Why a Five-Star Amazon Sheet Isn't Hospitality-Grade, with HostGPO's Jeff Iloulian

PriceLabs https://hello.pricelabs.co/dynamic-pricing/?utm_source=amb-youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nov26_amb_bts_podcast_ep3 Code: BTS15 30-day free trial plus 15 percent off Dynamic Pricing for the first 3 months.

PriceLabs Global Property Manager Report 2026: https://hello.pricelabs.co/global-property-manager-report/?utm_source=partner-social&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=behindthestays_podcast

Modbeans Coffee Code for 15% off: BTS15 https://modbeans.co/bts

 

This Week’s Guest:

Jeff Iloulian, Founder & CEO, HostGPO Website: https://hostgpo.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-iloulian-bb0b6829

 

Your Host:

Zach Busekrus - Journey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachbusekrus/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestays/

 

What does the stuff inside a vacation rental tell you about where the industry is headed?

Jeff Iloulian is back on Behind the Stays. Before launching HostGPO, Jeff left a career in law and built a property management portfolio of about 150 homes in Southern California. The two questions he kept running into - what should I actually buy, and how do I get it for less - became the foundation for HostGPO, the members-only buying group for vacation rental and boutique hospitality operators that just won Supplier of the Year at VRMA.

In this episode, Jeff shares what he can see from his seat: why operators are done replacing the same cheap coffee table every year, why standardizing linens and furniture has become a brand decision, and how granular market data - down to how many homes within five miles of you have a sauna - is deciding what gets built.

We also get into the mood at VRMA, where private equity and consolidation dominated the conversation, and why Jeff reads it as excitement with a proceed-with-caution asterisk. Plus: the amenity wars, why a five-star sheet on Amazon is not a hospitality-grade sheet, new partners from Lowe's to Schlage, and why he'd rather stay in his lane than chase more of your wallet.

And then there's AI. HostGPO members are already connecting their AI agents to do the buying. If you've wondered what the AI discovery era means for how this industry spends money, Jeff has a concrete answer.