A surprising gap in technology adoption among vacation rental managers could signal the next major shift in property management operations, according to new industry research. While property management software (PMS) and online travel agency (OTA) integrations see nearly universal adoption, only 26% of professional vacation rental managers use dedicated inventory acquisition systems.
“Three quarters of the companies out there are not running some kind of inventory acquisition system. They’re cobbling it together, doing it themselves,” says Brooke Pfautz, CEO of Comparent, who recently conducted the largest technology survey in the vacation rental industry, gathering data from over 600 professional management companies.
The survey revealed a stark contrast in how vacation rental managers approach different aspects of their business. While adoption rates reach 99% for property management software and OTA integrations, and 80% for revenue management tools, inventory acquisition remains largely manual.
“I look at inventory acquisition very similar to revenue management a decade ago,” Pfautz observes. “Almost nobody was doing revenue management a decade ago. Now it’s got an 80% adoption rate.”
This comparison suggests inventory acquisition could represent the next major technological evolution in the industry. According to Pfautz, the current low adoption rate represents a significant opportunity for both technology providers and property managers looking to scale more efficiently.
The absence of systematic approaches to inventory acquisition presents multiple challenges for property managers. Growth patterns become inconsistent, making it difficult to predict and plan for portfolio expansion. Staffing costs rise as more personnel are required to manually source and manage new properties, while scaling operations across multiple markets proves increasingly complex. Additionally, the reliance on manual processes limits the ability to leverage data-driven insights, constraining strategic decision-making and slowing overall business growth.
Pfautz’s company, Comparent, represents one of several emerging solutions aiming to systematize the inventory acquisition process. While the company’s approach offers one potential solution, Pfautz emphasizes that the market opportunity extends beyond any single provider.
“We understand the short-term rental industry better than anybody,” Pfautz says, noting that their research has helped identify key pain points in current property management operations. However, he acknowledges that the industry is still in early stages of addressing this particular challenge.
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