Zumper launches dedicated vacation rental listing site
USA: Privately owned rental marketplace Zumper is launching Vacations by Zumper – its own dedicated vacation rental listing site – to double down on the short-term rental market.
The new vacation rental hub features listings from platforms such as Booking.com and Vrbo, as well as more than 28,000 homes [in 750+ markets] in partnership with property management partner Evolve and around 50,000 new hotel listings. In addition, Zumper has partnered with channel manager Rentals United to help property managers make data-driven decisions that increase conversions and take care of distribution needs, including syncing and updating listings.
Zumper says that its comprehensive new vacations destination platform has been created to address the gap in technological advancements and industry innovation in the category.
Last August, the company officially launched its short-term rental product after raising $30 million for its Series D funding round, which received backing from the likes of Kleiner Perkins, Goodwater Capital, Headline, Dawn Capital and the Blackstone Group. Since then, Zumper has increased its short-term rental inventory by more than 50 per cent, taking it to over one million listings.
Then last month, Zumper unveiled its annual subscription service FlexPass, giving renters access to thousands of premium, fully-furnished short-term rentals worldwide [minimum stay bookings of 30 days] without hidden fees, security deposits or leases. An annual subscription will cost $300 a year although the offering is currently free to renters who book before 31 March.
The offering works by first asking renters to fill out a form detailing their preferences before the FlexPass concierge sends a list of property recommendations from Zumper’s network. Potential renters are invited to select a property from the curated list, which Zumper then books for them.
Zumper’s network of 100+ cities ranges from popular destinations to “hidden gems” across the world, including in the United States, Europe [such as London, Lisbon, Madrid, Berlin, Barcelona, Paris], the Middle East [Dubai] and Asia [Singapore and Hong Kong].
Anthemos Georgiades, co-founder and CEO of Zumper, said: “Consumers have fundamentally changed the way they live and travel, but until today rental marketplaces have not reflected this in their product offerings. Consumers no longer see a strong distinction between vacation, monthly and long-term rentals.
“Lease lengths and accommodation types have become fluid as renters’ lives have become more flexible, but the marketplaces that serve them have remained siloed.
“Today, Zumper is the first player to bring it all together — nightly, monthly and annual stays, all in one place. We’ve created an ecosystem that provides a one-stop shop for every type of accommodation with Zumper’s signature simplicity,” he added.
