Luxury Retreats

Luxury Retreats
Company typePrivate (1999–2017)
Subsidiary of Airbnb (2017–present)
IndustryVacation rental / Luxury travel
Founded1999 (1999)
FounderJoe Poulin
FateAcquired by Airbnb in February 2017
SuccessorAirbnb Luxe
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec, Canada
ProductsLuxury villa rentals, concierge services
Number of employees
~250 (at time of acquisition)
ParentAirbnb
Websiteluxuryretreats.com

Luxury Retreats (formally Luxury Retreats International Inc.) was a Canadian online marketplace and full-service villa rental company, headquartered in Montreal, Quebec.[1] Founded in 1999 by Joe Poulin, the company offered curated high-end vacation rentals across a wide range of international destinations, pairing properties with personalized concierge services.[2] In February 2017, Airbnb acquired the company in what was, at the time, its largest acquisition to date.[3]

History

Founding (1999)

Luxury Retreats traces its origins to 1999, when Joe Poulin, a 17-year-old web designer living with his parents in a small town outside of Montreal, was approached by a villa owner in Barbados who wanted a rental website built.[4] Poulin traveled to Barbados to visit the property, and was inspired by the experience to create a broader online platform for luxury villa rentals.[5] He launched the company initially under the name CaribbeanWay, focusing exclusively on high-end villa rentals in the Caribbean region.[2]

Within two years, CaribbeanWay reached $1 million in annual sales, expanding its offerings throughout Mexico, Florida, and Central America, and adding private islands for its most exclusive clientele.[2] Flush with profits from the Caribbean-focused business, Poulin then decided to go global.[6] In 2002, he launched a second company under the name Luxury Retreats, which covered popular European destinations such as Italy, the French Riviera, and Greece.[7]

Growth and expansion

Over the following years, Luxury Retreats grew steadily both organically and through acquisitions. The company acquired Fabulous Homes, a Maui-based property management company, which significantly boosted its Hawaiian villa portfolio across Maui, the Big Island, and Oahu.[7] It also acquired Carimo, the leading villa rental and real estate provider on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, a well-established broker with around thirty years of experience in the market.[7]

To accommodate its rapid growth, Luxury Retreats relocated its Montreal headquarters to a 100-year-old loft on the Lachine Canal.[7] By the time of its acquisition by Airbnb, the company employed approximately 250 people and listed over 4,000 luxury homes across 100 destinations worldwide.[8]

In 2012, Poulin received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Quebec in the Business-to-Consumer category.[9] The following year, the company launched its Quality Inspection (QI) Program, under which 140 full-time and part-time global inspectors ensured that every property met the company's hundred-point standard of excellence.[9]

Funding

Luxury Retreats raised a total of $16 million in venture capital funding over the course of its independent existence.[10] This included a Series B round led by Inovia Capital, a Montreal-based venture capital firm specializing in emerging technology companies.[7] The company had reportedly been profitable for years prior to seeking outside investment.[10]

Acquisition by Airbnb (2017)

On February 15, 2017, Airbnb completed its acquisition of Luxury Retreats International Inc., marking the largest acquisition in Airbnb's history to that point.[3] No official purchase price was disclosed, but estimates placed the value of the deal at between $200 million and $300 million USD, paid in a combination of cash and stock.[1][11] Airbnb reportedly outbid both Expedia and AccorHotels for the company; according to Bloomberg, Poulin chose Airbnb partly because he foresaw having more operational control than he would have had at either of the competing bidders.[11]

Following the acquisition, Joe Poulin joined Airbnb to lead its luxury homes division, reporting directly to Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky.[8] The Luxury Retreats team remained based in Montreal, and Airbnb indicated its intent to continue expanding the Canadian office.[8] In the short term, Luxury Retreats continued to operate as a standalone entity, with its listings progressively integrated into the broader Airbnb platform over time.[8]

The expertise in luxury travel gained through the acquisition later informed the creation of Airbnb Luxe, Airbnb's dedicated high-end rental tier, launched in 2019.[12]

Business model

Luxury Retreats operated as an online marketplace connecting high-net-worth travelers with owners of luxury villas and vacation properties. Unlike broader rental platforms, the company followed a strict curation model: all properties were subjected to a rigorous multi-point in-person inspection before being listed on the site, with around 90 percent of applicant properties reportedly turned away.[6] This vetting process was managed by a network of quality inspectors distributed globally, with results reported back to the central team in Montreal via a dedicated company application.[9]

The platform offered guests a variety of support services at no additional membership cost, including dedicated villa specialists, a 24/7 concierge service, and assistance with trip logistics such as airport transfers, car rentals, and customized grocery pre-stocking.[13] The company's typical clientele were described as affluent, well-traveled individuals, primarily based in North America, spending an average of $2,000 USD per night for a villa stay.[13]

Property owners paid a commission to Luxury Retreats based on the assessed dollar value of each booking, rather than a flat listing fee.[6] Rental prices on the platform ranged widely, from several hundred dollars per night for smaller properties to as much as $60,000 per day for exceptional estates such as Richard Branson's Necker Island.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Airbnb Acquires Vacation Rental Company Luxury Retreats, Officially Moves Into Luxury". Skift. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  2. ^ a b c "Luxury Retreats gets a boost from growing interest in short-term rentals". Inman. 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  3. ^ a b "Luxury Retreats International Inc". Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  4. ^ "Interview With Joe Poulin CEO & Founder of Luxury Retreats". JustLuxe. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  5. ^ "Montreal tech entrepreneur sells luxury vacation app to Airbnb". CTV News Montreal. 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  6. ^ a b c "Meet Luxury Retreats, the Airbnb of the World's Most Lavish Mansions". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "About Luxury Retreats". Luxury Retreats. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  8. ^ a b c d "Airbnb, Luxury Retreats Unite to Provide More Unique Accommodations, Amazing Experiences to Travelers". Airbnb Newsroom. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  9. ^ a b c "The Grand Getaways Plan". Advantage Magazine. 2016. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  10. ^ a b "Airbnb is buying Luxury Retreats for around $200M". TechCrunch. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  11. ^ a b "Airbnb bests Expedia, Accor for high-end rental business". Hotel Management. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  12. ^ "Airbnb Luxe Reimagines Luxury Travel". Airbnb Newsroom. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  13. ^ a b "Interview with Joe Poulin, Founder of Luxury Retreats". Superyachts.com. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
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