This week, we are highlighting Jeff and Sandra Bright, founders of Bright Haus Condos and OwnerRez users for over six years. With more than 30 years of rental experience, they've built a successful vacation rental business in Breckenridge, Colorado, focused on direct bookings, repeat guests, and helping families create lasting mountain memories.

Can you tell us a little bit about your history?

Bright Haus Condos was born out of thirty-plus years of long-term and short-term rental experience. After watching the short-term rental industry go through several transformational changes from 2000 to 2016, we decided to take control of our STR destiny and create our own direct booking site. We felt the key to success was great branding and ease of use to generate repeat guest stays. Building the website was a challenge, and that was what led us to OwnerRez in 2017.

We now see more bookings from our OwnerRez page than from any other single source. We’ve always focused on keeping our properties in premium condition and adding thoughtful touches that create lasting memories. Today, our properties have earned more than 900 five-star reviews, all located at the Village at Breckenridge in Breckenridge, CO. Our children have followed in our footsteps and now manage their own properties at the Village as well. The family connection and shared love for the area are a big part of what makes this business so meaningful to us.

What is your background?

My passion for mountain real estate started at age 17, dreaming of owning short-term rentals in Colorado ski towns. I watched my grandparents run rental properties as a child and saw the value in that type of business. Jeff’s grandparents subdivided their farm and built seven rental properties to generate secondary income during WWII, and afterward, they lived in one of those properties for 10 years. After we married, we both felt that we should take what we learned from our families and follow in their footsteps. We purchased our first rental property two years after we were married. Throughout our careers, real estate was always our “fun job," long before side hustles were a trend.

Were you always in vacation rentals or property management, or is this a second or third career?

We’ve always been involved in rental management in some form, even while working full-time careers. Vacation rentals became our later-career passion, but real estate has been part of our lives from the beginning. Our enthusiasm has led to our family, in-laws, and friends joining us on this adventure, and we've enjoyed watching them succeed in vacation rentals as well.

If a later career, what did you do before?

I worked in healthcare management and medical sales. Jeff served in the Navy as a pilot and later worked in national medical sales leadership. Real estate rentals were always running in the background, the constant thread through every chapter.

Are you from the geographical area where your properties are located?

Yes, we were both born and raised in Colorado as our families arrived here several generations ago. We both had the chance to fully explore Colorado while we were young. While our professional journey took us to many other parts of the US and overseas, we were always comparing those locations to Colorado. And none of them quite gave us the same sense of wonder the we get from the Rocky Mountains. That is why we always knew we would be back here one day.

What do you love most about the vacation rental business?

Vacations are an important part of life. We love hosting and helping create lasting vacation memories for guests. Every property we personally remodel with our signature warm mountain-modern design, creating that “aww” moment when guests walk in and instantly feel at ease, like they left their work life on the other side of the mountains. Our goal is for guests to leave everything behind and simply be present on their vacation.

What do you dislike the most about it?

The constant changes across booking platforms and the increasing fees charged to guests and owners. There are too many middlemen, and restrictive policies often make it harder to deliver the best value and experience, something we’ve been committed to for decades.

How do you use OwnerRez to manage your business?

OwnerRez is our central hub. It integrates our properties across multiple platforms, making it easy for our family team to assist any guest or property at any time. The messaging templates, automation, and overall ease of use make it a true one-stop shop for managing our portfolio.

What is the most useful feature OwnerRez offers?

The ability for guests to book direct and find us again and again, without being diverted to other listings, is the biggest advantage. OwnerRez’s pricing is fair, and we appreciate that features can be added as the business grows rather than being forced into an all-in-one package. Creating a website is simple, and the integrations and automated templates make guest communication seamless.

Jeff and Sandra have done an incredible job of building a vacation rental business with a strong direct-booking model, loyal repeat guests, and a recognizable brand. We’re proud they’ve chosen to partner their family business with OwnerRez and look forward to seeing what they do next.