GGA partners with Key Data to launch TripIQ platform

US: Travel insurance and assistance provider, Generali Global Assistance [ GGA ], has partnered with short-term rental market data provider, Key Data, to launch TripIQ, considered to be the hospitality industry’s first business intelligence and benchmarking platform for travel insurance.

GGA, part of the Generali Group and comprised of Travel Insurance & Assistance, Cost Containment, Identity & Cyber Protection,  is sharing select proprietary data points from its short-term rental survey, which was conducted by Phocuswright for presentation at the upcoming 2021 conference [15-17 November].

It is claimed that TripIQ will allow professional lodging partners to see clear, data-driven insights around its travel insurance sales and conversion metrics. Additional dashboards will provide benchmarking for partners so they can visualise their comparative performance against similar competitors in their target markets.

Chris Carnicelli, CEO of Generali Global Assistance, said: “Partnering with Key Data was an easy decision for us. Their extensive expertise within the realm of short-term rentals will greatly benefit the implementation of our new platform, TripIQ.

“Given the results of our short-term rental study, we found that gross bookings will reach $37 billion by the end of 2021, which is a 52 per cent increase compared to 2020. With travel on the rise post-pandemic, the amount of vacation rentals has clearly increased exponentially, as well.

“Ultimately, implementing TripIQ in partnership with Key Data was an easy choice,” he added.

Jason Sprenkle, CEO of Key Data, said: “We’re excited to work closely with an industry leader like GGA to make this market data available to the property managers that need it most. As travellers look for fun and safety on their next trip, property managers can use their TripIQ data to determine how to best position their travel insurance offerings to potential customers.”

In preparation for its partnership with Key Data, GGA examined the current short-term rental habits study conducted by Phocuswright:

• Roughly one third of prospective hosts expressed concerns about the potential for damage to their property if rented out.
• On average, five per cent of short-term rental stays resulted in the property damage, according to the property managers.
• 68 per cent of hosts purchased supplemental liability insurance beyond what is offered by booking platforms. Those with longer tenure, who managed short-term rental properties for three years or more, are 25 per cent more likely to purchase supplemental liability insurance beyond what is offered by booking platforms.
• Ten per cent of renters indicated that they had been motivated by an offer of the insurance to book via a specific booking platform.
• 43 per cent of renters indicated that purchasing travel insurance is now more important than before Covid-19. Those renting out a luxury rental home / apartment are more likely to purchase travel insurance [almost 56 per cent]. Those between 25 and 44 years of age are particularly finding insurance to be more important now compared to their younger and older cohorts [50 per cent of each found it more important now compared to 30 per cent in the 55+ cohorts or 36 per cent in the 18-24 cohorts].

Carnicelli said: “As our data demonstrates, the way we travel post-pandemic has changed dramatically. Having reliable, consistent access to a dependable platform, which will assist in rental and travel resources, is going to be a game-changer for renters and property managers alike,”

Upon its general release, TripIQ will be free to all customers that use both Key Data and GGA Travel Insurance and Vacation Rental Protection products.

GGA will be speaking alongside Beyond and Vacasa on Tuesday 16 November on “The continued rise of short-term rentals” at Phocuswright.