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3 Reasons HomeAway is not ready to be acquired …yet

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VRM Intel Staff
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Priceline looking at HomeAway Acquisition?

Earlier this week, Bloomberg Businessweek’s Sarah Rabil discussed HomeAway’s attractiveness as an acquisition target for online travel companies, such as Expedia and Priceline. The article cited the growth of the vacation rental industry into a travel sector staple, growth in the number of listings to 700,000 among the HomeAway family of sites, vast proprietary content, and the company’s dominant position in the market as reasons for potential suitor attention.

However, three key factors lessen the likelihood of a HomeAway purchase in the immediate future.

 

1. Underdeveloped Tech Stack

HomeAway’s growth through acquisition creates complexity in aggregating multiple business models and technology platforms, including VRBO.com, Travelmob.com, OwnersDirect.com and 16 other brands.

HomeAway’s 21st acquisition in its recent $198 million purchase of Australian-based Stayz alone added four websites to the HomeAway family, which admittedly require a “significant” technology overhaul, according to a BRW, Australia’s leading business magazine. “It’s our judgment that significant investment is required,” said HomeAway founder Carl Shepherd.

A HomeAway job posting for software engineers reflects the challenges faced, “With 19+ brands coming together to one common platform, with millions of dollars exchanging hands every single day on our eCommerce platform, with the most complex engineering problems you will ever see, working at HomeAway is an engineer’s dream.” One example of a “complex engineering problem” is demonstrated by HomeAway’s plans to merge inventory between sites, such as giving Australians access to the south-east Asian listings on Travelmob, the Singapore-based start-up it bought a majority stake in earlier this year.

HomeAway suitors will likely find the deal more attractive once the technology platforms and pricing models have been further developed and integrated.

 

2. Price

Businessweek called a potential HomeAway acquisition “the most expensive Internet deal since 2007.”

As a $3.4 billion company, HomeAway has estimated 2013 revenues at $343 million, up from $280 million in 2012, and is home to over 800 employees. In contrast, Priceline purchased Kayak in November 2012 for $1.8 billion, with $293 million revenue and 180 employees at the time of purchase.

One analyst says Expedia is not in the position to make an acquisition of this magnitude and Priceline won’t. Recent investment by Expedia and Priceline in Trivago ($632M) and Kayak ($1.8B), respectively, show a move away from aggregation and toward metasearch.

According to BRW, Shepherd said the challenge with applying metasearch to vacation rentals is that all the properties are “extraordinarily unique.”

“Metasearch works best in a commodity world and vacation homes are not commodities,” Shepherd said. “I’m not sure where metasearch fits, but there are very clever people trying to bring metasearch to vacation homes, and we’ll wait to see if they’re successful.”

 

3. Popularity

A significant portion of clients and consumers simply don’t like doing business with HomeAway, whose customer base consists of three main customer segments: 1) travel consumers trying to rent a vacation home, 2) individual vacation homeowners, and 3) vacation rental management companies (VRMs).

Travel consumers find themselves spending tedious hours trying to find a rental, communicate with a property owner, and complete a booking –all factors which contribute to a difficult user experience. Skift’s article, “Why online vacation rental listings are still stuck in the past” points out, “Lots of people think the lack of progress in being able to book vacation rentals online, as you would hotel rooms, is a technology problem, but it’s also an attitude problem,” pointing out that online booking is critical to improving the user experience.

However, individual homeowners are less comfortable with the move to an online booking model, as many want to own the relationship with the guests and have the ability to get to know the people they are renting to. In addition, HomeAway is spending more energy catering to professional property managers, and professionally-managed rentals are increasingly able to rank higher in the property search pages with more photos, more reviews and online booking options. Individual homeowners are feeling less love from the former champion for rent-by-owner properties.

In spite of increased attention by HomeAway, professional vacation rental management companies (VRMs) also struggle with their business perception of HomeAway. VRMs have seen their brands deteriorate and their marketing costs increase as a direct result of the competition HomeAway brings. More often than not, VRMs consider HomeAway a “necessary evil,” and reluctantly list inventory on their sites.

A quick Google search demonstrates some of this frustration. One company review site gave  HomeAway 1- 1/2 stars out of 5, while Barefoot Technologies, a leading vacation rental software provider, called out HomeAway in a recent blog post, “As a professional property manager, who has YOUR back?”

Before becoming a viable acquisition target by companies such as Priceline or Expedia, HomeAway will likely put effort into becoming more popular among these three customer segments, who can expect to see increased education for property owners and managers, a better user experience for consumers and a significant public relations initiative.

 

While HomeAway will continue to walk a thin line between individual homeowners and VRMs, the value of the company is unlikely to drop without disruptive competition.  A HomeAway acquisition will be a pricey one for whoever takes the leap. However, the price will be easier to swallow once HomeAway develops its technology stack and improves customer perception.

 

By Amy Hinote

Will Priceline, Expedia, TripAdvisor or Google Acquire HomeAway?

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Priceline looking at HomeAway Acquisition?

HomeAway’s rising online vacation rental bookings may persuade suitors to tackle the most expensive Internet deal since 2007 as an improving economy spurs a rebound in travel.

With listings for more than 700,000 homes around the world, analysts estimate (AWAY:US) that HomeAway will boost sales by about 65 percent in three years. Revenue for all U.S. travel agencies is poised to rise as economic conditions improve, with growth from online booking sites seen fueling the gains, according to IBISWorld Inc. As Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN:US), Expedia Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP:US) eye opportunities in vacation rental services, HomeAway may entice takeover interest, Cowen Group Inc. said.

After surging 81 percent this year, HomeAway traded yesterday at 10.3 times its sales, already a higher multiple than any public Internet company has commanded in a takeover in the last six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While the $3.4 billion company faces competition from rivals such as Airbnb Inc., Piper Jaffray Cos. said HomeAway’s dominant position in the growing online vacation rental market makes it worth the price for potential suitors. Even Google Inc. (GOOG:US) could be interested in a deal, according to Canaccord Financial Inc.

“This whole concept of alternative bookings and travel is a concept that’s here to stay and it’s something that ultimately the bigger players in online travel will need to be participating in,” Michael Olson, a Minneapolis-based analyst at Piper Jaffray, said in a phone interview. “I don’t think people are looking at what the stock has done this year. I think they’re just looking at what the opportunity is going forward, and the opportunity is significant.”

 

Read more at Bloomberg Businessweek

HomeAway Announces Proposed Follow-On Offering

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VRM Intel Staff
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0
HomeAway

Dec 10, 2013 — HomeAway, Inc. AWAY -4.79% , the world’s leading online marketplace for vacation rentals, today announced it plans to commence, subject to market and other conditions, an underwritten public offering of 5,500,000 shares of its common stock pursuant to an effective registration statement. An additional 518,630 shares will be offered by the selling stockholders. In addition, the selling stockholders intend to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 902,794 shares to cover over-allotments, if any.

HomeAway intends to use the net proceeds of this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions or license of, or investment in, products, services, technologies or other businesses. HomeAway will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC will serve as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. Stifel, Nicolaus & Company and Pacific Crest Securities LLC, Incorporated will act as co-managers.

The offering of these securities will be made only by means of a registration statement (including a preliminary prospectus for the offering) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 10, 2013. Copies of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained from: Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. at 60 Wall Street, Attention: Prospectus Group, New York, NY 10005-2836, by email at prospectus.CPDG@db.com or by phone at (800) 503-4611; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, or by telephone at (866) 803-9204; Goldman, Sachs & Co., Attn: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, or by phone at (866) 471-2526; or Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014, by email at prospectus@morganstanley.com, or by phone at (866) 718-1649.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About HomeAway:

HomeAway, Inc. based in Austin, Texas, the world’s leading online marketplace for the vacation rental industry, with sites representing over 773,000 paid listings of vacation rental homes in 171 countries. Through HomeAway, owners and property managers offer an extensive selection of vacation homes that provide travelers with memorable experiences and benefits, including more room to relax and added privacy, for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodations. The company also makes it easy for vacation rental owners and property managers to advertise their properties and manage bookings online. The HomeAway portfolio includes the leading vacation rental websites HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; HomeAway.co.uk and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de in Germany; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; HomeAway.es and Toprural.es in Spain; AlugueTemporada.com.br in Brazil; HomeAway.com.au and Stayz.com.au in Australia; and Bookabach.co.nz in New Zealand. Asia Pacific short-term rental site, travelmob.com, is also owned by HomeAway.

HomeAway also operates BedandBreakfast.com, the most comprehensive global site for finding bed-and-breakfast properties, providing travelers with another source for unique lodging alternatives to chain hotels. For more information about HomeAway, please visit www.HomeAway.com .

Who’s Who at 2013 VRMA European Conference

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
2013 VRMA European Conference

The 2013 VRMA European Seminar wrapped up yesterday in Bruges, Belgium, with 109 vacation rental industry leaders from 14 countries in attendance.

The supplier companies represented at the conference currently provide services for vacation rental professionals in multiple countries and regions, and are looking to grow their international presence in the coming years.

Let’s look at some of these global players, the services they provide, and their experience with the 2013 VRMA European Seminar.


VRMA European SeminarCities Reference

Headquartered in Rome and founded in 1996, Cities Reference is an online marketplace for vacation rentals worldwide.

Guglielmo Parasporo, founder and owner of Cities Reference presented a session for Crisis and Market’s Reaction, a crucial topic covered in the seminar. Crisis affects everything and everyone involved in the business industry, regardless of the country or business type. It is important to see how these potentially uncontrollable events can affect the market and prepare every entrepreneur in counteracting their events.

“I’m excited to take part in this event,” says Parasporo. “Being in the business since 1996 showed me how much the demand in vacation rentals increased. Countless individuals across the globe find the importance of traveling and unwind from their daily routines and work. It’s the high time to encourage efficiency, innovation and customer service a notch higher.”

With Cities Reference, all online prices are final and inclusive with no additional fees and practices are in place to promote sustainable, responsible tourism. The majority of the owners/managers of the listed vacation rental apartments are met and ‘Verified™’ by representatives after being listed into our websites.

The search engine is user-friendly with a choice of 15 different filters (from the number of bedrooms and budget, to the washing machine, rather than wireless internet and/or the terrace or balcony) and the ability to sort by recommendation, travelers’ reviews, area, price, etc.

Website content is very detailed, with client’s feedbacks and rating on each apartment and detailed information on its amenities and the whereabouts on the area. A high percentage of rental listings, those indicated as Instant Booking, offers guests immediate online booking confirmation.

 

Dwellable

Dwellable is a search engine for vacation rentals and offers free listings for homeowners and property management companies. What separates Dwellable is when visitors want to book a rental, Dwellable sends them directly to your web site to complete the booking, driving traffic to your site and increasing your sales. Dwellable is also the top vacation rental app on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

“Dwellable’s mobile app has users from all over the world, so when we launched international listings this fall, it made sense to attend the VRMA European Seminar to see how property managers would respond,” said CEO Kirby Winfield. “The conference brings together a great group of professionals who really want to learn how to move the industry forward, so it’s the perfect venue for a small mobile-first company like ours to tell our story.”

Winfield presented the results of their 2013 Mobile Vacation Rental Survey of more than 100 property managers.

 

Glad To Have You

Glad to Have You is the first and only guest management system and complete mobile solution designed specifically for vacation rental management companies – revolutionizing the way you manage and communicate with guests. Glad To Have You sponsored the conference and provided a custom mobile app for attendees.

“Our vision is for hospitality companies to provide a better overall guest experience by improving their overall efficiencies. This vision is both the same for domestic as well as international hospitality companies so we strongly believe our attendance at VRMA European Seminar was imperative,” said Jason Sprenkle, CEO for Glad To Have You. “Our software solutions are pioneering a new demand for Guest Management throughout the hospitality industry and the European Seminar is a remarkable conference for GTHY to make its international presence known.”

Glad to Have You’s platform provides hospitality management companies with a content management system in the cloud paired with a mobile solution for guests. The solution aims to allow companies to more efficiently manage their guest and property information, while providing guests with an easier, more informed and overall more enjoyable travel experience.

Each guest receives the pre-arrival, property, and area information they need automatically, along with all of the details they need for their specific stay – when to arrive, where to park, auto generated check-in info and lock codes. Even specific details unique to each guest like wireless codes, television instructions, etc. The platform also provides instant two-way communications with guests, detailed analytics, and a robust and fully integrated marketing platform to increase guest loyalty. It’s a concept based on giving guests what they need, when they need it, and how they want it.

 

Homeloc

In 2011, Franck Lefeuvre, co-founder of Homeloc, served as director of listing sites for seasonal rentals for FLV.fr. By talking to homeowners he discovered that –on average – a property listing is distributed manually over four different consumer-facing rental sites, causing frustration for homeowners trying to manage multiple listings and availability calendars. In 2012, he partnered with William Shack to create a software solution to help owners in this process, generating more bookings while saving time and money. In 2012 he joined William Shack and created Homeloc, a service which allows owners to create and manage multiple listings in one place with additional features for owners including free property websites, centralized reservation requests, automated messaging, and synchronization of rates and availability.

Quentin Richard, Web Marketing Manager at Homeloc presented the session, “Web-Search : The Power of HyperLocal for VR” at the conference, which discussed search techniques used by guests and how to adapt to advanced search language and changing technology to ensure property listings are getting the most traffic.

“Homeloc was present to this event for several reasons. First, we were thrilled to meet some VR managers from all Europe, and listen to their needs. It is something the VRMA has made possible and we are grateful for that. Sometimes, it’s good to get inspired by other countries, learn from different cultures and see other ways to work.” said Richard. “Then, it was also a very good occasion to speak with other VR software providers, in a place we could share a part of our practice in a friendly way, not just staring at each other like competitors. Again, the VRMA Euporean seminar made that possible.”

“Finally, it is important for Homeloc to be part of this kind of events, because we have a double-hat job: we manage vacation rentals, and we sell software. We believe seminars like VRMA Europe are a good way to gather professionals of the VR industry and raise the overall quality.”

 

VRMA EU Conference AttendeesInstaManager

InstaManager is a leader in cloud based services for the lodging industry, whose users/clients compete in 85+ Countries on 6 continents with millions of vacation rental nights booked via their vacation rental software.

InstaManager was a sponsor for the 2013 VRMA European Seminar.

“We designed InstaManager to be global from the ground up, and we currently have close to 50% of our customers outside the US. Vacation Rentals is an international business, and vacation rental professionals need tools and support from a global technology provider,” said Rob Käll, CEO.  “We’re also excited to announce a new partnership with Booking.com, which is incredibly important for our European clients. The InstaManager cloud based platform directly drives revenue, manages resources, and provides business control for successful lodging companies worldwide.”

InstaManager has 3 key components: 1) InstaSites, a beautiful mobile-enabled booking site, 2) InstaApp, web-based software to manage your reservation sales and back office, and 3) InstaChannels, a tool to distribute your properties to the most effective vacation rental channels in the world.

 

Kigo

Kigo has been a leading provider of online vacation rental software for more than 5 years. Started in 2008 by Shawn Convery when he couldn’t find a simple way to manage his vacation rental properties in Europe, Kigo has since grown to be the underlying platform for hundreds of agencies in the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America.

From their roots as a simple provider of synced vacation rental calendars, Kigo has grown and evolved to take care of scheduling, reservations, accounting, channel management, website design, and myriad other tasks that are a daily part of property management operations. And they can’t wait to show you what the future has to offer — Kigo is committed to continually adding advanced technology, features and support to help vacation rental managers improve their business.

“Attending VRMA events always takes top priority on Kigo’s events calendar. Their ongoing success reinstates that the vacation rental industry has really boomed over these past few years!” said Shawn Convery, Kigo’s CEO. “We really enjoyed the European Seminar because not only were the sessions very insightful, we got to meet like-minded professionals from all over Europe and engage in invaluable industry conversations.

As a sponsor of the VRMA European Seminar, the Kigo team shared in person best practices for vacation rental management, and their SEO expert Eva Gundermann presented a session on Social Media for vacation rentals and how it can benefit marketing strategy.

 

Maxxton Group

Maxxton’s vacation rental software Newyse is a complete ERP management platform that gets your vacation rental business online and offers superior property management. It also facilitates, enables and supports distribution, marketing, customer relationship management and business intelligence.

Jean Pierre Mampaey, Maxxton Group, led the session, “The Evolution of Customers’ Expectations: Trends and Reflections on Guest Experience” which discussed the role played by technology in creating a customer-centered environment.

“Maxxton delivers the technology used by thousands of vacation rental resorts across Europe, so it was very fitting for us to present at the 2013 Vacation Rental Managers Association European Seminar”, said Chris Connar, Maxxton’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing for North America.

“The feedback from U.S. suppliers and vacation rental managers has been consistent; the European Vacation Rental Market is much more evolved in terms of technology than its American counterpart.  As a multinational company and VRMA corporate sponsor, we are committed to help educate the global market and lead from the front, pushing the concept of Hospitality Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for the vacation industry”, said Séverine Obertelli, Head of Sales & Marketing – EMEA.

Maxxton delivers Hospitality Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions designed specifically for the Vacation Rental Industry.  A true Software-as-a-Service, All-in-One system to control every aspect of your professionally managed, Vacation Rental Organization. Streamlined workflows increase operational efficiency, and data flows negate multiple data entry and provide real time visibility of all your information, enterprise wide. Data entered in a work order, for example, flows through to orders, housekeeping, reservations and statements, resulting in a single data entry instead of five. This results in increased data accuracy, speed and efficiency. Adjustments to owner revenues as a result of maintenance costs are quick, easy and accurate.

Maxxton‘s WyseMe, one of Newyse’s 22 valuable and functional modules, allows you to provide secure (password protected) owner access to the administration elements of your business in order for them to view and print statements (past and present), pay bills, check their reservations calendar and book accommodation units (either their own properties or others) for themselves and their friends.

 

NAVIS Technologies

NAVIS Technologies provides call center services and a reservations management platform for lodging companies. NAVIS also recently launched a CRM for hotels, resorts and vacation rentals, an industry-specific email tool with automated lifecycle messaging, and customized revenue management services.

“We are interested in expanding the market for our reservation sales and marketing solution to other geographic regions,” said Kyle Buehner, CEO of NAVIS. “The VRMA European Seminar provided the perfect opportunity to find out more about the vacation rental market in that region and meet with many people who were willing to share their expertise. It was a very constructive visit for NAVIS.”

NAVIS offers vacation rental companies a completely integrated sales and marketing solution that captures more data, optimizes productivity, and increases revenue.

 

SuperControl

SuperControl is the powerful, flexible online booking and management system for self-catering and property rental businesses that puts the user in the driving-seat. Developed by IT experts with their own self-catering properties, SuperControl’s sophisticated, secure and easy-to-use facilities will win you more bookings, while saving you valuable time and money.

SuperControl sponsored the VRMA seminar. “It’s important because there’s no other pan-European event dedicated to the vacation rentals industry, said Melinda Kennedy, co-founder and Director at SuperControl. “Our industry is very fragmented and property management companies operate in relative isolation so this event offers a good melting pot of experience and information, providing valuable insight into how other PMs work and discussion with suppliers that can benefit their operation. There was a good amount of networking time.”

Kennedy added, “We encouraged our property managers to attend and several of them did so. It was very beneficial for us to spend time with them and for them to spend time with each other. We also built on many key strategic partnerships during our time at VRMA EU and have come away with some possible new partnerships to explore.”

SuperControl offers reservations software for any size company with 3 levels of software subscriptions: 1) SuperControl LITE for owners with 1-3 properties, 2) SuperControl PLUS with administrative, management and marketing tools for vacation rental businesses with multiple properties, and 3) SuperControl Agency which is tailored to the needs of rental agencies who promote vacation rentals.

 

 

Google Travel in BelgiumOther companies who participated in the event were:

 

Aspasios.com

Aspasios offers a wide selection of apartments for rent in Barcelona and Madrid. The Aspasios team is located in Barcelona and Madrid and is eager to help clients solve any problem or satisfy their needs. Aspasios offers extended services to guests, such as special advantages offered through “Aspasios Select”, a careful selection of boutiques, restaurants, services, etc. where guests receive special prices and service.

Juan Antonio Rodriguez, Director of Sales and Marketing for Aspasios, presented a session on affiliate marketing as is a powerful tool to drive qualify traffic to holiday rental websites, both as leads and sales.

“VRMA Meetings are a great way to get in the know about what´s going on in the Vacation Rental Industry, apart of meeting friends and have fun in European major cities,” Juan A. Rodríguez, Aspasios.com.

 

BookingPal

BookingPal increases vacation rentals visibility and bookings worldwide by connecting property managers and owners to online travel websites, travel agencies and real estate websites. Property Managers automatically publish and update their listings through API-based integrations with their Property Management System (PMS), while those without a PMS can login to BookingPal to add their vacation rental. All listings become immediately available for booking through a global network of online travel websites, travel agencies and real estate websites.

 

Europ Assistance

For 50 years, Europ Assistance has been supporting its customers all over the world, providing its customers with information and advice, health risk indicators for each country, labels and badges for locating mislaid luggage, cancellation, lost baggage  and multi-risk insurance, online claims reports, “anti surprise” rental insurance, innovative Web services and mobile applications.

Europ Assistance owns CSA Travel Protection, the title sponsor for the 2013 VRMA European Seminar. CSA markets, manages and administers travel insurance and emergency assistance services, allowing visitors to have a worry free travel experience.

 

FlipKey by TripAdvisor

FlipKey features the largest collection of verified holiday rental guest reviews and powers the holiday rental listings on TripAdvisor, the world’s largest online travel community.

 

HolidayRentPayment (in U.S., VacationRentPayment)

HolidayRentPayment, powered by YapStone International LTD, is an experienced and innovative online payment solution available in the Holiday Rental industry. HolidayRentPayment is focused on providing holiday rental property owners the best combination of total cost savings, robust security, and superior technology accessed through their network of affiliate listing partners.

 

HomeAway

HomeAway is the leading global marketplace for online vacation rentals, with over 775,000 properties in 171 countries in the global network. HomeAway complements your marketing efforts by expanding your online reach, providing a cost-effective source of bookings, and providing significant opportunities to build owner and traveler awareness of your brand.

 

LiveRez

LiveRez is the leading vacation rental software provider for professional vacation rental managers. The company’s cloud-based, end-to-end platform offers fully integrated solutions for reservation management, trust accounting and online marketing, with high-ranking, high-conversion dynamic websites and an extensive affiliate marketing program. The company is a Gold Sponsor of the VRMA and sponsored the seminar for the second consecutive year.

 

The VRMA European Seminar features a dozen informative educational sessions specifically designed for today’s holiday rental professionals.

“The VRMA European Seminar gives holiday rental professionals from across Europe and beyond the chance to come together to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing this industry,” said Mark McSweeney, VRMA Executive Director. “As the leading voice of an industry that is growing globally, it’s critical that VRMA play a part in facilitating these discussions, whether it’s the latest online marketing practices, tapping into industry trends or fighting rental restrictions and bans. Our involvement in Europe and countries throughout the world will not only help to open up new markets for our members in the U.S., but on a much larger scale we hope we can begin to unite the industry on a truly global level. We are pleased with the success of this event and the welcome we have been given by the rental industry in Europe.”


 

InstaManager now has Instant Connection to Priceline’s Booking.com

By
VRM Intel Staff
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InstaManager

Property managers using InstaManager can now instantly distribute their property’s on Priceline’s Booking.com.

Dec. 6, 2013 — InstaManager, a Software as a Service (SaaS) pioneer in technology and marketing solutions for vacation rental property managers around the world, today announced a partnership with global lodging leader Booking.com.

“For property managers, access to effective distribution is a critical success factor. Quality channels have helped InstaManager’s reach $100 Million in annual bookings with sights set on tripling that in 2014.  We expect Booking.com to be an important factor for InstaManagers across the globe.”

For Vacation Rental Managers, Booking.com provides a truly global reach, with over 5,000 affiliate partner websites around the world. Booking.com distribution is managed via InstaChannels, InstaManager’s point-and-click channel manager. Every rental property gets its own web page on Booking.com with content in up to 41 languages; International pages are also localized so that information about accommodations is presented accurately, and in a way that locals can relate to. Their Customer Service team is available 24/7, 365 days per year in your language; there are more than 6,000 people in over 110 offices around the world dedicated to getting the guest experience right.

InstaManager will begin signing up current and new clients for the new Booking.com distribution channel at the 2013 Vacation Rental Manager’s Association European Seminar which begins on December 9th in Bruges, Belgium.

 

Rank Higher on VRBO

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VRM Intel Staff
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HomeAway Listing Quality Score

Brian Sharples, CEO at HomeAway explains how to get your properties to rank higher in the HomeAway family of consumer-facing websites, including VRBO.com.

Mapping, photos, reviews, updated calendars and online booking are all considerations in making sure your properties display higher in the search results on their websites.

 

 

 

“If you go to your listings dashboard you’ll see that we have a listing quality score card,” says Sharples. “What a score card does is tells you how you’re listing performs relative to others, and shows you exactly the kinds of things you need to do to perform better on the site. But all of that is done in the best interests at the traveler which is ultimately in the best interest to you.”

 

HomeAway buys Australian rental rival Stayz for $200M

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VRM Intel Staff
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HomeAway

Big deal in the vacation rental sector – HomeAway has splashed out some $198 million to buy the Stayz Group, a major player in the market in Australasia.

The deal to acquire Stayz Group from Australian publishing giant Fairfax Digital includes brands Rentahome, TakeABreak and YesBookit.

Stayz generated AUD $25.4 million ($22.9 million) in revenue for the year ending June 2013, primarily via its commission-based model. Around 99% of Stayz’s listed properties are in Australia.

The Sydney-based company, with a headcount of 40, will continue to operate as a brand in its own right under general manager Anton Stanish.

Stayz was created in 2001 and snapped up by Fairfax in 2005. The company claims traffic to its website surpasses that of its nearest competitors by a ratio of 8-to-1 (550,000 monthly unique visitors).

It also says more than 430,000 nights have been booked through the service over the course of the past 12 months.

Properties belonging to Stayz will be integrated into the HomeAway mothership site, but this will be just a one-way strategy for the time being. Owners will have the option of listing properties on both services.

HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples says:

“The acquisition of Stayz adds 33,000 additional Australian-based properties to the HomeAway network. It also provides HomeAway a strong momentum to our newly-launched pay-per-booking business, something Stayz has worked over the years to optimize.

“Additionally, they have demonstrated that a vacation rental business can generate attractive margins operating on primarily a pay-per-booking model, and we look forward to learning from their team.”

The acquisition is being touted as another step in HomeAway’s foray into…Read more at Tnooz

Seaside Vacations in Outer Banks Acquires Kitty Dunes Rentals and Realty

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VRM Intel Staff
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Kitty Hawk Seaside Vacations

Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty Announce the Acquisition of Kitty Dunes Rentals and Realty.

December 04, 2013 –Gordon Jones, President and CEO of Seaside Vacations and Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Kitty Dunes Rentals, Kitty Dunes Realty, and Colington Realty all North Carolina-based companies. Kitty Dunes has a rich 43 year history on the Outer Banks, manages over 200 vacation rental homes and has offices in Kitty Hawk, Colington, and Corolla, NC.

Through this acquisition, Seaside Vacations expands its leadership role in the Outer Banks vacation rental industry. Coldwell Banker, a proven leader in real estate sales in northeastern North Carolina, will experience increased market share through this integration. The acquisition agreement was closed last Wednesday, November 27, 2013, having been approved by Gordon Jones, President and CEO of Seaside and Jack Neighbors, President of Kitty Dunes.

“The Kitty Dunes name is well known on the Outer Banks and the focus at Seaside will remain the same – creating the most amazing experience on the Outer Banks by offering the best vacation homes,” said Jones, President and CEO of Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty and Seaside Vacations. “By combining the teams and the inventory of Outer Banks vacation homes, we can bring the Outer Banks vacation experience to even more visitors each year.”

Jack Neighbors, President of Kitty Dunes agrees. “Seaside Vacations is the perfect fit for Kitty Dunes. Their property management team is well-respected in the market, led by an ambitious entrepreneur in Gordon Jones. Combining that with the synchronicity of systems that exists among our businesses, preferred vendors, in house technology, and similar processes, we are united by a common vision centered around a passion for driving the consumer experience. One of the greatest benefits I see for Kitty Dunes homeowners will be the opportunity to receive three times as much marketing exposure without incurring any additional costs.”

The Outer Banks has proven itself as a favorite vacation destination for more than 20 years. Companies like Kitty Dunes Rentals and Seaside Vacations have been here through all of the changes and have weathered many storms, economic and tropical in nature.

“The vacation rental industry and real estate market on the Outer Banks has evolved greatly since its early days,” said Jones. “At Seaside Vacations, we continue to improve our service offerings, including pool and spa, maintenance, and linen services. In recent years, we have simplified the vacation experience by integrating Club Seaside, a program designed to offer packages to visitors unfamiliar with all the area has to offer. Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty continues to be a leader in the real estate market by tapping into the brand recognition of the franchise, Coldwell Banker, and leveraging the unending supply of technology and tools to market to potential home buyers.”

Kitty Dunes Rentals and Realty was founded in 1970 and opened its doors at its current Kitty Hawk location of 3620 N. Croatan Hwy at that time. Seaside Vacations has relocated to the Kitty Dunes office in Kitty Hawk on December 1, 2013. Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty will continue to operate at 4900 N. Croatan Hwy in Kitty Hawk, NC. Seaside Vacations will begin operations at the Kitty Dunes Realty office located in Corolla at 1109 Ocean Trail, Suite A in the Corolla Village shops.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/12/prweb11391037.htm

 

HomeAway and Priceline Push Leisure Travel Booking to Top Performing Industry in Market in November

By
VRM Intel Staff
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HomeAway and Priceline Lead the Market

In November, the Leisure-Travel Booking sector provided the best gains among industries, as a result of strong performances by HomeAway (AWAY) and Priceline (PCLN), according to Investor’s Business Daily.

With recovery trends in global travel, online channels seized a larger share of travel bookings worldwide.

Bets on the vacation rental industry are paying off as HomeAway reported a 23% gain in November, while Priceline’s Booking.com has increased its hotel and differentiated accommodations supply by 45%.

Related articles:

 

Matt Landau shares 5 free tools for vacation rental managers

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Vacation rental startup acquisition

Many consider the vacation rental industry to be polar opposite from its hotel counterpart: Less professional, less established, less technologically advanced.

But property managers occupy a space in the hospitality industry that’s something of the best of both worlds: selling a niche product (vacation rentals) that are proving to be superior in many ways to hotels, yet embracing the marketing savoir-faire of bigger business.

 

Here are five tools that can turn any level of property management agency into the local marketing force to be reckoned with:

 

1. Rapportive: Rapportive allows PMs to get a quick glance at potential guests through their email address keychain. Those who haven’t discovered Rapportive yet, don’t realize how powerful it can be to see what a prospective guest looks like, what he or she does for a living, and where they live before sending their tailored reply. This not only gives PMs a better idea of who they’re talking to, it provides insight into any given guest demographic (awesome for marketing too). Read my Rapportive review here.

 

2. Open Site Explorer: Any PM marketer who’s looking to defy competition needs to be using Open Site Explorer (up to 5 free searches per day). It allows you to spy on your competitors’ organic SEO rankings, backlinks, domain and page authority, top pages, and even anchor text. Once you have all this valuable intelligence, exploit the nearest competitor without anyone ever knowing you were there.

 

3. Litmus Subject Line Checker: Any top-level PM in the industry is utilizing email marketing in their portfolio of marketing techniques. And anyone who’s leveraging email marketing knows how important subject lines are in scoring optimal open and click-through rates. Litmus Subject Line Checker is the primo tool that allows PMs to see precisely what your potential subject line looks like in any email provider platform. From there, simply tailor accordingly.

 

4. HARO: Much like a savvy hotelier, the best PMs in the world are also in the business of public relations. But fortunately for us, these days, getting your rentals featured in major publications doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. In fact, it can be free. HARO (or Help A Reporter Out) is a platform that allows PMs to follow any given news feed (Home & Garden, Travel, Lifestyle) and pitch themselves as expert sources to any given journalist.

 

5. Yesware: For any PM who’s been curious as to which guests are opening their emails, which links are being clicked, and when’s a good time to follow up, Yesware is for you. Free for 100 tracking events per month (Warning: it is addictive), Yesware allows you to spy on your email recipients and maximize your profits through the intelligence gathered.

 

Matt Landau is the Founder of Google’s #1 ranked Vacation Rental Marketing Blog, as well as VRLeap, the first online marketplace for tools and services for vacation rental professionals (from 50-90% OFF).

Looking to grow your inventory? Add homeowners to your rental program

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Get more homeowner inventory for vacation rental managers

With the increasing number of homeowners attempting to self-manage their short-term rental properties, professional Vacation Rental Management companies are looking for new ways to grow their inventory.

A new program is being launched which creates and executes a customized Owner Acquisition Plan for vacation rental mangers.

The program includes:

  • Company data analysis, based on preset criteria (e.g. property type, property location, size, amenities, etc.)
  • Destination research on second home owners and market size
  • Competitive analysis
  • Creation of customized, targeted B2O (Business-to-Owner) strategy
  • Execution of outbound B2O marketing campaign
  • Implementation of inbound lead generation plan
  • Strong attention to branding and messaging
  • Performance metrics
  • Performance-based fees

Click here for more info on the Owner Acquisition Program.

VRMA Names New 2014 President

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Indianapolis VRMA Headquarters

Nov 27, 2013 –The Vacation Rental Managers Association named Ben Edwards as the new president in an executive session on November 26, 2013, replacing Heather Weiermann of All Star Vacation Homes.

Previously, on October 22, at the VRMA 2013 Annual Conference, the association held its election for Board of Directors in which the following members were elected to serve on the board:

1.    Ben Edwards, Newman Dailey Resort Properties, Miramar Beach, Fla.
2.    Steve Milo, Vacation Rental Pros Property Management, Ponte Vedra, Fla.
3.    Mike Harrington, Resort Realty of the Outer Banks, Nags Head, N.C.
4.    Carole Sharoff, Atlantic Vacation Homes/AVH Realty, Gloucester, Maine
5.    Heather Weiermann, All Star Vacation Homes, La Jolla, Calif.
6.    Jodi Taylor Refosco, Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations, McHenry, Md.   * (1 year term)
7.    Matt Curtis, HomeAway, Inc., Austin, TX

Following the election, on October 23, the newly elected board met and elected its new president, Heather Weiermann, then owner and CEO of Southern California Vacation Rentals.

On November 8, 2013, All Star Vacation Homes announced its acquisition of Weiermann’s Southern California Vacation Rentals.

In an executive session on November 26, preceding the November Board of Directors Meeting, the board voted to name a new president and chose Ben Edwards of Newman-Dailey.

“I support Ben as President and know he will do an excellent job in this role,” said outgoing President Heather Weiermann.

Ben’s acceptance of the position is effective immediately. Weiermann will continue serving on the VRMA Board of Directors.

The VRMA Board of Directors is also comprised of existing members, Bob Milne of Wyndham Vacation Rentals, Alan Hammond of Holiday Vacation Rentals, Resorts and Inns, Maureen Reagan of Seaside Vacation Rentals, Lee Hughes of CSA Travel Protection, and Tristan Webb of Utah Vacation Rentals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VRM Intel 2013 Technology Survey Findings Released

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Property Management Software used in last 5 years

Recently, VRM Intel sent the first 2013 Technology Survey to Property Managers asking questions related to the use of current systems and ideas about new technology. 82% of respondents managing U.S. properties, and 18% managing properties outside the U.S.

 

 

87% of  survey participants currently use a property management system.

 

When asked about technology used by property managers outside the property management software, email and websites topped the list with over 80 respondents using these systems not included in the PMS.

Vacation Rental Technology being Utilized

 

Lately, integration has been a topic of tech conversations in the vacation rental industry. According to the VRM Intel 2013 Technology Survey, 96% of the respondents said none or some of their systems are fully integrated with each other.

Vacation rental software integration API

 

When asked to rate their struggles with vacation rental technology, almost half of the respondents rated integration and multiple data entry points as being their biggest challenge.

Vacation Rental Managers struggle with Technology

 

Knowing how difficult it is to change property management systems, VRM Intel was curious how many systems vacation rental managers have used in the last 5 year. Only 6% had tried 3 or more software platforms for managing their properties.

Property Management Software used in last 5 years

 

With the launch of multiple new technology platforms in the vacation rental industry, respondents were asked about the likelihood they would try new products. In all categories the majority of participants would like to know the technology works and/or has been around for a while before they would try it.

 

Vacation rental managers try new technology

 

New consumer websites which provide marketing and distribution for vacation rental managers are getting significant funding from the investment community. 61% of respondents use 4 websites or less. and 39% distribute their properties on more than 5 websites.

Distribution Channels for short-term rentals

 

ABOUT THE SURVEY

94 respondents participated in a 7 question survey, completed November 2013 about their use of technology. 82% of respondents manage U.S. properties, and 18% manage properties outside the U.S.

 

HomeAway follows Booking.com lead with Interhome partnership

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Interhome partners with HomeAway

HomeAway, Inc. announced today it has partnered with Interhome to distribute their inventory of 30,000 vacation rental properties on HomeAway websites using its new pay-per-booking model.

 

Interhome is casting a wide net, as the HomeAway deal is the latest in a series of Interhome distribution partnerships. In late 2011, Interhome partnered with TripAdvisor, and in January 2013, formed a partnership with Priceline’s Booking.com which marked Booking.com’s debut in the vacation rental space.

 

Interhome also works with Pathway GDS to distribute their properties to online travel agencies and tour operators.

 

According to the Interhome website, over 99% of Interhome’s inventory is located in Europe with 15 regional subsidiaries. In 2012 Interhome hosted 535,000 rental guests and recorded a net yield of CHF 181 million ($2oo million USD), implying an average annual net yield per property of just under $7,000.

 

“Working with HomeAway is a great fit because both companies passionately believe that vacations are not just about where you go, but where you stay,” says Interhome CEO Simon Lehman. “We look forward to helping even more families and groups create lasting memories with a level of service and comfort they’ll never forget.”

LiveRez Adds Steve Trover to C-Team

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
LiveRez Officially Adds Steve Trover to C-Team

BOISE, Id. –– LiveRez.com, the industry leader in cloud-based software for vacation rental managers, is excited to announce Steve Trover as its Chief Strategy Officer.

Trover will take on his new role at LiveRez.com while retaining his current position as CEO of All Star Vacation Homes, one of the world’s foremost leading professional vacation rental management companies. Trover is the immediate Past President of the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA), where he contributed as a board member for the past 5 years.

“Steve is recognized as one of the brightest minds in the vacation rental industry,” said Tracy Lotz, founder and CEO of LiveRez. “As our longest standing LiveRez partner, no one understands our company and our culture better than Steve. And his experience running one of the most successful professional vacation rental management companies in the world will be a tremendous asset to our rapidly growing partner base.”

As CSO, Trover will work with Lotz and the LiveRez management team to help guide the strategy and direction of LiveRez.com.

Trover joins LiveRez at an important time in the industry and an important time in LiveRez’s history as a company, having recently announced its landmark project iVacationRental, a new industry portal that will showcase only trusted and vetted, online bookable vacation rental properties from the nation’s top professional management companies.

“Having worked closely with LiveRez and its founder, Tracy Lotz, for the past 15 years, I am excited to serve in a more formal role with the company as it continues to help professional managers thrive in the rapidly growing vacation rental industry,” Trover said. “I’m looking forward to helping LiveRez partners grow their businesses.”

10 Ways to Increase Owner Retention for Professional Vacation Rental Management Companies

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Wireless Access to Business System

So how do you make sure you are keeping your owners from being seduced by other options in your market? Here are 10 ideas to encourage loyalty from your vacation rental owners.

Retaining owners in your vacation rental program is critical to the success of your property management company. So how do you make sure you are keeping your owners from being seduced by other options in your market? Here are 10 ideas to encourage loyalty from your vacation rental owners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Know your competition
Know what your competition is saying. Provide an incentive to encourage your current owners to share solicitations and promotions from other companies. You may use a complimentary deep clean, a gift certificate, a featured property listing or a keyless lock as a way to entice your owners to share offers from competitors. Craft communications that focus on your company. Remind your owners of their success with your company and promote the services you provide. Your competitors are likely targeting specific complexes or neighborhoods so don’t be afraid to target a segment of your owners with personalized messaging.

2. Create an open communications plan between you and your owners.

Initiate a plan for the rental manager or owner’s representative to have consistent, scheduled communications with the owner about maintenance, performance, etc. Also, allow owner’s representatives to have time with the reservation agents to talk about each property’s performance. Encourage communications between the members of your team who are working with owners and the ones who are communicating with guests.

One way to do this is by implementing an internal tool which tracks all communications about a specific property/owner. If a complaint, suggestion or comment is made –good or bad –about the individual property, all communications will be in one place. This helps both the owner representative and the reservation professional easily obtain rental information about the property.

 

3. Deliver special services.

Everyone likes to feel like they are part of an exclusive club, and your owners are no exception. Provide special welcome services for owners and their special events. Treat your owners as VIP’s in their own homes. You could provide special parking, airport transportation, welcome gifts or a bud vase of fresh stems/flowers from the area by the master bed, or grab ideas from other luxury rewards programs.

 

4. Keep it clean and safe.

Clean like it is your own home, and make sure the owner sees his or her home in the best condition possible. Ensure success by encouraging your owner representative to personally inspect the property before each owner stay.

 

5. Provide guest profiles for individual properties.

Empower your reservation agents to gather as much guest profile information as possible. Identify niche markets which find an owner’s property particularly attractive. It is important to consistently demonstrate to the owner ways you are targeting their individual property’s guests. Your owners only know what you tell them.

 

6. Communicate quarterly to your owners about the channels you have used to market their property.

List the websites, articles about your company, advertising outlets, social media efforts, event promotions and other marketing initiatives you have used to promote your inventory. Provide this information to your owners in a quarterly format to 1) keep top of mind awareness with your owners, and 2) build in accountability with your marketing team.

 

7. Evaluate and show property specific reporting.

Show web statistics on each property. Use call reporting to show interest in the property and be sure to list objections to the property. The reservations team and front desk staff are valuable resources, so maximize their involvement. Solicit and share individual property feedback, comment cards and reviews.

 

8. Provide Maintenance Reports

Openly share a recap of all maintenance performed at the rental and share the recommended next action steps. This becomes increasingly compelling to your owner when you use these communications in concert with the guest feedback mentioned above.

 

9. Treat each home as an individual business, and you are the manager, not the CEO.

Your homeowners own extremely valuable resort vacation properties, and the owner is the CEO of that property. Remember you work for them. They can replace you with another manager. Each home rental is a business. Like any business, as a manager, you must perform, communicate, show success and build relationships in order to keep your job.

 

10. Regularly solicit owner reviews of your service.

Collect formal feedback from your owners of your services on a consistent basis. Ask about housekeeping, maintenance, owner relations, guest relations, marketing initiatives, and overall friendliness. You don’t have to ask all questions at once, you can have regular short polls and surveys in your emails. If there is an area you are afraid to ask about, it is likely an area you will want to improve. USE this information to reward your staff, improve you performance, build case studies and track trending changes in the owner mindset.
Note: Determine what your valuable inventory is. You may have properties which are bringing in gross revenue, but not net revenue. You may find it better for your management company to focus your retention efforts accordingly.

 

By Amy Hinote

Number of Affluent Travelers Rises Along With Travel Intentions According to Portrait of American Travelers®

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Affluent Women like to Travel

Women Now Represent Majority of Affluent Travelers

The ‘one percent’ just got a little bigger – among active travelers, that is. Specifically, six percent of leisure travelers now have an annual household income of $250,000 or more, compared to four percent in 2010. And in an interesting demographic shift, women now make up the majority (54 percent) of these affluent travelers, up from 42 percent in 2010. This is according to the 2013 Portrait of American Travelers® study published by MMGY Global, the world’s largest integrated travel marketing agency, and the Harrison Group.

 

Affluent travelers are planning more trips in the year ahead than travelers with more modest annual household incomes. Almost three out of ten (28 percent) plan to take more trips, versus just two out of ten (18 percent) for the general population of all leisure travelers. They also intend to spend more on vacations in the year ahead. This group took an average of five leisure trips during the past 12 months and spent an average of $9,765 during that time period. They expect to spend $10,585 in the year ahead, which represents an 8.4 percent increase in spending on vacations.

 

“These data coincide with a growing sense of optimism on the part of affluent consumers,” explains Steve Cohen, vice president of Insights at MMGY Global. “They reflect their expectation that the economy will continue to improve, and their willingness to spend more on discretionary items and experiences like leisure travel as a result.”

 

Additional insights on the behavior of affluent travelers from the 2013 Portrait of American Travelers® include:

  • Affluent women take advantage of short-term rentalsShifts in the Affluent Traveler Demographic. Affluent travelers are now more likely to be married (82 percent) compared with 77 percent in 2010. Affluent travelers are also older, with an average age of 49 in 2013 compared with 43 in 2010. And just one percent of this group was retired in 2010, compared with 14 percent today.
  • Destination Preferences. Seven in ten (69 percent) affluent travelers took a vacation outside the continental U.S. during the past twelve months. The most popular destinations included Western Europe (52 percent), Caribbean (41 percent), Mexico (22 percent) and Canada (18 percent).
  • Affluent Travelers Get More Social. Affluent travelers report spending 40 minutes per day with social media platforms such as Facebook (69 percent) and LinkedIn (46 percent), while half (50 percent) are visiting online communities, travel forums or blogs to seek and/or review information about destinations or travel service suppliers, up from 40 percent in 2010. And more affluent travelers (29 percent) are authoring, commenting and/or posting content on travel-related social media sites, up from 17 percent in 2010.
  • Traditional Media Consumption Trending Down. Affluent travelers spend significantly less time watching television per day (average of 2.8 hours) than they did in 2010 (average of 4.2 hours). This group also spends less time reading newspapers and magazines (average of 1.2 hours in 2010 versus one hour in 2013). And although readership of the printed versions of Sunday Travel sections in newspapers declined to just 30 percent of all affluent travelers in 2013 from 41 percent in 2010, this medium still reaches a large number of affluent travelers and, in particular, those over fifty five years of age.
  • Have No Kids, Will Travel. More affluent travelers have no children at home in 2013 (59 percent) compared with 2010 (40 percent), and have taken fewer trips with a spouse/another adult and children (mean of 1.5 trips) than in 2010 (mean of 2.3 trips).
  • How ‘The Other Half’ Surfs. Affluent travelers spend an average of 3.2 hours a day online for personal use, with 94 percent accessing the internet from home, 74 percent from a smartphone, 68 percent from a tablet, 66 percent from the office, 28 percent from a gaming console, 26 percent from a smart TV and 23 percent from an e-Reader. Significantly more affluent travelers have downloaded travel apps to their smartphones now (49 percent) than in 2010 (27 percent).
  • Online Sources of Information. Nine in ten (91 percent) affluent travelers also use the Internet to obtain information about travel services or suppliers, including availabilities and rates. The most popular travel websites among affluent travelers include specific airline branded websites (53 percent), Expedia (46 percent), TripAdvisor (46 percent), specific hotel branded websites (45 percent), Orbitz (42 percent), Travelocity (36 percent), Kayak (33 percent) and Priceline (26 percent).

 

For more information on the 2013 Portrait of American Travelers® or to order a copy of the study, visit www.mmgyglobal.com/research.

 

# # #

ABOUT THE PORTRAIT OF AMERICAN TRAVELERS®

The Portrait of American Travelers® is a national survey of 2,511 active leisure travelers who reside in households with an annual income of $50,000 or more (including an “affluent traveler” subset of households with an annual income over $125,000) and had taken at least one leisure trip of 75 miles or more from home during the previous 12 months requiring overnight accommodations. The survey, which was conducted during February 2013, provides an in-depth examination of the impact of the current economic environment, prevailing social values, and emerging media habits on the travel behavior of Americans. Unlike most surveys in the travel category that simply provide a census of travelers’ behavior, the 2013 Portrait of American Travelers? an emphasis on how consumers plan, purchase and share information about their travel experiences and reveals the underlying motivations that in?uence travel behavior.

 

 

ABOUT THE SURVEY METHODOLOGY

Respondents were selected randomly and participated in a 45-minute online survey completed in February 2013. All tests of statistical significance were made using a two-population test at the 95 percent level of confidence. The sample is balanced by statistical weighting to ensure the data are representative of all active leisure travelers in America who meet the target profile.

 

For more information about these insights or other travel industry research from MMGY Global, visit www.mmgyglobal.com.

 

MMGY Global is the world’s largest and most integrated global marketing firm with more than 35 years of experience in the travel, hospitality and entertainment industries. The award-winning agency maintains a global communications practice in all marketing channels, serving many of the world’s premier travel and tourism brands. MMGY Global is author of acclaimed industry research (including the Portrait of American Travelers) that identifies the habits and preferences of travelers–insights that serve as the foundation for its marketing strategy. For more information, visit www.mmgyglobal.com.

Florida State Senator Seeks to Repeal Law Protecting Vacation Rentals

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Rick Scott revuews HB 883 regulating vacation rentals

November 17, 2013 –Recently, Florida House Bill 883 has been under attack. A few local governments are wanting to control the use of vacation rentals in the state of Florida, and are pushing the governor and legislators to repeal the bill.

 

In 2011, Florida legislators passed House Bill 883, which blocked local governments from “regulating, restricting or prohibiting” vacation rentals and, with some grandfathered exceptions, giving control over vacation rentals to the state. The bill assured Florida property owners could rent their home, and limited local governments from enacting new ordinances to govern residential rentals. Regulations which existed on July 1, 2011, were grandfathered in, but no new restrictions are allowed.

 

State Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, is leading a movement to repeal the law. Under new legislation proposed by Sen. Thrasher in late October, House Bill 883 would be repealed, which would then allow local governments to ban or impose restrictions on vacation rentals in residential areas.

 

Paul Hayes, President of Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association, said, “Repealing the preemption language from Chapter 509, has the ability to really devastate the vacation rental industry in areas around Florida.  This is really coming from a very vocal minority in certain communities in Flagler County.”

 

“I want to look at it, I want to understand the issue,” Florida Governor Rick Scott told the Bradenton Herald following a meeting with Manatee County leaders who are in support of repealing the bill. “They’re going to give me information. I think they said Sen. Thrasher and Rep. (Travis) Hudson were going to do a repeal law, so as soon I get the information we’ll look at it.”

 

“This is only phase one, the first step in a long process,” Thrasher’s representative said. “It’s now in draft form and has to go to committee, then return to the Senate. If the Senate approves it, the bill then goes to the house for the same process,” he said.

 

Sen. Thrasher said he heard stories from residents living adjacent to what are being called “party rentals.” One constituent told Thrasher that an unintended consequence of HB 883 was that too many people rent and stay in one vacation home at the same time. Local governments were powerless to regulate the overuse.

 

Anna Maria Mayor SueLynn was pleased to hear Thrasher proposed a repeal bill, but added she thought Thrasher would only seek to repeal section 7(b) of the bill, which took away the local government’s ability to legislate vacation rentals in residential areas. “I don’t know all the particulars and I want to look at those,” the mayor said of Thrasher’s repeal. “But at least it’s a start toward a compromise solution.”

 

SueLynn said she is not concerned with the majority of vacation renters who just want a quiet, peaceful vacation in Anna Maria. “It’s the party people who cause the problems,” she said.

 

According to Hayes, “Vacation rental managers in Anna Maria Island have adopted ‘best practices” to ease the local concerns & complaints with great success so far, but the elected officials are refusing to acknowledge there isn’t a significant problem.  This really is about the balance of property rights between neighbors.  The purpose of HB 883 was for local governments to find the balance through changes to ordinances for building size, noise, parking & trash, for example, that consistently apply to neighborhoods in their locale, regardless of who is residing in the home. The local cities and counties are refusing to exercise these powers to strike a balance.  They are throwing their hands up in defeat and turning to the legislature which is being asked to assert that one homeowner’s property rights are of a greater importance than their neighbor’s property rights.”

 

 

Skift’s Criticism of the VRMA Switch Initiative Lacks Context

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
Skift Slams VRMA Switch

Yesterday, Skift Editor, Dennis Schaal, published “The Trouble with Managing Managed Listings,” in which he discusses the Vacation Rental Managers Association’s (VRMA) ”Switch” initiative. While several of his points have some validity, Mr. Schaal may be missing some of the background and context of the progression of the VRMA Switch.

 

What is the VRMA Switch? In 2010, VRMA announced a plan to create a “switch,” which they defined as “a centralized location for vacation rental managers that would allow managers to easily–and at a low cost–select distribution channels, allow distribution channels to access vacation rental inventory in a well-structured format, create a revenue stream for the switch builder and software companies that participate, and help VRMA fund industry promotion efforts.”

 

In his article, Schaal states,” HomeAway, Expedia, and Booking.com have the audience and the clout, and if the vacation rental switch ever comes to be, its leverage with the big distributors would be suspect.”

 

In context, HomeAway’s partnership with Expedia doesn’t execute until 2014, and Booking.com added a limited number of vacation rentals to its inventory less than a year ago.  In late 2009 and early 2010, when the idea of the Switch was forming, the online competitive landscape looked a little different than it does today.  In 2009, for instance, Airbnb was playing “show and tell” at Y Combinator.

 

Let’s look at the progression of the Switch in relation to market conditions.

 

VRMA Switch Timeline

 

 

In early 2010, formal discussions began about the possibility of the VRMA facilitating the creation of this global distribution system (GDS), a.k.a. Switch, for professionally managed vacation rentals. Several software companies and industry leaders met in January 2010 to talk about how it might work. One software company offered to build it for VRMA, which leadership declined.

 

NAR MLS Influence on VRMAAt the time, there were valid reasons to explore the creation of an industry switch.

 

  • Online competition for travelers increased substantially.
  • Attempts to advertise vacation rental properties on online travel agency (OTA) websites had failed due to product differentiation and fee structure.
  • HomeAway received $250 million in funding (11/08), and their flagship website VRBO was making it very easy for owner-managed rentals to be marketed on a large scale for the first time, bringing significant competition to professional rental managers.
  • Instant Software (ISI) had tools to manage the distribution of the majority of the industry’s managed properties, and some members of VRMA didn’t want the relationship between the property management company and the distribution channel to be “owned” by ISI.
  • Booking fees on OTA’s were rising, and hotels were paying around 25% for distribution, which was more than VRMs could bear.
  • The National Association of Realtors (NAR) was gaining a lot of traction in their development of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), providing a working example of a trade association building a platform to aggregate property information from members.

 

An RFP was sent out in May 2010, and Pegasus Solutions was named the technology partner in late 2010. Throughout 2011, the terms of the contract proved difficult to negotiate. At one point, VRMA walked away and began searching for another technology provider. However, after further negotiation, Pegasus and VRMA agreed to terms and decided to move forward. The beta build out began, and enrollment started for VRMA members.

 

Meanwhile, online competition skyrocketed. From 2011-2013 almost $500 million has been invested in consumer facing website startups, including Airbnb. That amount doesn’t include investment by established players (e.g. HomeAway, Priceline’s Booking.com, and TripAdvisor’s FlipKey).

 

Schaal asserts, “The Vacation Rental Management Association doesn’t have the digital savvy or clout to forge a new set of business relationships between professional managers on the one hand, and online travel agencies and vacation rental sites such as HomeAway, on the other. Too little, and way too late.”

 

Let’s think about this.

 

Digital Savvy

Schaal says the VRMA doesn’t have the digital savvy to succeed in this endeavor. When the VRMA looked for a technology partner to develop the Switch it chose Pegasus Solutions, one of the four leading GDS providers in the hospitality industry.

Pegasus is the single largest processor of electronic hotel transactions and provides distribution for 100,000 hotels worldwide. Every indication showed Pegasus was the optimal partner for this technology product.  In all fairness to the VRMA, they chose the company who appeared to be the most “savvy” partner in the marketplace.

 

Clout

Skift says VRMA lacks digital savvy and cloutThe VRMA has seen record growth in the last year. Yes, it represents less than 25% of the industry…as a direct result of the fragmented nature of the industry. The association has made enormous strides in promoting professional management in a market where “Rent by Owner” is overwhelmingly supported. The organization also provides outstanding education and networking opportunities for Vacation Rental Management Companies.

 

Whether the VRMA should be in the business of negotiating rates and contracts with OTA’s and own the relationship between the VRM and the OTA is a very different question. Members of the association are split on the issue. Regardless, the VRMA is undeniably the strongest and most influential association in the industry.

 

Is the Switch still a viable project?

As noted in the timeline above, the online distribution landscape changed.

 

As Schaal points out, “VRMA wants professionally managed properties to stand out when companies offer them on Airbnb, for instance, so travelers will know they are getting quality service, and not an inconsistent or shoddy experience.”

 

Most consumer facing websites have responded, including HomeAway, FlipKey and Booking.com, who have provided branding options and ways to designate a property as professionally managed.

 

In addition, API and XML integrations with software companies have opened up, now with enhanced normalization of complex property data. So far, booking costs have stayed within a workable range. The free market appears to be quickly catching up to the needs of the professionally managed vacation rental industry. But. Mr. Schaal, this was not the case when the Switch was initiated in 2010.

 

With the newly elected VRMA Board of Directors, the debate around moving forward with the Switch initiative will happen this year. Whatever the association decides, it will undoubtedly learn from the lessons of the past and continue to grow and thrive in the future with an unwavering dedication to promoting the professional management of vacation rental properties.

 

By Amy Hinote

 

Just for fun:  If you’re looking for a blast from the past, I wrote this blog for Instant Software in June 2010 (before it was purchased by HomeAway).

Why the Switch? Why not the Switch.

By
VRM Intel Staff
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0
ISILink 2010

I wrote this blog in June 2010 while working for Instant Software. The VRMA had recently sent out an RFP and announced its intention to go forward with an initiative to build a GDS for professionally managed vacation rentals. -Amy Hinote

 

The “VRMA Switch”

 

The Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) recently announced a plan to create a “switch,” which they define as “a centralized location for vacation rental managers that would allow managers to easily–and at a low cost–select distribution channels, allow distribution channels to access vacation rental inventory in a well-structured format, create a revenue stream for the switch builder and software companies that participate, and help VRMA fund industry promotion efforts.”

 

For our clients who are members of VRMA: Instant Software (ISI) wants to address some of your questions and concerns about this undertaking.

For our clients who are not members of VRMA: Below is an initiative being implemented by the VRMA. If you have any further questions, we will be happy to try to answer those for you as well.

Because we want you to have the best and most relevant information about industry news and the “VRMA Switch,” the VRMA information below was taken from The Switch FAQ from the VRMA website. After each question, you will see the VRMA response followed by Instant Software’s (ISI) comments.

Note: One of the phrases you will see mentioned often is distribution channels. Distribution channels are websites which distribute your properties to Web customers (i.e. HomeAway, FlipKey, BidAVilla, etc.).

 

First, what exactly is the “VRMA Switch”?


VRMA says, “The switch is a tool that will allow Vacation Rental Managers (VRMs) to distribute inventory data to a multitude of resources via one channel. Rather than having to upload/update data on multiple sites, the VRM will update data via the switch and all distribution channels will receive the updates simultaneously.”

 

ISI: The “VRMA Switch,” hypothetically, will work for other VRMA members the same way ISILink currently works for you as an Instant Software client:

Many of the Property Management Companies (PMC) that are not using an Instant Software solution do not currently have a way to send their data to distribution channels (i.e.HomeAway, FlipKey, etc.) without manually entering and updating property information and availability on these sites. And they are not able to compete with your properties on these distribution sites without spending extensive time and energy.

 

Why do we need a “VRMA Switch”?

VRMA says, “The switch will allow access to distribution for all VRMA members regardless of other affiliations. The switch will allow property management companies to maintain their unique company brand. The switch will also create stronger trust relationships with consumers especially in developing trust in online bookings because the information provided on all distribution channels will be consistent and current.”

 

ISI: The short answer to this question is –as an ISI client –you don’t.You already have a “switch” in ISILink.

ISILink 2010

The “VRMA Switch” is not a distribution channel in itself. If they can build it properly, it is just a middle man that will centralize your data and carry it to the distribution channels you select, which is exactly what ISILink does for you. The “VRMA Switch” is much more beneficial for PMCs who are also VRMA members who also do not currently have an easy way to distribute their properties to the Web. That is not the case for an ISI client.

In addition, it is difficult to normalize and centralize data while differentiating brands. It appears that maintaining your “unique company brand” means having a logo or company name on your distribution channel listings, which many distribution channels currently offer. All offer the ability to put your company name in your descriptions.

 

Who will have access to my data if my company uses the “VRMA Switch”?

 

VRMA says, “The switch will permit selective control of distribution by individual, VRMA member, management companies. If the switch is owned, developed and maintained by VRMA it will eliminate the possibility of outside companies dictating how property management company data can and will be used.”

 

ISI: Unfortunately, eliminating data flow while enabling real-time, online booking is not possible. If your company utilizes the “VRMA Switch” VRMA will have access to your data, the Switch-building company will have access to your data, and any distribution channel you select will have access to segments of your data. It will work in a very similar way to ISILink. Please read What is ISILink? to see how ISI protects your data.

 

Who will pay for the switch?

 

VRMA says, “The provider that is selected to build the switch will be responsible for the cost of building and maintaining the switch ongoing. The provider will receive a contract that will entitle them to transactional fees for as long as the switch exists.”

 

ISI: To summarize, you will be billed per booking. You will also be billed by the distribution channel per your agreement with them.

 

Why does VRMA want to own & control the switch and what does this protect vacation rental managers from?

VRMA says, “To make sure that the switch is not used to bottleneck distribution and remove the rules that keep the managers unique company brand as part of the transaction. To ensure free market distribution.”

 

ISI: At Instant Software, we are committed to partnering with you –our clients. Your success is quite literally our success. We have heard it said in our industry that we “hoard” your data, which we find to be a compliment. We like to think of it as protecting your data. We do not allow everyone to have access to your data for many reasons (i.e. protecting your owners, customers, vendors, etc.). We also do not sell your data. In the entire existence as a company, ISI has never been accused of leaking data. We understand the magnitude of the information entrusted to us and take it very seriously. That is why we invest so heavily in state-of-the-art data centers, multiple redundancy options and high-level security.

 

We also have spent millions in developing our software and do not allow companies, whom we believe to have the malicious intent of backwards engineering our proprietary solutions, to have access to our products or your data.

 

Note: Free market is an interesting phrase to use here. By nature a non-profit, membership- only “VRMA Switch” discourages competition among your software companies and your distribution partners. However, by making it easier for your competitors to put their properties on the Web, they are encouraging more competition for your company.

 

VRMA only represents 10% of the industry. What about the rest?

VRMA says, “The VRMA represents approximately 150,000 properties which are in most cases bookable online. While the number of companies may only represent up to 10%, the number of properties represented is far greater due to the average size of VRMA member companies. It is also the hope of the VRMA board that the switch gives those managers who do not currently participate even more reason to do so.

 

ISI: Even with $0 cost and a 3-click turn-on process, approximately half of ISI customers currently take advantage of ISILink. From our experience having created a similar switch, VRMA is unlikely to have 100% buy-in for the “VRMA Switch” by its members for three reasons: many VRMA members already have an effective Web distribution strategy in place, some members simply don’t distribute their properties through large-scale distribution sites and would gain no advantage from the “VRMA Switch,” and many companies are very concerned about protecting their data and would be uneasy with this distribution format.

 

What is VRMA’s view on creating/eliminating a “choke-point” in the industry?

 

VRMA says, “The VRMA is for open distribution as long as the managers’ company brand stays intact. The VRMA believes a transactional model with little or no upfront cost to managers or channels will facilitate this open distribution and eliminate choke points.”

 

ISI: VRMA, in these FAQs, refers to choke-points and bottlenecking distribution. Besides the fact that some software companies do not have the technology to centralize data for the distribution channels, we do not see a choke point or any bottlenecking of distribution to distribution channels.

 

As a VRM, how easy is it to sign up, upload my properties and get started?

 

VRMA says, “If the software company that the manager uses integrates with the switch it will be a very simple interface. If not, a manual upload or alternative XML feed (textual data format) will have to be used which will make it more cumbersome. It is the hope of the VRMA that all software providers will participate in the switch. The switch will compensate the software providers on a transactional basis which will minimize the cost to distribution channels to participate which will open up distribution.”

 

ISI: While we think it’s generous of VRMA to pay your software company for use of your data, at this point, it is premature to position ourselves on integration possibilities.

 

How will the property management software companies respond?

VRMA says, “As we have spoken to them through the process, we feel that many will be excited about it and some will not be. There has been some concern over the ownership of the switch as certain for profit entities feel it should reside with them.”

 

ISI: We are not bidding for the creation and development of the “VRMA Switch,” since we have already created one for our clients. Therefore, we have no competitive interest in having the “VRMA Switch” reside with us.

 

Will the Switch facilitate other data streams from PMS, such as; owner info, maintenance, housekeeping, accounting, analytics, which will allow for other vendors to connect and build applications to better improve company operations?

 

VRMA says, “The primary purpose of the switch is to meet the distribution needs of the industry. The Switch should be developed in a way that will allow other data to be streamed in the future, however this is not a requirement for launch.”

 

ISI: As your software company, we are accountable to you -our client -for the partnerships we create and maintain. Accountability is a critical factor in data integration. We highly recommend that VRMA’s PMCs strongly consider accountability in any data integration their company accepts.

 

 

While we do not yet have enough details to thoroughly endorse the “VRMA Switch” to our clients, we want to share with you the preliminary information we have gathered in the early stages of, what is sure to be, an interesting discussion over the coming months. Please feel free to contact us with any of your questions or comments.

 

San Luis Obispo City Council Allows Short Term Rentals

By
VRM Intel Staff
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1
San Luis Obispo Vacation Rental Industry

Nov 13, 2013 –Another partial victory for the vacation rental industry occurred Tuesday in San Luis Obispo, CA, when the City Council voted 3-1 to create a new ordinance allowing short term rentals of 30 days or less in owner-occupied homes.

Supporters of vacation rentals packed the council chambers, with more than 15 people speaking in support of legalization. A handful of opponents also spoke about privacy, decreased safety in neighborhoods and businesses operating in residential areas.

“If we ban this practice I think we are shooting ourselves in the foot from a tourism perspective,” said Councilwoman Kathy Smith.

Homeowners offering short-term rentals through Airbnb, VRBO.com and other sites will be required to pay transient occupancy tax and possibly get a use permit from the city. Vacation rentals that are not the homeowner’s main residence, so far, remain illegal.

To accomplish this win, a group of homeowners united to form a group called SLO Hosts, created a petition and circulated the petition using grass roots efforts and social media.

“If we are not good neighbors, we would not be able to continue as hosts,” said John Semon, who spoke on behalf of SLO Hosts.

Homeowners renting rooms to travelers began receiving enforcement letters last March telling them to stop renting or face fines of up to $500 per violation.

It is unclear how the short-term home stays will be regulated by the city. The new ordinance will come back to the City Council sometime next year for final approval.

WebChalet 728

By
VRM Intel Staff
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WebChalet Websites and Software for Vacation Rentals

WebChalet 728

By
VRM Intel Staff
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WebChalet Websites and Software for Vacation Rentals

WebChalet Software and Websites for Vacation Rentals

Lodgify 300 x 250

By
VRM Intel Staff
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Lodgify Vacation Rental Software and Website Design

Lodgify Vacation Rental Software and Website Design

 

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