NEWTON,
Mass., June 24/PRNewswire/ --TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel website*
and an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), today announced it has
acquired the United Kingdom's largest independent vacation rental website, holidaylettings.co.uk.
The acquisition demonstrates TripAdvisor's continued expansion into the vacation
rental marketplace, following the launch of vacation rentals on TripAdvisor in
2009, and the purchase of a majority stake in U.S.-based FlipKey.com in 2008. Holidaylettings.co.uk
will continue to be operated as an independent site. Terms of the acquisition
are not being disclosed.Including
holidaylettings.co.uk, TripAdvisor Media Group now includes 17 popular travel
brands and attracts nearly 46 million unique monthly visitors.* "Our
acquisition of Holiday Lettings significantly enhances the choice of fantastic
vacation rentals available to the TripAdvisor community, particularly within Europe.
It will also enable travellers to benefit from a wealth of destination information
from fellow travellers to help them plan their perfect trip," said Steve
Kaufer, founder and CEO of TripAdvisor. "TripAdvisor
for Business, a new division of TripAdvisor, is a pioneer offering hospitality
businesses the opportunity to target the world's largest travel community with
best-in-class marketing services. As part of TripAdvisor for Business, Holiday
Lettings will add to our momentum and keep us at the forefront of innovation in
the travel industry," said Christine Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for
Business. "This exciting acquisition will expand our services for home owners
and property management companies in the vibrant European marketplace and build
on the strength that FlipKey has established in the U.S. market." Holiday
Lettings was established in 1999 and the co-founders and management will continue
to lead the business as an independent brand from its offices in Oxford. Holiday
Lettings currently advertises more than 40,000 vacation rental properties on behalf
of private owners, property managers and letting agents. The homes stretch
across 116 countries and range from villas, apartments and farmhouses to windmills,
yurts and houseboats with options available for all budget ranges. Twenty-five
million visitors use the site every year. "The
combination of our vacation rental marketing expertise with TripAdvisor's leadership
in the travel community is a natural fit certain to benefit both holiday home
owners and those looking for a great hotel alternative," said Ross Elder,
co-founder and managing director of holidaylettings.co.uk. "We are delighted
to have the support of TripAdvisor and are excited to enhance our offering to
our customers." About
TripAdvisor Media Group TripAdvisor
Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts nearly 46 million monthly
visitors* (across 17 popular travel brands, TripAdvisor, www.airfarewatchdog.com,
www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com,
www.frequentflier.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com,
www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com,
www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com and www.kuxun.cn). TripAdvisor-branded
sites alone make up the most popular and largest travel community in the world,
with more than 35 million unique monthly visitors*, 15 million members, and 35
million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded
sites cover more than one million destinations, hotels, restaurants and attractions
and operate in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com), the U.K. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk),
Ireland (http://www.tripadvisor.ie), France (http://www.tripadvisor.fr), Germany
(http://www.tripadvisor.de), Italy (http://www.tripadvisor.it), Spain (http://www.tripadvisor.es),
India (http://www.tripadvisor.in), Japan (http://www.tripadvisor.jp), Portugal
and Brazil (http://www.tripadvisor.com.br), Sweden (http://www.tripadvisor.se),
The Netherlands (http://nl.tripadvisor.com), Canada (http://www.tripadvisor.ca),
Denmark (http://www.tripadvisor.dk), Turkey (http://www.tripadvisor.com.tr), Mexico
(http://www.tripadvisor.com.mx), Norway (http://no.tripadvisor.com), Poland (http://pl.tripadvisor.com)
and Australia (http://www.tripadvisor.com.au). TripAdvisor also operates in China
under the brand daodao.com (http://www.daodao.com). TripAdvisor Media Network
provides travel suppliers with graphical advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click
marketing platform. Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network
have won hundreds of awards and accolades from press and industry, worldwide.
TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating
companies of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE). 2010
TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved. *Source:
comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, May 2010 About
Holiday Lettings Search
40,000+ privately owned holiday homes in 116 countries around the world. Choose
from spacious villas, resort apartments, sprawling gites and farmhouses, cosy
romantic retreats, cottages, barn and chapel conversions, city breaks, rural getaways
or beach breaks - there's a home for every holiday. http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk SOURCE
TripAdvisor
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