The market for vacation rentals worldwide, which was valued at USD 82.63 billion in 2022, is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 4.7 percent from 2023 to 2030. The rising costs of travel, vacations, and lodging among millennials fuels market expansion.
Biz blowing up? Figuring out how to scale a vacation rental business? Sweet! But leveling up the vacay rental hustle requires big choices that’ll shape your future.
So how do you grow your brand without losing what makes it awesome?
We’ve got the details to scale up right.
How to Scale a Vacation Rental Business
Expanding your vacay rental biz takes time and cash, no doubt. Between repairs, chatting with guests, and hunting new properties, scaling up can be mad overwhelming.
Even if you got the funds to snag more listings, running things can spiral out of control real quick. But hold up – you don’t get to sacrifice quality for quantity to level up. We got the inside scoop for scaling your short-term rental hustle without the headaches.
Let’s have a look at some booming stats:
| Year | US Vacation Rental Revenue (Billions) | Year-over-Year Growth Rate | Global Vacation Rental Revenue (Estimated) (Billions) | Hotel Industry Revenue (Billions) (Estimated) |
| 2021 | $13.3 | 10% | N/A | $110 |
| Year | User Penetration (%) | Percentage of People Who Have Stayed in Vacation Rentals |
| 2021 | 13.1 | Approximately 1 in 8 people |
| 2025 | 28.29 | Approximately 1 in 5 people (estimated) |
| Year | Top Reasons for Choosing Vacation Rental Bookings |
| 2016 | – Access to a kitchen (64%) |
| – More privacy (49%) | |
| – More space (average vacation rental >1,300 sq. ft; average hotel room ≈325 sq. ft) |
| Vacation Rental Platform | Year Founded |
| Airbnb | 2008 |
| Vrbo (formerly VRBO) | 1995 |
| Airbnb Statistics |
| – Active listings: 5.6 million |
| – Active listings types: |
| – Tiny homes: 24,000 |
| – Castles: 3,500 |
| – Treehouses: 2,600 |
| – Igloos: 140 |
| – Number of hosts: Over 4 million |
| Airbnb Financial Data (2020) |
| – Valuation at IPO: $100+ billion |
| – Revenue in 2020: $3.4 billion (30% decrease from 2019’s $4.7 billion) |
| Travel Trends Post-Pandemic | Demand Increase (%) |
| – Cabin Rentals | 25% |
| – Chalets | 20% |
| – Rural Destinations | Varies |
| – Longer Stays (Post-Pandemic) | Varies |
Finding the right time to grow, starting local to go big, laying groundwork to expand, picking your business model, getting your tech on lock, optimizing guest communication, automating management, partnering with property owners, and keeping things sustainable as you scale.
Let’s dive in and get that rental empire up-and-running!
Rental Tech to Automate the Whack Stuff and Delight Your Guests
When growing your vacay rental game, you got to get the right tech tools locked and loaded, you dig? Using automation to handle repetitive tasks lets you focus your people power where it matters most.
Make sure your PMS covers the basics and can sync up with other software you need. As you pick platforms to run your empire, peep these clutch features:
This lets guests access deets like door codes, arrival times, house rules, nearby recs, etc. themselves instead of bugging you. Makes them feel comfy off the rip.
Prioritize guest experience as you scale your tech! You need to chat with guests fast when issues pop up and keep problems from raining on their vacay. Smoothing over issues ASAP earns 5-star reviews and saves you time handling petty complaints.
Also Check Out: How To Market Screen Printing Business? 4 Quick Strategies
Basically, use technology to make guest communication mad efficient. Eliminate unnecessary back-and-forths by giving them resources upfront. The less they bug you, the more you can focus on expanding your rental hustle.
Spend money on tech that takes work off your plate so you can add more listings without losing quality. Automate everything you can so your crew can handle the important stuff while your empire grows.
Scale Up While Keeping Your Guests Chilling
When you scale your vacay rental hustle, you gotta deal with way more operations headaches. So peep tech tools that sync with your property management system first and foremost. Automating as many processes as possible is clutch for expansion.
Along with guest messaging, these areas can get way more efficient with the right software:
Going contactless is a win-win when scaling your biz. Saves you a grip of time and gives guests flexibility to arrive whenever without relying on someone to let them in. Empowered guests = happy guests.
Find gap nights and empty spots automatically, then offer discounts for guests to extend their stay. Maximizes revenue by keeping your cribs booked up.
Automated review requests are a must for your marketing strategy when scaling. Guests hit up reviews before booking – you want a sea of 5-stars attached to your growing brand for new heads to see.
The more you can streamline behind the scenes, the more your guests just see an amazing vacay experience. And solid reviews drive new bookings and enable scaling.
Take the busywork off your plate so you can focus on optimizing each booking. Efficient operations = more 5-stars = more growth. Level up!
Flex Your Stats to Earn Owners’ Trust
To get homeowners and investors to let you make bank with their cribs, you have to dazzle them with metrics that prove your vacay rental skills, like:
- Killer occupancy rates
- Solid yearly profits
- Rad guest reviews
- Slick operations
- Top-notch management tech
The more you flaunt your successes, the more they’ll want to collaborate. Roll out the red carpet with these bullet points:
- 85% average occupancy, 15% above competitors
- $200k yearly profit per property
- 100s of 5-star guest reviews
- Smooth operations from marketing to maintenance
- Leading tech tools that optimize management
Then drop this knowledge:
“As you can see, our proven track record and systems deliver big returns through high occupancy and glowing reviews. We’ll give your property the same 5-star treatment that consistently generates profits. With our expertise, we know we can unlock even more earning potential together.” Check out as well: How to Market a Cabinet Business? 10 Cost Effective Strategies
Flashing those sweet words builds trust and confidence fast. Proving you’ve got operations and tech on lock shows you can maintain service at scale. Dazzle them with your numbers to get owners hyped on growing income with your baller brand!
Choose the Right Biz Model to Set Yourself Up for Success
Picking a solid business model you believe in is key for long-term wins, and this for sure will give you the ways how to scale a vacation rental business. We mean, the real scaling. Consider these vacay rental models and scaling factors:
Full-Service Management
- Totally dependent on local team for on-site ops and guest management
- Can’t spread yourself too thin – stay local when scaling
Online Property Management
- Manage rentals remotely – less need for physical team
- More reliant on tech to scale – simpler to expand
Hybrid Model
- Mix of automation and human touch
- Cost-effective scaling by automating some processes
Franchise Model
- Streamlined branding and processes
- Still need on-site teams at each franchise
- Maintaining brand integrity challenges while expanding
Steps for Picking the Right Model:
- Establish growth targets and timelines
- Identify potential scaling barriers
- Assess resources needed for each model
- Compare models to current operations
- Select model that aligns with business goals
- Make scaling plan accounting for model limitations
Let’s Scale Up!
Choosing the right model with eyes wide open sets you up for growth success. Know the constraints and opportunities of each when plotting your empire expansion! No matter how saturated the market is getting, you need to get the right ways that will answer how to scale a vacation rental business.
Let alone the social media and google campaigns. You can hire a reputable agency who can break the sweat and you do what is important.
