HomeAway is still the 800-pound gorilla in the vacation rental business, with 1,400 employees, 775,000 paid listings and annual revenue last year of $280.4 million.
But a tiny Seattle upstart is looking to take a crack at HomeAway, focusing on the mobile experience with easy-to-use smartphones and tablet apps. Dwellable today said that it is on track to record $10 million in bookings this year, and it also announced plans to expand into Europe this quarter. That follows the company’s Canadian launch last month.
“Our users are mobile natives, and that’s been our focus from day one,” said Kirby Winfield, who was appointed Dwellable CEO this past summer. “The hotel industry expects 225% growth in mobile online bookings in 2014, and we see the opportunity in vacation rentals expanding in kind.”
The company, founded by former Urbanspoon co-founder Adam Doppelt, said it has experienced 1,000 percent growth in mobile-based rental inquiries since 2012. It said that it will drive about 20,000 inquiries to vacation rental managers and owners this year, and it now has more than 100,000 property listing from around the U.S., including popular destinations like Cape Cod, Lake Tahoe and Hawaii.
Previously on GeekWire: Dwellable founder gets résumé from iPhone app developer who claims he created … Dwellable
