The Art Of Hospitality Podcast
129 episodes listed below
Practical hospitality talk for vacation rental operators.
The Art Of Hospitality follows long, relaxed conversations about the business of vacation rentals and short-term stays. Episodes move from sports or weather analogies into PMS decisions, owner expectations, marketing gaps, AI, service models, and what operators can actually change.
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The Art Of Hospitality is a measured, interview-driven show about the vacation rental and short-term rental business. It spends most of its time where operators actually live: software choices, owner relations, guest experience, direct bookings, marketing, AI, service quality, and the slow grind of keeping a company useful while the market changes. The conversations are casual. They are also specific. Episodes may open with club soccer, lacrosse, weather, or a weekend sports run, but those openings usually become a bridge into a business point about focus, momentum, competition, or adaptation. That rhythm gives the show a relaxed feel without losing the operator lens. Guests are given room to explain how their model works, whether that means Fairly giving owners more control, VRWorks handling support through daily calls, or a chef thinking through hotel food and beverage concepts. The speakers often restate ideas in plainer business terms, then connect them back to property managers and owners. That makes the show especially useful when the topic could otherwise turn abstract. AI is treated as an operating question, not a magic trick. PMS conversations are about customer support and efficiency, not just feature lists. Marketing conversations return to direct bookings, homeowner relationships, and the danger of relying only on OTAs. Hospitality conversations stretch beyond vacation rentals into restaurants, hotels, and branded guest experiences. The show is not built around sharp takedowns or big dramatic reveals. It works by comparing old habits with new conditions. A recurring theme is that the industry is changing faster than many companies are prepared to admit. Another is that better service still comes from doing the small things well. The result is a grounded business show for people who already know the space, but want clearer language for what is shifting inside it.
Made for: Built for vacation rental managers, short-term rental operators, hospitality vendors, and owners who care about the business beneath the booking. It is best for listeners who want practical industry context rather than broad entrepreneurial hype.
What sets it apart: The show connects relaxed industry conversation with concrete operating lessons, moving from casual setup stories into PMS, marketing, owner access, AI, and guest experience. Its strength is translating guest anecdotes into what property managers can actually use.
The Art of Hospitality is the podcast for vacation rental professionals who want to think differently about what they're building. Each week, Conrad O'Connell and Adam Norko dig into the ideas, strategies, and conversations shaping the vacation rental industry — from AI and operations to guest experience and growth. Less fluff. More depth. Always practical.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
It turns vacation-rental strategy into practical questions about owner control, guest trust, software support and changing market conditions.
The Art Of Hospitality treats vacation rentals as operating businesses, where software choices, owner relationships and guest experience all affect performance.
Owner pricing controls meet hotel wine cellars; your hospitality playbook may need a few new pages.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear look at hospitality under pressure from AI, shifting work, and a faster pace.
The episode keeps coming back to the same pressure point: hospitality has to move faster than its old habits. The sports analogy gives it some lift, then the discussion settles back into a practical question about how leaders avoid getting buried in the daily grind when AI, work…
Owner control works best when guardrails keep it from becoming extra work.
The episode frames hospitality as an operational question: how to give owners more control without letting the work drift. Fairly comes through less as a slogan than as a usable model, and the strongest sections are the concrete ones about pricing, descriptions, photos, and…
Hospitality works best when the concept fits the market, not the other way around.
What Vacation Rental Managers Can Learn From High-End Dining lands as a practical piece about fit. A chef makes the case that hospitality concepts have to suit the market and the property, not just the operator's taste.
A practical case for support that feels human, not buried in tickets.
The segment makes a plain case for quick access to a real person when support problems start small. Jim DeVos gets there through concrete detail, especially the 10 a.m. call where customers can raise issues and the programmer lead can listen and work toward a fix.
A blunt reminder that short-term rentals live or die on presentation, not shortcuts.
The episode opens with a sports analogy and uses it to make a plain point: momentum matters more than any single game or event. Scott Eddy and the hosts then move through technology, investment, and economic shifts to show how short-term rentals are being judged now.
Rob Walling on bootstrapped SaaS growth, plateaus, and exits — with founders who lived them.
Abbey Ashley's playbook for turning your job skills into a virtual assistant business.
Naval Ravikant on epistemology, startups, and crypto, from David Deutsch to Vitalik Buterin.
Alex Theuma interviews SaaS founders and investors on scaling to $10M-plus ARR.
Guy Raz traces founders' origin stories and fields live advice-line calls from entrepreneurs.
Alex Blumberg interviews guests like Megan Phelps-Roper and Shane McAnally about failure and reinvention.
John brings pressure without turning it into drama.
Fairly gets treated as a different way to run the operation.
The host discusses leadership in vacation rental management using a sports analogy about club soccer tryouts to emphasize staying focused on core goals despite industry politics and uncertainties.
This episode introduces a new segment focused on operators in the hospitality industry, discussing how marketing gaps and a K-shaped economy are impacting vacation rental businesses.
This episode uses a sports analogy about club soccer tryouts and college recruiting to introduce a discussion on improving business operations with AI, featuring Heather Bayer.
The conversation opens with a sports analogy about crossover training.
The hosts open with sports, family, and weekend stories before turning to Jim and the case for a direct support model in their business.
The episode opens with sports talk and uses the loss as a way into a bigger point about momentum.
Cassiola founder Dennis Goedheid and CEO Russ Kraft explain why they franchise instead of opening corporate offices: owner and community relationships need local partners with a stake in the business.
This episode features an expert discussing the impact of AI and changes in marketing, particularly for the hospitality and travel industries, emphasizing the need for hard work and adaptation.
This episode previews the DARM 2025 vacation rental conference, discussing its schedule, location, activities, and key attendees including speakers and private equity companies.
This episode captures reflections and discussions from the VRMA 2025 conference in Las Vegas, featuring interviews with industry leaders about new ideas and the state of the vacation rental management industry.
This episode features a discussion with Jodi Refosco about learning through hands-on experience in business, drawing on sports analogies and previewing VRMA 2025.
The hosts discuss the importance of reducing focus and prioritizing effectively in business, using a sports analogy about soccer season to illustrate the need for refocusing during industry evolution and seasonal cycles.