Skift Take
Signs of HomeAway becoming more aggressive about Asia expansion are evident but there is much to do. Putting in place a new leadership team is just the beginning.
Editor's Note: Skift has launched a new series, Gateway, as we broaden our news coverage geographically with first-hand, original stories from correspondents embedded in cities around the world.
We will start with regular reports several times per week from Beijing and Singapore, and look for us to add cities around the world shortly. Gateway Beijing and Gateway Singapore, for example, signify that the reporters are writing from those cities although their coverage of the business of travel will meander to other locales in their regions. Read about the series here, and check out all the stories in the series here.
Prashant "PK" Kirtane, who is leading HomeAway’s expansion in Asia after HomeAway fully acquired his Singapore-based Travelmob in 2015, is feeling the startup rush all over again. With “significant” investment being pumped in, he’s charged up to build awareness of both the brand and the home rentals category in the region.
Speaking to Kirtane, it brings up recollections of the trailblazers in the Asian cruise industry 20 years ago when cruising wasn’t the mainstream vacation form it is today. But unlike cruising in its infancy in the region decades ago, home rentals in Asia, while seeing progress in some areas, is still muddied by fear and distrust.
Be it in modern cities like Singapore, or relaxed resorts such as Phuket,Thailand, the home, or vacation, rental category faces attempts by the traditional hotel sector to block its growth, the wrath of citizens who complain about noise and safety and, with legislatures scrambling to keep up, continued uncertainty over the legality of these types of short-term rental lodgings.
A Long-Term Proposition
But the soft-spoken Kirtane smiles and says Asia is critical to HomeAway’s future growth and HomeAway sees Asia as “a long-term story.” HomeAway acquired a majority stake in T
