Stop Calling It Luxury: Setting the Standard in Vacation Rentals with Nir Maimon

Last week with Moriya Rockman, we explored luxury through the lens of growth, relationships, and what it takes to scale a high-end portfolio without losing the hospitality at the center. This week, Nir Maimon brings the conversation to the definition itself, what “luxury” should mean, how it should be verified, and why the category loses trust when the label gets used too loosely.

“Luxury” has become one of the most overused words in vacation rentals, and that is exactly the problem.

In this episode, Alex and Annie sit down with Nir Maimon, President and Co-Founder of The Maimon Group, to break down how he evaluates luxury with a practical framework that starts with the operator and ends with the asset. Nir shares why luxury cannot be treated as a marketing adjective, what happens when guest expectations fall short, and why platforms and operators need clearer standards if the category wants to keep its credibility.

They also get into what verification can look like in practice, why Nir’s team says “no” far more than they say “yes,” and how their approach to service, personalization, and systems supports the level of trust luxury guests expect.

Episode Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome to Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals
01:11 – Nir’s background and what The Maimon Group does in ultra-luxury
02:18 – The core issue: “luxury” is being misused in vacation rentals
04:26 – Nir’s framework: luxury starts with the operator, then the asset
06:45 – How Nir scores luxury (location, layout, privacy, finishes, noise, access, amenities)
08:34 – The trust gap: what OTAs get wrong without verification
15:48 – LPMS and the travel advisor workflow (how trust gets protected in bookings)
24:02 – Big-event travel and why groups keep choosing homes
27:45 – Personalization at scale: CRM, surveys, and concierge ownership
31:10 – AI in hospitality: start with clean data, then layer automation with human validation
38:08 – Looking ahead to 2026: “deployment,” standards, and repeatable excellence

Connect with Nir:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nir-maimon-59024595/
The Maimon Group: https://www.themaimongroup.com/ 
LPMS: https://thelpms.com/ 

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Mention the Alex & Annie Podcast when you sign up and get free onboarding ($1000 value).

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#vacationrentals #shorttermrentals #luxuryvacationrentals

Transcript

Meet Nir Maimon And The Mission

Alex Husner 0:01

Welcome to Alex and Annie, the real women of Vacation Rentals. With more than 35 years combined industry experience, Alex Eoser and Annie Holcomb have teamed up to connect the dots between inspiration and opportunity. Seeking to find the one story, idea, strategy, or decision that led to their guests today are her moment. Join them as they highlight the real stories behind the people and brands that have built vacation rentals into the $100 billion industry it is today. And now it's time to get real and have some fun with your hosts, Alex and Annie. Welcome to Alex and Annie, the real woman of Vacation Rentals. I'm Alex and I'm Annie. And we are joined today with Nir Maiman, who is the president and co-founder of the Maimon Group. Nir, it's so good to see you.

Nir Maimon 0:48

Good to see you. Happy New Year.

Annie Holcombe 0:50

We're excited to start the year with you. So we got to see you at Darham back in December, and that was a lot of fun. And you are like the pickleball master. And I did find out you play tennis as well. So I'll be bringing my husband to the Exec Conference to play tennis with you. But before we get started, why don't you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your journey in hospitality and to the Maimon Group?

Nir Maimon 1:11

Hi, everyone. My name is Neil Maimon. Good to be here. Together with my brother Tom Maimon, we founded the Maimon Group about six years ago. We manage the ultra-luxury properties based in LA. We focus on concierge, reality, guest experience. And we also develop a platform called LPMS, which is a global marketplace for luxury property managers and travel advisors to work with each other.

What Luxury Really Means

Alex Husner 1:36

I love it. Now you've definitely got a really interesting pulse on what's going on in the business, not just directly in the vacation rental side, but I mean reaching out more into the travel advisors. And you know, you've obviously drawn a lot of influence from major hotel luxury brands and how you've built your company. When we were at Darm, we got to talk to you and we heard, but unfortunately, we had to miss it. But you were on a panel that was specifically about like what luxury means. And I've I've heard through the grapevine there are some different opinions on that, but I'm glad that you were on it because I think everybody knows you're kind of like the luxury guy. But what was your take on it? And what were you surprised to hear that other people thought differently about the topic?

Nir Maimon 2:18

I think our biggest takeaway was the fact that the word luxury is being misused in our industry. I think there is an opportunity to define luxury in the vacation rental space. I think people uh just use it in different ways. Yeah, I we get the take that some people think luxury is all about service. I think some people talking about luxury is different from market to market. We even heard that luxury is the way you react to certain issues. So I think it was exciting to be a part of that dialogue. And we actually taking on a project now where we really want to help defining luxury uh for our platform and for our own business.

Annie Holcombe 2:59

I was I actually sat in on that session and it was really interesting because it was um Robin Cragen from Moving Mountains and then Rachel and Rob all day um from Abode and yourself. And I think that it's interesting because I would look at each one of your types of inventory and your portfolio as being luxurious for that market. But we had uh Alex and I had had a conversation earlier in the day with Dennis Goodheed from Cassiola, and we were talking about luxury with him. And and one of the things that um came up was that luxury is sort of a loosely defined thing. And yes, I think that we have to we have to dial it in and really define what it is. But you know, he kind of pointed out he went to stay at Sir Richard Branson's island. And it's for him, it changed what he thought of luxury because it wasn't so much about a posh destination, a posh resort, uh over the top services. It was almost just like the experience of it was luxury because all of a sudden here he was living in this billionaire's island that you know people don't get the opportunity to. So it was a different level of luxury versus like if you're staying in, you know, a $40 million home in Bel Air, California, and you have butler and chef and all these things. So I think that there's a lot of room, there's a lot of wiggle room in there, and it and it and it can be defined based on experience and on property type and probably on destination. But do you do you think in trying to define that that it becomes something where you have tiers of luxury?

Nir Maimon 4:27

I think there can definitely be different markets of luxury, and I think luxury can be different from market to market. But I think what we're trying to do is is, and and just to provide a little bit more clarity, for the last three years, we've been talking with a lot of luxury property managers across the United States and Europe. And we're trying to aggregate the best ones so I can book my clients, and I can recommend our travel advisor to book those specific uh properties. So we actually visit a lot of property managers over the years, we have talked with a lot of property managers over the years, and we really were asking ourselves what is the definition of luxury? And at the same time, we're trying to build a business that is somewhat set the standards of what luxury is. And where we are now on this discovery is that luxury really starts with the property managers and the vacation rental or the hosts that manage that property. We create a list of items that they have to be to be able to be a luxury provider. And then you pair it with the property itself. So if you only provide services, or if you only, let's say, you have a great instant communication and let's say you're very proactive or you have an amazing cleaning, that's just a part of it. The other part of it has to be the property itself.

Alex Husner 5:46

Yeah. I mean, it needs to be nice for sure. And I, you know, I think about in pl in times that I've used the word luxury in marketing, you know, it's a very different type of luxury than the type of properties that you're describing. So, like if you take, uh, and I guess that's kind of like the question is like, is beauty in the eye of the beholder of, you know, in Myrtle Beach a luxury four-bedroom condo, it could be beautiful and very well taken care of and very nice, but it's never gonna be equivalent to you know a four-bedroom home in the cliffs in LA like what you guys have. So, how do you, you know, especially as you guys branch out more with the LPMS side, like, how do you balance that of like you want to get properties that fit people at different budgets or reasons for traveling? You want to uphold a certain level of quality, but how do you not turn somebody off that like they're only expecting to have that cliffside home, and then they get to Myrtle Beach and it's a condo and they're not exactly thrilled by it.

Nir Maimon 6:45

That that is a that is a great question. So once we've vetted the host, right, we define a specific host that is actually can become a luxury provider, right? And and I can go down to the details of what it means to be a luxury host. Then let's specifically talk about this Myrtle Beach condo on the water, right? So we start asking ourselves things like, where is that location? Right? Is it a luxury location? Then the second thing we look at is is it a luxury layout? Then the third things that we're looking at is do we have privacy? Is there is it a luxury that there is enough privacy? Then we look at into the finishes of the property itself, right? So you can have a three-bedroom condo that considered to be luxury and even ultra luxury depends on the market. But we really let's take a look at the finishes. Is it a marble countertop or is it a you know gravel countertop? Is it is the cabinets are melamine compressed wood, or are they actually solid, solid core cabinets? Is the floor is is natural stone or is it ceramic tiles? So you want to look at the property finishes, you want to look at the layout, you want to look at the privacy, you want to look at the scales, you want to look at the location. Is it sitting in a busy road where they can hear the cards, the cars running around, or there is a lot of stuff, or is it or is a beach access? Can I walk down from that condo to the beach and have an amazing experience with my family and then come back? And then we look at the amenities, what type of an amenities you have. So it's really a scoring system of this property with the relationship or the other properties within that market that really helps you define if that is a luxury property or not. And then if you pair it with the right property manager, that's where luxury and and I we believe magic's happening.

Annie Holcombe 8:35

Yeah. How do you think the I think of it from the OTA perspective? Because I think that that's where a lot of this kind of got off the rails. Like there are managers that are providing that level of service and they have um the intent that these, you know, the the properties are going to have the amenities and you're gonna provide the service and they're gonna have the furnishings and the finishings. But then OTAs don't have a good structure to be able to, I think, you know, you you do have a few Merritt homes and villas, um, the Hyatt, like some of these, these ones that are trying to that you know, they have a better uh uh ability to define that. But the OTAs are very loose about it. Like if I came and said, well, I've got a brand new condo sitting on Panama City Beach and it's a it's a penthouse and it's brand new, I could say it's luxury and they're gonna categorize it luxury. But for it to compare against, again, a luxury home that has, you know, the travertine floors and and the marble and the chandeliers and all, you know, all of the accoutrements that you would want in luxury, like you do you see the managers helping the OTAs define this? Because I feel like they're right right now, the OTAs are defining it. And that's where the problem ensues is you've got managers that are just loosely using the term and therefore they kind of hijack the category, I guess would be the best way to say it.

Trust, OTAs, And Vetting Standards

Nir Maimon 9:50

I think the responsibility really falls on the again, if the OTA want to become a segment OTAs and the OTA allow property managers to put the word luxury on a listing, I think they should verify that it's actually a luxury properties for for their guests. You know, we're losing guest trust over the years because they're loosely use of the word luxury. People go in, they look at pictures, they look at the description. Sometimes they even look at reviews and then they show up and the expectations just fall short, right? So I can give you an example of an LTA that actually is doing a great job. Like Airbnb Lux, for example, are doing an amazing job. Like when we onboarded to Airbnb Lux, they actually send in a team and they vet us as the property managers, and then they vet every single property before they were publishing it on their platform. I think that's what it takes. I think you have to have a system in place and you have to really look at is this property uh manager is actually uh is this host is actually a luxury host. And then if this particular property is a luxury properties, then you have to have very clear checklist. You gotta go line item by item and says this this is a luxury properties before I allow my platform or my audience to see the word luxury. And that's what we're doing with the MIMO group. We go out and we say no to maybe nine out of ten every properties that's coming into our door. And that and and sometimes that's what it takes. And you know, all the owners think like the home is perfect, my home doesn't need anything. Go ahead, book it right now. You know, I I can't wait. Generate money for me. And we're like, no, unless you put in X amount of dollars and unless you're redoing those things, I can't call this home luxury.

Alex Husner 11:42

Well, you know, at the end of the day, I mean, like you your role in that is really important, not just from protecting your company and your ability to maintain that brand, but also, I mean, the the guests to have the right vacation. Because it's like I, you know, thinking in my mind of places that I've gone on Virgo or Airbnb and booked a place. And, you know, I know in my mind, based on the destination, what the the nicest one could be. And I know I don't have an idea probably what the the not nicest one could be. I'm looking for something that's you know above 4.5, 4.5 to 4.8. Nice pictures, great reviews. But even when you look at just those things, sometimes when you get there, you're like, oh, God, that other one I was looking at in comparison was probably way better than this. And, you know, there's still a lot of things that can't be kept up all the time. I mean, photos can be deceiving, you know, over time. But I mean, that's that's really your role of being discerning so that the guests come to you, they know it this isn't going to be, you know, one out of the 100 that are bad. They're all good. So it's like there's no wrong answers. Um, and I and I think that's a really important part of what you guys do.

Nir Maimon 12:46

100%. And it's not easy. We have, you know, 150 hotels spread out sometime 20, 30 minutes apart, right? So how do you execute on that level of execution uh across, you know, 150 different hotels or different vacation rentals, right? And then when you start expanding outside your market, is like, how do you unify that level of quality in different markets? And then if you start, you know, what we're trying to do is we're working with other property managers to book high network clients all over the world. Like we booked a client in Vegas, right? Two weeks ago. And it was like unbelievable saying, but how do you ensure the qualities on those actual markets? And that's really the challenge, but at the same time, that's the opportunity. Because if you'll be able to perfect that, I think there is a lot of opportunities to becoming that brand, to becoming that place for people who can really trust. Like if I book with Mimon, I know that I'm gonna get one, two, three, four. And I know that this two vacation that I'm booking this year actually is going to be relaxing and accommodating versus me dealing with like the AC doesn't work and the gate doesn't open and the light bulbs, you know, is not there. And, you know, I the neighbors is uh is uh pulling the parties or something like that. So those are the challenges that really at the same time, they're the opportunities for industry.

Annie Holcombe 14:11

Yeah, and and it kind of goes, I think it goes along with the industry at large trying to define standards in general. Like I think that, you know, to your point of people losing trust with it, that is the biggest thing that the industry, I think, has the largest opportunity is is confirming that trust. Hotels have it. Hotels have it from the roadside brand all the way up. However, I will say my husband and I just had a trip and stayed at a Ritz-Carlton, and my husband dubbed it the teamu Ritz-Carlton. So it was awful. Like it was not a Ritz-Carlton and it and it and it was it was a fine hotel. It was older, but it just wasn't the luxury that you expect at a Ritz-Carlton. So, like, there's always going to be ones that fall short, but I think it just goes back to the basics of like how do you define standards of service and levels that that people can trust and then you can do the categories. But I think that leading with the luxury is the right way to go because everything falls below that luxury. And if you can define what luxury is and everybody's clear on it, then anything short of that, you know, is close to luxury, but not luxury. And then, you know, it starts to fall into place. So I'm I'm interested to see like where this conversation goes. But it sounds like you guys have had this sort of in your ethos since you started the Maiman Group. This is something that you wanted to do. So you've got some traction and you've grown your business. And so I kind of wanted to like pivot over to what you're doing with this kind of collective, the uh the LPMS, uh L is LPMS, right? LPMS, yes. Yes, yeah. So what so how did that how did that evolve out of what you're doing with Maiman?

Scaling Quality Across Markets

Nir Maimon 15:48

When it comes to LPMS, the the the thesis behind it on the concept was like in high, it started with the MIMO group. So in high season, we found ourselves having more demands than supply. So we start booking. Was this like COVID term period or what yeah, when were we talking? 2021, 2022, LA. Got it. Yeah, we had more demand than supply. So we were like we were in our starting years, and we created great tractions. We created the brands, the travel advisors and real estate and partners really start trusting. They really liked things like instant communication. One of the things we were really big in is like we are instant responding 24-7 to our guests, to our owners. It was a part of our mission. So people really liked it. They like the fact that we own it, they like the fact that we're 24-7. So they start driving more demands to us. But the challenge we had back then is we didn't have enough supply. Or I give you another example. I had a guest that comes into towns and they want a tennis court. And my home with the tennis court is booked. So what do I do? One is is I say no to that guest or can lose that revenue during the high season. Or two, I go out to a property manager in my market that has a tennis court and I go ahead and book them. So it started with that concept. Maima group needed the ability to book other properties. To add to that, we worked a lot in the luxury space. You work a lot with like Virgil Russo, or you work with a lot of like travel advisor groups that drive the menstrual hotel that start realizing that for group travel, it's much better to book a vacation rental. So they want they they reach out, and then the process of booking was very unaffected. You get a message, what is available? Then you got to send them pictures, then you got, oh, send me the pictures non-branded. What's the rate? How much commission am I making? What's the amenities? It was too much back and forth. And the travel advisor cannot send your website to their guests because they want to keep those guests with them. So we built LPMS initially for the MIMO group, which is basically, hey, travel advisor, here's the ability to book my homes under your own brands. Your commission is already there, the pictures is already there, you see real-time availability right there and then. And then MIMO group, here's the ability to expand your supply with homes that you can offer to your own guests or to your travel advisor during high season. That's where LPM has started. Through the years, it's evolving to this marketplace that currently has over 4,000 properties in it, has uh a large amount of travel advisors and other real estate agents that using that platform to book each other in the luxury space. So once you define luxury, once you aggregated the supply, and once you provided the tools, that's where the magic happened.

Alex Husner 18:50

Yeah. And I think from the travel agent's standpoint, I mean, for sure, they've just been chomping at the bits, wanting a way to be able to book vacation rentals that they know are going to be good quality and satisfy the needs of their guests. But you know, you think about a travel agent that if they've got clients they've been working with for years in a lot of cases. So it's like one wrong trip and like they could lose that relationship altogether. So I understand like where the hesitation has been. I think it's a trust issue, but it's also a technology issue, too, that the hotels have made it very easy that they know they can always give away 10%. They can build a rate code that's got that, that they can give that to the travel agents. Vacation rentals, not so much. I mean, like if our you know average uh commission for homeowners is 20%, you know, I don't know that I can give 10% away off the top on it. But there's certainly ways to get creative with it, especially when you're dealing with high dollar properties like this, um, that maybe that's too much to even think consider as a commission. I'm not sure. But what would you say the sentiment is of travel agents that you're talking to now? Like, are they excited about this, like kind of saying the same things that they've just been waiting for something like this to happen?

Why LPMS Was Built

Nir Maimon 19:56

Yeah, so it takes time to develop the trust, just like anything. As you said correctly, they really value their client. Those clients, you know, sometimes they may book only a million dollars a year, and that's the whole annual income. And it may be with two or three clients. So trust is really, really important, but we are making some really good progress and developing that trust with them and providing them the tools that they need. Some of the fundamental principles that they really like about our platform is one, the ability to talk with the property managers directly. So we're not acting as a middle layer between the travel advisors and the property managers, right? Travel advisor can work directly with the property managers in the platform and book directly with the property managers in the platform makes a big difference to them. Two rate parity. We're connecting straight to the PMS, we're moving all the rates, all the calendars, all the availability, everything is going straight to the travel advisor. And then API connections and quoting functionality. The travel advisor can connect the website, their website directly with the platform to drive them in and also able to create white label quotes for their guests under their brands within the system. So those are just some of the tools that we develop over the years to really make it easy. And we've perfected it under the MIMO code. So before we open it to other markets, we said, hey, let's just work with us so you get familiar with the system. And then slowly but surely we open more and more markets for those travel advisors.

Sponsor Spotlight: Hostfully

Alex Husner 21:27

We'll be back in just a minute. But first, a word from our premier brand sponsor.

Speaker 21:30

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Speaker 2 23:45

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Travel Advisors: Tools And Trust

Annie Holcombe 24:02

So, curiosity, I've been working with some managers that are in some key markets that are going to be hosting the World Cup. Um, and you've got like the double, the double thing to work on now is you've got the World Cup, but then you've got to have the Olympics in a year, or I guess, yeah, a year, right? Two years. Um, so are you looking at this as a way to grow your inventory? Because that again, a lot of urban destinations are gonna be part of this, but you're gonna be catering to specific to the Olympics, thinking long range, some very high dollar travelers that are gonna be coming in. And then the Olympics obviously aren't gonna be just in LA, they're gonna be, you know, everywhere kind of surrounding cities and things. And so I was just curious what you're doing to prepare not only Maiman, but then the L LPMS that, you know, growing the inventory relative to these big events.

Nir Maimon 24:52

So on the MIMO group side, we're hyper focused on global events and the US Olympic and the US Open, all those great events are massive. Like for years, we're doing things like Coachella, Formula One. Those are mega events that we're really passionate about. So we're launching a new website in the next couple of months, and the new website actually going to show global events and going to show aggregated properties, luxury properties around those events for people to book. So for us as the brand, global events is huge. For LPMS, we're super excited because when people go to this type of events, and you have the team as well that go into those types of events as well, hotel is just not good enough for that experience. Some people want to go together, want to stay together. So a lot of travel advisors are coming to us and say, hey, how do I find the best properties for those events? But also when I book those properties, I may need some event tickets, I may need a chef, I may need a car, I may I may need to fly private to that for that you know specific location, and I need the SUV to pick me up from the airport. Those are the things that we're doing for them. Those are the things that is like, hey, let me just connect you with the best property managers and the best supply within that market. And sometimes that supply can be the MIMO group, sometimes that supply can be a different property manager that you know end up having a better properties than ours. And then let me connect you with all those services and really make sure you have everything that you need to have an inspire experience day.

Big Events As Growth Engines

Alex Husner 26:32

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that. And I think, you know, especially with with your types of guests, but also even, you know, beyond to a lot more wide range, I think guests are they're wanting more. We've seen that year after year. And I think they're they're wanting more personalization, they're wanting, you know, more things that speak to them as why they're traveling and you know, feeling happy and fulfilled. I mean, we talked about this the other day, that this is a, especially in your case, this is a very big uh purchase for a lot of people or families, you know, and even if it's not the Uber luxury, depending on where you are, it's still a lot of money for where you are at that point in your life. And as the one that's booking the vacation, you don't want to be the one that the whole family hates because you picked the wrong house and then the concierge was terrible and you know, all those terrible stories over here. But how does your guest services and reservation team approach this with people that are inquiring and they come to your site and they're interested in properties? Like, are you asking them up front about what types of experiences they're trying to have when they get there? Or like, what how do you how do you kind of make that bridge of not shoving it down their throats that you offer more than just the stay, but like learning about them in a way that even if they don't book something else besides the stay with you, they feel like you know you actually really know them and have taken time to get to know them as a guest.

Personalization, CRM, And Concierge

Nir Maimon 27:45

On on that regard, first and foremost, we're using a CRM. We've been using a CRM from the beginning of time. And really for us, capturing the data about our guests is super important. And in today's modern age, there's so many cool tools that you can bring into your business to get even more information about your guests. But it's also to your point, it's about about it's all about asking. So we're we're keen on having a person-to-person conversation when somebody comes to us. And we are keen about talking to them over the phone or via text in the best forms and possible way that we can to get more information. We're even sending our guest surveys before even booking with us just to get a better understanding of what they're trying to come and what they're trying to achieve. And then we build a team. We have a team of um travel advisors, which is like our own inside company travel advisors or concierge that really are assigned to that client and making sure that everything that our clients need is really being met from the moment they talk to us all the way to the moment they checked out. Even though we may have different teams interacting with that client, that that concierge, that's you know, that booking agent in our company is following that client from the beginning to the end. And they are the ones that facilitate all the data and put it into our system. They are the ones that aggregated our own supplies to fit the right properties for the guests, they are the ones that making sure we make the right recommendation when it comes to our concierge services, and they're the ones that even stepping in and informing our guest experience team, what type of gift basket will be the right fit for that particular guest when they come into the property. And for us, it works because people like to work with people. I like to have somebody that knows me, understands me, uh, predict my needs. And I like the fact that I don't need to go and explain five different people along the way why am I coming down and what exactly I need. So that's what makes us special. So our our self team, our reservation themes, they're really about building relationships. Now we are layering now different types of tools, but we are fundamentally key about people-to-peoples and building meaningful connections with our guests and and really curating the whole experience from the beginning to the end.

Annie Holcombe 30:18

So, how do you see? I think it's a nice pivot to AI because that's where, I mean, when we walked away from Dharm, I think we were all kind of like, wait a minute, this was a data and revenue management conference, but it really got into AI is just taking over everything. But one thing that I think that a lot of people feel strongly about is that that human connection still needs to be part of it. I mean, after all, it's hospitality, and you get a machine is not hospitable. A machine can do the task for sure, but the hospitality part comes from human nature. And so, where do you think that my men group is gonna be able to layer in AI to make you more efficient? I mean, I think that if you have repeat guests, obviously that's gonna help because you're gonna know what they want and they're they're they're the flavor that they're looking for when they travel. But how do you do that in a way that um you can bring AI in to make yourself more efficient, but not lose that human connection?

AI, Data Lakes, And The New Stack

Nir Maimon 31:10

Just like many business owners in 2026, we all like sitting down and like, how can I use AI to make my business more effective? And how can I use AI to become more successful? And we all have this notion of like, this is a massive opportunity. And if we're not looking at how to use AI in our business in 2026, we may become obsolete in two or three years, right? Because our competitors are gonna do it and they're probably gonna do it better. So for the last couple of months, we're spending a lot of time and money figuring out where we can use AI in our business to become more successful. And really what it came down to first and foremost is we're changing our tech stack, right? I think in 2024, 2023, the PMS has a lot of power. I think in 2026, PMS has less and less power, in my opinion. I think when you're looking at leveraging AI in your business, it's really starting with data. And it really starting with like how can I consolidate all of our data in a new 2026 source of truth. And in our perspective, from the research we've done and hiring experts in the fields to consult us on this, we believe that the new source of truth in our industry is really a data lake or a data warehouse. Because you have data sitting, let's say, in your operation system, maybe it's a breezeway, or and you have data sitting in your PMS, and you have data sitting in your CRM, and you have data sitting in your communication, and you have data sitting on your AWS dashboard. So to really use AI, you gotta start with where is AI gonna get the data? And you really need to streamline the way AI get access to your specific data to empower you to do different things. So we the first and foremost, when it comes to AI in 2026, we believe in like consolidate all the data and bring it all to a data link. Then you start thinking of like now that I brought all the data together, and some big companies in the industry is already doing it, and it's just amazing to see the value of consolidating the data and what they can do with AI in their business. But then you can start having the funds. Then you can start like, let me power my communication, but I still want the humans to validate before sending it. So humans are changing in 2026 from the entity that actually does the work to someone that is actually validating the work, providing feedback and setting up the directions of how to use AI and how to optimize because they're the subject matter experts. So it's super exciting times. Things are completely changing.

Alex Husner 33:48

Yeah. Well, I mean, you think about the last, I don't know, five years or so, maybe a little bit longer, of all these different property management systems that are in our industry. And I remember a few people put together an RFP to build like the best property management system out there. And I don't think it really went that far. But one of the main things that they ran into was, you know, how are we going to come up with this list of how amenities and how things are mapped and how they're, you almost have to have that like universal code that is applicable no matter what system, language, country, whatever that you operate in. And it's just, it's not possible. I mean, like that you're trying to try to solve for so many different things that, you know, an OTA that is mostly a lake-based OTA is going to call things differently than an OTA that has oceanfront or gulf front properties. It's like there's just the essence of doing business makes it more complicated. But I think, you know, knowing how complicated that has been for our industry to solve, and I still don't think it's even solved, it makes me really worried about what AI will be able to do if people continue to operate on just like, let's get everything into a data lake and now let's let's parse it all together. My hesitation on it is, okay, well, you know, it's garbage in, garbage out. If they're getting bad data from other systems that are is in there, and now if it's not updating based on the bad APIs that are set up there, you know, it's like it's it's hard to it's hard to know if this is really gonna be something that is is viable, you know, and I'm not just saying that just because I work with Boom where everything is native AI, but like I think, you know, there's gonna be a lot of different takes on how people pursue this. And and I hope that there is a way that you can take older systems and and make them better. But I to me, I I have to I'll have to see it to believe it because I know what we've been through to get where we're at now.

Nir Maimon 35:35

Yeah, and just for full transparency, we're on Escapia as a PMS, which is a very, very, very old system, right? And yeah, and we we're searching, we we really value what PMS does, and we've been talking with every single bigger players in our industry. We've been talking with Track and Guesty and Streamline and constantly researching is like, are they can are they able to bring me enough value to switch? And and I think recently they built unbelievable facts, and and and I think they're better today than where they were four or five years ago when we looked at them. But we kind of end up to uh a perspective of like uh using um enterprise solution system in our business. So for example, we we onboarded HubSpot as a CRM. We onboarded uh uh we're looking at NetSuite as a trust accounting and operation system. I think when you're getting is and it's really lending down to like what size of a business you are. So if you're if you're managing 30, 40 properties and you don't need as much depth in your tech stack, with all means, go with a centralized uh PMS. It's unbelievable. They have amazing solutions for you. But when you start drawing and you start looking into like how can I take my revenues from this number to this number, now you really need a little bit more depth. And we found that BetaLake, developing AI engines, using enterprise uh solutions like Hotspot and Net Suite, and really gonna make a difference.

Alex Husner 37:09

Yeah, and I I would agree with that for sure. Of like the companies that are your size and growing that also are doing different things within the business model besides just renting properties, those are the ones for sure that we see more of that. They've had to kind of come up with some creative ways of doing it because there is not a solution that is just, you know, can scale from five properties to 500 and being a channel manager and an OTA and a rental company. Um, and that's what I count. That was my background for 13 years. So I certainly understand that too. But it makes it hard, you know. There's not a it's not like the restaurant business where it's like, you know, there's only a couple vendors for food management and vendor management and everything else and reservations. We've made it very complicated.

Enterprise Tools And Growth Mindset

Annie Holcombe 37:51

Where do you see going in into 2026? I mean, we're right at the beginning of the year. It's time to prognosticate and see where we're gonna be at the end of this year. I think AI is gonna be one of those subjects we're gonna continue to chase. But going back to definition of luxury, how do you see that evolving in the next year?

Nir Maimon 38:08

So 2026 for us is the year of deployment, right? For the last couple of years, we've been building very, very strong fundamentals with LPMS, with the MIMER group. We're investing heavily in our peoples and our brand. I think for us, 2026 is where it's all going to come together. So um leveraging LPMS and really uh getting it to where it needs to become, focusing on the definition of luxury, I think is a massive opportunity. So we are taking it seriously. And then also launching all those exciting tech projects that we're doing, the HubSpot, the White Label, the AI agent, the Data Lake, all of that coming together for our business with the keeping our core and fundamentals there to take us through this transformation. So really providing meaningful, personalized relationship to our guests, investing in our properties because you know there's so many shining objects that can grab your attention, but it's really fall down to adding unbelievable properties. So we're doubling down on quality, right? We just hire new two more property managers to join already existing large teams of property managers within our company that goes out to make sure our properties are at top conditions, preventive maintenance, supply, the fundamentals of what we do, right? It's like it starts with having an amazing product and then an amazing service and then an amazing tech stack that makes it very easy and streamlined. And then it's like how do we take it to the next level? Right? How do we really continue doing something that we're doing so well and how to continue building our business? Now, a lot of people in 2026 are heard saying like, I don't want to grow. Grow is toxic or go is not a good thing. We believe growth is life. If you're not growing, Going backwards. So for us, if we're not growing 30% year over year, we're doing something wrong. So we're really committed to growth and we consciously breaking things and rebuilding things to be able to really execute on.

Alex Husner 40:14

Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's a pursuit of excellence. You guys definitely have that. I um before I had reached out, and it's crazy that we have we haven't had you on the show to this point because we've known you for so long. But I had seen a post uh from your brother, I think on LinkedIn, or it might have been one that you shared. But you guys were showing your staff like the difference between like an exceptional property and a good property, and when everything on the counter is perfectly lined up and the logos are facing forward, and it made me think of my husband who yells at me that all the water bottles should be facing forward. I'm like, oh, okay, I didn't realize like now I get it, but um but it does like when you're staying at somebody's, if you're staying at a hotel or a vacation rental and you see like that level of detail that like clearly there was thought put in to make sure everything is exactly how it should be. It just it it like it hits you. It's like a feeling, you know. I mean, like beyond it just feeling like luxury, it feels like it was intentional, like the actions that somebody did to make that happen. And it's it's you know, it comes back to intention and trust and just you know, feeling good about where you're at. You guys have done a great job with it.

Standards In Action And Closing

Nir Maimon 41:17

We keep telling our teams, you know, some of our guests are spending more than what we'll make a year on other vacation, right? So it has to it has to be perfect, it cannot be good, it has to be great. So I think you're talking about my brother showing this is good, this is great. And and when you bring Tal into the perspective, I couldn't do it without him. Tal is something I admired deeply when when we build this business. And something about him is he doesn't compromise on the quality. You know, I've been an entrepreneur for the last 20 years, I built companies, I sold companies, but sometimes I even found myself compromising on the quality because I couldn't deliver. So I give it my best shot, and if I was not able to deliver the level that I thought or I perceived that I need to deliver, I kind of lowered down my standard to kind of like find my place. And something about that that really made us who we are today, he doesn't compromise. He's just like, this is where we need to be. Let's continue and stand it's a process. Nobody's perfect. We're dealing with everything that everybody property managers are using or not using, are dealing with. But we are constantly trying to find the way to deliver at where we need to deliver. And we never, never, ever lower our standards. So we are like constantly pushing our team and constantly pushing our business to get to a point that we really redefine luxury in our space, and that's exciting. And we found really unique ways over the years to achieve on it. Something that we never thought is possible. And our managers and our staff just says, no way, there is no way we can onboard a home in four days. Guess what? Last week we onboarded a home in four days, and it was perfect because we built all those processes and the inventory and the team and the staff and the SOPs and the checklist that we were actually able to onboard a home that had no furniture to fully operating properties. Wow. That's impressive.

Alex Husner 43:33

Wow, that takes us a whole I mean four days, even because I know these homes are big, that's a lot, even if it's furnished. But if it wasn't furnished too, wow, that's congratulations.

Nir Maimon 43:43

It took it took us five years, but here we are, and it was a huge celebration for us because you know, we kind of measure it. The first time we tried it, it took us two months, and and it you just keep getting better and better and better every time you're doing it.

Annie Holcombe 43:57

Well, that's it goes back to that that statement of like, you know, all your growth happens in really uncomfortable places, and you had to get uncomfortable with with trying to seek perfection and not compromising at to know that you could do it, and then you can replicate it over and over and over, and it just gets easier because it's just part of it's just ingrained in in your team and everything that you do. So it's been impressive to watch you guys, and and it's been wonderful to get to know you and just enjoy talking with you and I love your perspective. And um, I can't wait to see where this all goes. And you certainly always have a platform to come on, Alex and Annie, and talk about luxury. We are we are proponents of trying to make definitions for the industry that we'll build process. I'm big fans of luxury. So if you need anybody to test out private jets or chefs anytime, we're very happy to do that.

Alex Husner 44:47

Very high standards for you.

Annie Holcombe 44:49

Yeah, yeah. But congratulations on everything that you've done. It's very impressive.

Nir Maimon 44:53

Thank you. We couldn't do it without our amazing team and the passion and dedications. I I really love what you guys are doing. This community really supported us. Like I was the new guy in the block, and I was walking around, and Alex was like, hey, who you are, and always happy to to to people. And that that's what's beautiful about our industry. People are sharing and people are helping, and people are supporting. And even today, I'm depending on on shows like you guys to give me new ideas and peers in our industry to teach us what they do that works well for them so we can take it to our business. So thanks so much for having me on the show and happy 2026.

Alex Husner 45:30

Yeah, awesome. Well, if anybody wants to get in touch with your near, what's a good uh way for them to reach out?

Nir Maimon 45:35

Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn, so just shoot me a message. I'm pretty active and I'm usually responding to everyone.

Alex Husner 45:42

Okay. And if they want to hear about LPMS, where do they go on that?

Nir Maimon 45:46

Yeah, you can go on dlpms.com, just submit a request for a demo, and our team will be in touch. And also you can always reach out to me and I'll connect you with our team. Perfect.

Alex Husner 45:57

Awesome. Well, thank you for coming on near. And um, for everybody listening, if you want to get in touch with Annie and I, you can go to alexandanniepodcast.com. And until next time, thanks for tuning in, everybody.