Potentially a very significant deal in the world of vacation rental technology with LiveRez agreeing to participate in the upcoming distribution switch with Pegasus and the VRMA.
LiveRez is the first software company to sign up to the Vacation Rental Switch, a system which was finally ratified in November 2011 when the VRMA and Pegasus agreed to cooperate on the technology after a period of tense negotiations last year.
Securing LiveRez, which will give the software provider’s 600+ professional vacation rental manager partners the ability to list their properties in real time on the VRS, is an important milestone in the young history of the programme.
The VRMA-Pegasus switch is seen by some as a hoped-for alternative to HomeAway, which has been trying to make inroads into the professionally managed vacation rental market.
Essentially the VRS is a distribution tool allowing travellers worldwide to find and book professionally managed vacation rental properties online.
In addition, vacation rental software companies (such as LiveRez) can also integrate into the Pegasus system, giving real-time online booking, payment processing and calendar integration across a number of online channels.
LiveRez CEO Tracy Lotz says the company is likely to be the first of a number of technology providers agreeing to participate in the VRS.
“The thing that is attractive to us about the VRS is it allows our partners’ individual brands to be protected and promoted, while putting their properties in front of more travelers.
“Specific returns will probably depend on the distribution partners, but we have a firm belief that if we build into the VRS the distribution partners will come. LiveRez is successful when our property manager partners are successful.”
VRMA president Steve Trover says the VRS is expected to go into beta testing over the summer of 2012 via the organisation’s own consumer-facing retail site, DiscoverVacationHomes.
NB:Â Rental property image via Shutterstock.
Related posts:
About Kevin May
This is great news. Kudos to Tracy Lotz and LiveRez. Just another example of how important each partner as well as the entire Vacation Rental industry is to them. I am looking VERY forward to this partnership. LiveRez is the best!!
Looking forward to seeing what product they come up with, and what impact it will have on the VR industry. Haven’t personally tried LiveRez, but my expectations are high from all the buzz about it.
As the person directly responsible for revenue growth and conversion rate optimization, I am very excited for the LiveRez integration with the VRMA/Pegasus Switch. After initially switching from Escapia to LiveRez, LiveRez has enabled us to broaden the number of long tail search terms sending traffic to our site and track which search term and term categories are converting at the highest rate of efficiency. Once the switch integration is complete and travelers from around the world can have access to our up-to-the-minute availability (on web sites other than our own), I expect our cost per new guest acquisition will steadily decrease. Furthermore, according to the Dean Runyon Study, international travelers nearly always spend more on their vacations to Washington state as compared to domestic travelers. Our ability to market to the international traveler, with the same level of guest service we extend to our existing guests, will result in greater revenue capture at a lesser cost per acquisition of new guests. Since the day the Switch was announced, I was excited to distribute our inventory with accurate availability globally. Today, I am extremely proud to be a LiveRez partner as without their leadership looking out for our partnership’s best interest, this integration would not be available to us.
LiveRez is awesome to work with. I am really excited at this news and looking forward to the great places that this will take us.