HomeAway

HomeAway is a vacation rental marketplace that connects property owners with travelers seeking short-term accommodations. Founded in 2005 in Austin, Texas, by Brian Sharples and Carl Shepherd, the platform lists a wide range of properties including entire homes, condos, cabins, and villas in destinations around the world. It has been used by travelers seeking alternatives to hotel stays and by property owners looking to monetize unused housing.

History and ownership: HomeAway grew as a major player in the online vacation rental sector and was acquired by Expedia Group in 2015 for approximately $3.9 billion. The acquisition placed HomeAway within Expedia’s broader portfolio of travel brands and services. In 2020, Expedia announced plans to consolidate its vacation rental brands under the Vrbo name, and HomeAway was folded into Vrbo, with the HomeAway site increasinglyredirecting to Vrbo in many markets. As a result, the HomeAway brand is largely treated as a legacy or integrated component of Vrbo rather than as an independent brand.

Business model and features: The platform generated revenue through a combination of guest service fees and host-related charges, including commissions or subscription-based listings for property owners. It also provided typical vacation rental tools such as listing management, calendar synchronization, traveler-host messaging, and payment processing, aiming to facilitate direct bookings between hosts and guests.

Current status: Today, HomeAway operates primarily as part of Vrbo within Expedia Group’s ecosystem. The branding and user interface are largely aligned with Vrbo, and listings are generally accessed through the Vrbo platform rather than a standalone HomeAway site.

See also: Vrbo, Expedia Group.