HomeAway is GLAD to have a new product

HomeAway, Inc., a vacation rental company based in Austin, Texas, in the United States, purchased Glad to Have You, Inc. (known as “GLAD”) earlier this month. HomeAway is a worldwide vacation rental marketplace allowing people to post their primary or secondary homes online and for others to find them to rent them, a competitor to the widely known Airbnb. GLAD is a start-up company that created a guest management system and mobile applications used to manage properties.

There are two versions of GLAD’s main application: GladOwners and GladProfessional. The first is for every property owner, while the second version is specifically designed for those managing more than ten properties (Schaal, 2014) and includes relevant extra features. The applications include such sections as “detailed rental logistics”, “nearby activities”, “digital guestbook”, “guest communication”, “service requests”, “guest analytics”, “software integration”, and “property manager branding” (Koumelis, 2014).

Image courtesy of jannoon028 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

While HomeAway purchased GLAD, the latter will stay separate from the rest of HomeAway, although HomeAway users will see some advantages (Cheredar, 2014). Those homeowners already using HomeAway will be able to download and use GladOwners for free, while others using rival companies will be able to purchase it for a monthly or yearly fee. The GladProfessional will retain its existing fees for everyone (HomeAway, 2014).

GLAD’s decision to develop mobile applications for property managers and guests is an example of a company riding the mobile smartphone wave. These mobile applications allow managers and guests to remain connected in anywhere, anytime. The guest gets all of the information they need to know for their vacation rental while the owner/manager is able to easily access all of the guest information he needs at any point in time. Additionally, there is a section for real time two-way communication between the two parties (HomeAway, 2014), although one could argue that a phone call or text message could accomplish the same thing.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Property and guest management mobile applications area a good idea in today’s “always connected” world. Offering all necessary information (access and check-in and -out information and instructions on using electronics in the home, to name a few) to guests in one convenient little application, while not absolutely vital, is helpful. Additionally, people are growing to expect mobile connectivity to be the norm, so for HomeAway to add Glad to Have You’s product lines to their own is a step in the right direction for this company as it continues to add properties around the world.

by: Caitlin Richardson and Aline Biber

Cheredar, T. (5 March 2014). HomeAway acquires vacation rental management service ‘Glad to Have You’. Venturebeat. Retrieved from http://venturebeat.com/2014/03/05/homeaway-acquires-vacation-rental-management-service-glad-to-have-you/

HomeAway. (5 March 2014). HomeAway raises the bar in vacation rental guest hospitality with its acquisition of mobile application Glad to Have You [press release]. Retrieved from http://www.homeaway.com/info/media-center/press-releases/2014/homeaway-acquires-glad-to-have-you

Koumelis, T. (11 March 2014). HomeAway acquires mobile application Glad to Have You. TravelDailyNews. Retrieved from http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/59458/homeaway-acquires-mobile-application-glad

Schaal, D. (5 March 2014). HomeAway acquires property management mobile app. Skift. Retrieved from  http://skift.com/2014/03/05/homeaway-acquires-property-management-mobile-app/