Type of site Private Industry Travel Services Property management Founded 2012 | Headquarters Austin, Texas, U.S. Products Vacation rentals Website Official website Founders John Banczak, T.J. Clark | |
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TurnKey Vacation Rentals is a property management services company that offers services for short-term vacation rentals. The company developed a rental property management web application that allows homeowners to monitor and offer services to their short-term rental properties. Their website also allows guests to book a home at properties in cities like Austin, Texas; Santa Barbara, California; Seattle, Washington; and others. The company was founded in 2012 by former Hotwire.com and HomeAway executives.
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History
TurnKey Vacation Rentals was founded in 2012 by CEO T.J. Clark (formerly an executive at Hotwire and Limos.com) and Executive Chairman John Banczak (formerly an executive at HomeAway) in Austin, Texas and began operating in January 2013. At the outset, the company managed around 40 properties in Austin. It raised $1.5 million in seed funding from a group of angel investors, including Orbitz CEO Barney Harford, Hotwire and TripIt co-founder Gregg Brockway, and BnB.com founder Eric Goldreyer.
By June 2014, TurnKey had expanded the number of properties to 200 and had entered markets like Santa Barbara, California, Park City, Utah, and Port Aransas, Texas. Also in June, TurnKey secured an additional $3 million in seed funding from Silverton Partners. The goal of the added funding was to expand into beach, ski, and other niche markets.
In March 2016, TurnKey announced another round of funding led by Silverton Partners and Altos Partners. The company raised an additional $10 million which brought their total amount of funding to $20 million. At that time, TurnKey was managing over 1,000 properties in around 24 markets in the United States including new additions like San Diego, Seattle, Nashville, and others. The company has 180 employees and is looking to expand to around 100 more US markets by 2018.
In March 2017, TurnKey Vacation Rentals announced that they raised $21 million in a Series C investment round. The round was led by venture capital firm Adams Street Partners.
Business model
TurnKey Vacation Rentals offers property management services to homeowners who use their properties for vacation rentals. TurnKey manages requests, booking, schedules, inspections, and security similar to a property management firm. The company contracts with local third-party firms for repairs, maintenance, cleaning, restocking, security, and other services. Property owners use the Owner Dashboard to request services and monitor itineraries. An Android tablet is placed in each property to monitor decibel level, as well.
TurnKey Vacation Rentals also takes professional photos of the property, fields inquiries from guests, and posts listings on sites like HomeAway and TripAdvisor. TurnKey typically charges 18% of the booking fee for all of the above services. The company also calculates taxes and handles any required legal filings.
In addition to their homeowner-centric services, TurnKey offers vacation rentals directly on their website. Guests are required to download an app (on either iOS or Android smartphones) to receive the door code and entry instructions via email which allows them entry into the property. The app also gives guests directions, restaurant options, hospital locations, area attractions, and other relevant information. A tablet is installed in each property that guests can use to find all of this information as well.