Travelers are rapidly moving from the PC to the tablet and smartphone for not only planning and researching, but inquiring and booking vacation rentals. Mobile is poised to devour the vacation rental world, and this presentation is meant to help holiday lettings and vacation rental suppliers prepare for success.

1. Going Mobile: Holiday
Lettings in a Device-Driven
World
VRMA Europe 2013
@kirbywinfield
CEO, @Dwellable

2. Dwellable is the leader in
mobile
holiday lettings
• Top app on iOS, Android, Kindle
• Free to list
• Google-style Quality Score
• Announced global expansion today

3. Today’s agenda
• Mobile trends overview
• Q4 2013 VRMC survey results
• Travel/VR detail
• Best practices
• Q&A/discussion

4. The PC is flat and the future is
mobile
A wake up call

5. More than 75% of literate adults worldwide will
have smartphones by 2017
2017 forecast base (m)
8000
7000
2012
6000
Growth to 2017
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Population
Adults
Literate Adults
Mobile
Smartphones
PCs
Tablets
Source: Gartner, IDC, Enders Analysis

6. We have reached “peak PC”
Global annual unit sales (m)
100
75
All PCs
50
Tablets
25
0
Jun 2010
Dec 2010
Jun 2011
Dec 2011
Jun 2012
Dec 2012
Jun 2013
Source: Gartner, IDC, Enders Analysis

7. Tablets went from nonexistent to more
than half consumer PC market in 3
years…
Global annual unit sales (m)
200
150
100
Corporate PCs
Consumer PCs
50
Tablets
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Source: Gartner, IDC, Enders Analysis

8. To put that in perspective
10 YEARS
3 YEARS
1980-1990
2009-2012
105 million sold
128 million sold
Source: ET Forcast

9. …and smartphones make tablet growth
look slow
Global annual unit sales (m)
800
600
Corporate PCs
400
Consumer PCs
200
Tablets
Smartphones
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Source: Gartner, IDC, Enders Analysis

10. Combine the two and the shift gets even
clearer
Global annual unit sales (m)
1250
1000
PCs
Smartphones
and Tablets
750
500
250
0
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013e
Source: Enders Analysis

11. Smartphones turn PCs into “shells”
Korea Telecom’s Spider Laptop has no processor, memory or OS – and will work with all Android phones
Source: ET Forcast

12. When traditional mobile is fully replaced
by smartphones, it’s game over
Global annual unit sales (m)
1800
Corporate PCs
Consumer PCs
1350
Tablets
Smartphones
900
All Mobile
Phones
450
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Source: Gartner, IDC, Enders Analysis

13. Which makes it easier for consumers to
do more of what they love…

14. Three-quarters of Britons text, blog or surf the internet while on the toilet (YouGov 2009)

15. Your customers spend more time on
mobile every day than on the wired web
Share of Time Spent per Day with Major Media by US Adults
40%
TV
Online
30%
Mobile (non
voice)
20%
Radio
Print
10%
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
Source: eMarketer

16. Photos are eating the world (tracking
closely with smartphone growth)
500M photos uploaded and shared per day, growth accelerating, 2x YOY
Photos uploaded and shared per day (m)
600
500
400
Facebook
300
Instagram
200
Snapchat
100
Flickr
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Source: KBCP

17. In leading edge mobile markets, mobile
search surpassed PC/laptop
South Korea search query trend (indexed)
100
PC Query
Mobile Query
0
1/11 3/11 5/11 7/11 9/11 11/11 1/12 3/12 5/12 7/12 9/12 11/12 1/13 3/13
Source: NHN, KPCB

18. And mobile users are increasingly
comfortable paying by smartphone
% Groupon NA transactions completed on mobile
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
1/11
4/11
7/11
10/11
1/12
4/12
7/12
10/12
Source: GRPN, KPCB
1/13

19. How are holiday rental
managers reacting to the rise
of mobile?
Mobile Holiday Lettings in 2013: Dwellable Survey

20. Listings sites are primary bookings
source
Where do your bookings
come from?
(top 3 sources)
Traditional listings sites are
<20% mobile, while newer
app-based services can be
50%+ mobile
Source: Dwellable

21. Holiday lettings companies have taken
the first step - recognition
Does a meaningful number of
potential renters currently
research vacation rentals
via mobile?
More than 75% of Dwellable
users researched vacation
rentals via mobile in 2013
Source: Dwellable

22. And most holiday lettings companies are
on board with using the mobile channel
How important is it for
you to reach
potential renters
via mobile?
“We are in the process of
developing a new responsive
design website.”
Source: Dwellable

23. Mobile is the most important growth area
for holiday lettings
I believe the most
important areas
of growth for my
business over
the next 5 years will be:
“I plan to add booking to my
mobile site very soon.”
Source: Dwellable

24. Mobile marketing is a strategic priority
The most crucial thing I
could tell the largest
vacation rental search
companies, in order of
importance:
Source: Dwellable

25. But actual execution is still rare
Do you have a
mobile website?
“Haven't thought about it, we
just use commercial [listings]
websites.”
Source: Dwellable

26. Laissez faire approach to mobile design
What statement best
describes your current
approach to mobile
users (smartphones
and tablets)?
“My current website works
fine for mobile searching.”
Source: Dwellable

27. Most holiday lettings companies lack
urgency do not have a
If you
mobile website, do you
have plans to build one?
“I don't feel people want
specific apps or mobile specific
websites. The experience
should be seamless across
every device.”
Source: Dwellable

28. Cost and form factor apprehension
holding
back customization
If you do not have a
mobile website or do
not plan to build one
in the near term,
why not?
“People may initially find
property on a mobile
device, but use a more 'full PC'
environment for further
research & actual booking.”
Source: Dwellable

29. Confidence abounds
How confident are you in
your ability to plan and
execute a mobile strategy
for your business?
“Many of the rental sites we
use have mobile apps.”
Source: Dwellable

30. Mobile is the future of holiday
lettings
74 million seek travel information on mobile each month
Source: comScore, Expedia

31. Mobile pulling even with laptop for travel
research…and bookings are non-trivial

32. Mobile searchers are ready to book

33. Mobile surpassed all traditional media for
VR referrals
Information sources for researching vacation rentals (2012)
20%
15%
10%
5%
0
Mobile
device
Called tourism
bureau
Printed books/
magazines/
newspapers
Advice from
travel
professional
Note: 67% websites, 30% friends/family
Read a print
brochure
TV/radio
Responded to direct
mail, email or phone call
Source: PhoCusWright

34. More than half of mobile users booked
travel on smartphone or tablet in last 90
days
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
31% book
on
smartphone
39% book
on tablet
30% book
on
smartphone
40% book
on
smartphone
54% book
on tablet
48% book
on tablet
Research on tablet
Research on smartphone
0
Research on laptop
Source: Skift, JiWire

35. Why mobile planners don’t book on
mobile

37. What do I do about it?
Best Practices

38. A picture is worth 1K words

39. Responsive design

40. What not to do

41. Main page
• Representative images
• Big navigation buttons
• Prominent phone #
• Best foot forward

42. Photos
• “You don’t need fewer photos,
but compress the images so they
load quickly. If it takes too long,
users aren’t likely to wait or
return. Make them scrollable
and tap-to-enlarge.”
Source: WebChalet

43. Home details
• Single photo highlighted
• Short descriptions
• Bulleted lists of amenities
• Easy navigation
• Reviews almost as important as
photos

44. Rates & calendar
• Make the rate prominent – it’s
the first thing people want to
see once they know they like the
home
• Calendar should have its own
page

45. Guest management
• Custom trip info for your guests
• Local recommendations
• Your rental properties
• Feature information your guests
want to see

46. Lead generation
• Reduce info request to minimum
contact details
• Offer click-to-call
• Ask your listings site provider
about mobile

47. In summary
• Speed – close to 50% of users will wait 5 seconds or less before giving
up on a site.
• Highlight pricing, deals, and comparisons – 73% tablet users say this is
most popular search activity, and 1 in 4 purchase “because the price
is right”
• Easy to see, read, navigate
• Mobile websites are conversion machines, and need to be finely
tuned
• Fast, clear path to booking or inquiry
• Secure, private
*Source: Compuware

48. Ask the Expert
• Mobile websites vs. apps –
which is more important?
• How important is mobile for
providing guests with
information?
• What are guests interested in
when it comes to mobile usage?
Jason Sprenkle
Co-CEO, Glad To Have You
Owner, 360 Blue, Florida

49. Offer a feedback loop
Kirby@Dwellable.com
@dwellable