“Mr. Hale is no longer with the company,” a HomeAway customer service representative told a homeowner on Saturday. “He is off to other pastures.”
Confirmed by the company, the news of Homeaway COO Tom Hale’s departure comes as a surprise. However, during Hale’s tenure as COO, HomeAway has faced a series of difficulties, including the roll out of major initiatives (i.e. its “Best Match” sort algorithm that almost immediately resulted in a decline in inquiries and bookings for many homeowners). In early November, Expedia announced its intent to purchase HomeAway and that it would be adding a traveler fee in order to compete head-to-head with Airbnb and to increase its overall “take rate.”
In late 2015, Expedia completed its acquisition of the company for $3.9 billion and revealed a plan to triple HomeAway’s earnings to $350 million by 2018, and consequently, the traveler fee was implemented in February 2016.
As a result, HomeAway’s suppliers – both homeowners and property managers – pushed back.
Some suppliers vowed not to renew their subscriptions, other turned to social media to complain, and many looked for marketing alternatives. The traveler fee was seen as the “straw that broke the camel’s back” in a long series of HomeAway’s actions which dictate fundamental changes in the way the vacation rental industry operates between suppliers and travelers.
In March, a federal lawsuit was filed that accuses HomeAway of engaging in “bait and switch tactics” after rolling out the new service fee for customers.
COO Tom Hale quickly became the face of the changes, fielding questions, accusations and attacks on HomeAway Community forums, on Q&A webinars and on social media.
While the comments directed to Hale were at times vicious and personal, Hale towed the Expedia line and maintained – without exception – that the new policies were good for suppliers and good for travelers.
Hale stepped into the COO role last year after Brent Bellm resigned from his position as President and COO. The moves were announced the same day that HomeAway posted first quarter financial results that fell short of investor expectations, contributing to share prices dipping 13 percent in after-market trading.
Details surrounding Hale’s departure are unknown.
Expedia is scheduled to report on Q1 2016 earnings on May 5.
I felt it exactly on novemver 1. i had been at the top of the list for almost 11 years. then when i could not figure out why my place was not rented for thanksgiving i saw i was number 119.
I even flew to austin and sat with Tom Hale, back in March. he was great explaining to me how to set up the page and gain the most out of it. all this best match. and i had to keep explaining to him that as a traveler i want to make all the judgements on why trip,, not a computer. some homes could end up having something else that i enjoy, without listing it on best match. and even as an owner, i want to make the decision case by case to accept a traveler, or offer something else added for their trip. its been rough. i had purchased a major fixer last year, and knew it would be a great rental, especially since it has a pool. but alas, i realized i better put it right on the market and sell it. cause that kind of expose, i was not prepared to keep and let it sit there doing nothing. I am sure my rents since nov. 1 have fallen maybe 25 percent on my first home. i just knew there could be a flood of homes coming on the market now due to this same concept. those that bought specifically for rental.
anyway , he suggested i buy into the platinum before they switch so that it can last for another year, instead of being moreso on the bottom of the list. i did that for both house. thats a lot of dough …….i just wrote to him yesterday, and ask about refund for the difference that i am not using for the new house, since i sold it. now i see why he did not get back to me……he is gone. very interesting. but i guess vrbohomeaway is going to keep what he stared.
I understand that business models need to change to keep up with the times, but it needs to be based on sound market research. Clearly Expedia did not do the research in trying to change VRBO to compete with Airbnb. Would a 2-3% service fee be ok to charge to clients, maybe, but 4-9% – get real. We have a rental that on average got 2-4 booking from VRBO per month. Now we at best are getting 1 booking every 2 months. How can this be the result of good business decisions. Funny, to make up the difference we have just listed with Airbnb.