KEYNOTES & SPEAKERS
Kristin Armstrong
Kristin Armstrong
Most decorated U.S. women’s cyclist of all time
Kristin Armstrong is the most decorated U.S. women’s cyclist of all time and the best time-trialist in sports history. She is a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, two-time World Champion and has won six U.S. National Championships. Kristin is the only female U.S. athlete to win the same event (time trial) in three consecutive Olympic Summer Games, taking home the gold medal in Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016). Additionally, Kristin became the oldest female cyclist in history to win an Olympic medal when she won gold in Rio, one day before her 43rd birthday. Kristin graduated from the University of Idaho with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology.
Matt Landau
Matt Landau
Founder, Vacation Rental Marketing Blog
Matt Landau is the voice of vacation rental independence. After launching Los Cuatro Tulipanes, one of the first vacation rental businesses in the emerging historic district of Casco Viejo, Panama, Matt learned the challenges of community building from the ground up, co-founding a gang intervention program called Esperanza Social Venture Club, which demobilizes street gangs through entrepreneurship. Matt applied his real world community-building experience to the creation of a virtual community in the form of VRMB, widely recognized as the top online marketing resource in the industry, as well as VRMB’s Inner Circle, a private community of vacation rental owners and managers. Matt is also the host of A Sense of Place, the world’s first vacation rental-themed travel show.
Wes Melton
Wes Melton
Co-founder/CTO of SmokyMountains.com
Wes Melton is the co-founder and CTO of SmokyMountains.com. Previously he co-founded, grew, and successfully exited one of the fastest growing property management firms in the U.S. He now spends time growing his brand, traveling, speaking, building Legos, and spending time with his family in Gatlinburg.
Shaun Stewart
Shaun Stewart
Chief Business Development Officer, Waymo
Shaun Stewart is currently the Chief Business Development Officer at Waymo, Google’s self-driving technology company. Prior to that he was the Global Head of Vacation Rentals at Airbnb, served as the CEO of Jetsetter, a TripAdvisor company, and was part of the Expedia team from 2002 through 2010. In 2015, Shaun joined the LiveRez conference to talk about the future of the vacation rental industry. He returns three years later to discuss which of them turned out to be accurate, which were not and where we are headed now.
Peter Andruszkiewicz
Peter Andruszkiewicz
Strategic Partner Manager, Airbnb
Peter works with vacation rental management companies and the software companies which power the industry. After spending more than five years in the industry, Peter has a deep understanding of the underlying technology infrastructure and how to drive revenue to professional management companies. Peter helps his grandmother manage her vacation rental property in the Catskill Mountains, and as such, has an appreciation of the joys and challenges associated with operating one, let alone a portfolio, of vacation properties.
Rachel Freeman
Rachel Freeman
Strategic Partner Manager, Airbnb
Rachel Freeman is a Strategic Partner Manager at Airbnb who works with vacation rental companies and the software companies. Her 3+ years at Airbnb, focusing on the success and growth of vacation rental managers, has left her with a deep knowledge of the industry and how managers can increase revenue through distribution. Rachel is an avid traveler, spending over 10% of her time in Airbnbs, giving her a unique guest perspective to share with the companies she works with.
Durk Johnson
Durk Johnson
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals
Durk understands all things housekeeping, maintenance, and laundry principles and procedures. And, he works to educate back-of-house teams through his work at Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals and his back-of-house consulting to help companies with efficiency and productivity. Prior to his current role, Durk, was the Vice President of Meredith Lodging where he oversaw housekeeping, maintenance, and owner relations, and was previously the Director of Housekeeping for Vacasa in Portland, Oregon.
