Nedra Ellison

Tech & Industry Trends Columnist

Before I started writing about STR tech, I was building it. I spent several years as a product manager at a travel-tech startup where we developed dynamic pricing algorithms for hotels, and then moved into venture capital evaluating companies in the home-sharing and proptech space. Those experiences gave me a pretty unusual vantage point: I understand how these tools get built, how they get funded, and what it takes for them to actually work at scale. What I realized along the way is that I got more excited explaining these innovations to people than I did building pitch decks about them. So I started writing. First a personal blog, then industry commentary, and eventually the Tech & Industry Trends column here. My job is to stay ahead of the curve and bring readers with me. If a major platform quietly changes its algorithm, a promising startup lands funding, or a new AI tool is about to change how hosts manage their properties, I want our readers to know about it before it hits the mainstream. I read patent filings for fun (yes, really) and I keep a whiteboard covered in startup names, release timelines, and ideas worth watching. I try to be honest about what is genuinely exciting and what is just hype, because I think readers deserve both the optimism and the reality check.