We are happy to announce the second winner in The Society’s Vacation Giveaway.  Congratulations Jan Corbin!

Jan, her daughter, sisters and cousin will be headed to Keystone thanks in part to our property partner Summit Cove.  Jan also receives a $500 gift certificate to ship her luggage to Keystone compliments of our newest preferred partner The Luggage Club.

Jan let us know she has experienced some extraordinarily difficult times the past number of years and is now prepared to, “…spend a few days reading a book, walking around seeing other sites, and reinvigorating myself”.

Florida Resident Wins Colorado Luxury Stay: The Society Celebrates Thanksgiving
2nd Winner Announced - Eight (8) More Weeks of Vacation Available

Titusville, FL (November 20, 2008) - This Thanksgiving, Florida resident, Jan Corbin, greets her holiday season with the excitement of being selected as winner of a 5-night luxury stay at The Lone Eagle resort in Keystone, CO.

Corbin had just signed on as a member of The Luggage Club when she noticed The Club’s sponsorship of The Society’s SAVE THE AMERICAN VACATION promotion.

She joined the cast of thousands to pen her personal 200-word narrative, “Why I Need A Vacation”. Judges admired Corbin’s determination to surmount personal loss, and choice to share a trip of a lifetime with her daughter and friends in Keystone, CO, provided by The Society’s Luxe Alliance partner Summit Cove Rentals … Read More.

We imagine Jan and her supportive group of girlfriends will have a wonderful, relaxing time in Keystone.

Thank you to all participants thus far.  Out judging panel have a terribly difficult time each week checking all the entries and selecting just one winner.  Remember however, there are 8 homes remaining!!  If you have not yet registered do so now here.  Our next drawing is on December 3rd, so get your submissions in to win the “Acadia Estate” in Kissimmee, Florida thanks to our Luxe Alliance member Orlando All Star Vacation Homes.  This home is ideally located near Disney and perfect for that family getaway!!!

Our preferred partner, The Luggage Club, has stepped up again and is contributing a $100 gift certificate to the winner as well … imagine your luggage and goods waiting for you at your final destination, and enjoying hands-free travel!

Good luck!!

The Society Team

Domain(s): homeaway.com, vrbo.com, vacationrentals.com, a1vacations.com, cyberrentals.com

Metric: Unique Visitors - Monthly

You can see below the top 5 sites bring in nearly 2M unique visitors per month (based on Compete’s estimates).

In a recent Wall Street Journal blog post, Heidi Moore dug into the funding situation a bit more:

“…(HomeAway.com) is kind of an eBay for vacation-home rentals, and it has done booming business amid the downturn as many owners of second homes look to rent out their country houses to get additional cash. The company sought additional cash to make acquisitions as the market values of competitors fell.

The company was no stranger to big capital-raises or acquisitions, pulling in $160 million in November 2006 and completing 10 acquisitions in the past three years. The company used some of that cash to expand globally– 30% of its revenue now comes from overseas, according to Technology Crossover Ventures partner Woody Marshall.

To keep that expansion going, HomeAway flirted with a public listing: in October 2007, the company and its bankers, Goldman Sachs Group and Credit Suisse Group, “did 95% of the work toward putting an IPO together,” but pulled back before officially filing it with the Securities and Exchange Commission…”

READ MORE: http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/11/12/internet-company-raises-250-million-in-this-market/

“I try to keep the plates spinning, the lions fed, and the clowns in order…”.

-Why We Need A Vacation? Week One Winner Chosen
Nine (9) More Weeks of Vacation Available-

Lakewood, CO (November 12, 2008) – The Society of Leisure Enthusiasts (www.thesociety.com), representing 5,000+ of the finest vacation home rentals in the world is proud to announce the first recipient of the “Save the American Vacation” promotion conceived in response to the current global financial crisis to brighten the upcoming holiday season.

Ms. Kim Fritz of St. Petersburg, Florida will enjoy 5 nights of lavishness and opulence in Cabo San Lucas residing in the Villa Las Olas provided by The Society’s Luxe Alliance partner Lifestyle Villas of Los Cabos. Kim, her family and her best friend’s family will enjoy spacious living/entertaining rooms and 4 bedrooms within this magnificent example of contemporary Mexican architecture. Adjacent to the villa are two infinity-edge pools, a jetted hot tub, a large built-in gas BBQ, outdoor fireplace and outdoor dining seating 8 covered by a Palapa, all a stone’s throw from the Sea of Cortez…read more.

Congrats Again Kim & Family and Have Fun!!

Thank you to all the other contestants from week 1 and remember we have 9 more homes to giveaway and your registration puts you right back in the mix for next week when we giveaway the magnificent Lone Eagle in Keystone, Colorado donated by our Luxe Alliance member Summit Cove Rentals … AND the pot is sweetened this next week thanks to our new preferred vendor The Luggage Club. They have extended a $500 gift certificate to the winner toward luggage and/or equipment shipping to Keystone!! How great is that, no hassle travel!!!

If you haven’t registered, do so now at www.thesociety.com/giveaway or extend an invite to your friends and family!!!

Finally, a sincere thank you to Mom Central and Lifestyle Villas. Without great partners like these none of this would be possible.

Property Partner

Property Sponsor

Austin, Texas based HomeAway, a vacation home rental service, has raised a $250 million round of financing. This comes on top of $209 million previously raised over two rounds.

The new financing was led by Technology Crossover Ventures, with existing investors IVP and Redpoint Ventures participating as well. The financing is the largest minority investment of a U.S. Internet company in the last eight years, according to Venture Source.

The pre-money valuation was around $1.15 billion, say a couple of sources, and at least $50 million of the round went off the table to earlier investors. The company was founded in 2005 and has grown primarily through acquisitions: They’ve acquired at least eleven vacation home rental sites, including VRBO, VacationRentals.com, Abritel.fr and OwnersDirect.co.uk.

The company has revenues of around $150 million and $50 million in ebitda. In addition to cashing out some of the investors, our guess is that the additional funding will likely be used for further acquisitions.

It’s also clear that the round was seriously overvalued. Ebay was rumored to have mulled over an acquisition earlier this year at $1.5 billion, but it never came through with a firm offer. It’s not clear who else could be a buyer at this valuation. Also, since HomeAway has acquired just about everyone in the market, there’s little room for
additional growth via acquisitions. 20x ebitda is a public company valuation for a company with real growth potential. Our guess is these new investors may take a bath.

What does this mean to the industry? Time will tell but my guess is they have a few things in mind:

1. Online booking tool/service for RBOs (Rent by owners). Either they will build it (or it’s built) or they will buy someone that is doing it well.

2. Make a bigger push into the property management segment of the industry.

3. Rollout premium services for existing clients, one of which might include an advertising engine for RBOs that currently just post their property profiles.

4. Market, market and market vacation rentals. Home Away has done a tremendous job to date raising the awareness of the industry in the US and beyond but by no means are vacation rentals mainstream. With $250M they should be able to push it even further.

5. Buy up little niche companies that can bring more cash to their bottom line. That’s what they’ve done in the past and there’s no reason it won’t happen again.

Those are a few thoughts. Please add your comments below. More to come….

Our Luxe Alliance partner, Herrick Guest Suites, have put together a great little package for those of you headed to Manhattan before January 15th.

Enjoy shopping, theater, and winter festivities in New York this holiday season.
Receive a free $100 gift certificate to a local restaurant, if you book with us before January 15th, 2009.

Mention this special when inquiring!

Herrick Guest suites offers some great properties in downtown Manhattan.  You can check them out here:

18th Street Cathedral Suite

Hudson Street Penthouse

Wall Street Deluxe

Herrick Guest Suites offer luxury apartment suites that provide a stylish accommodation alternative for business and leisure travelers alike. They are perfect as vacation rentals and as corporate housing solutions. Whether you seek a weekend getaway or an extended stay, make yourself at home.

-Christmas Package 2008 at Luxurious 10 Suite Villa near Florence - S3035:

What better way to enjoy the festive season than by staying at this gorgeous villa in Florence. Discover one of Italy’s most charming cities as well as the Tuscan cuisine created by the villa’s private chef accompanied by the estate’s produced wines. Celebrate Christmas around a cracling fire, under an elegantly decorated Christmas tree. Not to mention having a beautiful spa at your fingertips as an oasis of relaxation and rejuvenation!

Offer includes Luxurious private villa accommodating up to 18 people, scrumptious buffet breakfast daily, bottle of Chianti Classico and Amedei Tuscan chocolates in room upon welcome, Complimentary Traditional Christams Eve dinner for the family including estate’s wines, Christmas gift compliments of the villa (placed under the lovely, adorned Christmas tree), and a festively decorated villa!

Minimum stay of 3 nights
Daily Rate of $7,016
-Bravo Winter Bliss Special at Exquisite Stone Villa in the Val D’Orcia Region - S3023:

Stay at this villa this winter for a blissful vacation in the ancient spa town of San Casciano dei Bagni!  This spectacular villa offers an escape from the ordinary and an entry to the sublime. The property is just steps from the famed therapeutic thermal spring spa for further pampering and relaxation.

Weekly Rate for 13 Pax – € 7,813
Weekly Rate for 9 Pax – € 6,250

Book 3 Weeks, Get an Additional Week FREE!!!

Offer includes:

• One week accommodation within the dates of November to March 26 (excluding Christmas and New Year’s Eve weeks)
• Complimentary Welcome Dinner at La Fontanella Restaurant, just minutes from the villa
• 15% off admission to world-renowned, luxurious spa center – steps from Federico
• 10% off dinners at La Fontanella restaurant

-Christmas and New Year’s Eve at Wonderful Tuscan Country Estate near Florence - S3031

This package is perfect for larger groups or family vacations during the holidays -This country estate can accommodate up to 10 people in the main villa. Just 25 minutes from Florence’s city center, this villa is a great holiday retreat for those that want to enjoy the villa experience and yet have the historical Florence nearby. Visit the world-renowned Uffizzi museum or go see Michelangelo’s David at the Academy… then gather in your cozy living room around the fireplace for a holiday toast!

Discounted Weekly Rate for 10 Pax - € 3,125

Offer includes:
One week accommodation for up to 10 people in the main villa at a discounted rate and a complimentary welcome buffet dinner

Belize is a haven for waterlovers with premier snorkeling, windsurfing, sailing, fishing, kayaking, kiteboarding, and boat touring.  Ambergris Caye is also one of the world’s finest diving destinations.

If Belize sounds like the adventure you’ve been waiting for, simply send us a MatchMaker inquiry.  We’ll search the villas based on your criteria and send you the most ideal options.  With only a few months left, take advantage of this unique 15% discount, and experience the beauty of Belize.  Our villas are located at Las Terrazas Resort, the one and only preferred boutique (of Preferred Hotels and Resorts) in Belize.

At Las Terrazas there are various and diverse options: a fun barbeque on the gardens along with your friends; an amusing afternoon of family gathering in one of the pools; a diving expedition through the coral reef; a soothing Spa session; or a romantic dinner with your special one under the stars and the moon shivering its silver reflects on the Caribbean Sea everything is possible in this well cared and exclusive atmosphere.

Prices range from $575 - $1100 per night.  At 15% off, savings are up to $165 per night.

Enjoy!

The Travel Innovation Summit is a new PhoCusWright event that showcases the travel industry’s hottest, most innovative Web and mobile-based applications.

Travel, tourism and hospitality is the world’s largest industry, responsible for 8% of global employment, 9% of invested capital and 10% of global GDP. Millions of citizens will leave their borders for the first time this year; international tourism actually grew year-over-year about 5 per cent in the first four months of 2008 (UN World Tourism Organization).

The marketplace is enormously fragmented because of the terrestrial nature of travel itself. Companies and infrastructure are required to be located all over the world, one destination at a time. However, the travel researching, planning, sharing and purchasing process is wholly digital, which is why travel is an e-commerce category killer. Technology-based innovation that improves customer travel planning experiences are therefore enormously important to the overall industry.

The Society is honored to be selected as one of the presenters. On Nov 17th from 12:21 - 12:34 (yes that is the official time) we will be on stage. The event has some other very prominent presenters including:

• http://www.adventurelink.com/
• http://www.cadabra.com/
• http://www.dealbase.com/
• http://escapia.com/
• http://www.liverez.com/
• http://www.travelmuse.com/
• http://www.tripit.com/
• http://www.triporati.com/
• http://www.uptake.com/
• http://www.yapta.com/

In addition to the Travel Innovation Summit, we will be hanging around and attending the Center Stage event on Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, Flipkey, Endless Vacation Rentals (Wyndham Worldwide), HomeAway, LeisureLink, USDM and VacationRoost.com will be sharing insights on the entire vacation rental industry. I believe each of these companies sponsored the Vacation Rentals Industry report that PhoCusWright fielded this year (due out in Jan 2009).

]]> /blog/2008/11/travel-innovation-summit-coming-soon/feed/ /blog/2008/11/unexpected-costa-rica-10-off-last-min-bookings/ /blog/2008/11/unexpected-costa-rica-10-off-last-min-bookings/#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:49:17 +0000 Mark http://thesociety.com/blog/?p=443 For travelers looking to escape winter temperatures, Costa Rica is entering it’s high season for tourism.  November through April is an amazing time to explore this exotic destination, and The Society is offering quite a deal for vacationers planning a last minute trip.

Over 20 fantastic rentals are being offered at a 10% discount for any trips ending before December 17th, 2008.  Furthermore, this 10% discount is extended year round for any last minute trip booked within 2 weeks of the stay.

The rentals available for this deal range in price from $200 - $1,500 per night.
With the 10% discount over a week long stay, you are looking at up to $1,050 in savings.

Check out a few of the rentals being offered:

• Villa Encantada
• Villa Milagro
• Villa Oceana
• Sonidos del Mar
• Casa La Ostra

To take advantage of this deal, please submit a MatchMaker request for Costa Rica, and we’ll find you the perfect vacation home.

This offer is subject to availability.  Dates excluded: Dec 18th - Jan 6th.

About Luxury Travel Expo (www.LuxuryTravelExpo.com)
Produced by Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent Magazine and Premier Hotels & Resorts, Luxury Travel Expo is the industry’s largest gathering of luxury travel professionals. The show’s successful formula consists of an unequaled educational program and ample exhibit hall hours where luxury suppliers and buyers can network. The tenth annual Luxury Travel Expo will take place December 2-4, 2008 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Questex Media Group, Inc. (www.Questex.com)
Questex Media Group, Inc. is a global, diversified business-to-business integrated media and information provider, headquartered in Newton, MA.  Questex serves multiple industries including technology, telecommunications, beauty, spa, travel, hospitality, leisure, abilities, home entertainment, landscape design, building services and natural resources through a range of well-established, market-leading publications, events, interactive media, research, information and integrated marketing services. The company’s media properties include over 100 print and digital media publications, 45 conferences, trade shows and events, as well as a range of research, data and information products. The company’s businesses are managed through operating companies including Questex Media Group; InfoTrends, Inc., Imaging Networks and; McLean Events International, Ltd, a world-leading producer of appointment-based events. The company’s combined operations include more than 400 employees in offices throughout North America,
South America, Asia and Europe.