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As Vacasa increases its share of the vacation rental market, the property management company is hiring longtime travel manager Rob Graeber as its next CEO.
Graeber, who led Expedia’s Egencia division from 2009 to 2020, will succeed current CEO Matt Roberts, effective September 1. 6.
The change in leadership comes two weeks after Vacasa reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and lifted its full-year guidance. The news sent the stock up 25% on the day. So far this year, the company’s shares are down about 42%. Its market capitalization is $2.07 billion.
Graeber said the weak economy is proving to be a tail for Vacasa’s property management business as more people look to list their homes and earn some extra cash. Graeber also said homeowners who switch to fax from another vacation rental manager earn an average of 20% more per year.
He comes to the job with great support. Grayber was a patron of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who was the CEO of Expedia from 2005 to 2017.
“I quickly saw Rob’s potential and eventually promoted him to running Egencia, our travel subsidiary,” Khosrowshahi told CNBC in a phone interview.
During Graeber’s 11-year tenure at Egencia, Khosrowshahi said, the company was “about bringing the power of technology to corporate travel, which was still high-profile and traditional, to move forward with the same transformation that I’ve seen online travel go through.”
Graeber, in turn, paid tribute to his former boss.
“I think one of the things he showed me as a leader is that you have to take a step back sometimes…the car goes where the eyes are going, and even when you focus on the details and on the execution, make sure you keep an eye on where you’re going,” Graeber said. to CNBC in a phone interview.
He will have to apply this lesson as he takes poison in Vacasa.
As a senior property manager providing services ranging from managing reservations to cleaning rentals, the ongoing labor shortage is seen as a challenge for the company.
When asked how he plans to navigate the tight job market, Graeber said, “It’s about execution.”
TPG Pace Solutions went public with Vacasa through a special purpose acquisition company in 2021. Since then, the company has had a choppy run. And while its shares are up 86% in the past month, the stock is still trading well below its IPO price at around $5 a share.
“There has been general pressure in the market for the last six to 12 months,” said Graeber. “My focus will be on doing the things that will create value in the long run.”