Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) acquired Corolla Classic Vacations in Corolla, NC, effective April 1, 2015.
The purchase of this prominent Outer Banks company adds over 200 vacation homes to the Wyndham Vacation Rental inventory and is the first acquisition of a US vacation rental management company by Wyndham in over a year. In January of 2014, Wyndham purchased Hatteras Realty with over 500 vacation rentals.
According to Wyndham’s 2014 Annual Report, “We currently transact approximately 1.5 million vacation rental weeks per year…Wyndham currently manages approximately 9,000 vacation rental units in the U.S. and reports more than 100,000 properties in over 600 unique destinations.”
The report adds, “Wyndham Vacation Rentals primarily derives its revenues from fees, which generally average between 20% and 50% of the gross booking fees,” and assesses, “The global demand per year for vacation rentals is approximately 76 million vacation weeks, 57 million of which are rented by leisure travelers from Europe.
Since 2010, Wyndham has grown through acquisition with purchases in Gatlinburg, Myrtle Beach, Gulf Shores and North Carolina’s Outer Banks. However, their organic growth in the US vacation rental market has been a question mark for Wyndham observers.
In September 2014, Wyndham named Marriott’s Mary Lynn Clark as President, Wyndham Vacation Rentals North America, following the resignation of industry veteran Bob Milne.
By Amy Hinote
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