Meet Wes Smithe of Direct™ Property Management Software in River North

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wes Smithe.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Wes. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It all started after I graduated from college in 2009. I joined my brother-in-law and his business partner launching GamedayHousing.com, a vacation home rental marketplace for sporting event destinations (e.g. college football towns). It was a side business at the time, and that fall I started a 2 year corporate career as an ad man at FCB and Leo Burnett. The job was solid, but my heart was in the startup world, so I left the corporate world in the spring of 2011 to join GamedayHousing as a partner full-time. Then in 2014 we went on to launch a second marketplace, Vaystays.com, which consolidates professionally managed vacation rentals worldwide. At that same time we began building what is now our focus today – Direct™ Property Management Software.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a bumpy road. Some days / weeks / months the path is crystal clear, while at other times what lies ahead is very foggy. While our marketplace businesses have been profitable, they haven’t been slam dunks. We are going for ubiquity with everything we build, and when one of our largest customer acquisition channels began to die out in 2016, it became clear we had to fully pivot in order to survive and thrive. I’ve kept going because I know we will succeed.

Direct™ Property Management Software – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
With delightful technology and a seemingly endless supply of overnight rentals, Airbnb has upended online travel. To professional suppliers, however, Airbnb is but a distribution channel. Companies cannot run operations, maximize reach or occupancy, optimize their online presence, or increase direct bookings on Airbnb. They pay for enterprise software to assist with much of that.

But the enterprise software vacation rental and hotel management companies currently run on is outdated and disconnected. There has yet to emerge a modern, scalable technology solution that changes the game. In this realm, there is no “Airbnb.”

We are opportunists, and we see the bigger picture: this side of the industry needs a backbone, and Direct™ is the only truly scalable all-in-one software solution for professional vacation rental and hotel management companies. Our platform allows users to streamline operations, automate and maximize distribution, and increase margins and conversions via free, modern e-commerce websites. The largest management companies in the world will soon run on Direct™.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I would have to say it was our latest pivot in strategy. It was a very stressful time for myself and for the company. For me, I had recently assumed control of the company, I had baby #1 on the way, we were fundraising, and our entire strategy was shifting, which included building and launching new product to the market. Through it all our team really banded together and we are now executing our vision, which is I think our strongest strategy to date.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.getdirect.io
• Phone: 312-878-4572
• Email: contact@getdirect.io
• Twitter: twitter.com/directpms

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