OYO acquires Amsterdam-based vacation rental company @Leisure Group

Gurugram-based hotel brand OYO on Wednesday announced that it has agreed to acquire Amsterdam-based @Leisure Group. The group is a vacation rental company in Europe that manages holiday parks, homes, and holiday apartments. 

While the details of the acquisition was undisclosed, OYO will acquire @Leisure Group from Axel Springer, ​the media and technology company.

The group currently offers more than 30,000-fully managed holiday homes across 13 countries in Europe, and also offers a subscription-based home management service with over 85,000 homes across 50 countries. ​

Speaking of the acquisition ​OYO’s Global Chief Strategy Officer, Maninder Gulati said, ​“I would like to commend @Leisure Group’s team for the incredible work they have done to bring wonderful and memorable living experiences to travelers around the world by offering beautiful holiday homes, cottages and holiday parks, in 300+ cities across Europe stretching all the way from Kokelv, Norway to Zahara de los Atunes, Spain.”

He also said that with @Leisure Group's team and capabilities, they see OYO further its mission of creating quality living experiences for everyday travellers. 

According to the company, globally, Homes presents OYO with a massive opportunity of $2 trillion across 100 million homes covering vacation rentals and urban homes. The team believes that Europe is the largest market accounting for over 30 to 40 percent of this total supply. OYO stated that @Leisure Group is among the few companies in the world with an OYO-like full-stack approach to vacation rentals. 

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Maninder further added​, “​With Europe spearheading the vacation and urban home rental trend globally, @Leisure Group is uniquely positioned to capitalise on its experience and insights aided with OYO’s full-stack approach towards building the world’s largest global vacation rentals business. If one were to look at Europe alone, there is an ever-increasing demand for vacation homes with an increasing trend of booking an entire home.”

He adds that through this acquisition, the size and scale of the opportunity can be immediately unlocked for OYO’s Homes business. 

Commenting on the acquisition, ​Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & Group CEO, OYO, ​said in a press statement,​

“We see vacation homes as a unique opportunity with 115,000 units of homes now getting added to our already growing count of beautiful homes and we are excited to continue maintaining our global industry leadership. Our focus, however, will remain to be a beloved consumer brand that has the ability to create a perfect space in every place. The @Leisure Group is a great partner and we are excited to broad base their offerings. @Leisure Group has proven capabilities in helping develop Europe into a vacation rentals hotspot and we are keen to leverage their competencies towards ensuring beautiful vacation rental and urban homes experience for millions of tourists from every part of the world. I am particularly thrilled to welcome Tobias and team into the OYO family. It is a business decision closely aligned with our overall mission that has incredible potential.”

On the acquisition and the proposed growth plans, ​Tobias Wann, CEO @Leisure Group, said, “We are delighted to join forces with OYO in its mission of creating quality and beautiful spaces. @Leisure Group was started with a similar mission to identify and service all forms of vacation and urban home rentals, focusing on delivering a hassle-free experience to both homeowners and guests.”

@Leisure Group generates healthy margins, with sustained EBITDA growth over the last few years.

Also read: How OYO is working to become the world’s biggest hospitality chain, one hotel at a time