HomeAway Now Provides Services for Lifecycle of Second Homes
AUSTIN, Texas--(Business Wire)--
HomeAway, Inc., the largest international network of vacation
rental websites, today announced its acquisition of EscapeHomes.com, a
10-year-old online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of
second homes and resort real estate.
The acquisition means HomeAway now provides comprehensive services
for second home owners for the lifecycle of their properties.
Through its popular vacation rental sites, including HomeAway.com,
VRBO.com, Holiday-Rentals.co.uk, Abritel.fr and FeWo-direkt.de,
HomeAway has already streamlined the process for homeowners to easily
and affordably advertise their vacation rental properties. With
EscapeHomes, HomeAway significantly expands its offerings, providing
owners the tools to research and find real estate professionals who
specialize in second homes and their dream vacation, investment or
retirement home.
"The purchase of EscapeHomes was a natural next step for our
business, making HomeAway the only company specializing in second
homes throughout the entire ownership process," says Brian Sharples,
CEO of HomeAway.
Second home sales accounted for a third of existing and new home
sales in 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.
"HomeAway is excited to apply our expertise in and commitment to
providing owners the best and most trusted resources to the second
home real estate market," says Sharples.
A redesign of EscapeHomes.com is currently underway. However, the
site will continue to feature the popular profiles of real estate
agents, detail-rich descriptions of locations, second home lifestyle
advice and decision support tools.
As part of its relaunch, EscapeHomes invites real estate agents to
participate in its "Open House" program to receive a free subscription
to the site and immediately benefit from its exceptional search engine
rankings. This limited-time offer allows agents to create a
personalized agent profile and feature unlimited vacation property
listings.
EscapeHomes was founded by highly-respected real estate veteran
Clark Thompson. Recognizing the Internet could streamline the
time-consuming and costly process of finding a second home and
locating qualified agents in remote destinations, Thompson founded the
company to make the search for a second home easier.
EscapeHomes is led by a team of second home and vacation rental
industry veterans from HomeAway's Austin, TX headquarters. The terms
of the acquisition were not disclosed.
About HomeAway:
The HomeAway, Inc. websites connect homeowners and property
managers with travelers who seek the space, value and amenities of
vacation rental homes as an alternative to hotels. With more than
284,000 global listings across the sites, travelers may easily search
for budget to luxury-priced vacation rentals on HomeAway.com,
VRBO.com, VacationRentals.com, CyberRentals.com, A1Vacations.com,
GreatRentals.com, TripHomes.com, Holiday-Rentals.co.uk,
OwnersDirect.co.uk, FeWo-direkt.de and Abritel.fr. The sites also
feature Reviews and the HomeAway Rent with Confidence Guarantee(TM),
which help ensure a memorable HomeAway from home(R)
experience. HomeAway is headquartered in Austin, Texas and funded by
Austin Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, American Capital, Institutional
Venture Partners and Trident Capital.
HomeAway, Inc., Austin
Eileen Buesing, 512-493-0375
Director of Public Relations
ebuesing@homeaway.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
