AccorHotels, the Paris-based group that owns and operates thousands of hotels around the world, has acquired the U.K.’s OneFineStay, a so-called “sharing economy” startup that lets homeowners monetize their houses while out-of-town. The initial deal is worth €148M ($170 million), with AccorHotels committing a further €64m ($73 million) to grow the startup’s presence globally.
Founded in 2009, OneFineStay is one of a number of startups to capitalize on the lucrative homesharing market, but the London-based startup has always offered one core differentiator to the likes of Airbnb and HomeAway. Indeed, OneFineStay is only available in London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and Rome because it relies on its own local team to manage a selection of properties on behalf of the owners, and includes bathrooms stocked with clean towels and toiletries, clean sheets, a meet-and-greet, an iPhone with local SIM card, and more. It’s more akin to a 5-star hotel experience than what you’d typically find on Airbnb, and the properties are vetted in advance to ensure they’re of a suitable standard and condition.
As with other industries that have been slow to adapt to technological change, homesharing has put a dent in the hotel industry with many people — including business travelers — electing to stay in a local house instead of a hotel. But it’s clearer than ever that one solution to combat this is to, well, buy these young upstarts outright — travel booking site Expedia snapped up HomeAway for almost $4 billion last year. OneFineStay had raised more than $80 million in funding before now, with the mighty Hyatt participating in its $40 million Series D round last summer, a move that preceded a collaborative partnership between the two companies.
With a reported valuation of more than $25 billion, Airbnb has emerged as the poster child not only for the homesharing industry, but the broader sharing economy alongside other “startups” such as Uber. This has led to countless regulatory tussles along the way as legislation struggles to keep apace with technological advances, and while lobbying has been one tactic employed to combat the rise of the sharing economy, “if you can’t beat them, join them” seems to be a growing mantra among incumbents. Indeed, some hotels have even taken to Airbnb to list their own free inventory.
Under AccorHotels’ wing, OneFineStay said it plans to expand into 40 new cities over the next five years, and plans to grow its revenues “tenfold.” Other than that, it seems not a great deal else will change for now — OneFineStay will remain an independent entity within AccorHotels Group, according to a press release, and the startup’s management team will remain in place.