About Our Company
Company Mission
- We actively improve the services provided to travelers through premium hospitality while maximizing revenue for homeowners in a safe way.
Our Purpose
- Our purpose is to honor God by offering love, kindness, and integrity to every person we encounter. Colossians 1:16b
Core Values/Beliefs
- Service – Serve clients, customers, and the community, be proactive
- Integrity – Be trustworthy, honest, hard-working, diligent, transparent and respectful
- Attitude – Maintain a consistently positive attitude, solution-oriented problem-solvers
- Kindness – Have an open heart for everyone we come into contact with, treat others as we want to be treated
- Success – Innovative, focus, forward-thinking, industry knowledge, data-driven decision making
How It All Began
In 2009, after the birth of the first of four daughters, Sharon resigned from advertising sales to stay home for a period of time. Also at that time, the economy was beginning its decline, resulting in a decrease in appliance sales for her husband Michael, who owns Harway Appliances and Doors. This all occurred about three months after they moved into an impressive, custom home in the awesome Bouldin neighborhood. This home carried with it a large mortgage and bills, and the Walkers did not want to sell the home that they had just poured 18 months of their heart and souls into. After much research, Sharon heard about a company called HomeAway and decided this may be an option to allow them to keep their home. When the neighbor across the street asked if they knew anyone who needed a very small rental for a year, they knew it was a sign to move forward. So, the Walkers moved into the house across the street, and listed the Daniel House on HomeAway as a vacation rental.
The bookings rolled in, partially because she had a six bedroom house listed for $500 per night (WOW!), and partially because this was one of very few homes listed in Austin. As Sharon managed the home from across the street, she became a true expert in screening guests. The neighbors noticed her success, and as rates eventually increased they started asking if she would rent their homes on occasion. In 2010, SXSW guests came knocking (more like banging) on the door. There were simply not enough hotels and homes in Austin to accommodate all of the incoming guests. Two guests in particular, a VP at Apple traveling with a VP at Google, requested that she reach out to her friends to see if anyone would be willing to accommodate them. she sent 30 emails and got 15 responses of “Absolutely!” and she immediately noted that this was an unserved market.
There weren’t any management companies in Austin at that time, so the need for management services was huge. Once people got word of what she was doing, the calls seeking management started pouring in. She managed on her own for a couple of years, took her business under the umbrella of a real estate company for a couple of years, and then determined that these services deserved to be separate from traditional real estate services. The name Walker Luxury Vacation Rentals originated at that time.
Since then, Sharon and her incredible team have brought increased and cutting edge technology to the Austin market without sacrificing top notch, hands-on services. There is a strong principle at Walker Luxury Vacation Rentals that excellent services can be offered to both the guests and the homeowners and they strive to meet that expectation every day. The Daniel House, from which the business originated, continues as a premium Austin property available for rent to guests looking to travel to this amazing city.
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