US holiday rentals site HomeAway targets mobile and hospitality with Glad to Have You acquisition

US vacation rental service HomeAway is plunging into mobile and committing to customer service as it announced today that it is acquiring a hospitality app, Glad to Have You.

The Glad to Have You app, available on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play, is designed to let owners and property managers reach out directly to their guests. They can relay all relevant property information to their guests before their arrival, including check-in and check-out procedures through push notifications, door lock codes and WiFi passwords. After that, they can remain in touch with their guest throughout their stay, providing recommendations and responding to service requests.

With this acquisition, the Glad to Have You app will be integrated with HomeAway’s platform. This means the owners and property managers of HomeAway’s 890,000 listings have a choice of using the service. 

HomeAway has been working hard to expand its business overseas, particularly in Asia, and has also been taking steps to revamp its core business model. Its latest move provides a value-added proposition to its users, and could see it attract new customers eventually.

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