OYO is boosting its overseas vacation rental business in Europe with the acquisition of vacation rental management company Direct Booker for $5.5 million.
The acquisition was made via OYO Vacation Homes, which already owns a number of vacation rental brands in Europe including Belvilla and DanCenter, will strengthen OYO’s presence in Croatia, where it has nearly 1,800 vacation homes through its Belvilla platform and over 7,000 homes through Traum Ferienwohnungen. OYO already has a strong footprint in The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Austria, etc.
Direct Booker has 2,400-plus homes in Dubrovnik region and another 800-plus in other parts of Croatia. Initially available on Belvilla.com, the Direct Booker inventory will be gradually available on other OYO platforms.
Mandar Vaidya, CEO of OYO Europe, says: “We see a huge benefit in offering more holiday homes in the Dalmatian region. We are particularly excited about Dubrovnik, Croatia’s most visited tourist destination, where we will significantly improve our footprint with this acquisition. Direct Booker is a great addition to our portfolio of hotels and homes in Croatia and across Europe.”
OYO made its entry into the vacation rental space in Europe with the acquisition of @Leisure in 2019 for €360 million, now known as OYO Vacation Homes. It also acquired TUI’s rental tour operating business six months later and has been actively scouting for ‘tuck-in’ acquisitions in the European market.
Explaining the rationale behind the acquisition, Ankit Tandon, Global Chief Business Officer, OYO, who led this acquisition, said, “Homes continue to be an important strategic segment for OYO. With our leading Operating System, Dynamic Pricing capability and other data science enabled features, we have been able to add value to our over 140,000 Home Storefronts globally and I am excited to welcome Direct Booker under the OYO umbrella.
“I am sure OYO’s cutting edge technology, distribution systems and data sciences will add more value to their current 3,200 homes and enhance our collective growth in Europe. We continue to focus on going deep in Europe and delivering the best Vacation Home experiences to our customers.”
Expressing his enthusiasm on being a part of OYO, Nino Dubretic, CEO & Co-Founder of Direct Booker, commented, “We are happy to join forces with a global travel tech company like OYO. We strongly believe that by merging our technologies and expertise, this partnership will positively impact the Croatian tourism economy, further driving demand through OYO’s existing platforms spread across Europe.
“Being a part of OYO’s network will also increase visibility for the homes listed on our platform, especially across Scandinavian, Benelux and surrounding countries. The next couple of months will be truly exciting as we work towards building our business together” he added.
