Airbnb Acquires Canada’s Luxury Retreats

Airbnb bought Luxury Retreats last week for an undisclosed amount—its biggest acquisition to date.

Luxury Retreats will continue to operate as a standalone entity, with listings highlighted and integrated into Airbnb. The Montreal-based vacation rental company has more than 4,000 high-end homes in 100 destinations around the world.

Airbnb beat out European hotel giant Accor SA and online travel site Expedia, Bloomberg reported, citing sources close to the matter. While the two companies offered larger bids, Luxury Retreats decided on Airbnb partly because CEO Joe Poulin, wanted to have more control. Poulin will join Airbnb and lead the company’s luxury homes division.