THE SHARPLES CURVE
Subsequent to the VRMA conference in San Diego last year (2014) and strong indications by HomeAway that they would push "Book Now" on all properties we decided to track progress as part of our own strategy.
Clearly if this is the end goal, we and other managers who are trying to mix their marketing need to know the level of success and involvement of our competitors.
A few quotes since then re-inforcing the direction.
Sharples hopes to get to 100% of inventory being online bookable by the end of 2016. Today it’s at 36% of inventory, up from only 6% online bookable in the third quarter of 2013. - See more at: http://www.tnooz.com/article/homeaway-shares-game-plan-investor-roadshow/#sthash.TQmEkcPo.dpuf
Sharples said HomeAway would get as many listings online bookable “naturally” by the middle of 2016 before it would have to “enforce” the requirement.
http://skift.com/2015/04/23/homeaway-shuffles-management-as-european-operations-dampen-earnings/
There has been a clear increase of both inventory and "Book Now", so hard to determine any clear trends, but a long way to go for sure.
Disclaimer: Please note, all data is taken from HomeAway.com over a 6 month period. We have tabulated the data to the best of our ability, but take no responsibility for its accuracy or interpretation. Please visit HomeAway.com to see current information.
