Hostmaker lists inventory on Spotahome to target low season rentals

Move opens up market to bookings beyond 30-days Continue reading →

Holiday rental specialist Hostmaker has started listing its properties on the Spotahome marketplace to grow mid- to long-term bookings particularly in during low-seasons

To date Hostmaker has largely focussed on selling short-lets and holiday bookings on third party sites including Airbnb, HomeAway, Onefinestay and Booking.com.

However the decision to work with Spotahome will see it diversify its offering and capture longer stays while meeting landlord requirements and city regulations.

Spotahome will provide Hostmaker with an alternative channel to list its entire portfolio in its core European cities of London, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, and Lisbon.

It will open up the market to longer-term bookings beyond the 30-day maximum stay of some vacation booking sites, allowing Hostmaker to meet rental regulation requirements in a number of cities where there are restrictions in minimum lengths of stay.

Hostmaker said the mid-term residential rental is appealing tenants who cannot commit to or be locked in to a full twelve-month term.

David Grey, head of yield management at Hostmaker, said: “Spotahome provides access to a market that can cater for the low season, that guarantees income for the property owner so they can stabilise income over the year and utilise short lets for peak seasons.

“Regulation in London provides an opportunity that most other cities do not have; the flexibility of very short stays and those that do not neatly fit into six-month plus.”

London regulations allow 90-days of short-lets giving Hostmaker and Spotahome an opportunity where they can place one or a series of mid-term stays in the low-season and optimise the property for a number of short bookings in the peak season.

Across Europe Hostmaker required access to channels that will attract longer booking terms, especially relevant in Barcelona where minimum stays are 32 days and Berlin where they are two-months.

Grey added: “Where landlords want longer term tenancy agreements, they feel more comfortable with a more flexible approach to ensure they are meetings the standards of regulation.

“But also we are finding external stakeholders can influence the type of rental lengths, especially where the property owner must meet building management demands or wants to maintain good relationships with neighbours – notably where they are more accepting if renters are staying a while.”

James Heffer, city manager London for Spotahome, said: “We are excited about the growing working relationship with Hostmaker as we develop our systems to respond to its market needs.

“Hostmaker has a great product, which will allow Spotahome to offer a wider range of properties giving home seekers wider choice and a quality booking experience.

“Hostmaker listings stand out, as they add extra value to people staying for extended stays where the guest doesn’t feel like they are staying in an apart-hotel.”

Madrid-based Spotahome is developing its platform to be fully integrated with big suppliers that offer entire properties and which usually work with vacation rental platforms.

Heffer added: “Currently a majority of our listings come from HMOs, ASTs and Licence Agreements managed by property managers and lettings agents who normally advertise on property classifieds and these suppliers work differently from how property management companies like Hostmaker work.

“Spotahome moves the residential rentals viewings process online for lettings agents and property managers, thereby fully digitising the marketing process. This allows them to focus on their core activities, including property management and acquisition – avoiding the time-intensive scheduling and management of live viewings – bringing the rental industry online and inline with consumer expectations.”