Joe purchased his first vacation rental in Destin, Florida in 1999. Being a Realtor at the time gave Joe some insight on the growth potential of the Emerald Coast and the value of having a second home that he could rent. He soon purchased more rentals and then started helping his real estate clients from Cincinnati purchase in Destin also.

After the opportunity to sell his family health club and supplement website, Joe decided to go full time into the vacation rental business. Joe and his family were also featured on “House Hunters International” when his involvement in an Ocean Front Villa community became popular in Panama.

Joe now owns rentals in Destin and manages properties for some friends. He also started the online vacation rental software site ivacationonline.com. Helping private owners run vacation rentals has become a passion for Joe. He is the author of “Vacation Rentals For Profit”. He gives seminars on the subject and has always been a leader in vacation rental marketing innovation. With over 20 years of experience in Real Estate, Web Development and Vacation Rentals, Joe was driven to bring back to the market, a traditional listing site for private owners and managers. Wanting to concentrate on a regional basis for optimal growth in one area is how EmeraldCoastByOwner.com was born!

With the immediate success of ECBYO.COM, Joe then turned to the TN Valley market of the Great Smoky Mountains. Joe’s brother had owned rentals in Gatlinburg for over a decade and he was familiar with that market. Unfortunately they did lose their cabin in the recent fires.

“Bringing the community based concept to the TN Valley and the Smoky Mountains is a natural for us, as we know that area well and marketing in this manner is now a proven technique for us.” Joe recently stated.

Joe is looking forward to making SMBYO another successful regional based site!

Peter has worked in and around the information technology field for over 35 years in a variety of positions, both in military and civilian capacities. His background includes working with small businesses as well as multi-billion dollar organizations. Some of the areas Peter has worked include engineering, financial services and software development.

For the past several years, Peter has been instrumental in developing new services in software developement for the vacation rental industry with booking systems for both owners and managers of vacation rental homes.

Peter leads application development, manages information technology services and oversees technical operations for SmokyMountainsByOwners.com to help ensure its success for all of our Owners and Managers. Peter also manages the team of programmers and technicians that work behind the scenes.

Gail and her family purchased their first vacation rental property in Gulf Shores, Alabama in 2007. Since the business was a success, they decided to purchase a second property in Gulf Shores six months later. Several owners in her association then asked Gail if she would manage their reservations as well. Next, the family broadened their rental business by purchasing a vacation rental in Panama, Central America. A few years later, Gail's business expanded into managing reservations for owners with properties in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Destin, Florida as well.

In 2010, Gail became a working Partner with ivacationonline.com and has helped many owners and managers with their account setup and marketing strategies. She has also assisted her partner Joe with "Vacation Rentals For Profit" seminars. As Gail has told many of her clients, "I am in this with you, whatever I learn about the business/market, I want to share with you. Your success is our success. Together we can be listing site independent especially with websites like SmokyMountainsByOwners.com!!"

Gail is our lead client service rep and is here to make sure your listings are set to their maximum potential.

Len has worked as a web designer since 1998. Len joined the vacation rental industry back in 2004 after meeting Joe Godar with ivacationonline.com and has been with the company full time since 2006 and will be helping our new users on SMBYO.COM set up and optimize their listings.

Len has been here since the beginning and has helped us in many areas of the company including customer service and continues to help owners and managers daily. Len has created and designed over 50 custom vacation rental websites for owners and continues to help us improve the website every day and will also be a big part of our newest website, SmokyMountainsByOwners.com.

Cory joined the vacation world when he took over his father’s home in Gatlinburg, Tn. After studying information systems at the University of Cincinnati, he knew he could bring a modern and technological advantage to his father’s business. Growing up with a father in the industry, Cory has been around the vacation industry nearly his whole life. Following closely to the advice of his uncle Joe Godar, Cory has found success with managing his rental property.

While still new to the management world, Cory has spent much time in the social media and online marketing world. After heading the online marketing for several local businesses, he embarked on starting and marketing his own ecommerce business with high success through social media. His social media pages grew from scratch to over 1 million views in less than 6 weeks. With experience in running social media ads and accounts, Cory will help with our online marketing and social media accounts.

Tayler is new to the vacation listing world but not unfamiliar to the vacation rental world by any means. She has been visiting Destin, Florida every single year, sometimes twice a year, for the past 24 years and her father Joe, has owned vacation homes for the past 18 years. Tayler has grown up with the foundation of knowledge when it comes to owning and managing homes along with owning businesses due to her hardworking father.

Tayler graduated from Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY back in the spring of 2016 double majoring in both Communication and Psychology. While being a recent college graduate, Tayler is very used to multitasking different areas. While attending her 4-year college, she was also a college athlete by being apart of Georgetown’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams for all four years. With having great success throughout her four years of being a student athlete, Tayler is always hungry to strive for more and be the best she can be for herself, her employers, and her clients.

Tayler is the customer service representative for both ECBYO.COM and SMBYO.COM and loves communicating and helping owners have a successsfull experience with listing their homes and helping guests find the best vacation rental for their upcoming vacation.

Brian has 15 years of experience as an Internet Marketing Strategist. He has been involved in the vacation rental industry, since 2004, as a consultant to Joe Godar when he launched ivacationonline.com. Brian has worked with several business owners within multiple industries to improve their online presence and increase their revenue. He has also been contracted by companies to teach & coach their internal team SEO and other online marketing strategies.

His vast amount of knowledge includes: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Content Management, Quantitative Analysis & Methods, Affiliate Marketing, Project Management and Email Marketing. In 2006, he led a team as the Director of Internet Marketing in developing and launching a new health & nutrition web-site. In the 1st nine months, the company did $1.25 million in sales and is currently one of the largest Online Supplement Stores.

Brian is excited to be part of our team and help maximize the online presence of SmokyMountainsByOwners.com within the search engines.

Roger is a team leader, and a team player who excels in sales as well as customer support and service. His winning formula is to aim for complete customer satisfaction that makes him driver himself hard to ensure 100% quality in work. In his over 14 years of work experience he sticks by his values of integrity and hard work as the key drivers of success. A dog lover and a travel enthusiast who loves both exploration and adventure, Roger also is an amateur photographer who loves to click.

The Association of Vacation Rental Operators and Affiliates (AVROA) is a global trade association dedicated to supporting Vacation Rental Owners, Managers and Affiliated Companies through programs that help deliver guests top quality vacation experiences.

The first step in delivering a quality guest experience is providing your guests the assurance that you and your property are real and that you subscribe to the highest ethical standards. AVROA’s Property Certification was developed to do that. When you become AVROA certified you make it easier for guests to rent from you.

To learn more about AVROA Certification click. Here