Philadelphia – February 2010
Consumers are in a great position to benefit from the huge oversupply of vacation home rentals in places like Aspen, Breckenridge, Telluride, Park City, Lake Tahoe and others across the US
US vacation rentals represent a $24 billion market but, in today’s recessionary economy, many vacation rental markets are seeing only 50% occupancy during prime season. Vacation rental demand is down while supply is up as more second homeowners put their properties into rental programs. Before PackLate.com (www.packlate.com), the vacation rental market was extremely inefficient at dynamic pricing based on supply and demand. PackLate.com brings new efficiency to the market matching last minute supply with demand in a fun and exciting environment.
PackLate.com today announced it has raised $685,000 of seed capital to build out and launch its travel marketplace focusing on last minute vacation rentals. Philadelphia-based Genacast Ventures led the round along with First Round Capital and ETF Venture Funds. PackLate.com will use the financing to drive customer awareness, fuel the growth of its supplier network, open additional markets, and continue building marketplace functionality.
“Consumers save money by finding and tracking great deals, and confidently booking closer to their vacation date,” said PackLate.com founder and CEO Steve Barsh. “This funding will allow PackLate.com to provide greater options and better vacation rental deals for today’s cost-conscious travelers. PackLate.com is building on the existing trends of today’s vacation traveler booking closer to their arrival date and looking for deals to save money.”
PackLate.com has turned the vacation booking experience into a game that challenges players to watch for opportunities and to book at the right time to get what they want and win a great deal. Prices fluctuate with market conditions. When there is an oversupply situation, prices drop transparently as the arrival date draws closer. PackLate.com empowers consumers to closely track moving vacation home rental prices all the way down to hugely discounted levels and to play with and against other members trying to book last minute vacation rentals.
Gil Beyda and Peter Giamalva are joining PackLate.com’s board of directors. Beyda was CTO, EVP Engineering, and eventually EVP Corporate Strategy & Development of TACODA driving its groundbreaking, behavioral targeting ad network technology culminating in a partnership with eBay and the acquisition of TACODA by AOL. Prior to that Beyda helped pioneer Internet advertising in 1995, founding Real Media which he helped grow to $54 million in revenue before selling it to 24/7 Media (NASDAQ:TFSM). Giamalva joined Wyndham’s (NYSE:WYN) Group RCI in 1999 and held the positions of chief marketing officer; general manager, leisure rental division; and chief operating officer, RCI – Europe and Middle East. As Chief Operating Officer, Giamalva managed a business with a vast array of leisure accommodations including more than 60,000 vacation homes and hundreds of resorts affiliated to
the RCI exchange network.
Gil Beyda, Managing Partner of Genacast Ventures, emphasized the company’s win-win proposition: “It was the large market opportunity – giving millions of consumers a new platform to save money and confidently book closer to their travel date – that motivated us to invest. PackLate.com is also helping vacation rental managers sell their surplus vacation rental inventory providing greater revenue to those firms and the owners they represent."
Peter Giamalva said “I’ve been in leisure travel for over 20 years. The PackLate.com business model embodies innovative solutions and out-of-box thinking that addresses historic vacation rental distribution needs. I’ve watched the PackLate.com team execute over the last 5 months and I’m extremely impressed and excited to join the board.”
“Gil and Peter have strong track records in growing technology-related and global leisure travel businesses and brands,” said Steve Barsh. “We are incredibly fortunate to have them both as board members.”
About PackLate.com
PackLate.com is a last minute vacation rental marketplace where consumers watch prices change as the check-in date nears. PackLate.com empowers consumers to save money, find and track great deals, and confidently book closer to their vacation date while realizing they are not alone in their quest to find what they want at a great price. The company launched its first geography, The US Rockies, in January 2010. PackLate.com is backed by Genacast Ventures, First Round Capital, ETF Venture Funds, and several angel investors.
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Contact: Steve Barsh, PackLate.com, +1.215.888.2101, steve@packlate.com
Source: PackLate.com, Inc.
Web: http://www.packlate.com
Blog: http://blog.packlate.com
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Media resources including logo, photos, and screen shots available at
http://www.packlate.com/pages/media-resources
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