Rented's New $125 Million Arm Aims to Give Steady Income to Vacation Home Owners
Skift Take
Property managers are racing to sign up new rentals, and online agencies are racing to add new inventory. A new model that promises to guarantee incomes may lure more homeowners into the pool and extend the vacation rental tech boom.
In the past two years, investors have been funding vacation rental property managers left and right. Vacasa has raised $143 million over two rounds, while Turnkey, Hostmaker, Vacation Rental Pros, Stay Alfred, Evolve, Pillow, GuestReady, MyVR, and others have taken significant investments to fuel expansion.
Many owners of vacation rentals are left scratching their heads. Which company should they pick? Small markets may have dozens of managers. Large ones like Orlando often have hundreds.
Some homeowners — especially new ones — may also worry about receiving enough income to make renting out a good financial decision.
Attempting to address these homeowner concerns is Rented.com, an Atlanta-based wholesale marketplace for property managers.
Cash Guarantees
On Wednesday, Rented publicized it had put together a $125 million financing arm. It will use the money to give owners of vacation homes a "guaranteed" income if they sign up to pay the manager's commissions for terms typically lasting one year. Owners who rent out their apartments short-term can't apply.
Rented raised the financing from Parkwood, a
