OYO acquires TUI's rental tour operating business

OYO Vacation Homes is showing no signs of scaling back its European ambitions with an acquisition disclosed that will add 17,000 properties to its portfolio.

The move comes as part of a sale that began in December 2019 when Germany-based E-Domizil, a travel aggregator, acquired Wolters Reisen from TUI Group for an undisclosed fee.

The Wolters Reisen business had three parts - TUI's holiday home online travel agency, a roundtrip tour operator and holiday homes tour operator - and OYO, five weeks later and under its Belvilla brand, will now take over the last part, previously known as TUI Ferienhaus.

Terms of the deal to carve out of the rental tour operating element from E-Domizil for OYO were also not made public.

The 17,000 properties included in the deal will add to the 35,000 already under management as part of last year's acquisition of European vacation rental brand @Leisure Group in a €360 million deal.

Tobias Wann, Global CEO for OYO Vacation Homes, says: "At OYO, our acquisition strategy is focused towards building on our existing capabilities and with E-Domizil as a partner, we have found synergies to strengthen our presence across Europe.

"With Europe spearheading the vacation and urban home rental trend globally, OYO Vacation Homes is uniquely positioned to capitalize on its experience and insights aided with OYO’s proven approach towards building a large global vacation homes business."

The acquisition comes as OYO is reported to be reevaluating its U.S. and U.K. expansion strategy amid layoffs in a number of markets affecting its core hotel business.

Commenting on the quick sale of the unit to OYO, Detlev Schaferjohann, CEO of the E-Hoi Group and owner of E-Domizil, says: "Following the acquisition of the entire TUI Wolters business, the sale of the holiday home tours operator business to OYO Vacation Homes rounds up a very successful transaction.

"While E-Domizil will further strengthen and focus on an OTA approach to the holiday home business, the holiday home tour operator business fits best to our strategic partner OYO.

* Check out this interview with Wann at The Phocuswright Conference 2019 in Florida, U.S.