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Booking.com’s New Vacation Rental Site is HomeAway’s Worst Nightmare

Dennis Schaal photo
Dennis Schaal

Photo Credit: Priceline's Booking.com has launched a dedicated vacation rental site, Villas.com, in a new challenge to industry leader HomeAway. Pictutred is the Royal Garden Villas and Spa in Canarias, Spain. Royal Garden Villas and Spa

Skift Take

It remains to be seen what Booking.com does with its new Villas.com and how heavily it gets promoted, but Booking.com clearly is committed to the vacation rental sector, and will likely make many more moves. HomeAway has to do much more to get its digital act together.

Hotel behemoth Booking.com launched a dedicated site for vacation rentals, villas and apartments, and in some ways it is HomeAway's worst nightmare. Villas.com, the new Booking.com initiative, offers 146,663 "vacation rentals," many professionally managed properties, with reviews, photo galleries -- and importantly, the ability to book online with instant confirmations. For some of the properties, the guest doesn't have to pay up front, but merely reserves the property with a credit card, and pays upon arrival. It is no coincidence that Booking.com features more than 460,800 hotels and alternative accommodations -- including the same 146,663 properties that you'll find on the new Villas.com. But a dedicated site for vacation rentals, villas and apartment will create added consumer

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