Japanese ski resorts pave way to further growth for Villa Finder

[SINGAPORE] From country homes in Europe to ski resorts in Japan, short-stay platform Villa Finder’s pandemic recovery was aided by going beyond its original territory of Bali, where it began in 2012.

Like many travel-related businesses, the Singapore-based company was hit hard by Covid-19 border closures, losing some 95 per cent of its business, said co-founder and CEO Daniel Rouquette.

Undeterred, the team followed travellers to a new overseas market: Europe, which reopened borders far earlier in the pandemic.

“It was the only place where travel still happened,” he said. Villa Finder took the leap into Europe in 2020, as it was uncertain how long travel restrictions in Asia were going to last.

Yet, the move was challenging. Europe had well-established rental platforms and a very different customer base.

“They’re very, very different – the way people travel, their expectation in properties. Everything is so different,” Rouquette said.

For instance, the South-east Asian properties with which he was familiar usually provided services such as cooking, cleaning and maintenance. These were not so readily available in Europe, meaning that Villa Finder’s listed properties could not provide the same level of hospitality.

Still, after a “steep learning phase” of three to four years, Rouquette feels that Villa Finder is finally starting to catch up and “add value” to Europe by strategically picking villas.

Before the pandemic, the company had explored regional markets such as Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in 2019.

But Rouquette and his team found that some were not a good fit, due to a lack of properties. Villa Finder pulled out of Myanmar in 2021 and kept only a couple of villas in the other markets.

In April 2022, Singapore finally lifted travel restrictions. Within just a few days, Villa Finder’s operations surged back to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

The company then hit the jackpot in late 2022 when it ventured into its newest market: Japan.

Smooth entry to Japan

A large part of revenue growth has since come from their bustling ski-focused base in Japan, contributed by the winter seasons of 2022 to 2024. Japan now accounts for 9 per cent of total revenue.

From FY2023 to FY2024, Villa Finder’s total revenue grew 24 per cent to S$4 million. Last winter, the company saw almost 300 bookings across its markets – with 90 per cent for stays in the ski area of Niseko in Hokkaido.

Rouquette noted that more than 600,000 Singaporeans visited Japan last year. Also frequenting Japanese ski resorts were tourists from Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand – including guests who have stayed with Villa Finder before.

“They already know the standard that we deliver in Bali,” said Rouquette.

In contrast to Europe, Villa Finder did not face many hurdles in establishing itself in Japan.

Most of the villas it offers are in Hokkaido and Nagano, centred on popular ski resorts. To cater to skiers’ needs, the team chose villas with amenities such as drying rooms and hot spring baths.

Location is another vital consideration, and the team pays attention to local transport, accessibility, restaurant availability, and more.

Team members personally visit popular areas to look for new properties. Said Rouquette: “That’s how you find the really unique properties.”

Close communication

It takes from three months to two years for Villa Finder to establish a new overseas market.

After agreeing to work with Villa Finder, the property owners decide a price for the listing. Then, Villa Finder takes the reins, conducting inspections to confirm the standard of each villa and handling guest communications.

Depending on location, Villa Finder gets a commission of between 12 and 20 per cent of the cost of each stay.

Since the pandemic, the platform has also improved its customer service.

Before Covid-19, conversations took place via e-mail, which could result in lags. Now, the team communicates with guests mainly through WhatsApp, and reservations are available 24/7 on Villa Finder’s website.

Guests today expect speedier replies and greater privacy, observed Rouquette. Villa Finder has thus been developing its concierge service team.

“The role of this team is to purely assist our guests during their stay,” he said. “We’re not there to just help them book the property, but also improve (their) whole experience.”

Equipped with information about each destination – from popular scenic spots to local services and food recommendations – the concierge service team takes guests’ questions from 6 am to 10 pm daily.

They might, for instance, provide contact information for ski rentals, shuttles and lessons for guests staying in villas in Japan.

“It’s a few small things, but it really helps people see how well we know our destinations,” said Rouquette.

Helping property owners

For property owners, Villa Finder launched a property management service at the end of April, in Bali, Indonesia.

Rouquette hopes to have at least five property owners on board by the end of the quarter, and 20 owners by the end of the year.

Many property owners are themselves foreigners, said Rouquette, and thus unfamiliar with local cleaning and maintenance services. So, they may end up being overcharged.

Bali is Villa Finder’s first and biggest market, contributing 70 per cent of annual revenue. Demand there is high all year round, said Rouquette. In 2024, Villa Finder had slightly over 5,000 bookings for Bali.

Apart from demand, villa supply has been surging in recent months, especially in the Canggu area in the south of Bali, noted Rouquette. “There has been a lot of competition in the way that supply has grown faster than demand.”

Some owners have been suffering as the supply glut has caused prices to plunge. With such price competition, many owners have not been able to afford investments in renovation and upgrades, he noted.

Villa Finder’s property management service helps property owners take care of their villas, in exchange for 20 per cent of net profit from stays.

The platform will reach out to trusted companies for cleaning and renovation services, relieving owners of the responsibility of maintaining the villa.

Apart from improving its services, Villa Finder’s focus is to strengthen its presence in destinations where it is well-established: Indonesia, Japan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Mauritius, France, Italy and Spain.

“We know our strength,” said Rouquette. “We do one thing at a time and we try to do it well.”

It has a couple of other properties elsewhere to test the waters, but there are no solid business plans for new markets yet, as adding a new destination is not a short and breezy process.

Each overseas foray requires a couple of months to be trialled. Therefore, the team must not only see strong business prospects there, but also be interested in exploring further. Said Rouquette: “It’s mostly about which destination we fall in love with.”