Yes, HomeToGo’s acquisition of Interhome rightly made headlines. A €160M deal that instantly added a pan-European, professionally managed inventory of 40,000 properties is a move that speaks to strategic scale and operational depth. But beyond the headline deals, both Holidu and HomeToGo have pursued a parallel strategy: quietly snapping up small, vertical, or highly localized portals that give them deep access into niche traveler demand and underserved markets.
This is not about scale — it’s about specificity. About owning the corners of the market that Airbnb and Booking.com leave behind.
🪜 Tiered Acquisition Strategy: Not Just Big Names
Let’s break this down clearly. Both companies are conducting acquisitions at multiple tiers:
🏛️ Tier 1: Strategic Giants (Rare)
- HomeToGo → Interhome (2025): 40,000 managed properties, deep operational capabilities
- These are exceptions, not the rule — few players of this size exist.
🧭 Tier 2: Regional Leaders with Vertical Strength
These are not global brands but command strong direct traffic and brand equity in their verticals or regions.
| Company | Brand | Market | Niche | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holidu | Clubrural | Spain, Portugal | Rural stays | Massive rural inventory: 28,000 listings, 15M users |
| Holidu | Finca Mallorca | Balearic Islands | Luxury villas | High-value segment; keyword dominance for “Mallorca villa rental” |
| HomeToGo | Amivac | France | General/rural hybrid | Holds strong SEO via multiple domains (vacances.com, seloger.vacances) |
| HomeToGo | Kurz Mal Weg | DACH | Thematic wellness breaks | Targets a specific German travel behavior: short weekend escapes |
These are the kinds of sites that German, French, or Spanish users still discover via Google, not Instagram. They may be under the radar globally but are deeply entrenched locally.
🧿 Niche Penetration as Strategy
Let’s make something clear: this isn’t just a volume game. This is a niche penetration play, and it works on several levels:
1. Regional/Language Niches
- Holidu acquiring Cybevasion (France): Gites.fr and Chambres-hotes.fr are tuned to the specific language, culture, and travel style of rural France — something Booking.com doesn’t replicate well.
- HomeToGo acquiring EscapadaRural (Spain): An “Airbnb for the countryside” that resonates with Spanish users looking for agritourism and nature getaways.
2. Use-Case Niches
- Kurzurlaub.de and Kurz Mal Weg aren’t just regional — they’re behavioral. German travelers often take 2-4 day breaks, and these portals curate packages around spas, castles, and culinary experiences.
3. Property-Type Niches
- Finca Mallorca has a curated list of high-end villas, which are far more valuable than sheer volume. These attract discerning travelers and owners looking for prestige visibility, not mass-market distribution.
🧠 Post-Acquisition: What Happens to the Brands?
What’s smart — and what Airbnb and Vrbo often miss — is that these companies don’t erase the brands. They:
| Action | Reason |
|---|---|
| Keep the brand live | SEO authority, local loyalty, direct traffic |
| Upgrade backend | Use Holidu’s PMS or HomeToGo’s AI pricing and availability tools |
| Syndicate listings | Listings also show up on Holidu or HomeToGo, plus other OTAs |
| Leverage data | Rural demand trends from Clubrural feed machine learning for pricing, recommendations, etc. |
So yes, a user might still book via Gites.fr, but the property is priced dynamically via Holidu’s backend and simultaneously available on Holidu.com, Google Vacation Rentals, etc.
🧰 This Is Aggregation 2.0 — with Local Identity
Think of this not as Expedia’s roll-up of hotel brands, but something closer to:
- Regional micro-consolidation: Become the #1 or #2 in each sub-market.
- Preserve identity, enhance efficiency: Keep the surface, modernize the engine.
- Hyper-target travelers and hosts: Speak the local language. Offer the right features. Respect the local user journey.
🎯 The German Engineering Behind This
It’s no accident both companies are German-founded:
| ulture Trait | Manifestation in Strategy |
|---|---|
| Precision | Focus on vertical niches and efficient host onboarding |
| Reliability | Prioritization of SEO-rich, trusted local portals |
| Depth over Flash | No flashy branding; just multi-brand networks working in parallel |
So yes, HomeToGo may have pulled off the big Interhome move, but both Holidu and HomeToGo are conducting a surgical aggregation of Europe’s fragmented STR landscape, portal by portal, niche by niche.
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