The Kanji family has generational knowledge of Northeast Florida hospitality, making it exactly the kind of franchisee that vacation rental management company Casago wants to build upon.
Th company recently announced its expansion of its franchise footprint with the transition of Vacasa's St. Augustine, Amelia Island and St. Simons Island markets to Casago First Coast.
The markets are now owned and operated by Impact Holdings, a family-run hospitality company with more than 40 years of hospitality experience.
Franchise partner Jatin Kanji grew up in the business — at one point living in a motel that his family managed. He told the Business Journal that his family mostly stayed on the hotel side of the hospitality industry, but they felt that the opportunity to partner with Casago in the vacation rental market was a good way to expand their reach.
"They (Casago) are trying to find local operators that are in that market, that know that market, that can take over these homes from Vacasa and bring that local feel back with this kind of national support," Kanji said.
According to Casago, existing field teams remain in place, continuing to provide on-the-ground service and support, now using Casago's locally driven franchise model and operating resources.
"That's essentially what we've done is we've taken over about 400 units from Vacasa at the end of last year," Kanji said. "We took the local teams over as well that were managing all these homes and working through retraining them."
Homeowners across the local markets will see no changes to their existing management agreements, including management fees. The agreements will be assigned to Casago First Coast.
The goal is to provide a better platform for owners in order to get the best use and capture more revenue from their properties. With local knowledge as well as the Casago support, Kanji said they should be able to maximize the potential for the owners and provide excellent guest experiences.
"We are aiming to get as much demand for these homes and revenue for these homes, for the homeowner and for us," Kanji said.
One of the ways to reach that goal is to provide some standardization of quality to each of the rentals in the Casago First Coast portfolio. Kanji said the experience in the hotel industry helps his team know how to execute that strategy.
Steve Schwab, founder and CEO of Casago, said Kanji and his family are well-positioned for success in the short-term rental world.
"Vacation rentals have always been a relationship business, and the closer decisions are made to the homes themselves, the better the outcomes are for homeowners, guests and local teams," Schwab said in a release. "We're excited to welcome Jatin Kanji and Impact Holdings into the Casago franchise network. Their longstanding presence in Northeast Florida and commitment to disciplined, local operations align perfectly with how Casago was built and how we continue to grow."
The majority of Casago franchise partners are recognized as Airbnb Superhosts, Vrbo Premier Partners, or both, which the company says is a reflection of its emphasis on hospitality execution and owner advocacy.
For Kanji and his family, joining Casago has turned out to be a positive way to grow their local business.
"This opportunity came up where we can diversify into hospitality and kind of a unique pivot in the short-term rental world," he said. "Now I am fully running this 400-unit portfolio that we've taken over from Vacasa."
But Kanji said he never takes for granted that each property has an individual owner, which who he is really working for.
"I've got to earn (the homeowners') business every day," he said. "So it's definitely a unique position to be in."
