Breaking News: Jim Barsch Joins Got2Go as Chief Commercial Officer

[00:00:00] Welcome to Alex and Annie, the Real Women of vacation rentals. With more than 35 years combined industry experience, Alex Hener and Annie Holcomb have teamed up to connect the dots between inspiration and opportunity. Seeking to find the one's story, idea, strategy, or decision that led to their guest's big aha.
[00:00:22] Join them as they highlight the real stories behind the people and brands that have built vacation rentals into the $100 billion industry it is today. And now it's time to get real and have some fun with your hosts. Alex and Annie, we'll start the show in just a minute, but first a word from our premier brand sponsor, Casa Go and co-sponsors Guest ranger and good neighbor tech.
[00:00:49] Casa Ghost's founder Steve Schwab has been quoted as saying you can only be a local in one place. The simple yet profound statement is the basis of Casa Ghost's franchise model, which allows locally owned vacation rental management companies the ability to compete at a national level by leveraging the system's software, and support the buying power of a much larger organization.
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[00:01:26] Leveraging ai, their tool effectively detects fraudulent activity, fake IDs, and underage guests, while also performing comprehensive dynamic background checks with guest ranger. Businesses can rest assured that their customers are safe and secure. Good neighbor tech allows you to manage your properties remotely and intelligently, protecting your owners and your guests.
[00:01:46] Their smart wifi locks allow you to provide temporary access to home and garage from anywhere, and keep track of when guests and service providers are in the property. Good Neighbor Tech provides the ability for you to collect email addresses from all guests staying in a property, not just the one who booked the reservation.
[00:02:02] Every guest who connects to the internet will see your branded welcome page and be prompted to provide their email address in order to connect to the wifi. Visit casa go.com/franchise guest ranger.com and good neighbor tech.com for more information. Welcome to Alex and Annie, the Real Women of Vacation Rentals.
[00:02:20] I'm Alex, and I'm a. And we are here today with several very special guests. We have Russ and Craig and Stephanie from Got To Go. Welcome to the show, everybody. Thanks for having us. Happy to be here. So we also have somebody else, and if you're not watching on YouTube, we suggest you go over there because right now he and very, very appropriately, he spoiled the surprise.
[00:02:51] Uh, we, we have a, as the mystery guest, has now been revealed that we have Jim Barsh, who has just recently joined, got to go as Chief Business Officer. Congratulations and welcome, Jim. Thank you so much. I'm, uh, I'm very excited to be part of the team. We, we are too. We're, we're stoked. We can't, we've been chopping at the bit for like last month to roll this out, so we're super excited.
[00:03:16] I'm just impressed that, uh, you were able to convince him to work with you. So I really wanna know what did you promise him or what did you tell him to get him come work with you guys? It's a whole lot of faith in this man. Reverse promised. I just know Russ and Greg. Curious , why do you think he's in Mexico?
[00:03:35] Oh gosh. I don't wanna know. I don't wanna know. So, Jim, why don't you tell us a little bit about you and why you're joining or what you're gonna be doing with Got to Go. Yeah, you bet. So, um, I have been around the vacation rental travel industry now for over 30 years. Uh, from, you name it to you, name it, I've kind of been there.
[00:03:57] I've been exposed. Uh, most recently or, or really for the past number of years, I've been on the technical side with channel management, working a lot with both the property managers as well as a lot of different distribution channel. And, uh, I met the, the got to Go folks about two years ago, uh, when things were very much in the early stage of discussion and getting going.
[00:04:18] And, uh, I was very impressed with where their thinking was at, where they were going with the company. And then over the past couple years, I've seen it grow and, uh, Get to the point where it is. So you take an awesome team, some smart people, a great idea, a little bit of a different model, which I think will bring a lot to the vacation rental industry.
[00:04:37] And, uh, be something that the, uh, the various property managers will really embrace. So I love new love, a challenge, love, uh, making things, uh, better and great. So it was kind of a no-brainer to. That's awesome. They, they do have a great concept and like, like them getting you is just a huge, just a huge win
[00:04:56] Yeah. And, and at the end of the day, it was bobblehead that, uh, that bobblehead to show off who, who else gets to have their own bobblehead. Really. That's, that's why official welcome to the team. And that's Jim's bobblehead. I love it. It looks just like, just like , uncanny, brilliant, uncanny. We have our Australian team back there.
[00:05:20] So we remember, you know, when we we're not working daily with everybody, uh, face to face, we get to look at the bobbleheads. Nice. Yeah, I love, I love that. And we'll have to take a picture of it to use for our cover artwork of this episode we had, just like we did the last time you guys came on. So for anybody who didn't hear the first episode, we had got to go on the show back.
[00:05:41] I think it was our f. Episode three. You guys are on very, very early. And we had you on that episode because this was right before the women's conference in, uh, November of 2021. And we were going to be you, you were going to the women's conference. We were hosting your session about what got to go was and how it was going to be different as an o and um, appropriately wearing my weird not Airbnb, uh, t-shirt that we've actually moderated.
[00:06:07] Uh, another panel that you were on recently, this past summer at Dhar. Um, speaking about the same topic, and I think that's kind of what Drew, Annie and I to your story was that you are trying to build a remarkable O t A that is friendly to host, friendly to property managers, mostly to property managers, I mean both sides.
[00:06:25] But you wanted to build something because of your background in, uh, hospitality and as. Property owners that something that was different than all the problems we had with Airbnb. So with that being said, can you give us just a little bit of a background, um, on where you've come so far and, and where you're at now,
[00:06:44] So, uh, you know, the original. Story started four over 14 years ago. I was trying to find a way to help friends in Myrtle Beach have a better avenue than Craigslist to, uh, rent their, you know, their, uh, vacation rentals out. Because some years they'd have great years. Some years they were terrible. So I started thinking of a concept, uh, and um, and I was like, also wanted to help people that I was from the timeshare industry.
[00:07:10] That, uh, they, you know, always presented big rentals for their timeshare owners to make money on, and there was never an avenue to do that. So the, you know, the idea morphed from there, uh, to where we are today. I'll kind of skip 14 years of stuff, but, um, you know, we're super excited about having Jim come aboard.
[00:07:26] Uh, you know, we've been building the, uh, doing the tech for, uh, three years. Uh, we've added, uh, Jim and Nex packs were, uh, our first, um, add-on, and then we added. We just got our, we added Red Awning next, and then we just are finishing up with Host Away. We just got our certification, uh, with them. So, um, you know, that's a huge part.
[00:07:48] And the next part that we really, you know, one of the main things we wanted to add was a membership model. So that we don't have to charge PMs, uh, don't have to charge hosts, and we're putting the fees on the actual customer. And we also wanted to have it less expensive for the customer so that they would book more vacations so that we can get more bookings for everybody out there.
[00:08:10] Uh, including myself cuz I have, uh, five, uh, you know, short term rentals and, uh, that's, you know, I thought that was missing and it was so expensive and there were so many. Hands in the, in the fire to, you know, get money in such a small amount of, uh, of percentage of, of business that we really felt that we needed.
[00:08:29] I felt that we needed something that would drive people to actually want a vacation more. And when you cut out 500, a thousand, $2,000 in service fees, that's more vacation opportunity for people to, you know, to go on vacation. And that's what the membership model's gonna. For, for that. And that's what we're, that's what we're driving for.
[00:08:47] And we're just, uh, we just finished it up and, and we'll be, um, rolling it out here in the next few days, uh, on our platform and it's gonna be great. Not only that, we only charge 10% to the guests. So, um, hosts, PMs, they, uh, they pay nothing and our guests only pay 10%. If they choose the, the membership model, they're gonna save thousand.
[00:09:09] Wow. And I, I remember you when you first explained this to us, it's kind of like if you're on Spirit Airlines website, right? When you check out, you have that option that if you buy into the $9 Fair Club, you're gonna continuously save in the future. Or if not, you're paying a higher price. It's really smart, and I think, you know, nobody has really mastered that within vacation rentals from the membership side.
[00:09:30] So I I, it's exciting to see. You burn your history within timeshare vacation club knowledge to this and, and then the marketing side is, is really cool. And we're able to do that because we're self-funded. That's why I said, I, I thought of the idea 14 years ago and we started building it a little over three because I wanted to make sure we had enough money to build it the way we wanted it, the way our team wanted it, and that way that all of our team can have a bigger piece of the pie when, you know, we, we grow to, you know, to the big boys and girls.
[00:09:59] So, uh, it gives us the opportunity not to have such a high mark. And to save host money and to save our clients, our guests money, um, because we are self-funded. So it's, it's a great opportunity for, for everybody. So you've done, you've done a bunch of integrations. You were just mentioning the ones, your most recent ones.
[00:10:16] Where are you at in terms of the amount of inventory that you have on the platform? Um, right now we're right around 20,000 and, um, now that we're adding Hostway and Jim, and that's, you know, one of the big things of bringing Jim aboard is, is to, you know, start really ramping up the properties. And now that we have, uh, our membership model, our contract is different.
[00:10:35] So we weren't aggressively going after, uh, all the properties because we wanted that model in there, didn't want it to change everything, so we got everything working. Site is beautiful fast. Uh, we even have our event tickets on there. Um, for folks, our, our members will also get a, a massive discount on, you know, super Bowl tickets to, you know, uh, any concert, small concerts, big concerts.
[00:10:58] So we have a, a huge amount of inventory on, on there, and it's, uh, discounted, uh, rate. So we'll save anywhere between 10 and 20% on that as well. So now that we have the membership model and bring it Jim aboard, we're really going after the, uh, properties and, and really. Building that out fast from here on out.
[00:11:15] And then our, our advertising campaign is gonna kick off in, in July hard. Excellent. Excellent. So, Jim, what do you see as the biggest opportunity for them right now? I mean, how, how do they grow? You've, you've been with enter major, major enterprise level general management, um, softwares in the past. Where, where do they go to now get more inventory and just grow that exposure?
[00:11:41] Well, I think you, you name it right there, it's the exposure and the model, which is a little bit different from anybody else, which is out there. Um, you know, there are, you know, a lot of small property managers out there, some very, uh, large ones. And it's somewhat difficult to always communicate. What is the value of working with a channel?
[00:12:01] What is the model? How easy is it gonna be to work with. . Uh, fortunately I've, I've been doing this for quite a few years with a lot of, uh, folks. So I think being able to reach out, talk to, uh, to the property managers, whether it's a small or it's a very large one, uh, help bring that forward is, is a big part of it.
[00:12:17] And then on the, the partnership with a number of the other companies out there, whether the technology, whether it's, uh, some of the affiliated related companies to the industry. It's really building those, those relationships, partnerships, bringing in, uh, you know, the additional inventory, building, the awareness of out there of, uh, who and what we're.
[00:12:35] So, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be a number of, of different approaches to it. Well, you definitely have the, the, um, the connections and you know where to go digging . So that's not gonna be, that's not gonna be an issue. So is this something, I guess, um, to Russ and Craig, this question would kind of go to you.
[00:12:51] Are you guys going to be hiring up a lot of staff to do this or are you depending on Jim to be the one man like whirlwind that he is? Like, how are, how are you approaching this? We, we were, we were, uh, tossing around Jim's title and um, the first one that came to mind, I was like, Mr. Guest. Clearly the right Mr.
[00:13:08] Guess is winner. Yes. . I was like, uh, I think his title should be Chief Rolodex. Officer ? Yes. Oh, I love that. Yes. Yeah, we then we decided, I'm Chief Business Officer, but, uh, no. Um, you know, Jim, Jim's gonna really give us that presence, uh, you know, and, and obviously all his connections and everything like that.
[00:13:27] And we are, we are staffing up, we're actually hiring three engineers right now. Um, we're, we're in the middle of doing interviews right now. We just had one yesterday. So, um, we're, we're, we're growing. You're, you're, it's rapid growth from here now that we really have everything in our, our real core and everything that we want, uh, rolling.
[00:13:46] Yeah. That's so exciting. And now I think from the last time that we've spoken to you, it sounds like the financial model has changed. So it's 10% that the just the guest pays. Now, I think previously there was, it was the property management company was paying that. Has that changed? Yes. Yes, it has. Is there, was there a fundamental reason for doing that or like just you just decided that that was just, that was gonna be the way to go, way to grow?
[00:14:10] Yeah, so, um, the easiest way for the membership option to work with the way their payments are processed is, um, to eliminate the, um, the problem where the merchant of record is with the property manager. But they still get their funds immediately. So we handle all of the front end of that. And, um, before we had to wait to get our commissions back from the property managers, but now we can push through zero, um, cost pricing to the property managers.
[00:14:48] We collect everything up front, up front, we're able to give. Membership discount and then the property managers get those funds right away, um, at at check-in, or sorry, at time and Book Inc. Or check-in whatever they choose. But that's the best part about it, is that's why it's changed a little bit, because just the way the payment flow works.
[00:15:10] Sure. So do you, are you taking our sold cards? An SB bank. Okay. So , so are you taking in net rates and then marking them up or is like, how, how is this working for non property manager? Yeah. For the non-members, we, there is that 10% markup. Okay. Um, so we're asking property managers for their best pricing because, you know, that's what's gonna benefit them the most is their members are, they're able.
[00:15:35] Give the members a good pricing and we're not marking it up for them so they get all the funds then. So hopefully that makes sense. Yeah. We wanna keep it so that we're, our pricing or their pricing on our platform is the same as direct booking and that's why the membership is so huge that we will be able to do that for people and, uh, we're not charging the host or we're not charging the hoster PMs either.
[00:15:58] And it's going to the guests. So when they go to checkout, the guests will see, um, how much, uh, average savings they're gonna save by booking on our site anyways, because it's only 10%. They're also going to, uh, have a membership option and see how much, uh, the membership option will save them on that booking or on all future bookings for the year.
[00:16:19] Okay. Interesting. It also has, it also has a, a few other bullet points besides just the discount. Um, that we'll, uh, yeah, we'll, we'll roll out at another episode and when we really roll, everyth, , gotta have another, some element who's coming next? . I love it. No, I, you know, I think one of the things that also is interesting about your model is the, Side of side of it.
[00:16:42] And you know, I mean, Craig, obviously you're very active within, you go to all sorts of concerts and sporting events and things like that. So obviously this makes sense for why you developed a, a product around vacation rentals that caters to it. But I don't think that anybody really has done that well yet.
[00:16:57] Um, tell us about, That, uh, the side of the technology. I mean, how are you bringing in those events and can guest book together the, the property and the event at the same time? Like, if I wanted to go to Charlotte and stay in one of beautiful properties and go to Panthers game, is that all now in one entity?
[00:17:17] So it's it when you go, when you go to check out, you, there's, it's like a, so right now it's like Uber. It's gonna be, um, when we've put it out. So Uber has, you said it says, uh, Uber or rides or delivery on the top. Be on that site. You won't able to group them together yet. That's being built right now. But you'll be, you'll still stay on our platform.
[00:17:40] You. You'll be on, you can book the tickets and then bounce back. And then there'll be, there's a, there'll be a direct flow, um, where your membership, if you have a membership, it'll plug right into it. So their discount will be there. But it's two separate bookings, uh, as of right now. But we are building it out to be a one booking in a group, um, so that they can do it together.
[00:17:59] And the met and our, you know, our future. I know, uh, one of. Uh, people don't like me to talk about the future, but our goal, uh, for the future is where we can have the map, uh, show the places, uh, that are available and the events around the place, uh, together too. So it's neat, um, for that aspect. Uh, and that was Stephanie's idea, by the way.
[00:18:19] Um, so, uh, love it. So then, yeah, it's. It's two, it's two different, but it's on the same. You're not gonna be able to group together yet, but that is being, you know, we're, that's what we're working on. So it'll be bundles and stuff like that for more discounts for members and, and things like that, but they'll be able to get the discounts on both the tickets and the stay.
[00:18:37] It'll just be two separate checkouts for the time being. No. Will your site be able to handle Taylor Swift traffic? That is the question. , we're coming. Hey, we're coming in in a really good time. The, uh, the, the government is going after, like Ticketmaster and all that stuff cause of that. Yeah, so I think, um, you know, rolling it out this, this summer, um, it's gonna be uh, pretty unique and keen, uh, for us to, you know, good timing cause they're price gouging for, you know, for.
[00:19:04] The, uh, service fees. So we're not gonna have any service fees for, or very little service fees for our member. Um, and, uh, wait, we're already less expensive than, uh, Ticketmaster, um, StubHub vivid seats. Uh, and our, uh, Alex asked where we're getting our inventory. So we, we've connected with the largest, uh, broker.
[00:19:24] Company in the, in the country that has basically every single broker, um, put ticket Broker puts their tickets through this company, which we get them direct, and then they spread 'em out through, uh, vivid Seeds, all that. And then Vivid Seeds and StubHub, they charge that extra, you know, 15 to 30% on the ticket where we're not gonna be charging that.
[00:19:45] Awesome. Yeah. Makes a lot of sense. So from a marketing standpoint, you know, what, what are, what do you have in mind? How are you gonna get this message out to consumers to, to start knowing that they go to got to go when they wanna pair? Vacation accommodations with event-based, um, activities. We're gonna give it all away for free for a while.
[00:20:07] No. Well, ok. Let us know when
[00:20:13] we have, have some awesome marketing stuff that I'm, I'm, our team doesn't like to roll stuff out until it's actually in play. Um, so we, but we do have a really awesome marketing, uh, campaign set up and. Uh, we asked Jared if he wanted to talk about it yet, so he said, not right now. Just stick to the basics cause we don't wanna keep up our secrets.
[00:20:34] Uh, so we have some real Yeah, yeah. Secrets that we're gonna do. But we're gonna, we're gonna be really unique in the industry, um, and creative. Uh, you know, we, you know, I, like I said, I have five properties. Actually just got a six one down here in Florida, all rooftop stuff. So we're gonna be giving away trips every month, uh, to people that book.
[00:20:52] They're gonna get like a entry every time they book anything. Um, we're gonna give away tickets, like packages. It's gonna be, we're gonna be really unique in giving a lot away, uh, in the beginning and, and use that in our marketing strategies, um, you know, around concerts and events and sporting events. So it's, it's gonna be super exciting.
[00:21:11] We'll definitely be way out the box compared to anybody else. You'll see that comment. I would not expect anything less from you, Craig . We know it's gonna be fun and interesting and exciting no matter. Yeah, that's perfect. I, I think this is, it's a model that you're definitely gonna have to rely on guests who use the platform to also share that they've booked with you and how good the experience was and sharing that with their friends and family, right?
[00:21:38] Because that's, The biggest recommendation that anybody can have, and that's where we go and we wanna know, you know, a different place to go or where we should buy something. So I think the viral effect of that and, and because what you're doing is different than any of the other OTAs that are out there, I think there's a lot of of value and just leveraging those guests, um, those, those early guests and honestly, I mean, giving away things early on is probably a great strategy, especially since you have properties that you can put them in.
[00:22:03] So Yeah. Makes sense. We're, we're definitely gonna hit hard on referrals, um, and retargeting for that. And also affiliates. Uh, so we're gonna be really unique in paying them back and giving discounts and stuff like that. So we're gonna make it marketable, um, to where people really wanna show it to their friends and, you know, family and stuff like that.
[00:22:25] So that's, it's the only way to go viral. I think one of the, a little bit about, go ahead. Sorry, . Go ahead. . I was, one of the things you started in the beginning was, I, I thought you were like more urban. Um, that was, you were working on very specific, uh, destinations that you were gonna be working with. More like Miami, you know, things where you actually had inventory and you knew the, the footprint.
[00:22:45] Are you gonna be doing like focusing on the urban centers first, or are you getting into the traditional vacation rental markets like Myrtle Beach, Panama City Beach, coast Shores, that type of thing? We're doing a lot of, um, market analysis right now. Uh, so we're, it, it's, it's gonna go in both. I mean, we're going at every angle.
[00:23:04] Um, and like, I'm trying not to give up too much of what Jared, Jared didn't want me to give it up, so, but no, we're, we are gonna, we're gonna do both. I mean, we're obviously starting the United States. Um, before we go global. Uh, and so we're gonna master that market and then, you know, and, and before we, you know, step out of the step overseas.
[00:23:23] So it's, you know, we, we gotta figure out how to master it and, uh, you know, get the events and get the people booking, uh, both spots through us, you know, their tickets and their stays. And, uh, you know, we're, it's, it's gonna be fun and challenging, but, uh, we're gonna master that. And then we're, we're gonna do, you know, broad-based, uh, marketing as well.
[00:23:42] It's not just gonna be for tickets and events. Uh, we're gonna target, you know, obviously there's, it's, there's a lot of vacation rentals in, in areas that don't have concerts and events, right. Yeah. So tell us a little bit about the journey. You know, we, we, we love to share the stories of the highs and the lows, and I know you guys have been through all of them so far, , but when, when you first started and you came on episode three, at that point, you guys were very new into this, and I think an interesting part of this, Whole journey has been that you have your development team in Australia, which I think you're the only ones that I know in this space that have an Australian development team.
[00:24:19] And actually, Annie and I got to meet, um, Jared and Johnny. And, uh, we were in Chicago last year and spend some time with them. And just, uh, I, I guess tell us a little bit about what, what that journey has been like and maybe. Some, some things that have happened or one thing that's happened that has just been a big surprise or a, a challenge for managing a, a, a tech team across the world when you admittedly don't have a tech background, right?
[00:24:44] Not at all. . No. No. I always, I always tell people when my son was. Four. I started giving him my phone and saying, can you fix this? So , that sounds technically challenged. I am . Um, I'm a huge person of building relationships and, uh, you know, I've known Stephanie for almost six years now, and she, you know, she, uh, I met her in Charlotte.
[00:25:05] For, uh, uh, I was looking for a accounting team when I, I opened another office in Charlotte and met Stephanie and we built a relationship and, you know, thank, you know that she was able to come, uh, work with us here. Obviously it's my cousin Russ. Um, you know, my other cousins in the other room. And I'm all about relationships and I, I think, and I hope that's most likely why.
[00:25:26] Uh, really probably came aboard is cuz he, he was awesome to us and we just like really loved Jim. And uh, when he told us he was, you know, part in ways I said, we love us some, Jim. That was my first comment to him. So, uh, I'm all about like, relationships, family, and you girls have helped us out so much. Um, I mean like ridiculous amount.
[00:25:48] We talk about you girls all the time. You've done, you've been over backwards to help us and we super appreciate it, but it's because of our relationships and uh, and that's what we're trying to build, like a really big great family. And that's how I met, uh, Jared, met through somebody, uh, another person that I had a great relationship with.
[00:26:04] And he introduced us and then we hit it off. And then he brought in Johnny. And then, you know, they brought in some of their teams they worked with before and, and, you know, we're, we're big, uh, family and relationships and, and that's, you know, what it's all about at the end of the day. And, and I love giving back to, uh, people that, you know, bust their butt with me.
[00:26:22] And, you know, we wanna give back to the, to the. Vacation rental community the same way. And you know, that's kinda our, that's our journey. And this is, this isn't just about a business to, to make money. It's about doing something that we love and, uh, and being around people we love to be with. And that's what's gonna make the difference, uh, on our, on our company.
[00:26:41] Well, vacation rental, this is the right place to be for relationships. So we're the, our whole community is, is about relationships. Yeah. So I've known Jim for. A very long time. . Many years. Yep, many years. Um, but, you know, and again, our relationship, we've never, like, I mean, well, we did work sort of together, you know, different companies, but we've known each other.
[00:27:01] And I think it's just, again, it's just you no matter where you go. We're, we're a small, very tight-knit group. So, uh, I think you found, you found your people and so welcome to our family. We, we appreciate it. You got everybody open arms. It's been awesome. It's a really neat culture. Definitely. We've had no clue of how like need it is going to all the events that that we went to, it's definitely been awesome.
[00:27:24] Yeah, very. It's eye-opening, right? I mean, just seeing one, the technology, but two really, like Annie just said, I mean the close-knit atmosphere of, of this industry that it's a, it's a big industry, but there's, it's still small at the same time. And gosh, I mean, I remember, uh, we met Jim back in Vegas, I think that was at Res Fest maybe in, and that's actually, we, we, we.
[00:27:47] Talked about working with them, and actually I met you before that. Um Yeah. You came to our office . Yeah, yeah, I did. I remember, yeah. Yeah. That was like 2014 or something like that. Yeah. Way back. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. You were in town for Ahma, which that's actually the, gosh, that's so long ago. Annie and I met at later.
[00:28:05] Yeah. You know, many years later in Miami. But yeah, it's a small world. Um, and I think it's, it's cool to see. Or, or alliances like this form with somebody who is an industry legend and veteran with you guys who you're quickly, you know, gaining up those ranks, but have such a great story to tell. And I think you're, you're, you're scrappy, but you're creative and you're certainly dedicated, not giving up.
[00:28:29] I mean, this is. You could have very easily probably thrown in the towel several times to this point, because being an OTA is not easy. I mean, there, there's a lot of battles that you're constantly fighting. But, and Jim, for you, you've been on the channel management side for most of your career, but I mean, is this, is this weird for you to be on the ON as an O T A?
[00:28:48] I feel like , it's such a different, it's not a different hat, but it is at the same time. It. Different spin on it. It, it's a while since I've been on the distribution side, um, and I don't wanna say how far back in the industry I go, but I've been on the pro sailor side, charter operator side, have been on the, uh, on the distribution side, particularly in the ski industry in a few areas.
[00:29:08] So I'm, I'm actually extremely excited to be putting that hat back on. You know, life kind of goes through journeys and, um, you know, at this point in my life when things that I. You know, really passionate about and critical is what I call that fire in the belly. You have to be excited about what you're doing.
[00:29:25] You have to think in the morning, Hey, I can hardly wait and get back to this, or to work with these people. And, uh, you know, Craig, Russ, Stephanie, the team and everybody I've worked with there, um, they're, they're on that journey and I think they're at a, a super fun and exciting time. So, uh, yeah, I'm excited to get back on the distribution side, uh, you know, go down that path.
[00:29:45] Hardly wait. Officially. I start a week from Monday, by the way, so, oh, you haven't started yet. Oh, you haven't even started, Anne. You got extremely breaking news. . Yeah.
[00:30:01] Period. Oh, I love it. I love it. Well, we're gonna continue to check in on you guys, and this has. Great. Now we're just a, a little bit over a year since we last had you on the show, but wh where are we gonna see you this year? What events is got to go going to and, and will you be set up as with a booth? I'm sure probably a great booth.
[00:30:21] Um, we, we haven't mapped that out yet because we wanna have everything that we want. Uh, and obviously bringing Jim aboard, um, you know, it is, we're gonna go through that once he gets here and where we're gonna do that. So we're waiting on him to fly in from Mexico, uh, on, uh, next Sunday. We'll hit backfired up.
[00:30:38] Well, you'll see us ok. I can't imagine y'all won't be there, but, um, well, in the meantime, if anybody wants to reach out to you guys, what's the best way to get in touch and everything? Go to got to go.com. But, uh, what's, let's just give maybe one contact, um, for one of you, for the people reached out. Yeah.
[00:30:58] Um, well, we have a, a 8 44 number. 8 44. I got to go. I four. I got to the number to go into our customer service. Um, we'll get that information, but I, we. They can get ahold of us. People know how to get ahold of us. We're, we're heavily into, uh, vrma. We're, we're part of the advocacy piece. Uh, Craig, when, when we first had that opportunity to be, to contribute to vrma, he stood up quickly, one of the first to say, you know what?
[00:31:35] That's huge. That's very important part of our business, um, rules and regulations across the country and are all the different, different political subdivisions. There's so many fights there. We need to help do that. He was wise enough to see that I've got government background as well. Um, so, uh, they can, they know us.
[00:31:52] People know us. They signal craig com. If you could spell that,
[00:32:04] even. Spell it. No, we just
[00:32:11] mystery go com. Yeah, there we go. Yeah, there's partnerships@notgo.com as well. There we go, , that's a lot easier to understand on this. We, we appreciate you guys and we're excited to continue tracking your success. We will see you soon. For anybody that wants to get in touch with Annie and I, you can go to Alex and annie podcast.com and, uh, until next time, thank you for tuning in.
[00:32:37] Thank you so much, ladies. Have a wonderful day. Thanks, you too, everybody. See you next week.