RealPage subsidiary Kigo, a vacation rental booking and management platform, is launching a new program that will help landlords turn empty apartments into short-term rentals.
The launch of this product comes at a time when short-term rentals are a hot-button topic for the industry, and while some multifamily entities are against short-term rentals, RealPage is leaning into the issue as an opportunity for growth by targeting short-term rentals in multifamily properties.
According to the company, the new offering is being rolled out nationwide after a successful pilot and beta testing with existing RealPage clients. The platform will provide apartment owners and operators with a technology platform to manage short-term rentals.
“KigoHospitality provides a real opportunity to optimize supply and demand through the secondary revenue stream that short-term rentals can deliver. Just as important, pushing inventory out of the long-term rental pool helps constrain supply, which YieldStar and LRO monetize for owners in the form of higher rents,” RealPage Senior Vice President of Asset Optimization Keith Dunkin said in a statement.
Though the short-term rental issue has ruffled some feathers in both the single-family and multifamily realms, consumer demand for the product continues to increase with the increasing demand for travel.
Many multifamily owners and operators want to capitalize on this increased demand but can’t afford to foot the bills associated with doing so. Staffing, taxes, regulations, cleaning services and guest screening all add up and make running small-time short-term rental operation more hassle than it is worth for many properties. KigoHospitality offers management services for between five and 30 units that multifamily properties want to allocate for short-term rental use.
“According to the Phocuswright study, the U.S. short-term rental market, which is estimated to reach $40 billion by 2019, is currently facing supply shortage challenges resulting from rising traveler demand,” Kigo Senior Vice President Matthew Hoffman said in a statement.
“While apartment owners and managers across the country have vacant apartments that can easily meet the pent-up and growing demand, they are faced with unique challenges that make entering the short-term rental market too risky. Now, thanks to the launch of KigoHospitality, we are enabling apartment owners and operators to easily create and manage short-term rentals with hotel-like quality and consistency while adding a new revenue stream,” he added.
