Funding Fridays—Evolve raises $100 million

Vacation rental management company Evolve has raised $100 million to accelerate property acquisitions and continue to reimagine the vacation rental experience.

This latest round of funding, led by Durable Capital Partners, brings Evolve's total funding to date to $235 million since inception including an $80 million Series D round raised back in 2018.

As the fastest-growing vacation rental company in North America, Evolve manages over 19,000 homes in 750+ markets and generates more than $2 billion in rental income for its owners every year.

With vetted homes, industry-low management fees and smart pricing algorithms, the company makes vacation rentals stress-free for its owners and worry-free for its renters.

In fact, Evolve is coming off its most successful year to date in 2021 with a 78% growth in net booking value, 38% increase in revenue per listing, and having welcomed more than 7 million guests.

CEO Take: The vacation rental hospitality industry has become quite a competitive space over the past few years, especially with the explosion in remote work as a result of the pandemic, with industry giants such as Airbnb, Vrbo, and Vacasa going toe-to-toe against up-and-coming startups like Evolve to provide flexible accommodations for remote workers and travellers alike.

In fact, Evolve's largest competitor and our trusted client—Vacasa—recently went public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at an estimated valuation of $4.4 billion back in December of 2021.

You can watch our Funding Fridays video on Vacasa's debut on the market below.

However, while Evolve operates in the same market as the industry leaders mentioned above, their unique business model blurs the lines between pure property management companies like Vacasa and traditional distribution models like Airbnb.

Evolve uses a holistic approach to property management that utilizes a technology-driven business model that supports vacation homes and rentals around the world.

Similar to how Vacasa uses robust property data from Estated, Evolve also uses data providers to verify information on any of their new properties in their portfolio from square footage to bed and bath count to amenities like pools or ADUs (accessory dwelling units).

They can also use rich property data to enhance their customer experience by crafting intricate narratives that help tell a story about each one of their properties that inspire clients to imagine their dream vacation.

For example, if Evolve verifies that a particular property has a large lot surrounding the rental home, they can enhance their product by marketing the rental as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the great outdoors on mountain bikes, ATVs, or side-by-sides.

From there, Evolve then can use data to determine property valuations and understand what typical rent might be to better price their product in order to be competitive in the vacation rental market.

Congratulations to Evolve on your latest funding round and if you're ever in the market for the most accurate property data on the market, click below to schedule a chat with us. We'd love to connect with you!

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About Estated: Estated is a leading property data provider with records on over 150 million residential and commercial properties nationwide across the United States. 

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