Expedia is going after the growing number of short-term rental holidaymakers, with the acquisition of holiday rental company, HomeAway.
The purchase was made this week for some AU$5.4 billion and gives Expedia ownership of HomeAway and its subsidiary, Stayz.
Although Expedia and HomeAway have been in partnership for around two years, the acquisition gives the group full access to the 1.2 million properties in HomeAway’s catalogue as well as it increasing number of users.
It also assists Expedia in competing with the highly popular online holiday rental website, Airbnb,
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the purchase was the next logical step.
Expedia plans to bolster the website’s presence by shifting it from a classified marketplace that require pre-booking contact between supplier and booker to a more instant booking model.
HomeAway Chief Executive, Brian Sharples, expects the website to benefit from Expedia’s distribution and expertise.
“In this way, I believe our combination with Expedia will turbocharge our growth and industry leadership for many years to come.”
Brian Sharples, HomeAway Chief Executive
