Skift Take
As a growing company with global ambitions and a $3 billion stockpile, Airbnb wants to buy stuff. You can expect that more acquisitions are on the way as Airbnb expects to branch out into related sectors.
Airbnb has been a fairly acquisitive company in its more than eight years of existence and today it made its biggest splash, buying upscale vacation rental site Luxury Retreats for an estimated $200 million to $300 million.
That makes at least a dozen companies that Airbnb has acquired since 2011. And those are the ones we know about. As a private company, Airbnb doesn’t need to publicize everything it has bought, especially if some of the acquisitions are smaller in scope.
Some 12 acquisitions in five years isn’t necessarily a frenetic pace. In contrast, TripAdvisor has acquired at least 18 companies since 2011. But Airbnb reportedly just became profitable in the second half of 2016.
Still, with $3 billion in funding and a $30 billion valuation, Airbnb has some pocket change to throw around for inorganic growth, on-boarding other companies to hire their employees and technology pursuits.
With reports that Airbnb wants to begin selling flights, add restaurant reservations and grocery deliveries, to name a few, in addition to launching tours and activities last fall, maybe it is just getting warmed up.
Past acquisitions have included a trip-planning startup, a home-sharing site and technology buys ranging from blockchain gurus to adding more mobile expertise.
In addition to Luxury Retreats, the following are 11 other acquisitions that Airbnb has made since 2011.
Trip4real, September 2016
Airbnb Buys Spanish Tours and Activities Startup Trip4real
ChangeCoin, April 2016
Airbnb just acquired a team of bitcoin and blockchain experts
Vamo, September 2015
Airbnb acquires Seattle-based trip planning service Vamo, founded by former Facebook exec
Lapka, September 2015
Airbnb acquires Lapka, which makes breathalyzers and environment sensors
Pencil Labs, December 2014
Airbnb picks up Pencil, Cambridge startup that built scheduling app
Localmind, December 2012
Airbnb acquires Localmind to create crowdsourced advice about neighborhoods
Fondu, October 2012
Airbnb May Be Getting Into Yelp’s Territory With Its Latest Acquisition
Nabewise, July 2012
With Neighborhoods, Airbnb expands its horizons
DailyBooth, July 2012
Airbnb buys DailyBooth to get hold of its mobile apps expertise
CrashPadder, March 2012
Airbnb buys Crashpadder to increase presence in Europe this summer
Accoleo, June 2011
Airbnb buys German clone Accoleo, opens first European office in Hamburg
The Daily Newsletter
Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.
Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch
Tags: airbnb, luxury, Luxury Retreats, tripadvisor
Photo credit: One of Airbnb's more interesting acquisitions was of Spain's Trip4real as a way of jumpstarting Airbnb's attractions business. Trip4real