How Vacation Rental Collective Tackled Fraud in Denver Without Adding Operational Overhead

Vacation Rental Collective manages around 800 properties across 15 markets — from ski towns in Colorado to waterfront homes in Southwest Florida. VRC has run on Escapia since its founding, with trust accounting and market-specific office structure central to how the business operates. When fraud risk in their Denver portfolio began outpacing other markets, VRC added Truvi — an Escapia integration partner — to screen guests across roughly 90 urban properties.

VP of Operations Marilyn Triassi brings 35 years of resort management experience to the role, including building a revenue management department from the ground up. She joined VRC as a consultant in 2018 and has been full time since 2023. When she evaluates whether a piece of software is working, she knows what good looks like.

VRC's Denver portfolio is urban, varied, and attracts shorter booking windows than the company's mountain and waterfront markets. That combination created conditions for fraud and guest risk that other markets in the portfolio don't see to the same degree.

"Denver was the market experiencing the highest level of fraud," Marilyn explains. "It's a more urban market with shorter-term bookings, which naturally led to more fraud alerts. The portfolio is also much more diverse, with studios, one-bedroom apartments, and other smaller accommodations that can attract a different type of traveler. They really needed the ability to screen guests more effectively to help protect both the properties and the business from fraudulent bookings."

The decision to add Truvi was practical. VRC already ran on Escapia and needed a guest background screening solution that integrated cleanly with their existing setup. The connection worked, the Denver team went live, and the market has run more quietly since.

For someone in Marilyn's position, the clearest signal that a piece of software is working is the absence of escalations. Her role means she's typically the person problems reach when something breaks. With Truvi, that's rarely happened.

"We rarely have to open a support ticket with Truvi. If an issue does come up, it typically comes directly to me, but fortunately, those situations have been few and far between. We haven't received guest complaints, the information flows through as expected, and the platform has been a real help to our team."

That's become even more apparent as VRC has implemented other technology across the business. While every platform has its own onboarding curve, Truvi was straightforward to configure and, once in place, required very little ongoing attention.

When another platform VRC already uses launched its own guest screening solution, the Denver team chose to stay with Truvi. They were confident in what they had and saw no reason to change.

"The Denver team has been very pleased with Truvi," Marilyn says. "Since implementing it, I've noticed there's been much less conversation around fraud and damage concerns. Those issues just don't come up as often with the Denver team anymore."

For a VP of Operations managing 15 markets, less conversation about a problem is a meaningful data point. Operational issues surface. Solid infrastructure runs quietly.