Economy Posed to Motivate Second Homes Owners to Rent Their Vacation Homes More Frequently According to PhocusWright

BOSTON, MA, Jan 15 (MARKET WIRE) --
With the vacation rental market estimated at $24B, the growing and
popular lodging sector motivated PhocusWright -- a leading travel
research firm -- to conduct the industry's first ever dedicated market
study. Co-sponsored by 14 industry players including FlipKey.com -- a
leading vacation rental site featuring the industry's largest collection
of verified guest reviews -- the study estimates 1.26M second homes are
available for rent in the U.S. for families looking for an alternative to
hotels and other lodging options.

The study identified that 56% of the vacation rental market is represented
by rent-by-owners with the remaining 44% of vacation rental homes managed
by professional property managers. Encouraging for the growth of the
industry, the study highlights 50% of rent-by-owners are casual renters,
offering their units primarily to friends, family and through
word-of-mouth. As the economy continues to place additional financial
burdens on second homes owners, FlipKey expects more of these casual
renters to become increasingly active, working independently or through a
property manager to offer their home more frequently and to travelers
beyond family and friends.

"Although there are 1.26M vacation homes that have been rented, it doesn't
mean they were made available to the general traveler," stated TJ Mahony,
CEO of FlipKey.com. "When we pealed back the layers of the study we
estimated there are 350K casual renters that don't necessarily make their
home available beyond their immediate friend and family network. It's
reasonable to assume the current economic environment will help motivate
many casual vacation rental owners to become more active."

FlipKey defined an 'active' renter as an owner that markets their home to
travelers beyond their family and friends network. Mahony summarized, "If
an owner actively markets their property online and rents their unit to
two or more people completely outside their personal network each year we
consider them active."

When renting a vacation home its imperative vacationers feel comfortable
and confident in the home and manager/owner of the property. Vacation
homes overseen by property managers and active owners often provide strong
customer support, clear check-in / check-out processes and other support
services consumers value. Mahony concluded, "Given the economy and
growing support and marketing services available, there is a clear
opportunity for more of these casual participants to become more active,
renting their homes more often, yielding increased rental income."

About FlipKey

FlipKey(TM) is a leading vacation rental service featuring the world's
largest collection of verified vacation rental guest reviews. FlipKey
believes reputation, trust and feedback from past guests are the best
resources to ensure consumers find the ideal vacation home. FlipKey
currently features more than 60,000 vacation homes offering vacationers
the unique advantages of more personal space, superior amenities and ideal
locations throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico.
FlipKey is majority owned by TripAdvisor, LLC, and is a member of the
TripAdvisor Media Network, attracting more than 32 million unique monthly
visitors* across 12 popular travel brands. FlipKey is available at
http://www.flipkey.com

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, May 2008

Copyright 2008 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.

Media Contact:
Kendra Boccelli
Boccelli & Co. for FlipKey
1.978.499.0844
Email Contact

Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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