Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Denmark. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Metrovelle and Valerie Denmark are residents of St. Augustine, FL. Metrovelle ‘Metro’ was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. He is an accomplished retail executive, mentor, leader, and coach with an English degree from Benedict College. Metro has been in the business industry for over 20 years. Valerie is a first-generation Dominican- American, born in New York City and raised in Boca Raton, FL. She earned a degree in Hospitality Management and Tourism from Florida International University and ran a boutique hotel in Miami while raising two small children. Valerie is an accomplished realtor and is passionate about the short-term rental industry. Their proudest moments are spent with family and greatest supporters – their two children, Adrian and Aliyah. When they are not on the field, Metro volunteers his time coaching at Creeks Softball Association and Julington Creek Baseball while Valerie is a commissioner at Creeks. Metro’s job eventually brought the family back to sunny Florida but this time, St. Augustine. This city offers a wide range of activities for the history buff and beach enthusiast; there is always something new to discover. Metro and Valerie look forward to bringing homeowners and guests a world-class vacation rental management experience. With their background in business, real estate, and hospitality, it is with great excitement to create memorable trips for others. Vacation rental management is meant to give back time to homeowners to spend doing what is important to them while offering travelers an amazing experience in St. Augustine. Grand Welcome of St. Augustine is here to do just that!
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nothing ever came easy. Metro is the first in his family with a college education and one of the few African Americans in retail leadership. I am a first-generation Dominican American, the first to graduate with a college degree; I have seen my parents come to the US with nothing and still give us a fantastic life. They have taught me through hard work and perseverance, anything is possible. Our family has relocated so many times, allowing us to make lifelong friends but starting over became harder and harder. Coming back to Florida was always in the plans. Many share the same sentiment; Covid made us realize we needed to be closer to family. We already committed to opening the franchise in Richmond, VA then we had to pack up and move to St. Augustine. Moving to a new town, the kids adapting to their new school and neighborhood starting from zero after being in VA for 5 yrs while shifting the business was challenging. There needed to be more time to get acclimated. We needed to do it and open our business as soon as possible. Establishing ourselves as community members and making connections also needed to happen fast. We aim to inspire others, especially African Americans, Latinos, and women in North Florida, to start their businesses.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Since 2009, Grand Welcome has been a vacation rental industry leader, providing our homeowners with quality short-term property management. We specialize in covering both sides of the vacation rental experience. Our local team works closely with our homeowners to exceed their expectations. On a national level, we continue to launch new and exciting destinations across the U.S. for our valued guests. When you list your property with Grand Welcome, you get a comprehensive management program designed to capture the greatest revenue stream possible and a team of experts to ensure it is implemented perfectly. We accomplish our commitment through customizable dynamic pricing analysis through historical data, seasonal trends, and competition tracking. Guests are supported throughout their stay by our local hospitality specialists trained to hotel standards. Each guest is emailed customized arrival instructions, maps, & suggested local activities to optimize their vacation rental experience. The owners review and regulate our professionally trained and certified property maintenance and housekeeping teams. With an all-hands-on-deck effort, Grand Welcome of St. Augustine oversees quality control of your property in between stays. My husband and I are most proud of doing this together. We both bring our expertise in business and hospitality to the franchise. In addition to our background, our family can converse with anyone because we have moved so many times. We don’t know a stranger, and that part comes easily in this business. A vacation rental could be the largest investment next to your primary home; our transparency and communication are a huge win for owners. Our owners are our partners in this business.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking.
Risk-taking for us as a family is the norm. We have relocated so many times, starting over from scratch without hesitation. Before moving back to Florida, Metro changed companies after almost two decades. We woke up one day and said, let’s move to St. Augustine. That had never happened before, deciding to move on our own accord by looking at Florida and picking the location we had never been to. Moving to this space of having our own business has been the riskiest. We understood that stepping out of our comfort zone would be the key to realizing our dreams of having more time together, and more time in the community, all while creating a thriving business. We thank God for putting us in this unique position and know he will continue to guide us towards success.
Contact Info:
- Website: staugustineflrentals.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandwelcomestaugustine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grandwelcomesta
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grand-welcome-st-augustine/
- Other: grandwelcome.com
Image Credits
Shutterstock Images, Andreajimenez Photography, Jules Photography and Company
