Announcing the First Round of Speakers for Skift Short-Term Rental Summit

Carl Shepherd – Investor and Co-Founder of HomeAway

Shepherd co-founded HomeAway, Inc., the first international marketplace for private rentals of vacation homes, and served over the years as President, COO, CDO and as a board member, until the sale to Expedia in 2015.

Jay Carney – Global Head of Policy and Communications at Airbnb

Jay leads Airbnb’s Global Policy, Communications, and Crisis Management teams. He also oversees Airbnb’s 21st Century Company team, which develops key initiatives to serve Airbnb’s Hosts, guests and communities, including sustainability, anti-discrimination, and partnership initiatives.

Jennifer Hsieh – VP, Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy at Marriott International

Joining us again this year, Jennifer leads the development and growth of Marriott’s first entry into the home rental business. She is a visionary leader driving Marriott’s venture into high-end home rentals, blending Marriott’s legendary hospitality with the uniqueness of personal spaces.

Daniel Rickenmann – Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.A.

Rickenmann is the 71st Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. He is an innovative entrepreneur and a dedicated public servant with a passion for improving the quality of life for all in the Palmetto State’s Capital City. Since becoming Mayor in 2022, Rickenmann has worked tirelessly to expand housing options, increase community cleanliness and pride, and improve the City’s customer service operations.

Jeff Hurst – President and CEO of Furnished Finder

Jeff’s insights into the needs of traveling professionals and his strategic vision have positioned Furnished Finder as a key player in the furnished housing market. He assumed the role of President and CEO in November 2023 at the invitation of the company’s founders.

Rena Pacheco-Theard – CEO of Boutiq

As the head of a company that transforms unique properties into luxury accommodations, Rena’s expertise in curating exceptional guest experiences is unparalleled.

Eric Goldreyer – CEO of bnbfinder

Goldreyer is the CEO and owner of bnbfinder, where travelers can connect with unique professionally run vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, inns and boutique hotels – without the service fees.

Ben Wolff – Co-Founder of Onera, Oasi

Ben is co-founder and developer of Onera, a luxury treehouse resort in Texas Hill Country. His experiential hospitality firm Oasi develops and manages a portfolio of landscape resorts, boutique hotels, and luxury retreats. Onera’s first location sold to a public REIT, Summit Hotel Properties, representing the first exit of its kind. Ben is leading Onera’s $35M expansion across 50 keys and two locations in the Texas Hill Country to be completed by Q2 2025.

Tim Rosolio – VP of Vacation Rental Partner Success at Expedia Group

As the VP of Partner Success, Vacation Rentals, Tim has a comprehensive end-to-end view of the short-term rental business. He is a subject matter expert in vacation rentals (VR) and his leadership and involvement include working on a number of key projects and initiatives at Vrbo such as our monetization strategy, VR competitiveness, acquisition, readiness and the Fast Start program.

Dustin Abney – CEO of Portoro

Dustin serves as CEO of Portoro, a branded, tech-enabled property management company for premium vacation rental homes in top-tier leisure destinations. Portoro curates a select network of large, premium vacation homes that provide guests with more consistency in quality and service yet more diversity in experiences. It uses its proprietary tech suite to enable platform efficiencies and drive retention and revenue streams.