HomeAway acquires the Dwellable holiday rental search engine
HomeAway, an online marketplace for the holiday accomodation rental industry, yesterday announced the acquisition of Dwellable, an online holiday rental search engine and app. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Following the deal, Dwellable will phase out its mobile app and website, therefore new reservations ceased to be accepted after October 1. Similarly, owners and property managers have not been able to access listings on Dwellable since this date, but will use HomeAway to do so.

HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY), the world leader in vacation rentals, today announces the acquisition of Dwellable, an online vacation rental search engine and top-rated vacation rental app (1) that provides unique, interactive ways for travelers to find and book vacation rentals.

The Dwellable team and mobile app technology will be leveraged for the enhancement of the HomeAway® app, to enable families and groups to experience the beauty of whole vacations.

“The Dwellable team has built an incredible product with an impressive and growing base of travelers who use the app to book vacation rentals,” says HomeAway Co-founder and CEO Brian Sharples. “With 48 percent of travelers coming to HomeAway from mobile devices (2), it’s important for us to continue improving our mobile experience, with an even stronger emphasis on functionality and design for the traveler. Dwellable will help us take that next step.”

The HomeAway app has gone through significant upgrades in recent years thanks to the investment in social travel platform Gogobot in 2015 and the acquisition of mobile app developer Glad to Have You in 2014. The HomeAway app already has more than two million downloads in 2015 (3) and a four-plus rating for iOS and Android.

Travelers using HomeAway to book a vacation rental can improve their whole vacation experience through the app by accessing information about the home and surrounding areas and activities through Gogobot, hailing an Uber car ride, ordering Instacart grocery delivery and hiring a babysitter from Care.com.

Dwellable will phase out its mobile app and website, therefore new reservations ceased to be accepted after October 1. Similarly, owners and property managers will not be able to access listings on Dwellable after this date, but will use HomeAway to do so.

To download the HomeAway mobile app, visit iTunes or Google Play.

About HomeAway:

HomeAway, Inc. based in Austin, Texas, is the world's leading online marketplace for the vacation rental industry, with sites representing over one million paid listings of vacation rental homes in 190 countries. Through HomeAway, owners and property managers offer an extensive selection of vacation homes that provide travelers with memorable experiences and benefits, including more room to relax and added privacy, for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodations. The company also makes it easy for vacation rental owners and property managers to advertise their properties and manage bookings online. The HomeAway portfolio includes the leading vacation rental websites HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; HomeAway.co.uk and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de in Germany; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; HomeAway.es and Toprural.es in Spain; AlugueTemporada.com.br in Brazil; HomeAway.com.au and Stayz.com.au in Australia; and Bookabach.co.nz in New Zealand. Asia Pacific short-term rental site, travelmob.com, is also owned by HomeAway.

HomeAway also operates BedandBreakfast.com, the most comprehensive global site for finding bed-and-breakfast properties, providing travelers with another source for unique lodging alternatives to chain hotels.

(1) Apple App Store and Google Play ratings, 2015

(2) HomeAway site traffic generated from a mobile device, Q2 2015

(3) HomeAway mobile app downloads in Apple App Store and Google Play, Jan.1 2015-Sept. 29, 2015