HomeAway announced an expansion of its business model today, with commission-based rentals for owners and a Professional Referral Network for add-on services.
The new offering expands the business model from the current upfront subscription-based model, where property owners pay an annual fee for listing, to also include a pay-per-rental commission-based fee structure.
This means that owners who are just getting into vacation rentals can try out the company's service with very low upfront cost and risk.
It also delivers cost-savings to property owners and managers with large basket of rentals, as the sheer number of rentals may make it cost-prohibitive to pay an annual subscription fee for each rental property. So-called "short season rentals," which are for one-off events or rental windows of generally less than 6 weeks, will also benefit from this pay-per-rental structure.
In addition to offering a choice as far as how the company gets paid, HomeAway is also expanding the suite of services it offers property managers and owners.
The company calls this the "Professional Referral Network," and will offer up three levels of additional services via third-party companies.
These services are all geared towards reducing the level of hassle that property owners experience in renting their property, as reducing the barrier to entry for owners will benefit HomeAway with an increased inventory pool.
Here's how HomeAway describes the new breakdown:
List your property yourself: Owners choose an annual subscription or the new pay-per-booking model, and oversee the marketing, management and guest services of their vacation rental home.
Marketing and booking services: Through the Professional Referral Network, owners are directed to a partner company to build their listing, secure sort order on HomeAway and handle all inquiries and reservations. Owners will oversee the onsite management of the vacation rental. The owner pays a varying percentage fee to the partner, and HomeAway receives a guaranteed subscription from the property management company.
Full-service: This option points owners to a directory of property managers offering a broad range of on-site management services including key drop, maintenance and more, in addition to the marketing and booking services noted above. These qualified HomeAway partners offer their services at a varying percentage of booking fees, and HomeAway is guaranteed an annual subscription for that listing.
The new suite launches with 40 professional management companies, such as Evolve Vacation Rental Network and TurnKey Vacation Rentals.
NB: Vacation rental image courtesy Shutterstock.