Why Events Like VRMA Matter—and Why VRD Is Joining the Conversation

Three Days of Smarter Design, Stronger Stays, and Better Business

The short-term rental industry is changing quickly. Guest expectations are rising and owners are paying closer attention to revenue and ROI. Technology is changing how properties are managed, marketed, and experienced. And designers are playing a bigger role in helping vacation rental professionals create spaces that attract guests, earn stronger reviews, and perform well over time.

That’s why events like the Vacation Rental Management Association’s annual conference matter.

VRMA 26 Nashville brings short-term rental professionals together for three days of practical education, new industry connections, product discovery, and honest conversations about what comes next.

This year, two VRD members, founder Jessica Duce and member Nichole DiPippo will be part of that conversation. They’ll join Heather Martini of Data Led Designs and moderator Jeff Iloulian, CEO of HostGPO, for a panel examining how data can help property managers and designers make smarter decisions—and create spaces that pay for themselves.

What Is VRMA?

The Vacation Rental Management Association, better known as VRMA, is a global community for short-term vacation rental professionals. It supports the industry through education, connection, advocacy, and in-person events.

VRMA brings together property managers, suppliers, technology companies, hospitality professionals, designers, and others working to improve the vacation rental experience. The goal isn’t simply to help individual businesses grow. It’s also to support better guest stays, stronger homeowner relationships, and a more professional industry.

That larger conversation matters to designers, too.

Design isn’t separate from the business of a vacation rental. The layout, materials, furnishings, lighting, amenities, and overall experience can all influence how a property performs.

A beautiful room is a good start. But it also has to work in the real world.

It needs to hold up to frequent use, photograph well, support smooth operations, and feel memorable enough to stand out in a crowded market. It needs to give guests a reason to book—and a reason to remember the property once they leave.

Designers know the guest experience begins long before anyone walks through the front door. It begins with the choices made during planning, sourcing, and design. Those choices shape how the property feels, how it functions, how it appears in listing photos, and what guests say about it after their stay.

What to Expect at VRMA 26 Nashville

VRMA 26 Nashville takes place October 4–6, 2026, at Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

The conference brings together short-term rental professionals for education, peer conversations, advocacy, and access to one of the industry’s largest marketplaces for products and services. Attendees can expect practical strategies, fresh perspectives, and plenty of opportunities to meet the people shaping the future of vacation rentals.

It’s a place to talk about what’s happening now—and what needs to happen next.

This year, VRD will help bring the designer’s perspective to that discussion.

Design That Pays: How to Use Data-Led Design to Increase ADR and Occupancy

Design decisions used to run largely on taste and instinct. Those things still matter, of course. But in today’s vacation rental market, they’re not enough.

Property managers and owners need to know which updates are likely to increase demand, support a higher average daily rate, and improve occupancy. They also need to understand what guests in a specific market want before committing money to a renovation or redesign.

That’s the focus of “Design That Pays: How to Use Data-Led Design to Increase ADR and Occupancy.”

The panel will feature:

• Nichole DiPippo, founder of Cozy Quarters Management and Lush Living Designs

• Jessica Duce, vacation rental interior designer and founder of VRD

• Heather Martini of Data Led Designs

• Jeff Iloulian, former property manager and CEO of HostGPO, serving as moderator

Each speaker brings a different but connected perspective to the conversation.

Nichole combines a background in corporate finance with hands-on experience managing properties and designing vacation rentals. Jessica uses detailed market reports before making design decisions. Heather brings the data-mining expertise needed to turn large amounts of market information into practical direction. Jeff will play devil’s advocate, raising the questions and objections property managers and homeowners often have about investing in design.

Together, they’ll unpack how research-backed design decisions can lead to measurable revenue.

The Real Risk Isn’t Always Spending Too Much

When owners hear the word “redesign,” they may picture a huge budget, a long renovation, or a designer choosing expensive pieces based on personal taste.

That’s not what data-led design is about.

The real risk isn’t necessarily spending too much on a redesign. It’s skipping the research that tells you which redesign is most likely to pay off.

A property may not need a luxury renovation. It may need better sleeping capacity, more durable furnishings, stronger listing photos, or amenities that match what guests are already searching for in that market. A beautiful update can still miss the mark if it doesn’t respond to the property’s location, audience, competition, and revenue goals.

Data gives designers and property managers a stronger place to begin. Rather than guessing what might work, they can study the market, identify gaps, and make intentional decisions about where the budget will have the greatest impact.

What Attendees Will Learn

During the session, Jessica, Nichole, Heather, and Jeff will explore which market reports to pull before changing a room and how to translate that information into a clear design plan.

Attendees will learn how to create a realistic budget that doesn’t depend on luxury-level spending, calculate a project’s potential return before committing money, and make the most of the budget already available.

The panel will also address one of the biggest hurdles in vacation rental design: getting homeowners to approve a redesign or property update.

A conversation based only on aesthetics can feel subjective. A conversation supported by competitive research, guest demand, and revenue projections is much easier for an owner to evaluate. Data helps connect the design recommendation to the business case behind it.

Attendees will leave with a practical framework for treating design as a revenue driver instead of a discretionary expense. More important, they’ll have a way to support design decisions with research rather than guesswork.

More Than a Conference

A strong industry event offers more than a schedule of sessions. It creates room for the conversations that happen between them.

A quick introduction can lead to a new partnership. A question during a breakout session can change the way someone approaches a project. A conversation in the expo hall can reveal a product, technology, or process that solves a problem a business has been carrying for months.

That kind of connection is one reason we care about bringing designers into the larger short-term rental conversation.

At VRD, we believe designers benefit from understanding the full ecosystem surrounding a project.

The more we know about property management, hospitality, guest expectations, procurement, and performance, the better we can serve our clients—and the stronger our own businesses become.

That’s also why our community extends beyond vacation rental designers. VRD includes residential and commercial designers, property stagers, and short-term rental specialists. We aren’t here to gatekeep what works or compete over opportunities. We’re here to share useful knowledge, build direct industry relationships, and help designers run better businesses.

When designers, property managers, owners, brand partners, data experts, and hospitality professionals work toward the same goal, everybody sees the property more clearly. And that leads to better decisions for owners, guests, and the people responsible for bringing each space to life.

We’ll See You in Nashville

If you’re attending VRMA 26 Nashville, keep an eye out for Jessica, Nichole, and members of the VRD community.

We’re excited to learn from the people shaping the short-term rental industry, share what we know, and continue making the case for design as an essential part of property performance.

Because good design should do more than look beautiful. It should work hard, support the guest experience, and make business sense.

Learn more about VRMA 26 Nashville, including registration, conference sessions, speakers, travel information, and exhibiting opportunities.