VIDEO: Awaze on a vacation rental sector that is growing up

Awaze was created when Wyndham Worldwide sold its European vacation rental business to Platinum Equity for $1.3 billion in 2018.

Initially called European Vacation Rentals, with brands such as Hoseasons, James Villas, Landal GreenParks and Novasol in its portfolio, was renamed Awaze earlier this year.

The London-based company is now led by CEO Henrik Kjellberg - no stranger to the world of accommodation having spent around 15 years running various parts of the lodging operations at Expedia Group, including most recently overseeing Hotels.com.

But he's now responsible for a company that is in a market that features both his former company and other giants in the guise of Booking.com.

And then there's Airbnb to also throw into the mix, plus the arrival of OYO Rooms through its recent acquisition of @Leisure Group.

In a keynote speech and panel discussion at Phocuswright Europe in Amsterdam last month, Kjellberg explains how the wider vacation rental market is adapting to consumer trends, what Awaze is doing to protect itself from the competition and where the sector needs to evolve.