At Beyond, we spend nearly all day looking at numbers: listing growth, occupancy, RevPan vs. market, channel markups, cancellation ratios, the chance of filling a 1-night Tuesday evening gap 18 days from now for pet-friendly studio condos in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a hot tub and an above 4-star rating on Airbnb (ok, not really but I could and now I am curious so I probably will).
I sometimes have to remind myself, however, that our industry is not about the numbers but about the people. Not only our teammates and industry colleagues, or the guests who are traveling for a variety of reasons, but that hospitality should inspire to be one of those industries that has a new positive impact on everyone everywhere.
We are proud to work with several companies in our industry that are doing just that.
Caring About the Communities In Which We Work and Live
Some established property managers are very focused on the communities where they not only work, but live. Park City Lodging recognizes that their success and the welfare of the community revolve around the environment, and therefore donate a portion of nightly rentals towards green sustainability and preserving open spaces.
Across the pond, Click Book Stay arranges their strategy around hiring locally and more importantly, paying all staff a living wage and taking an interest in their standard of living.
Newer entrants and ideas in our space are also focused on trying to promote a better world as new sustainable business models. At Ease prides itself on supporting military families when they are moving or being relocated, taking a difficult experience and streamlining it.
Similarly, MisterBnB’s mission is to make travel safer for everyone by connecting LGBTQ travelers and hosts.
It’s not just businesses that are endorsing this “Doing Good” trend, but also associations. In addition to its SafeCommunity Campaign, VRMA has also launched a sub-committee focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the vacation rental industry in an effort to shine a light on best practices.
Other smaller associations have made “Doing Good” their main mission. REST, for example, accredits companies who promote responsible, ethical and sustainable tourism.
Learning From Our Partners
With so much going on in our industry, I sat down with Shelly and Larry, a couple who manage a handful of listings in Tampa, Florida, to discover how even the smaller players can and are having an impact.
Their journey into property management has always centered around engaging and sharing with the community. They’ve expanded their business slowly over time as they find not just the right people to help them but who their business can help.
Giving homeless families a place to live and gainful employment at their company may seem like a risk to most, but to them, it was a necessity to help those nearby. They’ve even helped guide and coach their housekeeping staff to build their own independent business and grow with new staff and clients.
Through all of this, they’ve seen an increase in revenue in their own business. Their advice to anyone who wants to “Do Well by Doing Good” is that sharing knowledge and trust is not taking things away from you; rather, it provides value to those that need it most, and that collaborating with a community is always a good idea.
There are a lot more companies and individuals out there doing great things for their communities and the people that live and visit them that we couldn’t touch on.
If you know someone who is taking great strides in having a net positive impact in the vacation rental industry, please reach out to us at Beyond at marketing@beyondpricing.com so we can shine a spotlight on all the great things they are doing.
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