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US/Canada: Vancouver-based travel technology company TravelAI has acquired vacation rental brand OwnerDirect.com, including all associated intellectual property, trademarks and domain names.
Owner Direct, first established in 1987, is one of North America’s longest-running whole-home vacation rental brands. The company said the acquisition would support its strategy to expand traffic acquisition across Canada and the United States.
TravelAI operates a portfolio of more than 475 consumer-facing brands. Its existing short-term rental sites include RentByOwner, Hotala, Casai, BedroomVillas, SkiHotels and VacationCottage.com.
John Lyotier, CEO and co-founder of TravelAI, said: “Our partners have said they want more North American traffic and we can deliver it through this brand. By bringing OwnerDirect into the TravelAI ecosystem, we can build on almost 40 years of trust while introducing new technology and AI-driven scale.”
The company said OwnerDirect.com has long-standing domain authority and historic usage, and that it plans to modernise the site using its AI personalisation tools, scale SEO and performance marketing, and re-engage previous users. It added that the brand would become a key component of its short-term rental strategy in North America.
TravelAI has acquired a number of travel brands in recent years, including Casai.com and Smartours.com, as part of its wider approach to combining strategic acquisitions with AI-powered marketing infrastructure.
Highlights:
TravelAI acquires OwnerDirect.com, one of North America’s longest-running whole-home vacation rental brands.
The deal includes all intellectual property, trademarks and domain assets.
Owner Direct, founded in 1987, has strong domain authority and long-standing trust among North American travellers.
TravelAI plans to modernise the platform using AI personalisation, SEO and performance marketing.
The acquisition strengthens TravelAI’s short-term rental presence in Canada and the United States.
OwnerDirect.com will become a key traffic driver for whole-home vacation rental searches.
TravelAI’s portfolio includes RentByOwner, Hotala, Casai, BedroomVillas, SkiHotels and VacationCottage.com.
The company said the deal supports its strategy to grow high-intent traveller demand through AI-driven marketing infrastructure.
