Macquarie Offers Take On U.S. Online Travel Group

In a report published Thursday, Macquarie Capital analyst Tom White analyzed paid and organic search listings on Google.com for over 180 vacation rental markets globally.

"The online vacation rental industry is transitioning from a listing/subscription-based revenue model and offline booking paradigm towards commission-based monetization and e-bookings/eCommerce," White wrote. "Similar to hotel booking sites, we expect the large rental marketplaces to increasingly compete and differentiate around three key areas: inventory breadth, conversion rates, and marketing/SEM execution."

Here are the analyst's key findings:

HomeAway: Early Signs Of SEM Advantage

According to White, HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY)'s investments in marketing are beginning to show a growing SEM/visibility advantage versus other vacation rental places, such as Airbnb.

The analyst noted that HomeAway brands accounted for 21 percent of paid search listings on Google.com for relevant queries, marking an improvement from 16 percent in March and 14 percent in January. As such, the company's share of the top and first paid Google listing rose to 19 percent at the end of May from 13 percent in March.

On the other hand, Airbnb remains the most visible brand in Google.com's top/first ad slot with a 24 percent market share. However, its market share was as high as 41 percent as of March.

HomeAway was also labeled by the analyst as the "clear" organic search leader, with 47 percent of the first five organic Google listings for relevant search.

Tripadvisor: Growing Its Vacation Rental Share

White said that Tripadvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) was the only other large vacation rental provider that increased its search visibility in the second quarter. The company saw its share of the first five paid Google listings rising to 12 percent from 10 percent in March and saw its share of Google's top/first paid listing rising to 9 percent from 5 percent in March.