vacation rental property manager wakasa The fourth quarter and into 2023 saw an increase in landlord “churn”, meaning properties left their platform, and forecast that the average gross booking price per home would decline this year.
CEO Rob Greber argued that competitors were seeing similar disappointment among homeowners after the industry’s previous two record years, and that the company’s homeowners were actually outperforming those of rivals. were managing. The company needs to better educate its customers about that dynamic, he said. Vacasa’s gross booking value increased 10 percent annually to $416 million in the fourth quarter.
Wakasa executives made a variety of gloomy forecasts on Tuesday in discussing fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 earnings, as well as what’s to come in 2023. trim around 1,300 employees, or 17 percent of its workforce. The cuts included about 300 sales and marketing employees from its corporate workforce, and 1,000 local area employees in 500 markets.
For example, Chief Financial Officer Jamie Cohen said Vacasa’s home count under management, which stood at 44,000 and will grow 19 percent in 2022, is due in 2023 to a reduction in its sales force compared to last year and a change in strategy toward signing up. may result in a decline. individual homes rather than focusing on acquiring a portfolio of properties.
“While we are optimistic about the long-term potential of Wakasa, we face challenges that are fixable, but not yet fixed,” Wakasa said in a shareholder letter as part of its earnings announcement. “We must improve our efficiencies and further develop our processes to provide an unmatched experience for our homeowners and enhanced hospitality for our guests.”
The company also announced that it would spin off its real estate brokerage division in the second quarter. That unit “generated approximately $20 million in revenue and negligible profit in 2022,” the company said.
Yet while Graber said 2023 will be a transition year and it will take time for the company to address its inefficiencies and execution issues, Vacasa’s fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) came in earlier. Come forward with guidance.
The asset management company saw revenue rise 14 percent to $218 million in the fourth quarter, surpassing its guidance range of $195 million to $215 million. Adjusted EBITA was negative $49 million, an improvement from its prior outlook of negative $75 million to negative $65 million.
Vacasa reported a net loss of $302 million in the fourth quarter. This includes things like stock-based compensation and restructuring costs, which the company excludes from its adjusted EBITDA numbers.
Vacasa acquired for $244 million as its stock price plummets impairment charge In the fourth quarter, Cohen said.
A year ago, Vacasa said it expected to record adjusted EBITDA profitability in 2023, but Tuesday’s shareholder letter said the company is “looking forward to achieving modest adjusted EBITDA profitability for the year while maintaining the quality of the homeowner and guest experience.” is trying.”
“Given our focus on profitability, we expect 2023 revenue to decline by a low-double-digit to high-single-digit percentage year-over-year, primarily driven by an anticipated decrease in gross booking value per home versus last year is inspired, our portfolio programs in our low investment, and the windiness of our real estate brokerage services,” the company said. “Additionally, in 2022 we identified $15 million in revenue associated with the expiration of Future Stay credits, which we do not expect to repeat in 2023.”
Executives said they do not expect more job cuts, and hope that Vacasa will eventually expand more internationally.
Wakasa ended 2022 with $320 million in cash and equivalents.
The company’s stock price fell 11 percent to $1.16 per share in after-hours trading Tuesday.
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