Capital raised by startups in the Vacation Rental Industry from 2011-2013 by VRM Intel. Includes data from Airbnb, TruJia, HouseTrip, Vacation Futures, OneFineStay and more.

1. VRM Intel
Capital Raised by Startups in the
Vacation Rental Industry
2011-2013
November 2013
Amy Hinote | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com

2. $530 million raised
• Over $530 million in
disclosed angel and
institutional funding has
been raised by startups
in the vacation rental
industry since 2011.
• 88% of that investment
in consumer facing
websites.
• Over 72% of disclosed
capital has been injected
into U.S. companies.
2
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

3. Supporting new players
Can the market support these
new players?
• According to the PhoCusWright’s U.S.
Vacation Rentals 2009-2014: A Market
Reinvented, “Vacation rentals
represent a more than $24 billion
opportunity in the U.S., that’s more
than one fifth of all hotel room
revenue and 8% of the total U.S. travel
market.”
3
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

4. Supporting new players
• The Vacation Rental Managers
Association (VRMA) reported the
largest Annual Conference in its
history in October of this year and is
getting ready for their second annual
European Seminar in Bruges, Belgium
in December.
• HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY), the
current leading marketplace for
vacation rentals, is expecting 2013
revenues around $342 million.
4
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

5. Market Saturation?
At first glance, the market may
appear saturated. However, a closer
look into the distribution of injected
capital exposes market
opportunities.
Out of $530 million in funding, over
$470 million went to consumer
websites with approximately $458
million being spread out among four
consumer-facing websites:
•
•
•
•
5
Airbnb (U.S.): $318M
TruJia (China): $64M
Housetrip (UK): $60M
OneFineStay (UK): $15.9M
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

6. The Opportunity
Remarkably absent is investment in
operational activities and services to
support this sprouting marketplace.
Both Vacation Rental Managers and
individual home owners have
increasing operational needs:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
6
Websites
Mobile Communications
Channel Management
Housekeeping
Property Management Software
Marketing Automation
Payment Services
…and many more
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

7. The Opportunity
Out of $530 million, less than $10
million was raised by companies
providing supporting products and
services to the vacation rental
industry.
7
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

8. The Opportunity
“We believe the opportunities for new consumer plays in the vacation rental
market are limited with such well-established players like AWAY and now Airbnb
so well-entrenched,” said at Turnkey Vacation Rentals. We believe there is a huge
opportunity in the value-added-services area of vacation rentals and believe the
next wave of VR startups will help round out the guest and home owner
experience while working with entrenched players as opposed to competing with
them.”
John Banczak, co-founder and Executive Chairman, TurnKey Vacation Rentals, a marketing
and professional management solution for individual vacation rental owners, who picked
up $1.5 million in seed funding from an all-star cast of angel investors.
8
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

9. Competition for VRMs
“As the vacation rental industry grows, vacation rental professionals
have an opportunity to further define and raise awareness of the
professionally managed segment.
More than half of the vacation rental market’s total rental revenue
now goes to industry professionals, up from 43% in 2007, according to
PhoCusWright. For vacation rental professionals this translated to a
more than $11.6 billion marketplace in 2012 and the total U.S.
vacation rental industry is expected to reach $25.8 billion by 2014.”
Heather Weiermann
VRMA President
9
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

10. Competition for VRMs
With over $470 million injected into consumer-facing websites, online
competition for travelers looking to stay in a short-term rental will
likely increase, resulting in:
•
•
•
•
•
•
10
Rising online marketing expenses
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) concerns
Increased focus on customer retention efforts
Branding challenges
Inventory acquisition and retention efforts
Increased demand for revenue management tools and services
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

11. Advantages for VRMs
However, there are notable advantages to the addition of wellfunded, visible players in the Vacation Rental Industry:
• Increased education and awareness of vacation rentals as a
lodging option
• More cohesive effort impacting government regulations
concerning vacation rentals
• Increased options to homeowners and vacation rental managers to
reach new guest markets
• New and more cost-efficient technology products to help service
vacation home management
• Less fragmented marketplace
11
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/

12. Investment by Company
Company
Investment
Year
Company
112,000,000
2011
Travelmob *Purchased by HA
530,000
2011
WebChalet
HouseTrip
2,700,000
2011
Airbnb
HouseTrip
17,000,000
2011
Inspirato
17,500,000
2011
3,700,000
2011
50,000
2011
Tripping.com
1,000,000
2011
Airbnb
6,620,000
2012
HouseTrip
40,000,000
2012
Inspirato
15,500,000
2012
Inspirato
20,000,000
2012
Luxury Retreats
5,000,000
2012
MyVR
1,400,000
2012
12,200,000
2012
Not Disclosed
2012
Airbnb
Evolve Vacation
Rental Network
OneFineStay.com
PayByGroup
OneFineStay.com
Oravel
12
Investment
Year
1,000,000
2012
200,000
2012
200,000,000
2013
BookingPal
1,500,000
2013
Demeuere
Evolve Vacation Rental
Network
4,000,000
2013
2,700,000
2013
Kigo
2,000,000
2013
Not Disclosed
2013
500,000
2013
1,000,000
2013
64,000,000
2013
1,500,000
2013
Vacation Futures
40,000
2013
Vacation Futures
50,000
2013
100,000
2013
PayByGroup
TripRental
TripVillas
TuJia
TurnKey Vacation Rentals
Zaranga
Amy Hinote | 251-455-4994 | amy.hinote@vrmintel.com | http://www.vrmintel.com/