Meet Michael and Allison
Michael and Allison started in the hospitality industry in 2015 with their motor yacht chartering company, Kentucky Lake Boat Charters. From there, they built "tiny house" styled cabins near Lake of Egypt called Dam Near Lake of Egypt Cabins. Allison found her knack streamlining systems and processes on the back-end, while Michael built and maintenance them. Southern Illinois Vacation Rentals officially took off in 2020, just 2 years after owning/operating the cabins. The long-form of this story can is told on our blog, "From Yacht to Airbnbs."
About Allison
Allison spent over 11 years in the public health field, with a concentrated knowledge in rural health disparities. Allison has spent most of her career in various roles in government entities- local, county, state and federal government administration. In 2021, she left her full time role with the City of Marion to pursue the property management company full time that consisted of 10+ short term rental properties throughout Southern Illinois. At the time of this post in early 2024, the company has grown to 37 management short term rentals. Most recently, Allison took on another role as a remote worker for OwnerRez, the Property Management System that she has used to operate her company since 2019.
Allison Hasler is a proud US Veteran, serving in the Illinois National Guard from 2000-2006. On her deployment in Iraq in December 2004-February 2005, she earned several medals including her Combat Action Badge and Good Conduct Medal for the roles she served as a Combat Lifesaver, Radio Transmission Operator for Log Base Seitz, and Truck Driver (88M) for the 1544th Transportation Company out of Paris, Illinois.
About Michael
Michael began his career as a mechanic and quickly became a Master Technician. Although he excelled with his own shop and working for other businesses, it wasn't his passion. In 2008, he left his last W-2 employment to build his own business, American Shoreline, a shoreline revetment company that operates exclusively from the water. In 2015 with much success behind his belt, he sold American Shoreline. With the first installment, he re-invested in a 50-foot motor yacht to charter on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. To this day, we are proud to say Michael was the first and only pleasure boat charter captain on Kentucky Lake. Now, Michael is dedicated to the SIVR team as well as operating his own excavation equipment.
"Teammenship"
Far from a real word, Michael and Allison know how to work as a team without killing each other or fighting for authority. They met and started dating in 2000, married in 2003 and recently celebrated their 20-year wedding anniversary. Their strong work ethic goes into their marriage as it does for their business. Michael and Allison share 2 pretty amazing children, Larkin and Lance and a spoiled Golden Retriever, Kevin.