Source: Expedia’s HomeAway acquisition takes booking competition up a notch – Mobile Commerce Daily – Strategy

The acquisition blocks Priceline, from doing the same and makes it difficult to now get that kind of leverage in mobile presence that Home Aaway has. Thom Jordan, CEO of Ping Mobile, New York adds “Without HomeAway, Priceline is at a severe disadvantage against Expedia and Airbnb in the vacation property market. Until the acquisition of HomeAway by Expedia is complete, I would not be surprised if Priceline makes a counter-offer in an attempt to outbid Expedia.”

Expedia is expecting the deal to be completed early in 2016 at a price tag at $3.9 billion. The move is on the heals of Expedia’s recent additions of Travelocity and Orbitz, not only consolidate Expedia market position in the hospitality sector, it also puts the travel conglomerate in top position in the mobile booking sector, which is growing rapidly.

The fast growing mobile segment which sees more and more travellers booking flights, accommodations and activities via their smartphones is a lucrative and massive sector for the Online travel Agents and this move put Expedia in an enviable position. It is especially so as HomeAway had recently acquired Dwellable, a mobile-first vacation rental search engine.

Dwellable Mobile a Reason to Buy

Earlier in 2015, Dwellable launched its new mobile app with a innovative user interface that offered a swipe-and-sort user experience (UX) similar to the Tinder dating app. “The design replaced the industry’s standard “results list” with a card-swiping feature that it argues is more intuitive on a mobile device. Its calendar for comparing vacancies for more than one rental was also innovative. HomeAway will likely adopt some of these UX perks as it brings on board six team members from Dwellable.” SeeTtnooze for details >>>

The Gloves are off and it’s Pricelines Turn to Counter Punch.

This is not going to sit well with Priceline and Booking.com and one wonders if they will counter offer. Is the $3.9 Billion dollar price a bit steep – and would they offer the same autonomy that Expedia says it will give Homeaway. (Expedia says it will not merge HomeAway under its umbrella of travel brands, and is planning to let the HomeAway management team manage itself almost autonomously out of its Texas base). It Looks to me like it is a done deal. Maybe Priceline should Buy AirBNB, now that would be a knockout!