Another marker in the continued maturing of the vacation rental business this week with one of the big franchise owners launching a major digital service for owners.

RedAwning, the 100,000-strong network of branded vacation rental properties, says the launch of a new platform is so that owners can “offer hotel-like service to their customers”.

The idea is that hosts or property management companies can run their distribution and technical integration into online travel agencies and vacation rental sites, metasearch sites and owner channels through a single platform.

The move comes as the rental business as a whole is seen as needing to mirror the online booking experience that consumers have with hotels and sites such as Airbnb.

In short: they expect a hotel-like experience when they book rentals, says Melissa Gade, property manager for Big Bear Vacations.

RedAwning CEO Tim Choate says the goal is to “take the hassle out of renting a vacation rental property”, by elevating the experience to that of a hotel-booking.

The company reckons property managers and owners should be able to handle such complex areas such as distribution but without having to understand “algorithms and requirements of every online channel”.

He adds:

“We’ve centralized the entire rental process for them so they can better compete in what has quickly become a much more complex, global travel marketplace.”

RedAwning’s move comes as the giants of the rental world on the consumer-side, brands such as Expedia’s HomeAway/VRBO and Priceline Group’s Booking.com, tighten their grip on the marketplace and move to web-only sales of rentals.