Joe Riley Takes Over as Casago CEO After Vacasa Markets Move to Local Owners

Casago has a new chief executive. Joe Riley formally took over this week, after the company finished handing the former Vacasa markets to local operators. If you manage vacation rentals in the US or Mexico, the structure behind the brand you may be working with has now changed for good.

Riley was Casago's president and helped run the Vacasa integration after the two companies merged in May 2025. His promotion was first announced in February. It took effect once the last market transitions were done in September.

Casago said in August that it had sold off all former Vacasa markets. Those destinations are now run by Casago franchisees or by other local and regional partners. They get technology and central support from Casago, but the day-to-day management sits with local owners rather than one central team.

That is a real shift from how Vacasa worked. Vacasa ran a centralised property management business. Casago built its name on locally owned franchises. The merger has ended with the franchise model winning out.

Riley said: "Now that we are through market transitions, our focus is on the continued success of our franchise partners and adding new markets."

He takes over from founder Steve Schwab, who stays on as founder and chairman. Schwab's role will focus on industry advocacy and on work with the franchise network. He started Casago in Rocky Point, Mexico, in 2001 as a single-market property manager.

Casago now operates in hundreds of cities across the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize and the Caribbean. The company did not give an updated count of properties managed across its network, so the size of the combined business is still unclear.

For owners and managers in former Vacasa markets, the practical question is who now holds the contract and who answers the phone. Those details differ by market. For independent managers, a Casago that is focused on adding franchise markets could mean more competition for owner listings in popular destinations.