SXSW is perhaps the biggest week for short-term vacation rentals in Austin. The huge influx of mostly high-income visitors means local home and condo owners can charge a premium.
Of course, the flip side of that is that you need to manage the short-term rental, from key exchange to cleaning to dealing with noise complaints. That's where Austin-based TurnKey Vacation Rentals has found an opportunity.
The startup, founded in 2012, uses smart locks, tablets, decibel monitors and housekeeping schedulers to make renting a property easier, more professional and potentially more lucrative than it might otherwise be.
The property management startup announced Monday it has raised a $31 million series D funding round to expand its tech tools and launch in new markets. The round was led by Adams Street Partners, which has contributed to TurnKey's previous rounds. Altos Ventures also contributed to the round along with two unnamed institutional investors.
TurnKey Vacation Rentals has raised $72 million to date. Its team of 375 employees, including 160 in Austin, provides full-service property management at 3,500-plus vacation rentals in the U.S. Last fall, it became one of the first companies invited to be in HomeAway's Premier Partner Program, which provides properties it serves with a badge to indicate the property gets good reviews and has great service.
"At TurnKey, we've doubled our growth each year since 2013, while expanding into 55 top markets across the U.S.," T.J. Clark, TurnKey co-founder and CEO, said in a news release. "We are thrilled by the continued support of our investors to help us further establish TurnKey as the hospitality brand of choice for vacation rental guests and homeowners."
