President of Weatherby Consulting, LLC

As a respected and innovative industry leader, Ben Edwards has been positively affecting the real estate and vacation rental industries for more than 19 years. From managing small resorts, to financial and operational auditing, to opening large scale resort developments, Edwards’s unique background provides a multi-level approach to consulting, transaction and advisory services. Edwards’s experience includes:

President, Vacation Rental Managers Association; President, Sanctuary Vacation Rentals, Inc.; Vice President, Royal Shell Vacations; HomeAway Advisory Board Committee; President, Waterstone Resorts and Vacation Homes; Board of Directors, Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association; General Manager, ResortQuest SW Florida; Board of Directors, VRMA

CEO of VTrips

The OTA landscape continues to dramatically change especially for property managers who advertise on third party web sites. Meanwhile, Airbnb, Booking.com, HomeAway, Expedia and many third party integrators, software providers and web marketing firms are pitching property managers to let them distribute their inventory for a fee. In this very candid session, Steve Milo of Vacation Rental Pros provides unfiltered detailed information on the real pros and cons of working with each of the major OTA and the OTA middlemen. He will also share real revenue numbers through 2018 that will surprise some property managers.

CEO of Local Social Inc. (LSI Tools)

Past President of the North Carolina VRMA, Past Chairman of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, Past Chairman of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Current Board Member of VRMA. Scott is a frequent speaker at industry events with a focus on Revenue Management and and Using Data to Make informed Decisions

System Consultant for NAVIS

Colin Morrison brings over 25 years of experience in the Hospitality Industry to NAVIS. He has served in many capacities from working directly with customers ensuring an amazing experience to senior level management positions.

Since joining NAVIS in 2007, Colin successfully coached numerous clients from starting as novice NAVIS users to becoming NAVIS Power Users: Companies who are maximizing their investment in NAVIS by realizing significant incremental revenue and marketing efficiencies. Promoted to the role of Director of Client Success in 2009, Colin led the Client Advocate department to achieve that same level of client accomplishment across the NAVIS Client portfolio. Under his tenure as the Director, NAVIS maintained an annual client retention rate of 97% which, under a month-to-month, software as a service business model, is a significant achievement. Colin has also held the role of Product Manager and System Consultant.

Executive Director of Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals

Durk is currently the Executive Director of VRHP, a national organization that specializes in housekeeping, maintenance, and laundry principles and procedures. He also is a back of the house consultant that specializes in helping companies with efficiency and productivity. Prior to his current role, Durk, was the Vice President of Meredith Lodging where he over saw housekeeping, maintenance, and owner relations. Durk was previously the Director of Housekeeping for Vacasa in Portland, Oregon.

Before Vacasa, Durk was the chief operating officer of Gulf Shores Vacation Rentals in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Durk previously served as the chief operating officer of Meyer Services where he worked to diversify the services offered to property owners and unify back-of-the-house operations. Durk also served as the senior guest sales manager for Meyer Vacation Rentals, where he was responsible for implementing a search tool to assist sales agents to find the best vacation property for potential guests.

Head of Public Affairs for Expedia Group

Philip Minardi currently serves as the Head of Public Affairs for Expedia Group, the parent company of leading travel technology platforms like Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Trivago, Hotels.com, HomeAway, VRBO, and Egencia.

Philip leads the company’s Washington, D.C. based policy communications team on important travel tech policy issues at the hyper-local, state and federal levels.

Minardi joined Expedia after two years at The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech), where he led public relations strategy as the Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs. Prior to joining Expedia and the Travel Technology Association, Philip served as Press Secretary to United States Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Philip holds a Bachelors of Science degree from DePaul University in Business. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Philip has spent the last eight years living and working in our nation’s capital.