The following comments were taken from an article that appeared on Myrtle Beach Online in May 2014, reporting on how some resorts are restricting access to amenities for guests of owners who advertise on HomeAway. I have highlighted some comments from John that pertain to our business model ...

There are about 3,000 listings for Myrtle Beach area properties on HomeAway.com, the nation’s largest online marketplace for vacation rentals. The number of area listings has grown by 53 percent since 2010, according to Jon Gray, the company’s senior vice president.

Nationwide, HomeAway.com reported a 28.3 percent growth in listings over the past year, with nearly 1 million vacation rentals now online. Instead of the 40 percent to 50 percent fee charged by traditional rental management firms here, HomeAway.com charges a flat rate of between $349 and $999 for a one-year listing or a 10 percent commission model.

Property owners upload their own photos and information to the HomeAway.com site and the online company provides a reservation calendar and online payment options. Along with the growth in listings, the online company’s revenue has grown by nearly 66 percent over the past year, according to its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“People used to have to buy an ad in the Atlanta newspaper if they wanted to market their place to stay in Myrtle Beach,” Gray said. “Now, it’s all online.”

Gray said cost is one of the main reasons people choose to list their properties on HomeAway.com instead of through a traditional rental agency. But control -- “They want to know who’s staying in their home and speak to everyone that stays in their home,” Gray said -- also is a big factor.

The national demographics of vacation home buyers is skewing younger -- to an average age of 43 -- and those younger buyers are more tech-savvy and comfortable with listing their homes on the Internet than those second-home buyers of the past, Gray said.

Airbnb’s growth in the market isn’t just a concern for supposed direct competitor Homeway, but also bigger online travel booking players as well as established hospitality companies. While revenues are still much smaller than others, its growth rate is surely beating everyone else by magnitudes. [read more]

I bought my first my first vacation rental in July of 1999, I stumbled upon on VRBO.com, listed my property for $249 for a one year subscription and within 60 days I nearly sold out an entire ski season. At that time there were 7500 properties listed on VRBO and my listing number was 2539. It has been amazing to watch the growth of VRBO, the emergence of HomeAway, and the growth of our industry. I cant wait to see what happens next ....

In the immediate aftermath of the Priceline Group’s announcement that it agreed to acquire OpenTable for $2.6 billion, the focus turned to vacation-rental behemoth HomeAway and whether it might be the next big prize that a Priceline, Expedia or Google might scoop up. {Read More}

• Eighty nine percent of vacation home buyers plan to rent within twelve months
• The average age for vacation home buyers is only 43 years old
• Seventy eight percent of vacation home buyers cited rental as influential to their purchase decision
   

AUSTIN, TEXAS, April 2, 2014 – Vacation home sales grew exponentially in 2013, with a 30 percent growth in sales from 2012 and a 47 percent growth since 2011.  Among those vacation homes sold, 89 percent of them will be entering the rental market within a year, according to the 2014 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

In the last month three significant acquisitions took place in the vacation rental industry and several industry leaders were asked to comment. Below are a few quotes from their comments and a link to the entire article posted at www.vrmintel.com. The vacation rental industry continues to grow and mature rapidly.  

Acquistions
RealPage acquired Bookt/Instamanager
VacationRoost acquired LeisureLink
HomeAway acquired Glad to Have You

Ben Edwards
President, Vacation Rental Managers Association
“The recent trend of acquisitions in the industry is encouraging on many levels, and speaks to the dynamic growth occurring in the vacation rental industry as a whole. These acquisitions illustrate the value in professionally managed vacation rentals.

Carl Shepherd
Co Founder and Chief Strategy and Development Officer, HomeAway, Inc.
“The recent acquisitions are investments in the vacation rental industry, which shows confidence
and bullishness on the industry’s future. Also, as the vacation rental industry has matured, there has been a resurgence of the professional side of the market.”


Ed Ulmer
CEO, Barefoot Technologies
“Vacation rentals is a huge market opportunity, that is mostly untapped by the hospitality and real
estate industry. These acquisitions highlight that the vacation rental industry continues to mature.

Read the full article 

Recent research from PhoCusWright, U.S. Vacation Rentals  2009 – 2014: A Market Reinvented, shows why Expedia is finally getting into vacation rentals in a much more meaningful way than it ever has.

One of the key findings is that U.S. travelers spent $23 billion on vacation rentals in 2012 — and that amounted to nearly one-fifth of the U.S. lodging market {read more} 

Two online travel leaders, HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) and Expedia.com, today announced an agreement intended to expand online travel accommodation options by surfacing HomeAway vacation rental properties on Expedia.com. The pilot – expected to launch early next year – will include properties throughout the U.S. and Mexico, and expands upon the current relationship with BedandBreakfast.com also operated by HomeAway. {Read full release}

According to the September 2013 edition of the HomeAway Vacation Rental Report, Vacation Rental performance remains strong. 51% of owners surveyed are covering 75% of their mortgage renting by owner, the average vacation home generates $1778.00 per week in rental income and owners spend only an average of 8.4 hours per week marketing and managing their vacation rentals earning an average of $71 per hour! 


Read the full report 

According to recent data released by the National Association of Realtors, Americans are having a love affair with the second home.

The number of vacation homes sold in the U.S. went from 502,000 in 2011 to 553,000 in 2012, and of all home transactions in 2012, 11 percent were vacation homes, according to NAR.

What Does a Typical Vacation Home Buyer Look Like?

A typical second home buyer was, on average, 47 years old. S/He has a median household income of $92,100, and lived a median distance of 435 miles from their primary residence.

An article posted on 04/12/13 at www.travelweekly.com states the following ...

The demand for professional management is growing among travelers, owners who demonstrate they have local, reliable guest support will be able to attract bookings from ALL travelers, those who prefer professional management and those who prefer to book directly with an owner. 
{read the full article}