Awayday Announces Strategic Investment by Ares Management and LightBay Capital

DESTIN, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Awayday (the “Company”), a leading full-service U.S. vacation rental property manager, today announced a strategic investment made by an Ares Management Private Equity fund (“Ares”). The existing financial sponsor, LightBay Capital (“LightBay”), a Los Angeles-based growth-focused private equity firm, fully realized its investment in Fund I and re-invested in the Company alongside Ares in Fund II. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Awayday is a leading provider of short-term vacation rental management, offering a full suite of services for property owners, including property listing, online bookings, housekeeping, and maintenance. The Company’s local focus coupled with national scale aims to ensure quality experiences and 24/7 assistance for property owners and guests. Awayday’s reputation for quality service has led to strong property retention and a sustained track record of organic growth. Today, the Company operates a diversified portfolio of leading local brands with over 9,000 properties under management.

This new partnership provides Awayday with additional capital to further scale its go-to-market strategy, accelerate its pace of acquisitions, drive organic growth in new and existing markets, and invest in tools to improve its services to owners and guests.

“Over the last four years, LightBay has been a tremendous partner in our mission to create exceptional vacation rental experiences – supporting our expansion while improving margins, driving revenue per unit, boosting customer satisfaction, and elevating our culture,” said Jakob Dwyer, CEO, Awayday. “We’re thrilled to add the strategic and financial support of the Ares team to further strengthen our ability to help great businesses grow and drive value for our partners, investors, and team. I want to thank our entire team for their contributions that have enabled us to achieve this remarkable milestone, and I look forward to the exciting work happening at Awayday and the opportunity to execute our strategy alongside LightBay and now Ares.”

“Awayday’s operating model blends local in-market execution with the benefits of a national property management platform,” said Jordan Smith, Partner in the Ares Private Equity Group. “We believe this combination positions the Company to capitalize on secular tailwinds in the short-term vacation rental industry. We look forward to partnering with management and LightBay in this next phase of growth.”

“The Awayday team has generated strong momentum through its systematic approach to driving growth and its deep commitment to its customers, owners and communities,” said David Burcham, Partner at LightBay. “We're proud to have built this industry leader with Jakob and his team, and we're thrilled to welcome Ares as our partner, whose expertise and resources will be invaluable as we collectively continue to build and support Awayday.”

Piper Sandler & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Awayday and LightBay. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Ares on the transaction.

About Awayday

Awayday is a leading vacation rental property platform composed of 30 local brands in vacation-focused destinations across the U.S. With more than 9,000 exclusive properties managed, Awayday provides property owners with a fully integrated suite of local services, including rental bookings, cleaning and housekeeping, maintenance and repairs, unit inspections, equipment rentals, and 24/7 customer support. Awayday offers guests a vast portfolio of exclusive properties, reliable bookings and billings, local experiences. and hands-on customer service. For more information, please visit www.awayday.com.

About Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of March 31, 2025, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had approximately $546 billion of assets under management, with operations across North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.

About LightBay Capital

LightBay Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that invests in high-quality companies to accelerate growth. Primarily focused on the healthcare, business services, and consumer services industries, the LightBay Capital team has been partnering with innovative service-based companies for over twenty years. For more information, please visit www.lightbay.com.