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Koryn Okey Breezeway’s VP of Client Experience
This episode of The Short Term Show features Koryn Okey, VP of Client Experience at Breezeway. Koryn shares her industry expertise, starting from her early days at FlipKey to her role at Breezeway. She discusses how Breezeway helps short-term rental hosts streamline operations, automate guest communication, and maintain property safety. A must-listen for anyone looking to improve property management efficiency!
Avery: Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of The Short Term Show! I’m very excited about today’s guest because I keep seeing questions about this platform on our Facebook groups, and that platform is Breezeway. I’m really, really excited to have Koryn Okey, the VP of Client Experience at Breezeway, on today to help us learn exactly what it does and the best way to utilize that tool.
Avery: Hey Koryn! How’s it going? Would you like to introduce yourself real quick?
Koryn: Absolutely! Well, first off, thanks so much for having me. I’m excited to be here and chat with your audience and tell them a little bit more about what we’re doing at Breezeway. You know, for a little bit of background, I’ve been in this industry since 2008. I started at a company called FlipKey back in the day, and we were one of the first companies to bring guest reviews into the short-term rental space. We ultimately ended up getting acquired by TripAdvisor. I spent about seven and a half years there, handling all the rentals and helping them with review responses and things like that.
Koryn: Then, I’ve been at Breezeway for the last six years and have worn a bunch of hats, but I just think this is such a special industry, and I’m so excited to chat with you and share some of the knowledge I’ve acquired over the last 15 years.
Avery: Yeah, I’m really excited to hear about that. I always wondered what happened to FlipKey; I never took the time to look it up and saw it got acquired, but it just kind of disappeared.
Koryn: Yep, it did. When we built the business, I was one of the first 10 employees that started, and Jeremy Gall, one of the founders of FlipKey, is also the founder of Breezeway today. That’s how I made the progression, but when I started, we were operating only in the U.S. By the time we ended, we were working with folks across the country, and TripAdvisor eventually merged that into their alternative accommodations. I left in 2015, and now I’m at Breezeway.
Avery: Appreciate you being flexible with me today. My son was sent home sick from school, and he’s down for a nap right now, so I’m in my home office/ workout room/storage room. I don’t have my whole pro set up, and I was a few minutes late for Koryn. I appreciate you being flexible.
Koryn: No worries at all! Let’s jump into Breezeway. I think a lot of people mistakenly think that Breezeway is a property management software, like a hospitality tool or something like that. So, tell us exactly what Breezeway is.
Koryn: Yeah, we pride ourselves on being really niche-focused, specifically around operations and guest communication. At Breezeway, we have a handful of products. We started the business with our operations tool, and that means that through utilizing Breezeway, you can create templates to standardize the work being done at your homes. Then, you can have automation around the scheduling of work communication with the housekeeper or a handyman, or an inspector who may be going out and looking after the home. Our operations product really allows you to tailor the work to the individual needs of the property while creating a communication program back and forth. It’s less of the “I’m just waiting for my cleaner to call me and tell me that the property’s ready,” and more visibility.
Avery: So, the cleaners have been in the home for, say, two and a half hours, and it’s a three-hour clean. They should be close to done, and then you get notifications when the work is completed.
Koryn: Exactly, and as the company has evolved, we’ve continued to build and add enhancements to the product. We have a guest communication tool, and there’s SMS messaging with all sorts of automation around different points of the guest’s stay. My colleague, Justin Ford, runs our safety and certification program, so we’ve really invested in making sure that not only are houses clean and ready for your guests, but also safe. We recently launched our fourth product, which is a guide…