After seven years at Denver-based luxury vacation club Exclusive Resorts, CEO Brian Egan went entrepreneurial and launched
Evolve Vacation Rental Network in late 2011.
He saw the $40 billion vacation home business in the U.S. as light years behind hotel, air and car-rental in terms of technology and ease of use.
Evolve's strategy is paying off. Officed in the Civic Center, the company grew from six to 20 employees in its first full year and Egan expects to double the staff to 40 by the end of 2013.
"We validated the model," he says. "2013 is going to be a year of substantial growth."
Egan attributes the growth to Evolve's approach.
"There's so much hassle, guesswork, and frustration on both sides of the market," says Egan. Travelers want better information and owners want a second home and not a second job, he explains. Evolve fills this void by taking over all of the marketing, booking, and other duties for a vacation home in exchange for a 10 percent commission. "We're trying to streamline the process."
The angel-funded Evolve partners with
VRBO,
HomeAway and other established vacation-home portals as well as offering listings on the company website. Currently, it has 1,000 properties in its portfolio, a number Egan expects to grow exponentially in 2013 as the travel industry emerges from a rough patch.
"Travel and tourism is going to continue to grow," he says. "People want to go out and see the world. We're strong believers in the home-versus-hotel argument. It's our aim to be the best vacation-home booking site in the world."
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