Fairly

In 2019, private equity bought the majority of Vacasa, and I departed soon after. Following a much-needed break and some time with my family, I began to think. If I were to start over, what would I do differently? There was a lot that went well at Vacasa. Our technology changed the industry, helping homeowners earn far more from their properties. But what could be improved? When I started Vacasa, exceptional local housekeepers were core to our model. We booked houses like no other, and our local teams provided impeccable care for the homes. We hired incredible housekeepers like Jules Huber, who started as a housekeeper on Mt Hood back in 2011, and grew to manage Vacasa's operations throughout the entire Pacific Northwest. And we complemented their skill, dedication, and care with technology like a system that routed every guest call to the person most familiar with the property and area. A decade later, as a homeowner, my experience with property managers has been quite different. As an example, as a vacation rental owner, I was told that the sofa in one of my homes needed to be replaced.?It's a large house, with 5 sofas - so I asked "Which one?"?They responded "I'm not sure; I'll get back to you."?And I never heard back.?There's often a massive disconnect between the?homeowner, the manager, the contractors who clean the homes, and the guests.?There's a lack of accountability, as housekeeping contractors are incented?to rush, and there's no direct connection between the property owner and the housekeeper. As a guest, I recently rented a home on the Oregon Coast, and there was a utility/housekeeping closet with slated?doors with a fluorescent light left on, shining directly onto the bed.?It was secured with a?combination padlock so I couldn't go in & turn the light off.?I called the management company and spent 20 minutes on hold.?It then took them several minutes just to confirm who I was / where I was staying, even though it was a direct booking and I was calling from the number associated with the reservation.?And then the person I was speaking with?was completely useless.?They weren't familiar with the house, they didn't have the code to the housekeeping closet, and there wasn't anyone available locally who could assist.?There was nothing they could do.?I even thought of turning the breaker off, but the panel was inside the very closet I was locked out of.?I can't sleep in a bright?room, so my wife and I ended up sleeping on the sofa. Scale in the vacation rental industry has brought huge benefits?in terms of yield management, home automation, and overall revenue performance, but when it comes to operations, things seem to be getting worse, not better. ?