Website Closers® presents a Patented Technology Business servicing the Short-Term Rental Market, providing property managers, homeowners, and others involved in this lucrative industry with access to data on vacation properties around the globe.
Their platform provides information and custom reports to help property managers and others make smart decisions about how their short-term rental or vacation home is managed. Subscriptions to the platform are soaring as more people discover the company’s website and/or through word of mouth connections. No current advertising budget is needed for the current growth trends, although adding one would surely help the company grow faster.
In effect, this company has become the Google search engine for the short-term rental industry, giving them access to critical information about the market. Customers who visit their website can “test drive” a local short-term rental market for free and unlock all the product features available to them. If they like what they see, they can subscribe, which many do, and cancel anytime. There are 250,000+ registered users and few are canceling quickly since the historical data this platform provides is far more comprehensive than what other sites provide. At least 5,000+ new users are signing up monthly.
The company’s clients are mainly subscribers who want long-term access to that data. The pricing plans vary, with Enterprise Contracts starting at $12,500+. Considering that clients typically stay on for up to three years, the Lifetime Value of those customers is considerably higher, running from $25,000 to $37,500. The company’s Enterprise Contracts, which represent 73% of their revenue, can run as high as $35,000.
This is a unique platform because of how much it offers clients – information they would need to spend time locating on multiple websites and historical records centers. The company holds 6 different patents, including methods for modifying web content, transporting content, and the matching of web search results. Once clients discover the site, it has become an invaluable resource to them, and clients have provided the company with highly enthusiastic reviews and testimonials, which continue to be their main marketing tool.
That also represents a tremendous opportunity for a new owner with skills in using digital marketing tools to expand a customer base.
This business represents a clear opportunity for a U.S. Buyer to acquire this technology company and then scale it quickly by introducing proven digital marketing tools, including having the website optimized for SEO, using video marketing on YouTube and social media marketing on Facebook, and launching an email marketing campaign to keep existing clients engaged.
Business Broker Takeaway
Our analysis of this business revealed several key value propositions for a buyer looking for a profitable industry-specific business in a fast-growing vertical. We are excited about this business for 3 important reasons:
The Company
While the company was officially launched two years ago, the current owner has been collecting this data for nearly a decade. Focused entirely on the short-term rental market, this platform has enabled the company to pull, store, and process every short-term rental listing from every location across the globe. Access to that information is available to subscribers on a live, actionable daily basis.
But beyond simply making data available, the company provides specific solutions for the needs of each client. A state or municipal government agency may want to use this data to ensure vacation homes are compliant with local rules. Investors could use it to make savvy decisions on which real estate markets to invest in. The data is all-inclusive so it can provide an important tool regardless of who the client is or what they need it for. The platform is utilized at different levels by a wide variety of customers.
The company and its contract renewals are not impacted by seasonal factors, even though the short-term rental market can be. Since families vacation all year round, property managers and owners are in constant need of fresh data to help them prepare for the next competitive travel season.
Operations & Marketing
The current owner operates this business with the assistance of 11 full-time employees and several supplemental contractors hired on an as-needed basis. These workers are highly experienced professionals, who create a management team that is expert at technology, programming, data engineering, sales, and UX/UI designs. It’s an impressive team, with a combined 40+ years of short-term rental experience.
Considering that most clients are providing the company with recurring revenue through its subscriptions, a new owner can take full advantage of that expertise to focus on the company’s many scale opportunities. This product is fully built out and requires no fine-tuning or modifications from a new owner, and its day-to-day operations now focus on supporting existing customers, sales, and general business activities.
The company has used some marketing tools to boost sales. There is a basic SEO framework to the website, which could easily be updated, and the company has a blog focused on travel issues to drive traffic to the site. A significant growth possibility for this company would be to launch a second blog focused on its technology and the platform itself, and the advantages of using the platform.
The company also has a basic affiliate marketing infrastructure that uses customer testimonials to attract new clients, and that is another tool that could be significantly expanded and updated. With these systems in place, a new owner needs only the right marketing tools to bring added exposure to the website, and the potential for skyrocketing revenue increases is there.
This company now needs sales support to accelerate its growth. Since the Vacation Rentals Market in the U.S. alone is projected to generate $19 billion in revenue by the end of 2024, the potential for this company to scale rapidly with greater exposure is obvious.
This Tech Company is Represented by:
Website Closers
Technology Business Brokers
WC 3386