CanadaStays is a Canadian online marketplace for short-term
vacation rental
A vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment, house, or professionally managed resort-condominium complex on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term ''vacation rental'' is mainly used in the US. Oth ...
properties, with over 250,000 cottages, cabins, chalets and condos available to rent across Canada, the US, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Founded in Toronto in 2008, CanadaStays has since become Canada's largest vacation rental marketplace, with over $24MM in bookings reported in 2017.
History
CanadaStays was founded in Toronto in 2008 by Mark Bordo under the name CottageCountry, with the aim of creating a remote rental marketplace for owners looking to rent their properties in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. When the company was founded, many considered the rental market in rural
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
to be a
cottage industry
The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...
. Many competitors such as
HomeAway
HomeAway was a vacation rental marketplace. It operated through 50 websites in 23 languages through which it offered rentals of cabins, condos, castles, villas, barns, and farmhouses.
Founded in February 2005 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, ...
and FlipKey only offered urban property rental in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The opportunity allowed CanadaStays to become the main platform across
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
The company launch came from one of the founder's poor experiences at trying to find a vacation rental for his family. The initial strategy deployed by the company was to make it easier for
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
families to book remote vacation rentals, while also making the service more reliable than competitors. Two main methods of improvement were adding a high number of quality photos and also long descriptions about the rentals.
The ''
Globe & Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it f ...
'' covered the cottage rental industry in 2012, citing CottageCountry as a major player alongside other free services such as
Craigslist
Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Craig Newmark ...
. The industry of vacation rentals saw a boom during this time, with sites such as CottageCountry providing a great return on investment, with "most cottages rent for at least $1,000 per week", according to ''The Globe and Mail''.
CottageCountry received a
rebrand
Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
in 2014 and would operate under its new name, CanadaStays. Part of the reason was due to the language barriers between
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, with many French-speaking Canadians not used to using the term "cottage".
[ With the rebrand, the company also changed their strategy. The strategy change was to focus on republishing listed vacation rentals on third-party websites. The strategy was said to expand viewers and potential bookings for its clients, with up to 2.5 million unique visitors per month viewing each listing.][
In late 2014, the company was listed as the largest provider of ]vacation
A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...
rentals in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. In the 12 months prior to the announcement, the company nearly doubled its property listings on its website. This growth meant that the company had vacation listings on nearly all of Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's lakes, which total around 30,000.[
During 2015, the company founder featured on '']Business News Network
BNN Bloomberg (formerly Business News Network and Report on Business Television) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. It broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. The channel is h ...
'', speaking about market demand for cottages in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. During the same year, HomeAway invested $4.9 million in CanadaStays to increase the number of Canadian properties from less than 10,000 to more than 220,000. The partnership makes HomeAway a minority stakeholder in CanadaStays.
In 2016, CanadaStays opened a second office in Montreal, QC.
In 2017, CanadaStays reported growing Canadian demand for vacation rentals after seeing a 74% increase in bookings and rising trip values over the course of the year. The company was also featured in the Daily Hive
''Daily Hive'', formerly known as ''Vancity Buzz'', is a Canadian online newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It began digital publishing in 2008 and became Western Canada's largest online-only publication by 2016.
In September 2022 ...
, which published a list of Canada's most in-demand vacation rental destinations based on CanadaStays' 2017 search and booking data.
In 2019, CanadaStays was acquired by Expedia Group
Expedia Group, Inc. is an American online travel shopping company for consumer and small business travel. Its websites, which are primarily Travel website#Fare aggregators and metasearch engines, travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch eng ...
, which expanded its vacation rental services with rival HomeAway
HomeAway was a vacation rental marketplace. It operated through 50 websites in 23 languages through which it offered rentals of cabins, condos, castles, villas, barns, and farmhouses.
Founded in February 2005 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, ...
.
Sections of this page were edited by CanadaStays employees to reflect accuracy of facts and sources.
Mechanics
The website offers its services throughout Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, acting as a broker for vacation rentals. People looking to rent out their vacation home, whether it be a cabin, cottage, chalet, condo, or bed and breakfast, are provided with two ways of listing their home. The first is a subscription model where the property owner pays CanadaStays an annual fee to list. The second is for people who only rent out their property periodically and pay a commission on each rental booking they receive through the website. The company does not own or manage any of the rental properties listed on the platform.
During an interview with ''Business News Network
BNN Bloomberg (formerly Business News Network and Report on Business Television) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. It broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. The channel is h ...
'', Bordo stated that the company acts as a marketplace for Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
rentals and Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
residents. The focus of the site is to introduce the client to the property owner. It is then down to the individuals to vet to ensure that it is a good match. Bordo also stated in the interview that renting the property is at the discretion of the property owner, therefore if they feel they don't want to rent to an individual or for a certain period of time, there is no commitment needed from the property owner.
In 2015, the vast majority of CanadaStays clients were families, looking for remote rentals.
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.CanadaStays.com
Canadian travel websites
Vacation rental
Canadian companies established in 2008
Hospitality companies established in 2008
Real estate companies established in 2008
Internet properties established in 2008
Real estate services companies
Online marketplaces of Canada
2019 mergers and acquisitions
Expedia Group