Barefoot Support Desk

Notes from participants from the 2022 Barefoot User Conference.

Joel of Lexicon

· Lexicon worked really hard to win Wyndham as a client, only to lose their business when Wyndam was bought by Vacasa (which represented 60% of their business at the time).

· Normal churn for a PM is 15%. Vacasa churn is 25%.

· Vacasa is not worth $4 million anymore – they are now actually worth only $800 million.

Ben ten Haaf of Lizzie Lu’s

· Vacasa is losing in Anna Maria Island because they don’t have boots on the ground.

· Lizzie Lu’s has a 60-65% repeat guest rate because they do have boots on the ground and take good care of their properties.

Dawn of Coastal Resort Rentals

· Has adapted well to Vacasa being in the Ocean City market and turned it into a positive by emphasizing Vacasa’s weaknesses in their marketing.

· Doubled in size every year for the last 3 years due to Vacasa doing a poor job.

· Out of 2,000 rentals that Vacasa acquired in OCMD, it seems like they only have 1,100 left.

· Vacasa’s marketing is hard to beat – they are investing a ton of money into it and appear first in search results every time.

· Vacasa sets really low nightly rates so that they can maximize occupancy.

· Vacasa pays $52.50 per clean for a 2-bedroom unit in Ocean City (as opposed to approx. $90 or so, which is what other PMs pay)

June of The Killington Group

· Vacasa is undercutting the rental rates of their competitors, so they are getting more days booked and then they don’t want to actually take care of the properties

· Some HOAs have banned Vacasa because Vacasa’s guests tend to be noisier/rowdier and, as a result, the HOAs are having to take more after-hours calls (because Vacasa doesn’t answer their phone).

Chris of Luxury Rentals of Hilton Head

· Vacasa’s booking fees are very high, so if they book several reservations per week (instead of one) that means they are earning more fees.

Ashley Van Murphy of Sandpiper Rentals

· Vacasa’s cleaners aren’t spending long enough cleaning the properties and guests are showing up to dirty units and units that aren’t stocked with proper items.