Ember Stays

What Ember Stays does

Ember Stays (operating as Ember Vacations, LLC) is a vertically integrated luxury vacation rental platform founded in May 2021 and headquartered in Lehi, Utah. The company operates in three regional markets — Southern Utah, Southern California, and the 30A corridor of Florida — distributing curated luxury home inventory across Airbnb, VRBO, and a direct booking site. Operating metrics disclosed include $100M+ in assets under management, 1,000+ guest stays in 2023, a 4.96 Airbnb rating (#1 in St. George), and a 4.98 average guest satisfaction score.

The platform spans five product lines: Ember Stays (nightly luxury rentals), Host with Ember Stays (third-party property management), Develop with Ember Stays (full-service resort management for developers), Ember Home (vacation home co-ownership), and Ember Exchange (a reciprocal-stay network enabled by a partnership with ThirdHome that grants access to 30,000+ luxury residences). Underlying technology is largely channel integration and operational tooling rather than disclosed proprietary systems.

The revenue model is multi-pronged: percentage-based property management fees on booked revenue, transaction/service fees on direct and third-party nightly bookings, and optional ancillary charges such as refund protection and pet fees. Key partnerships include ThirdHome (reciprocal exchange), Zion Shores (resort management), and Ascend at Lake Powell (resort management), with capital from a $17.4M Series A led by Peter Thiel in February 2022.

Name

Ember Stays

Legal name

Ember Vacations, LLC

Website

https://emberstays.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ember Stays is a luxury vacation rental platform operating across Southern Utah, Southern California, and 30A Florida. It combines nightly rentals, property management, resort management, vacation home co-ownership, and a reciprocal exchange network for high-end vacation homes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vacation Rental Hospitality

NAICS

Rental and Leasing Services (532)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAGANAA

Whole-Home Rentals (Houses, Villas, Cabins)

Travel & Hospitality/Lodging & Accommodation/Vacation Rentals (Short-Term Rentals)

SECONDARYTHAMAAAC

Villas & Luxury Estates

Travel & Hospitality/Vacation Rentals & Short-Term Stays/Whole-Home Vacation Rentals

SECONDARYTHALADAB

Vacation Rental & Short-Stay Booking Engines

Travel & Hospitality/Travel Technology & Distribution Services/Central Reservation Systems (CRS) & Booking Engines

Keywords

• Vacation rental management
• Luxury vacation rentals
• Vacation home co-ownership
• Hospitality property management
• Short-term rental services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lehi

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Nightly Rental Bookings: Ember Stays generates revenue through nightly rental bookings of vacation homes. Properties are listed on EmberStays.com as well as third-party platforms (Airbnb, VRBO). Guests pay for their stay, with prices varying by property, season, and demand. The company operates 100% of homes on its platform.
2. Property Management Services: Ember Stays charges property owners a management fee on booked revenue plus pass-through costs for cleaning and supplies. No markups on third-party maintenance. Optional add-ons like premium staging or photo refresh are quoted upfront and approved by the owner.
3. Refund Protection Plan: Optional Refund Protection Plan offered to guests during booking, providing flexibility to cancel with refund or rescheduling options. This generates additional fee revenue per booking.
4. Pet Fees: Properties that allow pets charge $350 per pet fee for additional cleaning after pet stays. This does not cover damage from breaching pet policy rules.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ember Stays operates a luxury vacation rental platform that runs 100% of homes on its platform, combining hotel-quality hospitality with private vacation home comfort. It sells nightly rental bookings to guests via direct website, Airbnb, and VRBO, and provides full-service property management for individual homeowners and resort developers. The offering includes award-winning interior design, concierge service, smart-lock self check-in, dynamic pricing, multi-channel distribution, and access to the Ember Exchange home exchange program.

Product overview

Ember Stays operates as a luxury vacation rental platform with a portfolio of interconnected products and services. The core offering is the Ember Stays platform (EmberStays.com) for booking professionally managed nightly rental homes. This platform is complemented by property management services for individual homeowners (Host with Ember Stays) and professional management for resorts and developers (Develop with Ember Stays). The broader Ember ecosystem includes Ember Co-ownership (Ember Home), a vacation home co-ownership platform that utilizes Ember Stays as its management arm. All Ember owners and managed-property owners gain access to Ember Exchange, a luxury home exchange benefit powered by ThirdHome, providing access to 30,000+ properties worldwide. The ecosystem is unified by professional hospitality management, dynamic pricing optimization, and consistent brand standards across all properties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ember Flex: A co-ownership product where Ember Stays powers nightly rentals for co-owned homes.
• Ember Limited
• Ember Exchange

Products and services

• Ember Stays Nightly Rental Platform A luxury vacation rental platform offering professionally managed nightly rental homes with award-winning design and first-class service. Operates 100% of homes on its platform, combining hotel-quality hospitality with private vacation home comfort, and is bookable directly via EmberStays.com, Airbnb, and VRBO.
• Host with Ember Stays (Property Management for Homeowners) Full-service hospitality management service for individual vacation home owners covering dynamic pricing, channel management, housekeeping, 24/7 guest communications, maintenance coordination, and monthly owner reporting with payouts. Charges a management fee on booked revenue plus pass-through costs for cleaning and supplies with no markups on third-party maintenance.
• Develop with Ember Stays (Resort & Developer Management)
• Ember Exchange A luxury home exchange benefit for Ember owners, powered by a partnership with ThirdHome, that allows owners to trade unused time in their Ember homes for stays across 30,000+ curated luxury residences in 100+ countries.
• Ember Co-ownership (Ember Home)

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.98 average guest satisfaction stars
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ascend at Lake PowellminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 January 2026Ember Stays partnered with Ascend at Lake Powell to provide property management services for vacation rentals at the Ascend development near Lake Powell. This expands Ember Stays' presence to include Lake Powell-area properties.
• ThirdHomecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2025Ember Stays partnered with ThirdHome to launch Ember Exchange, enabling Ember owners to trade unused time in their homes for stays across ThirdHome's portfolio of 30,000+ luxury residences in 100+ countries. Qualifying Ember owners receive complimentary ThirdHome membership (a $10,000 value) with waived initiation fees and bonus Keys (travel credits) to start booking immediately. Members can earn additional Keys by contributing unused weeks from their Ember homes, with 2x or 3x bonuses for peak travel periods.
• Zion ShoresminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025Ember Stays partnered with Zion Shores to manage vacation rental properties at the Zion Shores resort development near Zion National Park. This partnership expands Ember Stays' property management footprint to include properties in the Zion Shores area.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• VRBO: Expedia's vacation rental marketplace where Ember maintains Premier Host status. Functions as a key demand channel rather than a management peer, but its fee structure and host policies materially affect Ember's unit economics.
• Marriott Homes & Villas: Marriott's premium whole-home vacation rental program offering professionally managed luxury homes with Marriott Bonvoy loyalty integration. Competes with Ember for premium travelers in destination markets but operates within Marriott's broader hotel portfolio.
• Airbnb: Global marketplace that distributes Ember's listings via Superhost badges. Not a direct management peer, but a critical channel partner; competes indirectly with Ember's direct booking site for guest demand.

Direct peers

• Vacasa: North America's largest vacation rental management company, providing full-service professional management for homeowners in 30+ destinations. Directly comparable to Ember Stays on managed whole-home vacation rentals, multi-channel distribution, and dynamic pricing — though at materially greater scale.
• Sonder: Tech-enabled hospitality operator offering apartment-style and whole-unit accommodations with app-driven check-in and consistent design standards. Comparable to Ember on design-forward units, smart-lock self check-in, and a software-meets-hospitality positioning.
• Evolve: Tech-enabled vacation rental manager that combines a national homeowner base with a lighter-touch management model. Competes with Ember for homeowner acquisition in destination markets and shares the playbook of multi-channel distribution (Airbnb, VRBO, direct) and dynamic pricing.
• Casago (formerly Vacasa Premium): Vacasa-affiliated premium vacation rental brand emphasizing full-service management in destination markets. Comparable to Ember on luxury positioning, homeowner services, and multi-channel distribution.
• AvantStay: Luxury-focused short-term rental manager operating premium whole-home vacation rentals in destination markets. Closest peer to Ember on luxury positioning, group/family segment focus, and tech-enabled operations; competes head-to-head for premium homeowners in mountain and coastal destinations.
• TurnKey Vacation Rentals: Professional vacation rental management company using proprietary technology for cleaning, maintenance, and guest experience. Comparable to Ember on the integration of hospitality technology with property management and on multi-channel distribution.

Emerging players

• Kasa Living: Tech-enabled short-term and extended-stay accommodation operator with professionally managed apartments and homes across multiple US markets. Comparable to Ember on technology-driven operations and a multi-market expansion strategy in the alternative accommodation space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ember-stays

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ember Stays