VRWS Leadership Interview of the Day
In approaching the 12th edition of the Vacation Rental World Summit, we’re releasing a series of interviews to leaders, key players and highly motivated people in our industry whose companies make a deep impact in our space and will be present at VRWS.
The aim is to get you some insight into these leaders and the company they founded, manage or work for, as well as getting some behind the scenes on their thinking, their motivation and their drive.
RUBEN VERPLANCKE
- What inspired you to enter the vacation rental industry?My entry point was the never-ending struggle I saw property managers facing to keep operations, guest communications and smart-home devices in sync. My co-founders Anthony & Eduard had already built Stay-C, a successful short-stay brand that now manages around 800 units. We realised everyone was battling the same fragmented tech stack—so we launched Guestway, a platform that unifies AI messaging, task automation and IoT control in a single workspace.
- What sets your company apart in the vacation rental industry, and how do you ensure you stay ahead of the competition?
- All-in-one by design. One subscription covers AI inbox, housekeeping & maintenance workflows, smart-lock control, upsells and analytics—no patchwork of plug-ins.
- AI at the centre. Every data point that flows through Guestway feeds one machine-learning layer, letting us ship features like suggested replies or predictive maintenance in weeks, not quarters.
- Strategic integrations. We start with deep links to major PMS partners such as Apaleo, Guesty and Hostaway so mid- to large-size managers can plug us in with one click.
- If you attended the 2024 Vacation Rental World Summit in Porto, what was the most exciting or valuable takeaway for you? And looking ahead to the 2025 edition in Rome, what are you hoping to gain or experience this time?Porto made two things crystal-clear:
- Consolidation is accelerating. The gap between 50-unit and 500-unit operators keeps shrinking as professional standards rise.
- AI is no longer hype: panels were packed with real case studies on dynamic pricing, sentiment-based guest messaging and automated issue triage
For Rome 2025, I’m eager to:
- Hear more about how our fragmented tech landscape will evolve—will we see true platform players or just more point solutions with APIs?
- Compare notes on consolidation trends and funding climate.
- Track down the city’s best gelato without missing the afternoon panels.
4 Beyond business, what experience or destination left a lasting impression on you, and why?
Standing on the mirror-like salt flats of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia at sunrise. The horizon disappears, the sky reflects off the ground, and you feel suspended in space. That was an unforgettable reminder of how travel can reset perspective.
- What’s one fun fact, hidden talent, or little-known secret about you that other attendees should know to spark a great conversation with you?
I can cook 1-minute rice in 59 seconds.
You’ll have the opportunity to meet Ruben directly at VRWS in Rome
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