CanadaStays

CanadaStays
Private
Industry Travel
Founded 2008
Founders Mark Bordo
Headquarters Canada
Key people
 Mark Bordo (Founder)
Services Vacation Rentals
Website CanadaStays.com

CanadaStays, previously known as CottageCountry, is a Canadian company, which specializes in offering vacation rental property. Mark Bordo founded the company in 2008, with the aim of offering the remote rental marketplace for clients looking to rent in Canada.

Since 2014, it has been regarded as the largest holiday rental marketplace in Canada. During the same year, the company also received investment from the United States-based vacation rental company, HomeAway.[1]

History

CanadaStays was founded in 2008 under the name CottageCountry. When the company was founded, many considered the rental market in rural Canada to be a cottage industry.[2] Many competitors such as HomeAway and FlipKey only offered urban property rental in Canada. The opportunity allowed CanadaStays to become the main platform across Canada[3]

CanadaStays founder Mark Bordo, stated in an interview with National Travel Radio that the company launch came from one of his own poor experiences at trying to find a vacation rental for his family.[4] The initial strategy deployed by the company was to make it easier for Canadian families to book remote vacation rentals, while also making the service more reliable than competitors.[5] Two main methods of improvement were adding a high number of quality photos and also long descriptions about the rentals.[6]

The Globe and Mail covered the cottage rental industry in 2012, citing CottageCountry as a major player alongside other free services such as CraigsList. The industry of vacation rentals saw a boom during this time, with sites such as CottageCountry providing a great return on investment, with "most cottages rent for at least $1,000 per week", according to The Globe and Mail.[7]

CottageCountry received a rebrand in 2014 and would operate under its new name, CanadaStays. Part of the reason was due to the language barriers between French and English, with many French-speaking Canadians not used to using the term "cottage".[3] With the rebrand, the company also changed their strategy. The strategy change was to focus on republishing listed vacation rentals on third-party websites.[8] The strategy was said to expand viewers and potential bookings for its clients, with up to 2.5 million unique visitors per month viewing each listing.[3]

In late 2014, the company was listed as the largest provider of vacation rentals in Canada. In the 12 months prior to the announcement, the company nearly doubled its property listings on its website. This growth meant that the company had vacation listings on nearly all of Canada's lakes, which total around 30,000.[3][9]

During 2015, the company founder featured on Business News Network, speaking about market demand for cottages in Canada.[10] During the same year, HomeAway invested $4.9 million[11] in CanadaStays to increase the number of Canadian properties from less than 10,000 to more than 220,000.[12] The partnership makes HomeAway a minority stakeholder in CanadaStays, who is the largest vacation rental site in Canada and based in Toronto.[13]

Mechanics

The website offers its services throughout Canada, providing rentals for staycations and vacations. People looking to rent out their vacation home are provided with two ways of listing their home. The first is a subscription model where the property owner pays CanadaStays an annual fee. The second is for people who only rent out their property periodically and pay a commission on each rental booking they receive through the website.[10]

During an interview with Business News Network, Mark Bordo stated that the company acts as a marketplace for Canadian rentals and Canadian residents. The focus of the site is to introduce the client to the property owner. It is then down to the individuals to vet to ensure that it is a good match. Bordo also stated in the interview that renting the property is at the discretion of the property owner, therefore if they feel they don't want to rent to an individual or for a certain period of time, there is no commitment needed from the property owner.[10]

The vast majority of CanadaStays clients are families, looking for remote rentals.[10]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Anthony, Mark (April 17, 2015). "Shareholder’s Must Consider: Windstream Holdings, (NASDAQ:WIN), HomeAway, (NASDAQ:AWAY), CONSOL Energy, (NYSE:CNX), Enbridge, (NYSE:ENB)". WS News Publishers.
  2. ↑ Roseman, Ellen (May 30, 2011). "Roseman: Why renting cottages works for me". Toronto Star.
  3. 1 2 3 4 O'Neill, Sean (November 20, 2014). "CanadaStays claims top spot among Canadian vacation rental sites". Tnooz.
  4. ↑ Bayer, Heather (July 29, 2015). "CEO and Founder of CanadaStays Mark Bordo". CottageBlogger.
  5. ↑ Smith, Brian (June 8, 2015). "Canadastays Cottage Rentals Interview". National Travel Radio.
  6. ↑ Brown, Mark (July 23, 2014). "6 steps to turn your home into a vacation rental". Chatelaine (magazine).
  7. ↑ White, Shelley (March 2, 2012). "How your cottage can bring in big bucks". The Globe and Mail.
  8. ↑ Webb, Dave (April 25, 2013). "Winning a big online distribution channel". IT Business.
  9. ↑ Yarbrough, Claiborne (November 20, 2014). "CanadaStays: Canada’s Largest Vacation Rental Resource". Barefoot.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "What you need to know to rent (or rent out) cottages". Business News Network. April 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ "The Week in Travel Startup Funding: HomeAway Takes Stake in CanadaStays". Skift. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Morning News: Airbnb Adds 1,000 New Cuba Listings". CN Traveler. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "HomeAway Expands North American Footprint with Minority Stake in CanadaStays". MarketWatch. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
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