Audrey Miller and her daughter, Alexis Miller of Cottage Connection in Boothbay attended two back-to-back industry conferences in Nashville, Tennessee on December 4, 5, 6 and 7. Both 2-day conferences are put on by VRM Intel and industry leader Amy Hinote who is the founder and editor-in-chief of VRM Intel Magazine and website that provides up-to-the minute news, information and resources for the professionally managed vacation rental industry.  

The first 2-day conference was the bi-annual Vacation Rental Women’s Summit (VRWSummit.com) where the Millers took part in an educational workshop entitled, “Working with Family.” The mother-daughter team were joined on stage by two other mother-daughter duos for a lively discussion bringing tears to members of the audience with their kindness toward each other. 

Audrey was surprised and honored with the VRWS Pioneer Award. She is one of only nine other professional women to receive this national recognition since 2019. The award, presented by Amy Hinote, is given to outstanding women who have played integral roles in building the vacation rental industry.   

The Pioneer award is given bi-annually to women in the vacation rental industry who have played essential and transformative roles in building the vacation rental industry into what it is today. 

Audrey’s accomplishments were highlighted by video in front of over 400 people as she accepted the award. Audrey and Jeff Miller created Cottage Connection of Maine, Inc. in 1993. For the past 30 years Audrey and Jeff have owned and operated this business developing a strong loyal customer base and offering 40 to 50 properties some which have been in the program for all 30 years! Cottage Connection was the first in the Boothbay region to have a website, an 800 phone number, a dedicated office, and a printed catalog.   

In 2013, Audrey was the founding president of the Vacation Rental Professionals of Maine (VRPOMe.org) with the goal of being the voice of vacation rentals in Maine.  She has been on the Board since 2013 servicing in various roles from Vice President to Treasurer.  The Board presented her with the first Dirigo Award in 2016 for her leadership in the industry and her advocacy, often testifying in Augusta in favor of or against Bills having a potential impact on vacation rentals. 

In 2013, Audrey successfully raised $50,000 in Boothbay to bring an Emmy Award-winning film company to Boothbay Harbor to film an episode of the PBS TV Show, “Getting Away Together.” The Boothbay episode was the only episode filmed in the northeastern United States. It is still available and being shown today on Amazon Prime and PBS. 

The Data and Revenue Management Conference was attended by over 400 industry professionals to gain news and insights about the future of the VR Industry.  For more information contact Alexis Miller at reservations@cottageconnection.com.