PackLate.com is Up and Coming

PackLate.com is Up and Coming

PackLate.com is “up and coming” in the vacation rental business.  They have identified a real niche for themselves in this tightly competitive market of vacation rentals. The good news is the customer is the real winner.

The company got its start by finding a niche in the affordable vacation rental market, for persons looking for a last minute getaway.  So, it has tried to capitalize on a market that has been developed by such online giants and Orbitz and Priceline.  In fact, they have been successfully able to do for the vacation rental industry what Orbitz and Priceline have done for the last minute hotel room industry.

PackLate has also been recently helped with some new seed money, to the tune of $685,000, from a group of investors. Companies like Genacast Ventures, First Round Capital, and ETF are among those companies placing their faith and cash into the hands of PackLate. The funding group saw promise in the idea as well.

The concept of what PackLate.com is trying to do is simple enough. They want to create an online branding strategy around the idea of being “the source” for last minute quality vacation rentals. They intend to make it very easy for second homeowners to easily make their home available for rent. The company is building in software technology that makes the process intuitive and simple. In addition, they provide an easy to use payment system.

On the other side of the business, they are building in features that will make it easy for vacationers to find, rent, and then keep track of good deals on vacation property. If all goes to plan, then the company is hoping consumers will build some trust in the fact that they can wait closer to vacation time to book a place to stay, thereby saving them some money on a nice place to stay, while on vacation.

This is not the whole story, though.  I think the real draw is going to be for those wonderful people who can “smell a deal” from miles away. There is a real sense in which renters can get caught up in the whole competition aspect of trying to get the best deal.  A savvy renter should be able to get a good deal on vacation rental property at a substantial discount. Obviously, the amount of the discount will vary, depending upon the location sought.

For the owner of vacation rental property, this company may also provide a solution to the down turn in business that has been seen during the tough economy.  It has not been unusual for vacation rental property owners to see occupancy rates of 50%, even during prime season. Boosting the numbers of occupancies, even at the expense of some discounts, will still be considered a win-win deal.

PackLate.com is free to the public. A registration account is required. You can sign up on the website, or make use of a FaceBook Connect account. There is an alert function built into the software, which can let customers know about great price deals. Here is a real bonus also: if you sign up with the coupon code of “TC PackLate”, you’ll be able to get your notices 2 hours in advance of when the deals are posted for the general public on the company website. This code was put in place by the folks at TechCrunch.

Pack your bags. Your last minute vacation rental deal awaits you.

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