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The Rise of the Bespoke Experiences: New Challenges Bring Increased Opportunities for Revenue Managers

By
Jordan Locke
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By Jordan Locke, Revenue Performance Manager for Vacation Rentals, Expedia Group

“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” —Niels Bohr (Nobel Prize in physics, 1922)

When we focus on the future, we tend to focus on the immediate future. It’s easier to predict which of last year’s trends will continue or use data from last month to project next month than it is to imagine how far the vacation rental industry will travel in our lifetimes. But that doesn’t make it any less important to do so, particularly for those who depend on vacation rentals for their livelihood. Changes in demand and revenue performance can have a real impact.

Increased personalization has been a trend across all sectors for a long time; however, the vacation rental industry is ideally positioned to capitalize on increased personalization, given that it is founded on creating a unique experience. Travelers are increasingly looking for options that best suit their individual needs—be it off-the-beaten-path experiences, uncrowded destinations, the ability to travel with a pet, or the need to work while away—and it is through vacation rentals that they are able to have such bespoke experiences.

Personalization works both ways, and OTAs, tech platforms, and service providers will have to embrace personalization to meet the individual needs of vacation rental managers and owners the same way vacation rentals must embrace their uniqueness to provide personalized experiences to travelers.

However, embracing personalization provides a challenge for revenue managers. Offering the right rate to the right traveler at the right time becomes increasingly complex as there are more channels to offer rates on, more travelers looking for unique experiences, more properties, and more tech platforms servicing those properties. The revenue manager of the future will not only have to deploy increased personalization to capture demand and increase revenue but also personalize the methods and tools they use to do so.

The availability of quality data also continues to grow. Real-time market intelligence on everything from bookings, available supply, and competitors’ rates is now easily accessible. Almost any vacation rental operator can see into the future with leading indicators such as search demand and forecasted occupancy computed with machine learning.

Increased personalization, a growing ecosystem of vacation rental technology, and the democratization of data promise to add complexity to the future of vacation rental revenue management. But the rewards of this complexity are significant, both for the vacation rental travelers whose experience will be much improved and the operators who will benefit commercially from the ability to provide a much more personal and tailored experience.

Hosts and operators who fail to invest in forward-looking, data-driven revenue performance capability will simply be unable to keep pace with those who embrace it.

Analysis: “Reinventing” Vacation Rental Management by Alex Nigg

By
Alex Nigg
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Vacasa isn’t reinventing property management.

Vacasa (NASDAQ: VCSA) just had a blockbuster quarter. Q4 financial results were impressive, and the market rewarded its execution with a steep rise in the company’s stock. But Vacasa isn’t reinventing the property management industry—a 47 percent take rate and projected growth of only 30 percent next year, powered by more than 400 salespeople and 29 acquisitions, sound nothing like the scale and flywheel that Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo have generated.

In the end, traditional property management as Vacasa practices is still very much a local business and therefore relies on local density for any economies of scale. But a business relying on local density can’t really scale. The local owner-operators of truly local property management companies are likely a critical component of the traditional model, and Vacasa lacks that key ingredient.

Is Vacasa moving toward a scalable, centralized management model?

Vacasa’s Q4 shareholder letter contains an intriguing claim: Vacasa’s new clean inspection tool allows the company to review photos of recently cleaned areas, “thereby replacing manual inspections.”

Vacasa also reports that since the introduction of its clean inspection tool, the company has “observed a lift in guest scores.” This is an intriguing application of tech—remotely inspecting a property starts centralizing a process that initially was entirely local. 

At our company (Properly), we have long believed in the power of remote inspections and visual checklists. This technology enables 100 percent real-time inspections at a fraction of the cost of on-site inspections, and—as Vacasa noted—it is highly effective. But employing a centralized, remote-service management model has much deeper implications. If tech-enabled, centralized, and remote real-time inspections can indeed effectively support, monitor, and manage any housekeeper anywhere at a disruptive price point, then do we really need the local infrastructure that has been a root cause of our industry’s fragmentation?

Furthermore, can well-paid, properly incentivized, and flexible networks of independent service providers be managed and inspected tightly via centralized, tech-enabled remote services, thus allowing property managers (PMs) to truly scale like the listing platforms? Is the main “local” asset—in the absence of a locally rooted owner-operator—then just the more than 400-strong sales force that has been driving Vacasa’s growth but hardly adds value for owners?

What has changed? Technology is driving centralization.

A big part of the reinvention of property management has been the rapid evolution of technology providers over the last decade. Vacasa boasts that its 2021 $50 million spend on tech development exceeds that of the sum of competitive PMs. However, those local PMs can buy cutting-edge, off-the-shelf tech at a much lower cost and are able to choose from an array of highly specialized, best-of-class technology providers. And instead of developing in-house software, they can focus on smart integrations.

Many tech providers have installed bases—and thus scale—of multiple times Vacasa’s installed base, whether they are utlizing data providers like AirDNA, Key Data Dashboard, or Transparent; dynamic pricing providers like Wheelhouse, Beyond, or PriceLabs; property management software like Guesty, Track, Hostaway, or Lodgify; operations software like Breezeway; smart home integrators like Operto; Wi-Fi solutions providers like StayFi; guest communications solutions like Enso Connect; channel managers like Rentals United or BookingPal; guest vetting solutions like SUPERHOG or Safely; noise management providers like NoiseAware or Minut; owner acquisition experts like Vintory; or a myriad of other great tech companies that have developed best-of-breed solutions within their field of expertise or specific geography. So supplying locally rooted PMs with highly competitive, comprehensive technology is not the issue. 

Our collective problem is driving supply.

Our industry just experienced a massive increase in demand, partly driven by long-term trends and partly accelerated by pandemic dynamics—and Vacasa’s newly released Q4 financials confirm that. So our collective key problem is to generate more supply to satisfy this demand and to do so in ways that are sustainable. With a  need to generate 2 million new properties per year as an industr, we all have our work cut out for us. If this means unleashing millions of poorly prepared amateur hosts onto the next wave of new vacation rental guests, then we’re collectively shooting ourselves in the foot.

Poaching or buying owners from small local managers who tend to do a stellar job of delivering a professional product/service won’t reinvent our industry. It also won’t scale the industry in a meaningful way; Vacasa’s guidance projects year-over-year growth at about 30 percent for next year. Based on Vacasa’s estimated addressable market of 20 million units, this would scale Vacasa’s footprint from 0.19 percent to 0.24 percent only 13 years after its founding. This makes Vacasa highly successful by the yardstick of the property management industry, but hardly relevant compared to the global listing platforms, which have consolidated the majority of bookings among just three platforms.

If the process of incentivizing, acquiring, and professionalizing millions of units of new supply is our industry’s most important goal, then a property management solution with a 47 percent take rate is unlikely to be the disruptive solution that will make a dent or that will reinvent our industry.

In addition to the 2 million new properties we’ll need this year to meet demand, up to 6 million units currently are self-managed. How do we create an appealing, professional solution for them?

Reinventing short-term rental management

Let’s start by asking why there are so many owners who go it alone by self-managing. Three reasons may prevent an owner—either experienced or new—from handing over their property to a professional manager:

  • Control: The homeowner isn’t ready to give up control over key aspects of the short-term rental process. This might mean control over how many days per year their home is available for rent; who cleans and maintains their home and how; and, most important, who decides which guests are a good fit for their home.
  • Cost: Handing over almost half of the revenue is too much for many owners, so they opt to manage by themselves instead.
  • Coverage: Traditional property management is tied to a physical location. As a result, professional short-term rental management service is simply unavailable in many locations. This fact was exacerbated over the past two years as short-term rentals spread rapidly to second- and third-tier cities.

So, to tackle the majority of the market that is not yet professionally managed and entice new supply to come in and succeed, we need a truly reimagined property management model.

What would that look like? First, it would look nothing like the traditional model—not because there’s anything wrong with it but because if that model appealed to rent-by-owner and not-yet-for-rent, then homeowners would have chosen it by now.

A Reimagined Property Management Company

A reimagined PM would give homeowners a meaningful amount of control. For example,  after years of Airbnb promoting InstantBook, a significant minority still insists on “Request-to-Book”—so this is clearly important to millions of owners.

Next, a reimagined model would come at a disruptively lower price—certainly not at something approaching 50 percent of booking revenue but more like at 5 percent, plus distribution fees. This would require a fundamentally different business model—and definitely not one with a high-cost local component. And it would need to be able to deliver quality service everywhere; that is, it would need to be unshackled from a local business with limited scale.

Is this a unicorn that simply can’t exist? Perhaps.

It would need to have a drastically lower cost position than the traditional model to be sustainable.

How could this be achieved? For one, it would need to be untethered from costly local operations while delivering quality local service. This may not be as impossible as it sounds; if independent contractor networks can be tightly managed by cost-effective inspection and management services delivered centrally. Vacasa seems to indicate it thinks that’s possible, and after two years of delivering such services, we’d certainly agree.

Next, it would aggregate and integrate best-of-breed, centrally delivered technology. There have never been this many great vacation rental tech companies delivering innovation at such high quality and low cost. Privately, several tech vendor CEOs complain that they are getting fractions of a percent of the gross booking value while their customers take 20 percent to 40 percent.

Last, it would need to scale owner acquisition drastically and lower its cost.

Can this be done? Stay tuned. 

 

About Alex Nigg

Alex Nigg is the founder and CEO of Properly, an operations platform for short-term rentals. Alex is a frequent speaker at industry events in North America and Europe. Prior to finding his passion for the vacation rental industry, Alex was a management consultant at Bain & Company, entrepreneur and venture capital investor in Silicon Valley. Properly provides remote inspection and management services, and has a service provider network spanning North America, Europe and Australasia.

Are you a Visionary without an Integrator at Your Vacation Rental Management Company?

By
Steve Trover
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Vacation rental management companies almost always start with humble beginnings and big visions for a better future. Some of us begin as “rent by owners” who struggle to find a great management company, so we start our own. Others come from the real estate industry and see an opportunity to add a business that provides a more predictable income. Many are guests who simply love the concept so much they decide to jump into the game. Others acquire an existing company to jump-start the process. More recently, there are even franchises to buy into.

Whatever the path, becoming a vacation rental manager starts with a vision for a business that is driven by a passion for this industry and a desire to produce a better life for the owner.

Then reality sets in: This thing is hard.

In fact, after starting a multitude of businesses and studying many other industries over the past 30 years, I assess this to be one of the most challenging small businesses there is. You must do so many things well to produce the result of a great stay for your guest while also serving as an excellent property manager for the homeowner. From growing the inventory of properties to marketing, reservations, guest services, owner relations, housekeeping, maintenance, and owner relations . . . the list goes on.

In the early stages, this is exciting, and your passion carries you. The challenges invigorate you, and you have the energy for the many problems you must solve.

Then the inevitable happens.

This company you started to provide a better life for you and your family starts to become a burden. While you have grown your team and they help you so much, teamwork introduces yet another challenge in the form of a need for leadership and accountability. There simply isn’t enough time in the day to accomplish it all.

You start to burn out.

You realize the business you wanted to own now owns you. The burnout you feel is affecting the rest of the team you built, which causes turnover. Any time someone mentions “work–life balance” you simply cringe. You are trying to scale the business with the thought, “If I just get to X number of properties, things will get better.”

The brand you are building will take a hit. Your passion for this business may even start to wane. You question whether you should have entered the field in the first place. You may even decide it’s not for you and take an early exit. Or maybe you stay with it and work yourself into a tough spot—one where life seems all about feeding the company you started, only to find out it’s not what you thought it would be.

Sound familiar?

After 25 years in this industry, I have not only experienced this myself, but I have also seen it play out time and time again.

So what’s the answer?

Many decide it’s just too much and sell the company. While that can quickly alleviate the pain, it’s probably not going to produce the most optimal outcome because the business is not in the best condition for an exit.

Others seem to have figured it out. They seem to have it all together and are growing companies that they love to own. These companies are thriving brands with teams that love what they do and guests and owners who are loyal to the brand.

In studying hundreds, if not thousands, of management companies over the years, I can tell you I see a common thread in the companies that make it beyond this challenging point.

Enter “The Integrator.”

In their book, Rocket Fuel, Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters describe the powerful relationship between the “Visionary” and the “Integrator.”

The founder is the Visionary, and the Integrator works to gain traction by harmoniously integrating the leadership team.

Integrators run the day-to-day. They excel at leadership, management, and holding people accountable. They integrate the business’s essential functions: sales and marketing, operations, and finance. Integrators manage and execute projects with a steady force, cadence, and consistent effort. They clarify and align the team’s goals, values, and priorities to carry out the business plan. They filter the Visionary’s ideas to remove obstacles for the leadership team.

This sounds simple enough. However, the problem is that an Integrator is not always easy to find in the business world. In the vacation rental industry, the dearth is acute. In many cases, the Integrator in a VRM is the general manager (GM). Some use the title COO or vice president. There currently isn’t a college degree or industry-specific education to encourage talent to look at this business as a great opportunity to apply their abilities. So many of the founders of VRMs are in both seats. They attempt to play the role as a hybrid of the Visionary and Integrator, and this rarely succeeds. 

At my company (Better Talent) where we source talent for the VR industry en masse, one of the most common roles we get asked to source is the GM. I am always appreciative when I get to speak to a Visionary who is self-aware enough to realize they need an Integrator. It is common to think this role can be filled for a nominal amount. The reality is it rarely can.

The Integrator can make the difference between the Visionary achieving their vision or not, and it takes an investment in the right person to make it work. This is also something that takes time. Just putting a job ad up on Indeed will get you plenty of résumés, but it is not likely to garner the perfect candidate. Then once you find the right one, it takes an investment of time to get them fully onboarded into the Integrator role.

That said, it’s worth it. In fact, the greatest companies in this industry have achieved this.

The “Visionary” owner spent the time to identify the yin to their yang: their “Integrator.” They continue to take the time to cultivate their relationship, and they compensate them appropriately. They set the Vision, and the Integrator makes it happen.

Yes, this requires a substantial investment of time and resources, but the return on investment is exponential.

The real question is—as you experience burnout, the hamster wheel, the turnover, and more—can you afford not to identify and invest in an Integrator?

Personally, I will never run another company without one.

As a Visionary, not only will this make a tremendous difference in your day-to-day operations and bottom line, it will also transform your experience as a business owner and as a professional who is now free to work in your zone of genius.

Maybe until now, you have thought that you cannot afford to hire an Integrator, but after outlining the critical relationship, I will leave you with this:

How can you afford not to?

 

Coming Soon: GM Bootcamp for Vacation Rental Management Companies.

The role of GM/COO is quickly becoming the most important role in a vacation rental managment company. However, there is very little training or community specifically for this role. Consequently, VRM Intel is putting together a high-level GM bootcamp which brings industry veterans together with current GMs and COOs and people who would like to build a career as a GM in a full-service vacation rental mangement company. 

Are you interested in attending or sending someone to an VRM-specific GM Bootcamp? Click here. 

HR 2022: Attracting Today’s New Workforce after the Resignation Tsunami and the Great Renegotiation

By
Sue Jones
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It goes without saying that today’s workforce expects something different than before. Both job seekers and employees are reassessing their employment, becoming more selective about where and how the work gets done and who they choose to work for. Over the past two years, we have survived the ups and downs of the workforce during the pandemic. As we come out of the pandemic, it is important to understand how the resignation tsunami and the great renegotiation affect your ability to attract and retain your employees.

The Resignation Tsunami

Last summer through the end of 2021, we encountered a significant resignation tsunami. During the last six months of 2021, there were over 4 million quits or resignations each month. In November of 2021, the number of resignations exceeded 4.5 million, equating to 150,000 employees leaving their jobs each day. These numbers are alarming, especially when there are more jobs available than people to fill them.

Employees choose to leave their jobs for many reasons. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have prioritized their mental health and well-being and are seeking flexible working accommodations. They are not ready to return to the old ways of working, despite what employers plan to do. People want flexible hours, better work cultures, opportunities for growth, and, it goes without saying, more competitive compensation and benefits. People’s perspectives of how they value their time and what is most meaningful have shifted.

Burnout is another reason people are choosing to leave their jobs. Findings from the Workhuman IQ Fall 2021 Survey report that 64 percent of respondents feel overworked and exhausted, with 41 percent of that group reporting burnout has continued to occur during the past few months. Employees today are significantly more exhausted than they were pre-pandemic in 2019, stating work is too intense with unsustainable expectations.

Working parents top the list of exhaustion and burnout. They continue to be the most stressed demographic, given the disruption to school and childcare. Many working parents lacked the support they wanted from their employers and left the workforce. A recent survey from the Maven Clinic shared that the resignation tsunami is not over for this demographic and that 64 percent of working parents are planning to leave their jobs.

The Great Renegotiation

The balance of power has shifted from employers to employees. Employees now have the power to renegotiate the terms of their employment. Recently, the Harvard Business Review reported that the workforce has added 48 minutes to their workday and increased the number of meetings by 24 percent and that 70 percent of employees claim to work on weekends. As employees renegotiate their employment, employers are learning that more flexible time is as equitable as higher compensation.

Employees want reduced workweeks—not overtime—and extended on-call time. They want flexibility in managing their time and where they work. Employees want more autonomy and less oversight. Although not all positions can be done remotely, many positions can be done remotely or as a hybrid blend of remote and office work.

Remote work has become the new norm, opening the door for employees to live where they want and choose how and when they work. Therefore, acknowledging that remote work is a large part of your ongoing talent strategy is critical.

 The resignation tsunami and the great renegotiation are prompting employers to think differently about how they attract and retain talent. With multigenerational workers and geographical differences, employers need to actively rethink their employee value proposition and what is most important to potential employees. Listed below are five strategies you can deploy now to ensure you have the workforce you need.

1. Strengthen your employee value proposition.

Employees today are seeking a healthy workplace culture where they are treated with dignity, fairness, and transparency. Be clear about what your company has to offer employees in return for the skills, capabilities, experiences, and contributions they bring to the table with a focus on what’s important to them. 

An employee value proposition focuses on both monetary and nonmonetary benefits you provide to employees. Think about it as your brand. Company culture and employee experience are equally important and should be the essence of your employee value proposition. Focus on the value you place on your employees’ time, flexibility, and autonomy and then the monetary benefits. Strengthening your employee value proposition with nonmonetary benefits is key to attracting and retaining your workforce.

2. Determine the right staffing mix for your business.

What worked in the past may not be what works today. Companies meet business needs today by utilizing a mix of employees, staffing agencies, subcontractors, and independent contractors. Having more than one employment pool to tap into is a competitive advantage.

Redefine your positions by where and how the work gets done. Consider what work needs to be done on-site, what responsibilities and tasks can be completed remotely, and how you can introduce hybrid work that gives employees the flexibility to work from home and on-site. Remote work is here to stay and is a significant driver in an applicant’s decision to take a position. 

3. Offer benefits and perks sooner.

Waiting 90 days to enroll employees in health-care plans or asking employees to wait a year to participate in your retirement savings plans is not competitive. Employees expect enrollment in health care and retirement savings plans immediately or as soon as possible, certainly within 30 days. Significant contributions (85 percent–100 percent) toward an employee’s health-care coverage are a differentiator. Likewise, employer contributions to employee retirement savings plans at 3 percent (regardless of the employee’s contribution) and immediate vesting in the employer contribution are the new baselines.

Provide new employees with paid time off and paid holidays from day one. Asking someone to wait 90 days to receive these benefits has gone by the wayside and is not competitive. Companies are also starting to provide paid holiday time to seasonal workers during the time they are employed.

Find ways to provide transportation perks. Some companies are providing transportation from outlying areas using shuttles and providing Wi-Fi. Others are providing mileage for commuting to and from work and, in some instances, are paying for commute time to expand their labor pool.

Consider offering employee assistance for childcare. Women are the largest demographic who left the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tap into this labor pool and find ways to assist them in returning to the workforce. Things such as remote work, childcare assistance, and schedule flexibility top the list.

Employees are seeking flexible schedules, the ability to work remotely, or the option to split time between an office and their remote location. Remote work or hybrid work is now one of the most sought-after perks, and you are at a disadvantage if you are not offering this flexibility. 

4. Engage your management.

Managers have the greatest impact on your employee’s engagement and are responsible for 70 percent of their retention. Provide leadership training and opportunities for managers to grow, develop, and engage with their teams. Managers today must be clear and educate employees about the types of decisions they have the authority to make and what types of decisions they need to run up the flagpole.

Employees are tired of being micromanaged. They want greater autonomy with fewer layers of approvals. Decision-making guidelines are an excellent resource for managers and provide more autonomy for employees. Likewise, incorporating key performance indicators and metrics to measure performance and productivity is essential for managers to make the shift to managing outcomes, not tasks.

5. Develop the skills you can’t find.

The best employees are made, not found. Given the war for talent, you have to think differently about what the job is and who is going to fill it. Start by shifting your focus from hiring for the skills you need to thinking about how you can reskill and retrain your current workforce to meet future skills and capabilities. The value in reskilling employees far outweighs the cost. Retraining employees by investing in their development is the best way to bring more relevant skills to your business and retain your talent.

Companies failing to reinvent their approach to attracting and retaining talent risk turnover, vacancies, and lost opportunities, which negatively affect their bottom line. Ask yourself, “What is the single most important thing I can change today to ensure I attract and retain talent in the context of the current labor market?” Then go do it. 

 

About Sue Jones

Sue Jones is the owner and founder of HR4VR, the vacation rental industry’s first and only dedicated human resources support services provider. With 30 years of experience in all facets of human resources and with businesses across multiple disciplines, Sue found her home in the vacation rental industry and is passionate about providing HR programs and services designed for the unique needs of property managers. 

Sue is recognized for her many presentations at regional and national conferences and her regular contributions to VRM Intel, VRMA Arrival, and many other industry publications. The most rewarding part of Sue’s job is both reducing her client’s risk exposure and being their first call when the unavoidable HR catastrophe comes to pass. Sue is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University, and is both a Senior Certified Professional with The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certified.

Jones will be speaking in 2022 at our VRM Intel Live! Branson, VRM Intel Live! Breckenridge, DARM 2022, VRM Intel Live! Tahoe, and VRM Intel Live! SWFL.

Vacation Rental Pioneer Awards Honor Heather Bayer, Jeanne Dailey, and Carole Sharoff

By
VRM Intel Staff
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At the Vacation Rental Women’s Summit, recently held at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans, Vacation Rental Pioneer Awards were presented to three outstanding women for the essential and transformative roles each played in building the vacation rental industry into what it is today: Heather Bayer of CottageLINK Rental Management in Ontario, Canada, Jeanne Dailey of Newman-Dailey Resort Properties in Destin, Florida, and Carole Sharoff of Atlantic Vacation Homes in Cape Ann, Massachusetts.

When each of these women started their businesses, less than 10 percent of travelers were choosing vacation rentals for accommodations. As the vacation rental industry grew, each of these businesswomen excelled in managing change, building successful businesses, and working with their destinations and in the industry as a whole to provide vacation rental accommodations that will exist for generations to come. 

“There are just simply some women in our industry who led the way, and we have all benefitted from it. It wasn’t hard to determine which women would receive the Vacation Rental Pioneer Award,” said Amy Hinote, founder of VRM Intel and the Vacation Rental Women’s Summit. “We owe Heather, Carole, and Jeanne an enormous debt of gratitude for all they’ve done over the decades to build their destinations, to professionalize the industry, to embrace others, and to set an example.”

 

HEATHER BAYER, CottageLINK Rental Management and Vacation Rental Success Podcast, Ontario, Canada

Heather Bayer was indoctrinated into the life of hospitality at a very young age, almost as if she had it in her blood. As a child of an Air Force family (her Canadian father and British mother met during World War II), hospitality was a part of life, growing up moving every few years. Now married to an Air Force officer herself, Heather and her husband Phil put down roots by purchasing a pub in Norfolk, England. The success of the pub soon led to the purchase of a small hotel and Heather’s first foray into the world of accommodation.

The person whom we know today as a pioneer in the vacation rental industry was ignited in August 1997 when her family traveled to Canada for a family wedding and rented a self-catering cottage on a lake in Ontario. The stay had ups and downs, and she decided that having a customer-focused mindset would make these rentals much more successful. Six months later, she formed her first rental company Clearwater Holidays, and her inventory rapidly grew to 40 properties as word got out. Heather discovered quickly that she needed to raise property standards and improve education. With her husband’s impending retirement from the Air Force, and as internet bookings began to boom, they purchased three properties of their own in Ontario. 

In 2004, a partnership was created with the owner of another Ontario-based online cottage catalog. With a continued focus on new owner acquisition and education, inventory grew to over 100 properties, and the need for an educational resource was born. Heather’s website cottageblogger.com was launched in 2006 to help the company’s homeowners improve the quality of their rentals; and in 2014, Heather created a podcast to help other vacation rental business owners.

Today with over 1 million downloads, the Vacation Rental Success podcast has been publishing episodes every Wednesday for nearly eight years. Heather’s journey has had many twists, turns, successes, and failures, but at her core, she has always had a passion to share her love for hospitality, kindness, and friendship with others—making her the perfect definition of a vacation rental pioneer.

“Heather has completely dominated in terms of making sure that our industry gets more professionalized,” said Hinote. “She brings people who are new to the industry into the fold, educates them, and gives them a launching pad to make their businesses. There are a lot of businesses that are still here today because of what Heather has done.”

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/657124911″ width=”440″ height=”280″]

 

 

JEANNE DAILEY, Newman-Dailey Resort Properties, Destin, Florida

In 1983, after graduating from East Carolina University, Jeanne Dailey’s college roommate took a job in Destin, a fast-growing beach community on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Her roommate’s excitement about moving to Destin was contagious, so Jeanne set up some job interviews of her own. A local real estate agent named Randy Newman happened to be in the process of launching a new real estate and resort property management company, and he hired her immediately. 

Once she arrived in Destin, she obtained her real estate license and her broker’s license, and she started selling vacation homes and condos and managing homeowners associations. It wasn’t long before Jeanne also assumed the role of developing the vacation rental program, a business that would become her passion for the next four decades. Recognizing genius determination, Dr. Randy Newman partnered with her in 1985 to launch Newman-Dailey Resort Properties. Taking over the company in 1988, Jeanne decided to keep the Newman-Dailey name because in three short years it had already become one of the area’s most notable brands. 

As Destin grew to become one of the premier beach destinations in the world, Jeanne grew along with it and became a force of nature on the Gulf Coast. From serving as the first woman to be inducted into the Destin Rotary Club to her advocacy for vacation rentals to her passion for beach nourishment, Jeanne is a true pioneer and has been breaking barriers in the community since she made Destin her home. 

Jeanne Dailey has built a company that values integrity and ethics, where team members are treated like family, and where everyone works together to achieve common goals. As a testament to Jeanne’s leadership, Newman-Dailey Resort Properties constantly earned accolades like Best Places to Work by Florida Trend Magazine as well as Best Management Company on the Emerald Coast by the readers of Emerald Coast Magazine. As founder and CEO of Newman-Dailey Resort Properties, Jeanne has shown us each day that anything’s possible. This year, Newman-Dailey will celebrate 37 years of helping guests, homeowners, and employees make their dreams a reality at the beach. With signature grace and poise. Jeanne Dailey has been a consistent example of passion, drive, innovation, and leadership for thousands of women in the vacation rental industry.

“I have watched Jeanne Dailey my entire career since I started at an ad agency before I was even in vacation rentals,” said Hinote. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I copied many of her marketing concepts. She is the star—the standard that we all want to be on the Gulf Coast. When you look around Destin, it’s easy to see the growth, and Jeanne was instrumental in that.”

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/657124849″]
 

 

CAROLE SHAROFF, Atlantic Vacation Homes, Cape Ann, Massachusetts

After getting her master’s degree in anthropology and historical archaeology, Carole Sharoff took a job in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the early 1970s working with at-risk teenagers who were restoring colonial burial grounds. Carole fell in love with the city and its history, and she developed a passion for collecting antiques by exploring local yard sales and consignment shops. A few years later, she bought an entire antique co-op building to sell her antique items.

Visitors would often come into Carole’s antique shop asking if she knew about any apartments or houses for rent or for sale. As a matter of fact—she often did, and Carole realized that real estate might be a more lucrative business than selling antiques. Seizing the opportunity in front of her, Carole obtained her real estate license and started renting out vacation homes that belonged to her friends before contracting with British company New England Country Homes which was expanding to the United States.

Today, over three decades later, Atlantic Vacation Homes is by far the oldest and largest vacation rental management company on the North Shore with 150 short- and long-term rental properties. Atlantic Vacation Homes has even been called the “rental agency to the stars” due to the many A-list actors, directors, producers, and film crews that stay in her homes. Carole Sharoff has been, and continues to be, a leader in both her community and in the industry serving in countless volunteer and nonprofit roles. Carole also cofounded the New England Vacation Rental Management Association and was elected to the Board of Directors for the International Vacation Rental Management Association where she served as secretary, membership chair, and a member of the credentialing committee. Through these roles, she worked to build industry standards, accreditation processes, and educational programs. Throughout her many leadership roles, Carole has spearheaded efforts and initiatives to bring diversity, equality, and inclusion awareness to the forefront.

“Carole embraces the next generation at every event, and every single time, it shocks me at how much she has spent of her career building up the industry while being completely successful in her own business. Whether it is promoting us, teaching us, or dancing with us, she’s just been the person that we all look up to in terms of the person in this industry who gives the most. Carole makes us all feel special and like we each belong. This entire industry owes her a debt of gratitude for everything she has done,” said Hinote.

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/657494719″ width=”70%” height=”100%”]

 

Heather Bayer, Jeanne Dailey, and Carole Sharoff, were given the 2021 Vacation Rental Women’s Summit Pioneer Awards based on their ability to create the vacation rental industry we know today through hard work, perseverance, and dedication. We owe these women so much, and it was an honor to have the opportunity to celebrate them and their achievements at the 2021 Vacation Rental Women’s Summit. You will each continue to be an inspiration to us all. 

In honor of International Women’s Day and in celebration of these incredible women as pioneers of our industry, you can save 50% on the video package (5o sessions) from the Vacation Rental Women’s Summit with promo code IWD22.  

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5th Annual #BookDirect Guest Education Day, Feb 2: Why It Matters

By
Amy Hinote
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1

It only takes listening to a couple of earnings calls from publicly traded hospitality companies to know how important direct bookings are to hotels, airlines, cruise lines, OTAs, and vacation rental companies. Each and every major hospitality brand is investing heavily in pushing itself up higher in the customer funnel as performance marketing costs skyrocket and as managing consumer expectations becomes more important. Moreover—for vacation rental providers—direct bookings result in higher stay values, larger booking windows, and longer lengths of stay. For example, the average stay value (ASV) for direct bookings is more than double the ASV on Airbnb (source: Key Data) (see more data below). 

What is #BookDirect Day?

Annually on the first Wednesday of February, #BookDirect Guest Education Day is a non-branded campaign in which vacation rental providers (managers and owners) use email and social media to educate their networks about the many advantages of booking direct.

This year it falls on February 2, 2022, and this is the fifth year we’ve come together as an industry to educate guests.

Objective: Use your own brand to contact and educate your guests and reach out to your networks about the many benefits of booking directly with you.

How to participate: The beauty is how easy it is. Simply send an email to your guest/lead database and use social media with the hashtag #bookdirect outlining the many advantages your guests receive when they book directly with you.

Examples include: Lower costs, no OTA fees, access to better/more homes, help with travel planning, local recommendations, expanded customer service, exclusive offerings, and more alternatives for late checkout/early check-in/stay extensions.  

Why the #BookDirect Day Campaign Works

Vacation rental travelers are likely to be connected with multiple providers through email and social media. When vacation rental providers come together to send the same message on the same day, the increased frequency of the message has a larger chance of breaking through the noise and resonating with guests.

Why it Matters

In a post-COVID world, we’ve seen a substantial decrease in direct marketing efforts among vacation rental managers. It seems that any new entrant can list their homes on Vrbo and Airbnb and generate bookings. With the increase in demand for vacation rentals, this strategy has worked well enough for many vacation rental managers and homeowners. New companies do not yet understand 1) the higher value of direct bookings, 2) the risk of OTA dependency, 3) the increased ability to better manage expectations and communications with direct bookings, and 4) the stability that repeat guests provide for the property manager and the homeowner.  

#BookDirect Guest Education Day serves as a reminder that direct bookings simply mean more with:

  • Higher stay values
  • Longer stays
  • Longer booking windows
  • Better communication with guests
  • Less risk
  • Better customer experiences

Let’s look at some data from Key Data over the last four years, including ASV, average length of stay, and average booking window. 

Higher Average Stay Value

The average stay value (ASV) in the US for property managers in 2021 was $1,915 for direct bookings, $925 on Airbnb, $1,714 on Vrbo, and $679 on Booking.com.  at $925. On average, it takes two bookings on Airbnb to equal one direct booking. Over the last four years, the percentage difference has remained fairly consistent across channels. 

By comparison, the average daily rate (ADR) in 2021 was $320 for direct bookings and $229 on Airbnb per Key Data. 

Longer Average Length of Stay

Part of the reason for this is that consumers who book directly stay longer on average. For US property managers, the average length of stay (ALOS) for a direct booking was 5.8 nights, while the average stay was 4 nights on Airbnb, 4.8 nights on Vrbo, and 3.1 nights on Booking.com.

Longer Average Booking Window

Another key advantage of direct bookings is that direct consumers book earlier—by a lot. The average booking window for direct shoppers in the US was 83 days. In contrast, the average booking window was 32 days on Airbnb, 64 days on Vrbo, and 28 days on Booking.com. For consumers, this also means that many of the best homes are not even available on OTAs by the time they go on these sites to book.

Managing Risk and Guest Expectations

2021 #BookDirect Day results on Instagram and Twitter, Feb 1-28, 2021 (source: Keyhole.io)

Vacation rental providers have significantly more control over direct bookings.

  • Set and manage guest expectations
  • Upsell with special offerings
  • Better communicate with guests before, during, and after the stay
  • Control cancellation policies, refunds, and date changes
  • Improve the guest experience
  • Educate guests who have never stayed in a vacation rental before about the differences between private home accommodations and hotels. 
  • Limit OTA dependency

Whether or not your company chooses to participate in the 5th Annual #BookDirect Guest Education Day, we strongly urge you to take this opportunity to 1) compare the value of direct bookings with those coming from OTAs, 2) educate your guests about the advantages of booking directly with you, and 3) put a strategy in place to convert OTA bookings into long-term repeat guests.

VTrips adds CFO Paul Smith-Marquez and CGO Sandra Brahn to its executive team

By
VRM Intel Staff
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3

This week VTrips announced that it has added Paul Smith-Marquez as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Sandra Brahn as Chief Growth Officer (CGO) to its executive team.

According to the company’s release, “VTrips is growing, and Paul Smith-Marquez and Sandra Brahn will bring an ideal combination of skills, from leading the financial systems that empower the VTrips team and help analyze, strategize, and grow their financial position, to developing and executing merger and acquisition growth strategy development through due diligence and post-closing integration management.

Paul Smith-Marquez

Relocating with his wife and children from Mexico City where he spent five years as CFO of the publicly-traded company Hoteles City Express, Paul Smith-Marquez brings over 15 years of experience in the C-Suite leading multidisciplinary functions, including business development, general management, mergers and acquisitions, business strategy, and financial planning analysis.

While CFO of Hoteles City Express, Paul Smith-Marquez led one of the fastest-growing hotel chains in Central America and South America by spearheading debt and equity processes and negotiating over $350 million in credit lines from global banks. Paul Smith-Marquez recruited and led the team that was responsible for the finance, strategy, investor relations, asset growth, and performance assurance functions of Hoteles City Express.

With more than ten years as a board member and CFO of both private and public companies, Paul Smith-Marquez currently serves on the boards of Christel House de Mexico and Haber Holding.

Paul holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Universidad Panamericana, and he worked earlier in his career at Arthur Anderson, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Mckinsey & Company.

Sandra Brahn

Sandra Brahn specializes in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and international business development with over 20 years of experience building departments, identifying and delivering profitable growth opportunities, and closing complex deals across industries and geographies.

Sandra Brahn spent six years at Vacasa as Senior Director of Corporate Development as the company expanded rapidly through an emphasis on organic homeowner acquisition and portfolio acquisitions. Sandra was initially hired to lead new market growth, including Vacasa’s entry into Florida and Georgia, and established strong foundational home volumes in some of the south’s most competitive markets. Seeing a faster growth opportunity for the company, Brahn shifted to corporate development and, over the next five years, led the team to close over 150 portfolio acquisitions and partnerships.

While primarily focused on strategic growth at Vacasa, Brahn’s depth of understanding of the vacation rental management business stems from her outlook on management and business relationships and from having built and managed aspects of a wide range of teams at Vacasa—mergers and acquisitions, business development, multi-family management, Canada and Baja Mexico expansion and operations, marketing, financial analysis, sales operations, and lead generation. 

Adept at quickly understanding new businesses and industries, Sandra Brahn has also served as Vice President of Product Strategy at Fleetcor, Senior Director of Marketing, Sales Operations and Communications at Erickson, Managing Vice President of Sales and Acquisitions at NCO Group, and Senior Business Manager at Capital One.

Sandra holds a Masters of Science in Engineering-Economic Systems and Operations Research from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts in German Language and Literature from the University of Virginia. She also studied at Berkeley Law School and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

According to VTrips CEO and founder, Steve Milo, “We are confident that Paul Smith-Marquez and Sandra Brahn will be excellent additions to the VTrips family and strong assets to the executive team. Both Paul and Sandra are committed to continuing to build a diverse workforce at VTrips.”

Located in Ponte Vedra, Florida, VTrips manages 4,000 exclusive vacation rental properties in traditional resort destinations ranging from Florida to Hawaii.

Inhabit IQ Appoints New Leader for Digital Marketing Services Group

By
Inhabit IQ
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0

Dawn Yeskulsky to expand services and build on the company’s legacy of customer-focused results.

Inhabit IQ®, a unique collective of tech-forward products serving the residential, commercial and vacation rental management industries, announced today that Dawn Yeskulsky has joined the organization as Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing Services, Vacation Division. In the role, she will oversee product development, business performance and customer service for the business unit.

With a wealth of experience in the vacation rental space, Yeskulsky is active within the industry and frequently sought after for her views on best practices and industry trends. She also speaks frequently about her experience building partnerships, marketing organizations and sales channels.

“Having more than 25 years of vacation rental and deep technical experience in software, payments, and rental management allows me to fully understand how rapidly we are evolving as an industry,” said Yeskulsky. “My goal is to help Inhabit IQ continue to evolve the vast amount of technology, products and services our clients need to compete… and win.”

The mission is echoed by Eric Broughton, Inhabit IQ’s Chief Strategy Officer: “Dawn brings tremendous experience which will benefit the brands under her purview. She is exactly the type of leader that will produce win-win results, with a passionate focus on customers and the tools to help them succeed.”

 

About Inhabit IQ

Inhabit IQ is a unique collective of tech-forward companies serving the vacation and property management industries. Its strategic partnerships deliver best-in-class software solutions and services while fostering innovation and collaboration with like-minded entrepreneurs and industry leaders. The company believes that property managers should have the opportunity to choose platforms that best support their business goals and benefit from strategic partnerships across their ecosystem. Inhabit IQ has several private equity partners, including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Insight Partners, Greater Sum Ventures and PSG, that are committed to helping support the company’s commitment to property management software innovation. To learn more, visit InhabitIQ.com.

VTrips acquires Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations and Ryson Vacation Rentals

By
Amy Hinote
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1

VTrips acquired two of the most recognizable brands in the vacation rental industry, Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations in McHenry, Maryland, and Ryson Vacations Rentals in Galveston, Texas.

According to an internal memo at VTrips, all of the employees of Taylor-Made and all but two staff members of Ryson Vacation Rentals in Galveston are joining the Vtrips team: “We are thrilled to announce that we have expanded the VTrips community by 701 properties and 263 employees! Effective November 1, Ryson Vacation Beach Rentals in Galveston, TX, joined the VTrips family, adding 240 properties and 65 employees. Additionally, effective December 1, Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacation Rentals in McHenry, MD, came on-board with us adding 461 properties and 198 employees.”

According to VTrips CEO Steve Milo, the founders and owners of Taylor-Made, Jodi Taylor Refosco, Chad Taylor, and Joe Refosco, are all remaining with the company and as shareholders in VTrips. In addition, Milo made it clear that the Taylor-Made name, website, and logo would remain as the brand in Deep Creek.   

“We recognize the value of the Taylor-Made name for the entire community,” said Milo. “We are buying the goodwill of the name of the company and all of the employees that have made Taylor-Made the #1 brand in Deep Creek. The deal only made sense if Jodi Taylor Refosco, Chad Taylor, and Joe Refosco stayed on in charge of Taylor-Made.”

Jodi Taylor Refosco is a pioneer in the vacation rental business and started in the industry at a very early age when her father Zachary Taylor co-owned Railey Mountain Lake Vacations in Deep Creek which was later acquired by TowneBank.

According to Jodi Refosco, “When we started Taylor-Made in 2008, I promise you it was not easy. Joe and I had our first child and we worked other jobs to pay the bills. Chad at that time had two children he needed to support. We did everything from plowing, to cutting grass, to housekeeping and folding laundry 7 days a week. We were determined to make this company everything my parents would have been proud of.”

“The Ryson and Taylor-Made acquisitions follow other large acquisitions earlier this year including Resort Collection in Panama City Beach, Distinctive Beach Rentals in Ft Myers Beach and Resort Property Management in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. These acquisitions will compliment the more than 20 prior acquisitions and are part of our strategic plan for growth,” said Milo. 

The Ryson Vacation Rentals team will report to Melissa Prewitt, Regional General Manager and Taylor-Made will report to Stan Januska, COO.

“VTrips believes that employees are the lifeblood of these companies, and we are doing everything possible to create a positive environment for them.” Milo added. “Sellers dedicated their life to making great memories for their guests and employees and they want a buyer who shares their same values.”

Vacasa acquires Outer Beaches Realty on Hatteras Island

By
Amy Hinote
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2

Vacasa has acquired Outer Beaches Realty on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. According to the Outer Banks’ Island Free Press (IFP), plans are in the works to combine Outer Beaches Realty and Hatteras Realty in 2022, creating the largest vacation rental provider on Hatteras Island. Hatteras Realty was acquired by Vacasa in 2019 as part of the Wyndham Vacation Rentals portfolio. Amy Helle will remain as director of operations for Coastal North Carolina, and Outer Beaches Realty’s Kelly Wilson will serve as senior general manager.

According to Helle, there are no plans for layoffs, although some Outer Beaches team members may be asked to take on new roles.

Outer Beaches Realty was acquired 35 years ago by Alex Risser, who also served as president of the Vacation Rental Management Association from 2008 to 2011. At its height, the company managed over 500 vacation rentals in the Hatteras area. At the time of sale, Outer Beaches was managing just under 400 units. 

“It’s not an easy decision to sell a business, especially one that’s been such a big part of my family, but I’m confident in the partner I chose to take the reins,” Risser told IFP. “I chose Vacasa because they share the same values and mission as Outer Beaches Realty and understand the importance of caring for three customers: homeowners, guests, and team members. I understand the perception that Vacasa is a national company—and they are—but they operate at the local level, too, with local teams who are a part of this community.” 

According to IFP, Outer Beaches Realty and Hatteras Realty currently both have offices in the Tri-villages, Avon, and Hatteras village, and the final decision on which three office locations will be maintained has not yet been made.

“Our goal is to maintain consistency for each of our customers where it matters, but also present new opportunities, resources, and value to the bottom line that only a company of Vacasa’s scale can,” stated Risser. “Whether it’s career progression for our employees or stronger marketing and technology tools for homeowners, I believe this will open up new doors.”

EOS Investors acquires Brittain Hotels & Resorts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

By
Amy Hinote
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0
EOS Investors Announces Partnership with Brittain Hotels & Resorts located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

EOS Investors LLC (EOS), a privately held hospitality investment firm, today announced a partnership with Brittain Resorts & Hotels, involving seven oceanfront resorts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and an expansion of its Myrtle Beach portfolio following EOS’s 2019 acquisition of Kingston Resorts, Myrtle Beach. 

“We are grateful for the opportunity to expand the EOS footprint in Myrtle Beach, one of the most popular beach destinations on the East Coast and the second fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States,” said Tom Burns, Managing Director of EOS. “With over 20 million annual visitors, Myrtle Beach provides guests and residents with a diverse array of amenities, unseen in many other markets in the United States.”

The newly formed partnership will consist of North Beach Resort & Villas, Grande Cayman Resort, Ocean Reef, Caribbean Resort & Villas, Bay View on the Boardwalk, Compass Cove Oceanfront Resort, and Paradise Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort. These resorts encompass 2,400 units, 4,400 sleeping rooms, 13 restaurants and 83 water attractions. 

“Brittain Resorts has fostered welcoming hospitality and established deep community roots in Myrtle Beach for the past 70 years,” commented Clay Brittain III, Chairman of Brittain Resorts & Hotels. “We are fortunate to add the expertise of EOS to complement and expand upon these efforts.”

Matthew Brittain, CEO of Brittain Resorts & Hotels, further commented, “along with EOS, we look forward to continuing to invest in these iconic resorts and the Myrtle Beach community while creating the next chapters in their storied history of success.”

The entire Brittain Resorts executive team, as well as all the associates at each of the resorts, will be retaining their current roles and responsibilities in the new partnership structure. Long-term resort guests will continue to experience the same “southern hospitality” they have come expect and owner-partners will continue to earn the superior returns they demand, each now delivered by an organization with greater financial strength, revenue management expertise and operating sophistication.

“I am very pleased that we have found a partner who shares Brittain Resorts & Hotels’ core values of stewardship, service, excellence, teamwork, family, accessibility, and integrity,” observed Ann Brittain LeMay, Director of Brittain Resorts & Hotels. “These values were instilled in the company many decades ago by Clay Brittain Jr. and reinforced through the leadership of David Brittain and subsequently Matthew and me – the future of Brittain Resort & Hotels is bright.” 

Simon Mais, Chief Operating Officer of EOS Hospitality, echoed Ann’s sentiments, “EOS is excited to be partnering with Brittan Resorts and Hotels. We look forward to building upon the success and longstanding reputation they have earned as legacy operators in the Myrtle Beach community.”

About EOS Investors:
EOS is a fully integrated investment firm dedicated to identifying and creating value within the hospitality sector. EOS utilizes a highly selective investment approach focused on high-quality, differentiated assets with attractive risk-adjusted returns. Headquartered in New York City, EOS seeks investment opportunities across the United States, with an emphasis on major urban markets and resort destinations. To learn more about EOS, please contact info@eosinvestors.com.

About EOS
EOS is a fully integrated investment firm dedicated to identifying and creating value within the hospitality sector.  EOS utilizes a highly selective investment approach focused on high-quality, differentiated assets with attractive risk-adjusted returns. Headquartered in New York City, EOS seeks investment opportunities across the United States, with an emphasis on major urban markets and resort destinations. 

Clark Twiddy: Understanding The Future Of Dynamic Pricing

By
Clark Twiddy
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0

Original Article Posted by Forbes and written by Clark Twiddy, the President of Twiddy & Company, a hospitality and asset management firm along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

With home prices continuing to soar in many places around the country, the real estate industry as a whole has been upended over the past two years in ways many of us would scarcely have imagined only two short years ago. While that much is obvious, the biggest changes in today’s markets are reflections of what we as practitioners have learned along the way.  

Whether it’s large-scale investor presence in the build-to-rent residential market, still-scorching demand in many of the vacation rental destinations or simply continuing shifts in the work-from-home world, the technological process of buying, selling or renting a home is under pressure like never before. That pressure is in turn driving market disruption at an astonishing rate, and one area seeing frenetic change is the aggregative technology behind pricing a home for any given buyer at any given time.

For context, for many years the pricing of a home for either purchase or rent was driven by the traditional demand and supply interaction; that is, a home was priced at a comparison level as compared to other similar homes (we’ll call this a supply-side pricing model). Technology was mainly used here to aggregate comparisons relatively quickly and then to use increasing data sets to highlight subtle value differences between particular homes in a given market. In short, it’s worked and worked well for a long time.

With the crush of Covid-19-related home demand coinciding with relatively large-scale development of machine learning technology, however, there are important, if quiet, developing assaults on the traditional supply-and-demand model ongoing, and those tests are driving the future of real-time pricing.

Said differently, let’s go back to the model of supply-side pricing — in short, the home price is based on the home first as compared to other similar homes. Now let’s compare that model with the newer emerging model — we’ll call this one personalized pricing based not necessarily on the home first but on the potential buyer first, the time frame involved and the specific attributes of a home that are appealing relative to the person and the time frame. Let’s call that personalized pricing as compared to supply-side pricing.

Now, it likely comes as no surprise that different homes are worth different prices to different people for different reasons at different times. That much is fairly obvious, but the challenge, for so long, has been taking that clear idea and finding with any real probability that one person at the right time with the right attribute in a scalable way. That’s where machine learning is breaking new ground, particularly at scale across large volumes of transactions and data sets.

Through the right kinds of data warehousing, based on collected variables from potential buyers and renters, machine learning technology is making it increasingly possible to think about buyers and sellers in terms of probabilities. Those probabilities count, though, when thinking about the strength of any given market relative to any given product — the more purchase-probable the market, the more price-accurate the product is relative to the person buying it. In other words, machine learning technologies are making predicted price outcomes much more likely within addressable markets and time constraints.  

In addition to the personalized pricing capability, the other important aspect of machine learning is simply speed to market — adjusting and aggregating data used to take a lot of manual time and machines (and the algorithms within them) are rapidly automating the process in a way that human beings simply cannot do in any commercial way. When we combine personal purchase knowledge of potential buyers with speed in trend analysis, we have a price disruption capability that we are only beginning to see.

To be fair, the potential for profound positive changes within the industry should be placed strongly in context with the equally as profound challenges within commercial machine learning: namely, maintaining appropriate data privacy for smartphone/app users and also highlighting fairness around consumer equity — meaning, in other words, the balance between probability of purchases not being skewed toward specific demographic groups.

As we look to the future to assess the more strategic impacts of large-scale machine learning technology, it’s useful to note that despite the awareness around the potential for this kind of automated technology, a recent survey by Duke University‘s Fuqua School of Business suggested that only about 3% of survey respondents indicated their firms deployed AI/ML in their marketing regularly. Clearly, we are only seeing the early edge of this transformative technology reach our lives as we consider the buying and selling of real estate.

Churchill once remarked that a moment was only the end of the beginning in a larger global struggle. In short, with the explosion of the real estate market intersecting as it did with the initial deployments of machine learning technology, we have perhaps only seen the end of the beginning of price disruption on a global scale. The disruption may very well have been born in real estate pricing.

Exclusive: Vacasa CEO Matt Roberts discusses IPO on first day of trading

By
Amy Hinote
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1

It’s official. Vacasa began trading today as a public company (NASDAQ: VCSA). The TPG-backed SPAC assigned Vacasa a total value of nearly $4 billion, and this morning, Vacasa said its market value was higher—roughly $4.4 billion (market values change as stocks are bought and sold). The company closed its first day of trading at $9.84 per share and a $377.62 million market cap. According to Vacasa CFO Jamie Cohen, only about 10 percent of the company’s shares are publicly floated, or available for investors to trade. Vacasa’s existing shareholders are holding onto their equity, including Eric Breon, who founded the company in 2009.

This afternoon, we were able to catch up with Vacasa CEO Matt Roberts to talk about the company’s IPO, its future, and trends he’s seeing in the vacation rental industry.

 

Amy Hinote (AH): Did today meet your expectations?

Matt Roberts: It’s been great. I think for us it was nice to get past the SPAC process and just start to become a normally traded company on the NASDAQ. And at this point forward, it’s all about what we do. It’s day to day; you’re going to have volatility in the trading of the stock. But my message to the team, having run public companies for a large part of my career is—in the short term—this stock market goes up, it goes down. It doesn’t mean really much about the business—and over the long term, it ultimately reflects the valuation of the business—but that’s mostly about what do we do. But the day was great; it was a lot of fun. We invited our employees that had 10-years-plus tenure with the company to fly to New York and participate, and that was a special moment. Just to see those people who have dedicated so much of their time to building the business that we have today get to participate live in this was pretty special.

 

AH: Your press release said you’re bringing in $340 million for growth. How much of that do you think you’re going to put into supply and how much into technology?

Matt Roberts: We’re going to triple the dollars that we’re spending in technology above our 2019 level. We’ve already started a big chunk of that in 2021—hiring engineers, building out our tech—and we have plans to continue to do that in 2022 and into 2023. At some point, we’ll only be able to get the team so big, but we have so many ideas of things that we can do on the technology front and not enough engineers to build it. I don’t think you’ll talk to a CEO who thinks they have enough tech resources. So, we plan to spend a good amount of money there.

We also are going to have the ability to spend more on supply acquisitions, new properties. Half of the sales and marketing line that we have in our P&L right now is dedicated to adding new homes to the platform. And we have the ability to add homes using our local salespeople, people in the market. We [start with our] our direct marketing, and then we sell with sales reps. But we also have this portfolio approach where we, as you know, acquire small property managers across the country, and so that capital will be able to be used for that as well.

 

AH: Are you at all concerned that you’re going to be overpaying for supply in future acquisitions to meet growth metrics?

Matt Roberts: No, I’m not. Our playbook is to have individual sales reps and do direct marketing. So we spend a significant amount of money on direct marketing to homeowners, and that creates leads. And then we have local salespeople in every market. That’s our primary growth engine. 75 percent of the properties that we plan to hire are from our direct sales channel. It has nothing to do with portfolio acquisitions.

AH: Is that what it is now?

Matt Roberts: That’s what it’s been historically, if you exclude some of the big [acquisitions]. We’ve really done two big acquisitions: We did Wyndham Vacation Rentals, as you know, back in 2019, with roughly 9,000 [properties], and then we did TurnKey back in April. Otherwise, we run this portfolio approach, most of which are smaller sized, small- to medium-sized portfolios of homes that we add. We think there’s an opportunity to do better than that. But from a financial projection perspective, we’ve modeled our business to be this 75/25 percent growth and have built our whole forecast on that. And that’s the forecast we shared with Wall Street.

 

AH: Do you think Wall Street is ready for the seasonal nature of your business?

Matt Roberts: Oh yeah, for sure. I mean the business is not unlike any other seasonal travel business. That’s why you talk about things on a year-over-year basis versus a sequential change or what have you. Wall Street understands how to value seasonal businesses. If you think about the big example of Apple with its hardware cycles and it hardware upgrades, you learn to figure out what those patterns look like and then forecast accordingly.

 

AH: Let’s talk about the TurnKey acquisition, I think it was $619 million in stock and cash. Bob Milne said in May that what you paid was not just for inventory, it was a tech play as well. What was in TurnKey’s tech platform that you found attractive?

Matt Roberts: So a couple things just to clarify: On the transaction with TurnKey, we didn’t have disclosure on what the specific items were. What we said is—and what TurnKey was—it was an equity deal where they got stock in Vacasa. So if you think about what they viewed as their valuation—and then when we looked at them, how we viewed the valuation—is we looked at it on a proportionate basis: where they were relative to their growth rates and where we were relative to our growth rates. And we came up with an agreement about what percentage they would end up with of the consolidated Vacasa entity. So that’s just to clarify how the actual valuation and how the mechanics of that went, but we didn’t disclose specific numbers there.

TurnKey absolutely was complementary in a number of ways. They had some great technology that they had for smart home technology, a lot of which was proprietary. They had some pretty sophisticated approaches to how to handle routing and management of outsourced labor to do the servicing of the properties, because I don’t know if you know, but their model was 100 percent outsourced in terms of the local operations. Whereas Vacasa is more employees than contractors. We have contractors too, but they were more. The ability to leverage some of the ways that they manage and balance that—with the smart home technology and the management team itself—they ran our same playbook, effectively. They were growing properties through local sales teams. In fact, that was the main way that they grew their business. So bringing the two very similar models—but complementary models—together just made a ton of sense and has made a ton of sense as we’ve gone forward here so far.

 

AH: Looking at the management, you brought in a lot of people who had IPO experience. Does that transition? Do you have enough management that is service oriented, ready to grow this as a really great company past this jumping off point?

Matt Roberts: We’re doing fantastic. So when you say bringing in with IPO experience, I look at it as, yeah, they have experience, like myself, taking a company public; but every single one of them acknowledges that’s one day. They know—just because they happened to be in a position where they could take a company public—it wasn’t why I hired them. I hired them because they’re great operators. They’re great marketers. They’re great salespeople. They’re great executioners of the vision for the business and talented and experienced. They’ve made a lot of mistakes and they’ve done a lot of things right, and they’ve learned from all of that. So if anything, we’ve got a rockstar management team at this point. I mean, we have a great, great super strong management team. And by the way, we heard that loud and clear from all the investor meetings that we did throughout this process, how impressed they were with the quality and experience of our management team.

 

AH: Internally, when you were talking about meeting with your team later today, what’s the big message that you are telling them going forward?

Matt Roberts: We sort of just talked about it a little bit. I think, this is one day. I mean, it’s exciting. I don’t want to dampen enthusiasm. It’s a big milestone. It’s awesome, and they’re going to get a lot of congratulations from their family and friends, and it’s a big deal. There are a lot of companies that say they’re going to go public and never do; they can never reach this milestone. So it’s something to be celebrated.

But the real work continues each and every day. I think it’s funny that you never get more help from outside of your business than taking you public. And then, as soon as you are public, they all go away. All the expensive advisors and all the helpers, they all go away; and it’s like, okay, we’ve got our next earnings call and we have to execute on growing the business, and they’re gone now. All the bankers, the lawyers, all the consultants—they’re gone, and it’s just you. And the good news is that we have an experienced team. We have a dedicated group of people that are focused.

My message to them would be: keep delivering really good service to our customers, and the value of the business will follow that delivery of those results.

I’ve lived this before. There’s going to be—over the X period of time—there’s a lot of volatility. There’s not a lot of float in the market. So any move in the stock, that’s going to be exaggerated. And when it’s super high, guess what, we’re not brilliant and awesome. And when it goes down a lot, it doesn’t mean we did something wrong either. It’s just volatility. So hopefully they can take that message and take it to heart. There’s this human nature to want to look at it—and I understand that and I appreciate that—but I really want them to focus on delivering great service, and then everything will take care of itself.

 

AH: For you personally, are you in this for the long term? I mean, are you in the vacation rental industry now?

Matt Roberts: Well, it’s funny because, I know that that’s your focus, and others’ focus has been the vacation rental industry; but I think of myself as an operator. I operate businesses. I have a lot of experience operating businesses. I think I do a good job at that. I understand how to build value for shareholders. And so I am enjoying it. I’m really having fun, Amy, operating this business. I like to solve challenging puzzles. And, boy, property management and doing our business is filled with a bunch of challenges. The logistics, the local operations—it can be really hairy a lot of the times. And I like solving that with technology. That’s what really gets me excited to get up and charge them out every day. So I’m having fun. . . . I’m sticking around.

 

AH: Let’s talk about the industry. We’ve been riding a pretty big high. We’ve watched these highs and lows over time, and we performed really well in a time like COVID or a recession. But when markets start evening out and the economy gets good, then sometimes the vacation rental industry falls off a little bit. How do you feel about the industry outlook?

Matt Roberts: I feel very good about the industry outlook. The trends are really our friend. The preference shift to vacation rentals started back in 2010. Well, before that, even. It went from 10 percent preference in 2010 to 30 percent by 2019, and the pandemic has really just accelerated that preference shift when at least 20 percent of the people that stayed in a vacation rental were brand new, and 52 percent of them said they now prefer it. So we had a lot of trial that I think is going to be helpful. 

We have another trend, which is the work-from-anywhere trend, so people can take off and do a four-day stay where they work on Friday and Monday, but they rent a house, which is perfectly suited for that. They’ve got wifi, maybe an extra bedroom that they can cut away and do some work during the day, and then rejoin their family to have some vacation experience as well. So I see really positive momentum behind the category continuing for a long, long time.

I think the opportunity or the challenge is really just supply. When we add product, meaning available nights, to our platform, it sells. So we just have to figure out how to continue that momentum and run our playbook to continue to add properties to our platform.

 

AH: Speaking of the trends on supply, real estate values have gone up quite a bit, and so have expectations for rental income. Every time we see an explosion in real estate and we also simultaneously see high yields on rental properties, there’s often an unrealistic expectation that continues. Do you think that we might see some supply constraint in the future?

Matt Roberts: I don’t think so. Here’s what we’re seeing: Obviously prices on second homes have spiked considerably. You can look at any of the national Realtor reports on this. I think it was up 35-plus percent, maybe 50 percent in certain markets, for sure. Those are huge movements up. I don’t think that kind of increase is sustainable, but what has happened as a result though, is people who are interested still in buying second homes have become more dependent on the income that they would generate from renting out their house. So in many ways, we’re really cementing our value proposition with these new buyers because they need to count on that income to afford the million dollar home. And so I think there’s a good lock in on the new buyers, And to the extent that there are trends where the real estate value goes down, or if there’s some correction in that, well then the same buyers or existing buyers will still look to monetize those available nights that they’re not using to support that versus even maybe selling.

 

AH: Can I ask about your distribution strategy, in terms of being reliant on third-party channels?

Matt Roberts: I don’t view that we’re reliant on third-party [channels]. Just to give you the math, we’re our largest distributor of our availability. We’re our single largest distributor. We sell more of our nights than anybody else.

AH: I think you said 35 percent is direct right now?

Matt Roberts: Exactly. Now the key is that we are a really important partner to the distribution channels. So Vrbo, Booking, Airbnb, of course, because we have a really significant—in many cases, a really high share in terms of number of listings in our top markets—but even more importantly, we create higher performing inventory. For example, because we do our yield management, we get more availability and sell it through at a higher rate than anybody else. And at the same time, our guest reviews are higher. So we create a higher performing inventory.

We try really hard—I think this is lost on people, but we try really hard—to simultaneously sell our availability on any given property, on every site simultaneously. Our computer basically tries and we optimize by channel. For example, we’ll show different pictures on Airbnb than we show on Booking than we show on Vrbo, because our testing has said we should lead with this copy, we should have this picture, we should have this configuration of amenities listings, and it will perform better on this channel if we do that. The reason we try hard simultaneously to sell is that’s what our homeowners need us to do to maximize their revenue. So we look at it as we could help create the product, and then we sell, we merchandise and sell that product in every retail store that we can, and we try to sell it through at every retail store that we can. And so if you look at it that way, we’re not dependent on any given one channel; we partner with every channel so that our homeowners can make more money.

 

AH: Do you think Google’s vacation rental platform is going to impact Vrbo and Airbnb?

Matt Roberts: I don’t know. On that, I think that the Google is always a competitive risk profile for anybody that’s focusing on the demand side of the equation, because they have the ability to shift demand because they’re Google and it’s the search engine. I think that they’re always more of a risk when they try to get in the demand side of the business.

From our perspective, on the supply side, I really don’t see them taking on the work required to do what we do with local operations teams and all the logistics and feet-on-the-street side of the business. So because we do all that hard work, we get this exclusive rights to the calendar where we can market and do market in all these different locations. Our search engine optimization, so our free search, if you just put in vacation rentals in Austin, Texas, if we’re not the first search result, we’ll be in the top two or three, and that’s because our content is the most relevant.

Webinar: Optimizing Your Listings and Pricing on VRBO and Expedia

By
VRM Intel Staff
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1

In the never-ending battle for winning online bookings, OTAs and major hotel brands have become even more innovative in winning their share of vacation rental bookings. OTA websites garner millions of views on their sites each day, and they’re constantly examining exactly how guests shop for homes, where they go, and how they book. So, how can you as a property manager optimize your listings on these OTA websites to make the most of their strategies that are already in place?

Join us for a free webinar for vacation rental professionals next Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at 3:00 pm ET/12:oo pm PT, and learn how to best optimize your listings and pricing on Vrbo and Expedia.

 

November 16, 2021 – 3 pm ET /12 pm PT

Julia Longley, Senior Integrated Partner Success Account Manager at Vrbo, and Jordan Locke, Expedia Group’s Partner Revenue Performance Manager for Vacation Rentals, will present an in-depth approach and discussion for how PMs can optimize their property listings and revenue performance with Vrbo. Throughout the discussion, they will provide a recipe for success to help you and your business execute the latest strategies and maximize performance.

There’s no time to wait. It’s time to optimize your listings and get you the revenue and bookings you deserve! 

[su_button url=”https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2595380024139822608″ target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#8fb528″ size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”5″ icon=”icon: check”]REGISTER NOW[/su_button]

 

About Expedia Group: 

Powered by more than 70+ terabytes of data and 20+ years of tech innovation, Expedia Group is one of the world’s largest travel platforms. With unrivaled knowledge of the industry and advanced tech innovation, they built a two-sided marketplace that allows them to filter through millions of different possibilities, for travelers and partners worldwide. They build connections by leveraging their platform and technology capabilities across an extensive portfolio of businesses and brands to orchestrate the movement of people and the delivery of travel experiences on both a local and global basis. They help travelers and partners find the right pathways  through millions of possibilities to reach the best possible outcome.

 

About Julia Longley:

Julia Longley is a Senior Integrated Partner Success Account Manager at Vrbo. The partner success team is driven by the mission to provide personalized insights and consulting, to help our partners achieve their goals, and continuously improve our shared marketplace. In this role, Julia works collaboratively with partners to improve their productivity and results from participating in Vrbo’s marketplace by growing net booking value from the partner’s listings. Before joining Vrbo and the Expedia Group, Julia was a Small Business Owner and Senior Sales Representative at several SaaS startups focusing on small business marketing. Julia completed her bachelor’s degree in Marketing at The University of New Hampshire.

 

About Jordan Locke:

After leaving military service behind, Jordan earned his degree in Economics from Columbia University. He started his short-term rental career as the first Revenue Manager for a vacation rental startup and hasn’t looked back since. As the founder of RevPARTY Consulting he has participated in several expert panels at the Vacation Rental Data and Revenue Management Conference (DARM), received numerous industry accolades, and sat on the Revenue Management Education Committee for the Association of Short-Term Rental Home Owners (ASTRHO). Now, he is the Partner Revenue Performance Manager for Vacation Rentals at Expedia Group where he works to increase revenue for Vrbo vacation rental partners.

In Memory of Roy Clyburn: South Carolina’s Condo-World Founder Leaves a Legacy of Inspiration, Leadership, and Vision

By
Alex Husner
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0

Roy Lynn Clyburn, Jr., founder and president of Condo-World, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 85 in his beloved home of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As always, his wife of 64 years, Caroline Miller Clyburn, was by his side. His passing has given us time to reflect on a life that was nothing short of inspiring to all who knew him. 

Clyburn’s entrepreneurial spirit could be seen in all his professional accomplishments. Prior to moving to North Myrtle Beach, Roy founded American Display Company in Concord, North Carolina, in 1966, which he grew to become one of the largest point-of-purchase display manufacturers in the country. After selling the business in 1982, Roy took an interest in North Myrtle Beach and purchased his first oceanfront condo. 

While visiting North Myrtle Beach one weekend, Roy noticed a woman standing in the parking lot of his condo building, staring up at the 12-story property with an inquisitive look. He asked if he could help her with anything, and she replied, “Yes. I want to know how I can rent one of those condos.” This one statement sparked the idea for a business that would become one of the most widely recognized brands in the vacation rental industry. 

 

 

On the way home, Roy told his wife Caroline about his idea to open a condo rental agency. There were a few companies that rented beach homes in the area, but none that specialized in condos. Caroline agreed that it sounded like a good idea. 

“The name is going to be very important. What should we call it?” Roy asked. Caroline put her book down and replied, “Why don’t you call it Condo-World?” The very next day, Roy registered the name Condo-World with the State of South Carolina, and a new chapter in their life began. 

Roy’s son and daughter, Lynn and Cynthia, had just graduated from college and were excited to join the new family business. They both moved to North Myrtle Beach, and along with Jackie Pearce and daughter-in-law Lynn (Lynno) Clyburn, they opened Condo- World’s doors in 1986 with 12 condos. 

 

 

Over the next 36 years, Roy grew the company to become the largest provider of oceanfront vacation rentals in North Myrtle Beach, managing nearly 500 condos. His vision had always been to make Condo-World a household name among the vacationing public. 

As the company expanded through the years, Roy’s vision became a reality, attracting millions of guests to stay in Condo-World properties. 

 

 

In Roy’s own words, “What makes Condo-World special is the employees. The company IS the employees.” 

But we also know something else: that we are what we are because of one man’s vision, leadership, personality, and direction. 

Sometimes in life, you get lucky enough to cross paths with someone who makes your journey better in ways both big and small. Roy was that person for so many of us. 

In his spirit, we are all dedicated to carrying his vision forward. His legacy will live on in each of us, who share the same love of Condo-World . . . our homeowners, our guests, and each other. 

 

 

Sustainability and Quality: The New Barriers to Entry in Vacation Rental Management

By
Jed Stevens
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0

The vacation rental (VR) industry is undergoing a renaissance as the COVID-19 pandemic transitions out of its position of global dominance. Our industry has received an enormous amount of press in the past few years—some good and some bad—all of it culminating in increased awareness of what our industry offers. 

The term “renaissance” is used deliberately here. Some refer to our industry as “new” or “young,” but the reality is that this industry has been well-established for decades in resort communities around the world. Perhaps this perspective of our industry results from the new tools and technology available that have breathed new life into VR companies. The studious application of research and technology to our industry has given rise to possibilities that did not seem likely even 10 years ago, creating a situation reminiscent of the scientific and creative awakening that we associate with the Renaissance in Europe roughly 500 years ago. Now, as then, the question is this: how will these advances change the landscape, and how will our companies need to adapt to survive and remain relevant? 

Recall the attention that was brought to the VR industry during the coronavirus pandemic; the new awareness brought new customers who carried their travel dollars with them. As with any boom, it didn’t take long before enterprising individuals showed up to facilitate the spending of those dollars. 

Now, with this influx of traveler dollars into the vacation rental market, new opportunities are popping up. Industry visionaries have been spotting trends in the changing landscape for several years, including the following: 

  1. Technology is enabling smaller companies to perform at higher levels. Subsequently, pressure and competition are increasing in every market—because smaller companies now have the same access to category-defining technology that was previously reserved for the companies with enough funds for enterprise infrastructure. 

  2. A new wave of vacation rental managers is emerging who have only ever known the tech-enabled landscape; they will not be hindered by the “this is how we’ve always done it” mentality. 

With new companies trying to become established–and established companies trying to adapt and stay in the game–there is a common thread that will likely prove to be the distinction between evolving through today’s renaissance and being exterminated by it. 

Perhaps surprisingly, it is not likely to be the adoption of flashy new technology that proves to be the distinguishing factor in who makes it to the next plane of sustainability in the vacation rental industry. No doubt, moving forward without a solid tech stack to support organizational operations will become more and more difficult as demands and expectations from guests and owners increase. Instead, the solid organization and fundamental soundness of the business is even more foundational in determining long-term sustainability. 

Technology can be rapidly developed, deployed, iterated, and then phased out. This swift cycle should make business owners wary rather than confident. It also means that for technology to improve the quality or efficiency of an aspect of a business, it must have a solid foundation upon which to stand. Companies that comprise an amalgamation of different tech tools may grow quickly, but without a solid plan underneath, they will either collapse under their own weight or become grievously wounded by unanticipated changes to one of their tech tools. 

Similarly, a company that has strong tribal knowledge without a solid foundation will always be at risk of experiencing major setbacks if that tribal knowledge (e.g., a key employee) departs from the company for one reason or another. 

The solution to both growing a solid startup and to ensuring a long legacy of an existing company are the same: establish and maintain stable business fundamentals. 

 

Case in Point: Startup 

Statistics hold that most startups fail within the first several years of operation. There is a lot of risk involved in startups. It is not difficult to imagine the endless obstacles that new companies may face, from insufficient funding to barriers to entry to scaling in a healthy way. 

Knowing that the odds are against a startup reaching the five-year mark, the best way to increase the likelihood of success would be to form a plan focused on creating foundations that will support the business throughout its various stages. At every turn, a business that has already worked through the scenario at hand and has planned for managing similar challenges will have a better chance of overcoming that obstacle. 

Eventually, the practice of scanning the horizon for possible hazards and preparing itself for the unexpected will be baked into the DNA of the new company, allowing it to become more nimble in its ability to combat issues as they arise. 

 

Case in Point: Established Company

Established companies in the VR industry likely evolved and achieved success prior to the current influx of technology and attention. As a result, they had more solutions to figure out on their own, because best practice guides weren’t always available. Many of these companies developed cultures of continuous improvement and shored up the weak spots in their foundations, always progressing toward the next plane of growth, profitability, and sustainability. Other companies in this cohort were always able to just “work it out” with temporary fixes and were never forced to improve.

The latter type are the companies that are at the greatest risk now. Without shoring up their foundations and business fundamentals, they are critically vulnerable to being taken out by future shifts in the industry. The shift that tips the scales may come in the form of legislation that they can’t pivot to get in compliance with. Perhaps technology will pass them by, and they’ll miss a critical wave in changing guest or homeowner expectations. Or maybe the components of a “we’ve always done it this way” attitude will form a recipe for disaster.

By making a deliberate choice to leverage past successes and areas of excellence, these companies can take advantage of a prime opportunity to become healthier, leaner, and more profitable than ever, likely bringing a higher level of quality to guests, owners, and employees alike.

 

Anecdote: A Small, Tech-Based Company 

There is a married couple in a mountain state who, in the times before COVID-19, made a great start toward becoming a successful and sustainable company by listing their properties on Airbnb. They were able to grow from individuals with no experience to a power team that managed over 30 curated properties in just a few years. 

Unfortunately, the Airbnb app was so comfortable and easy to use that it lulled them into believing a great falsehood: that the single platform, acting as a payment management system, guest communication portal, and their sole source of lead generation would be all that they would ever need to succeed. After all, they were superhosts, so what could go wrong, right? 

Enter the global COVID-19 pandemic—and Airbnb’s subsequent heavy-handed extenuating circumstances policies. As a VRM Intel Magazine reader, you know the story. Airbnb’s policies voided cancellation policies for millions of properties across the world, including the entire 30+ unit fleet managed by this couple. Almost overnight, their profitable business was transformed into a money-losing venture. 

Worse, because they were locked into management contracts, our couple was chained to their cement blocks as the floodwaters rose. To salvage their livelihood, they approached several players in the VR community and asked for referrals for anyone who might be interested in buying their company—and relieving their suffering. Because the entire business was built on only one OTA platform, they weren’t even able to get a single potential buyer referral because there was essentially no foundation to their company. Sure, the scaffolding was there—it looked from the outside like the business was built to last—but when the winds started blowing, the sheet metal came off, and the lack of foundation was laid bare for all to see. This couple was ultimately left without options or an exit plan. 

 

Anecdote: An Established Company 

A company grew up on one of the Hawaiian Islands in the mid- 1990s with a strong local presence. Many locals worked for the company, which had been started by a husband-and-wife team as a second career for each. They did things the old-fashioned way: property listings were contained in a three-ring binder, their office space was located in the busy downtown tourist district, and most of their practices and processes were stored in their minds and in the memories of their staff with their repeat guest lists in an address book. Because most of the business was orchestrated and run through the two owners, with only so many hours in a day, the company grew until it hit a point of stagnation when the couple could not manage any additional properties without things spinning out of control. 

Over the following years, they made short-lived efforts to grow, by stretching either their staff or themselves too thin; one way or another, each attempt resulted in the loss of properties until they were back at their sweet spot. Because most day-to-day tasks were performed manually and without solidified processes, the company’s capacity for providing value grew weaker and weaker. Eventually, as the long nights and frequent guest complaints took their toll, the couple started to burn out. 

Determined to develop an exit plan, they engaged in several discussions with other companies about selling their business. A combination of not having enough organization to prove the worth of the company and an unwillingness to cede control resulted in the fizzling of each deal; they decided to hold on to the company. Over time, property owners sold their homes and left the program, and the odd property was moved to a different management company. In the end, this couple only managed a handful of properties, and their exit plan evolved into turning the lights off after the last person walked out of the last building. 

What could have been a profitable venture stagnated and then slowly burned out, like a single candle in a cold and dark night. 

The two stories above tell very different tales—one company burned bright and hot before becoming a supernova, and the other got off to a good start but slowly faded away when it became starved of fuel. 

Neither company ever took the time to develop a plan for starting, building, and sustaining quality. Planning is not flashy; it can be quite boring and is usually unglamorous. However, when the proper plan is forged and executed, sustainability can be built into the DNA of a new company or can reinvigorate a mature company. 

 

A Road Map to Sustainability 

The basic principles to implement when building a sustainable business foundation are a series of iterative steps rather than stops along a path. Although entire volumes have been written around these processes, to simplify, the formula for success is known as the “Plan-Do-Check-Adjust” (PDCA) process. 

The PDCA model has been well-documented in business circles as a reliable methodology for continuous improvement that can be applied to nearly any characteristic or process that requires improvement. The genius of this routine is that it promotes objective and quantifiable observations, rational planning, and execution, and it then carves out a period of review. Let’s walk through a breakdown of each part of the cycle. 

 

Plan 

This phase involves checking for gaps in a company’s current assumptions and business plan that may expose the company to unnecessary risk. After the gaps have been uncovered, a plan is created to address them. 

Do 

This step calls for the execution of the plans made in the preceding step. Sometimes these plans are simple and straightforward, but it is not unusual for them to be complex and highly involved. More intricate plans may require the use of advanced management methods to keep initiatives on track. Tools that have been custom-tailored for this purpose are readily available and easy to use. 

Check 

Once the plan has been implemented, this step encompasses the collection and evaluation of the results of the company’s efforts. Although there is a small possibility that the plans implemented in the “Do” stage will completely solve the problems at hand, it is much more likely that there will be aspects of the execution that need significant improvement. In fact, every company has areas with room for improvement. 

Adjust 

The last step of the cycle is when the original plan is adjusted using the benefit of hindsight, or insight, gleaned from the attempts made throughout the cycle. With available data and information about what worked and what didn’t, a more advanced plan can be implemented during the next iteration of the cycle—likely yielding more favorable results. 

 

A Conclusion on Continuous Improvement 

Because the PDCA process is utilized throughout an organization, eventually the boundary of diminishing returns will be reached. A boundary of diminishing returns is the point at which a process has been iterated enough times that all of the easy solutions have been implemented and each successive improvement will cost more than the value it provides. This is the point at which the next iteration or improvement plan will not be worth the time, effort, or money required. This is a time when it makes sense to find another solution, which creates another process. 

Ultimately, time and evolution will likely lead back to the original starting point, which has likely not been reevaluated in quite some time and is again ripe with the need for a fresh approach. And so the cycle goes, on and on. 

To ascend to the next plane of sustainability and profitability in the vacation rental space, all companies—big and established or small and hungry—will need to take action to ensure that their foundations are properly established to achieve their specific goals and capabilities. These foundations require continuous monitoring as competition applies pressure and exposes foundational cracks. The competitive pressure can be leveraged to highlight the need for quality improvements, in which case the company will continue to become stronger and more balanced. 

In contrast, the company can choose to cover the exposed cracks and sweep them under the rug or hide them with glossy paint and ignore them, resulting in a foundation ready to implode at any time, with or without warning. 

When determining whether to shore up your foundations, ask yourself this: do you want your company to be around in five years, or not? 

 

 

Improving User Experience: Utilizing Custom Search Results Pages on Vacation Rental Property Management Websites

By
Marshall Morrow
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0

For any vacation rental company trying to gain online exposure, there are a couple of digital marketing essentials your site should incorporate. One notable element vacation rental companies fail to take advantage of is building custom search results pages. These pages can be used in almost every aspect of online marketing for rental sites but are especially helpful in search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Let’s break down how to start utilizing custom search results pages to maximize your site traffic and online revenue. 

First, what exactly is a “custom search results page”? 

Most vacation rental sites have a main results page that shows all of their listings, but in many cases, that’s the only page where listings are shown. By contrast, custom search results pages are essentially subgroupings of property listings shown on pages separate from the main results page. For example, a pet-friendly rentals search results page would display all of the pet-friendly rentals, a condo rentals search results page would include all of the properties labeled as condos, and so forth. 

Now you might wonder why these pages are necessary if users can filter the property listings on your main results page. You’ll be surprised at how beneficial—and easy—it is to add these custom search pages. 

 

 

SEO Value of Custom Search Results Pages

You can’t optimize your main results page for every long-tail (specific 3-5 word) rental keyword phrase you want to target. Yes, you can slip terms like “pet-friendly rentals” and “oceanfront rentals” into some places on the main page, but it won’t have the same search engine ranking benefit as a page built specifically for those terms.

This is where the custom search results pages come in. Let’s say a vacation rental company in the Outer Banks (OBX) wants to target the search phrase “outer banks oceanfront rentals.” If the company wants a legitimate shot at ranking for such a competitive keyword, it will need to use “oceanfront” in the slug, H1, title tag, and a couple of times in the on-page text. Unless all properties are oceanfront, the company will need a separate oceanfront rentals page to accomplish this objective without being misleading.

This screenshot of the “outer banks oceanfront rentals” search results demonstrates how Google prefers custom search results pages over main results pages or homepages when it’s choosing what to rank for that term. Only two out of the top 20 results are not an oceanfront search results page.

We recommend trying to rank your main results page for your highest volume and most general terms (such as “outer banks rentals”) and then creating custom search results pages to target each of your long-tail keywords.

In addition to setting up custom search results pages for specific property types or amenities— like condos or rentals with pools—you can also create them for different resorts or condo complexes or to target specific locations within your main target area.

Using the example of the Outer Banks again, if you have properties across the OBX, you can set up pages for Corolla, Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, etc. to target terms for those areas while still targeting “outer banks rentals” with your main results page.

If you want to go a step further, break down the smaller areas with even more specific search results pages with property groupings such as Corolla oceanfront rentals, Corolla pet-friendly rentals, Corolla vacation home rentals with pools, etc.

Here are less common examples of custom results pages to trigger some ideas:

Luxury rentals

Large group rentals

Two (or any number) bedroom rentals

Handicap accessible rentals

Rentals with Wi-Fi

Rentals with boat slip

Oceanview rentals

Rentals with a hot tub

Rentals close to [a popular attraction in your area]

 

How Custom Search Results Pages Improve Conversion Rates and PPC Campaigns 

In addition to improving organic presence, custom search results pages also help the overall conversion rate of the site and improve the performance of your PPC campaigns. 

If you route people directly to the properties they’re searching for, they are likely to convert at a higher rate than people who have to take additional steps to get there. By bringing people directly to custom search results pages (through organic search results through PPC ads) instead of the homepage or main results page, you eliminate the need for guests to figure out your search filters or be forced to scroll through every one of your properties. 

If someone looking for Outer Banks oceanfront rentals clicks your search ad that has “OBX Oceanfront Rentals” in the title but gets directed to your main results page where non-oceanfront properties are mixed in, then you’re requiring them to put in extra and unnecessary effort to find the oceanfront rentals. Some users will take the time to figure out your search filters, but others will say, “Wait, most of these aren’t even oceanfront . . . ” and tab back to Google to click on a different result. 

In addition, PPC campaigns will earn a quality-score boost by using custom results pages. By having an Oceanfront Rentals campaign pointing directly to an oceanfront rentals page, you will improve the relevancy of your ads. This higher quality score will result in lower PPC costs and higher ad placement. If you are running search or display ad campaigns, these incentives should be reason enough to set up custom results pages. 

 

Setting Up Custom Search Results Pages and Linking to Them 

All websites are developed differently, and programming custom search results pages will be more challenging on some sites than others. It’s important, however, to create actual pages instead of creating queries off your main results page. 

Each of your custom results pages should have its own editable H1 tag, meta title, meta description, and slug. If your web development company sets them up as results page queries instead of distinct pages, it’s going to cost you a lot of the SEO and PPC value. 

Once you’ve built your custom search results pages, we highly suggest interlinking to them on your site. You can go to town setting up pages for every subgroup of properties you can think of, but if they’re not linked to anywhere on the site, Google won’t crawl them and they won’t rank well (and may not even get indexed). 

 

 

Common ways to effectively link your custom search results pages are from your navigation menu, from your home page, or from your site map.

You can also interlink within text content on your pages and blog posts. Linking to the custom search results pages will help their SEO performance and will make it easier for your users to find the properties they’re looking for.

 

Final Thoughts 

If you’re already using custom search results pages on your site, chances are there are some other property groupings you could use to target additional keywords you’re missing out on. Do some keyword research to find long-tail, rental-related terms that apply to your inventory and decide if building custom search results pages for those terms could benefit your rankings or user experience. 

If you have not already incorporated custom search results pages into your website, it is certainly worth considering the benefits they will have for your online marketing strategy as well as for your customers. 

 
 

 

Finding Better Property Management Software Solutions in the Vacation Rental Business with LMPM

By
Park Brady
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0

When I first got started with the vacation rental industry in the mid-1980s, the landscape was fundamentally different. There was no internet or software to help us carry out our daily business. As an industry, we have moved a long way from tape boards, direct mail, paper brochures, and the telephone as our primary tools for handling reservations, marketing, and unit information. I remember what a huge deal it was to make the decision to go with First Resort Software (FRS, the precursor to V12) in the early ‘90s. Now we have multiple options for software, and the decision-making process is more complicated. Once you’ve made the decision, implementing new software is probably the most challenging thing you will ever do in business. It is safe to say that if you are not afraid of this process, you should be. 

Now OTAs have entered the business. At first, they basically replaced travel agents, who were a very small part of our business. However, they are now getting between us and our new and even existing customers. Nevertheless, great software can give vacation rental companies a critical advantage, one I wish we’d had back in the ‘80s. Not only do these innovative technologies increase efficiency and maximize revenue, but they also insulate your business against change. 

LMPM is the most modern PMS on the market today and is by far the best choice for vacation rental software that I’ve ever seen. In fact, I’ve tried most property management systems at some point, and I have years of experience with the vacation rental software industry. On this basis, let me give you some of the reasons why I joined LMPM as a board member and use it to run my business at a 350-unit rental company on the Gulf Coast of Florida. By the way, we operate with no main office, and most of our staff work from home. 

 

It’s critical to use technology to process-drive your business 

The most important part of our business is our employees. Your software should make their work as easy as possible. This is a complicated business, and anyone who tells you differently is a fool. Add to this the difficulty we all have with hiring and retaining good employees. Furthermore, we are in a business that in most cases is seasonal, which leads to higher turnover and a greater reliance on temporary employees than in other industries. 

Making your business process-driven is critical for efficiency and employee retention, and making complex tasks process-driven and easily repeatable makes work more fun. You can automate sending booking confirmations and check-in emails, task creation, work orders for cleaners and maintenance personnel, and much more. 

With LMPM, you can even automate the key components of your bookkeeping so that it takes place in real-time. 

 

You want a software company that is always looking for ways for technology to boost operating efficiencies 

Let’s go back to the early days of software. Back then, we were only looking for a way to handle reservations. Soon afterward, we wanted software that dealt with accounting as well, which is probably the most complicated matter for vacation rental software to deal with. Next came housekeeping, then maintenance integration, and then API connectivity to our own and third-party websites. 

No software is ever going to be perfect because change is inherent to the business. Don’t we all wish we had thought of HomeAway, Vrbo, or Airbnb first? Who knows what the next game-changer will be? I am not going to try to explain the details of LMPM’s software here, but I will tell you that it is the latest and greatest and can do all the things that I mentioned above. If you want a piece of software that can easily adapt to change, this is it. 

 

Future-proof your company with a modern platform 

Legacy software is a lot like an old house—it’s expensive to maintain, and things break frequently, but tearing it down and starting from scratch can be prohibitively expensive. 

Your technology partners can either be key allies adapting to change on your behalf or problematic associates holding you back. The question is this: Is your PMS company actively adding exciting new features, or are they primarily releasing bug fixes? Recent patch notes will tell the story here. 

You want a provider that regularly provides substantial updates to their product. In this way, your existing system continues to improve and adapt to change, enabling your vacation rental company to take advantage of new features. This is a much better way of adapting to change than the reverse, where your technology partners fall behind, years go by, and you suddenly realize that other providers have developed a wealth of desirable new features, forcing you to make a huge shift to a new platform. It is far better to be ahead of the curve. 

Given a choice between decades-old software and a modern platform with a very robust feature set, the modern platform is the way to go. 

Change is the only constant, but adapting to it doesn’t have to be a struggle. If you’d like to talk about technology and see a modern property management solution, please visit lmpm.com. 

 

 

Don’t Press Pause on Homeowner Marketing This Season— It’s Time to Hit the Gas!

By
Brooke Pfautz
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1

If you had 10 more properties, could you book them? Spoiler alert: The answer is yes.

Demand for vacation rental properties is at an all-time high. Interest in safe and private properties for a getaway skyrocketed this summer, and the same will hold true for the winter season. Holidaymakers don’t want to be in crowded hotels; they want to minimize contact with others while still enjoying a relaxing escape.

 

“Our weekends sell out quickly, and the weeknight demand is higher than we have ever seen. We’ve been fortunate to add homes to our inventory, and as soon as they go live, they book up.”
– Jen Richards, Chattanooga Vacation Rentals

 

Now Is the Best Time to Add New Properties to Your Vacation Rental Program 

The more units you manage, the more potential revenue you can bring in. It’s as simple as that. However, with so much demand for short-term rentals, managing bookings and day-to-day operations can make it seem impossible to find the time to also attack inventory acquisition—but you need to. 

With bookings on the upswing and economic forecasts predicting that the market will reach $13.9 billion by 2027, acquiring inventory is essential for your business’s long-term growth plan. There has never been a better time to sign more homeowner contracts, so now the question is, how do you add 10 more properties to your program? 

 

How to Scale and Profit from Your Vacation Rental Business 

If you find growing your inventory is a difficult and time-consuming task, you’re not alone. Most vacation rental managers feel the same way. In fact, we secret-shopped over 100 vacation rental management companies in the United States and found that only 50 percent of our calls were answered. Let that sink in! 

We know you’re busy, so here are our top three tips and technology hacks to scale your business smarter, faster, and bigger. 

 

1. Save Time and Grow Faster with Technology and Tools 

Most vacation rental managers use a CRM on the guest side, but are you using one for your homeowners? Reduce the time and cost of adding a new property to your program with Vintory—the number one property acquisition platform designed exclusively for vacation rental managers to grow their inventories. Vintory is your simple-to-set-up, easy-to-use solution to consistently add new properties to your program. Get built-in lead nurturing automation, personalized AI, and centralized dashboards at your fingertips through the Vintory app. Capture more leads, close more deals, and spend less time worrying about when the next lead will arrive at your doorstep. 

 

2. Boost Your Marketing Conversions and Investment 

Masterful marketing is essential to growing any business. You need to understand your potential new owners’ problems and demonstrate how you will address them. Having a marketing whiz on your team who understands short-term rentals will help you quickly expand your portfolio. Vintory, in addition to offering its CRM services, has a team of 40+ industry-specialized growth experts who help property managers with all aspects of owner marketing, including building targeted campaigns, running paid ads, and retargeting. 

 

3. Work Smarter, Not Harder with Data-Driven Actions 

A successful acquisition strategy should be fueled by data. Data-informed inventory decisions can include which homeowners to target, how to market to these targets, how much to invest in your marketing campaign, and how many more properties will deliver both operational efficiencies and increase the value of your business. Using Vintory’s platform, you can quickly view all of your campaigns and focus your efforts on prospects who are most likely to convert, making the most of every marketing dollar you spend. These insights not only help you in the moment but also lead you to take data-informed actions for your long-term growth strategy. 

 

Don’t Press Pause on Homeowner Marketing This Season— It’s Time to Hit the Gas! 

Pressing pause on your homeowner marketing campaigns during the low season is the best way to invite your competitors to get in front of your properties and potential prospects. By the time your owners are waving goodbye, it will be too late to start marketing to get them back. This season, the vacation rental industry has been filled with more opportunities and competition than ever before. Now is the time to hit the gas on your inventory acquisition strategy, and the best way to do that with half the time, effort, and stress is to use Vintory. Go to vintory.com and book a demo to see exactly how we’ll help you add 10 more properties to your program. 

 

 

Dream Kitchens Sell: How Kitchens Define the Character of Vacation Rentals

By
Amy Hinote
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4

Travelers are approaching staying in a vacation home in a whole new way. Years ago, vacation rental travelers prioritized the destination and cared little about the home’s décor. They viewed their vacation rental as a home base from which they could ski, fish, hike, go boating, or go to the beach. 

Now vacation homes have become the destination in themselves. And in this new world, kitchens define the character of the home, enabling vacationers to live in a fantasy—if only for a week. 

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Above Photo: Villa Turquesa by CaboVillas, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Creating a clean and safe kitchen is an important step in providing a professional experience for guests, and a great place to start is with a bright, clean kitchen design.

Left & Below Photo: Dimora Bellosguardo Florence by The Villa Italy  – Brand strategy and art direction: Paola Gheis Luxury Rental Consulting  – Photography: Iuri Niccolaii – Styling: Silvia Garancini

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Below Photo:  542 Bufflehead Drive by Akers Ellis, Kiawah Island, South Carolina

[vc_custom_heading text=”Bright & Clean” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:40|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:1″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” el_class=”kitchen-shadow”]

 

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Above Photo: Riverscape by Blue Sky Vacation Rentals, Ellijay, Georgia

“Imagine, on your next vacation, whipping up meals in a killer kitchen. In the last five years, the number of Americans skipping the hotel and going the home-rental route has tripled, and for food lovers, that means being able to stay in a ‘4-bedroom with a lake view’— and well-seasoned skillets, an arsenal of Japanese knives and a six-burner range.”
–Rachel Ray Magazine

Left & Below Photo: Iron Mountain Chalet by Natural Retreats in Park City, Utah

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Above Photo: Sona Tra by Starfish Luxury Rentals, Arch Cape, Oregon

“To create a welcoming atmosphere, clients are looking for ‘unshackled whimsy’ in kitchen décor this year, said New York interior designer Nancy Mayerfield, who has been fielding clients’ requests for colored appliances” – Wall Street Journal

Right Photo: Villa Turquesa by CaboVillas, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Below Photo: Heaven’s Hideaway by Shenandoah Rentals, Luray, Virginia

[vc_custom_heading text=”With Character” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:40|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:1″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” el_class=”kitchen-shadow”]

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Limited Edition 

VRMB founder Matt Landau talks about what makes a vacation rental “limited edition” in the minds of consumers. When people go on vacation, they are looking to escape their everyday lives to rejuvenate, recharge, and get inspired. The kitchen is the heart of the home and sets the tone for their vacation experience. So, get creative while considering what would inspire your guests. 

Whether it is a showstopping backdrop, memorable breakfast nook with a view, luxury appliances, eye-catching hardware or a well-placed natural feature, the kitchen is the perfect room in the vacation home to build the character that defines the home, sets it apart from the competition, and makes the vacation memorable. 

According to designer Tara Mastroeni, “The chance to decorate a vacation home is a rare and exciting opportunity. While it follows the same fundamental process of primary home designs, there’s something special about knowing you have the chance to decorate your own great escape.”


Additional Photo Credits:
Arendelle by Natural Retreats, Breckenridge, Colorado
Westcott House by Shenandoah Rentals, Luray, Virginia

Staying Focused in the Off-Season: Digital Marketing Strategies that Will Bring More Bookings for Less Spend

By
Bluetent Staff
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1

The vacation rental industry’s record-setting summer has come to a close, and 2021’s fall “off-season” promises to be just as unprecedented–and likely more unpredictable–as the months preceding. How do you market your business during an offseason . . . that isn’t? How do you address ongoing health concerns and the potential reemergence of difficult restrictions? These are daunting tasks. To help, we’ve asked Bluetent’s ace digital marketing team to provide their tips for 2021’s coming months. 

 

ADDRESSING UNCERTAINTY 

“When I talk to vacation rental managers about their digital marketing strategy, a key point right now is staying nimble,” says digital marketing sales executive Jessie Hjorth. “Be ready and able to address changes as they happen, and use the opportunity to make your brand a trusted resource for travelers. Create purposeful content on your website—whether it’s blog posts, updated event pages, or COVID-19 resource pages—that addresses concerns travelers might have about your destination’s safety or current restrictions. You can build a lot of trust by answering their questions before they have a chance to ask. And an added bonus: Google rewards this type of content.” 

Hjorth also urges vacation rental managers to remember the lessons we learned in 2020. “During last year’s downturn and closures, the brands that chose to continue even a scaled-down version of their digital marketing efforts were able to preserve their rankings in organic search results,” she states. “In fact, because their competitors dropped out, many brands even improved their presence on search pages—and for a smaller Google Ad spend.” 

 

DITCHING DISCOUNTS and CHANGING FOCUS 

This year’s vacation rental bookings have gone through the roof, making it necessary to adjust the standard focus of digital marketing efforts. Two distinct marketing trends are important to note: increasing revenue per reservation and acquiring new inventory. 

Senior strategic account manager Kara Kacmarcik gives this advice: “With the wild successes in our industry this year, your brand’s digital marketing strategy is not necessarily going to be about deep discounts. It’s more about adding value to whatever you’re already offering your guests. Be in touch with your reservation staff to learn what guests are seeking, and use your data to really hone in on what kind of value-added packages and content you can offer.” 

Marketing your brand’s add-ons and packages isn’t the only way to increase revenue this year, however. “There’s never been a better economic climate for expanding your property portfolio,” states strategic account manager Eliana Miteva. “Right now, there are fabulous opportunities for small- to mid-size vacation rental brands to build inventory. Now is your time to shine: show prospective owners your superior value and service.” 

 

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR ONLINE ASSETS 

Your digital marketing efforts, at their core, are meant to bring travelers to your website to book the perfect vacation rental. “It’s easy to get caught up in only one aspect of a website’s functionality: direct booking. But there’s so much more to a modern vacation rental website! It’s all about the experience a traveler has while they’re searching your site,” says Hjorth. “A website that is built not only to mesh with, but enhance, your digital marketing strategy can really position your brand ahead of the competition.” 

To prove the value of pairing the right digital marketing plan with the right website, Bluetent data analysts put their Rezfusion Cloud web platform to the test. “Search engine visibility was front of mind when we originally built Cloud. As we’ve upgraded and released new features on the platform, the results have only gotten better,” says vice president of product Tom Kenyon. 

The data confirmed Kenyon’s sentiment. Bluetent clients who added digital marketing services onto their existing Cloud web subscription have seen stellar results. “In one case, the client saw a 670 percent increase in online revenue, and it was common for clients to see numbers like a 175 percent increase in online transactions or a 115 percent increase in e-commerce conversion rates,” Kenyon reports. 

 

ASSEMBLING THE BEST TEAM 

There’s no shortage of online advice regarding the perfect digital marketing plan. Finding experts who have their eyes on the overall economic climate, know what works best for our industry, and understand the unique nature of your specific business, market, and competition is essential to the success of your strategy. 

Are you interested in tapping into Team Bluetent’s wealth of digital marketing knowledge? Reach out at bluetent.com/connect-with-us. 

 

 

Using Triggered Automations to Provide a Superior Guest Experience

By
TRACK PMS
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0

Technology can’t replace good people, but it can help you stay on top of routine tasks that affect the guest journey. 

Right now, you’re probably seeing awesome occupancy and record revenue. But, chances are, you’re also finding it difficult to hire and keep good employees. We can’t know how long the current hiring environment will persist, but we do know that it has exposed operational inefficiencies and workflow issues across the board. A full and competent staff can overcome or at least hide these challenges, but trying to do more with less has a way of showing the cracks in your operational foundation. 

Better technology may be the answer. When you’re already stretched thin, the thought of changing things up might give you hives, but sometimes it’s the only way to give yourself a break while continually improving. 

Welcome to the wonderful world of triggers and automations. 

 

What Triggers and Automations Are (and Are Not) 

In 2021 and beyond, the key to making sure routine tasks are done accurately and on time is through automation. 

Basically, automations use triggers to set one or more actions into motion, sometimes called “if this, then that.” Both direct and third-party bookings run through your property management system (PMS), and anything that happens in your PMS could be a trigger that instantly generates an email, a work order, a calendar item, and so on. Taken together, these individual steps form an automated workflow. 

Many common triggers are related to email marketing, such as a sequence of emails that go out once a user completes a form. But more sophisticated workflows that depend on data from your PMS can be tricky and often require yet another third-party tool like Zapier or ITTT to work. 

Our Track PMS platform enables at least 1.2 million different triggered automations (we’ve done the math). Practically anything that occurs (or could occur) in a connected digital space can be automated. 

 

Extra Hands and Timely Touches 

When it comes to repetitive tasks and time-consuming processes, automations can be like having an extra set of hands. 

Let’s say you review your bookings at the end of the day and add them to a Google Sheet shared with your housekeeping and maintenance staff. The purpose is to keep them updated on arrivals and departures so they can plan ahead. But think of the steps involved. You need to run a report and either manually enter the data or copy and paste. Your housekeeping staff then needs to go to the document, review it, and assign the work accordingly. When they’re finished, they call in or complete a report so you can note that the property is ready. 

You can automate all that! Once your booking engine is integrated with Track PMS, it will update your calendar and notify housekeeping via text or email about new bookings or changes, all in real-time. Meanwhile, your staff can use a smartphone to quickly note when cleaning begins and ends, which updates your master calendar automatically. 

All you did was set up the workflow; the rest happens without your direct involvement but is still accurate, organized, and current. 

That makes your life easier, but what about your guests? 

 

Automations Dazzle and Delight at Every Step in the Guest Journey 

This is especially true when it comes to communications. Timely, relevant messages make guests feel valued and that their needs are understood. Emails with time-based, pre-arrival triggers, for example, can steer them toward helpful information ranging from road closures to area attractions. Mobile triggers, such as smartphone check-in, can let you know they’ve arrived and are happy with everything while simultaneously changing the property’s status in Track PMS. 

Once you set up and test an automation, it runs all day, every day without complaint. Would an employee do that? Would you ever expect them to? Of course not. Automations work while you sleep to help make life easier and deliver a superior guest experience. Everything from communications to lead follow-up to accounting and billing to work orders can be automated, even with complex dependencies and multiple steps. 

If you wish you had an extra set of hands, talk to us. Our Keystone Award-winning Track PMS was just dubbed “Software of the Future” by VRMB and has all the integrations and automations you need to close the gaps between where you are and where you’d like to be. 

For more information on Track automations, visit trackhs.com/automation. 

 

 

Higher Multiples & Lucrative Structure: Key Ingredients that will Allow Your Company to Sell

By
Jacobie Olin
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1

In the first two articles of this series, we explored the best strategies to prepare your short-term vacation rental company to sell. Now that you have grown your revenue and inventory, hired the appropriate staff, and updated your management contracts, your company is ready to receive an offer. 

In this final article, we will examine multiples and structures of common deals in the current market. Although higher multiples increase the overall purchase price, the structure and terms of pay-out can be the most crucial part of the offer. 

 

MULTIPLES 

Of course, every seller wants the highest offer for their company, and a multiple of your financial position is where your buyer will start. 

Adjusted EBITDA 

EBITDA represents your earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. In our “Back of Napkin Analysis,” we discussed common add-backs and deductions to help you find your adjusted EBITDA (AE). 

 

Up to $1 Million Adjusted EBITDA 

For companies with up to $1 million AE, the current market multiples are three to five times LTM (last twelve months) AE or a weighted average of the previous 36 months, with heavier weight on the more recent periods. If your company did $750K AE, you can expect somewhere between $2.25M and $3.75M on the initial offer. 

What multiple will you get? We also dove into the subjective aspect of higher multiples in the “Back of the Napkin Analysis” article, but below are some of the major factors that are important to buyers: 

Unit growth and revenue growth per unit 

How “hot” the market is (i.e., longer and more frequent peak seasons, higher management commissions, available inventory) 

Staff and management contracts 

The terms you are willing to accept (We’ll get into this below) 

 

Over $1 Million Adjusted EBITDA 

Most short-term vacation rental companies do not fall into this category, so we will not dive in too deep. If your company is doing over $1 million in AE, has unit count growth, revenue growth, and has a strong staff, you can likely command a premium multiple higher than the three-to-five range. 

 

Net Revenue “Take” 

Net revenue or “take” represents your management commissions and ancillary fees. Ancillary fees are all the extra fees a guest pays, such as damage waivers, booking fees, or housekeeping fees. 

Other than looking at multiples of adjusted EBITDA, we are also seeing buyers make offers of approximately one times the net revenue. 

For example, if your company takes $750k in rental commissions and $500k in fees, you could be looking at an offer of $1.25 million. 

 

STRUCTURE AND TERMS 

As mentioned above, a high purchase price may look appealing, but the devil is truly in the details. 

How “clean” is your company? Do you have consistent growth? Can your staff operate efficiently without you? Are all your management contracts assignable and auto-renewable? How clean your company is will determine the terms of the deal. 

In today’s market, we typically see 50–75 percent cash at closing and 25–50 percent in notes from one to five years. The buyer note may or may not be contingent on certain factors, which can be negotiated. These contingencies are normally based on consistent revenue, unit declination, or the owner staying on for an agreed amount of time. 

While you may be cautious of a buyer note full of contingencies, there can be substantial earn-outs for sellers. We’ve seen buyers offer an extra $10,000–20,000 per additional unit onboarded for one year after the sale. That could be an extra several hundred thousand dollars if you’re a rapidly growing company. 

Remember, better positioning your company to sell directly correlates to higher multiples and more lucrative terms. 

 

 

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