This week, we’re highlighting Daniel and Dave, the brothers behind Fun Coast Rentals. After purchasing their first short-term rental in New Smyrna Beach, they immersed themselves in the vacation rental industry and learned the business firsthand. In just five years, they’ve grown to manage 23 rentals through a hands-on, owner-focused approach, with OwnerRez supporting their day-to-day operations.

Can you tell us a little bit about your history?

My name is Daniel C., and together with my brother Dave, we are the founders and co-owners of Fun Coast Rentals. We were born and raised in a small town in central Italy near Naples, and our journey into vacation rentals began after college pursuits brought us both to the United States, on the Central Florida coast, or the “Fun Coast”.

We initially invested in long-term rentals in the area, but our path shifted when we purchased our first short-term rental in the heart of New Smyrna Beach, right on Flagler Avenue. At the time, we had no prior experience managing a vacation rental, so we partnered with both a large local management company and, later, a national provider, thinking they would help make our investment a success. Unfortunately, both experiences fell short in terms of communication, transparency, and owner support.

Rather than accept the status quo, we decided to immerse ourselves in the vacation rental industry and learn the operational and technical sides firsthand. We tested multiple PMS platforms via trials before ultimately choosing OwnerRez, which became the foundation of how we operate today.

Five years later, Fun Coast Rentals manages 23 properties in New Smyrna Beach, with additional homes coming online this year in 2026. Our growth has been driven by a hands-on, owner-focused approach and a commitment to doing things better than our competitors, for both property owners and guests.

What is your background?

Believe it or not, both my brother and I are aviators! We both went to school in aviation-related fields.

Were you always in vacation rentals or property management, or is this a 2nd/3rd career?

Property management is definitely a second/moonlight career for us currently. We both are pilots at separate major US airlines and simultaneously manage the property management business.

Are you from the geographical area where your properties are located, or did you move there later?

We originally grew up in central Italy and eventually moved to the United States, more specifically the "Fun Coast" in the late 2010’s. We finally settled on moving to New Smyrna Beach 3 years ago, when our vacation rental business really started taking off and demanding more of our time.

If later, is there something that drew you to that area?

The laid back charm and old-school surf town feel of New Smyrna Beach (NSB) is hard to ignore. By and large, chains and big corporations have been kept out, so the elements that make NSB so special have been preserved. It’s truly an undiscovered gem in Florida.

What do you love the most about the vacation rental business?

I love delivering a great stay experience for my guests and property owners alike. It gives me great satisfaction when a guest tells me they appreciate my services and property offering.

What do you dislike the most about it?

I dislike when guests are mean or downright disrespectful to myself or my support staff.

What is the most useful feature OwnerRez offers?

We enjoy using OwnerRez because it offers excellent value, regular updates, and is highly customizable for our business. In my opinion, one of the most useful features of OwnerRez are the (many) Channel Integrations. They’re always rock solid and feature-rich when compared to competing PMS’s (so I hear). Anytime a newly supported API feature for a channel is supported by an OTA, OwnerRez is very prompt at supporting it on their end as well.

Daniel and Dave have done an incredible job building a successful management company while pursuing careers in aviation. We’re proud to support their commitment to doing things better for both property owners and guests and look forward to seeing them continue to grow.