Fast-growing vacation rental startup Vacasa announced this morning that it has raised $319 million in its latest funding round, helping drive its total valuation to more than $1 billion.
The money is part of a Series C round that was led by technology investing firm Silver Lake. A handful of other venture firms that previously put money into Vacasa — including Riverwood Capital and NewSpring — also contributed.
Eric Breon. | Photo credit: LinkedIn
In a statement, Vacasa said that it plans to use the new money “to further enhance its industry-leading technology platform, accelerate expansion into new markets and grow new offerings.” Company founder and CEO Eric Breon added in the statement that the company now has an enormous opportunity.
“We’re seeing an increased number of buyers looking to purchase vacation homes as an investment, with the intent to rent the property,” Breon said. “We’re uniquely positioned to assist our homeowners through the entire lifecycle of their vacation home and are dedicated to continued advancement of our technology to meet the needs of our customers.”
Vacasa is based in Portland, Oregon, and a company spokesperson told Inman that the new funding round is the largest ever for a company in the Pacific Northwest.
Vacasa was founded in 2009 in an effort to create better vacation rental management options. The company offers to take over tasks like management, maintenance and booking at properties such as beach houses and mountain cabins. Visitors to the properties can book stays either through Vacasa’s own platform, or via third-party sites such as Airbnb.
By last year, Vacasa had expanded to become the largest company of its kind in North America. It has since continued a pattern of rapid growth through, among other things, acquisitions of other vacation rental companies. Today, it manages more than 23,000 properties around the world.
Vacasa has also evolved its business model, assuming management of entire vacation-oriented communities, for example, and launching an interior design service.
Last year, the company raised $64 million. That funding round followed previous hauls that brought in $104 million and $40 million, respectively. This newest cash infusion, however, is by far the largest Vacasa has ever seen.
In total, the company has raised $526.5 million, a company spokesperson told Inman. The spokesperson added that Vacasa’s valuation now stands “north of $1 billion.”
Vacasa has previously hinted at the possibility of going public.
Asked about the possibility of a IPO, a company spokesperson said that part of the focus of recently hired chief financial officer Jim Grube is “ensuring that Vacasa is public-ready.” However, because Vacasa began taking on external investors less than four years ago, it has “substantial flexibility as to the timing.”
Participants in the new funding round pointed Tuesday to Vacasa’s past successes and expressed optimism about the company’s future.
Ben Levin
“Vacasa’s revenue has grown almost seven-fold since our Series A investment nearly four years ago, and we expect growth to accelerate in 2020,” Ben Levin, founder of participating investment firm Level Equity, said in a statement. “It is exceptionally rare to see this type of growth, and rarer still at this scale.”
Joerg Adams, managing director at Silver Lake, added that he believes Vacasa “has the potential to become a global brand that stands for superior financial returns for homeowners and exceptional experiences for guests.”
