When Casago bought Vacasa last year, Tides to Pines’ owners jumped on the chance to scoop up Vacasa’s midcoast and northern portfolio and becoming a Casago franchise.
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The owner of a Rockland vacation rental management company acquired the rights to nearly 400 rental properties from Vacasa’s northern and midcoast Maine portfolio.
Tides to Pines now has a portfolio of 465 homes, making it the largest vacation rental management company in Maine, said Molly Gray Hooper, who established the company with Paige Teel in 2023.
“We’ve grown, but we haven’t shifted away from what matters,” said Hooper. “If anything, this moment allows us to invest even more into the communities that built us."
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.Vacation rentals
Vacasa (formerly NASDAQ: VCSA) was a vacation rental management company headquartered in Portland, Ore. Vacasa was acquired in 2025 by Casago, a vacation rental management company headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., which now has a combined portfolio of over 40,000 properties across North America, Belize, Costa Rica and the Caribbean, according to a news release.
When Casago bought Vacasa, Hooper and Teel reached out to Casago about acquiring Vacasa’s midcoast and northern portfolio and the related property management contracts, and becoming a Casago franchise, which would give Tides to Pines national scale and marketing, while maintaining local ownership and operations, said Hooper.
As part of the transaction, Tides to Pines rebranded as Tides to Pines by Casago and retained the existing Vacasa staff in Maine.
Hospitality background
Before starting Tides to Pines, Hooper and Teel spent years working in Maine hospitality, property management and vacation rentals.
Hooper started her first vacation rental company in 2002 in Colorado and was a partner in SummerMaine, a property management company in Rockland that sold in 2021 to Vacasa, with Hooper staying on with Vacasa.
In 2023, she left Vacasa to start Tides to Pines with Teel, whose background also included working with Vacasa, said Hooper.
“We kept hearing the same thing,” said Hooper. “People wanted someone who actually understood the homes, the towns, the seasons, the vendors — all the little things that make Maine, Maine.”
The company initially grew through referrals and homeowner relationships, adding one home at a time. Its first office was at 417 Main St. in Rockland.
“We knew we wanted growth to be slow so we could get our feet underneath us,” said Hooper. “We had homeowners who trusted us. For some, we had managed their homes for a long time, or we had brought them into Vacasa. The business is very relationship-based and very local.”
Eventually, Tides to Pines moved to a larger office at 256 Main St. in Rockland. Year-round staff includes the founders plus an operations manager.
Taking on Vacasa’s Maine portfolio allowed the company to expand rapidly, said Hooper.
Before the deal, it was employing about 15 seasonal employees. Now it hires well over 50 seasonal employees as well as individual contractors such as housekeeping and maintenance companies plus contractors. It brought onto its team most of the employees who had been working for Vacasa and created additional positions, Hooper said.
SBA financing
Tides to Pines by Casago’s portfolio spans coastal Maine from Brunswick to Bar Harbor, plus another 65 homes in the Moosehead region.
The company operates on a “concierge” model that assists guest with aspects of their trips such as pre-arrival planning, provisioning and coordinating local activities.
The company maintains premier host status on VRBO and Airbnb and a 0% cancellation rate, said Hooper. “Across all platforms, it also holds a five-star housekeeping rating.”
Hooper declined to cite the purchase price. Financing was provided through the U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) loan program in conjunction with Pennsylvania lender Northwest Bank, plus owner financing through Casago. The 7(a) loan program provides favorable repayment terms to small businesses.
The company has a strong market of Maine-based travelers, plus visitors from the Northeast, southern climes and abroad. Some guests come for winter activities such as snowmobiling and ice fishing.
Goals include expanding into southern and western Maine. Tides to Pines is the only Casago franchise in Maine, Hooper said.
“One of our biggest goals is ‘Maine first,’” she continued.
That includes contributing back to the community, increasing community involvement and brining local activities to the attention of their guests.
“We’re not focusing on just checking into a home,” she said.
