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Industry News for Vacation Rental Managers

Expedia CEO Discusses HomeAway’s Q3 Growth: “They are just pushing a ton of change.”

Expedia CEO Discusses HomeAway’s Q3 Growth: “They are just pushing a ton of change.”
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Amy Hinote
October 26, 2017

Despite an active hurricane season, strong third quarter performance by HomeAway provided Expedia with much needed positive talking points during today’s earnings call, as newly appointed CEO Mark Okerstrom announced that the company’s revenue of $2.97B (+15.1% Y/Y) missed by $10M, resulting in a 16% drop in stock price during after hours trading.

The highlights from HomeAway include:

  • HomeAway delivered $305 million of revenue, representing an increase of 45% year-over-year.
  • HomeAway room nights were up 36% year-over-year.
  • HomeAway offers nearly 1.5 million online bookable listings.
  • 95,000 HomeAway listings are now on 28 Brand Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, CheapTickets and ebookers points of sale (up from 65,000 in Q2).
  • Over one-third of HomeAway’s nearly 1.5 million online bookable listings are now instantly bookable .
  • HomeAway continues to roll out updates of its secure messaging platform for its North American and European sites, with pre-booking communications now facilitated through the secure messaging system for over 65% of listings.

“Q3 marked another solid quarter of execution by the team as they continued to drive their transformation from a subscription business to a true online eCommerce business,” said Okerstrom. “For Q3, transactional revenue exceeded 75% of HomeAway’s total revenue for the first time ever. Conversion rates at HomeAway continue to steadily climb as they ramp up test and learn velocity on traveler facing experiences and introduce new features making it easier and more attractive for travelers, property owners, and managers to transact on the HomeAway platform.”

CFO Alan Pickerill added, “HomeAway gross bookings grew 44% while revenue grew 45% to $305 million. Stayed property night growth came in at 36% and would have been higher absent the hurricanes. Third quarter transactional revenue grew by 116% and peaked for the year at $236 million.”

Pickerill continued, “Subscription revenue declined, decreasing by 37% year-over-year, as HomeAway continued to gain momentum in their eCommerce transition. HomeAway reported the highest quarterly adjusted EBITDA in the company’s history of $126 million representing 63% growth year-over-year.”

 

Expedia to “Lean Into” Paid Marketing Channels

“Given solid progress at HomeAway, we plan to lean even more heavily than anticipated earlier this year into paid marketing channels, a trend we expect to continue through 2018,” said Okerstrom.

“For HomeAway, for example, they by the end of this year, we’ll be in a position where they have a true technology-driven performance, marketing platform in place. And with the increase in online bookable properties, they’ve got now up to 1.5 million [listings], with 1/3 of those now being instantly bookable with the platform in place. They’re just going to be in a better position to actually execute on performance marketing, make sure they’ve got coverage and actually track the results than they’ve ever been, and so that will enable them to step it up.”

“Listen, I think certainly HomeAway’s aspiration would be to accelerate online bookings. But remember that the historic portion of HomeAway’s bookings that came from performance marketing channels was pretty darn small and actually a lot of it comes direct. You know, a lot of it comes through other branded sources, you know, SEO is a source, and that’s been challenged, you know, across the whole industry. So the question is does the performance marketing, does that become big enough to move the overall number up or not. And we don’t really know the answer to that. I mean, what we do believe obviously is that the performance marketing based bookings are going to grow very quickly and will probably accelerate. But whether or not that can move the whole number, it’s hard to say at this point.”

 

Will “Elevated” Guest Fees Remain?

Deutsche Bank’s Lloyd Walmsley asked the team, “Can you kind of give us a sense for whether the fees that we’ve been seeing on the customer side of late are going to continue at these elevated levels into 2018, or if these are perhaps just tests?”

Okerstrom replied, “It’s hard to say with any precision whether looking forward fees are going to be at the level that they’re at right now. The team is really doing a ton of testing. So, you know, you may see something that other consumers don’t see. I mean, we will do things where we test things sequentially. So it’s hard to get a gauge or give you more guidance than sort of keep your eye on things.”

 

Is HomeAway Beating Its Competitors?

According to Okerstrom, “If they were sitting still and doing nothing, I could say that they’re just getting lifted by the rising tide, but they are just pushing a ton of change. It’s remarkable how much change that that team has accomplished in such a short period of time, and they’re not even nearly done. So I think that they’re winning in the market. Now, whether or not they’re winning from a like-for-like competitor, whether they are encouraging more people to travel than would otherwise travel, whether or not they’re taking from the traditional lodging market. It’s hard to say, but we do believe that they are growing significantly faster than the overall alternative accommodations market.”

 

Subscription vs. Pay Per Booking

Okerstrom said, “In terms of mix between subscription and PPB (pay per booking) on the host side of things, you know, I’d say generally the trend has been to shift to more PPB. It’s hard to say exactly where it will go. I mean, I think that all of the hosts are trying to figure out what’s the optimal break-even point for them. But I think increasingly as HomeAway transitions to, you know, a real marketplace model and starts introducing things like the Accelerator program which like we’ve got on the hotel side, I think it may be the case that PPB hosts just have a better ability to compete in that marketplace. But time will tell. But the trend is definitely towards more PPB.”

 

Hosts, not Homeowners

For the first time, Expedia executives began referring to vacation rental homeowners as “hosts” instead of homeowners or owners. The term “hosts” was made popular by its primary competitor Airbnb, and the change in terminology indicates an internal shift in how Expedia is thinking about the industry.

 

Integrating HomeAway Inventory onto Expedia Sites

Okerstrom: “In terms of integrating the inventory from HomeAway onto the Expedia, Inc. sites, I think the first pot of inventory to go after there is the 500,000 some-odd instantly bookable listings. We’ve got 95,000 of them now integrated into our core lodging stack. And really the goal right now is to get ourselves in a position where we have real property density across a number of popular destinations and we’ve got enough demand which we now are up to 28 different points of sale, that we can really start to get the statistical significance on tests that we’re running around how do you best present this inventory to ultimately deliver the most bookings by essentially matching that inventory with the demand or the customers who are actually looking for it.

“So that’s what it’s about. I think we will ramp it up even further here in the fourth quarter and into 2018. And our hope is that we do get better and better at matching the right customer to the right property. Our expectation is that we will. We do not have yet firm plans on integrating all of the other inventory yet, although it is, which is not instantly bookable, but is absolutely on our radar, and that is something that could come later on in 2018, but we have no definitive plans at this point.”

 

HomeAway’s Target Revised 

Expedia also announced that it is revising targets for HomeAway downward. According to Pickerill, “We see great potential at HomeAway, given solid progress we have seen in the transition so far. As such, with our eye to the long-term opportunity, we are inclined to continue to invest in that business. Additionally, HomeAway is undertaking its own cloud migration, which we estimate will result in nearly $30 million of direct cloud expense next year. Given these factors, we now expect HomeAway’s 2018 EBITDA to be below the previous target of $350 million.”

Source: Seeking Alpha EXPE Q3 2017 Transcript

Related ItemsairbnbbookableconversionexpediaFeaturedFeeshomeawayhostsmark okerstromonlineperfromancePPBrevenue
View Comments (9)

9 Comments

  1. Guy says:
    October 27, 2017 at 12:59 pm

    The Queen Homeaway ship is sinking. I actually believe that they don’t even know it despite the cat and mouse game they are putting the owners through. On one hand they aw winning the battle (just look at those fantastic revenue and transaction, and comm platform growth numbers), but those are only going to be short lived success. I am also not sure why they refer to listings instead of properties when there are so many duplicated listings across their sites leading to inflated views, as well as downdraft accelerstors These strong arm tactics are leading owners to vote with their feet and leave, notice the drop of 37% of subscriptions, the majority of these are not owners choosing ppb, but rather to leave the platform completely; and those that are staying are doing do with a temporary or free advertising mindset without intent to actually get bookings.

    Reply
  2. Bryan says:
    October 27, 2017 at 9:52 am

    I forgot to share this prior. This just went live today. Great information re The Expedia buyout and what may have actually transpired in the sales process to lead to this colossal mistake.

    http://vacation-rental-maestro.weebly.com see Expedia 911 menu item for details.

    Reply
  3. Bryan says:
    October 27, 2017 at 9:25 am

    Pay attention to Allen Egans post and all of the others. Homeaway and Expedia will reap the horror of their mistakes very soon. And these silly statements about online bookable properties will be recognized as pre-school rhetoric when the dust settles. A 4.2 billion investment has already shown it will tank to those of us who have been in the business as homeowners on vrbo, et al. It’s only a matter of time now until those on Wall Street realize the gravity of these recent mistakes, and when they do, it’ll be a dramatic hit far greater than 16%.

    Reply
  4. CaptainOC says:
    October 27, 2017 at 9:15 am

    Amazing Arrogance by Home Away.

    The revenue realized by Home Away has increased from $399 per year to $2,850 per year.

    In return for this increase in revenue, I have no visibility into who rents my unit, I cannot screen them and have ZERO way to tell if my “renter” is 18 years old or 48. In the beach town where we own, a lot of young groups pose as older folks in order to rent for their party.

    The guarantee is one way. All protections are for the renter, not the owners. We have no way to screen, vet or otherwise communicate with whomever will be staying in my second home.

    I have been a good customer of VRBO and HomeAway. I play by the rules, however unfair they are to owners.

    Reply
  5. roselle levy, katama delight of martha's vineyard says:
    October 27, 2017 at 9:04 am

    This homeowner was pushed off the site completely, after many years of successful rentals, by the myriad changes (improvements according to expedia) which compromised my ability to meet my guests’ expectations for a vacation stay in my home. The convoluted procedures and policies – regarding property search, communication, reservations, payment, and independence of owner – put in place by expedia, have driven property owners off the site. Expedia’s agenda – taking complete control of independent owners’ property – will continue to drive owners away. The “big 3” – expedia, airbnb, and tripadvisor – will destroy the traditional vacation rental if the current course is followed. The services they offer have made the rental process byzantine, especially for owners. Whatever happened to a straightforward email/tel inquiry and a conversation between the owner and the traveler resulting in an agreement to rent? Oh . . . expedia, airbnb, and tripadvsior happened . . . the interference and disruption caused has been disastrous for independent owners.

    Reply
  6. Alan Egan says:
    October 27, 2017 at 7:07 am

    Lots of smoke and mirrors here.

    “HomeAway room nights were up 36% year-over-year”. Sounds great, but this is solely due to the fact that they have forced owners into the online booking program. HA didn’t have ANY booking figures prior to online booking. It’s not that bookings are up, it’s just that they can see more bookings in their system.
    The 38% number is a spoof.

    Hosts not homeowners
    Host – a person who receives or entertains other people as guests.
    As homeaway, by their own headline marketing phrase, offer ‘whole homes’, which by definition come without hosts, this is just ridiculous.
    They seem to be compelled to copy Airbnb even at a cost to their own brand.

    Airbnb gained 1 million additional listings in the last 12 months – Homeaway hve only been treading water. At best.

    The majority of owners want to know who is going to stay in their homes and they will never agree to instant booking.

    I agree with John (in the previous comment) Owners are leaving steadily as they wean themselves off VRBO and HomeAway.

    Reply
  7. Tom McCauley - Sandy Ridge Villas says:
    October 27, 2017 at 5:50 am

    Here’s a view of this from another perspective.

    As a “student” of the capital markets, it is very interesting to see the market’s reaction to the earnings statement. A one day 16% drop in stock price when there was a 15% review increase year over year is quite telling.

    It would appear that the market has the stock “priced for perfection” meaning any small negative deviation from “guidance” will yield and even greater negative reaction.

    So what?

    While Homeaway is growing quite quickly it could be argued that the market is not “sold” on future results.

    Uncertain what that means for owners. We continue to be pleased that we have NEVER been on a listing site which dis-intermediates us from our guests.

    Just an opinion.

    Reply
  8. Matthew Smith says:
    October 27, 2017 at 5:30 am

    I’m an owner not a host of a 1.5M house and have been with HomeAway for many years. I think it’s disgusting what has happened to this company. I did nor renew my listing and quit this site for several reasons. 1. I am forced to let another company handle MY finances in regards to how and where and when I get paid for my $6400 weekly rental fee. 2. I am forced accept an online booking without even knowing who my potential tenants are. Who does that’? I won’t have access to any contact information until the travelers pay a useless, very high fee, and then I can go thru the vetting process. It’s backwards and frankly insulting way of doing business. The OLD platform of a pure listing site, combined with some of the new features giving OWNERS flexibility is how to handle this.

    Reply
  9. John says:
    October 26, 2017 at 11:14 pm

    Pushing change that harms their customers in every way but great for Expedia’s bottom line. Biggest turnaround in history as far as customer satisfaction is concerned. There will be a turning point soon as guests become educated on avoiding the valueless service fees and find alternate booking avenues. Owners are leaving steadily as they wean themselves off VRBO and HomeAway

    Reply

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Industry News for Vacation Rental Managers
October 26, 2017
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Amy Hinote @vrmintel

Amy Hinote is the founder and editor-in-chief of VRM Intel Magazine, which provides news, information and resources for the professionally managed vacation rental industry. With a background in finance and over 15 years in the vacation rental industry, Hinote has worked with property management companies, technology companies, intermediaries and investors, and provides insider information about the growing vacation rental industry. She also founded the data company, now known as Key Data Dashboard, which provides aggregated market intelligence and reporting for vacation rental managers. Hinote resides between Alabama's Gulf Coast and Evanston, Illinois.

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