AccorHotels buys luxury home rentals company onefinestay

[PARIS] AccorHotels, Europe's largest hotel group, said on Tuesday it bought British high-end serviced home rental company onefinestay as it fights the rising challenge of online home-sharing company Airbnb and booking websites like Expedia.

The world's fifth-largest hotel group, undergoing a reorganisation initiated by Chief Executive Sebastien Bazin, said it paid 148 million euros (S$228.56 million) for onefinestay and pledged to invest a further 64 million euros to help the company grow worldwide.

Onefinestay, which was launched in London in 2010, has a portfolio of 2,600 properties in London, New York, Paris and Los Angeles, AccorHotels said in a statement.

REUTERS