With more than 1 million paid listings in more than 190 countries, Expedia’s pending acquisition of HomeAway is a game-changer in that it saves Expedia years of building up its own vacation rental supply in an increasingly important lodging sector. Last night, Expedia announced its acquisition of HomeAway, a sharing-economy style holiday rental web site, for nearly $4bn in a transaction expected to close in Q1 2016. The travel industry has experienced a wave of consolidation over the past year, as more traditional players seek to keep new competitors, such as Airbnb, at bay. Expedia has been one of the most acquisitive in the sector over the past twelve months, buying Travelocity, Orbitz Worldwide and Australia's Wotif. In an interview with Reuters, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that he was "excited" about the deal, which will help Expedia's business model by allowing it to offer consumers better deals on travel. However, with more than 1 million paid listings in more than 190 countries, Expedia’s pending acquisition of HomeAway is a game-changer in that it saves Expedia years of building up its own vacation rental supply in an increasingly important lodging sector." Furthermore, HomeAway announced it will introduce a booking fee for the first time in Q2 2016. HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples said the company’s “traveller’s fee” would average around 6% of the booking but would be levelled on a sliding scale.
Last night, Expedia announced its acquisition of HomeAway, a sharing-economy style holiday rental web site, for nearly $4bn in a transaction expected to close in Q1 2016. The travel industry has experienced a wave of consolidation over the past year, as more traditional players seek to keep new competitors, such as Airbnb, at bay. Expedia has been one of the most acquisitive in the sector over the past twelve months, buying Travelocity, Orbitz Worldwide and Australia's Wotif. In an interview with Reuters, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that he was "excited" about the deal, which will help Expedia's business model by allowing it to offer consumers better deals on travel. However, with more than 1 million paid listings in more than 190 countries, Expedia’s pending acquisition of HomeAway is a game-changer in that it saves Expedia years of building up its own vacation rental supply in an increasingly important lodging sector." Furthermore, HomeAway announced it will introduce a booking fee for the first time in Q2 2016. HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples said the company’s “traveller’s fee” would average around 6% of the booking but would be levelled on a sliding scale.