HomeToGo

HomeToGo is a Berlin-based company that operates a SaaS-supported marketplace for vacation rentals. Founded in 2014, the platform aggregates listings from multiple providers, with 15 million accommodations available through partnerships with 60,000 suppliers. HomeToGo operates in 25 countries across Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and the Asia-Pacific region.

History

HomeToGo was founded in Berlin, Germany, in 2014 by Patrick Andrae, Wolfgang Heigl, and Nils Regge. Heigl had previously founded the flight search engine Swoodoo, which was later acquired by Kayak, while Regge had founded Casamundo, a vacation rental company that was also acquired by HomeToGo. The company's initial focus was on building a large-scale vacation rental search platform by aggregating listings from various providers.

In 2018, HomeToGo made a series of acquisitions, including vacation home portals Wimdu and Casamundo, and later tripping.com, a U.S.-based vacation rental search engine. The company also acquired Agriturismo.it and CaseVacanza.it in Italy and EscapadaRural in Spain.

In September 2021, HomeToGo went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange through the company's shell Lakestar SPAC I. The listing valued HomeToGo at €1.2 billion and generated approximately €250 million in new capital.

In 2021, HomeToGo acquired the SaaS provider Smoobu.

In 2022, HomeToGo expanded its operations in France through the acquisition of the vacation rental business unit of Groupe Seloger, including brands such as AMIVAC. It also acquired e-domizil and atraveo, as well as the travel tech provider, SECRA.

In 2023, HomeToGo launched its AI-powered travel planner, AI Mode, which uses generative AI to offer personalized vacation rental recommendations. Following the launch of a beta-version of the Chatbot AI Sunny, HomeToGo released plans in 2024 to develop an artificial intelligence travel assistant - Super AI Sunny - as part of its vision to become a fully AI-driven marketplace.

In 2024, HomeToGo acquired a 51% majority stake in KMW Reisen and Super Urlaub, including the brands Kurz Mal Weg and Kurzurlaub, which specialize in thematic short-trip travel bundles. They also went on to release additional AI-powered features including Smart Reviews, which summarize guest feedback, and Smart Offer Summaries, which highlight relevant amenities based on user preference. Expansions were also made to the functionality of Chatbot AI Sunny to assist travelers during and after their stays.

Overview

HomeToGo operates two segments: Its Marketplace and HomeToGo_PRO. The Marketplace is a business-to-consumer (B2C) platform that provides access to vacation rental listings through its websites and apps, allowing users to search and book properties. HomeToGo earns revenue from booking commissions as well as direct bookings.

HomeToGo_PRO is a business-to-business (B2B) segment offering software and services for property managers and vacation rental providers. In 2020, it launched services for managing listings across platforms, rebranding to HomeToGo_PRO in December 2023, offering subscriptions and services for the vacation rental supply side.{{Cite web , date=2024-08-13 , title=HomeToGo reports strong Booking and IFRS Revenues growth for H1/24, improves profitability in the HomeToGo_PRO segment and achieves strong increase in Free Cash Flow , url=https://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/18373357-eqs-news-hometogo-reports-strong-booking-and-ifrs-revenues-growth-for-h1-24-improves-profitability-the-hometogo-pro-segment-and-achieves-strong-increase-free-cash-flow , access-date=2024-10-29 , website=wallstreetONLINE , language=de

References

Companies based in Berlin
Companies established in 2014
Hospitality companies of Luxembourg
Publicly traded companies