About Sarah

I've seen vacation rental marketing from every side

Destination marketer, resort head of marketing, OTA-side VP, consultant. Each seat showed me a different reason operators lose control of their bookings.

That's not a résumé flex. It's why I can usually spot the leak on the first call.

Sarah Stahl in a navy blazer, hand on hip

15 years in marketing.
10 in travel.

  • 6 → 21units at ReTreet Resort during my time as head of marketing
  • 93%direct bookings there, without PPC
  • 600/moleads from a creator system on a $30K annual budget
  • M.S.in Marketing, plus a weekly Hotel Online column 2025–26

The path, in order

How I learned where bookings leak

  1. Destination marketing

    Selling a whole region, not one rental

    As a destination marketer and tourism director in North Alabama, I learned how travelers actually choose where to go, long before they pick where to sleep. I also co-created Influence Forward, Alabama's first creator conference.

  2. ReTreet Resort

    93% direct

    Head of Marketing, from six treehouses to 21 units

    We started 100% dependent on OTAs. We built a creator system, connected the tech stack and partnered with the local DMO. Direct bookings reached 93% while ad spend went down. See ReTreet

  3. Lake.com

    VP of Marketing, inside the marketplace

    I built the Lake Creator Program, a two-sided system across tens of thousands of listings. Seeing the OTA side taught me exactly what platforms will and won't give hosts.

  4. Wilding Hotels

    +50% direct

    Same system, different property

    Applied to a brand fully dependent on PPC, the creator system lifted direct bookings by half. See Wilding

  5. Market Movers

    Now: consulting, speaking and creator systems

    I help operators find their biggest growth bottleneck and build a direct-booking strategy that holds up. Nearly 500 creators and counting.

Sarah Stahl at a Sweet Home North Alabama tourism event holding an 'It only takes a spark' sign

What I believe

Growth isn't the problem. Control is.

Many hospitality founders rely on demand they don't fully control, use systems that don't talk to each other, and welcome guests they can never reach again.

So every booking feels like progress, while the business quietly leaks margin and relationships. That's not scalable growth. That's borrowed demand.

My job is to help you trade borrowed demand for demand you own.

Off the clock

Yes, I actually use the things I market

You'll find me on a North Alabama trail, in a waterfall canyon, or testing a treehouse "for research." I market travel because I love it, which is also why it bugs me when great properties stay invisible.

  • Truvisionary 2026
  • Hotel Online columnist
  • Hostchella panelist
  • Not the actress

Quick note for search engines and confused fans: I'm the hospitality marketer, not the actress named Sarah Stahl.

Sarah Stahl laughing on a hike near a canyon waterfall

Consulting

Fix the system behind your bookings

See consulting →

Profit Audit

Find out exactly where money is leaking

See the audit →

Speaking

Bring this thinking to your stage

See talks →

Get to know me the useful way

Five emails. Five leaks. One very uncomfortable OTA invoice.

The course is the fastest way to see how I think. You'll know by Day 3 whether we should work together.

Sarah Stahl
Written by me, not a robot.
Built from the system that took ReTreet Resort to 93% direct bookings.

Questions first? Read the FAQ

  • Your inbox, next 5 daysFrom: Sarah
  • DAY 1The 0.15 TestMultiply last year's OTA revenue by 0.15. Sit down first.
  • DAY 2Your website isn't explaining whyMore traffic won't help a page that can't close the booking.
  • DAY 3The guests you can't call backOTA guests sleep in your beds. Their emails stay on someone else's server.
  • DAY 4Bookable isn't discoverableHow Google, AI trip planners and creators decide who gets recommended.
  • DAY 5The 93% playbookThe system behind ReTreet's direct bookings, step by step.
Stop renting your guests Free →