The vacation rental management segment continues to grow in line with the sector’s overall popularity, according to a new market report.
The study by Hostfully reveals that while there were more than 115,000 companies managing vacation rentals in 2018, this has now grown to more than 140,500.
Vacation rental management companies (VRMC) are on average looking after 79 properties.
The Vacation Rental Industry Stats report further breaks the figure down to approximately 33,000 management companies in the U.S., more than 80,000 in Europe and more than 24,000 outside Europe and North America.
The Hostfully analysis also looks at the technology preferred by VRMCs and how much is spent on technology on a monthly basis.
Perhaps unsuprisingly property management platforms emerge as the preferred technology for 45% of companies followed by productivity tools at 19%.
The report says that the average VRMC spends about $51 per property per month on technology including its property management system and other softwares.
To calculate the monthly spent Hostfully took into account a number of factors including bulk pricing by property management system provider, number of integrations and the cost to maintain them and the average number of additional softwares used.
Hostfully says that while $51 might seem a lot per property per month, the efficiency gains, increased revenue and improved guest experience mean the systems “seemingly pay for themselves.”
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As the vacation rental sector continues to boom, the need for professional management services and automation are also likely to increase.
A recent AirDNA report reveals demand is recovering to greater than 2019 levels in the U.S.
The study also says growth in 2022 is likely to be around major cities compared with the demand for smaller city and rural locations in 2020 and 2021.
AirDNA also believes the sector will continue to professionalize with predictions for the winners being those that best connect with consumers.
* Read the full Hostfully report and how it calculated the size of the VRMC industry here.