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HomeAway.com, Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: AWAY
IndustryTravel
FoundedFebruary 2005
FoundersBrian Sharples and Carl Shepherd
Headquarters
Austin, TX
,
USA
Key people
Brian Sharples (CEO)
Carl Shepherd (CDO)
Brent Bellm (COO)
Tom Hale (CPO)
Ross Buhrdorf (CTO)
Lynn Atchison (CFO)
ServicesVacation Rentals
Websitewww.homeaway.com

HomeAway, Inc. is an online vacation rental marketplace.[1] HomeAway connects homeowners and property managers who advertise (or list) their properties available for rent with travelers who choose these alternative accommodations instead of hotels.

HomeAway was funded by venture capital firms Austin Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures and Trident Capital.[2] The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional offices in Colorado, Virginia, New York, England, Germany, Brazil and France.[3]

History

HomeAway, Inc was founded in February 2005.[2] The company initially acquired several sites and consolidated them into a single vacation marketplace, launching HomeAway.com in June 2006.[4] Travelers can search HomeAway.com to find a vacation rental for free and homeowners can pay to advertise their property.[5]

The acquisitions that HomeAway has made include:

Date Acquisition Location
2005 CyberRentals.com[6] U.S.
2005 GreatRentals.com[6] U.S.
2005 A1Vacations.com[6] U.S.
2005 TripHomes.com[6] U.S.
2005 Holiday-Rentals.co.uk[6] United Kingdom
2005 FeWo-direkt.de[6] Germany
2006 VRBO.com[7] U.S.
2007 Arbritel.fr[8] France
2007 VacationRentals.com[9] U.S.
2007 OwnersDirect.co.uk[10] United Kingdom
2009 Homelidays.com[11] France
2010 BedandBreakfast.com[12] U.S.
2010 AlugueTemporada.com.br[13] Brazil
2010 Escapia [14] US
2012 Toprural.com[15] Spain

HomeAway moved into its new global headquarters in Austin, Texas on October 2, 2009; the first mixed-use project and the second company in Austin to achieve LEED Gold certification for Commercial Interior Design.[16]

On November 18, 2009, Us Weekly announced that HomeAway would reunite actors Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo in a new short film and advertising campaign based on National Lampoon’s Vacation. The HomeAway ad represents the company’s first national advertising campaign that debuted during the CBS television network broadcast of Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010.[17]

Financing

HomeAway announced in November 2006 its $160 million in financing to fund global expansion initiatives, including the acquisition of VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner).[2] On November 11, 2008, HomeAway announced it had completed an additional $250 million equity capital raise.[18] The investment was led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) and with existing investors Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) and Redpoint Ventures.[19] In 2010 the Wall Street Journal named HomeAway one of the top 10 venture funded companies.[20]

Competitive environment

On March 5, 2011, QuickHome announced its entrance into the vacation rental and home exchange marketplace, three years ago, on August 19, 2008, Orbitz entered into the vacation rental marketplace too.[21] The following day after the Orbitz announcement, Expedia’s TripAdvisor Web site took a majority stake in FlipKey, a website that features vacation rental properties and verified guest reviews.[22]

Craigslist also lists vacation rental properties.[23] Other lodging alternatives to hotels include Homelink.org and HomeExchange.com that offer home swaps, BeWelcome.org, Couchsurfing.org and HospitalityClub.org, Airbnb.com, 9flats.com and Wimdu.com which offer rooms or space in homes to travelers, Hosteling International which offers dorm-style accommodations.[24]

See Also

References

  1. ^ *Cain Miller, Claire. "Vacation Rental Site Raises $250 Million", New York Times, November 11, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c *Nuttall, Chris. "HomeAway makes $250m VC round splash", FinancialTimes.com, November 11, 2008.
  3. ^ HomeAway.com "About HomeAway", HomeAway.com, 2010. <October 26, 2010>
  4. ^ *Austin Business Journal. "Live the destination: Local company launches vacation rental Web site", Austin Business Journal, June 7, 2006.
  5. ^ *Perkins, Ed. "What's the Best Way to Arrange a Vacation Rental, Smarter Travel, April, 19, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e f *CrunchBase."HomeAway Corporate Profile", CrunchBase.
  7. ^ *Austin Business Journal."Vacation rental site lands $160M, buys competitor", Austin Business Journal November 13, 2006.
  8. ^ *Austin Business Journal."HomeAway buys French Web site", Austin Business Journal January 22, 2007.
  9. ^ *Austin Business Journal."HomeAway continues buying spree", Austin Business Journal May 14, 2007.
  10. ^ *Austin Business Journal."HomeAway continues buying streak with UK-based acquisition", Austin Business Journal October 2, 2007.
  11. ^ *Austin Business Journal."HomeAway picks up Homelidays SAS of Paris", Austin Business Journal February 4, 2009.
  12. ^ *Travel Weekly."HomeAway buys B&B website", Jerry Limone March 3, 2010.
  13. ^ *TechCrunch."HomeAway Expands To South America With Purchase Of Brazilian Counterpart", Robin Wauters March 9, 2010.
  14. ^ *HomeAway.[1]
  15. ^ *TheNextWeb."HomeAway acquires Spain’s rural tourism site Toprural in all-cash deal", The Next Web April 2, 2012.
  16. ^ *Austin Business Journal."HomeAway HQ nabs LEED gold rating", Austin Business Journal, April 15, 2010.
  17. ^ *US Weekly. "Exclusive: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo to Reprise Vacation Roles", US Weekly, November 18, 2009.
  18. ^ "Some Startups Still Lure Investors", BusinessWeek.com.
  19. ^ *Ante, Spencer. "HomeAway: A Find in Online Vacation Rentals", BusinessWeek Online, November 11, 2008.
  20. ^ *DEBAISE, Colleen and Austin, Scott. "Sizing Up Promising Young Firms ", Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2010.
  21. ^ *Kaufman, David. "Orbitz adds vacation rentals to online offerings", Associated Press, August 19, 2008.
  22. ^ *Munarriz, Rick Aristotle. "Expedia's Widening Hammock", The Motley Fool, August 20, 2008.
  23. ^ *Perkins, Ed. "Can you trust travel deals on eBay and Craigslist?", USA Today, September 16, 2010.
  24. ^ *Sullivan, Laura. "Budget Travel Tips: Skip the Hotel With These Five Lodging Alternatives", Mint.com Blog, August 16, 2010.
General references

T+L’s Top Travel Websites of 2009, Travel + Leisure
T+L’s Top Travel Websites of 2010, Travel + Leisure
The Best Sites to Search, Budget Travel (2009)
Best of the Web, BusinessWeek (2008)
30 Best Travel Sites, Kiplinger.com - 2009
Internet Company Raises $250 Million. In This Market?, Wall Street Journal (2008)
Save money while you travel, Earn while you sleep. The Travelling Slacker (2011)

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