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[STK]
[IN] TRA LEI
[SU] TNM
TO BUSINESS, AND TRAVEL EDITORS:
VacationRoost acquires LeisureLink to Create Leading Vacation Rental
Distributor
SALT LAKE CITY, March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- VacationRoost Group Inc.
("VR") today announced a substantial expansion of their Vacation Home
Reservation Network with the acquisition of LeisureLink Inc.
(www.Leisurelink.com). The combined company will offer travel sellers
the largest collection of bookable and commissionable vacation rentals
and will offer suppliers of vacation rentals the largest distribution
network in the vacation rental industry.
The vacation rental market has been growing rapidly and has attracted
many new entrants who are helping grow awareness for this category of
lodging. As more consumers recognize the benefits of staying in a
vacation rental, traditional travel distributors and online travel
agents have grown more interested in offering vacation rentals to
their consumers but have been deterred by the difficulty of
aggregating supply. Unlike other travel categories that are easily
consolidated and contracted through the Global Distribution Systems,
vacation rentals remain hugely fragmented and largely offline.
LeisureLink and VacationRoost have been working to consolidate
vacation rental inventory, standardize the offering and bring it
online since 2001. Today, the combined company offers travel
distributors over 200,000 bookable, commissionable vacation rental
units that can be contracted and accessed through one single supplier.
Vacation Home Reservation Network
The combined company's Vacation Home Reservation Network is currently
generating over $130M in annual vacation rental bookings through its
owned and operated travel brands and through its channel partners that
include leading online travel agencies: Booking.com, Expedia, Orbitz,
Priceline, and Travelocity as well as leading GDS players: Sabre,
Worldspan, Amadeus, Pegasus and over 30 other channel partners.
VacationRoost supplier partners will now be able to gain access to the
millions of customers who shop on these well-known travel brands
through their existing partnership with VacationRoost, and be able to
manage their inventory, availability and specials through a single
point of distribution.
"Today is a very exciting day for VacationRoost and LeisureLink, said
Julian Castelli, chief executive officer (CEO) of VacationRoost. Both
of our companies have been working hard to help make booking vacation
rentals easier for the consumer. LeisureLink has focused on making
vacation rentals available to traditional travel sellers and
VacationRoost has focused on perfecting the reservations process on
its own brands. The combined company will have the benefit of both
areas of expertise and will have one of the largest collections of
bookable vacation rentals in the industry."
"Joining with VacationRoost makes a lot of sense for LeisureLink"
explained Tom Lamb, chief executive officer (CEO) of LeisureLink, "As
a specialty Online Travel Agent focusing on the Vacation Rental
sector, VacationRoost knows what our channel and supplier partners
need to effectively market vacation rentals. We look forward to the
combined company building on the strong foundation we have created in
the world of vacation rental distribution."
The combined company will be led from VacationRoost's Salt Lake City
headquarters and consist of two divisions: The VacationRoost family
of travel brands and The LeisureLink Partner Services Group.
The VacationRoost travel brands are driving the charge to make booking
vacation rentals as easy as booking a hotel room. Through travel
brands like VacationRoost.com, MountainReservations.com,
Hawaiianbeachrentals.com and Mexicandestinations.com, VacationRoost's
platform allows customers to shop for and book vacation rentals online
with all the comfort and security that they are used to having when
shopping for a hotel through a traditional online travel agent (OTA).
In addition to booking vacation rentals online, customers can also
package vacation homes with cars, airline tickets, ground
transportation, and local activities. This premium online experience
is supplemented with VacationRoost's Destination Experts, who are
available to help customers find the perfect vacation rental for their
vacation and to offer local expertise on the best activities,
restaurants, and places to visit in each destination.
The LeisureLink Partner Services Group will offer vacation rental
suppliers everything they need to maximize the booking of their units,
including:
Marketspan Distribution Services: Marketspan allows vacation rental
suppliers to reach all points of distribution, including online travel
agencies like Expedia and Booking.com and offline travel agencies via
the GDS, through one consolidated channel management dashboard.
Suppliers are able to allocate inventory to one system and have it
distributed to all points of distribution. Marketspan also includes
sophisticated yield management and competitive pricing tools to help
suppliers maximize their overall revenue across the entire
distribution landscape.
Reservation Services: LeisureLink Reservation Services provides
resorts, resort destinations and vacation rental suppliers with world
class reservations capability that allows them to staff appropriately
to maximize their bookings at a more efficient cost than they could do
internally.
Technology Services: LeisureLink Technology Services provides
resorts, resort destinations and vacation rental suppliers with online
booking and travel packaging engines that allow them to seamlessly
offer their vacation rentals online alongside other travel products
like air, car and destination services that their customers are
looking for. By offering all travel products conveniently together,
partners are able to provide their customers with a one stop shop,
improving conversion and earning valuable commission dollars on third
party travel products.
The acquisition represents a major step towards VacationRoost's goal
of being the leading vacation rental reservation company. Following
major investments to optimize its technology and service delivery
platform and perfecting it in its core ski and mountain markets, the
company has recently made investments to expand its presence in
warm-weather destinations such as Hawaii, Florida and Mexico. With the
acquisition of LeisureLink, VacationRoost is now one of the top
booking generators for vacation rentals across North America and
represents the largest consolidated supply of bookable and
commissionable vacation rental properties to the traditional travel
industry.
The combined company will be led from the VacationRoost headquarters
in Salt Lake City, UT. Former LeisureLink board members Rishi Nigam,
SVP of Wyndham Vacation Exchange and Rentals and Jim Armstrong,
Managing Director of Clearstone Ventures will join the VacationRoost
board of directors that currently includes Michael Sands, former
COO-Orbitz, Elan Blutinger, founder of one of North America's largest
vacation rental management companies-ResortQuest, Rob Michalik and
Corwynne Carruthers, Kinderhook Industries, and Julian Castelli,
VacationRoost.
About LeisureLink LeisureLink provides integrated distribution,
revenue management and competitive intelligence solutions that
simplify processes and drive more bookings, all from one platform.
Over 1,000 vacation rental properties, timeshare resorts, condo hotels
and boutique resorts throughout North America, Asia and Europe trust
LeisureLink to maximize profitability and increase efficiency of their
online performance. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, LeisureLink
is funded by leading Southern California venture capital firms
Clearstone Venture Partners and Mission Ventures, with a strategic
investment from Wyndham Worldwide. For more information, visit
www.leisurelink.com.
About VacationRoost With more than 150,000 vacation rentals in 150
beach and ski destinations across North and South America,
VacationRoost offers the largest selection of professionally managed
vacation homes and condos throughout its network of websites and
affiliate partners. Travelers can search, compare, and book their
vacation rental online or work with an experienced Destination Expert
to find the perfect spot for their vacation. Based in Salt Lake City,
Utah, VacationRoost's team of experienced travel professionals is
committed to making booking a vacation rental as easy as booking a
hotel room online. For more information, visit www.vacationroost.com.
For further information, please contact:
VacationRoost Ryan Hutchings Rhutchings@vacationroost.com
801-559-3254
SOURCE VacationRoost
-0- 03/05/2014
/Web Site: http://www.Leisurelink.com
CO: VacationRoost; LeisureLink Inc.
ST: Utah
IN: TRA LEI
SU: TNM
PRN
-- LA76989 --
0000 03/05/2014 14:00:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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