Summer, which started as a rent-to-own program with short term rentals, has launched SummerOS, asset management software meant for use by STR operators. The move shifts the business, founded in 2021 by Airbnb alumni, to a software-as-a-service model.
SummerOS is based on “millions of data points” across United States markets and can provide comparisons to an individual property’s performance and can then recommend next steps to property managers.
SummerOS, which the company said was inspired by analytical tools available to professional operators in hotels and single-family residential industries, gives STR managers and owners tools for revenue forecasting, underwriting, market intelligence and insights in one place.
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"The short-term rental industry has grown into a $125 billion industry, yet operators still lack the professional-grade tools that have been standard in other segments of real estate for years," said Paul Kromidas, co-founder and CEO of Summer.
When it was founded, Summer's purchase-option model aimed to make building a STR portfolio more accessible to anyone interested in doing so. As it grew, the company tested tools to improve the performance of managed properties. In doing so, the company said it learned the industry was relying on human instinct too heavily when problems could be addressed with machine learning and data science.
"We built SummerOS for our own operations, then our partners tested it, saw instant results, and asked to use it,” Kromidas said. “That's when we knew this platform was too powerful to keep to ourselves. It gave us the confidence to pivot our business exclusively to SaaS."
In addition to announcing SummerOS, the company shared that Portoro, a luxury property management company, has acquired Summer’s other property management assets.
"SummerOS has completely redefined how we approach data and revenue projections at Portoro," said Dustin Abney, CEO of Portoro. "Its advanced analytics and forecasting tools allow us to make confident, data-driven decisions across our portfolio of premium vacation rentals. With SummerOS, we're not just estimating future short-term rental performance—we're predicting it with clarity and accuracy."
Summer also made headlines in 2023 for raising $18 million in a Series A funding round and securing a debt facility of $50 million.