Posts Tagged ‘M&A’

HomeAway enters Brazil by acquiring AlugueTemporada.com.br

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Edited Press Release

HomeAway, Inc.,the leading online vacation rental marketplace, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Qualimidia Veiculacao e Divulgacao Ltda, publisher of AlugueTemporada.com.br, a leading vacation rental site in Brazil. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

aluguetemporada.com.br website

aluguetemporada.com.br website

With its acquisition of the largest vacation rental website in South America, HomeAway extends its virtual borders beyond North America and Europe and increases its total vacation rental listings to more than 475,000.  A recognized vacation rental brand among Brazilian travelers, AlugueTemporada, which means “vacation rentals” in Portuguese, features more than 12,000 property listings located in Brazil.

“HomeAway is committed to offering a global inventory of trusted vacation rental homes, giving travelers more affordable alternatives to hotels wherever they travel,” says HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples.  “Brazil has become one of the world’s most exciting markets and an increasingly favorite destination among HomeAway’s European travelers.  We’re looking forward to making Brazil more accessible to them and introducing this market to our U.S. customers.”

“AlugueTemporada has always provided a tremendous value for our travelers and owners in South America, but we feel we can now better serve them by joining the worldwide distribution network HomeAway has created and promoting these extraordinary vacation properties to a broader audience,” says Jed Alcure, President of Qualimidia.

The site will continue to operate as an independent brand from its office in the popular vacation destination of Rio de Janeiro, which hosts the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

The acquisition of AlugueTemporada further strengthens HomeAway’s global leadership position in the fast-growing $48 billion vacation rental segment of the travel industry.

AlugueTemporada is published in and supported by a team that speaks English and Portuguese. HomeAway also operates HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; HomeAway.co.uk (HomeAway Holiday-Rentals) and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de (HomeAway FeWo-direkt) in Germany; and HomeAway sites in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

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HomeAway enters B&B market by acquiring Bedandbreakfast.com

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Edited Press Release

HomeAway, the leading online vacation rental marketplace, today announced its acquisition of BedandBreakfast.com, a global site for finding bed-and-breakfast properties (B&Bs). With this acquisition, HomeAway strengthens its position as the No. 1 source for unique lodging alternatives to hotels. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bedandbreakfast.com website

Bedandbreakfast.com website

“HomeAway already provides the most trusted sites and broadest inventory for searching for the ideal vacation rental home,” says Brian Sharples, chief executive officer of HomeAway. “With the addition of BedandBreakfast.com, we’re providing travelers with another option to find home-like accommodations for a vacation experience that delivers far greater satisfaction than staying in a traditional motel or hotel.”

BedandBreakfast.com was founded in Austin, Texas, in 1995 by CEO Eric Goldreyer, and has grown into a top travel site listing more than 10,000 B&Bs across 100 countries. The site specializes in providing travelers with a way to have a more personal travel experience for a weekend getaway, business trip or extended vacation.

“We are thrilled to be joining the HomeAway family,” says Goldreyer. “The missions of our two companies are closely aligned – to help consumers easily find and experience a better lodging option than chain hotels and to help property owners effectively compete for and serve the traveler.”

HomeAway plans to operate BedandBreakfast.com as an independent brand.

About BedandBreakfast.com:
Founded in 1995, BedandBreakfast.com is a leading specialty travel website with detailed information on over 10,000 B&Bs worldwide. Travelers can research information including over 50,000 photos, over 100,000 unbiased consumer reviews, and make confirmed reservations instantly at almost 2,000 properties. Welcome at more than 4,000 B&Bs, BedandBreakfast.com Gift Cards have no restrictions or blackouts, and are available online or at over 20,000 retail locations. BedandBreakfast.com also owns and operates RezOvation, a PA-DSS and Microsoft Gold-certified leader in property management systems.

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Perfect Places, Inc. Acquires forgetaway.com from the Weather Channel Interactive

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Edited Press Release

Perfect Places, Inc. today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire a selection of Vacation Rental websites from The Weather Channel Interactive for an undisclosed amount.  Theses vacation rentals websites include forGetaway.com, RentJillsHouse.com, LakeRentals.com and CoastRentals.com and will complement the PerfectPlaces.com portfolio, which includes over 50,000 vacation rental listings in 98 countries.

forgetaway.com's website

forgetaway.com's website

With the purchase of these sites from The Weather Channel Interactive, Perfect Places aims to identify the emerging niche travel market, including lake properties and beach and coastal properties.  This latest move from Perfect Places provides customers with channels designed specifically for their individual interests at both professionally managed properties and properties that are available directly from the property owners.

“Travelers looking for properties at the beach or on a lake will be able to use a Web site in our portfolio that cuts through the clutter and provides the information they need to plan their next vacation,” said Rick Haggart, founder and president of Perfect Places. “Our goal is to offer a world class selection of vacation rentals for leisure travelers and make it as simple as possible.”

In an effort to streamline and make the process of searching and booking a vacation rental more convenient, Perfect Places plans to integrate its leading online technology into all the new sites.  The online booking agent allows travelers to securely pay with a credit card and review the property costs and rental agreement quickly and easily prior to booking.

Vacation rentals make it easier for friends to take a trip together, because of flexible options and the controlled cost verse staying in a hotel.  In fact, according to recent research from PhocusWright, the travel industry research authority on how travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect, vacation rentals represent more than one fifth of all hotel room revenue and 8 percent of the total U.S. travel market.  “Perfect Places has been in operation for almost 15 years and this latest acquisition will help us further our mission to offer a compelling alternative to travelers seeking additional space, amenities and value that hotels are often unable to match,” noted Haggart.

About Perfect Places, Inc.

Perfect Places is a vacation rental website offering over 50,000 properties worldwide and receiving millions of annual visitors seeking vacation rentals. PerfectPlaces.com is owned by Perfect Places, Inc., a Mountain View, California-based, privately held company.

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BlogCatalog.com’s owners acquire Vacation Rentals Unlimited

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Edited Press Release

Vacation Rentals Unlimited, a vacation rental listing marketplace, that connects renters with vacation rental owners, was recently purchased by entrepreneurs Tony Berkman and Angelica Alaniz. According to Vacation Rentals Unlimited, the site lists thousands of vacation rentals across the United States and the world and reaches hundreds of thousands of people every year.

Vacation Rentals Unlimited Website

Vacation Rentals Unlimited Website

For Berkman and Alaniz, best known for developing BlogCatalog.com into the leading social network for bloggers, this is the second time they have partnered to develop a vacation rental listing site. Prior to purchasing BlogCatalog.com in February 2007, Berkman and Alaniz founded, developed, and sold one of the first online vacation rental sites on the Internet.

“Today, the vacation rental online space is clearly one of the most competitive on the Internet,” said Berkman. “However, we’re convinced that our experience in social media and online community development will provide the industry a badly needed lift in what has become a static experience. Vacation Rentals Unlimited is a perfect site to be redesigned and turned around.”

According to Berkman, major changes will be made to Vacation Rentals Unlimited within the next six weeks, including the addition of network features that will allow renters or property management companies to communicate with potential customers, rate and review locations and properties, and develop relationships long after the initial vacation for repeat business.

“This was one of the hardest hit travel and tourism sectors in the recession, but we believe it will be one of the first industries to bounce back as people who put off their vacations will be looking for a better value than hotel chains can offer,” said Berkman. “Once the social media components are added into the site, we’re certain that this will be an ideal space for renters and property management companies to generate a large volume of repeat visitors and renters who want something more out of their vacation.”

Vacation rentals are currently being offered by as much as 60 percent off in highly sought-after vacation markets such as Myrtle Beach, Orlando and the Poconos. Some renters are even offering free tickets to area attractions, discounted boat tours, and free rounds of golf. Berkman said social media features will make such offerings easier for property owners and management companies to offer such incentives during off weeks.

Vacation Rentals Unlimited was originally launched in 2003. Berkman and Alaniz closed on the sale of the site in June.

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