Baron Funds Comments on HomeAway Inc.

Author's Avatar
May 24, 2012
From Baron Funds' first quarter letter: HomeAway, Inc. (AWAY, Financial) is the leading online marketplace for vacation rentals. Its websites offer extensive listings to travelers and make it easy for rental property owners and property managers to advertise their properties and manage bookings online. We believe that HomeAway is a dominant category killer in a rapidly growing niche. One can appreciate the value it offers property owners since it is rewarded by high renewal rates and as such have created a very sticky and sustainable business model.We believe that HomeAway will successfully add more properties to its boards, be able to realize higher rates for these listings, and layer in attractive new services that will get good take – rates, enabling the company to grow cash flow at over 25% per year for the foreseeable future. HomeAway was a hot IPO in 2011, which we purchased after the stock had fallen by a third on a shortterm disappointment. Though still not cheap, we see big upside in time as we believe cash flow can easily triple in the next five years.