Evolve Vacation Rental Network Secures $5.5 Million Financing Led by T. Rowe Price

"The vacation rental industry is becoming mainstream. This is creating an opportunity to build a business that helps homeowners serve the consumer in a high-quality fashion," said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, Inc. "We believe that Evolve is uniquely positioned to elevate the booking experience in a flexible, cost-effective manner."

In order to deliver a seamless online booking experience that can compete with hotels, vacation rental marketplaces like HomeAway, Airbnb and TripAdvisor are prioritizing the highest-quality listings that entice travelers to book most frequently. Typically, these listings feature professional photos, detailed descriptions, accurate calendars and responsive hosts. Many individual homeowners and local property managers are struggling to keep up with these new requirements and often experience a loss of rental income as a result.

"As the vacation rental industry enters a new era, homeowners feel constrained by the status quo options of hiring a local property manager or handling everything personally as a rental-by-owner," said Brian Egan, CEO and co-founder of Evolve. "We have developed a third option, leveraging our proprietary marketing and booking platform to maximize rental income, with an unprecedented level of flexibility and control for our owners, while charging the lowest fees in the industry. We believe this is the future of managed services for vacation rentals."

Evolve's vacation rental management service assists homeowners with every aspect of generating rental income: creating listings optimized for online booking performance, promoting them on the major vacation rental marketplaces as well as its own site, responding to traveler inquiries seven days a week, securing bookings online and offline, and handling all pre- and post-stay guest communication.

The company features owner-friendly policies like no term commitments or limits on personal stays, and offers homeowners the option of coordinating on-the-ground services through a provider of their choosing, or by accessing its network of vetted local partners. There are no upfront costs and homeowners pay only an industry-low rate of 10 percent per booking.

Founded in 2011 by Brian Egan and Adam Sherry, Evolve services more than 2,000 vacation rental properties throughout North America and has booked more than 55,000 trips since its launch. The company also benefits from the extensive experience of Bob Mylod, founder and managing partner of Annox Capital Management and former vice chairman and CFO of Priceline.com, who serves on Evolve's board of directors along with Egan and Sherry.

"The vacation rental marketplaces are transitioning from travelers inquiring online to travelers booking online," said Mylod. "With this shift, the market has grown increasingly complex and competitive. I see Evolve playing a cornerstone role in helping vacation rental owners succeed in this new environment."

About Evolve Vacation Rental Network
Based in Denver, Evolve Vacation Rental Network is a next-generation vacation rental management company that provides homeowners with more rental income and unrivaled flexibility for a fee of 10 percent per booking—the lowest cost in the industry. The company currently services more than 2,000 vacation rental properties in 300 markets across North America. For more information, visit EvolveVacationRental.com or call 877-818-1014.

Media Contact:
Jake Kubié
Linhart Public Relations
[email protected]
303-515-2414

Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/Evolve-web-1080p.mp4

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160608/377303LOGO

SOURCE Evolve Vacation Rental Network

Related Links

http://www.evolvevacationrental.com