VRMA Arrival > Human Resources

Are Your Teams Running on Empty? Managing Fatigue in Vacation Rentals

By Shelia McCracken | 5/11/2026

Yawning on the job? Feeling tired? The answer is probably “yes.” In the vacation rental industry, slowing down is rarely an option. Guests are arriving, properties need to be cleaned, and the work keeps moving, whether your team is fully staffed or not. So, how do we push through the stress, recognize fatigue, and come out on the other side stronger, more energized, and more resilient?

Preparing for Human Trafficking Training Requirements: Lessons from North Carolina

By VRMA Staff | 5/11/2026

As more states adopt human trafficking awareness training requirements for lodging operators, vacation rental managers may be wondering what compliance looks like in practice. After North Carolina implemented its requirements in 2025, Carolina Designs Realty built training into onboarding, updated internal policies, and created systems for tracking compliance.

Workforce Planning That Holds Up Year-Round

By VRMA Staff | 5/11/2026

Workforce planning should look the same, and a little different, for everyone in the vacation rental industry, says Sue Jones, founder and managing partner of HR4VR. To start, businesses should take stock of their unique roles, responsibilities, and seasonal and compliance needs before they can effectively determine the best way to fulfill them. That makes it easier to find the right mix of employees who will uphold company culture and rise to meet any challenges thrown at them.

Trash Jenga: What Small Tasks Reveal About Leadership

By Kathleen Fitzpatrick | 4/20/2026

An overflowing office trash can illustrates how leadership culture is shaped through small, but visible behaviors. When leaders and teams ignore obvious problems, apathy quietly becomes normalized, signaling deeper issues with standards, accountability, and connection to purpose. Ultimately, leaders have to look inward and ask whether their actions model the care, ownership, and integrity they expect from others.

Hiring Smarter, Not Harder Starts Before You Need People

By VRMA Staff | 4/13/2026

In a recent VRMA webinar, “Hiring Smarter, Not Harder: Building High-Performing Seasonal Teams,” Sue Jones, founder and managing partner of HR4VR, and Jonathan Wicks, founder of Good & Well Professional Services, made a clear point: The companies that struggle the most in season are usually reacting to problems they could have planned for months earlier.

Train Your Employees, Please Your Guests

By Hal Conick | 7/7/2025

Short-term vacation rental managers can improve their training and hiring practices, helping to please guests and ensure employees are the smiling, welcoming faces of the business.

Strategies for Building and Sustaining an Engaged Remote Work Culture

By Jeff Iloulian | 12/10/2024

The rise of remote work has changed how businesses operate, offering flexibility and freedom for employers and employees. However, a thriving remote work culture doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by fostering an environment where employees feel connected, valued, and motivated.

The 5 Most-Needed Soft Skills for Operations Teams

By Michelle Williams | 10/8/2024

The global talent shortage was the topic of a recent survey by Manpower Group, a global staffing and recruitment company. The survey results identified the top hard and soft skill sets that employers report the most difficulty in finding. The distinction between hard skills and soft skills is fundamental in understanding the competencies required in the workplace. Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities or skill sets that are easy to quantify. They often refer to technical knowledge or expertise required to perform specific tasks or use certain tools or software. Examples of hard skills in a vacation rental operations department would include knowledge of cleaning techniques and the safe use of chemicals or the ability to use property management software.

2023 DEI Impact Award: Becoming rentABLE

9/10/2024

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 12 award recipients in 2023, continuing today with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Impact Award: Becoming rentABLE.

Unlocking Your Potential with Ben Nemtin

By Ben Nemtin | 9/9/2024

Ben Nemtin, one of the keynote speakers at the 2024 VRMA International Conference, is known for his inspiring journey from battling depression to achieving extraordinary life goals while helping others along the way. As co-founder of The Buried Life movement, Nemtin has been on a mission to help people accomplish their bucket list dreams, from playing basketball with President Obama to helping a stranger reunite with a long-lost family member.