VRBO tanks, Airbnb gains, Google & Gmail changes may destroy your Direct Business!

I was just on four calls with Jason Sprenkle and Melanie Brown of KeyDataVR with sector analysts (Truist, Oppenheimer, B Riley & BWG Strategies). The data shows massive disruption in the U.S. Vacation Rental market. And, the sector analyst questions were fascinating.

Over the past year, I have attempted to use YouTube and Podcasts as a way to bring out content about the latest news in U.S. VR market. We have developed almost 700 subscribers and in the past few weeks we have interviewed Jason Sprenkle Jeff Robertson Michelle Marquis Ben Edwards and most recently Amber Carpenter Scott Seay Scott Bunce . For those who like to listen to content that is FREE, you can click on the link below :

www.StraightFireVR.com

For those who like to read (and listen) and will not attend VRMA Spring Conference due to budget constraints, I am writing a briefer synopsis.

• Is the Vacation Rental sector in a free fall? The answer is NO. Europe is extremely healthy with paid occupancy trending in 2024 +3% YOY and ADR +9% YOY, and RevPar +12% YOY

• Is VRBO tanking? The answer is a clear YES even in 2024. Both KeyDataVR and VTrips are showing significant erosion of VRBO. VTrips showed that VRBO was 84% of OTAs in March 2022, 61% in March 2023 and 43% in March 2024. KeyDataVR shows similar deterioration even in 2024!!!
• we talk with Jeff Robertson on VRBO tanking at www.StraightFirevr.com
• Is Airbnb gaining in traditional resort/leisure markets? Another clear answer of YES. Both KeyDataVR and VTrips show remarkable gains over the past 24 months. For VTrips, Airbnb was 8% of OTAs in March 2022, 20% in March 2023 and 32% in March 2024 (for OTA share/ VTrips has 60% direct).
• We talk with Scott Bunce about Airbnb gains at www.Straightfirevr.com

• How bad is the U.S. Vacation Rental Market in 2024? KeyDataVR's initial forecast was 10% lower occupancy than 2019! Over the last few days, Jason and Melanie were a little more optimistic with the pacing and perhaps a strong 2nd half of 2024. But, remember, 2024 is an election year that is likely to be very negative. When consumers get scared, they stop spending.
• What Can U.S. property managers do? Cut your expenses! We had an entire episode with Ben Edwards where we discuss cutting costs!
• Can things get worse! Yes. In bombshell news, Amber Carpenter discusses a Yahoo Finance article entitled "Massive changes coming to Google Chrome threaten to reshape the modern internet". This article references changes created by Europe, California and others that reduce the threshold of spam and increase the ability for your direct web site and emails to be shut down by A.I. tools. It is truly scary stuff.
• https://finance.yahoo.com/news/massive-changes-coming-to-google-chrome-threaten-to-reshape-the-modern-internet-160044166.html

• For those who want more context, there is a brand new episode at www.StraightFireVr.com with Amber Carpenter discussing these changes.
• Is there any positive news for the U.S.? 2025 will likely improve.
• The reason I am pushing people to listen to our FREE podcasts (we also are on YouTube) is I can provide so much more information and context. Normally I would do this at VRMA, but they have gone woke with content with an emphasis on DEI and "fresh face" (i.e. smaller property managers). I look forward to presenting data like this at Amy Hinote DARM
• For more information, go to www.StraightFireVR.com Thanks to my co-host Miriam Ramsey and Executive Producer Heather Macias- Milo