TripAdvisor Acquires Holiday Lettings, the U.K.'s Largest Independent Holiday Home Website
By Tripadvisor, PRNEWednesday, June 23, 2010
LONDON and NEWTON, Mass., June 24, 2010 - TripAdvisor(R), the world's largest travel website* and an operating
company of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), today announced it has acquired the
United Kingdom's largest independent holiday home website,
holidaylettings.co.uk. The acquisition demonstrates TripAdvisor's continued
expansion into the holiday home marketplace, following the launch of vacation
rentals on TripAdvisor in 2009, and the purchase of a majority stake in
U.S.-based FlipKey.com in 2008. Holidaylettings.co.uk will continue to be
operated as an independent site. Terms of the acquisition are not being
disclosed.
Including holidaylettings.co.uk, TripAdvisor Media Group now includes 17
popular travel brands and attracts nearly 46 million unique monthly
visitors.*
"Our acquisition of Holiday Lettings significantly enhances the choice of
fantastic holiday homes available to the TripAdvisor community, particularly
within Europe. It will also enable travellers to benefit from a wealth of
destination information from fellow travellers to help them plan their
perfect trip," said Steve Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor.
"TripAdvisor for Business, a new division of TripAdvisor, is a pioneer
offering hospitality businesses the opportunity to target the world's largest
travel community with best-in-class marketing services. As part of
TripAdvisor for Business, Holiday Lettings will add to our momentum and keep
us at the forefront of innovation in the travel industry," said Christine
Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for Business. "This exciting acquisition
will expand our services for home owners and property management companies in
the vibrant European marketplace and build on the strength that FlipKey has
established in the U.S. market."
Holiday Lettings was established in 1999 and the co-founders and
management will continue to lead the business as an independent brand from
its offices in Oxford. Holiday Lettings currently advertises more than 40,000
holiday homes on behalf of private owners, property managers and letting
agents. The homes stretch across 116 countries and range from villas,
apartments and farmhouses to windmills, yurts and houseboats with options
available for all budget ranges. Twenty-five million visitors use the site
every year.
"The combination of our holiday home marketing expertise with
TripAdvisor's leadership in the travel community is a natural fit certain to
benefit both holiday home owners and those looking for a great hotel
alternative," said Ross Elder, co-founder and managing director of
holidaylettings.co.uk. "We are delighted to have the support of TripAdvisor
and are excited to enhance our offering to our customers."
About TripAdvisor(R) Media Group
TripAdvisor(R) Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts nearly
46 million monthly visitors* (across 17 popular travel brands, TripAdvisor(R),
www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com,
www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com,
www.flipkey.com, www.frequentflier.com,
www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com,
www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com,
www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com,
www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com,
www.virtualtourist.com and www.kuxun.cn). TripAdvisor-branded
sites alone make up the most popular and largest travel community in the
world, with more than 35 million unique monthly visitors*, 15 million
members, and 35 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from
real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover more than one million
destinations, hotels, restaurants and attractions and operate in the U.S.
(www.tripadvisor.com), the U.K. (www.tripadvisor.co.uk),
Ireland (www.tripadvisor.ie), France (www.tripadvisor.fr),
Germany (www.tripadvisor.de), Italy (www.tripadvisor.it),
Spain (www.tripadvisor.es), India (www.tripadvisor.in),
Japan (www.tripadvisor.jp), Portugal and Brazil
(www.tripadvisor.com.br), Sweden (www.tripadvisor.se),
The Netherlands (nl.tripadvisor.com), Canada
(www.tripadvisor.ca), Denmark (www.tripadvisor.dk),
Turkey (www.tripadvisor.com.tr), Mexico
(www.tripadvisor.com.mx), Norway (no.tripadvisor.com), Poland
(pl.tripadvisor.com) and Australia (www.tripadvisor.com.au).
TripAdvisor also operates in China under the brand daodao.com
(www.daodao.com). TripAdvisor(R) Media Network provides travel
suppliers with graphical advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click
marketing platform. Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor
Media Network have won hundreds of awards and accolades from press and
industry, worldwide. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor
Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).
(c)2010 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.
*Source: comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, March 2010
**Source: comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, April 2010
About Holiday Lettings
Search 40,000+ privately owned holiday homes in 116 countries
around the world. Choose from spacious villas, resort apartments, sprawling
gites and farmhouses, cosy romantic retreats, cottages, barn and chapel
conversions, city breaks, rural getaways or beach breaks - there's a home for
every holiday.
www.holidaylettings.co.uk
Contact: TripAdvisor UK: Emma O'Boyle, +44(0)20-3320-3210, Mob: +44(0)777-926-2423,
eoboyle at tripadvisor.com; TripAdvisor US: Kevin Carter, +1-617-795-7577, kcarter at tripadvisor.com; Holiday Lettings: Kate Stinchcombe-Gillies +44(0)779-111-4296,
kate at holidaylettings.co.uk
Tags: June 24, London And Newton, Mass., Massachusetts, TripAdvisor, United Kingdom