US: Portland-based vacation rental management platform Vacasa has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire TurnKey Vacation Rentals, a vacation rental manager for premium homes in more than 80 destinations across the United States.
The transaction brings together two prominent vacation rental management companies with complementary portfolios and capabilities. The deal is expected to close in a month subject to customary closing conditions.
Vacasa CEO Matt Roberts said: “This is an incredibly exciting day as we plan to welcome TurnKey employees, homeowners and guests into the Vacasa family upon closing of the transaction. Our companies have a similar focus on delivering exceptional service to our homeowners and guests, and we are excited to do that together at a key juncture for the highly competitive vacation rental industry.
“The vacation rental sector continues to see significant gains in market share for accommodations and, with our expert teams and innovative technology, we’ll have the opportunity to lead the industry forward,” he added.
The acquisition will add 6000+ vacation rentals to Vacasa’s existing portfolio, including homes in new, premium destinations markets, including Los Angeles and Napa, California; Asheville, Black Mountain, and Holden Beach, North Carolina; and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Both Vacasa and TurnKey are investing significantly in solutions to simplify the vacation rental ownership process for owners, and they believe the purchase will give them the opportunity to deliver even higher levels of customer service and value.
TurnKey CEO John Banczak said: “Innovation has been at the core of our business from the start. Our goal is to make vacation rental homeownership more efficient and more profitable for owners through the use of technology.
“Moving forward together, we expect to deliver on our shared vision of developing innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of our homeowners, and offer a consistent, reliable hospitality experience to our guests,” he added.
The two companies offer full-service vacation rental management to homeowners through local teams that care for guests in-home, providing immediate support during guest stays, as well as property cleaning and maintenance.
Vacasa’s 4,000+ local team members are backed by central support offices in Portland, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho. Following the acquisition, the firm expects to maintain TurnKey’s headquarters office in Austin, Texas.
PJT Partners acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to Vacasa in connection with the transaction.
GCA Advisors acted as financial advisors to Turnkey, while Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Kastner Gravelle LLP acted as legal advisors to TurnKey.
Back in our December predictions piece for 2021, we predicted that mergers and acquisitions [M&A] would dominate the early part of this year, with the increased competition in an ever-fragmented marketplace, combined with the urgency to raise funding, both key factors in this trend.
At the time, AJL Atelier co-founder Simon Lehmann said: “In early 2021, there will be acquisitions and roll ups so we should expect lots of M&A. These will be big transactions, not just smaller ones, particularly on the channel management and PMS side.”
