Oyo Expands Vacation Homes Strategy With Europe Acquisition of Direct Booker

Strengthening its portfolio as a full-stack vacation homes provider, Oyo has acquired Dubrovnik, Croatia-headquartered Direct Booker, which has more than 3,200 homes.

Through its European brands — Belvilla, DanCenter, Danland and Traum Ferienwohnungen — Oyo currently offers fully-managed private homes across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Nordic and Southern European countries.

The acquisition valued at $5.5 million, will strengthen Oyo’s presence in Croatia, where it already has nearly 1,800 vacation homes through its Belvilla platform and over 7,000 homes through Traum Ferienwohnungen.

Direct Booker has 2,400-plus homes in Dubrovnik region and another 800-plus in other parts of Croatia. Initially available on Belvilla.com, the Direct Booker inventory will be gradually available on other Oyo platforms. 

Calling vacation homes a strategic segment for the hospitality platform in Europe, Ankit Tandon, global chief business officer, said in a statement, “With our operating system, dynamic pricing capability and other data science enabled features, we have been able to add value to our over 140,000 home storefronts globally.”

Noting that private equity firms, hedge funds, and alternative asset management had been diversifying portfolios by chasing investments in short-term rentals and vacation rentals, Skift Research’s Europe Accommodation Sector Market Estimates 2022 had predicted an increase in overall vacation rental efficiency in the years to come.

The vacation rental market in Europe is poised to grow by $63 billion during 2022-2026, according to Reportlinker.com.

Oyo has been actively scouting for tuck-in acquisitions, especially in the European market, as a strategic growth lever. With holiday homes gaining popularity, the company is steadily scaling its operations across multiple markets in Europe. 

In January 2021, Oyo announced that Martin HP Soderstrom, the chairman of DIG Investment, had joined the company’s vacation homes business as a non-executive director. In October, Oyo onboarded James Matthews, co-founder and CEO of Eden Rock Group, as the second non-executive director.

Oyo has also entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with Microsoft to co-develop next-gen travel and hospitality products and technologies.

Looking to raise $1.2 billion through its initial-public offering, Oyo had filed draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in October last year, proposing its valuation at $10 billion to $12 billion.

The company is still awaiting SEBI approval with news doing the rounds that the valuation could be halved in value or even withdrawn.