We’re excited to announce the launch of our new podcast, Walk ’n Talk: The Business Behind Vacation Rentals. This show pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build, scale, and run a successful company in the vacation rental industry.
Hosted by Paul Waldschmidt and Chris Hynes, co-founders of OwnerRez, the podcast is inspired by a ritual the two have followed for years: weekly walks where they talk candidly about the business, debate ideas, unpack problems, and push each other toward clearer thinking.
These walking conversations have shaped countless product decisions, strategy shifts, and breakthrough moments inside OwnerRez. Now, you get to listen in.
Why We Created Walk ’n Talk
Behind every feature release, integration, or product decision at OwnerRez, there’s a story, sometimes messy, sometimes funny, sometimes stressful, but always rooted in the reality of building software for thousands of property managers. This podcast captures those stories.
Every episode dives into lessons learned from:
- More than a decade of bootstrapping and building
- Customer challenges and industry shifts
- The evolution of the vacation-rental landscape
- The day-to-day realities of running a tech company in a fast-moving space
Whether you’re a host, manager, entrepreneur, or just curious how vacation-rental software gets made, this show gives you real conversations, real experience, and real insight one walk at a time.
🎙️ Episode 1 Now Live
EP1 – Appetite, Innovation & Execution: How OwnerRez Was Built
In our first episode, Paul and Chris open up about the origins of their 20-year partnership and the early days that shaped what would later become OwnerRez.
You’ll hear about:
- How they met as teenage coders
- Their years working with their mentor, Ed
- The early products they built together
- Burn-down charts, bootstrapped years, and growing pains
- The pivotal 2013 reboot that led to the modern OwnerRez platform
- The mindset of appetite, innovation, and execution that has guided every phase of the company
- And how a relentless focus on speed, quality, and user experience became the foundation of everything at OwnerRez
It’s a raw and honest look at how OwnerRez began and why its founders still love building it today.
Listen Now
Watch Now
Walk ’n Talk: The Business Behind Vacation Rentals is available on:
New episodes are already in the works, and we can’t wait for you to join us on the walk.
