
Casago
Steve Schwab is founder and CEO of Casago, a Arizona-based holiday condominium belongings control corporate. The corporate made headlines on the tail finish of 2024 after saying plans to obtain competitor Vacasa, which has just about 8 instances as many houses in its portfolio.
Schwab’s adventure so far is going again to 2001, the place he labored at Cyndi’s Seaside House Leases in Sonora, Mexico. After increasing the emblem regionally, Schwab advocated for empowering native belongings managers and nonetheless keeps this trust as he advocates for a franchise type, taking inspiration from the lodge sector.
Casago, a holiday condominium belongings control corporate based in 2001, introduced in December that it deliberate to gain Vacasa, a far greater competitor.
Casago, which goes on a franchise type, manages just about 5,000 homes in 72 towns in america, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.
Steve Schwab, CEO of the Arizona-based corporate, talked to PhocusWire about his priorities and expansion plans for the trade, in addition to synthetic intelligence and what he makes of Airbnb’s co-hosting market program.
The dialog has been edited for readability and brevity.
Location
Scottsdale, Arizona
Following the Vacasa deal announcement, what are your priorities?
To proceed to like at the crew, on our house owners and our visitors to make certain that what now we have been doing, that makes it a hit, will proceed to move ahead. It is a courting trade. In the event you lose sight of the ones relationships, that is the place the struggles begin to occur.
I’ll have much more of a focal point on taking good care of our house owners, our crew and our visitors. Extra of a focal point on that than ever to make certain that what makes us particular stays there.
When corporations scale too speedy, they may be able to lose focal point. Within the STR sector, are buyer relationships in peril when corporations get too large?
Your management taste and the ability set it takes to run a big group could be very other from what it takes to run a smaller hospitality staff, particularly throughout the momentary condominium trade. Numerous individuals who come into the STR international, they get an emotional reference to house owners.
To take away your self from that and consider your crew will learn to do this on their very own, letting them fall off the curb so they do not fall off the cliff, and construction the ones groups up, will also be tough for other folks. However whilst you begin to scale the undertaking, that takes any other complete ability set you do not all the time get. In the event you cross too speedy, the corporate can outgrow your management talent and your ability units.
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For us, the large factor I have noticed is why you’re within the trade issues. In case you are in it simply to make cash, you might be now not going to do neatly. It is a homeowner-loving, guest-serving, wrench-turning, bed-making, toilet-scrubbing trade. And in case you adore it for the ones causes and keep owner-centric, your talent to scale goes to be a lot more uncomplicated.
Casago operates a franchise type. Is that the important thing to now scaling the corporate?
The good thing about a franchise is the native operator has a monetary incentive and owns that trade. She or he loves their neighborhood and is not the use of their neighborhood as a result of they reside there too. And so there’s a accountability to their neighbors. The affection of the neighborhood is a large a part of one of the most primary causes we imagine the franchise type, amongst different causes, is the correct type to move with.
You’ve discussed prior to now how the lodge trade has had numerous luck in franchising. Any manufacturers that encourage you?
I really like 4 Seasons. I feel they do so much proper. I do know (founder) Issy Sharp. In the event you ever learn his e-book, it is an implausible adventure about how he began with just about not anything and constructed his manner as much as one thing that is lovely superb. The best way he is constructed his tradition, the way in which he is made positive to handle his focal point on what issues, and his worth proposition … I’m hoping to observe a large number of those self same rules.
What are your growth plans?
We are hoping so that you can come to Europe. We proceed to seem to the longer term sooner or later to be a part of the Ecu neighborhood in a accountable manner. And with locally-owned and -operated small companies. The hope is to take the franchise type to Europe.
What’s Casago’s AI technique?
Clearly there is a huge quantity of alternative, and all of us wish to be bracing for a significant shift in how trade goes to be executed sooner or later. For now, my trust is the use of AI to make Casago bionic, however now not robot. Once I say bionic, what I imply via this is if my groups can in finding extra correct knowledge quicker and procedure knowledge, after which be capable of relay that as a human to human, that is the most efficient use. To interface with our house owners, visitors and teammates with the most efficient knowledge as speedy as we will be able to and the bottom friction.
There is all kinds of innovation that may finally end up entering position. In the end, there will be houses that set up so much themselves. Our belongings supervisor cannot be in a house 24/7, however AI sensors will also be. I am not speaking about intrusive sensors. You may have accelerometers which might be RFID-driven, to tell us when a lavatory’s operating for hours, or after we’re attending to freezing level and the pipes would possibly ruin. Or pay attention to the vibrations of the AC compressor and understand it’s operating 40% longer than it usually runs on the temperature out of doors.
How did your time in the USA Military Particular Operations have an effect on your management taste?
I used to be uncovered to one of the crucial hardest, most powerful minded, maximum formidable males on this planet. And being inside of that tradition modified the way in which I see the arena. I do not believe I’d be in the similar position with out the ones males. They had been tough to stick up with. It repeatedly took the whole thing I needed to keep up with those guys, and it taught me a ton of lifestyles abilities and management abilities. Now not best who I sought after to be as a pacesetter, however I additionally were given to peer, beneath tough scenarios, who I did not wish to be as a pacesetter.
It is a homeowner-loving, guest-serving, wrench-turning, bed-making, toilet-scrubbing trade.”
Steve Schwab, Casago
What’s your tackle Airbnb’s new co-hosting market?
This is not the primary time they have initiated this. I for my part assume it is a approach to undermine locally-owned belongings managers. It’s a take hold of via Airbnb to check out to get extra, as a substitute of looking for native heroes who’re in reality following the actual property regulation.
It is one thing to get round actual property regulation. You may have belongings managers who’re required to have consider accounts, required to be approved. I do not believe what Airbnb is doing is excellent for the trade as a complete. And whilst Airbnb is a very powerful channel, it isn’t the one channel.
You get to be an Airbnb co-host, however then you might be locked into simply Airbnb. What about the entire different channels that pressure a ton of site visitors and a ton of alternatives?
The STR sector continues to come back beneath regulatory scrutiny. What is your view of governments implementing additional regulation?
The explanation there’s pushback is as a result of us, as an trade, have now not regulated ourselves. When any individual else has to come back in and self-discipline you, you might be now not going to find it irresistible and that’s the reason what we are going thru. As an trade we wish to take the accountability to control ourselves and maintain the unhealthy actors. Honest legislation sustains the trade. It isn’t honest to overrun a town with unhealthy actors.
I’m a large suggest of Hire Responsibly with Dave Krause. We paintings thru him so much. Casago has a five-person committee on advocacy, we take reasonably an lively arm, however our stance is we do not want a free-for-all, now we have our position in the neighborhood and we wish to be certain that we handle that. However the unhealthy actors give us a black eye, and if we aren’t taking good care of it, any individual else will.
Casago College is your in-house skilled building program for belongings managers. Do you have got any plans to develop that following the Vacasa acquisition?
We absolutely intend to develop it. We are running on one thing referred to as the momentary condominium working gadget, which is extra expansive than simply studying to be a belongings supervisor. Additionally it is studying the way to be a excellent trade proprietor, the way to run conferences, the way to do the whole thing. And we are bringing in mavens during the trade to give a contribution to this.
Excursions, actions and sights are a sizzling subject lately in commute. Any plans so as to add extra services and products?
In explicit places now we have a neatly laid-out concierge provider. Ensuring other folks have the native revel in and one thing original is a large a part of the explanation why other folks commute now. However you additionally wish to bear in mind that incessantly other folks will cross keep in a house as a result of their motivation isn’t essentially to get into the center of Las Vegas and birthday party. Their function could also be to search out someplace quiet and non violent and with any individual they love. Other people have very various causes to come back to STRs.
Extra from our CEO Highlight collection…
PhocusWire talks to leaders around the virtual commute panorama.

Casago
Steve Schwab is founder and CEO of Casago, a Arizona-based holiday condominium belongings control corporate. The corporate made headlines on the tail finish of 2024 after saying plans to obtain competitor Vacasa, which has just about 8 instances as many houses in its portfolio.
Schwab’s adventure so far is going again to 2001, the place he labored at Cyndi’s Seaside House Leases in Sonora, Mexico. After increasing the emblem regionally, Schwab advocated for empowering native belongings managers and nonetheless keeps this trust as he advocates for a franchise type, taking inspiration from the lodge sector.
Casago, a holiday condominium belongings control corporate based in 2001, introduced in December that it deliberate to gain Vacasa, a far greater competitor.
Casago, which goes on a franchise type, manages just about 5,000 homes in 72 towns in america, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.
Steve Schwab, CEO of the Arizona-based corporate, talked to PhocusWire about his priorities and expansion plans for the trade, in addition to synthetic intelligence and what he makes of Airbnb’s co-hosting market program.
The dialog has been edited for readability and brevity.
Location
Scottsdale, Arizona
Following the Vacasa deal announcement, what are your priorities?
To proceed to like at the crew, on our house owners and our visitors to make certain that what now we have been doing, that makes it a hit, will proceed to move ahead. It is a courting trade. In the event you lose sight of the ones relationships, that is the place the struggles begin to occur.
I’ll have much more of a focal point on taking good care of our house owners, our crew and our visitors. Extra of a focal point on that than ever to make certain that what makes us particular stays there.
When corporations scale too speedy, they may be able to lose focal point. Within the STR sector, are buyer relationships in peril when corporations get too large?
Your management taste and the ability set it takes to run a big group could be very other from what it takes to run a smaller hospitality staff, particularly throughout the momentary condominium trade. Numerous individuals who come into the STR international, they get an emotional reference to house owners.
To take away your self from that and consider your crew will learn to do this on their very own, letting them fall off the curb so they do not fall off the cliff, and construction the ones groups up, will also be tough for other folks. However whilst you begin to scale the undertaking, that takes any other complete ability set you do not all the time get. In the event you cross too speedy, the corporate can outgrow your management talent and your ability units.
Subscribe to our publication under
For us, the large factor I have noticed is why you’re within the trade issues. In case you are in it simply to make cash, you might be now not going to do neatly. It is a homeowner-loving, guest-serving, wrench-turning, bed-making, toilet-scrubbing trade. And in case you adore it for the ones causes and keep owner-centric, your talent to scale goes to be a lot more uncomplicated.
Casago operates a franchise type. Is that the important thing to now scaling the corporate?
The good thing about a franchise is the native operator has a monetary incentive and owns that trade. She or he loves their neighborhood and is not the use of their neighborhood as a result of they reside there too. And so there’s a accountability to their neighbors. The affection of the neighborhood is a large a part of one of the most primary causes we imagine the franchise type, amongst different causes, is the correct type to move with.
You’ve discussed prior to now how the lodge trade has had numerous luck in franchising. Any manufacturers that encourage you?
I really like 4 Seasons. I feel they do so much proper. I do know (founder) Issy Sharp. In the event you ever learn his e-book, it is an implausible adventure about how he began with just about not anything and constructed his manner as much as one thing that is lovely superb. The best way he is constructed his tradition, the way in which he is made positive to handle his focal point on what issues, and his worth proposition … I’m hoping to observe a large number of those self same rules.
What are your growth plans?
We are hoping so that you can come to Europe. We proceed to seem to the longer term sooner or later to be a part of the Ecu neighborhood in a accountable manner. And with locally-owned and -operated small companies. The hope is to take the franchise type to Europe.
What’s Casago’s AI technique?
Clearly there is a huge quantity of alternative, and all of us wish to be bracing for a significant shift in how trade goes to be executed sooner or later. For now, my trust is the use of AI to make Casago bionic, however now not robot. Once I say bionic, what I imply via this is if my groups can in finding extra correct knowledge quicker and procedure knowledge, after which be capable of relay that as a human to human, that is the most efficient use. To interface with our house owners, visitors and teammates with the most efficient knowledge as speedy as we will be able to and the bottom friction.
There is all kinds of innovation that may finally end up entering position. In the end, there will be houses that set up so much themselves. Our belongings supervisor cannot be in a house 24/7, however AI sensors will also be. I am not speaking about intrusive sensors. You may have accelerometers which might be RFID-driven, to tell us when a lavatory’s operating for hours, or after we’re attending to freezing level and the pipes would possibly ruin. Or pay attention to the vibrations of the AC compressor and understand it’s operating 40% longer than it usually runs on the temperature out of doors.
How did your time in the USA Military Particular Operations have an effect on your management taste?
I used to be uncovered to one of the crucial hardest, most powerful minded, maximum formidable males on this planet. And being inside of that tradition modified the way in which I see the arena. I do not believe I’d be in the similar position with out the ones males. They had been tough to stick up with. It repeatedly took the whole thing I needed to keep up with those guys, and it taught me a ton of lifestyles abilities and management abilities. Now not best who I sought after to be as a pacesetter, however I additionally were given to peer, beneath tough scenarios, who I did not wish to be as a pacesetter.
It is a homeowner-loving, guest-serving, wrench-turning, bed-making, toilet-scrubbing trade.”
Steve Schwab, Casago
What’s your tackle Airbnb’s new co-hosting market?
This is not the primary time they have initiated this. I for my part assume it is a approach to undermine locally-owned belongings managers. It’s a take hold of via Airbnb to check out to get extra, as a substitute of looking for native heroes who’re in reality following the actual property regulation.
It is one thing to get round actual property regulation. You may have belongings managers who’re required to have consider accounts, required to be approved. I do not believe what Airbnb is doing is excellent for the trade as a complete. And whilst Airbnb is a very powerful channel, it isn’t the one channel.
You get to be an Airbnb co-host, however then you might be locked into simply Airbnb. What about the entire different channels that pressure a ton of site visitors and a ton of alternatives?
The STR sector continues to come back beneath regulatory scrutiny. What is your view of governments implementing additional regulation?
The explanation there’s pushback is as a result of us, as an trade, have now not regulated ourselves. When any individual else has to come back in and self-discipline you, you might be now not going to find it irresistible and that’s the reason what we are going thru. As an trade we wish to take the accountability to control ourselves and maintain the unhealthy actors. Honest legislation sustains the trade. It isn’t honest to overrun a town with unhealthy actors.
I’m a large suggest of Hire Responsibly with Dave Krause. We paintings thru him so much. Casago has a five-person committee on advocacy, we take reasonably an lively arm, however our stance is we do not want a free-for-all, now we have our position in the neighborhood and we wish to be certain that we handle that. However the unhealthy actors give us a black eye, and if we aren’t taking good care of it, any individual else will.
Casago College is your in-house skilled building program for belongings managers. Do you have got any plans to develop that following the Vacasa acquisition?
We absolutely intend to develop it. We are running on one thing referred to as the momentary condominium working gadget, which is extra expansive than simply studying to be a belongings supervisor. Additionally it is studying the way to be a excellent trade proprietor, the way to run conferences, the way to do the whole thing. And we are bringing in mavens during the trade to give a contribution to this.
Excursions, actions and sights are a sizzling subject lately in commute. Any plans so as to add extra services and products?
In explicit places now we have a neatly laid-out concierge provider. Ensuring other folks have the native revel in and one thing original is a large a part of the explanation why other folks commute now. However you additionally wish to bear in mind that incessantly other folks will cross keep in a house as a result of their motivation isn’t essentially to get into the center of Las Vegas and birthday party. Their function could also be to search out someplace quiet and non violent and with any individual they love. Other people have very various causes to come back to STRs.
Extra from our CEO Highlight collection…
PhocusWire talks to leaders around the virtual commute panorama.