Airbnb's Buy of Luxury Retreats Is Latest of a Dozen Acquisitions

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