The Vacation Rental Key with T and T
This is a podcast for professional vacation rental managers. Whether you manage 5 properties or 500 properties you can gain insight on how to run a successful vacation rental business by listening to T and T give their Keys to being the best.
Tim Cafferty is an icon in the vacation rental business. A 3 time President of the Vacation Rental Management Association he is "The O.G." when it comes to vacation rentals. Tiffany Edwards is one of the most well respected vacation rental operators in the country. Together, T and T bring you hard hitting and productive content that will help you run your vacation rental firm more profitably. Give The Vacation Rental Key with T and T a try today!
The Vacation Rental Key with T and T
Episode 17 - Vegas, VRMA, And The Power Of Useful Learning
Conferences shouldn’t feel like déjà vu. We dig into how VRMA in Las Vegas reset the bar with manager-led education, formats that actually teach, and a community vibe that made first-timers feel like insiders. From awards that mark decades of service to small operational shifts that pay off fast, this conversation strips away the noise and focuses on what you can implement the moment you’re back at your desk.
You’ll hear how the planning team curated fresh speakers, launched Skill Labs for deep hands-on work, and added Knowledge Collectives and 30‑minute quickfires to spark actionable learning. Attendees share their biggest wins: using AI to draft listing copy and guest responses without losing brand voice, tightening safety protocols with water watcher cards and inspection cadence, and rethinking how OTA fees show up in reporting so leaders see true unit economics. The exhibition hall stayed open to keep momentum, while targeted closers—like property manager roundtables and an ownership masterclass—pulled people into the final sessions with real value.
Beyond tactics, the episode celebrates the human side of the industry. Recognition moments—like the Pedro Mendoki President’s Award—highlight long-haul commitment, while candid hallway conversations normalize burnout and swap fixes for shared headaches. The throughline is simple: back to basics, measurable KPIs, and a cadence you’ll keep. Whether you’re refining revenue metrics, leveling up operations, or choosing your next conference, the takeaways here help you focus on what matters and cut the trial-and-error loop.
If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a colleague who’s planning 2025 budgets, and leave a quick review with the KPI you’re most committed to tracking this quarter. Your feedback shapes what we dig into next.
You're listening to the Vacation Rental Key with TNT, the podcast for Vacation Rental Managers, by Vacation Rental Managers. I'm Tim Cafferty, and I manage two companies, one in Virginia and one in North Carolina. And I'm one of the two T's.
SPEAKER_06:And I'm the other T, Tiffany Edwards, born and raised in the vacation rental business. I help manage our family businesses from Key West all the way to Kawaii.
SPEAKER_02:In the next 30 minutes, we're going to give you our keys to success in the vacation rental business.
SPEAKER_06:Tim, let's talk Vacation Rental Managers Association, VRMA and Vegas, baby. A topic I believe we both are experts on. When did you actually start going to the VRMA?
SPEAKER_02:Well, believe it or not, it was one of the first conferences that was ever held by VRMA. And it was here on the outer banks of North Carolina in 1987. My mom was a member. And I think there may have been like 30 people there. It was held in a restaurant that no longer exists. But man, the vibe was something like I had never seen. And I think that continued in Las Vegas.
SPEAKER_06:And I remember back in the day that accommodations were actually taken care of, which was to encourage people to attend the conference. I am a little bit later than you. I didn't start going consistently until about 14 years ago, but obviously always knew about the Vacation Rental Managers Association and their conferences. And you have been deeply involved since the 90s as a past president, a conference organizer, even most recently, a conference organizer for the foundations that we talked about in an earlier podcast. And we've both have had the honor of receiving the Pedro Mendoki President's Award. In fact, my first podcast with you, Tim, was actually after I had received the President's Award, and everyone was thinking, who is this person?
SPEAKER_02:That's right. I remember some bloopers coming out of that episode, in fact. But I remember when I received the award from Mike Harrington. It was interesting because the VRHP was a separate organization at that time, and I had been given the Stuart Couch Memorial Award in the conference earlier, which was quite an honor. It's for uh unwavering excellence and visionary leadership. And Stuart Couch, my great friend, was the embodiment of that. I didn't know I was getting it, but I had some thoughts that I shared. But then Mike Harrington in the same conference gave me the president's award. And I was overcome. I I I was absolutely speechless, and I think I got kind of emotional about it. It was it was quite a day.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, but I can't say it a double award for myself, but I will say that being recognized, those are two of the highest awards for the industry, and it is so incredibly humbling. And I know on for you, very, very well deserved in the time and commitment you have given for this industry. And I will say this year it was really, really special because then my husband received the Pedro Mendoki Presidents Award. And he actually started the award when he was president of the VRMA, I believe back in 2015. He first gave it to Lucy Kauai Lau. And it was really full circle because Jodi Rafasco had given it to him at this conference, and Lucy was sitting with us at the table. So it was extremely emotional as well, thinking through the last 25 years of his career and what all he's done for the vacation rental industry. But it was even more humbling that I received it before him.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Top had a double award. You truly are the first couple of vacation rental management. About that's good work.
SPEAKER_05:My kids don't care about that at all. So it doesn't matter once you get home.
SPEAKER_02:Nor does your dog there in the back. But uh they're glad you're home. I know that. And so what was that like? Was Ben emotional? I didn't get to go, you know.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, and we missed you so much. We love it when you're sitting at that front table with us and making sure we never miss anything from any of the general sessions. But I have not seen Ben cry in a public place, and maybe I've only seen him cry twice in the almost 20 years we've been together. And he was so emotional. In fact, I don't think he even cried when I gave birth to both of my children. So this one really meant something.
SPEAKER_02:Well, his his uh previous crying episodes probably had something to do with a sports team that he was enamored with. I know how he rolls.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. The opening line was actually about him playing baseball, and he looked up knowing that it had to have been him. So yes.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I've uh seen firsthand in my time in the industry and knowing your husband for now over 20 years, how much he's given the industry. So Jody Rafasco to recognize him that award with Lucy being there. That just was had to be a great time, and I'm sure it really hit home. Wish I could have been there. Unfortunately, I had to cancel at the last minute. We had a medical emergency in the Cafferty family, and so I missed this year, and I think that's the first one I missed in in many years, we'll just say. But uh gave me some time to think about what I really wanted to know from this conference, so I challenged Tiffany to find out a few things for me. Uh, really wanted to know were people impressed with what they saw? Were there any aha moments, uh surprises? Was it worth attending? And would you recommend it? So that's what this episode is all about today.
SPEAKER_06:And Tim, when you send me that original text with all the questions, it was so daunting because this podcast is clearly public record. And for the last couple of years, a lot of opinions have been out there, not so kind about how the conference has gone. And so I really wanted to get to the truth of what these answers were. And I'll tell you before we jump into it, my first impressions, not about the industry, but first impressions would be the convention center space was so easy to navigate. We've had years where it's like you have to have a treasure map and you cross over and have to go to a second set of stairs and another elevator, and it's another mile and a half to get to your one conference breakout session. And this year was not like that. The vendor showcase and all of our breakout sessions were all in one hall, very easy to navigate. The other thing is we didn't have as much swag this year. I don't know if it was just the vendors had gone a little bit more sustainable, they had a lot more booth bait. We had churros, french fries, and even puppies this year.
SPEAKER_02:Whoa, whoa, whoa, puppies? Did you say puppies?
SPEAKER_06:Oh, yeah. Inhabit had a pen in the middle of the vendor showcase of puppies, and you could sign up for cuddle time, playtime, and picture time. And we'll get into that a little bit more when we start talking to some of the conference attendees. But I have never seen anything like that. And the other thing, Tom, the biggest complaint I have always heard, it's the same equivalent of when people go and stay at a vacation rental and the mattress isn't good or the shower is bad. The food this year was fantastic. It was not only edible, but it was actually delicious. And it wasn't just surprise buffet.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, that's great to hear. So, the one of the people who get great credit for the success of this conference was Sue Jones of HR for VR. She was the conference planning chair. And you got an opportunity to sit down with her or stand up as the case may be and learn about why this year's conference was different than in previous years.
SPEAKER_04:Part of the reason that it became so important this year is because people were getting tired of the same thing. They were getting tired of the same speakers, they were getting tired of the same type of content and programming and education. And so our charge was really to kind of take what we learned from the last couple of years and kind of turn it upside down and come away with some very different things.
SPEAKER_06:And what did you feel like was a common theme of what people wanted to see at the conference from an education perspective? Was it different this year in that request than what they had seen, or was it more so about new speakers?
SPEAKER_04:It's a great question. I would say that people were looking for more relevant content. They were looking for new speakers. Certainly you have subject matter experts who are always going to speak at conferences. Regarding that, though, they really wanted to see more property managers. And when we went out for the call for proposals, it was really slim. So we worked really hard to curate a lot of the content so that we could involve as many property managers as we could. And actually, I'm very excited to say there were over 75 property managers who participated in one session or another. What also came up is it gets a little bit stale. Sometimes if you have an hour session, you know, they either end too soon and people are left. And so what we wanted to do was create a variety of different types of sessions. And so we had Skill Labs this year for the first time where we combined two sessions where people had a 90-minute session where they were to bring their computers and they actually learned about AI, revenue management, they learned about business KPIs. I know there was another one because I know there were four. Marketing. There was marketing in HR. And it was great because you actually had round tables, you had discussion. And then so that was one area. And the other thing we did is we set up knowledge collectives, which were one full session for an hour, where we had every room had roundtables based upon different types of dynamics, whether it was marketing and revenue or growing and scaling your business or KPIs or customer service and operations. So that was really new and exciting, and I think people saw a lot of value of that. The one I'm most excited about are quickfire, rapid presentations. And they're 30 minutes. And so we're going to really go quickly and get through a concept in 30 minutes and provide people with these just little snapshots and nuggets that they can take away. So we have 12 of those. And you know, I'm actually excited because I'm doing one on uh the winning hand and you know hitting the jackpot, and it's been so much fun with the play on it. When we think about the experience, we really wanted people to step in and feel like a part of the family. And there were 600 new attendees this year, and those first-time attendees have really felt welcomed. We had a lot of different tags and buttons out there, a lot of volunteers were front and center to make sure people knew where to go, what their sessions were about. But what I really loved was seeing the interaction between everyone. And so I think if if Miller and I were to really think about what our objectives were, it was to really have a well-rounded experience made up of personal connections, made up of networking, time with the suppliers. And you know, a lot of times when we're in the exhibition hall, it's not enough time. And we worked hard. This year the exhibition hall was open the entire time. And it's been such a great location. I think that people have seen the kind of traffic they're looking for. So that that was really, really interesting. And so when you think about the whole overall picture, trying to create an environment of inclusion where people really feel like a part of something that's a little bit bigger than themselves. And I would also think about when we first started this and looking at it, we said, why is it two and a half days? That half day, people don't show. And then we said, okay, now we're gonna be in Las Vegas. Nobody's gonna be there before 10 a.m. and everybody's scooting out after two. So how do we keep them? And so we really started with introductions and having different MCs. You know, in the past we've had one person, you know, and Tim has in the past in an MC. Yes, right. Tim, an MC. He's great, or Simon Lehman has been there, but we needed a different kind of energy. We needed energy from the the um community. And so with April and Corinne, they were up there. And then this morning, Lance and Elaine and Lance came out in the rising Phoenix address that all that on, yes. And and so there's that level of energy. And then instead of having a closing party, because again, you're competing with Vegas, you're competing with supplier events, but we really wanted to have something to close out the conference. So we ended up with having a happy hour. So now, how are we going to get people to stay to go to the happy hour, right? And go to the content sessions. So we created a real draw in the last session of the day. One of them is a property manager roundtable, which property managers love. And then we also have another session that's about 90 minutes around who owns this home. Yes. And that is gonna be so educational for people. It's really great. And that's actually gonna be in the ballroom, so that's already there when we come in, and we have a 20-minute closeout. The real draw is we're giving away a free registration, hotel, and airfare conference. That's pretty nice to Nashville next year. And we also have a special surprise coming in, a little bit of entertainment. I think we're gonna make it. I do think we'll have a very strong showing because there's a lot of great educational content leading up to that. So that was a challenge.
SPEAKER_06:Well, thank you again for all that you have done for this conference, and thanks for sitting down and talking to me about it.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, yeah. Well, I really appreciate it. It's I I didn't realize how big it was until you're really here and you see it all come together. And I'm just so grateful for all the volunteers and look forward to see who volunteers for this next year. All right. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02:Wow, education is so important. You know, I always measure a conference's value by whether I walk away having learned something that covers the cost of the conference.
SPEAKER_06:I completely agree, Tim. And in the last couple of years has been really disheartening coming from a property manager perspective and someone who's been in operations for many years. We have seen sessions led by so many self-proclaimed experts. And these quote unquote experts have really actually just been LinkedIn warriors and don't necessarily have the same operation experience. And so when they lead a session, they're leading with incorrect information. And that's never good. Education is exactly why we're there, and having that credibility factor and really weeding out what is the content is so important.
SPEAKER_02:Wow. Tell us how you really feel, Tiffany. I concur 100%. It's like a collective eye roll sometimes. But there are so many factors deciding to go to a conference, and there's so many conferences to choose from now. You have to be selective on which ones you attend. So I challenged you to ask people why they were there and why not in the past. And so you sat down with first-time attendee Lynn Goller of Kawaii Vacation Rentals in Hawaii and Court Rousseau of Loon Reservation Service in Lincoln, New Hampshire. And I have to say I've known Court for years because he's always been active in the RNA, but he hasn't always been to conferences. In fact, I think it's been several years since he's been. Here's what they had to say of why they attend.
SPEAKER_00:I've been out of the business and out of the industry of short-term vacation rentals since 2019 when I sold the company. After five years of semi-retirement, opportunity came back to be a principal broker of the company that I actually used to work for when I first got into the industry. And knowing what I know about the industry and where I've been, it was one of my requirements if you want to hire me, you've got to send me to VRMA.
SPEAKER_03:I've been in the industry for 19 years. I was in accounting actually, and recently my role is changing a bit. I was invited to come to the conference with one of the owners of the company. And I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to go and meet the vendors and get to know who I've kind of been working with in the industry and to just learn what else is new out there.
SPEAKER_06:So, what do you think is different about this conference? Good, bad, or indifferent than maybe some of the other conferences that you have attended?
SPEAKER_00:It's been a while. The last conference I went to was 2016. Give a little more history on myself. I started with the industry as well as association in 2001. My exact time frame of when everything happened is a little fuzzy, but was on the board, I think 2003. Served as conference planning chairperson for multiple, multiple events. Was on the board for five to seven years, don't exactly remember. So with that history, it only made sense that if I'm going to get back into that, I come and check it out. A lot has changed, a lot is the same. The vendor space is magnificently larger, way more complex. The amount of money that you see being spent is eye-opening and puppies. Yeah. And okay, so one of our vendors has a their booth bait because I used to be on the conference floor, so we call it booth bait back in the day. It is usually someone kind of really pretty. They've moved beyond that and they've figured out puppies. And so for two days, they have had a just horde of puppies, and it's like stealing candy from a baby. And I swear it almost should be illegal because they have been slammed with people the entire time. I'll say that I'm a little bit out of practice in the days are long. This conference from prior, I see a whole lot more content. I think the content has been much richer. Having served the conference planning committee, I'm really surprised, pleasantly surprised, by the number of presenters and the quality, general overall quality, and the dedication of what the presenters have given to their presentations. As far as finding a negative, you know, I okay, I'll say it. What's with everyone wearing t-shirts on the vendor floor? So you look at the pictures, it's like look like all of the vendors are wearing t-shirts. Can you at least give me a collar? So if we're going to name a negative, that's probably as silly as it is.
SPEAKER_03:I've enjoyed all the level of the vendors and what they're presenting for the vacation rental industry. It's it's amazing that we do have all these wonderful companies out there to support our industry, is what I like. The food's been great. Kudos to the whoever planned the food. And the the classes that they've offered have really been good level. There was so much at the same time that I would have liked to attend, but I had to choose which one. I would have liked to see, I guess, more um alternate time doing it twice, the class, I because I didn't see a lot of them being offered twice. It's like if you didn't go the first time, you look you lost it.
SPEAKER_06:So y'all have both been in the industry for a long time. Was there anything that you've learned over the last two days that you were an aha that you're going back home and implementing right away?
SPEAKER_00:And speaking of the conference, major change from previous is the amount of data. You know, the term KPI did not exist when we first came. Um, so and that was one KPI. KPI was your your your your key point indicator, had to learn what the word meant, right? But the KPIs really didn't exist. And I came from hotel school, I came from a hotel world, so ADR was a thing, RevPAR was a thing. And when I first started in VRMA, those they didn't exist. And it it's it's interesting to see that that data is still emerging, and that the industry or association still doesn't necessarily have a these are our set metrics. Um so with that being said, a lot of what I've been focusing on this time is what are the KPIs that people are talking about? Um, and where does the agency that I'm now you know principal broker for need and want to be at? Where are we in comparison to that?
SPEAKER_03:I was really interested in the AI, artificial intelligence, and how it works in our industry, how it can be used to help our business just from writing a letter, from writing a property description for your website to knowing how to respond to a guest on a review. I I think that that's something that I want to take back and then help the rest of the staff too, to be able to answer those and work with our guests.
SPEAKER_02:You're really getting good at this person on the street interview thing, by the way.
SPEAKER_05:So lies. All lies, Tim.
SPEAKER_02:So continuing the theme of the woman on the street, you also sat down with Kate Farrington of Perubian Villas of St. John, another first-time attendee, to see what her greatest aha moments were.
SPEAKER_06:Why did you decide to come to the RMA? What drew you to want to come to this conference?
SPEAKER_07:Our company has had membership with the RMA for a handful of years. We are in two locations, and our bookings and sales and marketing team are all in Scarborough, Maine. And so they've been involved and utilizing the benefits of the association to help grow the business and everything. We've recently had an opportunity to build out software-wise and take on some new technology which has filtered down into the operations, which is what we're doing on the island of St. John. So this is the first time that I'm coming because we're now engaged with Barefoot and Breezeway and RealTech and Sensquared. So I now have the opportunity to come to kind of see more about those companies and how I can further utilize them in our operations side, not just from the sales and booking standpoint that they've been using. And your role is in more so the management of the tech's side and stack, or what is your my role is director of operations for the property management itself on St. John for our properties there. So liaising with the teams that are doing the hard work, the housekeeping, the maintenance, you know, the logistical assignments, and then also owner relations.
SPEAKER_06:So, yes, very busy on that perspective. So, first time here, what were some of your greatest takeaways that you experienced?
SPEAKER_07:I've been able to attend a good number of seminars from everything from kind of housekeeping to safety, listen to some real like thought leaders in the industry, which I just haven't had access to before, and honestly just haven't taken the time to be able to go and look into. I'm sure there's online resources, but I just haven't gotten there yet because we're so busy doing what we're doing. So this has really opened my eyes to that. I think my takeaway is to realize there are so many resources that we can use just for my own self-growth, but to help enhance our team and even the business on a greater level. So just knowing that this exists and that the depth of knowledge and talent that's out there is what I will take away most, you know, in addition to a thousand pens, right?
SPEAKER_06:The swag. Was there a specific subject or area topic that you came in to this conference saying, I need to make sure that I attend this session or learn more about this, or this is something I'm specifically struggling with? And did this conference supply that answer for you?
SPEAKER_07:Yes, I actually attended, I came in earlier to attend the Sunday seminar with Justin Ford of Breezeway, specifically about safety at properties and making sure that we're doing our due diligence to keep the guests safe, but also to keep the company safe from any kind of like litigious activity should something terrible happen.
SPEAKER_06:What are two things from that safety perspective that you're implementing right away when you go home?
SPEAKER_07:First off, we'll add a lot more signage around our pools. He spoke about a water watcher card. So we'll implement that to really drive home to our guests that it is important to pools can be the most dangerous and revamp the frequency with which we're checking our smoke detectors and batteries and operations and things like that.
SPEAKER_06:I love it. And is there anything that's different that you feel like about this conference than anything else you've gone to? And I know that some of them are different from a subject matter and industry, but is there anything that kind of stands out to you, even maybe at how they've organized their sessions, or we've talked about that they have round tables a little bit more as opposed to kind of slide and communication, but is there anything that really sticks out to you that's different, good, bad, or indifferent?
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, I've been enjoying the morning general sessions and kind of seeing some of the leadership and the enthusiasm that everyone on that stage brings to this conference and really the family that they've been talking about. I've heard a number of people refer to it as that, which is as a newcomer, gets me excited and wants me to be a part of that community and be in the family too. So that's a very welcoming, warm feeling, especially for someone who's coming at a as a first timer.
SPEAKER_02:Well, Kate, welcome to the family.
SPEAKER_06:Yes, it was so great to be able to catch up with her and to see the conference through her eyes. And we've given the conference a lot of attention, but to be fair, we really haven't given enough attention to Vegas.
SPEAKER_00:Oh boy.
SPEAKER_06:And one of the perks that everyone knows about going to the conference is also location, location, location. And I sat down with Ryan Swame of with Dune Realty Vacation Rentals, and I think he really enjoyed Vegas. He went to an Eagles concert at the sphere, and so we talked a lot about that. Don't worry, Tim. I edited most of that out from our conversation, but that will explain his raspy voice in the next set.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, Ryan.
SPEAKER_06:It's Vegas, baby. What has you coming back year after year to VRMA specifically? Because you come to every VRMA international conference.
SPEAKER_01:Correct. Well, for me, it's it's a little bit of everything. Um I've some of my best friends in the world are in this industry. I've met them through VRMA, get to come back, see them, hear how they're doing, share how we're doing, share obstories and successes and all that. And it's a lot of fun. There's so many smart people in this business, and being around them all, you can't help but get a little bit better as a as a result.
SPEAKER_06:And what's different this year than any of the years prior to this year, we're kind of going back to how it used to be, it seems like.
SPEAKER_01:Different tracks for different areas of the business. And I think that was a a big part of it. I remember two years ago, the spring forum was in Kansas City, and it was two to one vendors to property managers. The vendors didn't like it, the property managers didn't like it, and they kind of went back and did a reset and decided what is it we need to do? They totally reworked the spring forum, and now it's uh the foundation. And for VRMA, two big keynotes, but a lot of breakout sessions hosted by some of the smartest people around, and there's something for everybody in just about every session.
SPEAKER_06:We still keep coming year after year, but is the value there in terms of the expense of getting here and then what you take away to bring back to your business?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, there's no question. Everybody in this business goes through burnout. You feel stressed all during the season. Uh some people like us, we have primarily a five month season. We have another seven that we're still working, still doing business, but we're not quite so busy. To me, it's always great to come here and see that everybody else has the same stress, the same burnout. You think you're the only person that ever got screamed at by a guest because there was a palmetto bug in their house. You get here and you find out that everybody's been screamed at by guests for having a palmetto bug in their house. It really validates the feelings that you have and it and it really just helps you go back and say, you know what, it's not just us. We're doing a good job. It's not that we're bad. Everybody deals with the same thing.
SPEAKER_06:I like that you frame it palmetto bug instead of cockroach. We also call it beach mice, endangered beach mice.
SPEAKER_01:Well, South Carolina is the Palmetto State. So we could call it our state book. Wait a minute, you didn't kill it, did you? We're protected in South Carolina. You can't kill those. That gets a laugh.
SPEAKER_06:What's one thing from this year's conference that you know you'll go home and implement as soon as you go home? Was there one this year?
SPEAKER_01:I just said in Ben's uh Ben's review. And one thing that Ben said in there was stop putting uh OTA fees as an expense. I said, that's a pretty good idea. He said, because it's not gonna change what we're doing as the owners of the company, but it will change how it's reflected. Um that was an interesting viewpoint that I'd never seen. I think Weston, who I brought with me, Weston's learned a lot. He's our our new owner acquisition specialist, and he's our learned a lot too. So if I had to, that's probably the two things I'd say.
SPEAKER_06:Well, I really appreciate it. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:I gotta do it. Pardon my voice. This is a casualty of Vegas.
SPEAKER_06:I was just about to say, and you went to the Eagles concert at the sphere.
SPEAKER_01:Let me tell you something. If I can say, throw in one more plug. Yes. That's the most amazing experience I've ever had. It was incredible. Most amazing concert experience. If you have not been go. Whether it's now there, they're not, I don't think they have any more dates lined up now until next year. A band you like the Wizard of Oz. I've talked to a lot of people that went to see the Wizard of Oz this week, which is all the time. That venue is incredible. It really is. And and it was it made the trip worthwhile just by itself.
SPEAKER_06:I want to thank Ryan for using his last little bit of voice to spread some wisdom for us. Thank you for taking one for the team there, Ryan.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Well, lots of great advice from Ryan and Sue Jones and Court Rousseau and Lynn Gowler, Kate Farrington. We appreciate all of you, but most of all, I appreciate you, Tiffany, and the extra work you did. We got a lot of advice from others, but to close it out, what was your aha moment? What did you take away?
SPEAKER_06:I forget who said it, but they said it best if it's back to the basics and that this industry really is built on a lot of longevity. You see the same people at the conferences year over year because they love this industry and really deal with a lot of the same pain points, and in these closed circles, are willing to share what their solutions are or what their hurdles are. And so networking is absolutely key. I think I get the most from that, but in terms of an actual aha moment, and I know it was mentioned by several of our guests, but measuring our KPIs, knowing what our KPIs are and measuring them. I've had some issues with HR. I've mentioned on podcasts before, it's not my favorite subject. But I have now some KPIs that I need to implement and figure out a cadence of how often I measure them.
SPEAKER_02:Excellent. Well, we're gonna give you that opportunity to share that in our next episode. Let's talk about KPIs. It's fourth quarter now. People are thinking about budgets for next year, how to measure things. You know what gets measured gets treasured. And so next episode, we're gonna bring you our version of the best KPIs for you to be looking at. How about that, Tip?
SPEAKER_06:I love it. And until next time, everyone.
SPEAKER_02:So long, everybody.
SPEAKER_06:Farewell, I think.
