• The New York Times, Tuesday, November 11, 2008 11 AM

Who says the venture capital market is dead? HomeAway, an online vacation rental marketplace, just raised the biggest round of VC funding of any technology company since 2000, in a $250 million round brings the four-year-old startup's total venture funding to $405 million, The New York Times reports.

HomeAway operates under the simple concept of connecting second homeowners in the United States and Western Europe with prospects who want to rent their homes. In its four years of operation, HomeAway has leapt to the top of the vacation rental pile thanks to an aggressive acquisition strategy. The site has made 10 acquisitions, including two similar Web sites in the U.K., one in Germany and France, and two in the U.S.

HomeAway charges $300 per year for homeowners to list their property. The company claims 325,000 paid listings and 225,000 to 300,000 bookings each month, according to the company. According to founder and CEO Brian Sharples, the average homeowner earns $20,000 a year in rental income through the site. Traffic to the site is up 58% from last year and the average homeowner on the site has been getting more queries than a year ago. Austin-based HomeAway is profitable and will bring in just under $100 million in sales this year, Sharples said, adding that he plans to spend the site's new venture funding round on marketing, as most customers have learned about the site from friends so far. The company has just hired its first chief marketing officer, as well as an unnamed ad agency.

Read the whole story at The New York Times »