Shifts in European vacation rental as HomeToGo acquires Casamundo and Wimdu closes

HomeToGo has acquired Casamundo from the @Leisure Group, with terms of the deal undisclosed.

The Berlin-based vacation rental metasearch specialist is keeping plans for Casamundo under wraps and only released a short statement saying the businesses complement each other and “create a promising opportunity for future growth and development.”

EuroRelais is also part of the deal with @Leisure Group, saying that its strategy is to focus on its other brands including Belvilla, DanCentre and Traum-Ferienwohnungen. Casamundo will continue to be a distribution partner for the brands.

HomeToGo launched in 2014 and attracted Series B funding of $20 million in 2016, saying it planned to develop its technology and expand internationally.

Separately, Wimdu, which launched in 2010 wanting to be an Airbnb for Europe, will cease operations at the end of 2018.

The company, founded in 2010, attracted investor attention in the early days with $90 million from investors including Kinnevik and Rocket Internet.

After being merged with 9Flats, Wimdu was sold to Wyndham brand Novasol almost two years ago. 

Wyndham then sold Novasol and its other European vacation rental businesses to Platinum Equity in February 2018.

A statement regarding Wimdu says: “Facing significant financial and business challenges, Wimdu will cease operating by the end of 2018. The company counts 100 employees located in Berlin and Lisbon.”

A further recent development in vacation rental has been Vacasa’s acquisition of Oasis Collections - a home-sharing service that had investment from Hyatt Hotels.

In recent months, AccorHotels, which acquired Onefinestay in 2016 for €148 million, attributed negative EBITDA of €15 million to new businesses including Onefinestay.

It isn’t a surprise that hotels have wanted to dip a toe in the vacation rental market waters, with AccorHotels saying it was trying “to better understand guest expectations in the home rental market.”

However, it makes for more brands to build, market and keep fresh in the minds of consumers which is no easy task with players such as Airbnb and HomeAway.

In addition, online travel giants such as booking.com and Expedia have made no secret of their aspirations in adding vacation rental to their strengths.