Vacation rental manager looks to buy out more competition

Wyndham's European vacation rental businesses, now called Awaze, is scoping out its competitors to purchase in a bid to consolidate its position in Europe

Platinum Equity bought the company — which operates brands including Hoseasons, Landal GreenParks, and Novasol — for $1.3 billion last year and is backing the management team with further funding.

“We have an ambition to both grow organically and through acquisitions if we find a good, attractive deal out there.”

— CEO Henrik Kjellberg

According to accounts recently filed in the UK, the group spent $23.1 million (€20.9 million) on five acquisitions during the course of 2018, helping to boost the number of properties in the UK, Greece and Spain.

For the final 11 months of 2018, the group generated $505 million (€457 million) in revenue and made a profit (EBITDA) of $12.8 million (€11.6 million). Comparative figures for the previous year were unavailable.

Kjellberg said the 2018 numbers included quite a lot of “one-offs” associated with the Platinum acquisition and that 2019 was “looking good”.

“There’s massive opportunity in the market and we are investing in delivering better technological solutions and acquiring more properties. If anything, I think we’re taking a more aggressive outlook…in terms of wanting to conquer more market share,” he said.

Wouter Geerts, the author of The Short-Term Rental Ecosystem and Vendor Deep Dive 2019, said the gradual professionalization of the short-term rental sector was good news for a company like Awaze.

“While the majority of short-term rental properties today are hosted by amateur hosts, there is a growing demand for professional standards in the sector. Awaze is in a great position to benefit from this, with a proven track record of managing properties,” he said.

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