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HomeAway Suit Against Airbnb Is a Turning Point in Competition Over Vacation Rentals

Dennis Schaal photo
Dennis Schaal

Photo Credit: Pictured is an Airbnb community "social tour' in Aix en Provence in March 2013. HomeAway is concerned about Airbnb's expansion into resort destinations such as Provence and Tuscany.  Flickr.com / Jorge Perez

Skift Take

This lawsuit marks the fact that for HomeAway, Airbnb has now crossed a line -- into HomeAway's core resort destination markets. Gone is all the talk about the two companies addressing different markets. The two companies will now play, old-fashioned country hardball.

Will consumers really come to erroneously believe that HomeAway has acquired Airbnb, and that Airbnb "operates as part of HomeAway's birdhouse-branded marketplace?" Carl Shepherd, HomeAway's chief strategy and development officer, argues in an exhibit [second embedded document below] to HomeAway's trademark lawsuit against Airbnb that such a scenario is "likely" given HomeAway's acquisition spree and Airbnb's Birdhouse promotion. "In light of HomeAway's acquisitions of other companies in the online travel space, it is likely that customers would perceive the Birdhouse Promotion as an indicator that Airbnb has been acquired by HomeAway and operates as part of HomeAway's birdhouse-branded marketplace," Shepherd alleges in his declaration as part of the lawsuit. But, beyond all the concern about the birdhouse prom

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