Skift Take
The number of short-term rental platforms is growing rapidly. Remaining successful will mean creating a simple user experience for hosts and travelers.
Expedia Group and Vacasa are both going through tech updates as they work to improve their platforms and compete in the growing industry.
Executives from each company — Tim Rosolio, vice president of vacation rental partner success at Expedia Group and Vacasa CEO Rob Greyber — discussed the changes and more at Skift’s Short-Term Rental Summit on June 7. Dennis Schaal, Skift executive and founding editor, led the discussion.
Watch the full video of the discussion and view the transcript below.
Schaal: Thanks for being here. Just have to confide in the audience that every interview has a challenge. You think this is easy? It's not. My challenge here is I want to make sure this is not a love fest. Because these guys have known each other for a long time. Tim, you've been at HomeAway, Expedia since 2015. Rob, you are former president of Egencia, which used to be owned by Expedia, started there 2004. You were at IAC, Expedia Travel before that, right?
Greyber: No, I actually helped the team at HotWire get started.
Schaal: Oh, right.
Greyber: And then I joined Expedia in 2004 and ran the air business for a while.
Schaal: Got it. Air business, corporate travel, vacation rentals. It's all one thing.
Greyber: It's all one thing.
Schaal: So Tim, if Vacasa has a problem with Vrbo, does he know where to find you?
Rosolio: So he's my biggest partner. And let's just say he has the bat phone.
Schaal: Oh, there we go. Could we show the first art slide? Tim, what is this?
Rosolio: All right. So not only am I a vacation rental employee, a vacation rental shareholder and a vacation rental traveler, but I'm also a vacation rental owner. And this is a view that one of my guests' daughters painted from the view outside my balcony. You can't quite see the lake, but this is the view that they did from outside my house. And it's a good reminder that we are delivering memories. We're delivering some of the best experiences that people have in their lives, and that really drives a lot of what I think about all day, every day. When I was in consulting, I worked on a power plant company and I worked on a company that imported parts from China and made toilets. But I'm really thankful that I get to work in an industry now where I get to think about this every day.
Schaal: So really though, I think there's a codependent relationship