In its first acquisition since the first wave of Covid-19, India’s hospitality giant Oyo has acquired Europe-based vacation rental company Direct Booker for USD 5.5 million.

The recent buy will strengthen the SoftBank-backed company’s presence in Europe, especially in Croatia where it already has nearly 1,800 vacation homes on its Belvilla platform and over 7,000 homes on its Traum Ferienwohnungen platform. According to Oyo, the inventory of Direct Booker will be available on Belvilla.com (Belvilla by Oyo) and over time on its other platforms.

Direct Booker’s portfolio consists of vacation rental solutions, rental management, rental booking, rental Software, and rental franchise. The company claims to have over 3,200 homes and serviced 20 lakh customers so far.

In 2019. Oyo expanded in Europe with the purchase of an Amsterdam-based vacation rental firm Leisure Group. The company already has a presence in the continent including the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Austria.