HomeAway, the private home rental platform, officially publicized today that it has bought the remaining 37% share of Travelmob, the Singapore-based rental and listings company, having previously acquired majority ownership of it in August 2013.
Last April, Travelmob began to inform its customers that it would stop operating as an independent company. But the process has been slow. In coming weeks, Travelmob will vanish, with HomeAway rebranding all of the Asian Pacific sites in its own name.
All of Travelmob's 40,000 listings are now part of the HomeAway network.
HomeAway thus aims to build its brand recognition in markets like China, Japan, India, Indonesia and Korea.
Travelmob’s chief technology officer Prashant Kirtane will become HomeAway's VP of Asia, headquartered in Singapore. Travelmob's CEO is going out on his own. All the rest of the team has transitioned to HomeAway, the company says.
HomeAway said it plans to ramp up its investment in Asia. It also owns HomeAway.com.au and Stayz in Australia, Bookabach in New Zealand, and HomeAway Asia regionally.
It also has a minority investment in China-based vacation rental company, Tujia, in partnership with Ctrip, the business travel giant in China. The company also has distribution partnerships with Wego and Tripvillas.
A few years ago, with its first substantial funding, Tnooz profiled Travelmob. It turns out that being absorbed into a global brand was its ultimate outcome.
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