Barcelona: Rentals United has announced that it has become the first official vacation rental channel manager to partner with the burgeoning online travel agency, Hopper, for its Hopper Homes feature.
The partnership is set to assist both partners in increasing their market share in the vacation rental world.
Hopper is the most downloaded travel app in North America and was the most downloaded OTA app in North America in 2021, adding 2.3 million users per month. By leveraging its vast archive of pricing and demand data, Hopper has established a unique position in the market by offering consumers more transparency through its price prediction technology as well as flexibility through its risk-based fintech products.
Albeit a newcomer, Hopper has quickly soared to increase market share, even surpassing some of the more established players in terms of downloads.
Combining data and artificial intelligence, Hopper’s technology gives the traveller the most precise and personalised travel recommendations, while giving property managers access to new, high LTV customer demographics, and maximised booking conversions due to innovative fintech products.
Rentals United will be the first channel management partnership for Hopper Homes.
James Burrows, CEO of Rentals United, said: “Partnering with Hopper is a brilliant move for us and is generating a lot of excitement at Rentals United. North America is a big market for us and Hopper’s unique position with their technology as well as fintech services will push us ahead in terms of progress and innovation.”
Hopper CEO Frederic Lalonde said: “While many travellers prefer booking homes to hotels, the experience is still full of pain points. With top inventory from around the world and flexibility products that offer peace-of-mind, Hopper Homes is creating a new home renting experience that gives travellers more lodging options in the same place where they already book your flights, hotels and car rentals.
“With Rentals United, we are adding more properties to the app, ensuring the best homes are available wherever customers plan on travelling next,” he added.
Rentals United aims to empower enterprise vacation rental property managers, PMS software partners and OTAs to grow through efficient, reliable and market-leading channel management, and other innovations. Its network consists of advanced connections to large OTAs, top-performing niche sites, and book direct websites to help businesses master marketing, gain competitive advantage, and optimise growth strategies.
Hopper announced its launch into the short-term rental vertical with Hopper Homes a fortnight ago. The mobile-first travel marketplace leverages data and machine learning to develop fintech solutions that address pain points in the customer journey.
Susan Ho, head of Hopper Homes, was recently featured on the STRz podcast, in which she discussed alleviating traveller anxiety during the booking experience, its strategy for attracting, protecting and retaining new hosts, and how Hopper Homes will position itself in the OTA space and from a brand loyalty perspective. Listen to the podcast in full here.
