As happened with major online travel agencies, there will eventually be several winners in short-term rentals beyond Airbnb. But will these come from the independent property managers trying to build consumer brands, or will the larger players take them out as is customary?
Will Vacasa and Sonder have the wherewithal as public companies to build their own brands independent of relying on Google and Airbnb, and will their business model challenges be surmountable? There's a ton of potential and so much work ahead for each of the companies.
So far this year, a dozen travel companies went public or made plans to do so. A couple of them may shine. But the odds are stacked against this year's IPOs, on average, over the long term. Find out why.
In Skift’s top stories this week, England welcomes fully vaccinated tourists, hotels are focusing on conversions rather than mergers, and Brazil is setting itself up to become a travel tech hub in Latin America.
Vacasa has reached a remarkable milestone with its plan to go public, having parlayed the booming interest in vacation rentals during the pandemic. Yet the full-service property management sector is crowded, and going public is only the start of the journey.
Short-term or vacation rentals are being touted as the winners of the pandemic, and in many ways the sector is taking big steps to becoming mainstream. But losers are emerging, too, and the impact of the pandemic will reverberate for years to come.