According to an OYO release, the firm continued to expand as a preferred full-stack vacation homes provider by acquiring Direct Booker, a Europe-based company with over 3200 homes, 2 million customers, and a transaction value of approximately USD 5.5 million.
Direct Booker, founded in 2010 by Nikola Grubelic and Nino Dubretic, is a market-leading player in the vacation home management category in Dubrovnik, Croatia’s most popular tourist destination.
In Europe, OYO already owns and operates Belvilla (Belvilla by OYO), DanCenter, and Traum Ferienwohnungen. The acquisition of Direct Booker will help OYO expand its presence in Europe, particularly in Croatia, where it currently has almost 1800 holiday homes on its Belvilla platform and over 7000 homes on its Traum Ferienwohnungen platform, according to the press release.
OYO had recently stated its intention to actively seek ‘tuck-in’ acquisitions as a strategic growth lever, particularly in the European market. OYO already has a significant presence in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, and Austria.
Explaining the rationale behind the acquisition, Ankit Tandon, global chief business officer, OYO, who led this acquisition, said, “Homes continue to be an important strategic segment for OYO. With our leading Operating System, Dynamic Pricing capability and other data science enabled features, we have been able to add value to our over 140,000 home storefronts globally and I am excited to welcome Nino, Nikola and the team at Direct Booker under the OYO umbrella. I am sure OYO’s cutting edge technology, distribution systems and data sciences will add more value to their current 3,200 homes and enhance our collective growth in Europe. We continue to focus on going deep in Europe and delivering the best vacation home experiences to our customers.”
Expressing his enthusiasm for being a part of OYO, Nino Dubretic, CEO & co-founder of Direct Booker, commented, “We are happy to join forces with a global travel tech company like OYO. We strongly believe that by merging our technologies and expertise, this partnership will positively impact the Croatian tourism economy, further driving demand through OYO’s existing platforms spread across Europe. Being a part of OYO’s network will also increase visibility for the homes listed on our platform, especially across Scandinavian, Benelux and surrounding countries. The next couple of months will be truly exciting as we work towards building our business together.”
