• News
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
  • Marketing
  • Tech
  • OTAs
  • Customer Service
  • Business
  • Housekeeping
  • More
    • Education
      • Calendar of Events
      • Videos & Whitepapers
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
VRM Intel
  • News
    • Resort Collection Outsources Call Center to Jamaica
    • Getaway Society Founders Are a Dynamic Duo
    • Marketers: Too Soon to Plan for 2022?
    • Fact or Fiction? Mythbusting Hot Vacation Rental Trends
    • Fast Growth at Homes & Villas by Marriott International
    • VRM Intel News
    • Latest News
    • Sponsor News
  • COVID-19
    • Bounce into 2021 with Tools to Help Heal and Focus
    • 12 Steps To Reclaiming Your Spirit of Hospitality From The Grasp Of Cynicism
    • Marketers: Too Soon to Plan for 2022?
    • Fact or Fiction? Mythbusting Hot Vacation Rental Trends
    • Identifying, Hiring, and Inspiring Your Team in a Post-Pandemic World
  • Marketing
    • One Size Doesn’t Fit All in Owner Acquisition
    • Marketers: Too Soon to Plan for 2022?
    • Fact or Fiction? Mythbusting Hot Vacation Rental Trends
    • Fast Growth at Homes & Villas by Marriott International
    • Expedia CEO Talks Vrbo: We ‘Removed Vrbo from Google’s Vacation Rental Meta Product’
  • Tech
    • Fact or Fiction? Mythbusting Hot Vacation Rental Trends
    • Technology in 2021 and Beyond: Vacation Rental Tech Leaders Predict the Future
    • The Pace Report Is Dead
    • How 2020 Played Out: Analyzing Performance in 10 Key Vacation Rental Destinations
    • Founder of Newly Launched Kaiser Vacation Rentals Says, “Things Will Be Different … This Time”
  • OTAs
    • Expedia CEO Talks Vrbo: We ‘Removed Vrbo from Google’s Vacation Rental Meta Product’
    • vacation rentals at the best price guaranteed
      Stays Group Vacation Rental Network Opens SoutheastStays
    • Vrbo Is Performing Better Than Airbnb for Vacation Rental Managers, But Direct Booking Still Number One Revenue Source . . . By A Lot
    • 4th Annual #BookDirect Guest Education Day Is February 3, 2021
    • Airbnb Goes Public. CEO Brian Chesky: “Travel is never going to look like it did in January”
  • Customer Service
    • Resort Collection Outsources Call Center to Jamaica
    • Bounce into 2021 with Tools to Help Heal and Focus
    • 12 Steps To Reclaiming Your Spirit of Hospitality From The Grasp Of Cynicism
    • Getaway Society Founders Are a Dynamic Duo
    • sarah and t record podcast vrma recap episode sarah walker luxury vacation rentals
      Sarah and T Podcast: PMs Should Be Prepared to Answer These Questions from Prospective Homeowners
  • Business
    • One Size Doesn’t Fit All in Owner Acquisition
    • Resort Collection Outsources Call Center to Jamaica
    • Bounce into 2021 with Tools to Help Heal and Focus
    • 12 Steps To Reclaiming Your Spirit of Hospitality From The Grasp Of Cynicism
    • Getaway Society Founders Are a Dynamic Duo
  • Housekeeping
    • Founder of Newly Launched Kaiser Vacation Rentals Says, “Things Will Be Different … This Time”
    • Booking.com Affirms Commitment to Quality with Minimum Cleanliness Score Requirement
    • Q&A with Breezeway founder Jeremy Gall about company’s $8 million funding round and more
    • Gatlinburg-based Cabins For YOU acquires Chalet Village and is looking for more. Q&A with owner and founder Greg Plimpton
    • What is the cost of Airbnb’s recommended 24- to 72-hour “buffer” time between stays?
  • More
    • Education
      • Calendar of Events
      • Videos & Whitepapers
    • VRM Intel Live!
    • Reports Login
    • VRM Intel Magazine
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Authors
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • RSS

Industry News for Vacation Rental Managers

HomeAway acquires Dwellable, moves team to Austin

HomeAway acquires Dwellable, moves team to Austin
mm
VRM Intel Staff
October 7, 2015

By John Cook, —Dwellable has found a new home. The Seattle vacation rental startup — founded three years ago by developersNathan Kriege and Adam Doppelt — has been sold to its primary rival HomeAway.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but CEO Kirby Winfield said it was a positive outcome for investors. Dwellable raised just $2 million in funding — a pittance compared to other heavily-funded competitors in the online vacation rental arena. For example, publicly-traded HomeAway boasts a market value of $2.6 billion.

Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 12.19.14 PMAs a result of the acquisition, six members of the Dwellable team — including Doppelt and Kriege — will move to Austin. (Winfield will not join HomeAway, staying in Seattle). In addition, HomeAway plans to phase out the popular Dwellable app and service in the next 30 days, and the company is no longer facilitating new reservations through the service. Property owners are now being directed to HomeAway.

Winfield said he been talking to HomeAway since he joined as CEO in June 2013. “Their massive reach into consumers globally was something that just made sense,” said Winfield.

On a shoestring budget, Dwellable built an immersive and highly-rated app which in many ways outperformed the offerings from the much larger HomeAway. Last year, after raising the company’s $2 million venture round, Winfield said that they liked the idea of competing against a big rival.

“It is always great when you can put a target on one player, instead of 10 or 20,” he said. “There is still a real vacuum when it comes to brands in the category.”

The acquisition makes sense for HomeAway, which gobbles up top mobile developers and engineers. That mobile DNA will be injected immediately into HomeAway, which has been working hard to improve its mobile apps.

“The Dwellable team has built an incredible product with an impressive and growing base of travelers who use the app to book vacation rentals,” said HomeAway co-founder and CEO Brian Sharples in a release. “With 48 percent of travelers coming to HomeAway from mobile devices, it’s important for us to continue improving our mobile experience, with an even stronger emphasis on functionality and design for the traveler. Dwellable will help us take that next step.”

 With 48 percent of travelers coming to HomeAway from mobile devices, it’s important for us to continue improving our mobile experience, with an even stronger emphasis on functionality and design for the traveler. Dwellable will help us take that next step.

Doppelt came up with the idea for Dwellable after a horrible Hawaiian vacation rental experience, one which featured rodents in the ceiling and a noisy construction project next door.

It marks the second successful outcome for Seattle entrepreneur Doppelt, who previously co-founded restaurant director service Urbanspoon. Urbanspoon was sold to IAC in 2009, and then sold again earlier this year to Zomato, which subsequently shut down the service.

It also marks the second positive outcome for Winfield, who previously sold AdXpose to comScore for $22 million.

Backers of Dwellable included Howard Schultz’s Maveron and Boris Wertz’s Version One Ventures, as well as prominent Seattle angel investors like Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff; Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman; Mixpo CEO Jeff Lanctot and Farecast founder Oren Etzioni. In addition, former HomeAway board member and ex-Groupon president Rob Solomon was an investor.

 

John Cook is GeekWire’s co-founder and editor, a veteran reporter and the longest-serving journalist on the Pacific Northwest tech startup beat. Follow him @johnhcookand email john@geekwire.com.
Related Items
Click to add a comment

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Industry News for Vacation Rental Managers
October 7, 2015
mm
VRM Intel Staff

Related Items

More in Industry News for Vacation Rental Managers

Resort Collection Outsources Call Center to Jamaica

Zandra WolfgramFebruary 19, 2021
Read More

Getaway Society Founders Are a Dynamic Duo

Zandra WolfgramFebruary 18, 2021
Read More

Marketers: Too Soon to Plan for 2022?

Amy HinoteFebruary 17, 2021
Read More

Fact or Fiction? Mythbusting Hot Vacation Rental Trends

Jason SprenkleFebruary 17, 2021
Read More

Fast Growth at Homes & Villas by Marriott International

Amy HinoteFebruary 11, 2021
Read More

Expedia CEO Talks Vrbo: We ‘Removed Vrbo from Google’s Vacation Rental Meta Product’

Amy HinoteFebruary 11, 2021
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Sponsor News

  • Kasa and Minut partner to protect properties all over the U.S.
    Sponsor NewsFebruary 11, 2021
  • The Pace Report Is Dead
    Sponsor NewsFebruary 10, 2021
  • How 2020 Played Out: Analyzing Performance in 10 Key Vacation Rental Destinations
    BusinessFebruary 10, 2021
  • Rented Launches New Automated Rate Tool for Vacation Rental Professionals
    Industry News for Vacation Rental ManagersJanuary 25, 2021
VRM Intel
Calendar of Events
Videos & Whitepapers
VRMintel Magazine
Subscribe
Advertise
About Us
Authors
Contact Us

Recent News

  • One Size Doesn’t Fit All in Owner Acquisition
    BusinessFebruary 23, 2021
  • Resort Collection Outsources Call Center to Jamaica
    BusinessFebruary 19, 2021
  • Bounce into 2021 with Tools to Help Heal and Focus
    BusinessFebruary 18, 2021
  • 12 Steps To Reclaiming Your Spirit of Hospitality From The Grasp Of Cynicism
    BusinessFebruary 18, 2021

View Current Issue

VRMintel Copyright © 2016-17 | Click HERE to Subscribe | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Copyright | Jobs | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Data Security Failure at VacationRentPayment
OPMA Suppliers & Management Companies Working Together on Behalf of Owners & Guests