Moriya Rockman: Transforming Hospitality with Villa Tracker
In the world of luxury travel, where personalization and exclusivity set the tone, Moriya Rockman has emerged as a true visionary, redefining what it means to offer a bespoke guest experience. From her early days as a radio DJ to her unique roles in water patrol, Moriya’s path to founding Villa Tracker is as intriguing as it is inspiring. This journey article dives into the pivotal moments that fueled her transition from hosting friends in a single chalet in the Swiss Alps to launching Smiling House Luxury—a brand now managing luxury properties across 52 countries, dedicated to elevating the art of hospitality.
Throughout this article, you’ll discover how Moriya’s innovative mindset led to the creation of Villa Tracker, a platform that connects travel professionals with curated luxury properties tailored for the most discerning clients. With Villa Tracker, Moriya aims to bridge the gap between travel agents and exclusive vacation rentals, bringing a 5-star service standard to private stays worldwide. Her journey offers insight into the power of vision and adaptability in building a brand that resonates with global travelers.
Readers will find valuable takeaways on navigating the luxury travel industry, from leveraging partnerships to embracing sustainable practices. Moriya's story embodies resilience, innovation, and the art of scaling a niche business for lasting impact. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a travel aficionado, or an industry professional, Moriya’s journey provides a wealth of inspiration and practical insights.
Join us on this journey to discover the drive, ingenuity, and passion that have shaped Villa Tracker into a pioneering force in luxury travel. Moriya Rockman’s story offers not only a window into the world of high-end hospitality but also a roadmap for anyone aiming to leave a mark on the industry.
My Early Journey: From DJ to Hospitality
Tell us something about you, your early life, and your education.
In my early life, I embarked on two surprising paths that shaped who I am today. From ages 22 to 27, I worked as a radio DJ, hosting my own shows and gaining recognition in the industry. Simultaneously, I was part of a police unit focused on water issues with civilians, which had me diving into unusual places like wells and rivers where swimming was prohibited. Nowadays, I only dive in the ocean, where I can enjoy the beauty of reefs and corals.
My educational background includes a BA in Communication, and I also had the opportunity to lecture at a university on new media and innovation, which further enriched my understanding of the evolving landscape of communication.
My passion for hospitality began when we decided to list our beautiful Swiss Chalet on Guesty and Airbnb. We loved hosting friends and clients, and this enjoyment grew organically as I became passionate about welcoming new guests to our home and providing top hospitality. Through this experience, we discovered a gap in the luxury segment of the vacation rental industry. This revelation fueled our ambition and ultimately led to the co-founding of Smiling House with my husband and business partner Ira Rockman. What started as a single chalet in the Swiss Alps has now evolved into one of the world’s best luxury online travel agencies, featuring over 12,000 properties across 52 countries and more than 400 destinations – Smiling House Luxury.
Recognizing yet another gap for travel professionals in the luxury space inspired me to launch Villa Tracker. This innovative platform serves as a global distribution system, enabling travel professionals, concierge companies, and travel agencies to seamlessly book luxury vacation rentals worldwide.
What is Villa Tracker?
Tell us about the new business and its presence in the target market.
Villa Tracker is a groundbreaking B2B2C platform created specifically for travel professionals, such as concierge companies, travel agents, travel designers, event planners, business incentive specialists, retreat facilitators, and media production companies. The platform offers seamless access to a vast array of holiday rental properties, bridging the gap between travel professionals and thousands of premium properties worldwide. These properties range from centrally located design studios in major city centres to ultra-luxurious castles and mansions, catering to the diverse needs of clients across different regions.
A key differentiator of Villa Tracker is its focus on providing travel professionals with properties that meet or exceed 5-star hotel standards. Each property listed on the platform undergoes a rigorous selection process, ensuring high levels of hospitality, space, and added amenities. This commitment to quality ensures that both travel professionals and their clients experience accommodations that elevate the standard of luxury travel, competing directly with upscale hotels.
Villa Tracker emerged as a direct response to the shifting demands of the travel industry during COVID-19, when many travel professionals sought alternatives to hotels due to concerns about shared amenities and health protocols. Smiling House, a prominent name in the luxury rental market, received overwhelming interest from professionals looking for exclusive, private holiday rentals. In response to this trend, Villa Tracker was developed to serve as a one-stop solution for these professionals, allowing them to book unique properties that guarantee privacy, safety, and luxury.
Since its inception, the platform has generated significant excitement and interest in the market. Property managers are increasingly signing up to have their properties featured on Villa Tracker, recognizing the opportunity to reach a specialised and discerning clientele. Similarly, travel professionals are highly receptive to what Villa Tracker offers, as the platform provides them with a resource that is unparalleled in terms of the quality, diversity, and convenience of the holiday rental properties available.
Villa Tracker’s innovative approach to bridging property managers and travel professionals has solidified its position at the top of the target market, offering a fresh and compelling solution that is reshaping the luxury holiday rental industry.
Plans for Villa Tracker’s Growth
What are some of the growth and expansion plans you have in your pipeline?
As we continue to develop the Villa Tracker platform, our growth and expansion plans are shaping up with several exciting initiatives on the horizon. We anticipate significant expansion as more property managers recognize the unique value of our platform and seize the opportunity to showcase their properties. This is an important step towards Villa Tracker becoming the go-to platform for travel professionals seeking exceptional, tailored properties for their clients.
Our vision is to establish Villa Tracker as the number one B2B2C platform worldwide, offering seamless connections between property managers and travel professionals across diverse industries. To achieve this, we’re not only expanding our portfolio of properties but also enhancing the services and amenities around each rental. This includes offering luxury add-ons such as private jets, private chefs, and chauffeurs, which will elevate the guest experience to a truly 5-star standard.
By building up both the properties themselves and the high-end services available around them, we are committed to ensuring that Villa Tracker delivers a premium, top-notch experience for every client. This is just the beginning, and we are dedicated to growing Villa Tracker into the first-choice platform for both property managers and travel professionals alike, setting a new standard of excellence in the luxury holiday rental industry.
Key Achievements in the Past Year
How has the year been for your company?
This year has been a transformative one for our company as we've worked to build and expand Villa Tracker. A key highlight was our partnership with Guesty, which launched in August. This collaboration is not only significant in terms of market expansion but also in integrating cutting-edge technology that makes the platform seamless for users. The support we've received from Guesty has been immense, especially as we were one of the first properties listed on their platform nearly 10 years ago when they began. This long-standing relationship has helped shape Villa Tracker into a more efficient and user-friendly experience for travel professionals and property managers alike.
In addition, our official Villa Tracker launch in Porto in early October created significant buzz and attracted praise from industry thought leaders. We are incredibly proud of the progress we've made and look forward to seeing Villa Tracker continue to grow as we move into Q4 of 2024.
What Makes Villa Tracker Different
What does your business offer as per the current competitive market?
What sets Villa Tracker apart in the current competitive market is its unique positioning as the first platform of its kind designed specifically for travel professionals. Unlike other platforms, Villa Tracker effectively bridges the gap between the vacation rental industry and travel professionals, creating a seamless, mutually beneficial relationship. This innovative approach has already sparked significant excitement, with property managers eager to list their properties and travel professionals recognizing it as a game-changing solution that enhances their offerings to clients.
Villa Tracker isn't just a booking tool—it’s a disruptor, reshaping how the vacation rental industry collaborates with travel experts and filling a crucial void in the market. We are the only platform of this scale tailored exclusively to travel professionals, offering an unprecedented range of properties that meet exceptionally high standards. Our portfolio features thousands of luxury and ultra-luxury castles, villas, and mansions, many of which are new to the vacation rental market and include off-market properties directly from homeowners. This presents an exciting opportunity for travel professionals to discover unique offerings for their clients. These properties go beyond mere accommodation—they offer exclusive experiences, ensuring clients receive the very best in privacy, comfort, and service. Passionate about hospitality, we are always looking to exceed the clients’ expectations - encouraging an authentic luxury experience of a region.
In addition to our luxury collection, we are developing a new range of city-centre designed properties and studios, tailored specifically for travel professionals to book for clients travelling for business purposes, meetings, or those that want to explore city life in style!
Villa Tracker is setting new industry standards by delivering a level of luxury that competes with 5-star hotels, making us the first choice for travel professionals seeking to elevate their clients’ experiences.
Creating a Strong Team
What measures do you think employees and organizations can take to build effective teamwork and unity?
Operating as an international group with a remote setup allows our employees to bring their own uniqueness to the work they do, contributing to a rich and diverse team environment. As a team, employees are all excited about the shape Villa Tracker is taking. Since we decided to build this platform, we've realized that the possibilities are endless, and this is just the beginning. The team is excited to be part of these first steps and to set the foundation for a groundbreaking platform that will be enjoyed across industries!
How We Innovate at Villa Tracker
Tell us about the company’s focus and investment in research and innovation.
At Villa Tracker, our focus on research and innovation goes beyond keeping up with technological trends—we are committed to ensuring that great hospitality and true luxury provide clients with an authentic, unforgettable experience. While evolving our business technology is important, we also emphasize understanding what truly matters to the end client, continuously thinking of new ways to make each guest’s experience unique and special. For example, we encourage guests to participate in local cultural events that may seem ordinary but offer a memorable and authentic experience for travelers. This approach reflects our dedication to being true ambassadors of each destination, going beyond just offering luxury properties to providing immersive, enriching experiences.
In terms of innovation, we are constantly enhancing our platform. We recently partnered with Besty AI, introducing a smart payment feature that allows clients to split group payments seamlessly, making booking for larger groups more convenient. We also cater to the needs of travel professionals by optimizing the platform with tools that make their work easier, such as the ability to quickly download customized PDFs with their own logos to share property options with clients. This streamlining of their workflow is a core part of our focus on user experience innovation.
Additionally, sustainability is a key area we are investing in. We encourage property managers to incorporate sustainable practices, and we are building a luxury sustainable collection featuring properties that are accredited for their environmental consciousness. Our partnership with Swisstainable, formed earlier this year, reflects our deep commitment to promoting sustainability within the luxury rental industry.
Advice for New Entrepreneurs
Any tips for startups looking to get onto a similar pathway?
I love seeing passionate new property managers and entrepreneurs entering the market, as they bring fresh ideas and approaches to our field. For startups aiming to create a platform like Villa Tracker or succeed in the luxury vacation rental space, my advice is to start small but think big. The travel industry is filled with opportunities, but scaling too quickly can sometimes lead to burnout and can result in significant expenses. Instead, build a solid foundation by understanding what both clients and travel professionals need.
Also, patience is key. Sometimes the journey can feel lengthy, especially if you’re introducing new concepts or products to the market. However, maintaining a consistent, quality-driven approach will pay off in the long run. There is always room for growth, and finding innovative ways to enhance the client experience is essential. Most importantly, stay authentic to your values. A lot of travel businesses lose their unique touch by following trends. Keeping true to what you believe in, coupled with dedication and patience, will undoubtedly yield success in this industry.
Conclusion
As Moriya Rockman’s journey illustrates, the path to redefining luxury travel is built on a foundation of innovation, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to guest satisfaction. From her humble beginnings to becoming a pioneer in the luxury rental industry with Villa Tracker and Smiling House Luxury, Moriya has shown that success comes from combining passion with purpose. Her approach to blending high-end hospitality with personalized experiences not only reshapes travel expectations but also sets a new standard for the industry.
Through Villa Tracker, Moriya isn’t just offering accommodations; she’s crafting unforgettable experiences, making a positive impact on global hospitality and proving that true luxury lies in attention to detail and thoughtful connections. Her journey serves as a powerful reminder that by embracing challenges and adapting to change, we can transform a vision into reality and create a legacy that resonates worldwide.
For anyone inspired to pursue their dreams in hospitality or entrepreneurship, Moriya Rockman’s story exemplifies that success is within reach for those who dare to dream—and who put in the work to make those dreams come to life.
Also Read:-
Recent Comments: