Airbnb Acquires UK-based Crashpadder As Part Of International Growth Push

Colleen Taylor

Colleen Taylor is based in San Francisco where she is a reporter for TechCrunch and TechCrunch TV. Previously she worked as a reporter for GigaOM, the Financial Times’ Mergermarket newswire, and the semiconductor industry newsletter Electronic News. Disclosure: Colleen holds a small amount of shares in AOL, which were awarded as part of her employment contract with TechCrunch. She personally... → Learn More

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
crashpadder

Airbnb has acquired Crashpadder, a London-based company that runs an online marketplace where people can list their homes and apartments to be rented out for short stays (essentially, it was like a smaller Airbnb.) Financial terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed.

Visitors to Crashpadder’s website are automatically directed to a landing page about the Airbnb deal, which will apparently affect Crashpadder users immediately. A message signed by Crashpadder co-founders Stephen Rapoport and Dan Hill (impressively, the company’s only two employees) reads in part: “As part of the transition, we will automatically move your Crashpadder account to Airbnb. All of your account and listing information will be preserved. For security reasons, you will need to set a new Airbnb password upon moving your account. Simply click below to learn more and get started.”

Airbnb has been ambitious on the international expansion front in recent months, having drummed up lots of fanfare about its “London launch” last month and laying out plans to open up new offices in Spain, Denmark, Italy, Russia, France and Brazil over the course of this year. The timing on its expansion in London especially is key, with the 2012 Olympics slated to be held there this summer. It will be interesting to see how much more international growth Airbnb does through M&A in the months ahead.


Company: Airbnb
Website: airbnb.com
Launch Date: 2007
Funding: $120M

Founded in August 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique spaces around the world – online or from a mobile phone. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more that 26,000 cities and 192 countries. And with world-class customer service and a growing community...

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