Rental property manager Vacasa just nabbed $319 million in Silver Lake-led funding that makes it travel's newest unicorn
- Vacasa just nabbed a $319 million Series C funding round that valued the vacation rental startup at more than $1 billion. Vacasa is the largest vacation rental management company in North America.
- Founded in 2009, Vacasa manages vacation properties for their owners, providing tech support like dynamic pricing and operational support from its cleaning and hospitality staff.
- The company had previously raised $207.5 million. It operates more than 23,000 properties and employs more than 5,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
- Last week, Vacasa finalized an acquisition of Wyndham Vacation Rentals from Wyndham Destinations for $162 million, adding 9,000 properties to its portfolio.
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Vacation rental property manager Vacasa just nabbed a $319 million Series C funding round that put it in unicorn territory.
Founded in 2009, the company manages vacation properties for owners, and provides tech support like dynamic pricing as well as operational support from its cleaning and hospitality staff.
The Series C round was led by Silver Lake Partners - the private equity firm that backed Dell's takeover of EMC, the biggest tech deal in history. Previous investors Riverwood Capital, Level Equity, and NewSpring Capital also contributed to this round. The latest funding brought Vacasa's valuation to more than $1 billion.
The company had previously raised $207.5 million. It operates more than 23,000 properties and employs over 5,000 people across the Americas, Europe and Africa. Last week, Vacasa finalized an acquisition of Wyndham Vacation Rentals from Wyndham Destinations for $162 million, adding 9,000 properties to its portfolio, and it is the largest vacation rental management company in North America.
Vacasa is somewhere between that of Airbnb and of newer short-term operators like Lyric and Sonder.
Like Airbnb, the property is owned by people outside of the company, but the company actually maintains and operates the property, similar to newer short-term operators. Vacasa is then paid a commission for each guest as a payment for managing the property. Airbnb has announced its intention to go public in early 2020, while Lyric and Sonder both raised large rounds of capital this year.
Vacasa's service is also differentiated by the types of homes that it operates. While the short-term rental operators generally focus on large urban cities, Vacasa's founder and CEO Eric Breon told Forbes last year that it focuses on "drive-to destinations."
The company generally stays out of cities because of regulations about short-term rentals.
Third-party property managers have existed for a long time, but Vacasa looks to set itself apart with price-calculation software, distribution to multiple online booking sites, and substantial size compared to other managers. The company plans to use the new money to continue its rapid expansion and to add products.
The company has added Vacasa Real Estate to refer real estate agents and brokers to people that want to buy vacation rentals, whether for their own use or as an investment. Vacasa provides the agents with analytical tools from its own databases, like a rent predictor, and marketing innovations like 3D tours.
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