Vacation Rental Survey: Does Mobile Matter?24 Jan 2014 ­ Kirby

Last year, we surveyed travelers who had used Dwellable, and asked them about theirmobile vacation rental habits. 75% said they researched vacation rentals via smartphonesor tablets, and 35% inquired or booked via mobile.

This got us thinking: Are vacation rental managers on the same page as their customerswhen it comes to mobile?

So, this is an analysis of the impact on vacation rental management companies (VRMCs)of the ongoing traveler shift to mobile for research and booking. Or put another way, wethrew some questions up on SurveyMonkey and asked property managers to answerthem. We found out some pretty crazy stuff.

Introduction and methodology

Since the emergence of internet media as a dominant source of potential new businessfor VRMCs and owners, the proprietors of vacation rental homes globally have slowlymoved their businesses online. The advent of listings sites like HomeAway and FlipKey,the emergence of Airbnb, 9flats and Wimdu, and the $530M invested in online VRsolutions since 2011 are a testament to the power of the online media channel, yet lessthan 3 out of 10 dollars spent in the global VR industry today is spent on the web.

It's still very early days for the vacation rental industry.

It is fair to say that the majority of VR inventory suppliers are well behind their hoteliercounterparts in adopting PC­based online models (SaaS, SEM/SEO, OTA). Some of thislag is endemic to the fragmented and unbranded nature of VR inventory; nonetheless,even the industry leaders are catching their collective breaths from years of turmoil,including loss of control to aggregators, the unfulfilled promise of a collectively­ownedVRMA “switch”, and the move from print brochures to web sites and listings as coremarketing materials.

And now, the landscape is undergoing yet another tectonic shift. PCs are being left behindby smartphones and tablets as the world continues to conduct more of its media activityvia mobile devices than any other medium save television. By 2017, smartphones andtablets will outnumber PC's by nearly 4­1. But are VRMC’s prepared? How will theyadapt?

Dwellable conducted a study of vacation rental marketers to discover attitudes andbehaviors associated with mobile device usage in the context of vacation rental discoveryand booking. This post presents the study’s key findings.

Methodology

Dwellable completed a survey of 100 vacation rental executives whose primary form ofacquiring new customers was via vacation rental listings websites – the belief being thatthese executives represent the vanguard of new media adoption in the VR space.

Early adopters

Dwellable asked these property managers 10 questions meant to explore their awarenessof mobile as an opportunity and their current attitudes towards and actions regardingreaching mobile travelers.

Property Managers See the Mobile Tidal WaveApproaching

It’s clear that VRMCs are anticipating the shift to mobile. Having been blindsided by theweb 20 years ago, proprietors of vacation rental businesses are aware of the upheavalnew technology can bring.

Grasping the obvious

Additionally, many VRMCs are now operated by “digital natives”, for whom blogging,social media, and technology are second nature. Mobile is not catching many VRMCs bysurprise.

Fool me once...

Mobile Is the Next Big Thing for VRMC GrowthStrategy

Not only are they anticipating the shift of media consumption to mobile devices; VRMCsare strategically embracing the channel.

Mobile trumps the field

The mobile channel is seen as a “very important” growth opportunity more frequently thanany other aspect of vacation rentals – including the PC web, listings quality, and even thenumber of properties under management.

In fact, VRMC's put mobile up there in importance with overall lead gen as priorities fortheir marketing partners like HomeAway and TripAdvisor.

Vacation Rental Managers Haven't Put Their MoneyWhere Their Mouth Is...

Given the explicit agreement on the part of respondents that mobile is the biggest thing tohit vacation rentals since the web, it was somewhat surprising to see the responses to thequestions about what VRMCs are actually doing about this major opportunity. A solidmajority do not offer users any experience tailored to mobile devices.

There seems to be a laissez faire attitude towards mobile which belies the urgency thenumbers suggest should be present.

61% of respondents say, “We don’t do anything special for mobile, people can just seeour regular website on any device.” This is a major misconception, given that 57% oftravelers say they will not recommend a lodging option if it has a bad mobile site (Source:Buteeq, 2013).

...But That's Changing Rapidly

Almost a quarter of respondents use responsive design, which allows for content todynamically adjust to each possible mobile device’s screen resolution and size, andanother 16% offer a custom mobile site or app.

And we should see the mobile website number move close to 50% in 2014, based on thestated plans of respondents.

VRMC's are very price sensitive around mobile. We believe solutions that are free orfreemium will continue to emerge to capture this sector of demand.

Vacation Rental Managers Are Prepared to Executein Mobile

There's no fear in the VRMC camp when it comes to mobile. Whether it's the educationalwork the VRMA is doing, the expansion of PMS offerings to mobile platforms, or simpleconfidence gained in managing their businesses through the shift to digital, vacation rentalmanagers clearly feel up to the task of tackling smartphone and tablet usage.

We believe this confidence is good news for vendors who offer straightforward mobilesolutions ­ you don't have to convince VRMC's that mobile matters, just show them howyour solution helps them maintain and grow their business.