US: Hyatt Hotels Corp has invested in Onefinestay, an upmarket sharing economy vacation rental company.
Onefinestay matches homeowners looking to rent their residences in London, New York, Los Angeles and Paris with travellers, and manages a portfolio of more than 2,500 homes with a combined value of more than $5 billion.
Hyatt’s investment was part of a nearly $40 million round of funding that was completed in late 2014.
Onefinestay CEO Greg Marsh declined to discuss the deal but a Hyatt spokeswoman said it is “collaborating with onefinestay” and that it will “continue to test a variety of offerings, work with a number of companies and make investments to continue innovating the guest experience”.
Marsh describes Onefinestay as “a hybrid between an online marketplace and the sort of hospitality service you might get behind the scenes of a luxury hotel.”
Sean Hennessey, CEO of Lodging Advisors LLC, a New York-based hotel consulting firm, said: “It was only a matter of time before one of the hotel operators broke ranks and aligned itself with one of the home rentals firms. It’s likely that other hotel companies will follow.”
www.onefinestay.com</p
