Kiawah Island Vacation Rentals

For Steven Ellis, Founding Partner of Akers Ellis Real Estate & Rentals, the housing crisis in 2008 turned out to be a blessing in disguise. At the time, Steven and his business partner were both successful realtors with strong hospitality backgrounds through Kiawah Island Resort. Forced to pivot, they began a vacation rental business that today manages over 250 properties on Kiawah.

Akers Ellis Real Estate & Rentals is a true family-oriented business with a team that genuinely enjoys spending time together in and out of work. In fact, much of the team is actually family – Steven’s wife, his best friend and his wife, and his business partner’s niece are all integral members of the team. For Steven, it’s important to run the entire company like a family, as evidenced by the positive company culture and meaningful relationships with vendors, rental owners, and guests.

Akers Ellis Real Estate & Rentals is the kind of company that sends Christmas cards to the guests who have been coming to Kiawah for decades and takes pictures of lost teddy bears enjoying the beach before mailing them home to relieved four-year-olds and grateful families. While they’re the largest family-owned rental business on Kiawah, you’d never know it from the level of personal service they deliver. And they’re now limiting growth, purposely maintaining their low ratio of properties to property managers so they can be hands-on and provide as close to a seamless experience as possible.

At Akers Ellis Real Estate & Rentals, life is all about creating memories. If a guest has a request, they’ll make it happen. At the end of the day, Steven and his team just want to make guests feel at home on beautiful Kiawah Island, and based on their high number of repeat guests, you can bet they do just that.