TurnKey Vacation Rentals

TurnKey Vacation Rentals
Type of site
 Private
Founded 2012 (2012)
Headquarters Austin, Texas, U.S.
Founder(s) T.J. Clark (CEO)
John Banczak (Chairman)
Industry Travel
Products Vacation rentals
Services Property management
Website Official website

TurnKey Vacation Rentals is a property management services company that offers services for short-term vacation rentals.[1][2] The company developed a rental property management web application that allows homeowners to monitor and offer services to their short-term rental properties.[3][4] Their website also allows guests to book a home at properties in cities like Austin, Texas; Santa Barbara, California; Seattle, Washington; and others.[5][6][7] The company was founded in 2012 by former Hotwire.com and HomeAway executives.[4][8]

History

TurnKey Vacation Rentals was founded in 2012[4] by CEO T.J. Clark (formerly an executive at Hotwire and Limos.com) and Executive Chairman John Banczak (formerly an executive at HomeAway) in Austin, Texas and began operating in January 2013.[3][8][9] At the outset, the company managed around 40 properties in Austin.[1] It raised $1.5 million in seed funding from a group of angel investors, including Orbitz CEO Barney Harford, Hotwire and TripIt co-founder Gregg Brockway, and BnB.com founder Eric Goldreyer.[8]

By June 2014, TurnKey had expanded the number of properties to 200 and had entered markets like Santa Barbara, California, Park City, Utah, and Port Aransas, Texas.[4][7] Also in June, TurnKey secured an additional $3 million in seed funding from Silverton Partners. The goal of the added funding was to expand into beach, ski, and other niche markets.[9]

In March 2016, TurnKey announced another round of funding led by Silverton Partners and Altos Partners. The company raised an additional $10 million which brought their total amount of funding to $20 million.[10][11] At that time, TurnKey was managing over 1,000 properties in around 24 markets in the United States including new additions like San Diego, Seattle, Nashville, and others.[2][11] The company has 180 employees and is looking to expand to around 100 more US markets by 2018.[2]

Business model

TurnKey Vacation Rentals offers property management services to homeowners who use their properties for vacation rentals. TurnKey manages requests, booking, schedules, inspections, and security similar to a property management firm. The company contracts with local third-party firms for repairs, maintenance, cleaning, restocking, security, and other services. Property owners use the Owner Dashboard to request services and monitor itineraries.[1][2][8] An Android tablet is placed in each property to monitor decibel level, as well.[2]

TurnKey Vacation Rentals also takes professional photos of the property, fields inquiries from guests, and posts listings on sites like HomeAway and TripAdvisor.[7] TurnKey typically charges 18% of the booking fee for all of the above services. The company also calculates taxes and handles any required legal filings.[2]

In addition to their homeowner-centric services, TurnKey offers vacation rentals directly on their website.[5] Guests are required to download an app (on either iOS or Android smartphones) to receive the door code and entry instructions via email which allows them entry into the property.[2][8] The app also gives guests directions, restaurant options, hospital locations, area attractions, and other relevant information. A tablet is installed in each property that guests can use to find all of this information as well.[8][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Shah, Angela (25 September 2013). "Austin Travel Startup Digitizes Holiday Rentals For a Hotel Alternative". Xconomy. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hawkins, Lori (10 March 2016). "Austin vacation-home startup lands $10 million for expansion". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 Calnan, Christopher (14 August 2013). "Limos.com founder taps former HomeAway exec for new vacation-home venture". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Calnan, Christopher (13 June 2014). "TurnKey Vacation Rentals raises millions to expand". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 Peltier, Dan (4 May 2016). "Vacation Rental Startups Attract $100 Million in Funding So Far This Year". Skift. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 Beathard, Jill (2 December 2015). "Business as Usual: Snowmass resident opens property management office". Snowmass Sun. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 Hayden, Tyler (16 June 2014). "Vacation Rental Trend Takes Root in Santa Barbara". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schaal, Dennis (13 August 2013). "Vacation Rental Startup Gets $1.5 Million in Funding from All-Star Investors". Skift. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 Schaal, Dennis (10 June 2014). "Turnkey Vacation Rentals Secures Additional $3 Million in Funding". Skift. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  10. ↑ O'Neill, Sean (10 March 2016). "TurnKey raises $10 million to expand its vacation rentals management service". Tnooz. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  11. 1 2 Utt, Billy (10 March 2016). "TurnKey Adds $10M in Austin, the City That Banned Short-Term Rentals". AustinInno. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
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