HomeAway Solidifies Market Leadership in Spain and Adds to Rural Accommodations in Europe with Acquisition of Toprural

AUSTIN, Texas, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY), the world's largest online marketplace for vacation rentals, today announced its acquisition of Top Rural S.L. (dba Toprural®), the leading site for independently-owned rural accommodations in Southern Europe, in an all cash transaction. The site, www.toprural.com, incorporates both bed and breakfasts and vacation rentals, which reflects the core of HomeAway's inventory.  As of December 31, 2011, Toprural had more than 11,600 paid listings and approximately 29,900 free listings in rural France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. 

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The acquisition of Toprural broadens HomeAway's reach within the European market.  It also adds inventory that appeals to a desirable European traveler segment that seeks long weekend getaways to small towns or countryside destinations as an escape from the city. 

"Adding Toprural's unique lodging options to our international network of vacation rentals supports our mission of making every vacation rental and bed and breakfast in the world easily available to every traveler," says HomeAway® chief executive officer Brian Sharples. "We are thrilled to have Toprural in our family so more vacationers than ever have the opportunity to stay together and experience rural Europe."

Founded in Madrid in 2000 by Francois Derbaix, the site operates in eight languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, Catalan and Dutch and features accommodations varying from farmhouses in Tuscany to fincas in Mallorca, Spain. 

"At Toprural, we share HomeAway's belief that where you stay on vacation is as important as where you go," says Toprural founder Francois Derbaix. "We are not only excited to introduce HomeAway's traveler base to the joys of rural travel, but we're also thrilled by the increased visibility we can deliver to Toprural customers by joining HomeAway's unparalleled network of sites."

Toprural and its 46-person staff will continue to operate as an independent brand from its office in Madrid. Chief operating officer, Rafael Perez-Olivares Hoepfl, will now serve as General Manager and replace Francois Derbaix, who will stay on as a consultant during the transition.

HomeAway will provide additional details on the Toprural acquisition during its first quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday, April 24, 2012.

Conference Call & Webcast Information

HomeAway's first quarter 2012 earnings conference call takes place Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time / 3:30 p.m. Central Time. To participate in the call, investors should join ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Callers in the US and Canada should join by dialing (877) 941-8416, passcode 4528539. Callers outside the US and Canada should join by dialing (480) 629-9808, passcode 4528539. In addition, a live webcast of the call will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of HomeAway's website at http://investors.homeaway.com and will be archived online for 60 days upon completion of the conference call.

About HomeAway

HomeAway, Inc., based in Austin, Texas, is the worldwide leader in online vacation rentals, with sites representing more than 640,000 paid vacation rental home listings as of December 31, 2011, throughout 168 countries. Through HomeAway owners and property managers offer an extensive selection of vacation homes that provide travelers with memorable experiences and benefits, including more room to relax and added privacy, for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodations. The company also makes it easy for vacation rental owners and property managers to advertise their properties and manage bookings online. The HomeAway portfolio includes the leading vacation rental websites HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; HomeAway.co.uk and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de in Germany; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; HomeAway.es and Toprural.com in Spain; AlugueTemporada.com.br in Brazil; and HomeAway.com.au in Australia.

In addition, HomeAway operates BedandBreakfast.com, the most comprehensive global site for finding bed-and-breakfast properties, providing travelers with another source for unique lodging alternatives to chain hotels. For more information about HomeAway, please visit www.HomeAway.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are based on HomeAway management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements include information concerning expected, possible or assumed results of the acquisition of Toprural.

Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by terms such as "continues," "plans," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "could," or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause HomeAway's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to the following: (a) the inability of Toprural, under HomeAway's ownership, to attract and maintain a critical mass of Toprural's customers or otherwise operating the toprural site effectively, (b) the impact of general economic conditions and (c) such other risks and uncertainties described more fully in documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including HomeAway's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on March 19, 2012. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof and, except as required by law, HomeAway assumes no obligation to update this information, even if new information becomes available in the future.

For information contact:
Victor Wang
Public Relations Manager
HomeAway, Inc.
Office- 512-505-1504
[email protected]

SOURCE HomeAway, Inc.