Thanks for Attending VRMA Connect – California!

VRMA has secured a discounted block of rooms at the Omni Los Angeles for $259+ per night. These rates can only be guaranteed through April 12 (or until all rooms are reserved within the block). Book your stay online today, or call 1.800.THE.OMNI (843-6661) and reference the "VRMA 2023 Spring Connect" block.

Schedule of Events

* Schedule is subject to change. Continue to check back on the website for updates on content and speakers. 

8:15 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.   |   Registration and Breakfast

9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.   |   Welcome and Opening Remarks                           

9:15 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.   |   HR Updates and Best Practices 
Featuring: Sue Jones, MBA, SHRM-SCP, Owner, HR4VR

Join Sue Jones as she shares best practices within HR specific to California laws. She will talk about benefits you have to have to stay competitive in the marketplace, salary vs. hourly employees, workers comp and more. 

10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.   |   Networking Break

10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.   |  Continued Focus on Your Teams: Employee Retention 
Featuring: Debbie Tremble, General Manager, Stubbs Real Estate; David Weiss, CEO, Whimstay, Inc.; Margot Schmorak, CEO & Co-Founder, Hostfully; Sue Jones, MBA, SHRM-SCP, Owner, HR4VR

Now that we've heard from Sue on HR best practices, let's continue the conversation around teams and your employees. Listen in to this panel conversation on how your peers are keeping their teams motivated during the busy season, taking pride in their work and developing ways to ensure an employee pipeline and advancement in their careers. 

11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.   |  Ways to Manage Guest Expectations 
Featuring: Jeff Iloulian, CEO, HostGPO; Jed Stevens, PE, General Manager / Co-Founder, Koloa Kai LLC; Bob Zev, Managing Director, Los Angeles Luxury Furnished Housing; Nir Maimon, President, Maimon Group; Brad Greiner, Founder, Open Air Homes 

Join our panelists as they share what they're doing to manage guest expectations and higher levels of service without the high prices. They will discuss managing satisfaction with guests, how are you keeping guests and creating 'award' programs to keep your guests coming back. We will then break out into table top discussions to hear what others are doing and share with the larger group.

12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.   |   Networking Lunch

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.   |   The Intersection of Safety and Your Operations
Featuring: Justin Ford, Director of Short-Term Rental Safety, Breezeway; Matt Gresko, Account Executive, Breezeway

Join our presenter as he discusses the importance of safety and operations within your business. Our presenter will discuss safety standards you should have in place, how to get homeowners to help offset safety costs and how your operations team and help keep your properties up-to-date on the current safety standards within the industry. 

2:15 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.   |   Advocacy Success in the West Region
Featuring: Jamie Michel, Policy Advocate; Nick Cargill, Owner, Destination Big Bear; Kimberly Miles, Executive Director, VRMA

Join us for a panel discussion with two advocacy success stories from the West Region, where Jamie Michel from Oregon and Nick Cargill from California will share their paths to protect short term vacation rentals in their markets.

3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.   |   Networking Break

3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.   |   Data and Trends in California and the West Coast
Featuring: Tabatha Natsues, Business Development Manager, Key Data

Listen in on the final session of the day and hear from Key Data on the latest misconceptions with data and pricing and future trends to consider for the fall and winter months this year. 

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Interested in sponsoring at VRMA Connect – California? Contact Kevin McDonnell, National Sales Manager, at kmcdonnell@vrma.org or 202-367-1259.