Vrbo?

[Shandi Keller]

Anyone involved in VRBOs? I'm thinking of investing in several properties to rent out as vacation rentals. I love to travel and would like to just live in the ones that are vacant. Obviously location is key but just trying to get any advice or tips. Thanks!

[Ryan Rabideau]

Shandi,

When considering where to invest it might be easiest to start with where you already like to travel. Some drive to VR markets in Texas for example. Then once you have diversified in the markets you know you can start by adding complimentary markets to lower your seasonal revenue standard deviation. ie if you own a summer market and add a winter ski market you can begin cutting your standard deviation in income by 40 - 50% offering a lower risk profile on the portfolio. 

VRBO/Homeaway continues to be a driving force in the VR market due to their size and number of acquisitions. They have a whole section on listing quality and make frequent changes to their ranking algorithms so read up on their listing quality. I would also make sure to compare the population size of various listing sites to tell you which platforms you need to be on for the given market ie Homeaway or Airbnb. 

Thats just the advertising side of things there are a number of operational and dynamic pricing that can be discussed at great length. I am an analyst in the industry to feel free to reach out with any questions on how to build a portfolio of homes and where to go for great resources. 

Best,

Ryan