Actionable Tips From Women in the Vacation Rental Industry

The vacation rental industry is booming, and if you’re a new or aspiring host, you may be wondering how to get your feet wet. With International Women’s Day right around the corner, we’re highlighting tips from nine incredible and successful women in the vacation rental industry.

Between learning how to overcome impostor syndrome and starting before “you’re ready,” these women have seen it all and are here to give you actionable tips for beginning or elevating your vacation rental business.

Brianna Amigo

Brianna Amigo is the founder of Brianna Michele Interiors. Briana Michele Interiors is a nationally recognized design studio that specifically caters to the short-term rental industry and its unique design needs. Her team has worked with more than 400 properties across the United States since 2020. Brianna’s projects consistently deliver measurable ROI, including 30–50% revenue increases and ADR growth.

Brianna’s tip for women entering the vacation rental space is simple but powerful: “Start before you feel fully ready. The women who succeed in this space aren’t the ones who know everything first—they’re the ones who take action, stay curious and surround themselves with the right community and data. Even one thoughtfully designed, well-managed property can completely change your financial future and open the door to bigger opportunities.”

Dawn Asher

Dawn Asher is the founder of The Olive Jar, an experiential marketing studio that helps vacation rental hosts translate story-driven design, amenities and media into stronger bookings. With a background in film advertising, hospitality and brand events, Dawn believes the most successful short-term rental brands are felt—not just seen.

Her advice speaks to the importance of humanity in an increasingly remote industry. Whether you’re entering the space as a host or a vendor, Dawn encourages you to “tailor every bit of your offering to serve travelers with a transformational experience that holds real, personal human touch.” In a world where hospitality can feel automated and impersonal, she believes the human touch is what travelers crave most—and what ultimately sets standout brands apart.

Emily Lethgo

Emily Lethgo is the founder of Match Point Socials, a marketing agency specializing in short-term rental and hospitality brands. With a background in digital marketing and a strong understanding of the investor mindset, Emily helps experience-led founders increase visibility, drive direct bookings and build brands that convert.

Emily is passionate about empowering others to step confidently into the short-term rental space—whether as investors, hosts or industry leaders—by encouraging a more intentional, long-term approach to growth.

Her tip is to “treat your short-term rental like a brand from day one.” According to Emily, “the people who succeed in this space don’t just buy properties…They create experiences, build audiences and think long-term.” When you approach hosting as a business instead of a side project, she says, your opportunities naturally multiply.

Julie George

Julie George has become one of the most recognizable names in the industry. As the author of Million Dollar Host, she scaled her business to 130 properties and $8 million in revenue in just three years. Today, she supports aspiring and established hosts through her top-ranked mastermind program and strategic industry partnerships.

Like Brianna Amigo’s, Julie’s actionable tip is one she lives by: “Start before you feel ready.”

According to Julie, you don’t need to own property, have a massive budget or have every detail perfectly mapped out to begin. Instead, she says to focus on starting small, learning quickly and taking consistent action. Growth comes from momentum, not perfection. Additionally, she encourages you to surround yourself with people who are already doing what you want to do, learn from their experiences and shorten your learning curve.

Katie Cline

Katie Cline is an award-winning publicist, hospitality veteran and short-term rental expert who has successfully bridged the gap between traditional hotels and the modern vacation rental landscape. As the host of the podcasts Second Home First and Suite Success, she shares industry insights drawn from years of leading global PR and communications for hotel brands. Today, she channels those five-star standards into her own portfolio of properties.

Katie’s advice is “don’t let imposter syndrome stop you from trying something new.” When she first entered the space just three years ago, she believed being a “real estate investor” required more money, more properties and more experience than she had. What she’s learned is that there’s no single right way to build a vacation rental business.

Instead of chasing scale for the sake of it, Katie focuses on fewer, more profitable properties that genuinely improve her family’s quality of living. “My goal isn’t to keep up with anyone else—it’s to create more freedom, more optionality and more income on my own terms.”

Lydia Patel

Lydia Patel is a mom, pharmacist, traveler and real estate investor who has built her short-term rental business around one core principle: it should support her life—not the other way around. Lydia approaches hosting with intention and structures her business to align with her family’s priorities and long-term goals. For her, success means flexibility, stability and creating meaningful experiences for guests without sacrificing personal balance.

Her advice? “You don’t need to be a ‘real estate person’ to get started.” In fact, she still doesn’t consider herself one. What you do need is curiosity, a willingness to learn and the confidence to make thoughtful decisions. Lydia says you should learn enough to either take action and continue learning by doing, or to decide it’s not for you—and know that either choice is valid. “Short-term rentals aren’t about perfection—they’re about consistency and thoughtful decision-making.”

Mercedes Sanchez

Mercedes Sanchez is the founder of MBX Homes, a Southern California-based luxury co-hosting and short- and mid-term rental company specializing in corporate housing and relocation services. Through a white-glove, full-service approach, Mercedes and her team handle everything from marketing and maintenance to guest communication, partnering with homeowners and investors to generate consistent, hands-off cash flow.

In less than five years, Mercedes scaled MBX Homes from a single apartment to more than 100 luxury properties, building an eight-figure booking portfolio across multiple platforms and redefining what’s possible for women in real estate and hospitality.

Her advice to women entering the vacation rental industry is clear and empowering: “Don’t shrink to fit into a male-driven industry. Own your brand, your standards and your vision.” Mercedes believes the short-term rental space doesn’t need women to lead like everyone else—it needs their perspective, emotional intelligence and attention to detail. By embracing those strengths instead of downplaying them, women can build standout brands and long-term success on their own terms.

Nicola Cheah

Nicola Cheah is a real estate investor, boutique hotel owner, interior designer and the founder of Hosted by Nicola. She is known for her design-led approach to short-term rentals. With over a decade of experience, she has built a reputation for transforming properties through outside-the-box interiors and high-efficiency management systems that drive strong ROI.

Nicola and her team currently operate 24 listings across Canada and the United States. No matter the setting, her focus remains the same: Scale performance while preserving a distinctive, boutique-quality guest experience.

Nicola’s tip is a powerful reminder that though fear is normal, “analysis paralysis is the silent killer of so many good dreams.” Instead of waiting for the perfect moment, she encourages women to just start somewhere, whether that’s asking a family member to co-host their property or launching a first short-term rental arbitrage unit close to home.

Nicola also says to focus on building a proof of concept: “Because one well-run property changes everything. It builds confidence, credibility and momentum. From there, doors start opening—sometimes literally, and sometimes in ways you didn’t even expect!”

Zoey Berghoff

Zoey Berghoff is an Airbnb coach, investor and mentor. As the founder of the Rooted in Rentals Mentorship program and a five-year Superhost, Zoey focuses on land acquisitions, innovative builds, renovations and “landhacking” strategies. Balancing entrepreneurship as a new mom and full-time traveling host, Zoey embodies what it looks like to build a business that supports both adventure and family life.

Her advice is that “your real estate journey is your own and not to be compared with others.” Rather than measuring success against someone else’s portfolio or pace, focus on building a collection of properties that aligns with your lifestyle, goals and long-term vision. For Zoey, short-term rentals have been the fastest path to freedom, and she encourages other women to define success for themselves.

Happy International Women’s Day!

The common thread woven through each of these women’s journeys is clear: There is no single blueprint for success in the vacation rental industry.

Whether it’s starting before you feel ready or designing a business that supports your life, the path forward is built on action, intention and courage. You don’t need a massive portfolio, perfect timing or every answer mapped out to start. What you do need is the willingness to take the first step, stay consistent and build in a way that aligns with your goals and values.

Let these women serve as proof that success can look different for all of us!

The post Actionable Tips From Women in the Vacation Rental Industry appeared first on Vacation Rental Owners & Property Managers Blog – Lodgify.

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