HomeToGo Accelerated Its Direct Bookings in the Second Quarter

HomeToGo, founded as a vacation rental price comparison site in 2014, generated more than half — 56.8 percent, to be precise — of its bookings on its own platforms in the second quarter, the company reported.

That’s up from 44 percent in full-year 2021.

So instead of merely transferring travelers to partner websites when they are ready to book book a vacation rental, HomeToGo is increasingly facilitating the bookings on its own sites, although partners remain the merchants of record, and handle customer service issues.

This is especially useful for smaller partners, who’s websites may not be particularly sophisticated and hence they lose out on business because of inefficiencies. By helping with partner bookings, HomeToGo hopes to increase its own repeat business, and to increase commissions, which averaged 9.6 percent in the second quarter.

In its second quarter earnings announcement yesterday, HomeToGo repeated its vow to reach the status of adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) “breakeven” by 2023.

HomeToGo thus finds itself among a chorus of still-money-losing companies, including Vacasa and Sonder, pledging to reach a form of profitability in 2023.

HomeToGo narrowed its losses, on an adjusted earnings basis in the second quarter to negative 6.4 million euros (-$6.5 million), from minus 17.5 million euros (-$17.8 million) in the second quarter of 2021.

The company’s revenue grew 83 percent year-over-year in the second quarter to almost 38 million euros ($38.6 million). That’s 126 percent higher than in the second quarter of 2019 although the company boosted revenue with several acquisitions in the interim.

The company forecast revenue growth of 40-50 percent for full-year 2022.

HomeToGo doesn’t appear to be seeing a surge in month-long stays as some vacation rental players, such as Airbnb, experienced.

CEO Patrick Andrae told analysts Tuesday that the company saw a “slightly lower length of stay and slightly lower ADRs (average daily rates) in Europe in the second quarter, and the length of stay averaged 6.8 to 6.9 days in North America, primarily in the U.S.