Built by a traveler who got frustrated enough to build the solution.
A few years ago, my family's life changed when my husband was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. We pivoted everything — including how we thought about our time together and how we spent it.
Vacation rentals became our way of creating space and connection: somewhere private, comfortable, and ours for a few days.
Finding those rentals, though, was a second job. I was cross-referencing Airbnb with VRBO with Booking.com, and then searching for the PMC site where I could find the most cost savings. I was copying prices into spreadsheets, reading fine print on fees, and trying to verify features that listings only vaguely hinted at. I'd spend hours researching one trip.
The moment that crystallized it: I was searching for a coastal rental with a deep-water dock good enough to fish off of. No platform let me search for that. I had to cross-reference satellite imagery and nautical charts manually. For a family vacation.
Around that same time, a friend who managed vacation rental properties told me she was giving up. The commission rates were climbing, the visibility was unpredictable, and the direct relationships she'd built with guests over the years were eroding. Her frustration and mine were two sides of the same problem.
Vacation HubSTR is the platform I wished existed — and the one property managers deserve.
Vacation HubSTR is built on a simple belief: travelers deserve complete, transparent information — and property managers deserve fair, sustainable distribution. We're building a platform that serves both sides of that relationship without compromise.
This company was born out of a personal experience with Multiple Myeloma. A portion of Vacation HubSTR's profits will be donated to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation — the leading organization driving research toward a cure. Details will be formalized as the company grows.
Michelle Smiles is a Charlotte, NC-based entrepreneur and the founder of Vacation HubSTR, LLC. She brings 25 years of experience as a CPA and CFP® specializing in creative financial solutions for families, and has served as CFO of a single family office in Charlotte, NC for the last 18 years — a role that sharpened her instinct for transparency, trust, and making complex information clear and actionable. She built Vacation HubSTR as a solo founder, handling everything from company formation and IP protection strategy to product architecture and brand development, driven by the same values that defined her financial career: clarity, trust, and serving people well.
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