Wyndham Worldwide's vacation exchange brand RCI announced it has acquired London-based home exchange platform Love Home Swap.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. However, TechCrunch reported RCI will acquire the startup for approximately $53 million in cash, citing sources close to the deal.
Love Home Swap allows homeowners to share properties directly or whenever and wherever they want through a points system.
Moving forward, RCI will provide Love Home Swap with additional resources as well as other benefits, including inventory management, member marketing and analytics.
The program will continue to operate as an independent brand and will be marketed separately from RCI.
Love Home Swap founder Debbie Wosskow will remain on as an adviser, while former chief commercial officer Ben Wosskow will take over as managing director.
"Since first pioneering the vacation exchange concept more than 40 years ago, RCI has continually found new ways to evolve and grow its own business while also propelling the exchange industry further," said RCI President Gordon Gurnik in a statement.
"Through this acquisition, we expand the exchange options we offer travelers and strengthen our footprint in key growth markets across the globe."
[READMORE]READ MORE: The Pros and Cons of Home Sharing[/READMORE]
RCI's investment comes amid tremendous buzz over home-sharing services like Airbnb. It recently purchased luxury vacation rental service Luxury Retreats in a cash and stock deal valued at $300 million. The San Francisco-based company beat out bids from AccorHotels and Expedia.
The former company also acquired luxury vacation rental company onefinestay for $170 million last year.
The hotel sector has been critical of home-sharing services for bypassing regulations and having an unfair advantage in terms of competing against traditional hotels. Nonetheless, RCI's latest acquisition and the industry's growing interest in breaking through the short-term rental market suggests hoteliers can sense a shift.
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