Michael Friedman

Chief Executive Officer @ The Simple Life Hospitality

With more than 35 years of leadership across luxury hospitality, short-term rentals, vacation rental management, online travel, and real estate, I have built and scaled high-performance hospitality businesses by aligning operational discipline, commercial strategy, and service-driven leadership. I currently serve as CEO of Simple Life Hospitality and Simple Life Rentals, leading one of the Midwest’s fastest-growing luxury vacation rental management companies. Our company operates under three guiding pillars — Cash, Care, and Communication — a performance framework that drives strong homeowner returns, elevated guest experiences, and scalable operational excellence. Simple Life Hospitality specializes in luxury and lifestyle-focused vacation rental management, leveraging advanced revenue management, AI-driven pricing strategies, and multi-channel distribution across Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, Google Travel, travel advisors, and direct booking channels. We focus on maximizing property performance, owner satisfaction, and long-term portfolio growth. Previously, I served as Chief Operating Officer – Americas for onefinestay (Accor Group), where I led operations, sales, homeowner growth, and market expansion across a 2,500+ luxury home portfolio. During my tenure, the region achieved sustained profitable growth while improving operational scalability, guest satisfaction, and service delivery across multiple markets. I am also Co-Founder and Board Member of Vacation Rental University (VRU), helping establish global education standards and operational best practices for property managers, hospitality entrepreneurs, and real estate investors. Recognized as a global speaker, advisor, and contributor within the short-term rental and alternative accommodations industry, I regularly share insights on hospitality innovation, AI-driven revenue optimization, distribution strategy, portfolio scaling, M&A integration, and leadership development. My leadership philosophy centers on building high-accountability teams, strengthening owner and guest relationships, and creating long-term value through service excellence, technology adoption, and disciplined growth strategies.