Vacation rental marketplace HomeToGo has paid €31 million for 51% of short-break specialists KMW Reisen and Super Urlaub.
The purchase of the companies, which operate in the Austria, Germany and Switzerland markets, includes €6 million in Class A shares of HomeToGo. The deal also includes the brands Kurz Mal Weg and Kurzurlaub, two providers in the markets for thematic travel bundled with hotel offerings for short trips.
The deal is the largest for HomeToGo to date and marks the company’s move beyond short-term rentals and into packaged trips and niches such as wellness and culinary trips.
The Germany-based rentals platform has said it plans to grow via acquisition in 2024 and last week laid out its strategy during a Capital Markets Day. The acquired companies are expected to generate approximately €30 million in revenues in 2023.
The company appointed Bodo Thielmann to the newly created role of chief investment director in September. Thielmann has been tasked with “accelerating deal flow.”
In addition to the services the companies bring to HomeToGo such as wellness and sports, the acquisition of KMW Reisen and Super Urlaub means additional supply to customers of HomeToGo Pro, the subscriptions and services side of the business.
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Patrick Andrae, co-founder and CEO of HomeToGo, said, “We are very excited to announce this majority acquisition today and join forces with two stellar brands, Kurz Mal Weg and Kurzurlaub. Both have a leading position in the highly attractive market for thematic travel and hotels for short trips. Plus, their matching geographical focus combined with a high potential customer group of short city trip and shoulder season travelers is a clear fit to help accelerate our marketplace on the demand and supply side. Together, we’ll be even more effective at targeting our combined travelers to drive high retention and further enhance HomeToGo’s profitable repeat business.”
David Wagner, CEO of Kurzurlaub, said, “Together with Kurz Mal Weg and HomeToGo, we will enable existing and additional accommodation partners, hotels and activity providers to address an even bigger audience and continue our strong growth.”
Jan Seifried, CEO of Kurz Mal Weg, said, “HomeToGo and Kurzurlaub share our vision to offer unique travel experiences to everyone. We are confident that this joint collaboration will provide our customers with an unparalleled offering and experience to help enrich our industry in Europe. Our expertise already enables tailor-made solutions that focus on the needs of our travelers as well as our experience and accommodation partners, and we look forward to strengthening this even further.”
The brands existing teams and offices will remain in place, including their respective management teams.
HomeToGo acquired a number of companies in 2022 including Amivac in January and eDomizil in March.