For years, Austin, TX-based HomeAway has been helping vacationers find private home rentals that can be rented for a month or even a day. Now the company is looking to find a home of its own on the public market.
Tomorrow, (June 29) HomeAway is expected to hit the public market in hopes of raising as much as $216 million, with a valuation that will be in the billions range. It’s just the latest IPO from an Internet-centric company. And like LinkedIn, Pandora and Groupon before it, we scoured the company’s S1 filing to bring you 10 Fast Facts About HomeAway. Enjoy!
Revenue Rising
HomeAway generated revenue of $167.9 million in 2010 and $52 million in first three months of 2011. For the same periods it generated adjusted EBITDA of $43.2 million and $10.2 million, representing year-over-year growth of 41.4% in 2010 and 76.7% in the first quarter of 2011.
Fun With Funding
The company is one of the most well funded Internet startups ever. That’s right, I said ever. It raised $404.3 million in equity over five years. It also raised $110.5 million in bank debt.
Rental Revenue
In 2010, 91.1% of HomeAway’s revenue came from paid listing for vacation rentals. The number of listings grew at compound annual growth rate of 24.9% between the end of 2008 and the end of 2010. It’s number of listings reached 575,166 at the end of first quarter. During that period the average revenue per listing was $328.
Catch 22
In an effort to improve its service, HomeAway has rolled out new features, such as reviews by travelers. However, it appears those reviews are a turn off for some property owners who pay for listings. From the company’s risk factors: reviews have “discouraged and may continue to discourage owners and managers from establishing or renewing their listings.”
Seasonal Cycles
Squarely situated in the vacation rental market, HomeAway’s business is subject to seasonal cycles. The company’s listings renewal rate was around 76% in 2010 and the first quarter of the year. But the lowest renewal rate is in the third quarter of the year and typically picks back up in the fourth quarter.
Shopping Spree
Since launching in 2004, HomeAway has bought 17 businesses. Most of those businesses didn’t have much by way of tangible assets. So the company holds $67.7 million of intangible assets, such as trade name, customer relationships and software, and $305.9 million in goodwill.
A list of vacation rental websites HomeAway owns.
The Sum Of Its Sites
Also as a result of that buying spree, the company has a huge portfolio of 31 websites in 11 languages for rentals in more than 145 countries, including the U.S., U.K., France and Brazil. According to comScore, the company averaged 9.5 million unique visitors per month.
HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples with his family. Sharples holds 3.2% of company shares before the public offering.
Headcount Hoopla
The company has grown headcount rapidly and plans to continue growing it this year. It jumped from 386 employees at the end of 2008 to 842 employees at the end of the first of 2011.
Sales & Marketing
HomeAway is ramping up its sales and marketing spend as well. The company spent $6.6 million more on sales and marketing in the first quarter compared to the same period the year before, totaling $22.7 million. It’s global sales and marketing team is made up of 276 employees.
The Big Payback
Among the largest shareholders of HomeAway: Austin Ventures with 24.2%, Red Point Ventures with 19.3%, and Technology Crossover Ventures 15.2%. Directors and executive officers at the company hold a combined total of 49.6% of shares.
