Enterprise Highlight | Hasler finds a distinct segment serving trip rental house owners and friends | Native Information

Allison Hasler could be described as a Southern Illinois’ cabin concierge.

In a hospitality setting such as a five-star hotel, the concierge is one who, although employed by the hotel, in reality works for guests – making sure their entire experience is exceptional.

As the owner of Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals, that is exactly what the Marion resident does. Technically, she is employed by owners of rental cabins, loft apartments, lakefront houses and short-term rentals across the region, but her focus really is on the guests who book stays in these homes.

“In a nutshell, we want to make as passive of income as possible for our property investors and property owners,” Hasler explained. “That is personalized, based on the goals of each individual property owner. For the most part, it is all of the guest communication, management of the cleaning teams, the handyman team and the mowing teams and more.”

In essence, Hasler oversees the day-to-day management a variety of area vacation rental units.

Her efforts to serve both owners and guests grew from a Kentucky Lake charter motor yacht company she began with her husband Michael in 2015.

“It was as much fun as you can imagine, but the logistics got the best of us,” she recalled. “We loved sharing the experiences, but thought there had to be a better way to do it.”

That led to the purchase of some property and the launching of “Dam Near Lake of Egypt Cabins,” a collection of three short-term rental units.

“We started with those in 2018 and really ended up having the back-end system running like a well-oiled machine. I thought we could scale,” Hasler recalled.

A little more than one year later, a friend was looking to sell her own short-term rental located at Lake of Egypt. Hasler discovered the reason for the sale was related to the owner not having time to handle all of the management issues of renting out her house, so Hasler suggested that she serve as a sort of co-host, taking on some of the management duties. Adding the property to the “well-oiled machine” worked well and soon Hasler was managing a total of eight short-term rentals.

Those partnerships flourished, and she continued to add to her portfolio of properties. The venture has grown faster than Hasler expected, leading her to leave her job with the City of Marion last year.

Hasler said she is selective in the properties she handles as part of her Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals business, which now includes 20 short-term rentals including locations at Lake of Egypt as well as in several in and near both Carbondale and Marion.

“We saw a very clear vision: offering luxury, neat and unique vacation rentals for tourists in Southern Illinois,” she said. “We have a very distinct brand and a standard of excellence we want to keep with every property.”

She maintains that standard by handling all aspects of working with prospective and booked guests as well as marketing the properties. Hasler takes responsibility for listing the rentals not only on her own website, but also through online booking companies including VRBO, Airbnb and other niche-rental avenues.

She said much of her time is spent communicating with future renters, maintaining all of the back-end systems, regularly visiting properties to make certain everything is up to her standards and updating the extensive online welcome guide she shares with guests prior to their arrival.

“We try to have over and beyond the amount of communication necessary in order for them to not only have everything in place when they get here and have the best experience as well as all of the knowledge they need to enjoy their stay,” she said.

Hasler said she hopes to continue to grow Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals.

“We’re really focused on quality and not quantity, but I see the opportunity for growth and I see handling 50 properties,” she said.