WestCap Founder On What's Next For Short-Term Rentals: Full Video

25.08.2023 - 13:24 / skift.com / Rafat Ali

For the first time in his 25 years as an investor, WestCap Founder Laurence Tosi says that the short-term rental market and overall economy possess the most extreme economic health indicators he has ever seen. With strong positives and negatives, it is hard to gauge what will happen next.

What the long-time investor did tell Skift CEO and Founder Rafat Ali at the Skift Short-Term Rental Summit in New York City is that the industry was a big winner from the Covid-19 Pandemic, and despite the uncertainty, it is on the right side of travel.

Tosi also explored the struggles of the global housing shortage, the interference of political players in the industry, and how key figures should react to these challenges.

You can watch a full video of their discussion as well as read a transcript of it, below.

Rafat Ali: Okay, so thank you for being here.

Laurence Tosi: Oh, thank you, Rafat.

Ali: You were here four years ago, in 2019, and gave just a great spectral overview of what the sector was. I think it was in the second half of the day, and we figured it was so great that next time you speak, you should be at the start of the day because you can then give a more overview and LT for those of you who don’t know, (inaudible) story career, Blackstone, was the CFO of Airbnb, for our world that I’m sure you heard of him then, and has since left and started WestCap. Was (WestCap) there before you were Airbnb, right? So WestCap now is probably the largest, one of the largest investors in travel. Public and private both, right? 

Tosi: Yep.

Ali: Public and private both. It still holds a good steak in Airbnb, your investors in Blueground; Saunders, the ones you exited out of. I don’t know if you still hold. 

Tosi: Hopper, Flyer.

Ali: Peak, you said?

Tosi: Yep

Ali: And so, you are obviously bullish on the sector, in general overall travel. What did you make of yesterday? I mentioned on stage before the real estate guys were not so happy, but the operator is happy. This is in the hotel industry. What’s your sense of where the market is and how we should wrap our heads around it.

Tosi: First of all, good morning; nice to see everybody in now what foggy New York. I live in San Francisco, I arrived last night. Why is it foggy in New York, anyway I guess it’s not fog. A couple of thoughts. So, I’ve been looking at markets for a long time, probably 25 years of being an investor and an operator in not just travel businesses but businesses. This is the market that has probably the most opposite indicators of economic health. So let me go to the positives. Record job market, low unemployment, record wage increases, stability in the banks. Who knew you could actually have three of the top 30 banks go bankrupt, and the market keep