Holidu expands international presence for Bookiply in France
Germany: Munich-based holiday rental booking portal Holidu is expanding its international presence by adding two branches for its subsidiary Bookiply in France.
Local offices are being opened in Rennes [Brittany] and Marseille [Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur], taking the company up to 22 locations across Europe.
Under the Bookiply brand, Holidu says that it has created a “synergistic and highly successful” solution for vacation homeowners by helping hosts to generate more bookings with less effort. Vacation rental owners have access to software and personal support from travel experts on-site, creating a more trustworthy booking and vacation experience.
Bookiply expanded into France in 2022, opening two offices in Lyon and Bordeaux before continuing its expansion in Marseille and Rennes in 2023. The subsidiary’s sales in France increased nearly tenfold in the first two months of this year compared to the same period last year, and it has already generated more than half of its 2022 sales.
Holidu CEO Johannes Siebers said: “France is one of the most important and largest markets for Holidu in terms of sales and bookings, and our subsidiary Bookiply is also growing exponentially in France. We are delighted to now be able to offer this service to even more vacation home owners.
“Our Bookiply landlords express extremely high levels of satisfaction with the product, and our Bookiply homes achieve excellent ratings from guests,” he added.
Over the past three years, the number of Bookiply-managed vacation properties in Europe has grown from 5,000 to more than 20,000 properties. According to Bookiply, revenue generated from these vacation rentals has increased 12-fold from 2019 to 2022 [comparable period January to December] and accounts for more than half of Holidu’s total revenue.
The company is expecting strong growth in France and further openings in Europe are being planned.
The attractiveness of Brittany and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is reflected in the high demand: for the 2023 peak season, 80 percent of vacation homes have already been booked.
Simon Bernès, head of sales and account management for France at Bookiply, said: “Our goal is to further professionalise the vacation rental market in France and provide the best possible user experience for both hosts and guests.”
Founded in 2014, Holidu now employs 500 people and in October, the company closed a $98 million [€100 million+] Series E funding round to expand in Germany and across Europe.
