Acquisition-Hungry Awaze Refines Its Vacation Rental Strategy in Europe
Skift Take
Awaze is arguably Europe's largest vacation-rentals business for managed properties. While its acquisitions this week are eye-catching, the bigger news is that it's spending roughly $40 million this year on a tech push. That will help it make better use of its assets.
Awaze is a European vacation-rentals business that U.S. private-equity firm Platinum Equity carved out of Wyndham Worldwide in 2018 in a $1.3 billion deal, including debt. The pandemic boom in domestic lettings of cottages and holiday homes for families in European markets has benefited Awaze, which has this week resumed growth through mergers and acquisitions of property management companies.
Awaze's Copenhagen-based Novasol brand, which runs homes on behalf of owners, said Thursday it had acquired rental agency Bornholmtours. The deal makes Novasol the largest holiday home rental company on Bornholm, a Danish island popular with visitors from Scandinavia and Germany, with 1,160 rentals. Novasol offers around 50,000 holiday homes across Europe.
Awaze's British business Hoseasons said this week it had acquired the cottage companies Amberley House and Portscatho Holidays to plug some inventory gaps in districts like Cornwall. During the pandemic, Awaze also acquired its choice of properties that Vacasa abandoned when the largest U.S.-based property manager chose to refocus on the North American market. Awaze also acquired Strand Bergen in Holland.
"If you look in the UK and across Europe, we have the most properties in the category of properties under professional management," said Awaze CEO Henrik Kjellberg.
The managed category excludes properties rented out by the owne
