A Wheelhouse Case Study: Frias Properties

Frias Properties manages a portfolio of roughly 170 vacation rental units across Aspen and Snowmass, spanning everything from 1-2 bedroom condos to high-end, amenity-rich, ski-in/ski-out homes. It’s a market defined by sharp seasonal swings: a packed summer from mid-June through Labor Day, a still-busy but weekend-driven September, and a winter season running from Christmas through March. And it’s all layered with the added complexity of unique events and holidays within each season.

Reservations Manager Gwen Cohen temporarily stepped into the team’s Revenue Manager role, while Marketing Director Leah Shaffran has been getting acquainted with Wheelhouse’s reporting tools from the marketing side. Together, they shared how Wheelhouse has helped Frias make sense of a market that even seasoned property managers find hard to read.

Before Wheelhouse, Frias managed pricing through other tools that let them set parameters, but couldn’t deliver real pricing recommendations. Even after time spent configuring the systems, they were still making manual adjustments nearly every day, taking precious time and energy away from other endeavors, like OTA optimization.

“We’re in a really unique market, and even though there are some trends, it’s still hard to get a real handle on the data here.”

They knew it was time to make a switch in their RMS tooling, and they assessed multiple options. Wheelhouse stood out as more affordable while still accommodating the nuance of a highly diverse portfolio, from budget-friendly units to luxury homes.

For Gwen, the appeal of Wheelhouse came down to how much of the daily workload it took off her team’s plate. 

“I just really love that there are minimal tweaks we have to go in and make, especially with major components like base rate. When we do make adjustments in Wheelhouse, they’re usually very minor, and don't take us long at all.”

With floor rates, ceiling rates, and a base rate already in place, the revenue manager no longer has to spend the entire day making adjustments within the RMS. Gwen also pointed to Wheelhouse’s easy-to-use tiered pricing options, which offer a recommended base rate, as well as aggressive and conservative alternatives.

Given Frias’s large and varied inventory, their team was cautious about onboarding, but Wheelhouse’s dedicated support put them at ease. Her team was educated on the platform, and was able to set their portfolio up for success so that when new teammates stepped in to lead their Revenue Management, things would continue to run smoothly. 

Leveraging Wheelhouse’s events and seasons functionality allowed the team to proactively manage local happenings from day one. This initial step provided the peace of mind to execute their strategy, knowing that making adaptations as market conditions shifted would require minimal lift.

When asked about her most-used features/settings, Gwen said that the occasional base price tweak or last minute discounting was what she clicked towards most. That reflects a shift in guest behavior that’s new for Frias: a growing share of last-minute bookings in a market where guests “used to book way, way further in advance.”

The divide plays out clearly across the portfolio. “Our higher-end properties tend to get booked early for longer periods—people are willing to pay for the nicer properties ahead of time,” Gwen explained. “For us, we see those longer stays too, because it’s typically international people that are booking way far out. About 10% of our bookings are coming in within two weeks of arrival, and those are definitely more people looking for a deal—maybe just kind of driving through town, and they don’t necessarily need the nicest unit with air conditioning and all the amenities.”

That distinction shapes how Gwen uses Wheelhouse. “When we feel like something’s pacing behind, we tend to be able to fill in at the last minute,” she said. “A lot of our far-future stuff, people are willing to pay the money for longer stays, so once it’s set, we’re not adjusting it quite as much.”

New reporting has added another layer of visibility. Wheelhouse offers blocked revenue potential and neighborhood occupancy metrics that compare units within a more refined radius—a welcome addition in a market where a single building can house 20 rental properties managed by 20 different companies. The Frias Properties team uses those features for everything from owner communication to marketing. By measuring their ADR against their competitors, they can strategize on better promotions and advertising that helps them stand out.

The early 2026 winter was a difficult one for Colorado ski markets broadly, with a weak snow season dragging down performance across the industry. Frias felt it too—March came in soft compared to years past—but the portfolio still outperformed many of its peers. “Based on what we saw from other ski resorts this past winter, and the town in general, we ended up doing pretty well, and Wheelhouse played a huge factor there with our overall performance.”

The time savings have been just as significant, with their team spending less than half the time they did on other RMSs. The shift from constant manual adjustments to occasional tweaks on top of Wheelhouse’s recommendations was key here. With that time back, the team—who also manages OTA channels—has been able to focus more on optimizing listings and building a clearer, portfolio-wide revenue strategy.

When asked what she’d tell another Property Manager who was considering Wheelhouse, Gwen spoke to the time savings, but she also mentioned how strong and informed the product is, and how much she’s able to learn from it. Even with years of experience, the data still surprises her: “I kind of have an idea in my head, and sometimes I’m like, oh, that’s way too high—but then it’ll get booked at that higher rate, which is great!”

Support has also stood out. “Everybody that we’ve worked with has been great. We heard the support was amazing, and that’s definitely been true,” Gwen said. “When our previous Revenue Manager left and I took over, I definitely had some questions on things I wasn’t sure about. The support was always amazing, and they’d get back to me right away.”

For a team managing 170 units across a market that even industry benchmarking tools struggle to capture, that combination—minimal daily tweaks, clear data, and responsive support—has given Frias Properties the confidence to keep its revenue strategy running smoothly, no matter who’s at the wheel.