Interhome teams up with TripAdvisor to increase marketing opportunities for holiday homes
Interhome of Switzerland – Europe's leading provider of holiday homes and apartments – has signed a deal with TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site*. The deal is part of Interhome's on-going professionalization of its global distribution structures by increasing marketing opportunities for holiday homes. In the coming months, Interhome's portfolio of quality holiday home properties will be displayed on TripAdvisor. Additionally, travelers booking properties on Interhome directly can submit reviews with TripAdvisor powering a review collection platform.
In travel and tourism marketing, credible client ratings are increasingly replacing star systems and other classification concepts. This applies not only to the global hotel sector, but also to the specialized and expanding field of holiday homes and apartments.
Engaging with the online community and leveraging online traveller reviews are essential for the success of travel and tourism businesses. Switzerland-based Interhome – Europe's leading provider of holiday homes – has long been mindful of this important trend in tourism. By teaming up with TripAdvisor, Interhome will now be able to benefit from the U.S. company's unrivalled expertise through its powerful marketing tool. With the support and assistance of TripAdvisor, Interhome will start processing and publishing client feedback on its site in the coming months. In a parallel development, Interhome's international portfolio will be integrated into TripAdvisor’s rental listings in a phased approach.
50 million monthly visitors
Interhome CEO Simon Lehmann describes the new cooperation with TripAdvisor as a further major milestone in the targeted expansion of Interhome. He says: "Teaming up with the world’s largest travel site opens up many exciting marketing and distribution opportunities for properties."
“We are thrilled to partner with Interhome, as the company brings exceptional properties and a tremendous amount of local market expertise to the TripAdvisor community. Our goal is to offer travelers the best listings from partners who know the locations best,” said Christine Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for Business. “Our partnership demonstrates our belief and commitment to vacation rentals as an important accommodation option for travelers.”
TripAdvisor-branded websites make up the largest travel community worldwide, with more than 50 million visitors per month.
About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features (including Flights search, TripAdvisor Mobile and Instant Personalization) with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor® Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor LLC, attracts more than 65 million unique monthly visitors across 19 popular travel brands. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors, 20 million members, and over 50 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also operates TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors. The division includes Business Listings, which allows hoteliers to connect directly to millions of researching travelers, and Vacation Rentals, which helps property managers and individual home owners list their properties and showcase hotel alternatives.
*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Media Group Sites, Worldwide, August 2011
About Interhome
Switzerland-based Interhome specializes in the rental of more than 32,000 quality holiday apartments, homes and chalets in 29 countries worldwide. In 2010, the company welcomed 560,000 holiday guests and recorded a net yield of CHF 206.9 million. Interhome is headquartered in Glattbrugg/Zurich and is a 100% subsidiary of Hotelplan Holding. In turn, Hotelplan Holding is a 100% subsidiary of Migros, Switzerland's largest retail supermarket chain, based in Zurich.
Hotelplan Group to acquire Inter Chalet
Glattbrugg, 11 August 2011 | Migros subsidiary Hotelplan Group is to acquire a 26% equity holding in Freiburg (Germany)-based Inter Chalet Ferienhaus-Gesellschaft mbH. The transaction will be formally concluded on 1 November 2011. The parties have agreed not to divulge the sale price involved.
In a second step, Inter Chalet – which is Germany’s leading specialist provider of vacation rental homes – should be acquired in full by the Hotelplan group, with a view to further strengthening the position of the group’s own Interhome brand.
Michael Heines, who founded Inter Chalet in 1974, has decided to embark on the planned partnership to ensure the company’s long-term future. Under the sale agreement, the Hotelplan group will purchase the remaining 74% of Inter Chalet on 1 November 2013.
In the meantime, Inter Chalet will continue to be led by Michael Heines, as its managing director and majority shareholder.
Inter Chalet and Interhome manage and market some 50 000 vacation properties. With a joint workforce of more than 500 personnel, the partners currently generate combined annual turnover of around EUR 300 million.
Both parties expect that, by cultivating an intensified and open collaboration, they will be able to identify and exploit meaningful synergies before 1 November 2013 which will enable the new merged company to lead the European vacation rental market.
“The transaction is a milestone in Interhome’s history,” adds Hans Lerch, CEO Hotelplan Group & Chairman of the Board of Interhome.
For further information:
Hotelplan Group
Prisca Huguenin-dit Lenoir
Head of Corporate Communications
Phone +41 (0)43 211 83 48
prisca.huguenin@hotelplan.com
www.hotelplan.com
Interhome extends its market leadership – launches new website
Switzerland-based Interhome – Europe's leading provider of quality holiday homes and apartments – has launched a major campaign to boost further its growing share of online bookings. Online business already accounts for more than 60% of Interhome's total turnover. Now the company's website (www.interhome.com) has undergone an extensive facelift, offering enhanced colour, greater clarity and state-of-the-art search technology. The aim is to enable users to find their ideal holiday property faster and with improved efficiency.
Bookings via the Internet are certain to see further strong growth over the coming years – that's the confident prediction of Simon Lehmann, CEO of Europe's leading provider of holiday homes and apartments. Online reservations already account for some 60% of the Switzerland-based company's total turnover. During 2010 alone its web bookings have grown by an impressive 10%. Now the company is targeting further online expansion. As part of the company's ambitious «Fiji» project, carried out by Interhome's «eBusiness» and «Web Development» teams, the holiday homes specialist has unveiled on www.interhome.com its advanced new website.
Fresher, faster and user-friendly
The new look website embraces a fresher appearance, enhanced colour design and a range of innovative user-friendly tools. Advanced «Guided Navigation» technology ensures that, as the online search advances, the user is presented instantaneously with vacation properties suited to his or her individual requirements. This enables the user to find the ideal holiday home or apartment with greater ease and efficiency in the shortest time. Simon Lehmann explains: «The intense competition in the travel industry to attract online clients means that the time factor is becoming an increasingly crucial consideration.» Interhome can also claim another decisive online advantage – the new website embraces Google search engine optimization. This is a further important aid in assisting the user to find the perfect property. The launch of the new Interhome website has been timed to coincide with the opening of the 2010/2011 winter season.
www.interhome.com