In 2003 I started Cottage Link Rental Management in Ontario. I ran it for nearly twenty years and grew it to up to 200 properties, taking reservations by fax in the early days, winning owners' trust (some of it, I suspect, on the strength of my British accent) and learning most of my lessons the hard way. I sold the company in 2022. Since then I've worked alongside property managers as a consultant and educator through Vacation Rental Formula, and on the Vacation Rental Success Podcast, which I started in 2013 because I simply needed to know more stuff.
Why I built toolWYZE™
Every tool in toolWYZE™ is something I wanted when I was running Cottage Link, or something a property manager I work with asked me for. An inspection report that didn't eat an evening to write up. A way to track owner leads so nobody slipped through the cracks. One place for our procedures, so the answer to "how do we do this?" wasn't always me.
Some of these tools already existed. The problem was where they lived. Some came bundled inside big platforms I would have had to buy into just to reach one feature. Others sat behind a higher subscription tier, often priced per property, so the bill went up every time I signed a new owner. That always struck me as backwards. Small companies need this help most at exactly the moment they're trying to grow, and that's precisely when the pricing hits hardest.
So I built the tools I wanted, priced for the business I used to run.
What that means for you
toolWYZE™ is one membership, one login and one flat price, whether you manage five properties or thirty-five. Adding owners doesn't add to your bill. You get tools for the jobs that swallow your week: winning new owners, inspecting properties, keeping your procedures in one place, answering the questions your owners ask over and over, and building your own AI helpers for the way your business actually works.
toolWYZE™ works alongside your property management system rather than replacing it. Think of it as the set of tools around your PMS that bigger companies take for granted, at a price a small operator can carry for as long as you need it. If you grow big enough to move onto the enterprise platforms one day, I'll be cheering you on.
Built by a property manager, for property managers
I've been where you are: chief cook and bottle washer, wearing every hat and wondering where the day went. AI has given me back hours I used to lose to admin, and I want the same for you, so you can spend that time on your owners and your guests. That's the part of this business that matters most, and no app will ever do it for you.
If you'd like to see where AI could help your business first, start with STR AI-Ready. It's free, and it will show you exactly where to begin.
Heather
Start with STR AI-Ready