New Members AirBnB, HomeAway and TripAdvisor Mark Period of Strategic Growth for Travel Tech 

Washington, D.C. – The Travel Technology Association welcomes AirBnB, HomeAway and TripAdvisor as its newest members. These three companies are the leading innovators in the peer-to-peer economy, providing immense benefits to travelers, short-term rental owners/hosts, small businesses and communities.
 
“We are excited to welcome AirBnB, HomeAway, and TripAdvisor to Travel Tech,” said Steve Shur, President of Travel Tech. “These three innovators are transforming the way millions around the globe travel with platforms that plug travelers into local economies and provide property owners with a valuable source of income.”

• HomeAway, based in Austin, Texas, is a world leading online marketplace for the vacation rental industry, with sites representing over one million paid listings of vacation rental homes in 190 countries.
• Airbnb, based San Francisco, California, is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations in more than 34,000 cities and 190 countries. 
• TripAdvisor, based in Newton, Massachusetts, is a global travel site offering trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites, such as their short-term rental site FlipKey, reach nearly 260 million unique visitors each month.

In 2013, PhoCusWright found that 14% of U.S. travelers booked a stay at a short-term rental for at least one of their trips during the year. As short-term rentals continue to grow in popularity, Travel Tech will be a voice for the short-term rental industry and aim to educate government officials and the general public about the benefits of short-term rental to communities and the need for smart regulations that work for communities, owners/hosts and consumers.
 
“The short-term rental industry is bringing tangible economic benefits to local communities and homeowners, as well as travelers who gain the benefit of having more lodging options when traveling. As dynamic companies like AirBnB, HomeAway, and TripAdvisor create more options for more people, cities around the world are looking for ways to balance the need for sensible regulation while also taking advantage of the economic opportunity in this arena. Travel Tech looks forward to being a resource for these cities as they develop policies and regulations for the future,” Shur concluded.
 
The Travel Technology Association’s membership include worldwide travel technology leaders including: Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline, Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport, and Vegas.com.
 
About Travel Tech
The Travel Technology Association is the premier trade association for the travel technology industry, representing the leading online travel companies, travel technology solutions providers, and short-term rental companies, and is dedicated to connecting consumers and travel providers, eliminating barriers to travel, and protecting the traveling public.
 
Learn more about the Travel Technology Association by visiting us at TravelTech.org and following us @TravelTech.