On the September 1st of the Month Bonus Episode, Alex & Annie are joined by Sarah Franzen - the ex-Director of Revenue Management & Analytics at Natural Retreats - a luxury vacation rental management company operating in some of America’s most iconic destinations. Sarah is here to announce a huge career change - as of today, September 1st, 2023, she’s going out on her own and is now the founder of Revzen.
Prior to working in the vacation rental space, Sarah was in education - which perfectly aligns with her decision to become a consultant. Her plan is to utilize her education background and skill set to stand out in the crowd of consultants by truly encompassing the purpose of a consultant - to mentor, guide, and give actionable advice on how to make revenue management your ultimate business advantage.
Sarah’s A-HA Moment that led her to begin her entrepreneurial journey stemmed from her 8 year tenure in vacation rental revenue management. When she began her journey in her speciality, there really weren’t any clear guidelines on what the role entailed, and the tools and technology we have today were non-existent. She had a significant role in creating the building blocks of vacation rental revenue management, which ultimately made her a pioneer of her craft. Building processes and figuring things out as she goes was her everyday life, and during these trials she acquired the expertise, competence and confidence to now make a life changing decision.
Then the actual moment happened during a retreat to Kansas City with 3 of Sarah’s peers. They made a commitment to form an association for revenue managers that would give them a forum to learn from each other. Sarah is an educator, there’s a gap in education - so a perfect fit is born!
The information gap in revenue management has tightened over the last few years, yet there’s still an astounding amount of property managers and homeowners that have yet to start their revenue management journey. Part of the reason why is because implementing all the new tools and technology available to us today is no easy task. Setting your seasonal rates is a key ingredient in revenue management, but that’s really only the beginning.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to what your next steps should be. Distribution, team management, vendor selection - these are just a few of the aspects you could prioritize when looking to achieve revenue management excellence. It comes down to taking a deeper look into your current situation and pragmatically deciding your next move towards an optimized revenue model. An unbiased view is a must have to achieve this, which is why a consultant is the perfect option, as following the advice of a third party is your best chance at making unclouded decisions.
Tune into the full episode to learn how to make revenue management into your ultimate business advantage!
HIGHLIGHTS:
02:04 What Is Revzen about?
05:01 Sarah’s A-HA Moment
09:35 Revenue Management - Where to Start?
14:19 Sarah’s Business Plan
16:11 Choosing the Right Tech Stack and Vendors
21:23 Always Be Helping over Always Be Closing
25:05 Taking the Leap
This episode is brought to you by Casago and Rev & Research!
Connect with Sarah:
Website - https://www.revzen.com/services-1
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahfranzen/
Connect with Alex and Annie:
Alex Husner - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-o-husner-%F0%9F%8C%8E-1844306/
Annie Holcombe - https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-holcombe-vrgal/%20AlexAndAnniePodcast.com/
