Is the STR market getting taken over by Big Capital?

[Alex M.]

does anyone know anything about Rented Capital?

I'm somewhat confused by their model.  

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171206005...

maybe someone smarter than I can shed some light on what's going on here? Seems like they are 'bridging some kind of gap between homeowners who have a 2nd home but dont rent it because they can't agree with a PM who has different expectation'

Just seems to raise $125M is a big deal and makes me wonder if this STR market is going to start getting taken over by Big Capital.

AirBNB, short term rental, vacation rental

[Julie McCoy]

I was looking into them yesterday and couldn't *quite* figure out the business model, though I agree with @John Underwood that it's a way to match up homeowners and professional PMs - just a different approach to the normal homeowner/PM relationship.  They need the capital because their angle is guaranteeing the homeowner a specific payout each month.  (I'm a bit fuzzy on how exactly this works for the PM, though - presumably the PM gets whatever's left over after homeowner's cut and RC's cut)

As for whether or not Big Capital is taking over, I'd argue that overall, the involvement of major companies like AirBNB and VRBO/Homeaway is necessary to scale out a business like many of us are doing.  Having a service that acts as a centralized database and invests their own capital in advertising, etc. has taken VRs from niche to mainstream, and has basically created a whole new industry of STRs in urban areas.  Without them, we'd be left relying on our own websites jockeying for attention at the top of Google searches, or handing our properties over to pro PMs with their own websites and access to local markets.  

Can it go too far?  I'm sure it can and probably will, but for me, at least, they've made this whole venture a realistic strategy and not me just trying to offset costs from my second home.