Manage your investment property with trust, ease, and transparency.
HomeAway - B2B/B2C/IoT (iOS)
2021 Remote
Role: Sr. Product Designer
Service: UX & UI Design, Strategy, Product Design, Market Research
Design Challenge: Real-estate investment is one of the best ways to generate ongoing passive income and be a good long-term investment when it retains its value. Managing, repairing damage and maintaining investment properties and vacation homes can be near impossible when the property is far away, especially if located in another country.
The Solution - An iOS mobile application that streamlines the ability to manage maintenance, repairs, communication, and guest bookings for the off-site property owner.
HomeAway (aka: Home Away from Home), offers tools to manage property maintenance, damage, booking calendar, revenue, and messaging between guests, property managers, and property owners. HomeAway shows the financial profit from bookings, deducting costs for utilities and maintenance. Home Away offers full transparency of communication and tracking of maintenance between property managers and owners.
The Design & Industry Challenge
Consumers looking to invest in foreign or long-distance property can leverage HomeAway’s platform to secure, protect and grow their real estate investment portfolio; bringing in passive income.
Where there is money there will be predators who take advantage. HomeAway offers solutions to foreign investors who want to avoid investment scams. Overseas and long-distance investors are often targets of disreputable realtors, management companies, and renters who exploit the investors' proximity, lack of knowledge of the local culture, law, or fluency in the language.
Who does the guest contact when there’s an issue, ex: when something needs to be fixed? Alternatively, who can the property owner contact when a guest did not pay, damaged the apartment or an action needs to be taken? HomeAway offers tools to support these needs.
The barrier to entry: Real Estate investment scams
Finding and trusting a local point of contact
Real-time visibility into the condition of the property
Environmental risks: natural disasters, beach erosion
Currency exchange rate risk: unexpected gains or losses
Tax liability & Local laws
Trust, Communication & Marketplace
Trusted, Vetted Local Management: New investors who join the HomeAway platform are paired with trusted local property managers. The property manager is their local boots on the ground, taking care of the investors and properties’ needs: furnishing, maintenance, guest management, and repairs.
Communication: HomeAway’s messaging system allows for quick and easy communication between property managers, owners, and guests. Property managers can inform Investors of repairs needed and can select and suggest furnishings and replacement items.
Design, Furnishings & Installments: HomeAways’s marketplace offers pre-selected furnishing packages by room, or purchasing of single items. Items purchased through HomeAway's marketplace will be installed by the property management company, with real-time video messaging, rich media communication with property investors.
As an investor, I want to find a trusted local point of contact, to manage my investment property.
As an investor, I want to easily furnish my investment property by room or individual furnishings, so I can keep my property modern and clean.
As an investor, I want real-time visibility into the condition of the property, so I can quickly be alerted if there is an issue.
As an investor, I want to easily communicate with the property manager, if there is a payment issue, property damage or an action needs to be taken locally.
Manage your calendar & financials
HomeAway gives control to both Investors and Property Managers to customize open booking date inventory, manage blackout dates, and visibility into guest profiles. Investors can remotely adjust property nightly, weekly and monthly pricing based on demand and market rate. The Financials feature gives Investors insight and the ability to track and export reports on all expenses: such as utilities, repair/maintenance, and charges.
As an investor, I want to be able to change my property rental pricing, so I can stay competitive to local market rates.
As an investor, I want the ability to blackout calendar dates, so I can use these for repairs or stay at the property myself.
As an investor, I want an overview and report of finances to track how my investment is performing and if I need to make adjustments.
Furnishing Investment Property Remotely
Booking & Repairs
IoT Remote Accessibility & Usage Tracking
Finances