About AJL Atelier

Simon is one of the world’s foremost experts on short-term rental and vacation rental. He leads AJL Atelier, a specialised vacation rental and business consultancy while also advising multiple companies as Board Member and Executive Chairman.

A sough-after speaker, panelist and moderator, Simon loves to broach high-level and technical topics alike, from the future trends of short-term rental to the specifics of online distribution in the top 5 OTAs.

Previously, Simon was the Co-Founder & Chairman of Vacasa Europe, former President of PhocusWright and ex-Board member of HomeAway, to name but a few. He’s also an accomplished operator, having led Interhome, Hotelplan Group and Swissport as CEO, Deputy CEO and EVP Commercial respectively.

Cristina is the lighthouse in the ocean, the backbone and soul of AJL Atelier. As one of the founders of the company, she looks after the team – core members as well as expert contractors – and the administration of the Atelier, making sure that everything runs smoothly and stays on track, for employees, clients and partners. With her intuitive personality, detail-orientated focus and fervent passion for coaching and developing team members, Cristina is an invaluable member of the team who is constantly creating value for our clients.

Cristina brings years of experience coordinating C-Suite executives and leading a variety of strategic HR initiatives such as improving company culture, tracking and boosting employee motivation, enhancing individual and team performance or developing and maintaining leadership talent pools.

Previously, Cristina worked in a number industries including Airlines, Ground Handling, Vacation Rental and Industrial Components Production.

Gernot brings a profound understanding of the hospitality tech ecosystem and it’s dynamics. Before his focus on the short-term rental industry, he spent the last +5 years at the world’s largest OTA, Booking.com, where he gained wide-ranging knowledge of the hospitality tech ecosystem.

He led product strategy, commercial development, and operations for newly established product teams and acted as “GM” in a fast-moving new product development vertical. He is a big picture strategy thinker who is simultaneously able to zoom in and think through execution details. This is an extremely effective combination when evaluating businesses, and in gaining a strategic advantage.

At AJL Atelier, he’s leading the redesign of operational workflows and acts as strategic business adviser for the broad range of AJL’s the client portfolio.

Markus Gruber is a seasoned Strategic Advisor at AJL Atelier, specializing in revenue growth, digital transformation, and business model innovation. With extensive experience in optimizing operations and evolving business models, particularly within the short-term rental sector, Markus leverages data-driven insights to deliver sustainable growth solutions.

He has led successful digital transformation initiatives, transitioning businesses to scalable, subscription-based models, and has played a key role in integrating M&A targets to enhance operational efficiency.

Markus holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Vienna, a postgraduate Master’s in International Economics from Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, and is a certified systemic consultant from Graz, Austria.

Ivan identified and oversaw the on-the-ground operations for a Property Management Company for a couple of years after some initial experience in the luxury hotel industry.

Having gained knowledge and experience working with an innovative Operations Management Tool,  he is motivated and skilled at providing operational insights to Property Managers and Operations managers alike, advising on processes and best practices.

The practical and technological experience acquired enables Ivan to provide AJL Atelier and its partners further industry knowledge and a fresh perspective on the consulting services they provide.

Markos brings a passion for research and answering questions with data. Before focusing on the short-term rental industry, he spent 4+ years as a quality assurance manager at an international logistics company, where he gained experience in data-led company performance and service quality improvement.

His technical solutions and performance improvements led the company to be awarded the ISO 9001 certification. Formerly a researcher in academia, he worked at ETH Zürich, where he used his technical expertise to investigate biological processes. He is now applying his scientific mindset and excellent analytical skills to solve business problems and provide a fresh perspective to clients.

At AJL Atelier he will use his expertise to strengthen our research capabilities and contribute to our industry knowledge with data-driven insights.

Mirela has worked in a key support role for over 10 years, with a focus on companies in hospitality and service providers. She brings both passion and positivity to the whole team and although working remotely, her engagement is noted.

She is a hard-working, motivated individual, who always strives to achieve the best standard possible, at any given task. Mirela demonstrates the ability to work under pressure, solve problematic situations as and when they arise and maintain a good work environment for the team.  

For her, it is important that every day brings new challenges and always something new to learn.

Steven brings a decade of experience from the travel and IT world, with its projects, dynamics, and complexities, to AJL. After spending nearly 10 years in senior IT roles with large travel companies such as Interhome, Hotelplan, and Kuoni, he has a good understanding of what it takes to analyze, implement, and coordinate IT and resource-related topics relevant to any travel company. He is a hard-working individual who strives for quality and transparency and successfully implements any request and the best standard possible.