
Vacasa — which, like many vacation rental companies, was hit hard by COVID-19 — has received an additional round of funding from its investors that is intended to help it through the crisis.
The company, which has headquarters both in Portland and Boise, identifies itself as North America’s largest vacation rental management platform. In a statement, the company announced a $108 million Series D strategic investment round, led by existing investor Silver Lake with participation from other existing investors including Riverwood Capital and Level Equity.
“Like many companies in the travel industry, the pandemic has had a significant impact on Vacasa,” according to a company spokeperson who asked not to be named. “To put the company in the best position moving forward, we decided to raise additional financing. We’re in a very fortunate position as our existing investor syndicate — Silver Lake, Riverwood and Level Equity — were eager to continue to partner with us.”
The company will use the new funding to fuel its growth in the U.S., as well as invest in technology and product innovation, the company spokesperson said.
Vacasa had announced a $319 million third round of investment earlier this year, which gave the company a valuation of more than $1 billion. Hitting that $1 billion mark placed it in the “unicorn” category in startup parlance.
In March, the company had announced an unspecified number of layoffs and salary cuts after concerns about coronavirus, flight cancellations and state lockdowns had decimated the entire travel industry. For example, CEO Matt Roberts — just named in February — didn’t take any salary, and the leadership team took a 50% reduction in salary through the end of the year.
Industry already recovering
That said, however, the industry is already recovering, the company said in a statement.
“Vacasa is already experiencing strong recovery as stay-at-home restrictions lift and popular vacation destinations reopen,” the statement said. “Recent data from the company reveals a substantial increase in daily reservations in more cities and a reduced booking window.”
For example, guest reservations booked in May were six times those booked in April, indicating an increased interest in leisure travel, the company said. In addition, the company now has guest bookings in 723 U.S. cities, compared with 357 U.S. cities at what it said was the height of the crisis.
In April, Vacasa saw its booking window peak at 142 days, signaling that guests were booking trips further out. Since mid-May, Vacasa’s booking window is back down to 40 days, in-line with 2019 averages, the company said.
In addition, the company launched Vacasa Premium Clean, a new program that meets or exceeds all currently published CDC recommendations and follows the Vacation Rental Management Association’s SafeHome guidance.
“As demand for vacation rentals continues to increase, Vacasa’s goal is to provide even more protection and support to everyone in the communities it serves,” the company said.
IPO? Maybe not so much
Roberts’ appointment had led some to speculate that the company might be preparing itself for an initial public offering. He served as CFO from 2005 to 2011 and CEO from 2011 to 2015 at restaurant booking service OpenTable. As CFO, he led OpenTable through an IPO in 2009, and as CEO he negotiated the sale of the company to the Priceline Group (now Booking Holdings) for $2.6 billion in cash. He joined the Vacasa board in November 2018.
In October, Vacasa finalized the acquisition of Wyndham Vacation Rentals, which brought several brands, including ResortQuest, Kaiser Realty and Vacation Palm Springs, under its ownership. Plans for the acquisition were announced last July and are expected to be completed by this fall.
As of the acquisition, Vacasa managed 503 vacation homes in Idaho, while Wyndham managed 109 rentals in the state.
Vacasa, which identifies itself as a technology company more than as a vacation rental company, added a new chief technology officer earlier this year as well.