itrip Summit

In November, members of itrip Alabama Beaches attended the itrip Summit in Nashville, hosted by itrip corporate, where they learned new tools that improve the rental management process for owners and guests. While there, they had the opportunity to meet new team members, talk with other franchisees about their successes, and learn new ways to drive business, increase bookings, and generate revenue. This year, heavy emphasis was placed on rate management tools that help property managers more effectively and efficiently manage rates. Lynn and Schasta were asked to sit on a panel discussion to share our success stories with the Xplor!e program. Additionally, HomeAway shared some itrip-specific statistics with us that we are very excited about:

1) itrip property managers generate 60% more revenue compared to other property managers.

2) Over 80% of the itrip property managers have 4.5 star reviews or higher.

3) itrip has the highest number of HomeAway Premier Partners in the industry

4) Our inquiry-to-booking conversion rates are five times the industry average.

As a brand, itripvacations added 19 new markets in 2018, with local property management franchises now in over 65 cities in North America and more scheduled to open in 2019. In addition to adding franchises, several new team members were added to the corporate team, most notably Steve Caron, who joined in 2018 as COO. Steve has over 25 years of expertise in vacation rental strategy, development, marketing, and technology. Steve has held executive-level positions at leading companies in the vacation rental industry, including Choice Hotels International, ResortQuest and VacationRoost.com.

The trip was capped off with an awards dinner, where we were thrilled to once again take home top honors for our Alabama Beaches’ franchise performance. 2018 was a great year, and we are excited about 2019!