET
7:00 AM PT |
Dr. Kelly McGuire, ZS
Heather Richer, Richer Logic |
Components of Revenue ManagementAuthor and analytics evangelist, Dr. Kelly McGuire will provide us with a unique understanding of revenue management as a discipline and sector of the business. McGuire is an author and analytics evangelist and served as senior vice president, revenue management, distribution, and direct marketing for MGM Resorts International; as vice president, advanced analytics at Wyndham Destination Networks; and as executive director, hospitality and travel global practice at SAS, the world’s largest privately held software company. She also wrote two books on analytics in hospitality, Hotel Pricing in a Social World, and The Analytic Hospitality Executive. McQuire will define and explain the discipline of revenue management and what it encompasses. Heather Richer will join McGuire for Q&A to dive deeper into how revenue management practices are adapting and evolving in the short-term rental sector. |
| 11:00 AM ET
8:00 AM PT |
Ryan Saylor, Beyond Pricing
Cara Goodrich, Castle Hotels and Resorts Dr. Kelly McGuire, ZS Heather Richer, Richer Logic |
Hotel Strategies vs Vacation Rental StrategiesLet’s look at the similarities and the differences between revenue management for hotels and vacation rentals. Ryan Saylor will start off this session comparing and contrasting will be joined by Cara Goodrich and Heather Richer to take a deeper dive into translating strategies from hotel revenue management to vacation rental revenue management. |
| 12:00 PM ET
9:00 AM PT |
Simon Lehmann, AJL Consulting
Andrew McConnell, Rented Natalia Sutin, Vacasa Moderated by Jim Olin, C2G Advisors, LLC |
How Low Can You Go in VR? Understanding ProfitabilityPricing strategies must be determined in a way that ensures profitability. But how low can you go? AJL’s Simon Lehmann, Rented’s Andrew McConnell, Vacasa’s Natalia Sutin, and C2G Advisors’ Jim Olin will discuss the factors used to determine how low pricing can go before it is no longer advantageous. |
| 1:30 PM ET
10:30 AM PT |
Josh Marquis, Great Western and Retreatia
Max Schuster, Stay Marquis Anurag Verma, PriceLabs Moderated by Sarah Franzen, Natural Retreats |
Proven Vacation Rental Pricing StrategiesAre there “proven” vacation rental pricing strategies? The industry is in early innings in establishing tried-and-true pricing strategies. In many cases, we are just now getting access to the right data to make these decisions. However, some strategies have emerged and been tested for effectiveness. In this session, we’ll identify these and discuss how they are working across destinations and property types. |
| 2:45 PM ET
11:45 PM PT |
Mike Bohmer, TurnKey Vacation Rentals
Jordan Locke, RevPARTY Moderated by Heather Richer, Richer Logic |
Deeper Dive: Understanding the Booking Window and Translating Daily Rates into Weekly, Monthly StaysRate architecture is a critical part of revenue management strategy for short-term rentals. In this class, Heather Richer will provide a high-level view of the fundamentals of rate structure as a key component in strategy, and Turnkey’s Mike Bohmer and RevPARTY’s Jordan Locke will discuss how daily rates are adjusted for mid-term stays and how to work with rate codes with existing technology. This session will be followed up with demonstrations by technology providers on Day 3. |
| 4:00 PM ET
1:00 PM PT |
Omer Rabin, Guesty
Tim Speicher, Buoy Ed Ulmer, Barefoot Moderated by Dawn Yeskulsky |
Homeowners: Contracts, Communications, ReportingExisting contracts with homeowners have historically placed limits on a PM’s ability to implement dynamic pricing strategies. In this session, we will discuss how to communicate with homeowners about revenue management, making changes to existing homeowner contracts, and how to provide data-driven reporting for homeowners. |
Thursday, September 17: Going from Strategy to Implementation
| Time | Presenters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 AM ET
7:00 AM PT |
Amber Carpenter, ProTravel Tech
Braeden Flaherty, Bluetent Doug Truitt, Rentals United Alessandro Pacilo, Booking.com |
Pushing out Pricing to Channels: Airbnb, Booking.com, Google, and ChannelsAs the saying goes, “If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?” If you change your pricing and no one sees it, does it matter? In this session, travel tech expert Amber Carpenter talks to Bluetent, Booking.com, and Rentals United about how your pricing changes are pushed out to OTAs, how pricing is displayed, and what tools are available to optimize pricing throughout your channels. |
| 11:00 AM ET
8:00 AM PT |
Barefoot: Jeff Labombard, Claiborne Yarbrough, Joe Joyce, Kam Bain
Escapia: Jim Golightly Guesty: Joseph Binestock Streamline: Desiree Garcia, Maureen Shilling TRACK: Patrick Power |
Changing Pricing in Your Software (Breakout Session)
|
| 12:00 PM ET
9:00 AM PT |
Cindy Estis Green, Kalibri Labs |
Cost of AcquisitionIn the hotel industry, understanding CPA is a critical component of revenue management strategy. Cindy Estis Green, cofounder and CEO at Kalibri Labs, will discuss calculating the real cost of each reservation, including third-party channel commissions, credit card fees, and marketing costs related to direct bookings. While many of these are unavoidable, understanding the cost per acquisition (CPA) and market demand and tightening efforts to drive direct bookings are critical to getting the optimal, most profitable mix for your portfolio. |
| 12:45 PM ET
9:45 AM PT |
Ryan Saylor, BeyondPricing
Oliver Marczynski, PriceLabs Cliff Johnson, Rented Jordan Locke, RevPARTY Judges: Clark Twiddy, Steve Milo, Betsy LaBarge |
Pricing Tool Demoground
|
| 2:30 PM ET
11:30 AM PT |
Sarah Franzen, Natural Retreats
Cliff Johnson, Rented Jordan Locke, RevPARTY Moderated by Heather Richer, Richer Logic |
In-house vs Outsource: Advantages, Disadvantages, and EvaluationHoteliers use both in-house and outsource revenue managers to create and implement pricing strategies. Join this panel as they discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing revenue management, when to bring revenue management in-house, what to expect from revenue managers, and how to work with a service provider. |
| 3:30 PM ET
12:30 PM PT |
Paul Hanak, ICND
Peter Scott, Bluetent Jack Newkirk, Navis Moderated by Amber Carpenter, ProTravel Tech |
Using Your Website and Call Center to Communicate Pricing ChangesMaking pricing changes requires some strategy for your website and reservation agents. From strike-through pricing and promotions on your website to scripts for your call center, these experts will provide emerging best practices and ideas for communicating dynamic pricing and will give guidance on how to ensure the best pricing for the guests comes when booking direct. |
| 4:30 PM ET
1:30 PM PT |
Arthur Colker, StayFi Jeremy Gall, Breezeway Matt Loney, Xplorie Suneel Goud, NEC Solutions George Meshkov, CSA Moderated by Andrew McConnell, Rented |
Additional Sources of RevenueBesides rental revenue and basic fees, what other sources of revenue are available to PMs? Moderated by Andrew McConnell, this session looks at potential sources of revenue for vacation rentals through services, activities, advertising, and partnerships. |
*Open sessions will be available to all property managers, not just conference attendees.
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