Vacations to other parts of the world often mean hotel check-ins with top names in the industry. But now, there are alternatives taking over the sector. Home rentals have become one of the primary options of many individuals who are looking for a decent place to stay during holidays.
Home rental platforms like NextTrip, HomeAway, VRBO, and Airbnb are making staycations more affordable. As evident by the performance of vacation rentals in the market, more people are now considering the option over hotels.
According to Statista, the revenue in the market is projected to have an annual growth rate of 6.6 percent. By 2022, the market volume is expected to be at over $23 million. In addition, the user penetration is at 12.2 percent this 2018, but it is expected to grow up to 14 percent by 2022.
Vacation rentals also offer a few advantages over hotels, the most apparent of which is the price range. Airbnb rooms are generally cheaper than hotels, although that still depends on what part of the world a person is planning to visit. A study by Bus Bud reveals that the average price of high-end hotel rooms in New York is at least $245 while the best Airbnb deals in the same area are at $164. Alternatively, AirBnB rooms in Austin are a lot more expensive as compared to hotel rooms.
Many are considering vacation rentals as the one to topple the hotel industry. According to VRMB, vacation rental platforms are on a steady momentum. Once it has reached a certain threshold, it will completely redefine hospitality. Moreover, as people are seeing the business opportunities in turning their properties into rentable spaces, the wide selection of lodgings will alleviate the problem that comes with fully-booked hotels.
Other than rooms, these platforms also offer an array of other lodging types for rents, and there are places that could accommodate even big groups. There are villas, apartments, houses, and some companies could even offer castles for those who want to really max out their time off of work.
There’s a room for all budget and group sizes. Budget travelers can still score a decent accommodation if they look in the right places. Penny pinching while searching for a hotel would often lead to poorly reviewed rooms from hotels that have poor service.
Another thing that platforms like Airbnb and NextTrip do differently is that they don’t limit their services to accommodations. They offer a complete set of traveler’s needs, which include transportation and activities, so they can plan out their vacation through and through.
As the market continues its unprecedented growth, there are key players who are looking for ways to improve their services and offerings through partnerships with other companies. In doing so, they are able to help fully develop the sector and provide weary travelers with the quick and efficient services that they need.
Monaker Group partners with XPO2 to become a leader in the sector
The boom in the vacation rental industry has paved the way for countless platforms and rooms to choose from. It’s a tough job for a traveler to find the best deals for his trip, but certain vacation rental platforms are continuously upgrading their services with deals that not anyone can pass on. One of those companies looking to make a mark with their deals is travel industry leader, Monaker Group (OTCQB:MKGI).
The technology-driven travel company has been selected as a commercial partner by Exponential, Inc., (XPO2), a cause-related technology marketing company founded by French-American entrepreneur Dom Einhorn. XPO2 develops and promotes white label e-commerce platforms in which consumers get access to exclusive discounts and deals from their favorite brands and merchants. Each purchase can give a customer around 10 percent to 40 percent savings and the opportunity to support cause-driven non-profit groups as XPO2 gives a portion of its revenue to them.
Under the agreement, Monaker becomes XPO2’s exclusive supplier of over 1 million alternative lodging properties. The partnership enables Monaker to increase its market reach, with the integration and launch of the Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) on XPO2’s platform. Additionally, XPO2 helps promote the alternative lodging rentals of the travel company.
The MBE is able to dynamically control exclusively-contracted properties. In doing so, travelers are not only able to choose from an extensive selection of vacation rentals, but they are also able to instantly book reservations, restaurants, activities, and more.
The XPO2/MBE integration provides quick transactions, and it does away with the problems posed by standard alternative lodging bookings, which include prolonged transaction periods and limited options.
The white label e-commerce platform of XPO2 has begun prominently displaying Monaker’s extensive offering of travel products and vacation lodging rentals. As of now, the company is already offering an impressive 1 million instantly-bookable rentals of homes, apartments, villas, castles and resort residences situated in vacation hotspots around the world.
XPO2 CEO Dom Einhorn is optimistic about the partnership between his company and Monaker. He expresses his trust in how Monaker’s inventory can provide consumers with valuable options.
“We see Monaker’s online booking engine becoming one of the primary transaction drivers across our platform,” Einhorn adds.
XPO2 and Monaker tackling two industries side-by-side
The partnership between Monaker and XPO2 offers quite the opportunity for travelers as both entities are already proven and tested in their respective sectors.
XPO2 delivers top-of-the-line white label e-commerce platforms for countless companies including big names like Monaker, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and even non-profit organizations geared toward resolving key issues in communities. XPO2’s formula for creating e-commerce platforms has been delivering quite the result when it comes to fundraising, and it is bringing the same performance with its agreement with Monaker.
XPO2 is one of the frontrunners in the fast-growing e-commerce market. According to Statista, the revenue in the sector is projected to grow at an annual rate of 9.6 percent by 2022, totaling to $2.4 million in sales. The United States will play a major part in this growth as the retail e-commerce sales in the market is expected to reach up to $638 billion by 2020.
XPO2 continues to expand its portfolio with great partnerships from companies situated across various industries all over the globe. These include the United Pro Soccer League, the Los Angeles Jr. Kings Hockey Club, and non-profit organizations such as Affiniti, Saigon Children and many more. It expects to add about a hundred more partners within the next 12 to 18 months. Because of its connections, it has become an established brand, thus allowing it to provide its partners with greater opportunities for growth, funding, and revenue.
XPO2 projects that retail sales will be up to $2.86 trillion in 2018, and it wants its clients to share a big slice of those sales. Amazon and Walmart, for instance, had a gross purchase volume of $28,786.33 and $24,554.12, respectively, in September 2017. Now, it looks to see the same results for Monaker.
Monaker continues to move forward
Monaker CEO Bill Kirby believes that its partnership with XPO2 is a major milestone for the travel company. He adds that with the help of the e-commerce platform provider, they will be able to present the travel community new opportunities and solutions.
In a recent press release, it announced a few key improvements to its proprietary online travel site, NextTrip.com. The website offers instant booking to alternative lodging and other services.
Some of the upgrades include multiple destination searches and booking capabilities, enhanced travel planning with better restaurant and transportation details. In addition, NextTrip will now also allow users to bundle vacation packages, making long trips and extended vacations easier to plan out. With the upgrades, NextTrip also now has better features to partner with their over 400,000 hotels, 400 airlines, all major car rental companies, restaurants, rail and taxi, and more than 10,000 tourist activities.
Monaker offers more than just standard rooms and houses for rent as it has an extensive selection of alternative lodging options that continues to expand each year. Monaker is looking to dominate the alternative lodging rent or ALR industry.
The ALR sector is said to be one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry. It’s worldwide digital travel sales are expected to be at a 10 percent CAGR, reaching up to $817 billion by 2022, says eMarketer. With the help of XPO2, Monaker is able to upgrade its services by giving it more speed and features, providing it more traction in the travel industry.
This goes to show how fast the world of vacation rentals is changing for the best. Thanks to partnerships with the likes of XPO2, Monaker and other alternative lodging rental providers will be able to serve their customers better. Furthermore, XPO2 can also benefit from the vast customer base the ALR sector has, which translates to revenues for the company and more donations for the small and medium-sized non-profit groups it supports.