Grand Welcome is a brand built from a genuine love of travel. In 2009, Founder and CEO Brandon Ezra followed his love of the outdoors into an enticing investment opportunity owning a handful of condominiums in the Mammoth Lakes, California, area. He quickly grew that investment to a national short-term rental company. By Kelsi Trinidad
Grand Welcome is a brand built from a genuine love of travel. In 2009, Founder and CEO Brandon Ezra followed his love of the outdoors into an enticing investment opportunity owning a handful of condominiums in the Mammoth Lakes, California, area. He quickly grew that investment to a national short-term rental company.
Ezra assessed the competition and knew that the way to set Grand Welcome apart was to develop user-friendly systems that would make it easy to duplicate his vacation-rental management formula. He knew that franchising was the best way to expand Grand Welcome and still keep its signature boutique-like approach to property management.
In 2019, Grand Welcome began franchising. The operating systems established by Ezra have allowed Grand Welcome to create a franchise opportunity that is user-friendly to any potential franchisee with a love of travel. The technology and software the company uses allow franchisees to focus on growing their businesses, leaving the backend busywork to be automated or handled by corporate.
“We have technology that basically automates a lot of the backend process in terms of marketing properties or managing the listings, including putting each listing out on Airbnb and VRBO,” said Kevin Drudge, Grand Welcome’s vice president of franchise development. The company automates listings to more than 40 different booking sites, in addition to the Grand Welcome site.
What makes the experience for guests unique is that a stay at a Grand Welcome property comes with a 24/7, 365-day concierge service that handles anything they need as it relates to their reservation. For franchisees, this is yet another automated feature managed by the corporate office to give guests an excellent experience. “Because we can see all that information through our technology, we can basically act as the franchisee’s front office for handling guests’ inquiries about properties before they book or if they need to make changes to existing reservations,” explained Drudge.
This automation of guest relations is truly the key to making Grand Welcome’s franchise opportunity unique and valuable, he said. “It’s us handling as much of the backend stuff for them and their business to make it easier for them to operate and scale a larger property management business, without having to make all those investments in technology and heavy staff in order to handle it,” Drudge said.
While corporate handles the backend, franchisees are the company’s boots on the ground, providing local boutique experience for guests and property owners. “For us, it’s providing the best of both worlds,” said Drudge. “They can plug in to us and be a part of a larger national scaled organization, providing that local boutique style and feel that everybody wants.”
The company’s roots in a love of travel and its easy-to-use technology for both franchisors and guests are the hallmark of Grand Welcome’s reputation today.
Kelsi Trinidad