Keefe Vacation Rentals, based in in Lake Geneva, WI has merged with Geneva Lakes Property Consulting, has rebranded to Geneva Lakes Vacations, has moved to a new central office in downtown Lake Geneva, and has recently welcomed a new General Manager. Keefe Vacation Rentals and Geneva Lakes Property Consulting merged in March 2020 and has recently relocated its offices and operations center to downtown Lake Geneva at 326 Center Street, also known as the Deignan Building. In addition, Geneva Lakes Vacations has recently welcomed a new General Manager to the team to oversee the growing operation. As the short-term rental industry has transformed with the emergence of websites like AirBnb and VRBO, along with the explosion in traveler demand, these changes represent an evolution in the business to better serve the local community and visitors to the area.
Since 1989, Keefe Vacation Rentals provided local, full-service management to area homeowners and concierge service to visitors looking to rent private homes in the Lakes area, primarily around the area’s lakes and gated resort communities such as Geneva National and Abbey Springs. Geneva Lakes Property Consulting, which was owned by Samantha Strenger, primarily served and operated short-term rentals in downtown Lake Geneva. Owners Tom Keefe and Samantha Strenger met in early 2020 and quickly realized a partnership would create a stronger company to serve both customer bases. “Soon after Tom and I met, we realized that we had complementary strengths and areas of expertise and that by combining companies, we could better serve our individual customers, as well as grow to welcome more visitors and deliver a 5-star experience,” says Samantha Strenger. “We quickly decided to formally partner as of March 1st, 2021, and in the past year, the partnership has worked better than I think either of us expected. Our staff has more than tripled and we managed over 5 times as many guests stays in 2021 than our combined 2020 stays. Most importantly, we have maintained an average rating of over 4.9 stars, and we are very enthusiastic about our future.”
Just over a year after the merger, the partners are now very excited to announce a new name for the operation, Geneva Lakes Vacations. Says Tom Keefe, “As many know, Keefe Real Estate partnered with Compass in November of 2021, but we actually started the process of rebranding Keefe Vacation Rentals prior to those discussions. We hope to grow our company to not only continue to be the premier manager of vacation rental properties, but to also become the trusted name for visitors traveling here to assist them in having amazing vacations and experiences in the area. We felt the name Geneva Lakes Vacations would resonate with them on a deeper level. Tourism is critical to our local economy, and our vision is to be a leader in helping the Lake Geneva area to become known as a destination with exciting, unique and high-quality availability of short-term rental options. This sector of the travel industry is growing faster than any other, and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish this reputation and continue to benefit our local economy.”
Along with the growth of the company and demand, Geneva Lakes Vacations needed a new home and found that at 326 Center Street in downtown Lake Geneva. Originally known as the Deignan Building, Geneva Lakes Vacations is thrilled to set up shop in the heart of the action in Lake Geneva. Samantha Strenger notes, “with numerous properties under management in the central business district, the new headquarters will get us closer to our customers and enable us to enhance our service. Not only this, we feel it is important to be part of our community so we can contribute to the responsible management and growth of visitors to the area. We strive to be a great neighbor, and we intend to be an active participant to ensure the continued partnership with our local communities.”
In addition to these exciting changes, Geneva Lakes Vacations has also recently welcome Patrick Liberg as General Manager. With a background in hospitality and operations, partners Keefe and Strenger look forward to working with Patrick to take over the day-to-day operation responsibilities, while also getting involved with the local tourism and business community. Liberg, a resident of Twin Lakes, brings over a decade of relevant experience to GLV, “I moved the Twin Lakes three years ago and am absolutely in love with everything the Geneva Lakes area has to offer to visitors. With my background in operations and hospitality, I am thrilled to take on the position as GM to continue to build on the success of Geneva Lakes Vacations and help to fulfill the mission of creating amazing experiences for both homeowners and visitors. In addition, I love to be involved and can’t wait to work with the local chamber and visitor bureau to find ways to enhance and improve the tourism industry in the area.”
If you are an owner looking for more information about renting your property, please contact marshall@genevalakesvacations.com; if you are a visitor interested in staying in one of our properties, please contact alisa@genevalakesvacations.com.
