2024 Advocate of the Year Award: Dennis Goedheid

6/22/2025

The VRMA Excellence Awards celebrate and recognize the incredible work, contributions, and impact that vacation rental professionals have made in the past year. We are highlighting each of the 11 award recipients in 2024, continuing today with the 2024 Advocate of the Year Award: Dennis Goedheid.

Goedheid, founder and CEO of Casiola Vacation Homes, won this award for his dedication to advancing the vacation rental industry through tireless advocacy at local, state, and international levels. Goedheid played a pivotal role in establishing the Vacation Rental Professionals Aruba (VRPA), uniting Aruba’s vacation rental managers to advocate for fair regulations. Under his leadership, VRPA hosted Aruba’s first Vacation Rental Summit in 2022, featuring an impactful economic study with Oxford Economics. The summit generated national media coverage, raised the industry’s profile, and secured vacation rentals as an official lodging category in Aruba’s tourism statistics.

In Florida, Goedheid co-founded the Central Florida Vacation Rental Professionals (CFVRP) during the pandemic, successfully drafting a reopening plan for vacation rentals across three counties. CFVRP also collaborates with law enforcement and homeowner associations to address noise and safety issues, working to establish a quality label for short-term rental resorts. As treasurer of the Florida Professional Vacation Rental Coalition (FPVRC), Goedheid helps lead legislative efforts, including a major campaign to veto anti-vacation rental bill SB280.

At the 2023 VRMA International Conference, Goedheid organized the industry’s largest advocacy event: the Casiola Beach Party at Discovery Cove, raising over $20,000 for the FPVRC advocacy fund and engaging over 1,000 attendees in industry advocacy efforts. Goedheid and Casiola also provide substantial behind-the-scenes support to advocacy organizations, including website development, marketing, and financial contributions, demonstrating a deep, unbranded commitment to the industry’s growth and integrity.