Take Skift
Vacasa’s weaknesses were obvious long before the vacation rental market became weaker. Now they’re even harder to fix.
Dennis Schaal
Vacasa managed 40,000 homes at the end of the second quarter, down 4,000 from a year earlier, as owners expressed dissatisfaction with rates and yields, as well as with communication between owners and the company.
That was the statement made by Vacasa officials on Thursday when they commented on the 9% year-over-year decline in homes under management during the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
Vacasa’s share price fell 37% to around $2.47 in late morning trading on the Nasdaq on Friday.
The company reported a slowdown in the domestic vacation rental market.
“These ongoing trends continue to place significant pressure on our business,” CEO Rob Greyber told analysts. “However, based on our data and industry data, we continue to believe in the vast majority of our markets. Vacasa listings generate more gross bookings per home than the industry. While industry booking trends remain challenging, we are focused on what we can control.”
Nevertheless, Vacasas’ gross booking value fell 19% to $505 million in the second quarter.
Vacasa goes local
To address owners’ concerns, Vacasa began reorganizing the company in May, giving local teams more authority over decisions such as onboarding new customers and managing revenue. The company hoped to move faster, eliminate duplication of effort and improve relationships with homeowners.
Vacasa announced it has completed $30 million in senior secured convertible notes with Davidson Kempner Capital Management, which received two seats on an expanded board of directors, to strengthen its balance sheet, with an option to issue an additional $45 million in convertible notes.
Vacasa’s net loss widened to $13 million in the second quarter, compared to $6 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 18 percent to $249 million in the second quarter.
Vacasa did not provide an outlook for the remainder of the year, but said the company does not expect to report a profit on an adjusted EBITDA basis in 2024.
