Suzanne Hagemann
Suzanne Robinson is the founder of Welcoming Wow, where she helps vacation rental owners improve bookings, guest satisfaction, and profitability through thoughtful design, better systems, and stronger guest experiences. Since entering the vacation rental industry in 2019, Suzanne has built a boutique co-hosting and consulting business focused on helping owners stay involved in their properties while outsourcing day-to-day operations. Her expertise includes guest communication, pricing and calendar management, listing audits, operational support, and creating memorable stays that stand out in a competitive market.
Before launching her business, Suzanne spent more than two decades in banking leadership, holding senior roles in retail operations, team development, and customer service. She uses that background today to help clients understand the business side of vacation rentals, including evaluating numbers, improving systems, and making strategic decisions. Suzanne’s early exposure to real estate and vacation rentals began when she worked for a family with investment properties, including a vacation rental condo, where she first saw the power of thoughtful hospitality and property management.
Today, Suzanne is especially passionate about inclusive hosting and autism-friendly design, helping property owners create safer, more welcoming spaces for families with sensory and accessibility needs. She is a member of organizations including Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals, VR Nation, and Bold Ladies of Flagler County. Suzanne is also a contributing author to The Hospitable Host: The STR Sisterhood Edition, part of a number one bestselling series, and has been recognized as one of the Influential Women for 2026.
• Certifications in Interior Design
• Ottawa University- Bachelor's
• Graduate School of Retail Banking
• Maranatha Baptist University
• Contributing Author to Number One Bestseller
• The Hospitable Host: The STR Sisterhood Edition
• Bold Ladies of Flagler County
• Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals
• VR Nation
• Ottawa University Alumni - WI Campus
What do you attribute your success to?
I would just say persistence. Just keep getting up early every day and logging in and keep working. Just keep trying to push forward in my business. My mom warned me when I first told her I was starting my own business, because my parents were self-employed for many years. She was very supportive, but she also said the first two to three years are the hardest, and it can be a while before you're actually doing well and making money. So she warned me, and I've kept that in my mind the whole time. Just get through the first few years. And here it is, six or seven years later, and I'm still going at it. Doing something right.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I would say to anybody, get a mentor, get a coach at some point in your journey. You don't necessarily have to keep the same coach or keep them forever, but the wisdom that having a good coach can provide, and just they can save you money, they can save you time. Even back in my banking days, I had a fabulous mentor that helped me a ton with my career, but not even just with my career, with helping with things that impact just life in general. And then when I started my business, I got myself a business coach. The kind of help that they can give with laying the foundation, I believe, is extremely important.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Research. Research before you get in, and research before you purchase. Just keep researching. Research, research, research at all times.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say the first thing I think of when I say the biggest challenges are that there's actually quite a few people doing what I'm doing. I'm just one little fish in a big sea. The way I want to try to make a difference, though, is in really focusing on helping owners make their properties autism-friendly, because I just feel like most vacation rentals are not safe enough for families if they have children on the autism spectrum. I hear too frequently of little ones who escaped or got out of the houses, and it didn't go well for them. If I only save one child, it's more than enough. It's very important to me that we make our properties safer, because they're just not safe enough. And the thing is, it doesn't cost much money and it doesn't take much time to make them a little safer.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My very first top of the list is integrity, transparency. And then I just always go back to karma. Karma can be wonderful, and I just keep reminding myself when I feel like maybe somebody did me dirty, karma will get you both ways. But my top one is integrity. I feel like my personal integrity is the most important thing to me. Like, if I had the chance to show my dad anything and everything, and he would still approve, I feel like he would, in the way I want to treat people and want to value both myself and others. But then also that transparency in my business. I try not to hide anything at all from the owners that I work with. They should be able to see all of the numbers for their property and anything having to do with it. In my opinion, there's no reason to not be transparent, because it will be found out at some point anyway. Just be transparent and have some personal integrity, and then keep karma in mind.