2012 Year of the Renter Economy

Renting. It’s been a growing trend over the last few years: the desire for less responsibility and the growth of fractional ownership in everything from real estate to jets, even olive groves. Consumers have been reluctant to commit money and responsibility in the recent economic environment, but they’re still looking to collect as many experiences as possible.

Now we’re taking it to the next step – it’s all about renting and sharing between consumers, everything from homes to fashion, to cars and parking spaces. Having seen the success of smaller startups, expect to see bigger, luxury brands getting in on the action. In car sharing, the great success of Zipcar, currently a market leader, is luring Daimler into the game in Hamburg, Germany and Austin, Texas.

While the vacation rental industry isn’t new, it’s segmenting more by price point (Airbnb on the budget end, and Quintessentially Villas on the high end), by destination, destinations within a destination, and by special interest (the obvious ones being golf, photography, and mainstream outdoor activities such as skiing). We’ll see even further differentiation by alternative interests such as paddle boarding, geocaching, quilting, triathlon training, writing/studying, species specific nature watching to name a few.

Its also segmenting by level of exclusivity….starting at $3000, it’s now possible rent a mountain for one weekday of personal use, giving you private access to trails, rental shops and on-site dining through Liftopia.com’s new full-mountain rentals.

The vacation rental industry will also evolve by embracing new technologies: those that make it easy to share vacation rental options with groups of friends and family, and that make vacation booking a breeze for the best price. For example, www.bidonskihomes.com is one of the first to employ the online auction business model for vacation rentals. And look for smartphone apps that help travelers book spontaneously, on the go, such as Airbnb and HomeAway.