World’s Largest Marketplace for Alternative Accommodations, HomeAway®, Breaks One Million Live Vacation Rental Listings
AUSTIN, TX (PRWEB) June 25, 2014 -- HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ:AWAY), the world’s leading online marketplace for vacation rentals, today announced its one millionth live vacation rental listing. The milestone further establishes HomeAway as the world’s largest marketplace for alternative accommodations – the inventory listed is nearly twice the size of any other vacation rental company and, by renting an entire vacation home, families and groups have access to more than 2.8 million rooms, more than the world’s four largest hotel companies have combined.
In celebration of this milestone, HomeAway is giving away $10,000 for a stay in a vacation rental with its “Million Ways to Stay Contest.” Travelers are invited to enter for a chance to win a stay in the destination of their choice by liking HomeAway on Facebook (more details are included below).
In 2006, HomeAway listed 60,000 vacation homes in 90 countries when it launched HomeAway.com. Now, through its network of sites, the company offers vacation rentals in 190 countries around the world. HomeAway could not have achieved such steady growth the past several years without property managers and homeowners taking advantage of the growing awareness of vacation rentals as a more affordable alternative to hotels, particularly for families and groups, and therefore increasingly listing their second homes. As a result, in 2013, owners and property managers collectively earned more than $11 billion in rental revenue and travelers shared more than 201 million memories together in HomeAway rentals, when you consider each person has a lasting memory from each day he or she is on vacation1.
Today, HomeAway offers something for everyone with properties in 99 percent of countries in the world, covering every type of location, including oceanfront, lakefront, downtown, mountain and many more. Travelers seeking off-the-beaten-path experiences can also find their dream accommodations with properties ranging from cabooses to castles, yurts to yachts, tipis to treehouses or even an airplane.
“We’re excited to reach this milestone, and not just because it proves the industry is growing and thriving,” said Brian Sharples, HomeAway co-founder and CEO. “But also because for nine years we’ve passionately pursued the goal of making it easy for families and groups to find and book the perfect vacation rental anywhere in the world, and this is another step in making that a reality.”
HomeAway’s one millionth live vacation rental listing is owned by Betsy Banks Saul and located in Crystal Beach, Fla. The rental sits on a private, dolphin-spotting, waterfront location on the Gulf of Mexico, just outside of vacation hotspot Clearwater, Fla. Betsy started renting to share the happiness the home provides her family to those seeking their own seaside escape. Those looking to book a stay in the millionth listing can do so by clicking this link and inquiring.
To enter to win the $10,000 rental stay in the “Million Ways to Stay” sweepstakes, contestants can go to HomeAway’s Facebook page and follow the instructions. Participants can receive up to three additional entries by referring friends to the sweepstakes. Entries must be submitted by July 16, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. CT. The winner will be randomly selected and notified no later than July 31, 2014. Official contest rules are available at: http://bit.ly/1MWaysToStay
1. Based on estimates from HomeAway’s internal data and global survey of customers
About HomeAway
HomeAway, Inc. based in Austin, Texas, is the world's leading online marketplace for the vacation rental industry, with sites representing approximately 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 in Australia; and Bookabach.co.nz in New Zealand. Asia Pacific short-term rental site, travelmob.com, is also owned by HomeAway.
Image credits
"1,000,000 Vacancy": Forever Photography Studio
Jordan Hoefar, HomeAway, http://HomeAway.com, +1 (512) 505-1857, [email protected]
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