After spending decades at larger firms, a local leader has taken up a new role at the helm of a fast-growing, early-stage startup.
With a largely remote team, San Francisco-based vacation home rental platform VacationRenter has tapped Heath Hammett as its CEO, leading its international push from Dallas.
"When they reached out to me about the opportunity, one of the first things I asked was, 'Do I have to leave Dallas,'" Hammett said. "I've been the person frustrated by travel websites and having to go here and there. I get to solve that."
Before joining around 30-person VacationRenter, Hammett served as VP of product vehicle auction platform Copart (NASDAQ: CPRT) and as VP of growth and analytics at Pizza Hut (NYSE: YUM). However, perhaps his most relevant experience comes from his time as VP of acquisition marketing at Expedia Group's Hotels.com (NASDAQ: EXPE). He said his time there came amid the rise of hotel metasearch platforms, and through investing in growth, he was able to build an internal team of about 100. Hammett added that his personal experience as a traveler gives him insight into what VacationRenter users need.
"Even at Copart, I had a very small team, which allowed me to get focused, roll up my sleeves and get my hands into building some capabilities that didn't exist before," Hammett said. "So, I've been able to draw a lot of different lessons from different places.
VacationRenter was formed out of Wilbur Labs, a startup studio created by Google vets David Kolodny and Phil Santoro, in 2018 with $3 million in financing from the organization. Hammett is the VacationRenter's first CEO. Focusing on vacation homes and other unique rental options, from tree houses to cabins and chalets, the company's platform aggregates options from rental listings and takes a referral fee.
While Hammett said, the pandemic shifted the focus of what consumers were looking for in rentals, making cleaning procedures and cancellation policies more important. And while he said the pandemic initially caused a decline in customers, the company saw a resurgence on its platform as many looked to avoid more crowded hotels while traveling. VacationRenter said it saw more than $1 billion in gross booking value in 2020, up from the about $600 million in booking value it had in 2019. Something Hammett attributes to creative partnerships with brands like Austin RV rental startup Outdoorsy, which surged RV bookings on the VacationRenter platform by around 350%, a spokesperson said.
"It's been tumultuous. One of the biggest things is just being able to respond, adapt and stay flexible," Hammett said. "Being able to react and respond to that has been a challenge, but one of the benefits of being a small, agile, incredibly technology-focused company is being able to respond quickly to that."
Hammett declined to disclose revenue figures but said he expects the platform's gross booking value to exceed last year's. Already in 14 countries, he said VacationRenter is looking to localize the language and marketing in its existing markets while pushing for international expansion, largely in Europe. Hammett also hinted at potential new partnerships for VacationRenter that are working their way through the pipeline.
"The goal, at the very top, has to be the same, which is help our customers find the best rental for them," Hammett said. "The focus is to continue to deliver a world-class experience for our travelers… bringing it to more and more people."
