STR Global Unlocked with Simon Lehmann: Unfiltered knowledge for the short term rental industry
Episodes
027: What Institutional Capital Really Thinks About STR Right Now | Chris Hemmeter, Thayer Ventures
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Venture capital is not ignoring travel tech. It is underwriting to a different standard. And most founders building in hospitality right now do not fu...
026: What AI-Native Actually Means: Arbio's Bet on the AI Operating System for Short-Term Rentals
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody calls a property manager "a software company." Arbio is replacing the traditional tech stack with a single AI system designed to run ...
025: Guests Aren't Googling Anymore: AI, OTAs & the Future of STR Distribution | Shaun Stewart
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The biggest disruption coming to short-term rentals is not regulation, supply growth, or capital compression. It is distribution itself.In this episod...
024: Curation Over Volume: How Landfolk Is Redefining Growth in Short-Term Rentals with Christian Schwarz Lausten
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is short-term rental growth a volume game, or is quality becoming the real competitive advantage?In a market flooded with inventory, inconsistent stan...
023: Dependability vs Consistency: How Airbnb Redefined Hospitality Standards with Chip Conley
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Short-term rentals disrupted hospitality by challenging one of its core assumptions: that consistency is the ultimate brand promise.But as Airbnb scal...
022: Why STR Leaders Crack Under Pressure | CEO Coach Gary Cohen
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As short-term rental moves from rapid expansion into a more disciplined phase, leadership quality becomes the differentiator.In fast-scaling STR busin...
021: Is Luxury Short-Term Rental Really Resilient? - Luxury STR Roundtable with Emerald Stay, Le Collectionist, The Luxe Nomad and Nocturne Luxury Villas
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Luxury short-term rental has long been viewed as the most resilient segment of the STR industry.But resilience does not mean immunity.Rising interest ...
020: Trust, Reviews, and AI: How Experience Intelligence Is Shaping Hospitality and STR with Ben Jost of TrustYou
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Reviews are everywhere in hospitality, yet most operators still misunderstand what they actually represent. In this episode of STR Global Unlocked, S...
019: Travel Marketplaces That Endure: Lessons from HomeAway to RVshare with Jon Gray
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Some platforms optimize for growth. Others optimize for survival. Very few manage both.In this episode of STR Global Unlocked, Simon Lehmann sits down...
018: Where Real Estate Models Are Converging: Lavanda CEO Fred Lerche-Lerchenborg on Flexible Living, STR, and Multifamily
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of STR Global Unlocked, Simon Lehmann speaks with Fred Lerche-Lerchenborg, CEO of Lavanda, about how short-term rentals, mid-term stay...
017: Decisions, Not Forecasts: How Professional STR Operators Win in 2026 with Simon Lehmann
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The short-term rental industry is entering a more demanding phase. In 2026, performance will be defined by execution, discipline, and decision-making ...
016: Flexible Living Is Reshaping STR: An Institutional Capital Perspective with Jaja Jackson of ICONIQ Capital
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Short-term rentals, flexible living, and multifamily are no longer separate conversations. For institutional capital, they are converging into a singl...
015: Is Raising Capital Like Ecommerce the Answer to Real Estate’s Funding Problem? Insights From DealMaker Co-Founder and CEO Rebecca Kacaba
13 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of STR Global Unlocked, Rebecca Kacaba, Co-Founder and CEO of DealMaker, joins Simon Lehmann for a candid conversation on why traditio...
014: From Road to Air: How Drone Delivery Is Reshaping Last-Mile Economics and Guest Experience
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of STR Global Unlocked, Bobby Healy, Founder and CEO of Manna Drone Delivery, joins Simon Lehmann for a grounded discussion on why las...
013: 2025 Holiday Special - A Year That Changed the STR Conversation
30 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“2025 wasn’t about growth at all costs. It was about margins, execution, and whether your operation actually works.”— Simon Lehmann2025 marked...
012: Europe's STR Growth Challenge: Fragmentation, Regulation, and Execution - Panel with GuestReady, COCOONR, and Happy.Rentals
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Europe is often discussed as a single market. This panel makes clear why it is not.In this panel, Simon Lehmann brings together three leaders navigati...
011: What VCs Really Look For in STR Tech: Insights from TCV’s Woody Marshall
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Woody Marshall is a General Partner at TCV, one of the most influential investment firms in global technology and a long-standing backer of travel com...
010: The Midterm Rental Shift with Furnished Finder’s Jeff Hurst and Cami Narino
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cami Narino, Chief Operating Officer, and Jeff Hurst, Chief Executive Officer at Furnished Finder, join Simon Lehmann to analyze one of the most impor...
009: Booking Holdings President and CEO Glenn Fogel on AI and Why STR Is the Next Big Travel Shift
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Glenn Fogel is the President and CEO of Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com, Priceline, Kayak and other global brands that shape how t...
008: Hospitality or Tech? A Closer Look at AvantStay’s Approach to STR with its Founder and CEO, Sean Breuner
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sean Breuner is the Founder and CEO of AvantStay, one of the most ambitious hospitality brands in the short-term rental industry. Since launching in 2...
007: What Really Happened at Vacasa? Cliff Johnson, Co-Founder and Former COO, Shares Lessons for STR Founders
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cliff Johnson is the former Co-Founder of Vacasa, one of the largest short-term rental management companies in the United States, and now serves as Pr...
006: Can Revenue and Operations Work as One? Breezeway & PriceLabs CEOs Redefine STR Technology
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Two systems drive every property management company: revenue and operations. For years, they’ve worked in silos. But what happens when they finally ...
005: Behind the Scenes of Guesty’s Rise to Global PMS Powerhouse with Amiad Soto, Co-founder & CEO
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Amiad Soto is the co-founder and CEO of Guesty, one of the most recognized property management software platforms in the short-term rental industry. H...
004: Inside the OTA Playbook: Carl Shepherd on HomeAway, Airbnb Fees & Booking’s Rise to Power
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Carl Shepherd is the Co-Founder of HomeAway, the marketplace that helped define the modern short-term rental industry. Before Airbnb became a househol...
003: Why Has Nobody Built a Truly Global STR Operator? Inside the Real Challenges of Scale with Forge Group, Casago, and MadeComfy
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every major player in short-term rentals has chased the idea of building a truly global operator. None have cracked it.In this panel, Simon Lehmann br...
002: How Brian Egan Built Evolve Into a Profitable Short-Term Rental Business & What’s Next for Vacation Rentals
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Egan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Evolve, a Denver-based hospitality company with a mission to become the most trusted brand in vacation rental....
001: 6 Hot Takes on the Future and Growing Pains of Short-Term Rentals with Simon Lehmann
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Short-term rental is mainstream hospitality. It makes up 14% of global hospitality. And mainstream industries must operate by a different set of r...
STR Global Unlocked with Simon Lehmann | Official Podcast Trailer
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
STR Global Unlocked is the podcast built to say what others won’t. Hosted by Simon Lehmann, one of the most trusted voices in the global STR space, ...