Vacation Rental Vacasa Takes Aim At Airbnb’s Market

Slow and steady wins the race?

That’s what Portland-based tech property management company Vacasa is hoping for as it touts its pricing algorithm. The company, which has grown to 5,000 vacation rentals in 135 markets, is arguing that automated pricing in its market just isn’t cutting it compared to the hotel and airline methods.

With a $35 million Series A funding round in 2016, Vacasa may just catch up to Airbnb. In addition to listing spaces on its own site, Vacasa takes advantage of listings on other sites like VRBO and booking.com.

Vacasa’s pricing model, Yield Management 2.0, takes into account real-time market rates, home size, location, luxury classification and local events to help homeowners get the best price available. In 2016, the company claims to have made homeowners 34 percent more than other companies.

Vacasa’s Co-Founder and CEO, Eric Breon, shared why this pricing model is important for the vacation rental market: “We’re looking for the optimal rate as opposed to what others are pricing at. Even if the competition is priced at $100, it doesn’t mean that the optimal [rate] is $95. If the competition is at $100, we might want to be at $250.”