---
title: "From 31% to 51% Above Market in Texas"
canonical_url: "https://freewyldfoundry.com/case-studies/joe-texas/"
content_type: "case-study"
last_updated: "2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z"
---

## Before Foundry: Fighting Uphill Every Year

Joe manages vacation rentals for property owners in the Texas hill country. The problem was not the properties. It was the market. Demand had been softening year after year, and by fall 2025 market revenue was tracking down roughly 20% year over year.

Joe had worked with a previous revenue manager before us, but the results were not there. As he has put it many times, that partner never understood his portfolio. So every year felt like losing a little ground and fighting to not lose more.

## How We Measure This

The headline compares the 30 listings that earned revenue throughout both periods: October 2025 through July 2026, the first ten full months, against the same months a year earlier. In a declining market, the measure that matters most is the revenue index against comparable listings, which strips the market tide out of the number.

## What We Did

Foundry went live in August 2025. His revenue manager rebuilt pricing around building occupancy early instead of waiting on last-minute pickup:

- Advance-booking strategy: since October, the portfolio booked at higher average rates without giving up occupancy, instead of holding out and discounting late
- Holiday pricing that sells: Christmas dates that went unbooked the prior year on several properties were priced to convert
- Weekday and orphan-night tactics: targeted promotions, date overrides, and floor adjustments to fill the midweek gaps that big weekends leave behind
- Owner-by-owner floors, so aggressive gap-filling never crossed the limits each property owner set

## The Results

In a market tracking down, the same 30 listings held their revenue at $1.5M, edging 3% ahead of the prior year, and eight of the ten months beat the same month a year earlier on identical inventory. The measures that strip out the market tide moved sharply:

- **Revenue index up from 131 to 151: from earning 31% above market to 51% above it**
- **Occupancy on the listings active in both periods up from 62% to 69%**
- **Whole-portfolio revenue up 20% to $2M across 44 tracked units as properties joined**

> "Every year, we're just like fighting uphill more and more, you know, so being able to see some months, we're like, hey, we're beating out last year, you know, that feels good."
>
> \- Joe

On the same January call, asked if anything needed attention, his answer was simple:

> "I've been really, really happy seeing the numbers."
>
> \- Joe

## Where They Are Now

Summer 2026 held the pattern: July beat the prior July on the same listings, and new properties, including a farmhouse and a set of A-frames, are being onboarded into a system that prices them from day one.

## Results

- Location: Texas
- Revenue before Foundry: $1.5M
- Revenue after Foundry: $1.5M
- Growth: 3%
- Highlights:
  - Revenue held at $1.5M on the same 30 listings, edging 3% ahead in a market tracking down roughly 20%
  - Eight of the ten months beat the same month a year earlier on identical inventory
  - Occupancy on the listings active in both periods rose from 62% to 69%

---

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Freewyld Foundry runs revenue management for short-term rental operators: pricing strategy, distribution, and the systems around them. We manage 3,500+ listings representing $170M+ in annual bookings for 70+ clients. Pricing is custom and scales with portfolio size.

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