Vacayo

Vacayo is a real estate platform and service.

In short, the company furnishes and leases vacant rental properties, while paying landlords a fixed monthly income.

According to Vacayo, the company is a “landlord’s best friend.”

It aims to solve many of the issues landlords experience. These issues include prolonged vacancies, high management fees, and dealing with property repairs.

Over the past few years, companies like Airbnb have ignited interest in the short-term rental market. (It doesn't hurt that Airbnb's earliest investors have made huge profits, as its value has risen to about $30 billion.)

On the heels of Airbnb's success, venture capital firms have invested heavily in the vacation rental industry. For example:

In October 2017, Vacasa, a vacation rental management company, raised $103 million from investors including private equity firm Riverwood Capital…

And in March 2017, TurnKey Vacation Rentals raised $21 million from multiple VC firms, including Adam Street Partners, Altos Ventures, and Silverton Partners.

By 2021, the vacation rental market is projected to reach $50 billion in the U.S. and $200 billion globally.

But despite the booming industry, the average rental property sits vacant 45 days out of the year. This results in significant uncaptured revenue for landlords!

As Vacayo co-founder Isabel Berney explains, "Many landlords wanted to list on Airbnb, but lacked the time or resources to manage a short-term rental. We saw a clear opportunity to make their lives easier by bridging that gap.”

To start, Vacayo determines an estimate for a property's monthly rental income using what it calls a “Rent Guarantee Tool.”

Essentially, this tool factors in more than 75 criteria to determine a property's potential monthly rental income. These factors include a property's zip code, number of bathrooms, and historical pricing data.

Vacayo will then determine a fixed monthly fee to pay the property owner in exchange for taking over management of the rental.

For example, an owner might receive a quote saying, "Vacayo will pay you a fixed fee of $2,000 per month for your property." In this case, Vacayo pays the landlord the quoted amount, and keeps all the rent it collects — regardless of whether the monthly rent adds up to less than $2,000, or more than $2,000.

With this system, Vacayo reports that landlords earn an average of 10% higher monthly income than they would with other management companies.

Once an offer is accepted, Vacayo immediately sends a “Superhost” to the property.

Superhosts are what Vacayo calls its “secret sauce.” These are local hospitality experts that have high ratings on the popular travel website Airbnb. Superhosts act as independent contractors and prepare the rental property for potential tenants.

For example, Vacayo’s Superhosts work with top furniture companies like Ikea, Wayfair, and Amazon to stock and furnish the homes.

By partnering with local Superhosts, Vacayo can enter new markets remotely and furnish listings in 72 hours or less.

To advertise available properties, Vacayo has partnered with travel sites including Airbnb, Trip Advisor, and Booking.com.

Throughout the process, Superhosts and landlords can take advantage of Vacayo’s online dashboard. On it, Superhosts can digitally sign up to manage multiple properties. And landlords can sign leases, track rent payments, and approve any property maintenance.

This approach to property management has received praise from landlords and tenants.

“Working with Vacayo has been a breeze,” said a property manager with Bombon Investment Corporation. “They have taken the stress out of renting and left me with extra earnings. When the next property becomes available, I will not hesitate to add more business with them.”

Vacayo is operational in six U.S. cities, including New York, Miami, and Philadelphia.

Since launching in March 2017, the company has generated $1.3 million in revenue, with 20% month-over-month growth. If it continues this growth, Vacayo expects to reach profitability by the end of 2018.

Vacayo is a graduate of multiple accelerator programs, including the Y Combinator start-up program and Columbia University’s Start-up Lab. The company also completed — and received an investment from — the 500 Startups program.

With respect to future plans, Vacayo aims to incorporate machine learning into its pricing algorithm. This will help improve the accuracy of the company’s pricing model when determining the potential value of a property.

In addition, Vacayo hopes to expand to international markets, including Mexico, Brazil, and Costa Rica where vacation rental properties are popular.

Team Background

Truth Oladapo - Co-Founder & CEO

Truth is the former Founder of Thump, a health tech company.

For three years, he worked as a collateral management analyst with Deutsche Bank.

Truth received a Master’s degree in Engineering from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Physics from Jacksonville University.

Isabel Berney - Co-Founder & COO

Prior to Vacayo, Isabel served as an assistant at Genpact, a financial consulting company.

She also worked with Truth to start Thump, a health tech start-up company.

Isabel formerly served as a marketing assistant with Omnicom Media Group.

She received a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Communications from Boston University.

Vladimir Kuperman - Lead Designer

Vladimir is a former founder of Limus Design, a design agency specializing in online and mobile website designs. Vladimir served as CEO of this company for 16 years.

In addition, Vladimir formerly served as Senior Graphic Designer for LivePerson, a graphic design company.

He previously served as a web designer for LG Electronics and Electric Insurance company.

Vladimir received a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Media from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Emil Diaz - Lead Engineer

Emil formerly served as Chief Technical Officer for Chicory, a food-tech start-up company. While there, Emil managed day-to-day operations of the company and was responsible for Chicory’s engineering team.

For two years, Emil served as the Vice President of Engineering with CourseHorse. This company helped people enroll in local classes ranging from cooking and art to social media and coding.

Emil formerly served as an associate data architect for Deutsche Bank, and later as a software developer with the same company.

Emil is the former Co-Founder of Campus Escape, a company that provided discounted travel services to college students.

Emil earned a Bachelor’s degree in Structural Engineering from Columbia University.

Co-Investors

500 Startups

Prominent seed fund and accelerator program founded by PayPal and Google alumni. Investments include AngelList, Unbounce, and Behance.