Hospitality brand and unicorn on Monday said it has concluded the acquisition of Europe-based company ‘Direct Booker’, which has over 3,200 homes, and has serviced two million customers so far. The transaction values Direct Booker at around $5.5 million.
Started in 2010 by Nikola Grubelic and Nino Dubretic, Direct Booker is a market-leading player in the vacation home management segment in Dubrovnik, a key tourist destination in Croatia.
As OYO continues to expand as a preferred full-stack vacation homes provider, the following transaction will further strengthen the company’s presence in Europe.
“This acquisition will strengthen OYO’s presence in Europe broadly, and Croatia specifically, where it already has nearly 1,800 vacation homes on its Belvilla platform and over 7,000 homes on its Traum Ferienwohnungen platform,” the company stated.
It already owns and operates brands such as Belvilla (Belvilla by OYO), DanCenter, and Traum Ferienwohnungen, among others, in Europe.
Direct Booker’s inventory will be available on Belvilla.com (Belvilla by OYO) and over time on its other platforms, according to the press statement.
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 1 globally and I am excited to welcome Nino, Nikola and the team at Direct Booker under the OYO umbrella.
We continue to focus on going deep in Europe and delivering the best Vacation Home experiences to our customers.”
Expressing his enthusiasm on being a part of OYO, Nino Dubretic, CEO & Co-Founder of Direct Booker, commented,
“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.”
OYO has presence in over 35 countries and claims to be the third-most downloaded travel app in the world. With the latest move, Dubrovnik-headquartered Direct Booker will now become a part of the OYO platform with a presence across Europe.
